Author's Note: A big thanks to Omniac, Strange but Sad Angel and Jiwa for your reviews - I really love to hear your opinions! Hope you enjoy this chapter too (had some writer's block with this one!)
CHAPTER 11
For a long, interminable moment, stretching like an unending scream, Tejana sat motionless, her forehead still resting against the Master's, her eyes closed, the bitter sting of failure numbing her mind. What should she do? Even if he hadn't fallen far beyond her reach, back into the dark places of his mind, she just wasn't strong enough to try again. Perhaps if she could somehow get him back to her father's TARDIS, the Doctor could do something to help...
Without warning, she felt strong hands seize her upper arms in a bruising, vice-like grip. Her eyes snapped open, instinctively beginning to struggle, immediately alarmed that Odyne had returned and resumed her zombie-like control of the Master.
But then she realised that the brown eyes looking into hers were intent and focussed, fully alert and aware.
"Ana..." he said, his voice hoarse from disuse, but unmistakeably his own.
"You're back!" she whispered in sheer, overwhelming relief. "Oh stars, you're really back!"
The Master did not reply. Instead, he slid one hand behind her neck to tangle ruthlessly in her hair, while his mouth came down on hers in a kiss which was both hungry and persuasive. Tejana shivered, her lips softening involuntarily under his, the slow, familiar heat instantly beginning to sear through her body. In that moment she knew that whatever had been born between them in The Matrix was still very much alive. Insane though it was, beyond any explanation or justification, kissing the Master was like coming in out of the cold, like being welcomed home to the place she had forever been seeking. As before, his touch drove every rational thought from her mind as she wound her arms around his neck, wanting more, needing more...
Suddenly, it was over. The Master pulled savagely away from her, his hands clutching at his head with a guttural groan of pain. Fear tore at her as she watched him stumble to his feet and begin to back away.
"Koschei? What is it? What's wrong?"
Oh gods, had she pushed too hard while inside his mind, done something wrong, damaged him somehow?
He was shaking his head, over and over, as though trying to dislodge something unfamiliar, something alien.
"There's only silence!" he rasped incredulously. "In my head! I can't hear anything. Where are the drums? Where are they, Ana? WHERE ARE THE DRUMS?"
Tejana stared at him in shock, suddenly understanding. The drums had been a part of his life since he was eight years old, forever pounding out the incessant four-beat rhythm, never giving him peace. He had never heard silence before, he had no memory or even comprehension of what it meant. The unaccustomed feeling must be almost more painful for him than the drums themselves – at least he had been used to those!
"Rassilon's dead, Koschei," she said gently. "Don't you remember? Gallifrey, the Time Lords, all of it, all gone...the signal has been cancelled. There are no more drums."
"No more drums," he murmured, as though trying to convince himself that it was real. Then he threw his arms wide in a helpless gesture and began to laugh wildly, the insane merriment edged with anguish. "No more drums! So what exactly am I supposed to do now?"
"Whatever you want," she answered softly. "It's your choice now."
He looked uncertainly down at his hands, flexing his fingers, as if expecting to see the blue-white energy sparkling and dancing there. "No more lightning bolts either."
"Three Eternals found you...the Dark Triumvirate...they healed you with nanogene technology," she explained. "You're not seeping life energy any more. They made your body whole again."
He grimaced wryly. "I'm gonna miss those." His eyes flicked back to lock with hers and his expression hardened, his face tight with bitterness. "You left me. You disappeared back to Earth and left me to die."
Tejana rose unsteadily to her feet and stood facing him, meeting his accusing gaze without flinching. "No, I didn't. As soon as Rassilon died, the vortex manipulator dragged me back through the Time Vortex. I tried to grab your hand, to take you with me, but I couldn't hold on to you and I lost you. The Time Lock had wiped all record of the coordinates – I couldn't get back. I had no idea if you were alive or dead. If I'd had a choice, I would never, ever have left you."
The Master glared at her silently for a moment, clearly trying to decide if she was telling him the truth. Then he tilted his head, as though listening to something.
"Rassilon's TARDIS!" he muttered. Abruptly, he seized her hand and began pulling her towards the crystal pillar which concealed the ancient time machine. "You can make it up to me later. Right now, we're getting out of here, before that bitch Odyne comes back."
Automatically, Tejana resisted, digging her heels in and pulling back in the other direction. "No, we can't leave! We have to stop them, before they destroy everything. The Doctor has a plan...he needs us, both of us!"
"The Doctor!" he exclaimed harshly.
Mindful of the possibility of listening ears, Tejana used the last bit of psychic energy she had left and opened the mental gate between them, allowing him to see all the Eternals had done, the prophecy made by the Cult of Saxon and the Doctor's interpretation of it.
The Master's eyes widened as he absorbed it all, instantly understanding how dangerous the Doctor's plan really was. Then his expression darkened with anger and his hands grasped her wrists cruelly, holding them tightly together in front of her.
