The End of Time (1), part 2

After their unexpected meeting with Wilf, the Time Lords said there goodbye's and left to continue their search for the Master, returning back to the docklands where they sensed him the most clearly still. Night had fallen as they walked through the more abounded area of the docklands, where there was plenty of places for the Master to hide in old, practically derelict buildings and warehouses.

The Doctor climbed a pile of stone, looking around the area from the advantage point as the Hatter closed her eyes, focusing hard, and inhaling the cool air. It was getting harder and harder to pick up the Master's scent, the more time he spent wondering around, burning up his own life force, the weaker his scent became, which was proving to work in his favour. Well, not so much the part where he was slowly dying, but the Time Lady suspected that he was already making plans to fix that little issue.

"Anything?" the Doctor called down to her, frowning in concentration as his eyes continued to roam around the area.

She sighed and opened her eyes, "It's getting harder to tell," she replied grimly, shaking her head, "I thought I sensed something, just for a second, and then it faded".

He cast one last look around before making his way back down the pile of stone, sending little pebbles and dirt scattering as he joined her, "It's something, at least," he remarked, glancing at her, "Could you sense where it came from?"

The Time Lady titled her head, scrunching up her face in concentration, trying to recall what direction the pull on her senses had been strongest, "I think…" she began slowly, "It came from over there," her face relaxed and she pointed over in the general direction of an abounded warehouse, only a short distance away from them, "But it was very weak," she reminded him, not wanting him to get his hope's up in case she was wrong, "Hardly noticeable, really".

He took her hand, giving her slightly worried look, "If he is in there, are you going to be okay?"

"Don't worry about me, sweetheart," she smiled reassuringly at him, giving his hand a squeeze, "The main focusing is dealing with the Master, my own discomfort or feelings can come later".

"You do realise that's he's going to be able to sense the shift in our relationship".

"Yes, but I hardly expect that he will be displeased that we didn't invite him to our wedding. I mean, can you imagine what that would have been like? He probably would have killed half our guests, tried to steal the TARDIS, and either kidnapped me or tried to kill us both".

The Doctor gave her a look, "You know what I mean, Hatter," he said sternly, taking a deep breath, "He'll go out of his way to hurt you just to get to me, or vice versa".

The Hatter shrugged, "It's hardly any different from before," she reasoned, giving him a small, comforting smile when he opened his mouth to argue, "Sweetheart, the Master doesn't scare me, he never has," she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, her thumb rubbing gently across his cheek bone, "It's his action that cause me the most concern, and if he wants to try using either one of us to get to the other, then he'll be in for a fight".

That didn't seem to convince the Doctor to much, but he did give her a very small smile, knowing that she was just trying to comfort him, and turned his head to kiss the palm her hand, making her laugh.

"I almost feel sorry for him if he try's anything," he commented lightly as she removed her hand from his cheek, but the lightness in his tone quickly vanished, "Ready?" he asked, turning serious.

She meet his eyes, also turning serious, "Of course, sweetheart," she nodded, her voice strong, but she couldn't help clutching his hand a little tighter.

They began to make their way over towards the warehouse, forcing themselves to remain emotionless as they stepped inside, doing their best to avoid tripping over anything as they made their way through the darkened space, until they found him, the Master.

He had his back to them as he crouched, holding something in his hands to his face as they watched him, but within moments his head snapped up, apparently realising their presences. He dropped whatever it was and stood calmly, before turning to look at them, his face almost as blank of emotions as theirs. The Doctor and the Hatter eyed him carefully as they began to slowly walk towards him.

The Master looked down at his left hand, energy crackled around it before glancing to his right hand, more energy crackled, and he clutched them into fists. He shot a beam of energy at the Hatter, who forced herself not to flinch is it shot past her, hitting the ground and flames erupted, just as he sent another beam towards the Doctor, narrowly missing him, too. He rubbed his hands together, trying to generate even more energy as they continued walking towards him, smirking at them as he threw out his hands, and hit the Doctor right in the middle of his chest.

"No!" the Hatter shouted, and shoved the Doctor out of the way, sending him to the dusty ground, panting for breath as he looked up at her, anguished as she cried out in pain, taking the full force of the energy, her hat toppling off. She tried to fight against it, but the pain and force was too much, and she collapsed to her knees as the Master, seeming surprised, dropped his arms, cutting the beam off.

