Salamander gasped in pain, his senses reeling as the pain in his arm overwhelmed them. His vision was blurry and his chest felt tight. His blood was roaring in his ears, nearly as loud as the roar of the vortex. He-...
"You were useful to me once. You are not useful anymore." He aimed the revolver and fired, watching with satisfaction as Kent doubled over in pain and-...
"Salamander!" The master's voice seemed urgent. Salamander tried desperately to listen, but he felt as if he were under water-...
...-Air. He desperately needed air! He flailed his arms and tried desperately to reach the surface of the water. His lungs burned and screamed for precious air-...
"...alamader! Can you hear me?"
Salamander became suddenly aware of himself. His eyes flickered open. The Master was kneeling over him, a frown on his face. "Wh... What happened?" Salamander managed to croak out.
The Master pulled back. "You were shot by a guard, unfortunately. It seems your body couldn't handle the stress, and you fell unconscious for a moment due to shock. I was concern you may give in to it and, shall we say... Expire. I'm not used to dealing with Human biology."
Salamander blinked, trying to get his sight to clear. Shot? That would explain the pain in his arm and shoulder, but it seemed wrong. He had been shot before, and it hadn't hurt in this way...
"I would suggest you go to the medical bay. I'd rather not have your blood staining my Tardis floor."
Salamander struggled to pull himself to his feet, his head swimming. His good arm buckled under the strain, making him fall back to the floor painfully. "I... I will need your assistance."
The Master frowned. "Very well." He moved to Salamander's side and helped him to stand, and Salamander couldn't help noticing how rigid the man felt when he touched him. He slowly led Salamander forward, through the hall. "You should have allowed me to conduct our business alone. I could have been more efficient, and you would still be functioning to your full capacity."
Salamander shook his head, wincing in pain and closing his eyes. His breathing was labored, and his speech strained. "I do not... trust you that much, Master... How do I know you would not double-cross me... by sabotaging it? Or maybe you would... simply take it yourself, hm?"
"You forget, I have my own Time Travel capsule. I wouldn't need that monstrosity. You're the one that wanted it after all." The Master pushed the door to the medical bay open with his foot, and all but dragged Salamander in, setting him on one of the beds. Salamander collapsed on to it, his strength completely gone.
"Si... I suppose you are right..." He clenched his teeth. "Where is it?"
"Here." The Master took the device out of his pocket, tossing it on the bed next to Salamander. "There you are. Now, I've kept my side of our bargain. I expect you to follow through with yours."
Salamander frowned. "Alright, alright..." He hissed as the Master pulled his sleeve over the injury, not even trying to be gentle. "I will do what you want... Careful, por favor."
The Master frowned but seemed to work a little more gently. He finished removing Salamander's shirt, and looked over the wound, emotionlessly. "You are not in any immediate danger. The bullets went completely through, and missed your lung and major arteries." He quickly cleaned the wound, once again prompting Salamander to hiss in pain. "Please try not to flinch. That will make this harder."
Salamander couldn't help noticing that the Master seemed to be avoiding touching him as much as possible, as he wrapped the white bandages around his arm and shoulder. He tried to let it go, knowing that was just the way the Master was, but a strange feeling entered him, telling him it was significant.
The Master finished with the bandages and stood. "I must return to the console room. Can you manage?"
Salamander winced but nodded. "Si... Yes..."
"Very well. Humans are far too fragile." He looked at Salamander, no emotion on his face. "Your body will likely need rest, especially if you still want to be of any use." He turned and left the room.
Salamander couldn't find the strength to move at first but managed to heave himself to a sitting position. He picked up the Vortex Manipulator from the bed next to him. A strange sense of security filled him as he looked at it. With this, he was in control. He was safe. He would never be trapped again. Though he winced in pain as he laid back down, he knew the injuries were worth it. The small device he slipped under his pillow was the most valuable thing in the universe to him.
The Doctor whipped put his Sonic screwdriver and began scanning the area.
