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The Warrior stood at the console; his book propped on the console, his bearded face reading it as his grey hair stuck up in the middle.
“What a peaceful moment. When shall this be ruined?” He wondered. Instantly, the console’s monitor bleeped, alerting him to an incoming message. “There it is.” He sighed, slapped the bookmark back into place and annoyedly accepted the call. “Yes?”
“Warrior. We’ve detected a time hole.” A black-haired technician began.
“A time hole? Now, that can’t be good.” The Warrior began. “What actually is a Time Hole again?”
“A Time Hole is a complicated affair. Once it’s open, who knows what could come through? We could get literally anything in all of time coming through. And not just our timeline either.” The Technician informed. The Warrior thought back to the Gateway and what had transpired there. He snapped out of his reminiscence.
“Got it. Feed me the co-ordinates.”
“No need. Rassilon’s given me authorisation to slave your TARDIS to Gallifreyan control.”
“I can fly my own TARDIS.” The Warrior stated.
“Orders are orders.” The technician stated. “Sorry.” She apologized. The console’s white lights were replaced by a pale-yellow glow, the roundels unaffected in their white glow. The Warrior scoffed, and sat back down on the slightly metallic round plinth, getting back to reading his book. He was finally near the end.
The Warrior’s TARDIS materialised in the depths of space, the engine’s wheeze and groan lost in the suffocating void of space. The Warrior checked the door controls before walking over. He clicked the reflective gold lock and opened the door. What he saw surprised him. It was a silver cylinder with stone grey doors and landing. In the open doors was a man, roughly the same age as the Warrior, with a white beard that didn’t connect to his white hair, which curled over his right eyebrow.
“Why are you here?!” The Warrior and the Master asked each other in synchronisation.
The Master stood at the controls, using them to slingshot himself around a Supernova that he had intentionally created. It was a long story. Bounding around the hexagonal console, he received a notification. He was receiving a call. He jabbed a button to accept.
“Can’t you see I’m busy!” The Master yelled, his console and Time Rotor illuminating mauve. On the monitor built into one of the six stone walls was a young, platinum-blonde man.
“Yes, sir. Sorry sir. It’s just that I’ve been told to get you to a place.”
“Well, why didn’t you lead with that?!” The Master screamed as sparks flew from the console. “Get me away from here!” A few moments later, and the young Time Lord had slaved the Master’s TARDIS. The console illuminated a pale yellow. The Master rested on a thin Gallifreyan marking which rose from the reflective black hexagonal plinth, catching his breath. It had been an interesting two days.
“The Time Lords pulled me here. Why are you here?” The Master asked.
“The Time Lords pulled me here too. I presume they told you what for?” The Warrior answered.
“I didn’t ask.” The Master retorted.
“You get pulled somewhere and you don’t ask why?” The Warrior asked, confused.
“I was rather busy trying to escape a supernova.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” A pair of pings from each of their consoles alerted them that there was a conference call incoming. The pair stormed back to their consoles and accepted. Whoever it was had better explain this, thought The Warrior. I better thank whoever it is for saving me, thought The Master begrudgingly. On the monitor was a man with a lightly cleft chin, light stubble, and light-grey hair which had receded a bit. It was Rassilon.
“I’m glad you two have arrived. Now,” Rassilon began.
“Why is he here?” The Warrior asked, getting right to the point.
“Why am I here? Why is he here?” The Master asked.
“Warrior, the Master is here because he needed help. The co-ordinates we were sending you to were unpopulated and already loaded. Master, the Warrior is here because I tasked him with looking into a time hole.”
“A time hole? Oh, dear me. That is rather a problem, isn’t it?”
“Exactly why I sent him to supervise it until it closes itself.”
“Hang about, supervise?” The Warrior asked, surprised. “Oh well. Might finally give me time to finish that book.” He sighed, before looking outside again. The Time hole’s rim indigo glow illuminated but a small portion of space.
“Then I can go.” The Master stated, moving to adjust controls on his console to leave. Rassilon hung up, just as the wail began, before screeching to a halt, eliciting a flinch from the Master. “Bother. Solar energy must have gotten into the Vortex Silos. Nothing a little vent can’t solve.” The Master pressed a button, and his TARDIS glowed a yellow-white as the solar energy left his TARDIS. The Warrior noticed, however, that the Time hole appeared to be absorbing it.
“Master, stop.” The Warrior told him.
“I’m not keeping you company.” The Master explained, still holding the button.
“No, you don’t understand.”
