The War Within ~ Dhawan!Master x F!Reader
Request: Hi, an awkward bean here. But what about a TimeLady!Reader saving Dhawan!Master from that Green dimension thing. Perhaps the Master had feeling for her, yet never knew she had survived. Maybe she had a perception filter on and finally found the master having been looking for him cause she too has feelings for him. Hehe. ( @drapetxmaniia )
Summary: (Y/N) was a Timelord. She’d ran away, searching for her friends, but when she returned, her home was burnt. She knew she needed to find her friends.
Warnings: Angst and a bit of sadness.
(Y/N) had survived the destruction of Gallifrey. She had to watch her home burn. She mourned her planet, a fire within her burning as she felt rage. Rage against whoever had done it. She knew of the two Timelords that had ran away from Gallifrey. The Doctor and The Master. In fact she knew more than of them. She was their friend. Well, was.
She was more a friend to the Master, as she’d know him longer. The Doctor had ran away long before the Master followed suit. She always knew he was unpredictable. He was almost unhinged at times. It started ever since he looked into the time vortex. The drums.
She tried her best to be there for him, but it was hard. He was aggressive, spontaneous (in a bad way) and crazed. But she couldn’t help but still try. Try to make him better. She eventually fell for the fellow Timelord. She knew nothing could ever happen. He didn’t have interest in relationships. Friendship or romantic. He would say he only needed himself.
Then he left. He left her behind, disappearing from their home without a word. She somewhat resented him for it, but understood. He couldn’t stay in the place that had created him. She dreaded to think what he’d been doing over the decades. The war between the Daleks and Timelords began, ending in destruction everywhere. There were tales of how The Doctor saved them from the war, locking them away in another dimension, safe from harm but also trapped from the rest of the universe.
However, it seemed the Timelords only grew angrier, more reckless. They felt powerless, which led to utter chaos. The founding fathers started to do things that were unthinkable. They began to turn against their own. Wars were erupting around the planet. Timelords fighting Timelords. Their population was slowly dwindling. (Y/N) knew she needed to find the Doctor and the Master. They were the only two she knew could stop the madness.
So there she was; travelling the universe in a TARDIS she stole. Isn’t that how all great stories started?
She’d been able to trace the Doctors steps easily. She wasn’t exactly discreet. Any sign of trouble, she would be there. But the Master on the other hand...
Last she had heard he was dead. She didn’t believe it. It wasn’t in his nature to stay dead. He always somehow managed to survive.
So she kept searching. Hoping.
(Y/N) had decided to go home, try to find out more from the founding fathers, seeing if they could use them to track down the Master. But when she had arrived... her whole planet had been destroyed. Fires were lit, buildings had fallen... there was no sign of life.
That’s when (Y/N) had decided to go after the Doctor. If she couldn’t find the Master then at least she could find the Doctor. Her TARDIS had brought her to a bunker on Earth in England. Her ship disguised itself as a small brick building next to the bunker. She stepped out seeing the planes on the runway. Then she heard voices, and yelling. She quickly ran towards the bunkers entrance, peaking round the corner, seeing the Doctor and her companions with a man who felt familiar. They were surrounded by creatures that shone bright.
The Doctor played a recording of the mans voice back to him, as the man seemed to look disappointed, and annoyed. The next thing she knew the man had disappeared with the creatures, leaving the others alone.
“What happened? Where’d the Master go?”
One of the humans asked, causing (Y/N) to look surprised. The Master? He was the Master?!
She instantly ran back to her TARDIS, scanning the area the creatures had just been, trying to find an energy source or remnants of where they had come from. Finally she locked onto something, pulling a lever as her ship took off.
The TARDIS jolted as she landed. She quickly ran to the door, opening it as she was met with a dark, desolate place. She looked round, feeling her senses going off the charts. The energy was unbearable. She stepped out, walking forward, eyes searching wildly.
Suddenly, she was attacked from behind as a hand covered her mouth. She tried to get the persons hand off of them as she kicked behind her, causing the person to hiss in pain and loosen their grip. She took it as an advantage as she elbowed them in the side, managing to slip away from their grip. She grabbed a device from her jacket, aiming it at the man as he did the same. She narrowed her eyes, before realising who it was.
“Master?” She questioned, still holding her device in his direction. The Master titled his head slightly, wondering how the woman knew his name.
“How do you know who I am?” He asked, his voice low. She shook her head, lowering her device.
“Don’t you recognise me?” She raised a brow. “I know I’ve changed a bit but, come on.” She laughed lightly. “Thought Timelords were meant to recognise each other.” He narrowed his eyes, suspicious.
“The Timelords are dead.” He hissed, stepping towards her.
