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A/N: I highly recommend you head over to YouTube and search for Tony Anderson - Immanuel and listen to it while reading this.

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Night spread over the land like a cool velvet cloak, the darkness only infused by faint sounds of a crackling bonfire and waves, calmly caressing the sands beneath them. A nearby forest embraced the bay, but without even the slightest breeze its branches and leaves made no noise, giving the scene the appearance of a painting, cut out of reality and frozen in time.

Somewhere, not too far away, the silence got broken by the wheezing and woofing of engines. Moments later a stone formation appeared, faded into the landscape and placed itself there as if it had been part of it since the beginning of time. On its front a door opened, letting out some faint green glow and a man, clad in a long black travelling coat. For a while he simply stood there, breathing in the calmness and cool nightly air with closed lids, before he let his gaze wandered over the place, until it finally fell upon the small bonfire, that gleamed a bit away.

With a slow pace the man stepped towards it, his blond head heavy, the hazel brown eyes tired from all those years of fruitless wandering and aimless searching. Then he stood still, watched the figure that sat there in front of the dying fire, arms lazily clutching her knees, and obviously sleeping soundly.

The traveller closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then muttered, "There you are."

Carefully he kneeled down next to the woman, watched her face that hadn't changed at all. And although he hadn't made a single noise, her bright green eyes opened, just a tiny little bit, blinked, wandered over the man, without actually being awake or conscious.

A small smile played on her lips, her voice quiet as if she were still sleeping, "You came for me at last, my Grim Reaper." And her eyes fluttered shut again.

The traveller stretched a hand out, but didn't touch her, as if he was afraid she could be just a dream. Finally he picked up a stick from the ground and drew some coordinates into the sand, before he rose to his feet and vanished back to where he had come from.

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Roka awoke from a cold shiver. The fire in front of her had long burned down and it was still cold at this time of the year on this planet. A vague image haunted her mind. That of a face she had hoped to have forgotten a long time ago. It must have been decades since it had last haunted her in a dream.

Shaking her head Roka brushed it off, as she had learned to do, but then she laid eyes on the sand next to her and froze. Something was written there. Numbers and symbols. The same ones her Vortex Manipulator used. Why would she write into the sand while sleeping?

Without another thought she typed them in and the device told her that they lead to a large asteroid near a black hole. Coincidence? A second thought came to her mind, but that wasn't possible. It simply wasn't. And even if... why would he leave those coordinates and not say anything?

No... no. Not again. She wouldn't let her own mind fool her this time. It had happened too often that she had thought to see a glimpse, a shadow that looked familiar, a voice that she thought she knew.

It wasn't possible.

And yet she didn't delete the coordinates from her device, nor from the sand.

It was still cold, no wind or other noises filled the air. Just the gentle waves.

With a last look around she opened her backpack and took out some hard and not at all tasty nutrition bars. Perfect for travelling and somehow she had even gotten used to the stale taste. Food was scarce on this planet, so she hadn't been able to hunt or fish for a month. After the sparse mea she then searched for the space suit she had stolen decades ago. It was only a thin layer and fitted neatly underneath normal clothes. Perfect for inspecting dangerous locations. There also was a slim collar that she now activated. It formed an almost invisible sealed bubble around her head, supplying her with oxygen for at least two hours. Good thing she had found this backpack, although she had always been left wondering if it had been made by Time Lords or another species that had discovered transdimensional engineering. One way or the other, it was bigger on the inside and didn't increase in weight much. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to drag those oxygen tanks around.

It would be just another jump. Nothing out of the ordinary. She did countless of those, sometimes on a single day. What was there to lose? Just a quick glance to confirm that it had only been a dream.

Again.

Moments later her feet stood on a rocky surface, dark grey in colour. There was light coming from somewhere ahead, probably from a sun. This asteroid must be really quite big and... she threw another look at her wrist. The Vortex Manipulator told her the air was actually breathable. How was that possible? She was in the middle of space. But the device never was wrong about these things.

So, after a deep inhale, she deactivated the helmet. Nothing happened. Exhale. A careful, slow breath. There really was oxygen. And even in the right condition for her. Somehow this asteroid had a breathable atmosphere. Either that or...

Well, at least she wouldn't need that helmet then. So she put the collar away into her backpack and started to walk towards the light. Where else to?

In the far distance some more asteroids were shone upon by the distant, strangely colourful glow. Most of them were miles away, hovering seemingly motionless in the vastness of space like rocky clouds. Roka's steps were slow, her heart getting heavier with every bit she moved forwards. No, it always felt like that. She simply had gotten used to it.

