For the Sake of an Angel

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Glass


Guest review responses:

G.A Icarus: Thank you! I tried to make Addie as realistic as possible. You'll see a bit more of that resistance to change towards the end of this chapter, too, as well as more development in the Doctor/Addie relationship. I hope you like it!

popkiskart: Thanks! If by soon, you mean five months later, than I'm glad to have met your request! I really am so sorry for the delay :( And your English is great! I can barely speak a second language, so I'm clearly matching up to the ignorant American stereotype, haha. Enjoy!


Cold metal cut into her wrists, and Addie watched her reflection miserably in the cuffs that bound her to one of the men she had once thought she hated the most in the universe. Somehow, though, after all this time, she couldn't bring herself to despise the Master. Not anymore. No matter how much she tried to deny it, he was family, and he had miraculously fostered a soft spot for her somewhere in his maddened hearts.

Unfortunately, the tenderness he felt for her did not always translate into the typical ways people showed their care, because although she knew he loved her in his own twisted way, the Master did not trust anyone, least of all her. Hence, the handcuffs - a physical method of bonding them that didn't require the Master having to invest his trust in his cousin, and yet still forced her to stay by his side.

Addie supposed she should count herself lucky, as she surveyed the room; Wilf was now in the chair she had been tied up in, and the Doctor was strapped rather uncomfortably into a portable medical chair with a gag across his mouth. Despite this, he seemed to be more worried about Addie, who was merely bound by one metal circle to the wrist of her cousin.

She gave him a weak smile. That was so typical of him.

Though she was loathe to admit it, Addie knew she had some semblance of trust in the Master, judging by the fact that she wasn't panicking as much as she thought she would be. She knew he wouldn't assault her - not physically, at least. It was safer to play along for the time being.

Oh, yes, Addie was aware that she was playing a dangerous game, but she didn't have much choice in the matter, did she?

Ring, ring.

Addie, startled but trying to mask it, quickly schooled her face back into the unreadable expression she had been hiding behind for the past few minutes. It was futile, but she prayed that the Master had been too distracted by his plotting to have heard the phone.

"But that's a mobile." The Master observed warily, twisting his head to look at Wilf, and then the Doctor. Addie determinedly glanced away from him.

Wilf's eyes were round with fear. "Yeah, it's mine. Let me turn it off."

The Master shook his head and prowled towards the older man, tugging a reluctant Addie behind him. "No, no, no, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?"

Addie's mouth ran before she had fully thought out her answer. "It's me." The Master turned towards her incredulously, and she steeled her nerves. "Future me. I wouldn't answer that, if I were you."

The Master studied her for a minute, then let out a bark of laughter. "Centuries later, and you're still a horrible liar. In fact, human you is even worse at it than Time Lady you." He rolled his eyes and began to rifle through Wilf's coat as he muttered, "Yet another reason for you to open that bloody fob watch."

Addie exhaled frustratedly at how quickly her lie had been discovered. "Well, it was worth a shot."

The Master suddenly pulled out the revolver that Addie had seen earlier from Wilf's pocket, an amused gleam in his eyes. He could almost taste the Doctor's guilt in the air. "Oooh, and look at this. Good man!"

Tossing it nonchalantly on the floor, he finally found the phone and flipped open the screen. "Donna. Who's Donna?"

"She's no one. Just leave it." Wilf pleaded.

Addie stared longingly at the gun a few feet away from her, but knew that if she tried to grab it, the Master would stop her long before she got near - besides, Addie didn't think she could bring herself to murder him. She pushed down the voice of self-reproach that lectured her for not wanting to kill the Master, and instead focused on trying to steal the phone from his hand.

The Master easily held it above her head as Donna's voice sobbed, "Gramps, don't hang up. You've got to help me." Addie reached up and managed to smack it out of his grasp. The mobile fell to the floor, and she instantly snatched it up, cradling it protectively against her chest as the Master rolled his eyes at her dramatic antics. "I ran out, but everyone was changing."

Deciding to let Addie have her small victory, the Master demanded, "Who is she? Why didn't she change?"

Addie kept her mouth firmly shut, but Wilf, quailing under the Master's manic glare, explained, "Well, it was this thing the Doctor did. He did it to her. The Metacrisis."

"Gramps, I can't hear you." Donna's voice cracked as the Master cursed the Doctor under his breath.

Addie hesitated, then decided to answer. "Donna, it's me, Adeline. I can't promise that everything's going to be fine, but you need to stay calm."

"Oh, that's reassuring." The Master snorted delightedly.

Addie shot him a dirty look as Donna bleated, "Adeline? Where's Gramps? Why have you got his phone? What's happened to him?"

She stared helplessly at the Doctor, not knowing how to react to Donna's barrage of questions; her mind was in such a delicate state that Addie knew if she said too much, her brain could implode.

"Are you there? Are you still there? Can you hear me?"

The Master deftly took the phone back from Addie, as she was distracted by the nonverbal conversation she was having with the Doctor, and ordered the former Naismith via the nearby screen, "Find her. Trace the call."

"No, don't do this." Addie pleaded. "Why can't you just leave her be?"

He looked down at her irritatedly. "I've already got one loose cannon, thank you. Now," He thrust the phone towards Wilf's ear, "say goodbye to the freak, Granddad."

Wilf took his chances. "Donna, get out of there! Just get out of there. I'm telling you, run!"

"She's on Wessex Lane, Chiswick." The Naismith-Master announced over the com. "Open the phone lines. Everyone on Wessex Lane. Red alert."

