Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who

A/N: I'm a bit worried that this arc isn't as popular as 'The Doctor's Wife AU', which is a shame, because I really hoped people would like this story too. This story, and 'Connection' both only have reviews from two people. I don't mind so much about reviews, I know people often don't feel like writing them. What bothers me is that 'Connection' only has 3 favourites and this story only has 1, whereas 'TDWAU' has 32. If you like TDWAU that's great, I appreciate it. I would appreciate some love for this series even more.

Then there's the matter of the poll to decide if Anthony will get a title. Someone voted 100 times, or so it seems, for him having a title. So thank you, anonymous voter, for your enthusiastic contribution. I plan to reveal Anthony's title when Anthony himself reveals it in the story, so I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a little longer, sorry!

A Second Chance

Chapter XI

"Whilst I'm here, I…well, I want to…" the Doctor began hesitantly, but of course Anna could read him like an open book. "You want to speak to the Master. Go ahead, I really don't mind. He's your…I don't want to say 'problem'" she admitted, and the Doctor chuckled. "I'll come back later. Be careful" she warned him, giving him a peck on the lips. Then she turned and jogged down the road, hoping to catch up with Andred.

The Doctor was escorted by a guard to the Master's cell. Jenny had pulled strings to provide him with a better furnished cell away from the other prisoners – though to be fair, the colony was still so small, and Jenny's guards so diligent, that there really weren't too many prisoners there at all. The Master's cell had a lot of amenities; except for a door. Instead, a force-field was all that separated the Master from the outside world.

The guard cut the force-field off and gestured for the Doctor to step through quickly. The Master didn't even look up from the book he was perusing. The Doctor waited patiently; it wasn't long before the Master threw the book and stood up in agitation. "What do you want?" he demanded. "A simple life…what do you want?" inquired the Doctor. The Master scoffed. "I'd think it was obvious. I want to get off this godforsaken planet, or better yet, conquer it and make everyone my loyal slaves".

"I see. So why haven't you?" the Doctor questioned with a raised eyebrow. The Master frowned at him, and he hastened to elaborate. "Not that I want you to, of course. I'd like to think your conquering days were behind you, but you must have had numerous opportunities to escape Messaline by now. What's keeping you here?"

With a groan, the Master dropped into a nearby chair. "Did you come here just to ask me inane questions?" he wondered rhetorically. The Doctor shrugged. There was silence for a while, as the Master fidgeted and the Doctor stood waiting. At last his former enemy groaned in frustration and cried "I don't know, okay! You're right, as usual, I could escape but I'm not. Why? Do you have any idea how frustrating it is, to have no idea what to do next because you can't go back? How it feels to look at yourself in the mirror and not know who you are?" he demanded.

The Doctor looked at him sadly. "More than you realise. That's precisely how I felt during the War, and after" he admitted. With the mention of that time both of them grew silent and introspective; the Doctor lowered himself into a seat, wincing a little. Moving about wasn't as easy to do nowadays as it used to be. It was funny really. His first incarnation had dreaded the thought of regenerating too young, thought that no-one would take him seriously. How ironic that his thirteenth body was the youngest appearing of them all.

Sometimes the Doctor felt like he wouldn't have been grateful for an entire new regeneration cycle if it weren't for Anna, Hope and Danny. He would have been quite content with just the three of them, but then his daughter had brought back even more. Yes, they were created using progenitors, effectively clones of their originals (except for Elysian and the Master, of course) but in mind and spirit they were just like the Time Lords and Ladies he had once known.

Surprisingly, it was the Master who first broke the silence. "Do you still remember…before? Not the War, but everything. Before everything went wrong" he asked. "I can remember anything from my past, if I want to. All of it is stored away in my head; normally I keep it locked but I suppose, just this once, I can humour you" the Doctor replied with a long-suffering sigh and an indulgent smirk. The Master scowled slightly. "Very funny, Theta".

"Thank you, Koschei" the Doctor replied without a hint of irony. The Master flinched. "Don't. Don't call me that" he instructed, only serving to pique the Doctor's curiosity. "Can I ask why not?" he inquired, and the Master groaned. "You are far too curious for your own good. I just don't want to be called by that name, okay? It's not who I am anymore" he explained impatiently. The Doctor raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Very well; perhaps I ought to leave" he suggested, starting to rise.

The Master held out a hand almost involuntarily, and the Doctor paused. "Wait! I mean, what's the rush? We've barely talked together" he said with forced casualness. The Doctor slowly sat back down and smiled. "Alright, we'll talk. Now then, where were we?"

/

Meanwhile, Anna was strolling towards Huath beside Andred. "How's Leela?" she asked conversationally. Andred jumped slightly, lost in his own thoughts until she'd spoken. "Oh, err, she's well…she wants to form a scouting team, search for a pass through those mountains there. She says that if they find a pass and fertile land on the other side, it would be somewhere for other colonists to settle. Personally, I think she's just hoping there'll be vicious beasts up there for her to take down" he said candidly.

