Hello!
I just wanted to say thank you again for all the support, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I love seeing your comments.
A couple of things: I am making up my own kind of backstory/pre-leaving Gallifrey Doctor backstory so please no complaints about it not being canon (I know but Doctor Who canon is very wobbly so I am going with my own stuff for some parts). Second: I am planning to do the Timeless Child arc and then I am absolutely going to want suggestions on what to do next - I have vague plans of episodes I want to do soon but I always want to know what you all want!
Again thank you for everything, I love you all and I hope you are staying safe!
Robyn
The words 'Spyfall Part 1' appeared on the screen in the same manner as the others had. The Doctor and her fam shared a glance, they had a very good guess about what this video would show. The Doctor cleared her throat before turning to the rest of the room to try and explain a bit.
"Erm, I think this video takes place about a year and a half or so after the last one so quick explanation for contexts sake. Got saved from space, found the TARDIS. Managed to get home after a couple of wrong landings-."
"16." Graham muttered, cutting of the Doctor who smiled a bit sheepishly before continuing.
"Okay 16, thank you Graham. Had a few adventures along the way-."
"13." Ryan mimicked his grandfather with a small grin.
"Okay, 13. Thanks Ryan. Anyway." She stopped for a second to see if anyone would interrupt her before determinedly continuing. "Anyway, eventually got home. Had a bit of trouble with massive spiders in Sheffield. This lot decided to travel with me on and off and that's about it." She checked with her fam who answered with a mix of nods and shrugs. The rest of the former companions smiled at the group; it was always good to see things never really changed around the Doctor.
"Well on with the story then." She finished with a grimace, thinking about what they were all going to see. She turned briefly to glare at the Master who only smirked, oh he was excited to see this video. The other three couldn't deny that they were curious to see what had really happened between the Doctor and the Master, she had never really explained the full story but she had been off since then.
Across the world a series of spies get murdered in suspicious ways and with no visible culprit
"Well, that doesn't look good. What trouble have you managed to get yourself into now?" Marth asked, the way the three newest companions and the Doctor were acting was making her worried. It didn't help that the Master was smirking, that was never a good sign. Whatever happened had been big and was leading up to whatever the Tardis wanted to show them.
Back in Sheffield, Ryan is playing basketball with friends as he uses the excuse of having been travelling to explain his absence
"Are those the excuses you use to explain why you disappear when you travel with the Doctor?" Rose asked curious.
"Yeah, I'm not really a great liar and don't particularly like it, but travelling with the Doctor is amazing. Even if it is hard to explain to our friends and family." Ryan shrugged. The rest of the companions nodded in understanding; it was always hard to explain to other people why they kept disappearing.
Two men in black and wearing shades turn up next to a black car
"Ooh, what have you done?" Jack sang over excited. Rose and Martha shared a glance before Rose elbowed him hard in the side, earning a (mostly fake) wine of pain from the immortal.
Yaz is at home with her family, her sister wants Ryan's number
"C'mon Yaz, just give her my number." Ryan begged Yaz who look at him with an expression of disbelief.
"No, I am not giving her your phone number so you can flirt together thank you." Yaz crossed her arms giving him a stare saying she wasn't going to back down. Graham shook his head in fond exasperation at the pair.
Yaz's dad struggles with the alexa as the sisters argue
"Your family seems nice. I'm guessing they don't know where you are?" Martha asked, expression unreadable. The Doctor resisted the urge to glance at the Master, instead sending a worried look at Martha. It hadn't just been Martha that had suffered due to the Master, her family had gone through a lot during the Year that never was.
"Thanks. They don't know details, but they have met the Doctor and the others, you can thank the spider mess for that. Really awkward to explain." Yaz recalled, looking a bit unsure of where the other woman was going with the question.
"Do I even want to ask about the spider comment? I think you mentioned it at the start of the video." Donna asked exasperated, looking like she very much already knew the answer.
The Doctor, Yaz, Ryan and Graham shared a look before turning back to the rest of the room in unison. "No." The Doctor expanded on that slightly. "It was a messy affair, all human though, no alien. Which was a nice change, accept that man." She looked at her current companions. "The one that wasn't Ed Sheeran."
The three companions rolled their eyes at her, while the rest of the room looked even more confused. Ryan just turned to the rest of the room. "Trust me, you don't want to know." The rest of the room seemed to take that as a descent answer and let the matter drop.
At the police station, Yaz's boss isn't very happy with her continual absences, thinking she's being taken for undercover opertaions and reminds her she needs to be there to finish her probation. Another pair of men like those that picked up Ryan arrive for her
"Okay, so definitely all of you. What have you done now Doctor?" Rory asked, knowing who was to blame. The Doctor just grumbled her complaints about the accusation as the rest of the room laughed slightly.
Graham is at the hospital getting a check up. His doctor asks about his travelling and if he goes anywhere nice, Graham replies sometimes. Outside the hospital, a similar pair of men pick him up too
That earned some chuckles from the group. The Doctor crossed her arms with an expression she would deny was a pout. "Oi! I always take you to nice places."
"What about that death eye turtle army?" Graham asked.
"Or that junk galaxy where we got blown up by a sonic mine and ended up almost getting killed on the med ship?" Ryan added.
"Or Tranquillity Spa?" Yaz said.
"First of all, I apologised greatly for the death eye turtle army and the sonic mine. Second, Tranquillity Spar was technically Graham's fault. Third you're only mentioning the trouble, I took you plenty of nice places." The Doctor tried to defend herself. The three grinned at her, they had only been teasing. The rest of the room looked slightly nostalgic at the similar conversation and topic.
The Doctor is working on the Tardis in a garage, as she works she's on her phone messaging the group who are all very late. Then they arrive in their black cars and with their escorts
"Oh, so now you have figured out how to use a phone but you still can't spare a minute to call me?" Martha raised an eyebrow accusingly. The Doctor shrunk a bit under her glare trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. Before she could, Martha started laughing, she'd mostly been teasing and seeing the Doctor's panicked expression was worth it. The Doctor pouted at her.
