The End of Time (2), part 1

The Master had his guards take the Doctor, the Hatter, and Wilf to an office, where he had the Doctor strapped into a wheelchair in the middle of the room, legs and arms bound tightly, even one strapping his head down, and with a gage placed over his mouth, while Wilf had been tied to a chair directly across the room with rope. The Hatter had been forced into a second chair beside Wilf's, handcuff and bound with thick, heavy chains around her ankles. She winced as the chains dragged on her, but she supposed that she ought to feel grateful that she hadn't been gaged, though, she didn't doubt that the Master wouldn't if she said something he didn't like.

"Now then," the Master grinned as he leaned closer to the Doctor's face, "I've got a planet to run," he turned away from him, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked over to a screen set up on the left wall of the office, "Is everybody ready?"

The Master/Naismith popped up on the screen, "Six billion, seven hundred and twenty seven billion, nine hundred and forty thousand, three hundred, and thirty eight versions of us awaiting orders".

The Master smirked, casting smug looks over to the Doctor, before glancing at the Hatter, who glared back at him.

"This is Washington," the President/Master called, appearing on the screen, "As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defences".

"Unit HQ," the Master/Unit announced next, grinning, "Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir," he tapped his hat.

"And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir," the Master/Chinese General came over, and the original Master turned to Wilf, giving him a wink, who blinked back at him, startled, "With over two point five million soldiers, sir. Present arms!"

The link changed to show an army of Masters standing outside the Forbidden City, all presenting arms in unison.

"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship," the Master smiled in satisfaction, glancing at the Hatter, "Nothing to say, Hatter?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

The Time Lady took a deep breath, still glaring at him, "Oh, I have a number of choice words to say to you," she seethed, almost shaking with anger, struggling to keep herself from shouting, "None of which are very complimentary!"

He simple laughed at her and turned to the Doctor, "What about you, Doctor?" he asked, his tone turning mocking, "What's that?" he walked closer to him, leaning his head towards him, acting almost worried, "Pardon? Sorry?"

"Leave him alone!" the Hatter snapped angrily, raising her voice, "Haven't you done enough?"

"You let him go, you swine!" Wilf called, almost as angry as the Time Lady.

The Master rolled his eyes at them, "Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss," he nodded over to Wilf, "And so is the missus, what a surprise!" he mockingly gasped, shooting the blonde look.

"Yeah?" Wilf glared at him, "Well, I'd be proud if I was!"

The Master put his finger to his lips, moving back into the middle of the room, "Hush, now," he ordered, "Listen to your Master," he began to turn away, when suddenly, a phone began ringing, and his head snapped back to him, his eyes narrowing. He glanced at the Doctor and then to the Hatter, who were both staring at Wilf, before looking back to Wilf, shocked, "But that's…a mobile!" he exclaimed.

Wilf laughed a little awkwardly, "Yeah, it's mine," he admitted, trying to shift in his chair, "Let me turn it off…"

"No, no, no, no, no," he shook his head quickly, holding up a finger to silence him as he stepped closer, "I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And I'm not calling you, so who the hell is that?" he knelt on the floor and began roughly trying to search through Wilf's coat.

"It's nobody," he tried to tell him, "I tell you, it's nothing! It's probably one of them ring-back calls…"

"Ooh, look at this," the Master withdrew a revolver from his pocket and held it up for them all to see, the Doctor and the Hatter frowned at it as he turned back to Wilf, "Good man!" he tossed the gun on the ground, going back to searching, when he finally found the phone. He stood, eyeing the screen, "'Donna,'" he read, glancing at Wilf, "Who's Donna?"

The Hatter's eyes flew from the phone to the Master, fearfully as Wilf attempted to distract him, "She's no one," he told him, shaking his head, but he couldn't hide the fear on his face, "Just leave it…"

The Master ignored him and clicked the phone, answering it, "Gramps, don't hang up," Donna's tearful voice came over, and the Time Lady cringed, wishing she could do something to help her, "You've got to help me. I ran out, but everyone was changing!"

"Who is she?" the Master questioned quietly, looking around the room, "Why didn't she change?"

"Gramps, I can't hear you".

Wilf glanced at the Doctor and the Hatter, "Well, it was this thing the Doctor…did," he began, "They…he did it to her. The Metacrisis".

"Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls," he scoffed, sounding disgusted, "Ugh!" he shook his head.

"Are you there?" Donna asked.

"Find her!" the Master called to the Naismith copy over the TV link, "Trace the call!"

"Trace the call!" the Naismith/Master commanded on his side.

"Are you still there?" Donna came over the phone again, sounding even more panicked, and the Hatter winced, closing her eyes tightly, "Can you hear me?"

The Master clicked the phone and moved closer to Wilf, holding it up to his ear, "Say goodbye to the freak, Granddad," he smirked at him.

"Her names Donna," the Hatter's eyes snapped open and she glared furiously at him, "Don't you dare lay a finger on her!"

"Aww, I'm so afraid," he taunted, rolling his eyes.

