A/N: Sorry that this has taken so long to post. I just graduated from university and moved. It's been crazy. Happy Christmas everyone!
"That's...not possible." The Master murmured.
Chapter Two.
The Doctor's eyes widened and he started down the hill at a quicker pace than they'd been walking at. His trainers made no sounds even though he skidded across a few loose rocks, nearly sending him tumbling head over heels to the bottom. He stopped when he reached smoother land, close to the water, and looked around. The hills were positioned in such a way that the river's song should have been echoing off of them. "Hello?" he called out in a loud voice, and it echoed all around them, sounding very odd amongst the nothingness it was up against.
The Master approached him, eyes scanning the area. "You just find trouble, don't you?"
"Found you, didn't I?" He paused. "As to the secrets."
"Right."
"Both. They kept things that shouldn't be found again. You remember the horror stories that they read to us as children about the Curse of the Time Lords?"
"Yeah."
"They kept it here."
"Let me guess. You found it."
"Yeah, well, Rose did really. It was a beautiful box they kept it in until the curse escaped and then it just sort of disintegrated."
The Master stared at him. "Are you telling me you caught the curse?"
"Yes. Luckily it had weakened over the years. Look at me now, fit as a fiddle."
"Yes, luckily." the Master agreed dryly. He looked around the empty expanse. "Makes you wonder what else they've got lurking around here." He grinned slowly. "Surely they've collected some truly wonderful, terrible things. Just imagine it, the universe's most dangerous secrets laying just beneath our feet." Both of them looked at the ground.
The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. "I don't know why it would be...are you wearing a pair of my shoes?"
"My shoes melted."
"So, obviously, you take a pair of mine?"
"Have you been in that wardrobe of yours? I hardly think you'll miss them." He stopped and glared. "Back to the subject at hand. Terrible, dangerous secrets."
The Doctor sighed heavily. "They were kept locked away for a reason, Master. Leave them be."
"And remind me when you began to give me orders that I follow?" "As soon as I could strand you here."
"Because you'd strand me on a planet full of dangerous secrets," the Master scoffed. He titled his head, realizing that the Doctor was no loner paying any attention to him, but had begun to move down the stream. "Hey!" he called out, irritated at the fact that he seemed to have been forgotten.
The Doctor turned around and waved at him to hush.
"Who's to say these secrets should be left alone? Not their secrets to keep, are they? And you never answered the question as to whether these secrets were given or taken. I can't imagine there would be just hundreds of creatures in the universe who would want to pop by, drop off their nasties, and continue on their merry way. Sounds like something you'd collect though. Everybody else dirty laundry to cover up your own. Yes. You just eat this up, I reckon." The Master said.
"Would you please shut up?" The Doctor hissed, and the Master could tell it wasn't because of what he'd been saying but because he was actually listening for something. He came even with him and the two stood shoulder to shoulder in the silence. A breeze kicked up, ruffling their hair and jackets but nothing else.
There was something there, just beyond conscious understanding. They could both feel it, but couldn't quite grasp it. The Doctor closed his eyes, straining his ears for something that he was sure that he was supposed to be hearing. Nothing sounded in the distance nor near them, but the breeze pushed past them again, swirling and dancing around them. The silence was its companion.
Dark eyes opened again and focused on the area that their owner thought that the feeling might be originating from. His feet moved forward almost of their own will and he felt a hand grasp onto his arm. He turned, chocolate eyes meeting gold and he frowned. "What do I have to lose?" he asked flippantly, coldly, and pulled away.
The Master watched him walk away and for a brief moment considered turning around and going back to the TARDIS. The Doctor wasn't fun this way, cold and detached and wishing for death. He had all those things covered just fine by himself, and he did not like this aspect of the other Time Lord one bit. If he wanted to rush off and get himself killed just because he'd lost all his little toy humans, so be it.
It wasn't until he saw the Doctor hesitate, for just a split second, head tilting back in his direction as if to hear his footsteps or the huff of his breath behind him. He really couldn't do anything alone. The Master grinned again and moved forward. "So bloody needy," he chuckled lowly. As soon as the words had left his lips, the wind came at them with a force they hadn't seen yet. The silence of it all was oppressing, as if they were domed in with the winds cutting and beating against them. It took the two Time Lords off their feet, throwing them a distance before dying down, leaving them choked for breath and lying on their back a few feet away from one an other. "What-?" the Master began, but then stopped at the look he received.
It's listening.
It became almost painfully obvious then. One of their precious secrets had escaped and encompassed the planet in silence, waiting for anything and anyone who came by to absorb them and their secrets, too. And it was bloody invisible. He glared at the Doctor and sat up slowly, waiting for the next blow to come. When it didn't, the Doctor sat up as well. "Peachy. This is just peachy." The Master grumbled.
