Watching the Doctor

by RedRobyn2

The Doctor is stranded in prison, dealing with the revelations of the Timeless Child and the memories of her time travelling, all alone. Until the Tardis decides enough is enough and gathers her and some of her more recent companions to help her deal with her past and make some amends by watching her adventures. Characters watch the show, set after Timeless Child/Pre-Resolution.

9. The Timeless Children

Hello everyone!

Here it is - what we've all been waiting for.

I really hope you enjoy it as it took me so long, but I think it was worth it.

Let me know what episode you want next. I'm planning Rose next but after that I don't really have any concrete plans.

So let me know what you think (please!)

Thank you for all your support so far, I love you all so much.

Once again - Enjoy!

Robyn

---

No one was given a chance to speak before the words 'The Timeless Children' appeared on the screen. Apparently the Tardis agreed with the Doctor - they just needed to watch. It was finally time.

[Planet]

DOCTOR: How are you here?
MASTER: Take my hand.
DOCTOR: Never.

The pair had a staring contest, anger obvious to the rest of the room. There was a history there that none of them knew anything about, like with most interactions regarding the Doctor and the Master. River grabbed the Doctor's hand again, squeezing it to ground her back to the present. The Doctor finally looked away from the Master, offering a small smile to River to try and reassure her.

MASTER: Take my hand or I turn them into tiny human dolls right here.

The Master received glares from the rest of the room, which only made him smirk at them all, unrepentant. This time the Doctor refused to look at him, focusing purely on the screen to his frustration.

DOCTOR: How have you connected Gallifrey to that Boundary?
MASTER: Fine. You really want me to show you I'm serious? Eenie, meenie, miney... Miney.
DOCTOR: Fine, I'll play your game. I'll be back.
MASTER: She won't. And it's not a game. Good luck, humans. (The Master pulls the Doctor through the purple Boundary.)

"What are you planning?" Martha gritted out, glaring fiercely at the Master, she didn't like how he had said she wouldn't be back and all theories forming in her head about this secret were starting to scare her.

The Master didn't provide her with an answer, offering a grin full of teeth at her before glancing back at the Doctor. His enjoyment at antagonising her pets soured when she still refused to look his way (instead reassuring Martha, Jack and River) and when he remembered how this particular encounter ended.

The Doctor watched the screen, she hadn't noticed how soft his voice had been. It wasn't like his normal madness, he'd been entirely focused on her and what he'd found in the Matrix.

RYAN: We have to go through there. We have to go and get her.
ETHAN: No, we have to wait for the others.
(A massive Cybership appears overhead.)
KO SHARMUS: They're here.

"I appreciate the worry Ryan, but it would have been too dangerous and Ethan was right, you needed to wait for the others." The Doctor offered a small smile to Ryan, who smiled back nodding. Graham and Yaz smiled at him too, they'd definitely been glad to be reunited.

[CyberCarrier]

BESCOT: Over here!
RAVIO: Go, go, go, go!
BESCOT: I'll cover you!
(She gets one Cyberman in the chest while the others scramble through grating.)
YEDLARMI: Come on! Bescot!
(Bescot is killed.)

The group looked down. Sad to see yet another person die, especially so close to escape. The tension in the room was high – between Graham and Yaz being in danger with the Cybermen and the Doctor with the Master, no one could relax.

YEDLARMI: No!
(He escapes.)
ASHAD: The ship is ours.

[Gallifrey]

MASTER: Look upon my work, Doctor, and despair. Remember how we used to run through those streets as children? The alleys where we'd hide from Borusa as we skipped classes? All gone now. Come on, ask me why I did this.

The companions inspected the screen, stuck between a mix of awe at seeing the Doctor's home and worry for the Doctor's situation. The interactions between the Master and Doctor kept leaving them with so many questions they wanted to ask, but the room was too tense. Amy, ever the brave one, decided her curiosity outweighed the risk.

"Who's Borusa?" Rory closed his eyes tightly, constantly concerned about his wife's lack of self-preservation (although he couldn't deny his own curiosity – he just wouldn't have asked at this time).

The Master and Doctor shared a glance, seemingly having a silent conversation debating who would answer. For once they weren't glaring furiously at each other but seemed oddly reminiscent, it wasn't often they actually discussed their shared childhood bar the occasional off-hand comment. It was the Doctor who answered (the Master's argument being that the humans were her pets).

"He was our tutor as children, hence the skipping classes. He went a bit mad with power later on though." She paused, eyes a swirling mix of conflicting emotions (as was the way whenever her past or Gallifrey was brought up). "He died in the Time War ultimately." She glanced a look at the Master again, who seemed equally conflicted about Borusa – they both had plenty of good and bad memories about him. No one knew what to say to that, simply letting the video continue as the new information sank in.

DOCTOR: Why did you do this?
MASTER: Not telling you. (laughs) Oh, crack a smile.
DOCTOR: Proud of yourself?
MASTER: Definitely.
DOCTOR: All this death finally made you happy?
MASTER: Ecstatic.
DOCTOR: And has it calmed all the rage?
MASTER: I don't think anything will ever do that. We're going to take a tour through the Capitol. Or its ruins, at least. Things I need to show you. And, er, I know you're worried about your friends. Plotting how to get away. I can see it in your eyes. But you can't help them, so don't even think about it.

"I'm always going to think about it." The Doctor shot across, back to glaring at the Master (she couldn't make her mind up whether ignoring him or reacting to him was better, well actually she had – ignoring him would be better but she kept forgetting that fact).

The Master wasn't given time to answer before Jack jumped in, perched on the edge of the sofa, body tightly coiled. "What is she supposed to do? Let you drag her around and gloat about destroying your home while her friends are in danger?" He snarled at the Master, any potential patience with the Time Lord gone between seeing the interactions on screen and the knowledge that he knew whatever this secret was. The Master just smirked at him so Jack added an extra remark, one that he knew would gain a reaction. "Maybe you don't know her as well as you like to say you do."

It got a reaction alright, just not the one he had expected. He had expected anger or gloating about how he knew her better than anyone, he'd interacted with the Master and read enough UNIT files to know he coveted his knowledge and relationship with the Doctor, however messed up that was. Instead, the Master's smirk dropped as he schooled his face blank, seemingly deflating in his seat. Jack was conscious of the Doctor's sharp inhale at his comment but focused on the Master's reaction, that was truly bewildering. He was about to chase after an answer but the Doctor grabbed his arm, causing him to turn to her. Her eyes were sad as she shook her head, he closed his mouth confused but knowing the Doctor was serious – this was not something he wanted to chase.

[CyberCarrier deep storage vault]

(The bottom of an access ladder.)
GRAHAM: Down you come. That's it. Yaz, come on.
RAVIO: Where's Bescot?
YEDLARMI: They killed her. We have to go back for her.

"No offense but that's a terrible idea. What would they do with her body? You'd just end up getting caught and killed." Mickey stated, frowning. He understood the sentiment and that they were grieving but it was a terrible idea.

Yaz and Graham shared a glance, they'd thought the same. They understood their grief and fears but it would have gotten all of them killed. And they'd been focused on getting back to Ryan and the Doctor.

GRAHAM: No, no, no. No, you can't do that, mate.
YEDLARMI: Listen, don't tell me what I can't do. She had nightmares about being captured and converted. I can't let that happen.
RAVIO: Do you really think that she would want you to go back there and risk your life?
YEDLARMI: I owe her. And what difference does it make anyway? We don't stand a chance here. We are stuck on a ship stacked with Cybermen. Four humans sticking out on every surveillance system they've got.

"You can't give up hope, if you do then you have no chance at surviving." Rose muttered mostly to herself, chewing her lip slightly, everything on screen was making her nervous.

GRAHAM: He's right, and I've been thinking about that. I've got an idea. It's a bit of a mad one, quite dangerous and it might not work, but we've got form with plans like that, ain't we, Yaz?
YASMIN: Yeah, our speciality. How dangerous?

"I feel like that's a dig at me." The Doctor attempted to joke, trying to break some of the tense atmosphere.

The rest of the room glanced at her. "He's right, Sweetie. All your plans are insane." River saved her form the suffocating silence, reigning in the tense atmosphere for the moment.

The Doctor was stuck between smiling at hr wife, thankful for the support and pouting at the comment. She ended up on fond indignation. "Hey! They work! … Usually."

"Heavens know how." River squeezed her hand tightly, an attempt to comfort both of them. She was resisting the urge to kidnap her wife and leave the room entirely; she wasn't liking the glances the Doctor kept sharing with the Master or any of their interactions on screen. She could tell they were getting very close to this secret and she was already sure she was going to despise it.

(They open up one of the pods.)
GRAHAM: We use their armour so they don't notice us. That way, we can move around and get off the ship.

The room turned to look at Graham, a mix of reactions to his plan. The Doctor seemed stuck between being proud and worried while the rest of the room varied form awed to disbelieving.

"I'm not sure that's how it works." Bill muttered, shivering with bad memories. Not many people heard her, too distracted by Jack.

"I like your style Silver Fox." Graham would forever deny blushing at that comment from Jack (and Ryan and Yaz would forever take great please in reminding him he had).

YASMIN: So you want us to disguise ourselves as Cybermen?
YEDLARMI: Have you ever opened one up?
GRAHAM: Well, I guess it won't be pleasant.
RAVIO: They're full of human remains.
GRAHAM: Well, I don't need it spelling out, do I?

"Loving your attitude throughout this Graham." Bill laughed earning a slightly unsure smile back from Graham. The Doctor smiled softly, glad to see Bill not reacting negatively to the reminder of the Cybermen, instead focusing on Graham and Yaz.

YEDLARMI: You can't fake being a Cyberman for any length of time.
YASMIN: We only need to do it for long enough to get us out of here.
RAVIO: If you do the bodies, I could disable the suit connection into the shared neural network.
YEDLARMI: It's insane.
GRAHAM: Well, I didn't say it was a perfect plan, did I? But it is the best one we've got.

"That's typically the way with the Doctor." Donna offered a rueful grin, gaining chuckles from the rest fo the companions while the Doctor pouted.

[Planet - tent]

KO SHARMUS: This is my weapon store.
RYAN: This all you got?
KO SHARMUS: Well, it's quite hard to get deliveries out here, you know. I had hoped I'd fought my last battle a long time ago. Still... this old general still knows a few tricks.
RYAN: I'm not too sure about weapons.

Grham and Yaz nudged him, grinning. The Doctor grinned at him too, all three remembering Ryan's first attempt with weapons. Their humour gained a few curious looks.

"I'm guessing there's a story there." Rory said pointedly, looking between the group.

Ryan groaned, ignoring the other three's snickering but answered anyway. "Our first proper adventure when we were trying to find the Tardis, I decide to ignore the Doctor and try and use a gun. It didn't go well." Ryan grimaced a bit embarrassed.

Yaz wasn't merciful and offered the rest of the story between chuckles. "He couldn't figure out how to work the gun and came running back tail between his legs when the robot things started shooting at him."

The full explanation drew some chuckled form the rest of the group while Ryan hung his head in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.

KO SHARMUS: Yeah, well, I'm sure about Cybermen. Now, you fight them or you die.
ETHAN: They don't have any mercy.
KO SHARMUS: You can be a pacifist tomorrow. Today, you have to survive.

[Citadel]

MASTER: Ah! The Citadel, the heart of Gallifrey. Recognise the old place? I was thinking I might knock through there, put a wet room there, screening room there. Torture room in the cellar, naturally. Oh. And see through there? The Panopticon. Well, what's left, which, er... which isn't much. We had some fun there, didn't we, hey? Graduated. Assassinated presidents. The best of times!

"You're completely unhinged." Amy declared matter-of-fact. She had never met the Master in person before all this and now she was quite glad that was the case. The Master just grinned, all teeth, at her.

But I thought here would be a fitting place to end this. (bingle) Oh. Oop. Excuse me. Check my notifications. Oh, goodie! The Cybermen are here, at the Boundary. Better extend the hand of friendship. Breaker 1-2 calling all Cybes.

The room went back to glaring at the Master, angry for all the destruction and his blasé manner towards his destroyed home. Bill and Clara glared fiercely, neither enjoying the reminder of their last interaction with the Master and Cybermen together.

The Doctor could barely hide a flinch as the Master listed the destruction. They were getting so close and she wasn't sure how she was going to cope; she was terrified how they would all react.

[CyberCarrier]

MASTER [OC]: Calling all Cybes.
CYBERGUARD: Leader, incoming holo-transmission from beyond the Boundary.

[Citadel]

MASTER: Hello, Cybercarrier. Ooo, you look rough. Or is that a choice? Don't mean to conversion-shame you.
ASHAD [hologram]: Who are you?
MASTER: You may call me Master. I want you to think of me as your new best friend.