The agents ask the Doctor to come with them, 13 is dubious as she describes all the stuff she has to fix in the Tardis
The room (bar the Master and River) looked at her as she continued listing rooms, looking more and more surprised. They knew the TARDIS was big, but surely, she was joking? They'd not heard of, let alone seen, most of those rooms. The Doctor didn't even seem to notice their stares just nodding along with herself on screen.
The Agents insist as Graham protests the transport
Ryan glanced at his grandad. "Loving your priorities." Graham shrugged at him; it was a bit funny looking back on it. Yaz was smiling widely, both at the interaction but also at the comment from on-screen Graham.
The car convoy is moving, guided by satnav. The four talk about the situation as they try to work out whose orders the men are under
"You realise he can hear everything you are saying right?" Amy questioned. The four just shrugged, they hadn't really thought about it at the time, too preoccupied with what was going on and trying to make a plan.
The satnav has issues before a stream of energy comes out and disintegrates an agent
"Well, that went very wrong very quickly." River declared, raising an eyebrow at the four who had been in the car.
The Doctor sighed. "And it only got worse." That didn't really reassure any of the companions. The three current companions shared a similar look to the Doctor – like they were relieving bad memories. Jack noticed the Master was grinning, and started to get an even worse feeling about what they would be seeing.
The accelerator pedal hits the floor and they swerve through traffic before coming to an abrupt halt. They try to get out the car with the sonic to no avail as the satnav starts screaming at them to die
"What is it with cars trying to kill you Doctor?" Martha shared a private grin with Donna and the Doctor, a little worried about the situation but calming herself with the fact all four were with them currently.
"What does that mean?" Rory asked bemused, voicing the thoughts of many.
In sync the Doctor, Donna and Martha drawled, "Atmos."
"Of course, you were involved in that Doctor." Jack shook his head, not even sure why he was at all surprised. That didn't seem to answer many questions for most of the group but they let the video continue, knowing if it was important it would be shown and they weren't likely to get anymore answers otherwise.
13 takes the driver's seat as it speeds backwards, more energy comes out shattering windows as they drive backwards rapidly to an unfinished ramp
"Because things weren't bad enough." Clara shook her head. That was just typical with the Doctor. Anything that could go wrong would and then it would get even worse.
13 grabs a mirror and holds it Infront of the satnav screen, a beam of energy comes out and bounces back blowing itself up, they stop the car just in time
The room seemed to collectively let out a breath they didn't know they had been holding. They knew that the group were safe (they were in the room with them after all) but still, it was hard not to get worried.
C's voice comes on the screen as 13 tells him about their driver being murdered and car attempting to kill them. C reveals he is MI6
"MI6? That's new. How do they even know about you?" Clara asked, eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
"UNIT is my best guess maybe? Aside from that I don't really know much about how they knew me." The Doctor frowned; she hadn't really had a chance to think about that at the time. She should probably investigate that actually; it wouldn't do well for them to know too much about her.
13 takes the wheel and they agree to come in if only for answers
"You can drive a car?" Bill asked raising an eyebrow.
"Bill, I am a very old alien from a highly advanced planet that has spent a lot of my time around Earth, of course I can drive a car. Used to own one back when I worked for UNIT." The Doctor said, thinking back fondly on her old car Bessie.
"Of course, her driving is only slightly better than it is for the TARDIS." The Master smirked at her, she glared back in return before turning away. There were several things about to be shown in this video she really didn't want to see again, let alone have her friends see.
At MI6 they spot the Tardis being brought in before the are led inside, Graham reveals he always wanted to be a spy which Ryan scoffs at. C shows up and talks to Graham to his confusion
The companions look confused for a minute before realising what was going on. Most of their expressions turned a bit darker or angry, sometimes they really hated 21st century prejudices. It was definitely better than it had been but compared to some of the places they had seen? It still had a way to go.
"Ah, sexism. The joys of being a woman." Clara's voice was dripping with sarcasm as she shared a sympathetic look with the Doctor. It likely wouldn't be the first or last time someone had caused trouble or mistaken her for something else just because she looked female now.
The Master scoffed at the screen; he didn't know how they could mistake the Doctor for one of her little pets. Well, it was his former idiot of a boss, but still the Doctor was far better than any of the little humans no matter her appearance she shouldn't be mixed up with them.
(C's aide whispers to him.)
C: Don't be ridiculous, Franklin. I've read the files. The Doctor is a man.
DOCTOR: I've had an upgrade. Hi.
C: Oh.
"You aren't taking any nonsense are you, Doctor." Rose grinned at the blonde who grinned brightly back.
"Honestly, I don't know what you humans are stuck about on gender. Why does it matter?" The Doctor shook her head exasperated, she loved humanity but the 21st century still had some stupid prejudices. Though to be fair, she had looked like a man for the past 13 bodies - but it didn't mean she would always look like a man. UNIT definitely would have been better, after all they'd seen Missy first-hand. But this was MI6, they barely knew she existed let alone everything UNIT knew. That was just another reason for UNIT to get back together.
C tells the group the car was just supposed to bring them in not kill them and that he's been authorised to speak for every security agency globally - they need the Doctor's help
"Something really serious is happening then. No way all the security agents just decided to agree to ask for help for a little reason." Mickey contemplated, he and Martha knew first-hand what intelligence and security agencies were like, between Torchwood and UNIT, plus their time as freelancers.
He didn't get an answer which didn't help him feel much better. The four that had experienced it shared a glance, it really hadn't been anything small.
They move through the building as C tells them what's been happening - spies are bing attacked all across the world and none of them have been ordered by other agencies. In the medical area he shows a female spy who looks like they are in a coma - apparently her DNA's been rewritten which should be impossible and is well beyond human technology
"That's horrifying. What has the power to do that?" Martha asked, voicing the opinion of many in the room. Whatever this threat was it was dangerous and nothing they had seen before. Both River and Jack were combing through their knowledge of species trying to figure out a likely culprit and both coming up blank.
