Here's the next one. Been on a roll for this fanfic so I'll just keep posting it as I finish new chapters. Hope you like it!
I woke up with a start, breathing hard and hearing the echoes of laughter drifting away from the nightmare I'd had. I sighed heavily, dragging a hand through my short, cropped hair. I'd cut it again not long after leaving the Doctor and dyed it back to its normal blonde; giving up on trying to grow it out for now. I was still getting used to the shaved-down sides but it was a change that I needed after spending time on my own again. I wanted to feel like myself for a while.
I got up out of bed and stretched with a groan as my aching muscles pulled taut. I'd dipped back into the gym that I kept in a room just off the hall, occupying myself with that and various other things until I determined what I was going to do now. Without the Doctor hauling me around to various planets and times, I was left with a lot of free time. Free time to think, which was the last thing I wanted to do.
Christmas was approaching, after all, and I'd been cooped up in my manor waiting for the Doctor to return. As expected, if he'd planned on picking me up not long after what happened, he was terribly late and I was considering going on a backpacking trip at this point. My mind kept drifting back to him and what had happened while dealing with Davros and I'd grown antsy.
The feather-light touch of his lips against my forehead…
The feeling of his thumb running over my knuckles…
How it felt to lean against him as he kissed the top of my head and comforted me—
I shook my head as I exited the shower, pulling on my clothes and heading downstairs to grab my scarf. It had been a long time since I'd felt lonely to this extent and the more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.
Telephone booths reminded me of the Tardis. Converses reminded me of his sand shoes. A nice coat, a certain pattern on a tie, every moment someone mentioned the planets that had been in the sky or aliens or a conspiracy. Every little thing kept bringing me back to thoughts about him and I was trying my best to smother them down in denial. I can't. There's no way. I told myself never again. I said I couldn't. I can't.
"Hey, watch it!"
I jerked out of my thoughts when I was harshly ran into, the man grumbling about early Christmas drunks as he stormed past. I need to focus, I reminded myself, turning away from the busy shopping center and moving to a newspaper stand. It was the usual holiday announcements and I regretted paying to read such a boring paper until one small article caught my eye.
Broadfell Prison Up In Flames!
My heart skipped a beat at the familiar name. I might have run off with the Doctor after what happened in the Year That Never Was but not before I made sure I knew what happened to those few people who remembered. His wife was imprisoned there… The Master's wife… I cursed under my breath, stepping out toward the street and quickly hailing a cab.
"Where to?" The driver asked as I climbed into the first one that stopped.
"Broadfell Prison."
"The one that blew up?"
"Yes, make it quick and I'll double the fare."
"You got it."
As promised, the cab reached the prison in record time and I paid him and stepped out. The prison was toppled, looking as though someone had put a bomb in the center of it, leaving the sign tucked in the fallen brickwork and the front gate hanging by a screw. I wasn't sure what to think and pulled out my phone to call around to Jack or any of the others to get more information.
"Miss Fallon?"
"Yes?" I answered automatically, turning and not realizing my mistake fast enough.
Only the Doctor and his companions knew that name, and before I could retaliate, a cloth was held to my nose and mouth. The sickly sweet scent of chloroform filled my airways before I knew it and my eyes fluttered closed as arms grabbed me and hauled me away.
The Master couldn't believe his luck. First, his insane ex-wife conjured him from the dead only to throw a wrench into the mix, making his new body unstable. Then, the Doctor went looking for him as that damn pounding beat in his head only echoed louder and louder with every step. Now, this.
He'd woken up strapped to a rolling table and gagged, having been knocked out in a junkyard by some men in helicopters. Go figure he'd been caught by a couple of greedy humans.
"If you would, Mister Danes," the grinning man asked and the gag was finally removed from his mouth as he ran his tongue over his lips.
"I'm starving."
"You've my daughter to thank for this. It's all her idea. She heard rumors of Harold Saxon, his disciples, his return. It's the sort of thing she finds rather thrilling," the man said, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder as she smiled back as well.
"And I was right. He's back. The very man we need, and he's here. Oh, this is going to be wonderful. So much better than that other useless person."
