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i-was-bored-so-this-happened · 4 years ago

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The Companion: Ascension The Timeless Children

Disclaimer: I am not trying to make Sam “just like the Doctor,” the details of Sam’s backstory are details I’d had fixed wayy back when I started the Companion series last year. I tweaked it a bit to fit better with the canon episode because it was so perfect for it [I hope it doesn’t feel too sudden here, but these details about Sam’s past are actually introduced in earlier parts of The Companion series I haven’t posted yet]

Sam Tate is my OC! If you’d like to know more about them or the Companion series in general, shoot me an ask or a message. Most of this is third person but there’s a short part in first person too!

THIS IS IT FOLKS!! GRAND FINALE! I’m actually really proud of this, so I really hope you love it as much as I do! Now I’m done with the canon episodes [for now] I will probably be writing Sam-and-the-Master Shenanigans. If you’re interested in those or would like to be tagged in those Shenanigans, let me know! I might also start posting Lillian’s story [the original Companion] If you’re interested in that or would like to be tagged in those posts, let me know! Or, if there’s a particular regeneration of the Companion you’d like to know about next, let me know!!

@theaussietimelord IT’S HERE IT’S FINALLY HERE AHHHHHH [I just finished it right this minute and haven’t proofread it, if there’s any mistakes, whoops, let me know!]

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“How are you here?” the Doctor asks. The Master doesn’t answer her question, instead offering his hand to her,

“Take my hand.”

“Never.”

“Take my hand or I turn them into tiny human dolls right here.” and there’s the bargaining. And the bloody TCE. Not literally bloody. Well, not yet.

“How have you connected Gallifrey to that Boundary?” the Doctor asks.

“Fine. You really want me to show you I’m serious?” the Master extaneds his arm, aiming his TCE at Ethan, Ryan and Ko Sharmus in turn, “Eeny, meeny, miney…” it skips over Sam and bounces back to Ethan, “Miney.”

“Fine, I’ll play your game.” the Doctor tells him, turning to Ryan to tell him, “I’ll be back.”

“She won’t.” the Master counters, “Good luck, humans.” Sam steps forward, and in an instant the TCE is pointed at their nose. “No, Sam. Stay. Stay.” he says it as if trying to cajole a dog, and Sam’s mouth twitches at his tone. Stay here. In Sam’s head, softer this time. Asking rather than telling. Sam doesn’t move again. “Good dog.” the Master adds aloud before yanking the Doctor sharply through the Boundary. Both of them disappear.

“We have to go and get her.” Ryan says immediately.

“No, we have to wait for the others.” Ethan tells him. Further discussion is cut off by the sound of a ship winking into existence above them.

“That’s a bloody Cyber battle cruiser.” Sam hisses, “Yaz and the others.”

“They’re here.” Ko Sharmus says quietly. Sam turns to Ryan.

“You handle that. I’ll go after the Doctor. Okay? Ryan?” they unbuckle the belt of their holster from around their middle and reach for Ryan’s shoulder as they hand the blaster to him. “Take this. Use it if you have to,” Sam fiddles with one of the knobs to change the settings a little, “It’ll take them out two at a time. Hopefully. Keep Yaz and Graham safe.”

“But-”

“Remember what I said. No free will, no mercy.” Sam reminds him before turning to face the Boundary.

“But you’re hurt.” Ryan says, dropping the ‘h’ as he so often does. His voice makes Sam hesitate. He’s just a boy. A human boy who doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Sam balls their hands into fists, the tip of their tongue poking out from between their lips. Their fists feel oddly hot, the heat licking up their arm as if there are flames there.

“I’ll be lucky to be alive by the end of the day. This is to protect you lot.” Sam lets their head turn to look at Ryan. They’re painfully aware of the path of destruction that usually follows when the Doctor and Master collide. “I’ll see you again, Ryan Sinclair.”

There’s a moment, just when Sam has stepped through the Boundary, where they stop. They can’t see Gallifrey. For a moment, their surroundings are just a room of mirrors. It’s not their own face that looks back at them. Rather…several faces. Pieces of face, put together, moving, changing. The only word that can possibly describe it is glitching. It’s as if their face is glitching through several others. Blonde hair, red hair, black skin, white skin, blue skin, male, female, neither. Some faces Sam knows, but some they don’t. And then, as soon as it started, it stops. The room, the mirrors crumble to pieces and Sam stumbles, crashes to the ground. The arm they land on is the burned one, and Sam can feel the just-healed skin tearing open again, hissing at the pain as they push themselves up on their hands.

