Chapter 10

The Master left the Doctor alone for a couple of hours, during which time the Doctor forced himself to stay perfectly still despite the discomfort wanting him to move. He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to kid himself that he was somewhere safe, somewhere where he didn't need to move. He wished he could still his mind in the same way he could still his body, wished that he could just stop thinking.

He thought about the Time War first and foremost. The level of fear and confusion he had felt that had caused him to run. He had been terrified, the type of physical fear that stops a man from doing anything worthwhile. He had never been as scared as when he had arrived on Gallifrey at the beginning of the War. The scenes he had witnessed then had been horrific, had burnt on his mind and that was just the beginning, there was no way he could stay. The Master's last words before leaving the room were going around his head, "You're the biggest traitor Gallifrey's seen," he wondered if he meant that. Although, in truth he knew he did and that it was true. He had left Gallifrey when the planet needed every man, when Gallifrey needed all the help it could get he had ran. He couldn't fight though, it didn't feel right and he knew he could never explain that to the Master, never justify it. He thought about the Master and why he was doing this. It was connected he knew that much. The Master had hated him for years and years but leaving the Time War made it a lot worse, a lot deeper, a lot more unforgiveable. The Master wanted to destroy him for the treason he committed by running and part of him could understand why. He thought about Rose and a single tear ran down his cheek. She had cared for him so both and in the end it had got her killed. He'd got her killed. Jackie had warned her to be careful, to stay safe and he'd promised he's look after her, that he would keep her safe and he had broken that promise in the worst possible way. He thought about Lucy, the girl with the Master. Why was she with him? What had the Master done to her? Was it free will or not?

"Don't cry, Doctor," the Master said softly.

The Doctor had been so lost in thought that he hadn't heard the Master come into the room. The shock of a break to the silence and the Master seeming to suddenly appear right in front of him caused the Doctor to physically jump, causing a shock to run through him. He winced at this and the Master laughed just slightly.

The Master wiped the stray tears away from the Doctor's face roughly with his thumb, "And when I say don't cry, I mean; don't cry until I make you cry. Because I will make you cry."

The Doctor stared at him defiantly, silently.

"Nothing to say?" the Master taunted, "Shame. But then I've already made you cry haven't I? So many times. Most recently with your precious English flower."

The Doctor didn't respond in anyway.

"Would death make you cry again, Doctor?" the Master asked, not expecting or receiving an answer. "I mean I have other stuff planned which'll have you in floods but that's for later. Right now I have a show for you. A special only going to happen once show especially for your eyes. You ready for this Doctor?"

The Doctor just continued to stare at him with the same glare set in his face.

"You should be, Doctor, this is your first chance to see it," the Master continued, clearly excited.

There was no mistaking the unspoken question in the Doctor's eye, See what?

"What you ran from, this is your chance to see what it was like," the Master elaborated, "Except of course it was much worse than what you're going to see. It's a start though. It'll probably be enough to break your fragile little hearts." He turned to the door, "LUCY!"

Panic entered the Doctor face, "What are you-" he broke off, his face screwed up in pain as he forced himself not to scream.

The Master simply laughed at him and waited for Lucy to appear. She did just a moment later, looking at the Master confusedly. The Master smiled at her, "You trust me, right, Lucy?" he asked with an innocent expression only adding to the fear the Doctor was feeling.

Lucy nodded "Of course."

"Do me a favour, stand over there," he pointed to an spot an equal distance between himself and the Doctor, "facing him not me," he specified.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"Just do it Lucy," the Master told her and Lucy did so.

She looked back at the Master momentarily, but his glared caused her to face the Doctor again. She noticed the regret written in the Doctor's face and panic built up in her. She did trust the Master, he had promised her he wouldn't hurt her physically and she believed that. For the most part, watching the Doctor's expression now she was less sure. Fear made her want to look back and see what he was doing but she didn't want to annoy him since he was clearly already angry so she continued looking at the Doctor.

"You're a coward, Doctor, a complete coward but you're not going to get away with it," the Master knew he was repeated what he had said before but he wanted to re-illiterate his point. "Gallifrey deserved better from its children. It deserved people who would defend it, who would fight for it. People who would try and protect it."