"What do I do?" Donna cried out.

"Run, sweetheart, that's all. Run for your life!"

The sound of feet pounding against pavement filled the room, punctuated by Donna's shaky breathing. "There's more of them. They're everywhere."

"Look, I'm telling you to run, Donna." Wilf's voice broke. "Just run, sweetheart."

The Master bit his lip mock sympathetically.

"It's not just them. I can see those things again. Those creatures." Donna's pitch grew higher in alarm. "Why can I see a giant wasp?"

Addie stumbled closer to the phone. "No, no, no. Don't think about that, Donna. Stop it, stop it right now."

The Master's eyebrows rose curiously as he allowed the conversation to continue.

"And it hurts." Donna sobbed. "My head. It keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!"

Her volume crescendoed until there was a sudden silence.

"I don't want to die…" Donna's weak voice whispered.

The call ended.

Only the Doctor was smiling knowingly, the tell-tale sign of his eyes crinkling up at the edges was what gave him away. Addie gave him a beaming grin this time as he sent her a cheeky, reassuring wink. Unfortunately, this only served to infuriate the Master even more as he stormed over to the Doctor, causing Addie to let out a low hiss of pain as the metal rubbed against her rope burns.

By the time he was in front of the Doctor and had ripped the gag off, the Doctor was no longer smiling. "Take those cuffs off of her. Can't you see you're hurting her?"

A barely detectable flash of guilt hit the Master's eyes. "It's not my fault she's a wild animal." He leaned forward over the Doctor dangerously. "But, no, tell me about your little companion."

Addie nodded reassuringly at the Doctor, and, just like that, the smug grin was back on his face. "Really, did you think I'd leave our best friend without a defence mechanism?"

Wilf perked up across the room. "Doctor? What happened?"

"She's all right. She's fine, I promise. She'll just sleep." The Doctor kept his eyes focused on the Master's, noting the rage that swirled menacingly within their depths.

"Tell me," The Master's voice became velvety as he changed tactics, "where's your TARDIS?"

The Doctor stared at him pityingly. "You could be so wonderful."

Flecks of spit flew from the blond man's mouth. "Where is it?"

"You're a genius." The Doctor continued persuasively. "You're stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honour - our honour. Because you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."

A strange yearning that didn't feel completely her own filled Addie, and she instinctively latched onto the Master's hand. His confused eyes turned to look at her, and she said, voice quavering, "Please. It would be perfect, just imagine."

His fingers tightened around hers. "Would it stop, then?" He said softly. "The noise in my head?"

"We can help." The Doctor offered, side-stepping the question.

The Master's face began to shut down. Addie could tell that they were fighting a losing battle, and she latched on all the more. "I don't know what I'd be without that noise." He confessed.

"I wonder what I'd be, without you." The Doctor replied after a moment.

The Master hesitated, and Addie held her breath as a barely audible sniffle was heard. Was the Master… crying?

"Yeah." He agreed, attempting to smile. It was the most human that Addie had ever seen him, and she saved this image of a vulnerable Master in her mind as evidence that he could be liberated from himself.

Unfortunately, it couldn't last forever.

"What does he mean? What noise?" Wilf called, straining against his restraints.

It was perhaps the first time that Addie ever felt anger towards that man as the Master slipped through their fingers. She could only watch on with regret as the mask fell back over his eyes.

"It began on Gallifrey, as children." The Master dropped Addie's hand coldly. "Not that you'd call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism."

"What does that mean?"

Addie sent Wilf a condescending glare, her eyes burning with irritation and sadness as she started to open her mouth to say something scathing. However, once she saw his scared eyes again, she lost her fire and instead cast her gaze to the ground guiltily at what she had almost done. It wasn't Wilf's fault that the Master had turned out this way, and it was certainly not Wilf's fault that the Master had decided to attempt world domination yet again.

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality. You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts." The Doctor answered.

The Master's eyes glazed over. "They took me there in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums. The never ending drums." His fingers tapped his thigh as he shut his eyes in ecstasy. "Listen to it." He breathed. "Listen."

"Then let's find it." The Doctor leaped on the opportunity. "All of us."

"Except…." The Master started slowly, a beatific grin forming on his face. "Oh. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that's good."

Addie's brows furrowed as she tried to deduce the origins of the Master's sudden epiphany.

"What? What is?" The Doctor strained against his bounds.

"He doesn't need us." Addie connected the dots disgustedly. "He's already got a planet full of people who can hear the drums, now."

The Master let out a giggle of exultation and gave her a playful noogie. "Ooh, clever, clever cousin of mine. The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads on this planet. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes."

He picked up the shocked girl and spun her around. In the middle of doing so, his skeleton reappeared with a flash of eerie blue light. Addie felt the current go through her and let out a small yelp, flailing her limbs to get out of his embrace. When she came crashing to the floor, and, by default, bringing the Master down with her, several strands of ginger hair floated around her head and a tingling sensation still danced upon her fingertips.

"The Gate wasn't enough. You're still dying." The Doctor observed concernedly.

"This body was born out of death." The Master said bitterly, getting to his feet again and pulling Addie up by her arm. "All it can do is die. But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said 'the end of time.'"

"I said 'something is returning.' We were shown a prophecy. That's why we need your help." The Doctor earnestly stated.

