Chapter 14 - Timeline 1

Timeline One

Melbourne, Australia

June 2014

The guards who had captured the Doctor spent their journey towards the building now known as "The Palace" tormenting the Gallifreyan, deliberating taking their time to get to the headquarters of their lord and Master so that they could entertain themselves at the Doctor's expense. After being repeatedly struck and shocked with tasers, the alien found it impossible to remain conscious.

When he awoke, he found himself in a small cell, the door of which held a small window. Looking out, all he could see was the wall of a passageway. He tried the door, not surprised to find it locked and was about to retrieve his sonic when he remembered he'd given it to Glad. The thought of her brought a sad smile to his face. He knew she would be safe but, from the way she'd swung the pipe at the guard, he knew she would likely become brutal in this world where brutality was all humans would face if they were not on the Master's side.

He sat down on the small bunk to wait, expecting the Master to come gloating at any moment...or to be dragged out of his cells by one of the minions that now served his nemesis. Quite a bit of time elapsed before he realized that neither of those things was going to happen. It angered him. The Master has taken his very pregnant wife and now apparently was content with keeping them apart. The Gallifreyan got up and went to the door, yelling into the hallway, "I wouldn't wait too long, Master. The longer you keep me in here the angrier I'm going to get!" It was no use. No matter what he did or said, the door remained closed and locked.

Timeline One

Melbourne, Australia

August 2014

He couldn't tell exactly how much time had passed - somewhere between two or three months. Based on his beard alone, he figured two. He'd long since stopped shouting, negotiating, begging, and pleading to have his audience with the Master and to see Rose. He knew she was still alive. Their bonding saw to that although the Master had found some way to block the strength of the bond. At first he could tell she was being taken care of. Then, he could only feel her life force, but nothing else. He worried about what that meant. Was she in a coma? Was this some new filter the Master had developed? There was literally no way for him to know.

This particular morning had started off as all the others since he'd awoke in this solitary hell. He'd found breakfast in the little slot that allowed the guards to pass such things to him. Initially he'd tried not eating but had learned quickly that not eating only resulted in the Master gassing the room and thus rendering him unconscious. Each time he awoke, he'd find he'd been fed intravenously. After the third time, he decided that the migraine that came with the gas just wasn't worth the effort. Now, after finishing the meager daily meal, he was surprised to find he was being gassed again. Since he'd complied with the rule to eat, he conjectured as he fell into sleep that there was some other reason for him to be knocked unconscious. As awareness slowly returned to him, he knew he had not been mistaken. Several things immediately came to his attention, though three stood out above the rest. First was that he was no longer in his cell and the smooth surface just below him was cold. The second was that he was being watched on several sides by both organic and electronic eyes. The third was a sort of snuffling sound, like someone trying to breathe through a straw, though that wasn't quite the right description.

Taking a quick breath, he abruptly opened his eyes to see a human male standing over him, a bundle of cloth cradled in his arms in a way that told him the cloth contained another more fragile and much smaller human being. No... not human. The scent was all wrong for a human. The child in the blanket was something else, something very familiar. He wished he could figure it out but the chemical the Master had used on him apparently caused him severe memory loss. However, he did realize the child was the cause of the snuffling sound.

"Hello," he told the human male. Slowly, he struggled to his feet. "I'm the Doctor. And you are?"

"Reginald Torkinson." Not another word came from the man's lips.

"Right," the Time Lord stated. "Lovely child in your arms. What's his name?"

"The Master has named him Adalbrandr."

"Noble sword? Strange, even for the Master. I would have thought he would choose a Gallifreyan name," the Doctor commented.

"Well, with a human mother, it didn't seem right to name him like he was fully Gallifreyan," Reginald told him with a hint of a smile. "That's always bothered him about your given name as well from what I've been told."

The Doctor frowned at his words. "I'm not sure I completely understand. My given name is Gallifreyan." He hated how hard it was for him to think at the moment, feeling as if he were doing the mental equivalent of swimming in molasses.

