Who: Troy and his dream self: The Doctor - Narrative Where: Troy's mind, but specifically in his home. When: 3/14/2015 around 2 am What: Troy's having some bad dreams. Status: Closed - Complete Rating: PG-13 for mentions of death
"Run" The voice came from shadow, there was nothing there, only blackness, an inky sky stretching on forever and forever; extending far beyond vision, and giving way to no single bit of light, but instead, weighing heavy like a sinking gelatin, crushing all of its power down against his chest. Tendrils touched around his heart, no both of them, and clutched, squeezing, then suddenly light. Bright light. It was white, and it burned, blurring out all vision around him; the sound was muffled, cries and shouts were around him but he wasn't aware of what it was, who they belonged to, or where they were coming from.
When his vision began to right itself, The Doctor sat up and felt aware that he was looking through his eyes, but in a far distant past, in a far distant world. He could see the woman in the airlock: Katarina. He could remember this moment. He ran for what seemed forever towards the airlock, but he could never get close enough, never could hit the release, and instead he hit the door at the wrong moment. Watching as the airlock took both Katarina out, as well as her prisoner Kirksen. The mad fugitive... she'd sacrificed herself... for him, for the Doctor.
Then suddenly the mind went blank again, a pain surged through his brain, it penetrated deep into the recesses of his mind and dragged him into that blackness once more, shivering cold hitting him when he awoke once more, staring at his hands. There was a woman there, in his arms. He was the same man as before, his old hands clutching a woman who was dying there, aging rapidly before his eyes. Until she became old and then fell into dust, her body falling through his fingers: Sara Kingdom, a beautiful companion, a woman who'd done so much for him. Dead, by the hands of the Time Destructor. Anger surged at his heart, and clamored to break free, but instead the Doctor felt a flash of pain once more.
Now he stood aboard a ship, watching from a viewport as another ship spiraled out of control: it was Adric's. The Doctor wasn't able to catch it in time, he couldn't save it; in reality, it was a fixed point in time, creating the event that would start the evolution of mammals on earth. It was essential, could he have stopped it? Would he have truly? The cruelty of the moment hit hard as the Doctor looked into the window and saw another face, a face of a new man--the man that just wouldn't die. Yet, so many died around him. So many gave their lives, made their lives dangerous, for him.
When the pain came this time, it was short-lived and expected, and soon the Time Lord was staring into the sad, yet lifeless eyes of the Android Kamelion. Taken over by the Master, he was begging for the Doctor to destroy him, in an act of 'mercy'; which, sadly, the Doctor obliged to do.
Shivering, the Doctor used his screwdriver to take the life from Kamelion away, and destroyed the living thing, only to immediately be whisked away to another heart breaking memory. And then another, and another, and then all of the world went black. When his eyes opened again, this time The Doctor was flying the TARDIS, chasing after a crashing ship; it was set aflame, burning through the cold space with a death's spiral. Approaching, he transported the TARDIS aboard and quickly moved to the front of the ship where he found the lone survivor piloting.
He smiled at the annoyed voice of the lady, "I'm trying to send a distress signal! Stop talking about doctors!"
The Doctor stood, "I'm a Doctor, though probably not the one you were expecting..."
The Doctor moved towards her and looked around, "Where's the rest of the crew?"
"Teleported off."
"But you're still here..."
"Someone had to teleport them."
The Doctor laughed and held a hand out, "Then welcome aboard."
"Excuse me?" The woman sounded surprised.
"You'll see, come with me." The Doctor took her hand and moved down towards the rear of the ship as fast as he could, listening to her prattle on as they went.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"To the back of the ship," The Doctor replied.
"Why?"
"Because the front of the ship crashes first, think about it," The Doctor offered quickly as he opened the door and went to step through, looking at his TARDIS. He smiled, "Don't worry, it's bigger on the inside..."
That's about the time the woman scurried back and looked at him with disgust. He knew why, and pointed at her, "I'm not part of the war..."
"You're a Time Lord."
"Yes, well look on the bright side. At least I'm not a Dalek..."
"Who can tell the difference anymore? I'd rather die."
The woman's door shut and blocked herself off and The Doctor ran for the door slamming his hand against it, "Cass! No, I'm one of the good ones! I'm not part of it, I'm only trying to help..." But before he could even finish the sentence the ship crashed hard into the planet Karn below.
When the Doctor woke, hours later, he was staring at an old woman before him. He was confused, he should be dead, or at the very least a new man. He eyed her, staring back at her, when the woman mentioned trying to get Cass from the wreckage. He frowned and stared back at her, Cass was likely dead.
"I should be dead."
"You were, we restored your life, but it's temporary, only 4 minutes."
"Four minutes?!" The Doctor exclaimed, "That's almost an eternity; what shall I do if I get bored? Read a book, play some chess, get me a television... bring me knitting."
He then held up a finger, "Hang on. Ah, yes, I must be back on Karn...yes. You're the Sisterhood of Karn, Keepers of the Flame... of utter boredom."
"Eternal life." The old woman retorted proudly.
"That's the one..." The Doctor soured in his response.
"Mock us if you will, Doctor, but we can bring you back to life. We can give you your regeneration, and on Karn the change doesn't have to be random. Time Lord science is elevated here..."
Moments later Cass was brought in, and the Doctor moved to her, his screwdriver showing that she was, in fact, dead. He frowned, before taking up the young soldier's bandolier, then looked back towards the old woman.
"Reality is coming to an end, Doctor, and you're the only one who can stop it. No one can escape the Time War, least of all a Time Lord. What regeneration do you desire?"
The Doctor stared at the bandolier, then back to her, "A warrior. I suppose there's no need for a Doctor anymore..."
The Doctor took the offered drink, instructing the Sisterhood to leave before drinking, and feeling the pain surge through him. Good, it should hurt, he should be punished for doing what he was doing. He gave an oath to his former companions, apologized to Cass, and then collapsed before he awoke once more. Taking up the bandolier, "Doctor, no more..."
The Doctor's vision blurred, and he began to see images of burning, destruction, war. He led battle TARDISes into fight against Daleks and Sontarans, he raged war from one end of time and space to the other, watching worlds, civilizations, realities burn under the instruction of Daleks and Time Lords alike. Then his vision stopped on a single moment, in the middle of a desert world, far from the TARDIS. Four Hundred years fighting an endless war, and the Doctor stood with a stolen weapon, the single most destructive weapon in all of the Universe: The Moment.
The Doctor pressed the button, with only the tiniest bit of hesitation, before time stopped and he could see the light before him grow bright, and hot, and strong. He was back on the TARDIS, where he watched Gallifrey, his world, his planet, burn. The war was over, and in its place Gallifrey died in an never ending destruction, locked in time, with the Daleks burning alongside it. Two mighty empires, civilizations, dead by his own hand.
And then, the War Doctor was needed no more and he felt his life leave him as he regenerated. A powerful one, one that seemed to signify the power of the moment, a moment he would come to regret for the rest of his life, even as he suddenly found himself blacking out. Only to wake years later, in a department store basement, taking the hand of a young blonde girl and looking at her, "Run." He said, and then he saw her face. Rose Tyler.
Troy sat up immediately in his bed, sweat against his brow in a cold touch. His breathing heavy, he shook his head and clung to his bed sheets as he breathed out, heavily, staring and blinking as he tried to grasp at his real thoughts once more. Shaking his head, Troy reached for the phone next to him and brought up Clara's number, sending her a text.