Gallifrey. Destroyed, always destroyed. It seems the Time Lords were never destined to be a peaceful race. Superiority and god complexes and pride can do that. The world is quiet here. So quiet. Ash is still falling from the yellow sky, any stars that might be out there obscured by smog. Sam is completely alone. Not quite. They can feel them, two consciousnesses moving towards the capital. Sam wonders which of them will notice them there, the Master or the Doctor, and how much time they have to wander around alone before either of them cottons on to Sam’s presence. Part of Sam knows that they should go after them immediately, snatch the Doctor back, give her to the humans and go with the Master, but a much bigger part of them wants to know what they saw in that moment between the Boundary and Gallifrey. Wants to know how much they can find out before they’re found. They look down at their wrist. They’d had little choice but to use Cyber tech to at least attempt to repair their teleport. They still aren’t sure if it’ll work or not, and if the Cybermen go near the Boundary, they might be able to track the technology straight to Sam. The Doctor, the Master and possibly Cybermen. Limited time to snoop then. It’s difficult for Sam to ‘snoop’ even with the time limit, not without their sonic or their blaster. All they have is a hastily-repaired teleport they’re not even sure will work, an aching head and a bleeding arm. A faulty human body that holds a brain centuries old. There has to be something in there that’s of use. They can’t connect to the Doctor’s mind. It’s as if…as if it’s been turned off.

Halfway to the citadel, something enters the Boundary. The same cracking noise as when the Master had leapt through. Sam turns to the Boundary, silently hoping that Ryan has decided to act on some idiotic heroic impulse and followed them through. But no. Sam tips their head back. The Cyber battle ship. The Cybermen are here. Pieces start to fit together in their mind.

You sound as if there’s going to be a war.

Isn’t there always a war?

Why would the Cybermen go through the Boundary, keep going when they’ve most likely already scanned and found no signs of human life? Land on top of the citadel where Sam can feel the Doctor and the Master’s consciousnesses?

Oh. Oh. The Master had had some kind of alliance with the Cybermen before. He knew how to manipulate them into doing what he wanted, and if he knew about the Cyberium…Lord knows what he could do with that power. Too far. There are a lot of things Sam would let the Master get away with, but not this dangerous of an allyship.

Sam turns towards the Cyber battle ship, to the citadel, and starts towards it. What if Yaz and Graham are still on there, trapped? If Sam’s suspicions are right, Yaz, Graham and the other humans are in more danger on this side of the Boundary than the other. Sam breaks into a run, despite the fact that this jars the ache in their head with every step. It’s only when the reach the base of the citadel, head tipped back to look up at the ship, that they realise their problem. Inside the citadel will be stairs leading up to the roof, but Sam doesn’t want to go inside just yet, and they don’t want to chance their teleport. They bring their head back to be parallel to the wall in front of them. Due to the destruction of the planet, there are chunks chipped out of the wall and debris almost forming…steps. Sam reaches up and wraps their hands around a beam that’s sticking out of the wall. They let their weight hang off it for a moment before they pull themselves up far enough to rest their weight on the foot that has found a dent in the wall. The already-split skin of their burned arm pulls again, but Sam hauls themselves up to the next foothold, the next handhold and the next.

When they lever themselves up and over the edge of the roof of the citadel and onto the door of the Cyber ship that’s been lowered and turned into a ramp. It takes them a moment to get up onto their feet, but they manage it, out of breath. Just as quickly as they catch their breath, tight cold metal clamps around their arms.

“Companion located.”

Ah beans.

***

Sam

When I open my eyes, it takes me a moment to figure out where I am. I can feel my arms stretched out either side of me, cuffs of metal around my wrists and upper arms. There are restraints on my legs too, something cold and metal pushing into my skull around the backs of my ears. A box. I’m in a box. There’s a window, dirty and smudged but enough light filters through to see the detail of the designs around the box. I can see enough through the window to see another box opposite them. Oh stars.

I’m in a Cyber conversion unit.

No. Oh god no. I know too many people who have fallen victim to Cybermen. I know I do, even though I can only count the names I remember on one hand. I know what Cyber conversion units do. They sap people of their humanity, their morals and their control over themselves. Turn them into Cybermen. And sure, I’m isn’t all that human and my morals might be a bit skewed nowadays, but I’ll be damned if I let anything else take control of me.

The box is only just big enough to hold a Cyberman, and besides the humming of the power it’s quiet enough for me to hear how much their breathing has quickened. The process hasn’t started yet. That gives me time. How much time, I have no idea. The box is too small, the restraints too tight, the threat of being converted far too close and real for comfort. I pull at the restraints, not stopping when pain starts to bloom in my hands and feet or when the pain prompts sound to fall from my lips in protest. I rock back and forth as much as I can, trying to build momentum even though I know I can’t tip the conversion unit over. I have to get out. I have to. I refuse to be turned into…into…my mind goes to the word enemy, but had Lisa Hallett really been the enemy? Had Danny Pink? Had Bill Potts? No. No, they weren’t the enemy. They were victims. People who had been taken. I can feel hot anger building in my chest, vying with the panic. Lisa, Danny, Bill, countless others. They had all been taken. They won’t take me. My head aches again, and my face feels too warm as I pull at the restraints again. Sharp pain shoots down my limbs, my eyes falling closed at the same time as my mouth opens. A roar rips out of me and then-

