A/N

Disclaimer: I wanted to write this in Latin, but, alas, I could not remember the word 'own'. So I'll do it in English- I don't own Doctor Who. I make no profit writing this story. But I know that one day Doctor Who will rule the world.

Here you go. As promised. Please enjoy.

Oh, and there's more TenRose in this chapter.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Plan, plan, plan," the Doctor muttered to himself as he paced around the cell. "Plan, plan, plan…" There had to be something he could do. Something… anything. "Plan, plan, plan…" Some plan, of some shape, of some size. Just a plan. "Plan, plan, plan… I need a plan!" he shouted, making everyone jump.

But he didn't really care, too focused on trying to think of something to save the world. Again. Jorax and Phantom had been gone, according to the Doctor, about twenty hours. And in that time Rose and the Doctor had filled each other in on what had happened, respectively, to them. They had held hands for ten of those hours. Most of that time, though, Rose was sleeping. As was every other human in the adjacent cell. Sleeping. The Doctor found another flash of respect for the apes. Sleeping while the world was in danger… how utterly stupid! And yet, how unique!

During the time that the humans were sleeping, the Master took to pacing the cell, while the Doctor stayed against the bars separating the cells, hand in hand with Rose as she slept. The Doctor recalled the conversation he'd had with the Master when Rose had shifted, muttering his name.

Flashback

"Doctor…" came a muffled whisper from the figure next to the Doctor.

"Rose?" the Doctor replied, turning to her. "I didn't know you were awake."

Rose didn't respond, but continued to mutter the Doctor's name under her breath. "Doctor…"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow in amusement. "So this is a dream, huh?" he made sure to file this information at the back of his mind to use for blackmail material sometime in the future. Assuming, of course, that Rose would choose to travel with him. And assuming that they'd save the world.

"Doctor," this mutter was louder, and Rose shifted positions in discomfort.

The Doctor stared at her, watching sweat start to bead on her pale forehead. She must have been having a nightmare. "Rose…"

"Doctor!" even louder than the previous, and the Doctor got alarmed when he saw Mickey shift so he flung an arm over Jake's sleeping form. This caused a reaction from Jake, who opened one eye and peered at Mickey with half-asleep bemusement, before shoving Mickey's arm off, and rolling over.

The Doctor hadn't dared move during that escapade, but he let out a quiet chuckle after he began to hear Jake's breathing even out. "Guess what, Rose," he joked, "I think Mickey loves Jake!"

Rose's reply was only to roll towards him, throwing her other hand over the Doctor's leg, giving a little happy sigh, and snuggling up to the bars. The Doctor raised his eyebrow again. But he found that he enjoyed the sensation of Rose so close to him, and inadvertently gripped her hand a bit tighter. To this she rolled even further over, her arm wrapping around the Doctor's stomach and pulling him towards her. Which, naturally, was quite awkward given the fact that the Doctor was now pinned against the uncomfortable bars of the cells. He shot a quick glare at the Master, who had chosen at that moment to have a chuckle at the Doctor's expense.

Well, even if the bars were digging in annoyingly, at least Rose wasn't having a nightmare any longer. He gave a sigh and leant back against the cool metal.

After about five minutes of silence, apart from the gentle breathing of the cells occupants, the Master crouched over next to the Doctor, leaning his head against the metal in the same manner the Doctor was.

"She loves you," the Master whispered to him, knowing that he shouldn't wake the sleeping humans- the Doctor had already warned him what half-asleep humans did when they were disturbed from their peaceful slumber.

"I know," the Doctor whispered back. And how could he not? The words she had spoken on Bad Wolf Bay; the words that she had cried out to him; he'd never forgotten. It was too painful to remember, but too painful to forget.

And so he had chosen, instead, to pretend it had been a dream, and not mention it, although he'd been tempted to.

"A human and a Time Lord," the Master mused.

"I can't, though. I can't stay with her. She'll die. She'll age, and wither, and die, and I'm not sure I can watch that." The Doctor surprised himself with such an honest answer.

The Master paused for a second. "You love her," he breathed softly.

"I shouldn't," was the Doctor's reply.

"But you do," the Master argued quietly. "You love a human…"

"And I can't let anything happen!" the Doctor hissed. "What if I regenerate? She won't be able to deal with that… I don't want to put her through that again."

"Again?" the Master caught. "She stayed with you despite your regeneration?"

"Yes, but-"

"She loves you, not your face," the Master interrupted. "She wants to be with you. She was willing to trust me, of all beings, to get her back to you."

