The Doctor's breath hitched. "I don't need a reward."

"Oh, yeah. I remember. You're the Doctor. You don't need anything from anyone because you're the Doctor."

The Doctor's face was stony and he said firmly, "No."

But the Master didn't stop his tirade. His eyes were shining with madness and hatred and he took a few sinister steps for the Doctor, who backed against the TARDIS slowly, like someone trying to retreat from a bloodthirsty animal. "What could you possibly say to me to get me to stop this? How could you possibly control the person you've been running from all your lives?" the Master snarled, spittle flying from his mouth. The Doctor was pressed against the TARDIS, but the Master kept coming, not letting him squirm out of the situation. Suddenly, the TARDIS door swung open and the Doctor fell into his ship as the Master looked angrily at Rose, who stood defiantly before him. "Get the hell away from my Doctor." she growled, her eyes glowing gold. Suddenly, a golden flash of light blinded them all and the Master was blown back, cursing and spitting insults. He was dazed, everything was spinning, and he didn't have time to get to his feet before the Doctor was dragged all the way into his ship and the door was slammed. She took off, and the Master seethed quietly.

I woke up, not in a ventilation shaft this time, but in a cozy bed. I freaked out for a moment, unable to remember what was going on. But then everything came back to me and I relaxed. Thank God. I felt a cat's tiny paws kneading on my legs and I looked at the perpetrator, who was simply adorable. She had sparkling green eyes, her coat was a mix of black, tan, and orange, and the tail that was waving in the air was tipped with gray. I smiled at her. "Hello." I called softly. "Her name's Gabby." Puella said. I jerked up and found her sitting in a chair at the end of the bed and smirking. She looked like she'd been there for a long time. Has she been watching me while I sleep? "Aw! She's such a cutie!" I cried, attempting to ignore my previous thought. I rubbed her ears a little, and she purred even louder, if possible. "Does she like me?"

Puella rolled her eyes. "She likes the blanket."

My heart dropped, but I kept petting her until she grew annoyed and tried to bite me, to which I recoiled and Gabby hopped off of the bed and into Puella's lap, continuing to purr. "What-what's going on?" I asked tiredly, rubbing my eyes. "You're gonna help me find the Doctor." Puella said. "Once I meet him, I'll be able to decide whether to stay here or go with him." She said.

I swallowed. "I don't know where he is. He - he left me." I whimpered, choking on my words. She raised an eyebrow. "We better start looking, then." She said. I groaned and she snatched my hand, practically dragging me out of the bed. "You'll have to wait in the closet until the Master comes round, and then we can go. He'll sense there's something wrong if I'm not here. Today's… Wednesday, so he'll only be able to come by once. Wednesdays are his favorites. He should be by in about an hour."

"Well, what do we do until then?" I asked. She led me to the closet and grinned wickedly. "You can wait in there." I sighed and nodded, and as I was about to go in, something caught my eye. A bookshelf. "Um, if I have to spend the entire time in a closet, may I have something to read?" I asked. Puella narrowed her eyes. "It's got shitty lighting in there."

"I don't mind." I said. So she walked over to the shelf and threw a book at me. It was The Time Machine, by H.G Wells. I wondered if Puella had chosen it on purpose or if it was an accident. Somehow I doubted that it was a coincidence. She shoved me into the closet roughly and shut the door, and I could feel that there was going to be a long wait. But I decided to read some of the book, and to my surprise, it was pretty good. I made a decision: that once I got my memory back, I'd search for H.G Wells' books.

"I want extra security spanning into Intensive Care and… everywhere! The Doctor's escaped and he's gonna be somewhere in here, looking for that bitch!" the Master spat at his counterparts. They nodded hurriedly and rushed out of the room, brushing past another Master making his way into the office. "Sir!" he said with a quick salute. The Master growled at him and he lowered his arm. "What the hell do you want?"

"Sir… I, erm, I've got some bad news."

"What?"

"Blue - Blue Destiel… she's gone missing."

The Master's eyes were wide with anger and his face was starting to turn a vengeful shade of purple, highlighting his sloppily bleached blond hair even more. "What?" he seethed. The other Master lowered his head, ashamed and fearful. He knew what he could do, and that Master standing across from him was just another him, with a shorter temper. "She's - gone, sir."

"I thought I instructed you oafs to take her to Intensive Care!"

"Well, sir, we are you, so - "

"Don't speak. Where did she go?"

