Eyes of Time: The Final Line ✓

Chapter 35: The Sound of Drums

[Alleyway]

A swirling Vortex portal tears open mid-air, then slams shut just as violently, dumping the Time Lords, Jack, and Martha into a narrow, rubbish-strewn alley. The sound of clattering bins and groaning follows them.

Martha groans, "Oh, my head."

"Time travel without a capsule," the Doctor mutters, already helping his wife to her feet, "That's a killer."

"How is that addicting?" the Alchemist grumbles, brushing grime from her coat.

Jack cracks his neck and stretches, already heading for the street, "Still, at least we made it. Earth, 21st century by the looks of it. Talk about lucky."

"That wasn't luck; that was me," the Doctor scoffs, adjusting his tie.

"I was a bit preoccupied holding back a horde of cannibals," the Alchemist mutters dryly.

[Yana's Lab]

"Hold still!" the Doctor shouts, trying to hold Jack's arm steady as he sonics the manipulator, "Don't move!

"I'm telling you, it's broken!" Jack grits through his teeth. "It hasn't worked for years!"

"That's because you didn't have us!" the Alchemist yells from the heavy door, both arms braced against it as it shudders under the pounding fists of the Futurekind.

"Fixed!" the Doctor yells, "Martha, Ally, grab hold, now!" He slams the button. In a blink, they vanish.

[Street]

They emerge in a pedestrian zone, surrounded by shops and early evening bustle. The group makes their way toward a small cluster of seats in the center of the path, eyes scanning the surroundings.

"The moral is, if you're going to get stuck at the end of the Universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his Vortex manipulator," Jack says with a grin.

"But this Master bloke," Martha says, frowning, "He's got the TARDIS. He could be anywhere in time and space."

The Doctor shakes his head slowly, eyes tracking movement around them, "No, he's here. Trust us."

"Yeah, and I don't know why I didn't know before," the Alchemist mutters as they settle at a table.

"Who is he, anyway? And that voice at the end, that wasn't Professor Yana."

"If the Master's a Time Lord, then he must have Regenerated," Jack explains, crossing his arms.

Martha nods, thoughtful, "So he's changed everything about himself?"

"Yeah," Jack confirms, "It means he's changed his face, voice, body—everything. New man."

"Sort of," the Doctor sighs, "You retain some aspects of your previous lives."

"Right. Ally called them base personality traits," Martha adds, glancing at the Time Lady.

The Alchemist has stopped listening. Her eyes are on a nearby homeless man, tapping a rhythm against his tin mug. Four beats. Over and over. Her breath catches.

'That's it... that's the beat in his mind,' she tells the Doctor silently, shifting focus in the bond so he can see.

He frowns, watching. His Bondmate long told him about being able to hear the drumbeat that terrorizes the Master, but he can't. No other Time Lord was able to; not even his parents could.

"Then how are we going to find him?" Martha asks.

"We'll know him the moment we see him," the Doctor replies quietly.