"So! Mini Mickey! You don't remember where you're from, do you?" The boy shook his head. "No…" he mumbled, looking down. Rose smiled. "Well, now you're in luck!"

The boy looked up. "How?"

"The Doctor's psychic. He'll probably be able to bring back your memory." The boy looked up at the Doctor. "Really?"

The Doctor stuffed his hands in his pockets and blew out a long breath, leaning against the console. "Well, the Master's always been more telepathically capable than I've been… but we'll have to see if I can override whatever he did to you." he replied. The boy looked down, downcast. Rose smiled gently, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. He'll figure something out." she said. He took a breath and the Doctor grinned almost maniacally. "Alright-y then! We just need to see if I can do it. C'mon over here, I won't hurt you."

The boy shuffled forward. The Doctor steeled himself and placed his fingers on the kid's temple, making him shiver. The Doctor's hands were cold and dry, but he let him continue on his work. He could feel the man sifting through his mind… and coming up with nothing. "The Master… he's put barriers in your mind - picture a door. A big, iron door with a thousand bolts and locks. Then imagine someone trying to open it with a paperclip."

"It's like that?"

"No, it's nothing like that, but if that helps then go ahead and think that." the Doctor said with a roll of his big, brown eyes. The kid furrowed his brow and spoke up. "So… he's put doors in front of my memories?"

"A little bit, yeah. But I don't have the key."

"Who does?"

"Well, he does, of course."

Rose looked about as confused as the boy himself, and she decided to slip her hand inside the Doctor's. "You can find a way." she whispered comfortingly. He shook his head and ran a hand through his big, bushy hair, finally scratching the back of his neck. "Not without the Master." he murmured. Rose could feel her stomach sinking and knelt to the boy's level, taking his hands in hers. "It'll be alright. We'll find some way to help the Doctor help you. Okay?"

He nodded, and she smiled brightly. The Doctor still looked a bit frustrated. "Let's just hope there is a way." he said under his breath, so that the boy and Rose couldn't hear him. The boy's eyes were already wide enough. "I like a good puzzle… but this is a bit much." he said. Rose laughed a little. The boy looked at them apprehensively, and they turned back to him, analyzing him with their eyes. "We've got to find a way to stop him and whatever he's planning." the Doctor insisted. Rose suddenly fell silent, the corners of her mouth downturned in the slightest frown. "Yeah, but how can we do that? We don't even know what his plan is, do we?"

"No, but we know it has something to do with the Universe and the Earth."

"We don't even know where we are. How can we help the rest of the Universe when we don't know in which part of it we are?"

"Well, this little penitentiary must have some exits. The Master doesn't like to appear unprepared. He'll ready himself for anything. He can't afford to die."

Rose paused. "You know so much about him." she said quietly. He sighed sadly. "Yes. I do. But not this Master. This Master is just mad. The Master I knew was… well, he wasn't mad. That was before the Time War. Before those blasted Time Lords put those… those things in his head and drove him mad! They drove him away from me."

Another hesitant silence from the girl. "So, you were mates, then?" she wondered. He nodded and chuckled. "When we were kids. The best of mates. We grew up together. And then he looked into the Untempered Schism and went mad, and I looked into the Untempered Schism, and I ran away. I ran away to you." he said, turning to her with a strange, soft look on his face. She grinned widely, grabbing her hands in a soft grip. The boy watched this exchange, not sure of what to do. The only thing he was sure of was he didn't want to watch them kissing. "Excuse me." he squeaked. They turned toward him, and it seemed to him like they'd completely forgotten he was there. "Right, yes!" the Doctor cried, leaping away from Rose and toward the door. Rose followed him and he gave a severe look to the boy. "Now listen to me. You stay in here, where it's safe, alright? And don't touch anything."

He nodded frantically. The Doctor broke out in another unexpected grin and linked hands with Rose, springing out of the TARDIS. The boy shut the door behind them and smirked evilly. "Stupid." he growled, turning toward the console and pressing a few buttons. The TARDIS released a weak-sounding groan, as if begging to be able to heal herself before taking off again. He expertly told her where to go and sent her into flight as soon as he knew the Doctor and Rose were out of earshot.

Puella looked around a corner and signalled to me that there weren't any Master clones. Okay, so where are they? I wondered. Strangely, the Master remained silent for the first time ever. "Puella?" I asked.

"Yeah?"

"Where d'you think the Master clones are?"

"I...I dunno. Wow. Why didn't I think of that?"

"Got any ideas?" She leaned against a wall and crossed her arms. "They may be at the bar, getting drunk as a skunk and flirting the hell up."

"Wait, what?" I asked, barely able to believe what she had said.

"Yeah, there's a bar."

"Yeah, I get that, but the Master's gay? Then how'd he marry you? I am so confused."

She smirked and said, "Stupid. He's not gay. He's omnisexual." I decided not to mention how the Doctor nearly tricked the Master into kissing him. Now I know it was to try to give Rose time, but I didn't really want to see how Puella would react. I was so deep in thought trying to decide how she'd react to my telling her that I walked right into a door.

I could hear Puella laughing behind me. I walked away from the door and touched my face. After I was certain that my face wasn't broken, I touched the handle of the door. "D'you think we should go inside?" I asked.

Puella shrugged. "Don't see why not. Never seen it before." I turned the handle. "It's not locked."

"Obviously, it's a trap."

"Obviously. You go first."

"Why me?"

"Because you've been diagnosed with extreme violence and I haven't. You'd probably be able to beat the shit out of anything bad in there."

