CHAPTER FIVE - THE PHAROS PROJECT
The Fourth Doctor had once again thwarted the Master's evil plans, though the price was dear. The body of the Doctor lay underneath the communications tower of the huge radio sattelite dish, which he had used to stop a vast entropy field caused by the Master from destroying the entire universe. In the process of stopping the renegade Time Lord, the Doctor had fallen from a high gantry. Adric, Tegan and Nyssa knealt beside the Doctor's broken body. They called his name, in the hope that he was still alive.
The Doctor suddenly blinked and gave a wry smile as he looked up at his companions. "It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for!" he said with a sigh. He reached out his arm, and from the shadows, a figure appeared and began to approach the Doctor. There were no identifying features on the shadowy figure, as it was covered from head to toe with white, glowing fabric, but Adric seemed to recognise him.
"The Watcher!" he exclaimed, pointing.
Tegan was incredulous. "It was the......"
"Doctor all along!" a sinister voice echoed from the shadows.
"It's the Master!" Nyssa exclaimed as she stood up and looked at the hated, dark figure of the man who had killed her Father and stolen his body.
"The Doctor's lives's will be mine, now and forever!" the Master boomed. He raised his right arm, and in his hand was a small, black cylindrical object. He pointed it at the Watcher and pressed a small red button.
"No!" Adric shouted. "You can't do that!"
A red beam of intense light shot from the device and enveloped the shrouded aparition, paralysing it.
"Oh but I can!" the Master said, looking at a startled Adric. "Just look at your new Doctor now!" The Master exulted with evil pleasure. "Who will be your saviour now? You are all doomed!"
The Master turned his gaze back to the imobile form of the being which was to become the Fith Doctor. The white material which covered him now hung tattered and torn, as the red energy slowly destroyed and consumed his lifeforce.
A shrill and anguished cry emanated from the Watcher, as it began to falter from the sheer pain. Miraculously, it spoke. "My time has come, before I've even started! Forgive me......."
"Stop it, please!" Nyssa cried as she was forced to watch the new Doctor's dissolution with Adric and Tegan. All they could do was look on in helplessness.
"This is not how it was supposed to be!" Adric said.
The sound of the Master's laughter grew louder and louder as his evil and malicious plan unfolded before his eyes.
With one final shreak, the red energy field finally consumed the ghost-like form of the Doctor's next incarnation, and vanished.
"And now for you, Doctor!" the Master said with a slight edge of seriousness. "Oh yes, you will be the pride of the collection!" Raising his arm again to point the weapon at the injured Doctor on the ground, he pressed a different button and the Doctor was enveloped within a white light.
"Let the game begin!" the Master chortled, as he slank back into the shadows of the Pharos tower.
It seemed like an eternity had passed, or was it a short while? Images were racing through the mind of the Doctor. Adric, Tegan, Nyssa, Romana, the Monitor, the destruction of Logopolis, the Pharos project.....
The Doctor's eyes opened wide in startlement. "The Pharos project!" he said suddenly. "The Master!" The Doctor got to his feet, if a little unsteady, and tried to gain his composure, and his memories of the events which had just transpired. As he looked around, he had the feeling that something was not quite right. When he had arrived at the Pharos project, the weather was quite pleasant, but it had now become dark, and streaks of fierce red blazed on the horizon.
"Well, it seems as though I have been here for quite a while!" the Doctor said to himself as he took in his surroundings and the enormous Pharos sattelite dish. "Oh well, time is pressing and there are thing's to do! Come along Adric!" The Doctor turned and walked a few paces towards the TARDIS. "Adric?" he called. No answer. "Where is that boy?" he grumbled. As he looked for his companion, he was once more overcome by the sensation that all was not well in the world.
The Doctor continued to walk towards the TARDIS. "Maybe Adric is waiting for me inside the TARDIS!" he thought. "Along with Nyssa and Tegan!" Reaching for the special key, the Doctor promptly entered his beloved transport.