The Master approached the Doctor, the glint of madness returning to his expression. "What if I'm part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away. From the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source." The Master stopped for breath and slunk even closer. "Oh, Doctor. That's what your prophecy was. Me!"

He brought his hand back and slapped the Doctor's face to punctuate his words. Addie flinched at the sudden movement and was instantly on her guard again as the Master's countenance fell into a frown once more.

"Where's the TARDIS?"

The Doctor rotated his face back to look at the Master, his cheek already reddening from the unexpected blow. "No. Just stop. Just think."

The Master studied him incredulously, then barked an order out to a nearby soldier. "Kill him."

Addie stood there, bewildered for a second, until she saw the soldier-Master cock a gun at Wilf. Without thinking, she instantly slapped the Master and felt a keen sense of satisfaction as his head turned to the side from the force of her hand.

"Don't you dare." Addie threatened, enjoying the burning she felt in her hand as she shook the tingles out of her fingers. Perhaps she was a bit of a masochist, after all.

The Master snapped. "You don't get to tell me what to do. That's not how this works." He shook their bound wrists together for emphasis, the sound of metal clanging together serving as a redundant reminder of her current situation. "I'm the Master, you're the prisoner. Now, shut up."

"Or what?" Addie spat, her sympathies for her cousin long gone.

"Addie, this is not helping." The Doctor hurriedly said as he again tried to free himself. He could see that this family confrontation was going downhill, fast.

They both ignored him.

"Go on." The Master encouraged her. "Keep running your mouth, see what happens."

Feeling a presence behind her, Addie quickly shifted to the side, just as another soldier-Master had been about to knock her out. "You can't fool me with the same trick twice." Addie narrowed her eyes at the appropriately abashed Time Lord. "I - "

"I know, I know." The Master groaned exasperatedly. "That's why I've employed another strategy."

"Oh, and what is that?" Addie raised her eyebrows, her temper getting the best of her again. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she knew that she was getting far too distracted, but she couldn't seem to help herself. Ironically, the Master just knew how to press her buttons.

He smirked, mischief dancing in his eyes. "This."

Addie only had moments to gape in surprise down the barrel of her alpha meson blaster before she was blinded by a blast of light.

Perhaps she could be fooled twice, after all.


When she came to a few hours later, a very different scene played before her blurry vision.

"You know, you really are far too reckless." The Master commented conversationally, and Addie sat bolt-upright once she realized she had been leaning against his shoulder. "All of this could have been avoided if you just hadn't provoked me."

"Considering that those words just came from the most psychopathic of all the psychopaths there ever were or will be in all of time and space, you'll have to forgive me if I don't take your advice to heart." Addie lashed out, feeling pleasantly surprised once she noticed that the handcuffs were off her wrist. "Why no bondage?"

"No need." The Master stretched. "The Doctor's gone for now. He left you behind." He added gleefully.

"I'm sure it's not that simple." Addie did her best to keep her face neutral. "Things are never what they seem with the Doctor."

"Then you don't know him as well as you think you do." The Master vaguely replied. "So far, we - I've - tracked him down to a range of approximately one hundred thousand miles above the Earth, but that range is growing smaller and smaller." He rubbed his hands together gleefully. "I'll be able to shoot him down in minutes."

Addie did her best to push down the toiling mass of nausea in her stomach. "How did he even get up there in the first place? The TARDIS?"

"No, that's still in the barn." The Master answered, causing Addie to let out a wheeze of surprise. He laughed. "Oh, you thought I wouldn't notice? Silly Addie." He ruffled her hair condescendingly as she leaned as far away from him as possible. "You know that old Earth saying, 'tricks are for kids'? That's wrong." He beamed, pointing at himself proudly. "They're for me."

"Sir?" The Master's voice came from a nearby screen. Addie and the Master automatically exchanged a glance before Addie stood up to move away from him. "I'm sorry, sir, we've lost him."

Addie exhaled in relief and couldn't resist one last jab at her cousin. "What was that? Tricks are for you? Because, to me, it seems like the Doctor just out-tricked you." She raised her eyebrows. "Do correct me if I'm wrong."

"Oh, shut it, you little troll." The Master stormed past her. "What about teleport coordinates? I need that information."

"He's cut the link, sir. No trace. All dead."

The Master's face fell into a look of concentration. "Addie, what would you have me do?"

She spluttered. "Me? Why are you asking me for advice?"

"So I can do the exact opposite of it." The Master rolled his eyes. "Do keep up, darling, your human brain is ever so dull."

"I would appreciate it if you could stop insulting my intelligence, thanks." Addie seethed. "And for the record, I would stop trying to find him. We both know he'll return when he's ready, regardless of whether or not that time coincides with your whims."

The Master stroked his chin. "Yes, yes, you have a point; however," He nodded to the versions of him nearby to open fire at the screens, "there's no harm in enhancing security for when he does decide to come back."

A bolt of fear jolted through her spine as the sound of gunfire attacked her ears, and she couldn't help the squeak that came out of her lips. The screens before her were shattered in a radial formation, glass particles dusting the floor in a light layer that could have been mistaken for snow if they hadn't been inside. With the light from the monitors gone, the room was much darker, and somehow, much, much colder.

Addie couldn't repress a shiver as the Master's face was suddenly illuminated by the flickering flame of a lighter he had in his pocket.

"Now, I think it's time we had a little chat, don't you?"


Well, it was less of a chat and more of a debate, if they were both being honest.

"I'll ask you again." The Master started calmly, his fingers steepled in front of his face. As he took a deep breath in, however, that all went out the door. "Why haven't you opened the bloody fob watch?"