Anna burst out laughing. Andred chuckled a little bit as well. "I did try to tell her that until the colonists arrived here, Messaline was uninhabitable. She said, and I quote, 'just because the creatures you know about can't live here, it doesn't mean no creatures can'. That threw me for a loop, as they say. Sometimes I forget that you don't have to be well read or even civilised to be insightful" he admitted. Anna smiled thoughtfully. "One doesn't have to be an adult either" she commented.

An odd glance from Andred prompted her to elaborate. "Children aren't as experienced as adults, but I think that gives them a bit of an advantage. Take Danny for instance. You wouldn't believe how many problems he's helped the Doctor and I to solve just by pointing out the simplest solution. He's helping Jenny right now, actually. Being her 'little assistant'" Anna explained, smiling fondly.

"I heard that Jenny was leaving. Is that true?" asked Andred. Anna nodded, saying "she wants to travel with the Doctor and I- and Danny, of course. I'd imagine she wants Cline to come too; if that happens, I wouldn't be surprised if her father insisted that they each travel in separate TARDISes. He says he'll stop trying to avoid having grandchildren when Danny is grown up, but something tells me our daughters aren't going to wait that long" she commented. Andred did a double take. "You don't really think they'd…?" he trailed off.

Anna shook her head. "No, not really; they're both far too sensible for that. The Doctor is just very protective" she admitted. Just then Andred realised that the Doctor was not actually with them; he could hardly believe he hadn't noticed it before. Anna saw him look behind them and said "He's back at the prison, if you're wondering. Talking to the Master".

Andred expressed his concern for the Doctor's safety. "Oh, he'll be fine. I have complete faith in him. Of course if he isn't fine then they'll both be in deep trouble" she replied airily. Andred gulped slightly. Anna, when she wanted to be, was extremely intimidating.

/

Damon was just putting the finishing touches on a cake he'd been baking when a knock sounded at the door. "Just a minute!" he called, putting the sponge cake on a stand and washing his hands of crumbs and bits of icing. When he opened the door, Elysian was standing outside, smiling at him. "Hello, Damon" she said shyly, glancing down at the ground. She hadn't known what to wear, so she'd changed into a floral print dress with straps instead of sleeves, because it was quite warm out.

"Oh, hello Lady Elysian" smiled Damon, affecting a small bow. Elysian blushed. "Oh, don't. Call me Eli, please" she insisted. Damon showed her into his house. Once inside she sniffed the air a few times. "It smells delicious. I didn't know you baked" she said to Damon, who scratched the back of his neck rather sheepishly. "It's a, um, hobby. Would you like some tea?" he inquired. She nodded, so he poured two cups, and they sat at the table in a companionable silence for a moment or so.

It wasn't long before the silence became somewhat awkward. Damon searched for some way to make conversation, not wanting to appear dull; he could hardly think of a worse way to host such a beautiful…ahem, high standing woman. "How are you finding work?" he asked in a spurt of inspiration. Elysian, for her part, seemed rather surprised to be addressed. "Oh, it's very interesting. Jenny adopted a system used on Earth, where the general public can suggest ideas for the local government to discuss. Oh, her little brother was there, as her assistant. Such a darling little boy" she smiled.

Then she asked him about his own affairs. "I'm going to Galileo- the village, not the astronomer, heh- um, there's a store there that needs someone to keep inventory. Since I used to be a…well, a record-keeper, I thought I might see if I can get the job" he explained. Elysian looked thoughtful. "Hmm. I'd have thought they had computers and such-like to do that sort of thing" she commented, and Damon realised that she may well be right. "Well, at the very least they'll need someone to keep the computer running, right?" he suggested, trying to keep his hopes up.

Elysian blushed again when she realised her faux-pas. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to imply...I'm sure you'll receive the position. They wouldn't be hiring if they didn't need an actual person, after all" she reasoned. That's true…she's so smart Damon thought a little dazedly. What am I thinking? Of course she's smart, she's a polemicist…and rather cute when she blushes...okay, I'm obviously far too hungry he decided, even though he wasn't really that hungry at all, time to have lunch.

Lunch, to be more precise, was salad and chicken sandwiches. Or rather, meat that had a similar taste and texture to chicken. As they ate, and grew more comfortable in each other's company, Elysian and Damon talked about their lives back on Gallifrey. "I'd only ever heard rumours about the Doctor, I think I hardly believed some of them" Elysian admitted. "I don't believe all of it, and I'm a friend of his!" Damon laughed. Elysian perked up in interest. "Oh?"

He nodded. "I helped him save the universe once" he commented, and Elysians' eyes went wide as saucers. Her lovely periwinkle eyes…what is wrong with me? "Ah, that rather makes it sound more impressive than it actually was. It was all the Doctor, really…I just stood on the sidelines" he admitted, trying to backtrack, but Elysian wasn't having any of it. "Tell me what happened, please" she begged, reaching out to lay her hand on his.

