Chapter Text
“You might have been wondering why I brought us here.” The Master began casually, sitting on the armchair with his legs crossed, a cup of freshly made coffee in his hands. He raised it to take a sip, offering some time for an answer. None came, just as expected, so he continued. “Well, to start somewhere in the middle, I got a call from Kate Stewart. Remember Katie from UNIT? One of the more annoying ones, and don't worry, she'd take it as a compliment. I’m not entirely sure where she got my number from, but I can assume she pulled some strings to get it from MI6. Did you tell her about my little stunt as agent O? Or maybe she got it from your phone. What did you save my contact as? I hope there’s a little broken heart in the name. Ah, sorry, I digress. No matter where she got that number from, she called me. Said we need to meet in person because there’s something she needs to tell me. Sweet little Katie seems to be a little too used to having a Time Lord at her beck and call. Was she like this with you too? Oh I bet so. One short call to Mr President of the Earth and you were there to save the day. Our planet needs you, please help us poor apes!” The last sentence he said in a high-pitched, pleading tone, then rolled his eyes and took another sip of his coffee; it was too strong and too bitter, just as he liked. In a normal voice, he carried on. “I know, I can’t seem to keep up with one thought. Might be exhaustion. When did I last sleep?” He asked, looking into his cup as if the answer was there. “Last week, I believe. Or month. It’s not too bad then. Anyway! Kate Stewart. Called and asked to meet her. You can’t blame me for being just a tad suspicious, I mean we are usually on the opposite sides right? To be invited to UNIT headquarters by the main idiot there – what’s her current title? No, don’t answer, I don’t really care. Suspicious, yes, but also I’m curious. Because what kind of trap could that be? Huh?”
Again, the Master left some space for an answer, pretending he was busy inspecting his nails; they were too short and uneven after being gnawed on and his hand was all shaky due to the lack of sleep and surplus of caffeine in his body. Malnutrition could be a part of it too, he couldn’t recall the last time he had a proper meal. There were more important things to focus on recently than taking care of himself.
After the prolonged silence, he spoke once more. “I've got to be honest, her request intrigued me, so I thought – why not? Even if it was a trap, it's not like I couldn't escape easily from any human prison, it would be just a matter of time. And if I was lucky, maybe you'd be a part of that plan. That's what I told myself.” Suddenly, he laughed, a loud, manic one that slowly died into an empty one and then – almost a sob. “How I wish it was a trap. Even without you, really – see how desperate I am? Even being trapped by mere humans sounds better then…” To avoid finishing the sentence, he nibbled on one of the nails for a moment mindlessly. “I arrived just with my trusty TCE so you see, basically unarmed and to my surprise, she was waiting for me all alone. No soldiers with pretty armor and shiny guns, not even that possibly-Zygon girl, your number one fan, was with her, can you believe it? Yeah, I couldn’t either. Told me to follow her, straight into the deepest part of their headquarters – I don’t think even you had the honor to see those? Did you know they have a mortuary there? Probably for all those aliens that don’t survive meeting their trigger-happy soldiers. So, she leads me to one of the taken beds and uncovers the sheets.” Another sip of coffee to calm his tattered nerves – and finally, he looked up at his interlocutor. “And there you were. All stiff and cold and… Fuck, I barely recognized you, still like that. You were always like a live wire, always so full of emotions, how could you become an empty shell like this, Doctor?”
The body didn’t respond, of course. It just layed there, on the morgue bed inside the Zero Room of his TARDIS, pale and beautiful, and breaking his hearts every time he dared to look at it. So he rarely did, instead opting to focus on his hands or cup or even just empty white walls of the room; there wasn’t really anything else to focus on, with the bed and his armchair being the only furniture. He dragged those inside at the very beginning and then saw no reason to add anything else. Even the empty cups after coffee that he couldn’t bother to clean up kept disappearing regularly, probably removed by the ship itself – he didn’t suspect the Doctor to do it. Even at her best, this regeneration wasn’t really the one to care about some dirty dishes.