Bill shuddered slightly in her seat, unseen to most of the room. The Master and the Cybermen interacting on screen were bringing back horrible memories that she'd been working to move past. The Doctor and Clara were the only people that noticed her darkening mood. The Doctor frowned, tempted to go and reassure Bill but knowing it wasn't likely River and Jack were going to let her leave her space between them (plus she didn't want to be that close to the Master at the minute).

Clara noticed the other young woman's change in mood, and offered an understanding smile. She remembered all too clearly Bill's story of being converted and the Master and Cybermen weren't exactly bringing back nice memories for her either. The understanding in Clara's expression seemed to reassure Bill who smiled softly back. Neither one of them noticed the Doctor watching them both proud and sad. She was glad to see her friends getting along but she hated that they had reason to share fears and past traumas. It seemed she never learnt her lesson.

[CyberCarrier]

MASTER [hologram]: Now, the Boundary between worlds, this beautiful anomalous fluke

[Citadel]

MASTER: Come through it. Join me.
ASHAD [hologram]: Why would we join you?
MASTER: Because I have a planet going spare right here. The planet formerly known as Gallifrey.

"You're seriously going to give your own planet to the Cybermen?" Rose asked shocked, gaping at the Master.

The Master stared her down with madness in his eyes. "I burnt Gallifrey to ashes, I can do what I want with the planet." Rose looked away first, while the Doctor just glared at the Master.

DOCTOR: No. Don't bring them here. This is between you and me.
MASTER: Don't heckle, dear. I can always decide to cut you short. I promise I'll roll out the red carpet. It's red because it's drenched in the blood of our people.

The Doctor couldn't hide her flinch that time. River pulled her closer to her side again, squeezing her hand tightly while Jack practically growled looking ready to jump up and punch the Master again. The Master watched their movement, face deceptively blank (he hated how close she was to the freak and half-breed, but he didn't know how to feel about anything else – he was mad but the Doctor always induced an ugly swirl of mixed emotions he couldn't describe).

It was a startling reminder to the rest of the room about the situation. They'd spent the last video shocked and horrified by the existence of only seven (now four) humans left in the future and here the Doctor was being reminded she was one of only two of her species left. It put things in perspective a bit.

[CyberCarrier]

MASTER [hologram]: I've sent you the navigation patterns. Come right to the hearts. Do what so many of your predecessors fantasised about.

[Citadel]

MASTER: Land your ship in the ruins of Gallifrey. On the way through, you should send a death squadron. Do you call it a death squadron? A deletion squad. No, a recruitment patrol. A human juicing party. To eliminate the three humans left alive on that planet. They're weak. It shouldn't take much. See you in a bit.

The Doctor glared at the Master, furious at his disregard toward her friends and the other human's lives. This time Jack wasn't alone in looking like he was fantasising about punching the Master – most of the room shared the expression.

Graham, Ryan and Yaz shared a glance. That explained all the Cybermen suddenly deciding to attack. Not that they weren't always going to attack, just why at that time.

Clara, Bill and Martha's glares were particularly dark and spectacular. All had very good reason to hate (and fear) the Master.

[CyberCarrier]

ASHAD: Send three execution units to the surface. And set course for Gallifrey.
(Six Cybermen beam down.)

[Planet]

(Two groups of six Cybermen appear on the ridge.)
KO SHARMUS [OC]: Here they come. Gird your loins, gentlemen.
RYAN: Er... I don't... I don't how to do that.
ETHAN: Me neither.

There were a few small smiles at the confused looks on Ryan and Ethan's faces but the room was far too tense for anything else. Everything was heating up – Graham and Yaz were in trouble on the ship, Ryan was in danger at the boundary, and the Doctor was at the Master's mercy in the ruins of her home planet.

[CyberCarrier]

(Another group of six beam down.)
RAVIO: Transmat.

"You could use it to get to the boundary too." Martha grinned, happy to see at least something good amongst all the trouble.

[Planet]

(And two more groups appear.)
KO SHARMUS [OC]: As my first commanding officer used to say, be brave, be swift. Most of all, be lucky.

"Good moto." Nardole muttered, no one paid much attention to him, all to focused on the screen.

[CyberCarrier deep storage vault]

(Yedlarmi and Ravio are doing the cutting and drilling.)
YASMIN: All right?
GRAHAM: Yeah, yeah. You?
YASMIN: Yeah.
GRAHAM: Listen, Yaz, er... if we don't get out of this...
YASMIN: We will get out of this.

Yaz and Graham shared small smiles, both remembering this interaction and infinitely glad they had survived and managed to reunite with Ryan and the Doctor, but they stuck by what they had said. It wasn't too often they spent time alone just the two of them but in some way they had enjoyed the chance despite the danger.

GRAHAM: Yeah, well... I know, but I'm just saying, if we don't... I want you to know I... I think you're such an impressive young woman. Never thrown by anything. Always fighting.
YASMIN: Thanks.
GRAHAM: You said to the Doc that you thought she was the best person you'd ever met. But you know what, Yaz? I think you are. You ain't got a time machine or a sonic... but you're never afraid and you're never beaten. I'm going to sound like a... like a proper old man, but you're doing your family proud, Yaz, you really are. In fact, you're doing the whole human race proud. Sorry. I haven't offended you, have I?
YASMIN: It's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me.
GRAHAM: Oh.
YASMIN: You're not such a bad human yourself either.
GRAHAM: Not su...? Is that it? I've just said all them lovely things about you, and all you give me is, you're not such a bad human?
YASMIN: Mate, I'm from Yorkshire. That's a love letter.

That managed to surprise a few laughs out of people, it helped knowing that all three of the companions were here safe, so they had survived no matter how dangerous things got on screen. It was nice to see such a pure interaction though between the pair. It was a break from all the danger and tension that they desperately needed. Ryan just rolled his eyes at the pair.

YEDLARMI: We're ready.
GRAHAM: Oh, okay.

[CyberCarrier]

(Meanwhile...)
CYBERGUARD: Leader, unit malfunction in deep storage vault Micron-Alpha.
ASHAD: Show surveillance.
CYBERGUARD: Surveillance unavailable, Leader.
ASHAD: The humans.
CYBERGUARD: Shall I activate a unit?
ASHAD: No. They are mine.

"They know that you're there." Clara said worried. Yaz and Graham offered her reassuring smiles, glad to see her care but not wanting her to overly worry (they hadn't missed some of the Doctor's worried glances at Bill and Clara throughout the video – it wasn't difficult to guess there was a history with the Cybermen there).

[Citadel]

DOCTOR: Why would you give Gallifrey to the Cybermen?
MASTER: You're about to have much bigger things to think about. I told you before that everything you knew was a lie. Well, now you get to face the truth, with me at your side.

The group looked up at the mention of the truth, they were all desperate at this point to find out what secret had led to the Tardis bringing them together like this. None of them liked the idea of the Master being the one to reveal it to the Doctor (or being anywhere near the Doctor actually) but they couldn't deal with all the secrecy anymore.

The Doctor glared at the Master, furious at how much he enjoyed telling her, then the realisation of what was coming hit her again and she glanced away, staring determinedly at the screen - she didn't want to relieve the horror of the mess in the Matrix but it wasn't like she was going to get a choice. The only small silver lining was the chance to analyse the story, to see it again and not be so focused on everything else going on.

DOCTOR: Do you really think I'm going to believe anything that comes out of your mouth?

The Doctor shrunk down in her seat, taking her hand back from River and curling both her hands into fists. Her fury curled along her mental link to the Master, whipping at his end of the bond. It made him straighten up in his seat, curious about this strain of fury. It was a different level to her constant anger over the episode so far.

"Thinking about something dear?" The Master asked, trying to disguise his curiosity under an attitude of uncaring. The Doctor's head snapped to look at him, her eyes swirling with the fury he could steal feel lashing at his mind.

"Remembering the last time I trusted information you provided." The Doctor gritted out. The rest of the room were watching the exchange wearily, River kept moving a hand as if to grab the Doctor's hand again but always stopped short.

"I told you I was going to come back, but of course you don't believe-." The Master snarled, feeling his own fury rise, he'd thought they'd already had this argument about Missy leaving.

His building rant was stopped by the Doctor. "No." That froze him, his anger leaving his body all at once. Now he really was confused, he probably wasn't even hiding it from the rest of the room. The Doctor took a noticeably shuddering breath, knuckles turning white as her fists clenched and unclenched in repetition. "The coordinates, Master."

He couldn't ignore the shiver that made its way uninvited through this body at hearing her say his name, she didn't do it often but oh, how he loved to hear her say his name. Then the words caught up with him, the coordinates? Oh. His realisation must have been visible as she hissed out something that made no sense before looking back to the screen. His eyes remained glued to her; Missy hadn't hesitated in giving her those coordinates but he hadn't thought it would have made her so furious. It had been a small trick, his (her?) way of getting the last word. Clearly it had affected her much more than he thought it would have, he'd known she'd be angry but this level of fury? Maybe he didn't know her as well as he thought he did.

MASTER: Do you remember this place, Doctor? Next to the Panopticon, the Chamber of the Matrix, the Repository of all Time Lord knowledge. A data bank of every Time Lord consciousness, living and dead. Every experience and every memory. The lived history of our race. I... I destroyed a lot of things, but not this trove of secrets. This is what started it all. I was just playing, hacking the system. I got lost in there. And then I found everything. Ah! Truth and reconciliation time, Doctor. Well, maybe not reconciliation. But time you saw the truth for yourself.

"You've always loved hacking the Matrix, any chance you got." The Doctor said, deceptively calm. Unnerving the Master, when she was this calm – well there was a reason she was called the oncoming storm. "It never ended well for you, did it?" The Master refused to look at her for once, he knew she was trying to get a rise from him (and usually it worked) but his emotions were doing cartwheels and he didn't want her to see his turmoil.

DOCTOR: What truth? Oh!
(A column of glowing rings surrounds her.)
MASTER: Paralysis field.

"Doctor!" Rose cried out almost instinctively, jolting forward in her seat at seeing the Doctor in obvious pain. She hadn't been the only one, most of the room's inhabitants had startled forward or shifted in their seat as if they could enter the screen and help.

Yaz, Graham and Ryan couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. They knew they'd been in their own danger but it was still hard to see the Doctor in pain and trapped with the Master. It wasn't logical but feelings rarely were.

Seeing the Doctor trapped on screen seemed to be the last straw for Jack and River. Jack leapt up form his place on the sofa while River grabbed the Doctor and tucked her close to her side, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. Almost of planned, the Doctor was so distracted by River that she wasn't able to grab Jack before he made his way across the room. It happened quicker than anyone else in the room could realise, giving them no chance to stop him (not that they wanted too).

Jack prowled across the short distance to the Master's armchair and punched him hard in the face, causing the Master's head to snap to the side, a red mark already growing indicating the truly dramatic bruises that would grace his face in time. Jack snarled at him once, fist twitching as if he wanted to punch him again but an aborted noise from the Doctor (trying and failing to escape River's clutches) brought him back to reality. He took a deep grounding breath before making his way back to the Doctor's side. He looked far too proud of himself, as did River. With a jolt the Doctor realised they had planned it, they had plenty of time during the last break and she'd seen them scheming away.

The Doctor managed to escape River's embrace finally, shifting to sit in the middle of the sofa, just not touching either of the other time travellers sharing it with her. She watched the Master bring a hand up to gently feel the sight of the punch, stretching his jaw to test the movement. He just raised an eyebrow at her, far too smug for having just been punched in the face. The Doctor managed to tear her eyes away from him to finally face Jack and River. (She was ignoring the rets of the room who were watching the group like it was a very interesting new drama, most of them looked far too happy to see the Master get socked across the face).

"Jack-." The Doctor started, not actually sure what she was going to say. On one hand she really couldn't condone his actions (and she didn't like the idea that River and Jack were clearly scheming together) but on the other she couldn't deny he'd kind of deserved it and she had pushed him in the Matrix so was she any better?

"No Doctor." Jack started expression determined. "He's had that coming for a long time, for so many reasons." Well, she couldn't exactly deny that either. She just frowned at the pair who seemed to find that satisfying another an answer.

DOCTOR: Whatever you want with me, fine. But save my friends. Don't let the Cybermen take them. If the history between us means anything to you...
MASTER: I do believe you're appealing to my better nature. And we both know I don't have one. I'm not going to help them, and neither are you. And the history between us does mean something. It's the rage and pain in my hearts. I'm sending you deep into the Matrix to understand the truth of Gallifrey and of the Time Lords. Brace yourself. This is going to hurt.

