She walks away from her past, leaving him dying in the elevator.
There's something cathartic somehow about knowing he will be over soon and another step closer to being her- to being-
Good.
The word is something she doesn't mind wearing now- a new hat that she could change at ease but finds herself quite attached to for all the time it has taken her to find the appreciation of it.
The Doctor helps- makes it easier for her to care.
Now she must help him. Find him amongst the mess of her past and pull him from it to somewhere new- somewhere where even if not everybody lives they can do their best to limit the suffering.
So she walks on- turns her back on the past as it roars at her- no longer person but beast, rage and hatred and disgust.
She walks on, heeled shoes biting into false earth which nevertheless seems to want to pull her beneath its skin.
She walks on, towards the person who matters most- the one who this is for.
Then there's a click and she feels her mind whirl and remembers pulling the trigger and she can't- she won't-
Not even his face one more time.
Not even a single star.
Not even her name in a voice she knows intimately no matter how it changes.
Then there's a hand around her ankle and she's tumbling down and the beam of light passes above her.
The fake tree flickers into nothingness.
The monster screams at her, her name, but she just grins, seeing that face smiling back at her- giddy.
"Doctor." She gasps out as her past snarls, reaiming.
The Doctor is already standing between herself and her past self. He's covered in mud and it reminds her of when they were small.
"Do you think I couldn't kill you? All it takes is one click old man ! You're barely held together anyway- falling apart at the edges." The Master spits as if his words were hot oil.
"Do you think I wouldn't?" The man cries out.
The only Time Lord standing raises an eyebrow, looking down at the child in the lift.
"I know you can't." He says, "It's always been our weakness." He admits, voice grave as he raises an arm.
"I'll see you soon… Missy." The Doctor says, pressing a button on his sonic which sends the doors slamming closed and quietens the angered screeching and the harsh bangs from inside.
He waits a moment, eyes closed then turns.
The Doctor picks up the battered umbrella and extends it to the Mistress, staring up at him.
"You are the most important person in my life- do you think I could just throw that away? Come. Stand with me." He asks, letting down his other hand, sonic stowed in his pocket.
The Mistress smiles, cheeks flushed with joy.
She takes his hand and stands, laying the other on the umbrella's handle.
"It's all I've ever wanted." She replies, raising her eyes to his.
The Doctor just chuckles, turning on his heels so they both face the same way.
"Me too." He says.
"There's no one else I'd prefer to be by my side when I'm fighting one of my most deadly enemies." The Time Lord says honestly.
"Well." Missy replies, tilting her head a little to look at him, "I suppose we have some people to save?" She smiles earnestly at him.
He smiles back and the Mistress feels warmth seep back into her.
"Yes- I suppose we do."