"Get out of here!" Roka moaned and tried to push the Master through the door. He didn't budge the slightest though and just laughed at her.

"I'll just take a quick scan. Knowing you there could be all sorts of weapons in here..."

She gave up and crossed her arms while he moved around with a small box in his hand. It didn't make any noises, so whatever it was programmed to find, it wasn't in here.

"Uhm... That's a Shraggar heart... you do know they are highly radioactive, right?"

"Yeah... and that hook in it prevents it from leaking out," she answered peevish. "Now get out. I don't want you in..."

"Where in the universe do they sell Dalek plushies?" The Master grabbed the thing from one of the pillows and turned it all around.

"Nowhere!" Roka snapped at him and snatched the Dalek out of his hands. "I made it..." she added mumbling.

"You... made a plush of one of the most dangerous... alright... I won't ask." He raised his hands for a moment and grinned, turned around and took a look at the book shelves on the wall. "Hm... Lovecraft... Crefonic poetry... Poe..." He took out one tome and opened it.

Roka snatched it away, throwing a very mean glance at him. "I can't stop you from sniffing around in the TARDIS... But. Get. Out. Of. My. Room!" She poked a finger at his chest with every word. His grin got only wider though.

"Never thought it would be so easy to upset you." But with that he finally left, giggling to himself like a dumb teenager.

Roka slammed the door shut and stared angrily at it for another few seconds, before she slowly relaxed again. Turning around she soaked in the atmosphere. It felt like an eternity since she had been in here. The walls were plastered with "The round things" as the Doctor used to call them. They bathed everything in a warm, orange glow. The room itself was just large enough for a comfy bed, a desk with a PC and some shelves that were filled with books and souvenirs from adventures.

With a loud sigh she dropped onto the bed, took her shoes off and buried herself under every blanket she could reach. The familiar smell and the feeling of being home. How much she had missed it. Not even the fact that the Master was in the TARDIS and the Doctor still imprisoned in the old facility could change this short moment of peace. A wave of tiredness overcame her and she didn't resist it.

Again though Roka snapped awake not long after. The clock revealed that it hadn't even been an hour, but it was impossible to fall asleep again. Not with this strange threatening feeling, that was creeping up her neck. If only she could remember those nightmares. Then she could at least do something against them.

Instead she went outside to get a coffee. It was strange to move through the TARDIS like this. All doors she hadn't access to just vanished as soon as she came closer and were only visible to her from the corner of the eye. Always out of reach.

Next she found herself in the library, strolling through the shelves, picking out books here and there, only to put them back again shortly after. Her mind refused to focus on anything, so she just sat down next to the swimming pool and let her feet dangle in the cold water while lying on her back.

Nothing made sense anymore.

The Master had everything needed to escape earth. Heck! He could even leave the Doctor in that room and just wait until he starved, or something like that. And why did he keep her, Roka, in here? It was so strange... It hadn't felt like one of his usual empty threats. Something must have changed his mind. But wasn't it utterly pointless wanting to grasp the logic of a mad man?

Sitting up again, she pulled the feet out of the water. She felt cold enough, this really didn't make it better. When Roka thought about it now... she hadn't felt warm in days.

Roka lost track of time itself. It could have been weeks or days or probably just a few hours that she had spend in the TARDIS. Sometimes she wandered around in the library, sometimes in the wardrobe, sometimes she sat in her room, staring at the ceiling or trying to read, occasionally to sleep. But each time it was the same. A cold creeping shiver down her spine, the feeling of being watched, of just having escaped... something. And as always she hadn't slept for more than an hour.

More coffee... When she wasn't able to sleep she could at least try staying functioning. What for though? All she could do was wander between the few accessible rooms. And although she had done nearly exactly the same for half of her lifetime, there wasn't any comfort to find in it anymore.

It was so cold. Not only herself, but also her mind.

Silence everywhere. Just disturbed by the humming of the machines. Usually one could hear the Doctor running around somewhere or making noise in the control room. And even when she had been in here on her own it had never been so quiet it seemed.

The Master was also nowhere to be found. Not that she looked out for him, but it was strange to not see him doing nasty things to the TARDIS. Maybe he wasn't even inside anymore. Or somewhere deep into the corridors of the machine.

Then a foggy thought crept into her mind. She was marked as an intruder, not as a prisoner. The TARDIS kept her from touching anything important... but she wouldn't stop Roka from just stepping outside.