"Hatter!" the Doctor called frantically, ignoring the burning pain that was still in his chest as he threw himself forwards, and grabbed her before she could fully fall as she panted, her eyes watering from the pain. He held her close to his chest, muttering soothing words in her ear as he kissed her hair, "Shh, its okay…"

The Master stepped over to them, eyeing them both with disgust as he crouched in front of them, "You two have been busy, haven't you?" he remarked after a moment, the Doctor threw him a furious glare, "What's wrong, did you think she wouldn't be so keen on marrying you again if either of you regenerated, so you decided to make sure that wouldn't be an issue?" he scoffed, shaking his head.

"Oh, shut up," the Hatter groaned heavily, struggling to pull herself up right, even with the Doctor's help she was still forced to lean against his shoulder, "You have hardly any right to talk about marriage when you failed so miserably with your own".

He cast her a dark look, "You would have run away, too, if you had to be married to that woman".

Anger flared in the Time Lady's eyes as she glared coldly back at him, "That woman was my sister," she reminded him angrily, "And I won't have you talking about her like that".

"That's rich coming from the woman she hated".

"Regardless, she was my sister, and I will not listen to you disrespect her memory. You did that more than enough during your marriage".

The Master simply laughed at her, as if what she had said was one big joke, casting his eyes around them, "I had estates," he began suddenly, looking back to them, "Do you remember my Father's land back home?" he raised his eyebrows at the Doctor, "Pastures of red grass, stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition…" he smiled almost fondly at the memory, his eyes still on the Doctor, "We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky…" he sighed, remembering all the times before they entered the Academy, even before the Hatter came along, before turning dark again as his eyes roamed around the warehouse, "Look at us now".

"All that eloquence," the Doctor shook his head, looking at him sadly, "But how many people have you killed?"

He frowned at him, almost as if he was offended, "I am so hungry".

The Hatter took a deep breath, "That's because your resurrection went wrong," she told him, already having put the pieces together, the state the prison had been left in, his life force slowly draining, and it all added up to one thing, "That energy, that hunger you feel…your body's been ripped apart," she shook her head, looking at him almost sympathetically, "And now you're slowly killing yourself".

"That's human Christmas out there," he exclaimed, gesturing outside, ignoring her, "They eat so much! All that roasted meat, cakes, and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food! Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot…"

"Stop it," the Doctor tried as the Hatter grimaced.

"Sliced…sliced…sliced…!"

"Stop it!"

"It's mine!" his fits clenched together, "It's mine! It's mine to eat and eat and eat…!"

"Enough, please!" the Hatter said loudly over the shouts, feeling slightly ill. They watched as the Master stopped and brought his fists to his head, clutching at it painfully, and the Time Lady took a deep breath, glancing at the Doctor, "We need your help," she began carefully, his head snapped up to look at them, scoffing.

The Doctor nodded, "There's more at work tonight then you and us," he added.

The Master rolled his eyes, giving them a sarcastic look, "Oh, yeah?"

"We've been told something is returning".

"And here I am".

The Hatter shook her head, watching him closely, "No, it's something else, something far bigger than any of us put together".

The Master ignored them, grimacing in pain as he clutched at his head again, "But it hurts," he groaned.

"We were told the end of time…" the Doctor continued.

"It hurts!" he cut across them, looking back at them, "Doctor, Hatter, the noise…" he moved closer to them, pointing to his head, "The noise in my head! One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four!" he hit his knuckles on the side of his head, staring at them, "Stronger than ever before. Can't you hear it?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," they could only shake their heads, apologetically.

"Listen, listen, listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts…there it is…calling to me. Please, listen!" he crawled closer to them, looking at them desperately.

The Doctor and the Hatter shook their heads, hearing nothing, "We can't hear it".

The Time Lady recalled the first and last time she had heard that terrible sound in her head, when she had been a child, and she had tried to help him, but it had been too much. It hurt and frightened her so much that she had practically ran away and hid in her room. Of course, she regretted that to this day, that she hadn't been brave or strong enough to try helping him like she had wanted to. Perhaps that was were so much of the anger he felt towards had first come from, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case, because she certainly felt like she deserved it.

