Hoggan and Tallman huddled together in the dark biology lab. A large darkened shape could be seen moving outside the small glass window in the door.
“Shhh.” Hoggan whispered to his terrified colleague as her whimpering became louder.
The shape seemed to move away and they both relaxed a little until a large black crab-like claw burst through the wood door and they both screamed with fear.


The Doctor walked through the corridors of the TARDIS. The white walls with their familiar embossed roundels seemed to echo the click, click, click of her high-heeled shoes. The walls seemed to resound with the many memories of those who had once lived and travelled inside the old girl. If she paused for a few seconds she could almost hear their voices.
Tegan and Turlough were arguing yet again. Peri was shouting at one of her previous personas. Kamelion was experimenting with different forms and shapes. Ace and Benny were conspiring to buy a birthday gift but couldn’t decide what to choose. So many voices had echoed in here the Doctor mused. They had all left in the end; it was the way of things. Like dragonflies they lived their lives in a burst of life and energy. What was that saying? A light that burns twice as bright burns half as long. That was her down to a tee. The Doctor passed Haana’s room and peeked inside. It was tidier now than it had been when she was still here.
“You really miss her don’t you?” Jean-Marc asked the Doctor.
The Doctor clutched at her hearts and turned around. “Jean-Marc, you nearly gave me a double coronary.” She composed herself. “What are you doing here anyway?”
Jean-Mark handed the Doctor the paper he had wrote the message down on. “Message from Haana. She’s found an old friend of yours and got out of there ASAP.”
The Doctor studied the note for a few seconds. “I see. Well we’d better pop by and see what he’s up to this time. You’ll like the Master Jean-Marc, he’s my best enemy.” The Doctor hurried back to the console room, putting the note safely over her right heart for safety.


Quinn and Perez found the bodies in the biology lab. They had been frightened to death judging by their faces and the smell of bodily wastes.
“C’mon.” Quinn said to her colleague. “Lets report this to Colonel Marsters. It’ll really cheer him up to hear that it’s happened again.”
“D’you think it could be us next?” Perez asked his buddy. “Ever since we started this buddy system we’ve been dying in twos instead of ones. What ever it is that’s doing this don’t care about numbers.”


The console room lights come on as she walked into the room and began to input the precise co-ordinates into the TARDIS’s mushroom shaped control centre.
Jean-Marc popped in a few seconds later. “So what’s our destination?” He liked the way the large green plasma ball worked. The constantly shifting tendrils fascinated them as they waved about randomly.
Pressing some buttons on a different panel the wall-sized screen burst into life. “It looks like a space station to me.” The Doctor said out loud. “It’s a big one too. We’ve got just enough time for a nice big lovely cup of tea before we get there don’t you agree Jean-Marc?”
“Sure thing Doctor.” The French lad left the console room and headed towards the kitchens.
The Doctor looked at the screen for a few more seconds before switching it off and following her young friend towards the kitchen. Was it just her, or did the corridors seem a little less empty?


Quinn and Perez finished their report to Colonel Marsters and waited on hot pins for his reply. The Colonel expected nothing but the best from his troops at all times. “We’re sorry we didn’t get the creature sir” Quinn said before she snapped back to attention along with Perez.
“I’m sure you did your best. There’s so few of us left now and I can’t afford to take you off duty.” The Colonel looked sternly at the two troops. “I have something different in mind.”
Quinn screamed as the creature grasped her leg in it’s crushing grip and sliced the whole leg below her knee clean off. Her blood spurted on the creature’s claw, red and frothy. She looked into the lifeless eyes of Perez, his head had been torn off his body and she screamed even more.
“Believe me when I say that this hurts me more than it hurts you.” The Master, who was masquerading as Colonel Marsters, laughed to himself. “Another tragic accident I think, this experiment is turning out to be more fascinating than I expected. It’s just a pity those two females have eluded me so far.”