Finally the ground curved upwards and she found herself walking up a small hill, shielding her eyes from what she suspected was the light of a sun. Carefully she peeked through a tiny slit between her fingers, then let her hand sink, gaped at the sight in awe.

A black hole sat right in the middle of the scenery, not very big, probably only the size of earth's moon. But so delicately placed that all the galaxies around it got ripped into colourful bands of light, rotated to a swirl, racing into the nothingness of the void. The light however did not come from one sun, but from all of them. A myriad of flaming balls, all spiralling towards the black spot, letting the space around them glow in all colours of the universe and even some of which humans normally couldn't even perceive.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

"Thought you would like it," a voice behind her said in a calm tone.

Roka froze, her heart dropped for a moment and she didn't dare to turn around, unsure whether or not she really wanted this to be real. Instead she waited until he had stepped next to her, both now glaring at the scenery ahead.

Finally she dared to peek sideways and got a glimpse of a long black coat, tickling an ancient memory from long ago. The memory immediately sprang to her fractured mind and slowly she turned her head to take a closer look. "I know that coat," she mumbled. "I've seen it as a child."

Her look wandered upwards and found a tired smile on his face. "Yah, was a bit troublesome to get a hold of you. Ended up stumbling through your timeline for a good while."

Roka's hand wandered to the mark on her chest. All those years she had taken care of it. Had made sure it would stay unscathed. Even when she had given up. And now he was back. Just like that.

It was impossible. For so long she had endured unbelievable pain, had dragged herself through time to keep her mind from wandering too far, to keep herself from going insane. So long she had held tight to hope, not daring to let go of its last threat. But time had done its thing, and her hope had faded, together with whomever she might have been.

Now he was back.

And she felt nothing.

"You... took quite a while," she numbly muttered eventually.

The Master turned his head to face her, his eyes serious, tired, but his lips parted by a mischievous smile. "Had other things to do." He waved the thought away with a gesture. "You know, conquering the stars and such."

She simply nodded and turned towards the spiralling stars again. It should hurt. But it was neither unexpected, nor did she really... care anymore.

"Then I met... I realized there is an issue," he corrected himself, his eyes, too, glued to the scene ahead.. "Cause and action. Or are they just the same in the end?"

"I don't know."

"Neither do I. But as it seems, your existence is threatening the stability of my timeline." He fully turned around and after a short moment Roka did the same. "I know now why only I remember you," he continued calmly. "You are still a paradox that needs to be resolved. And while I will stand in the eye of the storm, even if it gets reverted, these memories will get burned into my mind forever."

"Of course," Roka nodded as the pieces snapped into place. "The future rippling into the past." Finally it made sense, even though she had somehow suspected something like this to be the cause a long time ago. She looked up and into his eyes. They were so cold and lonely. As much as she felt.

"So, the only reason you came looking for me is to take my life." There was no blame, no question, only acceptance in her voice as she silently nodded once more.

"Oh, not only. I came to finally claim my payment," the Master said with a mean grin that faded so fast it had to have been fake. He bent down a bit and almost carefully took both of her hands into his own. "How long have you been travelling?"

"In case I haven't gotten anything wrong," she pondered for a moment, "Roughly 150 years. Give or a take a few."

"I see..." He pulled off the thin gloves she was wearing and his brows furrowed. Not in surprise. More as if he had awaited what he found. "Freezing your time stream wasn't enough to prevent your matter from dissolving."

"It only slowed down the process." Roka glanced down at her hands. They looked as if they were surrounded by hundreds of tiny particles. Her own matter, slowly drifting away, getting put back together again, only to float farther the next moment. "For now it's only my hands, but I guess it will spread everywhere with time."

"Yeah, it will," the Master said, barely audible, making her wonder how he could know. He let go of her hands and reached into his jacket to pull out his laser screwdriver, but then put it back again. "Takes too long," he mumbled and got out something that resembled some kind of futuristic looking revolver. "That's better."

Roka stared at the weapon, her heart and mind calm. "Quick and painless? Doesn't suit you," she mocked without ever smiling.

He let out a mean laugh. "No, but I know how it feels to die from getting hit by my laser screwdriver." He winked, pulling out those painful memories. But his grin dropped when he looked at her calm face and instead both eyebrows raised. "Not smiling at death again?"

She shook her head. "There's nothing to smile at anymore." Her head raised, she fixated his eyes and held her glitching hands up for a moment. "Besides, it's better to go now. I'm not sure I want to find out what happens to me when this spreads."

