The Doctor's defences were stronger than the Master had expected them to be and caused a lot more effort than he had anticipated. He steadily got more and more irritated as he struggled to break through, his fingernails began digging into the Doctor's head as he held it tightly, stopping any attempt the Doctor made at pulling away. The Doctor fought against him both physically and mentally, though the Master's eyes were shut and the Doctor's movements were weak, he was still aware of the Doctor's feeble attempts to get away from him. In the Doctor's mind all around him was the continuous proof of the Doctor's protests. The Doctor's mind was weaker though, he had only ever had to put up with his own thoughts there, he had nothing there forcing him to be stronger, he was nothing more than average. The Master had the drums, the constant invasion of his mind since he was eight years old, forcing him to have to be strong to fight against them, simply to survive.
The Master couldn't help but think this was the first time in his life the drums had done him any good as he began to break through the final defence. The Doctor was desperately trying to rebuild the defences but he couldn't. The Master got through, he was able to see, and, which was almost better than that, he was aware of the Doctor giving in to him. The Doctor lent his forehead against the Master's gently, but otherwise went completely still, his mind went quiet and he stopped fighting against the Master. The Master was about to make some comment, to rub it in that he had won, that he had complete control over him, but was stopped by the reality of what he had found.
The memories of the Time War weren't in anyway clear or organised. The Master couldn't sieve through them slowly, looking at what he wanted to see, they bombarded themselves in to his view. Quick flashes of terror that the Master could barely make sense of, ran in front of him, shocking him to the point where he was left helpless to do anything but watch. He watched at the horror the Doctor had so vividly described only a few weeks before played out in front of him, showing the Doctor's words to have been inadequate, showing that no words could truly explain it. The drums quietened to the point of almost silence as he watched and the Master felt torn between being glad of that and horrified at what he was witnessing. Everything was worse than anything he had inflicted on a person or a planet. He couldn't believe the level of the violence and terror that Gallifrey became.
What made everything worse was not only was he witnessing this, he was feeling it as though there first hand. He didn't feel as though he was in the TARDIS or even in the Doctor's mind, he felt like he was on Gallifrey in the middle of the Time War. Exactly what he had tried to avoid. Yet although he had the power to stop it, to leave the Doctor's mind at any moment, he didn't. He was transfixed, almost hypnotised by the images. He could feel exactly what the Doctor had felt, the fear so deep that the word fear was a joke, the pain that went beyond the point of tears, the determination, the small amount of enjoyment. He could understand exactly why the Doctor did everything he saw him doing. After a while of watching the images flashing in front of him, the Master took control and stopped it. He stopped everything. He didn't move physically or mentally. He just froze trying to make sense of everything he'd just witnessed, trying to let go of the mass of emotions it had forced upon him. He stayed in the Doctor's mind, despite the mess the war had left, his mind was still calmer than the Master's, quieter. It was a welcome rest for the Master and it gave him the chance the show the Doctor he would decide how everything went.
The Doctor! As the Master thought that he became aware of just how quiet the Doctor was being. He had been so wrapped up in everything he was watching and trying to deal with it, he had forgotten about the Doctor himself.
"Theta?" he said, firmly through the connection, demanding his attention.
"You don't need to be scared," the Doctor replied, softly and the Master located his consciousness. While the Master had been attacking the Doctor's mind, the Doctor had taken sanctuary in the Master's, looking at the Master's deepest thoughts while the Master had been powerless to stop him.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The Master forced himself to remain calm, ignoring the Doctor's comment.
"You're so scared," the Doctor elaborated, "About so much, but you don't need to be."
"I think you're confusion my emotions with your own," the Master tried to laugh that comment off.
"The drums, the War, being alone, losing control," the Doctor listed, trying to make sense of this revelation while proving to the Master, he knew what he was talking about.
The Master let go of the Doctor's head without warning, breaking the connection and forcing the Doctor's consciousness back into his own head. The Doctor screamed out in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his head as a searing pain ran through it and didn't leave. His mind was screaming, unable to cope with the pain of the Master leaving so suddenly. The Doctor whimpered, unable to stop himself, too lost in the pain to even realise he was doing so. Only a short moment later he called out in pain again as the Master's foot made contact with his rib. He registered the pain and the way it knocked him to the ground but nothing else about it as the pain in his head was still too all consuming.