"What's that now?" Jamie asked, pointing toward the sonic screwdriver.
The Doctor turned toward him. "Oh, this? Sonic screwdriver. Never fails... Well, almost never."
Jamie frowned. "Aye, that makes it perfectly clear." He said sarcastically. "Och, but Doctor, what does it do?"
The Doctor couldn't help grinning. "Oh, Jamie McCrimmon, I've missed your frowny face." He said.
Jamie's face filled with confusion.
The Doctor continued. "I'm using the screwdriver to scan the area. The Tardis, or at least this version of it, doesn't have a very accurate navigational system."
Jamie couldn't help lightening up at that. "Aye, ye can say that again."
"Where are we?" Victoria asked.
"Near the seaside. You can smell the salt on the air." The Doctor pointed the Sonic in a particular direction. "It's this way. Allons-y!" He rushed off, following the signal, Jamie running behind him.
"Is he always like this?" Victoria asked Martha.
Martha chuckled. "Yeah, mostly. Come on."
The two of them followed more slowly.
Around them were several warehouse buildings, mostly abandon. There was junk of all sorts scattered around and an over all eerie feeling about the place.
Victoria was quiet. The truth was, she was terribly worried about the Doctor. Her Doctor. The funny little man with the recorder and the baggy clothes. They hadn't even seen him for over twenty-four hours now.
"Seems just the spot for an evil plan of some sort. Bit cliché if you ask me." Martha remarked, trying to lighten the mood.
Victoria smiled but it fell quickly.
"You're worried about him, aren't you. I mean your Doctor."
Victoria nodded.
"I've never met your version of him, but if he's anything like my Doctor, I'm sure he's safe. I'll bet he's escaped by now and has messed up their whole plan, who ever they are." Martha laughed.
Victoria laughed with her, but it died quickly. "Yes, I suppose so. But... I don't know. We've met Salamander before. He nearly killed the Doctor, and knowing him, he will be terribly angry with him now. I'm afraid, If he has the Doctor, he might have... Might have..." She looked away, unable to hold back the tears any longer.
Martha put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't talk like that. He can't have. My Doctor's proof of that, right? Your's is from the Doctors past. If he died, so would mine, and he's alright, see?"
Martha motioned to the Doctor and Jamie ahead of them, inspecting everything. The Doctor moved quickly and full of energy, talking to Jamie, animatedly.
Victoria felt a little better. "I suppose so. It's just... the Doctor has become like family for me. I know I don't have it as bad, though." She watched Jamie helping the Doctor. "Jamie lost more than a father before meeting the Doctor. He lost everyone. The Doctor is all he has left. If he lost the Doctor too... I don't know what would happen..."
Martha squeezed her shoulder gently. "Don't worry. We'll think of something. Or My Doctor will."
Victoria didn't feel any better, but she smiled anyway.
"Let's join them, okay?" Martha asked.
Victoria nodded, and together they followed the Time Lord and the Scotsman.
Salamander had no idea how long he slept. When he woke the first thing he noticed was the lack of pain in his shoulder. His eyes opened suddenly at that, and he groggily inspected himself. He saw that he had, at some point, bled through the bandages, but he could feel no pain now.
Carefully, he removed the bandage on his arm, and gasped. The wound was gone, leaving no trace it had ever existed, aside from the bloodied bandage. He tore the bandage from his shoulder to find the same thing. Both injuries were completely healed.
Salamander stood, walking to the mirror on the far wall, and inspecting himself. Along with the bullet wounds, any trace of the injuries he sustained during his time in the Vortex and just before were gone. On further inspection, he found even the scar on his chest he had received as a young boy was gone.
He stared at himself for a long moment. He remembered what the Doctor had said to him. Something had happened to him. Something extremely strange. And it scared him.
"Oh, we've lost them!" Victoria groaned, as they saw the Doctor and Jamie disappear around a bend. "Why do they have to walk so fast?"
Martha laughed. "My Doctor's always that way. Does your Doctor ever do that?"
