They all entered the TARDIS and the Doctor sent her into the vortex before excusing him and the Master.
"He's put wards up again, I don't know what he will do if I pull them down again, you try and you go in first."
The Master nodded and pulling out his own screwdriver pulled the wards down then knocked. They walked in only for the Doctor to see Harry in the same spot he had found him last time only he was still crying with his arms wrapped around his knees.
"We're sorry Null, sorrier than you know, if she was your family then that made her part of ours as well." Spoke the Master
"We will see her again Null she promised that, and she's not totally gone, we saved her full conscience and uploaded her to the mainframe as lux pointed out it's not a full life but she will be happy there." The Doctor spoke gently to Harry hoping to come off better this time.
"Why wouldn't you let me explain?" He begged with tears still pouring down his face.
"Because as you said we treat you like a tot, because to us that is what you are. I'm so sorry I know Theta didn't listen, but you would not have survived and even if you did, you would have been left without your memory of who you are." Spoke the Master gently
"I would have survived I would have even kept my memory." Spoke harry with conviction. Them lowering his voice continued.
"Didn't you ever truly wonder at my name that was chosen? I certainly didn't Choose that one but with who and what I am that name came about… I am your son but it's not all I am or am becoming, I'm sort of like Rose but more directly connected than even her connection, I have a link to another one who will not give me up willingly, even allow me to lose my memories there is too much in my mind for it to be allowed to be wiped out.
"What do you mean what you are?" Demanded the Master his son knew who and what he was.
"Just that, I knew I wouldn't stay in the other universe, I knew I would even become a full Timelord, its why I never argued against it, I only wish I could have saved the others, I was never told I would be on my own without them, just that I would end up living in another universe…..A lot is still protected, its hurting trying to look at what I know and can say, for some reason River Song was allowed to come now and ask questions in front of you, releasing more information than I would have thought HE would allow at my young age… I am protected and watched over by someone else not just you two…..I shouldn't have been born, it was an agreement between two equals that my life came about." He spoke the very last part so quietly if the other two weren't Timelords they wouldn't have heard but they did and that worried them.
"What do you mean you shouldn't have been born your mother was a psionic the curse was we would need one to conceive."
"When Lady Agusteen was left on Gallifrey she knew she was the last in this universe and so she actually made you all infertile instead that is why you couldn't conceive only with another Psionic would life be able to bring a child naturally born. She hoped that you would spend all your time looking for them to have more of you, her attitude was she had lost her family you would never have any more of your own, its why she killed herself she didn't want to be chained and used like a breeder. Only she never conceived of the loom, its why you have never caused a natural pregnancy. Even though mum was a psionic she was only around half Timelady. It wouldn't have been enough to overcome the curse, it wasn't. but an Entity saw an opportunity when you slept together and so talked to my protector and HE agreed to allow me to be born of you as well as of her and also to ensure I would be able to see time, SHE wanted a new child and HE thought it would help me in my eventual role. I will be able to father children but if it's not with another Timelady they would only be pure human it's supposed to get me to understand loss and life, although I think that HE saw all my future, one of only two who could I suppose."
"Who are you talking about Null?" asked the Master confused
"You both know who I am talking about, you have seen my memories I have spoken of him before only once though."
"NO, he watches your footsteps, he's with us always?" The Doctor had obviously worked it out and by the look of understanding so had his dad.
"HE does, HE is, but, I've told you before, HE knows what you are known for I knew what you were known for before I even met you, that was why I followed you originally, you intrigued me more than anything else, here was a true Timelord with absolutely no human DNA we would have called you either a cousin or a pre-cursor to our race, I only helped because I thought you didn't recognise a paradox machine, plus I had heard about true time ships and they are alive it would have made her scream out in agony getting worse the longer she was twisted. I also realised you would eventually find out who I was and would be prepared to do what SHE wanted you to do allow me to see time."
"She?" questioned both the Doctor and the Master
"TIME, I think SHE's a female, SATURN and the TARDIS are defiantly female personalities, so I have always considered HER a SHE."
"So are you saying you are like Rose only monitored more closely?" asked the Master in a calm voice.
"No, I have the power within me always as I said I am protected always, yes I can die and re-generate but not like you two, my regeneration is immortal its why it took so long after looking in the schism, it why when I tried to look at my time line I threw up when I changed, my life will be the only truly immortal life out there, I will always live on, can you imagine my timeline?" He asked them at the end quietly again.
