A/N: Thank you to Isa-Just-Me for favoriting and following this story, to Jill for reviewing(yay for being the first reviewer! Cybersmoothies galore!), and to Theta Sigma for also reviewing(just so you know, I freaked when I saw your guest name. Love it!)

Jill: Thanks so much for reviewing! I hope you won't be disappointed that this won't be slash, because I'm not really the slash-writer type. It will be mainly strong friendship(well, as strong a friendship that two mortal enemies can have...). However, the human brain is an amazing thing. I'm sure it will be quite easy for you to pretend the slash is implied, if that is what you want to do. I just want you to know that slash is not my intentions.

Theta Sigma: Funny story, I was thinking about the Doctor's nickname today during my FST class, which is why I actually screamed out loud when I saw your review. (My cats gave me a weird look and then ran away.) I know what you mean about wanting a story like this. Whenever I want to read something specific about two specific characters, I can never find anything similar to what I'm looking for. Usually I'm to lazy to write it myself. Thanks for reviewing!

Enjoy Chapter 1!

Debts

By Trinaluv33

~Chapter 1~

Doctor Lydia Crawford walked aimlessly through the corridors, flipping through a light blue folder. This folder contained her life's work, which was discovering and testing alien organisms. Her latest discovery was sure to boost her career. UNIT would have no other choice but to finally accept her brilliance.

Her break through resided in a small, dark holding cell. It was humanoid in appearance and seemed no older than thirty years old. It had dark brown hair and a charming little goatee. It appeared extremely violent. Lydia also noted that he seemed slightly narcissistic. The subject preferred to be known as "The Master." Lydia suspected that his race was a very primitive one, one which depended on a hierarchy to function. She was sure that there must be an incredible amount of class warfare on its planet.

It had been a week since Dr. Crawford and her associates captured the subject, a week which was mainly devoted to observation and simple diagnostic readings. So far Dr. Crawford had discovered a bizarre double heart reading, along with a dangerously high average body temperature. Soon they would begin Stage Two. Lydia was beaming with anticipation. The prospect of being able to more thoroughly study this amazing creature filled her with barely-contained glee.

Her platform heels made distinct melodious taps as she neared the subject's cell. Inside, sitting on the dust-ridden floor, was a tall, slim man in a wrinkled but elegant black suit. He held eye contact with Lydia as she peered through the metal bars containing the strange alien. She could have sworn he was smirking at her.

Lydia straightened out her pink blouse, clutching her folder tightly to her chest. "Today is the day we make history."

The Master studied the human, and he wasn't impressed. This woman was out of her mind if she thought that she was better than him. He would have destroyed her already if he still had his compressor. Alas, he was trapped in a dingy cell, chained to a dank wall with rusty, simplistic chains, and stranded under an imbecile's control without even his compressor to aid him. How humiliating.

The Master watched silently as she searched for the key to his cell in her giant key ring. He assumed that their were nearly twenty other cells containing other, lesser alien species, possibly decaying where they lay. Convinced that Dr. Crawford was insane, the Master chose to ignore her and not play along with her foolish games. So far her harebrained tests have been mainly observational, but he had overheard her enthusing about the "Stage Two" that was soon to come. He silently observed the woman who may very well be the death of his current regeneration. She had cropped reddish-brown hair and wild green eyes. She was of average height; the Master couldn't find anything special about the ordinary human besides, perhaps, her apparent madness and the glint of insanity shining in her eyes.

As she swung open the cell door, the walkie-talkie strapped to her waist sprung to life, beeping sharply. With a look of clear irritation, she paused in her task, door halfway open, and unclipped the walkie-talkie, speaking sharply.

"What could you possibly want?"

There's an object here, ma'am. A box... A big, blue box.

The Master bit his lip. It couldn't be...

"A box? And why would I care about a stupid box?" Lydia snipped, hands on hips in an arrogant manner.

Because, ma'am, it just appeared, out of thin air... And there was a man-

Lydia's eyes lit up like a young child's on Christmas morning. "A man? What kind of man can appear out of thin air?!" A large grin nearly broke her face in two. "Bring him to me this instant!"

Sounds of a struggle echoed through the walkie-talkie. The Master tried to keep his features neutral. The Doctor seemed to have impeccable timing, as always.

He ran, ma'am. We are pursuing. What actions would you prefer we take?

"Anything!" she nearly shrieked. "Just bring him to me!"

The Master rolled his eyes. Mad, indeed.

Moments passed in utter silence; Lydia seemed to be frozen where she stood. Finally, a tinny voice made its way to the four eager ears waiting in anticipation.

We have him apprehended. Shall we bring him to a new cell?

"No. Bring him straight to me. Cell 13A," she ordered, staring into space and licking her lips in anticipation. She slowly turned her wild gaze to rest on the Master. "Stage Two for you will have to wait."

The old door creaked open, allowing two muscular guards to enter, dragging a limp body between them. Lydia directed them to a pair of rustic chains opposite of the Master. She appraised her newest subject with fascination. He was humanoid like the Master and wore a tan jacket and striped pants. There was an odd emblem on the shirt collar that resembled a question mark. His fair blond hair sharply contrasted the blossoming purple bruise on his right temple. Tentatively she grabbed his wrist, feeling for a pulse. Onetwothreefour onetwothreefour onetwothreefour...

Lithe as a panther, Lydia spun around and addressed the Master. "Do you know this being?"

The Master smiled mischievously. "Never seen him before in my life."

She nodded absently, too busy daydreaming of all the things she could learn from this intriguing species she had discovered. "Interesting..." She knelt beside the unconscious man. "He seems to be from the same species as you." Her eyes were drawn to the dark bruise on his forehead.

Aware of her scrutiny, the shorter guard allayed her fears. "He will be fine. We were forced to tranquilize him when he refused to stop running, and he hit his head on the ground as he fell."

Dr. Crawford nodded, and looked between the two Time Lords. She let her gaze fall on the Master. "Looks like you won't have to go through Stage Two yet after all!" Pointing harshly at the Doctor 's unconscious form, the mad scientist addressed her guards. "Take him to the med-room and prep him for Stage Two at once."

The Master stayed silent as the guards dragged the Doctor from the room. For a moment, the Doctor's blue eyes cracked open, capturing the Master's gaze and staring into his very soul. They shared a short moment; the Master could feel the Doctor's telepathic wavelengths humming through every fiber of his being and calling out to him.

Help me...

The Master chose not to respond. The Doctor's eyes slipped shut once more as he disappeared from sight. The Master sighed and once again ignored the insane woman as she locked his cell and followed after her newest obsession.

I am sorry, Doctor.

A/N: Thanks for reading!

Cyber-hedgehogs for all who review!

Luv Trinaluv