All was quiet on the would-be battlefield.
Gray shivered, silently watching on from behind the Doctor`s TARDIS. What will happen at the end of this battle, she did not know.
The Doctor glared at Zelretch. Zelretch glared at the Doctor. It was like the multiverse itself had frozen, awaiting to see which of the legendary time-travelers would begin this fated battle.
A moment of silence fell.
"...Demons run when a good man goes to war!" the Doctor quickly aimed his screwdriver.
"Ha! You are a thousand years too early to defeat me, Raggedy Man!" Zelretch countered with his Jeweled Sword.
The screwdriver made a noise, the Jeweled Sword made a flash of light. Nothing happened. The two warriors` signature gadgets had unexpectedly nullified the other.
The Doctor hesitated at this strange aftereffect...although it did not last long. Zelretch launched forwards with hyper-sonic vampire speeds, kicking the demi-Heroic Spirit with enough force to send him flying. The Doctor staggered up, Command Spells flaring as dark-blue prana auto-healed his broken bones. "Blimey...you..."
"What is the matter, Doctor, eh?" Zelretch continued his onslaught, wielding time-Magic to slow everything to his advantage. The Doctor could only run away like a shooting star as his Eye of the Mind (True) Skill went into overdrive. Thunder roared as arcane blasts of True Magic bombarded the ground like a supernatural meteor strike. The madman`s overcoat looked more than a little charred, his eyes wide in desperation.
Regrettably, none of his other Skills as a Ruler-Class would be of aid. True Name Discernment. Riding. Magic Resistance. Wiseman of Knowledge. Expert of Many Specializations. Outsider of The World. Trickster. Time`s Champion. All extraordinary capabilities made for outsmarting the enemy, not in battle.
This would indeed be quite a wonderful time for his Noble Phantasm of The Oncoming Storm to be unsealed... Sadly, it did not happen. "A little assistance would be more than welcome..." the Doctor muttered in subconscious to the remnants of his past incarnations. None answered.
Gray gasped in fear as a stray blast of Magic flew past her head. The TARDIS beeped alarmingly, knowing of the girl`s near-death.
"Gray!" the Doctor ran towards her, only for Zelretch to teleport before him using 'Operation of Parallel Worlds', nearly stabbing the madman in the head.
"I did mention I would not be restraining myself, eh?" the Wizard sneered before the Doctor countered, kicking a cloud of ice from the ground into his face. "Arghhh!" Zelretch grimaced as the madman continued with alien-martial arts. "Ah, you do have a little spirit after all!"
"Shut up, you Wizard-weasel!" the Doctor reached into his pockets to pull out his old laptop as a shield, which the Wizard quickly impaled. Zelretch then began to whisper an ancient incantation of Magic. "Oh, no you don`t!" The alien-man aimed the screwdriver at the TARDIS. "There! I scrambled the old dear`s translation circuits! Everything you speak will be in English instead of whatever arcane language you are using. No more spell-casting for you!"
Zelretch halted. The Doctor was assuredly a formidably intelligent rival...only he was quite lacking in combat itself. Which was all that the Wizard needed to assure his defeat. Although to be safe, Zelretch began slowly activating his blade`s Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, his signature technique of drawing in limitless magical energy from other parallel universes. Should the Doctor miraculously best him, he would still have to contend with the Wizard`s ultimate attack.
The Ether Cannon.
"Hmph."" Zelretch smiled. "Clever...only you haven`t come close to victory at all!" He slashed forwards, sending blood flying everywhere. The Doctor howled in agony, healing-prana surrounding his wounded face like regeneration energy.
Defeat was nearly certain at the moment...
"Doctor!" Gray cried, watching the battle continue on, her heart freezing from dread.
Another stab aimed at the Doctor, who desperately deflected the Jeweled Sword with the sonic-screwdriver. The scientific gadget shattered from the force of the onslaught, sending its delicate inner mechanisms flying through the air. "What a disappointment...you are forever a healer after all..." the Wizard grabbed the blood-covered madman by the throat, cold-heartedly choking the life from him. "Although that is not what Time needs at the moment to save all creation... Rather, a warrior instead. When will you finally understand this - ?"