As the Doctor walked inside the TARDIS, he couldn't help but overhear a familiar sound echo through the corridors. "The Cloister Bell!" he muttered. "Battle stations!" The Doctor set off at a brisk pace to the console room, but as soon as he got there, the bell had ceased ringing. "Adric?" he called. "Tegan, Nyssa?" Nothing. Where were they?
The Doctor turned to the controls and started to change the settings. He had questions that he wanted answering, questions that he felt only a fellow Time lord could answer.
After a moment or two, the light on the top of the TARDIS began flashing and before the police box dematerialised, a sinister laugh echoed across the sky like thunder, and then faded away.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was pacing around the console room, talking to himself. "Why?" the Doctor mused. "The Pharos project on Earth, I was there for something which started on Logopolis!" The Doctor rubbed his forehead in thought. "The Master? No, no, no,no, not him - the Monitor!" A memory stirred. "I wanted to fix the TARDIS Chameleon Circuit, yes, I came to Earth from Logopolis" The Doctor stopped pacing, a terrible look on his face. "The Master, he destroyed Logopolis, and the Traken Union!" he cried. "I remember, we came to the Pharos project to finish the work that the Monitor had started, but the Master turned the tables against me, but I had to stop him!" The Doctor banged his forehead with a closed fist. "Yes, I fell from the Pharos dish, I fell to the ground and died, and regenerated into my fith incarnation!"
At that moment, the dull thud of the Cloister bell began to echoe through the TARDIS. "Adric!" the Doctor said iritably. "Answer that, there's a good chap!"
There was a soft jolt as the TARDIS reached it's destination. The Cloister bell stopped it's mournful ringing. The Doctor pressed a button on the console, and walked out of the doors into the world around him.
"Hang on!" the Doctor said, looking around as he emerged. "This isn't Gallifrey!"
The TARDIS had materialised on London Bridge, a very quiet London Bridge. Not a single vehical moved on the road, there were no pedestrians in sight anywhere along the streets and strangely, no birds could be seen.
The Doctor walked back into the TARDIS, and closed the doors behind him. According to his instruments he should have arrived on Gallifrey, but instead he was still on Earth. The Doctor reset the settings for Gallifrey, and then activated the Time Rotor, but nothing happened. The TARDIS it seemed, was dead.
"What's going on?" the Doctor boomed. "Why aren't you working properly old girl, why is it so quiet outside, and where have Adric, Tegan and Nyssa gone?"
"Doctor!" a voice spoke quietly, outside the TARDIS.
The Doctor hesitated for a moment and looked towards the TARDIS doors. He recognised that voice. He pressed the door control and walked out of the TARDIS into the deserted streets of London.
"Hello!" the Doctor said. "Is anyone there?"
"This way, Doctor!" the voice said. "Quickly!" The voice sounded familiar, yet strangely different.
"Adric?"
"Yes!" the voice replied. "Hurry!"
The Doctor started to follow the voice down through the empty London streets. Before long, he had found himself at Trafalgar Square. "Adric!" the Doctor said, catching his breath. "Where are you?"
"I'm right behind you!"
The Doctor turned around and caught sight of a figure emerging from the shadows of Nelson's Column. He stared in astonishment at Adric. He was a boy no longer, and had aged many years since they had last met.
"I see you've finally had the courage to come back, Doctor!" he said in an acidic tone.
"Come back?" the Doctor said in disbelief. "I never left. What's going on here?"
"You left me here Doctor, when you went to Pesca, but you never returned. You turned your back on me and the Earth, your 'home away from home' as you once called it!"
"Adric!" the Doctor said, stepping forward. "How long has it been since I visited this Pesca?"
"Twelve years, Doctor!" Adric replied, coldly.
"You look well!" the Doctor said.
"And you havn't changed at all!" Adric said.
"What? I've regenerated recently!"
"Don't Time Lord's undergo a physical change when they regenerate?" Adric asked, pointing at the Doctor.
"Always! You know that!" The Doctor said in a raised voice.
