A/N: Warning, this chapter may give you feels, but not as many as the next chapter. Enjoy! (And don't forget to review!)

One night near in the future, Koschei and Clara Oswin were laying on a blanket underneath the stars of an alien planet. They were looking up at the sky, naming the constellations, when Clara Oswin bit her lip, considering a question that had been on her mind lately.

"Hey Koschei," she said, tilting her head a little so she could see his face.

"Mhm?" he answered.

"You don't talk about your past much. I was just … I was just wondering about it, since I know you've been alive for so long…"

Koschei stilled. This was not a conversation he particularly wanted to have, but he supposed if they were to maintain a healthy relationship, he shouldn't hide his awful past from her. He sighed, glancing over at her.

"You sure you want to do this now?" he asked her gently. They had been having such a nice time, he hardly wanted to spoil it.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes … Should I be worried about the answer to my question?"

He sighed again, sitting up on the blanket. "Yeah, you should be," he said, his voice hard.

She looked concerned, and sat up as well. Taking his hands in hers, she leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you. You can tell me, ok? You can trust me." Clara Oswin smiled at him reassuringly.

He forced a smile and squeezed her hands, glancing down at the ground. "I suppose I should start at the beginning. You already know a little bit of this story. The Doctor and I grew up together on the planet Gallifrey, in the constellation of Kasterborous. We attended the Prydonian Academy together, studying to become Time Lords. In school, we both had nicknames that we went by. Everyone does, before they graduate and claim their title. The Doctor's was Theta Sigma. Mine was Koschei. When I was eight years old, before my schooling began, I was taken to looking into the Untempered Schism, as all Gallifreyan children are. What I saw and heard ... it chilled me. It shook me to my core. Theta, when he looked into it, he ran away. Me, I just stood there for hours, listening to the steady drum beat until finally they took me away. The drum beat … it never left me." He sighed, looking at their hands and noticing that he had begun tapping it out with his thumbs.

Clara Oswin looked down too. "It never left you? So you hear a drum sounding in your head all the live long day?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. Well, I used to. I'll get back to that later. It was pretty unnoticeable while I was at the Academy and for years after, but it was always under the surface. It drove me mad, in a way." He swallowed, shut his eyes for a moment to hide the prickling tears, and stared at their hands. After he's composed himself, he looked back up at Clara Oswin and gave her a small smile. "Anyways, Theta and I were inseparable. We did everything together. Actually," at this, he chuckled. "Some of our friends and professors even thought we were in love."

Clara Oswin raised her eyebrows. "Oh really?"

He laughed. "Yeah, yeah, but we weren't … at least I wasn't anyway. No one can resist my handsome charm," he joked with a wink.

She rolled her eyes. "Go on. Continue your story, sexy space man."

He grinned at her and leaned in to give her a kiss. "Right, anyways … Theta and Koschei. Best friends forever, right? Well, eventually we graduated and took our names. He chose 'the Doctor' because he wanted to help people. I chose … I chose 'the Master.' because I wanted to rule people."

Clara Oswin looked shocked, but she urged him to continue.

"I thought that the Doctor and I would be partners. I planned to get involved with government, and I hoped he would be at my side, smoothing things along. Instead, he got married and started raising a family. I, on the other hand, pursued politics, but I quickly came into disfavor with the leading bodies due to my … my ruthlessness. I wanted efficiency. I didn't really care what others thought or wanted or needed. They kicked me out of the capital city eventually, and I bought a TARDIS and left the planet, promising not to interfere with other planets. That was a blatant lie. I quickly used up my lives trying to take control of and rule various planets in various times … I killed. I killed ruthlessly and I was killed ruthlessly. A Time Lord can generally regenerate twelve times, giving him thirteen different bodies. I'd wasted three of my regenerations due to carelessness at the Academy, and I was on my eleventh body by the time I heard that the Doctor and his granddaughter Susan had stolen their own TARDIS and began exploring the cosmos. I was on my thirteenth body when we met again. He was on this third body. He was stranded on Earth, and I decided to make it my habit to run into him there. We were on opposite sides, but I think we still enjoyed each other's company." He glanced up at Clara Oswin from where he had been staring at his hands, trying to gauge her reaction.

