Title: To Win. To Lose.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Spoilers for end of season 3
Disclaimer: I wish! Really, I do…
He was winning. Finally winning and there was nothing the Doctor could do to stop him.
He grinned defiantly but as the pain began to course through his body his mirth faded slightly. Funny how winning always seemed painful.
Hands were on him and that voice was compelling him so he tried his best to hide his agony.
He saw the shock and anguish in the Doctor's eyes as he refused to save himself. The Doctor obviously did not know him and yet no one knew him better.
"How about that", he gasped out, "I win".
But it didn't feel liking winning as his body withered and he resisted the urge to cry out.
I win. I win. I win.
The words kept in time with the drums that beat steadily in his mind, taunting him mercilessly. The constant drumming. Fear filled him with the thought of eternity with the incessant sound.
Choking back a sob he couldn't help but to ask, but to beg, "Will it stop, Doctor?"
The arms around him tightened as the Doctor rocked him back and forth but the Master found that he could no longer feel those arms, nor the needless rocking.
"The drumming", he rasped, "Will it stop?" Make it stop.
The cold began to spread throughout his body, relieving the pain slightly. He felt one heart fail, stuttering once before falling silent. One last breath, one last beat.
As he felt himself fade he couldn't help but to wonder what it would have felt like to lose.