Part one
regeneration
Clara who was almost holding herself together after witnessing the transition from the young man into this old and quite grumpy individual who had a particular hatred of his kidneys.
"Seriously I never ever bothered to teach you to fly the tardis?" He said
"you tried but that ended with you having to hit a big red button" clara replied quickly as sparks flew around the Tardis control room. "Well, I need a big red button now!" The Doctor shouted
"Stop complaining, you can fly it right? Don't you remember?"
"New regeneration cycle, everythings a tad fuzzy" just as the doctor finished speaking the Tardis shook. "I think we've landed, any idea where we are?"
"how the hell am I supposed to know?!"
"Sometimes I wonder why I bring you guys along"
"Why don't you just open the door you stupid old man?!"
"I just might" he shouts sounding aggressive and only slightly annoyed. As he opens the door he laughs, making his head recoil back "I've not been in one of these in a while" followed by more laughter "where are we?"
"The mall of the grand president of sholk-tor, 41 century, if I'm correct"
"and are you?"
"always" as he walked back towards to control column.
Clara then asked "what about christmas?"
"I'll take you back, don't worry"
"I meant the town"
"well Gallifrey needs to break through and the dalek fleet has fled once they realized the Gallifreyans were preparing for a warm reception"
"how would they know?"
"they escaped a war, they know it isn't over, but now they aren't just grumpy old men squabbling over petting things anymore" he exhaled "they could crush the daleks if they wanted to"
"maybe a less touchy subject?"
"Coffee?"
"Coffee?"
"I'm sorry the Tardis translates Coffee into Coffee" this was followed up with a burst of laughter from clara and the doctor once he realized what he said.
"So coffee?"
"Fine coffee"
The restaurant was similar to earth's dinning establishments, a bar and table and chairs scattered about somewhat random with a host of aliens eating, drinking and chating.
"You never explained what happened to the town"
"No I didn't"
"So did anyone survive?"
"A few, probably moved off world, can we get onto a better subject?"
"What will you do now? go find gallifrey?"
"Yes, hopefully get to see her one more time" after saying this he got up and spoke, "Clara, I'm going to pick a new outfit, be back in an hour, and stay out of trouble"
"I'll try"
Clara sat there for around half an hour taking the odd sip from her coffee and admiring the surroundings. There was a collection of aliens, one with two heads on long necks that occasionally went into the creatures body a bit like a tortoise, another looked human in shape but had a distinct face similar to an owl and then she noticed a man in a suit that seemed as though he was in his 30s.
"May I claim this seat miss?" he said
"i'm saving it for a friend"
"fine, i'll be brief" he then went to remove his glasses and wipe them on a handkerchief
"so who are you?"
"that doesn't matter" he said softly yet with a hint of menace "i'm here to deliver a warning, back off, stay away from gallifrey, the doctor may think he is welcome, but he, he will not like what he will see, things are different, don't seek us out, keep him away, a war, the war, it will burn his hearts out, and we don't want him going mad, especially since those 12 regenerations he has up his sleeve, could be problematic, so do you understand?"
"yeah stay from gallifrey, got it"
"good, fail to heed this warning and the doctor won't be able to rebuild you from fragments next time"
"what!"
"nothing just a threat" with this last remark he got up and left placing his glasses back upon his face.
"so Clara where to next?" the doctor spoke a few minutes latter now wearing a suit with red lining the inside with a particular contrast to the black material on the exterior.
"how about the moon, always wanted to land on the moon, haven't you?"
"yes the moon, sounds great!" and so off they went on an adventure or two, while the doctor pondered where to start his hunt for gallifrey.
part 2
The pilot
Several misadventure and quite a lot of running latter we rejoin clara and the doctor now with a heading to start the hunt for gallifrey.
"i've always wanted to venture to the cascade of vosmour, never had a good reason till now though" the doctor exclaimed with excitement
"what is at the cascade?"
