Chapter Text
She was forced to watch. That was the worst part. Standing in the supposed safety of the Tardis console room, all she could do was stare at the screen above her as he gloated. How many times had she been put in this position? How many times had she wanted nothing more than to help her closest friend, only for her to be tantalisingly out of reach? As brilliant as the Tardis was, it was still too slow. It wasn’t going to get there in time. The Doctor was relying on her more than ever, only to be let down. And all Yasmin Khan could do was watch as she pleaded with the ship to work faster.
She saw the Doctor in a glass box, looking as scared as Yaz had ever seen her. There had only been a few occasions where her apparent fear had come close to what she must have been experiencing now. Because the Doctor knew what was about to happen, and knew that there was no way of stopping it. Surrounded by Daleks and evolved Cybermen, all somehow led by her oldest friend. The friend that wanted to destroy her the only way he knew how. By taking away the one thing she cared about the most: her ability to help people.
There weren’t many things that could frighten a Time Lord. They were a race that had told themselves that they were above such trivial emotions. But forced regeneration was something that kept them up at night, the worst punishment that could be handed out. Your entire identity…wiped away, a life stolen when still in its prime. And the Master was looking to tamper with that, to make it even worse. Because the Doctor’s legacy would continue no matter if her face changed, unless he took it upon himself to tear that reputation down, piece by piece, until the Doctor’s name became a curse across the cosmos. So much like his own had become. All he’d ever wanted was for his friend to understand what it was like to be him. Now he could finally accomplish that.
Yaz felt the Tardis landing, the one ray of hope she was clinging onto that something would work in their favour. The Daleks would revolt and strike the Master down before he enacted his plan. The Cybermen would realise that they didn't need to be controlled and delete the rogue Time Lord where he stood. Yaz had never wanted such hideous monsters to follow their basic instincts as dearly as she wanted it now. It should have concerned her, how quickly her morals faded at the sight of the Doctor in trouble. But, as she watched the Master step into his corresponding cage, she realised she would have burned the universe just to stop him.
By the time the blue box materialised into existence, coming to stand barely a few feet from the conversion chambers, it was already too late. Yaz rushed out from the doors, not caring about the Daleks, nor the Cybermen. She didn't care if she was executed on the spot, as long as she could reach the Doctor. She skidded to a halt as she saw the golden glow surrounding both of them, fiery tendrils of energy flowing between them. Connecting them. Dividing them once again. She saw their faces switch momentarily, glitching horrendously as the change happened.
The part that tore at Yaz’s heart was how the Doctor’s final act was to call out her name.
The process came to an end, the machinery smoking after how far it had been pushed. Every law of Gallifrey had been broken in one fell swoop. It had taken the power of an entire planet to defy nature. Yaz didn't know what to do. She felt her hands shake. Her legs wanted to give way. But she remained standing because, no matter what had happened, the Doctor needed her to be strong. After years of travelling through time and space, Yasmin Khan had learnt how to appear brave in the face of crippling anguish. Right now, the mask felt impossibly fragile, threatening to slip at any moment.
With little fanfare, one of the doors opened, a figure stumbling out. Through the smoke, Yaz caught a glimpse of a familiar grey coat and instinctively moved towards it. Perhaps it hadn’t worked. Perhaps it wasn’t at all possible to accomplish what the Master had dreamed. She felt hands wrap around her wrists needily, the other person clinging onto her like a life source. But they weren’t hands that she had felt before. The Doctor had been touch averse for most of their time together, which meant Yaz had grown to savour the sensation whenever those barriers were breached.
The cloud dispersed and she looked in the eyes of the Master. He was wearing exactly the same clothes as the Doctor, including the earring that Yaz loved so much. The facade of Rasputin had been completely abandoned, his hair much shorter than it had been just a few moments before. Yaz let go of him as soon as the shock had worn off, allowing him to drop to the floor. She expected him to gloat, to rub it in her face that he had successfully done as he’d promised. He’d removed the Doctor from existence. His ultimate victory. The Master had always been one for theatrics, yet he now remained on the floor, practically curled up into a ball. Yaz might have gone as far as describing him as feeble.