"Now, now, I already said she was a part of our backup plan if we can't get the gate fixed. I'm sure we're close to cracking what it is that makes her immortal but now that we have him, things will progress that much faster." He turned back to the guard. "Move him down with the other one and get him into something more comfortable."
The guard nodded and began to roll the Master back out of the room. Not one to stay silent now that the gag was removed, the Master figured he should gather some information as to this new development.
"Hey, who are they? What do they want with me?"
"Joshua and Abigail Naismith," the guard replied shortly, glaring at him with a frown. "You'll have to wait for them to explain what they want with you but you should watch what you say. They own you now."
The Master rolled his eyes with a mental scoff. No one owned him, much less some stupid humans. He was brought into a room though, not much unlike a cell with how dark and damp it was. He was rolled in and placed begrudgingly into a straight jacket with a thick red collar and lead strapped around his neck and attached to the floor.
"Hm, didn't know they had such a fetish," he joked with a cackle of mad laughter, but the guard ignored him and simply locked the cell as he left.
The Master clicked his tongue in annoyance and drummed his fingers in the sleeves of the jacket, bouncing with the energy that this unsteady body gave him. He was sure to get bored quickly in here and already his stomach twisted with the never-ending hunger he'd been dealing with, but if the humans wanted him for something then they weren't about to leave him down here to rot. He didn't have to wait long for something interesting to happen though, as the door to the room opened and a different guard dragged someone in.
They weren't in the same straight-jacket setup he was but their cuffed hands and weak appearance as they were haphazardly dropped into the cell across from him explained why. They didn't move off the ground either, lying there as the guard left and not shifting in the slightest once he was gone.
"Hey," the Master called out, leaning forward until the collar around his neck was pulled taut. "Are you dead?"
They didn't respond and he frowned, shouting.
"Hey!"
"God, shut the fuck up," they spat out, hunching their shoulders as they rolled onto their side, revealing pale arms littered with bruises and track marks, and poorly wrapped bandages. "Like I don't have enough shit to deal with."
The Master scowled. "Oh, right, because having someone to chat to is so much worse."
"Oh, believe me, it is when that person is you." They rolled over so he could see their face settled into a snarling glare. "Last I checked, we're not exactly friends."
The Master frowned, trying to remember why their face was familiar before it clicked and a crazed grin stretched across his face. "Oh! Oh, ho, ho! You're the bitch who tried to kill me!"
Fallon rolled her eyes. "This is just my luck. Kidnapped, experimented on again, and trapped down in a basement with the fucking Joker."
"Come on. It can't be that bad," the Master drawled. "That idiot Doctor is probably well on his way to save you."
"He was supposed to pick me up ages ago," Fallon argued, working her way to a sitting position with a grimace of pain. "He doesn't know I'm here."
The Master smirked. "That's perfect! We only have each other now, then, yes? I'm sure we could come to an agreement."
Fallon shot him a look. "Why the hell would I want to work with a psychopath who's not only supposed to be dead but also someone I tried to murder not too long ago?"
"Please, can't we just let that go? I tried to kill you, you tried to kill me, let's call it even."
Fallon shook her head, closing her eyes and leaning against the wall. "Fucking psycho…" She peered an eye open at him a moment later though with a frown. "How are you alive?"
He shrugged, flopping back onto the ground to stare at the ceiling. "Lucy did some ritual thing with my ring and then tried to blow me up so now my body's unstable." He turned to face her as his body flickered to reveal the skeleton underneath. "Women, am I right?"
Fallon frowned but closed her eyes again. "What did you have in mind?"
He launched himself back into a sitting position with a manic grin. "I help you, you help me. They wanted me for something, knowing who I am. You seem to be a backup that they won't need when I'm through. So, I keep you alive and together we rock their world."
"Yeah, I'm not going to agree to some vague plan that could, and probably would do something to the rest of the world." She shot him a look. "I'm not killing them either."
