Location: London, England, Earth
Date: 17th of March 2007
Police sirens could be heard throughout the streets of London as a bunch of police cars drove from all corner of the city towards central London. People stared, wondering what could have happened. Some checked their phones, to see if anyone knew what was going on. Others found themselves chitchatting with a nearby passerby about the situation.
Meanwhile, I grabbed my backpack and continue strolling in the opposite direction. I still could hardly believe Rina had convinced me to go through her 'things-to-do-before-I-die' bucket list, but here I was, sharing air with apes once more.
The only reason why I agreed was that Rina was technically dead because of me, and the little empathy I got from her was acting up. Even Nari agreed with Rina, mostly since she was bored of not having anything good to watch. Those two sub-consciousnesses really thought my life was some kind of telly show for them to watch.
Eventually, I went for it but only because most things on that list were somewhat interesting and I was bored. Rina had used Nari's knowledge and added some things to the list, like surfing on a solar flare and riding a dinosaur. Although the last one was still up for discussion since Rina wanted it to be a T-Rex and I still remembered that one time the Doctor locked me in my Tardis with a fast-growing T-Rex.
So, here I was on earth. I had just finished the number five of 'Rina's-list-of-stupid-things' and was about to return to my beautiful Tardis for another few months of locking myself in, to tinkle about with tech. I was a few streets away from reaching the Tardis when two annoying voices stopped me.
STOP! Rina and Nari called out in my head at the same time.
What the hell, since when do you two agree with each other? I asked, perplexed but stopped moving none the less.
Turn to the right. Nari said, calmy this time.
I looked to the right to see an old man selling newspapers and frowned. What were those two on about?
"Hello there missy, you want a newspaper?" The old man asked and a memory flashed through my mind. I knew this old guy, he was one of the Doctor's pet's grandfather ... Will something?
"Don't know, anything interesting on?" I asked looking around the various titles.
"Well, there's something about a village in the Welsh countryside literally eating people- the world's gone mad really." Donna's grandfather said, pointing at one of the newspapers.
"I always thought the human species we're a bunch of carnivorous greedy primates, thank you for confirming my thesis." I replied with a grimace.
The old man shrugged, probably not knowing what to answer to that before nodding towards another newspaper. "Prime Minister Harriet Jones has finally decided to step down, but nobody really knows who's going to be the new one. Elections should start in a few months, ohh.. and that new handsome fella, the minister of defense, is getting married next week."
Grab that newspaper and take a peak. Rina said I and could tell she was grinning.
I looked down and grabbed the newspaper and took a look, before letting out a gasp.
Told ya you should do the stuff in my list, you should do what I tell you all the time. Rina said with a laugh.
"Will something, I'm taking this one." I said, taking a large amount of pounds from my bag and dropping it in his stand.
"How do you know my name missy? It's Wilfred, but Will is fine." He asked, looking with wide eyes at the cash I just gave him. I would probably be a bit too much for a newspaper but I was feeling generous today.
"I know your granddaughter Donna." I replied in a hurry. "By the way, she's super hot. Love them gingers." I ran in a hurry with a laugh, returning quickly to the Tardis.
Meanwhile, Wilfred filled his pockets, wondering if he should tell Donna about the blonde missy that said she looked nice.
I was sitting casually in the couch reading through the newspaper, slightly bored and half amused at what these humans called news. I continued to read as the front door was opened and people walked into the house I was currently in.
I ignored the sounds and continued sitting in a relaxed manner, as If I owned the place. Before long a large female gasp was heard.
"Excuse me, who are you?" A blonde woman asked loudly. "Why are you in my home?"
I lazily took my eyes from the paper and glanced at the woman in question. A blonde female ape, with a loud voice and a fancy outfit. If I didn't particularly remember Rose's face from Rina's memories I might confuse the two.
