On the first and second days of her new imprisonment, Hally found herself restlessly pacing around her room. She left no drawer unopened, no corner thoroughly unexamined. She'd found the cameras easily. There were six in total. Dotted around the room, ensuring she could be seen wherever she was.
Six seemed a little excessive. The room wasn't overly large. In the centre stood a proud queen-sized bed, with dark burgundy sheets tucked perfectly under a welcoming mattress. Bedside tables on both the left and the right. Behind the bed was a thick mahogany wall, a walkway on either side leading through to a dressing area behind the bed. Well, she'd decided it was some kind of dressing area, or perhaps an oversized wardrobe. The very back wall housed a grand dressing table, again mahogany, with an oval mirror sitting atop. On either side were tall chests of drawers, and on top around a dozen books of varying genres. Opposite the dressing table was where the majority of her acquired clothing now hung. Acquired being the operative word. Hally would never buy herself any of the items that had been placed in her closet. She'd run her hand over a royal blue satin dress, the label had a fancy name that she was sure meant something on Earth. Her face betrayed her with a flush as she imagined The Master picking out each item. She shoved the thought away. Trying to reason with herself that he'd probably had someone do it for him.
She knew her husband.
There was no way in hell he'd let any man pick out her clothing apart from him.
After opening all the drawers she'd found one filled with nightwear. Most of it was 'unwearable', however, she'd found a pair of black shorts and paired them with a grey button-up pyjama top which she decided to dress herself in for the foreseeable future.
The most striking thing about the room was the left and right walls. Or rather the fact that there weren't any walls at all. Just glass. From ceiling to floor on either side of her was a perfect view out to the sky and the planet below. It should have been beautiful.
Standing against the glass, looking out at the blood orange sky. Fire reflected by the atmosphere back at her. Her own personal watchtower to view the shattered Earth below. The perfect prison. Beautiful but heart-breaking.
The only other person she'd seen was Armitage, who would knock quickly before the door slid open. He'd bring her food three times a day. Not that she'd eaten any of it to begin with.
On day three he'd placed down her breakfast on the desk that was nestled in the corner, on the right as he came through the door.
"If you continue to not eat, you will be forced." Was all he said, before retreating from the room.
She'd glared into the space where he had been from her position sitting upright in the middle of the bed.
Arsehole.
She slipped off the bed and removed the cloche from the dish. Glaring at the unassuming food.
French toast.
Her stomach grumbled.
She'd glared at the plate for roughly four minutes before picking up her fork and taking three begrudging bites.
There.
Eaten.
She'd been rudely awoken on the morning of day four. A screen blinked into life on the glass wall to her right. Short clips were being projected, the recordings most likely taken by the Toclafane. A metallic voice accompanied the broadcast. An informational excerpt for the new kingdom.
"Citizens of Earth. Rejoice. Subjugation has been completed and rebel forces annihilated. Humans are now under the jurisdiction of the Toclafane."
The screen showed flashes of conflict, then humans being herded submissively.
"Our generous Master has agreed, in his benevolence, to spare you remaining humans and to offer you a greater purpose. Your meaningless lives will transcend as you offer your loyalty and your aid to our Master. We will build the most magnificent of fleets. The universe will know your destruction. All hail, our Master."
The broadcast cut out and Hally was left looking at the now empty space, her face blank.
It had only taken him four days to completely take over the planet. Her chest constricted with concern for Martha. Had her escape from the Valiant dropped her into certain death? She hoped the human was still alive. But thought it unlikely. Hally pulled the chain around her neck, pulling the ring out from her top. She stared down at it.
She'd thought about taking it off multiple times. But had never quite managed to.
She hated herself for it.
She should have yanked it off, thrown it at the door and never looked at it again.
But here it was, still safely tucked away against her chest.
This ring.
The ring that bound her to the man who had enslaved the planet, murdered millions. Possibly even billions by now. He had her father, her friend. She dared not imagine what he had planned for them.
The ring that she had held onto for dear life when The Doctor had told her that Gallifrey was gone. Everyone was dead.
But not him.
Not him.
She tucked the ring back inside.
Day five.