The Doctor tried to find something to respond back with. He couldn't be with Rose. He couldn't. He was a Time Lord. She was a human, nothing but a pebble in an ocean- one that would turn into nothing but sand, nothing but a memory. There was no way she'd like to stay with him if he regenerated again; and he wouldn't be surprised if he did.

As if reading his thoughts, the Master spoke, "You're not giving her enough credit. She would stay with you, if you show her how much she means to you."

The Doctor shook his head ever so slightly. "I can't do that. She deserves a normal life, one without threats of death or impending doom."

"She deserves to make her own decision," the Master replied gently.

The Doctor couldn't find anything to argue with that. "Still…"

"Let her decide, Doc," the Master suggested. "Let her decide whether she wants to or not. Because I know you want to. I've seen the way you look at her."

The Doctor looked down, not wanting to give face to the thoughts running rampart around his head. "It doesn't matter what I want," the Doctor stated.

"If it doesn't matter, let her choose," the Master encouraged.

The Doctor was silent as he went over the information he had been given, idly rubbing Rose's hand with his thumb while doing so. When he realised what he was doing he stopped immediately, hoping that the Master hadn't noticed.

If the Master noticed, he didn't mention it.

Another couple of minutes went by in relative silence, before the Doctor's own curiosity got the better of him. "What made you stop searching power?" The Master looked at him in confusion, and the Doctor elaborated. "You had to look after kids, I know, but that wouldn't have stopped a thirst for power."

"It didn't," the Master confessed. "Not exactly, anyway." The Master took a deep breath, and the Doctor could sense that the answer wasn't really something that the Master wanted to dwell on.

"You don't have to tell me," the Doctor said. "If you don't-"

"I used to tell the kids stories," the Master reminisced. "I used to tell them of a blue, spinning vortex. A vortex of unimaginable power. A vortex that made infinity a mere word. And they were enraptured. Enraptured in a lie of my doing."

"And they did something," the Doctor murmured.

"One of them did something," he corrected. "A girl called Romana-"

"Romana?" the Doctor echoed.

"Yeah," the Master nodded. "Why?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Romana was… a friend. Keep going," the Doctor encouraged despite the churning in his gut that told him he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear.

"She was so eager to see the schism… when she did see it, she didn't want anyone else to see it. She killed her friend. She killed her friend because she didn't want to share the schism. And that was because I had told her about the power- I made an eight year old kill her only friend." The Master looked away.

The Doctor couldn't help but stare. Romana… and she had killed… for power. Because of the Master. The Doctor took a shaky breath, before continuing. "But that taught you a lesson, didn't it? It stopped you."

"Yeah," the Master whispered. "It did. But it shouldn't have needed to."

The Doctor nodded at that. The Master closed his eyes, obviously not wishing to talk any more, and the Doctor followed, closing his eyes and entering a form of meditative state that would allow him to sort out his thoughts.

End Flashback

And now everyone was awake, and he was pacing around, trying to figure out how to save them all. He'd already tried to use his sonic screwdriver to somehow disable the bars, but all that ended up with was a very painful jolt and numbed fingers for an hour.

The sonic screwdriver… it had to be used for something, right? The Doctor kept pacing, this time trying to think of something simple. Something humanly simple.

"Oh!" he exclaimed suddenly, the idea coming to him in a rush. "I got it! I got it!"

"Is it contagious?" Rose responded dryly.

"Ha! Funny, Rose Tyler," the Doctor replied idly. "I've got the plan. Genius, if I do say so myself."

"Well, go on, spill," Rose encouraged.

"Sonic screwdriver!" the Doctor roared, making the guards jump. He glanced at them for a second, realising that he couldn't yell his idea out because they'd go blab to Jorax or Phantom. Instead, he walked to the bars separating the cells, and whispered conspiratorially, "Gather, my minions. Tonight, we revolt! Or today, depending on which way you look at it."

To the Doctor's delight, they did gather. He began to whisper the plan to them as he fiddled around with the settings of his beloved screwdriver. When he had finished, Jackie stared at him.

"That is your brilliant plan?!" she said incredulously.

"Yep," the Doctor nodded and gave his classic grin.

"It'll never work!" Jackie replied.

"Oh, be more optimistic," the Doctor patted her on her shoulder. "Pessimism is bad. Don't you think pessimism is bad? Rose? Don't you think pessimism is bad? Because I think it's bad. Optimistic! That's what I always say!"

To Rose, the Master muttered, "Is he always this exuberant?"

Rose glanced at him with a smile. "Nah, he's usually worse."

"Optimistic, Rose Tyler!" the Doctor butted in, planting his face between the Master and Rose, still grinning madly. "Optimistic!"

Pete spoke up. "Are you sure this will work?"

