Title: Better the Devil You Know
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: gen
Fandom: Doctor Who
Rating: PG-13
Table: G3, 5_prompts
Prompt: 2, Better the devil you know
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Tenth Doctor, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

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The Doctor closed his eyes, leaning against the door of the room he'd slipped into. He didn't know how much longer he would have to use this room as a hiding place; probably not very long, considering that two different enemies were after him.

Well, he wasn't entirely sure if one of the creatures chasing him was an enemy or not. But judging from the fact that it had been waving what looked like a weapon, and didn't have a pleased look on its features -- yes, he would have to surmise that it was an enemy.

He was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place, the Time Lord thought wryly, taking a deep breath. He could either face the Master -- an enemy that he knew well -- or he could face what might very well what might be a new and even deadlier adversary.

There were drawbacks to each one, of course. If he allowed himself to face the Master, he would almost certainly be captured -- and his body would be used to meet the Master's sexual desires. That was always how it went when the two of them squared off.

But if he decided to take his chances with an unknown quantity, could something even worse happen to him? There was no telling if those creatures were friend or foe -- but if they weren't benevolent and didn't have good intentions towards him, he would have made a fatal mistake.

There really wasn't a choice, was there? But he still hesitated; at the moment, he couldn't step out of this room. He had no idea which one of them would be waiting for him outside -- or if either of them would be there at all.

And of course, they could both be waiting for him. There was a very good chance that those creatures were working for the Master -- and in that case, he was probably in a good deal more trouble than he'd originally thought.

He'd known that it was foolish to follow the Master to this planet. But as usual, he'd gone rushing into danger without thinking of the possible consequences; the only thought in his mind had been that he had to stop the renegade Time Lord.

At least his nemesis hadn't headed for Earth. That would have been worse; he'd already caused such havoc on that planet in the past, and the Doctor didn't want to have to pit himself against his most formidable enemy in that particular battlefield at the moment.

He wasn't at the peak of his form right now; he'd had a recent run-in with Cybermen that had left him a bit depleted. They hadn't come too close to capturing him, but he'd been injured, and it had taken him longer than usual to heal.

That was probably because he was growing older, the Doctor thought sourly. Even though he hadn't been in this body nearly as long as he'd had some of his others, and it was young compared to some of them, he couldn't deny that he was aging.

Even though he looked like a human male in his early 30's, the truth of his age was obviously something very different. He'd never thought that being over 900 years old would make him feel aged, but at the moment, he could have wished to be younger.

Clenching his fists at his sides, the Doctor pushed that thought aside. Why was he thinking in that way? Age meant wisdom and experience. If he had been younger, he might not have any clue as to how he should deal with the situation he now found himself in.

Oh, who was he kidding? He had no clue how to deal with it even at his advanced age.

He'd have to decide between the lesser of two evils. Either the Master, who he'd faced many times before and had at least some knowledge of how he would behave -- or a completely new adversary who could be vastly different from what he expected.

Neither choice was an overly palatable one. Knowing what the Master would more than likely do with him didn't make him want to take the chance that he'd have to surrender himself to those appetites; but it could go much worse if the took the other route.

What could they possibly do to him that the Master wouldn't? The Doctor almost snorted at that thought; the easiest thing for them to do would be to kill him, of course. He'd regenerate, but then, if they had him in their clutches when he did, they could kill him again.

That wasn't something he wanted to think about. Those creatures didn't seem friendly; considering that they'd chased him with what appeared to be deadly weapons, he was fairly sure that they would kill him first, and ask any pertinent questions later. Much later.

On the other hand, if he decided that it would be easier to face the Master and deal with whatever the other Time Lord might have planned for him, he was letting himself in for the kind of pain that he didn't want to experience again if he could possibly avoid it.

Still, that sort of pain would be better than sacrificing himself. And at least he had some idea of what he would more than likely be facing with the Master, rather than stepping into a completely unknown area if he decided that those creatures would be the better choice.

He knew the Master. He knew the man well -- even intimately, in some ways. At one time, he'd thought the other man was actually a friend. He knew better now, but he couldn't discount the fact that they'd once been close, even if it had been centuries ago.

The Doctor allowed himself a few moments of regret, thinking of what might have been. If only the tests requred to become a Time Lord hadn't driven the Master mad; if that hadn't happened, their lives could both have been so different from how they'd turned out.

Life hadn't turned out in that way. They'd both made their choices, taken the roads that they'd wanted to take, and there was no use looking back. He had to concentrate on the situation at hand, rather than look back into the past. He'd find no answers there.

Sighing, the Doctor pushed himself away from the door and turned to face it, scowling it. Which of the adversaries that might wait outside would he choose to deal with? He still wasn't sure, but he'd make up his mind once he opened the door and stepped outside.

The Master would probably be the better choice, he thought, a wry smile quirking his lips. This was probably the first time he'd have willingly chosen to deal with the Master, but as humans said, better the devil you know, than the one you don't.

Taking a deep breath, he reached for the door handle, ready to pull it open and face whatever devil might be waiting on the other side for him. If he was lucky, the one that he was more willing to face would be there -- and if not, then there was no telling which way fate would lead him.

***