62 – Start
"They gone, then?", Wilf is calling from inside the booth. "Yeah, good-o. If you could let me out?".
Struggling, I roll to the side, and I see the Doctor walking over to him. "Yeah", he says.
"Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise".
The Doctor looks at the booth, and at the fried control panels, burnt with the White point Star explosion. "The Nuclear Bolt is still running. It's gone into overload".
By my side I feel the Master shifting, trying to pull himself up.
"And that's bad, is it?", Wilf asks, genuinely.
"No, because all the excess radiation gets vented inside there", he explains. "Vinvocci glass. Contains it. All five hundred thousand rads, about to flood that thing", he says, looking up and down the glass.
"Oh", Wilf nods, worried. "Well, you'd better let me out, then".
Oh, Wilf. You've seen how that radiation control booth works.
"Except it's gone critical. Touch one control and it floods", the Doctor continues, flatly. He twists his sonic in his hand. "Even this would set it off".
"I'm sorry", Wilf apologizes.
"Sure", the Doctor whispers, almost imperceptible.
"Look, just leave me".
The Master is standing now, offering his hand for support to help me up, silently, looking at them.
The Doctor continues, frustrated. "Okay, right then, I will. Because you had to go in there, didn't you? You had to go and get stuck, oh yes. Because that's who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me. All this time", he complains, tearing up.
The Master leads me closer, holding my shoulder as I shake, unsteady.
"No really, just leave me. I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time".
"Well, exactly. Look at you", he continues, raising his voice. "Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more. So. Much. More! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair!", he screams, wrecking a table, throwing everything flying around.
It's such an unexpected reaction from the Doctor that we just watch silently. He notices us, and he takes a deep breath, calming down. "Oh. Oh. I've lived too long".
"Let me", the Master says, blinking apologetically. "I left the nuclear bolt running, it's my fault".
"You're barely alive yourself. Get in there, there's no recovery". I open my mouth to speak, but he stops me. "And you're not ready to regenerate. You're hurt. And, too young", he says, his voice breaking in tears.
"Doctor", the Master starts, but the Doctor raises a hand in front of his face, silencing him.
"Ugh", he sighs, finally, and steps to the booth.
"No. No, no, please, please don't. No, don't! Please don't! Please!", Wilf insists, now.
The Doctor stops before entering, he looks calmer now. "Wilfred, it's my honour", he declares.
"Better be quick. Three, two, one", he says, then quickly goes into the open booth and unlocks Wilf's side. Wilf runs out and the radiation floods the Doctor's booth. I get out of the Master's hold and run to him, my hands on the glass.
I watch him curl up into a ball, feeling his pain in my head. Then the power shuts down.
"Please regenerate", I hear the Master whisper at my back.
The Doctor blinks.
"What? Hello", Wilf says. I smile.
The Doctor looks at him, then at the Master, then me. "Hi".
"Still with us?", Wilf asks.
"The system's dead. I absorbed it all", he explains, standing up. "Whole thing's kaput". He faces the glass, I take my hands off and the door swings open. "Oh. Now it opens, yeah".
The Doctor comes out of the booth.
"Well, there we are, then. Safe and sound", Wilf says. I can see how he's trying to compensate his guilt. "Mind you, you're in hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there".
The Doctor looks at us, then rubs his face, slowly. The bruises and cuts on his face – oh, this handsome face, they vanish.
"But they've. Your face. How did you do that?", Wilf asks.
The Doctor looks at me, glances at the Master. "It's started", he says, flatly. That handsome face. He looks at his hands, almost healed. "Wilf, let's get you home", he whispers. "Master, you coming with us?".
The Master looks at me, bewildered.
"Where else would you go?", I try to impose, but I think my voice comes out feeble and soft.
"With you? I-" the Master groans, smirking.
"Shut up. You refused the first time he offered, look how well that went", I insist.
He keeps looking puzzled, his gaze resting on me, then the Doctor, who just basically ignores him, smiling, then leads the way.
