A/N: It's so great to get such positive responses from everyone! I hope I manage to get the same responses with this chapter. Hopefully you all like it despite the little twists I may have added. More thanks go to grapejuice101, who has given me so many wonderful ideas.

Here's Di's outfit for anyone interested: (do the pinterest url here) / pin / 573575702518698853 /

Also, I found a song that I think works really well for the Doctor/Diana relationship. It's called "Gravity" by Tyrone Wells and I think you should all listen to it and tell me what you think.

No. Not the Master.

I shook my head in a desperate attempt to force the drums and their master to go away. "No!" I shouted. "Stop! Make it stop!"

My foot slipped on the snow and I fell with onto my back with a cry. Cold immediately seeped into my skin through my thin dress. I scrambled to my feet and tried to brush off as much snow as possible, but I was only colder now that I had been partially soaked.

"Please, make it stop!" I begged the Ood.

But the Ood merely tilted his head in the other direction and continued to stare at me. "He is returning," he repeated.

The Master was still laughing in my head and the drums were echoing in my ears. Suddenly, the sound of the TARDIS materializing echoed across the planet. I turned on my heel as the TARDIS's engines drowned out the Master's drums. The blue box began to materialize in the snow a few yards away.

"Doctor!" I cried, running forward.

The doors opened a few seconds later as I stopped right in front of the ship. The Doctor jumped when he spotted me standing in front of him, but then smiled. He started to say something when his eyes fell to my dress and heels.

"The wedding," he realized. He looked out at the snow behind me and then glanced back at me. "Come inside! Quickly! You'll get frostbite!"

I stumbled into the ship shivering and trembling, my arms still wrapped around my waist as a way to get warm. The Doctor closed the doors and ran back to me with his trench coat in his hands.

"Are you alright? How long have you been out there?" he asked as he threw the coat around my shoulders. "Are you hurt at all?"

"N-N-No," I stammered. "J-Just c-cold."

He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me against his chest, then started running his hands up and down my back. "How long were you out there?" he repeated.

"N-Not long," I answered softly as I shivered in his arms. "P-P-Probably a f-few minutes. I-I-I just got here."

The Doctor suddenly stepped back and wrapped his arms around my legs and my back, then hoisted me into the air. "Let's get you some warm clothes," he whispered as he started carrying me further into the ship.

I wanted to protest him carrying me, but I was still trembling and my teeth were chattering. My shoes were soaked through with melted snow and the cold was traveling up my legs to the rest of my body. My back was a little wet as well from my fall and I shivered again.

"Theta, I-I'll be fine," I stammered. "I-I'm just a little c-cold."

The Doctor took me straight to my room, where he set me down on my bed and wrapped my blanket around my shoulders over his coat. "Wait here," he instructed before he ran out of the room.

I tightened the blanket around my shoulders and suppressed another shiver. The Doctor came back only a minute later with a bundle of new clothes in his arms. He knelt in front of me and began handing me new clothes.

"Here," he said as he started to take my shoes off for me. "I got you some warm socks."

"They're all fuzzy," I noted with a laugh.

"Thought you might like them."

Once the Doctor finished pulling the fuzzy socks onto my feet, he stood up and leaned down to lightly kiss my forehead. "Change your clothes, darling. I'll wait for you right outside."

I waited until he left and then I started undressing. I pulled my blanket off my shoulders and then took off his coat, gently setting it on the bed. Then I stripped out of my dress and let it fall to the ground so I could change into the clothes the Doctor had given me.

I pulled on my jeans, then grabbed the gray, long sleeve thermal shirt and slipped that over my head. I grabbed the long, black scarf the Doctor had also brought and wrapped that around my neck a few times before pulling on a pair of gray boots that reached the middle of my calf. Then I snatched the Doctor's trench coat off the bed and opened the door.

"I'm ready," I said with a smile. "Thanks. I feel better already."

The Doctor smiled and gently ran the back of his hand across my cheek. "You've stopped shivering."

"It's because of the fuzzy socks," I told him.

The Doctor leaned forward and lightly kissed me on the cheek, then started to pull back. But I brought my hand up and caught him around the back of his neck. I smiled mischievously and tugged him back down for a proper kiss.

"That was… nice," the Doctor stammered after I released him.

"Was it?"

He smirked and nodded. "Oh, yes."

He leaned forward to give me another kiss and I melted right into his arms. I wondered then if he realized how incredibly domestic he was being, but I wouldn't dare to bring it up if it meant he was going to stop.

When we pulled apart again, the Time Lord lifted his right arm to show me a coat draped over his elbow. "Found this for you while you were changing. Fashionable and warm, eh?"

I took the coat from his arm and then tossed him his long trench coat. "It's beautiful, Doctor. Thank you," I said happily as I looked over the coat. "Black, always a good color. Nice neckline. I like the black fur on the end of the sleeves and the collar and the hem. It's not real, is it? That would freak me out a bit."

"What, the fur? No, it's all faux," the Doctor answered with a nod. "Try it on. It should be lightweight, but extremely warm."

I shrugged my shoulders a few times so the coat would settle. "I love it," I said with a smile. "You have great taste this time around."

"Oh, don't bring him up again," the Doctor groaned.

"Sure thing, Rainbow Man," I teased. "Now come on. There's an Ood waiting patiently outside for us."

