One, two, three, four. Over and over and over and over. It was the same, across every face. What was usually a dull roar was becoming a screaming wail as The Master slipped further from consciousness. Any attempts to reach for whatever secret weapon he undoubtedly had in his coat were stopped by the Cyberman shocking him again and again. This was not how The Master had imagined dying, alone in the trenches of some nowhere planet in the grasp of some paltry metal man. The next pitiful breath he would let out would likely be his last.

Gab, the student who had been watching nearby, found himself faced with a dilemma. He did not want to reveal his position, but he did not want to see this man die, either. There was something about him that fascinated Gab. His eye for patterns caught something when looking at The Master, not fitting into any mould Gab had ever seen before. P

utting aside any possibly dissuading thoughts, Gab found himself dashing to the rescue, the tatters of his school uniform fluttering as he ran. As he got closer, he passed a downed street sign. Grabbing it, he dragged it along with all his might.

"YAAAHH!" He screamed with the considerable strength of a timid school boy; which consequently wasn't all that much.

He lifted the sign and brought it down on the back of the Cyberman. A great clanging sound rang out as metal collided with metal, ringing throughout the dead city streets. What happened next was too fast for Gab to process; between his blinks he found himself face to face with the Cyberman. It had dropped The Master and turned to him, moving impossibly fast.

"Hero's heart." The Cyberman uttered, its arm starting to fade from view.

The Master lay on the floor gasping for breath. "Mercy..." he croaked, blinking wildly in an attempt to regain his composure. "Mercy..." he gasped again.

He stuck his arm in his coat, digging wildly for the device he had brought with him. Gab's high-pitched scream shocked The Master awake, his eyes darting upwards to see The Cyberman materialize its arm inside Gab's, severing it at the shoulder.

"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

That last push was all the Master needed. He sprung up to his feet, pulling the device out of his coat and slamming it on to the back of the Cyberman. It whipped around once again, sending Gab flying backwards into some rubble nearby.

"Hero's heart..." it bellowed again.

"No," The Master replied. "I'm afraid I haven't the constitution."

A crippling booming sound followed The Master's words, accompanied by a quick flash of light. As quickly as those had come, the Cyberman had vanished.

Gab lay on the ground, grasping his wound. "What... What was that?!" He wheezed, eyes full of tears.

The Master did not answer immediately, scoping out the surrounding area. The wind rushed in and around the fallen buildings, creating a discordant melody of sorts. The Master found it odd, if not pleasing. Finally, he turned to acknowledge Gab.

"That. That was an impossibly advanced Cyberman."

The Master took a closer look at Gab, noting a rather curious detail; Gab wasn't bleeding. He slowly approached, picking up Gab's notebook, which had fallen during the chaos.

"If you're referring to the device I used to dispatch it, that was an Omega's Mercy. Quick and dirty teleport to the heat death of the universe."

The Master read through the notebook in the space of five seconds, tossing it aside as soon as he was done.

"Cute. But altogether wrong. Too many variables left unaccounted for. Potential though. Tell me, boy, are you in any actual pain?"

Gab stopped writhing. "Of course I'm in pain, Miste-"

Gab realized now that The Master had brought it up, he wasn't actually in any pain. He felt numb, like the blood circulation had been cut off from a limb.

"No... No, I just.. I feel.. good. In a weird way.. but good." The Master narrowed his eyes.

"Curious. Up then, boy. Come along."

Gab got up, rather easily despite the loss of his arm.

"Where are we going now, Mister?" Gab asked, moving to catch up with the already moving Master.

In doing so, Gab forgot his notebook on the floor. The one thing that had kept him alive all this time, lay there utterly forgotten. It was all he had in these times, and Gab couldn't seem to care less. Gab broke his own pattern.

"Investigate." The Master simply replied. "Probe!" he called.

From behind a fallen news stand, the probe that The Master had brought with him popped out.

"Did you gain sufficient readings to construct a case?" The probe floated next to him, matching his pace.

"Oh yes, Master! Plenty!" The probe cheerily replied.

"Good. Begin scanning the boy."

They walked on in silence, or as close as one could get to it in a warzone like this. Gab's focus seemed to be on The Master at all times, seeming to forget his surroundings. His once cautious state of being slowly melting away. From deep within him, new memories began to surface; impossible images, sights, and sounds that he had no way of knowing. All the new information bubbling up in his head came to a singular conclusion: He knew who this "Master" was.

As the group reached the hoverbus where the family had been murdered, another aspect of this ongoing pattern of oddities presented itself. There was an audible shuffling sound from within, with thin wisps of purple energy emanating from where the bodies lay.

"Probe. Scan those energy waves." The Master said, pointing at the bus.

He kept his distance, his still-aching throat reminding him to be cautious. The Probe floated away from Gab, who was still staring at The Master, and began scanning.

"Identical energy signatures to those encountered with the Cybermen, Master."

The Master nodded, scratching his chin. It was obvious he had stumbled upon something larger than just oddly upgraded Cybermen.

"What are you staring at, boy?" He asked, turning to Gab.

"Mister, I feel funny." Gab said, with a rather elated tone. "There's something inside... my head."

The Master took a step back. "What?" he hissed.

"Attention Master! Energy signatures found within Cybermen and in this area match those currently spreading through this organic."

"Spreading?" The Master asked, taking another step back.

The boy's eyes began to fade and discolor, before taking on a sickly purple glow. The same glow began seeping out of his mouth, as if someone had placed a purple lantern inside his head.

"Boy, what is happening to you?" The Master demanded, now taking steps towards his TARDIS.

Gab finally spoke, gaze burrowing into The Master through unblinking purple eyes. "

It's you. The one who started..." Gab motioned to himself, then to the surrounding area. "All this. This wouldn't have been possible without you." Gab began exuding a static aura similar to what the Cyberman had been giving off.

"What are you, creature?" The Master stopped referring to Gab as "Boy", knowing full well that Gab had become something else entirely.

"You'll find out soon..." It replied, raising its arms. "Now, little thing, rejoice. Rejoice in the oncoming commune."

A beam of purple energy suddenly shot into the air out of Gab's mouth, The Master taking this as a signal of sorts. He was not keen on facing any more of these things unprepared.

The Master desperately looked around for a way to stop him, and found his salvation in a twisted bit of metal; the remains of a hovercar bumper. He lifted it with little effort, and dashed forward at Gab.

"Soon you will see! Soon the Anti One shall rise again!"

The Master swing with all his might, severing Gab's head from his shoulders. The head came off as expected, bouncing a few times before rolling to a stop. The light had gone, the body fell, and all was still. A swift decapitation, it seemed, was the reward for heroics.

Black blood-like fluid began oozing from the wound, and The Master was quite ready to leave this place forever. Yet as he watched the blood slowly pool, Gab's words ate away at his mind. He had started this? How? When? The Master was intent on getting to the bottom of this new mystery, unaware of the ramifications it truly held.