The Doctor nodded, suddenly serious. "All we have to do is pretend that I'm injured…they would try to stop my death, because they want to see me suffer."

The Master glanced at the Doctor. "What do you suppose we do then?"

"Then?"

"After they come into our cell," the Master provided.

"Oh. Getting ahead of myself, aren't I?" the Doctor paused. What were they going to do then? There was no way they'd get past the Time Lords and the guards. But if they beat the Time Lords… the Torchwood people might change sides again. How was the Doctor supposed to take down Phantom and Jorax, though? He had a sudden recollection of something he had noticed when he had woken from the blue gas.

He heard muffled voices, then footsteps as they neared his position. He concentrated on them. Even… rapid pace… perfectly balanced… the Master.

Perfectly balanced. Even. Perfectly balanced. That's it!

The Doctor turned to the Master. "While in academy, you didn't happen to make up a fighting style, did you?"

The Master looked at him in surprise. "Yeah. You helped make it up. Based for team fighting."

The Doctor grinned. "Feel like another go around if we need to?"

As if reading his mind, the Master grinned. "Sounds good."

The Doctor's smile widened. He could recall the details as if it were yesterday; the boredom of their young selves, before the Master became too cooped up in his desire for power. They had both decided to create a unique style of fighting; in which one would help the other, because of a bully Time Lord who had decided to make them the brunt of his outings.

And so they had created a new style, which had required hours and hours of meticulous research and physical training. Months spent practicing this style had been spent in exhaustion, as the only time they actually could go out and train was during the night. And so they got almost no sleep for four months straight, which ended up completely terrifying their parents when they finally had some sleep and woke a week later.

They'd beaten the bully though. The whole situation had been quite amusing. They weren't experts at martial arts, nowhere near experts, but they worked together well. It was almost as if they could understand what the other person was going to do, which made all the difference. The bully had run off after that, frightened, and the young friends had treated themselves to some borrowed Time Lord delicacies. Yes. Borrowed. They had planned to return the food, but, alas, they ate it all.

And, apparently, the Master from this universe had the same experience.

"So, should I start now?" the Doctor asked everyone.

The Master nodded.

The Doctor handed Rose his sonic screwdriver. "Okay, when you press this button," the Doctor pointed it out, "Make sure you look away. It's going to be bright. Very bright."

"Got it," Rose confirmed.

The Doctor walked to the middle of the cell, and glanced at the Torchwood guards. "We're going to save the world, right? So don't mention anything."

One of the Torchwood guards nodded reluctantly. "Good luck."

The other stared. "You can't."

"I'm going to save the world," the Doctor asserted. "If you want your families to survive, you'd have better luck if you trusted me."

Both Torchwood agents nodded this time, albeit hesitantly.

The Doctor grinned at them, grinned at the people in the cells, and deliberately fell to the ground, starting to roll around in agony. To make the situation more realistic, he added a look of pain on his face and yelled in agony.

The Master glanced at him, and then called out. "Doc? Doctor? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

The Doctor inwardly grinned, continuing to act like he was in agony. The plan was working. Although he was annoyed at how hard the ground was, and he knew it would take forever to get the dirt out of his favourite jacket.

He felt an unusual surge of vanity, and began to wonder if he still looked attractive despite his current predicament; albeit a self-induced predicament. Was he still cute? Did Rose still think he was sexy while he was rolling on the floor in fake agony?

Yeah. 'Course he was still sexy; he was the Doctor.

He guessed it took about three minutes of yelling and face scrunched up in pain and, by the others, calling out for help, before he heard the sounds of two sets of running feet approaching the cells.

He opened his eyes a sliver and surveyed Jorax and Phantom as they had a harried argument with the Master and Rose- but the Doctor couldn't hear any of it because he was still yelling in agony. His voice better survive after this. He kept rolling, but made sure each roll got him closer to the exit.

He saw the bars waver, and he spared a quick glance at Rose, who reached into her pocket and held up the sonic screwdriver, pressing down on the button, giving a shout to grant her the attention and closing her eyes, turning her face away. The Doctor closed his eyes, but he rolled smoothly out of the cell at the same time.

A huge blinding light emanated from the sonic screwdriver, casing everything within ten meters in a vivid white dome of dazzling light, before the dome began shrinking down. Jorax and Phantom, who had been unlucky enough to stare directly at the screwdriver before it flashed, were lying on the ground, clutching at their eyes. Which wasn't much of a surprise, really; Time Lords had marvellous senses, but sometimes that was more of a curse than a blessing.

