Screams. Billions of screams. They echoed in his mind.
He had destroyed his planet. Time locked it in a moment of fear and pain and fire. Even he couldn't go back and change change events to save it.
Horrifyingly, he didn't even want to. The Time Lords had let the war change them into something twisted, corrupt. There was no telling what they would have done to the Universe if he hadn't stopped them.
So what did that make him?
Savior of the Universe?
Or just the destroyer of his own people?
He barely noticed as the TARDIS landed. A quick glance at the console monitor told him all he needed to know.
Earth. London. Christmas 2009.
Nothing to keep him there. As much as he loved Earth, he was not in the mood for Christmas. It would remind him of all that he had lost.
His daughter. Susan. His brother. Her.
He didn't even want to think about her. It hurt too much.
Even so, he couldn't stop himself from thinking of that beautiful blonde… or brunette… or redhead. Whatever regeneration had made her. The Guardian of the Lord President.
She had died several days before the Last Day. At least, that was the assumption. She had disappeared, and she would never have run away from a battle.
She was the Guardian. Just he had been the Doctor.
Now neither one of them existed.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
He looked up at a dull thud, to see a body thrown up against the wall. He blinked in surprise, then ran over to the form as it dropped to the floor.
He found a woman—or at least he believed the body was that of a woman. She was so severely burned that her features were indistinguishable. The Doctor reached to check her pulse, only to pull his hand away at her faint moan.
"How did you do that?" He muttered.
Then he noticed it. The silver locket around her neck, untouched by whatever had burned her. The circular designs engraved in it were unmistakeable.
"You're a Time Lady?" He whispered.
"Ye..."
He started at her response. She had heard him? Even with his whisper so quiet only someone with extremely good senses could pick it up? He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned her. The results made his hearts sink.
"You've third-degree burns over ninety percent of your body, and a broken back, as well as a head injury that would have killed a human. If you are going to survive this, you need to regenerate. Now."
Her hands started to glow with a weak golden light. The Doctor forced himself to move away, fighting everything within him that wanted to stay beside this woman, this other last survivor.
The golden regeneration energy spread to her face. In a moment, she was engulfed in it, the energy blocking his view of her. He closed his eyes at her cries of pain. The telepathic cry of a Gallifreyan dying was a haunting sound.
An eternal moment later, the screams stopped. He could physically feel the regeneration energy subside. He looked up to see a dark-haired woman who appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties lying on the ground, her features vaguely resembling an Asian human.
As he approached, the woman rolled away and pushed herself to her feet. He stiffened. A soldier. This Time Lady was a soldier. Everything about her—the calculating look in her eyes, the way she held herself, her defensive position—spoke of a well-trained warrior. That explained her fantastic hearing.
Glancing at her again, the Doctor realized that she needed new clothes. Immediately. "The TARDIS has a wardrobe. You should be able to find something that fits you in there. First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. We can talk after you get changed."
The soldier slipped into an 'at-ease' posture, but she didn't look any less ready to fight him if she needed to. The Doctor moved back the opposite side of the console and busied himself until he heard her leave the room and walk down the hall.
With a sigh, he leaned again the console, gripping the edges so hard his knuckles turned white. How the hell was he supposed to tell her what happened to their planet? Who even was she? Was she a friend, or had she gone insane like all the rest of the Time Lords? If she turned out to be one of his enemies—he didn't doubt that she could kill him with her bare hands.
And he had just given her the perfect opportunity to find a weapon. Few Time Lords got lost in a TARDIS, unlike humans. She could easily find that small, dark, distant storage room where he kept the few weapons in his possession. The room that he tried to lose and couldn't. Tried to forget and failed. Because it only existed for Her. In the hopes that she would one day travel with him. A dead hope now.
A few minutes later, after he had sent the TARDIS back into the Vortex, the Time Lady returned. She had changed into a fitted black shirt with a high neckline and elbow-length sleeves and denim trousers tucked into black leather combat boots. In her hand she carried a Gallifreyan Staser.
"Put that down." He said in Gallifreyan, lifting his hands so she could see he was unarmed.
"I suppose you would like that, wouldn't you?" She responded sarcastically, also in Gallifreyan.
"Yeah, I would. But only because that Staser belonged to a friend of mine. I'd rather not get shot by her weapon, if you don't mind."
Something flickered in her eyes, but the weapon remained pointed at him. "Who are you?"
"They call me 'the Doctor'. You?"
The Time Lady's eyes widened. "Prove that you are the Doctor."
Well, that was promising. Enemies didn't typically demand you prove your identity to them. At least not in his experience. "I should think that the TARDIS would be proof enough. How many Time Lords are mad enough to steal a Type 40 TARDIS with a Chameleon Circuit broken as a police box from Earth?"
