He Has Her Eyes
It was a dark and dusty room. The war raging outside the walls was shaking the ground deep to the core of the planet. The screams of its people heard far into the burnt orange sky. The scarlet grass could no longer be distinguished from the blood that soaked the streets. Lady Romana, Lady Drifter, and Lord Doctor stood solemn in this harsh place searching for a way to end the misery and the suffering outside.
"We have to wipe out the Daleks completely if we are to win this war," Romana stated adamantly. "Agreed but how? The Daleks have us on the defensive," the Doctor said while hardly clinging to any hope. This war had been going on for far too long and he was tired. They all were.
"There is one way," Drift said quietly from the other side of the room. It had been hours since she had last spoken which was unlike her but the Doctor and Romana had been unable to wake her from her deep thoughts. Now they looked at her expectantly and wearily. What if it was another useless theory? They would be back to square one.
"How?" they asked at the same time. The look in Drift's cold blue eyes was one of utter pain and despair. "We must use the Temporal Distorter. The Moment is the only way." Shock registered on Romana's face and a look of defeat crossed the Doctor's old and haggard features. "We can't!" Romana cried. "It will destroy Gallifrey. Everything would be gone." The Doctor's hushed voice spoke, "So would the Daleks. It would mean the end of the war." "It would," Drift stated.
Romana sighed. "The counsel will never agree. Lord President has become too fixed on power and survival. He'll kill us before he authorizes it. " The Doctor's anger visibly flickered revealing a glimpse of the Oncoming Storm in his eyes. "He would see the end of all the universe for a chance to control the vortex. We already knew we would have to stop him at the end of this. But it seems to be necessary now."
"It will have to be you that keeps him from stopping us Romana. The Doctor and I are already outcasts. Neither of us will be able to get in close enough," Drift said resolutely. Romana sighed again. "You're right. It will have to be me. You two will have to be the ones that do the rest." The Doctor clenched his jaw. He didn't like it, but what could they do? They were out of options. They already knew that the President was planning on merging the Time Lords with the vortex itself. If he did that he would have the power to destroy all of time and space, the very thing they had devoted their lives to observe and protect. "In that case, Romana, you should leave and get to that. The less you know about our plan, the better."
Romana nodded slightly and turned so that she was facing both the Doctor and Drift. "Good luck then. Be careful. Both of you." "Rassilion with you," they replied. When she was gone the two children of Gallifrey left in that room looked at each other with an understanding that only they could have. They were about to commit genocide. That was not something you did without guilt. It was unlikely that anyone would survive. Not the Daleks, not the Time Lords, and not themselves.
"The President isn't the only one we have to distract," Drift said softly. "Davros." The Doctor didn't even try to hide the malice in his voice as he spoke that name. "I should do it. He already hates me and will be fixated on me," he said. "No," Drift said with a force that the Doctor didn't expect. She sighed. "It can't be you. It has to be me. I can use a Bio-deflector to make him think that I'm you."
"But that leaves me to Detonate the Moment. You can't ask me to do that," the Doctor exclaimed. Drift took a deep breath and calmly said,"You already have." The Doctor looked at her finally beginning to understand. "Did you cross your own timeline because I thought you knew better than that!" "I didn't cross any timelines,"she said exasperated. "I'm just a paradox Doctor. I've always been a paradox."
"You knew. You knew that it was going to end this way," he said in disbelief. She simply nodded. "I tried to find a way to change it. I really did. But this war is time locked. I can't change it and neither can you. It was all leading to this. When you met me you saw that our timelines were interwoven. Why did you think that was? I was always going to tell you how to stop it and you were always going to be the one to take action. I give you the gun and you pull the trigger. Always."
The Doctor looked at her with no expression. All emotion had drained from his body. He could sense that she was right. He couldn't stop this. "You're going to die." It was a statement. Not a question. "Everyone dies Doctor. You understand that better than a lot of our own people." His eyes looked pained as he asked,"How long have you known?" She sighed and looked at her feet. "I've known since the moment I came into this world. This is my fate."
"I'll distract Davros. You go to the dome city and retrieve the Temporal Distorter. There's a rumor that the device is sentient. You must be prepared for judgment from its consciousness." The Doctor hesitated just a moment before pulling his friend into a hug. "You were brilliant Drift. Don't forget that," he said. "Promise me something," she said as she pulled away. "Anything." "No matter what happens, no matter how much it hurts, keep breathing. Keep running," she said sadly. He searched her face before answering, "I have no desire to survive this." "Please." "Alright." "Thank you. Good luck Doctor. I know you're going to be fantastic." "May Rassilion be with you."
With that she adjusted a teleport on her wrist and shrugged on her leather jacket over a hunter green vest and black jeans with combat boots. She smiled at him and pressed the button. In a flash she was gone and the Doctor was left alone.
DWDWDWDWDW DWDWDWDWDW
The Doctor was running for his life. Again. He had made it into the city undetected with his TARDIS and was now in possession of the Temporal Distorter also known to many as The Moment. Now he just had to get to a suitable location to activate it.