The Doctor and the Master didn't get caught in the flash, or the aftermath. They had already started running, past the cells and through a door that was hidden by a wall. The Master flung open the door, and the Doctor sniffed the air. "That way," the Doctor pointed to the left.

The Master didn't nod; he had no reason to. The next sixty or so seconds were nothing more than sniffing the air and making sure they were heading the right direction in the maze of passageways. Left. Right. Left. Left. Forward. Oops, wrong way. Back. Right. Right.

They entered another door, and the Doctor grinned, relieved. "Here!" he announced happily.

They were in a main room of some sort, advanced computers scattered around the room, a couple of chairs loitering around, with a control console in the centre with a holographic display that both of them immediately recognised. They glanced at each other once, and then both made a sudden dash to the controls. The Doctor knew they didn't have much time. So did the Master.

And so the Master took the controls from above to try to stop the weapon, while the Doctor crouched down and looked for the conduits to try and destroy the weapon.

The next few seconds were a rush.

"The controls aren't responding," the Master called urgently.

"Have they been locked?" questioned from his position on the ground.

The Master tapped a few buttons on a holographic screen. "They've been locked. Can you bypass it?"

The Doctor reached into his pocket for his sonic screwdriver, fumbling around desperately for several wasted seconds before realising with a curse that he'd left the screwdriver with Rose. Old fashioned way it was, then. The Doctor pulled at wires, carefully but quickly, before rising back up to face the Master, brown hair even more spiked up than it usually was. "Can't bypass. Are you sure you don't know the code?"

"Don't know it," the Master replied insistently. "And I can't hack into it; the energy levels-"

Energy levels… "Are perfect!" the Doctor shouted, falling to his back to see the connecting wires better. "Do you have function over firing the weapon?"

"I can't turn it off," the Master was still trying to find a way to stop the weapon firing.

"Don't turn it off," the Doctor commanded, crossing some of the wires and hissing when a flurry of sparks came from the wires and over his face. "Vamp it to full power, but direct the energy beam the exact opposite direction of wherever the sun is."

The Master caught on quickly. "The energy-"

"Will propel it slowly into the sun, I know!" the Doctor finished. "Hurry!"

The Master pressed more buttons on the display, running around the circular console as he pressed specifically and in order. "Got it!"

The Doctor completed crossing the wires and stood up. "Me too! Disabled conduits. They won't be able to stop it!"

They stood back and smiled at each other in relief. Then the Doctor took the opportunity to survey the room further. Each computer had a different screen on it, most having a wide array of diagrams and charts. Two, however, didn't.

The first he walked to was a satellite feed, showing the Gallifreyan weapon. The Doctor beckoned the Master over to it. "How cool does this look?" he asked the Master excitedly when his fellow Time Lord had followed him to the screen.

And it did look cool. Model Fifteen was on at maximum, the ray of bright light standing out from the stark blackness of space, and the weapon was moving. Because of the enormous power and energy that was released from the weapon as it was firing, the propulsive force allowed extremely rapid movement from the weapon. However, even if it was fast, by the Doctor's calculations, it would take about half an hour before it reached the sun and disintegrated from the incredible heat. It was the most powerful weapon ever created, but a sun could still destroy it.

He kept watching the feed, captured by the sight of the last weapon of the Time Lords, heading towards the bright, bright sun. It was beautiful, in a strange, disturbing way. The Master stayed beside him, watching with as much fascination as the Doctor was.

A scream was what stopped the eager surveillance of the weapon's demise.

The Doctor lifted his head in concern. "That sounded like Jackie," he said. "But how could we hear it from-" He broke off, realising something, and ran to the opposite side of the room, where the other screen was that didn't have charts or diagrams. "It's a live video feed." The Doctor stared down at the screen with shock.

A black and white Rose gasped with pain as Phantom tightened his grip on the knife against her throat. She tried to glare, almost pulling it off as well as the ninth doctor used to.

"Doctor? Master?" Phantom spoke, refusing to glance up. "I know you can hear me. Press the switch near this screen so I can also hear you."

"What if we don't?" the Doctor thought aloud.

"And if you don't, I will slit her human throat," the Phantom threatened, seemingly understanding what the Doctor might do.

The Master glanced at the Doctor once, flicking the switch.

"I'm here," the Doctor said.

"Ah," Jorax, from behind Phantom, and only half in view of the camera, spoke. "So you did hear."

"Yes. I heard," the Doctor stated bluntly, hiding his fear for Rose. "What do you want?"

"You and the Master, back here," Phantom ordered. "And if you don't come back within a minute, I assure you Doctor… she will die."