C gives the team various equipment to Ryan and Graham's excitement. Then he tells them the assassinated agents were investigating Daniel Barton the founder of VOR and gives Yaz a file
"Daniel Barton? UNIT was investigating him before they got shut down." Mickey stated, he and Martha may have been mostly freelance but they had still helped out at UNIT occasionally.
"Yeah, talking of. What happened to UNIT? I tried to contact them start of last year to help with a situation and got told by a rude lady that they had a budget cut and were shut down." The Doctor queried, looking at the married couple as they were the most likely to know the answers.
"Yeah, all this nonsense with Brexit and the fact nothing too bad has happened for a while meant the Prime Minister shut down UNIT citing budget cuts." Martha explained. Shaking her head disapprovingly. Then she registered something in the Doctor's question. "Wait. What was bad enough for you to try and phone for assistance?"
The Doctor grimaced alongside her current companions, thinking back on the incident. "A Dalek. Recon scout. It arrived on Earth a long time ago and was defeated but lived. It started controlling and killing people to try and rebuild its shell. It then tried to call for an armada. Managed to throw it in a supernova though eventually. Remind me to see what I can do about UNIT. This world needs to be protected and they are the best ones to do it." The Doctor nodded decisively to herself, ignoring the worried looks of the rest of her companions when the Dalek was mentioned.
They discuss Barton a bit more before 13 asks for their best man (an old friend of hers), C sheepishly reveals he fired him
"I take back every nice thing I say about O." The Doctor announced to the room, which made no sense to the majority of the room but her fam nodded behind her with grimaces on their faces. She glared sharply at the Master when no one was looking. He just smirked proudly back.
C and 13 argue, as C didn't believe in aliens or didn't care as other agencies dealt with them but they're all gone. 13 whatsapps her friend (with a kiss) and immediately gets a response to C's shock
The Master smirked at the Doctor who was now trying her best to ignore him to his annoyance. They had spent quite a while texting and the Doctor had spent a long time going through all their messages once she'd seen Gallifrey. Looking for any signs or hints to his actual identity. It had driven her slightly insane for several days, sitting in the ruins of her planet, well of Gallifrey, ging through the texts to try and find anything that suggested O wasn't who he said he was.
The Master would never admit it, but he had absolutely enjoyed texting the Doctor, getting the chance to have her attention, the attention she normally focused on her little pets. Having the chance to talk to her like they used to do before they left Gallifrey and even the chance to talk to her like Missy had with Eyebrows. It had been thrilling and frustrating to text her without her knowing who he was, there were so many times he had almost let something slip or been disappointed when she had thought he was just some little human.
The picture the Doctor got was a fish, which only she understands
"Doctor!" Clara rolled her eyes. Of course, the Doctor was getting over excited over a puzzle while they were all in danger, and she wasn't explaining it as normal. The Doctor offered a sheepish grin at her, maybe it hadn't been the time to get excited.
C tries to get them back onto the task at hand but is assassinated. The others run for cover and escape to the Tardis as laser bolts fire
"What are those things!" Donna shouted shocked. Things had rapidly taken a bad turn.
"I haven't seen anything like that before." Jack spoke in slight awe, leaning forward in his seat to try and get a better look at the new beings.
"No, you wouldn't have." The Doctor muttered darkly.
They reach the Tardis safely
"Ooh, new TARDIS console. Nice, very yellow. Lots of crystals. Kind of hive-y." Jack grinned, leaning forward to try and inspect the new TARDIS interior like many of the others in the room.
"What are those circles near the bottom? They were on the main pillar of the last design as well." Bill asked, tilting her head to the side as if it would allow her to see them better.
"That's Gallifreyan, my language."
Bill rolled her eyes. "I know that, I mean what does it say?"
River who had started translating them when Bill had pointed them out, smiled. "Oh, you old sap." She laughed happily at the Doctor who blushed slightly.
"They're your names. All my friends, the people who travelled with me - they're your names. A reminder." She explained, fidgeting and looking at the floor.
Her friends smiled at her, a mix of feelings bursting in each of them that they were unable to articulate.
Graham and Ryan took the gadgets, the Doctor looks at the picture
"Doctor!" Donna complained. "You need to think about your priorities." She shook her head before looking at the current companions. "At least two of you mostly have your priorities straight, honestly."
Yaz and Ryan grinned while the Doctor pouted. Ryan nudged Graham who started grumbling, he'd been focused on the gadgets as he didn't know what to do about the head of MI6 being assassinated in front of him.
13 reveals the picture is steganography - another image hidden in the pixels of a picture
"Smart, love. Who's this O?" River asked her wife curious; it wasn't often she took interest in a human who wasn't her companions for very long and it seemed she had been texting this human for a while. Plus, the comment from her wife about taking everything she said about him back was making her very curious – there was definitely a story there and clearly it was relevant to the Tardis's worries.
The Doctor sighed, "You'll see."
13 reads the coordinates in the picture as Graham points out the wobbly Tardis door worried
"Doctor, you really need to pay more attention to your friends sometimes." Clara sighed exasperated. She always got distracted when she found something interesting even in the face of danger. The Doctor looked a bit sheepish, she'd been so distracted by the steganography so she could find answers she hadn't given the threat as much attention as she probably could have.
Something is trying to get in - one of the aliens. They dematerialise and escape, but worry over something almost getting in
"That is very worrying." River spoke, glancing concerned at her wife who seemed to be having a silent conversation with the Master, she was glaring and he was smirking. Whatever was going on was clearly to do with him and she wasn't sure how to feel about that.
They decide to split up. Yaz and Ryan are sent to California to investigate Barton while Graham and her go to Australia to meet her friend
"You're splitting up?" Rose asked despite already knowing the answer. The group shrugged at her in answer, they had split up and it hadn't gone particularly well.
More discussion of splitting up and 13 gives them a bio-scanner and advise, rule one of espionage - trust no one
"Bit dramatic Doctor." Clara raised an eyebrow, channelling her years of teaching.
