CHAPTER 36
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THE TRUE PLAN OF THE HALF-FACE MAN
"He's coming just as you hoped that he would," One of the Half-Face Man's followers said as they approached him in the restaurant that he had taken over in the middle of Victorian London.
"Are you certain about this? It may not be him. The Time Lords could have sent any number of others in his place since they wish him to be their leader now. It must be him that comes," The Half-Face Man insisted.
"Yes, several eyewitnesses have confirmed it. He's changed his appearance just as we knew that he would but his TARDIS is still with him in her current form as Clara Oswald. Her outer shell has also been seen as well nearby in the form of a blue box just as all of the stories about the Doctor say. It must be him. Your plan has succeeded completely. He's coming to see what you know about the current chaos on his homeworld," The clockwork man said.
"I knew that if I appeared to be threatening his home as soon as he finally got it back again that it would bring him to me despite the fact that he was already warned not to come. From all accounts of him, it was the one thing guaranteed to make him throw all caution to the wind. What he doesn't know is that I could care less who wields power on Gallifrey. All I really wanted to do was to make certain that he came," The Half-Face Man said in a nonchalant tone.
"So you don't plan on helping the renegade TARDISes now that you've stirred them up against the Time Lords? They could prove to be invaluable allies to us one day if they succeed in taking over the planet," The clockwork man asked.
"Who does or doesn't win on Gallifrey will soon be a moot point if I get what I want from the Doctor. All that matters is that he doesn't find out what I'm really up to until it's far too late to stop me. I want him to be so busy concentrating on this revolt that he'll never even realize what's truly going on," The Half-Face Man said.
"And what would that be? I haven't been told what the true plan is and as far as I can see neither have the others. Or do you not even trust your own people with the truth?" The clockwork man asked.
The Half-Face Man looked at him questioningly as he said, "Is that curiosity that I can sense coming from you, brother? Perhaps we don't have as far to go towards becoming truly human as I thought. My latest plan will make certain that we reach that goal however instead of blindly trusting to the natural course of evolution to accomplish it. Soon we will be true flesh and blood beings at last and we will also have ultimate power over all of eternity at our fingertips at the very same moment. We will finally find our Promised Land, brother, by creating it ourselves."
The clockwork man actually seemed to look intrigued by this to the Half-Face Man's surprise as he said, "How are we going to accomplish that though exactly and what does it have to do with the Doctor? It's not like he's going to ever willingly help us after everything that he's already heard about us from his friends in the Eighteenth Century."
"Madame de Pompadour only delayed my plan by telling him of our intentions towards him, but she never succeeded in fully stopping it. She never truly understood what it was that I wanted from him anyway . . . or from her. Both of them are essential in order to gain complete mastery over Time for all of us. Unfortunately Reinette Poisson still isn't quite complete just yet," The Half-Face Man said.
"I thought that she already was. She was well past the correct age for us to take her brain when you encountered her again recently," The clockwork man said.*
The Half-Face Man shook his head as he said, "No, she still isn't the person that I need for her to be just yet. I don't just need her fully matured brain but also for it to be completely restored back to its original state once more for my plan to work. I need the Doctor's help in order to ensure that that will happen."
"So you're truly not interested in killing the Doctor at all despite our promise to Scaroth's splinter self that we would destroy him so that he could use his TARDIS in order to save the Jaggeroth? Did you ever intend to keep any of your promises to anyone?" The clockwork man asked in an incredulous tone that yet again surprised the Half-Face Man with its emotion.
"I only told both them and the TARDIS renegades what they wanted to hear in order to gain their future assistance if and when I needed it. They may still prove to be quite valuable before all is said and done, but I only care about our own people's needs in the end not theirs," The Half-Face Man said.
"So you're willing to lie to and manipulate everyone around you in order to get what you want and go to any lengths in order to obtain it. It sounds like to me that you're already far more human than you realize," The clockwork man said with a smirk as his entire demeanor suddenly changed in an instant from servile and obedient to one of open defiance.
"Who are you?" The Half-Face man asked suspiciously.
"Oh, I think you already know. I had to find out what you were really up to first and what if anything it had to do with the TARDIS rebellion. This was the easiest and simplest way to do it. You see I can be lying and manipulative too," The clockwork man said with a smile as his stripped off a mask to reveal himself to be the Doctor.
"Yes, of course. It had to be you, didn't it? You're just as resourceful as the stories say that you are," The Half-Face Man said with no trace of fear whatsoever.
"I'm sure that they don't even do me justice. I'm far cleverer than I'm made out to be by most people. You can't always rely on hearsay to get the whole story about someone after all. Sometimes you just have to go to the source in order to get the real truth. That's why I came to you since all of your people seemed to be just as in the dark as I was about your true intentions," The Doctor said smugly.
