• There were many factors, many things that led to what happened, most of all going back to just the two Time Lords themselves, and plenty more what ifs. If the Master hadn’t been driven insane, if the Doctor hadn’t left Gallifrey, if the Master hadn’t followed, if the Doctor hadn’t always let him live, if the Master hadn’t always let him live, if they could only have traveled together, if they had only never been on the Valiant. If Lucy hadn’t killed the Master. If the Doctor had forced the Master to regenerate then and there. Too many things leading to London, to the return, to near-end, to his escape and his chase, though which was which was currently up for discussion; it all led to that moment later when the Master had won, inevitably and ultimately. Because of one of the factors, because of one girl. That girl, the woman, Tsukkuyomi, Tsuki, whatever they chose to call her. Because the Doctor and Rose knew, they just knew: without her, this wouldn’t have happened.
    Not that she was really all that powerful, she wasn’t; she was a Time Lord’s descendant, a Time Lady reborn, and that was dangerous but that wasn’t why she was such a big factor in this. Rose was Bad Wolf and Donna was a Doctor and Jack was immortal and Amy held the universe in her hands and every last one of them was dangerous and powerful in their own way; that didn’t make them a contributing factor. Tsuki simply was the thing that helped the Master become who he would be.
    And so the Doctor had to change that, and so he and Rose found themselves, after a short trip in the Tardis, standing in a hospital, people walking up and down the halls, some being wheeled, some on crutches, some healthy, some not. As the Doctor glanced around them, Rose looked at the clock then a nearby pin-up calendar: November 23rd, 1995, 12:09 pm. She blinked a bit then turned to her Doctor who was then shaking his sonic screwdriver and listening to it with an intense look on his face; she spoke, “Doctor?”
    He was a bit startled but looked at her before that familiar goofy grin crossed his face, “Yes?”
    “We’re in a hospital.”
    “That we are.”
    “In 1995.”
    “Indeed.”
    “I thought we were looking for Tsuki’s past self. Why are we in a hospital?” inquired the blonde woman, tilting her head a bit.
    He blinked then rubbed his head, looking around, “Hm well the sonic followed the bio-molecular signature of Tsukkuyomi Kokuryuu here so I’d have to say she’s here. Unfortunately…” he drifted off.
    “Unfortunately we have no clue where exactly,” she finished for him; the sheepish look on his face assured that opinion and Rose sighed a bit before running her hands through her hair, “Well then I suppose we better ask around, try and see if anyone can tell us about her; any clue what she looked like during this time?”
    “No clue whatsoever though can’t be too hard,” he said with a smile and walked down the hall, holding onto Rose’s hand, “Can’t be many red-eyed children running around.”

    In another portion of the hospital, the Master was sniffing the air and making a rather disgusted face. He did so hate the stench of hospitals, so sterile and mediciney; all the doctors running around, reminded him of his Doctor. Oh the other Time Lord was near, he could tell; probably there to find the girl, the Master’s girl, his companion. The Doctor wanted to change the future by changing the girl but the Master wouldn’t allow it; he’d find the Doctor, kill him, maybe just play with him, do the same to his blonde little companion, and sneak back to their time to have some tea with HIS Tsuki, the older one, the one they wanted to take away from him. Fat chance.
    Frowning a bit when he couldn’t find her he put his hands in his pockets, his frown turning to a pout as he walked down the hall, the hood of his black jacket pulled over his head; muttering slightly under his breath he made his way along, avoiding bumping into anyone, avoiding touching anyone. He wasn’t entirely sure why he was there, why his Tsuki would be there, and then he overheard something, two nurses whispering to each other; it sounded stupid at first, pointless but something about it alerted him and he listened in.
    “Crying shame don’t you think?” whispered one in a thick sort of accent found only in the United Kingdom; he found the accent of the Welsh annoying, yet he found Tsuki’s, who had grown up on Cardiff, rather cute. He was biased though.