"Listen!" the Master grabbed the Doctor's head, pressing his forehead to his, forcing him to hear it as the Hatter grasped the Doctor's hand, knowing what he was about to experience.

The Doctor gasped and jolted back from him, staring at the other man in horror, smudges of dust coating the side of his face from the other man's finger tips.

"What?" the Master questioned.

"But…" he opened and closed his mouth, his eyes flying the Time Lady, who nodded grimly.

He looked back and forth between the two, growing angry, "What?" he demanded again.

"I heard it," the Doctor breathed, looking back at him, wide eyed as the Master's demeanour changed completely and he stood slowly, "But there's no noise," he shook his head, always having thought that the Hatter had simply misheard, after all, she had only been a child, "There never has been. It's just your insanity," the Master brought his hands to the side of his head, looking overjoyed, "It's…what is it?" he asked, breathing hard, "What's inside your head?"

The Master began laughing, turning almost hysterical, "It's real!" he giggled, clutching his head, "It's real," he looked up and shouted, "It's real!"

Bolts of energy fired from his hands into the ground before him, lifting him up into the sky as the Doctor grabbed the Hatter, trying to gently pull her on to her feet as she winced, the pain in her chest that had faded to a dull ach flaring once more, but she refused to let it hold them back.

Once she was back on her feet, the Doctor wrapped his arm around her as he helped her to half stagger along, looking up at the sky, trying to find the Master. They made it outside, following the sound of his mad laughter when they came to a skidding halt, catching sight of him standing on a pile of stone.

"All these years, you thought I was mad!" he laughed, pointing at the Doctor, before pointing up towards the sky, "King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor, Hatter!" his tone turned demanding, "What is it? What is it? What is it?"

Before either the Doctor or the Hatter could answer, a beam of light fell over the Master from above, and they all looked up to see a spotlight on a helicopter, almost blinding them as the sound of the blades sounded through the air and a wind blew around them. Another beam shot down, this time illumination the Doctor and the Hatter, causing them to stumble back as they tried to look up to see a second helicopter hovering above them. Ropes fell down on either side of the Master as they looked back, just as three men in black slid down them, forcibly grabbing him, and injecting him with something, and he went limp.

"Don't!" the Doctor cried as he and the Hatter ran forwards, but before they could get far, two other people dressed in black began firing at them, purposely hitting the ground at their feet as they were forced to dance backwards out of the line of fire.

They could only watch hopelessly as the Master was hoisted up by the first two men into the helicopter, and out of sight as they ran up a small pile of stone.

"Let him go!" they shouted, when the Doctor was suddenly hit of the back of his head, sending him crashing fast first onto the ground.

The Hatter stumbled, still unsteady on her own feet, and tried to whirl around, when something very hard smacked into the back of her head, and everything faded into darkness…

…

Once the Time Lords had regained consciousness the next morning, they hurried back to the TARDIS, both coughing and spluttering slightly from a night spent with their faces pressed into the dust and dirt of the mound, breathing it in. They materialised outside the Noble's house and quickly stepped out, running over to the driveway, picking up a few of the small stones that covered it, and threw them up at one of the window's upstairs were a lit was on. They had already checked to make sure that Sylvia and Donna were downstairs, meaning that it could only be Wilf.

They watched for a moment until the curtain was pulled back and Wilf peeked out, the Time Lady gesturing for him to come down. He nodded and disappeared out of sight.

"You know, I can still taste that dust in my mouth," the Hatter remarked, sighing as she reached inside her pocket, pulling out her bag of jelly babies, and held it out to the Doctor, "Want one, sweetheart?"

The Doctor glanced down at the bag, the corner of his mouth twitching despite how serious the situation actually was, "You and your sweets," he shook his head fondly and reached inside the bag, grabbing a couple.

She grinned at him, winking as she popped a lolly into her mouth, "Of course".

The front door of the Noble's house opened and Wilf stepped out, wearing a coat, and hurried to meet them, looking worried.

"We lost him," the Doctor quickly turned serious, "We were unconscious".

"He's still on Earth, though," the Hatter added, trying to be a little bit more cheerful, "So that's one good thing, and we can still smell him, but he's too far away".

