The Doctor tried to keep up with the cart, but his shoulders and arms ached from being pulled when he fell behind.
The heat was getting to him and they refused him water.
They were heading towards the mountains and the heat would be gone...it was always winter in the mountains and Mount Perdition was the worse.
The convoy finally stopped as it grew dark and he was forced to stand whilst the camp was made. He didn't even have the energy to protest when Jakaar was taken from the cage and into one of the tents.
Eventually White Coat appeared as they were dragging him towards a post that had been hammered into the ground.
"No, put him in my tent and make sure he's chained well."
He was dragged across to the largest tent and as soon as he was chained he fell into an exhausted sleep.
He was woken by the smell of roasted meat and looked up and there was White Coat, sitting at a table eating.
He looked over when the Doctor's chains rattled. "Ah, you're awake...hungry, thirsty?"
The Doctor glared at him but couldn't stop his stomach growling.
"Seems you are. If you promise to behave, you can eat in a civilised manner."
The Doctor wanted to refuse but his mouth was watering and he found himself nodding.
"Good," White Coat said and a guard appeared and undid his chains.
The Doctor stood but didn't move.
"Sit," White Coat said and despite himself he sat, automatically responding to the commanding tone in White Coat's voice.
White Coat passed a plate over that held roast chicken and a chunk of buttered bread.
The Doctor eyed it but didn't touch it.
White Coat entered his tent and saw his property asleep on the floor...time to begin his training.
A few minutes later one of his guards appeared with two plates and he began eating, knowing that the smell of food would wake his property and it hadn't taken long; hunger was a great tempter.
"Sit," he said when his property stood but didn't move and was pleased when it obeyed...good, there was still some of his previous training in there somewhere, something to work with.
"Eat," he said when his property didn't reach for the plate in front of him and scowled when he still didn't touch it.
In fact it glared back at him and pushed the plate away and snarled. "Nice try."
White Coat sighed and said to the guards who appeared. "Chain him outside...perhaps a night in the cold will dampen your stubborn streak, and bring me the child."
"Don't you dare touch him!" his property snarled as he was dragged away.
Jack joined Gwen and Ianto by the large fire outside their tents.
"Thought we'd never see you again," Ianto said. "I see the Master kept himself occupied."
Jack fingered the still livid scar on his neck. "He wasn't the best host...but he could have been worse. The others weren't as efficient at torture as he was."
Gwen let out a snort. "Only you could joke about a year of torture. You don't really trust the Master and that daughter of his."
"Know your enemy Gwen...better to keep them in sight and keep an eye on them. If there's a new player we'll need their help."
"Well whoever it is, they can't be human. None of the crime lords or splinter terror groups would have the balls to do it," Ianto said.
"Could they be alien?" Gwen said.
"It's possible," Jack said.
"If they are...then they're either stupid or very powerful," a voice said from behind them.
Seska sat down next to Jack. "They would have to be either to anger my parents. Do you think once they've conquered this planet they'll stop? My father and my sister's ambitions know no bounds."
"And what about the Doctor?" Ianto said.
Seska was silent for a moment. "My mother has been...unwell since he came back to us. I do not know what he thinks."
He stopped then and looked into the fire. "There is something inside him...I'm not even sure what it is but he's different and then there's the headaches and the nightmares...every night the nightmares."
"He always did have nightmares," Jack said.
"Yes but not these nightmares. Sometimes we would find him running away in terror, as if something was chasing him. Father doesn't want to see it but I do...he is not right."
"Like he wasn't crazy enough," Ianto said.
Jack glared at him. "That doesn't help Yan. So Seska...what does your father think?"
Seska sighed. "They do not talk to me, they think I have sided with you...a traitor."
"And have you sided with us?" Gwen asked.
Seska glared at her. "I side with no-one...my concern is for my mother and my brother. If I had my way I would take them both and leave this wretched place to my father and Ashena."
He stood then and stalked off into the dark.
The trio looked at each other and Gwen said. "He's his mother's son alright...but Ianto's right. If he's more unstable then we may be rescuing a mad dog."
Jack shook his head. "We need to try and I'd rather have the Master and Ashena with us than against us."
"And what if the Doctor is worse than ever?"
"Then we deal with it."
The Master was not happy; he hated been forced into alliances where he didn't have the upper hand and especially by the freak and his ...son.
That boy needed a serious attitude adjustment. He'd been too soft on him for the Doctor's sake as he seemed to favour the boy; understandable he supposed as he'd been born on the second anniversary of Tejhan's death.
When this was over and it would be over he would send him to the Wastelands and he would learn what humans were really like.
But for now he just wanted to get the Doctor and his youngest child back. He had a suspicion that whoever had taken Jakaar and then overcome the Doctor wasn't human; no-one on Earth had the courage to commit such an act.
No, it had to be alien and whichever alien race it was, they would soon be an extinct race.
He rubbed at his forehead, the drums were increasing in sound and he was desperate for the rage of the storm that was the Doctor to drown them out.
The snow had started to fall minutes after he'd been chained outside and now he was cold; even a Time Lord would be tested by the snows of Perdition.
But at least his son was warm, even if he was in the viper's nest and despite the cold he began to sweat with the fear of what White Coat would do with Jakaar. Jakaar was just a baby and hadn't learnt yet to distrust humans.
He reached out and tried to touch Jakaar's colours, but the cold was affecting his abilities and he eventually fell into sleep and into the nightmare.
He was running, running in the dark, but he could hear the monsters behind him. He could hear their snarls and growls, smell their breath.
But he knew he would never escape; he knew he would be devoured.
He felt the first bite and he began to scream.
The scream rang around White Coat's camp, bringing out the occupants.
"Get those chains off!" he bellowed as his property convulsed.
Two of the guards moved forward and grabbed the chains and dropped them with cries of pain.
"They're hot!" and as they said it, the chains began to glow.
White Coat jumped when his property let out a blood-chilling scream and stepped back when golden light began to pour from his mouth and eyes.
It seemed like the light and his convulsion would never stop but they did and his property fell to the floor, the snow melting where his body lay.
One of the guards moved forward and placed a hand against his property's neck.
He stood and shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, there's no pulse...he's dead."
White Coat let out a sigh. "A pity, dispose of it and break camp. I want to be at the rendezvous point on time...the boy will have to suffice."
As the camp broke two of the guards dragged the body towards the edge of the path and shoved it over and turned away...not bothering to watch as the body fell.
Soon the path was deserted and only the howl of a lone wolf could be heard.