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Something didn't smell right.

Why build such a giant reconstruction and have it empty?

Wandering through the empty streets The Doctor could only marvel at the detail at the effort that had been invested into this charade. He rubbed his hands over the intricate detailing on the porticos as he walked under them, every carved detail of the many victories of the timelords stood in perfect relief. Even the swirling representation of the schism of time glittered in the light cast by the two suns as The Doctor followed the signal and stepped inside the cool majesty of the hall of elders.

Was he supposed to have been fooled?

Had this been part of The Master's plan when she gave him the coordinates and then offered to accompany him? Would she have landed them inside the recreation allowing The Doctors own desire to be home to convince him this was Gallifrey?

Questions Questions, every step provoked more and yielded no answers.

The signal was pulling him down, the vaults…the impenetrable vaults of the timelords where they kept their most precious and dangerous artefacts; vaults that had never been breached, not until he had stolen The Moment that is. Shivering in the much cooler air as they descended The Doctor couldn't help but feel the weight of eyes on him. Unseen and yet somehow he knew he wasn't alone.

The vault doors were open. It was a trap, obviously so and The Doctor frowned as he scanned the ancient doors, his thick grey eyebrows meeting in a conference of confusion as the lock read as inactive, the power that sustained them diverted. The signal led inside. Stepping through the doors and into the long vault The Doctor waited with baited breath for the doors to suddenly come to life, to swing closed behind him and entomb him and when they did not he felt a sense of anti-climactic disappointment.

Annoyed and impatient The Doctor despised the feeling of being played with, lashing out he knocked an ornately decorated vase from a pedestal, satisfied when at least that made a noise as it shattered into a thousand pieces on the stone floor.

"You know I can keep doing that one at a time." The Doctor called out, he had so little with which to go on but the theme of detail of exquisite workmanship had to mean something to someone and he was done playing these games.

Reaching out he picked up another artefact. This time a delicate scroll, faded brushstrokes in Gallifreian script dominated the page, Omega's first treatise on time travel, priceless in his world so much so that students were only permitted to stare at a replica in the academy museum. Now he ground the fragile scroll to dust under his fingers, watching as fragments floated away.

Clearly that got someone's attention as force fields suddenly burst into life around the other pedestals protecting their treasures from his wanton destruction.

"You don't like that…someone damaging your toys." The Doctor sneered. "Well I don't like being led by the nose show yourself!"

There was no verbal answer, The Doctor hadn't honestly expected one but the vault lights suddenly began to go out until only one at the far end was lit. The message was clear, that was where he was expected to go and The Doctor did hate to disappoint his audience.

Striding quickly down the hallway The Doctor finally stopped dead in the light, his breath literally stolen away.

No that wasn't possible…she was dead…he had seen her die…Yet when had a little thing like death ever stopped The Master in the past?

Putting his hand on the cell door The Doctor tried to rationalise what he was seeing, to move past the emotional reaction yet even he hadn't hardened his hearts to such a point.

"Master." The name escaped his lips and yet it gained no reaction from the emaciated figure curled up inside.

Running his hand through his hair The Doctor tugged at the grey strands looking about wildly for the control box, a locking mechanism, anything to open the damn door.

Lifting his sonic The Doctor scanned the door, cursing when a dampening field prevented him from gaining any sort of reading. All save one, the source of the signal was inside that room.

"No I am not falling for this." The Doctor yelled up at ceiling. "You may think you are smarter than me but you miscalculated I saw her die."

"Theta?" The weak tremulous voice cut his certainty off at the knees and The Doctor could only watch in horror as his oldest friend dragged herself across the floor towards him, well at least as far as her heavy chains would let her. "Doctor is that really you?"

"You're not real." The Doctor insisted even as his gaze raked over her, the roughly shorn hair, the emaciated frame that poked out at sharp angles from beneath a frayed and bloodied hoodie that was worryingly familiar…blue eyes bloodshot and pleading as the owner could barely lift her head up and the collar…the shock collar that The Doctor recalled in horrifying detail.

It had been so vivid…the cold…the texture of the collar under his fingertips…

Bait…She was the cheese in the trap. The one enticement that The Doctor could not be expected to resist, the suffering of his own kind, his oldest friend…

"No you're not real." The Master repeated a sob before collapsing once more in a heap on the floor. "Stop playing these games, you already won there is nothing more I can tell you. Just leave me to die in peace."

Crouching down so that their eyes were level The Doctor pleaded. "Koschei it's really me…Tell me what is this place…who is behind this?"

Yet clearly his credulity was stretched as The Master didn't so much as twitch this time. "Please it really is me Koschei, I am going to get you out of there I promise just as soon as I work out how."

Only right now The Doctor had no idea just how he was going to accomplish that.

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