The Clock Tower of the Mage`s Association bloomed in chaos.
On this night, only the light of incineration could be seen from all of London. Flames blasted the ancient heart of the magical world, obliterating entire legacies of the arcane into ashes.
"Doctor, watch out!" Gray reached behind her back, transforming the small metal container she carried into its signature form of an elegant scythe. Grim Reaper (Scythe of the Death God).
"Gray? What are you - ?" the Doctor blinked as the girl launched forward with lightning speed, a flower of the battlefield.
"Alert." the Cyberman declared in its deep monotone voice. "Magic-based weapon detected. Initiate counter-attack."
Grim Reaper stabbed forwards, only for the Cyberman to quickly grab the living Noble Phantasm in its hands with surprising dexterity. "...What!?" Gray gasped, trying to back away.
"Oi! You stay away from her!" the Doctor furiously aimed the sonic-screwdriver the same time as Zelretch did using his Jeweled Sword. Within a millisecond, the scientific gadget forced the Cyberman to release the scythe before a snipe from the arcane blade blasted the enemy into the wall.
"Doctor, what are these things?" Aoko knelt down to inspect the fallen adversary. "A...robot?"
"Worse. Cybermen (Iron-Wrought Machine Scourge)." the Doctor explained grimly. "Extraterrestrial cyborgs from my home universe. Cybernetically augmented to feel no emotion except the need survive by 'upgrading' others into like itself. Underneath that mechanical shell was a former human with a heart of steel, skin of metal, and a body that will never age or die... Although what reason the Cybermen are invading this multiverse of Magic, I have no - blimey!"
The fallen Cyberman had risen up, staggering slightly. Without hesitation, Gray used Grim Reaper to behead it.
"Interesting..." Zelretch observed. "A point-blank snipe from my Jeweled Sword did not defeat it only a simple slice of a blade did?"
"...The Cybermen have been modified to be resistant against Magic..." the Doctor recognized, inspecting the corpse with the screwdriver. These Cybermen are not ones from his home universe...rather, it appeared these versions were artificially created using unknown technology in this multiverse by the Master instead... "...The Iron-Wrought legions are forged to be a force of Anti-Magic..."
"Therefore, only scientific-based attacks could stop the enemy..." Aoko watched in dread as the Cyberman corpse strangely disintegrate into dust before the Doctor could finish his investigation. The one behind these mechanical enemies apparently did not want anyone learning about its secrets.
The sound of distant battle made everyone look up.
More Cybermen had begun descending from the sky.
"Oh, it had to be London of all places too..." the Doctor muttered.
All around the Clock Tower, a cacophony rose.
Magi from throughout the Mage`s Association began a furious counter-attack, arcane Magecraft flying desperately into the air surrounding the British Museum.
Although this was for naught. The invading Cybermen were merely slowed down by the assault, thundering onwards like a hurricane unstopped. Entire arsenals of Science-based weaponry rained down onto the ancient citadel as the mechanical scourge mercilessly devastated the land.
"The Clock Tower...is about to fall." Gray looked upon the unthinkable chaos, wishing despairingly this was all an awful nightmare.
"This is not the first time the Master has used Cybermen to advance his master-plan..." the Doctor muttered darkly remembering all his previous incarnations` battles against his arch-enemy.
"Lord Zelretch!" a man`s voice called. Everyone jumped as a long-haired magus in a red coat disengaged from the battle. This was Gray`s Magecraft teacher, Lord El-Melloi II of the Clock Tower. Formerly known as Waver Velvet. "The unknown enemy is appearing from out of thin air. All non-combatants are evacuated, the Clock Tower is containing the destruction. What should we do?"
"What about calling up UNIT?" the Doctor answered. "The old Brigadier should know what to do..."
"The...what?" Waver looked at him. "Who are you supposed to be?"
"Ah, sorry. Forgot UNIT does not exist in this multiverse..." the Time Lord grimaced dishearteningly. "I`m the Doctor, here as old Zelretch`s...er...'hermit caretaker'. Retreat all your forces back to the London Tower, nothing supernatural would affect the enemy. I will take care of this..."
"Hermit caretaker...?" Zelretch gave an affirmative. "Lord El-Melloi, do as the Doctor commands. Salute him like a good boy too, will you? "
Waver gave a dismayed salute before disappearing elsewhere. Aoko inspected the ruined landscape. There had to be hundreds of Cybermen flying about, all resistant to supernatural attacks. A miniature Cyber-Legion of Anti-Magic...