***

There’s some kind of alarm going off. Orange or red light lighting up Sam’s eyelids. Something, they’re pretty sure it’s their ankle, hurts, pain pulsing in time with their hearts. Their head feels the same as it did before, but they can feel something hard under their cheek, something that feels like stones under their fingers rather than the back of the box. It takes them several moments to bring heir hands up to push themselves up. When they try to stand they wobble violently, hissing at the pain in their ankle. They can’t put much weight on it. Hopefully it’s just sprained. Sam manages to stand, and turns slowly. The conversion unit they had been in is now nothing but rubble and sparking cable. The units either side of it are damaged too. It’s only then that Sam registers how hot their hands feel, as if they’re burning.

Doosh, doosh, doosh.

Cybermen come to investigate the alarm. Sam’s head turns to the sound, and their breath catches. There’s enough light to see the headdresses. Gallifreyan headdresses, all Sam needs to confirm their suspicions. How long had the Master been planning this? How over the top can he get? Sam wonders aloud, head tilting subconsciously to better read the Gallifreyan. There are two Cybermen. One of them turns their head to look at the destroyed conversion units as they stop close enough to touch Sam.

“Conversion unit malfunction. Conversion unit out of order.”

“Conversion unit fucking obliterated.” Sam corrects. They can snark the Cybermen all they like, they most likely won’t understand it. Depends how old they are…

“The Companion has escaped.” the other Cyberman says, watching Sam.

“You know, I’m really considering a name change.” Sam tells the Cyberman, “Now, instead of shoving me into another box, let’s talk this out-” before the question is done, a Cyberman’s arm shoots out, hand wrapping around Sam’s throat. “Everyone’s into choking now, huh?” the hand tightens, “I’m not complaining!” Sam adds quickly. They can feel the weight slowly being taken off their feet. The Cyberman is lifting them up. Bad news. “That…that’s a bit tight, mate-” Sam starts, their hands moving up to pull at the Cyberman’s fingers, but the hand tightens again. Whatever other words they were trying to say turn into short, uncomfortable sounds that hurt to force out.

“You can’t just up and leave like that! What are you…who’s tha-” the Master. The Master. “Sam?” Sam can only respond with, well, choked sounds. The Master’s voice gains a sudden edge, shifting from exasperated to threatening, “Put them down.”

“She is the Companion.” a Cyberman tells him.

“Put. Them. Down.” he repeats more slowly as Sam makes a feeble attempt at kicking the Cyberman, “You’re not to harm them.”

“She is the chosen one to be spared?” the Cyberman asks as Sam’s last breath gurgles out of them.

“They are the chosen spared and you are not to touch them, that was the deal.” the Master points out. There’s a hesitation before the Cyberman lets go and Sam falls to the floor, coughing. “Leave us. Now.” Again, there’s the smallest hesitation before the Cybermen move to leave. The Master waits until they’re a comfortable distance away before moving towards Sam who’s still on their hands and knees. They hold a hand up to stop him as they cough, and his hand stops just before it touches their shoulder. Poking into their brain, he can sense the pain in their ankle, the pain that is most prominent. “Sprain.”

“I know.” Sam tells him, using a conversion unit to pull themselves up onto their feet. The hat that had been on their head had fallen off, and the Master’s eyes dart to the bright yellow of it, the red stain.

“Your head, there’s blood. And your arm, Sam.” He reaches for them again, but stops just short of touching them again.

“Bloody Cyber drones shot my canon out of my hands. Burned my arm hangin’ around an exploding spaceship too long.” They explain quickly and concisely, as the Master’s gaze is drawn to what is left of the conversion unit.

“Did you do that?” he asks the question quietly, gently, somewhat torn between examining the remains and examining Sam’s injuries. Sam hesitates before they answer,

“I…I think so. It, it’s happened before. People had taken…oh, what was her name? The ginger one, Scottish, I think…People had taken her and her baby. The Doctor and Rory and I went to get her back.”

“What happened?” there’s a morbid sort of interest in the question.

“Someone said the Sontaran threw a grenade, I just went with it. But part of me knew I’d done it.” Sam looks up from the rubble to meet the Master’s eyes, and they can’t quite hide the uncertainty in themselves when they add, “I don’t know what it is.”

“What triggers it?”

“Let’s just say I don’t like being restrained.”

“It’s incredible.”

“It’s dangerous.”

“As if you aren’t dangerous enough already.” when the Master says these words, he says them quietly.

“Tell me what’s happening.” Sam’s compelled to speak quietly too, though they don’t know why.

“Come with me.”

“No.”

“What?”

“No. Tell me what’s going on.” Sam says firmly.

“I can only tell you if you come with me, love.” the Master tells them, exaggerating how apologetic he is. “I’m not lying, you know I’m not.” he adds, and he’s right. Still, Sam frowns.

