“No. No, it’s not. I didn’t mean to lash out at you.”

He’s normally not so easy to draw an admission of being wrong from. But he was wrong. He knows he was wrong. It’s not the Master’s fault.

“I just…” He sighs and shakes his head. “Look, I had a nightmare, and then you were there when I woke up, and I was still half stuck in my own head. I’m sorry. My anger wasn’t intended for you. I promise.”

Mors lingered there for a couple of moments, studying his words, before pocketing her hands, and moving a little closer. There wasn’t much space between them now. She tilted her head up slightly, eyes on him.

“It’s easier. Until I feel it again. Which will either happen later on in this regeneration or when I regenerate next. Imagine that.”

“Can I help you?”

“No. Nobody can help me.”

The damage was already done. He was over it. Or at least, that was what the Doctor told himself. It didn’t matter anymore. The moment he made himself available to be helped, he’d be making himself visible. Vulnerable. It was easier if he just pushed everyone away, and showed only what he wanted them to see.

The tough exterior, scarred and cold. Masked. Defensive. 

“Yep. Having the time of my life.” Perhaps an alternate version of herself. Interesting, and also nice to see. At least she wasn’t as alone as she originally believed.

“Good t’see another ‘Doctor’ like me.”

“Is it? You know what it means when we’ve reached this point.” 

It meant something had gone wrong, somewhere. It usually meant suffering. It meant they’d suffered enough to fundamentally change their view of the universe, and the way they perceived things. 

“Eyebrows. Hello.” Mors lingered where she was for a few moments, before moving forward and placing a finger up, eyes on his. “Been a while. How’s it goin’?” Whether he recognised her or not - this would be fun. Very fun.

         HER  HEART  BROKE  AS  HE  began  to  speak,  the  words  seemingly  confirming  what  she  knew  already  existed,  but  then…  he  used  her  name.    For  a  moment,  she  stood  petrified  in  place  as  he  turned,  pure  shock  ahold  of  her,  but  in  another  she  darted  after  him.    No…  no!    She  couldn’t  let  him  go  again!

         ❝  DOCTOR!    NO,  PLEASE,  WAIT! ❞        HE  couldn’t  melt  away  into  the  crowd,  not  when  he  remembered  her  again!    It  took  a  moment,  but  to  her  relief,  she  spotted  him,  and  another  to  catch  up  to  him.    Taking  a  firm  hold  of  the  back  of  his  coat,  she  refused  to  let  go.    Only  then  as  she  stared  up  at  the  back  of  his  head  did  she  realize  she  was  crying,  cheeks  already  soaked,  lonely  heart  aching.       ❝  Don’t  go…  not  just  yet.    Please…  ❞

The Doctor STOPPED still, caught both physically and emotionally. This wasn’t going to be so easy after all. He did remember, and that made this all the more difficult. He knew her. Knew her strength, her determination. If she didn’t want him to leave, he wouldn’t be leaving any time soon.

He turned, finally, expression fixed. A cold mask held back any emotion from spilling into his eyes. Even like this, even angry and hurt and NOTHING like he used to be, he STILL couldn’t control his own mind. It churned with emotion, with hurt, empathy, sorrow, longing. He could hide it, but it wouldn’t go away. 

“Doctor please, listen to me. I really tried to get out out if he-“ The Master got cut off as the Doctor held them against the console, holding in a yelp of pain. He simply groaned and raised his hands in defense and to show he wasn’t going to fight back.

“Alright! Alright I won’t call you by your name…” he mumbled. “I went here because I didn’t want anyone to take advantage of the state you are in! I didn’t want anyone hurting you and especially not the Time Lords! Because no matter what you think, I tried to get in that stupid prison! I wanted to get you out of here! I couldn’t and it was killing me! And now that I am finally here, that I can finally help you, you are just going to say that I shouldn’t have come here?”

The Master wasn’t mad. He was hurt, both physically and emotionally. He saw the Doctor was about to cry but said nothing about it.

“You are obviously tired and possibly wounded. You can stay in there as long as you wish. There are no restrictions but I do ask that if you are going to pin me against the console or a wall again, don’t do it where I’ve been shot, thank you.”

❝ I don’t need anyone’s HELP! ❞ They were absolutely determined that the Master had to understand this. Nobody could be allowed to think that they were weak or easily hurt.

The Master was right, though. They were tired and they were wounded, and as much as they wanted to force him to understand that they weren’t weak, they didn’t want to show their vulnerability if they were to stumble and cry out in pain. They finally released him and turned away without another word, heading down the nearest corridor. 