The Doctor grumbled for a few minutes about me teasing his sixth incarnation, but he had let it go by the time we reached the console room. He took my hand when we exited the TARDIS and made sure I was pressed against him in the cold weather.

"Ah! Now, sorry. There you are," the Time Lord addressed the Ood. "So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I? An Ood in the snow, calling to me. Well, I didn't exactly come straight here. Had a bit of fun, you know. Travelled about, did this and that. Got into trouble. You know me. It was brilliant. I saw the Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt, saved a planet from the Red Carnivorous Maw, named a galaxy Alison. Got married."

I turned and stared up at the Doctor with raised eyebrows. "What?"

The Doctor awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. "Um… Spoilers?"

"You married Queen Elizabeth?" I exclaimed.

"Not on purpose! It was a mistake!" he insisted.

I narrowed my eyes at the Time Lord. "Her nickname had better still be the Virgin Queen or I swear, I'm going to actually-"

"Of course her nickname's still the Virgin Queen!" the Doctor practically shrieked, his cheeks turning red. "Just 'cause I accidentally married the queen of England doesn't mean I want to… No!"

"Good," I muttered, pulling my hand away from his so I could cross my arms over my chest.

The Doctor swallowed and looked away from me. He smiled awkwardly at the Ood. "Anyway, what do you want then?"

"You should not have delayed," the Ood said.

"The last time I was here you said my song would be ending soon," the Doctor answered, "and I'm in no hurry for that."

"You will come with me."

"Oh, hold on. Better lock the TARDIS." The Doctor pulled what looked like a set of car keys out of his coat pocket and pointed them at the ship. The doors made a locking sound and the light on top flashed as the ship beeped like a car. "See? Like a car. I-I locked it like a car. Like- It's funny," he told the Ood. "No? Little bit? Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh."

"I got the joke, don't worry," I told the Doctor, trying to keep from smiling.

"Right." He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and walked forward a few paces to look over the distant Ood city. "So how old are you now, Ood Sigma? Oh, that's magnificent. Come on, that is splendid. You've achieved all this in how long?"

Sigma tilted his head to the side. "One hundred years."

The Doctor turned and stared at the Ood in shock. "Then we've got a problem. Because all of this is way too fast. Not just the city, I mean your ability to call me. Reaching all the way back to the twenty first century. Something's accelerating your species way beyond normal."

"And the Mind of the Ood is troubled," Sigma added.

"Why, what's happened?"

"Every night, Doctor, every night we have bad dreams."

Sigma led us to a cave where a group of Ood was sitting in a circle, chanting and illuminated by torches. I tightened my grip on the Doctor's hand as a shiver ran up my spine. I knew what the Ood had been dreaming about and I knew what was returning.

"Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning through the dark and the fire and the blood." The Elder Ood was sitting at the front of the circle and chanting. "Always returning, returning to this world. It is returning, and he is returning, and they are returning, but too late. Too late. Far too late. He has come."

Sigma gestured to an open spot n the circle. "Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming."

The Doctor offered me a hand and helped me ease down before he settled next to me. He smiled a little awkwardly at the Ood and waved. "So. Right… Hello."

All of the Ood suddenly began speaking in unison. "You will join. You will join. You will join," they repeated.

The Doctor glanced at me in confusion, but I just nodded and held my hand out so he could take it. I knew what would happen when we joined hands with the Ood and I mentally prepared myself. As the Doctor took the hand of the Ood on his left I grabbed the hand of the Ood on my right.

The vision of the Master laughing flashed across my mind and I inhaled sharply, tightening my grasp on the hands I was holding. The Doctor yanked his hand out of mine and let out a gasp.

"He comes to us every night," the Elder Ood told us. "I think all the peoples of the universe dream of him now."

The Doctor shook his head. "That man is dead."

"There is yet more," the Elder said simply. "Join us. Events are taking shape. So many years ago, and yet changing the now."

The Doctor took my hand again and we joined the circle once more. An image of Wilf flashed across my vision. "There is a man, so scared."

"Wilfred!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Is he all right? What about Donna, is she safe?"

The Elder shook his head. "You should not have delayed, for the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth. Even now, the king is in his counting house."

This time there was an image of two people: a dark-skinned man in a business suit and a young woman of the same race in a pink dress, both of them posing for a picture. I knew they were involved with the Master and the Gate, but I couldn't remember their names or what their usefulness was.

"I don't know who they are," the Doctor said in confusion.

The Elder continued. "And there is another. The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten."

An image of Lucy Saxon in prison flashed before me and I stifled a gasp. "Oh, Lucy," I mumbled.

"Lucy Saxon," the Doctor added.

Sigma leaned forward to look at the Doctor. "We see so much, but understand little. The woman in the cage, who is she?"

"She was married to the Master," I answered. "But… None of what happened was her fault. She was used and tricked by the Master. He abused her."

"But who is the Master?" Sigma asked.

The Doctor spoke up then. "He's a Time Lord, like me." He gestured to his hands and grasped at the Ood on his left. "I can show you. Diana, move back."

"What, why?"

"Just do as I say," he said firmly. "Don't take my hand."

"Doctor, it's fine. I know what's going to happen," I sighed as I grabbed onto his hand.