"one world, the lost world, perfectly habitable, just no one ventures to it, because it is apparently cursed"
"cursed?"
"yeah, just cause we've got a time machine and science, doesn't disprove magic"
"like you've seen magic"
"i once met the devil, terrible company"
"really?"
"yeah, threw him in a black hole, just to be safe" as he finished his sentence the tardis began to wail and flash with light "Fuck, the controls have seized, why are things always cursed?"
"DO SOMETHING!"
"hello doctor" both the doctor and clara turn bewildered by the words just spoken, and as they were the tardis stop flashing and wailing. "ANSWER ME, HOW DID YOU GET ABOARD MY SHIP?" the doctor erupted
"I used the catflap" the figure responded
"no you died in the wreck of the irisum!"
"almost"
"HOW?"
"luck, your stunt with the 13 doctors stopped the shot that would have caused the reactor to implode, thus avoiding a fatal dose of time energy, i crawled out with enough juice in my system to regenerate, then i stole 6 more regenerations from the high councils chambers. All the guards were out fighting or dead, i noticed a man in black hoodie with bleached hair, give him a few regenerations and forced him into a regeneration, never saw him again, did the same for me, new face and and all."
"you committed a crime against the high council?"
"listen you ain't no little miss perfect, doctor"
"excuse me, who is he?" Clara interrupted
"the pilot, in your tongue, madam" the stranger answered
"he is the greatest commander for the home fleet of gallifrey, flew the irisum solo into the dalek war fleet, took out 10,000 vessel before crashing into gallifrey, assumed KIA, time of death, around the moment fired"
"but it didn't thank god" he responded
"why are you here?"
"Clara, you know why" he says while pointing
"Me?"
"yes you, after you did your thing, and nearly broke the universe, the timelords entered a state of rebuilding, i watched from afar" he paused "they began to prepare for war, the daleks were still out there and they needed to be ready" again he paused "they built up an arsenal, greatest stockpile of death in any universe, but still i watched." he paused signed and a tear fell from his right eye "they began to fight each other and by the end a terrible council has gallifrey and so i still watched, now too late" he began to tear up "so i said no more, this is it, as soon as the gateway was ready i slipped out and began to ready myself"
"so you want to fight the timelords?" the doctor said with some hesitation
"no i have fought, i lost and became an experiment, they were too strong"
he continued "they tried to combine war tardis and time lord DNA, I survived and now look at me" his chest was now exposed with veins and arteries pushing out his chest. "each of these carries time energy, i have a star in my chest and a time rift in my heart"
"DEAR GOD"
"i can move faster hit harder and can warp in and out of events seamlessly and i can board tardises, the time lords that control gallifrey, they are going to make more and be able to control them." he is now in a flood of tears "please just help me, you are a champion among the lower families, return and claim glory, just clara can't come, she will die it is too risky for a human"
"but.."
"this time its the time lords and so you must stay, no buts"
Part 3
The Return
They stood in a square of some sort, the pilot and the doctor. The wind was cold and ash prevailed in the air, with evident signs of the time war. Statues and monuments lay in ruins, with walls and paths cracked and broken; moss and vines grew in various places, covering the giant towers of the citadel, and death hung in the atmosphere instantly chilling with a sense dread gallifrey had not felt for an era.
"This place is desolate, look at this, the high council never commissioned a rebuild; this is where you'll find our people doctor, squatting in the rubble while gallifrey readies itself for war"
"so why don't we go directly to the council?"
"they have guards and power however doctor, you have influence and respect, and are a war hero to these people, they will join our cause"
"but how much blood will be spilt?"
"I do not know, many will fall far sure but this place needs you"
"fine" the doctor said saddened
"its time to begin, doctor, you know what to say"
"very well"
"GALLIFREYANS, TIMELORDS, JOIN US, WE TAKE BACK GALLIFREY, TODAY WE RISE, TODAY WE WILL END THIS WAR, FINALLY YOU WILL BE FREE! JOIN US!" with the doctor now making a huge speech as they marches through the road to heart of the citadel people begin to follow him, first an old man who looked half starved, next a family who had been beaten, next several soldiers joined them protecting the crowed and making other join them.