The Master reached to help the Doctor walk in. He wasn’t going to treat them like he treated anyone else. “They weren’t nice to you, were they?..” he sighed and snapped his fingers, the doors closing behind them.

It seemed pretty comfy inside and it was clear that the other rooms of the TARDIS were as comfy as the control room was. Everything was in cool tones. Silver and blue being the main colors.

“I’ve come to pick you up…” He paused, feeling guilty at the Doctor’s words. “I’m sorry. I knew you were in here but trust me, I’ve tried to materialize in the prison or even in your cell but nothing worked and the TARDIS would break down at each try. And well, the universe kept needed to be saved so I didn’t have much time to pay you a visit. If they were allowed, that is.”

The Master looked at him. He felt like the worst person for leaving the Doctor in there but he didn’t have the choice. “I am so sorry Theta.. believe me.. I tried but it didn’t work..”

The Doctor considered the Master’s words. They were quiet for a while, arguing inside their head. The part of them that was hurt and angry won over.

❝ Two hundred YEARS! You left me alone for two hundred years, in that place! ❞

They turned and grabbed the Master by his shirt, pushing him back against the console. Their body was trembling, angry tears forming in their eyes. Betrayal stung the Doctor, as it always had done, and this time they were hurt in other ways too. They glared into the Master’s face, anger on the surface to defend the part of them that felt so hurt. 

❝ DON’T call me Theta. Why are you even here? You left me for two hundred years, I can manage on my own! ❞

The Master had heard about the Doctor being finally free and he wanted to be sure it was true. If it was, indeed, true, maybe he could at last get them to understand his point of view. Maybe they would even accept to stand by his side.

He had no idea what regeneration of the Doctor he was about to meet but he was nervous about it. He knew already he was going to get a good argument about not helping them out of the prison, or even coming to pay them a visit. If they were allowed.

He felt the presence of another Time Lord outside of his TARDIS and wondered if it could be them or Rassilon’s pets. He checked the display shown on the screen and raised an eyebrow. They looked old and tired, but it was definitely the Doctor.

The doors of the TARDIS opened for the Doctor to come in and the Master quickly went up to the entrance, looking at his friend enemy carefully.

The Master looked young. Too young to be in the same timeline as the Doctor should be, that was for sure. He was classy as always but still smaller that the Doctor. It seemed like this would never change.

“Please, do come in.” He said after a few seconds as he stepped aside to allow the Doctor to walk in.

The Doctor recognised the Master instantly, but couldn’t seem to find the words to address him just yet. They were aware of how sharp and classy the Master looked in comparison to their beaten and scarred form. As they entered the TARDIS, they tried very hard to conceal their limp. 

Bigger on the inside had never felt so huge. Their cell had been tiny. The Master’s console room was bigger than any of the rooms they’d been in, with the exception of the food hall, though that had been packed with other prisoners so it hadn’t felt so big.

❝ Why...are you here? ❞ they finally asked. ❝ I didn’t think you knew I was here. That was all I could think, since you didn’t bother trying to get me out of there. ❞ 

Free at last. Two hundred years of imprisonment, of harsh rules and regulations, of humiliation, of torture. And now they were free. 

The Doctor wandered slowly out from the shadows of the gates, a small bag in their hand. The bag contained their belongings, though they didn’t have a lot. Their sonic screwdriver, a pair of boots, and a few items of clothing. The only things they had left that they could use to cling to their identity. They hardly felt like the Doctor any more. They’d been referred to as PRISONER 012 inside, never by their name. Never by any of their names. 

They felt suddenly so exposed and so lost in such a big universe. Their world had been confined to this single prison for so long now that their concept of the outside had been distorted. Now that they stood outside what had previously been their whole world, it felt different.

They noticed that there was a ship close by. A TARDIS, if their overly sensitive mind was picking up the psychic traces correctly. But not their own TARDIS. A friend? No --- they didn’t have any of those. None of them had come to break them out of prison, so how could they be their friends?

Slowly, they approached the ship. Was it here for them? A bitter thought crossed their mind. Perhaps it was the Time Lords, come to take them from one prison straight to another, on Gallifrey this time. It would be just the kind of thing this cruel universe would do to them. 

They lingered outside the TARDIS anxiously for a while, never quite finding the right moment to try and go inside. 

