The Master stood in front of the view screen in one of the laboratories of his TARDIS. What he was planning required a precision few people were capable of, though he was confident he would have little trouble. On a transmat pad a few feet to his left, was a perfect clone, properly shrunk, of Vanessa Verney, Tegan's Auntie Vanessa. He had studied the woman for weeks, collecting a sample of her DNA and making sure he had exact copies of all her garments. For this to work, he had to be scrupulous in every detail, even more so than usual!
He watched, amused, as his view screen showed him Tegan and her aunt struggling with a flat tire. He studied Miss Verney carefully and, yes, her timeline was in flux, capable of being manipulated! He remained alert, waiting for the moment of the older woman's presumed death. The Master held in his hand a remote that would simultaneously activate both the transmat pad near him and a transmat beam aimed at the police box onscreen. When he activated the remote, then the clone would swap places with who or whatever was in the path of the transmat beam. The Master chuckled, pleased at what he perceived as a very elegant plan.
The Master watched avidly as Tegan entered the Doctor's TARDIS. The moment was approaching. He watched Vanessa Verney as she stood, approaching the blue box she thought she had seen her niece enter. The Master watched grimly as Miss Verney first entered, then was driven out of his own TARDIS. He watched her vainly attempt to throw a tire at him, shaking his head. He respected Miss Verney's fighting spirit, but of course it was in vain. Without interference, Vanessa Verney was doomed.
Just as his previous self fired the tissue compression eliminator, the Master activated the transmat devices, sending away the clone and bringing Miss Verney into his laboratory. The cursed woman was screaming and continued screaming, when she saw who was in the room with her!
"Stop that awful noise, if you please, madam! You needn't deafen me!"
Vanessa stopped screaming in favor of glaring at him!
"Where am I?" she demanded, breathing heavily.
"You are on my TARDIS, a very special ship. I am the Master."
"Master? You're really called that? Well, my name is Vanessa Verney and I demand...wait, how did we get here? We were both just outside a moment ago! What sort of nasty trick are you up to?"
The Master couldn't help smirking, enjoying her confusion.
"I am. It was moments ago for you, Miss Verney, but it was quite a few years ago for me!"
"What's that supposed to mean? How could years have passed for you?"
"I'm a time traveler. I've come back to this time to prevent your murder!"
"My...you were getting ready to kill me!" Vanessa almost screeched, as she realized what he was implying. "I saw that rather dodgy looking thing you were waving about! Where's Tegan? Did you kill her?"
"Your niece was always safe. She made friends with a man called the Doctor. Now, thanks to my intervention, you are safe as well."
"Why should I believe you? What sort of man calls himself Doctor?"
"Another time traveler, of course. You'll meet him shortly."
"I'll do nothing of the kind! Let me out of here, right now! I'll look for Tegan myself!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Miss Verney. Letting you leave and re-enter this moment in time would create a paradox and even I am not prepared to do that. No, the events that follow must remain unaltered. The Doctor will find your clone and believe the shrunken corpse is you. Tegan will then follow him to Logopolis and spend the next few years as his traveling companion."
"Oh, he's that sort of Doctor is he?" Vanessa asked in disgust.
"No, he is not!" the Master sneered, losing patience. "It'd be more understandable, if he was!"
"I want to see my niece," Vanessa demanded angrily.
"And so you shall!" the Master confirmed. "However, we must first get back to the proper place in the timeline. If you'll come with me, we'll go to the console room and be leaving."
The Master didn't wait for Miss Verney to respond, just swept arrogantly out of the laboratory. He knew she would follow. What choice did she have, after all? He listened complacently to the sound of her footsteps clicking behind him. The Master waited at the door to the console room and held it open for his guest, waving her inside.
Glaring, Vanessa swept past the Master, eying the room with a touch of dread. This was the room she discovered just a few minutes ago, when she was trying to find Tegan. Vanessa prayed the sinister man at the console, pulling levers and pushing buttons, was telling the truth. As he worked, a strange grinding sound filled the room.
"Shouldn't we be seated?" she asked.
"No need. We've already taken off."
"Where, um, when exactly are we going?" Vanessa prodded.
"We are going to Little Hodcombe, England in 1984. Your niece is there, visiting your father."
Vanessa shivered a bit, staring hard at him.
"You seem to know an awful lot about us."
"Indeed, I do. I pride myself on attention to detail."
