Author's Note: Greetings, humans. Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. This is the last actual chapter, after this there is only the epilogue to come. I can't believe I'm nearly finished it - yayyyy!

CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT

His mouth claimed hers, hot and urgent, as possessive and unyielding as ever, his fingers lacing almost painfully through her tangled hair. Everything around her seemed to disappear, the entire world fading into the distance, and she had no wish to go back, no wish for anything to distract her from the wonder of him. She could feel the stubble on his chin scraping sharply across her skin as he kissed her tears away, the brief, familiar sting making it clear that he was no dream. He was really here, with her. Yet again, the Master had returned from the darkness, yet again he had cheated death.

"I thought I'd failed you," she gasped, beating her small fists against his shoulders in a flood of turbulent emotion. "You were dead! I thought I'd never see you again!"

He grabbed her wrists and held them still. "You didn't fail me, Ana, just as I knew you wouldn't," he rasped. "I could feel you calling me back. Don't you get it yet? You belong to me. You're my home, the first home I've had in nearly nine hundred years, and I will never give that up! It doesn't matter where I go, it doesn't matter what gets in my way, I'll always come back for you."

Tejana laughed tearfully, her hearts nearly bursting with happiness and relief as she twined her arms around his neck and kissed him back with everything she had. It didn't seem all that long ago since she had been edgy and apprehensive about his obsessive desire to own her. Now, she couldn't think of anything she wanted to hear more, as long as it meant he would stay with her forever. "That's one promise you'd better always keep, amin Mekhil!"

His eyes darkened with pleasure at the sound of his name on her lips and he pulled her even closer. "I have no doubt I'll need to, with the astonishing amount of trouble you manage to get into!" he said dryly, resting his forehead against hers, his hand cradling her cheek. Then, with a forbidding scowl, he pulled away slightly. "Speaking of which, you feel like an ice-block." As he spoke, he was already tugging off his hoodie and slipping it over her head. "Here, put this on."

Tejana cuddled into the soft, over-large garment without argument, wrapping it around herself and pulling up the hood, blissfully breathing in the warm, arousing, alive scent of his skin. She was so cold that the warmth trapped between the folds of material seemed almost to burn her flesh. All at once, her teeth began to chatter, as if her body had suddenly remembered it was chilled to the bone.

"Kelios was using an atmospheric converter to heat the psychic pollen at the heart of the Cruciform," she croaked. "John and I managed to reverse the device to freeze the pollen instead, just as you showed me in your memory vision. But now everything on the planet has iced over."

"Hart helped you?" he said incredulously. "Where is he now?"

"I couldn't have done it without him. But he was badly injured...I used the vortex manipulator to send him back to the village, where he could be safe."

For the first time, the Master seemed to take in his surroundings, glancing around at the dripping icicles hanging from the ceiling and the incongruous swathes of myosotis decorating the floor. As if on cue, the room shook again, the floor beneath their feet threatening to tear itself apart. The Master braced himself against the tremors, steadying both of them. His eyes narrowed.

"Why does it feel like we're in the middle of an earthquake?"

With a nasty shock, Tejana realised that her attention had been so concentrated on what was happening inside the Cruciform, she had totally forgotten the danger that was looming outside. While the Master had been dead, it hadn't been a consideration, because she had been prepared to lie down and die here anyway. But now that they were back together, the need to escape had suddenly become incredibly pressing. And most likely impossible.

"Because we are!" she said, her green eyes wide with alarm. "I managed to use the last remnant of the Cruciform's power to bring you back, but the snap-freeze is causing the tectonic plates beneath the mountain to contract and shift. The whole thing is about to collapse around our ears."

True to form, the Master absorbed this information at a lightning-fast pace, his strong survival instinct immediately kicking in. He didn't hesitate. "Come on then!" he ordered in a harsh voice, seizing her hand and pulling her forcefully towards the door. "RUN!"

"It's no use!" she protested, stumbling and slipping along beside him. "We'll never get back down to the plains in time!"

He stopped again and Tejana could see the thoughts frantically racing behind his brown eyes. He glanced down at their joined hands, their fingers interlaced together. Her gaze followed his and she was startled to see the slim, golden snakes of residual artron energy coiling from his body to hers and back again, slithering like living things.