"Then, from where I stand, you are the same old Doctor!" Suddenly, the drone of an air-raid siren echoed through the streets. "If you value your lives, Doctor, I suggest you get off the streets!" Adric cast a glance at the Doctor, and vanished into the shadows.
"Adric!" the Doctor called. "Adric!" But it was no use, he was gone. Deciding that he wasn't going to get answers standing around, the Doctor took Adric's advice and headed back to the TARDIS, at a brisk pace. As he walked back, he couldn't understand why the streets were so deserted. Was there a war going on? He didn't think so. Suddenly, the Doctor realised that he wasn't alone, he could hear footseps approaching him from behind. The Doctor turned quickly and found himself face to face with his follower. "You!"
"Greetings, Doctor!" the Master said in a cheery tone.
"What are you doing here?" the Doctor exclaimed as he kept his gaze fixed firmly upon the Master.
"Just keeping an eye on my favourite Time Lord!" the Master chuckled. "It's frightfully dangerous out here!" The Master tilted his head slightly, and looked at the Doctor. "Tell me, Doctor, have you recently regenerated?"
"What an absurd question!" the Doctor snapped. "It was you that caused it!"
"Temper, temper!" the Master said, taking a step back. "Have you seen your new face yet?" The Master stretched out his left arm and pointed to a nearby building. The Doctor slowly turned his head in the direction the Master was pointing. His gaze fell upon a number of darkened windows, which turned them into mirrors. He caught sight of their reflections. A chill ran through the Doctor's body as he saw himself.
"It's Me!" the Doctor muttered, dumbfounded.
"Of course it is!" the Master replied. "Who else would it be?"
"But I died!" the Doctor said. "why didn't I regenerate?"
"Well..." the Master said. "You did save me on Logopolis, one good turn deserves another, I suppose!"
"You havn't got a kind bone in your body!" the Doctor said, looking at the Master sternly. "What are you up to?"
"A test of wits, Doctor" the Master said, raising an eyebrow. "Call it survival!"
"What's at stake in this little test of yours?"
"More than you realise, Doctor!" The Master looked over his shoulder and three men appeared out of the darkness, they made no sound and their faces were expressionless. The Doctor looked at them as they stood before him. He had not met any of them, but they seemed familiar.
"Let me introduce you to your future incarnations, Doctor!" the Master said. "They are the stake in my little test!"
"You've found a way to steal my regenerations?" the Doctor asked, stunned.
"Oh no, Doctor" the Master replied. "They are your lives, but have no mistake, your actions here will have an adverse effect on these and all future incarnations!" The Master snapped his fingers and the images of the Doctors vanished.
"So!" the Doctor said. "If I die, it will all be over!"
"Let's put that to the test, shall we?" the Master said, reaching into a pocket. He produced an old Earth hand-gun.
The Doctor burst into fits of laughter. "Oh please don't make me laugh!" He pointed at the ancient weapon.
The Master gave a sinister smile as he squeezed the trigger and fired a single shot at pointe blank range. The bullet struck the Doctor, but he felt no pain, in fact, he didn't even feel the impact.
"You know, sometimes your actions bewilder me!" the Doctor said.
"Never forget who you are dealing with!" the Master said in a stern voice.
"I know who I'm dealing with!" the Doctor exploded in anger. "You're nothing but a charlatan and a phoney, a worthless excuse who squandered the lives that the High Council bestowed upon you!"
Suddenly, the Doctor felt a burning sensation growing from within his stomach.
"Is everything all right, Doctor?" the Master asked. "You look a little uncomfortable!"
"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked through clenched teeth.
"This is just to serve as a reminder, Doctor!" the Master said, stepping towards his nemesis. "You and I, we are very much alike you know!"
The burning sensation moved down the Doctor's legs, and it intensified with each passing moment. The Doctor cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.
"We are not alike!" the Doctor uttered.
"Oh but we are!" the Master continued, as he circled slowly around the fallen Doctor. "We think the same, we act the same, and we want the same!"
