Hello again! Last chapter wasn't meant to be terribly cliff hangery, but aparently it was anyway... whoops. Sorry. Oh well you've got the next chapter now so it doesn't matter XD
I meant to say in the previous A/Ns that the Master is currently in the first body we saw him in, played by Roger Delgado.
I don't think this chapter is particularly amazing, in fact I don't think it's very good at all. I mean I don't think it's very well written, but as for what happens in it... well, I rather like it XD
Aahh I'm so bad at thinking up chapter names. I wish I'd just stuck to numbering them rather than naming them, it seems to be getting harder and harder to name them with each chapter. Maybe a brilliant chapter name will hit me between now and clicking the 'add' button on the stories page. I doubt it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
xxx
The bottom fell out of Rose's mind and she felt numb as her mind connected to the TARDIS. The breath was sucked from her lungs and her limbs felt weak and heavy. She could feel the TARDIS coursing through her and couldn't move to stop it even if she tried.
Jack instantly stumbled to the floor as his feet were thrown out from beneath him. Everything seemed to become a blur around him, as he heard nothing but the groaning noise of the struggling engines. He could just about hear Deneeal crying out next to him, grabbing hold of his leg. The Master and Theta were shouting things at each other, not that Jack could hear them over the noise of the engines. Even if he could hear them he probably wouldn't have a clue what they were saying.
Then suddenly he heard a woman's scream and knew it was Rose. This was a bad idea, he'd known they shouldn't have trusted that guy. He was hurting her or doing something to her, but Jack couldn't seem to find his feet to get up and help her. Struggling to his hands and knees, he tried to stand up, only to fall over again. He was sure that the room was actually melting away around him, and he felt dizzy and light headed.
Suddenly the room was filled with a bright, blinding light and for a few seconds all Jack could see was white. As the light gradually began to fade, he lowered his hands from his face and opened his eyes. The light was spilling from the central console, filling the room. The Master yelled something at Theta, and they both pulled a lever each, and suddenly the light was beginning to concentrate itself. Jack squinted and raised his hand again as the light became brighter and brighter. There was a sudden blinding flash, and the next time Jack opened his eyes he saw the Doctor laying on the floor.
Jack gasped in amazement, surprised that it had actually worked. The room began to stop shaking and the engines quietened. Theta and the Master were still running around the consol madly switching buttons and dials. Jack quickly jumped up and ran to the Doctor and knelt by him.
He scanned the Doctor with his wrist device, which showed weak life signs, but they were getting stronger by the second. He stared at the Doctor, absolutely stunned.
Then he heard a crash behind him as Rose collapsed. He spun around and rushed to her. She was slumped against a machine, unconscious.
"Rose!" he called as he reached her, shaking her in an attempt to make her wake up. He looked to his wrist device to check she was ok, but as he did her eyes suddenly snapped open. She choked and lifted her hands to her head, doubling over. "Are you ok?" he asked, lowing himself down to her.
"My head…" she whispered, taking deep breaths. She groaned weakly as Jack tried to get her to sit up. "Doctor!" she gasped suddenly, throwing herself up, "Where's the Doctor…" she began to stumble and Jack jumped up to support her. "Did it work?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes, he's fine, calm down," Jack replied.
"Where is he?" Rose walked forward and began to stumble again. Jack quickly lead her out of the way before she walked into the Master and lead her round to where the Doctor was lying. "Doctor!" she shouted, running next to him. She threw herself to the floor and wrapped her arms around him, crying in ecstasy.
"He's not awake, Rose…" Jack said, but she wasn't listening to him. He smiled to himself as he watched her.
Finally the engines stopped as the TARDIS landed.
"We must get him to his own TARDIS," the Master ordered, "he will wake quicker." Jack nodded, and together they managed to separate Rose from the Doctor and carried his body outside and through to his TARDIS.
xxx
Rose sat on a chair next to the bed in the med bay, watching as the Doctor lye unconscious on it, as Jack, Theta and Deneeal watched him too. It wasn't the first time she'd been in this situation and she hoped never to be in it again. Not only did it mean the Doctor was hurt, it was also very boring.
The Master finished the scans he'd been doing of the Doctor and turned to the other three people in the room. "He will wake up soon," he informed, "he needs to recover, then he will be back to normal." He looked at the Doctor and watched for a few seconds. "Do not tell him I am here," he said after a while, "Tell him to meet me on Gallifrey."
"Why?" Rose asked, looking up at him.