"Yes... and your mother was human as well, now wasn't she. Hence, the choice of Adalbrandr for this child. The Master was hoping he'd be blonde like his mother... but that was before he realized she wasn't truly blonde."

"Rose," the Time Lord whispered, realization finally seeping in. It made perfect sense, when he thought about it. He'd been locked away for two or three months. Rose would have given birth by then. With a mixture of astonishment coupled with a heartache and disbelief, he took a step towards the human and extended his arms. "May I hold him?"

The response to his request came from the door on the other side of the room. "No, you may not hold him."

The Doctor turned to face his oldest friend and oldest enemy, swallowing tightly. "He's my son," he stated with conviction.

"No. You may have sired him through inferior stock, but he's my child now."

"Where's Rose? Give me my wife and my son."

"Didn't you hear me? You have no son. As to your wife? I think it would be a kindness not to give you access to her." The Master held out his arms to Reggie, who obligingly handed the child to him. "Although his start was less than stellar, under my guidance, he shall be a prince." He smiled down at the boy. "Aren't you, Adalbrandr?"

"His name is Dafydd," the father of the child said, knowing that that was the name both Rose and he had chosen. He stepped forward with intent to take the child from the Master's arms. Reggie grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back with amazing strength, causing the Gallifreyan to straighten noticeably while wincing.

"That awful Welsh name your Mum insisted on calling you? I don't think so," the Master told his childhood buddy. "Besides, David is such a common name. An extraordinary child deserves an extraordinary name. Also, Peri likes it. She has a thing for swords... and other sharp objects."

"Peri?"

"You had your inferior human; I have my superior one."

The Doctor frowned in confusion. "You married a human?"

"Does that surprise you, Thete? You who has told me from our days in the Academy how much you admire this race of apes? Except for Peri, of course. She is the exception that proves the rule." He looked towards Reggie before adding. "And Reggie too, though he's a slight level lower than my queen."

"I see. You married her because she's exceptional. Well, so is my Rose. And I want to see her."

"I wouldn't recommend it. Her... recuperation from the birth hasn't been optimal."

The Doctor glared at him with fury. "What have you done to her?"

"Me? I saved her life. The child was turned wrong and I had to intervene. Naturally, the best way to make sure that both mother and child survived was to perform surgery."

"You did a Cesarian," came the deduction. "Without even bothering to try to turn the baby the right direction."

"Like I said, the best way to make sure was to perform the surgery. Certainly you'd want the best for them? Or would you rather one or both of them died?"

"Take me to my wife," the enraged husband ordered. "Now!"

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you." He indicated to Reggie that he was to take the Doctor to the woman's cell.

His assistant nodded before addressing the Doctor. "You've had a Slarn Restraint implanted in your neck. If you do anything that I have not expressly allowed, I will use this," he said, holding up a controller.

The Doctor pulled angrily from the grip that the human had him in before rubbing his wrist and glaring at the Master. "Understood," he grudgingly stated his submission. He allowed himself to be led by the assistant out the door, the Master following with a slight grin on his face.

The corridor was devoid of any humanizing elements, only door upon door, a single dark cell behind each portal. As they moved deeper and deeper into the complex, the light dimmed as well. Finally, they came to a room with a small window, not unlike the cell he'd been kept in himself. Reggie pulled out a device that he pointed to the door which clicked open. "If you turn the handle, you may now go in," he stated, his voice monotone.

The captive Time Lord glanced at the human for a moment before reaching out and turning the door handle. He slowly pushed the weighty door in, trailing behind it as he entered the dark room. From the entrance, he could see the area inside was like his cell as well. It had a thick mattress on one end, a toilet on the other, and nothing else in the way of amenities. At the far wall, her back against it and with her legs up towards her abdomen, was Rose. She had obviously lost her blonde coloring, her natural brown color taking over. Her hair was a tangled mess that indicated a lack of care. There was an unhealthy light sheen to her pale skin. When the door had opened, she had turned her head to look at who was entering but she seemed confused, an expression enhanced by the dark circles under her eyes.

