A/N:

I no longer want to continue this story. So this will be the last chapter that I will DEFINITELY post however I may write the odd paragraph a couple of times this year. I hope you enjoy this before it goes on hiatus.

Her beautiful body lay limply on the horizontal restraint-bed. Her hair was sprawled out beneath her like a pillow and she looked very peaceful. He stroked Rose's cheek and the girl inhaled sharply before moving her head away and opening her eyes. The Master smiled,

"Hello Rose, feeling any better?"

Her eyes widened with realisation and she scrambled away from him despite being bonded to a bed. He looked at her sceptically,

"What's wrong, Rose? We haven't met yet, I'm not going to hurt you! My name's Harold."

Rose shook her head stuttering with fear as the Master's history played across her mind like a record on a phone. He felt the press against his brain. It was a weak and untrained telepathic press that he'd long since forgotten. He shook it off quickly and Rose calmed slightly. The blonde man resumed his focus on the precious weapon beside him. Her face wreathed with anger and knowledge and a crazed hatred so strong and forceful that there could only be one source to fuel it: compassion. This was living proof of how much the Doctor meant to her. And he was the Doctor's greatest enemy therefore Rose's foe too. The worked up human snarled viscously with a look of livid anger. This wasn't going to work out and the Master could tell. With a swift movement he reached for the women's temple and jumped when a stab of artron energy swirled from his arm by an invisible force. She smirked,

"Don't even try, Master. You won't get anywhere near my memories or the Doctor and I certainly will not be your little piece of bait. That wouldn't work anyway, he won't fall for a stupid trap. I'm not even supposed to be here. The Doctor doesn't love anyone, especially not me!"

The Master sighed and smiled cruelly,

"It's always the clever ones. Sorry Doctor, but. It's my turn."

Rose put up a denial and gasped before squirming fiercely as the Master pressed his lips against hers. He reached up and pressed a firm hand to her head and steadied the screaming girl. She fell silent beneath him giving the insane rebel the perfect chance. He reached into her mind, surprised by the thrill of it all. Yes, this was no ordinary girl. Something was happening to her and it all linked back to the Doctor.

The Doctor ran around the Torchwood base chased closely by Lanto and Martha rambling on about all the amazing equipment hidden away down here and how on Earth Jack had got this. The formal man insisted through the TimeLord's chatter,

"Please, Doctor. Can you just slow down?"

Martha pushed past Lanto, grabbed her former friend by his arm and dragged him into a nearby chair,

"Doctor, listen. It's actually really convenient you showed up. We could do with your help, if you would?"

The Doctor nodded cheerfully and swivelled around on his chair to throw a pencil in a nearby mug. Martha stuttered not knowing how to put the next part,

"It's the Master... he's back"

The Doctor stopped turning in the chair not entirely sure how to feel. Was he happy he wasn't alone again or was he angry that the true enemy was back after what he did?! Shaking his head the Doctor stood up slowly and grimaced at the wall,

"Don't tell me, Jack's gone after him, right?"

Martha nodded, staring at the ground.

"Thought it was odd that a members UNIT would be crashin' out at Torchwood for no apparent reason. They don't know, do they- U.N.I.T?"

Martha shook her head again rigidly with shame.

"I'll help, it's what the Tardis wants. She is making it really hard for me not to anyway."

Martha gave him a strange but inquisitive look as they turned and headed for the main room where Gwen, Owen and Tosh were sat at computers and Donna was admiring a strange piece of alien tech. Lanto coughed as they entered,

"Tosh, how's Jack?"

Tosh cleared her throat nervously and shook her head,

"Jack is... offline. Has been for the past hour or so. Would you like to see the last recorded footage?"