The Maser huffed. "You're as bad as the Doctor now. You're being tortured and honestly, think they don't deserve any punishment? If you're close to the Doctor, then you can bet he'll pop up here and cause a mess for them touching you. That's how he is, you know. The real Doctor. Oh, sure, he gives off that whole 'I wouldn't hurt my worst enemy' vibe but I've known him for years." The Master eyed her, seeing the slight hesitation in her gaze. "The second his little pets are touched, all bets are off."
"…What do you want?" She finally asked, agreeing to his proposal as he smirked devilishly.
"Just your help to cause a bit of trouble."
Fallon wasn't thrilled to be agreeing to help him but begrudgingly listened to what he had to say about his plan. He wasn't telling her everything, of course, and he could tell she was still very much suspicious of him but as time passed, it was apparent that she was becoming more and more willing to join him. Her being taken away for a few hours helped push her over to his side, given the shape she was in when she was brought back. He didn't get a chance to question what was being done with her though, since the guards turned to him and brought him upstairs instead.
The guard walked him into the hall behind Joshua and Abigail, and into a room where various machines were set up and a large gate was situated at the far end of the room. He eyed it, knowing what they needed him for and remembering their words about Fallon. The experiments not going well could mean they were just daft humans missing the obvious but he was curious himself now too. The Doctor had once again stumbled upon something special and he wanted her.
"Demonstrate," Joshua commanded and the gate was started up in front of him as he eyed it, not really having much to say about it.
"Oh, that's not from Earth."
Joshua smirked. "And neither are you. A perfect combination, don't you think?"
Two scientists excused themselves as Joshua invited the Master to sit at a table nearby and discuss things, removing the man's straight jacket in an attempt to appear civil.
"The Gate was found inside a spaceship buried at the foot of Mount Snowdon. It was moved to an institute known as Torchwood, but when Torchwood fell, let's just say I acquired it," Joshua explained with a cunning smirk.
"I like you," the Master purred, eager to unnerve the man.
"Thank you."
"You'd taste great."
As expected, the man's smile faltered and he stood, speaking to his servant. "Mr. Danes?"
"The visitor will be given food," the servant announced and a platter was brought in.
The Master couldn't control himself at the sight, grabbing the roast chicken and ripping it to pieces to devour. It was gone quickly and the Master cleaned off every bone as Joshua cleared his throat.
"Anyway, the device came equipped with its own power supply. A Nuclear Bolt. One technician remains in charge of the feedback twenty-four hours a day, and the power feeds through to the Gate, where it encourages some sort of cellular regeneration. Miss Collins was our test subject. She carried some burns as a result of an accident when she was a child, down her left side. If you could?"
The woman in question stepped forward and showed her arm where the burns were gone.
"The Gate mended her. Thank you."
"But what do you want it for?" The Master asked him, eyeing him. "And why bother with that woman downstairs? More trouble than she's worth if you ask me."
"We calculate that if this device can be fully repaired by your good self, it can restore the body forever. Hence it's given title: The Immortality Gate. Because that's what I want. Not for me, but for my daughter. I want her never to die. My gift to her. She will be immortal."
"Abigail. It means bringer of joy," she hummed as her father brushed his hand over his chin proudly.
"And the woman?"
"Immortal herself," Joshua admitted. "Records have shown her going back ages. Yet another item of interest to Torchwood except they didn't have any proof nor were they able to track her down. That is, until recently. She was working with UNIT for a while and their records were easy enough to get a hold of. She's died half a dozen times in the last few years and when we saw her taking an interest in your wife's prison, we simply picked her up." Joshua turned to him with a shrug. "The woman refuses to inform us of her secret, as to how she obtained the gift. So, we're trying to figure it out ourselves through any means necessary."
"She's immortal?" The Master questioned with a hum. "You have proof?"
Joshua waved a hand nonchalantly. "We tested it the second she was brought here, in a few different ways. The timing isn't always the same but she's come back to life every time. Scarring remains on occasion but all our testing comes up the same; human. With you here to fix the Immortality Gate though, we soon won't have any need for her. I'm sure we can come up with a more… permanent solution when we get rid of her."
The Master frowned, his hands tightening on the bone he had in his grip. These humans were so stupid if they didn't see the potential prize they had in their grips. Fallon might be one of the Doctor's pets but even he could see she was useful. He caught a whiff of something then, breaking the bone in his hand and turning to Joshua.