The TARDIS faded into reality with its usual lethargic groaning and the Doctor bounded out of the double doors with a huge grin on her red painted lips. She saw the torn bodies to two troopers and her smile faded fast and was replaced by an equally emotional frown. She looked at the bodies and checked for pulses just to make certain.
Jean-Marc emerged from the TARDIS and walked over to where the Doctor was crouched down. “Are they dead?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. This was not a quick death.” The Doctor pointed at their faces. “They literally died of fright. I can’t think of anything more horrible or sad.”
Looking around the room Jean-Marc figured on it being a laboratory. There was all those weird glass containers around filled with lots of coloured liquids. “Did this Master bloke do it?”
Carefully the Doctor closed the troopers open eyes and muttered a human prayer for lost souls. “The psychotic edge is there but the manner is all wrong. The Master may be ruthless but he’s not a cruel person. If he wanted them dead he’d do it by the quickest and easiest means available. The less actual contact with the victims the better. Clean gloves hide dirty hands Jean-Marc and his are dirtier than most. Well dirtier than mine anyway. One of his preferred methods is to shrink someone’s body down to Barbie doll size, crushing their internal organs in the process. It makes the act less personal that way, he doesn’t have to be so concerned for the way they die.”
“That sounds terrible. Why is this guy allowed to do this? He should be locked up and they should melt the key down for good.”
The Doctor stood up and put her arm around her young friends shoulders. “He used to work for Them a long time ago. Helping to stop any temporal experiments that could get out of control and harm the fabric of reality.” The Doctor detailed the Master’s fall from grace to Jean-Marc as they explored more of the space station.


Light from the overhead neon light shone down on the Master’s head as he sat in his chair and thought. He stared at the monitor screen that sat on top of his oak desk and stroked his goatee beard. He looked at the security footage of a very familiar TT Capsule, the Doctor’s TARDIS. It was still in that ridiculous shape too after these many years. “Where are you Doctor?” The Master called out to the monitor. “Which body are you in? The self-righteous egotist with colour blindness? The arrogant dandy perhaps or the idiot with the flute? Show yourself to me Doctor.” There was a series of sharp clicks from nearby and the Master turned to see it was back. “Are they all dead? You drained every last drop of fear from them? Good, good. I’ve found just the person you’ll need to complete the cycle.” The Master gestured to the TARDIS. “Soon the next cycle will begin and then it will be far too late for anyone to interfere.”


They passed more bodies and the Doctor attended to each of them as best she could. There wasn’t enough time to lay them out properly; there never was enough time for anything she thought. “Don’t look at them Jean-Marc, you’ll only get upset.” Even after the number of dead bodies she had come across in her lives, the finality of death still got to her. She was glad in a way that she could feel the pain and upset, it meant that she hadn’t become dead inside to misery. If that happened then she would be damned. “Come on Jean-Marc, I think I’m feeling rather annoyed and upset now.”
Jean-Marc found that the next room was free of bodies and they took time out to recover mentally from the shock of seeing so many dead bodies. “How do you cope?” He asked the Doctor. You’re like a hundred times older than me or something. You must have seen some pretty nasty stuff in your time.”
The Doctor smiled at Jean-Marc. “Pretty nasty. Each me had their own way of coping. This me will probably have a good cry later on. Less of the old stuff, this me is younger than you.”
“You don’t look it, no offence.” Jean-Marc started to laugh.
The Doctor joined in the laughter. “No but I do look my true wisdom.”
Jean-Marc found he couldn’t stop laughing. “Should we be laughing like this?”
“The body has many ways of coping with tragic and horrific things. Sometimes we laugh and sometimes we cry. The important thing is to let it all out.” The giggling Time Lady clutched at her waist as the laughter gave her a stitch.