As they marched up to the steps the doctor halts, seeing a time lord clutching a hand gun of some sort. "not today" the man spoke
"I'm sorry" the doctor replied shooting him with a very old fashioned wood woven gun inscribed with old high gallifreyan runes. At once the man shakes and collapses, looking like he is trying to regenerate but unable to due to the weapon the doctor used.
"LISTEN UP! GATHER EVERYONE HERE, SAY NO MORE! TAKE UP ARMS IN CASE THEY TRY TO STOP YOU BUT TRY TO AVOID SPILLING BLOOD! WE RETURN SOON!"
as he finished his sentence the crowd began to chant "NO MORE!" this prompted the doctor to turn and walk into the citadel.
the hall was huge and grand, obviously rebuilt after the time war while they lay in the pocket universe. "Doctor, so glad you can join us with our little escaped lab rat" the man was obviously the new head of the high council with a grand red robe and staff. He was flanked by several guards each one armed with a sword still sheathed with a spear held in their right hands. "come sit we have much to discuss" and with this they began to follow him.
they now were in a large chamber with a grand chandelier and various monuments; Making his vanity clear. "so do you like your home?"
"No, hand power back to the people, now"
"oh please stop with the treats, you don't scare me, every other species is weaker than us, you and I are equal" he said with great confidence and vanity "you won't win, so leave, turn your back and we will win our war"
"Over my dead body"
"possibly"
"listen here grand president fuckface, you are going to hand over gallifrey or die with your head rolling down those stairs like a football" the pilot interrupted
"i know who you are, makteaor" as the words left his mouth the doctor trembled and the pilot sighed "fine I may be him, How did you know?"
"the irisum detonated as expected, the pilot died"
"wrong, i am the pilot, just i used the irisum to escape under that name, nearly did except i crashed and bailed into a dalek ship, crashed into the citadel dome, grabbed some regenerations from the citadel grand hall, saved a few lives, then watched, and got captured so i escaped again and brought him here"
By this point you are wondering who makteaor is, well in old high gallifreyan text it depicts him as an ancestor to the gallifreyans who fought the first time war against the creators, ultimately slaying pantheous the god and giving gallifrey to the gallifreyan race before vanishing into legend.
"so is the legend true, god slayer?"
"somewhat" he paused "back to buisness, hand over gallifrey or watch history repeat itself"
"oh i doubt that" and as he spoke the guards threw down their spears and drew swords.
"Doctor, i'm sorry, you'll miss this part" with that he grabbed the doctor's shoulder and made him vanish.
"Where am I?"
"Doctor!"
"Clara!" they ran into each others arms in the tardis control room and then a thought ran over the doctor's mind "Oh god, what is he going to do?"
"you mean the pilot?"
"yes what is he going to do?"
Back on gallifrey chaos erupted as honor guards marched out the citadels main building, sirens wailed saying "Do not be alarmed marshal law is in effect lay down arms and surrender for processing" this looped through every few seconds with gunfire and explosions rocking the capitol as thousands of Gallifreyans swarmed the area killing any loyal to the council.
Inside makteaor was making light work of the honor guards, killing each with ease. A day later the doctor and makteaor were no where to be found and the revolution ended with a fair council being elected thanks to some people manipulating votes and elections.
Now gallifrey truly began to rebuild with the viens and ash cleared in year and within the decade the grand trade routes and farms as well as shipping ports were restored. Also the memories of the people of gallifrey forgot what drove them to rebel as the images of the doctor and the pilot fading from their memories as well the doctors of gallifrey and the pilot.
and so the doctor, when he visited the the cascade of vosmour felt a case of deja vu, ultimately he would find no clue to gallifrey's whereabouts and the hunt would carry on.