I'm still in pain, almost limping, so the Master holds me up all the way to the Tardis. He stops when we are at the doors, looks at me, then at the Doctor, still unconvinced.
"Now, there might be a little, er", the Doctor says, remembering just before me.
The doors open, and Chloe is mumbling about the console room. "Finally. You left me here for days, you-oh, no".
She launches herself towards us, the Master is caught by surprise and draws back. "Oh, no, no, no", the Doctor says, catching her and keeping her at distance.
"You left me here for days, and now you bring back him?", she mutters, furious.
"Ah. But, he's fine now, right? That noise is gone", Wilf says, always trying to bring peace. God I will miss him. "Hello, uh, Wilfred Mott. Are you Zoe's sister?".
Chloe is so shocked she just glares at us. I nudge the Master.
"Uh, good to see you, Mrs Saxon", he smiles.
"Oh, you're unbelievable", she hisses. "What have you done to her?".
"Uh, oh. Wasn't me", he says, smiling, flinching. The Doctor clears his throat, his eyes rolling around the room. "Okay, well, technically, it is sort of my fault. You know, it's-".
"Aaah, er", the Doctor says, scratching his head, interrupting him. "Let's just get Wilf home, then we'll have a little… reunion chat, okay?", he says, gesturing around us. "In the meantime, Master, med bay", he instructs him, nodding at me.
I nod a salute to Wilf, who is looking at me a little worried, but he returns a proud salute at me with a smile.
We stumble down the corridor. The Master looks around in silence, almost looking humbled by the simple fact of being on the Tardis with us. Or, a totally different feeling.
"Stop looking around the place like you're already about to redecorate", I tell him. "That's not happening on my watch. Not again".
"I wasn't-, oh, whatever", he stops, shooting me a look, as if surprised I can see the templates switching in his head. "I am… remembering", he explains, smirking. "I'm over nine hundred years old. I've had many ships, my love. The Doctor and me, we're the last Time Lords of Gallifrey. And all that remains of our home, our world… this Tardis and a white point star that nearly caused the end of the universe".
"You kept the diamond?", I glare. I'm not that familiar with white point star technology, but I have a very distinctive image of Sarah Jane threatening Davros with one. So I'm pretty sure it can be weaponized. I'll have to tell the Doctor about him keeping it, and he won't be happy.
I push a button on a wall, the door slides open. Chloe rushes up behind us, following us into the room.
"Tell me what happened".
The Master helps me lay down on the cot, starts fidgeting with the equipment. "It was the Time Lords. The noise in my head. The Drums. The Time Lords all along. And now it's gone".
"And do you think this is an explanation?", she groans, frustrated. "Is he stupid or something? The resurrection brought him back stupid?" she asks me.
He turns to her, fast and menacing. "Chloe, my lovely wife. I missed you so much", he snarls.
"Oi, stop it, both of you", I tell them.
"But what is he doing here?", she insists. "How could you? After all we've been through".
She has a point. The Master turns quickly to look at me, inquisitive, and I see it in his eyes that he sees her point too.
"Chloe, if the Doctor can accept him, so can you".
"The Doctor… What about you, uh? Are the genetics this strong?".
"The gen- it's not genetics, stop it", the Master snarls, frustrated.
"Shut up, I'm speaking to Zoe".
"Stop it, both of you", I repeat.
The Master looks at me again, ignoring her. Over his shoulder, I see her look around, defeated. And then she focuses on the shelf where the electric probes are stored. Why do we have electric pro-
"Chloe, No!", I scream, as she pulls one over and activates it on the Master's back.
"Aw-", he growls in pain, falling back, seizuring on the ground. The energy buzzes again all over his body.
"What the hell are you doing?", I cry, taking the wiring off to sit up, check on him.
"Saving you from whatever he's doing to you!".
"He was just helping me, you… ugh". It's been a long day, I can't think of a colourful insult. "And he's hurt, can't you see?".
The Doctor appears in the doorframe. "What the hell is going on here?".
"Wh- what do you think?", I groan, throwing my hands in the air. "And why the hell do we have electrical probes?!".