The Doctor was deep in thought but nodded slowly. In front of him a scene played out on a large hologram: a crowded room. In the corner sat the Master plainly looking smug like the cat that got the cream and right in the middle was a ball. A golden globe called the Galifreyan Artron Sphere that connects two universes together. Nothing but a myth as far as the TimeLord was concerned. The legends say there are only one in each universe and they act like teleports for Gallifreyans. Time ticked by as 'Harold' continued his meaningless speech. A count down started then suddenly the large 3-D circle ignited with gold. The room filled with awe before breaking out into a loud cafufle like contagious chatter from children in an assembly. Jack's voice rang around the quiet room: 'Gwen, Owen. Any more info? ...Tosh, got enough data yet? I'm feeling a bit exposed in front of subject Kos-' The video ended abruptly and the Torchwood team began typing again. The Doctor groaned into his hands and leant back on his heels,

"You should really come up with a code name or something rather than actually you know, call him by his name. I mean, WHAT WER YOU GUYS THINKING? Not even I'm supposed to know that name. He knows that? Right...?"

The Doctor looked at the people in the room feeling their eyes bearing into him even if they had no intention of imposing a threat. The old timelord pulled on his long, coat and ran off into the cool night. This was not the trip he'd planned.

Rose rubbed her eyes gently and sat up feeling energetic and restless. The girl sprung to her feet and swirled around on the spot, hands curled up slightly with a nervous twitch. Two soft, swirl-pools of choclatey-brown skittered around quickly as she took in her location. Where exactly was she? What had happened today? More questions but also a nagging doubt shouting out that something was missing. Behind the pondering girl, someone coughed through a deceiving smile,

"Rose! Are you feeling well? I'm so sorry that I left you!"

Worried, Rose stepped back with her palms pressing against her head and spluttered through gritted teeth,

"Master, I-I-don't know?!"

The suffering girl clenched her fists and cried out in agony. She slid down the back of the bed still clenching her head. Clear surprise painted the Master's face as the female human began to whimper on the floor. Thinking quickly, he picked Rose up and lay her in his lap like a baby recalling how soothing she found physical touch. New Earth for example: Like some sort of Gas, Cassandra flew from Rose who collapsed into the Doctor's arms. He let go hesitantly but almost immediately, she fell again back into his grasp. She giggled with a shy smile,

"Hello..."

"Hello!"

They were clearly made for each other and the Master marvelled Rose's loyalty. Rather deviously, he had rewritten the surface of the crying girl's memories last night. This meant when she skimmed back over them, the Master was her idol rather than the Doctor however he realised this wouldn't last for long considering how deeply she missed him. What a tragic love story?

Stroking the blonde's hair, he whispered kind things and sat her up next to him. He shivered when she lay her head on his shoulder. Obviously something she did with the Doctor, he thought. She sighed,

"They just keep on trying to pull us apart but they never ever will. Cybermen, devils, crazy green slitheen, daleks and even the void, we've beat them all."

For a second, the Master thought she was being genuine and his plan had worked but she continued. Her tone of voice changing slightly,

"Not even you will stop us, Master. Or should I say, Koschei?"

The Master shook his head shifting away from the unbelievable women so that he could look at her in the eyes,

"Oh, you're something new Rose Tyler. Always sticking up the fight, quite the special one, aren't you? I'm having doubts that you're even human at all, I mean. Telepathic skills aren't possible for such an inferior species, such as yourself."

Rose's straight face curled into a scoffing smirk as she pushed her limits to source the data from this mad man. She chided,

"Says the one who has failed multiple times to defeat this 'inferior' species. Besides, who said I was a telepath? What does that even mean?"

The Master replied sarcastically,

"Yeah, I believe you. You totally don't know what it means to be telepathic!"

The girl stood up and paced forwards and backwards sighing every now and then. After another thirty seconds she spun around and stared directly at the Master,

"The adjective Telepathic comes from the verb telepathy. Having telepathic abilities means that you are supposedly capable of transmitting thoughts to other people and of knowing their thoughts; basically like psychic skills. A touch-telepath ,such as yourself, can use telepathy and other acquired talents when touching a specific spot on another's head. Hence touch-telepathy."