"We - we don't know. She apprehended one of our weapons - "

"What kind of weapon?"

"A dagger, sir."

"And what happened to the girl and her newly acquired weapon?"

"She took off running, sir. We chased her down a corridor and rounded the corner only a few seconds after, but she was gone."

"Which corridor?"

"The one containing the door to your wife's room, sir."

"I really have to increase the intelligence on the clones to match myself, don't I?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, you're obviously bloody stupid."

"I - um, I don't - "

"She ran into the corridor containing the doorway to my wife's quarters. She was mysteriously gone when you rounded the corner. There was only. One. Way. Out." the Master spat this last sentence, and it dawned on the clone. He flushed white and stuttered, amazed at his own stupidity. "Now. I'm going to go check on my wife. Send a troop of guards down there, and make sure no one comes out of that room. Understood?"

"Yessir!"

The Master shoved his clone out of the way and stomped down the corridor, heading straight for Puella's room in the facilities.

"Puella?" I called nervously from inside the closet. It had been a couple hours, and I hadn't heard the Master come inside. Besides, I'd finished the book and was hungry for another. Suddenly, the door to the closet was yanked open and bright light flushed inside, blinding me momentarily. "He's not come by yet. We're going now." she said hurriedly, grabbing me and dragging me across the room to the door. "Why? What's wrong?"

"He makes a point to drop by at exactly 4:07 every Wednesday. I don't know why and I haven't cared since now, but it's 4:10 and he's not here. So either something is extremely wrong, or he just doesn't have the time today, given you and the Doctor running about. Or maybe he's captured the Doctor and he's having too much fun torturing him. Whatever. Either way, we're leaving while we can."

"Isn't it okay if he finds you wandering around?"

"No! Especially not with you, and especially not on Wednesdays and Sundays. Other days, I suppose it's fine, but he's instructed me to not leave on Wednesdays. He doesn't want me to bother him. And if he's looking for you, then having you with me won't benefit any of us." she explained with a roll of her eyes. I nodded and we ran out the door, quickly glancing in either direction before hurrying down the main corridor and veering right. I glanced up at the security cameras. "Won't he be able to see us?" I demanded. Puella shrugged. "He won't be able to catch us if he can."

"How's that?"

"We'll be moving too fast. Can you run on that ankle?"

I looked down at my ankle, which she must've taken care of while I was asleep, and frowned. "I can try." I replied. She offered me a small smile - the closest thing to friendly she'd ever seemed to exhibit - and lead me in a sprint. Stabs of pain flushed through my leg, but I gritted my teeth and continued close behind her. Don't be a wimp. Every step sent shocks through the sprain. Don't be a wimp. She glanced over her shoulder at me but didn't seem to pity me in my condition. Hello, Blue. I stopped abruptly, panting and freezing. Shit.

A very deep pile of it, so it seems.

Puella didn't hear the pounding of my feet behind hers, so she whirled around in annoyance and glared at me. "Come on, bitch! We've gotta go!"

"Puella…" my voice trembled as I spoke. She stopped as well, realizing something was wrong. "What the hell's happened?" she said darkly, approaching me. I looked up into her green/blue/gray eyes with a hint of brown around the pupils. "I - he's in my head." I whispered fearfully. She cursed loudly. Tell my lovely wife that if she hands you over to me in my office, we might have another chance.

"What the fuck is he saying to you?"

"He told me to tell you to hand me over in his office, and you might have another chance with him."

More exotic language. That's my girl.

"I think he can hear you." I said. She glared daggers at me and then whirled around to face the nearest CCTV camera. "I just want to meet the Doctor!" she complained angrily, throwing her hands into the air with exasperation. That's not such a good idea. "He doesn't think it's a good idea."

"Well you can go tell him to stuff it up his tight little a - "

Can you hear them?

"Hear what?"

"What?"

Can you hear the drumming? One, two, three, four, one two three four. It's always there. Always pounding away inside my skull. Can you hear it?

"I - I can't hear it, Master."

"Is he still talking to you? Ignore him and let's go!"

I shook myself out of my stupor and took her extended hand, which was warm and firm. We began to run again, and the sound of the Master's voice in my head blocked out the pain from my ankle. There's no use running, Blue.

We ran.

How can you run from something that's inside of you?

Faster, faster, faster.

I know you heard them.

I didn't stop to reply that he was the one that put them in my head. I just ran.

I know you could hear the drums. They're real, Blue. They're so real. And they're coming.

