Chapter 10

The Master threw open the doors to the TARDIS. Suddenly, a flash of bright light flew past the doors, making him jump back in surprise. The next thing he saw was a large Dalek ship, surrounded by much smaller ships, move into view. The sight was an overwhelming one as well as an horrific one. It seemed that they hadn't noticed the sudden appearance of another TARDIS, which was always a good thing and by the looks of things, they had their sights on something else; Gallifrey. His home. He could still feel them, hear them. After all these years, it felt good and reassuring.

His eyes followed the ships as they moved and fell onto a dark orange globe surrounded by twin suns. There it was. Gallifrey, still lying in majestic splendour even though it was being slowly ruined by wave upon wave of Dalek ships. Somehow though, even with the Dalek ships, it looked so beautiful.

As he watched, the Daleks started to fire upon the planet. That told him that the secondary barriers had gone down but how? He saw countless TARDIS's in all shapes and sizes start to turn back to the planet in order to save as many people as they could from the Daleks; all knowing that the war was lost. He knew that was a bad idea, although he was tempted to do the same. He wanted to do the same, but he didn't want to miss what happened next. This was why he'd come back.

He rushed over to the central control panel and tried to link into the video system on Gallifrey. He received no pictures, only sounds. The constant screaming of his people, children crying and the cries of the Daleks followed by huge explosions. Abruptly, the audio link was cut off. He rushed back over to the door, to see what was going on off world.

The Dalek ships were increasing their fire, as they continued to stream towards the planet. Gallifrey seemed to be unharmed, undamaged by the onslaught, although he knew that on the ground there was chaos. The Doctor was down there somewhere, trying to save the planet as he always did.

Suddenly, a bright blinding flash interrupted his thoughts, as Gallifrey seem to seem to burn and then blow itself to pieces. The Master raised his hand to his eyes, against the light, and when he lowered it, there was nothing left but dust and large rocks floating everywhere.

It was gone. Gallifrey was actually gone. He quickly shut his eyes and opened them again, hoping his eyes were just playing tricks but he quickly realised they weren't. He tried to open his mind to see if he could feel them. There was nothing, absolutely nothing. The Time lords were gone. His people, his family… no more. Tears prickled his eyes. He had never felt so alone or lost.

Then it struck him. He and the Doctor; they were the only ones left. The Doctor was right; he couldn't have stopped the hordes from destroying Gallifrey but that didn't stop the Master from hating him nonetheless. For all he knew, the Doctor was the one that brought them to Gallifrey. He had brought death on Gallifrey.

But, there was something else missing from the sad picture. The Daleks. The thousands of Dalek ships that had swarmed the skies. They were gone too. It seemed that the explosion had destroyed them but how? He guessed it really didn't matter. It was just good to know that they hadn't survived and had been destroyed by their own obsession of defeating and wiping out the Time Lords. Apart from the Doctor, they were the other thing in the universe he truly hated and despised.

A sound of mourning suddenly filled the control room. It seemed that the TARDIS was remembering what had happened here; also reliving the severe pain of separation and loss. It brought home the fact that the TARDIS wasn't just a mindless spaceship which could travel in time at will, but in fact was a living thing which had been grown and had the same ties to the now gone planet. Its home. The happy thrum that normally could be heard constantly around the control room died away leaving a heavy silence, which only added to the already depressing atmosphere. Apart of him sympathised with the machine, even felt sorry for making it relive the awful atrocity.

He looked back at the spot where Gallifrey had been, which was now just empty space with rocks floating everywhere. Tears started to leak out of his eyes. He turned away from the door and walked back inside. The doors instantly closed as he slowly walked towards the control panel, sat down, with his back against it. The lights seem to fade while tears flowed freely down his face. He didn't notice them as the image of Gallifrey's death throws kept replaying in his mind, as the void left by the sudden loss of his people increased.

A wave of intense anger filled his body. How could he have not been there when Gallifrey was lost? What could have kept him away? Then he remembered he had run away from the war when he knew it was lost and changed into a human.

Some of the anger he felt towards the Doctor began to subside. He knew that it was pointless. Everything seemed pointless now that there were only two of them now. Although, the Doctor didn't know the Master was alive and so thought he was the last of the Time Lords.

I think, thought the Master, it is time to make amends with the Doctor and have a truce. What was the point of fighting each other? Oh my god, he thought, he was becoming exactly what he hated. He was slowly becoming more like the Doctor, all peaches and cream, all forgiving. The thought of it disgusted him and he almost began to hate himself.

So immersed in his thoughts and feelings, the Master didn't feel the sudden jerk of the TARDIS dematerialising and flying away. He didn't even notice the explosions and sparks coming from the control panel and raining over his head. Everything seemed to become separate from reality. The only thing he did notice was the sudden jolt of the TARDIS landing again. He stayed where he was, sitting next to the control unable to move; not wanting to move, as he was frozen by his emotions.

He heard the door of the TARDIS quickly open and footsteps rushing towards him. He didn't look up. He knew who it was. Another set of footsteps of someone else entering could also be heard, with the doors closing behind them. Then a familiar voice came to him.

"I should have known."