Armitage had deposited her dinner down on the floor in front of her as the sky outside had started to darken. Orange hues still painted the sky violently. She had been sat cross-legged on the floor, her back to the glass. He removed the cloche and perched himself on the edge of her bed.
"Eat." He motioned to the food. "All of it."
Hally raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Are you going to force me?"
"I'm going to remain here until you've eaten it. How you eat it, is up to you." Was his cold reply.
She bristled.
However, an opportunity presented itself to her. She pulled the plate towards her, lifting the fork slowly.
"How did The Master take over so quickly?" She asked. She had other, more pressing questions but decided she would test the waters first. See if her guard was willing to provide any information.
Armitage raised an eyebrow, his eyes trailing from her face to her plate and back. "He has six billion Toclafane."
Hally rolled her eyes. "Obviously. But it's more than that isn't it?" She pressed.
The man across from her didn't move. Instead, he looked pointedly at her fork. She let out a huff, stabbing a piece of chicken and placing it in her mouth.
"It's called the Archangel Network."
She raised an eyebrow at the name and took another mouthful. "Mass hypnotism?"
He nodded.
They continued their silent bartering. An answer for a mouthful of food.
Hally almost laughed. She was definitely coming out on top here, she got the answers she wanted and she got to eat.
She frowned remembering why she needed answers in the first place.
Definitely not on top.
"What is it exactly?"
He watched her take another mouthful. "Sixteen satellites surrounding the planet. Barely noticeable psychic suggestion. But he didn't create it initially to control humanity, that was simply a serendipitous side effect." Armitage's mouth pulled into a smile.
"What else is he using it for?"
"Well. He had an unconscious woman who he wanted to awaken. However, he didn't want her working out who he was. So he created a system powerful enough to hypnotise her over a long period of time, and over considerable distances."
Hally's eyes widened and she paused. The fork halfway to her mouth.
"You're telling me… he sent sixteen satellites up into space… just to wake me up a little early?"
"Yes."
"He could have just left me asleep!?"
"Yep. You didn't eat. Eat."
She did so, irritably.
"And this…" Her hand went to the cuff around her neck.
His eyes flicked to her neck. "He called it a dynamic bio-dampener with a telepathic block. While it's touching your skin it alters your genetic makeup. Masking the non-human elements of your DNA."
She let his words sink in, taking another bite. Hally had thought as much, she had wondered why The Doctor hadn't been able to slip inside her mind on the bridge.
"But it blocks everyone from my mind?"
"Yes."
She nodded, the thought was slightly comforting. Knowing The Master couldn't weasel his way in while she was wearing the bio-dampener.
She scraped up a piece of broccoli, squishing it around in the gravy. "Is Martha Jones alive?"
Armitage was quiet for a moment.
"We have not located her."
Hally nodded slowly. That was something. Martha could still be out there.
"And her family? Where are they?"
"In their cells."
She frowned, taking a slow mouthful. The Master must believe her to be alive then if he was still keeping her family as leverage. She was swiftly running out of food and she still had questions.
"The Doctor and Jack. Are they alive?"
"Yes." He replied. "Although, Harkness… sometimes less so."
Had it been any other situation, Hally might have laughed. Instead, she settled for a disapproving glare. She scraped the plate slowly, creating a measly portion on her fork. Last question.
"Who watches the cameras?" She placed the fork in her mouth, swallowing and setting down the now empty plate.
Armitage raised an eyebrow in surprise. "The camera feeds for this room can be accessed by only two people. I watch you while you're awake and then movement sensors trip recording when you're asleep. He has access whenever he wishes."
She nodded slowly, before pushing the tray back towards him. He stood, scooping up the tray and heading towards the door. He paused, looking back at her. She'd rested her head back against the endless window behind her.
"As I said. If you need anything, you can just knock." His piercing eyes met hers. He never looked anything less than composed, almost bored.
"And what would I need?" She bit back. Eyes full of contempt.
His shoulders raised in a small shrug and he left her alone once more.
It was day six when she'd been disturbed halfway through George Orwell's 1984. Static popped above her and music started playing loudly into the room. Hally paused, flipping onto her back to stare at the ceiling, where the sound seemed to be coming from. She dropped the book beside her on the bed, getting to her feet to get closer to the sound. Intent on destroying the speaker and going back to the mind-numbing silence.