I gritted my teeth.

They're coming for you. They're coming for me. They're coming for the Doctor and his little flower. They're coming for Puella. They're coming for Mummy.

I would've stopped if not for Puella dragging me onward, leading us both while I focused in on what the Master was telling me. Do you know where she is, Blue? Do you know who she is? Who's your mummy, Blue?

I would've told him to shove it where the sun don't shine, but I was intrigued and out of breath. Yen's dead. Daddy's dead. Your adorable little sister is dead. Oh, how I loved torturing her. Her screams were so… little. Squeaky. Like squeezing the life out of a puppy.

Tears welled in my eyes as I could hear her dying screams. "Stop it." I choked. Puella cast me a glance but continued on. She was so easy to torture, too. I had such fun with her, Blue.

"Stop it!"

Your little sister. Your baby brother. Your daddy. Your best friend. Even that boy...All gone, Blue. And whose fault is that?

"Get… out of my… head!"

It's your fault. All your fault. D'you think I would've given them a second thought if they weren't so wedded to you?

As I started to scream at him again, Puella flung me to the floor and straddled me, pressing something to my head that slowly blackened my vision and made the voice of the Master fade away. One two three four. One, two, three, four. One… two… three… four…

It stopped. He stopped chanting. His voice was completely gone, but I still couldn't see. "Puella?" I whimpered. She put a hand on my head to comfort me. "Don't worry. I did some sciency stuff and got him out of your head temporarily, but the side effect is loss of vision."

"F - forever?"

"No. Just until the effects of the sciency shit wear off. And then your vision's back, but so is the Master."

I didn't want to know how it worked, so I stayed silent as I let her help me to my feet and then continue running through the corridors, putting blind faith - literally - in the Master's wife.

Rose woke up in the TARDIS, confused. "What... What happened?" She asked. The Doctor walked over to her and helped her up. "You turned back into Bad Wolf." He said. That explained it. "Oh no," she mumbled, pressing her fingers against her head. "You're telling me," the Doctor said.

"What happened after all of that?" She asked. "The TARDIS sensed that there was an emergency going on, so she was able to send us somewhere else."

"We're not in the penitentiary anymore?" Rose cried.

"No, no, I checked. We're still there, but I dunno where we are in it."

"Is that all?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Well, it seems that the TARDIS is in even worse shape than she was. I'm working on repairing her, but... We're gonna be here awhile."

"How long?"

"Two days at least. At most... I'd say a week."

"Dammit!" Rose muttered under her breath. She ran to the monitor and peered outside, where the TARDIS was stationed in a large, dark room. She thought she could see the outlines of cages inside, but it was so dark she couldn't really tell. "Doctor, d'you think I could go outside for a second?"

"Well, erm... I already went out, and I can tell you that I don't think that there's anything dangerous out there... But if there's anything wrong, come back here immediately. Understand?"

Rose nodded and went out. It took a while for her eyes to adjust, but she could see that there were cages. "Hello?" She called out. There were mumbles and groans. "Hello?" She called out again. "I'm... I'm Rose. Who are you?" Someone stirred in a cage right by her feet. "We dunno who we are." Rose looked down. A young boy, maybe twelve years old, was looking up at her. "If you work for the Master, you should know that." he said softly. She smiled gently and drooped to her knees, facing the cage. "I don't work for the Master. M'name's Rose. Rose Tyler. I'm here with a friend - the Doctor, and we're here to get you out."

"What?"

"We're gonna help."

"You're kidding me."

Rose paused. "D'you happen to know your name?" she wondered finally. She saw the shadowy outline of his head shake slightly. "No." Rose bit her lip as she heard the Doctor calling to her from inside the TARDIS. "Everything alright?" he wondered. "Yeah… Doctor?"

"What?"

"Can you get all these people out?"

A long hesitation. "I don't think I should, Rose."

"Why's that, then?"

"We don't know who they are or how they think. They might be dangerous."

"What makes you say that?"

"They've been trapped with the Master long enough, they themselves just might go mad."

Rose cursed under her breath. "What about this one, then? Just him?"

"Why?"

"He sounds like Mickey."

The Doctor bounded out of the TARDIS, his sonic screwdriver in hand, and quickly buzzed the lock to the cage, letting the boy crawl out. "He's a little young to be Mickey, don't you think?" the Doctor said, bringing the kid into the light of the TARDIS and making a face. Rose hooked her thumbs in her pockets. "Time travel?" said Rose. The Doctor blew a puff of air out of his cheeks and grabbed the kid's arm, dragging him toward the console and putting a finger on a little pad. "Don't worry, this won't hurt." said the Doctor with a quick smile. "I'm just scanning your DNA."

