Chapter 5:

POV: Mara

Date: October 23, 2022

I rolled my eyes. "Don't you ever get over the sound of your own voice?"

He laughed again. "Oh, how I missed your spunk!" He leaned in close then. "Can I let you into a secret? I ingested the Cyberium. The battle AI of the Cybermen. Gave me a little indigestion, but it soon settled. The thoughts I've had since then." He let out a happy sigh. "I am so many steps ahead. I can see it all. Right through to all our ends. And I'm sorry, you two, but this is going to be very painful."

"Is that how you escaped Gallifrey?" I asked.

"Yes. Ever the clever one, Mara-mine."

Dad finally burst through the doors. "UNIT will keep you under armed guard while I get rid of all the mess you're scattering around the place."

The Master shrugged. "Whatever you want."

My attention spun to the console as the TARDIS set off an alert. I followed Dad to the controls, trusting Yaz to take care of watching over the Master, and looked at the symbols on the screen. "Are those Dalek signals?" I asked.

"Yes, but best to file that away for later. Start up the flight sequence, we need to get the Master into custody."

I nodded, and helped us fly through the vortex until we landed back at UNIT. I allowed Yaz and Dad to take over in getting the Master out of the TARDIS and into UNIT's hands. Our conversation with him had been unsettling, to say the least, and I took a moment to center myself before heading back out into UNIT's headquarters.

Kate rushed forward to command the soldiers. "Put him in the bunker. Constant monitoring, full security detail."

"The bunker!" The Master crowed. "That sounds nice! I love a bunker. Anybody wanna join me? Bunk up in the bunker?" He paused in front of Kate with a sneer. "Your Dad was an idiot."

Kate didn't react as he was quickly pulled away. I followed the progress towards the bunker and came to stand by Jenny. She must have sensed my inner distress, because she wrapped an arm around my middle and pulled me to her side.

"Tegan Jovanka. How's your auntie Vanessa? D'you keep her in a little doll's house?" the Master asked as he passed Tegan and Ace. "And Rosie! There you are—I heard you had made an appearance. You're like a bad penny, love. How's things?"

Mum curled her lip up with distaste, and I could swear I saw her eyes glow gold for a moment. "Stay away from my girls, Master."

He shivered dramatically. "Oh, I love it when you use my name, Rosie."

"Leave her alone, you old bat! I'm gonna enjoy watching you locked up in a tiny cell," Tegan spat from her place next to Ace.

The Master chuckled. "That's right, you tell me! And Ace. Or should I say Dorothy. Surprised to see you here. Didn't the Doctor ditch you? No? Little fall out with your Machiavellian maestro? What a joy to have you all here—it's practically a party!"

Ace glared at him. "Last time I saw you, you were half cat."

I raised an eyebrow. I was going to have to ask her about that later.

He shrugged. "Man's allowed to experiment."

We turned away as Kate's staff finally dragged him off to the bunker. Kate and the other humans were looking to Dad expectantly. Dad started back toward the TARDIS. "We won't be long. Rose, Jen, come with us this time. Need you all for the plan."

Once inside the TARDIS, Dad began rushing around the console. "So, there is a plan?" Jenny asked.

"When is there ever a plan?" I chuckled.

"Care to let us all in on the plan?" Yaz asked.

"We have to go meet the spy Dalek," Dad answered as if it were obvious.

Mum's eyes widened. "Hold on, you want to actually do what it asked? Doctor, it has to be a trap."

"Oh absolutely," she agreed. "Still—could be useful!"

Yaz stepped in her path, and again I admired her bravery. "Doctor, stop for a second. I can't do this with you—running from one place to the next, never explaining—"

"There's no time—"

Yaz stood her ground. "Make time." She crossed her arms. "Pay me that respect. If not me, then your family. Wouldn't things go more smoothly if they knew what was happening? We know the Daleks are the ones who brought your wife into this mess—wouldn't it be important to proceed with caution until we know why?"

"You owe us all this," Mum agreed. "And she's right—we can't help you if we don't know what's going on, love."

Dad looked between them before she nodded. "You're right. Both of you. Sorry, it's all happening so fast—" She reached out to take Mum's hand but was met with another electric shock.