Images of the year that never was began racing through my mind. I saw the Master kissing Lucy and the Doctor crawling out from his tent, then Lucy and the Master looking out over the planet below them. Then I saw the process of time reversing as the Doctor undid everything the Master had done. And finally, there was an image of the Doctor burning the Master's body after Lucy had shot him.

"The Master took the name of Saxon," the Doctor explained as the images continued. "He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. I reversed everything he'd done so it never even happened, but Lucy Saxon remembered. I held him in my arms. I burnt his body. The Master is dead."

"You have kept information from us," the Elder Ood said. "Do not spare your memories for the sake of your partner. Time will continue whether she knows of the events yet to pass for her or not. Show us again."

"Show us, show us, show us," the other Ood began to chant. The Doctor shook his head and tried to pull away, but the Ood beside him pulled him back down. "Show us, show us."

The images changed again when the Doctor showed them to the Ood again. This time it was me whom the Master was kissing. I was the one who stood by his side as he took over the planet, but Lucy was there as well. She watched with hollow, empty eyes as the Master fawned over me and catered to my every need. But then an image flashed across my mind of the Master and Lucy sharing a wildly passionate embrace.

"The Master used her to fulfill his desires when Diana would not accept them," the Doctor said simply. "She fell in love with him but realized that she was merely being used. He had promised her a better life, a life where she would be happy, but he lied. So she shot him for breaking her heart and destroying her life."

I pulled my hands out of the Doctor's and the Ood's with a gasp. The images were burned into my mind and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't unsee the image of the Master and I sharing a kiss and smiling as my world burned beneath us.

"No," I breathed. "I-I would never-… I'm going to be sick."

The Doctor turned to me and took my face in his hands. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. But I have to do this."

I frantically searched the Doctor's eyes. "Theta? Please tell me that wasn't true."

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

His fingers pressed against my temples and then, like he had after my concussion, his mind entered mine. He began searching through my memories, finding the images he had shown me, and started to replace them with the original images of the Master and Lucy together.

When he pulled away, I had completely forgotten everything I had just learned about the year that never was and instead thought that Lucy was the one who stood by the Master's side through it all.

I rubbed a hand against my forehead and groaned. "Doctor, my head… I feel like I rammed into a brick wall."

The Doctor smiled reassuringly at me. "It's just the effects of the mental joining. Your mind isn't used to it. You should sit back and let me do the rest on my own."

I nodded and scooted back a few inches so the Doctor could take the hand of the Ood on my right. I mostly zoned out of the rest of the conversation because the pounding in my head was so intense. It was difficult for me to focus, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen. My brain was a foggy, jumbled mess.

The Doctor suddenly jumped up, terror written across his face. He stumbled backwards, away from the circle of Ood, with a gasp. I pushed myself to my feet, wavering slightly at first as the world started to spin around me.

"Theta?"

"Run!" he shouted as he suddenly took off running for the mouth of the cave.

I tripped over my own feet as I started running behind the Time Lord, but I caught my balance and continued after him as he raced for the TARDIS. The Ood were whispering to us as we ran, reminding us of what was coming: the end of time itself.

The Doctor ran out of the TARDIS only to come to a complete step a few paces later. I rushed out after him, finally pulling out of my thoughts. I had been trying to prepare myself during the flight for what was to come. The last time I had seen the Master was when he used his machine to try and kill the Doctor while he experimented on me, but I was determined to be strong and brave for the Doctor's last adventure before he changed.

The remains of the prison where Lucy Saxon had been kept were still smoking as the sun rose. The Doctor bent over to pick up a charred sign on the ground that read 'Broadfell Prison'.

"Oh, Lucy," I sighed sadly. "I wish we could've saved her."

The Doctor dropped the sign and reached for my hand. "I know. I'm sorry," he said as he stared out at the remains of the prison.

"She didn't deserve to die like that."

The Doctor took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he hung his head. But then his head suddenly snapped back. He turned on his heel and started running off. I stood there in confusion, looking between the TARDIS, the prison, and the Doctor.

"Doctor? What are you doing?"

When he didn't answer, I growled in frustration and started running after him. He had stopped across the street and was looking around frantically. I finally caught up to him and grabbed onto his arm so he wouldn't run off again.

"Hey, what's going on?" I asked.

"He's here. The Master. I can smell him."

I raised an eyebrow. "You can smell him? What, is that a Time Lord thing?"

"Actually, yeah."

"So can he smell you?"

"Yes." The Doctor then turned his head and looked down at me. "Which means he can smell you."

"He can?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. He'll be able to smell us when we're closer. Right now I can only detect the path his scent left when he ran. But when we get closer, I'll be able to smell him and vice versa."

We travelled across town, the Doctor tracing the scent trail the Master had left behind after his escape from the prison. The trail led us to an abandoned yard filled with heaps of rubbish and metal. The Doctor and I were standing near the top of one large heap when we heard a loud metal clanging that echoed across the seemingly endless yard.

I looked to the Doctor, wide-eyed and scared. "It's him," I breathed.

Without so much as a single word, the Doctor took off running. He slid down the side of the heap, his coat flying out behind him, and then raced off in the direction of the sound. I hurried after him as fast as I could manage without falling and hurting myself.

"Doctor!" I shouted. "Doctor, wait! I can't-!"

