Regeneration of Fate - Chapter 1: Vale Decem…..
It is night on Planet Earth, also known as Sol III.
Normally, the planet is untouched from outside sources; that being Alien life. But a couple of years ago, things had changed. Aliens would soon emerge from outer space, launching invasions, crashing ships and more.
However, these Alien influences always seemed to be defeated, by a mysterious man. He calls himself the Doctor, and he travels in a Blue Police Box so they say.
Whenever the Earth was in such chaos, the Doctor would appear, ready to deal with the alien threats. And he was not alone; he regularly had a companion, which usually came from Earth.
He is a Time Lord, of the long lost planet of Gallifrey. A veteran of the Last Great Time War. The Doctor's song is ending, yet he does not know the end approaches at this very moment.
Forces of evil are gathering to destroy all of reality, and the Doctor's song is ending at such a time of peril. Yet he is the only hope. He knows his song is ending, but he does not know when. It is happening now. But now, we shall help him.
We are the Ood. We will sing to him. We will sing him to his sleep. The Song may be ending, but the story never ends.
Vale Decem….
The Doctor and Donna Noble stepped out of the Tardis, into a big, wet, empty street. It was completely deserted, with abandoned cars and countless open doorways of homes.
"Like a Ghost town." Observed Donna, noticing the eeriness of the street around them.
"Sarah Jane said they were taking the people. But what for? Think, Donna, when you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?" Asked the Doctor with a frustrated look on his face, determined to get the bottom of things.
Donna thought for a moment. "Just… The Darkness is coming…"
"Anything else?" Replied the Doctor, hoping for more information.
Donna was about to reply with a; "No…", until she noticed a familiar figure standing far behind them.
Then she smiled at the Doctor. "Why don't you ask her yourself?"
The Doctor gave her a big frown; "Eh?"
Noticing that Donna was looking over his shoulder, the confused Time Lord slowly turned around.
There he saw a Woman, slowly walking towards them.
Rose.
Both of them made eye contact; Rose with a big smile on her face, the Doctor with a smile of joy and surprise.
Then the Doctor forgot all about the Daleks, and focused only one thing in his mind; reuniting with Rose. He could not wait; neither could she.
Then they started running towards each other, prepared to embrace each other for the first time in years. Donna was so happy for the Doctor, who had told her so much about Rose in the past that Donna didn't need to say anything to let the Doctor know of her presence. And now it seemed the Doctor would have the moment he had been waiting for what seemed so long.
They ran closer…..and closer…and closer and closer….
However, like a demon gliding out of darkness, emerged a Dalek, armed with its signature laser cannon, aiming straight at the number one enemy of the Dalek Race; The Doctor.
"EXTERMINATE!"
The Doctor and Rose both saw the dastardly alien war machine of living hatred approaching as it spoke.
A bolt of deadly laser fire erupted from the Dalek's laser cannon, smashing off the side of the Doctor's torso, barely hitting him, but still a ghostly skeleton image flashing on one side of his body.
The Doctor fell to the road, fortunately not breaking his skull; his eyes closed.
But of out of nowhere, came Captain Jack Harkness, appearing from a bright flash, armed with a Defabricator. And at the exact moment of his appearance, he fired at the Dalek like a tiger pouncing on his prey.
With an electronic scream for a brief second, the Dalek's head exploded with the flames like those of 20 candles, the debris of its Dalekanium crashing to the ground.
Then came a song, which only the half-conscious Doctor could seem to hear, inspiring him to hold onto life a bit longer.
Vale Decem…..
Ad aeternam….
Di Meliora…..
The Doctor opened his eyes with the feeling that his was pain starting to grow, to see Rose reaching to him. He was only just alive, but Rose was able to sense a cold shiver down her beloved Doctor's spine, as he sweated in agony.
"I've got you, it missed, look, I'm here, Doctor, look, it's me…."
The Doctor smiled weakly. "...Rose..."
"Hi."
"Long time... no see..."
"Yeah, been a bit busy, y'know."
The Doctor then gasped in pain, obviously struggling to maintain his life force.
"Don't die, oh my God, don't die." Rose panicked.
