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They were alone…well save for the slumped comatose figure of Rassilon…properly alone for the first time since their respective regenerations, each knowing exactly who the other was, without the prospect of being rudely interrupted or being covertly watched or surrounded by gawking apes and The Master allowed her superior mask to slip slightly. Bright blue eyes widened as she drew nearer and was able to take in the extent of the damage wrought on The Doctor's body by Rassilon's rage.

The crudely carved flesh, the burn markings, even the use of constrictive restraints that would tighten into his flesh the more he struggled…these were unpleasantly familiar and The Master had to resist the urge to trace her fingers along her own torso. The physical scars might have long healed thanks to superior timelord physiology but the memory of them lingered.

Dog…Lunatic…Bait…

Fingers tightened into fists that shook slightly even if her gait never faltered, even in armour Missy managed to look graceful as she ran her fingers over abandoned bloodied instruments, selecting a wicked looking scalpel, before easing herself up on to the table and straddling the restrained Doctor with one fluid movement.

Unable to move The Doctor could only stare up at her, swallowing nervously as The Master continued to hover above him, close enough to feel the warmth of her body but not quite touching…and then she was, the tip of the scalpel pressing lightly against his jugular.

"Do it." The Doctor hissed his voice so strained it was barely discernible as words. "If you're going to kill me just do it."

His own bloodshot blue eyes stared up into hers not even flinching as he felt her other fingertips lightly trace the bloody wounds Rassilon had left carved into his chest. He didn't need to see the symbols to know what was written there, Rassilon had been only too delighted to tell him.

Traitor…Coward…Defect…

"I should you're so weak." Missy's reply was softly spoken. "You let yourself be caught; you just walked into his trap."

"For you." The Doctor replied bitterly and yet he knew that if he was given the same choice again tomorrow he wouldn't change things, he couldn't make a different choice.

"If caring makes me weak then kill me now because I will never change…You can never make us the same Master, there is nothing you can do to force me to be like you so you might as well cut my hearts out now because that is the only way I will ever be heartless enough not to care."

For a moment he felt the scalpel dig in, the breath trapped in his throat, his eyes falling closed and then instead of pain there was relief…the burning of abused flesh yes but the pressure around his throat was gone.

Blinking his eyes open The Doctor could only stare dumbfounded as The Master began to systematically and carefully cut him free from his bonds her small hands surprisingly gentle for someone so ruthlessly efficient with the blade. As soon as one hand was free The Doctor lifted it experimentally, relieved when although his muscles protested the movement he was still able to.

He hadn't meant to touch her, yet it seemed his hand much like his thoughts weren't yet completely back under his control, he wasn't completely sure that this was real and not merely the addled imaginings of his dying mind. The leather covered thigh was warm under his fingers and for a moment The Doctor paused to wonder if that was merely from the exertion of rescuing him or if he really was as cold as he felt.

Either way she was real, this was real…The Master really was here and she had just spared his life…

"Why?" It sounded like the question had been forced past a mouthful of marbles but clearly Missy had heard him if the way she momentarily paused on slicing through his last remaining binding was any indication.

Yet she didn't answer directly, finishing the task she had set herself first whilst The Doctor's eyes bore into the side of her head, watching and waiting for an answer she wasn't even sure of.

"Why?" It was spoken with more force now and Missy could feel his hand tighten reflexively on her thigh and she barely suppressed a shiver of something at that voice and tone and his touch on her body.

She could be flippant, dismiss it with a shrug and a smile, giggle out something like the only person allowed to torture him was her…that was true after all. The Master had marked The Doctor as her favourite plaything since they were children and she had never been good at sharing her toys with others. Rassilon was still breathing only because The Master was looking forward to imprinting that lesson on the President of the High Council personally, to hear him scream his apologies.

And yet whilst it was part of the answer…it was not the whole of it.

The Doctors was hers, he was always there to tease and torment, yet when she heard him screaming in her head it had felt like her hearts had constricted and for the first time the terrible possibility occurred to her. What if Rassilon succeeded where she had failed, what if he killed The Doctor?

Suddenly the prospect of being the victor didn't taste so sweet if there was no one left to gloat over. If there was no Doctor to plot against and strive against then what was there left to do?

Conquer the universe? Simple if there was no worthy adversary to stand in your way.

She would be bored within a few hundred years.

She would be alone.

Turning to meet The Doctor's piercing gaze The Master couldn't help the slight smile that pulled at her lips. Only The Doctor could look so destroyed and so imperious at the same time. He demanded answers of the universe and he normally got them too and she couldn't help but admire that quality.

"Why?" This time the question was barely whispered, as though The Doctor had given up on receiving an answer, those blue grey eyes of his looked like he had seen the whole universe crash and burn in front of him and it moved something…something deep in her that The Master didn't know the name for, or had given up consulting so many regenerations ago.

Shifting slightly she crawled up the table, her forearms resting in the spaces either side of The Doctor's head, fingers reaching out and lightly brushing his blood matted hair, trailing slowly over the sensitive telepathic nerve endings stealing snatches of his confusion and fear.

"Silly Doctor." Missy sighed when he flinched, his eyes still wary even after everything she had already done. "I already told you why you just weren't listening."

Frowning came as naturally as breathing to this body "I…" The Doctor began, the words dying in his throat as Missy lowered her head and for a moment he thought she was going to kiss him, her eyes dropping to his bruised lips before her eyelashes fell closed and she was pushing their foreheads together.

Crying out in panic The Doctor mentally flinched in expectation of the blow, the memory of Rassilon's relentless mental assaults on his psyche an all to recent one and he was ill prepared to now defend himself from a new attack by a fresh opponent. Yet instead of rasping along his already sore nerves Missy's presence was soft almost gentle for her, she coaxed him into relaxing, her mental presence wonderfully cool against his enflamed defences and then she surprised him yet again as she lowered hers.

Hesitating at the threshold between their minds The Doctor couldn't help but wonder when the catch would come, when The Master would suddenly turn the tables on him and take pleasure in shattering this last act of faith beneath the pointy heel of her stiletto.

We really aren't so different love…Please Thete…

Her seductive words called out like a siren, a siren The Doctor knew he should resist and yet he wanted it to be true so badly. He wanted to believe that at some time this had been real, that even if it had only been when they had ran together as children, that some part of her had ever valued him the way he had her…

My friend…my best friend…my first everything…

He could almost accept the inevitable disappointment of adulthood, of shattered dreams and harsh realities, if at least that had been pure and genuine.

The sudden rush of thoughts and feelings from her sent The Doctor into a tailspin, just like in the graveyard The Master's presence was too much, too strong and he was drowning, but then she pulled back. Her strong presence guiding him out of the chaotic flood like a life preserver and The Doctor caught a moment to catch his breath before following her deeper into the recesses of her mind, slipping easily into her wake.

She ran and he followed, through the pathways of her mind, through the red grasses of Gallifrey it didn't matter. They chased around memories of constellations and skipped through star lit skies and always she was glancing back over her shoulder at him, laughing, blue eyes bright and enticing, her fingers outstretched for his and his hand was reached out striving for just one fleeting touch and in just that moment all the years fell away…the hurts faded…and hope began to rekindle.

He was just a boy with all his life ahead of him, all the wonders of the universe spread out for him to explore, with the certainty of his best friend by his side he would never be alone and the promise of something more sparkling in those bright blue eyes.

Then those blue eyes sharpened, her features warping from soft and playful to downright menacing and The Doctor felt his newly restored dreams begin to shatter…only …her ire wasn't focused on him but past him…

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