Something suddenly shot across the sky, a trail of blue electricity floating behind the thing as it flew towards me. I screamed when the Master landed in front of me, the impact of his landing nearly knocking me over. His hands were crackling with blue energy and his skull flashed out of focus for a moment.

"Doctor!"

I heard the Time Lord call my name, but couldn't respond because the Master suddenly grabbed me and pulled me to him. He wrapped one arm around my waist and forced my arms around his waist before extending his free arm. Moments later, his hand was shooting out enough energy to propel us into the air.

I screamed again, my legs dangling uselessly as the Master used his one arm to guide us across the sky. I tightened my grip around his torso and squeezed my eyes shut as the ground raced below us. It took me a few moments to realize it because I was still in shock from flying, but I realized that the arm around my waist was still crackling with energy and sending tiny jolts of electricity through my body.

"Master!" I shrieked over the wind. "Let me go!"

I opened my eyes again when the Master's body jolted in my arms. My legs slammed against the ground and my arms slipped form around his torso. My legs had turned to jelly, so I was flat on my back in just a few seconds.

"Diana!" the Doctor shouted.

I looked up towards the sound, hoping flaring in my chest. I started to get to my feet but my legs were still too wobbly to support me properly. Just a few dozen yards away was the Doctor, standing on a large heap and staring at the Master and I.

"Let her go!"

The Master chuckled and shook his head. He reached for me, but I scrambled backwards and lashed out with my legs. "Don't!" I shrieked.

He ignored my plea and threw an arm around my waist, hoisting me to my feet and pulling me against him again. I fought back as violently as possible, clawing desperately at his hands and kicking at his shins, but the Master had inhuman strength after his resurrection and I was no match for him. I just barely had time to wrap my arms around the Time Lord before he took to the sky again.

The Master landed again just a few moments later. I released my hold on his torso and stumbled backwards, but tripped over one of the metal girders we had landed on and fell on my back again. The Master advanced on me, his face drawn tight with apparent worry, but I gasped and pushed myself back a few feet.

"Get away from me!" I shouted as his skeleton flashed see-through.

"Master!" It was the Doctor. "Please, let me help! You're burning up your own life force!"

I turned to see the Doctor standing just a few hundred feet away. I jumped to my feet with a smile and almost forgot about the Master until I heard him growl behind me. Spinning around, I shoved my full weight into him to throw him off balance and took off running in the opposite direction.

I ran along the length of the girders, not daring to look back, and prayed that the Master wouldn't go after me again. I didn't fancy being a science experiment to the crazed Time Lord a second time. I knew the Master going insane wasn't his fault but was the result of Rassilon, and I felt just a little sorry for him. But that didn't change the fact that I wanted to avoid being kidnapped again.

When I reached the end of the girders, I raced around the corner and slid to a halt when I saw the Doctor surrounded by a group of elderly people. He spotted me and immediately started running. I stumbled forward to meet him and sobbed in relief when I was finally in his arms.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine," I answered. "I-I'm not hurt."

The Doctor pressed a kiss to the crown of my head and then took my face in his hands, tilting my chin up so he could see me better. "I thought… Oh, does it matter? You're safe."

I smiled weakly and nodded, but then gasped when my legs suddenly gave out. The Doctor just managed to catch me before I fell and he gently cradled me against his chest as I tried to regain my balance.

"Diana?"

"S-Sorry," I stammered. "I think… I think my legs are a little wobbly after the Master decided to go flying."

The Doctor started to adjust me in his arms and I knew he was going to pick me up again. "Don't even think about it," I grumbled.

"But-"

"I'm not in the mood to be embarrassed," I sighed. "Please, can we go? I-I don't feel good…"

"Of course. Come on, Wilf said he's got a bus. We can get a ride back to the TARDIS and you can rest."

I ended up with a headache during the ride on Wilf's bus. One of the older women, Minnie, was flirting non-stop with the Doctor the entire time and I was starting to feel a little motion sick. I rested my head on the Time Lord's shoulder and closed my eyes.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he whispered in my ear.

I opened my eyes for a moment so I could look up at him. "Yeah. I just have another headache. And that woman won't stop flirting with you."

The Doctor smiled. "You jealous?" he wondered.

I closed my eyes again and rubbed my cheek against his shoulder before finally settling my head against his chest. "Maybe just a little," I admitted. "You are my boyfriend, after all."

The Doctor wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned back in his seat. I sighed and moved one arm so it was loosely draped across his stomach. "When we get back to the TARDIS, I want you to rest," the Doctor said. "I'll go back out and look for the Master."

"Doctor, I'm not an invalid," I protested as I sat up. "I'm just in shock, I guess. I wasn't expecting any of that to happen. But that doesn't mean I need to go take a nap like a little kid."

"Diana, that's not what I meant at all."

"I know," I sighed. "I know, but I just wish you wouldn't baby me. I know I'm kinda pathetic sometimes, but I'm trying to be strong about all of this. It's not easy facing the Master again after the last time…"

"I know." The Doctor turned and looked out of the window as we drove through the city. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before he suddenly looked back at me and asked, "Do you want to help him?"

"What?"

"The Master," he clarified. "Do you want to help him even after what he did to you?"