"Well, I'm sorry, everything seemed to be trying to kill us." The Doctor threw her hands in the air in mock offense.
"That's normal with you though." Amy received a pout for her comment.
In San Francisco, Ryan and Yaz hack their way into Barton's dairy and organise an interview with Yaz as a journalist and Ryan as a photographer, Ryan is panicking a little as Yaz tried to clam him down
The room was trying to hide their laughter but gave in when Ryan and Yaz started. Looking back on it like this made it more entertaining. At the time it had been very stressful, trying to not get caught especially now knowing they had already been at a disadvantage.
Yaz and Ryan meet an aide and then Barton, introducing themselves with fake names
"First of all, I already don't like him – he is absolutely up to something." Bill declared. "Second, no offence but you aren't exactly doing well at the whole playing it cool thing."
Yaz started laughing, Ryan had definitely been struggling with the undercover thing and she couldn't have laughed at the time but looking back at it now was definitely entertaining. Ryan grinned a bit sheepish he had definitely started panicking. He poked Yaz. "Hey, you at least had your police training to fall back on." Yaz just grinned back.
Graham and 13 arrive in the Australian Outback and are met by a man with two guards
Everyone, who didn't already know turned in sync, heads snapping round to face the Master who was leaning back in his chair like it was a throne, smirking proudly.
"Well, that explains why the Doctor rescinded everything she said about O." Jack muttered, glaring at the Master who only grinned more, looking like a cat that had gotten the mouse. Martha glared sharply at the Master.
The two guards are Australian secret services sent to protect 13's friend. 13 introduces Graham and her friend O. The name is apparently stemming from an old joke at MI6. They go into O's home which is a mess
"Seriously Martian. You would've thought at your age you would at least know some manners!" Donna exclaimed exasperated. The Doctor shrugged; she may have felt a bit sorrier if she didn't know it was the Master.
She was analysing the screen, looking at both the 'house' and the interactions between herself on screen and 'O' for any sign of his true self. She felt so stupid looking back on it, knowing that his 'house' was a Tardis – she should have realised as soon as she stepped in.
Graham asks what everything is, and O explains that he's been keeping a record of all unexplained MI6 files then comments on C being shot
The Doctor glared at the Master; she should have noticed that – how had he heard about C? They had made their way to Australia within about an hour of the assassination, which wasn't much chance for them to reach out and tell as stray MI6 agent. He had definitely been behind C's assassination.
O asks if aliens are attacking and 13 explains they're rewriting DNA. O is suspiciously excited by that idea but hides it well
"As much as I am getting the feeling that I am supposed to hate you, I have to admit you are an amazing actor." Amy admitted with a shrug, she didn't really know much about the guy but everyone seemed on edge about him. She thought she maybe could recall the Doctor mentioning his name once or twice but she didn't really know what he had done to deserve all the glares. Her comment drew several disbelieving eyes her way from those that had the misfortune of knowing his crimes all too well.
"He's always liked his disguises. The Master of disguise." The Doctor sighed; eyes screwed shut as she took a moment to calm the rising anger. She had been analysing the screen for any hints of his true identity poking through the O façade and hadn't been able to find much.
"And yet the Doctor of hope keeps falling for them, despite millennia of the same games. I have had to tell you straight to your face who I was the last few times. You're getting slow, dear." The Master tilted his head with raised eyebrows, glaring at the Doctor who had been refusing to look at him.
His comment caused her to turn sharply and glare back. "You keep dying and I keep thinking 'oh, maybe this is really it this time. Maybe he's actually dead' and I stop looking for you and then like a bad penny you show up again. Besides I had thought you had run off with past you, why would I be looking for your next regeneration, let alone suspect someone I met centuries ago." The answer seemed to calm the madness coalescing in the Master's eyes as he settled with a simple nod, face impassive.
O is prepared with screens and safety precautions and makes some comments about being targets
The whole room turned to glare at the Master who leaned back in his chair, completely relaxed and grinning smugly.
Back with Barton, Yaz and Ryan are interviewing him
"At least you thought ahead and had something to back up your story." Mickey nodded approvingly, that was far better than normal with the Doctor – they weren't completely winging it. Martha nodded along with her husband, smiling at the pair.
They continue the interview as Ryan starts duplicating Barton's security pass as Yaz keeps talking
"You've really done your research." Rory grinned, Yaz was holding her own in a very high-pressure situation. She was clearly good at her job, on the occasion that she was actually there.
Barton gets a message and leaves, Ryan managed to duplicate his access pass and Yaz got a scan - Barton is only 93% human
"93% human. That's new and definitely not very promising. You're in some serious trouble." Jack looked worried, glancing between the group and the picture onscreen. He hadn't been able to place the creatures, which didn't necessarily mean much – yes, he had seen a lot of things over the years but the universe was massive and ever expanding, there was plenty he hadn't seen.
"Yes, we are." The Doctor frowned; it had been very close at times but they had survived. Her sanity and peace of mind hadn't really come out the other side intact though. Everything seemed to spiral after this.
Something is moving outside the house in the outback, Graham protests looking outside but the Doctor never listens
Rory and Mickey nodded their heads in understanding, offering Graham commiserating looks.
The agents try to send them back inside but they are trying to get readings, O is far too excited
"You were having too much fun with that." The Doctor snapped at the Master who gave her an innocent 'who me?' look, which was ruined by the smirk.
The agents are killed as they split up. O, 13 and Graham reluctantly retreat
The Doctor glared at the Master again, as did Martha, Jack, Clara, Bill and the three current companions. They knew whatever trouble happened was at least partially his fault. The Doctor didn't care about the fact that she wouldn't have been able to save them even if the Master hadn't dragged her away, she was just too angry with him for the deception and frustrated with herself for not noticing.
He refused to meet her eyes, purposely focusing on the screen until she gave up and looked back to the screen. He only risked a glance at her when he knew she wouldn't notice it.
