The Moment. It didn't appear quite as special and powerful in person as legend had perceived it to be. All of this time, it had been concealed, hidden in the depths of Gallifrey. This was for a reason, it in itself was a weapon of mass destruction. Humankind, Sontarians… even the Daleks, their weaponry when compared to this ancient Gallifreian artifact seemed laughable. Even modern day Time Lord technology paled in comparison to the Moment. And sadly, though he had stolen it, though he had discovered its potential power and ability, the Doctor had no idea who had created it, and of course why it had been created.
It was in the form of a sphere. Seemingly a frail glass object, even quite murky, as if it had been left to gather dust in a small, pokey human attic for many years. It had taken the Doctor some time to find it, he had began his search during the central years of the Time War, and only recently had he obtained the hallowed object. The Moment was about the size of a standard human fist, it could easily be held, easily concealed too. The Time Lord recalled the rampant beats of his dual hearts as he retrieved it, knowing of its significance to ending the war, knowing of its vast power.
Standing adjacent to the TARDIS central console, the Doctor prodded away at its control panel. He needed distance, he needed to be far from the conflict that was now raging between the worlds of Gallifrey and Skaro. This felt treacherous, filthy and wrong. Here he was, a man of 900 years old, abandoning his race, abandoning anymore attempts at settling the Last Great Time War peacefully. But within himself, deep within the recesses of his crippling intellect, the Doctor knew that he had done all that could be done. His regrets now however, rested on the innocents of Gallifrey, those Time Lords and Ladies who had been forced into battle, those honourable few who still believed in non-intervention, and galactic peace. Romana was amongst these… and of course Susan too. How could the Doctor forget his beloved granddaughter, the young Time Lady who had travelled with him so many years ago to planet Earth, in his exile from his people. Even Susan had been forced into this endless conflict, even the call to war had reached her, all the way from her previous home on Earth.
This was what those few innocents desired however. No rational mind wanted this slaughter… this hell to continue. Already so many races had met there ends at not only the hands of the Daleks, but at the hands of the new, aggressive Time Lord race. Even the Dalek leader, Davros had met his end in the first year of the Time War. His flagship, the Cruciform being the first to fall into the jaws of the Nghtmare Child. Now this war was a senseless one, the remaining Dalek armada with Dalek bred commanders, who wished nothing more than the destruction of all life within the universe, and the Time Lords… they now wished for something far, far worse.
The TARDIS hummed and screeched, its course set, this being a very family journey indeed. In the past, before the war… the Doctor had always retreated to this world, he had always fled here looking for something he would always find, compassion, friendship… and acceptance. As the TARDIS rattled, its familiar walls churning and vibrating as it spun through the time vortex, the Doctor began to aimlessly navigate its interior. He appeared as he had always appeared in his eighth incarnation. Still he wore Victorian formal wear, portraying him as a gentleman of Victorian England. And still his hair was curled, a shade of oak… perhaps a little longer than in previous years however. It was difficult to comprehend, that these would be his last moments. Knowing what he knew, the Moment would end everything, even himself.
An unrecorded amount of time passed, still the Doctor's mind was absorbed into the actions he would have to take, and what it would mean. Even as he had attempted to ignore the implications of his approaching crime, its voice returned to torment him. Doubt had played a big part of the days leading up to this moment. Was he doing the right thing? What if there was another way? As these thoughts circumvented the Time Lord's mind, a siren began to sound on the TARDIS console. Quickly shaking off these plaguing thoughts, the Doctor hopped towards the view screen, concealing his inner conflict, even when alone within the walls of his own TARDIS. There upon the screen was a flashing blue light, an indication that he had an incoming transmission. Hesitant at first, almost aware of who was haling him, the Doctor finally accepted the transmission.
"Lord Doctor…" the voice called out. Its tone baritone and cold. After a moment of the voice materialising within the TARDIS, an image appeared on the view screen. There he was, seemingly a middle aged man, dressed finely, in majestic, crimson robes, sat at what appeared to be a grand throne, behind him residing two guards. "At last we have the pleasure of meeting once more."