I drew back and leaned against the seat as I considered the Doctor's question. "Well… I guess so. I don't really like him, but none of this is his fault. The drums that are driving him insane aren't his fault. I think he just wants to make the drums go away."

The Doctor shook his head slightly, his lips pulled back in an amazed smile. "Sometimes I can't even believe you," he muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"After everything he's done to you already, you still want to help him."

"I-Is that… bad?" I asked cautiously.

The Doctor leaned forward and lightly kissed my forehead. "No. You care so deeply and genuinely for everyone, even if they've made mistakes. You forgive and accept others, despite their shortcomings."

I thought about everything the Master had done to hurt the Doctor and I was confused. "Aren't you mad at me for wanting to help him?" I wondered.

Before the Doctor could answer, Wilf tapped the Doctor and I on the shoulder. "We've stopped. There's a café right over there I'd like to take you to," he said with a hopeful smile.

"A café?" the Doctor repeated. "But we've passed a dozen cafés already."

"This one's the best." Wilf waved his hand and started for the doors. "Now come on, you two."

I stood and headed for the door with the Doctor right behind me. Wilf offered me a hand to help me down the steps, smiling brilliantly at me.

"Thanks," I said a little shyly.

Wilf waved the Doctor outside. "Come on, then. Here we are, hurry up. And you behave," he added when Minnie waved at the Doctor.

The Doctor flushed and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Minnie winked and I felt the sting of jealousy in my chest. Before the bus started to drive off, I grabbed the Doctor by the coat lapels and pulled him down into a kiss. The women on the bus burst into laughter and started cheering.

When I finally pulled away, I looked up at the Doctor with a smile. "My boyfriend," I muttered before pressing another kiss to his lips.

"Oh, that's quite enough of that," Wilf grumbled as he poked the Doctor in the back. "Now come on, you two. Into the café."

Wilfred guided us across the street to a small café, where the older man found us a table in the mostly empty building. The Doctor and I saw down on one side, our backs facing the windows, and Wilf sat opposite us.

"I have to say, Doctor, it's good to see you again. And you too, Miss Diana. It's always a pleasure to see your lovely face."

I blushed and smiled. "That's really sweet of you, Wilf," I mumbled shyly. "Thanks."

"Oh, we've had some good times, didn't we though?" Wilf laughed. "I mean, all those ATMOS things, and planets in the sky, and me with that paint gun." He imitated shooting a paint ball gun with another little laugh, but he fell silent when he saw the serious expression on the Doctor's face. "I-I keep seeing things, Doctor," Wilf admitted. "This face at night."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes and stared at Wilf for a moment. "Who are you?" he finally asked.

I looked at the Time Lord sitting beside me in confusion. "Doctor?"

Wilf looked just as confused as I felt. "I'm Wilfred Mott," he replied.

But the Doctor shook his head. "No. People have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours."

"Well, I'm just lucky I suppose," the man answered with a light-hearted laugh.

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf," the Doctor said with another shake of his head. "Over and over again like something's still connecting us."

I didn't question what the Time Lord meant. I knew what the four-beat rhythm meant and who would ultimately be the one to end the Doctor's song. Instead of saying anything, I rested my hand on top of the Doctor's and lightly ran my thumb across his skin. He glanced at me, his eyes sad, confused, and afraid, and I smiled reassuringly at him.

"What's so important about me?" Wilf wondered.

"Exactly. Why you?" the Doctor said quickly.

"Hey!" I snapped in a scolding tone. "Rude and not ginger. Everyone's important, Doctor, especially Wilf. You taught me that."

Wifred nodded appreciatively at me and offered me a beaming smile. It was absolutely impossible not smile when Wilf was grinning happily at me. I glanced at the Doctor, hoping that maybe he had caught Wilf's contagious smile, but he was staring at the table with despair written across his face.

"Doctor? Are you okay?" I asked softly.

He looked up at me and shook his head. I felt my heart drop to my stomach when I saw that his eyes were red-rimmed. "I'm going to die."

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf said, hoping to get a smile from the Doctor.

The Time Lord shook his head and his voice trembled when he spoke. "Don't you dare."

"Alright, I'll try not to."

"I was told. Someone will knock four times. That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then…" He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.

"Yeah, but I thought, when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body," Wilfred tried as he furrowed his brows in confusion.

"But I can still die," the Doctor told him. "If I'm killed before regeneration, then I'm dead. Even then, even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away and I'm dead."

I tightened my grip on the Doctor's hand, making him turn his gaze to me. I sighed and moved my other hand to cup his cheek. I knew I couldn't comfort him because that would only mean lying to him and I wanted to lie to the Doctor as little as possible.

The Doctor suddenly turned to look over his shoulder, then looked back at Wilf. "What? What is it?"

Wilf pointed and the Doctor and I turned to look again. Then I saw her, the most important woman in the universe: Donna Noble. Although I had only met the woman once before, I felt tears come unbidden to my eyes when I saw her getting out of her car.

"I'm sorry," Wilf started desperately, "but I had to. Look, can't you make her better?"

"Stop it," the Doctor snapped as he looked back at Donna's grandfather.

"No, but you're so clever. Both of you. Can't you bring her memory back? Look, just go to her now. Go on, just run across the street. Go up and say hello!"

The Doctor leaned forward over the table, his eyes burning with pain. "If she ever remembers me, either of us, then her mind will burn, and she will die."