It took a few attempts for him to drag himself up, and even then he was only able to get to his knees. Fearful of what he might do to her, Yaz attempted to move away but he basically lunged at her feet. His movements were erratic and uncontrolled as he staggered closer to her, not allowing her to leave him. His grip was surprisingly tight despite how his body was still evidently reeling from the unorthodox regeneration. Yaz didn't want to be anywhere near him, mainly because it hurt too much to see anyone in that outfit. The eclectic mix of clothes would only ever suit one person, and it seemed as if she’d been taken from her.
“Get off me!” Yaz yelled, going as far to step on his fingers to finally get him to relinquish his hold.
“Yaz,” he gasped desperately, his words coming out like a choke. “Yaz…you don’t understand…”
She grew angry, incensed by his sheer audacity. “I think I understand perfectly well. You forced the Doctor to regenerate against her will. You took over her body.” Showing a surprising amount of strength, she picked the Time Lord up by the lapels of his coat. Not his coat. It would never be his. “Now change back!” She was so close to his face that tiny specks of spittle were evident on his cheeks from how much she’d raised her voice.
“Trust me…I would if I could…you just need to listen to me for a moment. If you allow me to explain…”
“You can’t make me do anything,” Yaz hissed. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. You know what my biggest regret is, Master ? I wish I’d shot you as soon as I was given the chance. I wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it, that’s for sure.”
“Is this what I turned you into, Yaz?” It looked awfully like there were tears in his eyes. He must have been a very good actor.
Yaz pushed him away slightly. “I can safely say that you had no role to play in the person I’ve become. That’s all down to the Doctor.”
He bowed his head. “That’s what I’m afraid of. Because…I am the Doctor, Yaz. You need to see that.”
Her nostrils flared. “What sort of joy do you get out of this? How twisted do your hearts have to be to do this? You’re not the Doctor and you never will be! Because she was more than just the body. She was defined by the love that people had for her…defined by how high she rose on the good days and how she managed to overcome the darkest of times. That’s who she is , because I refuse to talk to her in the past tense. And you, Master…will always pale in comparison.”
“Yaz…please…the conversion…it’s not what you think. It was a conversion of consciousness.” He was pleading with her now to understand. “Our minds…our souls…they were ripped from one body and placed in the other. I’m the Doctor…but I look like the Master. And you’re not going to believe me…”
“You’re right,” she said, interrupting his flow. “I’m not going to accept anything you say as truth. Every single word that falls out of that mouth has been a lie from the very beginning. That’s how it all started, you pretending to be someone you’re not. And you’re doing the same thing now! I just want to know what the point of tricking me is? Haven’t I suffered enough? You’ve taken everything from me.”
“Is there anything I can say that’d make you even consider listening to me?”
Yaz had to admit that she was growing suspicious of his eyes. They seemed different. She’d looked into them before, earlier that day when they’d been in the Tardis. They had been cold and calculating, betraying whatever show he was putting on. But now…there was something so achingly familiar about them. She had to remind herself that it was likely all a part of the trick, a way of luring her into his grasp. If she didn't look away, she would soon be trapped and then there really would be no helping the Doctor.
“Nothing,” came her reply, but she wasn’t as sure about it anymore.
“Something the Master couldn’t possibly know. What about…what you told me your nani said…courage is knowing something will hurt and doing it anyway. Even if it’s also the definition of stupidity.”
Yaz faltered somewhat. “That…doesn’t prove anything. You could have accessed her memories during the conversion, weaponising them against me. That’s a low blow, even for you.”
“Oh, Yaz.” He placed his head on her stomach. “Please. The only thing I know is that the only way I come through this is if I have you by my side. I don’t have the strength on my own. You’ve been there for me from the very beginning…ever since we met on that train…don’t leave me now when I need you the most.”
“Stop it!” Yaz yelled, pulling away and turning her back on him. It was easier not to look at him. “Just stop it!”
“What a predicament we have here…”
Yaz spun around instantly at the sound of that voice. It couldn’t be. Fate wouldn’t be that cruel to mess with her like this. But she saw the other woman stepping out from the second box, some of the Cybermen turning their heads to look at her arrival properly. The Doctor. The person Yaz had thought she’d lost. She was standing there, looking rather strange in the clothes of Rasputin. Thankfully, she didn't have the corresponding beard, though her blonde hair was wilder and more unkempt than Yaz had ever seen it. She was walking slightly differently to how she normally did, her steps more accentuated when she was usually a bundle of energy with every movement.
“Doctor!” Yaz yelled, a smile returning to her face as she ran over to her. “How is this possible? What happened? Did his plan work? What are you wearing?”