She stepped back as Mum took out her sonic and waved it over the two of them. "What's that all about?"

Dad shrugged. "Really sorry. I am very static-y today. But, Rose, you all heard what that Dalek told me. It claimed to have information which could help us stop them. Not just now, but all Daleks, forever." She looked at each of us. "It's a calculated risk. I think it's worth taking."

"Daleks, Cybermen, and the Master all in one day," Jenny muttered. "That can't be a coincidence."

Dad nodded. "I agree. Best to get as much information as possible, don't you think?"

POV: Jenny

Date: October 23, 2022

I hated it when Dad flew us into a volcano. It never did turn out well.

"Stay in the TARDIS, Yaz," Dad ordered.

"But—"

"Rose will stay with you." Dad shot Mum a significant look, and she nodded. I wondered if they were able to speak to each other telepathically despite the link being muted due to the differences in our time streams. Or maybe they just knew each other so well they didn't need a telepathic connection to communicate silently. "We'll need you both to be ready to get us out of here if anything goes wrong."

"Fine," Yaz grumbled. "Be careful."

I gave Yaz's arm a reassuring pat as I passed her. "Don't worry, Yaz, we'll be with her." I gave her a smile, and then continued to follow dad out of the TARDIS and into a large cavern. "She cares for you deeply, you know," I told Dad through our link. "You should clue her in on your plans more often."

She spared a glance back at me as we began to approach what must be the rendezvous point. "I know."

We paused as the Spy Dalek teleported into the space. I felt Dad's apprehension, but she only straightened up before approaching it. "Stay behind me, girls."

Mara and I both pulled out our screwdrivers in preparation. The Spy Dalek's eyestalk focused on us. "All data is contained within my casing. You must be fast."

Dad pulled a device from her pocket. "This will extract all the information. You're really going to let me do this?" She engaged the device hesitantly, and backed up as it activated. "Now tell me what the Daleks are doing here—?"

"Systems fully occupied with data transfer."

I snorted, and sent out my next thought to both my sister and dad. "Seems about right for a Dalek. Never were good multitaskers, them."

"Alert!" Mara and I tensed as the Dalek's voice echoed through the cavern. "We are discovered! Our mission is compromised! Incoming Dalek attack formation detected!"

We spun around at the sound of Daleks approaching. "Best hurry!" Mara shouted.

"Data transfer complete," the Dalek said, and allowed Dad to snatch up the device before we turned to run.

"Stay where you are!" a deeper dalek voice commanded. "Drop the transfer device, Doctor."

To my surprise, Dad listened, and the commander quickly blasted the device to destroy it. Dad turned back to face the Spy Dalek. "Was this your plan? Lure me in and betray me."

"How original," I mocked.

"I did not betray you," the Spy Dalek protested.

"The traitor speaks the truth," the commander agreed. "We allowed the Strategist to contact you, and to call forth the Bad Wolf Woman. It was the simplest way to guarantee your presence."

"Why would you willingly try to reunite our parents? Or call Dad here?" Mara demanded. "You lot have spent most of their time together trying to split them up."

The commander turned its eyestalk to her. "We brought them together to claim ultimate victory. But first, exterminate the traitor!" it commanded, and we watched in horror as the Daleks murdered one of their own kind.

Dad gave them a slow clap. "Congratulations. So, you've killed one of your own. Now what?"

The commander's eyestalk refocused on her. "Enter the casing."

"What?" we all called out.

"Place yourself within the traitor," the commander repeated.

Dad flinched away from the now empty Dalek casing. "No."

"Obey! Obey, or your progeny will be exterminated!" the commander shouted as the Daleks focused their weapons on Mara and me. Around us, the other Daleks began to chant for Dad to obey the commander's directions. "You shall be one with your conspirator as we transport you."

"Dad, no," Mara said, but it was a futile gesture. I could feel the resignation in our dad as she looked at us with horror.

"You'll just kill them anyway," Dad muttered with her shoulders squared. Underneath that resignation, I could feel her fear clawing at her hearts. "What guarantee can you give me that they will be safe?"

"We will leave the progeny here," the commander said. "We will allow them to retreat to the TARDIS."

"Dad, you can't let them do this!" I shouted.