We could see Donna talking to a police officer, her hands gesturing wildly and her hip popped to the side with that same sassiness I knew so well. The Doctor and I laughed and I rested my head against the Time Lord's shoulder as we watched the ginger woman.

"She's not changed," the Doctor said fondly.

Wilf shook his head. "Nah. Oh, there he is," Wilf said as he pointed again. A dark skinned man had come down the sidewalk and met Donna with a kiss on the cheek. "Shaun Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

That made the Doctor smile. "Another wedding."

Wilf smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

"Wait. Hold on, she's not going to be called Noble-Temple, is she? That sounds like a tourist spot," the Doctor scoffed.

"No, no," Wilf replied with a chuckle, "it's Temple-Noble."

"Is she happy?" the Doctor wondered. He absently rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand like I had done earlier. "Is he nice?"

"Yeah, he's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face, like she's so sad, but she can't remember why…"

The Doctor and I could obviously see how much the loss of her memories had hurt Wilfred. "She's got him," the Doctor said lowly.

"She's making do."

I looked to the Doctor and smiled slightly. "Aren't we all?" he muttered.

"Yeah, well how about you? You've got Diana, haven't you?"

"Not always, Wilf," I mumbled softly, looking down at the table.

"Sometimes she has to leave," the Doctor added. "She isn't always able to stay with me. I'm… I'm better with her around, but when she's gone…"

The Doctor had started to tear up again and I felt my heart break. "Oh, Theta," I sighed.

"I thought it was better. But I did some things. It went wrong. I need-…"

Wilf shook his head apologetically. "Oh, my word. I'm sorry," he said quickly.

I pulled the Doctor into a tight embrace, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my head in the curve of his neck and shoulder. "It's going to be okay," I whispered. "I promise. I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying with you, no matter what."

Just Outside of London, Night Time

"It's not safe."

I shook my head and grabbed the Doctor's hand. "I'm not leaving you. I know how hard this is for you and I'm not gonna leave. I'm gonna stay with you until this is all over."

"Diana-"

"I'm not going," I interrupted. "I mean it. We do this together or not at all. We're gonna find the Master together because I know you need someone right now."

The Doctor fell silent, his eyes searching mine for something. He finally sighed and looked away. "Fine. But if he does anything to hurt you, you run. Do you understand me? Run and don't come back for me. Just go to Wilf and he'll look after you."

"It won't come to that."

"Promise me, Diana."

I knew that he wouldn't accept anything less than a promise, so I exhaled heavily and nodded. "I promise. Alright? Happy?"

The Doctor smiled briefly and nodded. "Yes," he said as he tightened his grip on my hand. "Now come on."

We walked across the street to the abandoned yard, still hand in hand. I was on edge, looking around for any trace of the Master nearby and watching us. While I was still terrified of him and his new powers, I still wanted to help him somehow. I knew the drums had driven him mad and that his powers were pushing him even closer to the edge. But I also knew that he was only being used by Rassilon and that the drums were not his fault.

The Doctor lead me through the towering heaps of trash and metal for what felt like hours. As each second passed, I expected the Master to appear around the corner and start shooting electricity at us. We approached a large, abandoned warehouse and that was when the Doctor suddenly stopped.

"He's here," he whispered. "Just around that corner."

"Are you okay?" I asked as I gazed up at him.

He shook his head and answered, "I will be. Now let me go first-"

"Together," I interjected firmly. "You and me against the Master or neither of us."

I looked into the Time Lord's eyes and saw fear and worry. He didn't want me to get hurt and after what the Master had done to me the last time, I understood that completely. But some part of me told me that the Doctor needed me when he faced the Master just as much as I needed him.

"I'll be with you every step of the way."

The Doctor remained silent; he was fighting with himself, probably wondering what he should decide to do with me. But I wasn't going to let him decide anything for me. I was going to be brave and face my fear, prove to the Doctor that I could handle myself and the Master.

Without any hesitation, I dropped the Doctor's hand and ran for the last heap of rubbish. The Doctor cried my name and ran after me, but I ignored him. I knew the Master was waiting for us just on the other side and I told myself to be brave. I had to be strong not only for the Doctor, but for my own sake as well.

When I rounded the corner, I spotted him almost immediately. He was already looking in my direction when I came into view and he stood up as I slowed to a walk. The Doctor ran up behind me and grabbed onto my arm as if to stop me, but he paused when he saw the Master watching us.

"Diana, stay back," the Doctor whispered. "Let me take care of this."

I was about to reply when a bolt of electricity shot past the Doctor's head. I shrieked and threw my arms over my head as he turned and wrapped his body around me to protect me. I could hear the Master chuckling over the sound of the explosion behind us. A second shot fired past us, causing another explosion by one of the rubbish heaps.

The Doctor looked over my head to stare at the Master. He suddenly pushed me aside and began walking towards the other Time Lord. I watched as the Master began approaching his nemesis as well, his hands crackling with blue electricity.

"Doctor, no!" I shouted as I started after him.

The Master's gaze shot towards me and he fired a bolt of energy right at me. I jumped to the side and fell to the ground just in time to avoid being struck. While I was still on the ground, the Master pointed his arm at the Doctor and fired another shot straight at the Doctor's chest.

"No!"