"Don't," Rose manoeuvred her head around, trying to spot the camera. "Don't listen to him, Doctor. Don't-"

Phantom pushed the knife a little deeper into her skin, and Rose broke off with a short gasp. Then a grainy Jackie entered the picture. "Don't you dare harm Rose," she screamed at Phantom. "I swear to you, if you harm Rose…" she trailed off, threatening all the while.

Phantom grinned wickedly, and pulled Rose out sight of the camera.

Jorax looked up at the camera, his eyes seeming white through the black and white colours coming from the screen. "Sixty seconds and counting, Doctor."

The Doctor had lost any patience he might have had with the two Time Lords. He glanced at the Master. "Ready to fight?"

The Master nodded back, a blue fury in his eyes that made the Doctor respect him all the more. "I'm with you," the Master replied.

As one, they raced out of the control room, following the opposite pattern to get back.

Left.

55 seconds…

Left.

46 seconds…

Right.

39 seconds…

Right.

28 seconds…

Left.

19 seconds…

Right.

11 seconds…

Right.

The Doctor burst open the door, and stormed in, cloak flapping behind him. Next to him was the Master, just as furious. Directly in front of the Doctor, and outside the cells, was an enraged Rose, a knife held next to her neck, Phantom holding the knife. Jorax was standing next to Phantom. And in the cell were Mickey, Jake, Pete and Jackie, though Jackie was sitting on the dusty ground, dazed, with blood on her cheek from a cut. Which was probably why Rose was livid.

"Right," the Doctor said, taking in the situation with a glance. "I'm here now. Let Rose go."

Phantom gave a snort. "And what made you think I'd honour the deal?"

"Because," the Doctor snarled, "You want me. And if you harm her any more, you won't get me, I promise you."

Phantom snarled at him, but threw Rose to the bars separating her and her family. Rose hit the bars with relative force, even if the blow softened somewhat by her fast movement so her back was to the bars. She slid halfway down the bars, stopping when she had regained use of her wobbly legs.

"Rose," was Jackie's cry, as she got to her feet and dashed over to Rose as fast as she could.

The Doctor heard her, but he didn't focus on it. Through unspoken agreement, the Master and the Doctor knew it had to end. End here, and end now. Humans no longer mattered; this was for the sake of Gallifrey. For the TARDIS. For Loranos. For the Officer. And as much as the Doctor wanted to save Phantom and Jorax, he knew it was impossible. All in. Now or never. The Doctor didn't want anyone to die though; this wasn't a death match.

Phantom and Jorax seemed to understand this as well, for they positioned themselves opposite the Master and the Doctor, about five meters away.

The four of them stood as Time Lords, perhaps for the last time, proud and silent and still.

And then they fought.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

TBC…

A/N

Any guesses to what will happen next?

Okay, I know… another cliffie. Yes, I am getting good at it… but the story isn't over yet! You've still got another five chapters to go… so… yeah…

I've got another huge lot of people to thank this chapter, so, once again, please bear with me.

First, sincere thanks to those that reviewed the previous chapter- you have no idea how much reviews inspire me to write faster. I love 'em. So, the people: M64, x-EmilyTennant-x, Doctor-Lost, gaiafreedom21, Mini Librarian, The Chibi's Are Stalking Me, QuiteRightToo, Erikstrulove, Kuro the Spork Queen and Tara-lov-Dr10 (who didn't review this chapter but reviewed chapters two, three and five).

Second, to the fantastic people who have put this story on your favourites: Draco167, DramaQueen1133, I'mTheMasterOfWhatever, Iriahm, JeMS7, Kaia-S, Kuro the Spork Queen, Lozz Sparrow, Mara Jade Snape, Princess of the Fae, QuiteRightToo, Rose Tyler, Rosie-Jess, Sunny angel, Talia-Taylor, Tara-lov-Dr10, The Chibi's Are Stalking Me, Tigerprime, VampMistress, Wanabee, artistgirl727, awesomepwincess123, captaincatch, caromac, enneisilee, gaia-x-goddess, gaiafreedom21, helenluvsboo, jimmybeam, phantomphan85, sparks733 and tylerfan23.

Third, and a free ride in the TARDIS with the tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler for those who added me as a favourite author: Draco167, I'mTheMasterOfWhatever, johnny-B-reading, Lozz Sparrow, Mara Jade Snape, QuiteRightToo, Rosie-Jess, Talia-Taylor, Tara-lov-Dr10, The Chibi's Are Stalking Me, tylerfan23, VampMistress and Wanabee.

Thanks, also, to those that added this story to their alerts, and who added me on their author alert lists.

I really appreciate any kind of feedback- makes me a better writer. So thanks to those that have sent feedback.

Until next update,

SnowFox3