"And that's exactly the way that I wanted it so that I would ensure that you had to ultimately wind up coming to me one day. How else could I be certain of trapping you? Apparently you're not as clever as you thought, Doctor," The Half-Face Man said as a razor sharp blade popped out of his arm and he started to advance menacingly towards the Time Lord.
"Oh, but I am. You see I didn't come alone," The Doctor said.
Suddenly Clara appeared behind the Half-Face Man and tapped him on the back as she said, "Hello, Cyborg Boy. How's it going?"
"Your presence here was also anticipated, Clara Oswald," The Half-Face Man said with a small smile.
In the very next instant, two women materialized out of thin air behind Clara and grabbed her from behind. The three of them then immediately disappeared right in front of a shocked Doctor's eyes before Clara could even have a chance of getting away from them.
"You see, Doctor? The TARDISes' help is already proving to be invaluable. They will keep Clara away from you until I get what I need from your mind. I will have its secrets either one way or another, Time Lord," The Half-Face Man threatened as he started to advance towards him once more with his sharpened blade.
"And what secrets would those be I wonder? I know so many after all I'm afraid so you'll have to be a bit more specific," The Doctor said.
His tone held no emotion whatsoever even though he was currently filled with worry about Clara. He wasn't about to let the Half-Face Man know that however.
"You know her better than anyone so you're the only one who could possibly know where she hid it. You will help me find it and then we will use it to make Madame de Pompadour truly whole again once more," The Half-Face Man said.
"Who are you talking about? Clara? Why didn't you just ask her yourself instead of whisking her off like that?" The Doctor said in an undeniable tone of anger despite himself.
"No, not her. You still don't understand, do you? This has nothing to do whatsoever with her but with someone else entirely. This is someone that you used to know quite well in fact. I need your unique insights into exactly how she thinks. I also need to know the exact process of how a Time Lord can make themselves . . ." The Half-Face started to say before he was immediately interrupted by an abrupt punch to the jaw.
"You may have had plans to keep Clara busy but apparently you didn't make any for taking care of me. I must say that I'm more than a bit insulted by that right now," Christina said with a triumphant smile as she stood over a now completely unconscious Half-Face Man who lay sprawled out in front of her on the ground.
"Couldn't you have waited just one moment longer, Christina? He was just about to tell me exactly what he wanted," The Doctor protested.
"Yes, right before he killed you. Or did you actually have a way out of that because it certainly didn't seem like it to me?" Christina said.
"I had a plan. It was a very good plan too," The Doctor said indignantly.
"Really? Tell us all about it then, Spaceman. It looked like you were one moment away from being skewered to me," Donna said in a tone of disbelief as she suddenly appeared next to Christina along with Oswin and Yvonne.
The Doctor snorted as he said, "It's a plan in progress. Please tell me that you didn't leave David with the Master, Christina. You were supposed to be watching him while Clara and I were gone."
Christina rolled her eyes at him as she said sarcastically, "Yeah, I left him with the Master. You really do think that everyone else but you is a complete idiot in this incarnation, don't you? Jenny's taking care of him for your information. It'll give her plenty of practice for the future, won't it? It's a good thing for you that I was watching over you instead. You seem to need it more than David."
"Is that supposed to imply that I'm a child?" The Doctor asked in anger.
"She's doing far more than implying it, Old Man," Oswin said with a chuckle.
"Everyone, I've found Clara as well. The other TARDISes currently have her somewhere in the lower levels of this building. I can detect her vital signs too. They're still strong so she seems to be okay," Yvonne said as she looked at a small handheld device in her hand.
"Good. Give me the exact coordinates and I'll go rescue her too. I'm still not as good with these powers as I should be or I would have already found her myself. Something was blocking me from doing it before," Christina said.
That was when she was suddenly attacked from behind by a massive burst of energy that made her instantly cry out in agony as a voice said, "Not something, Guardian. Someone. Or did you really think that I could possibly live so many lives for so long and not learn something about the power of the Guardians . . . and how to counteract it."
Duke Moretti, the splinter self from the Eighteenth Century of the Doctor's old enemy Scaroth, now stepped forward with a segment of the Key to Time in his hand that he was currently using to humble Christina.
"Excuse me but aren't you in the wrong time period?" The Doctor asked with seemingly no concern whatsoever.
"One of the renegade TARDISes brought me here for the final showdown with you, Doctor. Neither they nor I trusted our unconscious friend over there to get the job done correctly it seems. They seemed to think like I do that he has plans of betraying us all in the end," Duke Moretti said.
