Wolf Pact

Chapter Eight: Cornered

by Lumendea

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

AN: I have no excuses as to why this took so long. I will finish this story though I cannot say for sure how soon I'll manage that.

…..

The Doctor stared up at the Master. There was a gleam of tears in his old friend's eyes. For a moment, he allowed himself to remember. When they were children… a pair who didn't quite fit in it had all been so much easier. He'd at least tried. He had. He'd married and had children and did his best to fit in until it all fell apart.

Even when he'd run, he'd wanted to see everything. Wanted to protect innocent Susan who the others were suspicious of because her body rejected regeneration energy. And then, even after she'd gone, he'd kept exploring and seeing new things. The Master though… he'd run for very different reasons. The Doctor regretted not staying closer when he'd still been on Gallifrey. Maybe this could have been different if he had.

"I wonder what I'd be, without you," the Doctor finally said.

"Yeah," the Master replied. It sounded sad and grateful at the same time.

"What does he mean?" Wilf asked, "What noise?"

The Master turned to the old man, but strangely the Doctor was a little less worried about Wilf at this moment. His old friend seemed to need to share this information. To unload his burden a little.

"It began on Gallifrey, as children. Not that you'd call it childhood," the Master scoffed. "More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a gap in the fabric of reality," the Doctor explained. "You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts."

"They took me there in the dark. I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me," the Master said, his voice soft and low with urgency. "Drums. The never-ending drums."

"Drums," Wilf repeated fearfully.

"Calling to me," the Master said. Then he laughed a little. "Even the end of the Universe wasn't far enough to get them to shut up!" When Wilf didn't reply, the Master loomed forward. "Listen to it. Listen."

"Then let's find it," the Doctor urged. "You and me."

"Hadn't you better check with the misses first," the Master teased. Then he stopped, a look of comprehension taking over his features. "Except. Oh. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that's good."

"What?" the Doctor asked. "What is it?"

"The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads," the Master said slowly, his excitement growing. "Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes." There was a flash and his skeleton became visible once again.

"The Gate wasn't enough," the Doctor said sharply. "You're still dying."

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die," the Master said resigned. "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said the end of time."

"I said something is returning. I was shown a prophecy," the Doctor said. "That's why I need your help."

"What if I'm part of it?" Light filled the Master's eyes, a horrible light. "Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away. From the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source. Oh, Doctor. That's what your prophecy was. Me!" The Master grinned. "Won't take me much longer to get into your TARDIS. I'm not some primitive that doesn't know how to get in."

"Don't," the Doctor said urgently. "Don't hurt them?"

"Hurt them?" The Master laughed. "Come on, old friend, you've got a human that absorbed the Time Vortex in there. Not to mention a baby Gallifreyian, complete with inborn regenerations. I'm not going to hurt them." He leaned forward, resting his hands beside the Doctor and looming over him. "The fun we're going to have! I'm going to learn how they both work. What makes the women in the Doctor's life tick?"

"Stop it," Wilf demanded. "You're a coward going after a child!"

The Master turned back to the old man, smiling widely. "I need that technology, old man. You wouldn't understand, of course, the TARDIS is necessary. The last TARDIS in the universe as it turns out." Shaking his head, he sighed dramatically before turning back to the Doctor. "I didn't tell you, did I? What happened to my TARDIS?"

"No you didn't," the Doctor answered. "What happened?"

"Well, when the Time Lords brought me back, they didn't completely trust me. They gave me a Battle TARDIS, but they had their sticky fingers in the control and matrix. Never properly bonded with it as a result." The Master smiled. "So, I stole a Time Ring. You remember those, don't you? Fun little items," the Master explained to Wilf. "Limited uses, but can move you through time without a capsule. Not the most pleasant system. So, I used the Battle TARDIS to make myself human after programming it to explode. Mind you, it exploded amongst the Nightmare Children so I was a bit of help. My Time Ring burned up taking me to the end of the universe where thankfully your TARDIS brought you, trying to shake me off." The Master paused and straightened up. "Speaking of which…Captain Jack. I don't feel him. I might have another oddity out there in the world."

"Just leave it," the Doctor said. "We can leave Earth. There's a whole universe out there," he pleaded.

"No," the Master said. "No, Doctor. The time for that is long past." Shaking his head, the Master looked toward Wilf with a nasty smile. "I'm still working on getting into the TARDIS. Whatever shall I do to amuse myself?"

Rolling his eyes, the Doctor looked unimpressed. "The most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid."

"Is that the best you've got?" The Master huffed. "Take aim on the old man." The guard did so.

"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?" the Doctor asked.

"That guard is one inch too tall," the Doctor said.

He managed a small nod at the guard right behind the Master. As the Master started to turn, but the guard hit him with the butt of the rifle before he could see what the Doctor was talking about. As the Master crumbled, the guard removed their helmet to reveal a green spiky head.

"Oh my God, I hit him," the strange alien gasped. "I've never hit anyone in my life."

Then Doctor Addams, now with his natural green skin runs in. "Well, come on, Rossiter. We need to get out of here fast."

Rossiter nodded, dropping the rifle and turning his attention to freeing the Doctor. Addams rushed to Wilf and easily undid his bindings, helping the old man to his feet.

"God bless the cactuses!" Wilf cheered, a stunned but happy expression on his face.

"That's cacti," the Doctor corrected.

"That's racist!" Rossiter scolded. They were still fussing the bindings on the Doctor.

"Come on!" Addams said. She was looking down at the Master on the floor nervously. "We've got to get out."

"There's too many buckles and straps," Rossiter snapped. He gestured to the numerous buckles still needing to be undone.

"Just wheel him," Addams said.