"Bring me that woman and I'll get to work."
Joshua hesitated, suspicious. "What use would she be for you?"
The Master rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest, leaning back in his seat. "You either bring her here or I won't touch your gate." He smirked dangerously. "You could try and make me, of course, but you know me. I'm a mad genius. You really think I would do what you say?"
Joshua frowned but knew he had no choice if he wanted this done so he turned to his guard and nodded. The Master smiled and turned to the computer at his disposal.
"Now then, better get to work."
I expected to be dragged back to my cell after the most recent testing, so it was mildly surprising for my guards to bring me upstairs. I was cuffed again and sat in a chair, spotting the Master at his computer give me a smirk. I still don't trust him. He might have gotten me out of this mess for now but even I know he's dangerous. I glanced at Joshua and Abigail who also eyed him. They will know that much, no matter how stupid they are. Said man forced a smile on his face and took a step toward the Master as I made sure to keep my mouth shut.
"Now, please don't imagine I'm a slave driver. We can resume work on Boxing Day, Mister Saxon."
The Master turned to him with a glare. "My name is the Master."
With a tap of one final key, the power in the building dipped, sending the room into darkness as a chill ran up my spine. All eyes went to the gate as it sparked to life.
"Oh, excellent. Excellent! Mr. Danes?" Joshua called out and the servant summoned the guards.
"The visitor will be restrained."
"What? But I repaired it," the Master argued as I scoffed.
"They're not complete idiots."
Joshua sent me a glare but was quick to turn his gaze back to the gate. "Don't let him anywhere near that thing."
The Master scowled but didn't put up a fight as he was put back into his straight jacket.
"Your reputation precedes you, sir. I have no doubt you've laid traps. Perhaps explosives. A means of escape, or murder. But everything you've done to the Gate will be checked and double-checked before anyone stands inside," Joshua said as I rolled my eyes.
I already knew what the Master had done. The Master said he would booby-trap the device but I knew better. Clever people wouldn't just alter it into breaking or doing something crazy. The Master knew he'd be kept away from it and, judging by the smirk he still had on his face as he winked at me, everything was still going exactly as he'd planned. He wouldn't break the machine. This idiot repaired it because he doesn't plan on anyone using it but him.
There wasn't much I could do like this though. I was physically exhausted and mentally worn out. I'd been here for nearly a month and while they'd finally stopped trying to kill me in various ways, it didn't make their tests any less debilitating. And given this machine is alien tech and I'm handcuffed in a chair surrounded by armed guards, there isn't much I could have done even if I was in full health… I don't even know what this "Immortality Gate" does.
"But it's time for the broadcast. The President's grand initiative. You might want to see this, sir. Proof that the human race can mend its own problems," Joshua announced, turning on his television as the news channel announced a presidential speech from the White House.
"Idiots," I breathed under my breath, lightly straining against the cuffs to see if I'd be able to get out of them in any way.
It wouldn't be the first time I'd broken out of handcuffs and after thousands of years, one tends to get proficient at it. The longer the Master's here though, the higher chance he has to catch them off guard and do something risky. I eyed the man who continued to smile away before a familiar shout echoed through the room as yet a rather uninvited guest burst in.
"Turn the gate off right now!" The Doctor shouted as the guards turned toward him, raising their weapons. "No, no, no, no, no. Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device."
"You idiot!" I snapped, jerking up from my own chair now that the guards were preoccupied. "You just gave him the chance!"
Sure enough, the Master broke free of his restraints easily and launched himself into the gate.
"Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!" He crowed proudly as I winced, fighting with my cuffs as the Doctor turned to anyone who might listen.
"Deactivate it! All of you, turn the whole thing off!"
No one moved though, all holding their heads in pain or shaking them.
"He's inside my head," Joshua muttered and the Doctor tried to rush forward but I grabbed him, stopping him as the Master fired off a shot of energy at him the second I was freed.
"Fallon?"
"You're late," I muttered to him, frowning over at the Master, "but obviously now isn't the time for that. What do we do?"
