Valiant Punishment
"We're the only two left. There is no one else...... REGENERATE!" It's ironic that a figure who's very lifestyle passes between the fabric of time seemed to lose himself in it. That was what became of the man known as the Doctor as he sat upon the cold hard wood deck floor of the battleship Valiant. Not feeling the cold, he could only feel the limp form in his arms -- which he refused to let go. As he had cried out across the room not a single soul dared to come close. This otherwise collected, reserved and downright sass filled man laid out an agony that levelled everything else -- and none of them had a right to say a word. The Doctor buried his face into the hair lining of his friend, simply rocking him. Friend.... God that wasn't even the right word -- and any chance of there ever being a God was thrown out the window for taking him away. Their rivalry literally transcended time and space -- sharing both positives and negatives like as if it was a ripple to their existence. Now it was gone, pierced by a bullet fired straight to the Master's lower abdomen. He could have regenerated and continued living. The Doctor pleaded desperately for him to do so bit he refused. How long ago was that now? The flight deck was left silent even as the sun started to go down. Still the Doctor refused to believe this was even real. Any moment now those eyes will open and he'll cackle maniacally -- like as if it's some kind of prank. "You win.... I could take you literally anywhere to get help. Any time... just open your eyes...." he whispered softly. Tears ran down along the Doctor's face as there was no response and yet his mind just couldn't wrap around it. He let his chin rest on the other man's forehead as he continued to just rock the Master lightly. Swallowing hard as his mind went over these last words of his. No, they were NOT last words -- Koschei just needs to open his bloody eyes and quit this childish game. It's not like back on Gallifrey when they used to sneak into the industrial warehouse in the Academy. Absorbing levels of radiation until they grew dizzy and called it a day. If they set a new record then the two boys were doing things right.... back then they used to run together in everything they did. "Y'know, I still test the waters. The last time I landed on the colony Omega there was a Bandril there with reserves. For nostalgia I bought a few. They're stashed in the TARDIS so we could ..... could..." More tears fell as the Doctor could see skin start to run pale and lips going blue. He swallowed hard as he let the sentence linger and then fall silent. He was talking to himself now and actually realized it when the passed man's own words ran through his mind again. "And spend.... the rest of my life imprisoned with you?" The way the Master had uttered those words -- in question to whether that would ever be even enjoyable. Surely he would have known that it wouldn't really be imprisonment right? When has the Doctor ever been the type to lock anyone away? Oh, right -- his own people were sealed away because of him. So, the Master's words pounded into his hearts AGAIN that he was alone. The only one in existence now that comes from the planet Gallifrey. Swallowing hard the brunette sank a little, shifting so that his face buried somewhere between the dead man's neck and shoulder. At this point he had stopped caring about the universe. Not just what he looked like in this moment but what more he could do to save it. What was the point? All the most brilliant things were coming to an end because of him. The Doctor's thoughts spiralled from there, coming to a more personal level. This man... he was supposed to be different and for over one thousand years he was. There was no worry about losing him because all of their companionship was lead through banter. His companions could come and go in the TARDIS but the Master.... Koschei and his interactions with Theta Sigma transcended time and space. It was always there -- a damn constant -- and the Doctor killed it. He was selfish enough to try to lock this man in the fabled blue box to try to help him and that was his mistake. Koschei was dead because of him -- just like their people and planet were burned out of existence because of him. So, yes, it really was true that his longest of friends would find it miserable to ever share constant living space with him. The Doctor had no right to try to enforce that and now the Master was dead. "I'm sorry.... so sorry," he sniffled out between harbored breaths. And the worst part is that the Doctor -- after all was said and done -- was a coward. Even as his mind finally registered and accepted the Master's death. After hours of just sitting here on the Valiant floor, his two hearts shattered once again by the truth of his loneliness.... the Doctor couldn't complete full genocide and join them. No matter how much he wanted to, he just couldn't. This loneliness used to be just a sad passage for him and now..... it was his punishment to himself...
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