She felt across the ceiling as the energetic guitar picked up. The speakers were inbuilt into the walls. She growled, giving one of them a sharp knock. Nothing happened. The music still played loudly. Hally let out an undignified groan, falling back onto the deep burgundy duvet. As the song faded out, the familiar condescending tones of The Master broadcast over the music.
"One of my personal favourites, gifted to you, citizens." He chuckled over the final notes of the song. "Rejoice! Tomorrow marks the first day of the new era. Tomorrow, you earthlings will fulfil your greater purpose. Tomorrow, the work begins!" He bellowed excitably. Hally lay, watching the ceiling, her face scrunched up. She wondered how many of the humans on earth were being forced to listen to his incessant prattling.
"Consider this… your last day off for the foreseeable future. So treat yourselves! Go for a walk! Read a book. Perhaps even venture so far as to have a shower…" His voice lowered and Hally raised an eyebrow.
"Seriously, it's been four days. Have. A Shower." The broadcast cut off.
Hally sat up on the bed. Her hearts racing furiously. Because, the truth was… she hadn't ventured into the spacious walk-in shower for four days, having been too miserable to even change out of the pyjamas she'd resigned herself to on day one.
He had just…
Commanded that she shower.
Broadcast.
To the entire planet.
Hally flipped her middle finger up stiffly in the direction of the closest camera.
Later that evening she had dragged herself to the bathroom though.
A full week after she'd been placed in the room. Day seven. Hally was sat staring into the mirror at her dressing table, eyes focused on the silver ring that rested in the middle of her chest. She wondered if The Master had told The Doctor about them.
She decided that it was unlikely. He wouldn't lose the opportunity to drop that bombshell in front of an audience. Herself included. Plus, she imagined that he was saving that threat for a rainy day. Why waste it so soon when he could laud it over her for months?
Pondering marriage… Lucy Saxon. What the fuck was that all about?
Hally felt her teeth grind at the back of her mouth.
He had married a human.
She had come to the conclusion that she was comparably, irrationally angry about that fact. And she hated herself for that too. He shouldn't be able to make her feel jealous. Not when he'd murdered so many. Feeling jealousy was ridiculous.
She looked daggers at the ring. Demanding answers.
She got nothing.
Hally got to her feet and marched to the door. She knocked loudly.
It took just under sixty seconds for Armitage's voice to crackle through the comm above her door. "Yes?"
"I have a question."
There was silence for a moment.
"Go on."
"When did he marry the human?" Hally asked quickly. Sounding very much like an insolent teenager.
"Lucy Saxon?"
Hally rolled her eyes. "Yes. Unless he's gone and married multiple humans." She growled sarcastically.
The speaker popped with static. "He married her in December."
Hally frowned, thinking. Nothing of significance was jumping out at her. So she asked Armitage a version of the question she really wanted answering.
"What benefit was it for him to marry her?"
There was a hint of amusement in the military man's voice. "She's from a rich and powerful family. It benefitted his rise to Prime Minister."
"Could he have achieved that without marrying her?"
"Yes."
"So…" Hally sucked at her top teeth. "So why did he marry her?"
There was silence over the comm link for a minute or so. "You already know the answer to your question." The static clipped and the speaker went quiet.
Hally let out a cry of frustration, smacking her hand uselessly against the sealed door. She stalked to the bed, throwing herself onto it and splaying her arms out like a starfish.
He had married her, to piss Hally off.
That was it.
HE HAD MARRIED SOMEONE ELSE.
Just to get a reaction out of her.
Well.
It was working spectacularly.
She scrunched up her face.
It wasn't fair.
She would NEVER have gone off and found herself someone else, she reasoned to herself. She'd had the chance to, on their many adventures in the TARDIS there had been ample opportunity for Hally to 'make a connection' with someone. But she'd never even entertained the idea.
Even Jack had - …
Her furious train of thought stopped dead.
Jack.
Fuck.
She sat up, her stomach dropping.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
She'd completely forgotten.
Hally had kissed him. She'd kissed Jack. In front of the 'Professor'.
