The constant beep of the heart rate monitor disturbed the silence in the console room, but the Doctor didn't mind it as the sound reassured her that (Y/n) was still alive, but for how long? The Doctor had placed her on a panel that read her vital signs; The Master had disappeared not long after she had done this, unable to cope with the sight of their dying soulmate. The Doctor could feel it through their bond that he blamed himself for what was happening to (Y/n). She could hear echoes of his thoughts as they whispered to him that this was his punishment for the things he had done. She tried hard to reach him and pull him from the dark void his mind had fallen into, but she had to retreat when she felt the darkness call to her too. She would not succumb to its poisoned caresses, not when (Y/n) needed her. Her hearts panged when she saw how pale her soulmate had become. She sat down next to her, dejected and lost. Her hand felt so cold her in her own. What could she do? There must be something. There's always something.

Not always.

A pain suddenly pierced through her head and she saw burning. The Master's words echoed through the pain. "I took a trip home, to Gallifrey. Hiding in its little bubble universe. Not sure how to describe what I found. Pulverised. Nuked. All of the above. Someone destroyed it."

The Doctor kissed (Y/n)'s hand and laid her arm gently by her side before jumping to her feet. She ran over to the console and keyed in the coordinates for Gallifrey. Her hand rested hesitantly over the lever before forcing it down. She looked over to (Y/n) to make sure she was not affected by the sudden turbulence. A small part of her hoped that it would rouse her from her deep slumber. Her eyes remained closed. Her own eyes briefly fell closed with disappointment. She rushed over to the Tardis doors before she could talk herself out of it and flung them open. The smell of smoke assaulted her nostrils as she gazed at the sight of her burning home. A lump caught in her throat as she took in the destruction. She slammed the door shut and stumbled away before collapsing at the foot of the console breathing heavily. Gallifrey was gone. Everything she had done in order to prevent its blazing fate had been destroyed. A rage fuelled by the burning embers of her home within her as she screamed. (Y/n) groaned in her unconscious state as her hand which the Doctor had kissed twitched as it ached to be held, to offer comfort, to take the pain away.

"You went home." The Master said from behind her. The Doctor turned to see that he was standing at the top of the stairs. She stood on shaky legs and went over to him. "When I said someone did that. Obviously, I meant - I did. I had to make them pay for what I discovered. They lied to us - the founding fathers of Gallifrey. Everything we were told was a lie. We're not who we think, you or I." Nothing but utter despair could be felt through the bond. "The whole existence of our species built on the lie of the timeless child." The Doctor gasped and fell to a crouch as she saw a glimpse of a child standing before a great spire like structure reaching into an purple electric atmosphere. "Do you see it? It's buried deep in all our memories. In our identity. I'd tell you more, but it doesn't matter anymore. None of it matters anymore." He brushed passed her and went to (Y/n)'s side.

"You burned our home." She whispered, still trying to process what she had learnt.

"I had no choice."

"No choice?" The Doctor rose to her feet to face him. "Don't you dare talk to me about having no choice. Don't you dare! No choice is having to say goodbye to Rose Tyler on a beach in a different dimension, knowing that I can never see her again. No choice is having to stand by whilst you tortured Martha Jones' family as you ensured the destruction of Earth by cannibalising my Tardis. No choice is watching Professor Song die with having no idea how important she was to me. No choice is having to wipe Donna Noble's memory of me and how she saved the universe. No choice is having to rip Amy Pond away from Rory Williams' dead body as it is consumed by the light from the end of time. No choice is to stand helpless as he is erased from her mind. No choice is to let Amy Pond die so that Amelia Williams can go to her husband. No choice is to watch Clara Oswald die again and again to save me. No choice is taking River Song to the singing towers of darillium knowing that I can't prevent her death. No choice is to stand vigil over your body for a thousand years. No choice is having to watch Bill Potts being taken away with a hole her chest. No choice is coming face to face with a cyberman that was once my friend. No choice is having to stand alone as you walk away from me after I begged you to stay. No choice is dying alone where I couldn't see the stars. No choice is to shield my hearts and keep my distance, only to let them in and destroy me. No choice is standing before you now with my hearts shattered by what you have told me and done as I watch as our soulmate, our (Y/n) die."

The Doctor's throat had become raw from the strain of her words. Tears streamed down her face as smashed through the barrier she had built to keep herself shielded and poured everything into her soulmark. The Master wince and grit his teeth as he was hit by daggers of painful emotion. He swayed as he battled against his body in defiance. It became too much and he fell to his knees with the intensity of what was being projected through his soulmate mark.

"Stop, just stop - please just stop!" (Y/n) cried. The heartrate monitor became erratic. The Doctor and the Master both launched forward and fell to their knees as they grabbed a hold of her thrashing limbs, but as soon as they touched her she screamed as if they were burning her. Their eyes widened as they saw that her soulmarks had begun to bleed with crimson light.

"What is going on!?" The Master felt his chest tighten. He threw his jacket off and rolled up his sleeves to see his own marks turning red.

"I-I don't know! I've never seen anything like this before." The Doctor looked at his marks before following suit and throwing off her own jacket to see the same happening to hers. The Master felt his breath hitch in his throat as he gazed at the marks that inked her skin. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen them. She had always kept them hidden, even back on Gallifrey, when they were young and used to run through his father's red fields together. He acted without thinking and grasped a hold of her wrist and drew her closer to him. The contact caused a blaze of blistering heat to sear through them. The Doctor gasped at the sensation and tried to pull away on instinct, but stopped when she realised (Y/n)'s thrashing had stopped and the flaming colour of their marks had extinguished. Her heart rate had also returned to a steady and albeit stronger beat.

"Okay. Interesting. Not sure what happened there." The Doctor said breathless as she attempted to pull away from the Master, but his grip only tightened.

"I think you do. We both saw what just happened."

"Let go of me." The marks flared slightly and the Master growled with impatience as his breath fanned across her face.

"This - what you are doing is hurting (Y/n). Can't you see? You denying the bond is killing her." His other hand had intertwined with her limp one.

"Stop saying that - she isn't dying - I won't let her die."

"But you are. You are the one who is always trying to pull away. Even when we were children, you never allowed me to get too close. Do you remember when we found out we were soulmates? I was so happy that it was you, my best friend, but you pushed me away. Why?"

"Because I was scared."

"Of what?"

"I - I don't know. I felt something change inside me, a feeling that told me to run away and never look back." Her eyes travelled to (Y/n) as she placed her hand on his that was holding her wrist. "But I don't want to run anymore."

The Master was caught off guard as his lips met with hers in a heated kiss. His hand left her wrist to cup the nape of her neck as he pulled her closer. The Doctor's arms looped around his neck as the kiss deepened. They pulled away from each other after a few moments breathing heavily as rested their foreheads together. Their bond hummed in content.

The both froze when they heard the heart rate monitor increase and turned to (Y/n) only to find her awake and smiling.