Another thundering sound materialized, making everyone look up. From out of the waters of the River Thames in the distance, a behemoth arose. A humanoid giant, taller than a skyscraper, clad in gleaming armor with electricity cracking throughout its mammoth form. The earth itself trembled in fear as the colossus slowly began walking forwards with a resonating boom.
Certain demise had descended.
"No...a Cyber-King..." the Doctor gasped in fear.
A Cyber-King.
A Dreadnought-Class mobile Cyber-ship, used for planetary invasions in the Doctor`s home universe. The ultimate war-machine of the endless Cyber-Legions.
Although for it to be existing in this multiverse of Magic...
"We have to stop whatever that 'thing' is..." Zelretch stepped forward after a frozen silence. "Otherwise London is doomed. The Counter Force itself will activate in response to destroy everything unless we defeat it first."
"...I know..." the Doctor answered, courage burning in his eyes despite everything. "I have defeated the Cybermen more than once in my past lives...though all your Magic doesn`t affect Cyber-technology, remember?"
"I understand, something else will be needed." Zelretch responded grimly. "Gray and Aoko, stay with the Doctor to stop the Cybermen. I shall see to overthrowing this iron-wrought sovereign." Without another sound, the Wizard Marshall launched himself with astounding agility at the distant behemoth.
The Doctor began running into the battlefield, forcing his two allies to follow. Not only had these Cybermen been modified to be resistant to Magic, their combat-abilities too have been enhanced with technology so one Cyber-soldier was powerful enough to rival an entire battalion of magi in combat. "Oi! Bad luck to you, love! Calvary`s here!" the madman shouted towards a particularly armored Cyberman at the center of the battle.
"Alert. It is the Doctor." the Cyber-Leader of the invasion force halted. "Our 'Master' has acknowledged you are present in this multiverse too."
"Your...'Master'?" the Doctor glared.
The Cyber-Leader stalked forwards. "This multiverse is filled with the illogical abnormality known as 'Magic'. Our 'Master' has created us for the purpose of aiding him in eradicating all that is supernatural from existence, overwriting it with the laws of Science. You will not stop this from happening. Maximum deletion shall await you all!"
With this monotone war-cry, the Cyber-Leader blasted forward at super-sonic velocity. Aoko quickly used her Time-Magic, teleporting everyone away to a safe distance. "Doctor, this is no time for trying to reason with the enemy!"
Only the Doctor was not listening, his face pale. From what the Cyber-Leader revealed, the Shadow of Eternity did not merely want to erase Akasha...he wanted to re-create this multiverse for only Science to exist within it...
"You mentioned you defeated the Cybermen before...shouldn`t you already know what to do?" Gray wielded her scythe as she stood on guard.
"...Er...no." The madman admitted. "Cybermen have this unpleasant thingy of adapting over time to any strategy. Greatest weakness is metal gold, it poisons their inner cybernetic systems, unless you transmute any - " The Doctor stopped unexpectedly.
"...What is it?" Gray hesitated.
"Mana..." A lightbulb floated over the Doctor`s head. "The classic form of magical energy..."
Aoko spoke up. "All Magecraft generally uses mana to create spells, is that what you mean? Only Cybermen cannot be affected by it, Anti-Magic applies to magical energy too - "
"Although solidified mana is a form of energy...one that cannot be absorbed by cybernetic lifeforms..." A glint appeared in the Doctor`s eyes. "Aoko, listen to me. I need you to go around the battlefield, tell every magus within range to immediately release all their mana into the air. Could you do that?"
The Witch of the Holy Night hesitated, not understanding. "I...think I could. Wish me luck!" Without another sound, the Witch disappeared into the air.
"Doctor, what are you thinking of?" Gray asked.
The madman smirked ingeniously. "You will see in a moment, my dear..."
This was certainly going to be a memorable day...
For Zelretch, that is.
He had battled plenty of eldritch adversaries in his long life, only nothing like this before.
The iron-clad Cyber-King, thundering on towards the coast of the River Thames, its mechanical eyes targeting the Clock Tower. No supernatural-based attack will affect the behemoth therefore the Wizard aimed at the environment instead, transmuting the river`s waters to slow down the enemy in a barrier of ice. "For once, I finally came upon an enemy who wasn`t vulnerable to Magic..."