The Master swallowed visibly and took a step back, aiming the gun at her chest. "Any... last words?"

Roka closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them again. She wanted to smile, she really did. But she had forgotten how.

"Thank you..." she breathed instead, "...my Grim Reaper."

The shot reverberated through the darkness. He had aimed well and only a brief moment of silence remained to witness the life vanish from Roka's eyes, as her limp body collapsed to the ground.

Not even a second passed before the paradox started to erase itself without further hesitation, after it had been active for way too long

It left the Master no time to feel anything. A painful jolt shot through his whole body almost immediately. His hands dropped the gun when they raised to clutch his hurting head. He could hear how the fabric of reality go t torn open, could feel how the ripples of an entire timeline of hopping through time and space spread and overlapped, dissolved way too fast and all at once. His sight blurred, a loud ringing filled his ears and he could feel how the structure of his very atoms got ripped apart by those effects.

Almost.

It hurt. Time bent, reality screamed. And all around him golden cracks appeared, shred open everything nearby and far away, cut it to pieces like thin paper. He sank to his knees, clutching his head whimpering from the pain.

And then he heard them. Faintly whispering in the back of his head. So long there had been unbearable silence. Never had he been able to accustom to it.

Du-du-du-du... Du-du-du-du... Du-du-du-du...

He screamed in pain, bent down to the ground, the drums hammering down on him as if they had never left in the first place, while every fibre of his being got torn apart together with reality itself.

And then it stopped.

Just like that it was silent again, the pain and drums were gone as if they had never been there in the first place. So was the light. All of it. Around him was nothing but utter darkness, deeper than he had even seen at the end of the universe. As if the idea of light itself had ceased to exist altogether.

Heavily breathing the Master let go of his head and carefully sat up, stared into nothingness. How long would it take for this wave to run through the universe until it stopped completely, only to then revert into non-existence. What a powerful effect. A small smile played on his lips. He would forever be the only person to even remember this.

With closed eyes he listened to the unbearable silence. There at the end of reality, here, where nothing mattered anymore and nothing would matter ever again.

Now he was truly alone.

Eternity passed, timeless and invisible. The Master nodded away, dreaming nothing, because dreams didn't exist anymore.

A thud against his back tore him out of it. There was something behind him. It was warm and faintly he could make out a heartbeat. What a weird sensation. Was his mind already making things up to keep him from going insane?

"There isn't even a hole in my clothes," a perplex voice came from behind. "Didn't know you meant that so... literally."

He smiled tiredly. Of all the things his mind could come up with, it had to be her. Sure, he hadn't been tormented enough throughout his life. There still was room for more.

Behind him this something shuffled around, leaned fully against him, breathing slowly. "My memory got a bit fuzzy over the years, you know. A human brain isn't really made for such a life span. But I still remember what you said back then."

Of course she did. His mind had created this hallucination after all.

"You asked me... If you never existed... how could you have ever died?"

"Heh, yah, I remember. But that's not how it works."

"No? Then... I assume I'll drop dead again when the reversal is fully done." It sounded only thoughtful, no regret. "What a dumb effect." She shifted around some more as if she wanted to make herself comfortable at his back. "Well... I guess this isn't too bad. I always feared I'd have to die all alone."

He remembered that too. Why couldn't his mind stop with this already? Would he turn around now, he would find nothing there. Right? It couldn't be. That wasn't how these things worked. But then again... He had not the slightest idea how things would work with a human who was so heavily distorted by over a century of time travel, combined with that glitch and her dissolving matter.

"Can I stay like this? I mean... until it's over. I know it's mean. You'll have a bloody corpse lying against you then, but... well, not even bloody. It's as if that shot had never hit me."

He couldn't bare it any longer. Slowly the Master turned around, his hands reaching into the darkness and... he jumped to his feet, both hearts racing painfully fast.

"It's not possible," he muttered and heard how she got up herself.

"Hey, don't sound so disappointed," Roka protested. "If you're right, I won't stay that... lively for much longer."

"That wasn't... what I meant." He swallowed and reached in front of him, his fingers brushed her arm and she raised it, their hands met, put against each other. "You're no hallucination... How is that even possible?"

"I guess... it was quite literal after all. Or all that weird stuff that's happening to me somehow caused it." He felt her shrug. "But hey, you already took my life. If you want to do that a second time, you'll have to pay me first."