"Dear Rassilion, it's like the cat and the lion situation all over again." I mumbled after a second, understanding what was going on. "It's like they're still time tots, never mind their actual ages."
"Excuse me, I'm calling the police!" The blonde declared loudly when she noticed I was ignoring her. I turned my eyes back to the newspaper and continued to read with a carefree expression on my face.
"Lucy, what's all that racket?" A male voice asked, as someone else stepped into the room.
"Harry, there's a woman in our house." The woman, Lucy, replied pointing towards me.
The man looked at me with a smirk, narrowing his eyes. I ignored him, enjoying the fact that my new piece of technology was working. I made a cerebral inhibitor in the form of a small earing just in case I ran into the Doctor, this way he couldn't get in my head or feel my presence unless I wanted him to. But who knew that the one to test my cerebral inhibitor would be the Master and not the Doctor.
"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" The Master, or rather Harold Saxon the Minister of Defense, asked taking a step towards me.
I turned the newspaper page slightly down and looked him in the eye for the first time in a few centuries, before glancing at the woman behind him. "He got a blonde pet, so you got a blonde pet and, just to take it up a notch, your getting married. It's like that one time when he got a cat and called it Fred, so you went and managed to genetically create a baby lion and called Derf."
What I didn't mention was that I snitched on them both to get rid of those creatures, like I would let them have their fun. Not to mention those two couldn't even take care of themselves, never mind a pet.
The Master's eyes widened in shock before he finally said. "Get out."
Lucy narrowed her eyes at me, and pulled her phone up. "Get out or I'm calling the police, get out of our house."
The Master rolled his eyes at turned to his fiance. "I was talking to you."
"What?" Lucy asked, shocked.
"Get out." He repeated, and I could see the ape was starting to annoy him. Lucy shut up and quickly left the room, before sending me another glare.
We were finally the only ones in the room. He took another few steps towards me, and the grin was back on his face full-force.
"Aren't you going to greet me?" The Master asked, his eyes glinting with madness but I could see his happiness too.
"Aren't you going to invite me to your wedding?" I replied, still slightly mad at that bit. Even if he was getting married to an ape on earth he should still invite me, his longest friend and partner in crime.
He rolled his eyes as if he was expecting that petty reply, but continued silent as if forcing me to comply.
I huffed in annoyance, and got up from the couch, before giving him a slight smirk of my own. "Greetings my Lord and Master."
He pulled my right hand up, giving it a light kiss before replying. "Greetings my Lady Rani."
"Not surprised to see me alive?" I asked, pulling my hand back.
"Not at all." He said amused and copied me. "Not surprised to see me alive?"
"Not at all." I copied him. "You know what they say, good people die faster and bad people live forever."
He laughed loudly for a few seconds before turning serious. "What happened to Gallifrey? I can't hear anyone else."
I understood what he meant and quickly pulled on my hearing, turning off the inhibitor. I took a step closer to him and reached for his temple. He understood what I was doing and didn't resist. When I connected our minds he let out a sigh of relief.
Nari never really cared about others, but she cared about the Master in her own way. He was the only one that never criticized her life choices or her experiments. Sure, they fought like cats and dogs from time to time, and she thought he was an idiot, but they were there for each other.
I had all of her memories and experiences, I was her, so I knew what was going on. Those drums of his were acting up, which wasn't surprising since now he didn't have the minds of other Time Lords to quiet them down. The only thing I could offer to help was to use my own to quiet it down a bit.
When the Master first told Nari about the drums she had been a bit skeptical, but she believed him none the less. Now, while I still couldn't access Rina's full knowledge I could still remember that it was real and that it was a beacon. For what, I wasn't sure but I would figure it out. Or force Rina to spill the beans.
After a few minutes, he pulled my hands down, and I could see that the madness in his eyes was calmer, more restrained. I mentally let out a sigh of relief, dealing with his prissy moods wasn't easy.
"What happened to Gallifrey?" He asked again, looking me in the eyes.