She'd passionately made out with Captain Jack Harkness in front of her husband.
She supposed it was lucky the man she'd chosen to snog was an immortal. Otherwise, he'd definitely be ashes by now.
The realisation was a minuscule relief, realising that her husband was just bringing a whole new meaning to the word 'petty', but also it only added to the furious fire burning inside her. Hally hadn't kissed Jack for any romantic reasons. It had been a joke.
But of course.
The Master had to 'win'.
He had married a human because she had kissed a human.
That egotistical prick.
On the eighth day, Hally had started to comprehend The Master's plan of leaving her in her room. He was letting her have her tantrums out of the way of him. Letting her remember all the things that had taken place since he'd shot her on Malcassairo without needing to be there for the inevitable tornado of rage. She wasn't sure how long he'd kept her unconscious, but it would have taken at least eight months for him to set everything in motion in order to have what he needed to keep her captive in the facility. He had taken The Doctor's TARDIS. She wondered where it was. It would certainly be on the cloudbase. He'd need it nearby.
All this time, alone with her thoughts. It was driving her crazy. Not having all the answers. Not understanding why.
She wanted to hurt him. To force him to talk. She needed to ask him why.
It wasn't that she hadn't thought him capable.
Because of course, she had.
She knew him.
But all this?
Yes, he had disliked The Doctor… but this was beyond that.
And then there was her.
He had purposefully orchestrated torturing her. That was what it had been. At the facility. He had been playing with her for his own amusement.
He had pulled from her secrets she had never told anyone else but him. She'd told him about The Doctor. She could see now, looking back, the hatred that had been in his eyes as she'd recounted stories about her father.
He had played her so very perfectly.
Not that she'd expected anything less from him.
Day nine was so very boring. She was so very bored.
Hally had tried to eat her breakfast as slowly as possible. Perhaps she could kill time by eating? No.
She'd explored the wardrobe again. It made time move at least.
Pulling the items around to the bed, she laid them out and considered them. Of course, they were all beautiful. Like everything in the room. Exquisite torment.
Expensive, soft fabrics in a variety of colours. Mostly dresses. Deep greens, crisp blacks, midnight blues. She hated them all. They were so infuriatingly gorgeous.
She'd packed them all back away in the wardrobe, needing them to be out of sight.
Instead, she'd run herself a bath. Soaking herself in the water.
Could she drown like this? Human…
Her face pulled into a frown. Armitage would most likely stop her.
Her eyes fluttered shut and for a moment she forgot where she was. Floating serenely in the oversized bathtub.
Then the music started again, through the speakers. Loud, obnoxious pop grated on her ears. Hally slipped down into the water dampening the noise. Air bubbles jumped across the surface of the bath as she screamed against the water.
As she ran out of breath, she sat up. Not bothering to wipe the droplets from her eyes.
She'd been angry for what felt like so long. Hally was tired. As the song wrapped up, the predictably smug voice of The Master cut across it.
"Your music truly is ridiculously catchy." A low laugh rumbled from his chest. "A special broadcast for the peoples of the earth." He clipped. "I am delighted to announce that I have taken on a Mr Clive Jones, Ms Francine Jones and Miss Letitia Jones as the newest members of my household staff. Can't be letting anyone live rent-free up here now can we?"
Hally looked forward, a slow, long sigh pressed out of her. Tears stung her eyes, the salty water running along the paths already carved out by the bathwater.
The water was cold when she finally stepped out of the tub.
The sun was setting on day ten when Armitage knocked and entered her room. She'd eaten her dinner only an hour ago, so she'd looked up from her book, questioning him with her raised eyebrow.
"You're to be dressed by 8:30am tomorrow morning. Breakfast will be served on the bridge."
Her eyes were wide as she stared at him.
Nervous butterflies immediately started buzzing in her stomach. She would see him. Tomorrow.
She had wanted to see him.
But suddenly, she very much did not want to see him.
Being hidden away in her room had become comfortable. Not having to be around him and not having to deal with the consequences of his actions immediately seemed much more appealing.
She gave Armitage a barely perceptible nod and he exited. The deadlock clunked.