"Donna, get out of there!" Wilf shouted desperately into the phone, "Just get out of there! I'm telling you, run!"

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick," the Naismith/Master informed them over the link, "Open the phone lines," he ordered someone on his end, "Everyone on Wessex Lane, red alert".

"What do I do?" Donna asked frantically.

"Run, sweetheart, that's all!" Wilf encouraged quickly, "Run for your life!"

A moment past before she gasped, "There's more them".

"Donna? What's happening? Are you still there?"

"They're everywhere…"

"Oh, come on, Donna," the Hatter breathed, her eyes fixed on the phone pressed to Wilf's ear, "Come on, you brave, brilliant woman. You can do this".

"Look, I'm telling you to run, Donna!" Wilf called to her, glancing at the Hatter, who tried to give him a comforting smile, "Just run, sweetheart, just run!"

"It's not just them…" she breathed, terrified, "I can see these things again…those creatures. Why can I see a giant wasp?"

"Donna, don't think about that. Donna, my love, don't!"

"And it hurts," she cried, "My head! It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!" she screamed in pain and after a moment past, her voice came over again, sounding soft and confused, "What did I…"

The line went dead and the Hatter relaxed back into her chair, closing her eyes.

"Donna?" Wilf asked after a moment of silence, sounding worried, "What was that?" but there was nothing, "Donna?" the Master's head snapped over to the Doctor, throwing a look at the Hatter, "Donna, are you there?" slowly, the Doctor began smiling behind his gage, giving the Master a wink as the Hatter titled her head back, laughing softly, "Donna! Donna! Donna!"

"Oh, you brilliant, woman!" the Time Lady grinned proudly, shaking her head.

The Master stood and stormed over to the Doctor, undoing the gage around his mouth, "That's better," the Doctor smiled broadly at him, "Hello," he raised his eyebrows at him, "But really, did you think we would leave one of our best friends without a defence mechanism?"

"We knew one day something like this might happen," the blonde told him, still smiling as he glanced over to her, "And we needed to make sure that Donna stayed save, living an ordinary human life," she gave him a look, rolling her eyes, "Surly you're not foolish enough to think we wouldn't do everything we possibly can to protect those we love?"

"Doctor, Hatter, what happened?" Wilf looked at them quickly, deeply concerned.

"She's okay," the Time Lady gave him a comforting smile, wishing she could reach out and wrap her arm around him to try soothing him, "I promise, and I always keep my promises. We made it so that she will sleep when she starts remembering too much," she laughed, thinking about how annoyed Donna was probably going to be, "She won't even remember how she got outside".

The Master glared from the Hatter to the Doctor, coming to rest on the Doctor, "Tell me, where's your TARDIS?" he demanded quietly.

"You could be so wonderful," the Doctor remarked, looking at him closely.

"Where is it?"

"You're a genius," he continued, very serious, "You're stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are," the Master titled his head, almost as if he was actually considering what he was saying, "But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful," he looked at him almost sadly, "With a mind like that, me, you, and the Hatter could travel the stars. It would be my honour, because you don't need to own the Universe, just see it," he shook his head, "To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space…that's ownership enough".

The Master swallowed, hesitating, "Would it stop, then?" he questioned softly, "The noise in my head?"

"We can help," the Hatter told him gently, and he glanced over to her, "Please, I know I failed you once, but things are so different now. You, the Doctor, and I, we can work together".

He stared at her for a long moment, his eyes filling with tears, almost seeming fearful as he glanced at the Doctor, "I don't know what I would be without that noise," he admitted.

The Doctor eyed him, "I wonder what I'd be, without you," he commented, his eyes drifting over to the Hatter, wondering the same thing about what would have happened had he never meet her.

All the things he had done, either for her or because of her influence on his life, would they still have happened? He knew one thing for certain, and that was that he didn't want to imagine what he would have been like without her over the past few years, having to live with the guilt of the Time War, not being able to truly talk about it with anyone, because how could they possibly understand, unless they had been there, unless they had lost just as much as he had? She had saved him, and she didn't even know it, not really. It had been his promise to her that had pushed him to find someone after the Time War, she had been the reason he had allowed Rose into his life to begin with, all because of that promise.

He couldn't help but wonder what might have happened had she not come back into his life, what would have become between him and Rose? He had to admit, that there had been faint feelings there for her, but then the Hatter came back, and quite honestly, she had been the only one for him, ever since he had been a boy it had only been her, but what if she hadn't? Or what if she hadn't existed at all? Every laugh they had shared, every joy, and every heartache, what if they had never happened? It was a terrifying thought, but nevertheless one that was filled with so many questions, and a great amount of happiness that she was a part of his life.

The Master glanced down at the floor, blinking as he seemed to consider it, "Yeah," he nodded, sniffing as he meet his eyes.

"What does he mean?" Wilf called across the room, frowning, "What noise?"