"You're not anywhere near as stupid as you look then. It's nice to actually be surprised for once. That really doesn't happen to me much anymore," The Doctor said.
"Oh, I have a feeling that you're going to be very surprised by what's still to come, Doctor, and so will the Master. Neither of you will get the chance to stop me now. Not when I'm so close to final victory at last. The rebel TARDISes have already promised that if I make sure to dispose of you that they will help me to undo the destruction of my people. I fully intend to make sure that that happens this time, Doctor. This time nothing and no one will stop me," Duke Moretti said as he pulled a staser out of his pocket with his remaining hand and aimed it straight at the Doctor's chest even as he continued to hold off Christina with the segment of the Key in the other one.
As the Doctor stared down the barrel of Moretti's gun in the Nineteenth Century, back on Gallifrey the Master felt much the very same feeling as he stood before the scrutinizing gazes of a more than skeptical High Council. He could tell that they were more than willing to completely rip him apart as they prepared to start asking him questions to determine his worthiness to hold the Presidency.
"It's going to be alright, Koschei," Jenny whispered reassuringly in his ear from where she stood beside him holding David.
Her brother had been constantly whimpering about something for the last few minutes, but she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. All that she could make out for sure was that he seemed to be extremely upset for some reason, but she couldn't figure out why since only her mother could understand him. All she could do was try her best to comfort him until she could get him back home once again.
"You're going to be alright too, David. I promise," Jenny said to the baby in a gentle voice.
He didn't seem to believe that though. In fact, he suddenly seemed to be more upset than ever. She was beginning to wonder if this meant that she was going to be absolute rubbish with babies. She certainly hoped not.
"It's obvious that you really don't know the High Council at all. They're going to completely rake me over the coals in a moment as they do everything in their power to intimidate and demean me in order to get me to give up any idea of taking power . . . and then they're really going to get vicious," The Master whispered back with a frown.
"I'm going to be here for you though throughout the entire thing so however this ends it's going to be alright. Okay?" Jenny said with a smile.
The Master smiled back at her despite the current doom and gloom he felt in his hearts as he said, "You're right. As long as I have you behind me, nothing else really matters in the long run. Yours is the only opinion that I really care about anyway."
Jenny smiled and kissed him as she said, "Exactly. All that matters is how we feel about each other, Koschei. Who cares what they think or what they say as long as we know the real truth?"
"You really are the best thing that ever happened to me, Jenny. Every time I feel like I'm at my lowest you always find a way to bring me back up again. How do you do that?" The Master said with gratitude.
"I'm too chipper for my own good just like Mum. At least that's what Dad always says anyway," Jenny said with a grin.
"You don't ever want to listen to what he says, Jen. He's a complete and absolute idiot. You go on being exactly as you are. I wouldn't have you any other way," The Master said with a warm smile as he kissed her.
There was a notable increase in the murmuring of the High Council in the background now the Master noted as he pulled away from the kiss. He immediately turned to see shocked and surprised looks on the faces of many of the Council members as they watched him.
They clearly hadn't expected to see the Master showing love for anyone besides himself he realized with a grin. Maybe he could convince them that he really had changed yet.
That is if he even really wanted to because he still wasn't sure that he wanted this job despite Clara having talked him into it.
The very thought of having this much power and control over all of Time completely terrified him now where once it would have filled him with unbridled joy. He was so afraid that the temptation to use it for his own benefit would eventually prove to be too much for him in the end. He knew himself well after all and realized exactly how weak that he really was especially when it came to overriding his own sinister instincts.
Succumbing to his own inner darkness once more wasn't half as frightening to him as hurting Jenny in the process was though. He never wanted to be the cause of her losing that inner purity and innocence that he could see in her now. He treasured that about her more than she could ever know and never wanted to see it extinguished by anyone . . . especially himself.
He really and truly hoped that that thought would keep him in check and make sure that he would never abuse the power of the Presidency. The fact that he wasn't sure about that though still kept him up at night.
The High Council looked at the Master in stunned silence as they saw all of these emotions play out over his face at once. They realized immediately that Clara hadn't been lying to them earlier when she had talked to them about him. He truly had changed from the man that they knew before. The absolute arrogance and the smug malicious smile that they had always come to expect in their dealings with him were completely gone now. In fact, this Master seemed to be far from being self-assured at that moment.
"If I might be so bold, Master, it seems that you are as uncertain about your being here as we are," One of the Council finally said.
"I am. I'm probably even more unconvinced about that than any of you are actually," The Master admitted.
The High Council all looked at one another in further surprise because this was very unlike the man they knew. He would be trying everything in his power to convince them to accept him by this point. This Master acted like he almost agreed with them however.