Guards were after him and frantically trying to stop him with their words of protest but it was in vain. He pushed forward with a single minded determination. Just before he entered his ship he turned and faced the winded guards. They were not as accustomed to running as he was. He looked at them with a hard, cold sadness that stopped them in their tracks. "No more," he stated.
He entered the TARDIS and dematerialized. "No more," he whispered under his breath. It became his mantra as he trudged across the desert. Over and over the words rang true in his mind.
He arrived at a barn. He looked at the Moment. Such a small device to invite so much damage. He did not want to remember this. Not clearly anyway. And for a long time, he didn't.
DWDWDWDWDW DWDWDWDWDW
Drift stood in the presence of the Dalek father. Davros. "Hello Doctor," he said with a hiss. "Hello Davros," she said with a cheeky smile. "Lovely ship you have. Quite spacious," she continued. "Enough! I see you've regenerated since our last encounter. How's it feel to be in the weaker body of a female?" "Not weaker. Just different. It doesn't change the fact that I'm still going to kill you," she said as her eyes became dangerously dark.
Davros looked at her amused. "And how exactly do you plan on doing that Doctor?" She smiled and pulled a necklace out from her jumper and pressed the charm there. "What!?"
She laughs. An insane, completely deadly type of laugh that cause the Daleks to back away ever so slightly. She may not be the one they feared most in the universe but the fact that they thought she was for a time made her intimidating. "As you can now see I'm not the Doctor. I am the Drifter and when I'm done, you will wish that I was." Her smile disappeared as she walked a bit toward her left where an assortment of controls laid unprotected on the wall. "I have one last thing to say to you from the Doctor, Davros." A mad grin broke out on her face as she said in a sing song voice, "Bye!"
"Exterminate, Exterminate!" The Daleks coursed. Lady Drift felt warmth spread through her as she sensed the detonation of the the Temporal Distorter. The screams of thousands of Daleks echoed in her ear. The burning of the Time Lords demise ringing in the back of her mind. And then it all just...stopped.
DWDWDWDWDW DWDWDWDWDW
The Doctor was drifting in the vortex. She said no. Rose Tyler, a brilliant, nineteen year old wide eyed girl had said no to his invitation to travel the stars, so that she could stay with her boyfriend the idiot. They were all just stupid apes anyway. He didn't need any of them, least of all Rose Tyler, a smart-ass shop girl.
"Are you trying to be stupid?" a voice asked from behind him. And then he felt the presence in his mind. A soft and cool aura that was distinctly Drift. He spun around and a wide grin that threatened to split his face in two spread across his face. "You're alive!" He exclaimed in disbelief.
"At the moment," she said, smiling sadly. The Doctor immediately became solemn. "Oh, you haven't yet have you." "No," she replied. "I needed to make this stop first. Another paradox actually. I seem to be full of them. I'm here to tell you that you have to go back."
He looked at her confused. "Go back where?" "To Rose Tyler, stupid." She said with exasperation. "She said 'no'," he countered firmly. "Well, you left out the best bit. It travels in time," she said smiling widely, even if it didn't quite reach her eyes. "You need her Doctor. More than you know or could possibly understand at the moment. So go."
"They're all dead Drift. There's no one left. Not even you. I'm last of our kind Drift," he said with heartbreaking despair. "I know. I always knew actually. I know that you blame yourself but you shouldn't. I'm just as guilty." He looked at her coldly and said, "But I have to live with it. You made me promise that. Why?" She smiled. "Because you're fantastic. You will be fantastic for so many more adventures. You're going to see so much and help so many. There's no one left Doctor which means that the protection of time and space falls to you. The last of the Time Lords! The Oncoming Storm! You still have so much to do. So yes I made you promise to live. To run. And I know I can't hold your hand but Rose can. And I will still be there in your memory. I will be running with you in my hearts."
"Okay," he sighed. I'll go back. I'll live, I'll run, and I'll show Rose the universe. I won't break my promise, I swear. " "Good. I'm glad you lost the waist coat. It was getting a little old. But I do still like the jacket. It suits this you." She moved to press her vortex manipulator but the Doctor stopped her. "Can you tell Davros something for me?" "Anything," she said. "Tell him I said bye." They shared a grin and laughed slightly.
She looked at him one last time and said. "Did you know that you have my eyes?" She gave him a cheeky grin. "Oi. I'll have you know, I liked that waist coat. And I deserve to have your eyes since I also got these ridiculous ears," he said as he flapped at said ears. She chuckled and then said, "Have a fantastic life for me Doctor. Goodbye." And with that she was gone.
The Doctor sulked for a minute but realized that the pain hurt less if he moved so he went to take Drift's advice. He landed the TARDIS and stepped out the doors to look at Rose, the young woman who had swung in and saved his life. "Did I mention that it also travels in time?" he asked with a grin. And when Rose ran toward him he knew that everything was going to be fine. Better than fine. It was going to be fantastic!