"I don't want what you want!" the Doctor said slowly as he looked up at the Master.
"On the contary, Doctor" the Master said as he positioned himself in front of the Doctor and sat on the ground. "You see, you want domination over the living, but while you do it by providing peace and harmony, I do it by evoking fear. Most importantly though, you want the thrill of the hunt, to be continually challenged, and you know who provides you with that...me!"
"That's absurd!" the Doctor muttered as he tried to keep some semblence of control. He reached out with his left arm in a futile attempt to grab the Master, but it was no use. The burning pain continued to spread and the sensation grew more painful, so he let his arm fall back beside him. The Master calmly observed.
"All the times we crossed paths, all the opportunities you had to stop me permanantly, but you never did. You had my destiny in your hands when we were on Logopolis, you could have easily defeated me, but instead you chose to make a stupid alliance!" the Master leant forward slightly and stared into the Doctor's eyes. "You need me Doctor, if I weren't here, you'd be nothing more than a shadow of who you are, a mindless puppet roaming space and time doing the High Council's bidding!"
"I will stop you if it's the last thing I do!" the Doctor cried.
"Who's laying on the floor,Doctor? Who's body is slowly being incinerated from the inside out?"
"I will not be a part of your mind games!" the Doctor blurted out in agony as he felt the pain creep up his neck.
"Remember what is at stake, Doctor!" the Master reminded him as he stood up. He began to chuckle as he looked at the helpless form of the Doctor, twisting in agony and pain on the ground. "Killing you once was never enough, Doctor!"
The Doctor's sight was growing dim, he was dying. From where his head was positioned he could see his outstretched hand, but he no longer had the strength to do anything. He continued to look on as the skin on his hand began to bubble and blister, and suddenly what little energy he had left turned from anger to morbid horror and fear, as flames erupted from beneath his wrist and slowly licked and danced up his arm, incinerating his clothing in the process.
In his mind, he was screaming insanely, but not a sound was uttered as the Doctor closed his eyes....and died.
The Fourth Doctor had once again thwarted the Master's evil plans, though the price was dear. The body of the Doctor lay underneath the communications tower of the huge radio sattelite dish, which he had used to stop a vast entropy field caused by the Master from destroying the entire universe. In the process of stopping the renegade Time Lord, the Doctor had fallen from a high gantry. Adric, Tegan and Nyssa knealt beside the Doctor's broken body. They called his name, in the hope that he was still alive.
The Doctor suddenly blinked and gave a wry smile as he looked up at his companions. "It's the end, but the moment has been prepared for!" he said with a sigh. He reached out his arm, and from the shadows, a figure appeared and began to approach the Doctor. There were no identifying features on the shadowy figure, as it was covered from head to toe with white, glowing fabric, but Adric seemed to recognise him.
"The Watcher!" he exclaimed, pointing.
Tegan was incredulous. "It was the......"
"Doctor all along!" a sinister voice echoed from the shadows.
"It's the Master!" Nyssa exclaimed as she stood up and looked at the hated, dark figure of the man who had killed her Father and stolen his body.
"The Doctor's lives's will be mine, now and forever!" the Master boomed. He raised his right arm, and in his hand was a small, black cylindrical object. He pointed it at the Watcher and pressed a small red button.
"No!" Adric shouted. "You can't do that!"
A red beam of intense light shot from the device and enveloped the shrouded aparition, paralysing it.
"Oh but I can!" the Master said, looking at a startled Adric. "Just look at your new Doctor now!" The Master exulted with evil pleasure. "Who will be your saviour now? You are all doomed!"
The Master turned his gaze back to the imobile form of the being which was to become the Fith Doctor. The white material which covered him now hung tattered and torn, as the red energy slowly destroyed and consumed his lifeforce.
A shrill and anguished cry emanated from the Watcher, as it began to falter from the sheer pain. Miraculously, it spoke. "My time has come, before I've even started! Forgive me......."
