Disclaimer: You have to know it by now, don't you?

A/N: Ha, did I just surprise you? Well, I had a bit more time this week, and a lot of motivation to translate this chapter :D Aaand I even did my homework … wish me luck that it isn't that bad …

And, especially for Meerkeks, yes, the German original is online, too. Just go for my profile, there you'll find the link. However, there is just the epilogue left for you to read there …

Yes, my dear readers, this is the grand final! I hope you'll like it, despite being now M-rated. And I do hope you won't kill me …

As always, oddood was my little magic beta. I owe her a huge cookie.

Two Sides of the Same Coin

Chapter Eight – Faith

After some vain attempts to make the metal around him vanish, the Master slid down the bars and hid his face in his hands. At first he had dared to watch the torture of the Doctor, but then some familiar faces appeared; Time Lords burning miserably, and he rather turned his back on it, huddling on the ground and trying not to imagine what the Doctor felt right now. Sympathy was for cowards.

"It's amazing, isn't it?"

The Master raised his head with a start and looked around. He didn't expect that anybody else was here, but apparently …

There stood Professor Yana, staring out of the cage and watching the events outside attentively. He didn't seem to pay attention to the Master.

And before the latter could even think about an answer, the old man spoke again.

"The Doctor sacrifices himself for you, bears this torture only to protect you, although you fought him so many times." Yana turned his head to the side and looked at the Master with strange light-coloured eyes. "Didn't you?"

"I didn't ask for it!" the Master yelled furiously. He pressed his palms against his eyes until he saw stars. He knew very well what Yana personified, just as he knew right from the beginning what Koschei was; Yana talking to him right now would be as bad as the Drums. Rassilon, he only wanted some peace and quiet, once in his life …

"And yet you're allowing it." Yana's voice was firm and biting.

"I don't allow it! That's only Koschei's doing!"

Yana sighed, crouched down and gently but firmly removed the Master's face from his face so he could look at him. The Master felt a slight prickle on his skin where Yana touched him, but it was a friendly feeling, not like the Drums Koschei's touches brought with them.

"Master, when will you finally understand that Koschei, and me too, belongs to you? We are parts of you, not the other way around!" Yana shook him slightly as if he wanted to wake the Master from a nightmare.

"How is it then possible that Koschei can do this if I'm controlling him?" The Master pointed behind him where Romana was just killed by two other Time Lords.

"Because you want it." Yana's gaze hardened and he got up again.

The Master turned slowly around and saw how some humanoid, female tree burst into flames.

"No … I cannot want this …" He knew which agony this view caused for the Doctor, that he was frightened, exposed … so weak, the pain …

"Stop it!" The Master covered his ears and closed his eyes tightly, as if this would help in any way; he couldn't just cut off Yana's influence, he was too close, and he himself felt so small …

"Master, you could end this." He still heard Yana's voice, so powerful in his head. "With my help; together we could lock Koschei away, forever."

The Master breathed in deeply, opening his eyes and lowering his hands. "Koschei would be gone?"

A smile spread over the face of the old man. "Yes."

In this moment, someone screamed; the Master looked out of the cage, but the pictures in front of the Doctor where blurred and hardly visible for him, but then the Doctor screamed too, desperately.

"Quick, Master." Yana pulled him around. "We don't have any time left. Shall I help you?" Yana held his right hand out, and the Master didn't think long but took it.

"Yes!"

With the drive and energy one wouldn't grant an old man, Yana pulled the Master on his feet and nodded at the younger one.

Then the Master heard Koschei's laughter, and he knew that the Doctor had lost.

*DW*

After the Doctor had seen the whole of Gallifrey and had to watch again the death of Jabe on Platform One, Astrid Perth, the stewardess on Midnight, River Song and so many others who had helped or wanted to help him, there was a short break. For a few moments no lost companion or friend appeared, ready to die or to be killed, and he sighed with relief, but not without reminding himself that this was just the calm before the storm. Until now he had withstood and prevented Koschei from taking over the control with a strong barricade. He looked up for a short time and saw the boy, whose robe-colour had adapted to his black eyes and so underlined even more strongly which part of the Master he personified. He grinned, and it was a grin which literally overflowed with malignancy.

Final.

Suddenly Rose stood in front of him. She smiled, happily, oh, so happily. She turned and kissed him, no, not him, just a image of him, and the Doctor felt reminded of the moment at Dårlig Ulv Stranden, as Rose had kissed his doppelgänger, his human twin. The kiss was deep and tender.

The scene changed, as quick as if a dark hand had wiped over it, and the kiss of the Doctor, the other Doctor, became more domineering. He said something, and Rose pushed him away. He could not hear what Rose said, but her eyes screamed; she was frightened.

Again the other Doctor tried to kiss her; Rose stumbled back but tripped and fell to the ground.

He wanted to look away, but Koschei forced him to watch with eyes wide open how this copy, this travesty of him pounced on Rose like a starving wolf, pressing her against the ground and ripping open her blouse.

Rose screamed. It was the first time any of the images screamed. And the Doctor screamed with her, yelling her name, not wondering for a second that the Master's spell had been broken, so much was he captured by this terrible film playing in front of him.