"Ohhhh, I get it!" he growled, pulling her close to him, his lower lip curled in scorn. "Now I see. So that's what this little rescue mission was about all along. The Doctor needs me for his big plan to save the Universe. So who should come to get me but Daddy's little girl, doing just what she's told, as usual!"
"That's not true!" she gritted out, unwilling to show how much his iron grip was hurting her. "I would have come back for you anyway."
"Oh yeah?" he sneered. "And I suppose you're going to tell me your oh-so-handsome Captain Freak isn't one of your band of Merry Men?"
"Yes, Jack's here – he was the one who discovered the Eternals were draining the Rift in the first place. What's that got to do with anything?" she snapped fiercely. "We have to stop them. They've been in your head, you know what they're like. If the Doctor's plan doesn't work, they're going to kill millions and millions of people!"
"Tough!" the Master spat furiously. "Why should I care what happens to this loathsome little planet?"
With that, he gave a violent twist and flung her wrists aside in a gesture of complete contempt. Unprepared, Tejana lost her footing on the smooth quartz floor and fell heavily to the ground, her legs crumpling painfully under her.
"I think I've put myself on the line more than enough lately for you and Daddy dearest!" he snarled, standing menacingly over her. "This time it really is my turn! I have a newly-healed, strong body, a TARDIS of my own and the damn drums have finally stopped. As you said, I can do whatever I want! And what I want is to leave, right now. You and the Doctor are on your own, so good luck with that!"
He turned and strode swiftly away, heading towards Rassilon's TARDIS.
"No!" Tejana cried. "Koschei, wait! Please, you have to listen..."
He paused for a brief moment and looked back over his shoulder at her, his face implacable with rejection.
"My name...is the Master!" he said coldly.
Then he disappeared inside the TARDIS. Exhausted and heartsick, she watched the time machine de-materialise, leaving her alone in the room. Unconsciously, her hand slid around her right ankle, covering the place scarred with his hand-print in an almost comforting gesture as she fought back the scalding tears.
Jack had been right all along. The Master had never cared for anybody or anything except himself. Why had she ever thought it might end any differently? Why did she even feel so betrayed? He was the Master, this was what he did.
Sudden rage welled up in her throat.
"Damn you!" she screamed at the empty place where the TARDIS had been. "Damn you to hell, you selfish bastard!"
Determinedly, she forced herself to climb to her feet. She had already wasted too many precious tears on the Master this past year – no more. She had gone back for him and now her debt was paid. She owed him nothing. They didn't need him to defeat the Eternals. The Doctor would figure something out, he always did.
And as for Tejana, she definitely didn't need him for anything at all – not now and not ever!
"Right then. The thing about Huon Particles is that they attract each other," the Doctor instructed his two companions. "So, if my theory is correct – and my theories usually are – if, on my signal, you open the Heart of the TARDIS, using this lever, the particles should flow out and be immediately drawn to the only other cache of Huon particles available."
"Time Lord DNA," Jack nodded.
"Exactly. So, the three of us become infused with Huon energy and absorb the Eternals through into the Void," the Doctor said. "Then comes the tricky part."
"Oh, then comes the tricky part!" Amy interjected sarcastically. "Like it wasn't tricky already."
The Doctor gave her a repressive look and then continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Once the Eternals are gone, you'll need to immediately reverse the flow of particles back into the Heart of the TARDIS by pulling this other lever."
"That doesn't sound too difficult," Jack shrugged.
"It's not. The difficult part is ensuring you leave it in the reverse position for thirty seconds only, no more and no less. That should be long enough for the particles to be reabsorbed harmlessly back into the TARDIS."
"What happens if he leaves it too long?" Amy asked, a frown furrowing her forehead.
"The TARDIS will continue to attract the particles until there are none left," the Doctor answered grimly. "Including the ones naturally entwined in our DNA. Our molecular structure would unravel and collapse. Not the most pleasant way to die."
Amy shuddered, his words conjuring up a host of unwelcome images in her fertile imagination.
"So, after exactly thirty seconds, you need to depress both levers simultaneously, which will close the Heart of the TARDIS and return everything to normal, including us, all being well," the Doctor finished cheerfully.
"What's to stop the Eternals escaping?" Jack inquired. "They seem to materialise and de-materialise whenever they feel like it."
"Huon particles are so powerful, they nullify all other localised forms of energy. That's one of the reasons the Time Lords destroyed them all in the first place. Once the particles begin diffusing, the Eternals will lose the ability to de-materialise," the Doctor replied. "Now, one last, very, very absolutely totally important thing! Do not, whatever you do, either of you, go down under the TARDIS console while the Heart is open. There will be no looking into the Time Vortex, is that understood? Things are already serious enough without having another Bad Wolf to deal with today on top of everything else."
"Amen to that!" Jack said fervently, remembering back to the day Rose had inadvertently made him an immortal while possessed by the Bad Wolf entity.
"What's a Bad Wolf?" Amy asked in a confused voice.
Jack shook his head emphatically. "You don't want to know. Take it from me, just do what he says and don't look into the Heart."