“She showed me the– ugh, you. She showed me you and said I need to take you. Do you know why? Because otherwise those sharks of her scientists would tear you apart, trying to examine every single cell of your body until there was nothing left of you. Well, she put it in nicer words than me to be honest. But that’s what she probably meant, I mean you know what UNIT is like. Too curious about extraterrestrial beings for their own good. Actually, to think about it, I could use that in one of my future plans. Drop them off something that’ll poison them or take over their brains once they dig into the flesh, so I can mind-control them easily. Make it their own fault that they get possessed. How does that sound? Anyway, that’s a possible plan for the future, for now let's go back to what Kate said. Other than the whole tearing apart bit which she didn’t want because apparently you did so many good deeds for those apes, you deserve a peaceful rest. How nice of her, huh? You can be so proud of yourself, love, you earned the right to not be a subject of examination for another crazy scientist! Cheers to that.” He raised the cup, inclining head towards the body and drank the rest of his coffee in one big gulp. “Another thing she believed you deserve was a proper funeral, one worthy of a Time Lord. For that she needed, well, a Time Lord, and there’s not many of us around anymore, huh? And of all she could possibly be able to reach, there’s just me.” His lips formed a thin line, the usual fire in his eyes dead; just like her. Maybe they died together. “Of course I couldn't refuse to take you in. Hate it all you want, but I'm not just your enemy, I'm also your oldest friend. Oldest friend that apparently didn't deserve to see you die.” Voice turning bitter with those words, he stood up to step closer to the bed, the cup abandoned carelessly on the floor like many others during those last weeks. He reached out to gently caress the stone cold cheek, fix an imperfect strand of hair. Another sob tore out of his chest; he covered his mouth trying to muffle it, fighting with eyes that got a little too watery. It was no good, looking at her just made the pain unbearable, the feeling of betrayal sliding between his ribs like the sharpest dagger, making him drop onto his knees in pain, forehand pressed against the chill, metal leg of the bed. When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse, on the edge of tears. “You know Doctor, I always hoped that we’d die together. It would be so poetic, wouldn’t it? Inseparable, like we used to be, a long time ago. Those poor kids, they had no idea what was awaiting them. What already happened to them. And even if we didn’t do it together, I still believed I would go first. I was so sure of it, it never crossed my mind that you could steal it from me. And just like that! No big speech, no sacrificing yourself for your pets, no not-so-clever plans to fight the evil. There was no actual fight! Your life… It just got snatched away before you could even realize what was happening. It was quite anticlimactic, if you ask me. Not that I can now for sure, since all I know about it is from someone else. Why, Doctor? Why couldn’t I even be there? As an observer, if nothing else. Was it a punishment? To abandon me like this, leave me to learn about your death from your pets? Is that all I mean to you, really?” He tried to yell the last part, put all of his rage into it – but there was none. The Master couldn’t find it in himself to be angry, despair consuming all of the fury. “Do you really think you can just get away with doing this to me? No. No, never. I will not allow that, just wait and see.”
Grasping onto the cold, unwelcoming metal for support, he stood up slowly to once more look at the cold, unwelcoming face of his– of the Doctor. Even as the tears started to fall down his cheeks, he kept looking, vision so blurry he could only make out the outline of her face and the soft blonde hair. He remembered those first days when he was telling himself that she was fine, she was just sleeping – even with chest unmoving and lips so pale and unloving and unhating – or that it was just a trick, that she still had a plan and would come back when he least expected it.
But the weeks passed and nothing happened; she was still laying there and he was slowly going insane, refusing to mourn her or say goodbye, denying her a proper funeral. He wasn't ready to do it, to let go of her like that. That's why he set up a place for her to rest in the Zero Room where her body could be kept in the exact state as when she was put there. That way, he had all the time in the world to think, those thoughts keeping him up, not allowing to sink down at the very bottom with no way back. Because not everything was lost yet. Even if she was dead with no plan or hope to return, it wasn’t over – as long as he was still there.
“I will find a way, Doctor.” His voice was no more than a broken whisper as he tried to wipe the tears from his face and look at her more clearly. “I will bring you back. Those last weeks, did you think I only sat around depressed, waiting for your move? No. No, I was thinking – I was plotting, scheming against you, see, as always. Bet you didn’t expect that. Were you hoping to finally get some peace from me now? Well no luck, love. I have a plan, and if it works, you will be back as if nothing happened – and this time, I will keep you alive.” The grin he sent her didn’t really reach the eyes, a shadow of one of his old manic ones. “I have to get to work now, there’s so much to do. Don’t worry, I will visit sometimes so you don’t feel too lonely, I know how much you love company. Well, not mine usually, but better me than nothing huh? Oh and don't worry, once my plan is fully fledged, I'll share the details. But for now… Farewell, love.” With that, he pressed his fingers against lips and blew her a kiss and turned to leave, laughing to himself; he could almost see her rolling her eyes at him for that kiss. And if everything worked out just as he wanted, she could do it soon enough.
The door closed behind him, leaving her alone once more, in that unchanging state of cold perfection; the Master tried not to think about it as he headed to make himself another coffee before getting to work. Now, with some ideas already in his mind, with the Doctor knowing what he was onto, he felt his desperation slowly being replaced by determination; he would drag her out of hell even if it was the last thing he’d do.