“Tell me you know what you’re doing. Tell me that, tell me you have an escape plan, and I’ll go with you.”

***

Sam’s not sure how to feel as they hobble into the room, at the head of the small army of CyberMasters. They’d pulled odd little threads of the Master’s plan from him as they had made their way to this room. It all had to do with the Timeless Child. The Time Lords had done something to the Timeless Child, something bad. As far as Sam could tell, the Mast had promptly punished the Time Lords by destroying them and then using their bodies to build this army of half-Time-Lords, half-Cyber-men. Regenerative bodies in near impenetrable armour who all answered to the Master. But what all this had to do with the Doctor Sam wasn’t sure. Perhaps it was nothing but the history the Master and the Doctor had.

When Sam meets the Doctor’s eyes, Sam doesn’t react. They’re done with the Doctor. They’re done with the Doctor controlling them, ignoring them. When the Doctor says Sam’s name, the words forced and heartbroken, something in Sam’s chest still twinges. A millennium can’t be waved away just like that. But Sam has chosen their side. The Doctor isn’t innocent in this. She never has been. Sam doesn’t think she can take the high ground in this. And the Doctor, for her part, doesn’t have to ask the question. She wishes she could, spit it out, be angry at Sam, You’re with him now? But she’d known this would happen. She’d known it the moment Missy was free. She’d already lost the Companion. She’d tried to change it, tried to avoid it…but she had failed. Sam’s eyes stay locked on the Doctor’s even as the Master bounds up the steps to stand beside them, even when his hand shoots out and grabs theirs. Sam can’t be sure if he’s done this just to see the look of betrayal on the Doctor’s face or not.

“-let’s test it out.” He turns to the nearest CyberMaster and points to the other one next to it, “Shoot him.” but, as with every order he gives any of them, the CyberMaster hesitates, prompting the Master to yell the order again, and this time the CyberMaster complies. The other CyberMaster falls, “Good dog!” Sam stares ahead, over the Doctor’s head. “All dead…” he’s being dramatic, over the top. He’s sure his plan’s going to work. He knows this works, knows how much it will hurt the Doctor. For a moment Sam wonders if he really does know what he’s doing, if he knows how uncomfortable this is for them. “But wait! Could it be…” Sam doesn’t want to look, but out of the corner of their eye they can see the golden light of regeneration, and then the fire. Like a burning cartoon star, five points of fire. Their hand pulls free of the Master’s and plunges into their pocket as the CyberMaster stands up.

Don’t do this. Don’t go to him.

The Doctor’s voice in Sam’s head. She’s opened the door again. She puts the words in Sam’s head as the Mast laughs manically, leaping down the steps and towards her.

Ask him. Ask him why he did this. Don’t go to him.

Sam blinks, breathing hard through their nose, but otherwise doesn’t react.

Ask him about the Timeless Child. Tell him to show you what he showed me. Lily, please.

The sound of the name is like a punch to the stomach. Sam’s eyes meet the Doctor’s.

I’m not Lily. Lillian died a long time ago. Sam says. As the Master lands beside them again, he moves to take their hand again but their hands stay firmly in their pockets. His reaction to this is almost unnoticeable as he turns back to the Doctor.

“For Gallifrey. For the Time Lords. For the end of the universe itself!” The CyberMasters repeat the Master’s words, and the sound of their voices grate at Sam’s ears. They don’t repeat what he says next, as he blows a kiss to the Doctor, “Sweet dreams.” The Doctor’s head droops, and the feeling of her mind against Sam’s dulls. He’s put her to sleep. Sam turns and follows the CyberMasters out. Blood has transferred from their arm to their shirt, staining it a darker red than it was to begin with.

The Master wasn’t exactly expecting to be backed against a wall, but he doesn’t exactly mind it.

“Tell me about the Timeless Child.” Sam tells him. He hadn’t been expecting that either. “The Doctor told me you had something to show me.”

“Later, love.” he tells them, and something seems to snap in Sam. Their face sours and their hands shoot out. The Master is incredibly aware that Sam’s hands around his throat are less than friendly.

“You show me what you showed her or you’ll have a different face in twenty seconds.”

“Why show you what she is when I can show you what you are?”

“And what the bloody hell is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re not human, Sam.” the Master tells them, and confusion flickers over Sam’s face, but not for the reason he thinks. He doesn’t know about the Companion’s conversion. He doesn’t know they’re more Time Lord than human. So what the hell does he know? They don’t quite realise they’re let go of him until they register him adjusting his collar. “I found traces of you in the Matrix.”

“Oh, I’m in the Matrix am I?”

“Not that Matrix. The Time Lord Matrix. It, it holds all the memories of every Time Lord that ever lived.”

“Well, it would make sense that I’m in there-”

“Not like this.” the Master shakes his head. He lifts his hands to hover either side of Sam’s head, “Let me show you.”

