#yeah i went to check and one of the anons had my icon underneath. which somehow makes this way worse

[colderthancoldest]

((Thanks anon! I picked 13 and Dhawan!Master of course lol))

The Master's Tardis had traced the call seven minutes in advance to this exact time and location. He pushed open his Tardis door to find himself in front of some no name bar with graffiti scrawled on the side, situated in front of an empty ravine. He was on Earth, and there was probably a similarly ramshackled city around him, but he didn't so much as spare it a glance.

The Master's steps were determined, his jaw clenched, and his hands shaking despite his signature device in hand.

He had been on the other side of the universe, licking his wounds like any old villain would when disappointed by their least nemesis showdown. It all made his blood boil to have caved so soon. To come back and HELP the Doctor.

The Doctor still had O's number and her call was scheduled to be made in exactly seven minutes. A hysterical, agonizing call that begged the Master to intervene. He wasn't sure what was worse, hearing the Doctor in so much despair, or the disappointment that hearing her in such agony somehow didn't lessen his own.

Seven minutes, which quickly turned into six by the time he made his way to the bar. Why the Doctor would ever be here- let alone with her 'companions'- was beyond him. He could only assume that her and her little fake family of humans were investigating yet another 'alien disturbance' before everything went wrong.

He glanced inside the window. He could see the Doctor grinning away, telling some kind of story to a curious crowd. Judging from her smiling face, there was still time yet to fix things.

Graham was there with the Doctor, but there was no sign of Yaz or Ryan inside.

The Master found a frustrated growl caught in his throat.

Five minutes now.

"We just want to ask you some questions-" the Master spun his head around to pinpoint the location of Yaz's voice. She was behind the building, out of his line of sight, but close by, "you clearly know something you're not telling us."

"Yeah," a voice added whom the Master could only assume was Ryan, "an' we can't help until you tell us what you're scared of."

The Master raced over the overgrown lot and skidded across the loose gravel as his eyes finally landed on the pair of humans. They were questioning what looked like a young lady- but the Master wasn't so naive. In under five minutes both humans would be dead if the Master didn't do something.

The Master reached out his arm and aimed the device at the lady. Her lips curled into an evil smile, but the Master's ray hit her before she could transform into whatever disgusting monster was undoubtedly underneath.

Yaz and Ryan's mouths fell open in shock as the lady suddenly shrank into a figurine and subsequently tumbled down the ravine. They scrambled back from the ledge and turned their heads to find the Master responsible.

The Master glanced over Yaz and Ryan for a moment, looked down at the tiny item tumbling away- half-transformed into a disgusting monster of black goo- and then glared at the Doctor's companions once more.

The Master shouted with such intensity that the back windows of the nearby buildings shook in their frames.

"You two. Come with me. Now." he demanded.

"Wait! Why did you-"

"Now! Or you'll die right on schedule."

The Master's forceful voice twisted his words into a threat, even though his actions suggested nothing of the sort. He was saving them, but he didn't have the time nor patience to explain why. He wasn't even sure he could explain why even if he wanted to.

The Master returned his device to his pocket, his hands shaking terribly as he fought himself for control.

"Come on," he said flatly. Then he turned, and led the pair into the pathetic excuse of a building.

The Master easily kicked through the lock of the emergency exit and let himself in, via the staff room. He heard the humans asking him questions as they followed, but blatantly ignored them.

The Master made his way through the small room, through the kitchen, and zapped some random soul playing darts as he entered the main room before the drunken fool accidentally hit someone.

Some garbage song from the 1980′s drifted through the dimly lit room as the Master approached the Doctor and grabbed her hand.

"Lovely to meet you all," the Master gave the various humans around the table a false smile, "Dearest, I think we'll be leaving," he hissed into the Doctor's ear.

He tightened his grip on her hand, making her sharply aware that this was not optional.

He only had four minutes after all. Four minutes to fix everything.

The Doctor looked up at him, her eyes not fully realizing it was him for a moment.

"You!" He heard Graham gasp.

The Master shook his head sharply, his anger swelling up into every tense muscle in his body. He hated these humans. He didn't understand why the Doctor would care so much for such fragile play things.

And yet here he was. The LEAST they could do was cooperate.

"Theta," the Master hissed through his teeth so quietly no one else could make out the word, "time to run."

The Doctor looked him over, her expression cold for a long moment, before she seemed to recognize the Master's desperation for her to comply. Finally, finally, she stood up. Her fingers clamped down on the Master's hand equally as tight, as if it was some sort of competition.

"Right, let's go fam," the Doctor happily said with a false sense of security.

Immediately, the Master led her out of the rundown bar, hand in hand. He broke into a run once they were out the doors and didn't stop. Just over three minutes. Three minutes to keep everyone alive. That was the deal.

Save them, just this once.

He didn't slow down for a single moment. Not even to see if the others were catching up. He just ran, down the street, around corners, through the park, and he didn't stop until the seconds ticked down and his full seven minutes were up.

When he finally stopped, he found himself- and the others of course- on a bridge overlooking a stream.

Only then, did he let go of the Doctor's hand.

The Master leaned over the edge, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.

There was just one last thing to do.

"Give me your phone!" He demanded, pulling out his own phone from his pocket.

"What? Why?" The Doctor protested, "And why are we-"

"Phone... or the paradox breaks," the Master demanded.

The Doctor glared at him, but she did give up her phone.

The Master impatiently snatched it from her hand.

He opened it up and dialed his own number.

"Everyone cover your ears!" He huffed.

He checked the time. Just seconds to go.