She tilted her head a little. "Fine." She turned the knob, and walked in. I followed behind her, just close enough to hear her gasp. I hurried in and stared in shock at what was inside. The TARDIS was in there. "We found him!" Puella rasped. "Finally, we found him!" She ran to the door, but before she could try to open them, they flew open, nearly catching her in the face. "Gah!" I looked inside, blind relief flooding every cell in me. But then cold replaced the feeling. The Doctor and Rose weren't in there. A skinny little boy was in there instead. Before I could say anything Puella looked inside. "Damn. He is a helluva lot younger than I thought."

"That's not the Doctor."

"What?"

"Haven't you seen a photo or a picture of him?"

"No."

"That explains everything." I turned around to the kid and said, "Who the hell're you?"

He grinned and looked down at himself. "I'm the Doctor!" he said excitedly. I rolled my eyes. "You don't think I'm really that stupid, do you?" I demanded. He frowned. "No, I know you're quite clever."

"You're not the Doctor. I've seen the Doctor. You're not him."

"Yeah, I know, big tall skinny dude with spiky hair. Keeps a stethoscope in his left chest pocket."

I hesitated. "If you're the Doctor… how?"

"I regenerated. One of the clones got to me and I regenerated."

"Into a kid?"

"I can regenerate into anything. Male Time Lords can't control what they regenerate into, but female Time Lords can. Some of them prefer to be called Time Ladies."

I was dumbfounded. How could he know so much about Time Lords and the Doctor if he wasn't him? But there was one last loose end. "If you're the Doctor… then where's Rose?"

The kid immediately fell silent, his eyes wide as teacups and his mouth hanging open just a little bit. I could see his eyes watering and he tried to speak, but his voice cracked and broke. "They - the Master's clones took her and - and - "

I couldn't help but feel bad for him. I put my hand on his shoulder, and was nearly convinced that this was indeed the Doctor. Puella glanced at me for affirmation and I gave her the slightest of a nod, barely detectable, and she grinned. Perhaps not the best time for a smile. So. That's the Doctor's new regeneration, is it? the Master's voice chimed in. I growled. Go away. This is not the right time.

It's always the right time for my favorite Time Lord!

Shut up! What've you done with Rose?

Oh, that delicate little tulip?

I rolled my eyes and growled again, feeling more and more hopeless as this all progressed. The Doctor - it felt so weird calling him that with a new face! - looked up at me with big brown eyes and frowned. "What is it?" he wondered. I sighed with aggravation. "It's the damn Master."

I wondered if he was too young to be using cuss words around, and then I realized he was hundreds - maybe even thousands - of years old. I cleared my throat and continued. "He's found a way to talk to me in my head. Like, you remember he was in my head before?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he's talking to me, and he won't stop."

The Doctor cleared his throat and raised his hands slightly, looking at me as if for permission. I nodded and he placed his fingers upon my temples. I could feel him sifting through my thoughts and frown, eyes closed, as he probed deeper, searching for more. He came up with nothing, only the fragments of the memories the Master taunted me with. "I can't get him out. I can't even find him in there. Your mind is all to bollocks."

I instantly had more doubts. That wasn't like the Doctor. The Doctor strongly opposed cussing. Then again, this was a new regeneration. Rose had told me that a Time Lord's personality could change just like his face. Looks like you're stuck with me, love.

"Oh, shut up already."

Puella snarled behind me and I whirled around, prepared to fight her off if she tried to blind me again. "I swear to fuck I will beat him out of you." she threatened in a low, growling voice. I backed up and said, "Okay, okay, I'll stay quiet!"

Good luck.

It took so much willpower not to snap at him. I looked at the kid suspiciously. Then I remembered something that felt like years and years and years ago: there's a way to prove whether or not this kid's the Doctor.

"Puella." I said.

"Yeah?"

"Check his chest."

"'What?"

"Just check his chest. Both sides." She put her hand on both sides of his chest cautiously. "What'd you feel?"

"What?"

"The Doctor has two hearts. Did you feel two hearts?" I asked.

"Nah, bruh."

"That kid is not the Doctor!" I yelled. She stepped back and shrugged. "He may not be the Doctor, but he's hella ripped."

"What?"

Puella rolled her eyes and growled something about me being stupid, and I glanced back at the kid, who was wearing a devilish smirk. I knew something was up. "Listen - " I begged. "Just try to understand, alright? You're just a kid. You don't need to be doing anyone's dirty work. If the Master is making you do this, we can help. You can run away with us."

He laughed, an insane glint in his black-looking eyes. "You think I want to run away? Before the Master found me, I was no one. I had no purpose to life. And then - and then I heard them. Those wonderful, magical drums. Guiding me, leading me where I need to go. And the Master was there. He was there to help me along my way. He showed me what to do, how to help myself get what I want in life, and… I knew it had to be done. It's the right thing to do. How can you not see it? You heard the drums, and yet here you are. Running from them. That was the Master's first instinct, too."

"Don't you dare compare me to that douchebag!"

"He ran. He ran so far, and so fast. And then, do you know what happened? The Doctor found him, and he realized who he really was. He realized what he was destined for, what the drums meant. The Universe - the Universe is meant to be his. Don't you see?" he begged, a dreamy, not-quite-there look in his big, childish eyes.

"Not really. First off, I don't get what the drums are. What are they?"

The boy smirked. "They're his hearts."

"What?"

"His beating hearts. Time Lords have two hearts. They beat like the drums. One two three four."

My eyes widened. "Oh. Oh." That makes sense. That makes total sense.

Of course it does.

"Get out of my head!" I yelled, unable to handle him anymore.

"Uh, Blue..." Puella whispered.

"What?" I snapped.

"He's not in your head." I whirled around, panic seizing me. Behind us was the Master. And his smile became even more unsettling. A hungry, maniacal smile that sent shivers down my back and made me want to cringe. The dangerous glint in his eyes told me that he could and would eat me alive, that he would torture me until I couldn't stand any more. And for one of the first times that I could remember, I was truly, properly terrified.