Rose held a hand to her mouth as the information came spilling out like overflowing water through a hole. Her jaw hurt from the speed that which she had spoken. The Master was sat wide eyed on the bed curiously,

"There really is something different about you."

Swiftly, he pulled out his laser-screwdriver and pointed it at Rose who squeaked loudly thinking he was trying to shoot her. The Timelord gave off an amused laugh as he scanned the girl shaking before him. Musing quietly, the Master set off for the med-room in his Tardis with his laser-sonic. Time for a few answers about his delicate girl.

The long, brown fabric flapped in the wind knocking against his sturdy legs. The man did not shudder nor did he smile. Stood still in the night with watery eyes and shadowing sadness. A strange feeling cloaked the night with it a strange emotion and the night full of darkness enveloped the Doctor. He was one with peace but peace was one with conflict. The defender of this Earth yet the bringer of the Oncoming Storm. He was the Doctor, protecting the Earth through time and space. He had many secrets and many promises. However, one pledge was an impossible promise to keep. For a human and an alien. Something stirred behind him and he stepped back from the edge of the building to stop any bad incidents from happening. Out of breath, the red-head leant forward on her knees trying to regain her strength after sprinting up a large amount of stairs in a hurry,

"Doctor...you must... stop running-"

The Doctor raised his eyebrow as Donna struggled for air. He joked,

"Blimey, you need to get better at running. No wonder we're always getting caught!"

Donna looked up momentarily and her face was now full of the usual feisty energy. She slapped him on the cheek harshly before running to embrace him. She mumbled into his chest whilst patting his back,

"You stupid spaceman. You had me worried!"

He squeezed his closest friend tightly, relishing her warmth and kindness. When he wasn't alone, he became rational. The thought that loneliness could affect him in such a menacing way was scary. He wrapped an arm over Donna's shoulder and led the women back to the wall to stare out over Cardiff. It was beautiful and quiet at night which explained why the brunette man had been stood up there admiring the view. Quiet cars bustled along roads and lights blew brightly through windows or in streets. The stars twinkled brightly and for a second. Just a second, everything was fine but seconds aren't forever. And forever isn't a second.

Rose was reading intently next to the fire. In the Master's Tardis, Rose had found his library. By no means was it the same size as the Doctor's grand book-palace and nor did it hold the same splendour. All the shelves were covered in a heavy layer of dust making it obvious how un-used they were. Rose had begun to search around enthusiastically but as the time passed, she soon began to realise what little amount of books were readable. Only two had any English content but that wasn't too bad. In fact, they weren't bad books to own at all, they would come in handy. First was a large fact-book and it taught humans of aliens and more. However, the other was much bigger and seemed to attract more attention. Like the big story books on the Doctor's Tardis, this strange treasure was very heavy on her lap. Curiously, she flipped open the golden-swirl patterned cover feeling that same rush of familiarity and Adrenalin. Conveniently, the first line was in English: the Final Compilation of The English to Gallifreyan Dictionary. Beneath this a beautiful, symbolic pattern reeled delicately beneath and probably read the same. A trickle of expectancy shuddered down her like a rivulet of water carving a new path. This was going to be interesting. At the bottom of the largely blank page, two small circle-signatures were flecked in beautiful patterns using the same unique way that the symbols were written above them. Although Rose couldn't read them, a familiarity buzzed in the back of her mind. Impossibly, the shapes began twisting- turning to reveal the English underneath. Theta, Koschei. Two timeLords: the Master and another most likely dead one. The moment felt sad and made her flinch whilst a tear of unknown occurrence rolled away. Like a falling needle in an empty room, that salty droplet hit the page and awoke Rose from her miserable daze. Wet eyes were quickly rubbed clean, fake smile now permanently plastered to her face, hair pushed back neatly and knowledge of the Doctor hidden behind guarded doors. She was playing the Master's game now and her mental barriers where sky-high: not even he would be able to climb them, the pure and sheer wall blocked out all her memories and emotion from intruding minds of telepaths. She was going to win this battle before it really could begin. Soon enough, the clacking of shoes on grating alerted Rose of her Master's arrival. Game face on.

