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The Master checked the readings on the control console of his TARDIS. He scowled. Three Dalek ships were attempting to cut him off. Escaping from the misbegotten lab accidents had become more difficult, since they learned how to time travel. Their methods, as usual, were crude, but highly effective. Fortunately, the Master congratulated himself on being even more effective!

Travelling in the Vortex was always tricky. It took exact calculations, often done in moments. A TARDIS and its pilot had to work together to stay on course and not get pulled to pieces by the Vortex's violent forces, but the Master had centuries of experience at quick escapes. He'd intended to materialize on Markeb in the constellation of Vela, but his fingers flew swiftly across the console, altering his coordinates. Changing direction in the Vortex was far from safe. Still, his TARDIS was top of the line and he was an expert pilot. The Master finished entering coordinates and pressed in the override.

A sharp jolt almost sent the Master plummetting to the ground, but he managed to stay up right. Despite the dangerous manuever, he was surprised to hear the ominous tolling of his cloister bells! Shutting down the alarm, the Master scanned the immediate area. He couldn't detect any Daleks. Grinning, the Master initiated materialization, waiting for the soft thump of landing.

When the materialization was complete, the Master studied his console, checking for damage. He frowned as he noted the alarm was still flashing red, though he had turned off the sound. He studied the coordinates and saw, to his annoyance, that they had shifted! He had intended to land on Sto, where he could remain fairly anonymous. Instead, he seemed to have landed on Earth in the middle of London, though something in the coordinates seemed off.

Earth was not one of the Master's favorite places, but it was fairly anonymous, when it wasn't under attack. He decided to take a quick walk to get rid of the adrenalin from the chase, then maybe grab a cup of tea. He checked to make sure his TCE was charged and in a handy pocket, then exited his TARDIS.

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Andrew was reminded enough by the phrasing of the Master's reply, but he wasn't about to go back and correct himself. "Believe it or not," he said, more quietly but no less bitterly, "there are limits to what I - what the Doctor can do."

Of course he still went over what he thought he could have or should have done. Of course he regretted what it had come to. That didn't mean, though, that the Master got to stand there acting like the fall of Gallifrey was entirely the Doctor's fault.

"Of course, I believe it!" the Master growled, exasperated. "He's barely won against me, at times! You're missing the point! You said the war was against Daleks! The Doctor has always won against them! It makes no sense. Davros's monstrosities shouldn't have been able to win against the Doctor alone, let alone the combined might of Gallifrey!"

The Master's rant starts off in manic rage, but, by the end, he sounds confused and the tiniest bit lost. He blinks at Andrew, frowning thoughtfully.

Andrew's own frown turned a little more sympathetic at what he heard in the Master's voice. "The Time Lords thought the same thing," he said. "They thought that for a long time." Maybe if they'd taken his warnings seriously - but no, there was no point wishing things had happened differently. He'd agonized over it for far too long already, and there was nothing he could do to change it.

The Master glared. He wanted this to make sense. He wanted to understand why his world was dead. Maybe it couldn't bring them back, but the Master was a firm believer in revenge and he wanted to know who to target.

"Explain to me how we lost, Andrew," he commanded, trying to sound reasonable. "If the Daleks had become powerful enough to destroy Gallifrey, how did they end up destroyed, too?"

He didn't want to explain. He didn't want to tell the Master that he'd destroyed his own species in order to stop them from destroying the rest of the universe in their efforts to save themselves. He didn't want to tell the Master how and why it had happened - and he didn't want to explain that he'd failed and some of the Daleks had survived and risen again and again, no matter how many times he stamped them out.

"Gallifrey was changed," he said bitterly, not making eye contact. He started to edge toward the door again, taking the uneasy meta-meta with him. "The Gallifrey you knew was dead long before the end of the War."

The Master noticed Andrew's movement and pulled his TCE back out. He didn't want to threaten the meta-meta, or even Andrew, really, but he would have his answers! Really, what could be worse than knowing his entire world was gone?

"The Gallifrey I knew was indolent, stagnant, and corrupt," the Master informed Andrew, coldly. "Do you think I'm going to idealize those fools, simply because they are dead? Now answer me! How did both sides end up dead? I know the Doctor wouldn't destroy the Daleks out of mere revenge."

"Thought we were past that," said Andrew unhappily, eyes flickering from the Master's face to the TCE and back. The comment about the Doctor not being willing to kill the Daleks for revenge alone got a humorless snort from Andrew.

"He destroyed them all," he said after a moment's hesitation, the words delayed both by reluctance to admit the truth and by an inner debate as to whether to say 'he' or 'I.' "Not just the Daleks - it wasn't revenge. It was stopping both sides, ending the war the only way there was left."

"I thought you weren't going to make it necessary," the Master retorted. "I only want some answers. I think I deserve to know the details of why my world no longer exists!"

He didn't put the compressor away, but he did lower it, letting it point towards the floor, as he considered Andrew's explanation. The Doctor had ended a time war, by destroying both sides. To anyone who didn't know the Doctor as well as the Master, that might seem out of character. The Master knew it meant the Doctor had been desperate to prevent some larger catastrophe.

"You shouldn't know at all." Not that the rules of causation had much meaning when neither of them was from this universe. Speaking of which....

"You'd have to find this universe's Doctor to know exactly what happened here," he pointed out. "I don't even know what happened in this universe. All I can tell you is what happened where I came from."

The Master nodded, putting his compressor away completely. Everything that could happen, probably had...somewhere. The Master understood that Andrew was speaking of his own experiences and only making logical deductions for the rest. Gallifrey might exist here. In his own reality, it might never be in danger. Well enough.

"Perhaps, I shouldn't, my dear Andrew, but I can't abide being denied information that may prove useful. If you want to stay in London, you should go now. I'm going to find out the truth about Gallifrey."

Andrew hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I'll be interested to know what you find out," he said. Not so interested, though, that he wished to go with the Master to find out. "Come on," he said to the meta-meta, shepherding the blond toward the door.

The meta-meta looked back at the Master, a worried look in his eye. He, too, wanted to know what had happened in this universe, and unlike Andrew he was reluctant to go home.

The Master was in no mood to smile, but gave the meta-meta a calm nod.

"Go on," the Master encouraged. "If Gallifrey still exist, I'll let you and Andrew know. If not, you know what happened better than I do. And Andrew? Help him find a name."

He listened to the Master, and though he was not entirely satisfied, he nodded at the end. "Come back after," he said, and he meant 'come back even if you find it's gone.' He liked the Master, and he thought Andrew liked him too, even if he acted like he didn't.

Andrew nodded as well, though he wasn't thrilled at the idea of having to find the meta-meta a name. "Try not to conquer any planets while you're out there," said the Doctor-shaped meta-crisis, pulling the now unresisting meta-meta out the door.

The Master smiled at the meta-meta, nodding in agreement. He then bowed from the waist to them both, in farewell and thanks. Conquering would, of course, be part of his future plans and the Master knew that Andrew must be aware of that. Still, it was rather pleasant to be parting on terms that could almost be considered amiable. He watched them go, not allowing himself to indulge in anything as sentimental as regret.

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