Addie was just about ready to tear her hair out. "Because it's my decision and I'm not ready yet." She snarled for the umpteenth time. "If the Doctor couldn't convince me to open it, why on Earth, no, why in all of time and space, would you think you could succeed where he couldn't? I'm not changing for you, I'm not changing for him, and I'm most definitely not changing for any other Time Lord or Lady that comes along, including my own mother."

The Master's eyes lit up at the new tidbit of information he had unwittingly pulled from his cousin. "So you finally remember the Author, then? How is my dear fanatic auntie doing, anyways?" He snorted amusedly. "Well, she is dead, of course, so she can't be doing too well."

Addie felt all the fight drain out of her and she let herself sink back into the pillows behind her. "You're not wrong." She acquiesced, bringing the cup of lukewarm tea to her lips. When the Master had offered her something to drink earlier, she had been incredibly suspicious and had engaged in a preliminary word battle before she had caved in for a cup of soothing, steaming green tea. So far, she still had no regrets.

Staring into the rapidly fading vibrancy of the tea, she observed the pattern of the particles at the bottom; it looked uncannily like an eleven and she uneasily swirled the liquid around to disturb the numbers.

"And how do you feel about your dear mum?" The Master wondered, noticing how much she had withdrawn.

"I feel…" Addie began, chewing on her lip, "Well, I used to feel furious that she had chosen this life for me, to save me from the fall of Gallifrey without my having a say in it, but I suppose that's what mothers do." Her hand quivered as she placed the cup onto the side table and she forcibly made it stop with her other arm. "They do their best for their children until they're able to make their own decisions."

There was a brief pause of silence as Addie mulled over why she had suddenly spilled her heart out to her diabolical cousin.

"I would be grateful." The Master finally spoke up, his tone serious for once. His eyes were tormented with images of war, heartache and grief - of the loneliness and fear that had driven him to the end of the universe sheerly to escape from that hell. "As I am grateful to your mother for saving you, for protecting the one person who had an ounce of care for me - for you, my dearest, darling Addie."

Addie stiffened as he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head, incredibly uncomfortable and stunned by his uncharacteristic act of compassion.

"I will protect you in her stead." The Master vowed, his eyes darkening. "Even if that means protecting you from yourself. Give me the watch, Adelaide. It's time to stop your little masquerade."

Addie wheeled back, thrown by the way the Master could so easily flip a mental switch. "As I've said before: no."

He rolled his eyes, about to tackle her to pry the watch out of her own shaking hands, but was interrupted by another version of himself. With a groan, he decided to let the issue rest for the time being. "What is it?"

"Night has fallen, sir." The former Naismith announced. "Every single one of us is prepared."

The Master grinned slowly. "Then we listen. All of us, across the world, just listen."

His eyes fell shut, along with the Naismith-Master's, and Addie hesitantly got to her feet, still cradling the mug in her hand as a makeshift weapon. "Sorry, but I feel like I'm missing something. What are we listening for?"

"You're always missing something." The Naismith-Master sneered.

"Now, be a good little human and shut up." The Master finished. "Concentrate. Find the signal." His eyes shot open. "There! The sound is tangible. Someone could only have designed this. But who?"

Addie flinched minisculely as her pendant emitted a piercing burn. God, I thought I was done with that. Her eyes widened as she pieced the Master's words together with the pain that had just occurred. Every time her necklace had burned, it had been something to do with her newfound identity or her mother. Her gaze followed the Master as he excitedly paced over to a screen displaying an object falling from the sky.

"The sound. It's coming from above."

"It's coming from the sky!" The Master interjected.

It couldn't be the Author's doing… could it?

"It's a diamond, sir." A soldier-Master stated in awe. "Oh. The most impossible diamond. You won't believe this."

Everyone leaned forward from where they stood.

"It's a white-point star."


The Doctor had been furious, absolutely inconsolable once they had beamed onto the ship without Addie. A few hours later, and he was still steaming, but he had reluctantly concurred that it would have been hard for the cacti people to transport both him and a girl handcuffed to the Master, himself, along with Wilf.

It didn't mean he was content, though, and he had certainly not forgiven his rescuers, but he had more important things to worry about - like getting back to Earth, facing the Master one last time, running away from the prophecy, and, most significantly, saving Addie from her disturbed cousin's clutches (although he was sure she would smack him for viewing her as a damsel in distress, even though she was rather prone to getting herself into those situations).

"Aye, aye. Got this old tub mended?" Wilf shuffled into the room, alerting the Doctor to his presence.

"Just trying to fix the heating." The Doctor answered levelly. And come up with a plan.

"Oh." Wilf didn't seem to know what to say to that, but he didn't stay quiet for long. "I've always dreamt of a view like that. Hee, hee. I'm an astronaut. It's dawn over England, look. Brand new day." He swallowed, giving up on the pursuit of light-hearted banter - it wasn't helping either of them. "My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now. Do you think he changed them, in their graves?"

The Doctor's hands froze in their tinkering before he slowly put the tools on the mesh floor. "I'm sorry."

"No, not your fault."

"Isn't it?" The Doctor countered darkly.

Trying to distract the Time Lord from his overpowering guilt, Wilf gazed out the window for inspiration. "Oh, 1948, I was over there. End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot, I was. Stood on this rooftop, in the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad." He turned back to face the Doctor, relieved to find that some of the pain had left his stare. "Yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"I'm older than you." The Doctor said matter-of-factly.