The kid consented and the Doctor quickly read the readings on the screen. "Not Mickey. Dunno who he is, but he's not Mickey."

"How d'you know?"

"Because when Mickey travelled with us in the TARDIS, she automatically took a sample of his DNA and put it into her databanks. I would know if this one was Mickey."

"What d'you mean 'took a sample of his DNA'? How?"

"Oh, it's nothing major. Maybe she just pricked his finger on something, I dunno. What she does varies."

Rose was suddenly nervous. She looked down at herself and then back up at the Doctor. "Does that mean she's taken my DNA?" she wondered apprehensively. He smirked. "Of course she has!"

"How?"

"I dunno. Did you prick your finger on something?"

"No, Doctor. I've never hurt myself inside the TARDIS before."

"She might've taken it while you were sleeping. Ever find any mystery cuts on you?"

Rose's eyes widened with shock. "Yeah. She did it while I was sleeping?"

"I suppose she thought that was the best option."

The girl didn't seem comforted and glared up at the TARDIS, who creaked back apologetically. "Don't worry about it, Rosie." the Doctor said with a warm smile and glistening eyes. "She doesn't need to do it again. I suppose she assumed that you wouldn't mind, since you agreed to come onboard with me. I'll tell her to modify her Privacy Settings, if you think that's best."

She shook her head. "Nah, not for me. I don't mind; not really."

The little boy looked up at the TARDIS. "What is that thing, anyway?" The Doctor was about to answer when Rose said, "No, no, not yet. How 'bout when we're in it, okay? We dunno when the Master's gonna get in here again."

The Doctor nodded. Rose gently took the little boy's hand and they went into the TARDIS.

Being blind is really not fun. You never know when there's a step, especially if the person who's guiding you doesn't let you know that there is one.

"Oh. Sorry." Puella mumbled when I fell on my face for the upteenth time. "Id my node broken?" I asked, my voice clogged up. A small pause. "No. It's not bloody or anything."

"Thank God." I grumbled. We took a few moments catching our breath. "What're you gonna do now?" I asked.

"What do you mean?" Puella asked.

"Well, the Master hates you now..."

A slight snort. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Guess the only option left is to go on adventures with the Doctor. Or..."

"Or what?"

"Or nothing. Just adventuring." She laughed a little. "What's it like, adventuring with him?"

"I barely adventured. I mean, I did it for like, five minutes before I got captured. And then we did it again, but the Master got back inside my head... And they left me."

"They?"

"Yeah. The Doctor already has a sorta "companion"."

"Oh. Didn't know that."

"Does it make a difference?"

"'Course not! Do you think I'm stupid? I'd go with him if he went with a hundred people!"

A few seconds of silence. "Okay, that's enough chatter. We gotta go!" So we ran some more, and in my case, tripped a little. Slowly, my vision started to return, and with my vision, the Master. Hello again, Blue.

"Why are you always in my head?"

Why not?

"Stop it, you bastard!"

Puella looked over her shoulder at me. "He's in your head already?"

Yes, dear.

"He says yes."

"You okay with being blind again?"

Ooh, so you had to go blind? How was it?

"Shut the hell up! And no, not yet!"

Then you'll have to deal with me again.

"You think I don't freaking know that?"

Tell dear, dear Puella that she better find the Doctor soon. Very soon. Because if I find her, she'll never see anyone again. Ever.

"He says that you need to find the Doctor soon, or you'll never see anyone again."

Actually, that's because she'll be dead.

"If he finds you, he'll kill you!"

Puella swore violently.

And you, Blue, you better find him too. He'll guide you to your memory.

"What?"

It's in two places. One is in my office.

"What'd you do? Make copies of my memories or something?"

Oh, how true... But the other place, it's the "the Crystal Town.". Or it was.

"What d'you mean by that?"

"Ignore him! He's a liar!"

Am I lying? Or am I not?

"How should I know?"

Puella looked over at me. "If you start freaking out again, I will press that thing to your head again!"

"I'm not gonna freak out!"

Oh dear me, I can sense a panic attack coming on. D'you need a paper bag?

I cussed him out and he shut up momentarily, allowing me to look up at Puella imploringly. "I don't want to be blind again."

