Beatrice was given quite a surprise when she walked into the console room. She saw the Master talking to someone on the scanner.
"Doctor!" she said in surprise.
"Ah, Beatrice. I figured you were probably with the Master," he gave the two of them a meaningful look which seemed annoy the Master who huffed slightly. Beatrice gave a small smirk at the comment.
"Well, you figured right. Now, what are you calling about? You two seem to actually be having a civil conversation. Armageddon hasn't arrived has it?"
"No, my dear, I don't believe it has. I was just asking the Doctor the same question and assuring him that whatever has gone wrong on his pet planet has nothing to do with me."
"I can actually vouch for that," put in Beatrice.
"I didn't think you were responsible. However, I wanted to check in with you because there were some antimatter creatures going after Timelords."
"Worried about me Doctor?" said the Master raising an eyebrow. "I'm touched." It was now the Doctor's turn to give a huff of annoyance.
"I just wanted to make sure the creatures hadn't attacked you two. Having to explain the injury and or death of one of UNIT's agents to the Brigadier, particularly when the agent was travelling with a wanted criminal, is not a situation I would wish to be placed in."
Beatrice resisted the urge to scoff. However he might try to justify checking in, it was clear to her the Doctor had been genuinely worried about his oldest friend.
"Well as you can see we are perfectly fine. We haven't encountered any such creatures."
"Good," said the Doctor.
"Is there anything else?" asked the Master in a bored tone.
"Oh yes, you can quit your constant attention-seeking earth invasions for a while. The Timelords have ended my exile." Beatrice smiled broadly and even the Master looked slightly pleased though also miffed at the jab aimed at his plans.
"That's wonderful, Doctor! I knew those arses on the Gallifreyan Council would get off their high horse eventually."
"Congratulations Doctor," said the Master in a neutral tone.
"Thank you. Well, that's all. I expect I'll be seeing you soon Beatrice. Do try and keep the old devil out of trouble will you?" The Master glared at the Doctor.
"Goodbye!" he said sharply before cutting the connection short.
"Well, that was nice of the Doctor to call."
"You heard him. He was more concerned about you." said the Master. Beatrice rolled her eyes and took the Master's hands in her's.
"I think he was also concerned about you. You are his oldest friend."
"Enemy my dear," corrected the Master but Beatrice shook her head.
"Deny it all you wish. But while you may be on opposite sides, I believe that there is some small level of friendship left between you. You might be able to fool UNIT and maybe even the Doctor. But you can't fool me." The Master tilted her chin up slightly their faces close together.
"You seem very sure of yourself my dear." Beatrice shrugged
"I am. Because I know you better than most people," she said softly.
"I suppose you do," replied the Master quietly as he leaned down to kiss her gently. They pulled apart and Beatrice smirked.
"You can't tell me that there isn't even a tiny part of you that's pleased for the Doctor." The Master didn't reply, his usual reaction when Beatrice was right about something but he didn't want to admit it, instead choosing to turn to the console and adjust something.
"So, where are we headed?" asked Beatrice.
"I need to get a something for a project I'm working on," he answered.
"Let me guess. This project's end goal is to cause chaos and destruction?" he glanced at her.
"What do you think?" Beatrice sighed resignedly at his reply. She was a was used to the Master's troublemaking plans that usually seemed to backfire. Although she sometimes worried that one day his luck would run out and he wouldn't escape.
But at the same time, she knew his love for chaos and danger was a part of who he was. Beatrice loved him, and that meant all of him. The good and the bad. She might temper his chaotic nature, but she knew that she could never stop it.
"Can I come?" she asked. The Master nodded as the TARDIS landed and he walked towards the door.
"I don't see why not," he replied. Beatrice smiled as she followed, hurrying to his side as they stepped out.
They were in a circular, room with 8 different archways all around, each leading a different direction. The walls had strange symbols carved into the stonework that were beyond Beatrice's skill to understand.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"The Labyrinthia. It's an old fortress belonging to the person we are meeting. The building is named for the network of various paths and tunnels. We are at it's center.
"Amazing stonework. This must have taken ages," said Beatrice running her hand over some of the symbols.
"You're missing the best part," said the Master. He guided her to the centre of the room. "Look up." Beatrice did as he suggested and gasped. The room didn't seem to have a ceiling instead, high above them there appeared to be some sort of model of a solar system.
Granted it certainly wasn't earth's solar system. Miniature planets seemed to float unsuspended in a sea of stars and galaxies. She felt the Master come to stand beside her.
"It's magnificent," she said softly.
"I would have to agree. The constellations and planets change weekly. Each time reflecting a different star system."
"Which system is it now?" asked Beatrice.
"My home planet's star system. You couldn't pronounce the name of the system itself but if you look up to the right, that red planet is..."
"Gallifrey," finished Beatrice. The Master nodded. He wasn't smiling but the look on his face had softened slightly.
"Yes, in the constellation of Kasterborous. Home to the Timelords." Beatrice opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by a sharp female voice.
"Ah! Master, so glad you could come." Beatrice turned to see a tall woman with white-blonde hair, wearing long blue robes with intricate gold detail. The woman looked mostly human except for the fact that her eyes were a dark violet.
"Certainly." said the Master. His face now looking stern though his tone was polite.
"I didn't expect you to bring company," said the woman arching an eyebrow.
"Astoria, his is my companion Jane." The Master and Beatrice had both decided that it would probably be safer if he generally didn't introduce her to people with her real name and Jane was about the commonly used name as you got.
"Nice to meet you," said Beatrice politely. The woman inclined her head though she kept her eyes on the Master.
"You have what we agreed upon?" she asked.
"Of course, I assume you have what I asked for. The woman pulled out a vial of foggy white liquid as the Master pulled out a metal sphere that was about the size of a cricket ball. Beatrice thought it best to keep her mouth shut and ask questions later.
The Master held out his hand for the liquid. The woman smirked and Beatrice felt her heart drop as the woman snapped her fingers. Before she or the Master could do anything, about 20 armed guards came running in.
Both of them were grabbed and pulled away from each other. Beatrice and the Master fought against their captors but both were outnumbered and had no choice but to stop struggling.
"Unhand me!" said the Master sharply. "We had a deal Astoria!"
"Yes, we did. But the price on your head offered by the Shadow Proclamation far outweighs the value of our deal," she said coldly as she picked up the metal sphere from the ground where it had fallen.
"Take them away!" she said sharply.
"What about the woman?" asked one guard. Astoria came to stand in front of her.
"Perhaps we can use her as a test subject for the fear serum," she said holding the vial between her long-nailed thumb and forefinger.
"Absolutely not! She has no part in this. Your quarrel is with me!" said the Master.
"She made a poor choice in acquaintances," said Astoria with a heartless last thing Beatrice heard before something hit her over the head was the Master's voice in her mind.
"I will come for you."
Author's note: Well, there we are! I'm so sorry this chapter took so long. I had a bit of writers block. The next several chapters should be coming relatively quickly though. For the record, I've sped up the timeline so that Three Doctor's has just happened since I'm skipping Time Monster. Please like and COMMENT. Your opinions and comments mean a lot to me so if you can take a moment and let me know what you think I'd appreciate it. It also adds motivation to keep going. I'll update soon! Thanks for reading. Until next time Whovians!