They were silent for a while, not moving, not taking their hands down. Finally the Master exhaled and carefully interlocked his fingers with hers, drew her closer and moved one hand to place it at her hip, suddenly grinning widely, although no one could see it.

"What are you doing?" Roka asked puzzled.

"Come on, dance with me," he chuckled and guided her in a tiny circle.

"Here?" A chuckle came from Roka. It just escaped her, and it felt so... weird. Laughing. How long hadn't she done that? But now it was there, sitting in her throat. "You're hilarious," she remarked sarcastically. "There isn't even music."

"We have the silence," the Master answered calmly, not stopping. "It's the loudest thing I ever heard."

She didn't respond for a while, pondering over his words. Then it slowly dawned on her. "What about the drums?"

"Gone." He smiled invisibly. "The link got broken. And the Time Lords removed all remains while fixing my body. Aaaand then threw me into a prison cell for the next twenty or so years."

"Weren't those the last days of the time war?"

"Pfff, that's what they call them. It lasted much longer and... mhm... I guess it's better not to tell anyone. That knowledge could be dangerous."

"Alright... but how did you escape the time lock? The Doctor said it's not doable."

The Master smiled. That too was partially nothing he should tell, especially not the Doctor, should he ever meet him again. Instead he gripped Roka a little tighter and continue his small circles, not knowing how much of this asteroid even still existed. All this time Roka didn't resist his moves, but also made sure to stay at as much distance as was possible.

"My TARDIS was on Gallifrey. And one day... there was a crack. A bit like the ones you just created, but white and very stable. I opened it and it lead outside of the... place... Gallifrey was locked in." He chuckled. "Those idiots should have never let me out of that cell. But no... they were so eager to have me as their soldier again. Not with me! I had no idea if that crack would rip me apart, but it was still better than being trapped there. So I got my TARDIS through it. Landed back here in this universe. I hope it's the right one, that is." Again he laughed a bit. "Well, at least it's similar enough so far."

Subtly he wanted to draw her a bit closer, but Roka didn't follow. It was weird enough to know he was back. And it had taken her too much time to forget. All of this was too surreal and she had no intention to let him any closer than necessary for now.

"Let me go," she whispered. "This is dumb."

He hummed amused. "Right now, in this very moment, we might be the only things in all of existence. And who knows how much of this asteroid." He chuckled lightly. "Besides, I have no idea how long it will last. So, what better thing to do than being hilarious?"

Roka closed her eyes, even though it was in vain, let him lead her in slow small circles, felt the nothingness around her. It was a weird sensation, like dreaming while being wide awake.

"Why have you come to me?" she asked after a while. "I mean, you could have chosen any point in my timeline. Why now?"

"Wasn't that easy," he grumbled in return. "Your glitch distorted the signal from the link and my TARDIS isn't fully functional. But... I can try and find a younger version of you. Now that I cut down your timeline it should be a lot easier." He paused to let the words sink in, and when she didn't react he added calmly, "But I don't know if you would survive it then. Might only have happened because you are so... distorted. Your choice."

She waited for another while, mulling it over in her head. "How long has it been for you?" she eventually asked, instead of giving an answer.

"Mhm..." he was silent for a good minute, calculating the time. "It's always so hard to say. I'm bad at keeping track of my own time. There was Gallifrey. That was a long time. Then I went travelling for quite a while. No idea how long that was. Many years, that's for sure. And then... Well, with all the faulty tech it was another... I think eight or maybe ten years until I found you."

"You... searched that long?" And just to secure his timeline. But something about the way he had told everything was odd. Why had he so suddenly decided to look for her? And did she even want to know?

"I guess, all in all, it were something around fifty years or so. Give or take a few." He chuckled and finally stopped his silly dance. "It's coming back," he muttered.

"Will... I stay?" Roka asked quietly, unsure if she even wanted that.

"Keep your eyes open. Any second now..."

And as he spoke, she saw golden cracks forming around her, only shortly, then fading, vanishing as if they had never been there. A moment later all the light came back, the black hole and the swirling galaxies around it. The second time it looked even more mesmerizing, almost blinding after the absolute darkness from before.

"You still look very much alive to me," the Master remarked and grinned at her.

Roka took a thorough look at him for the first time. He didn't look different. His hair was still almost white from the botched resurrection and he had grown his goatee back. The only really noticeable difference was the look in his eyes. All madness was gone from them, revealing a man she had only ever seen in brief moments before. Calm, composed, dangerous beyond believe. A strategist, patiently waiting, observing. And behind that, hidden away where no one who didn't know him would ever find it, a small spark of warmth.