"Did it hurt you?" Martha asked sharply, watching the Master who had been analysing the screen with a dark expression.

The Master starred at her blankly for a moment before letting out a hollow laugh (which sent shivers down the backs of most of the companions). "Everything to do with the Doctor always hurts. But I'd imagine you'd know that Martha Jones."

"Smith. Martha Smith. The Doctor shows us the best of the universe and sometimes the worst. Yes, it hurts at times but there's also joy and love, it's worth it in the end. But I'd imagine you'd know that Mr Saxon or you wouldn't continue to chase after her." Martha's answer was scathing and seemed to genuinely surprise the Master who just grimaced and glanced away from the rest of the room, pointedly not looking at the Doctor.

The Doctor in turn was ignoring him too, instead focussing on Martha, worried about how the Master's remarks had affected her. Mickey was squeezing her hand tightly in comfort but it didn't look like she needed it, she looked proud of herself, expression similar to Jack's when he had punched the Master. Maybe this was semi-therapeutic, the whole facing your demons thing that people always talk about (not that the Doctor wanted to face any of her demons, let alone the ones about to be shown on screen but as usual she didn't get a choice).

"Erm, what does he mean about 'sending you into the Matrix', like how and what?" Bill asked, hand raised as if she was still in school. She was far too curious and purposely ignoring the tenser atmosphere. A few other nodded along, happy someone had voiced the question that was on their minds.

The Doctor chewed on her lip for a minute debating how to answer the question. "The Matrix is complicated, technology far beyond Earth. It's a kind of supercomputer that allows simulations of environments and can predict future events. Like the Master said it also stores the consciousness of Time Lords when they die and each Tardis is connected to it so it has all the experiences of the Time Lords." She tried to explain, pausing to let that sink in before continuing. "When he says he is sending me in, he means he is connecting us to the Matrix through the Matrix Chamber that we are in, immersing us in the simulated reality, simulated memories almost. Think one of those VR headsets that are around in your time, but nothing like that."

That answer seemed to satisfy or confuse the group even more but either way no one asked anymore questions.

[CyberCarrier deep storage vault]

(Ashad stomps along, then opens one of the pods. Our heroes are inside the Cybersuits. He opens another and gazes deep into the eye sockets.

Both Bill and the Doctor flinched at seeing the tear fall down Yaz's cheek. Both muttering quietly to themselves, "Where there's tears, there's hope." The few people near them that heard glanced at them, curious and concerned but both shook them off. They didn't want to talk about it.

There is a clang so he turns and opens another pod.)
CYBERGUARD [OC]: Leader, we are on optimal proximity to Boundary. Boundary gateway is reopening.
(Ashad storms out of the vault.)
GRAHAM: We've got to get off this ship.
(The CyberCarrier passes through the Boundary.)

"That was far too close." Ryan muttered worried; he really hadn't known quite how close it had gotten. The rest of the group seemed to agree but were happy to see the plan was mostly working.

[Matrix]

MASTER [OC]: Welcome, Doctor. Are you suffering comfortably?

That comment drew a few angry twitches from the group but most were far too focused on the screen. This was it - they could feel it. All the secrets and questions were finally going to be answered, whatever the Tardis had brought them here to see they were about to see.

The Doctor glared at the screen, analysing every word. She'd been so focussed on the Master's plot and her friend's safety that she hadn't given the story the full analysis it had deserved. She'd spent plenty of time in her cell debating and investigating the story mentally but it was something else to hear and see the Master's delivery again.

The Master was also watching the screen but not as intensely as the rest of the room. He'd played the memories over and over when he'd first discovered them, he'd taken them apart and put them back together, not wanting to believe them. He was far more eager to see the Doctor's little pet's reactions and how she would deal with them. He periodically glanced back at the Doctor who looked like she wanted to set the screen on fire with her eyes, he couldn't deny how delighted he was to see that fury, it wasn't often he truly saw the depth of the Doctor's fury and it was normally a treat he savoured.

Then I'll begin. Once upon a time... No. Once upon several times, before the Time Lords, before everything we know, there was an explorer. Her name was Tecteun, from a little-regarded, sparsely populated planet called Gallifrey.

"Gallifrey?" Rory jolted not having realised he had spoken until he'd noticed the glances from the rest of the room. "I mean I know the secret was to do with Gallifrey but that long ago? Why is it relevant?"

The Doctor just sighed. "Please Rory, just watch - you'll understand soon. The Time Lords have always kept secrets about Gallifrey and the founding is full of holes in knowledge and myths, but this secret? I should have expected something like this. Just watch, please." The Doctor pleaded, she muttered most of it to herself giving the impression that she hadn't really intended for them to hear some of it.

Tecteun was the first of Gallifrey's indigenous race, the Shobogans, to develop space travel.

"Shobogans?" Rose asked. She hesitated when she realised that she'd asked the question when the Doctor had just asked for them to watch but didn't rescind her question, she was curious and wanted answers.

"The indigenous race, before there were Time Lords." The Doctor answered without taking her eyes off the screen, she kept shrinking further down in her seat, as if hoping the sofa would swallow her whole.

Dangerous, unsophisticated space travel. She took risks to explore the worlds and galaxies beyond her home. And it was on one of these distant, deserted worlds on the far edge of another galaxy she found something... impossible. A gateway. A boundary into another unknown dimension or universe. Tecteun glimpsed the infinite through that gateway. And beneath the monument, she found... a child. Abandoned. Alone. Thrown through, seemingly, from the other unknown realm.

"They abandoned a child!" Donna spat out, shocked and furious. It wasn't a question, not really but the Doctor just shrugged, face schooled carefully blank. River and Jack shared a worried glance, both reaching to take one of the Doctor's hand each in comfort, they were finally getting secrets but it was clearly hurting the Doctor. The Master was practically vibrating in his seat, smiling with far too much teeth – they were so close.

Tecteun had a choice to make. Abandon or save the child? She chose to rescue the foundling and adopt this refugee from another realm as her own. Together they explored the universe. The child grew older, and finally Tecteun returned to Gallifrey with her new child. Like any parent, Tecteun wanted to understand her child.

"That doesn't mean you experiment on them!" Clara protested, she'd worked at a school and knew first hand ho horrible some parents could be to their children. The rest of the room seemed to agree, they could understand the desire for answers but it was a kid.

She searched for clues as to the child's identity. Where she might be from, what species she could be. But the child would not yield any secrets Tecteun could understand. The child remained a mystery, until playing with a friend, like any other child, there was an accident. A catastrophe...
(The child falls off a cliff.)

"Ireland." Martha breathed out; eyes wide as she connected some more dots glancing to the Doctor in worry. River and Jack seemed to have made the same connection, squeezing her hands tighter.

"The Timeless Child is Brendan? Brendan is a Time Lord? How is that Ireland?" Amy asked rapidly, looking more and more concerned as theories went through her head. Some things were making more sense but there were so many more questions.

"Just watch please." The Doctor's voice broke slightly as she pleaded making the group fall silent to let the video continue.

MASTER [OC]: ..for Tecteun, for the child she'd saved, now lost to her. Or so she thought. The child regenerated. The first regeneration of any person on the planet of Gallifrey.

"Regeneration. That's how you change your face isn't it?" Graham asked, concern clear in his eyes as he took in the Doctor's slumped posture. Both the Doctor and River nodded in answer.

"That's why you can regenerate? Because of a lost child from who knows where. That's the secret that is haunting both of you?" Clara asked, disbelief and annoyance battling in her tone. She'd been expecting so much worse from the way both the Master and the Doctor were acting (not that an abandoned child dying wasn't bad but she'd expected so much worse).

The Master and Doctor shared a long look, before they turned their dark eyes on Clara. "There's more." They answered in sync, emotions clouding their voices that she couldn't quite place. Their answer really wasn't reassuring to anyone in the room.

(The CyberCarrier lands on top of the Citadel.)

"Now that's just rude." Rose muttered; arms crossed. There was plenty of places to land that wasn't directly on top of the citadel.

[Planet]

CYBERMAN: Boundary forcefield gateway now closed. There is no escape for humans.
(An automatic weapon shoots down a Cyberman, then another.)
KO SHARMUS: First trap's sprung. They fell for the old bio-dampener Decoy Human Signal trick. Textbook! Ha!
(The Cybermen destroy the weapons.)
KO SHARMUS: Thought they'd last longer than that.

"They never do." Mickey bemoaned, glad for a break from the tension of the Matrix but still wanting answers like most of the room. It was reassuring to catch up on the companions and remaining humans, to find out how they escaped the danger.

(Then they shoot at Ko Sharmus.)
KO SHARMUS [OC]: All right, Ryan, they're on the march. You know what to do. We're relying on you.
RYAN: Did I mention I've never been the greatest shot?

"You can do it, son." Graham reassured Ryan, who smiled at him but answered back.

"You know it's already happened right?" Graham just shrugged, he hadn't been there at the time and was eager to see what had actually happened.

KO SHARMUS [OC]: Now!
(Ryan hefts a bleeping basket-ball sized device and eyes his target, then throws it between two batches of six Cybermen. KaBOOM.)
RYAN: Whoa! I did it! In the hoop! Swish. KO SHARMUS: Great shot.
RYAN: You come for humans, you come for me, Ryan Sinclair! We defeated the Cybermen. Well, me. Technically, it's me.

"Well done Ryan. You finally got that shot." Yaz nudged him teasingly, grinning. "Maybe your next Basketball game will go better." Ryan just grinned back, still proud and very willing to ignore the teasing.

"Don't get too overconfident, eh." Graham nudged Ryan, still smiling though.

(Er, behind you?)
RYAN: Oh!
KO SHARMUS [OC]: There are always more. Get inside now. Now!

"He's right. There always is more." Rose complained, drawing agreeing nods from the rest of the room.

[Citadel]

MASTER: Ah! Ah! Come in. Come in! No, don't... don't worry about her. She's fully under my control. Congratulations. You have managed something no other Cyberman ever achieved. Maybe... maybe even dreamed of! Gallifrey is yours. Offered as a gift, from an admiring Master. I know our races have been enemies. I lived through the Great Cyber War. I saw the atrocities perpetrated on your race. I want to help put that right.

The room glared at the Master, for both the sympathy towards the Cybermen and the comment about the Doctor. No one was happy with the idea of the Master teaming up with the Cybermen. Bill and Clara were especially uncomfortable, shifting unconsciously in their seats. The Master's plans may rarely work the way he wanted but to didn't mean they didn't hurt anyone, both of them were primary examples. The Doctor shot both of them a worried look, she knew this video was likely to bring up bad memories for both of them. The pair just offered small reassuring smiles back to her, not wanting her to worry about them when she was dealing with her own mess.

ASHAD: Why?
MASTER: I fear we have a common interest.
ASHAD: The new Cyber-army shall have one goal. The destruction of all organic life.

"Personally, I don't like that goal." Bill declared. That was a bit of a difference from normal, usually the Cybermen were just trying to convert any humans they found not destroy all life.

MASTER: Ah, so that's your thinking. But how are you going to manage that?
ASHAD: The Death Particle. One Particle, when activated, capable of destroying all organic life.
(And it is sitting in his chest.)
MASTER: Very nice. Ooo. Did you make that?
ASHAD: The Cyberium created it, through me.

"That's why you shouldn't have let him have the Cyberium." Jack complained, half-jokingly, hoping to get a proper reaction of the Doctor.

"It wasn't like you gave me much information to work with! Plus, there wasn't much choice at the time, we dealt with it." The Doctor threw her hands in the air, glad for the distraction from her spiralling thoughts. Jack just grinned at her.

MASTER: So you're the host for all Cyber knowledge and strategy. Oh. Interesting. Now, I hate to point out the flaw in your plan. Cybermen are part organic, but you more than most.
ASHAD: My new Cyberwarriors are purged of organic components. We shall rise towards full automation, driven by the intelligence of the Cyberium. And when that work is done, I shall join my warriors and make the final ascension to full mechanisation.

"So that's what they were doing with the Cybermen in the ship." Rory said, finally connecting the dots like most of the others in the room. It was nice to have some answers but the answers themselves were not nice.

MASTER: Oh, you mean robots. You'll be robots.
ASHAD: We shall be dominant.
MASTER: But robots. Oof. I'm a bit disappointed. I see how you got there - an AI wanting to create more things in its own image - but it lacks vision. Right, what if we, er, workshop this? You know, kick it around a bit? I have notes.

"First of all, I hate you. Like from what I have seen here and what the others have said you, I do not like you. And I hate how you are working with the Cybermen. But I do have to agree with you on the whole robot thing, kind of gets disappointing after a while." Amy declared, pointing at the Master who looked almost bewildered at the attention and declaration. Rory closed his eyes tightly, rubbing at his forehead as if to ward off a headache caused by his wife.