Alarms are going off. O activates his defences and the aliens retreat
The Doctor glanced at him deep in thought. Did he have those defences just to fool her or was it for his own protection. It wouldn't exactly be the first time his plans had backfired on him. Had he practised before? Or did he really not know it would work? The Master caught her watching him and sent a feeling of questioning-curiosity-smugness along their open bond. The two had always been connected and having opened the link again recently left it a lot more open than normal. They were too used to being in each other's minds, even after all these millennia.
One still remains, O has a backup plan and launches it. The figure is trapped in a tank and belted by energy from all sides, O is happy and shocked that it worked
"Did you genuinely not know if it would?" The Doctor asked, face blank.
The Master watched her for a minute, looking for cracks in her blank look – any emotions she let break through (he found nothing). "I didn't exactly have much chance to test it beforehand but I was hopeful."
She watched him for another couple of minutes, trying to see if he was lying, before conceding and turning back to the screen as the video resumed.
13 tries to get answers from the figure, it answers far beyond
"So, they do talk." Clara said, half to herself.
No one was particularly excited by the development. It meant they could maybe get answers but it also meant they were more than simple drones; they had some intelligence. As if they weren't unnerving enough.
13 keeps pressing for answers, the alien (Kasaavin) answers that they are stable now and want the universe
"Oh, starting off small then." Rose tried to break the tense atmosphere with some sarcasm, but it fell a bit flat. She did get a few smiles for her attempt though.
With Ryan and Yaz, everyone has left the building and they are sneaking around
Graham raised an eyebrow at his grandson. "You've been dying to say that haven't you?"
Ryan grinned but just shrugged as Yaz rolled her eyes. "You watch way too many spy movies." She grumbled.
"Hey, it saved our lives later. Plus, you enjoyed parts of it too. The parts we weren't almost dying anyway." Ryan complained as Yaz just sighed.
In Barton's office they get to work and get a bit distracted by talking about Yaz's sister
"I think you too should be focusing on the mission rather than arguing about that, as entertaining as it is to see." Graham chided the pair who shrugged a bit sheepish. They had gotten a bit too confident and distracted.
The cloned pass is beeping signalling Barton is back, Ryan hides but Yaz isn't done copying Barton's computer data
"You have no luck." Martha sighed. It was typical with the Doctor but still very worrying to see.
Download is at 96% as Barton enters, the pair hide. Barton talks to the air, before the Kasaavin appear and the two talk/argue
"So, they are definitely working together, good to know. But you are now in some real trouble." Amy said, watching the screen. It was good to have confirmation of their theory but not always worth it if they managed to get into serious trouble, which they normally did.
The kasaavin vanish, Barton notices his computer screen is on, turns it of then leaves. Ryan and Yaz leave their hiding spot but another alien appears and takes Yaz making her vanish. Ryan apologises but runs
Ryan turned to his side, where Yaz sat, opening his mouth to apologise properly but she beat him to it. "Don't worry about it, Ryan. There was nothing you could have done. I'm okay now. Just glad you got out safe." She nudged him with her elbow to reassure him. She had been shaking up after her 'trip' and it had featured in several nightmares since but she was safe now and surrounded by people looking at her worriedly.
In an alien realm Yaz is alone
"Where are you?" Bill asked gaping at the screen. It looked spooky.
Yaz shrugged. "Honestly? No idea but it wasn't pleasant."
Back in the outback the figure in the tank is fighting, more light appears. With Yaz she is consumed by light. Ryan runs as figures are flickering in and out of existence. Back in the outback the thing is overloading the system, Yaz appears in the containment tank and the power is blown out
"Well, that explains that better." The Doctor mumbled almost to herself. She couldn't resist glancing at the Master, had he known that would happen? No, he had seemed surprised she was still alive later when he revealed himself. That had not been part of the plan but she was glad beyond belief that Yaz had survived.
Ryan calls the Doctor panicking over Yaz's disappearance. 13 reveals they have her and goes to pick up Ryan. Later on, Ryan and Yaz talk about her vanishing and Ryan promises that he won't let it happen to her again
Ryan slugged an arm around the back of sofa on Yaz's side. She leaned in, her head against his side. It wasn't a romantic gesture; they were family simply offering comfort to guard against bad memories.
At the outback, the Tardis is inside the house. Graham and O talk about his self-exile to the outback and the Doctor. O subtly points out that she doesn't talk about herself, and says he has a whole shelf about the Doctor and asks if he wants a look
"Trying to convince my friends to go snooping?" The Doctor asked giving the Master a dark look before another thought occurred to her. "Also, why do you have records on me?"
"They aren't very good ones. Only what the humans have on you. I keep my better records hidden. Know thy enemy and all that." The Master's attempts to appear neutral and uncaring failed spectacularly. The Doctor managed to hide her small grin. He may claim it was because they were enemies but she knew there was also a small part of him that was worried about her. He didn't like it when other hurt her. These videos were going to be very interesting; she was sure he may know a lot about her adventures. More than probably anyone else knew and more than she was probably comfortable with, but there were definitely things he didn't know.
The Doctor interrupts with what might be iced tea but probably isn't safe to drink
"I'm really hoping you didn't drink that. The Doctor is a terrible cook and any food she makes should never be trusted." Martha smiled, ignoring the Doctor's protests.
Yaz chuckled. "Don't worry, we learned that very quickly."
They talk about what they all found out, and they're not sure who is in charge of who (Barton or the Kasaavin). Looking through the data files the Doctor finds something - more steganography
It hit the Doctor that he was very likely aware of the image and that was why he had used steganography to reveal his location. Subtle hints scattered around. A trail of breadcrumbs all leading to his real identity.
It reveals a map of locations for the creatures across Earth - there's hundreds
"That's really not good." Amy declared while her husband rolled his eyes slightly at the obvious statement which Amy noticed and elbowed him in the side for.
The image is changing as it is still decoding, revealing multiple Earths. O asks about who is running the show
O: Okay, okay. If you really think they're spies, we should be asking who's the spymaster? Who's running the alien spies? Because that's the person who holds the answers.
