Notes: there are references in this fic from here on out to the novel The Dark Path, which is where Two, Jamie, and Victoria encountered the Master. Among the many things that happened in that novel was the friendship that struck between the Master and Victoria—unfortunately, that went downhill towards the end, but I firmly believe that they still have some amount of admiration for each other (with Victoria more willing to admit it than the Master would, of course).
Jamie was the one most nervous about the prospect of finding Maestro, if for no other reason than dealing with the possibility of the Great Intelligence being a part of this plot, however slightly.
"Do ye really think it's a good idea t' be going oot there and find this Maestro when we don' know who he is?"
The Doctor glanced at Jamie now, sensing his worry.
"The more I think about it, the more I am certain that the Intelligence is not behind this," the Doctor said. "The Intelligence would have been more inclined to take over Salamander's mind and add his knowledge to it."
"Aye, I suppose so…" Jamie said, quietly. "But does it nae worry ye that this Maestro knows all aboot ye?"
"Well, of course, I am concerned," the Doctor said. "But we must find him if we have any hope of stopping this rain." He turned to Salamander. "I am asking you again, Salamander—where is he?"
"I have said too much already," the scientist replied. "I shall say nothing else. If you find him, it will be without my help."
"You really are afraid of him," Zoe observed.
The Brigadier now entered the vehicle with Benton and Yates.
"We've given you the forty-five minutes you requested, Doctor," he said. "It's now time for us to question him."
"You're welcome to try," the Doctor said. "But he appears to be afraid of his associate. You won't get much from him."
"We'll have to see about that," the Brigadier replied. "We didn't have any luck in finding his associate, so I fully intend to get the information we need from him."
Salamander glared at the Brigadier in silent fury.
"If you don't mind, Brigadier, while you question him, I should like to join the search outside for his associate," the Doctor said.
"Very well, if you think you'll have better luck."
"Perhaps I shall," the Time Lord mused. He then turned to his three companions. "I'll understand if the three of you would avoid searching out in that downpour—"
"Och, it'll take more than that rain oot there to keep me from helping ye," Jamie grinned. "I'm going with ye."
"And I, for one, couldn't possibly get any more drenched than I am already," Victoria sighed. "I might as well join you."
"Me, too," Zoe agreed. "The sooner we settle this, the sooner we can dry off in front of the TARDIS's fireplace."
Even Benton seemed interested by this idea; his mind momentarily drifted to warming up by the fireside before Yates brought him back around by clearing his throat.
The Doctor and the others now left the UNIT vehicle, running through the pouring rain. They paused under the giant tree, even though it didn't offer much shelter from the downpour; rain continued to pelt them from between the branches.
"Now, then…" the Doctor said. "Where are the most likely places to hide in this area? It would have to be somewhere not too far away; Maestro would want to keep an eye on Salamander to ensure that he won't divulge anything…" He trailed off as he glanced at the tree trunk, placing a hand over it. A frown crossed his face.
"That mysterious tree again?" Victoria asked.
"Yes…" the Doctor mused. He glanced up at the branches of the tree. "We saw Salamander fall from up there, didn't we?"
"Yes, and I thought I saw him look back up there when we started talking about Maestro," Zoe recalled. "Do you think he could be up there?"
"Possibly, assuming he didn't flee once the Brigadier started his search," the Doctor replied.
"Aye, well it'll be easy enough t' find oot," Jamie said, and he began to climb up the tree trunk.
"Oh, Jamie, be careful!" the Doctor exclaimed. "I think you'd better let me go instead!"
But Jamie wasn't listening; he wanted there to be something between Maestro and the Doctor, and he would prefer that thing to be him. Jamie knew that he'd be ready to strike if there was a need to.
The Doctor, fretting over Jamie having climbed up first, was now scrambling after him. Zoe gave Victoria a questioning look; after she nodded in response, the two girls started climbing up the tree, as well.
But Jamie, reaching the upper branches, let out a snarl of disappointment.
"There's no one here!" he called. "Nae a trace of anyone—just more branches and some vines!"
But the Doctor kept climbing until he was beside Jamie.
"Somehow, I'm not so certain about that," he said, fishing the Stattenheim remote control and his sonic screwdriver from his pockets.
As Victoria and Zoe both joined them, they were puzzled to see the Doctor scanning the tree branches and vines with both devices.
"It can't be…" he murmured. "But it must be! Jamie, do you see that smaller branch above you?"
"Aye."
"I want you to grab onto it—put all of your weight on it and try to pull yourself upwards using it."
Jamie stared at the Doctor with a look of disbelief.
"Ye must be joking!" he exclaimed. "That wee branch cannae hold me! It's nae e'en a branch—it's just a large twig!"
"I don't think it is, Jamie. I want you to try pulling yourself up with it. I promise I'll catch you if you fall."
"But, Doctor, that tiny thing couldn't possibly hold his weight!" Zoe agreed.
"There is one way that it could," the Doctor said. "Jamie, please… You trust me, don't you?"
Jamie nodded; of course, he trusted the Doctor. He looked up at the tiny branch, and after a moment's hesitation, grabbed onto it and attempted to pull himself up—and he succeeded, staring wide-eyed at the fact that he had done so.
"How is that possible?" Victoria asked, amazed.
"It isn't!" Zoe said. "Jamie isn't exactly light. A tree branch that small shouldn't be able to hold him at all!"
"That's because it isn't a tree branch," the Doctor said. "And this isn't a tree at all. Victoria, try peeling at the bark on that branch you're sitting on."
Victoria attempted to do so, but she didn't even make a scratch.
"It feels real enough, but it doesn't act like a tree," she realized.