The Doctor tried to say something but then Donna's grandfather stumbled into the room.
"Doctor! Doctor, there's, there's this face."
The Doctor hurried toward him as I moved to the computers, trying to do anything I could to stop the machine. "What is it? What can you see?"
"Well, it's him. I can see him."
"Doctor, I can't turn it off!" I called to him as the broadcast announced a similar issue with the President, moving to the plug to unplug the device but it held fast to the socket.
"That's because I locked it, idiot," the Master scoffed as I pointed at him.
"Don't call me an idiot, jackass!"
The Master rolled his eyes as the Doctor got Wilfred into one of the glass containment areas nearby, doing something to the controls to help him before he turned to me. He ran over and grabbed my head as I attempted to lean back.
"Wha—"
"Are you alright?" He asked, eyes scanning my face desperately. "Is he affecting you too?"
"No. No, I'm fine."
"What? But you're human!" The Master argued from his position and I flipped him the bird as he clicked his tongue. "No matter. There's only fifty seconds and counting."
"To what?" The Doctor questioned, grabbing hold of my hand; the handcuffs hanging limply from my wrist.
"Oh, you're going to love this."
"What does the gate actually do?" I asked and the Doctor gave me a worried look.
"It repairs. It heals but it heals entire planets of people," he explained as he turned to the Master. "What is it, hypnotism? Mind control. You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?" The Doctor asked trying to figure it out as I struggled to understand.
"Oh, that's way too easy. No, no, no. They're not going to think like me, they're going to become me. And, zero!"
A blast of energy burst from him and the gate, sending a ripple through the air as everyone's heads started to shake violently until everyone shifted, turning into the Master himself.
"You can't have!"
"What is it?" Wilfred asked, shouting at the Master. "What is it? What have you done, you monster?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" The Master in the gate asked before the other people in the room turned to him with the same face.
"Or to me?"
"Or to me?"
"Or to me?"
"Or to us?"
"Breaking news. I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!" The newscaster said, also appearing as the Master even as the screen switched to the President.
"I'm President. President of the United States. Look at me! Ooh, financial solution. Deleted. Ha ha!"
The Master turned to the Doctor with a wicked grin. "The human race was always your favorite, Doctor. But now, there is no human race. There is only the Master race!"
He cackled maniacally and I turned to the Doctor in concern but even he looked lost.
"Grab them," the Master ordered and the Doctor was gagged and strapped to a metal standing table.
Wilfred was freed from the containment box and tied to a chair, and I was unfortunately the one in the straight jacket since I'd managed to escape from the cuffs. The three of us were brought into Joshua's office where the Master felt comfortable giving out his orders.
"Now then, I've got a planet to run. Is everybody ready?" He asked the versions of himself scattered across the world broadcasting to the screen in the office.
"Six billion, seven hundred and twenty-seven million, nine hundred and forty-nine thousand three hundred and thirty-eight versions of us awaiting orders."
"This is Washington. As President of the United States, I can transfer all the United Nations protocols to you immediately, putting you in charge of all the Earth's defenses."
"UNIT HQ, Geneva reporting. All under your command, sir."
"And this is the Central Military Commission here in Beijing, sir, with over two point five million soldiers, sir. Present arms!"
"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship. Nothing to say, Doctor? What's that? Pardon? Sorry?" The Master teased the gagged Doctor. "No? What about you, Fallon? You were always so talkative down in the basement."
I spat out a "fuck off" through my own gag as he cackled and Wilfred snapped at him instead.
"You let them go, you swine!"
"Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss," the Master drawled, throwing a look over at the Doctor as Wilfred puffed up.
"Yeah? Well, I'd be proud if I was."
"Hush, now. Listen to your Master," the Master purred, getting a snort from me and making him whip around with a frown.
Before he could storm over and question me though, a phone chimed.
"But that's a mobile."
"Yeah, it's mine," Wilfred said, not understanding what that meant. "Let me turn it off."
"No, no, no, no, no. I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?" The Master asked, heading over to him to search his pockets.
"It's nobody. I tell you, it's nothing. It's probably one of them ring-back calls," Wilfred tried.