ASHAD: You question the strategy of the Cyberium?
MASTER: I do. I mean, it's good, but it's not great. There's loads of robots. Throw a stick in this universe, you'll hit a robot. I used to do that. Any idiot can make themselves into a robot. It's not special.
(Ashad takes the Master by the throat.)

"What is it with you two and being calm while having someone literally grab you by the neck?" Jack asked, he was starting to notice a pattern.

The pair shared a glance, before turning to Jack and answering in sync. "Experience."

MASTER: But if you want to be the dominant force in the universe, I can facilitate that.
(Ashad releases him.)
ASHAD: Explain.
MASTER: How fast are the conversion processes on your ship?
ASHAD: They have been restored to optimal efficiency.
MASTER: Good. Good, good. Good. Good! Cos I burned the Citadel, but if I have one weakness, it's that I am a bit of a hoarder. Let me show you. She's waking up in that Matrix. But don't worry, my consciousness can deal with her. I'm that good, I can be in two places at once.

The Doctor grimaced realising what the Master meant by being a hoarder, that was where he'd gotten the bodies for his hybrid Time Lord-Cybermen creations. No one else in the room was aware of them yet and so had no idea what the Master had meant but none were very pleased about the reminder that he'd destroyed Gallifrey, the fact that he was helping the Cybermen or the Doctor being trapped in the Matrix.

[Matrix]

MASTER: Now, having seen her adopted child regenerate her body, Tecteun, a scientist and explorer, had a new landscape to explore. She dedicated her life to studying her child. Detailed every fragment of genetic material.

"She experimented on the child!" Now Donna really was furious, face almost the same colour as her hair. The rest of the room seemed equally emotional.

"That's the secret? The fact that you can regenerate because a lost child was tortured and experimented on?!" Clara asked, eyes wide in shock. God, just when she thought Gallifrey couldn't get any worse she was proven wrong.

"Please tell me you didn't know that Doctor! Tell me you didn't know what your home was built upon." Rose pleaded; eyes furious.

The Master and Doctor shared a glance (which they seemed to be doing a lot). The Master raised an eyebrow to match his questioning smirk; the question was clear – was she going to tell them or let him (in the video). She turned away from him and back to Rose who had watched the exchange, expression darkening.

"No, neither of us knew anything. The myths of Gallifrey's creation were always built around three beings – Rassilon, Omega and the Other. The stories say that the three are responsible for discovering the technology for time travel but not much else is really known, especially about the Other. Gallifrey's founding has always been surrounded in mystery. Please just watch, there's still more." The Doctor explained to the group, who reluctantly took the explanation.

River had paled dramatically as the video had continued, seeing another child have their 'mother' hurt them was bringing up memories she'd long since buried, her own childhood of pain and expectations. The fact that she was able to regenerate because a child had been hurt, experimented on, caused a terrible ache in the pit of her stomach. It was made worse by the fact that the Master was still speaking – there was clearly more to the story and she wasn't going to like it.

It took her years. Several of the child's regenerations. Tecteun grew older. Her desire to understand became an obsession. She worked tirelessly, endlessly, furiously.

The room was watching, eyes wide in horror at seeing a child tortured and experimented over and over, being killed over and over, who knows how many times. But no one made any noise, unsure what to say to express any of their emotions. The Doctor was just analysing the screen, feeling oddly detached from the whole affair – it still hadn't really settled in her head that the child in the video was her (according to the Master – he'd lied on several occasions but this was something else for him to lie about and she knew he wouldn't be that messed up if it wasn't true and she couldn't deny that it did explain a few things).

Jack wasn't taking the video well. If anyone knew the pain of death it was him, add in that the child had to regenerate every time – a clearly painful process from what the Doctor had told him over the years. The whole video was making him sick to the stomach in a way he rarely felt and he could tell there was still more to come.

She had to crack this code to understand regeneration. And finally, she did. And to prove herself right, she took the ultimate risk. Tested the theory on herself. Put her own life on the line. Spliced into herself the genetic ability to regenerate.

Martha let lose an almost hollow, cynical laugh. "Oh, so she will torture and kill a child repetitively but won't test the theory on someone else in case it goes wrong."

"'I'm sure it's purely selfish, after all she spent all this time on the experiment shouldn't she get to benefit from it first?" Amy added, voice hard in anger and full of cynical sarcasm at the end. The Doctor had the sudden realisation that Amy really wasn't going to take the truth well – her own daughter had been taken away and hurt, had given up her regenerations to save the Doctor's life and she was about to be told that the Doctor likely would have been able to regenerate herself anyway.

Both their husbands looked at them worried, offering comfort in their own ways. No one in the room was happy about what they were seeing, to say they were furious would be an understatement. They had all heard how the Doctor talked about Gallifrey, and how much she didn't speak about it. Clearly there were good reasons for her running away, if her people were like this – willing to experiment and torture a child (not that any of them thought humans weren't capable of that or any race in fact but they were focused on the story at the minute).

I didn't know any of this. Did you know any of this? Nearly there.

"There's more?" No one was sure who said what they were all thinking.

The planet of Gallifrey evolved. Shobogans grew in knowledge and ability. They built themselves the Citadel. They discovered the ability to travel through Time as well as space. With Tecteun, they became a self-appointed ruling elite. And Tecteun proposed that they gene-splice the ability to regenerate into future generations of Citadel dwellers. It would become the genetic inheritance of them and their descendants. But he would restrict the regenerative process to a maximum of twelve times.

"What regeneration are you both on?" Bill asked the Master and the Doctor, curious and nervous for the answer. How many times had they benefitted from a child being tortured?

The pair shared a glance which spoke volumes to the rest of the room. Not that any of the were aware of the last part of the story, although the suspicion was sneaking into the minds of several people in the room. It was the Doctor who answered, not trusting the Master. "We don't really know. More than 12 certainly, but an exact number? I don't know." She frowned; she really didn't know. As far as her memories told her she'd had 14 faces but did the metacrisis Doctor count as a regeneration? She also didn't know what regeneration the Master was on - he'd spent time hoping bodies did that count?

The rest of the room frowned unhappy about that, not liking the lack of answers and the glances the pair kept exchanging. But they let the video continue, not quite sure what to say.

The timeless child became the base genetic code for all Gallifreyans within the Citadel. The civilisation which renamed themselves, with characteristic pomposity, Time Lords. The foundling had become the founder. The rest, as they say, is history.

"What about Ireland? And what happened to the child?" Clara asked almost frantic, there was still so many questions that the video hadn't answered, questions the room were desperate to know.

"Just watch Clara, please." The Doctor sighed, dreading the next few minutes that she knew were coming. Lara opened her mouth to complain or say something else but a look from the Doctor silenced her.

DOCTOR: What happened to the child?
(The Master laughs.)
DOCTOR: What? What's so funny? What happened to the child?

Jack, River and Martha had finally connected the dots, staring at the screen in renewed horror before glancing at the Doctor who was determinedly glaring at the floor. The Master's reaction to her question had solidified their theory but they were desperate for it to be wrong. After all it was one thing to know a child had been tortured and killed repetitively but for it to be your friend, your family that had suffered? That was a whole other matter.

MASTER: Oh Doctor, really? Haven't you worked this out yet? The child is you. You are the timeless child.

The Master's words on screen drew gasps of shock and horror from the rest of the room, while the few that had already worked it out just looked down upset to have their fears confirmed. The Master was basking in the room's reactions while the Doctor remained glaring at the floor, not wanting to see her friend's faces.

"Doctor-." Yaz's voice broke as she uttered the word, unsure what to actually say. What do you say to someone that has just had their whole life turned upside down? Yaz, Graham and Ryan were all stuck thinking about how the Doctor had been acting the last time they had seen her, how had she managed to deal with this and still try and save the day?

"That's why we're here, isn't it?" River asked, not continuing until the Doctor looked up at her (but she still refused to meet her eyes). "The secret the Tardis brought us here to see. The Timeless Child, an unknown child tortured and experimented by someone who should have cared for her. And that child was you."

"Apparently." The Doctor managed to croak out in answer, not really sure what to say, she was sp focused on the pain in River's expression. Pain that she rarely saw, showing how much this was affecting her wife.

"How many times were you forced to regenerate?" Martha whispered, horror and dread clear in her voice.

"I don't know." The Doctor answered, sharper than she intended. It hurt, that she didn't know, it could have been so many – the video showed several and that was only until Tecteun found the formula. What about after? How many before Ruth? After Ruth? She didn't even have a rough idea.

"How are you doing with that knowledge?" Clara asked gently, eyes wide and watering. She'd been to Gallifrey and seen how they had all acted, it was no wonder the Doctor had run away all that time ago.

"Fine. I'm fine. Can we please not talk about this now? The video isn't finished yet." The Doctor decided, tone laced with anger and far harsher than she had intended it to be but she really didn't want to speak about this.

"You're never fine Doctor. Least of all know." Jack answered, his own voice heavy with a mix of emotions she couldn't quite decipher. "We'll let it go for now because you're right there is still more to see. But we are talking about this later. No matter how much you don't want to. Understand?"

The Doctor nodded but that didn't satisfy Jack who asked again until she verbally answered in the positive. She was already planning ways to escape that conversation.

DOCTOR: No. No, I'm not.
MASTER: You always have been.
DOCTOR: I can't be.

[Planet - tents]

KO SHARMUS: Come on, come on. Hurry, hurry!
ETHAN: This place is like a maze.
KO SHARMUS: I made it that way, in case of an eventuality like this.

"Smart. Stops anyone but you knowing how to navigate it." Mickey nodded impressed. The group was thankful for the chance for a break, it gave them a way to relieve some of the tension that had gripped the room. Plus, they were all still eager to know how the current companions had escaped the Cybermen.

RYAN: Hey, you never think of doors? Big lockable doors. Indestructible doors.
KO SHARMUS: Dream of them every night. But I had to work with what I had. Now...

"I don't think door would keep the Cybermen out much longer." Rose pointed out. Ryan just shrugged it would be better than fabric tents. Almost anything would be a better defence than fabric tents.

(He gives them guns.)
KO SHARMUS: Hide well. Take what shots you can. Kill them before they kill you. Go!
CYBERMAN: Three human life forms detected.
(Ko Sharmus taps one on the back.)
KO SHARMUS: Hello.
(And kills it.)
KO SHARMUS: Too many of them.

"There always is." The Doctor muttered darkly. She'd been watching the screen anxious to know how they had all escaped and found their way to the Matrix Chamber.

(Ethan's hiding place is found.)
CYBERMAN: One human located.
ETHAN: No! No.
CYBERMAN: All humans will be executed.

"Oh no." No one wanted to see any of the remaining humans die, especially after all they had escaped.

(Ryan gets one. Then he and Ko Sharmus nearly shoot each other.)
RYAN: Oh! Oh, my days.
KO SHARMUS: Oh, my saints.
BOTH: Where's Ethan?
CYBERMAN [OC]: Attention, remaining humans. We have your friend. You have ten seconds to surrender or he will be executed.

"Ten seconds! Seriously at least give them a chance." Donna protested, watching the screen worriedly like the rest of the room. No one told her the obvious fact that the Cybermen didn't want to give them a chance and instead wanted them all dead.

ETHAN: Don't come for me. Argh!
CYBERMAN: Ten, nine.
RO SHARMUS: He's two pathways away. This way.
RYAN: Hey! We're coming! We surrender! Stop!
CYBERMAN: Five, four.
RYAN: I said we surrender!
CYBERMAN: Three.
RO SHARMUS: We surrender!
CYBERMAN: Two, one.
RYAN: No!

"Oh god."

(Weapons fire. Ro Sharmus and Ryan burst in to see four Cybermen standing over the bodies of two others, and Ethan unharmed.)
RYAN: I don't understand.
(A Cyberman removes her helmet.)
YASMIN: How about now?

"Go Yaz!" Bill cheered, happy to see a friendly face.

GRAHAM: Er, Yaz, I can't... can't get this hat off.

The room let lose a few cheers, happy to see both Ethan safe and the group all reunited (bar the Doctor). There were also a few chuckles at Graham's comment but they were all very glad to see his plan had worked and they had escaped.

[CyberCarrier deep storage vault]

MASTER: Wow. Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow! Ah! You have got a lot of these. A whole Cybercarrier worth. Perfect. So, what's your plan now?
ASHAD: The Cyberium will process and dictate the strategy.
MASTER: The Cyberium. I've heard a lot about that over the millennia. The heart of all your power. The centre of all Cyber knowledge. Oh, come on, Cyberium, show us some leg. What do you actually look like, hmm?