"Do I look so different that you have to stare at me like that?" He smiled cheekily.

The Master let go of her and took a step back, turned around to the spiral and glared into it, probably giving her more time to think about his offer.

Now that he had already killed her to secure his timeline, there was no hurry anymore. But was she willing to risk her own death only to meet him sooner? Maybe in a time where she would have still cared about it? Only to maybe die for good? No, that wouldn't make much sense.

"Don't keep looking for me," she answered late and stepped next to him. "It's better like this." Her gaze wandered to her hands and she held them out. "I guess that's the only problem I'll have to deal with now."

The Master turned and stared at her hands, his eyes taking on a worried look. No, more a haunted one. And Roka suddenly understood that he knew what would happen to her. Had he met her in the future? Maybe a much older version.

"Don't tell me." She sighed. "I don't want to know what will happen."

They were silent for another while, only standing next to each other, both lost in their own thoughts. And why not? They had all the time they would ever need.

"Any... plans now?" Roka asked quietly.

"No." The Master didn't take his eyes off of the scene ahead. "Maybe I'll wander around in your timeline for a bit longer. It's kinda fun." He cracked a small, somewhat sad smile. "I always came to the coordinates either way too early or centuries or millennia too late. You really managed... There are so many stories out there now, legends."

"Really?" She peeked at him curiously.

"What? Never went back to take a look?"

Roka shook her head. "Somehow that felt like cheating. I don't know why."

Silence spread once more, but not as long, before the Master asked back, "And you? Any plans?"

"I don't know. I never really had one in the first place." She shrugged. "All I do is stumble around in time and space, see where I land and... if something interesting is around I take a look. Although I have to take breaks from time to time. Did spend some months on that planet you found me to write everything down I can still remember."

"Still? Getting forgetful?" He snickered, but got serious when Roka nodded.

"A human brain very obviously isn't made for such a life span," she explained calmly. "Things are getting a bit crowded up there." She tapped on her head. "So I write everything down. And hope I haven't forgotten anything important already."

"Everything?" He smirked.

Roka shot him a glance and for a moment her mouth twitched in what would have become a smile decades ago. "Yeah, that too."

"So", the Master chuckled, obviously amused, "you already have a proper ending for this in mind?"

"Not yet. Mhm... let me think." Roka put a finger in front of her mouth and closed her eyes for a moment, then quietly began, "There at the edge, where darkness and light parted, two travellers went on their way once again. One left in the hopes to find answers to all the unspoken questions his long life has left him with. The other continued without hope, walking the endless road that was her destiny, searching for something that might one day offer some meaning."

A long pause stretched the silence, before the Master folded his hands at his back and raised his brows. "That's... literally the worst ending I ever heard of."

"It's just a draft." She shrugged. "Might do some work on the final wording."

The Master shook his head and smiled. "You really do forget things. Haven't I told you once? Writing the end to your own story is never satisfying."

"Maybe," Roka agreed, staring at the black hole. "What does it matter?"

"Well, first of all, I don't like dumb endings." He counted fingers up. "Secondly, I'm included, so I demand something better."

"More dramatic?" She quirked a sarcastic eyebrow.

Without answering the Master turned around and gingerly put his hands around her head.

"Careful, it got messy up there," Roka remarked, not stopping him though.

"Not interested in your memories. But I just had a thought, and I think you might owe me one."

She snorted. "What for?"

There was no answer, instead she watched his calm face for a while. Never before had she seen him like that. Without the drums... who might he have become? Eventually a mean smile spread on his lips and he chuckled.

"Ohhh, you owe me big time, girl." He laughed at her asking look, then glanced at her ear. "Is that the same I gave you?" Carefully he tapped against the red stone of her ear stud. "Tell me what it says."

Familiar numbers appeared in her mind. She had never gotten rid of that thing, although she had seldom used it. The coat Jack had given her had been a lot more useful. But still she had held onto it for some reason. Now she furrowed her brows.

"I think it broke," Roka said confused. "The numbers are completely off."

"What do they say?" His grin got only wider.

"Uh... it... The two telling me when it's happening next and when it happened last stay at zero. The one that says how long I'll be visible... I don't know what that number is. It's huge. And it doesn't stop raising." Carefully she took it off her ear and glared at the red stone.

"It's not broken." The Master picked it from her hand and threw it away, still grinning. "You won't need that any longer."