Wilf reeled back. "Get away."

The Doctor shook his head, a small smile coming on his face. "I'm nine hundred and six."

"What, really, though?"

"Yeah."

Wilf shook his grizzled head in amazement. "Nine hundred years. We must look like insects to you."

A slideshow of all the tremendous human lives he had seen lived out played before the Doctor's eyes, ending with Donna and then Captain Adelaide Brooke. The corner of his mouth quirked up slightly. "I think you look like giants."

Wilf let that sink in for a moment, casting his gaze to the earthlight in front of them. He swallowed, chewing his lip in preparation for what he was about to propose. "Listen," He started, grabbing the Doctor's attention, "I, I want you to have this. I've kept it all this time, and I thought…" He trailed off, wilting at the Doctor's darkened gaze. Though it wasn't focused on him, but rather on the revolver in his hand, Wilf suddenly felt very ashamed.

"No."

Readying himself once more, Wilf protested, "No, but if you take it, you could - "

"No." The Doctor repeated, more gently this time as he pushed the gun away. "You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then."

Wilf chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Too scared, I suppose."

The memory of the Master shooting Addie, point-blank, with her own blaster flashed before the Doctor's eyes and he gritted his teeth, remembering the way the light had reflected in her delicately alarmed eyes before she crumpled to the ground. He forced himself to relax, comforting himself with the reminder that it had only been set to stun, but there had been too many times recently where she had nearly died. He couldn't shake the feeling of sheer inevitability that clung to his every thought.

"Doctor?" Wilf prompted concernedly.

The Doctor blinked, shaking himself free of those thoughts in the exact same way he had been doing for the past few days, perhaps weeks. "I'd be proud.'

"Of what?"

"If you were my dad." He clarified.

Wilf flushed. "Oh, come on, don't start. But you said, you were told he will knock four times and then you die. Well, that's him, isn't it? The Master. That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you, and he'll kill Addie too, if he hasn't already."

"No, he won't." The Doctor immediately said, his hearts racing at the very prospect. "He wouldn't."

"Then kill him first." Wilf pushed. "Even if he doesn't kill Addie, do you really want to leave her alone, without you? Doctor, I've seen what losing Donna did to her." He shook his head. "I can't imagine what losing you would do to that poor girl."

"Addie's strong." The Doctor argued, even though he knew that Wilf had a point. "If it's the last thing I do, she will survive this."

"Even if you don't?" Wilf whispered, not believing what he was hearing. "But, but, if the Master dies, what happens to all the people? Just, hypothetically."

The Doctor averted his eyes. "I don't know."

"Doctor, what happens?"

The Doctor exhaled, the air leaving his lungs with a whoosh. "The template snaps."

Wilf nearly jumped to his feet. "What, they go back to being human? They're alive, and human." When the Doctor didn't deny it, Wilf persevered. "Then don't you dare, sir. Don't you dare put him before them. Now you take this." Wilf shoved the revolver into the Doctor's palm and forcefully closed his fingertips over it. "That's an order, Doctor. Take the gun. You take the gun and save your life - save Addie's life. And please don't die. You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die." His voice choked up at the end, the tears getting caught in his throat.

The Doctor stared at the gun in his hands. "Never."

Wilf watched him wordlessly, great, silent sobs wracking his portly body. He didn't know what else to say.

But the ship wasn't quiet for long. As the Master's announcement echoed in each and every one of the ship's nooks and crannies, the Doctor felt an immense sense of fear overtake him. It sunk through him, deep into his bones, and caused his hearts to thrum. He could barely hear their individual beats as he was bowled over by the revelation.

They were returning. Rassilon was returning. Worst of all, the War was returning.

His hand clenched tightly around the gun.

He couldn't afford to be the Doctor anymore.


"All NATO defences coordinated, sir, awaiting your command."

"I don't need him." The Master prowled back and forth excitedly. "Any second now, I'll have Time Lords to spare. Take him out. Launch missiles!"

"Do not launch missiles!" Addie blurted frantically. Everything was happening far too fast, even for her (and she was rather used to thinking on her feet, traveling with the Doctor tended to hasten one's reflexes). "What, you can't just shoot him down! More Time Lords don't equivocate one clearly superior Time Lord. Haven't you heard of quality over quantity?"

"Yes, Addie, but this isn't pastry, this is war." The Master explained semi-patiently.

Addie wrung her fingers through her hair. "A war you're choosing to initiate."

"No, Addie, this war has been going on for a very, very long time." The Master corrected gleefully.

"He's heading straight for you." A Master stated urgently from the screen.

Addie launched herself over to the monitor. "The Doctor? He's coming?"

"More like crash-landing." The Master, himself, stated dryly. "But too late. They are almost here."

Sending him a glare, Addie hissed, "Are you enjoying this?"

"Oh, yes, immensely."

"Dumb question, you stupid idiot." Addie reprimanded herself under her breath. Okay, stop talking to yourself. Be useful.

The Master was clearly distracted in his disgusting joy over what was about to happen, so that successfully allowed Addie to slink away from his side. Of course, she was in a room full of him, so perhaps that was not as much of a bonus as she had thought. Think, Addie, think.

"I think I should warn you…" The Naismith-Master bleated from his position by the window. Addie, desperate for intel, dashed to his side. The question she had posed on her lips faded away as the answer presented itself.