"Ooh, and look at this. Good man!" He chirped as he pulled out a revolver, tossing it to the floor and finding his phone. "Donna? Who's Donna?"
"She's no one. Just leave it," Wilfred said as he answered and Donna's voice came through the phone.
"Gramps, don't hang up. You've got to help me. I ran out, but everyone was changing."
"Who is she? Why didn't she change?" The Master demanded and Wilfred nodded toward the Doctor.
"Well, it was this thing the Doctor did. He did it to her. The meta crisis."
"Oh, he loves playing with Earth girls. Ugh." He turned to me. "Let me guess, he did something to you too?"
I rolled my eyes and shook my head, as the Master huffed, speaking to the other versions of him.
"Find her. Trace the call. Say goodbye to the freak, Grandad," he said, bringing the phone to Wilfred.
"Donna, get out of there! Just get out of there. I'm telling you, run! Run, sweetheart, that's all. Run for your life!" Wilfred told her desperately as the other Masters got even closer to her. "Donna? What's happening? Are you still there? Look, I'm telling you to run, Donna. Just run, sweetheart. Just run! Donna, don't think about that. Donna, my love. Don't! Donna? What was that? Donna? Donna, are you there? Donna.! Donna! Donna!"
I was worried for a minute but a glance at the Doctor helped me relax. He was smiling behind his gag and once the Master noticed, he stormed over and removed it so the Doctor could talk.
"That's better. Hello. But really, did you think I'd leave my best friend without a defense mechanism?"
"Doctor? What happened?" Wilfred asked, worried.
"She's all right. She's fine. I promise. She'll just sleep."
"Tell me, where's your Tardis?" The Master interrupted, seeing no threat from Donna now.
The Doctor ignored his question though, eyeing him with the same sympathetic eyes as he had back on the Valliant. "You could be so wonderful."
"Where is it?" The Master spat through grit teeth.
"You're a genius. You're stone cold brilliant, you are. I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honor. Because you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."
The Master seemed to soften some. "Would it stop then? The noise in my head?"
"I can help."
"I don't know what I'd be without that noise."
"I wonder what I'd be, without you."
I tried to ask what noise they were talking about but frowned at the reminder of the gag silencing me. I jerked in annoyance and the Master rolled his eyes, coming over and undoing the cloth so I could speak as I glared at him.
"Yeah, thanks for double-crossing me, you ass."
"Always the language with you," the Master drawled. "And is it really double-crossing if you knew it was going to happen in the first place?"
"Yes," I huffed. "What's this about a noise? Like, I know you're batshit crazy but usually there's a reason for it."
"It began on Gallifrey, as children. Not that you'd call it childhood. More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation, to stare into the Untempered Schism."
"Sounds spooky," I drawled blandly as the Doctor explained.
"It's a gap in the fabric of reality. You can see into the Time Vortex itself. And it hurts."
"Like Dalek Caan?"
He nodded as the Master seemed to drift back into his memories of it, much like I often did with my own haunted past.
"They took me there in the dark. I looked into time and I heard it calling to me. Drums. The never-ending drums. Listen to it. Listen."
"Let's find it," the Doctor offered. "You and me."
"Except…" The Master's eyes lit up in excitement. "Oh. Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that's good."
"What? What is?"
"The noise exists within my head, and now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it. Imagine. Oh. Oh, yes!" He cackled but his skeleton flared again, sending him to the ground with a grimace.
"The Gate wasn't enough. You're still dying," the Doctor explained but he didn't care.
"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die. But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said the end of time."
"I said something is returning. I was shown a prophecy. That's why I need your help."
"What if I'm part of it? Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away. From the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source. Oh, Doctor. That's what your prophecy was. Me!" He said before suddenly slapping the Doctor. "Where's the Tardis!"
"Hey!" I shouted, jerking against my restraints. "Leave him alone!"
"No. Just stop. Just think," the Doctor pressed, and the Master pointed at me, eyeing a guard.
"Kill her and when she gets back up? Do it again and again until he speaks," the Master spat.
"Figures," I scoffed. "Note to my future self, don't make deals with schizophrenic psychopaths."