“No, you don’t understand.” The Master stated. “My life is short, exciting, and most of all, fun. I’m not sticking around a hole simply because you’ve been tasked to.”
“The solar energy you’re emitting is-” The Warrior began.
“Should’ve closed your Vortex Silos, then.” The Master vainly scoffed, wildly misinterpreting the situation.
“They are closed, but-” The Warrior explained.
“Then what’s-”
“Would you let me finish a sentence!” The Warrior yelled, getting total silence from the Master.
“Touchy.” The Master muttered under his breath.
“The issue is that the Time Hole appears to be absorbing your excess solar energy. I can’t quite tell what’s going on, but it might not be good.”
“I’ll leave that to you, then.” The Master stated. A bleep came from the console, signifying that the Master’s Vortex Silos were empty. The Master released the first button and moved to a second on the other side of the console. He pressed down on it, opening them to absorb Vortex Energy.
“Oh no, you aren’t.” The Warrior stated, walking around his round console, pulling the console-bound monitor with him. He pressed down on a key, causing the Master’s console and roundel outlines to once again illuminate a pale yellow.
“You slaved my TARDIS?!” The Master yelled, annoyed.
“Yep. You aren’t leaving until I do.”
“How dare you!” In their bickering, they didn’t notice that the hole had grown. The hole had grown a noticeable amount, but neither of them had noticed it. The pair continued to bicker until a long donging noise came from down the hall, their consoles illuminating mauve.
“Now what’ve you done?!” The pair yelled. “What’ve I done?!”
“I’ve done nothing.” The Master stated.
“Well, I haven’t touched my console, so it must be something you did.”
“What makes you think I’ve endangered myself?” The Master asked. At that moment, the Warrior realised something. The Master may be varying levels of crazy, but he wasn’t that crazy. Then, something caught the Warrior’s eye. The time hole had grown. Through it was a unique galaxy, unlike anything in their universe.
“The Time Hole’s grown!” The Warrior yelled, beginning the dematerialisation process. The Master simply kept an eye on the Time Hole, knowing the Warrior would help him escape too. The Warrior checked the lights on a circular panel, which sat on one of the console’s six coral-like dividers. All lights showed green. The Warrior pressed the clicker that sat above the panel, and the lights updated to yellow. The Warrior threw up a lever on one of the panels, and the engines wheezed and groaned. The Master’s wailed as it was pulled through the Time Vortex by the Warrior.
The Warrior’s TARDIS flung itself through the red and purple swirls of the Time Vortex, linked to the Master’s by a pale yellow line. As the consoles burbled, the Time Hole began to suction. The line pulled taut and the TARDISes began to be pulled back. Inside, the consoles flashed between mauve and pale yellow. The flashes sped up as the pair were dragged back.
“Give me control! I’ll slingshot us.” The Master commanded.
“Fine. But you had better take me with you.” The Warrior added. “Slave me first.”
“Fine.” The Master spat, slaving the Warrior’s TARDIS. “Free me on my mark.” The Master commanded, beginning the slingshot’s calculations. As his console warbled, the Warrior tried his best to keep them as far away as he could. The consoles sparked as the TARDIS were worked overtime. Gradually, the TARDISes were being dragged back. “I’ve got the calculations! Pull us a bit further.” The Master exclaimed on the Warrior’s monitor. The Warrior was busy pushing forwards a pair of stubborn grey levers.
“What do you think I’m doing?” He grunted, holding the levers forward. The Master began to push forwards too, pushing the pair just a little bit further.
“Free me!” The Master exclaimed. The Warrior reached over with his foot and hit the control. The Master’s TARDIS stopped flickering pale yellow, showing that he was now in control. “Release on the count of three! Ready?” The Warrior nodded, acknowledging. “One. Two. Three!”
The pair released their grip, but The Master aimed slightly right. The pair spun around the Time Hole, speeding up from the condensed Vortex energy. The Master’s TARDIS pulled out, getting just a little bit further. Unfortunately, their consoles sparked as their lighting ramped up to a new level. The pair squinted through the light.
“Again!” The Master yelled, back where they had done their first slingshot. They spun around the hole again, the light getting even brighter. Too bright for the pair of them. The pair’s natural instincts told them to cover their eyes. They had to give in. Their TARDISes, unrestricted by their push forwards fell backwards into the Time Hole. Sparks spewed from their consoles, and their time rotors hissed in pain. The Master was flung backwards, landing on the plinth. The Warrior was flung all the way onto his dark-grey floor. The pair could only watch as their monitors showed their universe through the Time Hole.