“Stay away from her, Yaz!” the Master instructed, slowly getting to his feet. “Think about it rationally.”
“Let her come to her own conclusions,” the Doctor countered.
She was staring at her companion with a smirk. Yaz had looked at that face more times than she’d care to admit and that’s when it clicked. The Master’s face could hide a thousand secrets, but the Doctor’s face would always be an open book to her. Once more, it was eyes that betrayed the truth. There was none of the Doctor’s warmth in there. Yaz didn't know what to think. Was she supposed to gravitate back towards the struggling man who claimed to be her Time Lord? Or was she expected to fall back on instinct and cling onto the woman who had never led her wrong before?
“If it was a two-way conversion…” Yaz slowly began. “...if your minds were swapped…then that’d mean…”
The woman smiled. She didn't have to hold Yaz to keep her still. Her gaze was strong enough to leave her frozen to the same spot. “Say it, Yaz. Say it. I want to hear you say it.” It was the Doctor’s voice, that was for sure. Just with an added sharpness that sent a confusing thrill down Yaz’s spine.
“You’re…the Master…”
She flung her head backwards at Yaz’s words, moaning loudly. “Oh, you don’t understand how good that feels!”
Yaz looked back at the Master…no, the Doctor. That was going to take some getting used to. “You weren’t lying…”
“I’d never lie to you, Yaz,” he said. “Not anymore. I wanted to do better.”
The Master rolled her eyes so vigorously that the action was practically audible. “Just look at the way they’re falling at your feet. It’s, quite frankly, pathetic. But, then again, I shouldn’t expect anything else from them.”
“Why are you doing this?” Yaz asked. “Why go to all this trouble? Why not just kill them?” Not that she wanted that to happen. Definitely not. The aliens surrounding her seemed to perk up at the mention of doing that, as if they were waiting to be instructed.
The Master slowly prowled around Yaz, walking in a tight circle so that their bodies kept grazing against one another. “You put it very eloquently yourself, Yaz. Remove the Doctor and they would be glorified for the rest of time. Their legend is what maintains them. But now…whatever I do, I can tell them that it was the Doctor, and their legacy will be finally tarnished…as it has deserved for so long.”
“It seems like a lot of effort to go to…”
“Can’t I have a bit of fun at the same time as destroying them? What can I say? I like a bit of entertainment.”
“You’re not going to get away with this.”
The Master clicked her tongue. “I think you’ll find…I already have.” She pouted with mock sincerity. “Oh, would you look at the way you’re staring at me? You’re so conflicted, aren’t you? Hey…do you want to hear something really interesting?” She moved in closer, so much so that Yaz could feel her teasing breath on her neck. She wished it didn't have such an effect on her. “I know your secret.” Her words came out as a soft whisper, tickling Yaz’s ear and making her heart beat faster.
“Don’t listen to her, Yaz,” the Doctor said but he was still suffering more than his counterpart from the conversion, still trying to understand his new body.
The Master simply rolled her eyes, choosing to ignore the other Time Lord and standing in front of Yaz. Her hands were roaming her new body, coming up to her chest. Her eyes flashed with delight. “It hasn’t been that long since I last had these…but I have missed them.”
Yaz attempted to turn her head away, to put her gaze onto anything else, but the Master was there to hold her chin, forcing them to stare at one another. The touch might have been considered gentle if it had come from anyone else. There was an underlying element of control though, signifying just how much the Master had the upper hand.
“You’re so… human ,” she murmured. “You did the one thing you’re not supposed to do. You fell in love with the Doctor.” She smirked at the way Yaz’s eyes flickered to the person in question, before returning to the Master once again. “But don’t you see? You could never have that with them, Yaz. They’ve always been too fragile for that sort of thing. Their hearts have been closed off for centuries.” Her fingers delicately roamed around Yaz’s neck, fiddling with the necklace there. “But it doesn’t have to be that way now. You fell in love with this face, my face . What do you say? I’ve got a Tardis. There’s still so much that I’ve got to do to properly cement my victory.”
The Master held out her hand. “You could stand by my side, Yaz. I can give you what you’ve always wanted. And I mean… everything …” Their faces came closer and the Master pecked her on the lips. Yaz was too dumbstruck to move, barely able to register what had happened. “I think you’ve got a decision to make, Yasmin Khan. You could stay with the person you idolise...that disappointing man on the ground...or you could follow the woman you love...me”