He flexed his fingers into an arch when he heard footsteps outside of the office. The door handle rattled and opened. The Master was surprised when a woman in a crushed green velvet suit and a pink round neck top entered his office. She was a Time Lady, that much he could tell. “Rani?” He guessed.
The Doctor didn’t know whether to be insulted or not. “Two more guesses Master.”
“Doctor?” The Master was genuinely surprised for the first time in a centaury. “You don’t seem as surprised to see me as I am to see you. Can it be that you had some advanced warning? Are the Time Lords getting you to tidy up after them again?”
“Hardly, a very close friend of mine dropped by here earlier and she dropped me a line to tell me you were here.” The Doctor sat down on the edge of the Master’s deck and looked straight at him with her piercing dark blue eyes. “Please tell me you had nothing to do with these poor unfortunate people’s deaths.”
The Master flashed the blonde female incarnation of the Doctor a brief smile. “I promise you I never did anything at all to cause anyone the slightest damage. As a matter of fact I was their commanding officer.”
“It’s safe to come in.” The Doctor called to Jean-Marc. “This is my best friend Jean-Marc. You lay a finger on him and I’ll break the hand and the arm it’s attached to.”
“You don’t trust me Doctor, I’m saddened.” The Master looked closely at Jean-Marc. You’re picking them young these days aren’t you? Then again given your new body perhaps you see yourself as loco maternis to every cosmic orphan?”
“I thought you said you’d met this guy several times in this body?” Jean-Marc asked the Doctor.
“That was in his future and once before now, although he didn’t know who I was then. That’s time travel for you Jean-Marc, you never know quite whether you’re coming, going or even been.”
“Ok.” Jean-Marc smiled. “Babbling idiot mode equals Doctor is planning something.”
The Doctor gave Jean-Marc her number two stern look. “Why don’t you give away all my secrets hmmm?”
“That’s ok Theta.” The Master smiled. “I know more about you than almost anyone else in the entire universe. When we were back at the Academy we used to share a room, she was a guy back then of course, and everyday Theta would get up before dawn and frantically do his homework for the day. It was pathetic. You barely got above a D plus on your best days.”
“He doesn’t want to hear this.” The Doctor snapped at the Master.
“Oh there’s more, much more. The old times for instance, can you believe that anyone is insane enough to want to try to break the prime barrier just to see if it can be done? I mean we’re talking end of the Universe stuff here and what happens? A slap on the wrist and your personal psychiatric counsellor that's what. You kill a few thousand people and you never here the last of it.” The Master shook his head slowly. “I never could figure that one out.”
“Curiosity is one thing Master, fear is something else. My curiosity drives me to explore and meet people. Your fear leads you into the cycle of your own psychosis.”
“Enough Doctor.” The Master stood up. “It’s time to bring this group hug to an end. Behold the creature you seek.”
The entire wall behind the Master’s chair faded and vanished. “A holograph.” The Doctor explained to Jean-Marc. She saw something move. “A Macra? Please, that’s so totally last week.”
“It’s big.” Jean-Marc looked at the seven-foot tall black-shelled monster. “Huge claws. That looks like it could really hurt someone who is probably us.”
“This is the last of its kind.” The Master gloated. “You almost destroyed them all Doctor, however this one survived along with her eggs. Such a curious creature, they thrive on the by products of fear the human species produces. Adrenaline, pheromones and a few other long-chained organic compounds. Of course Oxygen is fatal to them, which is why this room is now filling up with gas from their home world. Luckily a little research into it yielded a simple antidote, which only I have taken. Don’t worry though you’ll be dead before you suffocate, it will be painful however.”
“Get behind me.” The Doctor grabbed Jean-Marc’s arm and stood in front of him. “When I say run, run out that door and find your way back to the TARDIS.” The Doctor looked at the Master and then the Macra. “RUN!” She kept herself between her friend and the Macra’s claws. “If it’s fear you want, mine will have to suffice.”


Jean-Marc ran down the corridor, trying to retrace his steps. However things quickly became unfamiliar and he found himself in a different part of the Space Station. All the corridors looked the same; that was the problem. How was he even going to find the TARDIS if he didn’t know where he was? He needed one of those maps with the big you are here arrows on it.”


“You want my fear?” The Doctor taunted the creature. “Yeah I got lots of fears. You just have try them all, to get the full experience. I’m afraid my young friend will get hurt, I’m afraid of dying, I’m afraid flares might never go out of fashion and I’m afraid of what I might do if I got five minutes alone with you Kosechi and a nice big baseball bat. Like Ace once said “Wotcha scumbag.” She pointed behind where the Master was standing and he fell for it so she ran to the door and got out before he could stop her.


Jean-Marc looked left then right then left again before something grasped his arm and pulled him down the corridor. He regained his composure to see that it was the Doctor; she could run pretty fast for someone in those shoes. “Is it bad?” He asked as they ran for it.
The Doctor kept looking forward as they ran. “Very. Don’t talk, save your strength.”
Silently they kept running but quickly they got out of breath and slowed. Even walking became laboured until they were forced to crawl on hands and knees towards the TARDIS, which was now less than ten feet away.
When her friend passed out the Doctor ended up dragging him by his jacket collar, he was not that heavy and her supply of stored oxygen was getting very low. Step by step she braced, hauled his body a short way across the steel floor before moving forwards and bracing once more to drag him a bit further.
It took time, too much time, to get to the doors and somehow unlock them before getting him inside. The exhausted Time Lady breathed in precious oxygen and recovered her composure before she remembered to lock the doors. Something was wrong, Jean-Marc wasn’t moving and his face was a horrible bluey purple. She checked his pulse, it was faint but he wasn’t breathing. Quickly she took a deep breath, pinched his nostrils, put her lips over his and breathed into him filling his lungs with air from hers. She repeated this seven more times before he coughed and he started to breathe on his own once more. Laughing that he was still alive she sat down nearby, her back propped up against the console. “That was close,” she said to his unconscious figure. “Too close by far.”