The Master ignored my jab, glaring at the Doctor. "I need that technology, Doctor. Tell me where it is, or I'll torment her until she wishes she were dead."
"Get in line, honey," I muttered, not even able to feel bothered by it at this point given how many times I'd been killed in the last few weeks.
"I'll kill her right now!" The Master bellowed.
"Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone dead stupid," the Doctor hummed, making me lean to the side and shoot him a look.
"Really? Do I need to add another note to not trust any idiot Time Lord?"
He cracked the slightest of smiles as the Master grit his teeth.
"Take aim!"
"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?" The Doctor pressed.
"Like what?"
"That guard is one inch too tall."
The Master turned but he was quickly knocked out with the guard's rifle. Said guard removed his helmet to reveal a very green cactus-like head.
"Oh my God, I hit him. I've never hit anyone in my life," he breathed as I gaped and another cactus person hurried in.
"Well, come on. We need to get out of here fast!" She ordered and she headed for me to unhook my jacket from the chair as the other man helped Wilfred.
"Sorry," I asked, rather dumbfounded at the turn of events. "This is probably very rude but… did we just get saved by two cacti?"
"That's racist!" The male of the two argued and I nodded for the woman at my side to go and try to help unstrap the Doctor.
"We don't have time for this," she complained. "Just wheel him, Rossiter!"
"No, no, no. Get me out. No, no, no, don't. Don't! No, no, no," the Doctor complained as he was rolled out.
I was still working on getting out of my straight jacket to really stop them and help the Doctor get to the Tardis over… wherever they were leading us. The struggle wasn't helping me with the pain I was currently in; which was only growing worse the longer I was up and moving. In particular, my dislocated thumb that I hadn't managed to set after I'd escaped from my cuffs earlier. Like I didn't have enough problems.
"Just, just stop and listen to me!" The Doctor shouted as we finally rolled to a halt in the basement and the Master caught up.
"Gotcha."
"You think so?" The woman cactus asked, touching her wristwatch as the Doctor shouted for her to stop.
It was too late though and we were teleported into a ship.
"Now get me out of this thing!" The Doctor demanded as the woman huffed.
"Don't say thanks, will you."
"Yeah, he does that," I hummed, nodding to him. "You should though. I don't think the Master is just going to let us run off."
"Oh my goodness me. We're in space!" Wilfred chimed as he glanced out the viewing window and the two cacti struggled with the straps holding the Doctor.
I simply let out a breath in exhaustion, sitting down up against the wall and giving up on getting out of my cloth prison for now. The Doctor finally got free and used his sonic on the teleport system before the Master could follow, sending it to sparks. He turned to the woman then.
"Where's your flight deck?"
"But we're safe! We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth!"
"He's got nukes though," I chimed in, drawing their attention to me. "He controls every weapon on the Earth, some that probably didn't come from Earth like that gate. Do you really want to take that chance?"
"...Good point," she muttered, rushing out as the Doctor came over to me and helped me up, grabbing Wilfred once I was back on my feet.
"But we're in space!"
"Yup. Come on!"
Once on the flight deck, the cacti started to work out their controls as the Doctor shouted for them to shut everything down.
"No chance, mate. We're going home."
"We're just a salvage team. Local politics has got nothing to do with us. Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better," they argued but the Doctor wasn't having it and drew out his sonic, blasting the controls once more.
"We're not leaving."
Then, he shushed everyone into silence as I sank back down to the floor and waited. A few minutes passed and the cacti woman looked at him in annoyance.
"No sign of any missiles. No sign of anything. You've wrecked the place!"
"The engines are burnt out. All we've got is auxiliary lights. Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck in orbit." Rossiter agreed, equally unhappy.
"Thanks to you, you idiot!"
She stormed out as I closed my eyes with a soft sigh, knowing that being stranded was better than being dead. Wonder how that would work for me… endlessly suffocating until the Earth's gravity pulled me down and I get burnt into nonexistence? Or would I still somehow recover from that?
