The pain made her legs weak. If she wouldn't still clutch his jacket she probably would just fall. The Master though didn't move, didn't help her in any way, just stood there, like cold rock, watching as she desperately fought to stay conscious.

"Och, come on, don't make such a fuss about it," he snickered. "Wretched human body, eh? Can't stand anything."

She had been injured before. Once or twice even rather badly. But never before in such a way. Taking in one breath after the other, slow and deep, she tried to stabilize herself, tried to get her focus to something else but the pain, throbbing in her flesh.

"Let's see... I'm not the best with spontaneous ideas." The Master chuckled and loosened Roka's hands from his lapels before taking a few steps back, eyes fixated on her as she dropped against the wall with closed eyes, breathing heavily. "Such a pathetic thing. You're not even worthy being called my enemy. Where's the fun in that?"

Finally Roka forced her eyes open to stare at him, still unable to form a proper thought. All she could do was silently watch as he went on rambling.

"How about a proper hunt? What do you think?" He grinned madly at her. "There is a functioning Vortex Manipulator in the TARDIS. I could give it to you. See how far you come while having me in your back." Excitedly he strode around, his voice filled with enthusiasm. "Or even better... you don't age. You have all the time ever needed. How about I just leave you here?" He laughed out loud at the thought. "I bet you would even have fun with that. Using all that fine tech around to build yourself your own time machine... can you do that?"

She glared at him, eyes pinched, having to clench her teeth to bare the pain, while she felt blood still oozing out of the cuts.

"Oh, I bet you can. Or maybe steal a ship. There are enough space traveling species around."

Was this how everything would end?

"I could set a time limit... maybe... a hundred years? What do you think? Too long, too short?" He threw a quick glance at her, but obviously didn't even await an answer.

A century... that was whole human lifespan, her tired mind reminded her. A whole life she would have to spend as a ghost, trying to... to what even? To hold on long enough until he would come back to...

"After that I might even grant you a nice death. Or a slow one. Depending on what you earned yourself." Again he chuckled.

"What..." she barely brought out. "What's the point of this?"

With a few quick steps he was back in front of her, pushed one arm to the wall behind her and glared down at her with a manic glint in his eyes.

"You want that imbecile Doctor to be free, eh? How about you go and free him yourself." He put a finger under her chin to raise her head.

There was so much raging chaos in his eyes, it was hard to look at them for long. It scared her, in a new and different way than what she had felt moments ago. This was who he usually was. Who he had been. Slowly the thought crept into her mind that he had changed since they were traveling together. So slow and subtly that neither she nor him had even noticed it. All this time he had been a little calmer, a little more composed. And seemingly a tiny little bit happier.

All of it gone within one single moment, wiped away, maybe never to return.

"What if I... refuse to play along?" She forced a mean smile onto her face.

For a moment he thought, but then his face lit up with a happy grin. "I'll just go back and kill him instantly." With that he pushed himself away from the wall again, still towering above her.

Of course... he wouldn't leave her a choice. And he knew all of her weaknesses. Better than anyone else.

"What if I agree, but don't act on it?" she tried.

"Oh, that's what the time limit is for." Again the smile, as if he were all too satisfied with the idea. "If you don't manage to free him until then... you're both dead."

How could he sound so happy at that? Like a child explaining how to play marbles. Roka tried as hard as she could to think. Slowly she slid her back up the wall to stand properly again. But the more she moved the more the wound bled. It just wouldn't stop. Her hand wandered to her chest, where she could feel her very life flowing out of her with every breath, seeping through her fingers. Perplex she looked at her hand, covered in so much blood, shaking. The left side of her previously light blue blouse was completely drenched in red.

Seeing it like that made her feel sick again. What could she do? How could she get out of this? Desperately she tried to focus her mind, to step out of herself, become a mere observer instead of a participant. She was so good at this. Usually. Now it didn't want to work.

What if she simply told him that she no longer cared about the Doctor? Would he believe it? No, of course not. He might be insane and completely out of control, but he wasn't stupid.

She pressed the hand back over the wound as if it could stop the bleeding. It was such an instinctive move, but she couldn't prevent it. How much blood had she lost already? Her legs were so weak. And right as she thought this they yielded under her, making her sink down at the wall until she sat on her heels, her hands brushing the thin layer of snow on the ground. With a weird clarity she noted that it was way too warm, not feeling like the snow she was used to.

A short laugh escaped her, then another, until she was quietly giggling to herself like a lunatic. This was so ridiculous. How could it end like this? The sound of rustling clothes made her look up. The Master had crouched down in front of her, disbelieve and curiosity in his gaze.

"There won't be any games," she said with a grin and laughed again. "Don't think I'll make it long enough to play with you." Slowly she took her hand from the wound, showing him how bad it looked. With every word she spoke another small gush of red poured out of the cuts. Enough to be visible through the cloth.

