paixaomb | [Voice]

Have you forgotten all the times we've fought? All the times I stopped you? I've done it before and I can do it again.

Guess what, Doctor?

You're right.

[doesn't like that tone, but takes on a cocky tone of his own]

I know.

Of course you do.

Just think of all of those times you have stopped me recently. What, with the Harold Saxon era and its indomitable rein of a year over humans while you were in a cage like a mouse. Humans had to save you then, right? Including that Martha Jones. Never did figure out where she went after that. Hiding like you do, maybe. I forget though, who did the humans save themselves from? Oh right, humans. Call it what you want, Doctor. The human spirit, the circle of life...you only stopped me from letting humans kill other humans.

Then recently, well, after a botch job at the hands of my blushing bride, I wasn't exactly 100%, so don't get your head filled with any more hot air than it's already got. And cacti dressed as humans saved you then. So, that makes two escapes from the help. OH, and it was because humans tried to be like me and they did. Only, a bit more than they expected. So, there you were, strapped in and ready to watch the USS Terra move through the galaxies like a titan and take down everything.

Oh, but there's more, isn't there?

Of course there is. I've stopped you loads of other times than that. And I could have done more, but I didn't. I'm not ashamed of the fact that I had help, Master. That's something you never understood.

Not ashamed, huh? Well, if there's something you surely can't plant on the Oncoming Storm, it's shame.

Tell me, how many of the humans did I kill in my time as ruler of Earth? Better yet, how many humans did I kill while I WAS the Earth?

Take those numbers into your mind before you point your finger. Then, count how many you've failed to save, how many you've disappointed, how many you allowed to end.

Technically, you only killed one, and that was President Winters. All the other deaths were undone, if you don't recall. And when you pulled that last little trick, you didn't kill anyone. Not one. You could never kill yourself, Master, and that's what killing even one of you would have been doing.

I know, and I carry that weight with me. Do you ever carry anything besides the drums?

Oh yes. That was necessary though. Did you see the way he treated me? Needed a real lesson in diplomacy, if you ask me. And that little "trick?" It made them immortal. It's the reason I stand before you now. Never dying. [spontaneous click of the tongue] N-not dying. Ever again. Never. Ever. Death. Never never never never never never. [the sound of a hand pressed over a mouth that can't stop talking]

I carry more than the drums, Doctor. I carry my hatred for you.

It was never necessary. You never needed to do that.

[a pause as the Doctor listens to the Master]

... I know. But is there anything you care for other than that? Other than mastery of everything?

You weren't around him long enough. Believe me, you'd done the same. Oh, and wait a tic. I only gave a command. The Toclafane killed Winters. Never really did hear your thoughts on the magic of the Toclafane.

What else is worth the bother?

I never would, and you know I wouldn't. That won't work on me. And you're just as responsible for his death as they are - no, more so. They went insane because of you!

There's so much you haven't seen, just to see it. So much to do that doesn't involve killing and maiming and destroying. There's so much beauty out there.

Was I around at the end of the universe, pushing them into cannibalism? No. I was around, but you know all about that. Besides, you heard their happiness. How could I say no to that?

What do you know, Doctor? You see the beauty because you ran from the whole of time and space. You pick the stars' brilliance and forget that they burn. You look at planets and forget that they are responsible for their own destruction. You forget that we all hunger and thirst. And we will destroy even the most divine beauty for relief.

No! You gave them hope and you took it away. And as if that weren't enough, you turned them into... that! That wasn't happiness, Master. It was insanity.

Not all of us are like you.

And what if I hadn't? You remember where they were. They had no other place to go. They were off the map. They were destined for nothingness. I gave them hope to be a part of my dominion. Better that than oblivion.

And better me than you, Doctor. At least I can admit to what I have done.

Everything has its time, Master. Everything ends. Leaving them to live out their lives would have been better than what you did to them.

Can you? All I've ever seen you do is dress up your cruelty as altruism.

Live out their lives. Yes, let them be eaten by cannibals. Did you forget that if I hadn't been there to begin with as Yana, they would have been gone anyway? So what does it matter that I brought them along for what I was planning on doing if they hadn't been there?

And all I've ever seen you do is run.

They could have been safe. They could have tried, and now they'll never get that chance. Alone in eternity, screaming in the dark, and all because you just had to be the Master of all.

I've done so much more than that, and you know it.

Safety is boring. I gave them a chance to become something greater than they ever could be.

I'm growing weary of your excuses, Doctor.

You stunted them.

[quiet and sad] What would it take for you to believe me? I thought we'd managed to put all this behind us, in the end.

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[permalock to the Master]

[permalock to the Master]

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