The Master looked at the Macra as it raised its heavy claws in his direction. “No, I helped you” he gasped. “Why are you doing this?”
“They like fear.” The Doctor stood in the open doorway. “It seems they’re not too choosy about what they eat. I’d say bon appetite but unfortunately I have this thing about saving dumb animals.” Pulling out a long cylindrical shaped device she pointed it at the Macra and fired.
The Master watched, as nothing seemed to happen. “It’s still alive Doctor.”
The Doctor glared at the Master. “This is pure Oxygen I’m releasing. Snow White here will soon find it rather difficult to breathe.”
“You’re as ruthless as I am.” The Master smiled. “I think I’m going to like this new you Doctor.”
A tear welled up in the Doctor’s eye. “I’m nothing like you Master. Sometimes you have to do things you really would rather not do given a free vote.” Another tear joined the first. “You never got it did you? That whole morality thing we’re supposed to have, only you had the bypass operation to turn you into a sleezoid.”
“Sticks and stones Doctor.” The Master frowned. “I see a bigger canvas upon which to paint my destiny. I understand the need to sacrifice a few lives for the greater good.” He watched as the Macra’s legs gave way and it collapsed to the floor with a high pitched screaming sound. “The last of it’s kind.”
“There are still those eggs.” The Doctor pointed at the creature’s nest. “If you’re so with the greater good then you’ll take them somewhere secluded where they can live out their lives in peace.”
“That life would be short and painful.” Taking out his Tissue Compression Eliminator he fired at the eggs until they were the size of the Earth delicacy called peanuts. “Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind Doctor.”
The Macra stopped screaming as the last sparks of life faded and the Doctor lowered the Oxygen pump. “There should have been another way, I should have tried harder to find one.”
“You did what you had to do Doctor, I’m grateful to you for saving my life.” The Master turned to leave when the Doctor called for him to stop. He turned around and that was when she punched him in the face.
“Ow! That hurt.” The Doctor shook her bruised hand before leaving the room and the Master’s prone body and returning to the TARDIS. She promised herself a nice cup of tea with which to drown her sorrows. Maybe Jean-Marc will be recovered? Maybe she could show him how to make tea properly, he drank far too much coffee for his own good.


“Where am I?” Jean-Marc groaned before finding himself in the TARDIS. He found one of the Doctor’s mirrors, the one she used to brush her hair just after they landed, and made sure he was still alive? Was he seeing things or was that pink on his lips makeup? Didn’t the Doctor wear that colour today? Oh how gross? He had been unconscious and she was really, really, really old.


The walk back to the TARDIS down corridors that had once been filled with life took the Doctor’s mind off the pain in her hand. She had fixed the power core; if the Master didn’t get to his TARDIS in seven and a half minutes then the Universe would be slightly better off. The echoes of life spoke volumes of silent words, she tried not to let it get to her but it always did. Soon it would be all over and their extraneous deaths would be given a fiery cremation, maybe giving their memories some meaning. She found Jean-Marc awake when she got back to the TARDIS. “You’re awake?” She smiled. “I was so worried about you.”
“You kissed me.” He grimaced.
“Only to save your life. You had stopped breathing; I thought it was better to save your life on the whole. Who would make the tea for me otherwise?”
“You could have gotten the lipstick off first.” Jean-Marc rubbed at his lips again self-consciously. “I had a bit of a shock when I came too and saw my reflection.”
“Well never mind, its all sorted out now. We should leave, it’s going to get rather hot out there very shortly.” She closed the inner doors and activated the dematerialisation controls. “Now it’s about time you learned just how to make tea the way I like it. Come along, time and Time Lady wait for no cuppa.”
Jean-Marc laughed and followed the strange, possibly mad, woman towards the kitchen. At least she seemed to have gotten out of the fugue she’d been in since Haana had left them.