"No, no, no," the Doctor shouted. "Get me out." They ignored him, going to the back of the gurney and wheeling him towards the door. "No, no, no, don't. Don't! No, no, no."

"Where are we going?" Wilf asked nervously. "The Doctor's ship is gone."

"Back to the basement," Addams said. They looked around nervously. "The guards are coming."

"Basement?" the Doctor repeated. Then understanding dawn on him and he shouted, "No, no, not the stairs!"

They went down a set of stairs despite his protested, the Doctor yelping with every step and impact. "Worst rescue ever!"

"Stop complaining," Wilf scolded. "TARDIS is gone, remember."

The Doctor glowered as he hit the bottom of the stairs. Grimacing, he tried to free himself from the gurney again but it did no good. He could hear the Master with more guards coming. There wouldn't be another escape now. Rossiter and Addams took them into the small room they'd been working in. The Master and a group of Master guards appeared at the end of the corridor. The Doctor didn't have time to say anything before a teleport went off, sweeping them away.

….

Jenny was trying the controls, trying to get the TARDIS to move. Rose watched her with a thoughtful frown but kept glancing at the screen. Under any other circumstances, it would have been funny to see the Master running around in a floral dress and Martha's v-neck shirt, but today it was terrifying. The manic look in his eyes was devoid of the warmth that made the Doctor's similar expression safer. He was at the edge of something, but Rose didn't know what it was just yet.

More of the Masters were appearing every few minutes. Rose was grateful that Marth's TARDIS key had been used as a perception filter and Mickey hadn't had a key. At least the Master couldn't just go into the house and get one. Still, they had to come up with something.

"I can't get her to move," Jenny said. "I don't think she's fighting back. Do you think the Master has done something?"

"Or the Doctor," Rose said. "Trying to keep us out of danger."

"Well bravo, Dad," Jenny huffed. "Now we're stuck here with them all around us."

"I don't think he could have expected this," Rose said gently.

Shifting closer to Jenny, Rose touched the young woman's back and felt her daughter shiver beneath her touch. She was terrified, but determined not to show it. Rose had too many memories of her children with John trying to hide their fears.

"I have an idea," Rose said slowly.

"What is it?" Jenny asked.

Rose looked down at the console as she released Jenny. "I suggested to your father that I'd been brought back here for a reason." Her fingers gently touched the top of the controls. "Maybe I really was on to something."

"Mum, I don't understand," Jenny said.

"The Time Vortex," Rose said. "If we open the TARDIS and I absorb it again, I can fight the Master."

Rose frowned and shifted away from Jenny. She ran a hand over the panel and tried to think of how they could open the TARDIS without the massive truck she'd used when she was younger. Beneath her hand, the TARDIS thrummed in response to her touch and Rose knew that the ship was well aware of the plan forming in her mind.

"But Mum!" Jenny was shaking, her whole body trembling. Her face was white and filled with horror. Every motherly instinct kicked into gear and Rose reached out to grab her daughter.

"Your dad is trying to protect us from the Master," Rose said. Her voice was much calmer than she felt and she gently brushed a strand of hair behind Jenny's ear. It was a strange thing, how a child being in danger made fear for yourself vanish.

Jenny's terror at the suggestion filled the TARDIS. Rose wished she knew the right words to reassure Jenny and considered promising her that it would be alright, but Jenny would never believe that and an empty promise would only frighten her more. Instead, Rose offered the young Time Lady a gentle smile.

"We need to figure out how to open the TARDIS," Rose said. "I've managed it once. I can overcome the lock on the controls, get us to your Dad and maybe even do some good."

"You think… Bad Wolf?" Jenny's voice went higher and her eyes widened. "But that will kill you."

"Your father is due to regenerate if he's right about the prophecy," Rose muttered. "So he'll save me like he did last time." Rose had no idea if that was true. The Doctor had said something about knocking and she hated the idea of being the reason for his death again, but the itch in her spine was getting worse.

The Time War was breaking free. It was trying to restart, restore itself to the skies even if only for a moment. John had told her about the plan, about what made him finally end it all. Rose had struggled to believe that the people who were a part of him, part of the Doctor could ever be capable of destroying the universe, but she'd come to accept it. There'd been so many stories. His second incarnation was put on trial and executed, forced to regenerate and stranded on Earth in his third body. His fourth self had been intended as the destroyed of the Daleks before they ever were. They'd been willing to destroy him completely in his fifth body rather than work with him to stop Omega and in his sixth, they'd again put him on trial.

The Time Lords led by Rassilon. Absolutely powerful, frightened and unwilling to allow anything to stand in their way. Only the Doctor and their little family remained to stop them. Rose exhaled and nodded to Jenny. Her daughter hesitated but stepped up to the controls. Her hands shook as she began to adjust the controls. The TARDIS's gentle rocking turned to shaking. Rose shifted her position, suddenly remembering which section it was that had torn out.

"Mummy?"

"Don't worry, Bad Wolf won't hurt you. Never you or your dad. This is something I just have to do if we're going to get through this."

Tears were appearing in Jenny's eyes. She didn't seem to know what to say. Stepping closer to the girl, Rose cupped her cheeks and brushed away a tear. Something in her gut was warm and confident, but her mind was nervous. If she did this then were was a very real risk that she would die in the attempt, hopefully after shrugging off the Master's mortal coil like she did the Emperor's, but it was there. And if the Doctor died… at least he would regenerate and not leave Jenny alone.

Something must have shown in her eyes because defeat filled Jenny's. Another slam against the door made the younger blonde flinch before she threw herself against Rose for a tight hug. They held onto each other only for a moment before Jenny sniffed, rubbed her eyes, and started listing off ideas for how to open the TARDIS.