    “Indeed,” replied the other; the two were huddled behind a desk yet he could still hear them clear as day, he blamed the Time Lord senses, “both of them in such a state; the police said it was three days right?”
    “Right. Three days; the boy was in pretty bad shape, he’s still in intensive I hear.”
    “Still in intensive? After a month?”
    “Yeah well he was badly injured, plus whoever attacked the family poisoned him. You imagine that, poisoning a six year old!”
    “Horrible.”
    “Horrible indeed. He’s been unconscious but at least he’s recovering.”
    ”The other one?”
    ”Oh still not responsive. Not sure which was worse; the boy at least was unconscious I hear when they found him, probably asleep the whole time. The girl though…”
    “I heard she…you know…”
    “Yeah, poor dear, she was in such a state when they finally opened the door; apparently was awake the whole time, probably heard her father…well…anyway, she hasn’t talked or moved from inside that room since they brought her here. no one goes near anyway; couldn’t get the sword away you know and she’s attacked anyone who got too close. Poor little dear…”
    ”Yeah well, she lost her parents and her brother might die; no wonder she’s holed up inside herself.”
    Really did sound stupid, to most, but he knew something; he knew something the Doctor didn’t know and he knew something most didn’t know. Because she’d told him about this, and a small smile crossed his face before walking over.
    Putting on his most genteel politican’s smile, he could still pull it off even now, even when he wasn’t really Harold Saxon anymore, not that he ever really had been him before. His tone was calm and pleasant, something he knew the humans tended to react well to, “Hello, I’m looking for someone, might you help me?”
    The nurses stopped gossiping and turned to him; one of them, an older woman with a stern face frowned then approached from the other side, “Yes, what is it?”
    “I’m with the police,” he lied so easily it was seamless, “I was just checking up on the Kokuryuu case and wished to talk to the young girl; which room is she in?”
    The nurse furrowed her brow, seeming to disbelieve him and opened her mouth, obviously to question him but he beat her to the punch; he took out a psychic paper and showed it to her; she shut her mouth, read then nodded, “Right, sorry Officer. Upstairs, room 6 in the left wing. Be careful though.”
    He nodded and put away the paper before going off again, the smile on his face devolving into a devilish smirk; he had her, and probably long before the Doctor did. Oh this would be fun; now to wait there for the Doctor, after maybe visiting the younger version of his favorite little current-human.
    But upon finding his way to where he was told the room was, the Master’s smile fell to an annoyed frown. The hallway wasn’t crowded or anything, there were hardly any out and about. It was the sign above that bothered him, that made him stop smiling; it was simple, with simple words and simple meaning. “Child’s Psych Ward”. His future queen, his would-be companion was in a psych ward. He expected she’d not be well, probably injured, but so bad she needed to be there? The Tsuki he knew wasn’t crazy, he was crazy, the Master was insane but Tsuki was not. Tsuki was calm and collected and reasonable and everything but insane.
    Scowling the Time Lord made his way down the hall, glancing at the doors; screaming, crying, quiet, laughter, all sorts of sounds, children all. The sound of someone banging against a wall, the sounds of people arguing; he paid none of it much mind though, only caring for the numbers. He found number six near the end and from inside came quiet, pure and simple. He stopped and tilted his head, standing back and staring at the door for a moment; it was too quiet, far too quiet and he approached, opening the door and slipping inside.
    The room was simplistic, a bed in a corner, a table, a window, a few toys; all the toys though were untouched outside of being shoved in a corner. The table was littered with pages unmarked, colored pencils untouched; the bed was unslept in and the only objects looked to be used were another door in the room and a tray on the table that had plates and a glass on it. It took him only a second to glance around and locate the person who should have inhabited that seemingly-uninhabited room.

