Chapter 10: In Bondage

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"So are you the one who provided Cadger and Davis with the space ship?" the Doctor asked, fire in his eyes.

The Master nodded. "I also gave them instruction on what to do, because I know you Doctor. I know you can't resist getting to the bottom of a mystery. So I knew you would immediately want to investigate, and that you'd find out what was going on, thus leading to your capture and meeting with your old traveling companion."

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"I'm the one who found that gun with the four components and gave it to those fools, Cadger and Davis, to kill you with," the Master continued. "Unfortunately, they did not succeed."

"But how did you get it?" the Doctor asked. "It was locked in a secure location onboard the Valiant! I saw to it myself, after I got Martha and her family back home!"

"Oh, it was locked up rather securely," the Master said, as though it were obvious to everyone in the room.

"Then how did you get it, you filthy lobster?" Jamie snarled.

"Jamie!"

"It's all right Doctor," said the Master. "Having messed with his mind, I can understand the hostility. Though you might want to keep better reign on your temper, Mr. McCrimmon, otherwise you'll get yourself into trouble." As if to demonstrate this, the Master walked up to Jamie and punched him, hard, in the stomach.

The Doctor started toward his nemesis, fire in his eyes, but was stopped from any action by Jamie's wheezing, "No, Doctor!"

"Quite right," said the Master, looking at Jamie disdainfully. "Although it amuses me to hear a term from the American Revolution, given that you're Scottish."

"I want to murder him myself," Jamie muttered; thankfully, the Master did not hear him. The Doctor did, however, and looked at Jamie with an unreadable look in his eyes.

As if the current incident had not taken place, the Master asked the Doctor, "Ask me how I got on board the Valiant?"

"How did you get on board the Valiant?" the Doctor asked.

"Simple," said the Master. "I snuck on board. I stowed away in a helicopter. As soon as I got to the Valiant, I searched and searched for that gun, but it took me a few days to find it. I used my laser screwdriver, which I found in my old office onboard, to break the gun out of it's container. I pocketed it and stowed away on a helicopter bound for London."

"Let me guess," said Donna. "You searched high and low and, when all hope seemed lost, you miraculously found the last component. Is that right?"

"Donna…" the Doctor said, warning her.

"Yes, yes, I know he's a crazed megalomaniac; I'm not stupid," said Donna.

"You're correct on both accounts," said the Master. "I did miraculously find the last component, and no, you are not stupid."

"Thank you," said Donna acidly.

"I must express my disappointment that you survived being shot with the gun, Doctor," the Master said. "But luckily I had a plan B, which in this case, was Mr. McCrimmon, here. And so far, it's worked out beautifully, don't you think?"

"I beg to differ," said Jenny.

"Children should be seen and not heard," the Master trilled at her. "Doctor, you must teach your daughter manners."

"Her manners are perfectly fine," said the Doctor. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell my daughter what to do."

"Have it your way, Doctor," said the Master. "But would you allow me to express my surprised?"

"At what?"

"At Donna, here, becoming one of us: a Time Lord," said the Master, and it was clear that he was genuinely surprised. "I didn't think that would be possible, even for a human with a Time Lord mind. And yes, Doctor, I know all about that because, like I said, I saw everything you told Jamie via his mind."

"Well, I'm a Time Lord, or Lady, or whatever you want to call it," said Donna. "Which means that you and the Doctor aren't the last ones anymore."

"Quite right," said the Master. "And allow me to express my surprise that you two…love…each other. I didn't think it could happen after his other lover left, but that goes to show that we're all human…in a sense."

"What's it to you?" Donna asked.

"Nothing, really," the Master shrugged. "I just thought you love Lee, but I guess that's not true."

Donna glared at him, eyes narrowed. "How do you know about Lee?"

"I ran into him when I was searching for the Doctor; this was before I befriended Jenny," the Master said. "He found out that I was up to no good, as you people call it, and tried to stop me. He mentioned you, Donna, you know."

"Yeah?" Donna said fiercely.

"Yes," confirmed the Master. "He mentioned how there was a woman he had loved on a library planet, and he said your name. Of course, I didn't exactly know who you where until I saw you in Jamie's mind not too long ago."

The Doctor glanced in Donna's direction, heart racing. He knew how much Donna had cared for Lee, and now…not knowing his fate… "What did you do to him?" he asked.

"Well, when you Lee tried to stop me, he snuck up on me when my back was turned. So I used my laser screwdriver and killed him stone dead." The Master chuckled.

Donna, Jamie, Jenny, and the Doctor were all outraged.

"You…you're a cold-blooded, spineless, back-stabbing murderer!!" Donna nearly shouted at him. But the Master kept his cool.

"Spineless?" He said, in mock puzzlement. "He's the one who tried to attack me. I was only acting in self-defence."

"That doesn't excuse the fact that you killed someone," said the Doctor. "You killed a human being! A human who had so much life in him, so much to do and to live for! Life is the most precious gift humans have, and you stole it away in an act of murder!"

The Master rolled his eyes, causing Donna to nearly rush forward and attack him; she was only stopped by the Doctor's arms, restraining her body from moving. The Master smirked.

"So you still had feelings for him, did you?"

"Shut up, you-!"

"Donna," said the Doctor, warning in his voice. "I know you're upset about Lee, but if you attack the Master, then he'll kill you, too."

"I don't care," Donna sputtered. "It'll be worth it!"

"I care," said the Doctor in her ear. "And it won't be worth it in the long run, because I care about you. I don't want you getting yourself hurt; please, Donna."

Donna took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"Feel better?" the Master asked contemptuously.

"Bite me, old man," Donna spat at him.

