Finally, after taking some time, with the Cybermen making sure everything went according to plan, and the TARDIS keeping track of the Master's machine, Paul had the bomb that will destroy it.
Paul couldn't lie; he was nervous.
Those who came before him have faced their worst fears and eventually triumphed, but this was much more different.
Yes, his father and great uncle destroyed the Master with the help from fellow Doctors, but the Master didn't feed on entire universes.
He thought himself logical, but even the Master was fallible.
The machine was a different story.
Methodical, unthinking, only acting on instinct, a mechanical monster.
One wrong move, the monster will finish what the Master planned.
Though, Paul ended up wondering if the Master would be pleased to know what his machine is doing.
Or, in a rare instance, the Master would be horrified at the extent his monster will go to follow through with its instability.
It pained Paul doing this, but he needn't Taylor worrying about him, as he held his thoughts privately, away from her own mind.
A knock on the TARDIS door drew him away from his mind and as he opens it, he sees an unexpected visitor waiting for him.
Crossing her arms, Orsolya says to him, "I do have some skin in this, too, Doctor."
Referring to Desmond and the people she came to care about since Straxus plucked her from the machine's grasp, Paul needn't ask her how she arrived at the TARDIS' location.
"Where is he?" Paul asks about Straxus.
Shrugging her shoulders, Orsolya tells him how she didn't know, only that he made her come here, so here she is, and asks about the bomb they made.
"It's ready, all we need to do is lure the machine somewhere," Paul explains.
Slowly moving through the TARDIS with an amused look on her face, Orsolya comments on the difficulty creating such a thing, to which Paul admits that they had to get help from older models of Cybermen.
"We've truly are in the shite, aren't we, Doctor? Getting help from your sordid enemies!" Orsolya couldn't help but notice.
Admitting he didn't expect it either, Paul then gave a pragmatic response, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Even if at the end of this, the Cybermen will turn on him once more, they'll be more willing to put aside their disdain for him for this one time.
"Typical!" Orsolya snorts.
Chewing on his bottom lip, Paul broaches a topic with Orsolya.
"Without the Master, Straxus is dying… is Taylor fated the same way?" Paul forces himself to ask about the odds.
Mulling it over, Orsolya mentions how the Master always had a plan for everything, but with Straxus his own man, things changed.
"If Straxus never intervened, then?" Paul gestures.
Sighing, Orsolya answers with a thoughtful, "Perhaps she would be his secondary body in the event anything happened, yes, that sounds like him. It would be on brand for him to use her as a means of mocking your grandfather."
Always thinking ahead, the Master would never miss the opportunity to rub salt in his former brother's wounds.
"But I do know this about him, even if he was at his lowest, I don't think he would even tempt melding his mind with the machine," Orsolya then added. "He always hated the thought of being anywhere but his own skin, ironic don't you think?"
Certain of this, Orsolya uncrosses her arms as she notices Taylor's absence, and Paul explains her sleeping, something she had trouble doing since this started.
Exhaling sharply, Paul admits how he yearns for this to be over with, and everything finally settling down.
"Oh, Doctor, once more you're greener than your coat. You think destroying it will right everything?" Orsolya eyes him.
Mustering how aware he is that it wasn't as simple as he made it, Paul sees Orsolya shake her head as she sums what Straxus said, "Things will never be the same again."
As elusive as his progenitor, Straxus never said anything more than he needed, something Orsolya understood easily, but Paul struggles with Straxus' nature.
Acknowledging it with a nod, Orsolya then asks how Taylor took to the news that Straxus wasn't long for this life.
"Conflicted, mostly," Paul sums.
Revelations after revelations, it put Taylor's worldview into question, and with what she knows now, it took time for her to adjust.
"He is our older brother, it's natural," Orsolya says.
Watching Paul go up to the console as lights flashes for his attention, Orsolya asks Paul about his personal feelings about the revelations.
"I still love her," Paul asserts.
No matter what notions Orsolya has in her mind, nothing changed after the revelations.
Seeing Paul assertive, Orsolya backs off, but not before asking about Taylor.
"Her emotions are her own," Paul saw the accusations, but Orsolya swore being pragmatic about her questioning.
The Master earned his reputation for a reason.
Vehemently denying their emotions were strategically manipulated by design, Paul saw the doubt on Orsolya's face, and she didn't hide the concerns how even if Taylor claims otherwise, she was just as much a victim of her creation as Orsolya and Straxus.
"Seducing the Doctor's just another way of him rubbing salt in the wound," Orsolya sums.
Insistent that Taylor came to her own decisions herself, Paul questions Orsolya's motives.
With a shrug, she explains how Straxus wanted her to challenge Paul on his thoughts, a test of sorts.
"Well, did I pass?" Paul crosses his arms.
Sly to the bitter end, Orsolya responds that it was up to Straxus to decide whether he succeed or not.
Asking for her opinions, Paul listens as Orsolya gave them.
At one point, Paul would've just been another target she's sent to destroy.
An afterthought at the end of the day.
However, Paul's genuine responses and Orsolya's life experiences gave her pause as she admits that she believes Paul.
It's shocking, but Orsolya has no reason to lie anymore, and even if she wanted, Straxus was not inclined towards it unless it's needed.
Cautioning him not to let the machine win, Orsolya asks how Paul intends getting it to where he wants, and how he'll get the bomb inside.
Explaining what he had in mind, Paul summarizes at the end that he'll use the insatiable hunger against the machine.
Visibly impressed, Orsolya comments he's a strategist like his great uncle.
Taking it as a rare compliment, Paul couldn't help but hope it will work.
"You're the Doctor, it's part of your job," Orsolya then says.
Seeing the time, Orsolya opts to move towards the door.
Upon reaching it, she stops and turns around to face Paul.
"And remember, Doctor, prepare for unforeseen consequences," Orsolya ominously says before she opens the door behind her and disappears.
Left alone to think about what Orsolya says, Paul chews on his bottom lips before remembering what his father told him.
"I am the Doctor," Paul reaffirms.
THE END