The four of them hared a glance with each other. The Master had been trying to reveal himself and they hadn't seen it. Not that the three companions were really in the position to actually figure it out but the Doctor was mentally hitting herself. She should have known.
The group think it is Barton and decide they need to visit him. They hack their way onto the guest list of a party and they go into the Tardis to get changed. O pretends to be shocked
"I'm surprised she didn't give you away. I think she still hates you for turning her into a paradox machine." The Doctor commented.
"That was a long time ago, besides we came to some agreement when I was working on her as Missy. She doesn't shock me and I do the maintenance you forget to do. Don't forget I saved you and your little pets from Mars." The Master snapped.
"They aren't pets, they're my friends. Besides, she held a grudge against Clara for a long time before she had actually done the thing that made the TARDIS hate her." Clara grumbled something to herself in the background. "Still, she should have told me."
"Erm Doc. Why are you talking about the ship like it's alive?" Graham asked. The companions had been sharing glances while the Time Lords bickered. Martha and Jack were the only two who had been around for the paradox machine, and were glaring at the Master for it, but a few others had heard the story.
"Because she is. I've told you three this before plus she was the one to bring us here remember? TARDISes aren't built, they're grown." The Doctor explained, smiling proudly of her old girl. The ship was her one true constant since she ran away, the Master may have known her longer but he wasn't always there and he continually hurt her. The TARDIS was always there, with few exceptions, they looked after each other.
At a villa the group have all changed into nice suits
Jack whistled lowly. "You all clean up very nice."
"Oi! Stop it."
"He's right sweetie. You look good in that suit. Though I think you would also look good without it."
"River!"
They make their way into the party, only mildly suspiciously. O reveals he's never done undercover work as the group splits up to keep an eye out for Barton, the Doctor telling them all to blend in
River gave her wife a look. "Sweetie, you don't know the definition of 'blend in'." The rest of the companions laughed, that was absolutely true. The Doctor tried desperately to protest, but was ignored.
The Doctor fails to understand the rules of the card games as the others attempt to blend in.
Everyone laughed alongside the people on the screen, albeit more fondly. The Doctor still looked confused, no one was willing to explain the game to her.
Yaz and O talk about luck and love
Yaz glared at the Master who just smirked smugly at her. She'd spent more time with him than either of the other really and she's started to like him – before the whole tried to kill them thing, which she still hadn't forgiven him for. Plus, whatever he had done had hurt the Doctor badly and he was the reason she had been missing for the last few months.
Barton arrives and the Doctor confronts him with the assassinations
"Absolutely no subtly. Straight to the point. I still wonder how you are still alive you moron." Donna sighed, exasperated. The Doctor grinned sheepishly.
Barton denies it as 13 keeps pressing. Barton leaves but 13 and the others persist, chasing after him. Barton leaves in a car and they take chase on motorbikes - O holding onto Yaz, Ryan and Graham sharing as 13 leaves
Yaz grimaced slightly again at the reminder of how much time she had spent with 'O'. She had thought it was fun to hang around someone else who knew the Doctor but it hadn't exactly ended well.
She was distracted from those thoughts by Graham and Ryan grinning and muttering about the Great Kalisperon Bike-Off, that had been great fun until they had run into some trouble (as was typical with the Doctor), but unlike this video – that had been easily solved with minimal danger.
Barton's driver notices them and accelerates, Barton takes a gun and attempts to shoot at them
Ryan rolled his eyes at Graham who just grinned at him while Yaz chuckled at the pair.
They dodge the bullets as O asks if this is what its always like with the Doctor, Yaz replies that this is a quiet day
Almost in sync, everyone who knew the Master turned to glare at him again. He just ignored them, but he was radiating smugness.
Barton's car arrives at an airport hanger. Barton appears to get on a plane and the others watch from the hanger deciding what to do. As the plane starts to move, 13 sonics open the cargo hatch and they run after it
"Are you seriously going to try and climb on a plane as it takes off?" Clara shook her head before answering her own question. "Of course, you are, what else should I expect."
Yaz reaches the ramp as the plane is cleared by air traffic control. Barton's phone is ringing with a private number
"That's not a good sign." Rory sighed, this video seemed to just get worse and worse.
Graham and Ryan also make it onboard. O struggles to catch up before finally making it, claiming he'd never been good at sprinting to the Doctor's confusion. They move into the main cabin as the plane is about to take off
"At least you're all on board safely." Martha declared. Things were going badly so it was nice to see not absolutely everything ended in disaster.
13 sonics the hatch closed and they walk through the rows of seats. 13 turns back on O about the running - she'd read his file, he's a champion sprinter. O congratulates her on working it out before pointing outside the window where the house from the outback is flying through the air somehow (he makes the comment about it being a bit wicked witch of the west)
Jack glared fiercely at the Master. "I thought you hated human things, yet you know about the Wizard of Oz?" His voice was scathing, he didn't really acre about the answer he was just trying to annoy the Master
The Master glared back, holding back a sneer (barely) but didn't answer. He'd spent periods of time stuck on Earth on several occasions and been forced (*cough* chose to *cough*) watch some pop cultural things. It was kind of necessary for some of his roles – he'd spent several years as O; it wasn't like he could always avoid the references (he even enjoyed some – Blondy had really liked the Teletubbies and Missy liked lots of cartoons). But he was never going to admit that to anyone here. He was purposely ignoring the Doctor who absolutely knew the answer (they had watched several movies and cartoons together during her imprisonment at the university).
The Doctor's worked it out, and O introduces himself as the Master - her best enemy as the other three are very confused
O: Doctor, I did say look for the spymaster. Or should I say spy... Master? Hi.
DOCTOR: You can't be.
MASTER: Oh, I can be. I very much am.
RYAN: So what's going on, then? He's not really O?
MASTER: I'm her best enemy. Call me Master.