"Stop it, please!" Nyssa cried as she was forced to watch the new Doctor's dissolution with Adric and Tegan. All they could do was look on in helplessness.
"This is not how it was supposed to be!" Adric said.
The sound of the Master's laughter grew louder and louder as his evil and malicious plan unfolded before his eyes.
With one final shreak, the red energy field finally consumed the ghost-like form of the Doctor's next incarnation, and vanished.
"And now for you, Doctor!" the Master said with a slight edge of seriousness. "Oh yes, you will be the pride of the collection!" Raising his arm again to point the weapon at the injured Doctor on the ground, he pressed a different button and the Doctor was enveloped within a white light.
"Let the game begin!" the Master chortled, as he slank back into the shadows of the Pharos tower.
It seemed like an eternity had passed, or was it a short while? Images were racing through the mind of the Doctor. Adric, Tegan, Nyssa, Romana, the Monitor, the destruction of Logopolis, the Pharos project.....
The Doctor's eyes opened wide in startlement. "The Pharos project!" he said suddenly. "The Master!" The Doctor got to his feet, if a little unsteady, and tried to gain his composure, and his memories of the events which had just transpired. As he looked around, he had the feeling that something was not quite right. When he had arrived at the Pharos project, the weather was quite pleasant, but it had now become dark, and streaks of fierce red blazed on the horizon.
"Well, it seems as though I have been here for quite a while!" the Doctor said to himself as he took in his surroundings and the enormous Pharos sattelite dish. "Oh well, time is pressing and there are thing's to do! Come along Adric!" The Doctor turned and walked a few paces towards the TARDIS. "Adric?" he called. No answer. "Where is that boy?" he grumbled. As he looked for his companion, he was once more overcome by the sensation that all was not well in the world.
The Doctor continued to walk towards the TARDIS. "Maybe Adric is waiting for me inside the TARDIS!" he thought. "Along with Nyssa and Tegan!" Reaching for the special key, the Doctor promptly entered his beloved transport.
As the Doctor walked inside the TARDIS, he couldn't help but overhear a familiar sound echo through the corridors. "The Cloister Bell!" he muttered. "Battle stations!" The Doctor set off at a brisk pace to the console room, but as soon as he got there, the bell had ceased ringing. "Adric?" he called. "Tegan, Nyssa?" Nothing. Where were they?
The Doctor turned to the controls and started to change the settings. He had questions that he wanted answering, questions that he felt only a fellow Time lord could answer.
After a moment or two, the light on the top of the TARDIS began flashing and before the police box dematerialised, a sinister laugh echoed across the sky like thunder, and then faded away.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor was pacing around the console room, talking to himself. "Why?" the Doctor mused. "The Pharos project on Earth, I was there for something which started on Logopolis!" The Doctor rubbed his forehead in thought. "The Master? No, no, no,no, not him - the Monitor!" A memory stirred. "I wanted to fix the TARDIS Chameleon Circuit, yes, I came to Earth from Logopolis" The Doctor stopped pacing, a terrible look on his face. "The Master, he destroyed Logopolis, and the Traken Union!" he cried. "I remember, we came to the Pharos project to finish the work that the Monitor had started, but the Master turned the tables against me, but I had to stop him!" The Doctor banged his forehead with a closed fist. "Yes, I fell from the Pharos dish, I fell to the ground and died, and regenerated into my fith incarnation!"
At that moment, the dull thud of the Cloister bell began to echoe through the TARDIS. "Adric!" the Doctor said iritably. "Answer that, there's a good chap!"
There was a soft jolt as the TARDIS reached it's destination. The Cloister bell stopped it's mournful ringing. The Doctor pressed a button on the console, and walked out of the doors into the world around him.
"Hang on!" the Doctor said, looking around as he emerged. "This isn't Gallifrey!"
The TARDIS had materialised on London Bridge, a very quiet London Bridge. Not a single vehical moved on the road, there were no pedestrians in sight anywhere along the streets and strangely, no birds could be seen.
