The Time Lord Lives
A fanfiction by T.L.C. Productions
Written by Ninjamayhewe
Chapter 1
The Professor exploded into a blaze of golden light. The people around him, his companions, stared in shock as the man they knew was burned away. After what seemed like hours, though it could have easily only been seconds, the man crumpled and righted himself. Short, blonde hair covered his ears and one of his eyes.
"Hello," he said to the group, smiling.
Rosie couldn't believe it. The Professor, her friend – the first one she'd had since she'd lost her home, had vanished in a burst of golden light and left this new man in his place. She stared for a second at the blonde replacement Professor.
"Who are you," she asked, glaring at the man. He smiled at her.
"It's me. The Professor," he said. Rosie shook her head.
"No. No, you can't be. What'd you do to him?" She stepped closer to him, fear and anger at war within her. "Bring the Professor back right now."
The man smiled nervously, stepping closer to Rosie. "Rosie," he said. "When we met, before we picked up Billie and Athena, you asked me why I picked you to travel with me over everyone else in Midgar and I told you that you seemed out of place like you needed to find your place." The girl looked up at the Professor.
"How," she asked.
"I was dying. To save myself, I changed. Had to. I'm not ready for the great beyond yet." He smiled, running a hand through his much shorter hair. His eyes lit up. "My hair! What happened? It's blonde! Why blonde?" He smiled at his companions, holding his arms out.
"Well, how do I look? Apart from blonde."
"You look…different," said Billie, adjusting her glasses on her nose. Beside her, Athena nodded silently. The Professor looked at Rosie, unsure.
"Is different good? I've never done this before." He looked down at his body. "I mean…I have all the right parts and everything. My face isn't shaped weird, is it?" He reached up, his hands feeling his face. "No," he said. "Ears, eyes, nose, mouth…everything seems to be in place…chin's a bit weak, but oh well." Rosie stared at him.
"Can you change back," the girl asked. The Professor looked uncertainly at her, seeing the anxiety in her eyes.
"No," he said quietly. "A regeneration can't be reversed. Once it's done, it's done."
"Can't you…I dunno…go back and stop that woman from stabbing you," asked Athena, eyeing the new Professor with a certain amount of distaste.
"No. I can't interfere with my own timeline. If something happens to us, I can't change it." The Professor looked around at his companions. "Come on," he said. "All I did was change. It's still me." He put a hand on his chest. "Back on Gallifrey, this sort of thing was a minor occurrence. I swear." He turned to the control panel of the TARDIS.
"Where do we go now," he asked, his back to them. He looked at the controls, his vision blurring and going dark for an instant. He looked around, finding himself on the floor. Stern and Rosie were at his side.
"Sir," said Stern, the armored giant bowing his head reverently. "Perhaps you need rest." The Professor nodded.
"Right," said the Time Lord weakly. "Should have figured, really. First regeneration was bound to have some sort of effect, wasn't it?" He pulled himself up, with the help of Rosie and Stern. He grabbed the console, flipping switches.
"Where are we going, Doc," said Athena, gaining a look from the Professor; he hated being called 'Doc'
"Midgar. We'll be safe there."
[a/n- Well, things will start coming together now.