Zelretch used Magecraft to float skywards, looking behind at the Mage`s Association. The flaming battle was still continuing on, with no end in sight.
A barrage of anti-air lasers shot from the Cyber-King, forcing the Wizard to evade in the air like a vampiric fighter-jet. "You are indeed resistant to Magic...yet what about the aftereffects of it?" Zelretch aimed the Jeweled Sword, beginning a High-Speed Incantation of ancient Second Magic, the 'Operation of Parallel Worlds'.
An immense magic circle covered with glyphs appeared underneath the Cyber-King`s feet, who continued targeting the Wizard.
Zelretch did not stop, grimacing painfully as multiple laser-blasts pierced through him. His wounds would regenerate from being a vampire anyway, like the Doctor as an alien Time Lord too. He had far more resemblances to the madman than on first thought... "...Ask me not, my answer is forever clear. In face of all things, thy defeat is certain. I banish you, an outsider chained to this World, upon the immaterial oblivion. You are never more."
At the end of this incantation, space-time distorted within the circle revealing an empty void of nothingness. The Cyber-King staggered as gravity crashed in, sending it falling helplessly upon oblivion before disappearing.
"Good night, my lovely!" the Wizard cackled jokingly before gasping in agony. The arcane banishment spell had exhausted the elderly sage.
No more Magic-casting for him.
Hopefully the Doctor was having more luck in victory...
Another Cyberman fell to Gray`s scythe.
The Doctor sighed from a safe distance, watching the magus-girl fly through the battlefield like an ancient valkyrie. Although he was a demi-Heroic Spirit, being in combat was not quite his expertise. He regrettably had a long history of having others doing battle for him when it was necessary...
"Doctor! Everything is all ready!" Aoko teleported back, collapsing on the ground in exhaustion. "The air is being filled with the mana from every magus within London. Although I still do not understand what you are - "
"Hush! Watch me." the Doctor aimed the sonic-screwdriver skywards, using the Command Spells on his hand as a conductor.
Nothing happened at first...then, something did.
The Cyber-Leader that Gray was countering spontaneously froze, its hands clawing at its neck in mechanical agony.
Around the distance, all the iron-clad enemies began doing this too, bringing an unexpected end to combat. A moment later every single Cybermen crashed onto the ground, dead. What happened was simple. As the Doctor did not have any gold on him to defeat the enemy, he basically substituted it with mana. Since all the Cybermen were resistant to Magic, their artificial respiratory systems were unable absorb supernatural energy like any other lifeform did. All the Doctor had to do was use the screwdriver to solidify the mana in the air, drowning the Cybermen in an ocean of lethal magic.
"...I`m sorry..." the Time Lord muttered to the slowly disintegrating corpses. "Only you gave me no choice..."
"Doctor!" A slightly wounded Zelretch re-appeared from nowhere. "Good to see you defeated the enemy. Quite ingeniously too, yet not enough explosions..." the Wizard looked cautiously around at the burning devastation. The nightmare in silver was over, only the Mage`s Association was going to need time for recovery. There were miraculously no casualties from everything as the two madman responded quickly to the invasion, although many magi have been severely incapacitated.
"Oi!" the Doctor ran towards a magenta-haired female Celtic Association Enforcer in a suit who staggered from the debris, covered with blood. "Steady there! Everything is going to be fine...what is your name?"
"Bazett..." the woman coughed in agony. "Bazett Fraga McRemitz...who are...?"
"Hush! I`m the Doctor." the Doctor settled her on the ground. "What a lovely name you have, Bazett. Descendant of the Fraga clan, aren`t you? Weider of the legendary Fragarach?"
Bazett blinked despite her wounds. "...What...I don`t...?"
"Oh, I know everyone`s names. It comes with being a hermit. Gray, do assist me here, will you?" the Doctor inspected Bazett`s wounds. From the looks of it, she had been on the vanguard of defending the Clock Tower against the Cybermen. Humans never ceased to surprise him in their indomitable spirit...
Gray knelt down, here eyes wide in uncertainty. "What do you want me to do?"
"Miss Bazett here has a severe laser wound on her upper leg. You see it? I want you to stop the bleeding as I..." the Doctor carefully began guiding the girl through emergency first-aid.
Zelretch in the meantime silently had wandered off, reluctantly assisting the Clock Tower with recovery. It was almost sun-rise when everything had calmed downed enough that he could sneak away.
