"Where can we find him?"
"We'll have to drag him out of the Time Lock… and it won't be easy."
"Time Lock?"
"It's a long story, but basically the Doctor locked his planet away so that the war could
not get the chance to destroy the universe, and all of his people died. The Master got away, but
later on he was pulled in."
"How can we get him out again?"
"Well, I'm starting to think that maybe he was never tugged in." She smirked.
"What?" River ran to the console room, Clara close behind.
"It's a good thing that I can fly her better than he can, or we'd never be able to get him.
The Doctor said he disappeared in a flash of white light with the other Time Lords. We've got to
get there in that exact moment." Her fingers danced over the controls as she made every
measurement perfect and precise. "Alright, here we go!" She pulled at the big switch, and there
was only a gentle sound of movement as the TARDIS lurched onwards.
"I'm better at flying her than he is, after all, I'm practically her child. That's a story for
another time though, Clara. Now, is time for action!" She pounded another button with her fist,
and the TARDIS moved again. She rushed to the doors, flinging them open and reaching out.
Her hand clenched the fabric of the master's hoodie and yanked him inside, slamming the door
behind them. "Clara, pull the switch!"
She did as she was told, and the TARDIS took a comfortable position drifting in the time
vortex. The Master gasped deeply in shock on the metal floor, a tremor running through his
body for a brief moment.
"What the hell did you do?!" That angry statement was followed by a not-so-
intimidating coughing fit. River and Clara turned sharply to see the Doctor bent nearly double
leaning against the large doorframe. Clara went to help him, but he straightened up on his own,
holding a hand out to stop her. He took very slow, shaky steps up the slope towards River and
the Master. His fingers gripped the rail so tightly his knuckles were white. His breathing was
labored to an extent that Clara was standing very close to him in case he fell over.
The Master had composed himself, and was on his knees, looking over the Doctor. "So,
old friend, we meet again. I assume it's been about… 300 years since you last saw me?" The
Doctor was so startled by the appearance of the Time Lord that he could not think of words to
speak. He simply came closer, and the Master stood so that they were eye level. The Doctor's
eyes welled with tears and he threw his arms around the Master's shoulders. He let out a shaky
breath.
The other Time Lord chuckled nervously. "What are you doing?"
"I thought you were dead… I thought you went back… they would've killed you…" The
Master understood, and awkwardly put his hands up to return the hug.
"Well, I'm here." He stepped back so that he was arm's length from the Doctor, and put
a friendly hand on his shoulder. He was now able to thoroughly examine him. His face was
flushed, but his cheeks were a bright pink. His breathing was shallow and strained, and the
Master could feel the heat coming off of him. "You aren't looking so great." He tried not to act
concerned, because of course, he had spent the past 700 years as the Doctor's enemy. Yet, as
he looked into those hazel-brown eyes, he could think of nothing but the child he had spent so
many years with once upon a time on Gallifrey.
The Doctor smiled sadly, but looked away. "Why have you brought him here, River? Did
you not understand when I told you there was nothing that could be done?"
"And when do I ever listen?" The Doctor smiled, but gripped at his chest in pain, gasping
desperately for breath, never quite getting enough. Clara spoke up.
"We should get him back to the library." River agreed and threw the Doctor's left arm
over her shoulders, and Clara did the same with his left. The Doctor was always heavier than he
looked, but now River could feel the difference in his weight, feel his ribs through his shirt and
how fragile he was becoming, and they realized how hard it was for the Doctor to walk, even
assisted. The Master sighed from behind them.
"Let me take him." He stepped forward as the girls let him go gently, knowing he wasn't
likely to stand capably on his own. The Master grumbled, knowing this wouldn't be exactly
comfortable for either of them. "Sorry 'bout this, but if you never mention it, than neither will
I." The Master firmly planted one arm at the Doctor's back and one under his knees, lifting him
up. He was sure if the Doctor was more coherent through the pain searing in his entire body,
than he would have objected.
As the Master took step after step down that hallway, he couldn't help but become
nostalgic. He fell back into a memory from many hundreds of years past.