He just stared at it, head slightly tilted, no emotion showing on his face. Just watching as every heartbeat brought her closer to death.

"Is it fun?" she asked. "To watch me die?" She chuckled lightly. "I hope it is." The symbol had long stopped being visible, making her tug at her blouse with shaking hands to look at it once more. It had some elegance to it, with the lines and circles and the glimmering red. "At least tell me what it means. I can't read it."

The Master didn't budge, didn't say a word. He just continued to watch in silence, while it got harder and harder for Roka to focus on anything. Not long and she would pass out, never to wake up again. And no matter how hard she tried to feel it, there still was no fear. She felt... weirdly calm and even smiled a little. It wasn't like people always said, didn't feel cold. It was more like a subtle warmth spreading inside her, like a tender embrace, as if death himself would hold her in his arms until she was ready to be taken away.

"No." the Master finally said, barely audible. Roka heard some rustling. "This is what you want, right? I still don't understand it. Why do you want to die so desperately?"

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Idiot. That was half my life ago." Speaking had gotten so hard by now. Her lips felt numb, as if they were too cold to move and her voice was incredibly quiet. "That's the last thing I want. I simply lost the fear of it." Breathing also got harder. "Guess if you accept it once... you can never return. But if I had a choice... I would choose to stay."

Some more time passed. Probably. It was hard to perceive by now, but it felt as if minutes had gone by before she suddenly felt a touch on her skin, right in the middle of the wound. As it retreated a shock went through her, making her whimper in pain. It felt as if her skin was melting, but it only lasted for a few seconds. Heavily breathing she glanced down and saw a tiny round patch sitting on her skin. The cuts had stopped bleeding. The Master stretched out his hand and removed the patch again.

"Can't play with a corpse after all." He glared at the patch on his finger and threw it away. "Convenient little things." He got out something else from his pocket. It looked like a small syringe, filled with a weird brown substance. Without hesitating he injected it into her neck.

It reminded her unpleasantly of the poison he had used on her so long ago, but instead of experiencing a new pain or any other bad effects she actually started to feel... better. Perplex she looked up, while feeling a little bit of strength returning to her body.

"You haven't even lost a really dangerous amount of blood," he stated amused. "Few vitamins and minerals... bit of sugar... should be all you need to be fit again within a minute. Well... mostly."

Suddenly Roka snorted. "You injected me with an energy drink?"

Her words made a slightly amused glint appear in his eyes. "Basically... I'm afraid I don't carry coffee around with me."

Oh how she wished they could just laugh about this and then go on as if it hadn't happened. It was still there. This weird companionship they had formed, lingering between them like an invisible force. But neither of them were able to find the right words to tap into it, make it reappear. It was too late for that.

"Just so you know..." Slowly and carefully Roka heaved herself onto her feet again. "It's a dumb game. But since you leave me no choice..." A wicket smile wandered to her face. "I won't hesitate to use everything I have against you. No way you can win this." If that was what he wanted, he would get it.

The Master chuckled satisfied and pinned her against the wall with one hand, pushing against the still hurting wound. Roka cried out at the pain and cursed nastily at him. With a manic grin he leaned down to her. "I'm looking forward to it. Even if you can free him... I will still hunt you."

"I will," she brought out between clenched teeth. "But sure, come after me. Then I might finally smack that stupid grin out of your face." Her brows furrowed and she held eye contact, although it was hard.

"You want to return to him so desperately?" His hand pressed against the wound some more, making her gasp. "Good... will only make you fight harder." He chuckled darkly and gave her a mocking smile. "Just think about it... finally together with him again... What a touching moment that will be, don't you think?"

Slowly she shook her head, but he was pressing against the wound so hard it made it impossible to speak. No, she thought. No... you're getting it wrong.

"Shouldn't even surprise me." He cocked an eyebrow. "First opportunity you see..."

"No!" Roka protested, fighting back the pain and feeling a sudden anger welling up. "I never wanted to go back!"

"Oh? What then? Getting me locked away? Seeing me dead?"

She squirmed under his grip, tore at his arm. She even tried to punch him.

"I know your kind, it's always the same," he mused on, ignoring her struggles easily. With a nasty grin he glared at her. "What did you want then, eh?"

She tried to kick him, tried to ignore the pain and just focus on her anger. "All I want is to stay with you!" she cried out in frustration.

The pain vanished instantly as the Master backed off as if she had slapped him.

"Dammit..." she took some deep, heavy breaths with closed eyes. "You've got it all wrong, you moron." When she opened her eyes again she saw his face twisting in a mix of confusion and anger and... something else she couldn't name. "I want him free..." she said shakily, "So I could stay without having to conspire against you. Really wouldn't want to do that."

"Why... would you?" he finally asked with squinted eyes. "You're lying."