"Hey! Why have you...?" She glared into the direction he had thrown the ear stud. "I liked that thing," she grumbled.

"Get a new one." He shrugged. "Oh, this is good. You know... that glitch. It's a paradox."

"Yeah, I know. So what?"

The Master laughed out. "Don't you get it? The paradox got resolved." Oh he enjoyed seeing her eyes slowly widening. He took her glitching hands into his, stroking his thumbs over them. "That... is just a remnant. It can't spread anymore. There's nothing left that could."

"It's... gone..." Roka breathed in disbelieve. "The glitch is... gone..."

"It is indeed. And as I see it... since I'm the one that got rid of it... You. Owe. Me. Something..." He leaned down to her ear. "...biiig." Then he retreated, gave her a mean smirk and let go of her hands.

"You can't have my life!" Roka took a step back, taking a stance and her hands wandered to the knifes she had on her belt.

"Oh... you learned some tricks?" he asked unimpressed. "No. I'm not asking for that." His hand waved the idea away. "This time you will pay me in stories."

"Uh... what?" Perplex she straightened.

"I always ever got to see the aftermath of your little adventures. I want to know how it came to all of this. I want you to tell me. Every. Single. One. Of those stories." With each word he poked a finger in her direction.

"That... would take quite a while." She blinked a few times. "Years even."

The Master only shrugged. "Your time stream stayed frozen. So it's not as if you'd miss them."

Suddenly Roka became angry when she understood what he was trying there. "I wasn't planning to become your little pet again," she hissed. "It might not have been a long time for you. But for me one and a half life spans have past!" She pulled back her sleeve and got the Vortex Manipulator to spill out new coordinates. "Good luck finding me again."

He was in front of her faster than she could have ever pushed the button. With a swift movement he grabbed her wrist, loosened the straps and let the device vanish inside his probably infinite pockets.

"No! Give it back!" Roka shouted and struggled to get free.

"Not bad, you got quite strong. Not enough to beat a Time Lord though," the Master mocked and waited until she finally gave up the struggle.

"So, I'm your prisoner?" she asked with a venomous look.

"Do you come on your own will?"

"Certainly not."

"Then yes, you are." Still grinning he carefully nudged her ahead. "Move. And don't try anything funny."

"I'm having a déjà vu here." Roka sighed and walked ahead. It was no use to rebel.

"Me too. It was fun having you as my prisoner." He chuckled. "I won't poison you this time though. Promise." He put a hand over his hearts and made a serious face.

Roka glanced back and suddenly there was a smile widening on her face, feeling weird and unfamiliar. But it was there and she had a hard time getting rid of it again.

"I saw that," the Master mocked, then winked. "I knew it's still there."

"No it's not," Roka protested and looked away so he couldn't see her face any longer. "That's a worse ending than the one I came up with. Just so you know," she mumbled, unable to prevent at least the shadow of a smile.

The Master only laughed though. "You know... There is actually one thing I truly believe in..."

They reached a big, grey boulder. A rectangle opened at its front and the Master leaned at the door, waving her inside with a small, mocking bow.

"That is?" Roka arched a brow at him, entering the TARDIS.

"Oh, how to put it properly..." The Master glanced back at the endless beauty of the dying spiral, then at Roka, before he entered and closed the doors behind them. "Yes, I think that's how it is."

Everything repeated over and over again, bound by laws beyond consciousness and time itself. Roka and the Master glared at each other, and it wasn't necessary to read the other one's mind, because both were thinking the same. But he leaned in closer nonetheless to mutter a few words into her ear.

"Things never truly end."

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A/N:

So... this is it. The end of the story...

Well of this one. There already is a direct sequel called Revery of Silence.

As for this chapter: I had this scenario in my head for... well... for almost the entire time this story exists. The actual details changed quite a lot. But one way or the other it was always destined to end her.

Only that it now will continue, because I just can't let go of them all and I desperately want to put the Master together with 11... and let him be slapped by River... come on! I know you want that too!

Gosh, that was a long journey. It took me almost a year to complete this monster of a story. Initially it was meant to end after around 20 chapters or so... and look where it went. It just got a life of its own. (They grow up so fast! *wipes a tear away*)

To end this properly, I want to thank everyone of you who accompanied me throughout this journey, be it with reading or commenting. Thank you for having been with me in this! It means the world to me.

Yo are the best!

And I hope to see you again soon. *hugs everyone and gives out a big round of hot chocolate and cookies*

Also... tell me what you think of this story. And if it's only a short sentence. I'd be super happy to read it! x3