"Help! Please, someone, help!" Shouting was no use, they were too far for anyone to
hear. The boy Karion, who would one day be known as the Master, looked down at where his
friend was lying still, panicking. They had only been having some simple fun, something that
was hardly allowed for children of Gallifrey. At seven years old, could recite the law codes 1-249
of the planet's order and the first 360 punishable offenses of the Shadow Proclamation, not to
mention he was starting his first few classes on basic pre-calculus at the academy. With all of
that schoolwork, things could get boring. So, he had Amias, who would one day be known as the
Doctor, showing him the other side of life and how beautiful fun could be.
Now, they had been playing in the field beside Karion's father's estate when Torvic had
shown up. As always, Torvic had been looking for trouble, coming to bully them. Amias wouldn't
stand for it, so instead of taking the taunts without a word, he walked straight up to Torvic and
told him to leave. At the time, it had seemed like a wonderfully exciting and brave idea. Amias
shoved Karion back, out of harm's way as Torvic swung around and hit him in the temple with
his abnormally large fist. The impact made Amias crumple to the ground, where Torvic began to
mercilessly kick him. Karion's eyes welled up with tears, screaming at Torvic to stop. Instead, he
reached down and picked up Amias by the collar of his shirt. His neck just rolled back, lacking
the strength to hold it up, which worried Karion all the much more. Torvic finished with one last
blow to the head and began to tread off.
"By the way," He shouted back at Karion, who was already kneeling beside his friend's
body. "If you tell anyone who did that, I can make sure it happens again." With that, the bully
left and Karion found himself in his current dilemma.
"Amias?! Amias, can you hear me?!" The child didn't answer. "Help! Please, someone,
help!" Karion realized his attempts were futile, and realized that his friend may have suffered
more than just minor cuts and bruises. Even Amias's breathing was becoming strangled, and
Karion knew he needed to get him back to the estate, to the doctors, and fast. He was on his
own. So, trying to keep his friend as still as possible, he slid his arms behind his back and knees.
At first, Karion doubted he'd be able to carry him all the way back, but one glance at Amias
made him realize there was no other way.
Step by step, he carried his friend, lying limp in his arms. If it weren't for the pained
sound of Amias's breathing, Karion would have believed he was dead.
And so it was very similar now, as the Master carried the Doctor back to the library, as
River led the way. After quite a ways, he walked into the TARDIS library. It was vast, even for a
TARDIS. The Master wasted no time in gently relieving his burden onto the sofa, where Clara
laid a blanket onto him. The Doctor was sleeping now, either that or unconscious, but he didn't
look anything near peaceful. In fact, he looked worse off than in the console room. The only
light in the library came from the fireplace, which he assumed was to keep the Doctor
comfortably warm and aware of his surroundings when he woke without blinding him.
It was true, the Master was aware of how to care for the sick, the injured, but he rarely
got the chance. Not since he'd turned on Gallifrey, and come to think of it, that was from his
first regeneration, the academy, the rebellion. If only the Doctor had joined him. They could
have accomplished so much. Still, even with those thoughts, the Master wasn't sure he wanted
that anymore.
He had used his powers in full expectation to go back with the others. He was prepared
to sacrifice what little he had left of what he'd gained to save Earth, of all places. But… no. It
wasn't quite for them, it for Amias. Not the Doctor, the man that stood in front of him, but
Amias, the boy who had taught Karion how to live. He was still in there, in those ancient eyes
there was the child, full of life and adventure, behind them. Even if it became harder to find
Amias as the years went by, and the pain piled up, the nature of that existence was still inside
him. The boy who marveled at the universe, who wide-eyed and determined, dreamed of
adventure. That was before he actually left… to travel the universe. After he actually chased his
dream, he learned that the freedom came with responsibilities that no one should ever have to
bear. If someone didn't make it, it was automatically his fault.
What had he intended to say by giving himself up? He wasn't completely sure. Part of
him wanted to believe it was simply because he did not want the Time Lords getting what they
wanted after making him go mad at the age of eight. But most of him believed it was because,
without those God-forsaken never-ending drums, he was Karion again. And Karion cared about
Amias. He dreamed the same dreams, longed for the same future among the stars. They were
once again children playing, going on imaginary adventures in those vast fields of crimson grass.
He didn't at all believe they could ever truly be companions again, not after all of the crimes he
had committed since then. He couldn't even trust himself, how could he expect anyone else to?
The Master wasn't sure of what he wanted. He wasn't sure of anything at all, except for
the words that River was about to say. "We need your help."