Unfortunately, that is just what the two timelords did and both fell over dizzy with massive headaches.
"Please don't suggest that again Null, I think I know why you were sick now!" Spoke the Master in a pained voice having to sit down next to Null with his back to a wall the Doctor was on his other side doing the same and rubbing his head.
"Right, so we need to start listening to you more. I think we should give you a word that we never use that you can say to make us listen to you, we can set it as a trigger, even if we don't follow through it will give you hopefully time to explain. But Null, Death is right, you will lose people, but she told me she knew us all in our futures, she knew how to stop those soul's from affecting you we will see her again and we will spend as much time with her as you need before she comes to the library, now we know we can prepare, but you must never tell here this is where she dies, it's now become a fixed point in time for some reason. We cannot stop the death of River Song, but we can make her life one of fullness and happiness. We will see he again" Spoke the Doctor gently to Null.
"We could have just used the phrase 'listen to me' but it's too late for that!" Replied Null in an annoyed voice he was still so upset. He had seen his fair share of death, but this was family it hurt worse than Sirius and that was only because he had Sirius now.
"I think we should go back to Earth for a few days, this has hit you hard, as hard as loosing then finding out about your mum and James. You need to talk to Sirius and see him for yourself. But I hope you know Null that no matter what happens we have regenerations left we will be with you for a long time. After everything you have said maybe longer than even we thought." The Doctor again spoke gently. Harry leaned his head on the Doctors shoulder and nodded into it. He found himself in the middle of a hug. They stayed like that for a while.
"Do you want to be on your own for a bit longer, or shall we get back to Earth?" Asked the Master gently his hearts were breaking for Null. He thought he had some idea of what Null meant as the Doctor had pointed out he was very clever and very intuitive.
"Let's go home please?" Answered Null quietly.
The three of them stood up and collecting Donna on their way into the console room, they were moving to get into position when suddenly a receptacle poked a new sonic tool out of it only this one looked completely different. Null being the closest grabbed it he had always wanted one but was told no until he built his first one which meant finishing the engineering course. When he grabbed it, he felt his core bonding to it better than his wand he could feel all of his power, even the power he didn't really want, through this probe. His face lit up and pointing it incanted the Patronus charm in his head only to see the top of the probe open, another piece come out of it and his stag flew out of that.
"It conducts my psionic abilities better than my wand and that was pure organic material, metal shouldn't work like this. I can keep it can't I? please it feels wonderful in my hand, I'll just use it for psionics for now until I finish the course?" Harry looked as though he had some life pumped into him there and then. Neither the Master nor the Doctor could tell him no.
"Yes, you can keep it and I will show you over the next couple of days how to use the sonic settings you still have a while left to go in your studies for sonic devices. But we'll let you use it completely once I've trained you how!" Spoke the Master with a small smile on his face.
"I hadn't realised losing my wand would affect me so much, I now know what it feels like to lose part of yourself only to get it back and for there to be more when it's returned to you."
"What do you mean more? Your core is massive you could cast for days on end without emptying your reserves and as a Timelord you wouldn't need to sleep through any of it!" Asked the Master confused he had seen his sons core, how could it get bigger?
"Yes, I now have access to all of my powers. River really did accelerate my timeline with her words. I thought I would be an adult before HE gave me access to his own! And the TARDIS has really been studying me for her to do this."
"Well now she might treat you as she does me!"
"No Doctor, I just take the breaks off and know how to use the navigator. That's why she likes me more!" Was Harry's dead pan return.
"Okay put your new screwdriver away and let's get back to Earth for a couple of days, we can stock up again on food when we get there."
"You know Sirius is going to start thinking I only come to see him for us to do a food run!" was Harry's next comeback. yet you could tell his hearts wasn't in the banter.
"Just give it a month from last time and arrive in the evening, if you can!" spoke the Doctor. Harry gave him another dead pan look and set the TARDIS off they landed about a minute later without all the bumping around they normally do when the Doctor drives.
Harry smiled at them all, but it didn't reach his eyes. He then turned and went through the main door into Sirius' living room.
Sirius was already stood up waiting on them, as soon as Harry saw him, he ran to him and fell apart again. Sirius lifted him up looked at the other three with him only for the two Timelords to shake their heads and so Sirius carried Harry up to his bedroom placing him on the bed and he just held Harry in his arms letting him cry out what ever had happened to him.
