"How are you here?" The Doctor said, still not over the shock of yet again being forced to look upon her burning home. You couldn't believe that it had been destroyed. You were there when the Doctor saved Gallifrey with his other selves.
"Take my hand." The Master demanded as he stood at the base of the boundary. Seeing him again cut you like a knife. A searing pain made itself known in your mind as you fought against the foreign feeling that threatened to tear down all your defences. "You too." He motioned for you to come closer. This took you by surprise.
"What do you want with me?" The Master fixed you with a piercing stare. There something in his eyes that you had never seen before and it caused goose bumps to ripple across your skin.
"Because it concerns you too. You are not who you think."
"What?"
"Never." The Doctor spat. Took a stance in front of you.
"Take my hand or I turn them all into human dolls, right here."
"How have you managed to connect Gallifrey to the boundary?" It wasn't hard tell that the Master's patience was wearing thin.
"Fine. You really want me to show you I'm serious? Eeenie meanie miney miney." He pointed his tissue compressor at each of the people that stood behind you and the Doctor.
"Fine. I'll play your game. Take me and leave (Y/n) out of it."
"No can do. The both of you are coming with me or your precious humans will be cut down to size."
You walked to stand next to the Doctor and placed a hand on her shoulder. The conflict was clear in her eyes, but the both of you knew that you didn't have much choice.
"And it's not a game. Good luck, humans." He gripped you hand and pulled you through the boundary knowing the Doctor would follow. A gasp escaped you as it felt like you were being pulled through jelly. You stumbled as your feet met the red earth of Gallifrey. You heard the Doctor land behind you.
"Look upon my work, Doctor, (Y/n) and despair." You stood in between them as you gazed upon the ruins of the citadel. It was quiet. That was what you noticed immediately. You couldn't feel anything. The hums of thoughts were also absent and it was then when it finally sunk in. He had killed them all.
"Ask me why did I do this?" He asked the Doctor.
"Why did you do this?" Her eyes became glazed over as she tried to understand what would lead him to destruction.
"Not telling you."
"Why am I here?" You asked him again. "What has all this got to do with me?" You found yourself edging closer to him.
"I told you. You are not who you think."
"Stop being so cryptic!"
The Master laughed at your frustration as he took joy in getting under skin.
"It's time for you to know the truth."
---
2017 - The Tardis
"You know you can't trust her, right?" Nardole said as he stood, arms crossed in front of the Doctor.
"Oh, he knows it, Nardole, give it a rest." You stated from your seat on the stairs.
"I know you've been sneaking in there. The both of you." You froze at that.
"How did you know?" You thought you had been stealthy in your meeting with the timelord. Your gaze met the Doctor's as he leaned on the console. His expression gave away that he also knew.
"Do you think I'm stupid? What do you hope to gain?" Nardole placed his hands on hips. You rolled your eyes at his attempt at being assertive.
"We just talk. Where's the harm in that?"
"Why would you want to talk to her in the first place is what I want to know, after everything she's done."
"Well, everyone deserves a shot at redemption. No matter what they have done. Besides, I think the isolation is working. She's feeling remorse." The Doctor's body seem to lift at your revelation.
"You felt it?"
You nodded. "And there was something else. A deep routed sadness that's tearing her apart." You voice cracked as you remembered how it would gnaw away at you every time you were close to her. You could still feel it resounding from her in the vault. "But she still keep her mind closed off from me."
"Sorry." Bill interjected and she looked between all of you. "But what are you talking about?" Confusion was coming off her in waves.
This was something you always dreaded talking about. Your life sentence. The thing you had to endure your entire life.
"(Y/n) has a gift -" Nardole began as your ground your teeth together.
"Don't call it that." You snapped. Sighing, you sent him an apologetic look. "I have this ability called Empathy as well as Telepathy. Basically, I'm psychic."
You became increasingly irritated when you felt Bill's confusion heighten. "And before you ask. Yes, it is like it sounds and at the same time it's not, it's far worse."
The Doctor took the opportunity to take over as he saw I was reluctant to say more on the subject. "(Y/n) is the most powerful psychic I have ever met. She doesn't just feel and hear the thought and emotions of those around her. She has the ability to sense everyone's on the planet."
You were uncomfortable with sharing this information with other people, but you knew you could trust Bill. The way the Doctor had described your ability with such awe made you feel a little less like an unfortunate human.
"And it's exhausting and it hurts. Before I met the Doctor, I was on the verge of ending it all. I went to specialist after specialist and none of them knew what was wrong me. They put me on medication that made me sick. I was falling and there was no end in sight..."