The Master turned to look at him, "It began on Gallifrey," he started, stepping away from the Doctor, "As children. Not that you'd call it childhood," he scoffed slightly as he moved over to the window, sitting down on a chair that was between two windows, and the Hatter silently agreed, "More a life of duty," he shook his head, "Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism".

"What does that mean?" he asked, confused.

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," the Hatter explained to him, glancing over to him, "And through it you can see into the very Time Vortex itself…" she sighed, wincing as she recalled her own intuition, remembering how afraid she had been, how she had practically begged her Mother not to let her go, but go she had, because just like so many Gallifreyan children, she hadn't had a choice, "…and it hurts greatly," she finished sadly.

"They took me there in the dark," the Master continued, his tone turning dark as he recalled his own experience, "I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums," he breathed, "The never ending drums," he titled his head back against his chair, closing his eyes, "Listen to it," his eyes opened and he looked over to the Doctor, and then over to the Hatter, "Listen".

"Then let's find it," the Doctor tried again, "You, me, and the Hatter".

"Except…" he paused, his eyes lighting up with realisation, "Oh!" he gasped and stood, "Oh, wait a minute!" slowly, he began to grin, "Oh, yes! Oh, that's good!"

"What's good?" the Time Lady asked cautiously, exchanging a quick look with the Doctor, who was eyeing him worriedly.

"The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads!" he gestured out towards one of the doors, growing even more excited, "Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine! Oh…oh, yes!" he began laughing as they could only watch. His face flickered to a skeleton and back again, when he suddenly gave himself a hard shake and sank to a crouch on the floor.

"The Gate wasn't enough," the Doctor realised, looking at him as he panted for breath, "You're still dying!"

"This body was born of death," he replied, shaking his head, "All it can do is die," he frowned as he straightened, looking back and forth between the Doctor and the Hatter, "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, 'the end of time'".

The Hatter looked back to the Doctor, knowing that it was possibly there last chance to get through to him, "We said that something is returning," she informed him, trying to hide the hope in her voice, "It was what was shown to us in a prophecy, and that's why we need your help, please".

"What if I'm part of it?" he pointed to himself, looking even more insane then before, "Don't you see?" he looked in-between them both, the Hatter could only stare at him, "The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself!" the Time Lady blinked slightly, something clicking in her mind, but she just couldn't quite grasp what it was yet, "And now it's been amplified six billion times! Triangulate all those signals…I could find the source!" he gasped, "Oh, Doctor and Hatter, that's what your prophecy was," he grinned broadly and threw out his arms, "Me!"

The Time Lady shook her head, "You really have out done yourself this time," she muttered to herself, almost impressed by just how crazy he really had become, but she couldn't deny that he was partly right, though, she doubted that the prophecy had actually been referring to his return. No, something much bigger was at work, every instinct told her that.

Suddenly, the Master whirled around and slapped the Doctor, causing him to flinch as the sound echoed through the room, Wilf gasped, and Time Lady winced, wishing she could run across the room and slap the Master herself…or kick him in a rather sensitive area. Really, she wasn't overly picky.

"Where's the TARDIS?" the Master demanded, his voice surprisingly soft.

"No," the Doctor looked back at him, desperately trying to get through to him as his cheek still stung. Still, it could have been far worse, he could have gone after the Hatter, just as he feared he might, "Just stop," he continued calmly, "Just think".

The Master glanced at the guard standing just off to the side of the wheelchair, pointing back towards Wilf, "Kill him," he ordered.

The guard stepped forward and clicked off the safety on his gun, marching over to Wilf, and pointed the gun at Wilf's head, the Master right behind him.

"I need that technology," he snapped, glancing back and forth between the Doctor and the Hatter, "Tell me where it is, or the old man is dead".

"Don't tell him!" Wilf called at once.

The Hatter titled her head, eyeing the guard curiously, before it hit her. She struggled to keep the concerned look on her face as she glanced across the room the Doctor, who meet her eyes, giving her a small wink, having worked it out, too.

"I'll kill him, right now!" the Master shouted.

The Doctor smiled slightly, shaking his head as much as he could as he eyed the Master, "Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid," he remarked lightly.

Unable to stop herself, the Time Lady laughed, "Ooh, you are so getting a high five for that one," she sent him a grin before shrugging, or trying to, "Well…once these annoying restrains are gone, of course".

The Master rolled his neck, looking annoyed as he kept his eyes on them, "Take aim!"

"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but still can't see the obvious, can you?" the Doctor rolled his eyes, seeming amused.

"Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know," the Time Lady began casually, struggling to hold back her laughter, "How about the fact that guard is one inch taller then you?"

The Master blinked and turned to look at the guard, when he slammed the butt of his gun into the other man's head, sending him crashing to the floor as he pulled off his helmet, revealing himself to be the male Vinvocci.

"Oh, my God!" he exclaimed, almost panicking as he looked down at the unconscious man at his feet, "I hit him!" he looked back up at them, "I've never hit anyone in my life!"