"Listen, you can't park there!" Wilf exclaimed, pointing at the TARDIS, glancing worriedly back towards his house, "What if Donna sees it?"

The Doctor shook his head, "You're the only one, Wilf," he cut him off, eyeing him carefully, "The only connection I can think of. You're involved, if we could work out how," he took a step closer to him, "Tell us, have you seen anything? I don't know…anything strange, anything odd?"

He hesitated, seeming unsure, "Well, there was a…"

"Anything might help, Wilf," the Time Lady told him gently.

"Well, it was…" he paused again, shaking his head, "No, it's nothing".

"Think, think, think!" the Doctor tried desperately, "Maybe something out of the blue. Something connected to your life. Something…"

"Well, Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book…"

"What book?" the Time Lords asked at once.

Wilf led them around the side of the house, the Time Lords being careful to keep a couple of steps back from the open kitchen doors as the man disappeared inside, returning quickly with a book in his hands, and handed it to them. They looked down at the front cover and found themselves looking at the man from the Ood's prophecy, the one they hadn't recognised, along with the words 'Fighting the Future'.

"His name's Joshua Naismith," Wilf informed them.

The Time Lords exchanged a look, "That's the man," they nodded down at the book, "We were shown him by the Ood".

"By the what?"

"By the Ood," the Doctor repeated.

"What's the Ood?"

"They're just the Ood," he replied, smiling slightly as the Hatter laughed quietly, amused by his answer, "But it's all part of the convergence," he turned serious again, looking up, "Maybe…it may be touching Donna's subconscious," he broke into a wide grin as the Hatter smiled slowly, "Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now," he glanced at Wilf, "The Doctor-Donna".

"Dad, what are you up to?" Sylvia called, stepping outside, and stopping short when she caught sight of the Time Lords, her eyes narrowing, "You!" Wilf avoided her eyes guilty as the Time Lords exchanged looks, "But…get out of here!"

"Ah…Merry Christmas," the Hatter offered with a smile, recalling that the last time they had spoken, a few things were said in anger. She didn't regret saying them, but she didn't exactly want to get into another argument, either.

"Merry Christmas," she nodded to them but she wasn't to be deterred, "But she can't see you!" she exclaimed, gesturing back inside the house, "What if she remembers?"

"Mum, where are those tweezers?" Donna's voice came from inside the house.

"Go!" she hissed, trying to usher them away.

"We're going," the Doctor grabbed the Hatter's hand, both turning.

"Yeah, me too," Wilf added, following after them.

"Oh no, you don't!" Sylvia hurried after them as they walked back around the side of the house, heading back towards the TARDIS, "Dad, I'm warning you…" she tried.

"Bye, see you later!" Wilf called over his shoulder, waving his hand back towards her as they crossed the road.

"Stay right where you are!"

The Doctor pulled out his key and slipped it into the time machine's lock, glancing back at him, "You can't come with us," he told him with a small frown.

Wilf pointed back over to his daughter, "You're not leaving me with her," he argued.

"Dad!"

The Hatter winced, patting him on the shoulder, "Let it never be said that we wouldn't come to a person's cry for help," the Doctor opened the doors and stepped inside, but she paused before entering, glancing wearily back at Wilf, "Ah…but please don't tell her I said that, I've grown fond of this body".

"I wouldn't dare," he assured her, making her smile.

They stepped through into the TARDIS, the Time Lady closing the door behind them before skipping up to the controls to join the Doctor, and helping him to send the TARDIS off into the Time Vortex.

"Naismith," the Doctor remarked, running around the console, and pushing the book into Wilf's hands, "We can track him down…"

The Hatter coughed pointedly, "Sweetheart," she cut across him, stepping over to Wilf, who was looking around the console, stunned, "Are you okay?" she asked him gently, but there was a hint of amusement in her tone, "Don't worry, a lot…actually, pretty much everyone gets thrown by it being bigger on the inside".

The Doctor looked up from the controls, "Do you like it?" he asked him.

Wilf, still staring around, blinked, "I thought it'd be cleaner," he commented.

"Cleaner?" the Doctor repeated, pointing a finger across at him, sounding offended, "I could take you home right now!"