Victoria smiled slightly. "Yes, I suppose so. Only sometimes though. He's much shorter than yours."
Martha nodded, understanding. She was about to say how her Doctor always seemed to be in a hurry, but a distant cry of "Creig an túir!" interrupted her thoughts.
"What was that?" She asked.
Victoria looked at her in alarm. "That's Jamie's battle cry! They must be in trouble! Come on!" She ran after the sound, Martha following her.
Victoria stopped short when she turned around the corner.
Martha quickly saw why.
Standing around the corner was a man dressed all in black. He had a black goatee and black hair that was graying slightly. He held in his hand a device, pointed at the two of them.
Before Martha could react, a high pitched sound came from the device. She suddenly found that her head was wracked with skull splitting pain. she clutched her hands to her head, and felt herself collapsing. Shortly before losing consciousness, she heard someone scream.
Jamie followed the Doctor closely, noticing with a growing frustration that the girls were getting further and further behind. The Doctor didn't seem to mind, continuing quickly onward.
"Och, Doctor, do nae you think we should wait a wee moment for the girls to catch up? I cannae even see them anymore."
The Doctor seemed almost startled for a moment when he spoke. "Oh... Yes, of course." He stopped, only to begin pacing back and forth in the small ally between the two warehouses where they stood.
Jamie sighed. He wondered if it was physically possible for this Doctor to hold still, even for a moment.
The Doctor was muttering something quietly. Jamie decided to try and listen.
"... If there is a Tardis, it could be hiding anywhere, as anything... I've gotten out of practice tracking time vessel traces..."
Jamie stopped listening when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned, suddenly, seeing a man standing a few meters away. The same man who had bumped into the Doctor in the street!
"Hello, Doctor." The man said.
The Doctor turned, suddenly, in surprise, and was too shocked to say a word as the man lifted a device and aimed it at the Time Lord.
Seeing it was up to him, Jamie dashed forward with his knife, shouting "Creig an túir!"
The man pressed a button, just before Jamie attacked, sending a high, piercing sound through the air. The Doctor cried out in pain before collapsing onto the ground.
Jamie, already on a collision course, slammed into the man, knocking the two of them to the ground. Jamie fought to stay awake, as the man shoved him away. He had to protect the Doctor! He had to!
"Doctor..." He gasped, before descending into darkness.
Victoria woke in a cold white room. She had a throbbing headache, but it was fading quickly. She sat up, blinking, and found she was not alone in the room. Martha lay unconscious on another bed, as well as Jamie on a third.
"Jamie. Martha." She said. "Wake up."
Martha stirred, blinking. "What... what happened?"
Jamie didn't respond, still unconscious.
"I don't know exactly. We've been brought somewhere."
Victoria moved to Jamie's side.
"This looks like the inside of your Doctor's TARDIS..." Martha said, after a moment.
Victoria looked up, surprise on her face. After a moment's observation, she said, "You're right... But why would we be on the TARDIS?"
"The Doctor said whoever it is we were looking for also had a TARDIS. Maybe this is it." Martha ran a hand over the wall.
Jamie groaned in pain and stirred, drawing Victoria's full attention.
"Jamie, are you alright?"
His eyes blinked open. "Victoria...? What happened? Where are we?" His eyes widened. "Where's the Doctor?"
"We don't know." Victoria said, worriedly. "He wasn't here when we woke."
"And I'm afraid you will not be seeing him for quite a while."
The new voice caused the three captives to turn suddenly. Standing outside the cell was the man in black they had encountered in the street the day before, and had seen moments before falling unconscious. He smiled slightly as if satisfied.
"Who are ye? Where is the Doctor?" Jamie demanded.
"You needn't worry yourselves about the Doctor. He's in excellent hands." The man chuckled. "To answer your first question, I am the Master. Welcome to my Tardis."
Sorry this chapter has taken so long to write. I've been a bit busy lately. hopefully I'll be able to update more often now though.