The office door opened and Addams ran in, "Well, come on!" she ran over to Wilf's chair, pulling out a knife from her pocket, setting to work cutting the ropes, "We need to get out of here fast!"

The other alien ran over to the Doctor and started trying to undo the straps attached to him.

"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf cheered in relief.

"That's cacti," the Doctor corrected him.

The man paused in his attempts to undo the straps, looking affronted, "That's racist!"

"Ah, hello!" the Hatter called, shifting in her chair, "Would someone mind helping me?"

Addams finished cutting through the ropes holding Wilf and quickly moved to the Time Lady, "How are we meant to get these chains off?" she sighed in annoyance, slipping the knife inside her pocket.

The blonde gave her a wink, "Inside my waistcoat, on the right side, there's a pocket," she told her quickly, nodding down to her front, "And in there is what looks like an ordinary pen, but it's actually a laser, so do be careful! Just use it on the chains on my legs, the rest can come off once we're away from here".

Addams, still looking annoyed, undid the first few buttons on her waistcoat, and quickly found the pocket, locating the laser pen almost at once, and immediately set to work burning through the chains around her ankles.

"Oh, that's handy," Wilf commented as he moved closer to look for himself.

"I get bored easily," the Hatter replied, forcing herself to remain still, less she end up getting sliced with her own device. Now, that's all they would need.

It only took a moment before the chains fell to the ground and she quickly stood, slightly awkwardly with her hands still cuffed, but they didn't have time to deal with those. Addams slipped the laser into her waistcoat pocket once more.

"This prophecy of yours, Doctor and Hatter," the Naismith/Master came over to the TV link, "Where did it come from?" when they didn't answer, he seemed to frown, "Doctor and Hatter?"

"Come on!" Addams shouted over to her fellow alien, "We've got to get out of here!"

"There's too many buckles and straps!" the man responded as he ran around the chair, trying to undo the Doctor's wrists.

"Just…wheel him!"

"No!" the Doctor's eyes winded as the man did what she said, quickly moving around the back of the chair to start pushing him out the door, "No, no!" he shouted, "Hatter, help me here!"

The Time Lady sent him a sympathetic look, "Sorry, sweetheart, but I'm rather tied up," and she held up her handcuffed hands to emphasise her point, before turning on her heel to follow after Addams.

"Get me out!" he continued shouting, trying to shack the bounds on his wrists lose, "No, no, no, don't! No, no, no!"

The alien wheeled him past the TV with the Naismith/Master on it and off out the door, all the while ignoring the Doctor's shouts.

"What's going on?" the man on the screen demanded, saying loudly, "Doctor!"

"Which way?" the man asked as they made it out into the hall, following Addams.

"This way!" Addams ordered, gesturing ahead of them.

"No, no, no, no, no!" the Doctor called after her urgently, "The other way! We've got the TARDIS…"

"Come on," the Hatter went to turn to head off in the right direction, but Addams grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to keep walking down the hall, since the Time Lady couldn't very well trying fighting her in her still partly restrained state.

"I know what I'm doing!" the woman shook her head stubbornly.

"No, no, no, no! Just…just listen to us!"

The Hatter groaned as she spotted a staircase just ahead of them, "Oh, dear," she sighed heavily, wincing in sympathy, "This really isn't going to go down well".

The Doctor seemed to catch sight of it a moment later, "Not the stairs!" he yelled, even more frantically then before, "Not the stairs! Don't!" the aliens simply ignored him as they pushed him down the stairs, the Doctor grunting with every step as Wilf hurried along behind him, "Worst…rescue…ever!" he complained as they reached the bottom.

"It could have been worse, sweetheart," the Time Lady said, trying to hide the hint of amusement she was feeling, "They could have left us alone with the Master, and I don't know about you, but I would take being wheeled down stairs over staying with him any day".

Addams rolled her eyes, not as amused as the blonde as she led them into the basement control room.

"Just…just stop and listen to me!" the Doctor tried again, when they came to a stop, just as the Master/guards ran into the room on either side of them, blocking there exit. They aimed their guns at them, ready to fire as the original Master ran in behind them, grinning.

"Gotcha!" he laughed at them.

Addams raised her eyebrows at him, "You think so?" she lifted up her wrist and pressed her wristwatch.

"No, no, no…don't!" the Doctor and the Hatter both shouted, realising what she was doing, "Don't!"

But it was already too late and they teleported away from the basement, and onto the Vinvocci ship, hovering above the Earth.

"Now get me out of this thing!" the Doctor began struggling almost at once with his bounds, growing in frustration as he tried to use his shoes to undo the strap around his ankles.

"Don't say thanks, will you!" Addams gave him a glare.

The Hatter shook her head, feeling useless with her hands cuffed, "The Master won't just let us skip away," she informed the aliens, sounding slightly annoyed herself, "Now, hurry up and get him free!"

Wilf wondered away from them and over towards the window, staring out at it in awe, "Oh, my goodness me…" he breathed, taking it in, "We're in space!"

"Come on!" the Doctor snapped at the other two aliens.