---
Gallifrey
The Master recounted in excruciating detail how he killed every living being on the planet as he led you both through the ruins. The Doctor remained silent, refusing to show the Master the true extent of what she was feeling. But you could feel it. She was in agony. You felt it as the scars on hearts reopened as she silently mourned for this loss of her people. Your headache became worse as shadows danced across your vision. Echoes from the dead met your ears as you swayed on your feet with the weight of their suffering. You didn't even realise you were crying until you felt the warmth of your tears meander down your cheeks.
"They don't deserve your tears, (Y/n)." The Master told you with a surprisingly gentleness.
"Why have you done this? Why have you caused so much pain?"
"Oh, trust me when I say the Timelords are guilty of causing more pain then you can ever imagine."
You entered the main part of the Citadel and walked through winding corridors until you came into a chamber. There was something about it that was - familiar. A knot formed in the pit of your stomach and your heart panged against your ribcage as the feeling of fear began to travel through you. You couldn't identify where it was coming from, but then you realised, the fear was yours.
"What is this place?" It was hard to get those words out as your throat constricted making it hard for you to breath. The Doctor attempted to go over to you, but was stopped when the Master pointed his Tissue Compressor at her. The Doctor stood still on the podium. Her eyes flickered over you and you smiled in an attempt to show you were alright, but everyone in that room knew that you were far from it. The Master' expression was unreadable as he turned to look at you. You could no longer feel any emotion from him. He had completely shut himself off from you.
"The Matrix. A formatted collection of every Timelord consciousness that has ever been. I have to admit when I hacked into its core that I was just messing around. Until I found what the founding fathers had kept from us. The lie of the timeless child."
The Master's words sparked something in the back of your mind as a burst of pain surged through your synapses and caused to you to clutch you head in agony. An image burned in your head. Two gleaming towers with an electric purple sky and a child. You fell to your knees. Why were you seeing this?
"What are you doing to her?" The Doctor demanded to know as she wanted nothing more than to go over to you, but the Master her prevented her from doing so as he activated something on his tissue compressor. Rings of light suddenly surrounded the Doctor as she gasped in pain.
"Paralysation field. You're not going anywhere."
"Whatever you want with me, fine. But save my friends. Don't let the cybermen take them. And leave (Y/n) alone. If the history between us means anything to you..."
"I do believe you're appealing my better nature. And we both know I don't have one. I'm not going to help them, and neither are you." He ran over to the paralysation field. "And the history between us does mean something. It's the rage and pain in my hearts." The Master pointed over to where you lay. "Oh, and to answer your previous question. I'm not doing anything to her. She's doing it all on her own. I'm just helping her."
"To do what?"
"To remember. To set her free."
---
Mondasian Ship
You stood frozen beside the Doctor as you watched her walk away from you. You knew that you shouldn't care, but you did. Way too much. The Doctor had begged her to stay, to stand with him, Instead she chose to run away.
"Go after her."
"What?" You couldn't believe that he would say something like that.
"You heard me."
"Why - why would I do that?" The Doctor gave you a look.
"Just go."
You swayed on your feet before throwing your arms around him. He jerked back in shock, but recovered as he slowly wrapped his arms around you.
"Thank you." You whispered before running off in the direction you saw them leave. You couldn't believe that you were leaving him behind, but at the same tine it felt right. You honed in on voices up ahead of you as you went further into the woods. Then it hit. A sharp pain that fizzled across your skull. You stumbled, but you managed to stay on your feet. You ran to where the pain was being broadcast from and prayed that it wasn't what you feared.
"Missy! I will never stand with the Doctor!"
You felt a shift in the air and you pushed yourself to go faster.
"Yes, my dear, you will." Her eyes made contact with yours as you ran into the clearing. Missy smiled at you before gasping in pain. You managed to catch her before she hit the floor.
"What have you done?" You said to the Master as you looked down at the dying woman in your arms. "You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay." You murmured again and again into her hair as you rocked her gently.
"No she isn't. I gave her the fall blast. No regeneration. Nothing. This is where we've been going, Missy, we stab ourselves in the back!" His laugh echoed around the clearing as the doors to the lift slid shut.
"You followed me." She whispered as she cupped the side your head. Your own hand fell to her cheek as she brought you closer.