Both of them froze as the breeze danced by. The Doctor slowly shook his head. He stood slowly, mind working in a whirlwind of thought. They should go. They really should go. They could wait it out in the TARDIS. There didn't appear to be anyone left on this planet, so any idea of helping those in need was thrown away. There was only them, and whatever Secret was there. They really should go. Nodding to himself, deciding, the Doctor then continued in the way he'd been going. What he should do and what happened did not always coincide. If the Master chose to come along, it was his own decision.
The Master reached out and grabbed his arm again, yanking him to a halt. "Stop." he hissed quietly. He wasn't convinced that the checked out expression the Doctor was wearing was because of his latest Earth adventure. If he had been here before and been exposed to one of the secrets resting here, there was no reason to think that the virus couldn't have been dormant until now. That whatever was rustling around in the breeze wasn't crawling around inside his head and pulling the strings. As he stared into restless brown eyes, he realized there was no reason to think any of that was the case either. "I can't believe it. It hadn't occurred to me before now that you are just as crazy as I am." he murmured.
"What?" the other asked, half-forgetting to keep his voice down. The breeze rustled around them but nothing more. The Doctor looked indignant for a moment, sputtering and trying not to let his voice rise to a level that would bring forth the wrath of whatever they might be up against. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said. These people have finally driven you mad. Why else are you bouncing off to the unknown? Why do you always skip to something else that wants to rip you to shreds?"
"Says the one that would like to do it himself."
"I have perfectly legitimate reasons for wanting to kill you. You have a compulsive, driving need to thrust yourself into planets and civilizations and relationships that all hang on the razor's edge and you press yourself into it enough to feel the burn, to feel the barest hints of the blood but you never go far enough to make the final cut."
"Oh, and what, you're here to offer that to me? The final peace and quiet so you can wreak havoc across the universe? I don't think so."
"Why do you think you can heal the universe by taking all of its pain?" The Master demanded. A harsh gust of wind hit him in the chest.
"Because I'm the Doctor and that is what I do!" the other Time Lord growled out, standing his ground against the winds. "And if I can save just one person, just one, then maybe it'll be worth it."
The Master looked up at him, eyes wide and staring at the winds that were building up around his former friend. "Always one more, then?" he whispered. "Looks like you'll always be alone."
"Then you should go so that can be the case." The Doctor said, turning his back to him.
The Master forced himself to his feet, keeping one arm up to break the wind from hitting him directly in the face. "Have you ever stopped to consider, Doctor, that the one individual you occasionally need to save is yourself?" he shouted.
The winds died, leaving them again in the eerie quiet of the planet. The Doctor half turned and the Master studied his profile as rolled his injured shoulder. The tendons were still sore and it popped as he wound it around slowly and he frowned. It felt the same as it had when he'd stepped off the TARDIS and they'd been wandering around the countryside long enough that it should have knit itself back together by now.
The Doctor let out a long sigh, as if all the breath in his lungs was released with it. "Maybe I'm not worth it," he murmured lowly, even against the silence. Giving the slightest shake of his head he turned towards the Master. "That didn't sound right."
"Again!" The wind blew him off his feet and he cursed loudly, burrowing down against another gust.
"You do realize," the Doctor whispered as he crouched next to him, nimble fingers hovering next to his wounded shoulder, "that every time that wind hits us, its source is just that much closer to finding us."
"I'm sorry. Isn't that what you were hoping for? The big, bad source so you can either conquer it or fall martyr to it?" The Master growled. He winced as the Doctor gripped his shoulder.
"No. Yes. Maybe. Your shoulder isn't healing. That's not normal. Why isn't it healing? Not a side effect of that necklace you used, you injured your shoulder when the TARDIS crashed." He titled his head. "It stopped healing when we got off the TARDIS, didn't it?"
The Master nodded slowly and pursed his lips in a disbelieving smirk. "Killer winds? Really?"
"And it's just one of the multitude of Secrets that could have escaped on this planet," the Doctor murmured quietly. "No warnings have gone out about this place. Anyone could land here." He stood again, looking towards where he'd been walking. "We have to find out what started it all."
"We don't have to do anything. What do I give a damn about this planet or its inhabitants?"
"You give a damn about yourself," his former friend growled. "Now come on. I have an idea."
The Master watched, resisting the urge for his jaw to drop as he watched the other Time Lord race to the top of a hill. This didn't look promising. With less haste, he followed. The Doctor stood on top of the hill, watching carefully. If he were right, and he usually was, this hadn't been started by one simple slipped Secret. There was something more devious below it. Something using the Secrets.
"Hello out there!" he called very loudly over the hills. "I'm the Doctor and I demand to know what you're doing to this planet!"
"Oh, because that was absolutely the smartest move you've ever made," the Master grumbled as he came to stand next to him.