"Rose," the Doctor whispered, his hearts aching to see his love in such a state. He hurried over to her, dropping to his knees in front of her.

From the door, a dry comment was heard. "Of all the apes on this planet, you chose a bleached blonde? Hardly worthy of another ape, much less a Time Lord. Still, as breeding stock, she did well enough."

The Doctor turned and glared at the Master for his words but didn't say anything as he returned his attention to his wife. "Rose," he repeated, trying to get her attention; she seemed intent on staring at the Master. Reaching up, he touched her face and gained an unexpected response.

Rose immediately started to push away from him, screaming. "Don't touch me. Don't ever touch me with your filthy, filthy hands. Don't you know how poisonous they are, all those little bacteria and viruses on them!"

The Time Lord blinked at her with confusion. He wondered if whatever was causing this was the reason he couldn't feel her the same way in their bond. "Rose, it's me. Your Doctor."

"All doctors are quacks," she said firmly. "Quacks and charlatans."

"I'm your husband!" he exclaimed. Again, he reached to take her hands only for her to pull further away from his touch. "Rose, what has the Master done to you?"

"He's saved me," she said with a look of utter adoration to the man standing at the door. "He took away the thing that was growing in me. Killing me."

"That thing is your son! Your only child!"

"It's dirty... and filled with death." The baby started to cry and Rose cringed away from it, grabbing her head in pain. "Take it away. I promise I'll be good. Just take it away!"

The Master handed the baby to Reggie. "Take him to his mother." Once the other man had given the Master the controller to the Slarn Restraint and left, the Gallifreyan turned to the Doctor. "You see? It was necessary for me to assume the responsibility of raising your child, Thete. She would at best have ignored him. At worst actively tried to kill him. Couldn't have that."

Slowly, shock playing on his face, the Doctor rose to his feet, backing away from his wife as tears trickled from his eyes. "This isn't the woman I fell in love with, married." His shock morphed into fury as he stated hotly, "You did this. You turned her into... this. You monster!" He then turned towards his former childhood friend, moving quickly to attack him, intent to maim clearly on his face. A second later, he screamed in agony as he dropped to his knees and then to the floor, his whole spine feeling as if it were on fire. In the background, he could hear Rose screaming in fright.

"Thete, Thete, Thete," the Master berated as he circled him. "I know you're upset by this change in your reality. But really? I'd think that caring for your insane ape would be much more productive than trying to hurt me. As you can see, that's not going to happen."

The Doctor couldn't move for a long moment as the pain finally went away. Then, cautiously, he raised himself onto his knees, licking his lips as he did so. "She won't even let me touch her, thanks to you."

"Well... I never thought I'd hear you give up in defeat. Just not like you. I'm sure you'll find a way to help her back to health. You were also so much better than me at the healing arts. I've just given you a task worthy of your skills." He looked at his former friend. "I must say, though, it's good to see you in that position. Seems right."

Once again, the Doctor gave him a glare as he forced himself to stand. He gave a sneer of a smile when he noticed the disappointment that came to the Master's visage. "I haven't given up. In fact, I've only just started. I'm going to rescue Rose and my son and then I'm going to make sure that you never harm another human being ever again."

"This from the man who has lain hidden for the last four years instead of helping us," came a familiar voice from behind. "Rose is the way she is because you abandoned her, just like you abandoned all of humankind."

The Doctor turned, stunned at the sight before him. "Jack?" He physically deflated with realization. "You're a prisoner like Rose."

"No. I pretty much have the run of the joint."

"What?" the Time Lord questioned with a frown. His eyes went from Jack to the Master's smiling face and then back. "But... how?"

"After we lost the battle at Quantum Leap - I was the sole survivor. But then, that was pretty much a guarantee - but I kept trying to fight him. After four years of literally nothing from you, watching him take over the planet while he tortured me, I thought... why am I offering my fealty to you? You don't care. Just found a little spot to live the life of Riley while the rest of the planet went to hell." He smirked. "I guess once you've betrayed your own species, it's easy to forget about anyone else."