"You used the Cruciform to bring me back..." he muttered. "Whatever can be imagined can be realised." His eyes met hers intently. "We began this together, Ana. Let's finish it together."

Before Tejana could ask what he was planning, his mind merged with hers. At first she instinctively resisted the unexpected invasion, just as she had when he tried to force her to remove his psychic blocks, back at the riverside. But after her first panicked struggle, she relaxed, sensing that he wasn't attempting to control or manipulate her this time. Instead, he seemed to be reaching right through her, seeking something else altogether. And, as soon as she allowed him through, she felt him find it – the last flickering flame of the Cruciform's power, nestled in the back of her head. It was all but dead, nothing left but the smallest, glowing ember, yet it recognised his touch and rose to meet him one last time.

The Master smiled dangerously, his eyes dark shards boring into hers, and Tejana felt something quiver deep inside her at the intense look on his face.

"The Doctor can click his fingers and open his TARDIS doors, yes?" he said. "Let's see if I can go one better."

Raising his free hand in the air, he snapped his fingers just once, sending artron energy skittering around them like a shower of golden sparks. And almost at once, Tejana heard the most welcome sound in the world, a wheezing, groaning noise she had been afraid she would never hear again. Directly opposite them, a tall, blue shape faded in and out, slowly materialising, the light on top flashing like a beacon.

"Our TARDIS!" she cried joyfully. "Oh stars, you did it, our TARDIS is back!"

The Master lowered his hand back to her waist and she could feel the triumph vibrating through his body, his almost child-like delight at besting the Doctor evident even in something as simple as this. "Remind me later to do something about that bloody Chameleon Circuit!" he commanded, pulling her close and lifting her into his arms.

As he carried her towards the waiting time machine, a further series of devastating tremors ripped through the room. At last, with some difficulty, they managed to reach the safety of the TARDIS doors. The Master half turned, still clutching Tejana close to his chest, and the two Time Lords took one last backward glance at the ship that had caused them both so much pain and horror. Chunks of ice were tearing free from the ceiling, smashing to the heaving, groaning floor in a sharp-tipped, lethal rain. The magnificent carpet of flowers was already scattering, the extravagant blooms blackening and withered from the frost, like a long ago spring that had come and gone and been swallowed by winter.

Then the Master closed the doors and, shortly thereafter, the blue box disappeared, abandoning the Cruciform to its ultimate fate.

Miles and miles away, down on the snow-covered plains, a man wrapped in a woollen blanket kept a lonely vigil, watching from the edge of the village as Mount Boreas slowly crumbled and collapsed in upon itself with an ear-splitting roar, sending enormous streams of tumbled rock pouring down on to the plains, eventually leaving nothing behind but a vast mushroom cloud of dust spreading like a cancer across the pink-tinged dawn sky.

Captain John Hart had seen many buildings collapse in his lifetime. In fact, he had been responsible for many of them falling down in the first place, one way or another. But he had never witnessed an entire mountain just...imploding...before. Ordinarily, the breathtaking sight would have thrilled him, sending adrenaline racing through his veins. It was unique, unforgettable; the sheer, glorious destruction of it; the power and the majesty and the utter devastation of nature.

But the only thought in his head during the long hours as he watched the white-capped peaks of Mount Boreas fall was that no-one could have survived that cataclysm – nobody who was even close to the mountain, let alone stranded on the rocky slopes in an ancient, dying battleship. Even if the Master had been alive when Tejana reached him, he was dead now. They both were.

You had to run back in there, didn't you, Princess? Hart thought bitterly, trying to get his head around the fact that Tejana was gone. Everything had happened so quickly. One minute, the annoying little pocket rocket was there, ordering him about like the Princess he had named her, and the next minute she was dead, and there hadn't been a thing he could do to stop it. I could have saved us both, but you wouldn't let me.

To his total disgust, he found that his stomach was twisted with anger, grief and guilt and his eyes were burning with unshed tears. Why should he care? He and Tejana had never been friends, quite the opposite in fact. They'd had a deal, that was all. They were nothing but business partners. Just because she'd had faith in him. Just because, for a few unexpected moments, she'd made him feel he was worth something. Just because she'd called him a hero. Well, he bloody well wasn't, and he never would be.