“On one condition. You show me the Timeless Child first.” Sam says. The Master nods, and Sam lets him tip their head forward until their forehead touches his, and the moment it does the citadel seems to dissolve around them. He does tell the story of the Timeless Child, but he tears through the memories like a child ripping through birthday cards in search of money. The Doctor is the Timeless Child. She had been found by a native Gallifreyan and taken back to the planet. When Tecteun, the woman who had found her, found out she could regenerate, she experimented on her. Tried to take the regeneration process for herself. And it worked. That was how the Time Lords gained their regeneration abilities. This Matrix…it’s like putting on a VR headset, but so much more. Sam can turn all the way around and still see Gallifrey. The memories unfold in front of their eyes as the Master tells them. Sam can hear the memories talk, can smell their surroundings. Time slows back to normal and the Master and the Companion stand outside the now-complete citadel.

“Do you understand now?” He asks the question, but he doesn’t wait for Sam to answer before lifting a hand to the sky, prompting Sam to tip their head back just as a ship soars overhead, “Several decades after the regeneration process was perfected, two travellers came to Gallifrey.” Their surroundings shift, and suddenly they’re standing in front of an unfamiliar ship as it opens and two humanoid figures stepped out. They look like humans, but a little…off. One has blue skin, the other grey, but that’s the biggest difference between them and Earthen humans. The grey being has freckles, and the blue being’s hands are almost glowing. “They came from another universe, as the Child had.” The Master tells Sam, putting his hands on their shoulders to turn them to see Tecteun bundling the Child away hurriedly, “Tecteun worried that these travellers were the same species as the Child, perhaps family come to look for her, and so hid her away.”

“Who were the travellers?” Sam asks, turning back to the ship as the aliens step towards the Time Lord crowd.

“They didn’t have a name for their species, but their family name was Okanoptris,” he explains, stressing the first syllable of family, “They had been travelling so long that they didn’t know where their destination was or why they were travelling. Their ship needed repairing, so they stayed on Gallifrey,” things start to change around them, the first shift so quick Sam’s hand shoots out instinctively, fingers curling around the Master’s cuff.

It’s like watching a time-lapse, Time Lords and the Okanoptris moving around the ship and the city at double time. Sometimes sparks fly from the ship, sometimes bits fall off and are replaced and then…and then time slows, go back to normal. One of the Okanoptris, the blue one, is arguing with a Time Lord. An Elder, judging by the headdress. Their voices are loud, but Sam can’t fully understand what they’re saying. The grey Okanoptris sits at the entrance of the ship, cradling a pronounced and swollen stomach.

“Tecteun still feared the Child would be taken from her, and spread rumours about the Okanoptris. An Elder went to investigate, found the female being to be with child, and demanded that the Okanoptris leave Gallifrey.” The Master explains. He speaks as if he’s telling a story, a fairy tale. Sam’s eyes are drawn to the Okanoptris that is arguing with the Elder. His blue hands are balled into fists and they’re…glowing slightly. A golden colour not unlike regeneration energy. The glow is slowly creeping up his arms. Just as it reaches his shoulders, the female Okanoptris calls out to him, but she’s too late. He��explodes. The Elder is thrown back, her head cracking against a rock, but the blue Okanoptris is unharmed. The grey Okanoptris springs up and moves towards the other, speaking quickly. Sam still can’t hear what they’re saying, and their fingers curl tighter into the Master’s cuff. As the Master starts to speak again, the Okanoptris dart into their ship, and prepare for take-off even as the Elder begins to regenerate.

“The Okanoptris fled, knowing they would no longer be welcome on Gallifrey. A young Time Lord who had been helping with the repairs was still inside the ship when they took off.” Their surroundings don’t change, and Sam watches the Okanoptris ship disappears into the sky. “The female gave birth to her child as they travelled. The Okanoptris secured their daughter in a small pod, not knowing that it had been damaged in the explosion. Damaged enough to break off the ship and float out into space on its own.” it’s only then their surroundings change, and suddenly they’re standing among the stars as the ship passes, “He saw the pod go past, and he saw it disappear into an odd white light.” Sam watches the pod go, and breathes in sharply when they see the white light. They recognise it. They recognise it, and they know a word for it.

“The Rift. She fell through the Rift.”

“She fell through the Rift.” the Master repeats, as space fades away and he and Sam land back in the citadel.

“What happened to her? What has this got to do with me?”

“It took some detective work. It was difficult to find the child again-”

“Tell me.”

“She fell through the Rift. Do you know what that means?”

“She landed in Cardiff.” Sam says, frowning and wondering how they know that.

“She landed in Cardiff on the fifteenth of April. And she was found a few hours later by Jade Tate.”

“No.” Sam says, shaking their head. Because originally, they had been from Cardiff. Because their birthday was April 15th. Because their mother’s name was Jade Tate. “No. My DNA is human.”

