The Girl Who Drifted | doctor who (Book 3)

The Sound of Drums

***

The four wandered through an underpass, abandoning Martha's car in the pouring rain. "Martha, come on!"

As they walked, Martha made another phone call. "Leo! Oh, thank God. Leo, you got to listen to me. Where are you?"

"I'm in Brighton. Yeah, we came down with Boxer. Did you see that Saxon thing on telly?" he answered.

"Leo, just listen to me. Don't go home." She warned him. "I'm telling you. Don't phone Mum or Dad or Tish. You've got to hide."

He chuckled, thinking she was joking. "Shut up."

"On my life. You've got to trust me. Go to Boxer's. Stay with him. Don't tell anyone. Just hide!" Martha ordered him.

However, instead of her brother's voice on the other side, it was the dreaded sound of their new Prime Minister. "Ooo, a nice little game of "hide and seek". I love that. But I'll find you, Martha Jones. Been a long time since we saw each other. Must be, what, one hundred trillion years?"

"Let them go, Saxon." She yelled, attracting the group's attention. "Do you hear me! Let them go!"

Immediately, the Doctor snatched her phone away and brought it up to his ear. "I'm here."

Willow tried to follow him, but he stopped her. "Let me talk to him. He'll listen to me."

"He can't know you're alive, he might hurt you." He warned, storming away from the group to talk with the Master in private.

"Doctor."

"Master."

"I like it when you use my name." He mentioned.

"You chose it. Psychiatrist's field day." The Doctor remembered.

The Master also recounted the event. "As you chose yours. The man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that?"

He shortly changed the subject. "So, Prime Minister, then."

"I know. It's good, isn't it?"

"Who are those creatures?" he asked. "Because there's no such thing as the Toclafane. It's just a made up name, like the Bogeyman."

"Do you remember all those fairy tales about the Toclafane when we were kids back home? Where is it, Doctor?" he questioned.

"Gone."

"How can Gallifrey be gone?"

"It burnt."

"And the Timelords?"

"Dead. And the Daleks, more or less. What happened to you?" wondered the Doctor.

The Master told his tale of woe. "The Timelords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be the perfect warrior for a Time War. I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. I saw it. I ran. I ran so far. Made myself human so they would never find me because I was so scared."

"I know."

There was a shift in tone, his voice sounding more wicked than before. "All of them? But not you, which must mean..."

"I was the only one who could end it." The Doctor admitted. "And I tried. I did. I tried everything."

"What did it feel like, though? Two almighty civilisations burning. Oh, tell me, how did that feel?" He fed on hate and anger, obsessed with the tang of it.

"Stop it!"

"You must have been like God."

The Doctor sighed. "I've been alone ever since. But not anymore. Don't you see? All we've got is each other."

"Are you asking me out on a date? Because I'm not sure Raven would be very happy with either of us." His jaw dropped, the Doctor's eyes widening in shock. He glanced over at Willow who intensely stared back, wanting to know what was going on. "Oh, yes. I know everything, so you can stop pretending. I know all about you two canoodling together."

"Her name is Willow." He corrected him.

"Ah, yes. That's the name she's using, isn't it?" The Master said. "I much prefer Raven, and I have the right to use it since I've known her longer." There was a stiff pause, his voice deepening. "Did you plan all this? Did you plan to steal her from me?"

He raised his voice. "I never stole her! I didn't even know it was her when we first met. She's been human for twenty-four years-"

"Yeah, I've read all about it." He interrupted the Doctor. "Ever since I came here, I've been keeping a close eye on her. I know she lost her adoptive family which is a pity. Oh, by the way, I sorted out her ex-boyfriend as well. He won't be bothering us anytime soon."

"Whatever you're planning, leave her out of it!" he demanded.

"Oh, my dear Doctor, I'm doing this all for her!" exclaimed the Master. "Believe me, I will make sure my Queen is by my side."

"She doesn't belong to you-"

"And you think she belongs to you? Hasn't she taken her engagement ring off?" He knew everything. The Doctor wasn't sure how, but he knew everything. "Really, Doctor, you're out of your league here."

He had enough of this. The Doctor wasn't going to let the Master harm anyone as long as there was breath in his body. "You could stop this right now. We could leave this planet. We can fight across the constellations if that's what you want, but not on Earth."

"Too late."

"Why do you say that?"

"The drumming. Can't you hear it? I thought it would stop, but it never does. Never ever stops. Inside my head, the drumming, Doctor. The constant drumming."

"I could help you. Please, let me help."

"You're not going to kill him." "That would be too easy for you. Too simple. Whenever you're on the verge, you never manage to do it." "And I'm betting that you want him to have a front seat for whatever you have planned." "I'd rather die than be with you forever."

"So be it." "Take her away."