"No, he really can't be that stupid, can he?" Addie let her eyes follow the ship to where it halted, hovering over the skylight. "Oh, no. No, no, no, even he can't survive that fall without some serious damage."

Frantically looking around her for something to cushion his fall and finding nothing, Addie resolved that she would just have to catch him herself. No, that's also a horrible idea. Where has your brain gone? She burst out into a half-laugh, half-sob as she fully realized what she was trying to do. They were both just going to die. This was it - death by the gravity of her falling love. Bloody fantastic.

The Master finally noticed that she had disappeared and connected the dots just in time. While her eyes were focused intently on the tiny pinstriped figure that was curled into a ball in preparation for impact, the Master roughly yanked her out of the way. She turned on him furiously, but any words she had on her tongue died once she saw the six fully materialized Time Lords in front of her. Two of the women were bent over, their faces in their hands, while two soldiers stood on either end of the party, stony expressions engraved on their countenances. A smug man proudly held onto his staff, arrogance radiating from his every pore, and Addie deduced that this had to be the infamous Rassilon that the Doctor always cursed when he was upset. Before she had a chance to shift her gaze to the final person beside the staff-bearing prick, she was startled by the piercing sound of glass shattering, followed by a nauseating thud.

It was the Doctor, making an entrance in a spectacular, yet excruciating fashion.

Addie immediately made to dash towards his side, but was held back by the Master yet again. The rage returned, so much so that it turned her fiery fury into an ice-cold calm.

"Let go of me." She enunciated, the chips of her eyes making an unspoken threat.

The Master reluctantly released her wrist and she darted over to the Doctor's prone figure. He was clearly trying to get to his feet, but failing to do so. Ignoring the glass all around them, Addie dropped to her knees and scanned his beaten face. There were gashes on his nose, brow, lips, chin, everywhere, really. Even his suit hadn't escaped the damage - tears were rampant throughout his entire outfit. Addie felt a burning at the back of her throat as she traced his shaky movement to his bloody knuckles, reaching out for a… was that a gun?

"Doctor, what are you doing?" She whispered, her voice reduced to a croak.

Teeth clenched in effort, he squeezed his eyes shut in shame. "Addie, stay back."

She adamantly shook her head. "No. Let me help you."

He finally opened his eyes and Addie felt her own well up with burning tears at the agony she found in them. Something had happened while he was up on that ship, a resolution had transpired, she could see it. "Please. I need you safe. Go to the Master."

She slowly closed her trembling lips and paused before acquiescing. Pushing off the ground and distantly noting that she now had glass shards stuck in her palms, Addie took a couple of shaky steps back so that she was no longer in the center of the room. Though it killed her inside, she watched as the Doctor once more writhed on the floor in a useless attempt to stand.

Rassilon sent the ginger girl a condescending sneer as he took the stage. "My Lord Doctor. My Lord Master. We are gathered for the end."

Hearing his nemesis's voice seemed to give the Doctor enough energy to pull himself to his knees. "Listen to me. You can't!"

Addie winced at his swollen face, now in the full light of the white point star.

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child." Rassilon commented gleefully, making the woman beside him give a short burst of laughter. He sent her a glare, and she waved her hand dismissively, her grey eyes filled with mirth. "Is something funny?"

Fighting back a giggle, the woman snarked, "Oh, no, it was nothing you said."

"Then what was it?" Rassilon questioned testily, momentarily distracted.

"It was more what you didn't observe." The brunette commented. "Have you noticed yet that every human in this room, except Addie, here, is a replica of our said infamous child? Well done, really, sir Master - I commend you."

Addie started at the unexpected mention of her name, yet no one else besides her and perhaps the Doctor seemed to be surprised (if the Doctor was, he did a very good job at hiding it, although it could be attributed to the grimace of pain that obliterated all his other facial expression). The woman had definitely caught her attention, but it seemed almost purposefully done.

"Finally, someone who appreciates my greatness!" The Master beamed. "Yes, I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them, because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord, excepting you, of course." The Master nodded at the clearly delighted woman. "You can stay. Oh, yes, Mister President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me."

Addie couldn't help but tune her cousin out as she studied the strange Time Lady. There was something regal about her, in the way she held herself; however, at the same time, her eyes constantly shifted from being somewhat cloudy and dazed to being sharp and intelligent. Her mouth twitched ever so often, almost as if she was having a conversation with someone beside her that no one else could see. Addie was particularly surprised to see that this woman was in manacles, much like how she, herself, had been a few hours prior. The top half of her dark hair, while clearly woven back into a tight French braid, had tendrils sticking out here and there in a messy fashion, and her burgundy robes were slightly off-kilter. Overall, the Time Lady gave off the impression of a truly mad woman.

She was jarred out of further observation by Rassilon's glowing gauntlet.

The Master's face instantly fell. "No, no, don't. No, no, stop it! No, no, no, don't!"

Addie felt a small wave of relief as all the Masters around her became themselves again, but she knew that this was far from over.

Sure enough, it was another power play. "On your knees, mankind."

Dazed and bewildered, the humans all did as he said, bar Addie. She, alone, stood defiantly at the Master's side. Rassilon's eyes narrowed at her diminutive figure.

"Kneel, human." He commanded.

"That's all good and well, but I'm not a human." Addie spat, feeling the Doctor's wary gaze upon her. She didn't quite know what she was doing, herself, so she had no explanation to give him.

"Kneel, mongrel." Rassilon edited, smirking as Addie bristled.