"I want it to be… a surprise," he said with a smile. Rose was still too happy about the Doctor being alive to notice the slyness in his voice. The Master began to walk towards the door.
"Where do we tell him to meet you?" Jack asked. The Master turned back to them.
"He will know," the Master replied, then began to head back to the door.
"Thank you," Rose said quickly. He turned back to face them again, and Theta and Jack also said a thank you.
"You don't need to thank me," the Master said with a laugh, "after all, a cosmos without the Doctor scarcely bears thinking about." He gave them one last smile, then left the room.
xxx
It wasn't long later that the Doctor started to stir. He could vaguely hear voices saying his name as his consciousness slowly came back to him. Groaning, he tried to open his eyes but before he managed to do so he suddenly had the wind knocked out of him as Rose flung her arms around him in a hug.
"Rose!" he choked, pushing himself up in the bed. She pulled away from him, and he opened his eyes to meet hers. "Hello," he said with a weak smile.
"Hello," she replied, her voice full of relief. His smile began to fade into an expression of confusing. "What happened…?" he asked, "What… why am I… oh, hello," he added as he saw Jack and Theta.
"Nice to see you again Doc," Jack said, grinning.
"Yeah," he breathed, "Why am I alive?"
"We brought you back," Rose said with a laugh, "you got eaten by a reaper and we found a way to bring you back." He stared at her for a few seconds.
"That's possible?" he said. Rose gave him a surprised look. "I mean of course I knew it was possible!" he added quickly, but Rose wasn't laughing.
"Did you really think you would die?" she asked quietly. They locked eyes for a few moments, until the Doctor gave a small nod.
"But I'm alive!" he said quickly before Rose could say anything more, "Look at me! Alive!" he gave her a big grin and she couldn't help but give him a small smile back. "Speaking of which – how am I alive?" he asked, looking round the three of them.
"It's complicated," Theta muttered. The Doctor nodded slowly.
"Someone helped us," Rose said with a big smile, "he said he was an old friend of yours, and studied to become a Time Lord with you."
"Really?" the Doctor said, confused, "who is it?"
"He said to meet you on Gallifrey."
"Where on Gallifrey?" Rose shrugged.
"Dunno, he didn't say."
"He said you'd know where to go," Jack added.
"Well, I don't know where to go," the Doctor said, "so you'd better tell me who it was." Rose decided that if the Doctor didn't know, they might as well tell him.
"He said he was called-" before she could finish her sentence, she suddenly disappeared. The Doctor stared in bewilderment.
"What the…?" he looked around the room, as Jack and Theta also looked around in surprise. The Doctor then jumped off the bed and dashed out of the room.
xxx
He ran into the control room and was instantly on the controls, looking at the screen urgently awaiting an explanation. Jack and Theta ran in after him.
"What the hell just happened?!" Jack demanded.
"Teleport," the Doctor answered, staring at the screen, "someone teleported her. I'm tracing it now," the engines started up and he read the data flowing across the screen. "But that's impossible! They can't do that in a TARDIS…" the screen beeped, and he stared at the writing now on it. "Oh my poor TARDIS…" he muttered, rubbing the side of the consol.
"What now?" asked Jack.
"Whoever teleported Rose was in here tampering with her, reducing the defences. And because I was dead, she was dying too, she was too weak to stop it." He looked up at Jack. "Who was it? Who was in here?" Before Jack could answer, the engines suddenly stopped as the TARDIS landed. "Oh, looks like we're going to find out now anyway." He ran across the control room and out the door.
xxx
When the Doctor stepped outside, the first thing he noticed was that he was in another TARDIS. The next thing he noticed was Rose lying unconscious on the floor. "Rose!" he gasped, and ran to her side. He knelt by her, and reached out to touch her. But as he did so he felt his hand hit something. There was something solid around her, like a force field. He ran his hand over it's domed shape. He then pulled out the sonic screwdriver, just as Jack and Theta walked out the TARDIS.
"Is she ok?" Jack asked, jogging towards them.
"I don't know, there's some sort of force field, it won't let me touch or scan her," he banged his fist angrily against the invisible force around her, sighing angrily. Suddenly there was a voice from behind them.
"Hello again, Doctor," the voice said darkly. The Doctor and Jack both spun round in surprise. For a few seconds all the Doctor could do was stare.
"What have you done to Rose?!" he demanded suddenly, jumping up and running up to the Master, "What have you done to her!"
"Please don't shout in my face," the Master said calmly.