The Doctor's hearts sank further into his organs, at least it felt like that. Of all the people, Ressalon had been the man he wished to avoid. And here he was, the Lord President of Gallifrey, haling the Doctor, in a last ditched attempt to reason with him. There was nothing to reason however, the Doctor knew what had to be done, he knew of the danger that the Time Lords now presented. With very little to say, the Time Lord managed a slight, deflated nod of the head.
"No words Doctor? Strange… you are normally full of them." Ressalon's face grimaced, before finally continuing. "It must be the fact that you posses the Moment. But I confess, I was unaware that it restricted speech patterns Lord Doctor."
After a moment of agonising over his response, the Doctor's desperate face formed a plea. "Stop this… Ressalon, the Time Lords were sworn never to intervene with history. We're preservers… not… not the monsters that you have transformed our race into."
"Fool! Doctor, the Moment is a danger to your own race. Where do your loyalties lie?" With what seemed to be his own form of reasoning, Ressalon brought his body forward. "The Time War has made a mockery of what we once called life. Preservation is useless, countless worlds have fell to the Daleks, now we must support what is in our best interest. Now we lords of time must clense this diseased universe."
The Doctor's head fell in disappointment, he had hoped that the Time Lords were willing to listen, to reconsider their foolish plan. Perhaps then, only then the Doctor could reconsider the use of the Moment. "We have done this to the galaxy Ressalon. Our people, waging an even deadlier threat to existence than even the Dalek Emperor himself. And for what… so that you can 'ascend' your own body, and destroy… everything!" The Doctor's tone began to rise, he could feel the rage curdling within him. After all, it was because of this man why all of this was going to transpire.
"You could join us Doctor. Every Time Lord will be preserved. All we need do is destroy the Time Vortex itself. Then this… stain that is the galaxy will be wiped clean. No more will we be threatened by the Daleks, no more will the higher beings of the universe be plagued by the needs and weaknesses of the lesser life forms. You are a Time Lord Doctor… a higher form of life. I will not neglect to include you in our greater plans. Surrender the Moment Doctor, do not abandon greatness!"
Before the Doctor could respond, another haling signal sounded. It couldn't be! How was it that everyone would be present for… the end. The Doctor's face froze, for a moment an expression of terror perpetuated. "N-not possible." Quickly accepting the transmission with the flick of a switch, a new voice sounded, this voice shrill and mechanical.
"Doc-tor! Doc-tor! Surrender the Moment to the Dalek race! Dalek intelligence knows of your intended destination Doc-tor. You are approaching the planet Earth. If you do not surrender the Moment, the people of Earth shall be… exterminated!"
The Doctor hesitantly grasped at the murky sphere. Action had to be taken now. There was just one thing left to do.
"Lord Doctor! Return to your people!" Ressalon's rage intensified, screams began to erupt from his wide, entrenched mouth. "Do not activate the moment, that is an order from your President!"
"Doc-tor! You will be exterminated!"
"The Moment has within it a frozen moment in time." The Doctor said as he began to step back from his TARDIS console, panting for breath at the intensity of the event. "It's a paradox, the same moment occurring over and over again. And this moment is a moment of absolute destruction. This destruction will bring Gallifrey and Skaro to an end, and with it… the end of the Time War… the end of Hell." With the Moment, the user could construct any singular moment in time he desired, bringing it to life with the breaking of the orb and the unleashing of his desired moment in time. And this moment, the only moment that the Doctor could conceive, was the mass destruction of the Dalek Empire, the Time Lords, Gallifrey and Skaro. This was the only assured way to end the war. As the Doctor raised the orb above his head, preparing to unleash it, shattering it into a thousand pieces, the Dalek spoke.
"Dor-tor! You will not. Use of the Moment would mean that you will die!"
"You could never Doctor, not one such as you. You appreciate your life too much. To use the moment it requires that it enters your mind, and tears your constructed moment from you. Even with a mind as complex as a Time Lord's, your current life will be brought to its knees. Replaced only by a war torn veteran, who is responsible for the death of millions!" Ressalon now stood to his feet in rage, his fists clenched as he continued shouting objections towards the Doctor.