"Yeah, that's still not - "

"I like your ring." The Time Lady randomly interrupted. Staggered, Addie automatically reverted to her base instincts.

"Thanks, I, erm, like your earrings." She complimented in return, her eyes landing on the emeralds in the woman's ears. They looked eerily familiar.

Seeing where Addie's eyes had focused, the Time Lady knowingly tapped her ear, and then the ring finger of her right hand.

Oh, my God.

It finally hit her; this was the Author. This was her mom.

"Kneel, or I will obliterate you." Rassilon seethed, and Addie finally sunk to her knees, still stunned by her revelation. Now she knew why the Author had her go to Pompeii for the ring - it was all leading up to this moment, just so that Addie could recognize her mother at this specific instant in time.

Eyes still trained on her mom, Addie barely listened as Rassilon continued. "The approach begins."

"Approach of what?" The Master demanded, visibly shaken by his quick defeat.

"Something is returning." The Doctor hissed. "Don't you ever listen? That was the prophecy. Not someone, something."

"What is it?"

"Gallifrey." The Author stated dreamily, even as the ground beneath them shook tremendously. Addie was suddenly glad she was close to the floor, sure that she would have fallen over by this point. However, this didn't seem to stop the other humans in the room from panicking and running out of the room, screaming bloody murder. Now, Addie, herself, was far from calm, but she knew it was better to be where the action was instead of outside in the figurative dark.

"But, I did this. I get the credit. I'm on your side." The Master blurted desperately.

Addie shifted away from him in distaste but got distracted by a familiar man bursting into the room.

"Come on, get out of the way. Get out of the way!" He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the broken man. "Doctor?"

Biting his lip and knowing there was nothing he could do to help him, Wilf shook his head and instead moved to release the wailing technician from the glass case. Powerless to stop him, the Doctor begged, "Wilf, don't. Don't!"

It was no use - he was already trapped.

Letting out a groan, Addie broke eye contact with her mom and used the wall as a support to get to Wilf. Once she stopped in front of the case, he gave her a relieved smile.

"I'm glad you're okay, darling." His voice quavered as he pressed a hand against the glass. Addie sighed, but put one hand against his from the other side.

"Why did you do that, Wilf?" She whispered, casting a gaze around her to make sure that their conversation was not overheard. All the Time Lords were locked in a verbal battle - well, namely the Doctor, Rassilon, and the Master - but the Author's eyes were still on her daughter. "Don't you know that you're stuck in there now?"

Wilf looked remarkably unconcerned. "Well, once the Doctor saves the Earth, as usual, someone can come let me out. Easy as pie."

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "We don't know what's going to happen. I have faith in the Doctor, of course I do, but I don't know how he's going to pull this off without causing the Earth some serious damage. We have Gallifrey on top of our heads - sending that planet back to where it came from is going to have major repercussions." She let her hand fall.

"Oh." Wilf immediately understood. "It's a risk. A small risk." At Addie's crestfallen expression, he adjusted his words morosely. "A large risk."

A thought formed in her head, and she once more twisted to turn to her mother for confirmation. The Author nodded her head slightly, tilting it towards the open glass room.

Addie swallowed, then switched her gaze to the Doctor. He was clearly occupied, pointing the revolver at Rassilon. He had somehow gotten to his feet finally but Addie could tell that it was costing him - he was trembling so hard that he could barely stand still. Mind made up, and half comforted by her mom's supportive yet unhinged grin, Addie slipped into the adjacent room. She had her qualms about her mother's parenting style in the past, but she couldn't deny that she knew what she was doing. This woman knew the future, so Addie reluctantly placed her trust in the Author's palms.

"What are you doing?" Wilf demanded anxiously, his hands going up to his head. "No, stop it. Don't do that."

Addie quietly shut the door behind her, doing her best not to attract attention. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she studied the console in front of her. "Wilf, this is a risk I'm willing to take. If this all turns pear-shaped," a small smile quirked at the corner of her mouth as she imagined the Doctor's reaction to his least favorite fruit, "I at least have the option of regenerating. You would just die. I have eleven more incarnations of myself left to test out." Finding the button, she looked up to Wilf's concerned expression and winked reassuringly. "Come on, you can see the logic here."

Wilf shook his head vehemently. "I don't want you to die."

"Wilf, it's okay. I promised your daughter that I would bring you back safe and sound, you know." Addie stated comfortingly, even as she quailed inside at what she was about to do. Her hand hovered over the button. "For me, it's, it's just a new beginning."

With that, she inhaled and pushed the button. Wilf stared at her in shock and then stumbled out of the room, unenthusiastically following her wishes as she pressed a finger to her lips. He let the door fall quietly, barely making a dent in the whirlwind of sound all around them.

There was a gunshot, and everything went to hell.

Wind slammed against every surface and the light, if possible, became even more blinding. Addie couldn't believe what she had missed as she saw the Time Lords start to be sucked away.

"The link is broken. Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell." The Doctor declared grimly.

Rassilon refused to go down without a fight. "You'll die with me, Doctor."

Addie abruptly regretted locking herself in the case, but there was no going back now. "Help him!" She mouthed at the Author, who merely raised her hands in the universal gesture of "what can you do?"

"Useless, you're useless." Addie mumbled, knowing that there was no way anyone else would step in. Poor Wilf was petrified in fear just to her left, and she didn't want him interfering, anyways.

But to her immense surprise, the Master came forward. "Get out of the way."