"You'd heard of it?" The Doctor asked the Master. She hadn't heard of it and she'd dealt with the Cybermen far more often than he had.

"Of course, dear. It had the potential to be a very powerful assistance in my plans." The Master smirked, preening at her attention and the fact he had known about it while she hadn't. He loved being several steps ahead of her and that rarely happened these days, or well, not for long usually.

The Doctor snorted. "I should have known, you always liked to find the most powerful artifacts and weapons. And you've had a thing for the Cybermen recently. Not that either has ever served you well." That took the smirk off the Master's face, to the Doctor's enjoyment.

ASHAD: It will not leave me while I live.

"Don't give him any ideas." Martha huffed; arms crossed. She didn't like the Cybermen but she also really didn't like the Master. There was no winning in this situation.

MASTER: Oh. Okay.
(The Master walks away, then turns and shrinks Ashad. The silver liquid expands and floats in the air.)

"That's just wrong." Bill said, cringing at the sight of the liquid-y thing. Others on the room seemed to agree with her based on their expressions.

"Kinda abstract." Rory muttered drawing some weird looks from the group while Amy chuckled at her husband.

MASTER: Well, aren't you pretty? And fast. You made your exit very swiftly there. Worried, were you? I thought if he was compressed, the Death Particle would activate and all this would be over. I would've been okay with that. I thought it was a nice little gamble. But no, gere we are, all still alive.

The Master's comment hit the Doctor suddenly like a hammer. This whole time he'd been okay with dying, had wanting to die. It was such a startling reversal from his normal plan of living at all costs. The realisation overpowered the last of her common sense and she opened up the mental link fully, it had been lying almost dormant between the pair since their last conversation, almost waiting.

"Did Gallifrey's foundation hurt you so much that you want to die? You've always put survival above anything else but all you've done recently is try to die." The Doctor sent a package of feelings amounting to curiosity-concern-questioning-fear-confusion across with her words.

The Master jolted slightly in his seat, unseen to anyone but her (as she'd been the only one looking for it). He hadn't been expecting her to open the link fully again anytime soon. "Worried, dear? I know the whole dying thing is usually your thing but I'd thought I'd give it a try."

His response annoyed her, leaving her unsure what to say until it was too late and the video continued. She realised that seemed to be what he had wanted.

And one miniaturised Death Particle still in him, waiting for its moment for its chamber to be smashed open. Oh, shoot. I should've said, somebody needs to cut you down to size, then zapped you. I was just trigger-happy. I'll use it next time.

"There better not be a next time." The Doctor reprimanded the Master, she wasn't happy to see him kill Ashad but it had left her one less thing to deal with. The Master just sent a pulse of smugness across their bond, there would always be a next time.

Sit there for a mo. Oh, sorry, were you close? Candidly, I think you can do better. I request an alliance. I deserve to be your business partner because I have performed well in all tasks. I ransacked the Matrix of the Time Lords, distilled all the knowledge, all the experiences, all the discoveries, into these brains up here. All the Cyber knowledge, all the Time Lord knowledge. Put it together, what do you get? Absolute supremacy in the universe. Choose me.
(The Cyberium enters the Master.)
MASTER: Wow, that was quick. Wa-ha-ha! Whoa! Woohoo! At least buy me... dinner!

The Doctor frowned at seeing the Cyberium enter the Master, she knew first-hand how painful it was. Ryan, Grahm and Yaz seemed to make the same connection. "God Doc, it must have really hurt you when you took it from Shelley then." Graham said, not really expecting an answer, he was sure he already knew anyway.

The Doctor just grimaced, shrugging. It wasn't the worst thing she'd felt but it wasn't the nicest bar a long stretch. Graham's words had caught the attention of the rest of the room though.

"You had it in you?" Amy asked, curious more than anything.

The Doctor nodded, purposely ignoring the way the Master's head had snapped to her when he'd heard she'd had it before him. "It was the only way to keep it from Ashad at the time but the only option was to give it to him in the end." The explanation drew nods from the rest of the room, glad for a bit more of the story.

[Matrix]

MASTER: This is no time to be sleeping. Is it hurting, Doctor? I hope it's hurting, because it really hurt me.

"It hurt you?! How did it hurt you? The only person that gets to be hurt by this is the Doctor!" Martha practically shouted at the Master. She had reached her limit with the Master hurting the Doctor in the video, using the knowledge he'd learnt to hurt her.

Her shouts angered the Master and he stood from his chair, knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists and hissed his answer. "Because Mrs Jones. It means that my life is also a lie. It means everything I am is because of her. It means my people only exist because we tortured a child. It means what I am is because of the Doctor's pain. That they tortured the Doctor!" His eyes widened as he realised what he had let slip in his anger, collapsing back in his chair like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He was breathing heavily, breaths easily heard in the silence of the room.

No one knew what to say to that and the Master snarled at anyone who made a move to open their mouth so they let the video continue reluctantly.

DOCTOR: It's all lies. None of this is the truth.
MASTER: For the first time in my lives, I can honestly say every word is true.
DOCTOR: I know my life. I know... I know who I am.
MASTER: No, you don't. You never have. Your life has been hidden from you. Our founding parents wanted a noble creation myth for the Time Lords. Born To Rule.
DOCTOR: I remember my home. I remember growing up. I remember you and me at the Academy together.
MASTER: That happened. It just wasn't your first life.

"How many lives have you had?" River asked her wife, eyes sad. She knew more than most what the Doctor had gone through in her life and to know that there were lives that the Doctor didn't know? Made the ache in her chest all the more apparent.

"I don't know. I … I don't know anything." The Doctor whispered, voice breaking. River pulled her close, putting her chin on the Doctor's head and letting her hide her face for a while. She didn't see the sad looks from Clara and Bill who had preached the importance of memories to the Doctor before, or the understanding ones from Donna and Jack who knew the pain of missing memories all to clearly but their missing memories were limited. Who knows how many lives the Doctor was missing?

DOCTOR: Why would they lie? Why would they do that?

The group watched the interaction between the pair on screen in mounting horror. It was rare to see the Doctor so off-kilter and she certainly was not coping well with everything there. None of them could resist shooting her concerned looks which she ignored in favour of focusing on the screen. She couldn't cope with their concern and pity, she just wanted it all to be over.

MASTER: I wish it wasn't true, but it is. You know what I find the most infuriating? You always behaved like you were different, like you were... like you were special. And you were. You can see... you can see why I'm angry. A little piece of you is in me. All I am is somehow because of you, and believe me when I say, I cannot bear that.

"I acted like I was special?" The Doctor laughed, a horrible cynical grating sound. Glaring at the Master, she hadn't had the opportunity to dispute anything he said at the time. But she had plenty now. "What about how you acted? Little Koschei, always the perfect little time-lord to be."

She hadn't realised what she'd said, to caught up in the emotion of it all, stuck in old memories of their shared childhood. It was the silence of the room that let her know something was wrong, her head whipped around the room trying to see why no one was saying anything at all. Seeing them all glance between her and the Master, eyes wide, made her go back over what she'd said until she realised. Her own eyes widened, hands going up to cover her mouth.

"Well done, Theta." The Master's voice revealed his fury. "You couldn't do anything right and everyone knew it. One us had to be perfect and you clearly weren't going to even try." His words were calculated even in his emotional state, he'd learnt his lesson.

They had a stare off, expressions dark but neither willing to back off. They never discussed their shared childhood amongst others and rarely discussed it full stop. There were so many conflicting emotions surrounding both their memories, so much pain in the past.

It was Amy that interrupted their staring contest. "Koschei? Theta?" Her questions drew the attention of both Time Lords, or rather the Time Lord and the Timeless Child. The Master shuffled back in his seat, attitude still dark and unapproachable while the Doctor lightened slightly, facing Amy. This mess was her fault and they were her friends so she would be the one to deal with it.

She sighed, mostly to give her time to decide what to say. "The nicknames I mentioned before. The names we use as children before we choose our own officially." She waved a hand vaguely at a glaring Master. "He was Koschei from the House of Oakdown. I was Theta Sigma from the House of Lungbarrow." She looked around the group, meeting everyone's eyes one at a time. "Please don't call us by them. It has been a very long time and neither of us are those kids anymore." She received nods from her companions but she knew she'd have to deal with it again likely.

DOCTOR: Show me the rest.
MASTER: I'm not sure you can cope with much...
DOCTOR: Show me the rest! I have a right to know my own life.

"Doctor-." Jack started slowly, tone suggesting he was dealing with a feral animal. It was rare to see the Doctor lose control like that and even rarer to see her resort to physical violence like she had on screen.

"Not now Jack." The Doctor brushed it off, focus completely on the screen. He couldn't talk when he had just punched the Master earlier, she was allowed to be a bit unhinged.

MASTER: All right. But I'm not sure it's going to make you happy.

"You're doing this whole thing to hurt me. Why would you care about this making me unhappy?" The Doctor shot at the Master, arms crossed. "Or did you just want to see me beg?"

"I showed you so that you would hurt as much as I do." The Master hissed back.

"No, you showed her because you wanted her to know the truth of her past." Clara said, eyes wide like she'd suddenly come to a realisation. "You showed her because you still acre about her. That's why no matter what happens you still chase after her, you don't veer permanently kill her."

The Master glared at Clara, snarling. "What do you think you know?!"

"Why did you destroy Gallifrey?" Bill asked, seemingly coming to the same realisation as Clara, sharing a quick glance at Clara. Both of them had known Missy, had seen the relationship between Missy and the Doctor.

"Because they deserved to die for lying to me!" He snapped, looking frighteningly like a cornered animal. Clara and Bill were onto something.

"Maybe that was part of it but there's more to it." Clara shook her head, staring the Master down.

The weight of the room's eyes and the heightened tension caused him to snap. "I burnt Gallifrey to askes because they hurt her! Because they were all guilty! … We're all guilty." His expression could only be described as broken. The Doctor was chocked up, completely unsure what to say for a rare moment in her life. His words, his guilt would explain his desire to die. He's always hated when anyone else really hurt her, he was a possessive idiot in that way and would have seen Gallifrey's lies as a betrayal. It would explain the change from Missy to this mad, unhinged regeneration to some degree. She looked at him, taking in al the little details, unsure what she was actually looking for. He refused to meet her eyes, huddles up in his chair like a broken child.

SOLPADO: The policy of the Time Lords is clear. strict non-intervention in other worlds and times. However, policy and reality sometimes diverge. There are times when it is necessary to intervene. That is the purpose of The Division. The tests we set you. These results are the best I've ever seen.
DOCTOR: Those images. Ireland. I've seen them in my head. What are they?
MASTER: Shhh. She's talking.
SOLPADO: The Division does not exist. The Division does not have operatives. We are not even here. Do you understand? I propose...
(The scene vanishes.)

"What happened?" Rose asked, confused by the sudden stop. The other seemed to share her feelings but the Doctor just shook her head and waved to the screen.

DOCTOR: What have you done?
MASTER: Not me. That was done long before I got here. Everything from here is redacted, blocked out, all but erased. There was something here. A lot of stuff, seemingly, but now it all just looks like this. I've tried everything, everything, to decode it, but it's... it's unrecoverable, beyond even my brilliance. And it's not often I say that.

"They erased your life." Donna muttered, reaching a hand to her own head. The Doctor flinched, both at the reminder of what she had done to Donna and what had happened in the Matrix.

DOCTOR: But it's my life.
MASTER: Yeah.
DOCTOR: How much was lost?
MASTER: Impossible to tell. It took up a lot of space in the Matrix, though. Yeah. There is one final trace. Those glitches of Ireland you keep seeing. Those images, they were buried deep in the Matrix. Tecteun put a visual filter over it so that no one who watched it would find it remarkable. I transmitted them into your mind as you tracked the Cybermen. Maybe this is the last gift of a parent. A clue. Or an apology. You can decide. Did Tecteun leave these images for you to decode one day?

"Why would she do that? Why leave a small section of memories for the child you tortured but not anything else?" Martha shook her head, just when they got some answers they were left with more questions. No one had any answers for her.

[Garda]

PATRICK: We have to get rid of everything, I'm afraid.

"How many times did they erase your memories? How many lives do you not remember?" Clara asked, verging on desperate, she usually preached how important memories were and now it was shown that the Doctor was lacking so many.

"I don't know." The Doctor was getting sick of saying that. She was getting sick of remembering that. She hated not knowing something.

SERGEANT: Thank you for your service. We're sorry you won't remember it.
(Brendan screams. The Doctor looks at the inscription on the carriage clock - For Services To The Division.)
MASTER [OC]: What did they do to you, Doctor? How many lives have you had?