This wasn't the first time the Doctor had heard those words. Long ago, at the end of his 3rd incarnation, his companion Sarah Jane Smith had been in Rose's place with the same words; "Don't die…."
"Get him into the Tardis, quick!"
Captain Jack and Donna came running up, both worried for the Doctor. They knew too he was dying, yet only Rose and Captain Jack knew what this could lead to.
Lifting the dying Doctor up, they hurriedly carried him back into the Tardis, as it was the only place he would be less vulnerable from any other Daleks that could be in the street.
Slam! The Doctor dropped to the floor of the Tardis with a slam, lying next to the Console as he cried in agony, with both Rose and Donna panicking in fear around him.
"What do we do?! There's gotta be some sort of Medicine, or-" Cried Donna.
"Just step back. Rose!" Insisted Jack to his old friend. "Do as I say, and get back! He's dying. And you know what happens next!"
Rose was crying. "But he can't. Not now. I came all this way."
"What d'you mean, what happens next?!" Interrupted Donna, frightened for the Doctor.
The Doctor lifted up one of his hands, staring at it as golden energy channelled through his veins, with a slight healing sensation, glowing like an angel.
"...it's starting..." He muttered, with slight hesitation in his voice as he turned his hand around, still staring at the golden glow of Regeneration energy.
Donna stood back, confused and scared of what might happen; the Doctor looked as if he was about to explode! Then Jack pulled Rose, filled with sadness, away from the Doctor, who hurled himself to his feet, with only a small amount of strength left.
"Someone tell me what's going on!" Shouted Donna in fright, very afraid indeed.
For a moment, the Doctor felt as if he was being pulled from reality. Trying to ignore these senses, he set the controls of the Tardis, still weak and in agony.
The Tardis quickly took off, but did not dematerialise. Instead it flew into the air like any old spaceship, taking the Tardis crew into orbit where the Doctor hoped his Regeneration would cause less damage to Earth; that is if the Dalek ships several miles away did not notice.
The Doctor struggled to stay up, as the Tardis spun in orbit, finally at a good range.
Then that sense came back.
The Doctor began hallucinating; A Sontaran, pointing his Blaster; "Doctor, you will die in the name of the Sontaran Empire!"
Then he glimpsed a Dalek, one from the Cult of Skaro; Sec, in his Black Dalek casing.
"DOCTOR, YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!"
Next, a Cyberman; "ALL ENEMIES OF THE CYBERMEN WILL BE DELETED. DELETE, DELETE."
Shockingly, he also hallucinated the most appropriate figure for his death; the Beast, who didn't say a single word, but instead laughed demonically as he did down in his prison when confronted by the Doctor.
At last; The Master, as he was when he was lying in the Doctor's arms aboard the Valiant last year when he was travelling with Martha Jones.
"Dying Doctor? It seems I win! I WIN! AHAHAHAHA!"
Then everything came back into focus; not a single second seemed to pass during his hallucinations, as Rose, Donna and Captain Jack stood back, prepared for the Doctor's inevitable Regeneration.
And the Doctor could still hear the Ood singing to him; his Song was about to end…
Vale Decem…..
Gratis tibi ago…..
Ad aeternam…..
Numquam singularis…..
"When he's dying. His body. It repairs itself. It changes." Rose explained to the Donna, not completely taking her eyes off the Doctor. She was extremely upset.
Dum spiro fido…..
"But you can't!" She exclaimed, begging for the Doctor not to change, and to somehow perform a miracle that would somehow heal himself.
Numquam…
But not this time…
"Sorry. It's too late." Smiled the Tenth Doctor for one final time.
He gasped.
Vale, vale, vale, vale …
"I'm regenerating."
He then erupted with Regeneration energy, like a fuming volcano; blasting golden inferno all around the Tardis Console Room, which tore into the cables and circuitry underneath the floorboards, soaring through like the universe's most powerful chainsaw, shredding everything in its path before bursting into flames and spreading debris everywhere.
There was inferno everywhere on the Time Lord; his head, his arms, his hands and even his neck!
Donna almost screamed in shock at this dangerously explosive sight, scared that the Doctor might take the entire Tardis with him!