Here she was. Day eleven. Staring at herself in the mirror as she tucked her hair behind her ears. The dress she'd finally settled on was black, secured with thin spaghetti straps over her shoulders, the material cascaded down her body tapering to just below her knees. Hally had decided that the best form of rebellion was to show up with her head held high and a perfectly painted face to show The Master that his little isolation scheme hadn't bothered her in the slightest.
Looking in the mirror, Hally was rather proud of herself. Her eyes were neatly tapered with a subtle flick of eyeliner, lips a deeper red than usual. She would not be broken.
She was a Queen…
'Future Queen'.
She would sure as hell remind him of that.
When Armitage knocked, Hally was ready for him. The door slid open from in between them, leaving the two standing face to face. He gave her a once over before taking a step to the side, motioning for her to step out from her cage.
She did so, his hand hovered over the small of her back. Guiding her forwards. They walked in silence to the bridge. The knot in Hally's stomach tightened as they reached the door. The door hummed open and the hand at her back pressed her forwards. The large room hadn't changed much since she'd been dragged from it eleven days ago. The cameras had been removed. There were fewer people milling about. But the long glass table remained. The far end of the table was set for five and the four other breakfast attendees were already seated.
Closest to her sat The Doctor, his face set. Jack was opposite him, he'd turned to look as she'd entered the room. He sent her an encouraging smile. Sat next to The Doctor was Lucy Saxon. Her blonde hair hung loose around her shoulders, cascading over the sleeves of the blood-red dress she was wearing. Dark eyes met hers from the head of the table and stalked her as the hand at her back guided her towards the empty seat in between Jack and The Master. She sat silently, moving her gaze over to The Doctor and Jack. The Doctor looked as he had done eleven days ago. Old. Tired. Resigned.
Jack, on the other hand. Jack looked half dead. She had never seen the ex-Time Agent look so worn. So exhausted. She winced at the state of him, guilt squeezing her insides.
"Well isn't this delightful." The Master clapped his hands together, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table. He surveyed them slowly. "I have missed my favourite prisoners." He grinned. Lucy let out a small giggle. This pleased The Master and he cupped her chin, blowing her a kiss.
Hally felt her eyes tilt up, dangerously close to a roll.
The Master clicked his fingers suddenly and through the side doors filed in half a dozen staff. Platters of breakfast foods were set down in the centre of the table. The Master wasted no time pulling a small stack of pancakes onto his plate. Lucy poked her fork into the fruit bowl.
Neither The Doctor nor Jack moved an inch. She wondered if they'd eaten recently. The state of Jack hinted that perhaps they hadn't. Hally ignored the heated stare of The Master as she leant forward, collecting an assortment of sliced fruits in a bowl which she placed in front of The Doctor first, then dropping two pain au chocolat in front of Jack. Finally, she stabbed a piece of French toast with her fork, dropping it onto her plate.
She stared down at her knife and fork, avoiding the looks she was being sent. To her left, she felt Jack shift and was pleased to steal a glare across the table and see The Doctor raise a grape to his mouth.
Despite her apparent victory, Hally felt increasingly exposed. Vulnerable. The Master must have an agenda to have brought them all together like this.
Between heaped mouthfuls, The Master chastised the weakened form of her father. "Now, now, Doctor, you wouldn't want to seem ungrateful, would you? After all the hard work Francine and Letitia put into presenting this breakfast for you." He waved his fork in the direction of the staff who had retreated to the wall after setting down the platters of food.
Hally recognised Martha's mother and sister from their familial resemblance. Each had the same round eyes and dark hair. Letitia had her eyes glued firmly to the floor while Francine, Martha's mother watched The Master. Hatred in her eyes. Hally had to look away.
"Nothing to say?" The Master jibed at The Doctor's silence. Dark mischief glinted behind his eyes. "I would have thought you'd have been happy? All the gang back together…"
The Master observed The Doctor for a moment more, waiting for him to respond. When he didn't, her husband turned his attention around to her. His face morphed into a depiction of sympathy.
"I hope you didn't miss me too much, sweetheart." He sent her a sad pout. "Taking over a planet turned out to be more work than I'd imagined." He grinned, holding his hands up in a mock apology. "I know how much you used to enjoy my little visits." His mouth pulled into a sly smirk, dark eyes glittering.
