A/N: Sorry this has taken so long, guys. Life gets in the way and some of you may be aware that I have gotten rather carried away with another of my fics, and have been updating that a lot more. The Dramione fans have been shouting louder than you guys! So you need to review harder! I cater to what my readers want, so if loads of people review this, I'll focus on updating this. if loads of people review my other story (and those Dramione fans are like, HARDCORE) I'll focus on updating that. The concept is simple, if you like, REVIEW! XD

Please also vote on my poll, I'm changing the title of this story, and I want you guys to have some input.

Read, enjoy and REVIEW!

Chapter 10:

Last time...

Suddenly we heard slow, almost sarcastic clapping from behind us.

"Congratulations, Doctor. You always were the clever one, and you figured it out in the end...now why don't you introduce your little friends?"

.oOo.

I spun around slowly. Standing there was a man, flanked by two taller men dressed entirely in black and wearing dark blue helmets. Well, I had assumed they were men; they could well have been humanoid aliens, since I couldn't see their features.

The man in the middle was clearly in charge. He was somewhat shorter than his bodyguards, but he had an air of authority around him that was stifling. His hair was a dirty blonde, halfway between the blonde hair of Rose and the Doctors dark brown. His eyes oozed power and within them, I could catch flickers of...was it almost insanity? I didn't know, but his look scared me.

The Doctor stood between Rose and myself as we turned to fully face the people who had joined us. I couldn't help but notice the perverse symmetry of the arrangement; the two powerful figures of each group stood in the middle of two supporting characters. The only difference between our group and that opposite us was that the Doctor had grasped my hand, and the man before us was showing no emotional attachment to the people he had either side of him.

The Doctor spoke, and he sounded almost horrified. "But...I burned you...I made sure you couldn't come back..."

The other man raised an eyebrow. "Well, you didn't do a very good job then, did you, Doctor?"

The man spun a ring that was on his finger around with his thumb. He looked at it pointedly. "Saved me, this little beauty..."

The Doctor looked at the ring, first surprised and then dejected. "And of course, you came back here..."

Rose cleared her throat. "Sorry, Doctor?" She said quietly. "Who is he? What's the ring? What's wrong?" All of which were three valid questions that I would have liked to have asked myself, had my mouth actually been working. But for some reason, this man had left me paralysed. I could feel the power radiating off him, and it was pulsing around me like waves.

"Yes, Doctor, I believe you ought to introduce me to your friends..." the man said almost lazily. "Who am I?"

The Doctor was silent, defiance evident in his gaze.

Something in the man snapped. A furious, crazed look flashed across his face before he composed it again.

"Who am I, Doctor? Say my name, Doctor..." his voice was dangerously pleasant, which made the back of my neck prickle.

The Doctor whispered one word; "Master."

The man smiled victoriously. "That's right, Doctor...say it again, louder! Say it so these lovely ladies can hear you..."

Again, the Doctor was silent. I looked up at him, and saw his profile, the defiant set of his jaw, a tiny twitch at the corner of his eye, giving away just how tense he was.

And suddenly he was on his knees, his hands pressed into the sides of his head, and he was shouting in agony. I looked back at the man in terror, and my blood ran cold. He looked completely calm, a curious smile playing his lips.

"Aaaargh!" The Doctor moaned, and Rose bent down to embrace him gently. "Doctor? Doctor! What's wrong? What's happening?" The Doctor made no response, only continued to groan, gripping his head tightly and rocking slightly.

I looked back at the man, who was still showing no response to the man in agony before him. I couldn't help myself, I had to say something.

"What are you doing to him?" I shouted, my voice breaking. "Who are you?"

The man smirked. "The Doctor knows who I am...and as for what I'm doing, well, a mild wave of psychic energy, projected directly into the Doctor's brain...I'm told it can be quite painful."

I was stunned into silence for a few seconds. This man just spoke about the way he was torturing my Doctor in such a calm and dispassionate way...I was fuming.

"How dare you!" I hissed, somehow knowing that he would hear me over the Doctor's moans. "Stop doing this to him!"

He just smiled wider. "Not until he says my name..."

Just then the Doctor let out a terrifying groan, louder and more agonising than its predecessors.

"Say it, Doctor..." the man whispered. "Say my name..." his voice was almost hypnotic.

"MASTER!" the word ripped through the Doctor's lips and echoed the tunnel like thunder. He made one last groan and then sank to the floor, his head resting against the stone wall. The tunnel fell silent.

"There," the man said with an air of immense satisfaction. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" He smiled at me and Rose, ignoring our identical looks of horror. "I am the Master," he told us simply. Then he turned to the guards. "Take them away," he told them. "I'll deal with them later."

And he turned and walked away.

One of the guards stepped forward to grab my arm. I tried to wrench it free, but he - it? - gripped it with superhuman strength. "Let go of me!" I shouted, but to no avail. If anything my arm was gripped tighter.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Rose had been captured as I had been. The Doctor, curled up on the floor was being unceremoniously ignored. I begged him to wake up, but he made no indication of having heard me.

My captor reached into its pocket and pulled out a small black stick. Before I could pull away, I felt a stabbing in my neck, and everything went black.

.oOo.

This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend Sinthuja, who has supported this story since its birth, despite the fact that she loved Rose, and doesn't particularly like fanfiction...she is always just at the other end of the phone when I'm having my doubts about myself, and always tells it to me straight! Much love to you, m'love!

A/N: I know its really short, but better than nothing, right? but I'm struggling for inspiration at the moment...I know what I want to happen, but I haven't figured out how to get there yet...I just wanted to post something to let you know that I'm not abandoning this story.

So please review, I'd love to hear your ideas.

Might I also suggest going to have a look at a story I'm beta reading at the moment? It's the first in a series called "The Gallifrey Choronicles" by GallifreanGirl. Theres a link on my profile to her bio. It's based around the older DW, mixed with the 10th Doctor. Have a look if you get a chance!