A humorless laugh escaped her. "Is it really so hard to believe?" She smiled tiredly. "I had fun. More than ever. Even though you're a horrible guy, but I do enjoy being around you."

The Master stared at her, his eyes filled with something that could almost be panic, darting back and forth between her face and the wound on her chest, as if he would finally realize what he had done to her. It was as if Roka could read his mind for a change, see how a question was ticking in it, tormenting him as he looked at her. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, then stared at his hand that was covered in Roka's blood, clenched it to a fist and finally rammed it to the wall behind her head. He looked furious, mad, but at himself this time.

She winced a little, but stayed still, putting a hand up against his chest.

"Yes, you totally screwed up." She smiled to her hand, feeling his hearts racing under it. "Funny... you've been in my memories. There is literally no one who knows more about me... and you still don't get it."

"Guess it's too late for that now," he growled.

And if he were any other person Roka would have been sure he was about to apologize. She looked up and saw it in his eyes, but the words never left his mouth.

"Why's that?" She grinned, tapping against the wound. "You really think this changed anything?"

His eyes widened. "What? But that's..."

"Insane?" She laughed, this time honestly amused. "Yup. I think I completely lost it. Let's just say you owe me something for that. Something freaking big that is."

"How..." His other hand grabbed her collar and pressed her further against the wall. "How can you still smile at me?" He gulped, glaring down at all the blood on her clothes.

"I like how much it annoys you." She stuck out her tongue at his puzzled face.

"You don't get it." He leaned closer down. "I enjoy hurting you."

Roka gulped. She knew what he meant, knew that he did, in the moment at least. But he obviously could feel remorse, and that was enough for her. If only she could stay. She tried to lower her head, but couldn't move it enough.

"As long as you keep patching me up afterwards," Roka retorted sarcastically.

He grabbed her collar tighter and leaned down closer, glaring right into her eyes. "I won't," he mumbled. "I will shred you into tiny pieces." It sounded more like something he wouldn't be able to prevent rather than a threat. He swallowed and gingerly skimmed a finger along her face, leaned a little closer and slightly against her forehead. "And then burn them... one by one," he murmured so quietly she almost couldn't hear it.

Roka's heart hammered in her throat, her eyes glued to his, and suddenly she felt shaky once more. Her hands instinctively grabbed his jacket again, pulled him even a little closer. She opened her mouth, barely able to speak, had to swallow.

"Try me."

In an instant he closed the gap between them and captured her lips. So careful and gently, she trembled at the touch. Roka's heartbeat exploded and she completely froze, time itself dissolved, stopped in its flow. And her eyes fluttered shut as the Master carefully ignited a fire deep inside her, burning her with every touch of his lips against hers until something in her mind just snapped, making her finally push herself further against him, responding, deepening the kiss with a fierce intensity she hadn't known she was capable of.

But only a second later he pulled himself away all of a sudden, glaring down at her with an utterly perplex expression.

His hand snapped up, a finger pointing towards her face and it took him a moment to breath, before he demanded, "That... absolutely never happened."

Roka's head was dizzy and something inside her was screaming in agony at the sudden loss of contact. But then she grinned amused. "You have a weird perception of reality."

He took a step away, shifted uncomfortably and thrust his hands inside his pants pockets, eyes darting everywhere but at Roka. "No... just," he mumbled and paused before his face lit up a little. "Just had a bit of alcohol. Probably too much." And he nodded to himself as if that would explain everything.

"Huh, peculiar," she retorted. "And I was under the impression that would only affect Time Lords if they want it to."

Was he right though? Things were confusing and uncertain enough right now. It would be a lot easier to just pretend this had never occurred. For now. Nothing had changed about the situation after all, although she had a slight hunch that he might have lost every interest in chasing her through the universe.

Roka's hand wandered above her heart and she felt the cuts pulsating beneath the cloth. Good thing it wasn't bleeding anymore or it would have probably killed her by now as fast as her pulse still was. And it made her remember...

She wouldn't vanish.

Which meant she had literally all the time in the universe to solve all of this. The thought alone, paired with the adrenalin in her veins let a grin appear on her face and she pushed herself away from the wall, her steps a bit shaky.

"You know what?" She trod to the Master and poked his chest so he would - hesitantly - look at her. "Alcohol actually sounds like a good idea. There has to be a pub in a spot like this."

"Err..." His eyebrows raised confused. "Yes, down there..." he nodded behind her. "But..."

"Perfect. You owe me some drinks after cutting me open like that. And it's a better place to talk than out here." She glinted at him and plainly started to walk into the direction he had pointed at, calling back, "You'll pay."

"Uh... hey! Will you wait?!" he called after Roka and followed.

"What is it?" Without getting slower she turned her head around with a defiant spark in her eyes. "Still not drinking with me?"