“And yet, here we are.” She swallowed hard, looking at him in the eye as he slowly lowered his device.
“(Y/N)?” He questioned, brows furrowed. She smiled at the man.
“Bout time.” She folded her arms. “Thought I was gonna have to get the photo albums out to remind you.”
The Masters features softened as he realised who she was. He blinked a few times, shaking his head.
“How did you survive?” He asked, looking her up and down.
“I ran away.” She replied shortly. “But you know Gallifrey has been burned.” She told him, walking back towards her ship, which had disguised itself as one of the bizarre wire/chord looking things. “We need to find who did it.” She entered her ship, the Master hesitantly following. He felt his hearts racing as she spoke. He didn’t know how to tell her, he was the one to destroy their home.
“I ran away, trying to find you and the Doctor.” She told him, as he entered her ship. “Chaos was starting to erupt in the city. Then the whole planet. Wars broke out between our people.” She shook her head at the memory. “They turned on each other.” She stopped, looking over at the man, whose eyes were soft.
“How did you know where I was?” The Master asked, raising a brow.
“I have my ways.” She responded shortly. She seemed colder than he remembered. He remembered her being full of life, loud, bubbly... the woman stood before him was different. She was colder, more stern, rarely wore a smile.
“How long has it been?” The Master inquired, walking towards her.
“I stopped counting.” (Y/N) shrugged. “Wasn’t important anymore.” She looked over at him. She couldn’t help her feel her hearts race at the sight of him. Little did she know, she felt the same. “Why did you never come home?”
“Because I was there.” She furrowed her brows. “I waited. Every day I wondered if you would show up. And when the wars began...” She shook her head, looking down. “For some reason I hoped it was you that had started one. Just so I could see you. My friend.” She pulled the lever, the TARDIS beginning to disappear into the vortex.
“I’m sorry.” He told her sincerely, grabbing her arm as she went to turn away. She looked up at him, her eyes holding tears, but she refused to let them go.
“It doesn’t matter now. All that matters is that we find whoever burnt Gallifrey.” She told him, snatching her arm away as she rounded the console. The Master sighed, closing his eyes before speaking.
The room fell silent as (Y/N) listened to his words.
“What?” She asked, turning back to look at him.
“It was me. I burned Gallifrey.”
“No.” She laughed lightly. “No, it couldn’t have been.” She ignored him as he tried to talk to her, before she snapped. “Why?!” She shouted. “Why?! Why would you do that?!”
“The things I discovered... they deserved to pay.” He told her, his eyes sad, but also holding anger of his own. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “They were corrupt... The Timeless Child...” He started but she cut him off.
“Stop. Don’t.” She shook her head, hands trembling. She knew the prophecy, the stories...
“I’m sorry.” He told her once more, as she felt her hearts break.
“Why? Why did it have to be you...” She looked at him, eyes glossy as her cheeks were red from anger.
“Because no one else was going to do it.”
An hour or so later, (Y/N) reappeared after storming off. Her face was pale as her eyes were red. The Master could tell she had been crying.
“Does the Doctor know?” She asked, looking over at him.
“Yes.” He nodded. “She has yet to find out the full story though.”
“When will it end?” She asked, more herself as she sat beside him on the steps.
“Do you hate me?” He asked quietly, turning his head to look at her as she stared at him, laughing to herself slightly.
“I could never hate you. And that’s the problem.” She sighed, looking down. “I want to hate you. I’ve tried over the last 200 years.” She admitted. “But I never could.”
“Why?” He asked, raising a brow. “You have every right to.”
“Because I physically can’t.” She told him quietly. “Didn’t you ever wonder why I always stood by you? Why I always followed you round? Why I was so sad when you left?” He went quiet, looking at her as he analysed her features. “For a genius, you are thick.”
They both went quiet as the Master finally clicked what she was implying. She went to stand, as he grabbed her hand, looking up at her as she stood before him.
“If it’s any constellation...” He paused. “I feel the same.” He stared up at her. “When I... Destroyed our home... I hated myself for so long. Because, I thought of you.” He told her quietly. “I thought I had sacrificed you, to end the chaos. I thought I had killed you.” He admitted as she looked down at him, her mouth slightly agape. “I suppose I’ve been angry at the universe since.” He mumbled under his breath. (Y/N) sent him a small smile as she held his hand back. She sat back next to him as they just sat in silence, appreciating one another’s company.
“200 years?” The Master raised a brow. “I thought you said you’d stopped counting.” (Y/N) rolled her eyes, lightly whacking him in the chest.
~I’m beginning to get a bit confused with who wanted to be tagged! Please message me if you aren’t tagged and want to be!~