She pulled us both in close. "Girls, go back to the TARDIS and use the console to lock onto my sonic. It's a homing beacon for the old girl. Just tell her what you need, and she'll lead you to me. That'll give you enough time to figure out a plan."

Mara and I exchanged a look but nodded. Dad released us then. "They're leaving."

We rushed back to the TARDIS. Ahead of us, Yaz opened the doors, and her eyes widened at the sight of the scene behind us. I didn't dare look back as I felt Dad's rising panic before the sound of a teleporter engaging cut through the cavern. "Come on, Yaz!" I shouted as we reached the TARDIS and hurried past her to the console. "Follow the Sonic's signal!"

POV: Mara

Date: May 1916

The TARDIS landed with an ominous thud, and I looked at Mum and Jenny. "Plan?"

"You two stay here, I'll go get Dad," Mum said.

"Absolutely not," Jenny snapped. "If you go out there and something happens to you, it's our past and your future at stake."

"Is that why your dad keeps leaving me behind?" she grumbled. "Well, tough. You may be several centuries older than me, Jenny Lynn Tyler, but I am still your mum and it is too dangerous for you girls to go out there by yourselves.

"But—"

"Rosie!"

We all froze as the Master's voice drifted through the TARDIS doors.

"Mara, Jenny! Maybe even little Yazzy—I know you're all in there. Come out, come out! We need you here for the big finish!"

Yaz was first to break the tension with a sigh. "Well, I suppose that's that, then. Let's go."

We followed her out into a large room. If I had to guess, I'd say we were in a palace of some kind. We were surrounded by ornate columns and art. Within the room stood the Master, Dad—unharmed and out of the Dalek casing, thankfully—the Cybermen, and the Daleks.

But no General Hass.

"Where's the General?" I asked. I had thought that maybe the Master had been behind General Hass' pursuit of us.

"Who?" the Master hissed.

"General Hass," Jenny explained.

The Master scowled. "Oh, that old dullard? He's not here. But if you see him again, you must let me know. I've been after him and his little Gallifreyan band of rogues for months."

Hope surged through me, Jenny, and Dad. We all exchanged a look—could we have been right? Could some of the citizens of Gallifrey have survived the Cybermen takeover? That opened up a whole host of possibilities if it was true.

"Now!" the Master crowed. "As I was telling your daddy here—I was able to get the Cybermen and the Daleks to work together because the one thing stronger than their hatred for each other...is their hatred for you." He waved his hands about. "All four of you, but most especially you, Doctor. It just took a handsome genius to point it out to them." He grinned at Dad. "'What unites us is stronger than what divides us.' It's very you, that, isn't it? You love a team, hoovering people up, letting every Tom Dick and Harriet into your TARDIS. Well, you have your "fam"—even your real one back. Now, I have mine."

Dad kept her eyes on him. "So everything else was a diversion?"

The Master shook his head. "No, no. Not a diversion. Very important! Three phase plan. You'll see. Except you won't, but rest assured, without you to defend it the Earth will fall very fast." He sighed. "I did warn you." He paused to kneel down in front of Dad, and gave her a sympathetic look as he pulled out a small device. "I'm going old school. A tribute to our elders. You remember the ultimate sanction for breaking our laws?" He leaned in even closer, and even with my heightened senses, I had to work hard to hear what he whispered next. "Forced regeneration."

"No!" Jenny cried out, and I could feel her horror matched on my face.

"Oh yes!" The Master jumped up to his feet and turned back to look at my sister. "They even did it to your daddy, once, in the past. Maybe more than once, who knows? Not your dad. Not even your Mum. She was a bit indisposed at the time, though."

Mum's eyes flashed with anger. "You can't do this to the Doctor! I won't let you!"

"No?" the Master hissed, and slid closer to Mum until he was in her face. Both Jenny and I instinctively took a step closer to her. "And how will you stop me, little wolf? You don't have the juice. Not yet anyway. And wouldn't you just love to know how I know you will one day?"

"That doesn't matter," Dad called out. "Either way, you don't have the technology."

The Master let out a self-satisfied laugh that chilled me to the core. "Oh, my dear Doctor, but I do." He pressed a button, and laughed louder as we looked on in horror.

In the middle of the room were two glass chambers. Each just big enough to fit a person.

This wasn't going to end well.