The Time Lady shook her head, "Oh, don't start," she rolled her eyes slightly, casting a look around the console, "I have to admit, it's not exactly my taste, either. It's a bit dark for me, I like warm lighting, and space, too".

"Oi!" he turned in her direction, looking even more upset, "You never said before!"

"Well, you never asked," she replied, shrugging as she focused back on the controls.

Wilf frowned slightly, "Listen, Doctor, Hatter, if this is a time machine," he began, gesturing around the room, "That man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?"

"Doesn't work that way," the blonde shook her head, "There's very important rules about time you must follow, and one of the very basic ones is that we can't go back inside your own time line".

The Doctor nodded, "We have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus," he added, glancing at him, "Understand?"

"Not a word".

The Hatter laughed as the Doctor smiled, holding out his hand for him to shake, "Welcome aboard".

"Thank you," he took the offered hand, shaking it.

The Time Lords returned to piloting the TARDIS, materialising in a stables on the Naismith property, opening the doors, and stepped out.

Wilf gasped, looking around in amazement, "We've moved!" he exclaimed, "We've really moved!"

The Hatter cast him a concerned look, "I know you won't agree, but you really ought to stay in the TARDIS," she told him, "I would hate for the Master to try using you…"

"Not bloody luckily!" he gave her a look as if she was insane, and she smiled slightly. Ah, that's were Donna got it.

"And don't swear," the Doctor scolded lightly before pausing, "Hold on," he turned back to the TARDIS, grabbing his key, and pointed it at the time machine, making it vanish.

"Ooh, good idea," the Time Lady nodded, smiling brightly at him as he looked slightly smug, slipping the key back inside his pocket, "We wouldn't want the Master to get his hands on it again," she glanced at Wilf, noticing the confused look, "It's just hidden a second out of sync".

They moved outside the stables and into a yard, running along the side of a brick building, ducking out of sight of windows as they did so, the Time Lords keeping a sharp eye out for anyone. They stepped through an archway before quickly hurrying back around the corner of the building, just as two armed guards marched past.

"That book said he's a billionaire," Wilf informed them as the Doctor reached inside his pocket, "He's got his own private army".

"Typical," the Hatter remarked, shaking her head, "Why is it that human's always feel the need to get their own army's, anyway? Still…I can hardly talk when you consider my family had their own guards. Talk about paranoid".

"I remember one of the guards always tried to search me whenever I came to visit you," the Doctor recalled, frowning as he glanced at her, "He acted as if I was a possible threat to you".

She smiled cheekily at him, titling her head, "Well, you kind of did influence me to break free of my parent's grasp, so I think that would be classed as being a possible threat".

"Yes…but did he really need to try searching me every time he was on guard?"

"Maybe he fancied you," she suggested, laughing at the startled look he sent her, "Oh, come now, even Time Lords could lean the other way," she shrugged, still smiling, "It's just that it was a general thing that physical contact, without good reason, was thought to be a waste of time and improper".

He sniffed, almost smugly as he ran a hand through his hair, "It wouldn't surprise me," he commented, obviously feeling quite pleased with himself once he was over the surprise.

She rolled her eyes, lightly smacking his arm, "Get over yourself and focus, sweetheart," she scolded sternly, "We're here for the Master, remember? You can act smug about someone possibly finding you attractive centuries ago later…preferably when I don't have to listen to your egotistical ramblings".

The Doctor stared at her, looking slightly offended as he mouthed the words 'egotistical ramblings' at Wilf, who simply shrugged back, caught between amusement and confusion. He shook his head and glanced back around the corner to check it was clear.

"Down here," he nodded to Wilf and the Time Lady.

They ran into the archway and over to a small side doorway in the arch, the Doctor flashing his sonic at the lock, and they ducked inside, bending low as Wilf closed the door behind them. They carefully made their way down a darkened tunnel, keeping low to avoid hitting the ceiling as the Hatter was forced to slip her hat off, when they came to a small door, the Doctor using his sonic again to open it. They climbed out carefully to find themselves in what appeared to be a basement, just as they heard something just ahead of them.

