“Look at you. Pathetic.”

“There’s just one thing I have to say to you-”

“Save it! You’re very sanctimonious for someone abused by the only species that can stand him.” The Master’s scowl turned into a sneer. The Doctor watched him, chocolate eyes burning back, jaws clenched. “Oh, I did my research, Doctor. I’ve been following your happy little exploits since I got back.”

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but-”

“Rose Tyler.” The words jolted the chained Time Lord. “She would be here if humanity hadn’t stuck their noses where they weren’t welcome.”

“That’s…”

“Not true? You aren’t seriously going to lie to yourself now, are you? You’re smarter than that, old friend.”

The Doctor’s gaze fell to the floor. The Master was right, no matter how much the other Time Lord hated it. “That… that’s not the point.”

Instead of giving up, the Master laughed. “Oh, Doctor. They all left you, don’t you remember? You showed those apes the universe, and in the end, they left.” He shook his head, sniffing in derision. “And you keep taking them back! When will you work out that there’s only you and me now, Doctor? After all these years, I am the only one that’s still here. And you side with them? Poor, poor Doctor. One day, you’ll actually learn.”

And that was when the Doctor started to listen.

---

Romana had been trapped in E-Space, where she had been helping a civilisation learn to grow again after war. She felt the Time War, the losses, but her construction of a ship to return her to Gallifrey had taken too long. She was far too late. Returning to the universe, she felt two pairs of heartbeats pounding at the back of her mind. She could feel two Time Lords left… the last two.

---

“Quick!” The Doctor jumped, knocking the gun out of Lucy Saxon’s hand. The end of ‘The Year that Never Was’ moved on as planned. Foiled in her attempt to kill her abusive husband, Martha took her to one side, watching the exchange between the Doctor and the Master carefully. Jack had grabbed the Master tightly, handcuffs biting blood to the surface. With his companion’s help, the Doctor brought the Master to a holding cell in the TARDIS. That was when he said goodbye to his friends. Nothing would be the same.

---

Taking her ship to Gallifrey, Romana found only the dead husk of a planet. Debris from exploded ships hung in the atmosphere of a decaying planet. The only thing salvageable was the broken control panel of a TARDIS. Luckily, Romana was a genius. She spent months pulling the machine together. With half of the circuitry still intact, she was able to travel through time to pick up different components. Still, she did it. Next stop, she had to find the Doctor, see if he had survived. Next stop, Earth.

---

“What do you mean he ‘just stood there’? The Doctor wouldn’t do that!”

Martha swallowed, not wanting to hurt Jack as much as she had been hurt. “Honestly, Jack. It’s true. There was some kind of orange light that went up and exploded the Sontaran ship. But it wasn’t the Doctor. It was…”

Impatient, Jack sighed heavily. “It was what? More aliens?”

“It was the Master.”

It was then that Romana’s off-key TARDIS appeared, locking onto a nearby TARDIS signal. Glancing at the man and woman, she smiled brightly, looking forward to the reunion with her old flame. “Do either of you two happen to know someone that goes by the name, ‘The Doctor’?”

---

Now, the universe has changed. On the Valiant, the Master finally managed to convince the Doctor that everything that he was doing was in vain. Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood are heartbroken. Martha Jones and UNIT can’t believe how much their own hero has changed. Romana slipped into the mix, being the only Time Lord now that humanity can trust.

With the Master calling the shots, manipulating the Doctor with the thought of losing Rose Tyler, the Time Lords are ready to take over the universe – right after they have turned Earth into their ‘New Gallifrey’. The most honourable being in the cosmos, the Doctor, has betrayed humanity. Can Romana protect them, or will the Master finally get what he’s always dreamed?

We may stretch across time and space, but now, there’s Time Against Us.