A small flame of vengeance unexpectedly burst into the normally gracious Wizard`s heart. The enemy named the 'Master' will regret this, for shattering the quiet tranquility of creation. At this moment, Zelretch could finally watch on no longer at the coming of the infinite darkness.
Retribution will be his.
This multiverse was under the Wizard`s protection, after all...
The Shadow of Eternity looked on at the aftermath from the distance.
"Hmm...the Doctor was victorious." he muttered stoically. "I expected nothing less from the Champion of Time, after all..."
Although...
The Shadow hesitated. The Doctor had allied himself with that obnoxious Wizard Marshall, the caretaker of this multiverse... Yet that should not be a barrier to what was coming...all that is needed was to make certain no one will interfere with the Mysterious Crisis until it was too late. The Doctor and the Wizard would have assuredly discovered his time-travel Noble Phantasm at this point...only what these guardians did not know was the Shadow still had one other unrevealed capability.
Another unnamed Noble Phantasm...
"You have failed me." the Shadow`s Master interrupted his thoughts, coldly admonishing in his mind. "After using almost all my Command Spells as a Master to make you swear allegiance, you continue to rebel."
"I do apologize for not defeating the Doctor this time...'Master'." the Shadow acknowledged. "Only I promise I will never betray you. The madman with a box will indeed not investigate you until later. Everything is according to what you have strategized. There are still legions of Anti-Magic Cybermen awaiting in the darkness to serve you. Akasha will be erased from this multiverse, with all Magic becoming replaced by the logic of Science - "
"...See that the Doctor will continue to not interfere!" the Shadow`s Master screeched. "For victory to be mine, I only need one thing in the end...your submission to my will!"
The Shadow sighed reluctantly. "I...I understand."
His unearthly Summoner was one who embodied all the hatred in the universe. Yet it was nothing to the hatred in the Shadow`s heart. This was the reason he continued to reluctantly serve his Master. Only the endless despair of his dark heart gave him a meaning to exist, the antithesis to the Doctor`s hope.
There will be little glory at the end of everything, although that will be fine.
For the Doctor is the only one who the Shadow is after...
The radiant sun rose on London the day after the battle.
It would have been a beautiful sight, had not the ground surrounding the Mage`s Association be covered by scorched ashes.
"Doctor. Gray. You will come with me." Zelretch called sternly, watching the two wearily heal up the last of the wounded magi.
The Doctor blinked, surprised at the Wizard`s grave face. Zelretch moved towards the coast of the River Thames in the distance, forcing the Time Lord and girl to follow. After a long silence, the group halted.
"...This would have been a simple victory had you learned to unseal your Noble Phantasm, The Oncoming Storm." Zelretch did not look at the Doctor. "Although I suppose it is my fault too not searching for you in the first place, awaiting instead in the safety of the Clock Tower as you wandered about the multiverse..."
"...No..." the Doctor faltered, slight guilt in his hearts. He should never have traveled aimlessly around the timelines to satisfy his inner wanderlust this entire time. He was like the wind of the battlefield, carrying the scent of death infinitely on without a destination. "I should have sought you the moment I first learned about the legendary Wizard who was the guardian of this multiverse..."
Zelretch gave a regretful smile, something almost no one ever witnessed this elderly trickster do before. "Yes. Only this is time to redeem ourselves. The 'Master' is the greatest enemy of all Akasha. You, Doctor, are the only person aside from me who could defeat him although being an outside demi-Heroic Spirit, your capabilities are lesser than expected. Therefore, you will need to prepare for everything that is coming."
"Oh? What am I suppose to do about it?" the Doctor grouchily acknowledged everything was indeed far from over. The iron-wrought Cyber-Legions, under the leadership of the Shadow, will assuredly return. For where there is one, there will be many more...
"For the moment, call your TARDIS." Zelretch did not elaborate. There was an awkward silence as the bewildered Doctor programmed the TARDIS keys, summoning his time-machine towards their whereabouts.
Gray gasped in surprise when the familiar blue box she dreamt about materialized out of nowhere with its signature wheezing sound. This was the Doctor`s time-machine? It looked...quite small on the outside.
"Excellent." Without warning, Zelretch quickly used the Jeweled Sword`s 'Operation of Parallel Worlds' to unexpectedly teleport the madman, Gray, the TARDIS, and himself into another location in space-time. All around, there was nothing except for an immense field of ice, covered overhead by a blizzard of clouds. "This place we are on is an empty pocket dimension I once created in my childhood rebellion years." the Wizard declared egotistically. "Lovely, isn`t it?"