"…the man's a miracle," a woman's voice sounded, making them exchange looks, the Time Lords guessing that she could only be referring to the Master, "All the systems are slotting back into place…"

They moved slowly forwards, peeking around the side of another archway, the Time Lords casting looks at a large piece of panelled machine, before refocusing their eyes on where a blonde woman in a lab coat was busy looking at a computer screen, apparently reading the results out to someone over a comm. link

The Hatter smiled as she eyed her carefully, "Shimmer," she whispered in the Doctor's ear, looking slightly amused. They were taught to see through them, or at the very least, depending on how good they were, to be able to detect them as only kids.

"…the shatterthreads have harmonised," the woman continued, sounding almost excited, "The fibre links intensified, and the multiple overshots have triplicated".

"Nice Gate!" the Doctor called, poking his head around the side of the arch as the woman paused, staring at them in surprise.

"Hello," Wilf greeted, sticking his head around the other side of the arch, "Look, sorry…" he added as he noticed the woman's startled look.

"Now, don't get any ideas about calling security," the Hatter waggled a finger at the woman, still smiling as they moved further into the room, "Well…not unless you wish for us to tell them about the Shimmer you're wearing," she added, her tone light and almost playful as she titled her head at her.

The Doctor nodded, "Because I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed," he added, "Or they wouldn't need the Shimmer in the first place".

The woman tried to look confused, "I'm sorry, what's a…Shimmer?" she asked.

He pointed the sonic at the woman, "Shimmer!"

Her appearance flickered before disappearing completely to reveal an alien with green skin and spikes protruding from where her hair should be, and running just along her cheekbones. She sighed heavily and her shoulder's sagged, completely dropping the act.

"Oh, my Lord!" Wilf gasped, pointing at her in amazement and shock, "She's a cactus!"

The Hatter gently lowered his arm as the woman shot him a glare, "Now, now," she said calmly to him, giving his arm a pat, casting the woman a weary look, "There's no need to start fighting…"

"Miss Addams?" a man's voice came over the comm. link, calling a bit more urgently, "Miss Addams?"

The Time Lords stepped closer to the computer screens, the Doctor slipping his glasses on as they examined the readings on the screen.

"He's got it working, but what is it?" the Doctor frowned at the results, glancing at the Hatter, who was busy trying to type, "What's he working on?"

"Give me a moment…" she muttered, her eyes fixed on the screen.

A tall, dark haired man entered, wearing a lab coat, and stared at them, "What are you doing here?" he demanded, alarmed.

Without even looking, the Time Lords called in unison, the Doctor pointing the sonic at him, "Shimmer!"

The Shimmer, just like on Addams, disappeared, revealing the man to be yet another cactus-like green alien, only his spikes seemed to be slightly longer. Addams peered around Wilf, giving the man a look.

"Never mind that," the Hatter shook her head at the man, who looked very alarmed that his disguise had been removed, all the while still typing, "We need to information, and quickly. Exactly what's going on?" she asked, glancing up at him.

"The Master," the Doctor turned to him, growing slightly annoyed when he simply shook his head, "Harold Saxon, Skeletor! Whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?" he pointed up at the ceiling.

The man shrugged, "He's repairing the Gate," he told them, glancing at the Time Lady as the Doctor moved around the room, "But I checked the readings," he continued, seeming confused, "He's done good work. It's operational".

"Yes, but for what, exactly?" the Time Lady sighed, resisting the urge to growl in frustration when she hit a firewall trying to access the Gate's mainframe. The Master had certainly made sure that it wouldn't be easy for them.

"Who are you, though?" the Doctor frowned at them, eyeing them, "We met someone like you. He was brilliant, but he was little and red".

Addams rolled her eyes, looking exasperated, "No, that's a Zocci," she replied.

"We're not Zoccie, we're Vinvocci," the man agreed, seeming just as annoyed, "Completely different".

The Doctor shrugged as the Hatter cast them slightly apologetic looks.

"And the Gate is Vinvocci," Addams went on as the Time Lady cast the computer screen a thoughtful look, thinking quickly, "We're a salvage team," she explained, "We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it. And as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship".

"But what does it do?" the Doctor questioned.

"Well, it mends," the man answered with a shrug as the Time Lady gasped in realisation, "It's as simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better".

"No, there's got to be more," he shook his head, glancing at the Hatter, who was looking even more thoughtful then before as she eyed the equipment around them, "Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal".