"Master! Why, you're early. I was just going to read this book."

Rose smiled innocently, putting the book down on the arm of the sofa as the Master slunk in through the doorway to lie on the sofa next to Rose. He drew her into his arms for an embrace before stroking her golden hair. She shivered under his caress; she'd longed to feel the touch of a Timelord, but not this specific one. This one was full of anger, power and mischief. Rage and authority; ready to kill thoughtlessly, like an over-powered psychopath. Every time she felt herself slipping under his deceiving spell, Rose simply pushed forth the harsh, scary truth and found herself compelled to resist his charm. Although it was often tempting to let herself fall, her heart belonged to this very man's enemy and she would never forgive herself if she betrayed her Doctor. Carefully, the blonde girl manoeuvred her soft body from the Master's squeezing arms and retrieved the book yet again. Momentarily looking up, he buried his head back in the girl's side un-phased by Rose's actions. Rose began to flip through the pages mesmerised by the beauty of the Gallifreyan language. It left warm imprints in her mind, the curves truly unforgettable. Pure beautiful perfection was the only way she could think of to describe the writing. A-Z in English to Gallifreyan. This was going to take a while... if she had anything better to do Rose was sure she wouldn't spend all her time reading but, considering her circumstances, there wasn't anything. Not moving from his comfortable position, the Master mumbled into Rose's side sending his voice vibrating through her rib cage. Yet again, she shivered. Rose felt the Master's lips curve into a smirk on her side and she pushed him off in a playful manner and raised her eyebrow slightly to emphasise her confusion. The tinged-blonde man sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically before repeating himself in a patronising tone,

"I said, there's a much easier way to read that and you'd learn a lot more faster!"

He slouched back casually and smiled, obviously deep in thought now he'd made his point. Rose closed the book for the second time and swivelled around to face the slightly crazy Time Lord. Over her time as a 'guest' she'd come to understand the Master a little better: he wasn't all that bad. It was noticeable how he winced in pain at times, or tapped the table in a rhythmic beat subconsciously, or maybe even the horrific nightmares that seemed to plague him during the night. They all revolved around 'the Drums' and Rose saw the grief they caused. Despite her fear, she couldn't help but pity him and care for the Master when she could. However, she did not want to get on the wrong side because he was absolutely brutal when someone angered him. Unfortunately for Rose, she was doomed for such wrath unless she played the Master's game and played it by his rules.

Feeling Rose's gaze upon him, the Master returned his focus to the library, Rose and the book. His sneaky smile returned and he reached around Rose to grasp the book. Calmly, he pretended not to notice the slight way Rose flinched away from him or the way her eyes darted to the door whenever he was close otherwise he might, by accident, let on and warn Rose she'd been caught. Leaning back again, the Master sifted through the book quickly before chucking it over his shoulder carelessly with a dark smile. He noted how alert she was as Rose shifted back into a sitting position. Every muscle in her body was tense as if she were either about to leg it or pounce. Neither seemed likely as he closed his eyes and tapped the table in contemplation. Rose coughed and threw another questioning glance at him. Moving slowly, the blonde TimeLord dropped his body heavily onto her side again and began to explain in a very enthusiastic tone,

"Well, Rose. I was suggesting a bilingual transfer. Easy enough: basic psychic link, basic knowledge, basic bond. Wanna try it?"

Rose looked very stressed as she ran a hand through her hair and looked down at the Master. Not concerned in the slightest with her hesitation, the Master began twisting her hair with his fingers. This was the last part of step one: gaining trust and forming a simple, un-noticeable bond.

A/N:

Well, there it is. Bye!

~Kitty