    Meanwhile the Doctor and Rose, having come across the same information in a different way, made their way to the children’s psych ward as well, trying to get there quickly; the former had no doubt the Master would get there first and he didn’t want to have the crazy Time Lord to start doing anything that would guarantee the girl would become loyal to him. Running into the hallway, Rose was the first to notice the open door to room six and she was the one to pull back the Doctor suddenly, causing him to look at her and for her to put a finger to her lips. He blinked then looked forward again before approaching, more quietly and stealthy this time. They came up to the door and looked inside to see the Master standing inside, staring down at someone. It was a little girl, no older than six likely; she had long black hair that covered her face but didn’t obstruct it from view. Wearing a long white gown, she was curled up in the corner, her small arms wrapped tight around what looked to be a sword, a katana, and they both knew instantly who that had to be. Still her eyes; a child’s eyes were meant to be full of life, happy and innocent. Yet even from the distance, to the Doctor and to Rose and to the Master himself, all that the girl’s eyes showed was emptiness. Pain. Darkness. She had the look of someone lost, who had nothing and no one, who was abandoned; just a small child yet she looked so utterly alone. It wretched at Rose’s heart and she frowned a bit before looking to the Doctor; from his expression it was obvious he was feeling similarly. It was hard to think that was their target, the girl they were looking for, the child who would bring the Master to his pedestal and help him rule; this was the dangerous Tsukkuyomi Kokuryuu who could cut down armies, this child who looked at the world with no light, no hope, just sadness so deep it turned to nothingness.
    The Master stood there for a moment, staring at her before hearing a voice, soft and light, “Who are you?”
    It wasn’t often he was startled but he found he was by her sudden words, and he knew it came from her; tilting his head slightly he then stepped closer, carefully, slowly, not wishing to startle her too. She didn’t move, didn’t speak, simply sat and he stopped a foot or so away from her before crouching down; he smiled a bit and spoke softly, a thing not often thought possible of this man who so happily toppled civilizations, killed others, destroyed more and more. Yet to her he could speak softly, “Me? A friend. What’s your name, sweetie?”
    She still didn’t look at him and she didn’t speak, simply stared at nothingness; he tilted his head again and then reached out to pat her head. She moved, flinched and irritation ran through him. Not at her but at whoever had made her this way, what had made such a scared child out of her; he lightly patted her head, stroking her hair then leaned closer, his words too light for the Doctor or Rose to hear. He leaned his forehead gently against hers and spoke, feeling as if the words that came were better suited for his bleeding-heart friend to utter than him, but utter he did.
    “No need to be afraid of me, I won’t harm you, no one will harm you.” Closing his eyes he tried to open a link between them; she was after all destined to become a Time Lady, she had the genetics in her. And even so it wasn’t too hard to mind meld with a human at close contact like this.
    Memories slipped through, bad things; screaming, death, blood everywhere, a man, crying, cutting, pain, someone’s voice singing. The voice told her to be calm, that it would be okay and it sang. And the singing was loud in her head, all-encompassing and yet got weaker with each verse. They were dying, dying, and he could feel her panic, hear the screams from her. He noticed the darkness around him and realized the memory was from inside a closet; locked up, the nurses had said for three days. Three days in the dark, three days alone, three days in there.
    Pulling away he opened his eyes to look at her and found crimson eyes staring back; she was finally looking at him and he couldn’t help smiling again though part of him felt bad. Him, bad; the Master never felt bad, well rarely, but he did. Because she belonged to him? Probably; she was his, in the future at least, and he didn’t like seeing her in pain. Her gaze was still mostly empty but there was also wonder, wonder at who he was, why he was there, and that was what made him smile at her.
    ”No one,” he muttered then stood up, she watched him and he leaned down to pick her up. She didn’t fight him; she loosened her grip on the sword and put out one of her arms, allowing him to lift her without problem.
    He didn’t expect her to be so light though, so small; Tsuki had never seemed big to him, even as an adult she wasn’t much taller than an older teenager, but this was different, strange. She was frail and small and light; her weight in his arms was minimal and that was with the sword. Her hands gripped onto his jacket and she settled into her arms easily, her head buried in his shoulder. Normally the Time Lord would laughingly harm anything that seemed so weak, so helpless, but his arms didn’t let go; they held her and she clung and he repeated his words, “No one will hurt you…Now tell me what it is you hear.”