"I think you should talk about this with him." I replied, not sure about what I could say or not.
"I want you to tell me." The Master said, more like demanded.
I stayed silent for a while before finally answering. "It's gone."
"What do you mean it's gone?" He asked, frowning.
"I mean it's gone." I repeated, trying to send the point across. I wasn't sure how he was going to react, but instead of blowing up in a rage he let out a pained sigh.
"I see." The Master said, before glancing at me. "Did you do it?"
"It was my weapon, but no." I replied. The Master knew what happened to me during the war and what Rassilion had made me do, he had been resurrected and they had met briefly before supposedly died.
"He did it then." He snarled, finally blowing up. "The good and Sainted Doctor blew up his own planet, and I'm the evil one. What a hypocrite."
"Why do I feel like if I was the one to do it you would be fine with it?" I asked, somewhat perplexed.
"I would be slightly annoyed at you for destroying our planet, but you would never do it because it was the most scientifically advanced planet in time and space." He murmured in reply, but I could tell he was still thinking about the Doctor. Really these two should just bang.
"Anyway, from the looks for it you've seen him recently but he didn't mention you when I last saw him, so you're further down his timeline." I commented. "What are you planning? I mean your the minister of defense and have a human wife, are you playing house?"
"Is this why you came to visit?" He asked, before sitting on the couch where I had previously been on. "Do you want to join me?"
"Not particularly no, I mean you didn't even invite me to your wedding. I'm not helping you for the next fifty years." I replied with a huff. I already knew he was somehow, someway going to fail anyway.
The Master sends me a miffed look. "You're going to throw that at me for a while, aren't you? I'll have you know that when I have the Doctor on his knees you're going to regret not helping me."
"That sounds kinky." I blurted out. "If that happens, take a picture and send it to me."
He stopped for a second before looking at me, really looking at me. He stared for a few seconds, analyzing me quietly. "This you is different, spicier."
"This you is more bratty than normal too, you and the Doctor match." I replied, rolling my eyes.
"Jealous?" He asked with a smirk.
"You wish." I snarked back. "But your pet might get jealous of all the hate flirting you two have going on."
"Now that sounded like jealousy Rani dearest." The Master replied with a laugh. "If I knew you were blonde this time around, I would've married you."
"In your dreams." I huffed, hitting his shoulder in annoyance. The prat only laughed again like a hyena.
"By the way, how are you here?" He asked, noticing my technically advanced gadgets hidden as jewelry. "Your tech is too advanced for this borish planet, and you mentioned that I was further down the timeline. Rani, do you have a Tardis?"
"Well, would you look at the time." I quickly replied, looking down at my watch. "Well, I've checked on you, you're doing fine even getting married and not inviting you older friend to date, and you're even a minister now. Anyway, I let the stove on." I quickly walked out of the room towards the door, the Master followed me.
"Rani you have a Tardis!" The Master exclaimed as he followed me, trying to catch up.
"What does that have to do you with you?" I snarked and continued to walk. Damnit, why is this house so big and why is the front door so far away? "I stole it, it's mine."
"I'm stuck here playing house and you have a Tardis!" He exclaimed, pissed at me for running off.
"I'm not a taxi, and don't even think about it you prat!" I replied, annoyed because I could tell he was already making up plans to steal my Tardis. "It's locked with isomorphic controls, like I would let one of you idiots touch my things."
I finally reached the door and stopped, before turning towards him with a grin.
"By the way, since I have a Tardis and you don't I can be in two places at once and my other self is breaking into the Bank of London right about now and stealing all of that shit. I was bored, and yes I'm totally gloating at you for being stranded in this ape planet. So, somebody should be about to call you since I used a few bombs and the humans will think it was terrorism or something like that. That bunch of paperwork in your desk tomorrow is your punishment for not sending me an invitation to your wedding. Also, you look super dashing in suit honey." I said quickly, before giving him a kiss on the check and dashing for the door before he could even have time to process what I just told him.