Rules: Bold what applies to your muse and reblog

SNOW WHITE: jade trinket boxes.  taste of iron.  fingertips on a mirror.  yellow and green with envy.  long handled hunting knives.  sewing by the window.  combs laced with pearls and poison.  an apple white one side and red the other.  white doves.  frosted glass.

THE MAIDEN WITHOUT HANDS: a blunt axe.  a ring of chalk.  tear-stained cheeks.  sweet pears.  hands tied behind back.  shallow rivers. aching feet, walking for days.  flowing gowns.  liquid silver.  wax seals.  blinding lights.

THE THREE LITTLE GNOMES IN THE FOREST: lukewarm bath water.  sapphire butterflies.   tiny milk snakes.  baskets of strawberries.  fat toads.  sparkling snow.  fur cloaks.  raw gemstones.  kettles made of copper.  red wine.  a tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere.

BLUE BEARD: a tiny key made of gold.  pools of blood.  stains that won’t rub away.  galloping hooves.  treasures from far away lands.  dragged by the hair.  dark and damp cellars. marble walls.  shivering with fear. screaming at the top of your lungs.

THE SIX SWANS: sitting side-saddle.  daughter of a witch.  nettles.  white feathers.  refusing to smile.  needles and threads.  a castle in the forest.  sound of beating wings.  birthmarks. climbing trees.  balls of yarn.  silver crowns.

Earnig a smile from them warmed up her hearts. She loved it when they smiled since it was so rare and this regeneration of theirs seemed grumpy at the core. At the mention of home she knew they were talking about their TARDIS and not Gallifrey. She hated the planet so much and was pretty sure they did too. Of course, she could be wrong, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Home is perfectly fine by me for now” Missy had no choice anyway. Her TARDIS dematerialized on its own, leaving her behind like there was an imminent threat and she didn’t know where it was now. She would never admit letting that mistake slip through though. She would just lie about why she wasn’t going to take her own TARDIS.

“I kinda like privacy, thank you. Not that I would care sharing a room, but I am a lady now.I am not that carefree anymore.” She said as she followed them. She had meant sharing a room with the Doctor. Who else anyway? She would kill her roommate if it was anyone else than them. But now,even this idea would make her feel embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t go in your bedroom, I don’t want to be scared for life~” Of course, she was joking. She was always joking when she had the opportunity to do so. It was her way of reassuring herself and keeping up with her arrogant façade she had put up.

When she walked in the TARDIS, she looked around as her first reflex. She was amazed about how much they changed the place.

They definitely would mind sharing a room. After so much time living either in an ordinary cell on their own, or being forced into solitary confinement as a punishment, the Doctor wasn’t sure they remembered how to share a room with another person. They’d been classified as a high risk prisoner, so they’d never even had a cellmate. They weren’t sure they’d want her to see them sleeping anyway. Their nightmares would become obvious very quickly, and they weren’t ready for anyone to see them experiencing those. Not when it made them so ashamed.

They communicated telepathically with the ship as they entered, asking for a room for Missy and allowing its position to be just opposite his own. That way she’d be close, but not too close. 

It had been so long since they had hugged her. They always fought against each other but not anymore. Missy kept smiling and enjoyed every second of the moment, even if it didn’t last long, it felt nice.

She was glad they didn’t push her away or anything. That was a silly request and she was aware of it. But she needed to know if they were trusting her enough for even a hug. Even that simple act. The fact that they hugged her back, showed her that they were aware she wasn’t here to hurt them or have any devious plan in her mind. She just wanted to show them how much they mattered to her. How much she cared. If she told them, they wouldn’t believe her for sure, but just that simple request was some kind of proof in her mind that, maybe, they would understand.

Missy gently let go of the Doctor when they wanted to take a step away from her. This was a huge step and she wasn’t going to force them if they didn’t want affection for so long. After all, she hadn’t been used to it for a long time herself.

“With pleasure, I’ll follow you wherever you are taking us, dear.” She gave him a warm smile. “And thank you, for the hug.”

The Doctor even managed a small smile when she thanked them. They were surprised, though, that she wasn’t simply disappointed with them for only being able to manage the hug for that long. People normally regarded them with some level of disappointment. It was strange, then, that they couldn’t really see any of that in Missy’s eyes. They weren’t sure they understood why she wasn’t disappointed. 

❝ I’m not taking us anywhere --- yet. Just home. ❞ And by home, they meant their TARDIS. Of course they were assuming Missy wouldn’t mind staying with them. They were a little caught up in their sudden realisation that they might not have to live alone anymore. They’d been lonely for so, so long, and they desperately wanted their friend back.