Wordlessly, the Doctor moved aside, seeing the toiling emotions under the surface of the Master's stony expression. He stood, transfixed, as the Master thrust a hand forwards, a bolt of lightning energy blasting from his palm. "You did this to me! All of my life! You made me!" He staggered forward, stretching out his other hand and sending another one blast into Rassilon's chest upon the punctuation of each number. "One! Two! Three! Four!"

Before she could stop herself, Addie pounded on the glass. "No, stop it! Get out of it! Master!"

The man turned around one last time to meet her tormented eyes and she stilled. There was peace in his gaze. He had come to terms with his fate, and he smiled at her, distinctly noting that this was the first time she had willingly said his name in decades. "It's okay, I'm just going to spend some quality time with Auntie."

Addie let out a watery giggle as the Author rolled her eyes. She should have known that the Master would have recognized her mom - they were uncannily alike. The Author blew her a kiss, and that was all Addie could see before the light became too much. It was like staring into the sun.

Turning away from the glare, Addie let herself sink down to the floor of the cell and laid her head back. It was surprisingly cold and it felt like a much-needed balm upon her head.

Slowly, the tremors beneath them began to cease and Addie tentatively opened her eyes again. The Doctor, against all odds, was still breathing, staring in shock at the spot where the Time Lords had disappeared.

It was quiet, so quiet.

"I'm alive." The Doctor broke the silence with a shuddering exhale. "I've…" He pulled himself up on one side, vision still very blurry. "There was... I'm still alive."

A laugh of disbelief exploded from his lips. He expected it to be echoed by someone else, and was disturbed by the lack of response. He sat up all the way, panic driving his movements. She was never this quiet.

He was afraid to turn around, afraid to see her broken body behind him - afraid that he had survived for nothing, for no one.

Almost on cue, four knocks sounded across the room.

"Addie?" The Doctor dared to ask, even as his body tensed at the culmination of the prophecy.

"... That was me." Wilf confessed, hanging his head.

"Wilf, did you really have to knock four times?" Her voice exploded out angrily.

The Doctor nearly sobbed in relief as he did his best to twist to face her.

"Don't strain yourself, Time Dunce." She teased, her voice cracking halfway through. "I'm only trapped in this box."

He stiffened again and jackknifed to his feet, letting out a groan of pain as he did so. Wilf was stood sheepishly by Addie, outside, avoiding the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor felt his chest tighten as he looked down at Addie sitting inside the glass, her hands and knees bloody but still doing her best to beam up at him.

A ball of anger and agony rose up in him and choked his throat. It was all he could do to stumble over to her.

"When did you do this? Why would you do this?" He demanded. "You switched places with him."

"I had to!" She cried, clenching her fists. "He's human, Doctor! I knew there was a risk and I knew that I have so much life to live still in me."

"Not as you." The Doctor shook his head, his brown eyes swimming with tears. "Why would you do this to me? You know what I'm going to do now."

Addie got to her feet in distress. "This… I… I'm trying to save you from dying. Doctor, you can walk out of this and still be you. I - " A sob wrenched out of her mouth. "You are so wonderful and I don't want you to change. I would rather open the fob watch than lose this man, this amazing Time Lord who I…" She stepped closer to the glass, her warm breath fogging the surface. "Who I am in love with."

The Doctor swallowed harshly at her confession. It was something they had both known, but neither had ever said the words out loud. His resolve strengthened. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?" Addie questioned frantically as he pulled himself over to the adjacent room. "Wilf, stop him!"

"If you move a single finger, Wilfred, so help me…" The Doctor grunted, clanging the door shut. He met eyes with Addie challengingly. "Look me straight in the eyes and tell me that you're ready to open the watch."

She mutinously stared into his eyes for a long second and then averted them. "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

"I can't let you do that." The Doctor vowed. "I promised you, that you would never have to do that when you weren't ready. I always keep my promises, especially to the ones I love - you, above anyone else." His hand hovered over the button, much like hers had a few minutes ago. "I do this for you, Addie, and there is no one else I would rather do it for. It's an honour."

"Don't say that." Addie pleaded, palms once again to the glass as if she could break through it. "Don't, please, you don't need to do this."

"I want to." The Doctor firmly pressed on the button before making eye contact with her once more. "Because I love you, Adelaide McLaughlin."

The door beside her opened but all she could do was watch, stock-still, as the Doctor sank on the other side of the glass, skin painted red by the alarm that proclaimed his demise.

It was over.


It's been a while, hasn't it? Almost seven months later, and here we are.

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, and happy holidays to those who don't!

A few things:

1. You may have noticed that I didn't include as many review responses at the top. I've realized how annoying it must be to have to skip past those, so I've decided to start replying individually instead, unless the reviewer is a guest. I hope no one is too distraught.

2. Originally, I had planned on cramming Ten's regeneration into this chapter, as well, but it would have been far too much and probably over 15,000 words, so you have that to look forward to.

3. Yes, I am a terrible author who is incredibly unreliable at updating. But, on the bright side, I got another 4.0 this semester, so my dreams of being valedictorian are still very much alive (even if this fanfic was rather comatose for a while).

4. At the very least, I will try to publish Ten's regeneration before I go back to school in the end of January. Thank you all so much for sticking with me and FSA!

Let me know what you thought about the chapter! Any of it - Addie's frankly stupid decision to switch places with Wilf (although, in her defense, she did think she was saving him), the Author's characterization, Addie and the Master, etc.

Have a lovely day, everybody!

- Entitea