Harry eventually fell asleep and putting him into his bed Sirius brushed a hand through his hair and then quietly left the room shutting the door behind him. He walked back downstairs into the living room to see the other three sat around with drinks and one waiting for him, he picked it up and realising it was still hot, he sat down opposite them.
"Do you want to tell me what that was all about? I've not seen him this upset since he lost his own universe."
The Doctor started explaining what had happened that day and why they had come back so that Harry could spend time with him hoping it would help him. They only ever called River as the 'leader' just in case her connection came through Sirius somehow, and not wanting to change history just as River had asked of the Doctor. It was her dying wish she deserved that much. They explained how she was somehow family and how much it had upset Harry at her giving her life when he could have done it, but the Doctor wouldn't listen to him.
"He keeps reminding us, he's an adult we just don't listen to him, he's right!" Spoke Sirius at the end, he could see where they were coming from, even he at times treated Harry as a child.
"To you maybe Sirius but he's only around forty, I'm over a thousand, the Master is even older, Harry is still a child to us. We don't know what went on with Death or Time, we don't understand it and we've been Timelords all our life. I didn't even know Rose is supposed to be assisted by time as well. But Harry said we would see her again I wonder if he knows we will and that's why he said it. They would be the two most powerful entities in existence nothing can outrun them, unless you're called Harry I suppose."
"I don't think he will let anything happen to you two, he loves you both too much for that, I'm happy to live out a wizard's lifespan and hope I meet up with James, Lilly and Remus. He knew I would be there for his childhood until he grew into an adult but not much longer. he told me that, it was our second chance, but I couldn't always treat him like a child he no longer was one and, unfortunately, too much had happened to get that back. I wouldn't be surprised before you two came into his life, that he followed me around invisible when I was on assignment just to make sure I was okay, you heard him say my job was stressful, but I didn't think about it, it is stressful he's right, but how would he know? I only ever took him to the hub if Jack asked or he felt like a day away from work."
"He did follow you around but asked us not to say anything as it would upset you more, he doesn't with us, because we can see the timeline like him and we can see his though we won't ever look at the length of it again."
"Are you sure? Where did he remineralise in the TARDIS can you find that out would she tell you or can you check another way?" Sirius asked with a bit of intensity suddenly working something out. The Doctor gave him a strange look but got up and went into the TARDIS he was back five minutes later.
"He appeared in the control room ranted at the TARDIS about me then went to his room, it would explain the sonic tuned to his powers. Why did you want to know?"
"I thought if he rematerialized in his room then he knew how to bypass the TARDIS control room and you could think he was in there while he was following you around. You would never have known and as you say the TARDIS is fond of him it may hide that from you. Especially knowing he had SATURN."
Suddenly the Master burst out laughing he couldn't stop in fact he was doubled over in his seat, the Doctor tried to find out what was wrong with him, but he just pointed at the Doctor and kept laughing. It took over ten minutes for him to settle down his head shaking from side to side it was so funny what he had just worked out.
"What?" Demanded the Doctor.
"I bet he started searching for the TARDIS when the first of the Dave's died, seeing that would worry him about it happening to us, or when he lost his wand his only protection to keep us all safe. He locked onto the TARDIS or more likely SATURN did, I bet it took a while in the size of that library but he found her which means he can now find her whenever he wants and pop into the control room and there is nothing either of us can do unless we convince him to delete the scan, and I think you've more chance at regenerating that getting him to give over that scan. He has put us all now on a leash. First me, then him, and now you, we can't do anything to him because he can leave and find us again when he thinks we've calmed down again. It too funny for words!" And the Master burst out laughing again.
The Doctor looked shocked at what he had just been told and realised. He felt as though the tides were really turned now how were they going to set any rules or make him follow them if he had the TARDIS frequency now locked into SATURN and he bet she wouldn't delete it for them because she knew Null better than even they did, every errant thought was picked up by her so she would know he wanted to be able to get them back to the TARDIS if needed. He sat there in silence as the Master kept chuckling.
"He can look into both our Timelines we are both now tethered you idot, we only have one TARDIS." Snapped the Doctor, that abruptly, it shut off the Masters laugh, the Doctor was right. He could follow the both of Them now.
"I will ask him if you like but remember he thinks of both of you as his dads if he can protect you, he will and now he has that scan he will always be able to protect you. Also you need to be careful. You know what he collected during the war with Voldemort I always thought they were a childhood story then just powerful artifacts made by the brothers to always ensure they were remembered. But if Harry has a connection, then he would have all that power now for him to use and I bet he knows how to use it if he needs to. If he was meant to have had his name for who and what he is well…..The Son,,,,I thought it was because he is your two's son. But if it as more meaning that any of us knew…." Suddenly Sirius paled and just stopped.