"The Time Lords all went mad." She snapped. "Prove you are who you say you are."
The Doctor sighed. How could he prove… With a grin, he pulled the sonic screwdriver back out of his pocket. He tossed it to the woman, who caught it with one hand. "I only ever made one of those, never showed to designs to anyone, except for one person. She's dead now." He nearly whispered the last part.
The Time Lady looked at the screwdriver in her hand, then back at him, her wide eyes fully making contact with his. "Eltanin?"
Recognition exploded in his mind. "Amadahy?" He barely dared to whisper the name. "You're alive?"
She nodded. "So are you."
The Doctor moved around the console and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly, unable to completely believe that it was her.
"How did you survive?" He asked into her hair.
"I don't know. My last memory is of Gallifrey." His hearts sank. She didn't know then. He pulled away from her.
She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. "I remember the War had just gone bad. Rassilon was plotting something. He would be in the High Council's Library all night sometimes." She shook her head. "Everything is unclear after that."
The Doctor blinked. "Amadahy, that was months ago. What is the first thing you remember clearly?" He asked to distract her. He couldn't tell her about what happened to Gallifrey. Not right now.
"My regeneration. Just now."
Again, the Doctor blinked. He had heard of her abilities to block unpleasant memories, but he had never actually been told of a specific occasion. "You remember nothing between Gallifrey and now?" Perhaps… perhaps he didn't have to tell her the truth about Gallifrey. Perhaps he could tell her that they had been exiled permanently, but that she had been injured and had to regenerate.
"I remember that something happened to Gallifrey." She paused, with a slight frown. "What happened?"
He sighed, moving away from her. "The Moment."
"The Galaxy-Eater?" When he nodded, she continued, "How did you survive?"
He didn't respond. He was too ashamed. At her sharp intake of breath, he tensed, waiting for her to shoot him or something like that.
"Why did you destroy Gallifrey?" She asked coldly.
There it was. Her hatred. He gripped the console until his hands turned white.
"The War had turned to hell, Guardian. Rassilon was plotting to destroy the Universe. Arcadia had fallen. And you were missing, assumed dead. My entire family was dead."
"And so that gave you the right to destroy the Time Lords?"
"It was either that or let the entire Universe burn!" He snapped, releasing his grip on the console and punching in co-ordinates.
"You were never the man to do that."
He looked back at her in surprise. Her voice had softened.
"Making that decision should have been my job. That's not the job for a doctor."
The Doctor smiled weakly. "I was never the Doctor in that War. I was the Warrior."
"You were always the Doctor."
His smile turned grateful, but it was still weak. "Find a bedroom, Amadahy. Try to get some sleep. You've had a hard day, even if you can't remember it."
She gave him a knowing look, but collected her gun and walked back down the hall.
As soon as she was out of sight, the Doctor collapsed in the jump chair. She was alive. Apparently, she forgave him for destroying Gallifrey—the Universe only knew why she would so easily.
So what did that mean for them?
GD~GD~GD~GD~
The Guardian easily found a room. Evidently the old TARDIS had known something of her, because the room was large but practical, resembling a larger version of her own rooms back on Gallifrey.
"Thank you," she said to the time machine.
She removed her shoes and placed them in the large wardrobe in the room. As she investigated the room, the contemplated how easily she had trusted the Doctor's word that their was no choice other than to burn their planet.
Something must have happened to her in the time that she couldn't remember. Something so terrible that she blocked her memories of it, right up to her regeneration.
She collapsed in her bed.
Gallifrey was gone, which meant the High Council and their ridiculous control over her life was gone too.
So what did that mean for her and the Doctor?
GD~GD~GD~GD~
N/A: Hello! Welcome to my fanfic. So, I will be posting about once a week, but it may get a bit irregular for a while, as I can really only work on this during the weekends (so, if my weekend is busy, then I don't get the chance to write). This first book will really mix things up a bit; some adventures will be shifted around, but believe me, there is a purpose for all the episode shifting.
Also, for now, the Doctor and the Guardian will be speaking a lot in Gallifreyan, indicated by "italics".
Oh, and yes, they know each other's name (bonus points to whomever can figure out the significance behind their names!). In my mind, Gallifreyans are open about their names on Gallifrey, but it is still considered a highly intimate thing to call an adult non-family member by their given name. There will be more later why the Doctor's name is a secret.
For visuals' sake, I imagine the Guardian to look something like Maggie Q. There will be more information coming about her, but suffice to say: she is not a typical Time Lady.
Next Episode: The Doctor and the Guardian meet a certain blonde teenager.
And a warning: I do not like Rose. So if you love her, and can't stand to hear anything bad about her, do not continue.