Wilf pointed over to the Gate's panels, "So that thing's like a sickbed, yeah?"

"More or less," Addams nodded.

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," the Doctor's head snapped up, casting him a slightly impressed look, before refocusing on the other two aliens, "Why's is so big?"

The Hatter smiled fondly at him as she cast him a look, "You really didn't pay any attention to our medical technology class in school, did you?" she remarked, rolling her eyes towards the end.

He sent her a cheeky grin, "How could I pay attention in class with you sitting beside me?"

"Ah, of course," she laughed slightly, "I sometimes forget just what effect adolescent hormones had, despite raising four of them. Anyway, as for your question," she cleared her throat, getting back onto topic, "If I recall correctly, and mind you I could be mistaken, it has been centuries, but this medical unit doesn't just heal one person at a time, it…" she suddenly trailed off, her eyes widening in horror.

"What?" he asked, growing very alarmed as he hurried to her side, grabbing her hand.

"Oh, we've been so blind," she breathed, meeting his eyes, "It mends entire planets, Doctor!"

"It does what?" he gaped at her.

Addams frowned at them, "It transmits the medical template across the entire population," she told them.

The Time Lords exchanged a quick look and raced out of the room, across the basement, and up to the ground floor, following the sense of the Master as they burst through a door, and into a large control room where the Gate was set up at the back of the room, a large glass dome on the ceiling above the very middle of the room.

"Turn the Gate off right now!" the Time Lords shouted as they ran inside, spotting the Master strapped into a straightjacket.

"At arms!" a man in a black suit ordered, and armed guards all around the room aimed at them.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" they came to a stop, holding their arms out towards the guards, the Doctor attempted to move himself in front of the Time Lady, but regardless, they were covered from all sides, "Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device!" they pointed at the Master.

The Master laughed, "Oh, like that was ever going to happen," he mocked, using the energy to throw the straightjacket off him, releasing himself as he used to the same energy to leap into the air with a roar, coming to land inside the Gate. The Doctor and the Hatter exchanged horrified looks, "Homeless, was I?" he mocked again as he smirked at them, "Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!" he threw out his arms.

"Don't just stand there, deactivate it!" the Hatter shouted, running over to the Naismith's, "You've got to turn it all off, right now!"

No one moved, not even the guards as the Naismith's began shaking their heads, the young woman raising her hand to her forehead, looking pained as the Master laughed. The Hatter's eye flew around the rest of the room, seeing that everyone else, save for herself and the Doctor, were all doing the same thing.

"He's…inside my head…" Mr Naismith breathed, blinking, seeming to be struggling to actually speak.

The Doctor and the Hatter ran closer to the Gate, shouting, "Get out of there!"

The Master glared at them and shot a bolt of energy towards them, causing them to fall backwards onto the floor, flames erupting right where they had stood.

"Doctor, Hatter!" Wilf called, almost fearfully as he stumbled into the room, "There's…there's this face…"

They pulled themselves back up and ran over to him, the Hatter wrapping an arm around him worriedly.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked him quickly, "What can you see?"

"Well, it's him," he replied, blinking as he pointed over to the Master, "I can see…him. I keep seeing his face!"

"There's something wrong," a female news reporter announced over the live TV feed, blinking in the same way that the other's all were, "…it seems to be affecting the President".

The image changed to show the President with his hands covering his face, shaking his head, all the while the Master continued laughing.

The Hatter ran over to one of the computers, trying to shut the Gate down, "Damn!" she cried in frustration, "I can't turn it off!"

"That's because I've locked it," the Master scoffed at her, rolling his eyes, "Idiot".

"Oi! Don't be rude!"

The Doctor turned to Wilf, grabbing his arm, "Wilfred!" he called urgently, lightly shoving him towards a double radiation control unit, made of glass, another man stood inside the second compartment, "Get inside," he pulled the door open, running inside, "Get him out!" he slammed a button, releasing the other man, and Wilf took his spot as the Doctor began fiddling with the controls, "Just need to filter the levels…"

"Oh, I can see again!" Wilf exclaimed after a moment, sounding relieved, "He's gone!"

"That'll be the radiation shielding," the Time Lady remarked, jogging over to the glass casing.

The Doctor nodded, "Now, press the button, let me out," he instructed Wilf.