"That's your only option to getting the dickbag out of your head."

Oh, that was rude!

"Oh, and like you're not!" I snapped.

"What?"

"He called you rude."

"And proud of it."

You know, I really will miss her.

"Then you shouldn't kill her."

"What's he saying?"

"He said he'd miss you."

"Douche. He's lying."

Not this time, love.

"He said he's not."

"Fuck him, then." Puella growled, stalking off.

"You heard what she said."

Yep.

"Y'know, I don't think she's gonna miss you all that much."

Well, I will.

"Whatever. Now shut up."

No thanks. I groaned, and Puella looked at me and said, "If you say anything else to him, you will be blind."

"Fine." I mumbled.

Now you can't even complain!

Now, no one really understood the level of self control it took to not tell him to shut his face, but I managed as I walked through the corridors and he started singing to me.

This one's one of my favorites. You can ask the Doctor. He knows the song by hearts. Well, he should. I sang it to him every other day for 365 days.

I sighed with aggravation.

It's… noooot easy havin' yourself a good time!

I couldn't help but to admit he was a good singer, even if he was hella annoying.

Greasing up those bets and betters; watching out they don't four-letter.

Puella glanced behind her to see if I was doing okay. Aside from a small limp and that annoying bastard in my head, I was fine. Fuck and kiss you both at the same time! Smells like something I'd forgotten -

Shut the fuck up already! I screamed in my head. I heard him laugh and simply continue singing. - curled up died and now it's rotten. I'm not a gangster tonight, don't wanna beee the bad guy!

Oh, yeah. Sure. I scoffed silently.

I'm just a loner, baby! And now you've got in my way!

I wondered if this song he'd chosen by just a passing fancy or if he meant the lyrics specifically for me.

IIII can't decide whether you should live or die!

That was pleasant.

Oh, you'll probably go to Heaven, please don't hang your head and cry.

Would you please shut up? I asked politely.

I wonder why my hearts feel dead inside!

Maybe because you're a dick.

They're cold and hard and petrified! Lock the door and close the blinds, we're going for a ride!

I finally stopped trying to get him to stop singing and attempted to block him out, but he came back, stronger and louder than ever. IIIIIt's aaaaa bitch convincing people to like you!

You're one to talk.

If I stop now call me a quitter, if lies were cats you'd be a litter.

Shut your mouth.

Pleasing everyone isn't like you! Dancing jigs until I'm crippled!

Go ahead.

Slug ten drinks I won't get pickled! I've got to hand it to you; you play by all the same rules.

What, your fucked up system here? No thanks.

It takes the truth to fool me, and now you've made me angry!

Oh, I'm so scared. Simply shaking.

Again, he repeated the chorus of the song. I rolled my eyes and apparently was taking too slow because Puella reached behind her and grabbed my wrist, yanking me along and making me yelp at the pain sparking up in my ankle and the wrist she had hold of. Oh, I could throw you in the lake, or feed you poison birthday cake!

I grimaced. Though catchy, this song was weird. The Master's kind of weird. I won't deny, I'm gonna miss you when you're gone. I had a feeling that particular line was directed for Puella, but I didn't repeat it to her. Or I could bury you alive, but you might crawl out with a knife and kill me when I'm sleeping -

You bet I will.

Theeere's whyyy… I can't decide whether you should live or die! Oh, you'll probably go to Heaven -

I did my best to stop listening and instead focused on the pounding of our feet against the cold concrete beneath us and our ragged breathing while we ran. Slowly, I started to run out of breath, I was that tired. "Puella?" I asked. She looked over her shoulder at me. "Yeah?"

"Can we stop for a moment? I can't quite catch my breath." She nodded, and we stopped for a few seconds. As we were just sitting there, I could still hear the Master singing, but I did my best to ignore him. As I was blocking him out, I heard my stomach growl loudly. Puella snickered, and said, "You hungry?"

I nodded. She tossed me a small packet of dried fruit, which I ripped open and started scarfing down hungrily. She smiled a little and said, "You look like you haven't eaten for days."

"Haven't." I said, chewing on a dried cherry. "Last bit of food I had was a chip, and that was yesterday. Or the day before. I dunno how long this has been going on."

She shrugged. After I was done eating the fruit, I got up, and she did too. We walked down another hallway. "Are we ever gonna find him?" Puella wondered. But I was wondering something completely different; where are all the Master's clones?