"If you killed me to begin with, why did you come back to rescue me? What's your connection to my niece and this Doctor?"
"Oh, the Doctor and I are old acquaintances!" the Master informed her, chuckling. "Our paths cross every so often, so I've gotten to know your niece as well. Saving your life is a gift to her."
"A gift?" Vanessa questioned, stunned and freshly worried for her niece!
"Yes, Miss Verney...or a favor, if you prefer that," the Master confirmed, shrugging. He threw a last switch and the Time Rotor stopped its movement. "Here we are. Stay here. I need to prepare them for your presence!"
Ignoring Vanessa's rather shrill protests, the Master exited his TARDIS. He had landed in a small garden, outside the home of Andrew Verney, Tegan's grandfather. Tegan and the Doctor were sitting on a bench. Both were sitting up straight, staring hard at his TARDIS. The Master grinned at the alarm in their expressions. He watched, smirking, as the Doctor stood and shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Ah, perfect! I won't have to go looking for you," the Master chuckled. "Good afternoon!"
"Master," the Doctor greeted warily. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"You shouldn't be here," Tegan protested, giving the Doctor an irritated glance.
"It was necessary, my dear," the Master assured her, kindly. "Wait here one moment and you'll see why!"
Tegan and the Doctor watched, puzzled, as the Master disappeared back into his TARDIS, grinning triumphantly. He returned a moment later, with Vanessa Verney trailing reluctantly behind him! Tegan stared in shock as the aunt she'd believed dead exited the Master's TARDIS, looking about skeptically. The Doctor stared at the woman in absolute horror.
"Master," he fumed. "What have you done?"
"I went back and rescued Miss Jovanka's aunt," the Master gloated.
"You've changed history," the Doctor accused.
"Oh, have I? Are your memories altered?"
The Doctor searched his memory, before reluctantly admitting, "They don't appear to be, no."
"Is it really her?" Tegan asked him, stunned.
The Doctor turned to Vanessa Verney, studying the timelines around her. He nodded reluctantly. Seeing that confirmation, Tegan ran to her aunt, throwing her arms around her. Vanessa hugged her back, squeezing tightly, relieved to see her niece seeming whole and healthy. Pulling back, she noticed Tegan had started crying.
"Oh, there, there, dear. I'm all right. I'm more worried about you, to be honest!"
"I'm fine, Auntie, really! I've been traveling and not just on an airplane. Auntie Vanessa, I want you to meet my friend, the Doctor!" Tegan explained, nodding towards her friend.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Verney," the Doctor greeted, his tone grave and angry.
Tegan rolled her eyes at him and pulled her aunt to sit with her on the bench. Unprompted, she began telling Vanessa what had happened in the past few years. Vanessa listened, but part of her attention was on the Doctor and the Master, as they began arguing.
"Oh, stop sulking, Doctor!" the Master scolded. "I would think you'd be pleased!"
"Pleased? When are you going to learn that you can't play god with people's lives? You broke the laws of Time! Plucking this woman out of her own timeline and changing her fate...you know how dangerous that is!" the Doctor scolded.
"I'm not a fool, Doctor, you know me better than that! The woman's timeline was in flux and could be altered safely! There is no paradox, you can tell that for yourself! There was a small risk, perhaps, but nothing a bit of careful planning couldn't take care of!"
"You're forgetting one thing. There was a body! I saw it myself!"
"I managed to get some of Miss Verney's DNA. I took it to the Bi-Al Foundation and had them make me a clone. I shrunk that and used transmat devices to switch the clone with Miss Verney, just as my past self fired the TCE."
"Very clever," the Doctor congratulated sourly. "Though, not half as clever as not committing murder to start with!"
"Everything is all right, though, isn't it?" Tegan demanded, turning towards the two men. "Auntie Vanessa is safe now?"
"That isn't the point, Tegan," the Doctor berated her. "Did you ask this of him? I told you..."
"Enough, Doctor!" the Master interrupted, coldly. "She's innocent. Miss Jovanka made no such suggestion and I did not inform her of my intentions!"
"Is she safe, Doctor?" Tegan demanded, fresh tears welling up, as fear seized her. "You...you don't have to put her back or something, do you?"
The Master shook his head, but she was too busy glaring at the Doctor. The Doctor sighed, shaking his head, as well.
