Yours Is No Disgrace

Chapter Nine

All we need is just to believe in ourselves;
We face the truth, we see it clear, with no disguise.

His shoulders and elbows were screaming with protest, and the tips of his fingers had gone white from the constant pressure he was putting on them. Most of the upper portion of his body had gone numb with fatigue...but he didn't give up.
The service shaft that led up to the Panopticon was narrow and steep - barely big enough to fit into, let alone crawl up, but the Doctor did it anyway, driven by concern for his companion, for the person he privately though of as 'My Sarah'.
The harsh sound of his breathing seemed almost to thunder in his ears as it echoed off the narrow shaft, a sharp counterpoint to the almost erratic beat of his hearts.
Stones and dust fell almost continually, more being dislodged each time the walls trembled. The aftershocks of what the Master was doing threatening to shake the whole building apart. He had meant what he said to Spandrell, though. Sarah's rescue had to come first - before defeating the Master or saving his home world.
He sneezed at the dust settling on his clothes and hair, then adjusted his grip and resolutely carried on climbing.
They should have listened to him in the first place.

It was a great relief when the shaft finally opened out into the darkened halls of the Panopticon. The floor trembled and bucked almost continually now, a ominous accompaniment to the hollow booming noise emanating from the centre of the hall.
The Doctor stretched out his cramped muscles, his eyes scanning the hall. Sarah was there, at the opposite side, her back pushed against the far wall, but her eyes watched only the Master as though she was waiting for an opportunity to make her escape.
He smiled, he'd give her the distraction she needed. They could do this together.
The Master was crouched on the floor, watching with his dead, decomposing eyes as a black monolith rose slowly from the chasm - the entrance to the Eye of Harmony.
"Yessss." The Master hissed with dark pleasure. The Golden sash around his neck glinting in the dim light, looked totally out of place against his ancient, rotting robes.
"No." The Doctor said, stepping out from the shadows. "You don't know what you're about to release. You cannot possibly control the Eye. No one can."
"Ah, Doctor," The Master cackled, twisting to point his TCE at the Doctor, "I wondered when you would be showing up to save the day. But this time you are wrong. Rassilon could control this power, and I have all of Rassilon's tools. The sash will protect me as it protected him."
"No it won't," The Doctor contradicted, risking a single glace at Sarah as he did so. Sarah gave a barely perceptible nod, "The Sash was damaged during the assassination - it won't protect you."
"You're lying, Doctor." The Master retorted, but his tone was far from certain. The Doctor readied himself, coiling like a spring as the Master's eyes drifted momentarily downwards...
Sarah sprang at the Master, wresting away the TCE with a single sharp, violent gesture even as the Doctor leapt towards to monolith, trying to twist and remove the key from the depression, fighting against the shuddering of the floor and the showers of dust and debris.
"No!" The Master shrieked, flinging Sarah aside with unnatural strength and charging towards the dais where the Doctor and the towering black column stood. But he moved too late as the Doctor pulled the key free, sending the monolith shuddering back down into the ground again. With a bellow of rage, the Master dove at the Doctor, trying to tear the key from his grip. The Doctor backed away, coming dangerously close to the edge of the chasm left behind by the monolith, trying to hold the key out of the Master's reach.
Sarah, seeing the danger, ran up behind the Master. Grabbing hold of a handful of his rotting black robes, she threw with all her strength, sending the Master tumbling into the yawning abyss.
There was a scream, which quickly died away into an unimaginable silence as gravity pulled him into the darkness. Gone...and so quickly.
When the tremors finally subsided, Sarah sat down heavily on the cold stone floor, feeling shaky and a little bit nauseous as the adrenaline drained its way out of her body. She closed her eyes, trying to trap the tears she felt gathering behind her eyes. A pair of arms wrapped around her, and the wonderfully comforting, familiar voice of her best friend and beloved whispered in her ear.
"Shhh, Sarah." The Doctor said softly.
"I...I...killed him." Sarah choked, feeling the first tear slip down her cheek.
"No," The Doctor whispered back, "No, he's been dead for a long time...besides there was an awful lot of power coming from that monolith...and the sash would have helped him convert it."
Sarah looked up quickly, "So it's possible he could still be alive?"
"He's always been very resourceful...and very difficult to get rid of." He replied, the ghost of a smile on his face. "Come on, Sarah, time to go."