The first sound, the whooshing of gathering winds picking up speed but nothing visible emerged. The force hit the Master in the center of his chest, knocking the breath from his lungs and sending him sprawling down the hill. He struggled under the force of it, the unseen crushing him into the ground. There was nothing to grab at, nothing to kick against and white exploded at the edges of his visions from being unable to suck in any air.
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Wait! No! Not him!" he yelled out at the top of his lungs, waving his arms wildly and shuffling down the hill. "I called you! Come out and face me!" He hit what was like an invisible wall around the mad Time Lord, swirling around and picking up bits of dirt along with it. In the center, the other was being crushed by the shear pressure of it all. His gold eyes were wide and pain-filled, his mouth open in a silent scream. "LET HIM GO!" the Doctor bellowed desperately. It was all his fault. Again.
He jerked against the wall separating him from the other Time Lord and tried to think around the fear and fury screaming in his head. Something had reached the planet before them and either loosed the Secrets, or was powerful enough to harness them. Or had something bargain with, but how did you argue with a Secret?
The Doctor ran a hand through his hair and slammed a fist against the wall in front of him. The Master was losing consciousness and was running out of time. "Please!" The Doctor shouted. The invisible force vanished.
The Doctor fell to his knees, the wall gone and the force that he'd been battling against subsided. Quickly he scurried to the Master's prone form, fear building again. The other Time Lord was deathly pale, choking and wheezing as he gulped air into his lungs. The breeze teased at their hair, reminding the Doctor that it was still there, prowling just beyond his reach. His attention was brought back to the injured Time Lord who was still trying to regain control.
"How?" the Master gasped when he finally had the breath to do so. "Apparently please really is the magic word," the Doctor murmured.
The Master decided taking a little support in the face of being smushed like a bug was acceptable and did not comment when the Doctor held his shoulders as he sat up and regulated his breathing. "You. Have got to be kidding." he gasped. "You said please?" He winced as wind rushed through his short brown hair.
"Yes, and it can still hear you." The Doctor said through clenched teeth.
"Well it can bugger off." The Master snapped. "Anything that hides behind wind is a coward."
A new gush came through, throwing him away from the Doctor. He lay back on the grass, gasping for air all over again, feeling very much like some had just punched him in the gut. "Please, he didn't mean it!"
"Like hell I didn't!"
The Doctor shot him a glare, shutting him up. "Please, I just want to talk with you. Can you show yourself?"
"We will not show ourselves to the Doctor. We remember your face. We know your faces. We know his face, as well. We have heard the stories of the lost planet of the Time Lords." The voice was soft, melodic, and almost childlike in sound.
"Then you know that I just want to help. Tell me what happened on this planet. Where did the city go?"
"You say you want to help. We also know you are the Oncoming Storm." The winds swirled violently at the title.
The Master sat and leaned forwarded on his knees, smiling. "Isn't that lovely. They do know you."
"Please, I don't want to harm you. I just want to understand. To help. Let me help you." He stepped forward, feeling the winds swirling around him. He wasn't quite sure what the creature was. Obviously a consciousness, but if it could take a true form he wasn't sure. Was it simply what happened when the Secrets were released? Did it form something entirely new?
"You bring death and destruction in your wake," the voice wailed, forcing the Doctor back a step.
"Now that just isn't fair. You do everything you can to be beloved by all and I actually do bring death and destruction -which I don't appreciate you making everyone forget, if I haven't mentioned that- and still you're known for what I want to accomplish." The Master said, standing and brushing his dress shirt off.
"You are the Vengeance." the voice said darkly.
"Ah. Someone is paying attention."
"You're really not helping anyone, including yourself." The Doctor murmured.
"You're obviously not going anywhere with this. Damn thing tried to crush me. Just because you were a little polite you thought it'd taken a fancy to you, but no... It just wanted to let you know it wasn't your number one fan."
"Enough." The wind lashed out at both of them, sending both Time Lords sprawled out on their back all over again.
"What is it that you want then?" the Doctor asked. "If you won't let me help, then tell me what you want from us and we can be on our way."
"You are not here to help us. We are here to help you. We are here to end your suffering. The curse was weak and not enough. We will do better."
The Master and Doctor exchanged glances, both looking mildly troubled by this pronouncement. "I'm afraid you can't have him. I've got dibs on ending his suffering. Well, after extending it, of course. So, unless you've got a busty blonde ex-companion of his stashed away in your wind tunnels somewhere, you can scurry along now." The Master said.
"The Master will refrain from standing in our way."
"Ironic statement there," he grumbled and glanced to the Doctor, grinning like mad. The Doctor did not share his amusement.
"Go."
"What?" The winds began to pick up with a greater ferocity than before. "Run!" the Doctor yelled, his words echoing through the vast silence. He didn't have to tell the Master a third time as the same feeling of dread hit him in a delayed fashion and he and the Doctor took off towards the TARDIS.