"You're right… both of you." The Doctor's tone fell to a whisper. "My current life will be taken from me. But As you have repeated so many times Ressalon, I am Time Lord, while my current self will die, another will replace it." The Doctor fell silent for a moment, before completing the final words of his transmission. "And that is a small price to pay for the future that could take its place. Back into hell Ressalon, back into the Time War!" As the Doctor observed the President's face, it was as though the madman had heard those words before. With a task before him however, the Doctor sent the sphere crashing to the ground, and in a single moment, it shattered.
Everything was quiet for the following seconds to come, Ressalon's eyes filled with contempt and even the Dalek within the transmission remained quiet. Had it not worked? Had the Doctor done something wrong? If so, what now? As the Time Lord commenced to lean down, to inspect the broken shards of the Moment, a light exploded from wreckage, quickly entering the head of an unsuspecting Doctor.
"AHHHH!" He called out in agony, it felt as if something was tearing his brain's neurons apart. Reaching for his head, the Doctor fell to his knees, the pain was tremendous, he had never felt something so devastating. After what felt like an eternity of agonising pain, the terror subsided, leaving with it, only a sound effect and a light display. The console screen lit up, which had previously been harbouring the image of Ressalon, and with it the sound of bellowing from both the Dalek transmission and the Time Lord transmission could be heard. The screams were unmerciful, it was as if something reached into the Time War itself and exterminated all life within. The Doctor knew that this was it… the bellowing, the pain… he could feel it all, everything from his own point, approaching planet Earth. For the moments that followed, the Time Lord's eyes remained fixated against his view screen, his expression that of complete horror over what had transpired. They were dead… the Daleks… his people. They were all gone.
As several more moments passed, the Doctor finally stood to his feet. And as silent as even his TARDIS had become, he approached the console once more. He had arrived on Earth… Totters Lane to be exact. The place where he and his granddaughter Susan had taken refuge so long ago. The expression now upon the Time Lord's face was empty, almost void of emotion. Of course looks were deceiving, he was in fact traumatised. They were gone… all of them gone. Finally the Doctor's vacant eyes caught sight of the date that appeared on his TARDIS console. The year was 2005.
Eventually turning from the TARDIS console to approach the door, the Doctor suddenly felt weak, his muscles became limp as a searing feeling of agony drilled through the recesses of his head. Again he called out in pain, the anguish had returned, but this time it was amplified. With each desperate step closer to the TARDIS door, the Time Lord found himself even more immobile. So this was it, this was his end? Finally giving into the strain that was laying waste to his eighth body, the Doctor fell to his knees. He could only manage a few contrived gasps.
"T-this is it. This is… my end."
Bringing his hand towards his face and his distorted vision, the Doctor became aware of it emanating a golden light. The regeneration had begun. He was leaving behind everything this person had become. It had been different from previous times… his eighth incarnation had experienced so much. He had travelled to the far reaches of the galaxy, fought distant threats, saved countless civilisations, befriended so, so many. And now, in order to preserve that galaxy that he had loved so much, he was leaving. His final, regretful thoughts rested on those he had destroyed within the now distant Time War. Friends, allies… even Susan, his beloved granddaughter, his own family. And suddenly with that last thought of family and friends, the Doctor's body became engulfed in a blinding ray of golden energy. The energy protruded from his hands and his head, concealing his now dying features in waves of regenerative energy.
"UHHHH!" The Doctor's vocal cords once elegant and gentlemanly, became rougher during the unleashing of his. And as the light died out around him, a new man was present. In silence for but a moment, the new man, still sat, perched on his knees, only listening to the sound of his panting as it bellowed through the hollow TARDIS console room. Slowly but finally lifting himself to his feet, the Doctor reached for his head, more specifically his hair. It was shorter, much shorter. Then he brushed the same hand down towards his face. It felt different, rougher, less friendly. Now raising his hand away from his face, the Doctor looked upon it with his new eyes. That too was different, more… masculine was the word. Finally letting his hand rest at his side, the Time Lord spoke once more.
"What a bloody day." Finally completing his journey towards the door of the TARDIS, the Doctor opened it to reveal an unsuspecting, ignorant world. The Time War had been but a myth, a shadow of events to this world. Continuing his journey outside, the Doctor clumsily passed by a local, who seemed to stare at him with a look of confusion upon their face. And not taking any regard for who was around him, watching him at the time, he spoke just a few simple words.
"They're all gone. I'm the only one left."