“It registers as human in the TARDIS database because it’s so similar to human DNA. The little oddities in your DNA register as unknown. There’s a percentage of you that’s Unknown, isn’t there?” the Master asks, and Sam nods. “Your memory loss, it’s not part of the curse, it’s a characteristic of your species. And you destroyed the conversion unit, that just confirmed it. Strong enough emotions can trigger an explosion, you saw that.” He explains it calmly, but there’s unmistakable excitement there too. Sam swallows. If he was lying they’d know, but all they can sense is his excitement and interest, his pride at figuring it all out. I can’t fake the Matrix, love. There’s something else that isn’t him lying, but he won’t let them near it.

“What if I say I want more proof.” Sam says. Their mouth is dry.

“I don’t have anymore.” the Master admits, quickly adding, “But now you can find them! You can find your people, your family!” he’s buoying himself up again, hands flying, “But you shouldn’t be here. I wanted you to stay on the other side of the Boundary. I need you to go back there.”

“Why?”

“There’s something I’ve got to do.”

***

Sam has no intention of going back to the Boundary, but they leave the citadel. They lean against a broken down wall and wonder exactly what the Master’s plan is and why he’d wanted them out of the way. The ground shakes, blue fire exploding from up above. The Cyber carrier has just exploded. Sam somehow doubts that this is part of the Master’s plan. They don’t particularly care that he gave them an order. They turn back into the citadel and take off down the corridors.

There’s an odd energy in the room full of humans when Sam stumbles in. Everyone’s here, the fam, Ethan and the other humans from Earth that were still alive.

“Get out.” Yaz spits. She tries to move forward, but Graham takes hold of her arm. Sam frowns. “You’re with ‘im. How could you do that?” Yaz asks. She’s angry, so much angrier than Sam has ever seen her, and for a moment they’re distracted by it. Then they figure out why she’s angry. The Doctor must have told them that Sam had chosen the Master.

“You blew up the Cyber carrier?” Sam asks.

“Yeah we did.” Yedlarmi tells them, sneering. Hatred. They hate Sam.

“Where’s the Doctor? What’s the plan?”

“We’re not tellin’ you.” Yaz tells her.

“She’s gonna use the Death Particle.”

“Graham!” Yaz hisses, but Graham ignores her.

“What’s the Death Particle?” Sam asks, directly speaking to Graham.

“Don’t.” the woman, who’s name Sam had never learned, warns Graham.

“Destroys all organic life, she said. ‘S why we’re in ‘ere, this TARDIS’ll take us home.” Graham explains. She’s gone to kill the Master, the CyberMasters. Herself. All Gallifreyan lifeforms will be gone forever.

“I can stop the Master.” Sam says.

“You’re on his side!” Yaz shouts.

“I can stop this!” Sam shouts back, “And don’t you think yourself so high and mighty, Yasmin Khan, you have no idea who the Doctor really is. You have no idea the things she’s done. You don’t know me either. You have no idea of what I’m capable of. The world isn’t split into a good side and a bad, Yaz.” Sam looks to Ryan now, and deflates, “I was trying to protect you from this. I was trying to shield you from them. I can stop this.”

There’s silence, and it stretches on while Yaz fumes silently, Graham still holding her elbow as the three other humans scowl.

“She’s in the Matrix Chamber.” Ryan says, “She’s going to detonate that Particle, like Graham said. Take this.” he’s holding out Sam’s blaster, the one they had given him before stepping through the Boundary.

“Thank you. I…I won’t see you again. Just…just know that this was necessary.” Sam tells him, taking the blaster. They hesitate before they turn, but then they dart out of the room.

The Doctor is holding the detonator, face to face with Master with a background of CyberMasters.

“The universe will suffer for your weakness. I’ll make sure of it.” the Master says. She had refused to detonate then.

“No, it won’t.” Sam calls, stepping down in the Chamber.

“Sam! I told you to leave!” the Master says, more than a little angrily, and Sam hears the Doctor say their name too.

“Well, I didn’t. Good thing too.” Sam stops when they draw level with the Doctor and reach for the detonator. “Give it to me.”

“No! You’re on his side!” the Doctor cries. Sam’s face crumples.

“So you’re just going to chuck me out? Just a bad apple, huh? I had no choice, Doc.”

“Sam, what are you doing?” the Master hisses.

“You were with him. All this time, you kept going to him.” the Doctor says, seeming not to hear the Master, “And you never told me.”

“And that was a mistake, I know. I am so sorry. I haven’t…I haven’t been myself, y’know? And I just-” Sam breaks off, tears forming in their eyes, “And you weren’t listening. You were pushing me away and acting as if I was going to hurt the humans. Just…Let me finish this. For once, Doctor. Let me. Let me take this one.”

The Doctor’s grip on the detonator loosens, and Sam pulls it from her hand.