Rose fought. She kicked, trying to hit the man above her who now tore at her trousers, and she nearly succeeded, but he was too strong. And suddenly the man who only looked like the Doctor had a knife in his hand – and stabbed her. Rose's scream as she saw the knife was silenced quickly and it became a gurgling as he stabbed her again, and again, and again. Rose's chest was nothing more than a pool of angry red blood as he finally stopped, stood up and looked at his doing with satisfaction. Then he faded.

Rose's broken eyes were pointed at the Doctor, accusingly, before she faded too.

Koschei laughed triumphantly as the Doctor finally gave in, lifting the blockage to sink completely in the despair of just having killed Rose. At last he could close his eyes, although this wouldn't let the images vanish; he would have cut the connection to the Master immediately, but Koschei still hold him, perhaps so he could watch his rise to power.

Sure of victory and still laughing, Koschei removed the Doctor's bonds so he dropped to the ground hard. He tried to stand up, but fell back; actually he didn't care, he just wanted to hide in some dark corner and stop thinking, should the world look after it itself …

"Koschei!!!"

The Doctor looked up. He hadn't expected that the Master would rebel inside his cage, but …

the Master stood in front of the cage, his hands casually inside the pockets of his hoodie, and his face was a mixture of satisfaction and a coquettish grin. And there was another thing, but the Doctor couldn't put the finger on it, somehow the Master had changed, but he couldn't tell in how far …

"Koschei, you've been a bad, bad Time Lord!" The Master approached the boy who paced back, visibly stunned.

"No … NO! That's … that's impossible! Not with this weakling!" Koschei's voice broke; the Doctor recognized in amazement that the boy was frightened.

"Not impossible, just a bit unlikely, Koschei." The Master took another step towards the young Time Lord.

"But … but … you need me!" Koschei tried to regain his self-control and stamped his foot, the ground shook and suddenly the cage and the mountains in the southeast disappeared.

"No. You were only the burden the Drums encumbered me with." the Master said and showed no reaction as the ground trembled. His gaze was locked onto the boy, who in a snotty manner had crossed his arms in front of his chest. The Doctor watched the scene with amazement and tried to understand what happened there.

"I won't let you go that easily!" Koschei yelled full of pride and defiance.

"Yes, you will." The Master took another step and knelt down in front of Koschei. "You will …" he said fatherly, and before Koschei could flee from him or reply something, the Master pulled his younger counterpart into a tight hug.

"No!" Koschei roared, and suddenly the Master glowed in an unknown bright light, like a regeneration. The Doctor turned away and closed his eyes so he would not be blinded. In this moment a noise began as if thousands upon thousands glass shards were falling, and the ground under the Doctor shook again. Only after the tumult stopped he dared to open his eyes.

Around him wasn't Gallifrey anymore, but an endless, wide White. No mountains, no grass, just a plain, white surface without any boundaries.

And the Master, looking down at Koschei who huddled on the ground.

"Come, Doctor, stand up."

He looked to the side and saw Professor Yana; he smiled friendly at him and held out his hand. The Doctor was slightly confused, but took the help and got shakily back on his feet. He kept staring at the Mater and tried to comprehend what just happened, how this was possible at all …

Yana followed his gaze and just shook his head, smiling. "It's alright now, let that be our worry."

The Doctor looked again at Yana who nodded at him kindly. And now he felt it: He was free; nothing hindered him from cutting the connection.

The Doctor sighed with relief and disappeared.

Meanwhile, the Master tried desperately to get rid of the last remains of this disgusting light by wiping his hands on his jeans, but the strange shimmer of his skin stayed.

"Do I have to do this now very often? I feel like an oversized butterfly …"

"No, not if you don't want to", Yana grinned with a suppressed laughter. He stood next to the Master again and looked at Koschei, too. The latter had tugged his knees to his chest and studied in detail the hem of his robe.

"What are we going to do with him?"

"Yeah, what are you going to do with me?" Koschei looked up; his voice was still full of envy and resentment.

However, Yana looked at the Master. He couldn't decide what to do and, to be honest, didn't want to.

The latter thought about it, and then nodded. "I think I know …"

Koschei's robe became a straightjacket and a black gag appeared in his mouth. He looked at the Master with hate in his eyes and tried to get rid of the gag, so he could at least throw the several curses he had in mind at them, but the Master ensured that he couldn't.

"Ah, I nearly forgot …" The Master reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled a white iPod with matching headphones out. He bent forward and put them into Koschei's ears, setting one title on repeat with a flick of the wrist. "Those are now only for you."

Koschei's eyes widened, but the Master turned without another look at him to Yana

"Be careful that the he doesn't escape again, ok?"

Yana nodded understanding, and melted, like Koschei, with the endless White.

The Master breathed deeply one more time, enjoying the silence in his world. Then he shut his eyes, felt for the border to the real world and left this whole madness behind him.

*+DW+*

Eh … yeah …

I hope I didn't confuse you too much. Yes, Yana is the "good" part of the Master. When I first thought about this whole situation, I imagined a "white" Koschei (white hair, white clothes, white eyes, everything) as being a direct opposite of the dark/black Koschei, but recognised it as even more confusing than Yana/Koschei. And who doesn't like Jacobi!Master, eh?

And, everyone who finds the little quote and can tell me out of which New!DW-episode I took it gets ... hm ... a review to one of his/her stories :D