So she did. There was no use to stay. Returning to the facility also wasn't an option since it was armed like a military station. But where else to go? And no! She couldn't leave the Doctor there! But on the other hand she also wasn't able to do anything at all. And maybe he had already found a way out on his own. Digging a tunnel with a spoon or something like that. It would be a thing he would do and the thought made Roka smile a bit. For a moment she actually expected to see the ground moving and a dirty Doctor face poking out, grinning widely.

But nothing happened.

The weather wasn't too cold, but also not very warm. Her jacket kept her from feeling the wind, but it didn't banish the bleakness within herself. Leafs blew past in all colors of autumn, but for once Roka wasn't able to admire them. Instead she just sat down on the jetty nearby and watched the waves. The sun had already set so they were pitch black, as if it wasn't a sea but a big puddle of ink. Sometimes the clouds thinned out and the crescent moon threw an eerie light over the dark water.

Who knows how much time passed that way when something slumped against Roka's back and made her jolt out of the trance she had been in.

"You're still here? I even gave you an hour ahead."

"We humans have something called personal space," Roka said slowly. "Guess you never heard of that." She was too tired to be annoyed though. And he prevented the wind from blowing at her at least.

She felt his chuckle at her back. "Oh, I actually really like it. Ignoring it is the fastest and easiest way to unnerve people."

Her mind was so slow. What did he even want here? And what did he mean by... "...an hour ahead?"

"The TARDIS informs about every entering or leaving intruder. Thought it would be fair to give you some time." She felt him shrug.

"Fair?" Roka snorted. "Since when do you play fair? And where the heck should I go anyway?"

"This planet is big..."

"And by no means would I leave the Doctor all alone with you." She put her head onto the knees and stared at the black waves.

"See? That's why it's always better to stay by yourself." He sounded somewhat amused, but at the same time also serious. How odd, thought Roka, before he continued, "When you're alone you can do whatever you want and just run away afterwards. But as soon as you get attached to someone... even a tiny little bit... everything gets complicated. And all your actions suddenly have consequences. Isn't that idiotic?"

For someone like him this probably was some kind of logic. For someone like herself...

"Guess, that's a problem I'll never encounter again." She smiled.

"Heh, be glad about that." He laughed lowly. "In the end all effort is for nothing anyway. In the end they all just betray you. Remember that... just in case." The Master sounded oddly calm.

"I don't take advices from you..." she mumbled. "Get lost."

"Only wanted to say goodbye... that's what you do, right?" He chuckled to himself.

Roka looked up to the moon. "So, you just let me go?"

Again she felt him shrug. "You can't enter the TARDIS on your own and if you attempt to enter the facility you will get shot on sight. So you're no threat and otherwise I have no business with you."

It got cool at Roka's back again when he stood up, making her shiver for a moment.

"Run, little human. Run as far away as you can get... Just think about yourself for once, it's easier..." His steps receded. "And don't come knocking... I won't open."

With that he left her alone. Roka put her head back down to her knees and continued to stare at the inky waves.

Now it was cold again.

Where should she go? It would be easy to get supplies; the same way as the first time, back when she had left her family. Stealing was no problem when one goes unnoticed. But after that? Just running away? As far away as she could?

The harder part would be to forget about half of her life. Again. And to leave behind the only person she could ever call something like a friend. Even though he kept forgetting her. What would become of the universe without the Doctor, she wondered.

There was nothing she could do for him...

It was cold...

She was tired...

Nothing made sense anymore and she couldn't stop thinking. So much had changed in such a short time. She wasn't the same anymore. The Master had broken her... Or had she been broken all the time without noticing it? I'm just a hollow, she thought. Nothing more. But... She looked to the TARDIS.

For a moment it had been warm...

It wasn't necessary to knock. The TARDIS showed everyone outside, especially when they were marked.

Roka leaned against the wood like she had done so often in the past. It always gave off a subtle, somewhat calming vibration.

An hour went by.

Two...

She stopped looking at her watch.

The clouds vanished and in the blackened night sky the stars shone bright. Leafs swayed down around her, blown away by the autumn wind. It got freezing cold and eventually a bright stripe appeared at the horizon. A beautiful sunrise. If only she wasn't so tired, the sight would have make her smile.

"Alright, you stubborn thing..." She hadn't heard the door open. "That's the most idiotic thing you've ever done, just so you know." The Master threw a mean glance down to her, while stepping outside and in front of her.

"I won't bother you for long." Roka blinked tiredly and glanced up to him. He looked more confused than angry, how odd. "Just one last question..."

"Shoot. And then get away."

Lowering her head she started, "You said I should think only about myself for once... And you always brag about how you can do absolutely everything..." Slowly she looked up, straight into his eyes.

"Can you make me real?"