The Master chases, the Doctor runs. That's how it has always been, that's how it will always end.
Deep inside his hearts the Master knows it.
It is one reason why the death of his human gnaws so much on him. With her it was the other way around.
But...
"What'ya mean, gone? Can't you take a hold of your mate for one second, Doctor? And where's he supposed to go anyway? Aren't we in the vortex?"
"Uhm.... actually, no. I parked near a rift to refuel." The Doctor rubbed his neck with a crooked grin. "We're on the planet Herith, thirty-seventh century of their time. Nothing too remarkable about the place, really. Bit like earth. Ups and downs."
Donna sighed. "Well, then he can't be too far. Maybe just out gettin' groceries? You know, since he started cooking, the ridiculous idiot."
"Mhm... hope so. 'S just... I'm sure he would have told me."
"Why can he even leave just like that?" I wondered aloud, playing with the rim of my coffee mug. "Guy like him probably shouldn't be running around on his own."
The same moment the words had left me, I realised that something about them had been incredibly stupid or wrong. Both, Donna and the Doctor, stared at me as if I had told the unspeakable, as if that question had shattered their world into uncomfortable little pieces. They exchanged a look with one another, making me feel even more stupid.
"It's just..." I muttered, "The stuff I read 'bout him. And..." I made a vague gesture and shrugged.
"Weeell..." The Doctor seemed at a loss for words. For roughly five seconds, that is. "It's all true, that. He can be... uhh... challenging." Immediately his hands shot up. "But that's not all he is. Not always. He's changed the past few years, I'm certain!"
Of course. That was possible. People could change, I knew that.
"Even I have to admit that there's more to him than meets the eye," said Donna. "Insufferable a twat as he may be."
"Let's just take a stroll outside," the Doctor suggested. "Maybe he'll be back until then."
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Herith was not a bit like earth, as the Doctor had called it. The city we had landed in was as big as a quarter of the whole planet, as I soon learned. Their industry had spiked some hundred years ago and since then their growth had never stopped.
But it wasn't how you would picture a place as enormous as this. Yes, there were pipes and machines and buildings so tall they vanished inside low hanging clouds. But there was also an incredible amount of green. Trees stood tall and ancient between houses, shrubs peeked out from corners and side walks. There were entire streets with long flower beds and climbing roots that coloured the walls in shades from green to red and everything in between.
And still, the Doctor was right too. Somehow the places reminded me a lot of earth and it wasn't only because the inhabitants looked human. It took half a day of wandering the city, visiting different shops and snacking on various street foods for me to put a finger on it. And even then it was hard to describe. Because, you see, the place felt like earth; the people did. The way they talked and walked, the way they hung up advertisement posters for products and elections. The slogans were the same ones you'd find in earthen cities.