"Best enemies? What does that even mean Doc?! You never really explained who he was." Graham asked, voice revealing an edge of frustration. It hadn't been the time to play twenty questions on the plane and afterwards she had been in a bad mood, but now they weren't in immediate danger he would really like some proper answers. The other two nodded alongside him, as did many of the other companions who didn't know the Master. The ones that knew the Master exchanged looks.
"She never does. He took over the Earth and practically murdered everyone before she put it right, but she still wouldn't tell us the full story." Martha crossed her arms, still sore (and rightfully so) about the whole Year That Never Was.
"You were the one who fixed everything that year Martha." The Doctor sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to avoid answering the question but also not quite sure what to say – the Master was a very complicated topic, their whole relationship was very hard to explain. "The full story is thousands of years long and highly complex. It's very hard to understand if you haven't lived as long as us and especially if you don't know Gallifrey. He's known me longer than anyone, even the TARDIS."
The Master was watching, stuck between amusement and curiosity of what she would say. The smirk he directed at Martha was full of teeth however, compared to the almost gentle questioning grin he sent to the Doctor. Those that knew the Master watched her expectantly while those that didn't know him leaned more towards simple curiosity.
"You and Missy both said similar things to me and I know you explained a bit about being school friends but I don't think I would still care about an old friend if they became a mass murdering psychopath." Bill crossed her arms and glared at the Master. Missy had terrified her and the knowledge that it was a past version of him that had turned her into a Cyberman still hurt. The Doctor was just thankful she hadn't brought up the whole crush thing. That was an even more complicated matter (and embarrassing – she didn't want to explain that to Martha and Jack especially).
"It's more complicated than that Bill. I know you have all the reasons in the world to hate him. Bill, Clara, Martha and Jack especially but it's endlessly complicated." The Doctor braced herself but couldn't help glancing at the Master to check his expression. She would be sharing at least part of their story and she needed to know his thoughts but as ever he remained blank. She was on her own. "We've known each other since we were eight. Initiation on Gallifrey meant you were taken from your families and forced to look into a tear in space and time, a glimpse into the Time Vortex. It inspires some people, drives others mad and some run away. The Master had a signal planted in his head. A beat of four which drove him mad until just after the Year when we figured out the truth about it. On the other hand, I stared into the gap in time and space and it terrified me. I ran all those years ago and have been ever since."
She took a deep breath to steel herself before continuing. Her hands flying clumsily in the air to emphasise her story. "We were at the Academy together. Best friends since day one. Gallifrey isn't exactly a loving place especially if you are a child but we looked after each other for all 92 years of the academy. We were roommates and spent our whole time together, we were basically inseparable. He was the only person who really cared about me for a very long time."
She took a deep breath, steeling herself to continue, "Everything just seemed to go wrong shortly after we graduated. We made several decisions that hurt each other and when I eventually left, he chased after me. He keeps hurting me but ultimately, I still miss the little boy I spent decades running through the red grass with, skipping classes with. I miss the little boy who looked after me and cared for me when everyone else told me I was useless and would never amount to anything." Her friends and family listened intensely and remained silent at the end of her story, trying to absorb everything that had been said. She was grateful there was no comments on the way her voice started to crack at the end or the tears starting to form in her eyes.
"You proved them wrong. You were better than all of them." The Master spoke up, breaking the silence. "But you left out the part where you abandoned me and betrayed me, dear." The last bit was laced with venom, a sharp contrast to the almost reverent tone of his first comments.
"You betrayed me too! And you keep hurting the people I love." She shouted back, frustration and pain rising to a boiling point. She looked up at him pleadingly. "Don't you miss it? The trouble we found as kids? the Deca? Being friends? Our families?"
"Of course, I miss it. But they're all dead and you ran from them and me a long time ago."
"Well, you two clearly have a library full of issues." Amy spoke up ignoring her husband's disapproving/worried hiss of her name. "So many questions, but first of all - 92 years at the Academy? School, right? Also, what's the Deca?" The majority of other companions were giving her disbelieving looks, none were quite brave enough or willing to speak up and get between the two arguing Time Lords. River and Rory rolled their eyes in sync (you could really tell they were father and daughter) at their mother/wife's bluntness.
The Doctor gave her a sad smile. Happy for the distraction from the Master. "Yes, the Academy is essentially school, it's how you become a true Time Lord. It's that or you join the army really, there aren't many options. At the end of the academy, you choose your name. I hated it mostly, some of my friends made it okay but I was a terrible student." She ignored the Master's chuckle. That was an understatement to say the least. He had always been the perfect student, except from the trouble that she usually dragged him into. "The Deca was a group of students we became friends with later in the Academy. A group of ten of us. I think we drove our teachers insane with our chaos, that and all the questions they could never answer. A lot of the Deca became renegades like us but they're all dead now I think." She frowned, stuck in memories. Even if they had survived the war, they were very likely to be dead now or at least somewhere else in the timeline – chances weren't high that she would run into many of them again, and even if she did it wasn't likely to be a friendly reunion.
"Wait, you said you chose your name at the end of the Academy. So, did you use your real names?" Rory asked, curious despite his usually strong sense of self-preservation and sanity. He had always been one of the saner of her companions.
It was the Master who answered after sharing a long look with the Doctor, both cycling through expressions faster than they could be read. "On Gallifrey you have a real name which only your parents and then spouse know, occasionally a sibling or someone else but that's rare. They are long and hard to pronounce for most species, plus they wouldn't make much sense to any of you anyway. Then through your childhood you go by a nickname until you finish the Academy and choose a new name for you to be known by."
"But you two know each other's real names? You're not family, are you? Like secretly siblings this whole time or something. Also, can we know your nicknames. Please. I bet they're embarrassing." Bill queried. She was always too curious for her own good. The rest of the room watched eagerly as the pair tried to come to a decision, they all wanted to know.
"No Bill, we're not family. Our families hated each other in fact. Really disapproved of our friendship." The Doctor smiled at the young girl. She was always full of questions. She also avoided mentioning the real reason he knew her real name, outside of the whole childhood friends thing. She wasn't going to explain how they had been so much more, that was so much harder to explain and incredibly painful. Distraction was their best bet to escape the questions and theories she could practically see mentally forming in many of their heads.