"All right!" Addams sighed and moved forwards to start undoing the straps.

"Get a move on! Come on!"

Finally, they managed to get the straps off him enough so that he could jump off the chair, grabbing his sonic out of his pocket as he ran towards the teleport controls, and flashed the sonic at them, making sure the Master couldn't follow. The control panel exploded, sending sparks flying everywhere as Wilf jumped. He quickly turned to the Hatter and flashed her handcuffs with the sonic, releasing her, and causing the cuffs to fall onto the floor.

"Oh, that feels so much better," the Time Lady smiled happily as she began rubbing at her tender wrists from where the metal had rubbed against her skin.

The Doctor gently took her wrists, examining them quickly to make sure that there wasn't any last damage, before taking her hand, "Where's your flight deck?" he glanced at the aliens.

"But we're safe," Addams frowned at him, confused, "We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth".

"And the Master has every signal missile at his disposal," the Hatter reminded her.

She blinked, opening and closing her mouth, "Good point," she finally nodded, running off down a hallway, leading them to the flight deck, but the blonde paused, and ran back to Wilf, who was still staring outside.

"Come on," she smiled slightly as she began to guide him away, and after the others.

"But we're in space!" he pointed outside, towards the Earth, as if she hadn't realised.

She laughed and patted his arm, "Indeed we are," she agreed, "But let's admire it later, okay?"

Wilf chuckled weakly, and they quickly followed after the others through the ship, catching up with them, just as they reached the flight deck.

"We've got to close it done!" the Doctor called to the aliens as they ran into the room, and up to where the controls all were.

The man shook his head, fiddling with one of the computers, "No chance, mate," he replied, "We're going home".

"We're just a selvage team!" Addams added, "Local politics has got nothing to do with us," she shrugged, "Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better".

The Doctor glanced over to them as the Hatter crossed her arms across her chest, "We're not leaving," he said firmly, flashing his sonic at the controls, causing them spark violently, and sending the entire ship into darkness, save for the light coming off the Earth. The engines slowly cut out, too.

The Hatter quickly placed her finger of her lips, casting the others stern looks when they opened there mouth, "Shush, shush," she hushed them as the ship creaked loudly.

A few tense moments past were no one dared even move, simply waiting. After a long moment of nothing happening, the Time Lords relaxed slightly as the man moved over to the controls, flicking a switch, but nothing happened.

Addams peered outside the window, glancing over to them, "No sign of any missiles," she remarked quietly, shrugging, "No sign of…anything," she glared at them, raising her voice, "You've wrecked the place!"

"The engines are burnt out," the man sighed, trying to keep his own temper under control as the Time Lords exchanged a look, the Time Lady feeling slightly guilty, but they really didn't have much of a choice, "All we've got is auxiliary lights," he continued, hitting a button, and lights flickered on around the room, "Everything else is kaput. We can't move," he shook his head, "We're stuck in orbit".

Addams turned on them again, "Thanks to you two, you idiots!" she shouted, storming off with her partner.

The Hatter stared after them, sighing heavily as she pinched the bridge of her nose, "Oh, lovely," she commented, "Just what we need, more people annoyed at us".

Wilf looked in-between the Time Lords, "I know you two, though," he nodded to them both, "I bet you've got a plan, haven't you? Eh? Come on! You've always got a trick up your sleeve," he smiled at them, "Nice little bit of the old Doctor and Hatter flim-flam," he chuckled, "…sort of thing? Eh?" the Time Lords glanced at him, both looking grim, and his face fell, "Oh, blimey".

The Time Lady looked over to him, wincing at the look on his face, "Don't worry, Wilf," she stepped over to him, patting his arm, trying to sound bright and cheerful, "We'll think of something. We always do, don't you worry about it," she glanced at the Doctor, who was look back at, before fixing a smile to her face she turned back to the other man, "Now, how about you go and have a wonder around? It's not every day you get to explore a spaceship, hey?"

His eyes brightened at the mention of being on a spaceship, and he nodded, "All right, then," he straightened and began heading off to see the rest of the ship, "I'll leave you two to it".

They watched him as he left, making sure he was out of earshot when the Doctor turned to the Hatter, "What was that all about?" he blinked at her.

"He needed cheering up and a little spark of hope," she shrugged, casting a look around the controls, "And we will need to get back to Earth soon enough, we might as well fix what we did, and come up with a plan while doing so, too".

"Do you really think we have any chance of winning this time?"

"We always have a chance if we work together, sweetheart. Don't lose hope just yet. Now, come on".

And with that, she grabbed his arm and began pulling him back to the teleport room.

….

The Doctor was leaning on his side as he fiddled with some wiring and cables, while the Time Lady sat beside him, helping him.

"You know…" the Hatter said after a long moment of silence, glancing at the Doctor, "Something occurred to me earlier".

He looked up at her, curiously, "What?"

"It was just something to do with the beat inside the Master head. He mentioned that it's calling to him from the 'so far away'".

"So?"