"Ruth!" Rory announced out of the blue drawing the attention of the rest of the room. "I mean, she was you and that other Time Lord – Gat – mentioned the Division." He tried to explain, fumbling through the words a bit.

"So, Ruth was one of your past regenerations that you don't remember. You escaped for a while but must have gotten dragged back at some point." Amy added to her husband's argument. The chuckled slightly. "Clearly running away is a very old habit of yours."

The room nodded along - the theory sounded good. It explained a few things but not much. No one was comfortable with what had happened to the Doctor but none knew what to say or how to help her. They were dancing around the real issue and they all knew it but they didn't know what else they could do.

[Citadel]

MASTER: Wake up. I know you're broken, but it's all over now.
DOCTOR: What do you mean?

"What did you expect? For her to just lie there and let you destroy everything? She's the Doctor!" Jack snarled at the Master who glared back unflinching. He didn't have to explain himself to freaks.

MASTER: When I said I killed everyone here... I did keep the bodies, just... just cold enough in case they'd be useful. I thought... I thought maybe some good can come out of all of this. Your adopted mother isn't the only one who can experiment. I mean, what if... a new race could be created? Huh? Time Lord organics with the ability to regenerate and self-repair in Cyber armour. Invincible! A perfect army, right? Right? Oh, come in, my pretties.
(Cybermen wearing Time Lord collar style helmets and cloaks enter.)

"You're a monster." Martha declared, glaring fiercely at the Master. The idea of a mix of Time Lords and Cybermen was a horrifying thought, both races were dangerous enough on their own.

"I see myself more as Frankenstein." The Master smirked, all teeth, at Martha. He was proud of his experiment and it was a very good distraction from all the secrets he had revealed, ones he had never intended to leave his mind ever.

"That's what I said."

MASTER: Yeah! Doosh, doosh, doosh. Line up. Attention! Yeah, that's it. Well, let's test it out. Shoot him. Shoot him!
(The indicated Cyberman shoots the other one.)

"Completely unhinged." Bill muttered to herself. This Master was a stark difference from Missy. Both were terrifying but in different ways.

MASTER: Good dog! All dead. Er... wait. Could it be?
(The fallen Cyberman regenerates.)

The room watched in mounting horror, seeing the Cyberman regenerate was terrifying. A perversion of Tecteun's own experiments. Bill, Clara, Rose and Mickey, being the ones who had dealt with the Cybermen the most, seemed especially terrified. All were stuck thinking about what devastation they could cause if they left Gallifrey.

Graham, Yaz and Ryan shared a glance, they hadn't seen the CyberMasters much and were very thankful for that. They were also thankful that they had been destroyed completely.

MASTER: Yes, it could! Behold your new CyberMasters, Doctor. All born from you, but led by me. How does that feel? Huh? Now, no time to lose. Don't move. Oh, that's right, you can't. Can you feel a new era dawning, Doctor? For Gallifrey.
CYBERMEN: For Gallifrey!
MASTER: For the Time Lords.
CYBERMEN: For the Time Lords!
MASTER: For the end of the universe itself!
CYBERMEN: For the end of the universe itself!
MASTER: Sweet dreams. This way, soldiers.

The companions were getting increasingly worried at seeing the unveiling of the Master's plan. The Doctor wasn't in any state to deal with him and the rest of the group were still dealing with the other Cybermen. How had they managed to escape?

[Planet]

RAVIO: The Boundary, it's real.
RYAN: Yeah, and the Doctor's on the other side.
RAVIO: So, how do we do this?
KO SHARMUS: The Boundary will absorb us, but you have to take the step.
GRAHAM: Step into the unknown. Who fancies going first?
(Yasmin walks forward.)

"Brave as ever Yaz." Graham nudged her, while Ryan grinned on her other side. She just rolled her eyes at the pair, desperately hoping the rising heat in her cheek's wasn't visible, she'd just been so worried about the Doctor she hadn't cared about the risk.

YASMIN: Ah!

[Gallifrey]

(Followed by Ko Shamus and the others.)
YASMIN: This is Gallifrey. This is where The Doctor's from.
GRAHAM: We're never going to find her in this lot.
YASMIN: Yeah, we are. We're going to find her and we're going to rescue her. She's done it for us enough times, now it's our turn. This is going to be even more dangerous from here. You don't have to come.
RAVIO: We owe you. We're in. Right?
ETHAN: Right.
YEDLARMI: Great. How am I meant to contradict that if you're going all heroic?
RYAN: You coming?
KO SHARMUS: I've already lived longer than I expected. There must be a few last things I can blow up before I'm done.

"Like his attitude. And your confidence Yaz." Jack nodded, smiling. The Doctor had a chance if her friends were coming to rescue her. The rest of the group grinned at the current companions, glad to see them off to rescue the Doctor.

[Matrix]

DOCTOR: Oh, great. What are you doing here? Or are you the Matrix playing more games with me?
RUTH: Don't ask me, I'm as lost as you are in here. Maybe you just summoned me.

"Ruth? But isn't she you? What's going on Doctor?" Rose asked, voicing the thoughts of many in the room. Even the Master had perked up in his seat, he didn't know how she had escaped from the Matrix and, although he would never admit it, he was curious to see how.

DOCTOR: Where do you fit into all this? Were you me all that time ago? Were all my memories of you erased? Did they force me back into becoming a child? How many more of me are out there?
RUTH: I don't have those answers. But say I did, would they even help?
DOCTOR: Of course they would. All this, it means I'm not who I thought I was.

"I deserve to know my past." The Doctor whispered to herself. She'd agreed with Ruth at the time because they were in trouble and had limited time to stop the Master but it didn't mean she didn't want; no deserve to know who she had been. Just because it wouldn't change her didn't mean she didn't want to know.

Clara flinched slightly in her seat. She had only just heard the words but it rung far too close to what she had said to the Doctor after escaping Gallifrey. He'd been trying to protect her, maybe not in the right way, but he'd done everything to protect her but, in the end, he'd ended up with more missing memories. She couldn't help but feel a bit guilty about that even knowing there hadn't been much other choice.

Donna hadn't heard the Doctor but was still thinking about their conversation before the last video, the Doctor had hinted towards this but she hadn't expected memory loss to this extent. She knew first hand what missing memories did to a person, even just a few years and here the Doctor was potentially missing lives worth of memories. It made her still burning anger over her taking away her memories cool slightly.

Jack reached out to squeeze the Doctor's hand. He had heard what she said and understood it well. He'd become a conman and left the Time Agency because they'd stolen two years of his memories. She had mentioned they were more similar than he thought earlier. Abd they were, both missing memories – taken by people they had worked for. Both time travellers far older than they should be. Both desperately trying to be good even when it wasn't possible to be good. Both hurt and tortured and killed over and over. Both knowing the pain of dying was never as bad as seeing people they cared about dying.

RUTH: Because your memories aren't compatible with what you learnt today.
DOCTOR: Yes.
RUTH: Have you ever been limited by who you were before?
DOCTOR: Ah. Now, that does sound like me talking. I'm so tired. The Matrix is sapping all the energy of out of me.
RUTH: No time to be tired. Still work to do out there. Lives at stake. Armies being born. People need the Doctor.

"That does sound like you Doctor. You've just been told life changing news literally and you're still focused on trying to save the day." Amy shook her head, fond exasperation clear in her voice. The Doctor just shrugged; it wasn't like she had many other options.

DOCTOR: I don't know how to stop The Master.

The Master grinned smugly at her which she quickly ignored.

RUTH: Course you do. That one question that's nagging at you, the one thing he said that you didn't understand.
DOCTOR: The one thing who said? The Master?
RUTH: No. Get out of here. I know this place has blown your mind. Maybe you should return the compliment.
(Ruth vanishes.)

"Well, that's just cryptic. Like if you're going to offer advice at least be clear instead of talking in riddles." Bill complained, gaining groans and chuckles in agreement.

DOCTOR: No, wait. Are you still there? Of course she's still there. If you were me, you're buried within me, buried within... Too many thoughts. All right, first things first, what did she say? Mind blown. Yes! Of course! All this history, all these lies, it's too much stimulus. It might work. I've fought the Matrix before, denied its reality, I can do it again.

"You have?" Clara asked, eyebrows raised in question.

The Doctor just smiled. "Long story, maybe another time." Clara rolled her eyes at the answer but knew she wouldn't get anymore information out of the Doctor at the minute so let it go so the video could continue.

Maybe. Well, you know what they say, Doctor, nothing ventured, nothing blown. Oh! I'm talking to myself again. That's a good sign. Thanks, Doctor. Still here. No, shut up, I need to concentrate. Er... All right. Have a blast of this, Matrix.
(Massive sequence of images going backwards through all the established Doctors and then a bit more. The paralysis field explodes.)

The group watched eagerly, trying to take in the glimpses of all the past Doctors and the memories flashing across the screen. The Master just watched the screen, expression blank, he was stuck in his own spiral of memories at seeing all the past Doctors. The people that appeared in the flashes were oddly pleased, happy to have been included in the memories the Doctor used to escape. They were glad to know she still thought about them, even after all this time.

[Citadel]

YASMIN: Doctor!
GRAHAM: Yaz, is she all right?

"Good, you've found the idiot." Donna declared decisively. They'd all been worried at seeing her lying on the ground unmoving, the Doctor was rarely ever still and it was unnerving.

RYAN: Doctor? Doctor, we're here for you.
DOCTOR: My fam.
KO SHAMUS: She's not dead, then.
DOCTOR: Who are they? Are we having a party? Oh. All those memories. The Matrix. The memories blew the Matrix. Oh, she's clever. I'm clever. We're all clever. All of us. However many that is. All right, then. Off we go. Oh. No, there's something I'm missing. The Master is creating a new race of Cybermen using Time Lord bodies. An endlessly regenerating army. I have to stop him. Fast. You shouldn't be here. No humans on Gallifrey.

"You're not okay Doctor. You really shouldn't be rushing around to deal with everything." Martha said, concern obvious. It was likely the Doctor was close to dealing with shock or being overloaded with everything, between the garbled words and being not quite sure what was going on, plus she was obviously still in some pain. Even if she wasn't, it probably wasn't the right time to have to deal with the Master's latest evil plan.

"Don't have much choice. I have to be okay. Don't have time not to be." The Doctor argued, she was used to compartmentalising and dealing with trauma later, this wasn't much different. She ignored the concerned glances everyone gave her in favour of watching the screen.

KO SHAMUS: If it helps, we have explosives.
RYAN: And a plan.
GRAHAM: A Cybership's parked up in the middle of your hometown. It's ripe for blowing up.
RAVIO: We're going to strategically place bombs around the ship, including some close enough to the core.

"Definitely liking that plan." Jack grinned. The three current companions grinned back proudly.

DOCTOR: Yes. Good. Do that. But it won't achieve everything. A race of CyberMasters. Can't let them off the planet. Have to be stopped. And your bombs aren't going to do that. We need more! But there isn't anything more. The Master's seen to that. The Master's seen to everything.

The Master smirked, far to smug. It was always gratifying to know your evil plans were (nearly) meticulously planned. Most mad evil geniuses didn't have to deal with the Doctor and her crazy solutions.

YASMIN: Are you all right, Doctor?
DOCTOR: That's what's been bugging me. That's the thing that he said to me.

"And as usual you're having a one -sided conversation with yourself without explaining anything." Rose shook her head fondly. It definitely brought back some good memories.

ETHAN: What thing who said?
DOCTOR: The half-converted Cyberman.
ASHAD [memory]: The death of everything is within me.
DOCTOR: That's what he said. Oh, what did it mean?
RAVIO: There is a myth around him.
YEDLARMI: The Death Particle.
RAVIO: The legend is, he, it, whatever, has a Particle in a tiny chamber inside its chest. It will take out all organic life on a planet.
RYAN: That's grim.
DOCTOR: Or it's a solution. A timer on an explosive to activate the Particle. Clear evacuation plan.
KO SHARMUS: Only if you've got a way to get us off this planet before it hits.

"You're on Gallifrey." River said, grin stretching across her face.

Rory looked at her worried. "Are you okay River? Of course, they're on Gallifrey they have been for a while." He looked like he was about to cross the room to check her temperature, ever the nurse.

"I'm fine dad. I mean they're on Gallifrey. Gallifrey where there are Tardises." Her words caused the rest of the room to grin as well, reaching the same conclusion River had. A Tardis was a very good escape plan.

DOCTOR: You all good to set those explosives? I'll deal with the rest. Meet in the corridor below the carrier. Go on, then. Now, I need to get a fix on The Master. Got him.

