Scotland's Mist

Chapter 20

The Doctor's mind buzzed, filled with confusion and anger. His only conscious thought was to protect Rose. He shoved her fully behind him, his hand still locked around hers.

"That's impossible!" The Doctor spat. "All of them are dead!"

"He's a Time Lord?" Rose whispered, her voice trembling. "He looks like-"

The Master sent her a wolfish grin that cut her off and set her to cowering behind the Doctor again.

The Doctor didn't have time to ask Rose what was happening, why she was afraid. The only thought was to protect her. "How are you alive?"

"That's not really that important, is it?" The Master clapped his hands. "The important thing is that I've got two very important beings on my hands."

The Doctor clenched his jaw, looking incredibly angry. He tried to stop his hand in Rose's from shaking, but it was impossible.

"Your little Wolf saw me for a moment before she went under," the Master said casually, rocking back on his heels. "She almost cried when she looked at me!" He laughed, a cold dark laugh, "Your big, bad wolf is a bit of a... Scaredy cat, isn't she? Then I put her under, to do some top secret work, and she turned telepathic and started mumbling your name. In Gallifreyan! Imagine that, Doctor! Your real name! Bet you don't remember it now, do you, sweetheart?"

The Doctor felt Rose shake her head against his back. "No," she said, her voice small, "I don't remember it."

"Why would she?" The Doctor spat, "You put those words in her mouth!"

"I didn't," The Master spread his palms in innocence, his eyes wide. "She knew it, she was connected to my head, and she fixated on it. Got a little pet, have you, Doctor?"

"Stop it!" The Doctor shouted. "What do you want? Why do you appear as mist? Why did you torture me in the forest after you took her?"

Rose's other hand tightened on the Doctor's arm as he said the last sentence, feeling unreasonably guilty for not being with him. How could she have done that to him, left him alone?

"Let's test a theory!" The Master said cheerily, expertly avoiding the question. "Wolfie, my dear, are you still telepathic?'

"I don't know," Rose said, the defiance and bravery returned to her voice, making the Doctor feel a little more comfortable. Not that he was comfortable with this situation at all. He was a cross between wanting to scream and punch the Master square in the jaw. He couldn't imagine what he'd wanted to do if he weren't a pacifist.

Rose winced and fell. The Doctor turned immediately and caught her, holding her steady against him. "Rose, are you alright?"

She looked at him, tears of pain streaming down her cheeks. "He's in my head," she croaked out.

The fury that lit into the Doctor was unmatched, and if Rose had ever seen the Oncoming Storm, she was seeing it now.

"How dare you!" He shouted at the smirking Master. "She doesn't have defenses up, she can't stop you!"

"Ah, but she is telepathic!" The Master clapped with glee. "Very useful, that, very useful."

"She's not for you to use," the Doctor replied quickly. He met Rose's gaze and situated his fingers on her temples. "Let me in?" He asked quietly.

She could only nod, now unable to speak. It was undeniable that the Master was hurting her.

The Doctor's essence was gold in this regeneration. He suspected that was because of Bad Wolf, or maybe just because of Rose herself. He crept into Rose's mind, trying to soothe the panic that it held. He met the Master's green essence halfway through her mind.

"Ooh, lookie at who I remind your pet of!" The Master echoed through Rose's and the Doctor's heads.

"I didn't get permission to root about in her memories, and neither did you. Get out." The Doctor replied simply.

"Oh, but it's so interesting. What a woman. A human... You could do better, Doctor! My oh my, is she interesting!" The Master sounded so excited. Too excited. It was getting the Doctor absolutely infuriated. Not that he wasn't already angry, mind you, but this really set it off.

"OUT." The Doctor pushed the Master's essence, a move that wasn't expected, ands shoved him right out of Rose's head. He built up Rose's mental barriers and removed himself from her head.

Rose was unconscious now, the Doctor holding her in his arms. He slid to the floor and cradled her in his lap. "Why would you do that?"

The Master squatted, his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. "Poor thing," he cooed.

The Doctor shot him a glare and pillowed Rose's head against the space between his shoulder and his chest. "You've hurt her," he snapped. "What do you want, anyways?"

"I told you. The Earth. Very small in comparison to all the places you've been, don't you think?"

"The Earth is incredibly important," the Doctor protested. "You never cared about the people who live there, and how wonderful they are."

"You mean how wonderful she is?" The Master rolled his eyes. "You are hopeless."

"I feel sorry for you," The Doctor replied. "That you can't see their potential, what they mean. I'm disappointed you can't see them the way I do, and you never did."

"She's only special by circumstance," the Master argued. "If you even knew-"

"I do know," the Doctor cut him off quickly.

The Master's eyebrows raised and he grinned. "I really don't think you do, but I can't argue with you, can I?"

"You shouldn't." The Doctor glanced up at his former friend. "Why? Why do you need the Earth?"

"I need to repopulate it, with Time Lords," the Master said simply.

"Are you kidding?" The Doctor arched an eyebrow. "Physically impossible and just generally disgusting, if you ask me."

The Master wrinkled his nose. "No," he replied. "I was testing humans, going around, checking people out for high compatibility rates. Needed a mate, me, so I brought all of those people together, trying to find someone with a higher compatibility rate, or to combine two people to make the ultimate 'companion'" The Master said slowly with air quotes. "But I was not prepared for this woman. She's exceptionally compatible."

The Doctor furrowed his brows. "How is that possible?"

The Master grinned manically and sat in front of the Doctor and an unconscious Rose. "The same way she's telepathic now, that's how." He grabbed the Doctor's wrist and set his palm over the left side of her chest.

The Doctor looked at the Master, confused by the show of her steady heartbeat. "Yeah, she's always had that," he said sarcastically, "Marvel she is."

"No, that's not the amazing part." The Master moved the Doctor's hand to the other side of Rose's chest. Where another heart was beating.

The Doctor's eyes widened as he stared down into her face. "She's a Time Lady," he whispered, somehow in awe and very, very afraid at the same time.

The Master laughed. "Yes! And the two of you, my dear friend, are going to start by repopulating the Earth." He stood, "That is, after I annihilate the human race."