She gave him a look, "What if it's a signal?" she wondered aloud, making him pause, "I mean, four beats is very precise, why not five or six? What is it about four beats that are meaningful?"

For a long moment the Doctor thought it over, titling his head in a very Hatter like fashion, "Mathematically or to the Master, specifically?"

"To the Master," she replied, thinking deeply, "What connection could that number have to the Master…" she trailed off, her eyes widening, "…oh," she breathed.

He looked at her worriedly, "What is it?"

"He said it himself, 'every beat of my hearts,'" she suddenly jumped forwards, taking the Doctor completely by surprise as she grabbed him, and pressed her ear to his chest, "Stop moving!" she scolded and he stilled, staring down at her in confusion and alarm, "Yes," she remarked softly after a moment, pulling away from him, a slightly teasing look crossing her face, "Did you know that your heartbeats started beating faster when I was close to you?"

He gave her a slightly amused look, "That tends to happen when the woman I love is pressed to my chest, Hatter," he pointed out.

She laughed, "Ah, yes," she shook her head in a mock disappointed way, "It's harder to tease you now that I know the truth".

"Trust me, it's never going to be hard for you to find ways to tease me, I've thought the same thing and you always surprise me".

The Time Lady laughed again and kissed him, before pulling back.

He raised his eyebrows at her, smiling, "Are you going to explain what that was all about?"

"The kiss or me listening to your hearts?" she questioned innocently.

"See what I mean about the teasing?"

She grinned and ruffled his hair affectionately, "Oh, okay," she nodded as she settled back to her original position, "Now, mind you, I haven't quite figured out all the details, but I think I've worked out what that sound is".

"Well?" he urged when she didn't say anything more.

The blonde lost her smile and sighed slightly, "I have no idea at this point how it works, or what it even means, but…" she hesitated, knowing that if it was anyone else they would call her mad, which or though she admitted that her sanity was debatable at the best of times, the Doctor was hardly one to talk about being completely mentally sound, "I think that…well, I think it's two hearts beating. A Time Lords heartbeats".

The Doctor stared at her, seeming shocked by her answer, "That…" he shook his head, "Okay, let's say that it is a Time Lords heartbeats, what does it mean? What is it a signal for? And why place it in a child's head in the first place?"

The Hatter groaned and covered her face, rubbing her eyes tiredly, "I don't know, and I think I might have opened up a box that's just filled with even more questions, rather than answers".

He laughed slightly, nodding in agreement when something caught his eyes. He grabbed the Hatter's hand, catching her attention as she pulled her hands away from her face, and following his gaze out the window to see something bright white streaking across space. They both stood and moved closer to the window, watching as it fell towards the Earth over England. They exchanged a weary look, both knowing that it couldn't possibly be just an ordinary meteor, not with their luck.

Slowly, they returned to working on the wires and cables, and after a few minutes Wilf walked in, "Aye, aye," he greeted them, "Got this old tub mended?"

"Just trying to fix the heating," the Doctor replied, glancing up from the cable he just slotted into place.

"Oh," he nodded and came to sit down beside the Hatter, wincing slightly, "I've always dreamt of a view like that," he pointed over to the window, grinning excitedly as they looked up, and over to the window, "Hee, hee, I'm an astronaut!" the Time Lady smiled at how happy he was, watching as he clapped his hands on his knees, "It's dawn over England, look," he pointed again towards the planet, "Brand new day…" he paused, sighing sadly, "My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again," he looked at the Time Lords, "Do you think he changed them, in their graves?"

"Oh, Wilfred," the Hatter looked at him sadly, reaching out and taking his hand, squizzing it gently.

The Doctor looked at him regretfully, "We're sorry".

He shook his head, "No, it's not your faults".

"Isn't it?"

"No, it's not," the Hatter said firmly, giving him a sharp look, "This was the Master doing, we didn't force him to do any of this".

"She's right," Wilf nodded in agreement to the Hatter.

The Doctor smiled slightly, casting her a fond look, "She usually is".

"Well, I've certainly have you well trained," the blonde laughed, nudging his side.

Wilf looked back to the window, "Ooh…1948, I was over there," he pointed over to the Earth, "End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott," he smiled slightly, remembering, "Skinny little idiot, I was. Stood on this rooftop, in the middle of a skirmish," the Hatter glanced at the Doctor, concerned, knowing that he was thinking about his own time as a solider during the Time War, "It was like a blizzard, all those bullets in the air," he shook his head, "The world gone mad," he chuckled slightly, glancing at them, "Yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"We're older then you," the Time Lady informed him, sounding highly amused, "And by a long shot, too".

He waved her off, "Get away".

"I'm nine hundred and six," the Doctor told him, and nodded to the Hatter, "And she's nine hundred and five".

She shrugged, "My birthday's next month," she added.

Wilf stared at them, "What, really, though?"

"Yeah," they nodded.

"Nine hundred years…" he breathed, "We must look like insects to you".

"We think you look like giants".