"I know you though," Wilfred said then, voice soft and hopeful. "I bet you've got a plan, haven't you? Eh? Come on. You've always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flim-flam sort of thing? Eh?" He said but the Doctor remained silent and his hope fell. "Oh, blimey."
The Doctor left the room to take some time for himself as the others went their own ways as well. I enjoyed the bit of silence I was left in for only a moment before I winced. I was uncomfortable and had a brief flicker of a memory from the cells I'd just escaped. It was too quiet here, so I pushed myself up onto my feet and slowly made my way through the ship to find the Doctor. I stepped in to find him fiddling with some wiring, glasses on but looking solemn.
"That's something we have in common, you know," I said, drawing his attention to me as I nodded at the wiring. "Keeping busy."
"Fallon," he breathed in relief before seeing the white jacket I still wore and my exhausted appearance; getting up. "I'm so sorry. Let me help."
He hurried over and helped me pull it off, spotting the handcuffs still hanging around one of my wrists and sonicking it off.
"How did you get out of the cuffs?" He asked, moving back to where his work was as I followed and sat down on the step beside him.
I idly lifted my bruised hand that was swollen near my thumb. "Popped my thumb out of place. I need to brush up on getting out of them apparently… Or keep more lockpicking items on me. I left them in my other coat."
He didn't even smile at my teasing, just gently taking my hand and giving me a brief glance for permission. I nodded, only making a small wince when he reset my thumb. I started to pull my hand back but he tightened his hold slightly, drawing my eyes to him as he stared down at my injury sadly.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, eyes trailing up my arm at the bandages and injuries he could see and starting to stiffen in anger. "Did he—"
"Believe it or not, but the Master was actually the one trying to help me get out of there." I paused, thinking about it. "Or, well, he was at least trying to stop them from messing with me. I don't know, exactly. He offered a deal where he'd help me out if I helped him but we never got to the whole me-helping-him part."
The Doctor offered a small, sad smile. "Still, I am sorry you ended up in the middle of this. I should've come for you sooner."
I sighed, leaning into him and closing my eyes, tired and grateful that he was here even if there wasn't much we could do at the moment. "It's not your fault. I've drawn attention to myself and they took advantage of that. It's my own fault I'm here. If anything, I should thank you for showing up." I glanced at him hesitantly admitting something I still felt uneasy about. "I… I missed you."
His eyes widened hopefully. "Really?"
I turned away, embarrassed as I grumbled back. "No. I enjoyed standing around my manor doing nothing and then getting kidnapped. Course I missed you, you moron."
He smiled and lightly curled his hand around mine, leaning into me as well. "I missed you too. A lot. I… I shouldn't have kicked you out."
"No, you needed to deal with what happened. I get it. More than anyone, I… I know how sometimes you just need space. Even from your friends."
He let out a small chuckle then. "I don't know how I lucked out finding you, Fallon. You are… You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
I pulled away, eyeing him at those words. "Yeah, I don't know about that. All I've done is bring you more trouble, given how often you're trying to stop me from getting killed."
"Well, you do the same," he countered, turning back to his wiring. "I wouldn't have gotten this far if you weren't there keeping me out of trouble."
I gave in to his compliments and we were quiet for a while as he worked before I spoke up. "Did you have fun?"
"Hm?"
"Wherever you went while I was on Earth because I know you didn't just mope about in your ship."
"Well… I traveled a bit on my own, yeah but it… wasn't as fun as it could have been." He glanced over at me. "If we get out of here… would you come with me?"
"If you want," I answered easily. "I was going to go backpacking if you didn't pick me up but I suppose I can schedule that for later."
He smiled again, already looking happier than before and I was glad I was able to do that for him. We weren't in the best situation but if anyone could get us out of it, the Doctor could. And he can't do it if he's this upset and without hope. I picked up the straight jacket and bundled it up a bit before laying it down and rolling onto my back myself. I could feel the Doctor's eyes on me in worry and lazily lifted my hand with a small wave.
"I'm just tired so stop worrying. Wake me up when you've figured out how to fly us back to the Master without blowing us up, okay?" I rolled onto my side and tucked my arm under my head. "Just… don't get all depressed about it or I'll do it myself."
