Eyes Of Conscience

KIDNAP

TARDIS

The Master’s eyes opened.  Mouth gaped wide as he inhaled and sucked in some wisps of the RANI’s regeneration source.  The TARDIS shuddered beneath him.  So, they left him to die then, had they?  Faintly, he heard a whisper of a woman’s voice, pushing at the back of his mind begging not to leave him behind.  The woman seemed passionate about him.  Clearly they shared something, why could he not remember?

The TARDIS floor broke apart from beneath The RANI’s body and head, they promptly fell into its depths then the floor closed again.  Amazing, he thought, TARDIS never rejected a former owner before.  Indeed there seemed to be something happening inside his body.  Raising his hand he had realised that the glass shards had dropped out and the wounds were healing rapidly. as was the rest of his body.  This was unprecedented.  Surely he had died? The Master sat up rubbing the back of his head.  What had he done?  

Amnesia! Yes, selective amnesia, a normal symptom as the result of severe trauma.  Now, what had he done to cause severe trauma?  The Master blinked.  The TARDIS was groaning with agony as it changed and shifted to suit its new owner.  Normally this had happened silently.  The Master cautiously lifted himself up and staggered as he made his way out of what was a room filled with glass splinters.

Hazy images floated in the back of The Master’s mind.  That woman sounded tough, kind, loyal.  Definitely someone that he would have chosen for a life mate, so how come he could not remember her name?  She was very distraught at his passing.  The Master tried to reassemble the thoughts plaguing his disordered mind.

What had happened? Yes, he knew who he was.  He was The Master.  The female body the TARDIS had swallowed up was The RANI, the worst Timelady Gallifrey had produced.  Timelady... Gallifrey... He knew that too.  

Who was the blasted woman? It was starting to irritate him now.  How could he not recognise the voice of a woman who cared for him so deeply she wept over his fallen body?  This woman was special, he knew she must be.  The TARDIS rocked and rolled.  The Master held onto the doorframe of the shifting, changing Control Room swaying from side-to-side.  

Seemed to suit his blurred, misted mind.  The Master felt something inside his soul.  Glancing down at his feet he saw a black key laying on a silver chrome floor.  The Master picked it only to drop it again as it was red hot.  The key glowed a scorching shade of red.  Gazing up, he noticed the TARDIS had dark green walls with silver chrome bookshelves, interspersed at various spaces.  The Control Desk had now become triangular.  Three different coloured Triangles, stacked up at angles with various levers and buttons  on the second triangle.  Embedded into the top one were VDU units and coordinate pads.   From bottom to top the triangles were red. silver and black.

The Master opened the door of the Control Room, curiosity driving him to know what the halls looked like.  They were silver floored and green walled too.  Black and red triangles adorned the walls at irregular angles.  Very nice.  Much better than The RANI had it.  Again, how come he could remember The RANI and not the woman that mourned his death?  How could he find out when he did not even know?

Turning round he saw something shoot up out of the highest point of the second triangle.  The Master stepped up to the object.  Black and red stripes ran down it’s circular frame.  Shining out from the sharpest point was a green glow.  The Master pressed it close to his palm. Silver lights flashed from the tip.  Oh yes, he sighed, my own sonic screwdriver.  Thank you, TARDIS.  I shall look after you, I promise.  

The TARDIS quivered in delight as The Master stroked her Console Desk.  “Yes, my wondrous, beautiful thing!”

The TARDIS was happy with her new owner.  At least this man had a mission.  Something different for her to do.  She had felt sorely misused by The RANI.