The Master just grumbled in his seat, unhappy to see how quickly his plans were unravelled by a traumatised Doctor and her little human pets. The Doctor just pushed a felling of smugness across their link which he promptly ignored.

[CyberCarrier]

(Various locations.)
KO SHARMUS: Found the activator core. If this one goes, it'll set off chain reactions across the carrier.
RAVIO: We're set.
YEDLARMI: Sweet dreams, losers.
DOCTOR: Where's the Master? He should be here.
(She finds the shrunken Cyberman and scans it.)

"You have the bomb." Mickey nodded, happy to see the plan was going well so far. It wasn't likely to last long, so it was nice to see it while it lasted.

The Doctor nodded back before glancing at the Master. Had he really left it there so she would find it and use it to kill both of them? Had that really been part of his plan? She knew she wouldn't get any answers, he was purposefully dimming their mental link. He was hiding.

RYAN: The Master? He did that?
DOCTOR: But the Death Particle is still in place. Just smaller than before. If The Master did this, what happened to the Cyberium?

The Doctor grimaced at the reminder of the Master taking the Cyberium, that answered her question.

MASTER [OC]: You think I didn't feel you connecting to me? Laid you a false trail. Left you a gift, though.
DOCTOR: You and me, Matrix Chamber. No one else. One last time.
MASTER [OC]: Fine.

"You're really just going to meet up alone with him after everything he's done?" Jack shook his head in disbelief, he really should have known she'd still do something stupid like that. The Doctor shrugged at him, what else had he expected?

DOCTOR: I need to get you all off Gallifrey.
(Ko Sharmus sets his last explosive.)
KO SHARMUS: Oh, dear. Sorry for the short notice, but it seems that the main trigger device has a mind of its own and has set all the others going. May I suggest a very fast getting the hell off this ship?
YASMIN: Run!

The group grinned. "As scheduled, time to run." Amy grinned. One thing they could bet on in their adventures with the Doctor was there would always be running.

CYBERMEN: Human life form located. Delete. Execute all humans. All humans must be deleted. Humanity shall be eradicated. Incendiary devices identified.
(The CyberCarrier explodes.)

Cheers went up around the room at seeing the Cybership blown up. That was one less threat to worry about, their plan was working. Ryan, Graham and Yaz grinned, it had been a great explosion and felt very satisfying after all the danger they'd been in because of the Cybermen.

[Capitol]

GRAHAM: Thanks for the warning.
KO SHARMUS: You're still alive, aren't you?
DOCTOR: Everyone, through here.
GRAHAM: Come on.

[Tardis]

(A traditional hexagonal console in a room with roundels.)
RYAN: It's a Tardis. It is a Tardis, right?

"You were right River." Rory smiled at his daughter who smiled back. She was grateful to have more time with her parents and wife even with all the secrets and messy emotions.

"Anyone else think it's weird seeing it like that and not the cluttered mess the Doctor's usually is?" Bill asked the room.

"It's not a mess!" The Doctor protested drawing laughs from the rest of the group which just made her pout. It really wasn't a mess – she knew where everything was. Well, where most things were. Absolutely, where what she needed was. Most of the time. Occasionally. Okay so maybe it was a little bit messy. Only a little.

GRAHAM: Looks like it.
RAVIO: Sorry, what's happening now?

"Oh yeah, they have no idea what a Tardis is. That's going to be a shock." Jack grinned. He knew the Doctor always enjoyed seeing her companion's reactions to the Tardis and he could understand the reason. The Tardis was beautiful and twenty-first century humans were not prepared in the least to see such a marvel of technology.

YASMIN: This can take us all home.
DOCTOR: Don't touch. Still working. Any explosives left?
KO SHARMUS: One. Emergencies only.
DOCTOR: Timer?
KO SHARMUS: Hand detonation only.
DOCTOR: Yeah. Course. I'll take it.

That made River sit up turning to the Doctor, suspicion clear on her face. "What are you planning?"

The Doctor schooled her face into an innocent look, which only managed to make River (and the rest of the room watching) more suspicious.

GRAHAM: So come on, Doc, what are you thinking?
DOCTOR: One option left. I have to use the Death Particle on Gallifrey. On my home. On the Master and his new breed of Cybermen.
RYAN: You sure you wanna do that?
DOCTOR: I'm sure I don't want to do that, but there's no alternative. If the Master and the Cybermen get off this planet, they'll be unstoppable. I started this with Shelley and the Cyberium, now I have to finish it. Alone.

"Are you seriously trying to go off alone to destroy your planet and yourself? Again!" Clara protested. "I thought we discussed you going off alone."

"This was before that, and yes I'm going alone. There is no point in us all getting killed and the Master is my problem." The Doctor argued. She purposely turned back to the screen, there was no point arguing about it, it was in the past.

YASMIN: What?
DOCTOR: The Tardis will take you back to Earth. All of you. You can settle in the 21st century.
RAVIO: You're not serious.

"See, even the other humans know it's a stupid decision." Rose pointed out which the doctor ignored. All her companions were against her in this but all she wanted was to protect them.

DOCTOR: Deadly.
RYAN: What about you? You detonate that thing, you'll die too.
DOCTOR: That's the way it has to be. And I would do that in a heartbeat for this universe. For you, my fam.

The group glanced at her concerned. Several of the videos had already shown how willing to die the Doctor was, this wasn't reassuring in the least.

YASMIN: We're not letting you go. You're not doing this.
DOCTOR: Get off me, Yaz. Please.
RYAN: Yaz, come on.
DOCTOR: Live great lives.

"We're discussing your self-destructive tendencies later." River announced, leaving no room for argument. She interrupted the Doctor as she opened her mouth to protest. "No, no arguments. Later." The Doctor closed her mouth, turning decisively back to the screen, after a small glance at her fam with apologetic eyes. She didn't regret saving them but she did regret having to leave them. It hit her then that that had been the last time she had seen them until now.

[Citadel]

(The Master is there with his Cyber-Time Lords.)
DOCTOR: I definitely said no plus-ones.

The room shot the Doctor the same look, which simply said, "Really?!"

MASTER: Well... Oh!
(The Cyber-TLs aim their weapons at the Doctor.)
MASTER: Where I go, they go now.
DOCTOR: Are you going to have them shoot me?
MASTER: No, Doctor. As of now, I wish my enemies a long and healthy life, so they may witness my many triumphs, because they will be legion.

"Did you honestly just say you wanted her to live? Can both of you just make up your minds on whether you want to kill each other or yourselves or not!?" Bill threw her hands in the air, shooting disbelieving looks at the pair who were decisively not looking at each other or Bill or anyone else.

DOCTOR: You're looking peaky.
MASTER: Oh, yeah. The Cyberium lives in me now, Doctor. Yeah. Yes. See, I've been looking forward to seeing your face about that. I can feel it flowing around in me. The information, the strategy, the... the... the consciousness. It's a beautiful thing. And look at us. I have broken you and created a new race. And now? Now I shall conquer... everything. Oh.

"It's hurting you. You barely have any control over it. I remember what it was like." The Doctor said, shaking her head at the Master. He just ignored her not wanting to admit how right she was, he hated admitting she was right – it made her far too smug and unbearable.

DOCTOR: You think you've broken me? You'll have to try harder than that. You've given me a gift. Of myself. You think that could destroy me? You think that makes me lesser? It makes me more. I contain multitudes more than I ever thought or knew. You want me to be scared of it because you're scared of everything. But I am so much more than you.

The Master flinched at that. Those words had been stuck repeating in his head since the Doctor had said them, the worst thing was he knew she was right. The Doctor noticed his darkening mood through the mind link and couldn't resist getting a peak further into his head to try and see what had caused such a sudden downward spiral in his mood.

When she connected the dots, she couldn't resist talking to him. "I was lying. I'm not better than you, I'm not better than anyone. But neither are you. You're my equal." She'd been so hyped up and messed up with everything that had happened throughout the day she had just spat out the first thing she knew would hurt him, not caring that it had been a lie.

His dark spiral halted, giving way for a new wave of self-hatred and cautious hope. He didn't give a verbal answer but she knew he was taking in what she had said, so she retreated from the link to focus back on the screen. There was still more to come.

MASTER: Wow. Oh. So, why are we here?
(She takes the explosive out of her pocket, with the little Ashad stuck to it.)
MASTER: Oh, good, very good. That's why I left it for you. Wondered if you would... take out me, take out these lifeforms, all those bodies still in the vaults, every organic cellular life form on this planet... forever. And yourself. Do that, would you?

"To protect people, the Doctor would do almost anything." River stared the Master down.

The Master just smirked. "Almost."

DOCTOR: Yes. This time, yes.
MASTER: Go on, then. You were the start of all of this, now finish it. Come on, come on. Come on! Come on, come on! What have you got left anyway? You don't even know your own life. Look how low I have brought you. I have won, Doctor. You may have made me, but I have destroyed you. Become death. Become me. Come on. Come on, come on!

"Oh great. You're both self-destructive." Amy muttered. The room had tensed up at seeing both of them about to kill themselves.

The Doctor and Master were ignoring the glances the rest of the room were giving them in favour of staring at each other. For once the Doctor hadn't been fully prepared to kill herself, likely because she would also be destroying the Master. The Master was just watching her, trying to puzzle out why she hadn't done it (bar the fact she was a coward, which she was).

"Did it hurt you so much that you wanted us both to die?" The Doctor asked, quite even across their link, she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Everything hurts. This was the only way to get your attention. Only I get to kill you and only you get to kill me." The Master's soft honestly was a startling difference from his normal attitude and left her unsure what to say.

"Life hurts but our relationship doesn't have to. If you want my attention, call me - don't hurt my friends." She answered, with a rush of emotions she couldn't quite explain. She didn't want to hope, it wouldn't be the first time the Master had let her down and he wasn't likely to change now, but maybe things didn't have to be quite so painful.

(She lowers the grenade.)

The room let out a collective breath, glad to see the Doctor put the detonator down. River squeezed the Doctor's hand, causing her to turn to face her wife who offered a small smile. It was good the Doctor hadn't destroyed herself but there was still the issue of the Master and the Cybermen-Time Lord hybrids to deal with.

MASTER: For just a moment there, I thought maybe. Argh. Oh Doctor, the universe will suffer for your weakness. I'll make sure of it.
KO SHARMUS: Not if I have anything to do with it.
MASTER: Excuse me. No gate-crashers.

"You already broke the no extra guests rule." Bill pointed out; she was promptly ignored by the Master.

DOCTOR: You can't still be here. I set the controls.
KO SHARMUS: I followed you out. They tried to stop me, but I wanted to be sure that these things are gone. And now I can be.

Graham, Ryan and Yaz shared a glance. Yes, they had tried to stop him but they had also hoped he would be able to save the Doctor and it seems like he had, just in time too.

DOCTOR: No.
KO SHARMUS: You didn't start this. I did. I was part of a resistance unit that sent the Cyberium back through Time and space. Though obviously we didn't send it back far enough. So this is my penance. Mine to finish. My journey ends here. But the universe still needs you, so I suggest you run.
DOCTOR: But...
KO SHARMUS: Run, Doctor!

"And yet more running." Rory muttered. The room was honestly glad to see Ko Sharmus save the Doctor.

MASTER: Don't you dare. Doctor!
(The Doctor runs out.)

The Master glared at the Doctor, still furious to see her leave a human to kill him while she escaped. Not that the human had succeeded in killing him but still, it was the principal of the matter. It didn't help the Doctor was ignoring him again, all his schemes for her attention and she still paid more attention to the little humans than him.

KO SHARMUS: Still feeling confident?
(The Doctor sonics her way into another Tardis.)
MASTER: Kill him.
KO SHARMUS: Killed you first.
(He falls under multiple blasts, then triggers the explosive.)

The room looked down in honour for Ko Sharmus' sacrifice. They knew the Master hadn't been destroyed in the blast (as he was unfortunately in the room with them) but they way he was glowering at the screen and Doctor, suggested his plan had been stopped and the CyberMasters destroyed.

MASTER: All of you, through here, now!
(The Capitol explodes.)

[Housing Estate]

(A detached house appears and Ravio steps out of the front door.)
RAVIO: This is Earth. Oh. We're on Earth.
YASMIN: We're home. She got us home. But what happens to her?

"I'll be fine Yaz. I'm just glad you got home safe." The Doctor smiled at her current companions. They'd said they had gotten home safe and she knew she had put in the right coordinates but it was still good to actually see them arrive safe.

"You got them to the right place? That's rare." Martha joked.

"Hey I got you home safe and at the right time and place, mostly." The Doctor protested.