The Doctor looks around, frowning, then takes the probe from Chloe's hands and puts it back on the shelf. He sighs, rubs his face. "All of you, console room. Now".
Chloe follows him out, annoyed. I lend a hand to the Master, who's still curled up on the floor. "Isn't the Doctor supposed to be the funny and charming one? I'm going to get fireworks to celebrate his regeneration".
Five minutes later, we're all sitting around the console, and I've told Chloe the events of the last two days, keeping away from too many details.
"I see", she says.
"If you want to stay, there's room". I am surprised that the Doctor offers her to stay. After all, he never liked her very much, and she betrayed him a lot of times. Then again, so did the Master.
So, fair enough, but to be honest, I dread the impending possibility of having to deal with the Master, Chloe and a newly regenerated Doctor all packed together in the Tardis.
Chloe looks at the ceiling, considering the offer.
"You're all Time Lords", she says after a moment.
"Oh, who cares", the Doctor says. "Come on, you're clever. You're brilliant. You can join Team Tardis, welcome on board".
"That's not what I meant", she smiles, looking around. "I don't want anything to do with any Time Lord. But there's one thing the three of you can do for me".
I look at her. "What?".
"Wipe my memory".
The Master flinches, trying to hide the guilt on his face. "Bit drastic, don't you think?".
She nods. "It is what I want. So I don't care which of you does it, just leave me somewhere where I can start again. Retcon me to before I got to the Time Agency".
It is drastic, but in a way, I don't feel like insisting. How many times in my life did I wish for the chance of a fresh start?
The Doctor stands up, starts the engine. "Pick a place", he says, gloomy.
"Already did. Calliope. Holiday destination planet. 51st century".
"Well then", the Tardis moves, and we walk to the doors to escort her out.
She walks out first, then the Master, then unexpectedly he turns around and slams the doors in our faces. "Wh-".
I try to force it, but he's holding it from the outside.
"What?", the Doctor cries. "What-", he comes to my side, helping me pull the doors, but the Master is holding it with all his strength. That, or he found someway to block it. "Check the outside monitors!", he says, nodding at me.
I run to the screens and turn them around the console, so he can see too.
"What's going on?", the Doctor asks.
"I can't find them… oh. Yes. Here they are".
"What is he doing? What is he doing to her?".
I close my eyes to concentrate on the bond, then look at the screens again. "He's… he's just… apologizing".
The Doctor stops pulling on the door, steps slowly by my side, looks at the screen.
He smiles. "Wow", he whispers.
I look at him, a giggle escapes my lips.
"You did good, Zoe", he says softly. "How about now, how are you doing?".
"Well I only stayed wired for a minute. I could use a bit more".
"You know I meant-".
I look at the screen as the Master sits down with Chloe, and talks to her. His face gives in to emotion, and he looks vulnerable, for a moment. "I know what you meant. Too early to say, but. Still. Thank you for letting him stay".
"Better with us than around by himself. Unsupervised".
I tilt my head. "Still. I know it can't be easy".
He rolls his eyes, giggling bitterly. "Oh, I'm burning with jealousy. Or, regeneration energy".
"How are you doing?".
"I've still got time".
I take his hand, squeeze it. I feel our psychic link burning. Again, I feel like I'm about to cry- these past few days, a whirlwind of emotions. I wish there was another way, another option where I don't have to hurt him so much.
"This has happened before". He says, sighing. "me, him, a girl".
It's the first time I'm hearing this. "Is that why you're… sworn enemies? Who won?".
"No. Actually I guess it brought us closer", he says, looking away. "Nobody won. We lost her. Long time ago", he adds.
"You won't lose me", I say. My mind is racing. "Whatever happens here".
"I know", he says, softly, looking into my eyes. Then he pulls me in, hugs me tight. "Shut up", he giggles.
"Oi, you two", the Master calls, walking back in. "So, what happens now?", he asks.
"We're going to fix your body", the Doctor tells him. "And then, I go get my reward".