"Well, if it's not a tree, then what is it?" Zoe asked.
"It's a TARDIS," the Doctor said, plainly. "A brilliant disguise. No one would suspect a Time Lord to disguise a TARDIS as a plant! Those Ceruleans are too dotty to even fly a TARDIS; no one would guess it!"
"So Maestro is a Time Lord," Jamie muttered. "Och, that's how he knows aboot ye. It must be one who knew ye verra well."
"Yes, and I'm afraid I think I finally realize who that Time Lord is," the Doctor sighed. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Koschei!"
"What!?" Victoria exclaimed, as Jamie nearly fell out of the tree in utter surprise—and as Zoe looked utterly confused.
"Koschei, you might as well let us in!" the Doctor called. "The fact that this tree is still here is proof that the storm is affecting the time vortex—you'd have dematerialized the moment we got distracted with Salamander if it had been possible!"
There was no response.
"Koschei, don't you understand that if the storm is affecting the time vortex this much, it's only a matter of time before there's an irreversible disaster!?" the Doctor said. "That would have been the end result of Salamander's last attempt at meddling with the weather on Neo Serenity—he told you all about that, of course!"
"Koschei, please let us in!" Victoria exclaimed now, causing Jamie and the Doctor to stare at her in confusion. "We have to work together to stop this!"
"Och, we cannae trust him!" Jamie hissed.
"But who is he!?" Zoe asked, still very confused about all this.
"And old school friend of the Doctor's," Victoria said. "He's a genius. He saved my life once, you know."
"Aye, and then he took control of yer mind!" Jamie reminded her. "The Doctor left him in black hole—I knew he got oot at some point, but I didnae expect him to be in league with Salamander…"
"Yes, I knew he got out at some point, as well," the Doctor said. "How else could he have turned up in the Tomb of Rassilon?" He sighed. "Well, Koschei!? What do you want me to do to get you to open the doors!?"
A mass of branches and fines now moved, revealing the TARDIS interior—and the Time Lord who stood at the console, glaring at them all.
"You may start, Doctor, by addressing me with the name I have chosen to use since our encounter on Darkheart," he said. "I am the Master."
"And Maestro is the Spanish word for Master," Zoe realized. "But I don't understand one thing—if he's a friend of the Doctor's, why did he control Victoria's mind?"
"He went and betrayed us all," Jamie growled, drawing his knife.
"But, Jamie, wait," Victoria said. "Maybe he really will work with us this time."
The piper stared at her, baffled.
"He. Took. Over. Yer. Mind," Jamie said, slowly and clearly. "And he clearly still has some influence over ye, by the sound of it."
"That's enough, all of you," the Doctor said, not taking his eyes off of the Master. "So… Master. You've taken to making life difficult for Old Fancypants, haven't you? This was meant to be another one of those attempts at grabbing his attention?"
"Indeed, Doctor," the Master replied, calmly. "Your upcoming regeneration will bestow upon you a considerable amount of charm and finesse that you are currently lacking."
"He's just fine the way he is!" Jamie shot back.
"We can discuss the qualities of my regenerations at another time," the Doctor said. "Now are you going to let us in, or are we to continue talking to you from these branches?"
"It wasn't enough for you to abandon me. Now, you wish to gain entry into my TARDIS?" the Master countered.
"Well, if you're so confident that you can resolve the problem of this downpour on your own—in time—we shall be on our way."
"You seem to forget, Doctor, it was I who helped you when your experiments went awry back at the Academy."
"There was one occasion where I distinctly remember helping you when one of your projects went amok" the Doctor countered.
"You attempted to help," the Master corrected him. "It was Ushas who saved us both in the end."
"Yes, well, Ushas isn't here, and even if she wanted to get here, the state of the vortex wouldn't allow it—not that she would want to, as the last time I saw her, she was recovering from having two Grigs of Androgums invading her TARDIS…"
"A plot devised by you, no doubt," the Master accused. "Just as you left me."
"Actually, I can't take all the credit for that one," the Doctor mused. "Jamie here had more than a hand in it."
The Master gave Jamie a long, cold look as the piper gripped the Doctor's arm in solidarity.
"You may enter," the Master said, at last. "But under no circumstances are you to touch my console."
"Not that it would do much good," Zoe pointed out, as they all got inside, one at a time. "We can't go anywhere with the vortex in the state as it is. Just as the displacement of water into the vortex affected it in Neo Serenity, the removal of water will likewise affect it here."
The Master paused to meet the glare that Jamie was giving him and acknowledge Victoria's look of gratitude before looking to Zoe.
"You are more knowledgeable about these matters than others of your species," he commented. "Can you postulate the end result of this, Miss…?"
"Heriot. Zoe Heriot. And I suppose I can. On Neo Serenity, when the vortex was taking in water, it was losing energy. Eventually, it would have lost so much energy that it would've collapsed in on itself. Since the vortex is now losing water, we can assume that the water that is being displaced is being replaced with extra energy. And if it takes in too much energy, it could result in a catastrophic explosion!"
"That is the logical conclusion," the Master agreed.
"Yes, but it only answers one question," the Doctor said. "It only tells us what will happen. We need to know how much time we have left to come up with a solution to stop this process!"
"Since Salamander and I lost control of the weather machine, I have been making calculations to determine just that," the Master assured him.
"And…?" the Doctor prompted.
"I must regretfully inform you that, based on the rate of which the storm is spreading, critical mass in the vortex will be achieved at a point of 72 hours after we programmed the last order in the machine—which was at 6:00 this morning, Greenwich time. As evening has befallen us now, we are left with only sixty hours."