Suddenly, the outer doors opened and Tejana appeared, her delicate features etched with weariness. Jack leapt down the stairs and threw his arm around her, catching her as her balance wavered. Gratefully, she buried her face in the rough, familiar material of the shoulder of his great-coat, as though absorbing new strength from his solid bulk. Like the Doctor, she had once found it very unsettling to be around Jack after his reincarnation as an immortal. As a fixed point in time, he was an acute anathema to any time-sensitive being. Nowadays, she scarcely noticed it. He was just...Jack...forever and always comfortingly the same.
"Are you all right?" he demanded urgently. "What happened?"
She nodded tiredly. "I'm fine. I've just got a bit of a headache, thanks to a little tussle with Odyne."
Unstrapping the vortex manipulator from her wrist, she handed it back to him with a small, grateful smile. The Doctor came towards her, studying her closely, his sharp eyes noting the dried tears which streaked her face. "Where's the Master?"
Her mouth tightened into a thin line. "He's not coming. He left in Rassilon's TARDIS - had something better to do, apparently."
"Gee, what a surprise!" Jack growled.
The Doctor's face clouded with disappointment tinged with sadness. "I suppose it was always on the cards. Although, I thought he might realise we need to stop them now, before they become too powerful. Otherwise nowhere in the Universe will be safe, especially for Time Lords. After what happened with Rassilon, I hoped he might..."
"Might what, Doctor?" Jack asked sarcastically. "That he might have changed? Oh yeah, they'll be serving ice-cream in hell on that day!"
"What do we do now?" Amy said worriedly. "Doctor, you said we needed him. Will the plan still work?"
"The plan still stands!" Tejana retorted. "We can do it without him, just with two Time Lords instead of three."
"Not 'we'," the Doctor replied bleakly. "Me. Just me."
His daughter looked at him incredulously. "What?"
"Tejana, you can barely stand up. You're staying in the TARDIS with Jack and Amy. The plan was hazardous enough even with the Master. Without him...I won't put you at risk as well. If I fail, you and Jack and the rest of Torchwood will need to do the best you can to safeguard the Earth."
"Are you telling me you intend to try to absorb enough Huon particles to transfer three Eternals into the Void by yourself?" she asked, her voice dangerously even.
"They won't even see me coming," the Doctor answered with a crooked smile. "The Oncoming Storm, remember?"
That was the last straw. Tejana lost her temper. Bloody pig-headed, autocratic, egotistical Time Lords, she had totally, absolutely and completely had enough of them for one day, both of them!
Moving away from Jack's encircling arm, she stood toe-to-toe with her father, looking up into his face with eyes blazing with anger and pride. "I...am...the last Time Lady of Gallifrey!" she said vehemently. "If you think, for one minute, that I am going to let you go out there by yourself, you had better damn well think again!"
For a moment suspended in time they stood, locked in a silent battle of wills. Tejana refused to back down. One thing she had definitely inherited from her father was his innate and infinite stubbornness. Finally, grudgingly, the Doctor capitulated.
"All right, you win," he said reluctantly. "We'll do it together. But I want it on the record that it's against my better judgement! Come on then, let's go over it all one more time."
Moving quickly now, the Doctor and Tejana double-checked all the jury-rigging of the TARDIS systems and then went through all the stages of the plan with Jack and Amy again. At last they were ready.
"OK," the Doctor said, running his hands through his floppy hair. "Time for the solid organic waste to collide with the rotational air circulation device."
Amy looked at him in confusion. "Huh?"
Jack gave a snort of laughter. "He means it's time for the shit to hit the fan."
Amy stepped forward and enveloped the Doctor in a tight, fierce hug.
"You're an idiot!" she told him, her voice cracked with emotion. "You just make sure you come back safely to me, all right?"
Her gaze flicked over to Tejana. "Both of you!"
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Jack pulled Tejana back into his arms and kissed her thoroughly, leaving her indignantly gasping for air. Then he turned to the Doctor, who put his hands up defensively.
"Oh no you don't!"
Jack grinned. "I know, I know...not without buying you a drink first!"
Then his face sobered and he snapped another martial salute. "Good luck, Sir!"
"And to you, Captain," the Doctor nodded. "Remember, whatever happens, neither of you are to leave the TARDIS under any circumstances. If the worst comes to the worst, the TARDIS emergency program will return you both to the Hub."
He turned to his daughter. "Ready?"
"Yes."
He hesitated for a moment, then put his hands on her shoulders, looking intently into her face. "You know, my predecessor's not the only one to love you and feel proud of you," he said quietly. "I do too."
Tejana's eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she returned his gaze. She knew that there was every chance that they were not coming back from this. In this final extremity, for the first time since his regeneration, she realised at last that the shadow of Ten no longer stood between them.
"I know," she whispered. "Right back at you."
"Geronimo, then?" he asked with a smile.
"Geronimo!" she agreed.
And together they walked outside to face the unknown.