The Doctor walked back into the TARDIS, and closed the doors behind him. According to his instruments he should have arrived on Gallifrey, but instead he was still on Earth. The Doctor reset the settings for Gallifrey, and then activated the Time Rotor, but nothing happened. The TARDIS it seemed, was dead.
"What's going on?" the Doctor boomed. "Why aren't you working properly old girl, why is it so quiet outside, and where have Adric, Tegan and Nyssa gone?"
"Doctor!" a voice spoke quietly, outside the TARDIS.
The Doctor hesitated for a moment and looked towards the TARDIS doors. He recognised that voice. He pressed the door control and walked out of the TARDIS into the deserted streets of London.
"Hello!" the Doctor said. "Is anyone there?"
"This way, Doctor!" the voice said. "Quickly!" The voice sounded familiar, yet strangely different.
"Adric?"
"Yes!" the voice replied. "Hurry!"
The Doctor started to follow the voice down through the empty London streets. Before long, he had found himself at Trafalgar Square. "Adric!" the Doctor said, catching his breath. "Where are you?"
"I'm right behind you!"
The Doctor turned around and caught sight of a figure emerging from the shadows of Nelson's Column. He stared in astonishment at Adric. He was a boy no longer, and had aged many years since they had last met.
"I see you've finally had the courage to come back, Doctor!" he said in an acidic tone.
"Come back?" the Doctor said in disbelief. "I never left. What's going on here?"
"You left me here Doctor, when you went to Pesca, but you never returned. You turned your back on me and the Earth, your 'home away from home' as you once called it!"
"Adric!" the Doctor said, stepping forward. "How long has it been since I visited this Pesca?"
"Twelve years, Doctor!" Adric replied, coldly.
"You look well!" the Doctor said.
"And you havn't changed at all!" Adric said.
"What? I've regenerated recently!"
"Don't Time Lord's undergo a physical change when they regenerate?" Adric asked, pointing at the Doctor.
"Always! You know that!" The Doctor said in a raised voice.
"Then, from where I stand, you are the same old Doctor!" Suddenly, the drone of an air-raid siren echoed through the streets. "If you value your lives, Doctor, I suggest you get off the streets!" Adric cast a glance at the Doctor, and vanished into the shadows.
"Adric!" the Doctor called. "Adric!" But it was no use, he was gone. Deciding that he wasn't going to get answers standing around, the Doctor took Adric's advice and headed back to the TARDIS, at a brisk pace. As he walked back, he couldn't understand why the streets were so deserted. Was there a war going on? He didn't think so. Suddenly, the Doctor realised that he wasn't alone, he could hear footseps approaching him from behind. The Doctor turned quickly and found himself face to face with his follower. "You!"
"Greetings, Doctor!" the Master said in a cheery tone.
"What are you doing here?" the Doctor exclaimed as he kept his gaze fixed firmly upon the Master.
"Just keeping an eye on my favourite Time Lord!" the Master chuckled. "It's frightfully dangerous out here!" The Master tilted his head slightly, and looked at the Doctor. "Tell me, Doctor, have you recently regenerated?"
"What an absurd question!" the Doctor snapped. "It was you that caused it!"
"Temper, temper!" the Master said, taking a step back. "Have you seen your new face yet?" The Master stretched out his left arm and pointed to a nearby building. The Doctor slowly turned his head in the direction the Master was pointing. His gaze fell upon a number of darkened windows, which turned them into mirrors. He caught sight of their reflections. A chill ran through the Doctor's body as he saw himself.
"It's Me!" the Doctor muttered, dumbfounded.
"Of course it is!" the Master replied. "Who else would it be?"
"But I died!" the Doctor said. "why didn't I regenerate?"
"Well..." the Master said. "You did save me on Logopolis, one good turn deserves another, I suppose!"
"You havn't got a kind bone in your body!" the Doctor said, looking at the Master sternly. "What are you up to?"
"A test of wits, Doctor" the Master said, raising an eyebrow. "Call it survival!"