She was definitely putting it off now but she always avoided talking about her life before she ran away. Even River only knew vague details and parts of the story, she hadn't even told her this name. Her real name yes, somehow that one hurt less; but the childhood nickname, no. Mentally reasoning it as not important but in truth it was because it was too painful and always brought back the memories associated with it. Plus, a part of her felt like it still belonged to the two little boys running through the red fields under the orange sky of home. Or what she had thought was her home. But that was a whole other depressive spiral.
"Later, Bill. Maybe later. They're really personal and no one has called me that since I left, since I lost my family." She felt a bit guilty putting it off, refusing to tell them, but the names were personal and she wanted to hang onto them for just a little bit longer. She would tell them eventually. She was ignoring the Master, too scared to see what he was thinking. Would he be smug she hadn't shared the names or annoyed? You could never tell with him.
The room delved into a contemplative silence, everyone trying to digest what they had heard. When no one spoke after a few minutes the video restarted.
13 is in shock as she met O years ago, he's enjoying this a lot
"Oh, admit it Doctor. You liked O." The Master grinned, full of teeth.
"Of course, I did. You designed O so I would like him. Got my attention by helping me with an alien invasion then texted with me for years. Across three faces. Then you had fun revealing yourself." She shook her head almost to herself. "I should have known but I was blinded by how much he reminded me of you as a kid." Her statement seemed to take all the wind out of his sails as he practically collapsed back into his arm chair where he had been sitting forward, curled like a cat about to catch a mouse. Both were thinking back to the years of texting and all the messages sent between them. The Doctor had liked O and, though he would never admit it, the Master had liked being O for more reasons that getting one over the Doctor.
The Master reveals he shrunk the real O with his Tissue Compression device and keeps him in a matchbox in his pocket. He ambushed him on his first day of work and stole his identity, he then throws little O away
The companions collectively winced as the real 'O' was thrown away like he was nothing, they didn't even know his real name. They were also very weary of his new (as far as they were aware) weapon. Only Jack had heard about the TCE from old UNIT files.
The Master's had a lot of fun. 13 tries to warn Barton but he's gone, then they realise no one is flying the plane and the Master points out the bomb counting down from a minute
"Yeah, you are a bit madder than Missy. Not that Missy wasn't terrifying." Bill muttered, not really intending for other to hear her but the Doctor did.
"He wasn't always so unhinged. He got worse when he ran out of regenerations around about my third or fourth, maybe fifth? face. Then it was a downhill spiral until we managed to get the drums out. Missy was more like he used to be." The Doctor tried to explain her face grim.
"You didn't get the drums out, dear. That was the Time Lords after you stopped them coming back. Gallifrey's always been the reason behind my madness, Gallifrey and you. Every time. Even now, my madness is because of you." The Master's eyes were wild as he glared at her.
"No, this madness is your own. I had no true part in it, at least this time. Gallifrey I agree with but what you discovered is on them and you can't blame me for the decisions you made because of it." She barely managed to spit her words out. Just because she was the Timeless Child or whatever did not mean he could blame his current madness on her. She had no willing part in it, she couldn't even remember it.
The Doctor fails to sonic the bomb, the Master scolds her as he made it sonic proof. The Master called Barton away before take off he then calls the light aliens as the bomb is counting down. They move away from the bomb and closes the door as it explodes, decompressing the cabin and sending them towards the ground
MASTER: Yah! One last thing. Something you should know in the seconds before you die. Everything that you think you know... is a lie. Got you, finally
"What does that even mean?!" Surprisingly it was River than snapped. Her fists clenched tight, turning her knuckles white. The Doctor had never told her the full story of the Master, though she bet she knew more than the others in the room (baring maybe Jack), and the Doctor had tried her best to ensure the two never met. River was sick of seeing her wife hurt, especially by the Master who wasn't even making sense anymore – this was a who new scale of madness and she couldn't understand it.
"Oh yes. Do tell your little pets everything Doctor. Tell them the truth about Gallifrey's lies." The Master smirked sluggishly teetering on the edge of manic energy and sluggish carelessness.
She glared at him before turning to River pleadingly, even as she addressed the whole room. "You'll find out soon I imagine. It's what the TARDIS brought us here to see, I think. The Master went home and he found out a secret about the founders of Gallifrey that drove him insane. We should have both expected something, maybe not the details, but we both knew what Gallifrey was like and it wasn't nice. We've both found out endless horrors over the millennia about home but this secret was just the last straw." She frowned, refusing to say more. They would find out eventually and she wasn't looking forward to it.
The Master vanishes and the light creatures rush the Doctor making her disappear as Graham, Ryan and Yaz hang onto the seats of the crashing plane
"I really need to stop going on planes. This is the third time the plane I have been on had blown up in recent-ish years." The Doctor sighed looking thoughtful. Her companions gave her concerned looks but were too scared to actually ask. Then another thought occurred to the Doctor. She turned to the Master. "Did you really expect that to kill me?"
He simply shrugged. "Not really, I can always hope though."
The Doctor appears in the alien realm alone
"Well at least you aren't on a crashing plane." Clara sighed. At least if the Doctor wasn't on the plane, she would be able to figure to a way to save her friends. She couldn't help but think about the Zygon invasion when Bonnie had blown up her (at the time - his) plane and she had been forced to watch.
"Gee, thanks." Ryan snarked though it didn't really hold any bite, he understood what she meant. Clara just offered an apologetic smile but Ryan just smiled.
The whole group was nervous, wanting to know what happened and how they got out of the situation. Clearly, they had, as the group were all here but it didn't make it any less worrying. Especially adding in the Master's presence.
Whatever the secret the Tardis had brought them here to see, things were heating up. Especially between the Mater and Doctor – there was some real tension there and they seemed to be the only ones aware of what they were here to see but neither was eager to share.
They weren't given any time to contemplate what they had just seen before 'Spyfall Part 2' showed up on the screen. The story was continuing.