"I'm warning you, if you've hurt her…" the Doctor somehow managed to suppress his anger, but they could all see just how angry he was – his body was shaking.
"She's not been harmed," the Master said.
"Prove it," the Doctor demanded. The Master lifted his fingers and clicked.
Rose gasped for breath as she woke up suddenly. She looked around herself in surprise and fear. The Doctor ran to her side, as she pushed against the force field around her.
"Doctor…" she cried, as he knelt by her side. He put his hand against the force field, and she put her against his, watching him in fear.
"How very sweet," the Master mocked, standing above them. Rose and the Doctor looked up at him.
"Release her!" The Doctor demanded.
"Why would I do that?" the Master asked. The Doctor stood up and walked back up in front of him.
"I'm warning you, if you don't release her-" before he could finish his sentence, the Master once again clicked his fingers, and Rose fell unconscious again. The Doctor looked down at her and knelt by her again. "How are you doing that?" he asked in a hushed voice, staring at Rose in complete bewilderment.
"It's very simple," the Master replied, "She looked into my TARDIS. Connected herself with it, in order to get you back. But in doing so, my TARDIS infiltrated her brain… it runs through her and controls her. And I control my TARDIS." The Doctor slowly stood up, still looking down at Rose. The Master looked down at her, as the Doctor stepped towards him.
"Give her back to me," he said in a quiet yet demanding voice. The Master gave him a sly smile, then walked next to Rose. He knelt by her side as the Doctor stood away from them, watching.
"But why would I do that?" he asked, lowering his hand to her. His hand passed through the force field and he rested it on her cheek. "I control her." Suddenly she flung her head back and screamed in pain.
"Don't touch her! Leaver her alone!" The Doctor yelled, running towards the Master. Before he could reach them, the Master lifted his hand and held it up, and the Doctor stopped.
"You can't save her," he said darkly, standing up to meet the Doctor's level, "unless you do as I say." The Doctor stared at him, but he knew there was nothing he could do.
"What do you want?" he said finally. The Master smiled.
"It may strike you as odd," he replied, walking slowly around the room, "but I have come for your help." There was a pause.
"You're right," the Doctor said finally, "It does strike me as odd." The Master gave a hollow laugh. He stopped walking, and looked at the Doctor.
"You have been in the Time War, I assume?" the Master said. The Doctor's eyes widened.
"You… know about the Time War?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Oh yes," he replied, "I fought in it, for a time." He started walking around again. "I do love it when you're confused Doctor, it happens so rarely."
"Just explain," the Doctor said wearily.
"I was revived by the Time Lords, after you killed me…"
"I didn't kill you, that was self defence."
"…After you killed me, and they said that if I was to help in the War, they would give me a new cycle of regenerations. Of course I took the offer, as you can see." The Doctor nodded; the Master was in the first body he had met him in. "However, during the War, there was a slight malfunction…" he paused for a moment, "I was thrown back into this time period with my TARDIS, and I cannot return to the war. And I know that the universe must remain in this condition, otherwise the war will be altered and therefore so will my own time line. Causing, as you know Doctor, a paradox." A smile came to the Doctor's face.
"I get it," he said, "you can't take over the universe because then the war won't happen. So you're stuck here now with nothing to do."
"One way of putting it." The Doctor folded his arms.
"So what do you want me to do?" he asked.
"I want you to take me to after the war," the Master replied. The Doctor sniggered.
"I'm not going to take you to after the war," he said simply.
"If you don't…" the Master raised his hand threateningly, flexing his fingers. As he did so, Rose's body began to tense as her breathing increased.
"Ok ok!" the Doctor said quickly, and the Master lowered his hand. The Doctor looked down at Rose as the Master spoke.
"You will take me and my TARDIS to after the War, and in return I will release Rose, unharmed," the Doctor looked back up at him, as a sly smile came to his lips. "Do we have a deal?"
"I still have more parts to get," the Doctor said quietly.
"Better hurry up and get them then," the Master replied. "And you need to return your previous self to his time line. We don't want any paradoxes now, do we?" the Doctor glared at the Master for a long moment, but had no choice but to give in.
"If you do anything to Rose…" he warned.
"She will be fine," the Master assured him with a big smile that gradually faded, "now go." The Doctor stared at him for a moment longer, before turning around and heading back. Jack and Theta also went back into the TARDIS. The Doctor reached the TARDIS doors, and turned back to the Master. He took one last look at Rose, then entered the TARDIS.