Build a bridge, Hart, he told himself grimly. Get over it.

But somehow, repeating the words she had so recently spoken to him just made him feel even worse, remembering the laughter in her voice as she had explained the meaning of the slang phrase.

He was so immersed in his stricken thoughts, his usually keen senses failed him and he didn't hear the gravel crunch on the path behind him.

"You have to admit, as far as mountain collapses go, that was pretty spectacular!" an amused male voice said, making him nearly jump out of his skin. "D'you think the Doctor will hold that against me? It wasn't like I blew up a whole planet, was it? A mountain here or there hardly counts."

Silvery feminine laughter greeted this, the very same laughter Hart had just been hearing in his head. "You know, I'm not sure he'd agree with that, somehow. I just can't take you anywhere, can I?"

Slowly, Hart turned around, unable to believe the evidence of his ears. It was totally impossible, of course. But there they stood, both of them – not ghosts, not memories, but two living, breathing Time Lords. The Master was dressed in his black hoodie, the hood pulled up over his white-blonde hair, shadowing his face. His back was hunched against the cold wind and one hand was stuffed in his pocket, obviously in an attempt to keep warm. But his other arm was securely wrapped around a tiny figure wearing a warm, blue anorak about five sizes too big for her, a garment that made her look smaller and more delicate than ever. Hart couldn't help the stupid grin that spread across his face. She looked just like an eskimo child playing dress-up in her mother's clothes.

For a ridiculous moment, his relief at the sight of them was so great that he wanted to hug them both, an impulse he would never normally admit to in a thousand years. However, controlling himself with an effort, he managed to give them a more characteristic smirk instead.

"About time you two turned up," he said casually, his expression unconcerned, as though he had expected them all along. "I was getting tired of waiting."

"Sorry about that," the Master replied, not sounding sorry at all. "Tejana needed to get warm. We got...side-tracked."

The possessive glance the Time Lord slanted at his Lady, and the answering colour that rose in her cheeks, left Hart in no doubt what the nature of their distraction had been.

"Of course, if we'd known you'd be anxious..." Tejana began teasingly, her green eyes dancing.

"Oh, I wasn't anxious, Princess," Hart scoffed, pretending to stifle a bored yawn. But at the same time, he made sure he turned his eyes back towards the smoking gap on the horizon that had once been Mount Boreas, just in case she was able to read the lie on his face. "Not in the least. And as for the collapse of that mountain, you two can keep your sticky mitts off it. That one was down to me and it's going on my resume, not either of yours!"

"Are you sure you won't stay, Tejana?" Brandon entreated earnestly. "The Temple of the Pythia is gone, all the Lords have been deposed. Everything has changed on Mnemosyne. You and your companion come from beyond the stars. There's so much you could teach us. We could really use your help to rebuild our society."

Tejana smiled. The prophecy of the Ruach had been right about that, at least. The Time of Chaos had brought many endings and many beginnings to the people of Mnemosyne. The bloodthirsty regime imposed by Kelios had been destroyed and, in its wake, the dictatorial power of the Lords had also disintegrated. Once the Lich had attacked, all the humans had banded together under Brandon's leadership to fight them, regardless of wealth or rank. As always, there was nothing like a common threat for breaking down social barriers. The battle with the near-invisible creatures had been a desperate and bloody one. After waiting for so long to seize their chance, the Lich had given no quarter, determined to slaughter each and every human being on the planet. Fortunately for the humans, an odd freak chance had ended up giving them the advantage. When the Chaos-Master had transformed the moon, flooding the plains with purple moonlight, the Lich had suddenly and unexpectedly become highly visible, glowing fluorescently as if bathed in ultra-violet radiation. After that, the outcome of the battle had been inevitable. The humans were well-organised, better armed and extremely determined. Once they were no longer invisible, the Lich hadn't stood a chance, particularly when it had started to snow. Those that hadn't been killed outright had apparently retreated back to their hidden underground lairs, choosing to live to fight another day.