"Um, okay". He gulped. "It all started when somebody stole biodata from the Matrix…" He proceeded to describe how Omega had tried (for the second time, no less) to enter their universe from the one of anti-matter and destroy all of creation. Elysian hung onto his every word. Once he'd finished, Damon suggested that perhaps she would like some cake? "Yes, please" she nodded eagerly. One bite of strawberry sponge cake later and she was smiling blissfully. "This is delicious" she beamed, her words muffled by a mouthful of fluffy baked goodness.

Damon smiled broadly at the compliment. "Thanks. I never thought I was that good, to be honest" he said modestly. Elysian swallowed the last bit of her slice and reached out to cut another one. "I think you are. In fact, if this inventory job doesn't work out, I think you should become a baker" she replied without a hint of irony. For a moment, Damon seriously considered following her advice and quitting a job which – as he reminded himself – he hadn't gotten yet.

They continued to converse long into the afternoon, until Elysian realised the time and thanked Damon for lunch. Just before she left, Elysian kissed Damon on the cheek, and he stood there dumbfounded for a long while after she'd left. Damon decided to pay a visit to Kanpo's retreat; surely the elder Time Lord would be able to show him why he kept acting so…strangely.

The retreat did not close until an hour after second sunset, so Damon knew it would still be open. He entered as quietly as he could, not wanting to disturb the humans and Hath lying on their backs on woven mats, practising deep breathing exercises. Kanpo noticed him on the sidelines straight away, and beckoned for Damon to follow him. Once they were ensconced in a side room, Kanpo smiled benevolently at Damon and asked "What troubles you?"

With a deep breath, Damon began to explain. "My lord Kanpo, I don't know why, but I keep behaving…in a peculiar manner, when Lady Elysian is near me. For some reason, when she looks at me my stomach twists itself in knots, and when she talks to me it's as if I can only hear her voice". Kanpo smiled a knowing, amused smile. "I see. Tell me, what do you think is happening to you?" he asked. Damon frowned in thought. "Well, I…if I didn't know any better, I'd think I was…in love with Lady Elysian" he replied.

"I honestly can't say I blame you, my boy. Elysian is a charming young lady" said Kanpo, and Damon stared at him aghast. "No, I – I can't be! Lady Elysian is, well, a Time Lady. I'm just a Gallifreyan, her status prohibits"- Kanpo raised his hand to cut Damon off. He shook his head at the young man and asked "Do you truly believe status matters in affairs of the hearts? Here on Messaline, we are all equal. Or perhaps, you're worried that Elysian will spurn you, because of your 'status'" he surmised, making air quotes with his fingers.

Damon shifted uncomfortably. "I…err…yes" he admitted. Kanpo nodded. "Does Elysian strike you as the sort of person to judge someone in such a way?" he questioned. When put like that, the idea did seem quite absurd. "No, she wouldn't...but I still don't know how she feels about me. What else can I do except wait and see?" he wondered. With a sigh, Kanpo replied "I dearly wish I could lend you more advice, but I'm afraid you've hit the nail on the head, as they say. There is not much more you can do…except, of course, for telling her how you feel".

/

As the discussion between Damon and Kanpo drew to a close, so too did the conversation between the Doctor and the Master. It ended rather abruptly, in fact, when Danny shouted for his father from the other side of the force-field. "Dad, come on! I wanna go exploring!" The Doctor chuckled and heaved himself to his feet. "Okay, Danny, I'm coming". Satisfied, the boy careened back up the corridor, much to the exasperation of his armed escort.

The Master got to his feet as well, and held out a hand towards the Doctor, who shook it with a surprised smile. He was pleased that they'd finally come to a truce after all these years. "It'll never be the same, you know" said the Master, as if reading his thoughts. "The past is dead and gone". The Doctor nodded as he moved towards the 'door', but he paused just before he stepped out. "I don't expect things to be the same between us, Master. Like you say, the past is gone…I just hope you can move into the future" he said, and then he left.

/

"Goodnight Graham!" one of the Shadow Proclamation scientists said cheerfully. Graham smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes, and replied. "Good night". His voice was more stiff and monotone than normal, but the other man hardly noticed. As soon as he was alone, Graham stiffened, and his chin slumped forward onto his chest. When he raised it again, a Dalek eye-stalk was protruding from his forehead.

From a Dalek space-craft suspended far beyond the reach of the Proclamation base's sensors, instructions were relayed directly into his neural cortex. "I obey" he replied stiffly, before transmitting information he had hacked from the Shadow Proclamation database. In the middle of his transmission, a new anomaly disrupted the sensors, setting alarms off up and down the base. The Daleks ordered Graham to investigate. He discovered that a TARDIS had landed in the West Hangar, taking the form of a police cruiser.

"COMMENCE INVESTIGATION"

"I obey".