"Respect your elders," the Master replied. "Better yet, I think I'll put everyone here in bondages. I don't want to take the chance that one of you will attack me. I'm sure you all will miss the one I kill because they were stupid enough to try." He looked straight at Donna as he called out to his men waiting outside. They came inside the cabin and, at the Master's instruction, bound the hands and feet of Donna, Jamie, Jenny, and the Doctor. After they were finished, the men left to stand guard once more, leaving those bound and the Master alone once more.

As soon as the men were gone, the Master turned to Donna, Jamie, Jenny, and the Doctor with a calculated expression.

"So. What am I going to do with you four?"

"What do you mean?" Donna asked.

"Meaning, what I am going to do with all of you?" the Master repeated. "I can't very well let you leave and spread the word about what I'm doing here. You would ruin everything I've worked for. And I can't very well have that; after all, Doctor, you did destroy Gallifrey. It seems only fitting I return the favor. And possibly turn Earth into a new Gallifrey, but we both know it won't be as good as the original."

"So all of this has been in revenge," said the Doctor. It wasn't a question, just a statement of fact.

"Well, quite obviously," said the Master. "Didn't I already mention that?" He shrugged. "Well, whether I did or didn't doesn't matter. I've got you here now, and that is all that matters."

"So what are you going to do with us? Or are you going to stand there all night lecturing us like a banshee?"

"Donna!"

But, to the Doctor's surprise, the Master burst out laughing. "Oh, I like this one," he said, between laughs. "I can see your attraction to her, Doctor."

"More to the point," said the Doctor angrily.

"Of course, of course," said the Master. He settled down. "As I said, I can't have you spouting about my work here. Wouldn't be good publicity for the lovely campers. So I guess I'll have to dispose of you. For convenience's sake. I'm sure you understand."

"I do," said the Doctor. "But that doesn't mean you have to. You can still turn away from all of this!"

"Oh, but that's the thing; I could, but I like the way I am now so well. Why should I change?" said the Master, grinning. "But more to the point, like you said. I am going to dispose of you. All of you. But first I'm going to have a little fun."

"Fun?"

"Yes, Jamie, fun."

"What kind of 'fun'?" Jenny asked.

For answer, the Master adjusted something on his laser screwdriver. He then pointed it at Donna and flicked it on. A stream of reddish orange light shot out of it and hit her in the shoulder; Donna let out of scream of pain. She didn't stop screaming until the Master flicked the screwdriver off a few seconds later, by which time the Doctor was fuming with anger and fury. Jenny looked frightened, while Jamie looked murderous.

"Torture me if you want," the Doctor said furiously. It was as though he was back on the Crucible, watching the TARDIS in the core, thinking it was about to be destroyed with Donna still inside. "Go on, do it, I don't care! Just don't hurt her or anyone else!"

"You know, I think I'll take you up on that," said the Master. And he pointed the screwdriver at him and flicked it on, leaving it on for a full five seconds, seconds penetrated by screams, before turning it off. "That better?"

The Doctor said nothing; his only response was to glare at his nemesis.

"Now that I'm done with that, I think I'll move onto someone else," said the Master. "After all, the best way to torture the Doctor is not to harm him, it is to torture those he loves and force him to watch."

"No! JUST STOP! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!"

"I have, Doctor," the Master replied. "I've come to the conclusion that everything I do os fine. Of course, there are those who disagree with me. But they don't matter, do they?" He threw a long hard look in the direction of his captives. "I think I'll go for you next." And he pointed his laser screwdriver at Jenny and flicked it on.

Jenny's screams mingled with the furious yells of the Doctor, as well as the shouts of horror from Donna and Jamie. But the screams drew on for what seemed like forever, though what was really only half a minute, but it was enough to do the job. It was enough to rile the Doctor to the point of such fury as to render him completely capable of doing virtually anything. And it was this that caused the Doctor to break free of his bonds with such strength that he would not normally have, but did not because of all the adrenaline rushing through his veins. The Doctor would not normally resort to such violence, but given that he had already watched Jenny die once, he was not about to lose his daughter again. He let his fury guide him.

Donna and Jamie watched as the Doctor broke free and rushed at the Master. As the Doctor collided with him, the screwdriver's aim went awry, hitting a wall and causing a chunk to break free and hit the ground. The two Time Lords fought, watched helplessly by Donna, Jamie, and Jenny, who were both horrified at the way events turned out and astounded at the Doctor's out-of-character reaction. It was understandable that he'd be extremely angry at the way Jenny was treated, but to resort to something like a physical fight was almost unheard of. But the Doctor was perhaps still overcome with some amount of shock at the fact his daughter was alive, and the fact that she had been tortured perhaps had pushed him over the edge.

The Master, too, was extremely surprised that his enemy had reacted in such a way; he had expected the Doctor to, perhaps, shout about torturing him instead; but when the Doctor had broken free and rushed at him, the Master was caught so off-guard that he did not prepare himself for any kind of fight beforehand. So it was with regret that the Master watched his laser screwdriver fall from his hands as he and the Doctor struggled with each other; pity, for the screwdriver would have been a great tool in a fight. But no matter now; he, the Master, must do what he could to defend himself against the Doctor, even though he was somewhat frightened, for he knew that the Doctor had not been given the nickname 'Oncoming Storm' for nothing.

In the end, the Doctor slowly began to triumph, so in a moment when the Master had been thrown aside in the Doctor's rage, he picked up his laser screwdriver in the flash of an eye, pointed it him, and flicked it on. The beam of red light shot out and hit his abdomen; the Doctor doubled over in pain. There were cries and shouts from Donna, Jamie, and Jenny. The Master, seeing his one and only opportunity, dashed to a back door that had been hidden from view, opened it, and disappeared into the night.

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One more chapter (and after that, a sequel)!!!