"Of course I did. I would follow you anywhere." You confessed. A small smile painted her lips that soon turned into a grimace as her body began to shut down. You could see it in her eyes how much she was fighting it. To stay awake. To stay with you. The walls she had built around herself were crumbling and you could feel everything. It flowed through your body and overrun your senses. Tears fell down your cheeks as you stared into her blue eyes. She finally let you in. There were no clear thoughts or memories, only flashes, but the thing that surprised you the most was they all contained you.
"I'm sorry." She placed a fingers over your lips, silencing you from attempting any interruptions. "I want you to know that because I can't say it enough. I know you don't understand, but you will, and that is when everything will change - forever." Her body relaxed into your hold as she excepted her fate.
"No, please! Don't give up! Please!"
"Hush, dear. Now, I have a request."
"Anything."
"Kiss me."
---
Gallifrey
You vision cleared as you took in your surroundings. Nothingness greeted you. Your body felt strange as if it wasn't your own.
"Ah! Lovely! I was beginning to wonder when you were going to join us." The Master's voice filtered through to you. "Rise and shine! Welcome to the Matrix!"
"I'm sorry if I don't return the enthusiasm." You quipped as you stood to your feet and properly took in where you were. There wasn't much to see. It was if the three of you were floating in a grey sky. You felt the Doctor's uneasiness as you finally met the Master's eyes. He was looking at you expectantly as if he was waiting for you to say something else. Did he expected that all of this would somehow impress you? You had no clue what was running through his mind and it scared you. For the first time in your life you wished you could delve deep into his subconscious and uncover what hidden behind those tired, sad eyes. He seemed to give up with seeking what he was looking for as he fixed the Doctor with a grin.
"Are we suffering comfortably?" He pouted when he got nothing out of the Doctor except for a steeled gaze. Your hand found hers as you the both you craved the comfort. You expected the Master to say something descending, but instead, his eyes seem gleam.
"Then I shall begin. Once upon a time. No - Once upon several times..." And so the Master told you about the origins of Gallifrey. About Tecteun had been an earlier pioneer in dangerous space travel. How her voyage led to an opening to answer universe or dimension and how she found a child, abandoned and alone. Seeing the image that had caused you such pain caused you to recoil from it. The Master saw this and ripped you away from the Doctor and forced you to watch as he continued with the story. You learned how Tecteun adopted the child and took her back to Gallifrey where she became obsessed with what species her child could be and where should could have come from. The Master's stood closer to you as the three of you watched as the child played with another. You could feel the Master's gaze burning in the back of your skull as the child fell. Your eyes widened as you saw her regenerate. Sweat trickled down your brow as an ache spread across your body. It became worse as you witnessed the child regenerate again and again. Then it stopped. The Doctor took in a shuddering breath as she gazed at the child. She had your face. The innocence that was once in her eyes gone; replaced with nothing, but fear.
"No no no no." You whispered over and over. It felt as if your veins were on fire. Your legs buckled beneath you, but the Master wrapped his arms around your waist to keep you standing as he forced you to gaze upon your mirror image. "I don't want to see anymore, please make it stop."
"Nearly there now, I promise." His hot breath fanned against your ear.
The images continued as they showed Tecteun use what she had discovered on herself and regenerated. You were then shown the construction of the citadel. The Master explained how Tecteun gene spliced the child's DNA into others creating an elite, calling themselves Timelords. You found it hard to concentrate on anything as the burning in your mind eradicated everything. The images faded away and you found yourself back at the beginning, suspended in a grey vacuum that seemed darker than before. The Master let you go as you stumbled. The Doctor caught you.
"The rest, as they say, is history." He turned his back to you both.
"The child. Why did she look like me? Please tell me it's just a coincidence." You said, but you knew that there was no such thing.
"I'm afraid it's a little bit more complicated than that."
"What happened to the child?" The Doctor interjected. The Master laughed as he turned to look at her. "What? What's so funny? What happened to the child?" You already knew the answer.
"Oh, Doctor, really? Haven't you worked this out yet? (Y/n) has. Well, at least part of it. The child is you." His gaze was on the Doctor. She took in a big intake of breath as shock spread through her.
"What? No I'm not."
"You are the timeless child." The Master grinned at the Doctor's expression before he turned to you.
"Okay. No more games. What has all this had to do with me?"
"Do you want me to spell it out for you? You've come so far, (Y/n), don't stop now. I said you had worked out part of the truth, you just need to connect the dots."
It had been staring you in the face the entire time. How had you never realised before?
"It's not possible." You breath came out in short pants as the blaze in your mind became worse.
"What? What is?" The Doctor asked in frustration as you doubled over with the pain.
"Isn't obvious? She's an echo of you."