A few hours prior…
The Master awoke slowly. What had happened? He groaned and shook his head, attempting to clear it. He tried to move his arms and legs, but found that he couldn't.
He opened his eyes. He was somewhat spread-eagled on a wall, held there by some pink sticky-looking substance, which seemed to encase his entire body, aside from his head. He was hanging in a cage that had bars on three sides, and on the other side, a duplicate of him stood, smirking.
"Who are you?" The Master asked.
"I'm you." The duplicate said.
"What are you?"
"Zygon."
"What do you want with me?" The Master asked as he tugged at the mass that bound him, but to no avail.
The duplicate cocked his head. "We are planning an invasion on earth, and the only man that can stop us is the Doctor. We need to kill him before we can put our plans into action, and the best way to get to him is to deceive him. And who would be closer to him than another Time Lord?"
"Not me." The Master muttered.
The Zygon closed his eyes, inhaling slowly. "So many memories inside this Time Lord head of yours. So much information on the Doctor." He opened his eyes again, grinning. "Oh, and you're getting married soon! What great timing for me! I must admit that for a human, she is quite something. An added bonus."
The Master strained against his bonds, growling with rage. "If you lay one finger on her, I swear that I will destroy you!"
The duplicate gave him a mock frown. "I'm sorry, but it seems we have quelled the fury of the Time Lord for now. It seems you are incapable of destroying me."
"You're already dead."
Clara twisted her neck around. The Master had come up behind her.
"Hey you." She said. "Where did you go?"
"Out." He stated simply.
"Okay then."
"Where's the Doctor?"
Clara shrugged. "I suppose he's in the TARDIS up in my flat like he was."
"What was your flat number again?"
She laughed, looking up at him. "What's the matter with you? You forgot my flat number?"
"Can you just remind me?"
"4C." She turned back to her companions as he walked off, frowning. "That was strange. He doesn't forget things like that."
River shrugged. "He's probably not thinking straight, but then again, why should he be? He is getting married, after all."
Clara sighed, smiling. "I still can't believe it. But I have to remind myself that he's not human, which many change some things."
"It wouldn't." The Woman said. "He would act just like a normal arrogant earth boy."
"How old is he, anyway?"
"I'd say about 905… ish."
"Oh." Clara sat back. "There's a definite age difference there."
The Woman chuckled. "But in your earth terms, he would be about thirty. A mere youngling, if you will."
"Well that's better." She looked at River. "And two hearts is it, right? There's nothing else that I should know about?"
River held up her hands. "That's it, thank goodness."
The Doctor looked up as the TARDIS door squeaked. "Well, welcome back. Did you need a little time to think about it?"
The Master leaned against the console. "You could say that."
The Doctor smiled. "I swear, I've never seen you so happy as you were last night. She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"
The blond grinned. "She does."
"At least I have assurance it won't turn out like it did with Lucy."
"Shut up. Besides, I didn't really love her, and you know that." He sighed. "It was a year that never was, so it doesn't really count anyway."
"Let's hope it doesn't."
He ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick up. "Well, I'm going to get out of these clothes, and maybe sleep for a bit."
"Take your time!" The Doctor called after him as he left. There seemed to be something just a little bit off about him, but he couldn't place his finger on it. He had noticed that he wasn't tapping the drums like he usually did, but maybe he just wasn't thinking about it.
The Time Lord shook his head. What was he thinking? He was just paranoid. He had learned to always doubt, just a little. Just to make sure that things were what they seemed, because most of the time, they weren't. Especially when it came to the Master.
Nothing could go wrong, could it?