Sub-consciously he backed away from the Master, blinking frantically to try and clear his vision to see what was going on outside of his mind. He was aware of the figure towering over him, stepping towards him but he couldn't make sense of it. He knew he needed to get away from it though, he scrambled to his feet and stepped backwards, until he hit a wall. He closed his eyes momentarily trying to clear the mess that what his mind, trying to work out what was going on. He made sense of it quickly and realised he was in the Time War. He briefly wondered how he could've forgotten that and came to the conclusion that whoever was in front of him had messed with his head.
"S-stay away from me," he stuttered, silently cursing himself for that, letting his enemy know he was scared was the worst thing he could do. He noted that his enemy in this case was a Time Lord. He momentarily wondered why this Time Lord was his enemy and who he was, but the truth was he didn't care much. All he cared about was getting away no more hurt than he already was or better yet, defeating his enemy. He watched the enemy carefully, a small smirk was plastered over his face as he stood a few steps away watching him right back.
The Master saw the fear written all over the Doctor's face, but he also saw something else, a look in his eyes which he didn't recognise, that he'd never seen in him before. At that point he didn't care what it was, he was too angry to care about anything, he simply noticed as he watched him, picking his moment. Once he was sure it was the right one he moved forward to attack the Doctor and was caught completely off guard as the Doctor lunged at him and hit him before he could do anything. He automatically went to hit the Doctor back, snarling at him, but the Doctor caught his fist and forced him back, hitting him in the rib with his spare hand. All attempts the Master made to fight back were easily blocked by the Doctor and just a moment later the Doctor knocked him to the ground.
"I told you to stay away from me," the Doctor said, now towering over the Master the way the Master had been over him just moments before. He kept his fists clenched threateningly, "Now I don't know who you are or why you're fighting against me and therefore against your own planet but if you come near me I won't hesitate to kill you."
"Theta…" the Master said quietly, confused, shocked and mostly angry.
"Gallifrey doesn't need traitors like you. You should just be killed," the Doctor continued, as though unaware that the Master had actually spoken, "The middle of a Time War and you dare fight against Gallifrey. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just kill you now?"
The Master slowly moved to sit up but the Doctor knocked him down again, "I just asked you a question."
The Master moved out of the Doctor's reach quickly and jumped to his feet, "Yeah and I'm not answering it. What you going to do about it?"
"I take it that means you don't have a reason. I take it that means you don't actually care if I kill you right now," the Doctor retorted, amused. He stepped forward and smacked the Master right in the face but didn't dodge in time to avoid the punch that came back at him only seconds later. The Master grabbed the Doctor's arms and forced him against the wall, smacking him again once they were there. The Doctor quickly hit the Master again, and turned the situation to his favour, holding the Master to the wall and hitting him a number of times before the Master was able to push him off.
"Theta," the Master said, his tone a warning.
The Doctor was momentarily thrown by the use of his old name, so much so that when the next punch came he wasn't expecting it and it caused him to lose his balance. The Master grabbed hold of him, stopping him from falling and hitting him again. The Doctor realised his enemy must have seen hey he felt about his old name in is mind, seen the vulnerability it held for him, and chose to use that against him. He'd been stupid to let it work. He struggled in the Master's grip trying to pull away, trying to hit him again but the Master proved to be stronger.
"Theta!" he repeated, taking hold of his face and making him look at him.
The Doctor succeeded in pushing the Master off him, "That is not my name. Do not call me that, ever is that clear?"
"Stop this, this isn't you," the Master ignored his comment and said.
The Doctor rolled his eyes, "What a few minutes trying to mess with my head and suddenly you think you know me. You're wrong. Anything I thought before, it's different now. If you mess with me now, I'm gonna mess with you a hell of a lot harder."
"Theta!" the Master tried slapped some sense in the Doctor, but the only response he got was the Doctor punching him.
"I told you not to call me that," the Doctor replied, hitting the Master again. "You know what you're problem is?"
The Master raised his eyebrow, "No but I bet you're going to tell me."
"You've come into the Time War and you made the worst mistake you could make. Never underestimate you're opponent," the Doctor explained before properly going for the Master.
You know the problem with this story? It's refusing to end. Chapter 9 was to be the last chapter, then I wrote it, chapter 10 was to be the last chapter, then I wrote it, chapter 11… probably won't be the last chapter. R&R? ly'all.