    She didn’t respond for a moment and he carried her, not setting her down yet, just walked a bit with her in his arms; he’d never held a child before but he found this not all that difficult, he felt no need to drop her and he felt no urge to either. Finally her words came in a whisper, “I hear his song, always singing, always. Over and over, he sings and lulls but it scares me, I don’t want to remember it, I don’t want to know. Because I know it means I’m alone, I don’t wanna be alone.”
    Her hands clenched his clothes tighter and he listened to her; the Doctor and Rose simply watched and she was surprised to see such tenderness in the man. The Master she knew was vicious, evil, cruel; he was crazy and he lived for hurting people and he despised the weak. Yet there he was, holding a child, carrying her, whispering and never hurting; it was a startling sight. The Doctor though saw more to it; he could see in the blonde man an older face, a kinder face. That boy he once knew, before they had left their home, who did at his core have an ounce of goodness; there it was, all that morsel of kindness, all for one. And the Doctor wasn’t about to interfere; he missed that light after all.
    “You’re not alone though,” the Master responded and as she turned her gaze back up at him he spoke again, “You are never alone.”
    “Akii will never wake,” she muttered and he guessed that meant her brother, the one in the intensive care unit.
    He shook his head and started to slowly dance about with her still in his arms, “No no no, I don’t mean that. You are never alone because I’m here.”
    The little Tsuki was silent and held on as he danced about with her in his arms, as if joyful, as if happy; she responded finally, “You are?”
    “Yes,” he said and smiled at her, moving her so he could rock her slightly with his movements, “I am.”
    “You’ll stay with me?” Her words stopped him and he was silent for a moment, contemplating it seemed then he smiled ever so lightly, “No, I can’t.”
    She frowned and clenched his jacket tighter; the Master looked at her then danced a bit again, stepping to a rhythm only he heard, that he always heard. One, two, three, four…One, two, three, four…
    “I can’t stay here with you, but…” he started and got her attention with that; he could see curiosity light up, flickers of something beyond the cold that came to the surface of her bloodred eyes.
    “But?”
    He walked over to the bed and set her down finally, laying the small girl on it and pulling the covers over her gently; she watched him as he leaned close and whispered, “I will come back for you, always, so don’t you worry.”
    She frowned some and he stroked her hair gently; she closed her eyes and her head settled back upon the pillow, her sword loosely beside her. He continued, with his words and the gentle motions over her hair, “One night, when the moon is full and everything starts, I’ll come and find you and you’ll be my angel, my black winged angel of death, my only angel of death. Always, so don’t be afraid. No one dares harm you or else I will rip them to shreds.”
    The threat was gentle to her but the Doctor felt some dread in him hearing the words, a shudder down his back that told him his old friend was meaning them. Rose couldn’t hear of course and simply watched as the Master lulled the child to sleep with gentle whispers and light touches. This couldn’t really be the Master though, she thought; even if it was the past version of the woman he spent all his time with, his companion, like Rose was to the Doctor, but she was just a child now, she couldn’t know him, she wouldn’t for over decade. But it was.
    The little girl started to drift, to sleep, calmed, lulled by his words traced with hypnosis yet nevertheless true; the Master would find her again, he would. He’d find her and meet up with her and no one would ever hurt her again; she was scared and alone and heard the songs of a dying man now but soon, soon she would safe. Another seventeen years it would take perhaps but he knew she’d survive to that day; she was sad and lonely now but he knew she’d recover.
    For now though, he decided as he left her side, walking past the Doctor and Rose and throwing them a smile that said both that he’d won and he would hurt them if they went in there; for now he had a group of people to find. Her memories were better than he thought; now to find the man who’d caused his future queen so much pain. He felt so incredibly hungry now after all.