"Oh my God!" Robert cried, pushing the baby out of his lap.

I grabbed it just seconds before it hit the floor. "Robert, be careful! This is our child!"

He shuddered. "That thing?"

I looked him in the eyes with an expression that said, `Is the man I love still in there somewhere?' "Robert...I know all of this might be a shock to you..."

"Dee?" he whimpered. "God...I was blind!"

My heart broke.

The Master just laughed.

My eyes brimmed with tears. "I should have left you blind!" I shouted at Robert. "I put everything at stake for you, risk my life, and this is the thanks I get!"

The baby Dalek wailed.

"Dee," the man stammered, probably thinking up an excuse.

Whatever he had in mind to say, however, it got cut short by another earthquake-like tremor.

"What the hell is that?" Rob cried. "And what is this place? A planetarium?"

"It's a good thing you regained your sight after you came in here," The Master groaned. "The whole bit where they say, `Why, it's so much bigger on the inside!' gets a little tiresome after awhile."

He opened the main door, fired off a few bursts of automatic gunfire, and yanked the door shut.

Being a `shoot first, ask questions later' type of guy, it was only then that The Master checked his computers and pulled up a live video feed of the exterior. The image filled up one wall.

The blue box had been surrounded on all sides by Daleks, both humanoid and pure blood, weapons ready to blast us the moment the door opened again.

"I wanted to have cannons and chain guns added to this machine," The Master muttered as he moved the camera around. "Possibly some murder holes to fire weapons through, but the TARDIS has a mind of its own."

Now, Daleks aren't supposed to show weakness. We're not supposed to fall in love, or even have deep meaningful friendships. Our loyalty, our love, our everything was supposed to be centered on the Dalek army, our friendships, our commitments interchangeable with any other Dalek we encountered.

That didn't stop it from being gut wrenching when I saw Daleks #. # and # lying dead on the cavern floor.

I understand why he did what he felt he had to. In fact, I didn't disagree with it.

That being said, when you live and work alongside someone for decades, you tend to become emotionally attached.

The Master must have noticed my facial expression, for then he asked, "Friends of yours?" in a bemused tone.

I shook my head. "Not anymore."

Despite the casualties, we still had Daleks firing at us, the whole structure quaking with tremors every time a laser blast hit the outer shell.

"How long before they get in here?" I asked him.

The Master smirked. "Quite a while, I imagine. We're actually standing inside another dimension. The exterior is really quite indestructible. I've seen such machines hit by everything ranging from Thompson machine gun ammunition to rocket propelled grenades without receiving so much as a scratch."

He rushed around the console, pushing buttons and activating menus on screens.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"The TARDIS can be unpredictable in where it lands in time and space. A simple local hop, however..."

"Why do you merely want to hop?" I cried. "Why can't we just..leave?"

The Master gave me a withering look that said, `Who are you to question me?'

I clutched the infant to my breast. "Something tells me you're not here by accident, or entertainment, even."

"How very astute," he said in a humorless tone.

"What is it, then?" I asked. "Weapons?"

"Give that lady a cigar," he growled under his breath. "Yes, I may be looking for one."

His face suddenly became very drawn and pale. "Shit!"

"What?" I said.

The Master pointed a shaking finger at the screen. "Muh - muh - muh..."

Outside our vehicle, a team of five human Daleks had set up a large laser cannon on a tripod, the kind of weapon we use to vaporize asteroids the size of small planets.

"There's nothing to worry about, is there?" I asked. "You said your TARDIS can withstand anything..."

The cannon flashed, and a section of the wall collapsed with a thunderous rumble, exposing a jumble of wires, circuitry, insulation and metal framing.

"It appears that your people have discovered something it can't."

He pushed a button, and the TARDIS materialized in a different area of the cave.

Again, The Master popped out the door, firing off rounds.

He pulled the trigger a second time, and the gun clicked empty.

"Do me a favor," he said, throwing the depleted weapon aside. "Go down to Room 11B and bring me the grenades."

"I'm holding a baby," I said.

"I see that. Set the bloody thing down and get the damned grenades!"

I glanced back at Rob, but he was still looking ill and frightened, probably due to the realization about who exactly he had just kissed.

Seconds later, the metal paneling exploded inward, and I could see the stalactites of the surrounding cavern through the gaping hole.

"Jesus!" The Master shouted, whipping through computer menus. Whenever he looked up from the console, he was glaring at me.

"I suspect I know the reason for your defection." He angrily pulled back a lever. "Defect appears to be the operative word! If I were a Dalek, I'd destroy-"

The whole TARDIS shook violently as the laser hit it again.

"Oh my God!" Robert cried. "What's going on?"

"A war," I said. "Did you lose your memory along with your vision?"

He shook his head.

The Master threw a switch. Our vehicle hummed, and everything skewed sideways. The view on the monitors (or what remained of them) displayed a swirling tunnel of colored light.

"Isn't this machine supposed to make a weird grinding sound?" I asked.

"Is a lorry supposed to make a grinding sound when you're shifting gears?" The Master snapped. "The answer is no. The Doctor was just overly fond of shortening the lifespan of his vehicle."

The TARDIS shook with an explosive thud, then all was quiet.

Well, almost. I heard thunder.

In the monitor, I now saw a wooded area amid a hilly countryside, the tree branches swaying violently back and forth in the throes of what could almost be described as a monsoon. Rain sprayed in through the hole my sisters had blown through the exterior.

The Master swore in frustration. "The shielding protects us from the vacuum of space, but can't keep the damn water out. Small wonder the chap never turned to homicide!"

I marched to the door, child clutched in my arms.

"And where do you think you're going, you hybridized freak?"

I reddened in anger. "To safety." I then turned to face Robert. "You should probably come with me. Unless you wish to die."

Robert gave me a suspicious glance, then, with visible reluctance, hurried to my side.

I pulled the doors open, staring through the opening at a dirt path. "Where are we?"

"Erfurt Germany. 1505," The Master muttered. "Something trivial happened here. At any rate, it's perfectly safe. I'd say I'll be sorry to see you leave, but then I'd be lying."

I raised my eyebrow. "I've heard you make a practice of lying."

He coughed, cleared his throat. "Miss...Dalek, that is true. I'll allow you to draw your own conclusions concerning my honesty."

I smirked at him, then gazed out into the rain.

"Do you have an umbrella?" Robert asked.

"I'm very busy," The Master grumped. "Leave now, or you will not get to leave again."

While this discussion had been taking place, I noticed a stocky figure running up the trail with an armload of books, a young man dressed in suit and tie.

No umbrella. He was woefully unprepared for the downpour, shielding himself from the rain by holding his cloak over his head with one arm.

He tripped, fell in a puddle of mud, spilling books and papers everywhere.

He gathered all his books and papers together and got up, gasping and panting with the exertion as he pushed his overweight body further down the trail, closer to me.

"Madam," The Master urged. "This is your last stop. Either leave now or prepare for another confrontation with your old friends!"

I pointed at the man running through the downpour. "Who's that?"

The Master shrugged. "Who cares? Get out!"

A bolt of lightning flashed to the ground between me and the young man, followed by an explosive crack. An inch closer and the stranger would have been dead.

The young man dropped to his knees, folding his hands as he gazed pleadingly into the rain. "Saint Ann help me!"

With a malicious grin, The Master stepped around me, pulling a pistol out of his vest.

He aimed the gun at the kneeling stranger, cocking back the hammer. "I certainly hope she does!"

That was when I noticed the name printed on a muddy piece of paper that had blown through the door.

As far as I could understand from the German, the paper's owner was none other than Martin Luther.