The Doctor was watching the Master carefully, silently trying to work out where he was going with this. He avoided looking at Lucy not liking her involvement in this, this was regarding them as Time Lords, nothing to do with a human.

"And you can't get away with this, Doctor. I am all that is left of Gallifrey now and therefore it falls on me to distribute your punishment. It falls on me to avenge Gallifrey, to avenge myself."

The Doctor wanted to point out that he never cared much for Gallifrey before the War, he wanted to ask what he meant about avenging himself, but he forced himself to keep quiet.

"What's wrong, Doctor? Nothing to say?" the Master asked, smirking at him, "Nothing to say. You don't want to defend yourself? Maybe that's because you know I'm right, you know you deserve this. Or maybe you're too scared. Maybe you really are just a complete coward. Are you so afraid of the small amount of pain that would come from talking? Is that why you ran, Coward?"

"Rambling makes… you sound… crazy." the Doctor asked, wincing between words as shocks ran through his body.

"Oh you can talk?" the Master laughed. "Shut up now. Maybe you're right, maybe I am insane. I got this drumming in my head, this drumbeat. 1234, 1234, 1234," he tapped on the side of his head along with the numbers. "And I know what it is. I know why I have it. It's the heartbeat of a Time Lord. It's all that's left of Gallifrey, the constant reminder of what I had to do. It won't leave me alone, Doctor, it won't go away, it just gets worse and worse and worse. And I can remember it, Doctor, I can remember the War, I can remember all I had to do, all that happened to me. And now it's time for you to get a taste of it."

The Doctor didn't attempt to answer this time, he just wanted for the Master to make his move.

"I think it's only fair you feel it as well. Every other Time Lord did. Everyone else felt it. Everyone one died for their planet. It's time for you to hurt for Gallifrey," the Master pointed his laser screwdriver in Lucy's direction and the Doctor's eyes widened in fear, causing Lucy to tense. "Time you saw what happened."

After pressing a few buttons to find the right setting, the Master fired the screwdriver in Lucy's direction and a piercing scream escaped her mouth, continuing the whole time the screwdriver was pointed at her. The Doctor's eyes became wider and wider, silently pleading the Master to stop this, pleading the Master to hurt him if he had to but not Lucy. It was nothing to do with her.

"It was mostly innocent victims, Doctor. It was all about hurting people, for the hell of it because we could. Hurting them as much as possible but not actually killing them for the longest time." The Master explained, pressing a button to increase the pain that was soaring through Lucy.

She fell to her knees clutching her head desperately. She was still screaming, it was as though it was beyond her power to stop. The Doctor could see the pain written across her face, the tears starting to stream their way down her cheeks. He could see the way she was looking at him, pleading for him to help her even though she knew he couldn't.

"Stop it!" he shouted, not caring about the shock that ran through him because of it. "Let her go."

The Master laughed at the desperation in the Doctor's voice, "You feel helpless don't you? I never understood you, Doctor, why you care so much for pathetic creatures like humans, but I think I get it. It's because you're just like them, pathetic and cowardly."

Lucy turned to face the Master, still clutching at her head. She was crying helplessly, desperation written on her face, "Please stop it. PLEASE!"

"No," the Master replied simply, "No, I'm afraid this can't end."

"Please I can't bare it," Lucy begged, "It hurts. It hurts so much, I can't bear it. STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!"

"Is it too much, Lucy? Is it really too much?"

"Y-yes," she struggled through her tears, "Please. I trusted you. I believed you wouldn't hurt me. Please stop it."

"Oh lovely little Lucy, has your time with me taught you nothing?" the Master queried. "You should never trust anyone. Everyone goes back on their word. Isn't that right, Theta?"

The Doctor stared directly at the Master, shocked into silence by the use of his old name. He hadn't heard it in so many centuries and it surprised him how much hearing it hurt.

"He would know better than anyone. You see Lucy the universe is full of liars and cheats and murderers. It's full of Wars and destruction and it never really ends. It never goes away," the Master continued. "Do you want to die, Lucy?"

"I want it t-t-to stop hurting," she stuttered. "Please."

The Master shrugged and smiled slightly, "All right," he said simply. He changed the setting on the laser screwdriver and pointed it at her again, "Say n'night lovely little Lucy. Night. Night." He pressed a button again and a final short lived scream came from Lucy which echoed on long after she died.