The Doctor cried out and fell to his knees as electricity was forced into his body. I scrambled to my feet and ran for the Doctor. I pushed him out of the way of the bolt, but was jolted with electricity for a few moments before I too fell to the ground beside him.

The Master shouted and ran forward, falling to his knees in front of me. He lifted my torso up and ran a hand over my arm, which had been burned slightly. "No, no, no, no, no!" he shouted. "You stupid, stupid, stupid girl!"

"Get off of me!" I snapped, pushing myself away from the Time Lord. I forced myself to stand and I took a few steps back. "Don't touch me."

"Master," the Doctor choked, "leave her alone."

The Master jumped to his feet and looked down at the Doctor. Then he grinned and looked back at me. "Diana," he whispered as he advanced towards me, "my Diana."

"Stop it," I hissed, extending one arm in front of me. "Don't come any closer!"

"How long it has been," he sighed. "I have missed you, my goddess."

"Stop! Just stop!" I screamed as I stumbled backwards. "I will not let you use me again!"

"Oh, so young. You don't know what's waiting for you." The Master smirked and suddenly lunged forward with his super speed. His one hand wrapped around my outstretched arm and pulled me against him, his other hand curling around the back of my neck. He licked his lips and laughed. "So long, but finally you're here."

"Let go of me!"

"Can you hear them?" he asked. "Can you hear them? The drums, the drums, the never-ending drums. Can you hear them, Diana? They're calling for me."

I stopped struggling when I saw the crazed expression on the Master's face. The drums were driving him mad. "Master, just stop for a minute. I can help you. I know what they are and I'll help you if you just let me go," I pleaded.

"I'll show them to you," he breathed. "I'll show you the drums. But first. Oh, first I'll take what I've waited so long for."

The Master's mouth was suddenly pressed against mine. I recoiled in disgust and tried to push him away, but his strength was too great for me to resist and his hand on the back of my neck kept me pinned against him. I slapped him in the chest, then in the arms, trying to weaken his grip on me. Then I lifted my free hand and slapped him on the cheek. That was enough to make him finally pull away.

"Let go of me, you sick bastard!" I yelled as I slapped him again.

The Master grabbed my hand by the wrist when I raised it to slap him a third time. He dug his nails into my skin and sent a jolt of electricity down my arm. "Never disobey your Master," he whispered before he dropped my hand and backhanded me.

"Don't you lay a hand on her!" the Doctor shouted, jumping up only to fall back down again. "Leave her alone!"

"Theta!"

I started towards the Doctor, but stopped in my tracks when the Master pointed one of his hands at the other Time Lord. "Don't," he said simply as his hand crackled with electricity.

"Master, please," I begged. "Just stop. We can help you. We can fix the drums."

The Master smiled and shook his head. "Nothing can help me," he muttered quickly. "Nothing, nothing, nothing but you!"

"What?"

The Master's hands shot up and grabbed at my head, his fingers resting against my temples. Then he pressed our foreheads together and kissed me again. The drums were in my head, louder than they had been in my vision on the Ood planet. The drums were so loud that they drowned out every thought in my mind and they were so painful that my head felt like it was about to explode.

I wanted to scream, maybe I did, and I wanted to make the pain stop. The drums were too loud, too overbearing, too much for me to withstand. I squirmed and tried to pull away from the Master, wanting to be rid of the drums forever, but he refused to let me go.

Then suddenly the Master was pulled away from me and I collapsed into a breathless, whimpering heap. Although the drums were gone, they still echoed in my mind as if they were mine instead of the Master's.

I looked up to see the Doctor with his arms around the Master's shoulders, pinning the other Time Lord to the ground. He was still weak from the electric shot to his chest, but his anger had made him stronger.

"Don't you ever lay a hand on her again," he snarled.

"Theta," I said weakly. "Theta, let him go. You're… You're hurting yourself."

The Master then shot the Doctor with another bolt of energy. "No!" I cried as the Doctor fell back, his body sizzling. "Koschei, please! Stop!"

He smiled, not manically like before but genuinely. "I like it when you say my name," he whispered as he got to his feet. "Say it again."

I glanced at the Doctor, who was only barely conscious, and then glanced back at the Master. He took a step towards me and I instinctively jumped back with my arms held in front of me. A flash of anger burned in his eyes and his skull suddenly went see-through.

"Say my name," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Koschei," I said breathlessly. "Koschei, please. I can help you. I know what the drums are, what they mean, where they come from."

"I don't want help," the Time Lord snapped as he advanced towards me. "I just want you. I've lost everything. Estates, titles, honor, glory, my sanity! But finally, I can have you!"

"I'm not yours!" I shouted. "I don't belong to anyone and I certainly don't belong to you, you monster. You tortured me and killed thousands of innocent people throughout all of your lives and you think it's suddenly okay to try and seduce me? Whatever sick fantasy you have of me, it's never going to happen!"

The Master stared at me in stunned silence, his eyes wide and amused. He looked like he wanted to slap me again, but there was also a gleam in his eyes that told me he was enjoying my anger. "I am so hungry," he finally said, slowly drawing out each word.