She refused to rise to his bait. Hoping her eyes were portraying her anger as well as Francine's had.
He hummed to himself, reaching forward over the table with the hand closest to her to softly tug at the silver chain around her neck. The ring that had been tucked inside the lining of her dress was pulled away from her chest and left to rest on the outside of the fabric, sitting between her breasts. Hally stiffened in apprehension. A small smile ghosted The Master's face as he examined the ring.
"Leave her alone." The low growl from her left caught The Master's attention.
His gaze hardened as he addressed Jack. His hand still held the chain at her neck.
"I'd hardly think you're in a position to be dealing out threats 'Captain'." The Master's hand twisted slowly, wrapping the chain around his fingers, forcing her to lean forward to avoid the bite of the tightening necklace.
"It's not a threat. If you lay a hand on her…" Jack's voice had dipped low. She could feel the rage pouring off him.
"Jack…" Hally muttered, but his eyes remained trained on The Master.
"Heroic, handsome Jack. I bet they all fall in love with you, don't they?" The Master cooed. The unmistakable sparkle of danger danced in his eyes.
Jack evidently didn't understand the precarious nature of their situation. Or perhaps for some reason, he felt the need to protect her, as he continued despite the obvious threat. "Yeah well, I've never needed to hypnotise a woman into bed with me." He quipped, eyes flicking over to Lucy, who was sitting quietly watching the interaction a small entertained smile painted on her lips.
The Master's hand tightened, the chain cutting into her skin. Then his face split into a winning smile. "Oh, you'd be surprised."
At this point, Hally wanted to kill them. Both of them. "Jack…" She cut, louder this time. He finally looked towards her and she wasted no time in demanding. "Shut. Up."
He frowned, hurt crinkled his face. But he did as she'd requested.
The Master laughed, untangling his hand from her and letting her sit back into her chair. His eyes drifted back to the silent Time Lord. "She's quite chatty, your daughter, when she wants to be." He flashed a winning smile. "She told me all about your little adventures, Doctor."
He pressed his fingertips together as if preparing to tell them a bedtime story. "You see, when she ran straight into my path it was simply too good an opportunity to pass up. And then you sabotaged the controls…" He pointed a finger at The Doctor in accusation, before offering up a small shrug. "…you forced my hand. But I needed time to put my plan in motion. Sadly, most of our time together she was rather unconscious." His eyes, flicked back to hers, one side of his mouth twitched up. "But I needed time to perfect the bio-dampener prototype, to launch Archangel."
A chuckle vibrated in his chest. "But we had five months of fun didn't we?"
The double meaning was so obviously meant to rile the two other men in the room. She rolled her eyes in disapproval.
It had worked. The Doctor's eyes met hers, the concern screaming out from them. Hally was about to tell him that nothing had happened, when the very specific wording The Master had used made her pause.
"Perfect?"
"What was that?" The Master gave her a small patronising smile.
Her eyes narrowed. "You said you needed the time to perfect the prototype?"
The Master's eyes widened and he nodded. "Yes. After all, creating that thing from scratch would have taken much longer than a few months." He chuckled at her, explaining in a way that would purposefully make her feel stupid.
She could feel him leading her into a trap, but he'd caught her intrigue. "Then… where did you get it from?"
"The TARDIS." He shot back instantly, smiling as if it was obvious.
Her stomach dropped, hearts clenching painfully. She looked to The Doctor, but his eyes were trained on the glass table. She directed the question towards her father. "What was it doing on the TARDIS?"
The Master's victorious smirk was audible. "Well, The Doctor had left it, conveniently for me, in the lower lab. You know… the one next to the library." He enlightened cheerfully.
Hally stared at The Doctor. His eyes didn't move from the table.
The Doctor had created the bio-dampener.
"Why?" Her voice shook as she repressed the despair that was climbing up her throat.
He remained silent. He didn't even move.
"Answer me!"
The Master slowly leant back in his chair, watching his manufactured chaos with pride.
Hally hadn't realised she was shaking. Icey numbness pricked her arms. She furiously blinked away the tears that were filling her eyes. She would not cry in front of them.
He still wouldn't look at her.
He had created the bio-dampener.
