The Master looked down at the camp. He wasn't fooled by the appearance; the Doctor was here, possibly in an underground base.
That complicated things, but what was more troublesome was the Doctor.
He was already difficult and not getting any better. His psychosis was never far from the surface.
Finding Seska had been a bonus, but the Doctor's rapid descent into madness was a problem, and when he'd seen the monstrous thing in the Doctor's memory, it became worse; it made his stomach turn...how was he going to deal with this?
Whatever he did, he would have to deal with the consequences. Whoever was responsible wasn't going to die quickly and he already knew how...at the hands of the Doctor; he was far more dangerous...oh what sport it would be.
But first he had to get to him and that had taken on a greater urgency; the humans were about to do something that only regeneration could heal...and he didn't want that.
He turned to his second-in-command. "Find the door, leave no-one alive but the Doctor," he snarled.
It smiled inwardly at the order, taking over the human was a strategic victory; it could be close to the two things its prize valued the most.
It didn't need to see into the mind of the man to know there was something between its prize and the man; it had seen that much in its former host's memories.
It knew it might not possess its prize, so it decided on another path, one it had tried once before but had failed. If it worked, then it would have a permanent foothold in this existence and if it worked, what a powerful foothold it would be.
Yes, it would do that and it knew exactly how it was going to achieve it.
"Find me a door...leave only the Doctor alive."
The man's voice stopped its thoughts and it assumed its role as the man's second-in-command.
Donna had come round and when she found she was in a cell, she'd made her displeasure known...but all it had gained her was a sore throat and being chained to her small bunk.
Worry gnawed at her; not for herself, but for the Doctor. She had no idea where he was or what they were doing to him, and in his state of mind, she was frightened ...frightened that it would push him father into madness...frightened that he would break free and go on a murderous rampage...that was only if he wasn't already laid out like some frog, pinned to a table.
She started to yell again when a voice said.
"Save your voice, human. They will not answer you."
Human...they had other prisoners and alien ones at that.
"My name is Donna Noble."
"I am called Resh and Donna Noble, you will never leave."
"But I've done nothing wrong."
And neither have I, but here I am."
"How long have you been here?"
"Too long and every day I beg them to end my life...to release me from this hell."
Donna took a breath and asked. "Are they torturing you?"
There was a short laugh. "They call it research. So Donna Noble, what did you do to deserve such a fate?"
"My friend, he's an alien and we've gone from worse to worse."
"How can anything be worse than this?"
"You really don't want to know," she replied.
"If your friend has the gods with him, they might dissect him and not revive him...but if not, you will hear his screams."
Donna didn't reply as the image of an eviscerated Doctor filled her head.
Silence fell again and she started to doze, until she was startled into awareness by an alarm and the metallic shunk of bolts being slammed further into place; she and her fellow prisoner were locked up tighter.
Whatever was happening, they were being left to their fate.
The Doctor let out a snarl of frustration; he could hear the alarm, but he could do nothing. The drugs that were immobilising him were still in his system and his body was taking too long to metabolise it.
He could hear the woman talking to someone.
"You can't let them get to this level."
"I am well aware of the dangers. Continue with the procedure, the problem is being dealt with."
The Doctor couldn't help the laugh escaping and the woman turned.
"You find this amusing?"
She asked as she returned to his side, syringe still in hand."
"I've often wondered what it was like when a herd of cattle is attacked by wolves."
"You thing we're cattle?"
"You're right, that's an insult to cattle. How about plankton being eating by a whale."
The woman scowled. "Hemming's was right, you are arrogant and think you're better than us."
"That's because I am," he snarled and moved now the drug had finally left his system.
The woman back-pedalled but wasn't fast enough, and he caught one of her arms and pulled her towards him. With his free hand he snatched the syringe from her hand.
He looked at the liquid and scowled. "Serum Five. You do realise that this can be fatal to me...but of course, you would know, this is Torchwood and Captain Harkness was obsessive in his record keeping."
He looked at the woman and then at the syringe. "Hmm...if this is Time Lord strength, I wonder what it would do to a human?"
He plunged the syringe into the woman's exposed arm and it hissed as the contents emptied.
The effects were instant and she went into a seizure. He let go of her and she dropped to the floor, her head hitting the floor hard.
The fit didn't last long and she was dead within seconds.
He sighed."That was disappointing...oh well, I'm sure there's more sport upstairs."
He closed his eyes and sought the Master and the reply was instant.
"Si'arila. Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine."
"Don't lie to me, I feel your pain."
"It's bearable...where are you?"
"Looking for a door."
"I can help with that," he said and moved to the ex-doctor's terminal and as he sat down he felt the pain from the bruises...not just the ones from the restraints and he would be paying White Coat back for those.
He made short work of the fire wall and a deep rumble sounded from somewhere above.
"The door is open, Inari. I will meet you."
"No, stay where you are."
He bridled at the order. "Don't tell me what to do," he snarled.
"You will stay," the Master snapped back and he felt a pressure in his mind.
"Don't use that on me, I'm not one of your lackeys."
Any reply from the Master was lost in the sound of the door to the room being unlocked. He stood and ducked behind the terminal as the door opened.
Four soldiers entered...so much for staying here, he thought...time to test his fighting skills.
With a snarl he leaped from his hiding place, straight for the surprised soldiers.
Two died quickly, killing each other with their own weapons as they fired at a will'o'the wisp. Another soldier turned and ran as a snarling form broke the neck of his fellow soldier.
He knew he should have let him go and he should have listened to the Master, but his blood was hot with battle rage and he had a lot of rage.
He never noticed the soldier aiming a weapon at him.
"Target in sight...do I shoot to wound or to kill?"
The soldier nodded when the answer came and the crack of a bullet being loosed filled the air.