Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 37 - End Game

Bravery promptly melted away as the ground vanished beneath Lyssa's feet. It reappeared a moment later as some kind of metal grating, and she staggered, struggling to regain her balance in the utter blackness that enveloped her. She thrust her hands out and flinched when she struck something soft and warm.

"Who's there?" she demanded, pulling her hands back into a guard position and straining to see in the darkness. She heard a faint inhale and swung her head in that direction, but was unable to make anything. She let out a shriek as something wrapped around her arms, pinning them to her sides and lifting her into the air as she was pulled against that same warm object - some kind of cloth.

She reared back, preparing to lash out, but stopped as a soft Scottish burr reached her ears through the roaring panic. The darkness was finally beginning to lift, allowing her to make out the very welcome outline of a familiar face as she was set back down on the ground in what looked to be a small circular room, with a control panel along one wall and a door along another.

"Doctor?" she whispered tremulously, one hand reaching out to grip his arm as he pulled back and finding it wondrously real, eyes searching his face. "Is it - are you really here?"

The Doctor gave her a small, sad smile. "It's me, fairy-girl," he promised quietly, reaching one hand up to tuck a loose curl behind her ear. He traced the back of his hand along her cheek before taking her hands in both of his, the familiar warmth finally chasing away some of the cold. "Do you feel that?" he asked.

She nodded shakily.

"That's how you know it's really me," he told her. "That only happens with us. No one else."

She managed another nod, eyes welling with tears. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest. His arms were quick to wrap around her in turn, and she sagged into the welcome security they brought. "I thought - I thought you were dead," she choked out. "All of you. I thought I was the only one left. And then - and then the Master came by and gave me your ring, and some of what he said made me think that maybe you weren't, but then I was afraid I was getting my hopes up too high, and then -"

"Lyssa, breathe," he interrupted gently.

She stopped, forcing herself to draw in a shuddering breath and pulling one hand away to scrub at her face. "Sorry," she muttered shamefully, dropping her eyes from his. "I - I shouldn't have lost control like that."

He shook his head, resting one hand on her shoulder as he moved back slightly. "It's all right to be upset, Lyssa," he told her softly, eyes pained as he wiped away the tear stains on her cheek. "The Master planned this, targeting our weak spots. You've had a horrendous night, and anyone would be upset." He sighed. "This was all a distraction, meant to weaken and terrify us while he went for his real goal."

She reached up to take his hand in hers, unwilling to let go of the proof he was alive quite yet. "And what was that? Take over the world again? He just kept claiming he wanted to play a game when he visited me. That, and gloat," she muttered.

His jaw clenched. "Nothing so simple, I'm afraid. The Master stopped by for me as well." His eyes darkened, grip tightening on her hand. "He didn't stay long, just enough to steal my ring and gloat about what he had planned for it and us."

Lyssa's eyes fell down to his hand, a pale band of skin marking where the ring should have been. "I'm pretty sure he wanted to use it to push me over the edge," she admitted, reluctantly freeing her hand from his and slipping the ring off her thumb. "But I'm guessing he didn't plan on it actually motivating me to keep going," she smirked. "Bet that put a damper on his plans. Don't know how you did that, but thank you," she told him, setting the ring carefully in his palm.