"RANI!" The Master called loudly, but I was already out of sight.
When The Master found Lucy shrieking like a banshee in the living room at some strange woman he thought that another journalist had forced their way in and he needed to get rid of them, again. Except, instead he found the woman comparing his human fiancee with his long lost pet lion. Only two people knew about that lion, and only one of them was female.
The Rani, Ushas, his old friend, and partner in crime. Only this one woman would dare to look at him with that annoyed expression in her face, unafraid of retaliation. For a minute there, when he found out he couldn't sense any other timelord, he thought that the only other smart person left on the universe was the Doctor. Thank Rassilion that didn't happen.
Her mind, which felt slightly different from before, muted the drums down for a while. It had been a long time since he had felt so free from the noise in his head. But then again, she was always capable of calming him down when she wasn't pissing him off on purpose.
This regeneration of hers was different, still her but it was like puzzle piece was missing or maybe for the first time the missing puzzle piece was in its place. Then again, all regenerations are different. When he touched her mind before, it always felt like a river. Always calm and controlled, focused and clear. Now it was like the sea. Some parts of her mind still felt calm and controlled, but other parts we're raging and storming. He was curious about this change of hers.
She finally told him what happened to Gallifrey, and he was mad. Not that much about the council or the rest of the people in it, but for the fact he could never again see those red skies. And of course, the Doctor did it. He spends so much time saving this backwater of a planet, but then he went and destroyed ours.
She didn't want to join in revenge against the doctor, and he didn't force her. The Time War had long since passed for him, who lived has Yana for decades, and he didn't even fight for that long in the war. Neither did the Doctor, who also seemed fine even if guilt-ridden and now he knew why.
But for her, he could tell it hadn't been that long. She still had the same presence she had when he last saw her, when she was a soldier and an assassin for the council. As such, he didn't force her. Not to mention he wasn't like that trash of a council, he wouldn't make her fight his battles. Plus, he had it all planned out already and he didn't particularly need her help.
Until he figured out she had a Tardis, her own bloody Tardis. He had the one he stole from the Doctor, but it was locked and could only travel between the 21th-century earth and 100 trillion years into the future. He had to scrap about to get advance pieces of technology to built his laser screwdriver.
She fleed using funny excuses, and he ran after her. She had a Tardis, no way he was letting her out of his sight. Not to mention he had just found her, or better yet she had just found him, and she was already running off.
He didn't expect that she would stop in front of the door and grin at him like a lunatic before telling him she had just robbed the bank and that the paperwork waiting for him would be his punishment for not inviting her to his wedding. She apparently forgot he had thought she was dead, and that he was only marrying a human because of his plan. She then called him dashing, gave him a kiss and fleed at the speed of light.
He could only call her out in rage before he processed what just happened.
She really had changed, just like her mind. She was calm and composed one second, and unrestrained and wild the next. Before she was always focused on her science, everything else didn't even reach her eyes. But now she was robbing banks, and gloating in his face. For the first time since they were children, she was almost playful.
He let out a content laugh, this new her was hilarious.
He liked it.
A/N: I bet you all thought that when I said Time Lord reunion in the previous chapter it would be with the Doctor, well you were obviously mistaken because our Lord and Master is here.
I had fun writing them together, since it's a bit like the Doctor and the Rani but so much different at the same time. They're allies not enemies, and friends even if they don't actually admit it in front of others, and they fight like a married couple. Plus, I feel like Rani is shipping the Doctor and the Master. She probably is. I'm the one writing this and even I have no idea. Also, I added Wilfried in there, just because I could. Do you think that the Master was realistic enough? It's always one of my worries, making sure the characters aren't too OC.
Next chapter is an episode chapter, I still haven't decided one tho. Tell me which season 2 episode you think would be best for Rani to pop out in the comment section down below.
xx, Ritz