"I see..." the Doctor shivered. This desolate landscape strangely reminded him of the place where his original first incarnation once died... "...Although...what are we doing here?"
The Wizard looked on ominously. "Simple. Your Noble Phantasm, The Oncoming Storm, is the embodiment of everything you are, past, present, and future. It carries the legacy of all your incarnations, the symbol of one who has transcended Time itself to achieve eternal victory. Without it, you are unable to unleash your infinite potential to save all creation. Therefore, a little combat-training is needed... A battle to near-death."
"A battle to near-death...!?" the Doctor looked quite reluctant. "I have plenty of questions, especially about your sanity, only first of all...was there a reason you brought Gray here too? She has nothing to do with this, not being my Master like you mentioned yourself, unless..."
The Doctor hesitated, his brave hearts almost freezing from dread.
Zelretch gave a roguish, deadly smirk. "Indeed. You will be going against me for the sake of young Gray`s life!"
The Doctor could only look at Zelretch in absolute bewilderment. "Gray`s...life?"
"My...life?" Gray herself staggered back, her face becoming pale.
"I know." the Wizard Marshall continued to calmly smirk. "Quite a young age for you to die, especially when you are King Arthur`s last descendant..."
"You..." the Doctor stepped forwards to shelter her protectively. The Time Lord recognized Zelretch was equally a lunatic madman like he was, although to think the ordinarily benevolent Wizard would endanger the life of this young magus-girl...
Zelretch laughed, unsheathing his signature Jeweled Blade. "No, Doctor. I have finally not gone insane. Think of this battle as a mere predecessor of what is to come in the battle against the Shadow of Eternity. What hope would you have to defeat the Avenger-Master when you cannot defeat a simple old Magician like me? I brought Gray here as a little incentive for you."
"I am a person who outsmarts my enemies in my home universe, never doing battle unless - " the Doctor began.
"Ah, only we are not in your home universe!" With an aim of the Jeweled Blade, Zelretch used Magecraft to create a force-field barrier around the nearby TARDIS. "You will need to learn about surviving in this magical multiverse using your abilities as a demi-Heroic Spirit, not as an alien Time Lord. I have sealed off your time-machine from you, stopping any escape. What will your answer be?"
The Doctor stared, reluctantly seeing what this old weasel of a Wizard was doing. Incentivize him to unseal his Noble Phantasm, The Oncoming Storm (Legend of Time Victorious).
He nearly died before, from that fateful battle against the Magus Killer named Emiya Kiritsugu. Who knew what would happen should he not prepare for the inevitable future? "...Fine." the Doctor hesitated resignedly. "I...I will battle you. Not because I want to. For Gray`s sake."
The Wizard smiled. "Excellent! I shall explain the rules. This entire pocket dimension will be our battlefield. Only when either of us is incapacitated or dies, the battle ends. You could use whatever tricks you have, yet entering the TARDIS is out of the question."
"What about Gray?" the Doctor indicated towards the girl who was shivering in fear.
"Gray? Oh...her protection will be up to you." Zelretch affirmed obnoxiously. "Although I will warn you, I certainly will not be restraining myself in combat... Should the girl die in the chaos, then I suppose you do not have what it will take to defend the multiverse after all. A hopeless healer to the end is what you would be instead."
For a heartbeat, the Doctor was silent. Then valiant courage radiated in his eyes. The courage that had seen him through lifetimes of saving the universe. "Gray...run behind the TARDIS. The old dear is trapped within that force-field only she will protect you."
"Doctor..." Gray whispered uncertainly. Why does it have to be her of all magi to be in something like this?
"Please...go." Unless the Doctor learned to unseal his greatest Noble Phantasm in less than a moment, death was the only answer. Regeneration will not be a choice in the face of this battlefield. Only there was a glimmer of victory... He had, reluctantly, still maintained the sentimental knowledge of being a soldier in the Last Great Time War...
"I do hope you are ready for me, old chap." Zelretch made a combat-stance, wielding the Jeweled Sword like the exalted ancient sage he was.
"Hmph. No jelly babies for you when this is over." the Doctor stood, a resurrected champion as he reached for the sonic-screwdriver.
Whoever received the crown of victory for this battle will not be walking away unscathed...