Her father.
Sure, The Master had tweaked it to his own requirements but there wasn't much else a dynamic bio-dampener could be designed to do. Why would he want to do something like that? Why hadn't he talked to her about it? A terrifying thought struck her. What if The Doctor had been playing her all along, playing the doting father while working away on a device that would lock away her power? Didn't he trust her?
He hadn't changed at all.
He was exactly the same.
Despite her best efforts, she felt the gentle trickle as tears fell down her face.
The Master looked between father and daughter. Leaning forward once more and interlacing his fingers together as he rested his elbows on the table. She watched his hands. Not wanting to look either man in the face.
She noticed it then.
He'd replaced the ring that had previously sat on his wedding finger. The plain band he'd worn after 'marrying' Lucy was gone. Now, black point diamonds glinted at her, sitting proudly in their gold bed. He was wearing their wedding ring.
Another set of tears washed down her cheeks.
Staring at that ring. The ring she'd wished to see for so long. It taunted her. Reminding her of what she'd lost and of who she'd loved.
He was sat right in front of her.
Hally wanted to reach out and touch him. To pull him into her arms and hold him as tightly as she possibly could.
But she couldn't.
She couldn't because the same man had just dropped a metaphorical bomb at the table. Purposefully. Knowingly. To hurt The Doctor. To hurt her.
"I would never have used it without your consent." The Doctor whispered finally, from across the table.
An incredulous laugh left Hally before she can think. "But you were still making it, in secret?"
Pain flitted across The Doctor's face.
"Full of surprises aren't you Doctor?" The Master mocked.
He cocked his head towards Hally. "But… perhaps he'd heard all those rumours during the Time War." He paused as if remembering something. As if the whole conversation hadn't been meticulously pre-planned. "What was it the Dalek Emperor called you? Oh, yes. The Archangel of Death." He shuddered in delight. "Sooo dramatic."
"I suppose then… after you revealed your little, 'powerful' secret, he had to consider that all those ludicrous stories about a weapon of mass destruction during the war… might not have been so ludicrous after all."
He dropped his head back, humming in thought as he continued. It was like he'd taken a dagger and had plunged it between the two and was taking the time to push the blade further and further in. "The destruction of Oixn… a whole planet of Dalek's destroyed." He smiled, eyes closing in remembrance. "The fleeing Time Lords said it was an act of divine intervention. They saw a golden angel in the sky." He smirked, lifting his head back up, capturing Hally with a hungry gaze.
"Then there was the obliteration of The Eternity Circle… how did that one go again?" His eyes flashed in amusement.
Hally was shooting daggers at him. Of course, he wasn't lying. She had done those things during the Time War. But they had all been his plans. Not that she could raise that point. He was purposefully trying to make her rise to it. Dangling their secret in front of the room. Knowing she couldn't bite.
"Perhaps daddy dearest was concerning himself with the safety of the universe. After all, all that power in the wrong hands?" The Master pouted, smirking at his own joke. "Could be catastrophic."
"How benevolent of you then. To render it useless." Hally spat back at him.
His face changed in an instant. The heat in his eyes chilled immediately and his jaw clenched. Rising from his seat he perched on the edge of the table, right next to her. She was forced to strain her neck in order to keep glaring daggers at him.
His hand drifted towards her and slowly ghosted around her neck. "Oh, yes. I could take that power and use it for myself. But you see, I don't need to."
"Because I don't need your power in order to win." His voice lowered into a hiss and his hand stilled around her throat. His fingers pressed firmly into her neck, not enough to cut off her breathing but enough that Hally could feel her head start to lighten from lack of blood.
The room was still and silent as Hally and The Master stared at one another.
The edge of her vision was starting to blur.
"The future Queen of An Garradh. The Archangel of Death…" His voice carried throughout the room. "I have her. She's mine and there's nothing she can do to stop me."
She tried to blink away the dark spots dancing across her vision. He leant in, breath hot against the side of her face. "That's power."
She felt, for a moment, his lips brush against her temple. Then he pulled back, his hand relaxed and the blood rushed back to her head. Painting on a smirk he turned to look over his shoulder at The Doctor. "Isn't that right, Doctor?"