He stumbled in the TARDIS, fighting to keep himself upright. He could feel the radiation inside of him, slowly wreaking havoc on his system. He didn't like it. He didn't want to die.
He didn't want to regenerate, either. Yet, it had to happen. At least he would still be alive, in a way. It was preferable to complete nonexistence.
Still, it wouldn't be him. A new face, a new voice, a new personality… A different person. A different Time Lord. It wasn't an actual death, but it felt like dying. His memories would stay, but everything else would vanish. For all the grandeur, for all the things he had done, this was his reward. He had already claimed part of it; now it was time for the finale. Pushing the thought of this away, he focused on what he had just done.
His old friends. His beloved companions.
He had created paradoxes, risked lives — just so he could see them one more time, before he walked away a new man. At least he could rest in the knowledge that they had seemed to be doing well. Yet, while it made him happy, there was a small part of him that it had hurt.
They move on. They find someone else. And, I suppose… They break my heart.
They were moving on. It was the last time that he — well, this regeneration — would see them. And Rose…
Rose didn't even know who he was, at this point of space and time.
It had been a bittersweet reunion for him.
He looked down at his hand. A glowing, golden mist was rising off of his hand. Then, off of his arms, his neck, his face. It's starting.
Panic began to fill him, mixing in with the sadness. He was frightened. He was terrified. The Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds… Was scared.
In one sentence, he put all of this in words. Five syllables, encompassing his panic and loneliness, his sadness and fright for what came after. Just five words.
"I don't want to go."
And then he closed his eyes.
His name was — is — The Doctor. He was the one who made people better.
But in the end, no matter how many people he saved… He couldn't save himself.
A/N: * Hides *
I feel like this is kind of… Jerky? Bumpy? Eh, the words don't really flow well. :P But I really, /really/ had to write something after watching The End of Time. I'll miss you, Ten. ;_;
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.
Well, I hope you sort of enjoyed! ^^' Flames are accepted.
-Joanne