“Go. Go!” there’s only the slightest hesitation, and then the Doctor flees. When Sam turns back to the Master, and tears that had been forming are gone. “This was the plan?”

“You were supposed to stay away, you would have been safe!”

“You are going soft in your old age, man.” Sam tells him.

“What. Are you doing?”

“I’m going to detonate this. But first…there is one more thing I forgot to tell you. Find my pulse, would you?” Sam asks. A frown flickers over the Master’s face momentarily, but then he reaches up to where Sam’s pulse is in their neck. Not quite able to stop themselves, that thought crosses Sam’s mind again, everyone’s into choking, nowadays. They wait, wait as the mast counts the beats. One-two-three-four. Waits for his eyes to widen as their mouth curls into a kind of smile. “I am a Time Lord.”

“Impossible.”

“Thought you ought to know.” Without him noticing, Sam has shoved the detonator into a pocket and is fiddling with something else. “We’re all being surprised today. Do you see now? I’m a Time Lord. I’m some kind of alien species no one has ever seen before.” Sam leans forward, closer to the Master’s face. “I don’t know what I am, but neither do you, and do you know what that means? It means you can’t control me.”

“I don’t want to control you.” the Master tells them, having to wet his lips before he speaks, “I want to set you free.”

“And blowing yourself up was going to achieve that? You spin such tall tales and promise such incredible things, drop those bombshells on me and think I’m going to let you kill yourself like this? You’re not dying, not on my watch. And I think you’ll find my watch goes on for a very, very long time.” as Sam says this last sentence, they pull the detonator back out of their pocket. They hope that was enough time for the humans and the Doctor to get away. If this doesn’t work, they’ll all be dead. They hold the detonator up and the Master’s eyes follow it. He must have forgotten that his fingers are still pressed to Sam’s neck, but that’s good. He needs to be in contact for this to work. Sam pushes their thumb down on the big red button. Several things happen at once. Sam drops the detonator and slams their hand onto their teleport. Their hastily-repaired, possibly-won’t-work, oh-god-they’ll-die-if-this-doesn’t-work. Their eyes squeeze shut.

And Gallifrey explodes.

#The Companion: Ascension #i was so stuck on this for a while #but i'm so proud of it now #doctor who #sam tate #dhawan!master #thirteenth doctor #yasmin khan #ryan sinclair #graham o'brien

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reprobii · 7 years ago

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Can you tell I made this header image in 5 minutes with MS Paint?

Anyway, I hit 101 followers somehow while on hiatus. I’m not back yet, but I’m in a sappy mood and wanted to appreciate all of you who have stuck with me!

I don’t want to clog everyone’s notifications, so @ everyone who’s for some reason decided this blog was worth following, I want to let you all know I’m super glad you’re here and I hope you’ll continue to enjoy my (rare) content! Even if we don’t interact, I’m always open for ooc chat or plotting. You’re all lovely and I can’t believe this many people share my love for this bratty demon child! <3

some special mentions under the cut:

@mxlignxnt I swear one day I’ll actually act on our threads and the asks from you festering in my untouched inbox. Thank you so much for having the patience to deal with me and my many absences! I can’t wait for Amelia and Sitri to bond more over... serial killers. And cookies. Many cookies. If she ever wants a bodyguard against Jackson, she knows who to summon!

@gaeuul you, friend, have the patience of a saint. thank you for following me across blogs no matter how good i am at blog hot potato. We haven’t talked but I do remember you’re super sweet and I wish I was online more to bask in your warm presence <3

@mysaldate If I ever go to Germany, I swear I’ll hit you up! I’m still jealous that you live in a CASTLE. and actual castle! but anyway thanks for the follow! If you ever decide to rp a MO character on a blog lmk! sorry I’m such a bad conversation holder! But feel free to pop in my IMs anytime!

@solomonseal We haven’t talked much since I found you like. the day I disappeared but your portrayal of Solomon is A+ and I hope to interact more in the future! Keep up the good work!

@craveii/ @goldenvelleity My gosh, you’re one of my go-to friends in rp. From makeup advice to life venting to angst/fluff plotting, I love you and Janna (and sometimes Ignes) so much! Your writing is Quality and so is your portrayal! Janna is a fabulous character and I look forward to seeing you develop her more! I’m also warming up to Ignes, but that’s thanks to you and how you keep sending me pics of her cute af outfits. Thanks for sticking around... in inactivity and in prolificness. That’s not a word.

@aevyntyri @bruciared / @vetrorosa / @aigida Did I miss any??? HROKI u are my love and I will love you across time, between the gaps of our absences. I hope you’re doing well and being happy and loving life, wherever you are! You get my angst and you’re such a good writer? I gotta lie down to recover every few paras when I read your replies like god those metaphors. what a gem. i adore your muses and you, hroki!