There was some groaning from the humans, but the Doctor told them something about the dangers of paradoxes and so they complied.

The Master held his thumb over the dial icon, looking back to the Doctor once more.

"You too, dear," he said softer than he had ever said anything to this version of the Doctor.

Reluctantly, the Doctor put her hands over her ears.

The Master dialed his own number in one hand, and pulled up the recording of the Doctor's message on his own phone in the other.

He hit play on the Doctor's message, the message that had brought him here, and held the phones up to each other.

It was still a paradox, but at least this would lessen the damage. The Master winced to hear the message, the pain of it refusing to dull even after a second listen.

"Master- Koschei-" the Doctor's voice broke over the recording, "I- I messed up. My fam... my-" she sniffed, audibly crying, "Master, I messed up. They're... they're dead. They only stepped out for a minute I didn't-I didn't even realize-"

The Master grimaced as she paused to catch her breath, the sobs clearly evident from her quivering words and the way her words occasionally caught in her throat.

"I can't- I can't fix it. The timelines- the- I really messed up. Just... please." Another pause.

"Master, please. I need you to help me. They can't die like this, not them. I can't- I can't do this without them. I can't lose them like this- just- please, just this once- I-I can't cross my timeline-" the Doctor in the recording sniffled, "I can't cross my timeline, you understand why... but you can. You're not part of the events so... please. I know you said you would never save them but I- I can't let them die like this. I can't let it be my fault so please, please save them. Just this once."

Another pause. The Master pictured the Doctor, probably all curled up on the Tardis floor as she finally said, "What am I even doing. You're probably dead."

More sobbing. It hurt the Master like knives being dug into his chest. And to think. The Doctor crying over him.

Two more words,

"I'm alone."

And then the message ends.

The Master took a deep breath and hung up both phones.

He stared out over the water, composed himself, and then turned back to the gang.

The Master relinquished the Doctor's phone to her and gave a nod, a sign that he was done and it was all over.

She seemed to have complied with his demand for once, because the Doctor's eyes betrayed no sign she had heard the message that she would no longer have to send him.

Still, her eyes looked over the Master's heavy hearts with something distant as she lowered her hands, took the phone, and shoved it into her coat pocket once more.

"So what was that about?" she asked somberly.

The Master turned to face her and sat himself up on the ledge of the small bridge. He still wasn't a big fan of the running, but at least it was over now. He hoped he would never have to intervene like this again.

"You don't want to know, but it was for your own good," the Master snapped.

"He did sorta save us I think," Ryan interjected.

The humans had all lowered their hands when the Doctor had done so.

"You're sure?" The Doctor looked to him, slightly confused because the Master saving anyone didn't sound right at all to her ears.

"I hate to admit it, but yeah," Yaz vouched.

"No. You would never," the Doctor stepped closer to the Master, eyeing him skeptically, "Would you? No, not unless it helped you in some way. What are you planning?"

The Master sighed, exhausted by all this.

Helped him in some way? Plans? The only thing doing this /helped/ was making sure the Doctor didn't fling herself into the sun after thinking everyone she cared out was dead because of her.

Was keeping his best enemy in tip top condition for their next showdown not a selfish reason enough?

"You prefer them alive, don't you? Let's just leave it at that," he refused to elaborate.

"And yeah, I'm still alive too," he then added through his teeth, "I can't believe there was ever any doubt."

The Doctor shortened the distance between them until her face was close enough for their breaths to mingle in the cool, evening air.

"In that case, I'm not sure if I want to kiss you, or shove you off this bridge."

The Master's full lips pulled into an overwhelming smile.

"Can I pick?" he hummed warmly.

The Doctor considered this for a moment, her face so close they were practically touching.

"No," the Doctor smiled.

Her lips pressed against his, soft but firm against the Master's full lips. The scruff of his beard tickled her face just enough to make her smile.

More than anything, the Master was relieved. He much preferred the Doctor's grin to her mournful begging.

Then all at once, he lost his balance and fell back over the edge.

He hit the water with a loud splash and fell through the deep pocket of water until his back finally settled against the river bed. He wondered if the Doctor would jump in after him if he waited there long enough. He should have pulled her in along with him, but the Master hadn't realized he was going to be kissed and shoved in. Not that he was surprised.

He watched the blurry patches of color through the water as the Doctor and her gang make their way to the shore, clearly put off by the fact that the Master hadn't resurfaced yet.

He waited until the Doctor leaned over the edge to look for him before leaping up. In one swift motion, he grabbed her arm and pulled her into the water as well.

The Master chuckled as he dragged himself up onto shore, the weight of his soaked clothes pulling him down but his sweet revenge well worth the price.

The Doctor soon resurfaced as well with a surprised gasp and climbed up onto the land, now thoroughly soaked as well.

The Doctor began to laugh at having fallen prey to such a childish prank. A full, cheerful laugh, the likes of which had yet to grace this Master's ears.

It made the Master smile just a little.

"Is that it?" The Doctor finally asked, ringing the water out of the edge of her coat.

The Master nodded. His work here was done and he hoped he would never have to play 'damage control' again.

"It'd better be. Keep a better eye on your pets," the Master grumbled as he made his way back to the path.

It was time for him to go.

"We're not-" Graham began to defend the group against the Master's use of the word 'pets'.

The Master simply glared over each of them.

"You're welcome," he said gravely.

He could hear the humans question the Doctor about all this, but the Master couldn't care less.

He hated everything about this. He hated being weak like this.

And yet, he was thankful that he could return to his scheming knowing the Doctor would be alive and well for their next inevitable confrontation. That simple fact was worth everything to him.