"What's at stake in this little test of yours?"
"More than you realise, Doctor!" The Master looked over his shoulder and three men appeared out of the darkness, they made no sound and their faces were expressionless. The Doctor looked at them as they stood before him. He had not met any of them, but they seemed familiar.
"Let me introduce you to your future incarnations, Doctor!" the Master said. "They are the stake in my little test!"
"You've found a way to steal my regenerations?" the Doctor asked, stunned.
"Oh no, Doctor" the Master replied. "They are your lives, but have no mistake, your actions here will have an adverse effect on these and all future incarnations!" The Master snapped his fingers and the images of the Doctors vanished.
"So!" the Doctor said. "If I die, it will all be over!"
"Let's put that to the test, shall we?" the Master said, reaching into a pocket. He produced an old Earth hand-gun.
The Doctor burst into fits of laughter. "Oh please don't make me laugh!" He pointed at the ancient weapon.
The Master gave a sinister smile as he squeezed the trigger and fired a single shot at pointe blank range. The bullet struck the Doctor, but he felt no pain, in fact, he didn't even feel the impact.
"You know, sometimes your actions bewilder me!" the Doctor said.
"Never forget who you are dealing with!" the Master said in a stern voice.
"I know who I'm dealing with!" the Doctor exploded in anger. "You're nothing but a charlatan and a phoney, a worthless excuse who squandered the lives that the High Council bestowed upon you!"
Suddenly, the Doctor felt a burning sensation growing from within his stomach.
"Is everything all right, Doctor?" the Master asked. "You look a little uncomfortable!"
"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked through clenched teeth.
"This is just to serve as a reminder, Doctor!" the Master said, stepping towards his nemesis. "You and I, we are very much alike you know!"
The burning sensation moved down the Doctor's legs, and it intensified with each passing moment. The Doctor cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.
"We are not alike!" the Doctor uttered.
"Oh but we are!" the Master continued, as he circled slowly around the fallen Doctor. "We think the same, we act the same, and we want the same!"
"I don't want what you want!" the Doctor said slowly as he looked up at the Master.
"On the contary, Doctor" the Master said as he positioned himself in front of the Doctor and sat on the ground. "You see, you want domination over the living, but while you do it by providing peace and harmony, I do it by evoking fear. Most importantly though, you want the thrill of the hunt, to be continually challenged, and you know who provides you with that...me!"
"That's absurd!" the Doctor muttered as he tried to keep some semblence of control. He reached out with his left arm in a futile attempt to grab the Master, but it was no use. The burning pain continued to spread and the sensation grew more painful, so he let his arm fall back beside him. The Master calmly observed.
"All the times we crossed paths, all the opportunities you had to stop me permanantly, but you never did. You had my destiny in your hands when we were on Logopolis, you could have easily defeated me, but instead you chose to make a stupid alliance!" the Master leant forward slightly and stared into the Doctor's eyes. "You need me Doctor, if I weren't here, you'd be nothing more than a shadow of who you are, a mindless puppet roaming space and time doing the High Council's bidding!"
"I will stop you if it's the last thing I do!" the Doctor cried.
"Who's laying on the floor,Doctor? Who's body is slowly being incinerated from the inside out?"
"I will not be a part of your mind games!" the Doctor blurted out in agony as he felt the pain creep up his neck.
"Remember what is at stake, Doctor!" the Master reminded him as he stood up. He began to chuckle as he looked at the helpless form of the Doctor, twisting in agony and pain on the ground. "Killing you once was never enough, Doctor!"
The Doctor's sight was growing dim, he was dying. From where his head was positioned he could see his outstretched hand, but he no longer had the strength to do anything. He continued to look on as the skin on his hand began to bubble and blister, and suddenly what little energy he had left turned from anger to morbid horror and fear, as flames erupted from beneath his wrist and slowly licked and danced up his arm, incinerating his clothing in the process.
In his mind, he was screaming insanely, but not a sound was uttered as the Doctor closed his eyes....and died.