Clara Oswin had tears in her eyes. She was a bit overwhelmed by it all, but she squeezed his hands anyway. "I … I'm not sure what to say. I didn't expect to learn that you've … that you've killed people…"

He swallowed, tears pricking his own eyes. "Yeah. Sometimes I lay awake at night, images and names passing through my mind of all the people I've killed … it's awful. I didn't even know I knew their names until I started regretting it all."

She leaned into kiss him softly. "Obviously, you're a changed man. I still love you. Even after knowing all that."

"Thanks," he said, smiling at her. "But that isn't the end of the story."

She sighed. "No, I suppose it isn't."

"I can do the quick version if you like."

She nodded. "Yeah, do that. At least for now. I can find out more details later."

He thought for a moment, and then continued speaking. "Well, after my thirteenth body was spent, I wasn't ready to die. So, I stole a few bodies along the way, trying to continue my life because I was terrified of death. It worked, and I continued working towards taking mastery of the universe. The Doctor, he foiled a lot of my plans. I still enjoyed fighting with him though. Eventually, I couldn't continue extending my life, and I died. I thought it was for good. However, the bloody Time Lords got into a really big fight with the daleks. So, they resurrected me. Gave me a whole new set of regenerations. I fought for them for a bit, but I was terrified and eventually stole a TARDIS and ran all the way to the end of time, where they couldn't find me. I used special technology to to make myself human. I gave myself false memories and stored my own in a pocket watch. I lived as a human for years. I actually worked for good in my false life. Eventually, though, the Doctor found me, and I inadvertently became curious about my unopened pocket watch. I stole his TARDIS and regenerated into the handsome body I have now. After that, I went to Earth, 21st century. I did unspeakable things, and I became Prime Minister. The Doctor defeated me again, and I died, again. I actually refused to regenerate, which was honestly and idiot move on my part"

Clara Oswin gaped at him. "You certainly have died a lot."

He snorted. "Yeah, yeah I have. Anyways, I got brought back to life by some nice fellas who had sort of formed a cult around me, but Lucy shot me in the middle of it, so I was left with some powers of electricity in my fingertips."

"Whose Lucy?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

He gulped. "Uhm … ex wife."

She actually laughed at this. "Wow."

"Yeah, I know … anyways, I met the Doctor again. This time, we discovered something. Apparently, the Time Lords, in the midst of the Great Time War, had decided to send a signal back through time, into the Untempered Schism, into darling eight year old me in a last ditch effort to save their skins. The drums." He paused for dramatic effect.

"So the drums, the sounds you had been hearing your whole life, they came from the Time Lords?"

"Yup." He sighed. "So, anyways, the signal in my head got amplified, and Gallifrey almost swallowed Earth full. Upon learning the true purpose of the drums, which had given me purpose and drive almost my entire life, I was very, very angry. So, I shot the President Rassilon and saved the Doctor and in the process, got brought back to Gallifrey, which had been sealed into a pocket universe. I was thrown in prison, but eventually the Time Lords began a plan to get out. They didn't particularly like being trapped. Eventually, they figured out a way to send someone out, and they decided to send me out to get the Doctor to save them all." He stopped at these words. This was where Clara came into the story. He took a deep breath, deciding to skip over Clara's influence. For now.

"They sent me out, and I looked for the Doctor. I devised a plan to trap him, because I didn't want Gallifrey to come back. I obviously failed, but along the way I had a lot of time to think. The drums were still present, but they were meaningless. I felt purposeless. I no longer had the drive to conquer and control. I met … someone, and that person helped me see that there was more to life then trying to enforce mastery on the cosmos. Unfortunately, the Time Lords caught on to the fact that I wasn't going to do what they wanted, and they caught me. I was imprisoned again, but eventually they decided they would rather use my advanced intellect than keep it locked up, and so I was released. I was given a job doing sciencey stuff. I planned my escape, because I didn't really want to stay on that bloody planet. Along the way, I made friends with a Gallifreyan healer. I don't know how he did it, but he healed my head. He got rid of the drums, and the electricity thing too. He made me good as new. I have a lot to thank him for." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. "Then, I escaped with the TARDIS. Eventually, I found you, and I think you know the rest."

She nodded softly, soaking it all in. "Wow."

"I know," he said, feeling a little nervous.

Clara Oswin wiped away her tears before pulling Koschei in to embrace him. She kissed his cheek. "I love you. Thank you. Thank you for telling me."

He breathed out softly. "Thanks for still loving me despite it all."