oOo

One hour. That was all the time Kyris had. One hour after Ace left before the Master showed up. For a hearts-stopping moment, Kyris was afraid she'd been found out and punished, that the Master was there to tell him Ace and the baby were gone. Panic subsided but didn't fully vanish as the Master growled at him to come along. He tossed a pair of binders, which Kyris caught automatically.

"Put them on, boy, and come with me. No heroics, or those you love will suffer for it." As succinct a threat as any he'd ever muttered. Kyris put the binders on, snapped them into place, noted the electronic control panel that flashed from green to red as he did so. Hard to get these open with a set of lockpicks, he noted ruefully before dragging himself off the bed and over to the Master's side.

Kyris felt another surge of panic; had he misjudged his ability to sense when this TARDIS had materialized? If Ace suddenly popped out of her room, who knew how the Master would react. But no, they passed her door without incident, and the subtle shimmering of the TARDIS in motion continued to dance at the edge of Kyris' perception. When they reached the console room, his sense of the TARDIS in motion was confirmed by the steady up-and-down movement of the rotor. His shoulders slumped with relief.

"You represent a conundrum." Kyris started at the Master's words, settled his uncertain gaze on the renegade's face. "One I have not yet decided how to resolve. Your answer to my next question will go a long way toward settling my dilemma."

"I won't do a damned thing for you if you harm Ace or the baby." Kyris knew his tone was truculent but did nothing to modify it.

There was a long silence. Pregnant, Kyris almost called it, stifling a semi-hysterical burst of gallows humor. Then: "I'll put them off my TARDIS at the location of your choice if you agree to remain with me, as per our original agreement."

Kyris blinked. The offer wasn't what he expected, simple and straight to the point as it was. "How do I know you won't go back on your word?"

The Master shrugged. "How do I know you won't go back on yours? I'll just have to trust you'll do as you promise. You'll have to do the same for me." His lips quirked in a half-smile. "I could have killed you when the Doctor and your lovely lady first showed up, for breaking the deal I believed you were sincere in offering. I've had time to think, and I realize you were as surprised to see them as I was. Certainly if you'd known Ace was pregnant, you would never have put her in harm's way, am I right?"

"Yes."

The Master allowed his grin to widen. "Then we understand each other, do we?"

Kyris glanced quickly at the console, then made a decision. "If I use my abilities to keep you safe and alive, you'll let Ace go and leave off your plan to kill my father's former companions. Including and especially Ace. And the baby."

The Master's voice became impatient. "That was the deal. In addition, I will put Ace off my TARDIS at the location of her--or your--choice." He waited.

"All ri--"

"No deal!" Kyris and the Master both spun to face that unexpected voice. It was Ace, standing in the interior door to the TARDIS. With a flick of her wrist she snapped something across the room. It hit the Master's forehead with a solid "thunk", and he collapsed to the floor in a black heap.

Kyris gaped at the Master's unconscious form for a moment, then transferred his gaze to Ace, who stared coolly back at him before walking across the room and nudging the Master's inert form with one foot. One unshod foot, Kyris realized, then transferred his incredulous gaze to the missile Ace had just hurled. Her shoe.

Ace shrugged as Kyris stared at her. "I couldn't find anything heavy along the way; none of the other doors were open and I didn't have time to pick the locks. I was hoping he'd left the gun here, but..." She shrugged, then gestured him forward. He stumbled to her side, holding up his wrists while she did something to the binders with little pieces of wire and a small electronic device he couldn't immediately identify. The binders loosened and would have fallen to the floor if Ace hadn't quickly grabbed them.

"But how did you know we were here?" Kyris was still flabbergasted, but willingly surrendered his belt to help tie the Master's feet together when Ace asked for it. The binders she attached securely to their prisoner's wrists after first slipping her lockpicking paraphernalia into her pocket.

"He stuck his head in my room to make sure I was 'comfortable' and issue the usual bag of threats." Ace's tone was dismissive. "So I gave him a few minutes, then snuck back out. I saw him taking you down the hall and followed. I figured this was our best chance." Ace tightened the belt with a grunt, then gratefully allowed Kyris to pull her to her feet, and into his arms for a warm embrace. "We haven't materialized yet, have we?"

Kyris shook his head. "No. But we should be any min--"

As if on cue, the rotor came to a stop.

Also as if on cue, there came an imperious banging on the outside door to the TARDIS. Kyris and Ace exchanged grins, then the Doctor's son reached over and opened the door.

His father barged in, brolly in hand, then came to an almost comical stop as he took in the situation. "Well. I see you have things in hand. Don't mind me, I just thought I'd drop in for a spot of tea." He sounded miffed, but the relieved grin on his face more than made up for the half-hearted sarcasm.

Ace opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a strangled gasp as she doubled over, clutching her mid-section. Kyris nearly went down with her, partly because her collapse put him off balance, but mostly because he could feel the pain coming over her in waves. Before his father could take more than two steps, he swung her into his arms. "Let's get her to your TARDIS. The baby's fine, I can feel it, but I think Ace has stressed herself a little too much." His tone was lightly chiding, but Ace and his father could both tell he would brook no arguments. "I want to take her to her room so she can rest."

Ignoring Ace's muffled protest that she could walk, he hustled her out of the Master's TARDIS, pausing only to ask the Doctor to retrieve her shoe.

The Doctor complied with a hidden smile. His own TARDIS was only a few yards away; he'd see them safely inside, then come back to deal with the Master. His smile faded. The Master was a murderer many times over, not just recently but through a long stretch of crimes dating farther back than the Doctor cared to remember. He would take him back to Gallifrey and let him stand trial. It might not be as viscerally satisfying as killing the man himself, but it would suit his sense of justice.

Something made him look over his shoulder, some instinct or premonition. As he did so, the other door slammed shut and the Master's TARDIS dematerialized before his disbelieving eyes.

Grim-faced, the Doctor turned back to his own machine. This did not bode well. It was time for desperate measures.