He inhaled after a moment and reached inside his coat, pulling out the revolver, holding it out towards them, "Listen, I…I want you to have this," he began, "I kept it all this time, and I thought…"

"No," the Doctor shook his head as the Hatter leaned backwards slightly away from the gun.

"No…but if you take it, you could…"

"No," he said more firmly.

The Hatter eyed Wilf as he lowered his hand, "That gun…you had it with you at the mansion," she titled her head, "You could have shot the Master, and yet you didn't," she smiled slightly towards the end.

"Too scared, I suppose," Wilf shrugged, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, no, Wilf, because the very fact that you didn't use that gun shows just how brave you are".

"I'd be proud," the Doctor suddenly told him, very serious.

"Of what?" he frowned in confusion.

"If you were my Dad," he clarified, growing teary, and the Hatter smiled softly at him.

"No, come on, don't start," Wilf shook his head at him as they looked back to him, smiling at him. He looked away and down the gun in his hands, turning around before glancing at the Doctor, pressing his hand to his mouth, "But you said…you were told 'he will knock four times,' and then you die," he continued after a moment, hesitating, "Well, that's him, isn't it? The Master. That noise in his head?" he pointed to his own head as the Doctor looked away, swallowing, "The Master is going to kill you".

The Hatter closed her eyes, wincing at the thought of having to say goodbye.

"Yeah," the Doctor sighed, sounding resigned.

"Then kill him first," Wilf offered the gun to him again, looking determined.

The Time Lady swallowed thickly, "And that's how the Master began," she looked at him grimly, "He wasn't always like this, we used to be friends, and then…he changed," she paused, looking down at the floor, "And we can hardly claim to be innocent, either," she closed her eyes painfully, thinking about all those who had died indirectly because of her. She might never have taken a life with her own hands, but her actions had resulted in people's deaths.

"I've taken lives," the Doctor admitted, reaching out and grabbed her hand, holding it tightly as he felt a lump form in his throat, "I got worse, I got clever," he shook his head in self-disgust, "Manipulated people into taking their own…"

The Hatter looked up and gave him a comforting look, wrapping her arm around him, whishing she could be of more comfort to him.

He sighed, leaning his head on top of the Time Lady's, "Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long," he remarked quietly. He glanced down at the gun, "I can't," he shook his head tiredly, "I just can't".

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?" Wilf asked.

"I don't know".

"Doctor, what happens?" his tone turned firm.

The Hatter meet his eyes, "The template would snap".

"What, they'd go back to being human?" he questioned and they nodded, "They're alive…and human," the Time Lords nodded again, and his face grew hard and angry, "Then don't you dare, sir, ma'am! Don't you dare put him before them!" he held out the gun to the Doctor again, "Now you take this. That's an order, Doctor. Take the gun," he tried pressing it into his hands, "You take the gun and save your like. And…please don't die," his eyes began filling with tears, "You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die," he began sobbing, his hands shaking as the Hatter blinked back tears, touched by how much he cared for the Doctor.

The Doctor took a deep breath, looking at Wilf with sympathy as he gently pushed the gun away, "Never," he shook his head.

Wilf sniffed, staring at him.

"A star fell from the sky," the Master voice called through the ship. The Time Lords looked up, not surprised in the slightest as Wilf gasped in shock, "Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense, Doctor, Hatter. My whole life, my destiny," the Time Lords exchanged a look, "The star was a diamond. And the diamond was a Whitepoint Star!" they gasped in horror as the Time Lady's eyes flew down to her engagement ring, just to make sure that it wasn't a trick, that he hadn't somehow managed to steal one from her ring, but they were all there, intact, "And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching. This is going to be spectacular! Over and out".

The broadcast ended and the Time Lords were left breathing heavily, looks of stunned horror on their faces as they clutched at each other's hands, both of them very pale with fear.

"Oh, please…no," the Hatter gasped, feeling herself trembling.

"What's he on about?" Wilf asked, frowning as he glanced at them, "What's he doing? Doctor, Hatter, what does that mean?"

"A Whitepoint Star is only found on one planet," the Doctor breathed, swallowing hard, "Gallifrey! Which means…"

"The Time Lords!" the Time Lady's voice shook as she spoke, "The Time Lords are returning!"

"Well, I mean, that's good, isn't it?" Wilf looked at them eagerly, "I mean, that's your people!"

The Doctor snatched up the gun, holding it up, and staring at it, his finger on the trigger. He glanced at the Hatter, before jumping to his feet, tucking the gun into his pocket, the Time Lady right on his heels as they ran out of the room, and back through the ship to the flight deck. They ran over to one of the controls, hitting a button, and four beats began sounding throughout the room, over and over again.

"I said so," the Hatter shook her head grimly, glancing at the Doctor as Wilf entered the room behind them, "It's a signal, and it's coming from Gallifrey!"

Addams, who had been working at the controls with her partner, looked up, "What's that?" she frowned.

The other alien checked the computer, "Coming from Earth," he told them, "It's on every single wavelength".