"Your resurrection went wrong," the Doctor groaned as he pushed himself into a sitting position. His suit had been burned by the Master's shots of energy and he looked extremely pale, but was otherwise perfectly fine. "Master, that energy. Your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

I moved towards the Doctor, keeping my eyes on the Master in case he threatened either of us with electricity again. He merely looked away to gaze up at the night sky. I took that chance to run to the Doctor's side and throw an arm around his back to help him stay upright.

"Are you okay?" I asked softly. "Theta?"

He nodded wordlessly and started coughing, trying desperately to mask it with a hand over his mouth. I looked back at the Master and started when I saw him sitting in a crouching position just a few feet behind me. He was watching me in silence, his eyes flitting between myself and the other Time Lord.

"What?"

The Master smiled at me for a moment before suddenly gesturing with a nod in the direction of the city. "That human Christmas out there. They eat so much."

"I-I'm sorry?" I stammered, confused as to what relevance that had to what was going on.

"All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood, food. Pots, plates of meat, and flesh, and grease, and juice, and baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot. It's so hot."

"Stop it," the Doctor begged, his voice trembling.

"Sliced. Sliced. Sliced."

I shook my head as the Time Lord slipped quickly into madness. "Koschei, please."

"It's mine. It's mine. It's mine to eat and eat and eat. And you!" he suddenly shouted, leaping to his feet and pointing at me. "Mine again. Everything I have ever wanted here on this planet! Mine, mine, mine!"

"Koschei, stop!" I yelled. "You're going to drive yourself insane!"

The Master grinned and shook his head. "I'm already insane, my dear."

"Master," the Doctor wheezed from his spot beside me. "Listen to me. Something is returning. I was told, we both were."

The Master spread his arms and grinned again. "And here I am!"

The Doctor leaned heavily against me and shook his head. "No, something more," he choked after another cough.

"This is all so much bigger than you, Koschei, than any of us."

"What could be bigger than me?" the Master wondered.

I stood up to face the Time Lord. "Koschei, please," I pleaded as I hesitantly reached forward to take his hand. "Just listen to me. What's going to happen, what the drums mean, all of it is so much more than you could even imagine. Let us help you and we might be able to fix the drums."

"Only you can fix the drums," he whispered. "Only you, my goddess."

I shook my head. "Koschei-"

"Goddess, goddess, my goddess," the Master rambled as his head went see-through again. "My Diana."

"Koschei, you're delusional. You need to stop and calm down or you'll hurt yourself!"

The Master threw his head back and laughed. "Nothing can hurt me!" he exclaimed as his skull went see-through for the third time. "Nothing! I'm unstoppable!"

"You're dying!" the Doctor shouted as he struggled to his feet. He reached for my arm and held onto me to keep from falling again. "You're dying and if you keep using your powers, you will die soon."

The Master narrowed his eyes and suddenly shot a burst of electricity to the side. "You know nothing, Doctor," he spat.

"He's right," I said. "Master, please, just listen to us-"

"I'm through listening to you whine and beg and plead!" the crazed Time Lord shouted. "I don't want your help! I don't want your pity!"

"I don't pity you!" I snapped. "Neither of us pity you. I don't even like you! But I want to help you because the drums are driving you insane and it's not your fault."

The Master's response was drowned out by the sound of a helicopter flying overhead. We all lifted our heads skyward as a bright, white light shone down onto the ground. The light flicked across the ground until it finally landed on us.

The Doctor grabbed at my shoulder and pulled at me, stumbling backwards a few paces. A few ropes dropped down from the helicopter and two men quickly descended down the ropes. The Master spread his arms, welcoming his kidnappers, and began to laugh.

"Koschei, they're going to take you!" I shouted over the helicopter's blades.

"Let them!" he laughed.

One man dressed in some sort of special ops gear took out a long needle and shot the Master in the neck. The Master's smile faded and then he passed out in the two men's arms. They tugged on their ropes and were then pulled back up into the helicopter.

"No!" the Doctor shouted as he lunged forward. "No, bring him back! I need him!"

Gunfire suddenly shot at us, keeping us from advancing towards the Master's retreating figure. I reached forward and grabbed the Doctor's arm to pull him back. I knew we would easily get shot if we didn't get out of there.

"Come on! Doctor, there's nothing we can do!"

"I need him!"

"I know! But we can't get him back without getting killed! So come on!"

I grabbed his hand and turned, running in the direction opposite the gunfire. More gunshots started to echo around us and bullets were suddenly flying all around us. I threw my free arm over my head and dragged the Doctor along behind me.

"Look out!" the Doctor suddenly cried.

A gunman had jumped out from behind a waste heap a few yards ahead of us, his gun pointed squarely at us. We both jumped to the side, losing hold of the other's hand as we fell to the ground. The gunman's bullets went right over our heads, but the shooters behind us were still firing.

I screamed when searing pain suddenly shot up my calf. The Doctor scrambled over to my side and tried to find what had hurt me so badly. Before either of us could do anything, the gunman had come up behind the Doctor and hit him across the skull with the butt of his gun.

"No!"

The gunman brought his gun down just as I raised my arm to deflect the blow. The force of the gun hitting my arm pushed me back against the ground. I tried to raise my arm again to protect myself, but the gunman hit me in the temple with his gun and then everything went black.

A/N: So. What did you guys think? I was nervous about posting this chapter, but I hope it's not bad… I lost inspiration again despite watching the episode twice over. Don't forget to review!