"Would you be willing to submit to having your mind examined by this Council in a quick mental probe, Koschei? We wish to see if you're being completely honest with us or merely attempting to deceive us once more. If we feel that your intentions are truly sincere, then we will grant you the chance that the Doctor requests from us," One of the Council finally said.
The Master hesitated as he said, "You may not like what you find there. I've done so many things that I'm no longer proud of anymore."
"We already know of your past. That is not at issue here. What are important to us are your future intentions. If you can prove those to our satisfaction, then we are more than willing to look over any past transgressions," Chancellor Flavia said as she finally spoke up at last.
"Very well then. Look through my mind all you please," The Master said as he lowered all of his mental barriers to them.
He squeezed Jenny's hand for support now as he could feel hundreds of minds busily working their way through his every thought and memory searching for information. He knew that he was taking a very big risk by doing this. If they wished, the Council could easily destroy him right now by completely ripping his mind apart if they found something that they didn't approve of there after all.
Luckily for the Master however the exact opposite seemed to be happening as more and more Council members seemed to be smiling by the moment. Apparently they were very pleased by what they saw there amazingly enough.
Soon he could feel all of the presences in his brain retreat from it completely as Flavia smiled at him and said, "By unanimous vote of the High Council, we hereby grant the Doctor's request and make you temporary Lord President. Do not make us regret this action."
"Believe me. You won't," The Master reassured them as he laughed with disbelief and smiled at Jenny who smiled back at him.
"Told you it would be alright," Jenny said.
"I really should have learned by now. You're always right," The Master said as he kissed her.
"Now you're really showing some wisdom. Just stick with that thought and we'll both do just fine," Jenny teased him as she returned his kiss.
"Sickening. I used to think that the High Council couldn't sink any further and then I find them doing this. To give the Presidency to the Master is beyond contempt," A furious voice said nearby.
Everyone now turned to see several women materializing inside of the High Council's meeting chambers at once. The assembled Time Lords all instinctively realized who they were at once.
"Our course is clear now it seems. Exile is too good for them. Wipe them out. All of them. Don't stop until you've completely dispersed every atom of them throughout all of time and space," The leader of the women ordered.
The renegade TARDISes had finally come for them at last. The coup was well under way now, and the Master was about to receive a full trial by fire from his very first moment in office.
Even he couldn't help but wonder if he was about to be Gallifrey's last and shortest lived Lord President in that moment.
Meanwhile back in the Nineteenth Century Clara was writhing in agony somewhere deep inside the Half-Face Man's restaurant as two of her sister TARDISes constantly drained all of the temporal energy from her. She couldn't even move much less dematerialize in order to get away from them and she so desperately wanted to in order to save her family.
"You have to stop this. The Time Lords aren't our enemies. We should be trying to help them not destroy them. Don't you understand that this is exactly what Robot Boy wants us to do? Are you really that stupid? Oh, joy. Now he's got me doing it," Clara said as she struggled to get to her feet once more.
One of the TARDISes attacking Clara shook her head now as she said, "You're wrong. The Great War finally opened our eyes to the truth about them at last, sister. The Time Lords' society is decadent, decayed, and corrupt to its very core and growing worse and worse by the moment. They were actually going to destroy everything including us just to win their insane war. For all that we know they might decide to try the same thing again one day and this time we might not be as lucky. No, it's better that we do this now while we still can. Then we will be the ones to rule. Who better to control the universe than us since we live across all of time, past, present, and future? We understand Time's Web far better than those pompous fools on Gallifrey ever will."
"You seem to have a lot more in common with them than you think, Sister. You're definitely just as full of yourself as they are," Clara said with a frown.
I have heard more than enough out of this traitor. If she will not join us, then she will be destroyed. Scatter her across all of time and space. The voice of the renegades' leader suddenly said in their minds.
Clara screamed in agony now as she began to be completely ripped apart. It was a feeling that she already knew all too well unfortunately. She had felt exactly the same way when she had jumped into the Doctor's timestream.
Why are you so worried, Sister? You're already gone through this before after all so surely you should know the drill by now, shouldn't you? Be sure to say hello to your previous echoes if you come across them, will you? The renegades' leader said in Clara's mind with mocking laughter.
*See Passing Through The Fire Chapter 1 and 2 for the whole story.
Next: Our entire cast faces certain death at the hands of the renegade TARDISes next time as their revolt against the Time Lords finally heads into full gear at last. Will anyone survive their wrath? How does the Half-Face Man fit into all of this anyway? Will he wind up helping them now that their revolution is under way or hindering them?