"That isn't..." the Doctor started. "I wasn't..." He ran a hand over his face. "Jack... help me. Have you seen what he did to Rose?"

"He's tried to help her. Like I said, after you abandoned her and her son, the Master did what he could." He shook his head. "What happened to you? I thought you were..." He couldn't bring himself to say what he'd thought. "But obviously not."

"I didn't abandon her. While the Master took her, stole our child, and caused her current condition, I've been locked up in a cell someplace in this house of horrors. You have to help me rescue her and my son."

"Fool me once," Jack started but then turned to the Master. "I've been able to locate another cell from the resistance. Do you want me to take a force to bring them in?"

"Yes, Captain," the Time Lord responded with an approving nod. "The sooner we can stop this senseless violence, the sooner we can establish order."

Jack nodded his assent and turned to leave.

"Jack... don't do this," the Doctor pleaded. "We can stop him but I need your help."

The ex-Time Agent turned back. "And why would I want to stop him? He's won and now he's bringing order and peace to the planet. At least Torchwood has been found to be right. You are not the savior you always positioned yourself as. Everything has changed, Doctor. For the first time in human history, we are finally truly moving towards world peace. We can't go back to the way things were."

"Oh, Jack," the defeated alien said sadly. "If I didn't know better, I would think that the Pi Network got to you."

"Deactivated that two years ago, Doctor," the Master told him confidently. "I don't need to force people into doing what is best for them anymore."

"So... Doctor. I guess you've reaped what you've sown. The real pisser is you had to take Rose down with you." With that, Jack turned and left.

"I must say, it took awhile to tolerate him. He still makes my skin crawl but I have to admit, he's efficient." The Master shook himself physically and then turned back to the other task at hand. "Poor Doctor. All his hopes and dreams dashed," came the taunt at the Time Lord's back. "This does open up an opportunity, though." Again, the Master circled him, positioning himself between the Doctor and the door. "Join me and we can recreate our race greater than they were before."

"What of my wife... my son... the human race? I can't turn my back on them."

"Why not? As the Captain said, it would be keeping with the status quo. As to your wife... I'd suggest working on healing her. And your son is no longer yours, remember? He's mine now."

The Doctor turned his head towards the Master, his expression unreadable. "And if I cooperate... if I submit to this plan of yours... may I have my son back?"

The Master huffed a laugh. "Of course not. But perhaps if you heal her and she lets you touch her again, you'll have another. In the meantime..." He took several steps back through the door. "Have a pleasant reunion," he finished as the door slammed shut.

The Doctor turned to look at Rose and noticed that she'd moved into the far left corner of the room, as far from him as she could possibly go. He exhaled slowly, his mind already running at a hundred miles an hour on how to help Rose, get her and their son to safety, and do what he now admitted to himself he should have been doing all these years, namely saving the Earth from the Master's control. If only he hadn't ignored Glad's entreat and listened to her when she told him it was time to leave. Instead he'd done exactly what Jack said he had. He'd hidden himself away to live the life he wanted, not the life he was called to live. He turned to give Rose a smile, receiving only a fearful gaze. He slowly walked towards her, keeping himself calm so as not to scare her anymore. "Rose, I won't hurt you. I love you. How could I hurt my wife?"

"You're dirty. Filthy. Stay away from me."

He raised his hands when he realized that she wasn't going to allow him to get any nearer to her than he already was, which was only half way across the room. Even that distance, he could tell, was uncomfortable for her. "Okay," he told her gently, taking a step back. "How about I just sit here and we can talk?"

"What is there to talk about? Everything has changed. Everything."

"Not our love," he replied. "That hasn't changed, has it?"

She blinked at him in confusion, tilting her head as she regarded him. "Who are you?"

Her words were like knives being forced into his hearts. Backing into an opposite corner in shock, he dropped to the floor and pulled his legs up against his chest. He now knew for sure. It wasn't that the bond was being muffled by some trick of the Master. It was that most of it had been severed and the small string left was something only he could feel. He laid his forehead on his knees, hiding the tears and holding back the sobs as the final devastation that she didn't even recognize him settled into his gut.