"At this point, that would only cause more problems! No, despite the terrible risk, your aunt is safe. Of course, we're going to have to explain why she was missing for over two years! Or did you think of a reasonable excuse?" he asked the Master sardonically.
"I leave that in your capable hands, Doctor. Your familiarity with these people should prove useful. I suggest keeping the explanation simple, however. A claim of amnesia might be wise."
"Don't press your luck, Master," the Doctor warned.
"I almost never do, Doctor. I've accomplished what I set out to do. Enjoy the rest of this lovely afternoon, my dears," the Master gloated, turning to head back into his TARDIS.
"Master, wait!" Tegan called, standing up and walking close to him.
The Master turned, arching his eyebrows in silent query. Tegan reached up hesitantly, laying a hand gently over his jaw then bringing her hand down slowly, the fingers combing through his beard.
"Thank you," she whispered.
The Master didn't answer in words, but took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing her fingers softly.
"Oh, Rassilon's sake," the Doctor muttered, pulling his hat down lower over his face. Tegan and the Master both glared at him. Giving Tegan a bow, the Master disappeared into his TARDIS, which faded away moments later. Tegan sat back down next to her aunt, who gave her a worried glance.
"It's that way between you, is it?" she asked, concerned.
Tegan thought for a moment, then agreed, "Yes, I suppose it is."
"Tegan," the Doctor began, but she interrupted, shaking her head.
"You best leave without me, Doc. It might not make sense or even be right, but I do want him."
"Tegan, you know how dangerous he can be!" the Doctor reminded her gently.
"I know. That's why I'm staying. I'm willing to take the risk for myself, but I won't ask you to take it with me! I'm going to go pack. Is it all right, if I show Auntie Vanessa the TARDIS?"
"Yes, but later, if you don't mind. We really do need to think of an explanation for her sudden reappearance," the Doctor sighed.
"You go on, dearie, we'll join you later," Vanessa assured Tegan.
Tegan left reluctantly, going to her room in the TARDIS. She tried to start packing, but found herself sitting on the bed, wallowing in memories. She didn't want to leave the Doctor, really. She wasn't even sure if the decision to do so was selfish or noble. Tegan sighed, pulling a pillow into her arms. She closed her eyes, waiting for her emotions to settle. After a few more minutes, she heard a soft knock and looked up to see the Doctor standing in her doorway.
"May I come in?" he asked gently.
"Sure, Doc. I haven't got very far, I'm afraid," Tegan apologized.
The Doctor's eyes were sad as he graced Tegan with a kind smile. He came over and sat next to her on the pale blankets of her bed. He took off his hat and sat fiddling with it.
"I won't change my mind, Doctor," Tegan warned. "I know what the Master is capable of, but...that doesn't change how I feel."
"No," the Doctor agreed, smiling. "I don't suppose it does. When I was a boy, I had a friend called Koschei. We were best friends from almost the moment we met as small children. We spent most of our time together, studying and playing. He...he was very important to me and my dearest friend. Koschei was always encouraging me. I didn't get very good grades, I'm afraid. I just didn't have the focus. He never let me give up on myself, though. He was always telling me how brilliant I was and going along with my experiments, even though some of them back then were pretty daft!"
"He sounds like a pretty great friend."
"He was. He was brilliant and good. We were very close for centuries."
"What happened?" Tegan asked, fascinated at this nugget of her friend's history, when he was usually so silent about his past.
"We grew up and grew apart. Our...ideals changed and became very different from each other, I'm afraid. We began fighting, more and more frequently, until finally, the fighting was all that was left."
"I'm sorry. When was the last time you saw him?"
"Oh, about half an hour ago, when he dropped your aunt off," the Doctor answered, smiling wryly.
Tegan's jaw dropped, making the Doctor grin.
"Don't pack, Tegan," the Doctor cajoled. "See, I can't blame you for caring about him. I still do, despite appearances. Anyway, I'm not your father and would never presume to interfere in your personal life."
Tegan took a deep breath, trying to assimilate everything. She looked up at the Doctor, smiling brightly, and nodded. He stood, then leaned over and kissed her forehead.
"Good, now come on. Let's visit your relatives for a little while longer, then we can go find something interesting to divert us!"
Tegan stood and followed, her mind more on the future than the present. She was looking forward to the adventures she would share with the Doctor and to seeing the Master. She thought about him with a soft smile, eager for their next encounter.