"You what?"

"I can't get out until you press the button," he pointed to were a second red button was on Wilf's side, "That button there".

Wilf pressed the button, releasing the Doctor, who grabbed the Hatter's hand, and ran back to the middle of the room, looking at the Master.

"Fifty seconds and counting!" the Master announced.

"To what?"

He laughed at him, "Ooh, you're going to love this!"

The Doctor and the Hatter frantically ran around the room, desperately trying to stop whatever he was doing as they tried breaking through the locks on the controls, but nothing they did worked.

"What is it, hypnotism?" the Doctor questioned, giving up on the controls, and moving closer towards the Gate, "Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

The Hatter shook her head slowly, casting her eyes around at all the people, "No…that seems too simple," she frowned, moving to join the Doctor, and looking at the Master, "He wouldn't need the Gate to do that. This is something much, much bigger, isn't it?"

The Master laughed again, pointing towards her, "Good, Hatter," he smirked as he glanced at the Doctor, "No, no, no. They're not going to think like me, they're going to become me!" he held out his arms, "And…zero!"

A wave of bright blue energy shot out of the Gate and the Time Lords exchanged looks, glancing to the Master as his head began spinning rapidly. They looked to the others in the room to see everyone else, save for Wilf, who was holding something, head's all spinning, while they could only watch on in horror.

"No!" the Time Lady shouted, whirling around to look at the Master with wide eyes.

The Doctor's head snapped over to his, holding the Hatter's hand even tighter, "You can't have!" he gasped.

"What is it?" Wilf asked, holding what appeared to be a phone to his ear, "Donna?" he called over it, before looking over to the Time Lords, "Doctor, Hatter!" he shouted desperately, catching their attention, "She's starting to remember!" everyone's heads stopped spinning and they almost seemed to collapse, covering their faces, "What is it?" he demanded angrily, glaring at the Master, "What have you done, you monster?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the Master glanced innocently at him, "Are you talking to me?"

"Or to me?" Naismith/Master straightened, looking exactly like the Master, only in different clothing, smirking.

"Or to me?" Naismith daughter/Master raised his eyebrows, the Doctor and the Hatter stared.

"Or to me?" another clone smiled broadly.

"Or to us?" three guards straightened and opened there helmet visors, revealing their faces.

"Breaking news," the news reporter/Master announced over the TV, grinning at the Doctor and the Hatter through the screen, "I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!"

The image changed to show the President/Master, "I'm the President," he held out his arms, "President of the United States. Look at me!" the audience before him cheered, all looking like the Master, some even standing up and clapping, "Ooh, financial solution," he paused, shaking his head, "Deleted!"

The original Master stepped out of the Gate and walked across the floor, coming to stand before his copies, "The human race was always your favourite, Doctor and Hatter," he began, glancing across to them as they could only stare at him, completely horrified, "But now, there is no human race," he grinned and held out his arms, "There is only the Master race!"

They all began laughing madly, every single copy of the Master all over the world joining him as the Hatter swallowed thickly.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she muttered, closing her eyes tightly.

Next chapter, the Doctor considers what might have happened had he never meet the Hatter, our resident Time Lady gets distracted by hats, and a laser pen, anyone? Two more chapters to go, and I can tell you that writing the last few scenes of Ten was so sad. I just kept think that this is going to be the last time (save for the 50th special), that we'll have Ten. Still, I can't wait for us to see how the Hatter reacts to Eleven. Tell me what you thought, please review :)

Guest reviews:

Guest: Who says that there isn't a War Hatter? I've mentioned before that during the Time War she had short brown hair, but yet her Eighth regeneration had long brown hair, so did she simply cut it to save time, or…what? Well, I'm not going to say for certain, I guess you'll just have to wait and see, but I will say that the Hatter didn't fight. She's never been a solider, but she was in a very, very bad place after her children's deaths, and as a result did thing's she would never otherwise have done. Thanks for the review :)

Guest: If we did get a female Doctor, then yes, we would get a male Hatter. I don't think I could resist using someone like Andrew-Lee Potts, or some else who has played the Mad Hatter. It would just be to perfect not to. Thanks for the review :)

Guest: Thank you for pointing that out to me, I'll go back and tweak it a little :)