"What?" Demanded the Master he was worried about Null. Sirius first looked at him then at the Doctor then at Donna.
"There is something in the magical world called blood adoption or anointment. If Harry was purposely born then he could have two fathers, he was anointed as my heir and the Heir Black a week after he was born, as my godson it was my right, it gave him some black traits as well as some control over our family magic, he can use it but must centre himself every time he does whereas I don't have to I can use the magic and carry on as long as I keep occluding thought-out my life. That was why it took me a while to get over Askaban, it wasn't so much the dementors as I was in my animal form it was the fact they shredded my occlumency skills and I needed to rebuild them and sort my mind out before I was right in the head again. Our magic can do irreparable damage it's to be used mainly in battle or duelling, no other time because of the consequences of it."
"Where are you going with this?" Asked the master listening carefully.
"What I'm saying is that Harry told you he shouldn't have been born. What if he was adopted within the womb or as the spark of life manifested? What if a third Entity adopted him at the same time to ensure he lived? And now he is classed more as, 'The Son' of the Master, Lilly and this Entity. Does Harry see you more with your name as the Master, are both you and the Entity both his fathers. Is that what he's trying to tell us the hallows were real and he collected them all, what if the story was wrong and they had been meant all along for just him, NO ONE ever had more than one for long, even Dumbledore died as soon as he found the second one it was only 'a stopper in death' he didn't die within the day. Yet Harry had all three allegiances for over a year and used all three and if Death had told him he wouldn't stay in that universe, then it's no surprise he didn't keep the wand or stone he doesn't need them that power is within him. I bet even the cloak, I think he only really uses that out of affection. Maybe now he will display more of the power, the fact that, that leader knew and was allowed to speak of it in front of you, the fact we can now discuss it and theorise about him maybe Harry has reached a point where his other father is slowly allowing his own child to grow. Time seems to think so. You told me the heart of a TARDIS is Time itself, and yet she gave him access to all his powers Time wouldn't have done that and gone against Death. Yes Harry says they are equals but even Death will take Time I would have thought in the end or will they start a new beginning the both of them?"
"And you think he will keep us with him when that happens? He might be classed as our son but if he has a higher calling, we would never be able to last that long even he admitted he had been given unlimited regenerations, we've reached a thousand yes, but it has taken quite a bit of our own regenerations to live this long." Spoke the Master with sadness.
"Harry will find a way to protect you both, you don't know what he's willing to do for those he loves. Plus, both of you met him, what are the possibilities of either of you meeting him never mind both of you. And why then? He is still classed a as child even to us humans. He stopped something that has plagued you for nearly all your life he told us what had happened but neither of you two knew what had caused the problems. Things just don't add up Death will not take you from him as long as he still loves you, anyone who knows him would know that now he has his father back he will move heaven and hell to protect you even die for you if he felt he needed to. Especially as he has unlimited life in him."
"Why didn't we notice? He doesn't seem to have more power than a tot in his energy, neither does he affect us like Jack does he comes across as a true psionic Timelord tot. That is all, yet every word he spoke was the truth." Asked the Master to the Doctor.
"If we are really suggesting that he has two fathers then it would be natural to us, he would hold regeneration power but where we lose power as we regenerate he might just not. He may get thirteen lives at a time then all his energy is re topped off. However I'm more concerned about his psionics if he has access to Deaths power, he could become formidable. The Time war lasted hundreds of years and look at the damage they did to the timeline alone, if he can use his powers through time itself like we know he can, he could kill everything or anything he wants, the power to lord over the multiverse as a Deity one day….Maybe he's been given to us now so we can ensure that doesn't happen to him, we can't let him loose his light inside of him, we are going to have to spend all our time with him. We need to stop all his lessons bar the engineering one which I doubt he would stop anyway and then we help him do whatever he wants to sexy with her allowing it. If…And that is a big if…The personification of Time wants him in the TARDIS along with Death we follow his lead, but only inside of her outside we act as the ones he listens to and talks to us about the things he need to as well as whatever we need to talk about but we need to balance that out as well…..Maybe the word suggestion from before wasn't so stupid, we give him a word and if he speaks it we stop, give it to him in Gallefreyan and only us two will know what it means." Spoke the Doctor with determination at the end.