Rose gasped as the coral pillars holding up parts of the Roundel roof collapsed onto the console, barely missing them as they backed further away from the regenerating Time Lord and the dancing flames surrounding the console.
Backed into a corner, they watched as their friend continued spreading inferno everywhere.
The Time Lord did not scream; he held back any form of fear except for that on his face; he could feel every cell is his body morphing and growing again, like they were emerging from cocoons. His hair began to fade and grow at the same time, while his muscles decreased in size dramatically.
He threw his head back a little, trying pull himself to one side momentarily, but the pain was too much for him to handle. He barely shifted his arms in the direction of his spare hand!
The Cloister Bell ringing faintly in the background, as the Tardis detected the damage and the regeneration of her beloved thief….
As his features finally began to vanish into the inferno, he took one split-second glance at his companions, especially Rose, before his eyeballs shifted back to their regular position. A new face was forming!
"AHHHHHHHH!" Finally screamed the figure at the last moment as the Inferno suddenly vanished; but it was not the Tenth Doctor.
In the place of the regenerating Doctor, stood a fresh, younger looking Time Lord, still in his predecessor's clothing, dazed and blinking to recover from the regeneration.
Donna, who had her face in Jack's arm, looked up at the New Doctor, utterly shocked and almost appalled at the sight of the man.
Jack both frowned and stared at the Time Lord in heavy interest, wondering about his new personality, but still shocked at just how violent the process was.
Rose didn't move her head at all once she caught sight of the Eleventh Doctor, still filled with sadness at the loss of the Tenth Doctor.
KABOOM!
Part of the Console exploded as the Doctor staggered backwards, moving his muscles for the first time in this incarnation.
"Legs! Still got legs, good!" Came the first words of the New Doctor, lifting up his right leg and kissing it in relief.
Lowering his legs, he amusingly observed his fingers; "Arms! Hands! Ooh, lots of fingers!"
Running them over his face, he attempted to feel parts of his face.
"Ears, yes! Eyes, two! Nose, I've had worse. Chin, blimey!" Squeaked the Doctor.
"Hair... I'm a girl!" He cried in disbelief.
"NO!" He checked for his Adams apple. It was still there, or at least a new one.
"Not a girl." He sighed with relief, not noticing Donna's gobsmacked reaction.
Then he yanked down a strand of his new hair, looking at it with the most sincere curiosity; " Oh! And still not ginger!" He grumped, disappointed his latest incarnation still lacked the right hair colour for himself.
"And something else, something important, I'm, I'm, I'm –" He tapped two sides of his head, trying to think hard.
KRAKADOOM! The Tardis then shuddered; The New Doctor was thrown against the console, with the View screen miraculously having survived destruction from the entire inferno.
"HAHA! Crashing!? " He yelled in excitement like an utter madman, similar to what his previous incarnation had done during his first few moments.
Rose and the others gasped as the Roundels on the wall kept bursting around them, so they dived for cover. The entirety of the Tardis was now engulfed with destruction; and for some reason the Eleventh Doctor was enjoying it!
Debris falling everywhere! Cloister Bell ringing louder than ever! Smoke pouring from all directions! It was utter mayhem!
The Doctor then clang onto the Console, as suddenly something hit the Tardis exterior, causing even more inferno to emerge!
Rose realised exactly what it was; the Dalek ships had noticed the exploding Tardis and were now attacking!
"AHA! WOO HOO! WOOP WOO! AH-HA!" Yelled the Doctor, grabbing the View screen, which was showing that the Tardis was hurtling out of control, headed straight for Earth!
"GERONIMO!" Shouted the Eleventh Doctor, as the girls screamed, with Captain Jack barely managing to cover them from the debris…..
Author's note: I am aware that the Tenth Doctor in the Stolen Earth did not begin regenerating as violently, but I have decided that in order to make the rest of the story to work, this was the best route to take. For now, lets say he was holding back the regeneration for slightly longer, and it burst out more violently in this alternate timeline. Also, I'd like further chapters to progress the new Doctor's personality differently to the 11th Doctor we know, so in my opinion; this was the best starting point. But just in case that's not enough, I also made a Dalek ship shoot the Tardis while it is in orbit. - The Cyberman of Telos