The Time Lords breathed heavily, still clutching onto each other's hands as the two other aliens turned to look down at the Earth. After a few moments they shook themselves and began running around the controls, knowing what they had to do next.

"But you said your people were dead," Wilf watched as they rushed around, working on bits and pieces, "Past tense".

"Yes, but inside the Time War," the Hatter nodded as she quickly typed something onto one of the controls, "And the entire War was Time locked," she knelt on the ground and disappeared underneath one of the computers, just her boots in sight as she worked on connecting a couple of wires.

"Like, sealed inside a bubble," the Doctor tried to explain as he finished reactivating a piece of equipment, pausing as he glanced back at him, "It's not a bubble but just think of a bubble…"

"I don't think that's simplifying it, Doctor!" the Time Lady called from under computer, her voice muffed.

"Right," he nodded, flicking a couple of switches, "Anyway, nothing can get in or get out of the Time lock," he looked across to Wilf, "Don't you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there!"

"The signal!" Wilf gasped in realisation as the Hatter reappeared, a smug of grease on her right cheek, "Since he was a kid!"

"If they follow the signal, they can escape before they die".

"Well, then, big reunion!" he smiled broadly, turning to watch as both Time Lords began working together on one of the controls, "We'll have a party!"

"There's not going to be any party with balloons or those fun, paper party hats that I do find so amusing," the Hatter shook her head, her voice firm before she paused, titling her head, "Though, I admit, it's a shame…maybe I should get one of those hats, anyway".

The Doctor cleared his throat, casting her a look, knowing how easily she could be distracted by the topic of hats, "I can't believe I'm telling you this, Hatter, but focus".

She blushed slightly, giving him an apologetic look, "Yes, today does seem to be just getting worse and worse, doesn't it?"

Wilf frowned at them, looking confused, "But I've heard you talk about your people like they're wonderful," he commented.

"That's how we choose to remember them, the Time Lords of old," the Doctor informed him grimly, exchanging a look with the Time Lady as he ran across to the other side of the room, "But then they went to war, and it changed them right to the core," he glanced over to him, flashing his sonic at one of the panels, "You've seen our enemies, Wilf. The Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them!"

"Time Lords, what Lords?" Addams repeated, looking at them as if they were insane, "Anyone want to explain?" she looked around at them all.

"Right, yes, you!" he turned to her, pointing, "This is a salvage ship, yes?" he glanced around, "You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?"

She nodded, eyeing him, "Yeah, what about it?"

The Hatter grinned, "Which means you have asteroid lasers!"

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," the second alien reminded them, shaking his head.

The Time Lady ran across the room, over to a lever, "And now, there not!" she told them brightly, throwing the lever, and doors off to the side of the room slid open, leading to the laser controls.

"You, there…" the Doctor pointed at Addams, looking frustration, "What's your name?" he shook his head, not waiting for her to reply, "I'm going to need you on navigation," he pointed to her partner, "And you, get in the laser-pod".

The man stared at him, seeming confused as to what to actually do, while his partner looked annoyed.

The Time Lords hurried over to Wilf, "Wilfred!" they called to him, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Yeah?" he blinked, surprised.

The Hatter gave him a wide smile and a wink, "Laser number two," she instructed him.

"The old soldier's got one more battle," the Doctor added.

Wilf clapped his hand on his shoulder, giving the Time Lady a nod, smiling softly as he moved to stand.

"This ship can't move," Addams rolled her eyes at them as they stepped over to the front of the deck, "It's dead!"

"Oh, didn't we mention?" the Hatter glanced at her, grinning cheekily, "We fixed the heating," and with that, the Doctor pushed two large levers, and the entire ship started up again, the engine humming loudly back into life.

"But now they can see us!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, yes!" the Doctor called in agreement, high fiving with the Hatter.

Addams took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, "This is my ship, and you're not moving it. Step away from the wheel".

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain. A phrase of great power and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in need".

"What's that, then?"

The Time Lords looked at each other, shouting in unison, "Allons-y!"

And with that, they grabbed the controls, sending the ship flying down towards the Earth, throwing Wilf and the aliens around.

Who else watched the latest Doctor Who trailer? It looks like the new season is going to be brilliant, hopefully a bit better than some of the last seasons episodes, anyway. And what about Maisie Williams role? I'm caught between her being Doctor's daughter, Jenny, or Susan, probably more Susan then Jenny, since what she said in the trailer sounds more like Susan. What do you guy's think? Either way, it should be interesting to see what happens. Tell me what you thought, please review :)

Guest review:

The Artist: Aww, thank you. I'm glad you liked it, you have no idea how happy it always makes me to hear that. I end up doing the same thing, which can be quite annoying at times, but it does make it easier to come up with ideas for bits of banter/flirting. It was actually the first time I've ever watched Ten regenerate and not cried when I was writing that chapter, which was good because I managed to write it, but weird at the same time, and Eleven is possibly even more fun to write then Ten was. Thanks for the review :)