That had been three days ago and, predictably enough, everything on Mnemosyne was still topsy-turvy. The former Keep Lords had all been imprisoned and were awaiting trial for their crimes against the people and all the slaves had been freed. Brandon was trying to restore some order, with the help and full support of the Lordsmen, but it was going to take a very long time to get back to any sort of normality.

"The worst part is learning to deal with this weather! None of us have ever seen snow or ice before. Until you came, we didn't even have words for them in our language. We had no idea what winter was," Brandon added ruefully, almost jumping up and down on the spot to keep warm. He was a large, shapeless figure, wrapped in so many layers of clothing that Tejana could hardly make out the outline of his body. "Now we know only too well. How do other worlds cope with the cold?"

"You'll get used to it," Tejana told him kindly. "The atmospheric converter was destroyed when Mount Boreas collapsed, so now there's nothing interfering with your weather. It will probably take quite a few years to settle back down, but after that, you should have regular seasons again – spring, summer, autumn and winter. I'm sorry about your moon though, I'm afraid you're stuck with it, there's nothing I can do." In truth, she wasn't really sorry – somehow it was comforting to know that the purple moon of Gallifrey still shone somewhere in the Universe. "And no, thank you for the offer, but we won't stay. We have places to go and people to see."

It was a familiar conversation. How many times before had she heard people entreating the Doctor to stay with them, only to have him refuse, intent on continuing his wandering lifestyle. Never stopping and never staying – that was the Time Lord way. Besides, she didn't have the hearts to tell Brandon, but Mnemosyne was the last place in the Universe she would ever choose to settle. Too many terrible things had happened here and she was more than eager to put the Planet of Memory far behind her.

She looked over towards the TARDIS, where the Master waited for her, chatting idly with Hart. She couldn't help thinking that the very idea of either of these two dangerous men settling down to help rebuild a society was so absurd as to be almost laughable. The ex-Time Agent was standing awkwardly, his arm in a sling, his handsome face already starting to turn black and blue as his bruises began to show. Lacking anything else to put on, he was wearing a hand-woven peasant jerkin over his T-shirt, much to his disgruntlement and to Tejana's secret delight. Somewhere along the line, she wasn't quite sure where or how, it had been decided that Hart was coming with them in the TARDIS when they left Mnemosyne. It was true, she had more or less promised to help him find Jack. She wasn't really looking forward to that, but now she had to follow through with her end of the deal, especially since their agreement had cost Hart so much more than he had ever bargained for. But what amazed her most of all was that the Master, although not overly happy with the situation, had hardly raised any protest at taking on board an extra companion. She had expected him to be adamant in his refusal. If she hadn't known any better, she would have suspected that he was actually starting to quite like Hart – which was ridiculous, because he didn't like anybody much, let alone an arrogant, smart-mouthed human.

"We owe all three of you so much," Brandon said gratefully, raising his voice so the other two men could hear. "Are you sure there is nothing we can give you to show our thanks?"

Tejana sighed inwardly, hoping he wasn't going to make some sort of speech. She really wasn't good at farewells and it was past time that this one was over. An imp of mischief suddenly seized her and she twirled away from him towards the TARDIS and stood between the Master and Hart, one hand on each of each of their shoulders. "No, thank you! I've got my spaceship. I've got my boys," she said, looking up at the two men cheekily. "What more could a girl ask for? Goodbye, Brandon. And good luck!"

With that, she blew the bewildered human a kiss and vanished happily inside the time machine.

"Oh, we are so not her boys!" Hart grumbled.

The Master glanced at him, his face as unreadable as ever, but with something very like mocking amusement in his hard, brown eyes. "Yeah, we are," he said enigmatically, before following Tejana into the TARDIS.

Hart raised his eyebrows in surprise and then gave Brandon a resigned shrug. "Yeah, I guess we are," he said with a grin. "How about that? See ya round, soldier." And he too walked inside the tall, blue box.

"Hey," Brandon heard him say in an awed voice. "It really is bigger on the..."

Then the doors closed, there was a strange grinding, groaning noise, and a soft, eldritch breeze stirred Brandon's hair as the TARDIS disappeared into thin air right in front of him.

Another Author's Note: And yes, for all you eagle-eyed Who fans, that last bit is a tongue-in-cheek reference to "Vampires in Venice".