@kapisola / @ara-memoriae ANGST FRIEND. We really need to stop making our muses suffer. Doesn’t mean we will though. Seriously, though, you’re an A+ mun with A+ muses. Literally I randomly think about your muses throughout my days sometimes. I will defend Nero to the end of time and love Allisae enough to emcompass galaxies. I love our plots so much and I love you more <3<3 I hope life becomes as beautiful for you as you are lovely. Also you are an A+ artist. mmm those Alli sketches. what a goddess.

@occultmisfortune / @therapcn CAE another love. My student friend, I look forward to the day we can talk and not be StuDying. I go to you with my awkward stories from school, OCs, problems, and you’ve somehow decided to not block me yet. Truly, I appreciate your presence in my life, both ic and ooc! <3 I know we don’t interact on this blog but... I would feel bad if I didn’t mention you anyway!

@desiderium-eden Suzu! You are a Gem. Honestly reading your writing makes me laugh every time, without fail. Plus you’re such a talented artist! Much jealous here. Eros is... 80% of Sitri’s impulse control and I love it. Let my boy fight someone. Something. Anything.

@blasianbutterfly what an actual sweetheart! I love Sam! She is so Soft and just... ahhghfhhfh I’d patronize her bakery just to get my daily dose of positivity from her. almost as Soft and sweet as you bby

@positivepianist I don’t even think we have a thread on this blog but again, whatever, I’ll take any opportunity I can get to love on you! You are honestly one of the kindest, sweetest people I have ever had the honor of knowing. Please have more confidence in yourself! I love your writing, love your portrayal, love chatting with you! I hope you’re doing amazing!!! Take your time with activity!

@tsundere-yurio gosh, one of my oldest rp partners from wayy back when I was just peeking into the rp community. even if we both have spotty activity, I’m super grateful to you knowing that I can disappear for a few months and come back and still have our threads intact, or at least the Ship with Isa and Yurio. Your threads are easy for me to write with and honestly are such good chicken soup for my writer soul, like your prose is somehow both easy to understand and vivid and ic? Minty, you’re the genuine article! I love to write with you and look forward to future interactions ic and ooc! <3

@embersiisms jack is... a pure Soft Boi and so are you! idk how you’re so active on here. it’s incredible tbh how one can be so quality? and so prolific? Unsolved Mysteries. i don’t like cake but Sitri will eat...all the cake. all of it. he will singlehandedly keep Jack’s bakery afloat... once he decides to cooperate with me as a muse.

@yurvtchka @blue-eyes-white-kaiba idk if you’ll see this since you’re on hiatus but! i will always be appreciative to you for being one of my first rp partners too! I’m still shocked that someone so Quality is still a mutual? amazing. your icons are beautiful and so are you <3 your writing is super captivating and i hope you’re doing great wherever you are!

@cruelseraph omg, you’re such a great example of the mun is not muse mantra! your portrayal of Michael is absolutely flawless, and yet you somehow are as nice and chill as Michael is... not XD. We haven’t talked in a while but I every time I see the little green dot next to your username I hope you’re doing well! If you come back, I would love to interact again!

@diaboliktheology Val was my third try at an rp blog, and honestly I was so not confident with my portrayal of him that if it weren’t for you, idk if he would have even been a main muse, short as the duration was! I love plotting with you and just chatting ooc! I consider you my tumblr rp Mom tbh, and your writing and blog is? goals? Yui is such a darling, and it’s easy to see why you write her so well - you’re just as kind as she is! I plan to return to Val at some point... even if it’s just for the Val-Yui friendship bc that’s.... pure, good stuff right there. I love it so, so much.

@inferno-principe/ @theo-cratic / @count-glenstrae you’re a super cool person with an amazing muse! Si is so well-developed and I love his sass tbh even if Sitri doesn’t. It’s admirable that somehow you can do both very interesting prose threads... and hilarious crack ones. I’m grateful for your follow and I look forward to future interactions!

@oshikakei yuuto is a Good Boy. I love your writing and your character, he’s very well-rounded and has a lot going for him! thank you for tagging me in stuff! can’t wait for sitri to get stabbed

@amorettos your muses are A+ like they have. so Much Backstory and yet are incredibly likable despite their flaws. as a mun you’re very approachable and also I envy the SoCal life based on pics of your food. somehow you can Art AND Write? unbelievable. anyway thanks for following me across blogs and! thank you for gabe

some more special mentions to the people who have stuck around! thank you for everything! your follow means so much to me!

@electorofhell @archxviste @shatteredtoxins @thepaganking @sclbstmord @vasilciix @imey-chan @pozbilind @noxiivs @backstagebaae @sunshowxr @grand---duke @otxme @g--cnocide @dxllisms @nocturnalbun @underhisdivinity @raguel-angel-of-justice @basicallyuriel @distortedfairytaledreams @thelambsofiscariot @of-rivia @locksfate @skullcrxsher @conseille @unladylikc

#//since I'm not popular - I'll put on airs!#//ooc #*sobs* i love all of you

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