Rose laughed. "Maybe us but I remember Sarah Jane saying something about Aberdeen." That made the Doctor blush in embarrassment, she'd mostly forgotten that.

"Sarah Jane?" Bill asked curiously.

"Sarah Jane Smith, she travelled with me in my third and fourth face and I've run into her several times since then. She's a reporter and investigates the weirder stuff. That's how Rose and Mickey met her." The Doctor explained, smiling fondly at the mention of her Sarah Jane. She wondered how Sarah Jane would react to seeing her like this.

She ignored Mickey's muttering about a tin dog in favour of Yaz's question. "Where were you supposed to drop her off? I'm guessing it wasn't near Aberdeen."

The Doctor blushed again, why did Rose have to bring this up. "Croydon's not that far from Aberdeen." Everyone burst out laughing at that, causing the Doctor to try and hide her face in her hands. She knew all her companions meeting would only lead to her embarrassment.

[Quarry]

(The Doctor steps out from a tree.)
DOCTOR: Oh yeah, nice. Good chameleon circuit. I'm going to have to leave you there, though. I can think of worse places to spend eternity.
(She walks over to a blue Police Box.)
DOCTOR: Hello, mate.

"You just left the other Tardis where anyone can find it?" Jack asked.

"It's not like there's many people around plus the chameleon circuit actually works. No one will find it. Besides, what was I going to do with two Tardises?" The Doctor reasoned; Jack just shook his head fondly at her.

[Tardis]

(It powers up as she walks in.)
DOCTOR: Thanks. Home sweet home. They got a lift back another way. Don't get jealous. I'll pick them up now. Maybe just need a moment.

"You were coming back for us?" Yaz asked, she knew the Doctor had said she was but she still liked the confirmation. Graham and Ryan seemed to agree with her.

"Of course, I was. You're my fam. I just needed a minute to think." The Doctor smiled reassuringly. That was one of the things that had kept her going in prison so far – the fact that her fam was waiting for her to escape and come back.

The rest of the room watched the exchange, the wording was worrying them and they hadn't forgotten that the Doctor had arrived separately to the three current companions. Clearly something had gone wrong.

(Suddenly a klaxon sounds, then three Judoon beam in.)

"Seriously! What now?!" Clara complained, throwing her hands in the air. Just when things seemed to be finished and the danger over, something else happened. Just typical.

DOCTOR: What?
JUDOON: Judoon Cold Case Unit. Fugitive, the Doctor. Sentence, whole of life imprisonment, maximum security facility.

[Prison cell]

DOCTOR: What? What?!
(This prison is built into an asteroid in deep space. So not Stormcage, then.)

"Well, that's just typical. You get out of trouble on Gallifrey and find it elsewhere instead." Amy huffed.

"So, what did they get you for?" Jack asked slyly, teasing grin prominent.

The Doctor grinned back. "Mostly evading them last time with Ruth then they took into consideration another 7000 crimes."

Jack laughed. "You've been busy." Then he paused, glancing back at her. "Only 7000?" The rest of the room laughed as well.

Yaz, Graham and Ryan shared a glance, so they were stuck at home and the Doctor was really stuck in prison. It was reassuring to know she hadn't abandoned them and really had planned to come back, now they just had to figure out how to get her out of prison.

Just as the room calmed down, taking in that the video was finished, the Tardis appeared in front of the screen. "Goodbye! Or is it hello?" She announced cheerfully, giving the group a second to take in her presence before continuing. "You've all now seen the truth. But there is still so much to see. The next videos are stray adventures, some holding more weight than others. They will allow you to learn so much about each other and offer comfort and answers. Enjoy!" With that she disappeared.

Looking around the room, the Doctor sprung to her feet, taking advantage of the group still taking in the Tardis's words. "Well, that's the video done. I think we should have a break, maybe try and get some sleep; it's been a really long day." With that she sped out the room, dodging River and Jack's attempts to grab her. She was making her escape while she could.

She walked swiftly (barely avoiding running) down the corridor heading towards the Garden in hopes no one would look for her there first. She needed a break from everyone else before she dealt with anymore emotionally charged conversations. She reached the door quickly and slipped in, shutting the door quietly behind her.

The room was beautiful. It was only one of the Tardis's many gardens, but it was one of her favourites, which was likely why the Tardis had included it. She took in a deep breath of artificial garden air as she looked around the space. It looked like a normal picturesque park, trees in full bloom around the edges with well-groomed flower patches and grass. Simple wooden benches were placed around the room to fully enjoy the space, she liked the simplicity of the space and it was always peaceful.

She crumpled to the ground, her back to a bench in the furthest corner of the park from the door, half hidden by some bushes. Everything was crazy. She'd gone from being stuck alone in prison, trapped with her thoughts and now here she was surrounded by friends and family (and the Master, whatever he was to her) watching her adventures. There were so many things she didn't want them to see but at the same time she was so happy to be able to spend time with them. She couldn't put into words how much her hearts ached form them some days.

She was allowed ten minutes on her own before River and Jack found her, hiding in her little corner, head to her knees. She heard them approach before she spotted them, they were muttering quietly to each other as they explored the garden room, not in any hurry. She didn't look up even when she could see their feet, both were standing in front of her, blocking any route of escape.

"Oh sweetie." River sighed softly before kneeling down in front of her, reaching out to settle a hand on one of her knees. She heard Jack grunt as he settled down in a crouch in front of her as well.

She gave up on her attempts to ignore them, they weren't going to leave her alone. She raised her head, and met River's eyes which were almost watering. It finally hit her how much River must have been affected by the video, she wasn't exactly one for tears unless the situation really demanded it, she was more likely to shoot something than cry about it.

"As lovely as this is ladies, do you think we can actually sit on the bench for this conversation, my knees are killing me." Jack interrupted, pushing himself back to his feet with a groan and settling on the bench.

"You're just getting old Jack." The Doctor teased, letting River pull her to her feet and settle her on the bench. Like in the tv room she was squished between the pair, leaving no room for escape.

"You can talk!" Jack exclaimed. His words caused her to flinch which didn't go unnoticed by the pair.

Jack sighed, "Sorry Doctor." Silence reigned for several minutes, the only sound in the room was the artificial bird song projected across the room. All three time-travellers were lost in thought, unsure what to say.

It was River that finally broke the silence. "How are you feeling?" Her voice was quiet but reassuringly steady.

The Doctor opened her mouth to spout out a quick answer but a sharp look from River stopped her. She took a deep breath before going to answer, honestly this time (she wouldn't get away with anything else between these two). "I don't know. I'm angry and frustrated and confused. I don't think its really hit me, I'm not sure I believe it still."

"Do you think the Master lied?" Jack asked, not accusing just a simple question.

"Honestly? No. He's really broken up about it and it would explain a few things but-." She waved her hands one-heartedly unable to vocally express what she wanted to say, the pair seemed to understand anyway.

"I know it's not quite the same but I get it. I was furious when I discovered the Time Agency had stolen two years of my memories and I hate that I don't know what I'm missing. But it led me to you and Rose and I don't regret that. The time I spent with you are some of my fondest memories and it opened so many doors and gave me so many things I would never have had otherwise." Jack explained softly. "Do I still think about those memories? Yes. Would I still like them back? Yes. Does it change who I am? No."

"Thank you, Jack." The Doctor whispered. It wasn't often that Jack talked about his missing memories but she had known they affected him. It was nice to hear his honesty and reassurance. She hadn't expected the conversation to go like this but she was glad it had; she wasn't sure she could handle any shouting.

"Come on, the others are all waiting for us." River tugged her back to her feet, linking her hand with her wife's before leading her back across the grass and towards the door. She couldn't help but drag her feet a bit, unready to deal with – well, everything. Jack strolled beside them, sharing one of his latest stories in an attempt to distract her, which she appreciated despite it not working.

She was practically dragged along the corridor and towards the kitchen. As she entered, she spotted all of her companions settled around one of the biggest tables – with enough seats for everyone. They were all chatting away, purposely ignoring their entrance despite the fact that she knew they had spotted their presence. The only person suspiciously missing was the Master. River seemed to realise what she was thinking and leaned down (curse her short legs) and whispered in her ear. "He disappeared into his room just after you left." Well, that meant he wouldn't be causing any trouble at least.

River settled her into a seat on the far side of the table, facing the door, with Jack and River taking a seat on either side of her again. Next to River on her left was Amy and then Rory with an empty seat at the end of the table. On Jack's side was Rose then Donna, with Nardole at the head of the table that side. Next to him was Marth, then Mickey. Clara was directly opposite the Doctor, with Bill then Yaz, Graham and Ryan on her right.

The talking quietened down as the three of them settled down in their seats. "So, dearly beloved we are gathered here today -."

"Jack!" Half the group shouted, dissolving into fond laughter. It helped break up the remanets on the tension that had been hanging onto the room, no one sure how to beach the topic they were here to discuss.

"How are you doing Doctor? With everything I mean." Clara asked, eyes wide as she stared the Doctor down.

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know. Prison has given me plenty of time to think. I'm angry about everything but it doesn't change who I am now … Do we really have to discuss this?"

"Yes, sweetie. We're worried about you. The last few videos have shown you aren't really taking care of yourself." River said, reaching under the table to grab the Doctor's hand again.

"I have bad days. We all do. But when I was given the chance to just end everything in the Matrix Chamber I didn't, that should mean something." The Doctor sighed, not looking up from the table.

"And it does, Doc. But that doesn't mean that one day something similar will happen and it won't be one of your good days. We're just worried love." Graham said softly.

The Doctor shifted in her seat uncomfortable, it wasn't exactly a lie but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She didn't lift her gaze from the table and left the room to descend back into silence.

"Okay, we're far too tired and emotional for any real conversation. Let's all get some sleep before the next video. Doctor, we're here for you no matter what. Actually, that goes for everyone here, we're family and if you need anything we'll all be here." Jack announced, jumping to his feet with a clap. He met everyone's gaze before heading back out towards the corridor.

The rest of the room took that as their que to do the same, slowly dispersing from the kitchen back out to towards the corridor where the doors leading off to their rooms were. All the doors were labelled with everyone's names, the Tardis having managed to recreate their rooms here. Everyone had their own rooms, barring Martha and Mickey, and Amy and Rory who both had shared rooms as married couples. Despite being married, River and the Doctor had separate rooms as thy both had different tastes and sometimes needed a break from each other.

Soon the kitchen was empty of everyone but the Doctor and River who hadn't moved from their seats on the table, just watching the others dispense silently. It had been a very long and emotional day. When they were finally alone, River turned to her wife, squeezing her hand. "Coming to bed, Sweetie?"

The Doctor shook her head. "I need a few moments of peace first. You go on ahead, I'll be there soon." River watched her for several minutes, searching for something in her face before nodding her agreement.

"Alright, but don't stay up too long. It sounds like we have even more fun to look forward to." River winked before standing and leaving the room with one last glimpse at the Doctor who offered a small smile. Then she was alone.

River was right, it seemed like the Tardis still had plenty to show them and the next few days (or however long they would be there) would be long. The last few videos had been very emotional and it had been a shock to her system to be around so many people after being alone in her cell for son long. But she couldn't regret it, she loved being able to spend time with her friends, her family again. People she had thought were lost to her.

The pain and embarrassment of them all seeing her adventures, seeing things she had never wanted anyone to see, was maybe worth it for the chance to be with them again, even if only for a short while. She couldn't make up her mind, there were certainly some things she had never wanted anyone to know – some just embarrassing and others she was scared to be revealed. She dreaded everyone finding out about her time in her confession dial, Clara's especially. Both River and Clara knew about it but neither knew the details.

River knew more than almost anyone about her adventures, they'd had plenty of time to talk during their twenty-four years of domestic bliss on Darillium but it didn't men she knew everything, just like how the Doctor definitely didn't know everything about River's adventures. They both still had their secrets and they were both aware of that, it was okay with them, they understood the reasons for them. Jack also knew a fair amount between his own experiences, travels across the universe and UNIT files but there was still plenty he knew nothing about. That just left the Master who likely knew the most about her. Maybe not individual adventures but the most about her, especially before she had met any of her companions or any of these companions really.

The rest of the group knew varied amounts, some more and other less just because of what had happened on their adventures and what regeneration she was on. It would be interesting to see what the Tardis would show them and there were definitely some adventures she would be happy to watch but there were so many she was dreading. But there wasn't anything she could do about it.

With a sigh she pushed herself to her feet and walked through the empty corridor towards River's room, she felt like she needed some company and if there was one thing she wanted right now. It was to just be able to hold her wife again. She really needed some actual sleep if she wanted to be able to deal with the next while. After all, there was plenty more to come.