"Even Time Lords do not run faster than the wind." The voice said casually.
The Master turned in time to see the Doctor forced off his feet and pulled towards the river. He stopped. The wind did nothing to him. The Master will refrain from standing in our way, the voice had said. As long as he did nothing, it would leave him alone. He titled his head, processed the cold feeling spreading through his chest, the increase of his double heartbeat at the sight of the Doctor being pulled towards the water, panic in his deep brown eyes.
Normally he would enjoy this, but he had no control, and that was not only unenjoyable but unacceptable. "It is terribly inconvenient that I have to save your life only to kill you later." he said softly.
The Doctor, to his credit, was struggling against the wind. He was not one to go down without a fight if it did not entail the saving of someone else. He felt the winds growing stronger and stronger with the more that he fought, leaving small, thin lines of blood across his face and ripping into his clothing. He tried to duck downwards, hoping to escape its hold, but was thrown into the water with a force that the consciousness had not shown yet. He gasped in pain, feeling as if the wind had gone through him when it had pushed him, and gulped a full mouthful of water. His limbs felt heavy and he could feel the darkness beginning to blot his vision.
The Master calmly headed towards the river. "The Master will not interfere." the voice said.
"You realize that's an oxymoron, don't you? I am the Master. You don't tell me what I will and will not do." he said. The winds picked up and he waited, timing it. The gust came and he pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his coat pocket. "Sorry. Forgot to mentioned I borrowed this." He aimed it at the oncoming gust and pushed a button, causing the wind to dissipate in a faint shriek of protest. He stepped into the water, still pointing the screwdriver ahead of him. "Give me the Doctor." he commanded.
"The Master will not interfere!"
"Don't make me say it again," the Master growled out, the screwdriver giving a low hum and the water began to bubble.
The Doctor floated to the top, facedown in it and very, very still. His usual adversary frowned deeply and reached out, pulling him closer by the ankle and then pulling him upward, keeping the sonic screwdriver tightly clutched in one hand incase the entity decided it wanted to launch an other attack. A couple of gashes ran along his cheekbones and blood dotted his white shirt beneath the brown jacket. He gave a small, choked sound as the Master pulled him onto the shore.
The Master crouched, Doctor propped against him, head lolling against his shoulder. The Doctor coughed, his entire body spasming with the effort, water forced out of his body and replaced with air he'd been denied.
"Keep breathing. I can't perform life saving maneuvers and hold this thing at the same time." The Master said coolly.
The Doctor frowned and realized what he was holding. "Where'd you get that?" he rasped.
"Your pocket." The Doctor nodded and shut his eyes.
"The Master should not have interfered."
"Seriously, what are you that a little piece of crap like this could scare you?" the Master wondered aloud.
"Oi," the Doctor protest weakly at the insult to his screwdriver.
"All right, he doesn't want to die now, so you can scoot on along. We'll leave, you can have this planet to devour, everyone gets out happy, right?"
"The Master should not have interfered."
The Time Lord in question let out a frustrated growl as he eased the Doctor to the ground, taking his stance against their enemy. "Are you a bloody broken record or what? Shut up and go away!" he bellowed, setting himself against the angry wind.
"What is this matter to you? Is he not your chosen enemy? You said yourself it was your place to kill him and not mine. But it is mine and the Master will not interfere with the silence!"
The screwdriver was snatched out of his hands and he was pushed back by the force. It pulled away from him and he braced himself, knowing the strike would come. The creature learned, he realized, as the cut ran through him, blood splattering at both the entrance and exit points, that a force did not have to be great to be deadly. He held the pain at bay for several long seconds before it overwhelmed him and with a gasp he slipped to his knees.
The Master smiled. "Told you that thing was useless." he said. He touched his chest and pulled his hand away, slick with blood.
"Master!" the Doctor cried out, trying to pull himself to his knees. He'd regained his breath and was scurrying over to the fallen Time Lord before the other even realized he'd made it to his feet. Firm hands pressed against the wound, eliciting a hiss of pain.
"Always... gotta fix it, don'tcha?" the Master gasped out and the other gave a faint smile.
"Just lie still. Don't move." Brown eyes looked frantic and the Master could tell that his brain was going as fast as it could having just been deprived of life-sustaining oxygen. He really would be irritated if he had to use up a regeneration over something as silly as a gust of wind.
"Doctor?"
The Doctor perked at the voice, which certainly hadn't come from the Time Lord lying on the ground. Pretty and feminine, he recognized it. It was the voice that always filled his dreams and many of his waking thoughts.
The Doctor turned, hands still covering the wound on the Master. Hope lit up within him at the sight before his eyes. "Rose." he whispered.
A/N: Reviews are addicting. Please, feed the addiction =)