Cast away our doubt and sorrow,
Turning away from the past we know

Borusa paced up and down in his lavish office his face as dark as a thundercloud.
"This is absurd," The Cardinal burst out, "What am I supposed to tell the people? I cannot have everyone believing that any lunatic can go and disrupt the Eye whenever they feel like it!"
The Doctor, lounged comfortably in one of the elaborate padded chairs, grinned broadly, "Well, you'll just have to adjust the truth again, Cardinal," He said, his grin becoming, if possible, even wider, "How about subsidence owing to a plague of giant mice, hmm?"
Borusa bridled visibly, "Your taste for inappropriate humour will get you into trouble, Doctor." Borusa snapped. The Doctor's grin vanished, though a spark of humour remained in his bright blue eyes as he reverted a peculiarly reverent attitude, like a schoolboy reprimanded by his teacher.
"Yes sir," The Doctor said politely, "You've said that many times before. May I go, sir?"
Sarah fought back a laugh as she watched Borusa's expression soften into what was almost a smile.
"Yes, Doctor...nine out of ten." Borusa chuckled.
"Thank you, sir." The Doctor said, standing up to leave. Sarah also stood, moving towards the door. She was looking forward to a hot bath and a proper meal, and was eager to return to the TARDIS.
"There is one other thing I wished to discuss with you, Doctor." Borusa interrupted before they could leave. The Doctor sighed and handed Sarah the TARDIS key.
"Go wait in the TARDIS for me, Sarah," he said, "This shouldn't take too long."
Sarah smiled and took the key, allowing her hands to linger on his perhaps a little too long...but the smile she got from him was more than worth it, she thought as she swept out of the room.
"I didn't quite believe Engin when he revealed his observations to me," Borusa said softly, his eyes on the place where Sarah had just occupied, "But now I see what he meant. It really is quite inappropriate you know."
"Oh, now what are you on about, Borusa?" The Doctor said, growing impatient.
"She will never be accepted here, Doctor." Borusa said with stark finality. The Doctor just smiled.
"You know, that's what I like about you, Borusa. You see everything in black and white. Must be nice, eh? Everything clean cut and in its place..."
"If you would please get to the point, Doctor," Borusa interrupted testily, "Your habit of verbal meandering is very frustrating."
"The point, my dear Cardinal, is that the Universe isn't black and white. It's all presented in marvellous Technicolor...and Sarah is the brightest, most colourful part of all. After all, a universe without colour would be a very dull place."
Borusa narrowed his eyes in thought, and the Doctor fancied he could hear the pieces clicking into place in the Cardinal's head. Borusa's face suddenly took on a stunned expression, his eyes widening in shock.
"You...linked...with her?" Borusa gasped. The Doctor's answering grin said everything, as well as having the added effect of absolutely infuriating the Cardinal. "That's unheard of! You can't just link yourself to a...a primitive!"
"Sarah is no primitive." The Doctor said, his grin vanishing and a slight edge coming into his voice. But Borusa clearly wasn't listening.
"If the rest of the council find out..."
"They'll what, Borusa? Exile me? Strip me of my rights and privileges?" The Doctor said harshly, sarcastically. The sentiment behind those words was impossible to miss. Borusa took a deep breath as the Doctor turned around to leave.
"You don't intend to return, do you?" Borusa asked quietly.
The Doctor stopped and turned, an indefinable emotion sparkling in his eyes.
"No." He replied bluntly.
"Theta Sigma!!"
The Doctor span around angrily.
"Don't call me that! I gave up the right to that name many years ago. It isn't me anymore."
And without saying another word, the Doctor left Borusa's office. The door banging shut behind him with a sound of finality.

Just the epilogue to go...