Author's Note: I had quite a bit of trouble working out how the Master would react and how best it would sound, so please tell me what you think. :)

Thank you to both AnGeL oF mAdNeSs and madasmonty, who were my willing bounce boards for ideas for this chapter. They are now both considerably flatter, but you all have another chapter to read. XD

And! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. We just broke the 100 review mark! :D

01/03/10 - Now beta-ed by Paisley Skies. Thanks, girl!

The Master smirked, staring down at the Time Lord who had his head buried in the Master's chest. His arms had automatically curled around the Doctor, and he now removed one, patting the Doctor's back as the sobs continued. Rolling his eyes at the man and women who were still pointing the gun and torch at him, he spoke. "Never mind him." He nodded wisely. "He has issues."

The Doctor finally pulled back, his hands still resting on the Master's arms, and sniffed loudly. He was staring at the Master intensely, which the Master really didn't like.

The Master coughed loudly. "Regenerated, huh?" He shook his head. "What? Was me getting rid of your Time Lord problem not good enough?"

This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say, as the Doctor resumed his distraught sobs. "Master... you've always... been..." He hiccupped loudly, and buried his face in the Master's shoulder.

The Master, as nice as it was having the Doctor at his mercy, was fast losing patience. "What are we? Sworn enemies or cuddle buddies?"

The tears suddenly stopped, and the Doctor pulled his head back, as if he'd just figured out what he was doing. He frowned, which simply confused the Master. "You're... you're... you're..."

"What?!" the Master almost shouted, and found it strangely not as comforting as it should have been when the Doctor flinched.

"You're... actually... actually..." The Doctor reached out a hand and prodded the Master's chest. He blinked. "I didn't fall through you."

"You know..." The Master shook his head. He would have put his hands on his hips, but they were still full of crying Time Lord. "Why you could never learn to properly control your regenerations is anyone's guess. It would have been a lot easier to not go loopy afterwards, don't you think?"

The Doctor stared at him, as if he was trying to figure out the Master's words. He then frowned. "You're not dead."

The Master took a deep breath, as that was the only thing stopping him shoving the Doctor into the mud right now. He would have counted to ten but, with past experience, he found the Doctor would often disappear while he was doing that.

"Not last time I checked," he said slowly. "You should know me well enough by now, Doctor... to know that nothing can kill me."

The Doctor scoffed, which annoyed the Master greatly. A little respect couldn't hurt, surely?

But then the Doctor's eyes slightly widened. It honestly looked like the Doctor was scared of him. The Master gave a predatory grin as the Doctor tried to pull away. Man, was he great when he'd just regenerated or what, thought the Master?

The Doctor stopped struggling, eyeing the Master warily. "Prove you're really here."

"Oh, Doctor," the Master chuckled. "There are so many ways I could do that." He put on a thoughtful face. "Don't think you'd approve of most of them though."

He laughed as the Doctor finally managed to pull away, watching as he stumbled backwards, only just managing not fall. This new body of his was definitely different, thought the Master. Just as skinny, but shorter, with longer hair that curled around the base of his neck. He didn't seem comfortable in the oversized suit either.

"You need a haircut," the Master commented.

The Doctor frowned darkly, hands coming up to his neck. "Don't insult my hair."

The Master tutted loudly, sparing a glance at the two humans, still frozen in place. Pathetic, he thought. "Shall we?" He motioned down the path. "Your TARDIS is that way." The Doctor watched him warily as the Master slid out of the Doctor's coat. "Do you want this?"

The Doctor was so confused, that he nodded, taking the coat from the Master and draping it over his left arm before he'd even thought about it.

"Good." The Master set off down the path. The Doctor, after giving a reassuring wave to the man and women, the names of whom he still did not know, followed.

Martha came round slowly, the TARIDS console room gradually coming into focus. It looked flat and 2D looking, and the colours were too bright. She closed her eyes again and groaned. As soon as she had made the noise, the TARDIS's voice echoed through her head once again.

*Martha, my child. Why did you come here?*

"I..." Martha rubbed her head, still feeling groggy. "Jack wanted something..."

*The Captain?*

"Yeah." She pulled herself carefully to her feet, leaning heavily on the guard rail. "Has it gone?"

There was a brief pause.

*Affirmative. Are you strong enough?*

"For what?" Martha asked, looking up the ramp.

*To stop the dark*

The Doctor gritted his teeth as yet another mud rut slowed him down. The Master, having not just regenerated, was walking at a normal pace. Unfortunately, this pace was somewhat fast for the Doctor.

"Slow down!"

The Master stopped, amusement in his eyes. He didn't say anything though; just let the Doctor catch up, then continued at a more sedate pace.

Something roared off to their left. It sounded distinctly inhuman. Grinding to a halt, they both scanned the tree line. The Master looked as if he wanted to investigate but, before he could, the Doctor moved off down the path again. "It's probably nothing," he called over his shoulder. He'd go see whatever it was after he'd recovered from his regeneration. And to do that, he needed the TARDIS.

As he moved off into the shadows of the tree's, the Master followed, eyes glowing molten black.

Author's Note: *claps hands* Cliff-hanger! Don't you just love me? XD

Seriously though, hope you liked this chapter. :)