Remedy
By TwinEnigma
Warnings/Codes: Crossover, regeneration, symbolism
Disclaimer: I do not own either Doctor Who or Mononoke (obviously) and I make no profit from this.
"It is the shared fates of men that give the mononoke it's form. To unseal the sword of exorcism, I need to know it's truth, shape and regret."
Two men sit opposite each other. One is a foreign man in a brown suit, skinny and haggard with a sense of otherworldly weight. Behind him is a blue wooden box. He is introduced as a doctor, a wandering healer. The other is a pale man in dated clothing and charms, his face painted and fox-like. A wooden medicine chest sits behind him. He is introduced as a medicine seller, a simple peddler of remedies.
The tea set before them sits cold in its cups.
Nearby, the mangled remains of something once resembling a man watch them.
A soundless whisper of four syllables and something rattles.
The scales tip, bells jingling and something moves.
The medicine seller's eyes slide towards the noise and then back to the man across from him.
The man's eyes are wide with fear and terrible knowledge.
A sheathed sword, the sword of exorcism, sits in his hands now, its mouth open and waiting.
"The Doctor."
Click.
"I am a Time Lord."
Click.
"I am the last survivor of my people and the Time War. I am alone. I am afraid. I don't want to go."
Click.
The sword explodes with brilliant scintillating flame as the other, unbound, unfettered, twirls into being. It bears down on him, red and gold and ash and slices through his very being, paring it to the core. The world explodes, bathed in gold.
A new man rises, his expression quizzical.
The corpse is gone.
The medicine seller regards him, painted face inscrutable, and sips his tea.
An empty table, two cups of cold tea, is all that is left.
Somewhere, a bell jingles.
AN:
Tweaked one thing to flow better. Otherwise, this was very much designed to stylistically resemble the Mononoke series, most particularly the Noppera-bō episode, where everything was an illusion implied to have taken place within her head: in this, it is much the same case.
...Except during a regeneration.