Gray could no stand by any longer. "Lord Zelretch! Stop!" King Arthur`s last descendant ran forwards, wielding her Grim Reaper scythe.
Although she was not the Doctor`s Master, the girl had mysteriously dreamed about the eccentric stranger before. The Doctor was an unearthly Child of Time. A man who was never cruel or cowardly. A man who never gives in, never gives up. For someone like him to die in this lonely place...
"My dear, I thought you would know wiser than to interfere..." Zelretch growled, using the flat of the Jeweled Sword`s blade to calmly knock her away.
It was at this moment that it finally happened.
The sound of Gray`s cry as she fell onto the ground awakened the near-dead Doctor. "...G-Gray?"
"...Doctor..." Gray staggered up, the hood of her cloak fallen to reveal her scratched bloody face. At the sight of this, something vengeful within the Doctor came flaring to life. The selfless need to protect this frail girl from whatever darkness is making her cry.
He was the Madman With A Box. Eternity was where he walked, infinity was when it will end. He had become a symbol of hope throughout his incarnations. Remembered by all, yet known to none. He had withstood many lifetimes to become like this. Only who he was on the inside, he will never understand.
All that matters in the end, was that he was a healer nicknamed the Madman With A Box.
"The Oncoming Storm (Legend of Time Victorious)!"
The time had finally come.
Gray gasped.
The Doctor gave a simple smirk, unexpectedly kicking Zelretch away.
At last, The Oncoming Storm was unsealed.
Nothing appeared on the Doctor from the outside, although great knowledge began to flood within the madman`s mind. Knowledge of all the Skills/Noble Phantasms all his previous other incarnations would have as Servants. An entire library of it. All that infinite potential, symbolizing the Doctor as the victorious protector of all creation. A champion who remained undefeated, throughout his past, present, and future...a simple healer from eternity.
"Gray...are you okay?" the Doctor quickly made certain the young girl was unharmed. He never thought it would be Artoria`s last descendant who became the catalyst to unsealing his greatest Noble Phantasm... It was certainly fate for this to happen...
"I...I think I`m fine." Gray stared back at him. "You...there is something about you I - "
Zelretch flew at the Doctor only he merely smiled. "Watch this." With a quick inspection through the library of Skills/Noble Phantasms in his mind, the madman chose one to activate.
An unexpected Noble Phantasm. A Warrior`s Noble Phantasm. One that embodied a previous past incarnation`s life-long tragedy in the Last Great Time War. The only incarnation of the madman who was to be Summoned as a Berserker-Class Servant, the identity of becoming a soldier for the universe at its darkest hour.
The War Doctor.
A blood-stained Warrior, born from the infinite fury of the battlefield, who forsaken his name as a healer until the end. A tragedy that became his greatest untold victory.
With a simple cry, the Doctor declared the name of War`s Noble Phantasm.
"Gallifrey Falls No More (Hope of the Unfallen Eternity)!"
A blinding light shone.
A light that signaled the beginning of hope, for a lost Warrior long disappeared into the unforgotten void of memories.
Gray gasped. The desolate field of ice was gone.
Instead, in its place was a beautiful field of silver trees. The surrounding landscape was covered in barren rust, with the overhead autumn sky appearing like it was a sunset aflame. With a look behind, she could see in the distance a noble solitary citadel forged from iron, enclosed by a shattered glass dome. The majestic sight sent a shiver down the girl, like she was witnessing something infinitely ancient yet forever. On the day this land burned, all of creation lamented its death. A fallen alien utopia, frozen in time, that arisen once more to watch over eternity. "This is..."
"Gallifrey." The Doctor appeared standing beside her, his face smiling in sorrowful joy. The TARDIS beeped too, recognizing its location. "My home, my childhood. The shining birthplace of Time itself...a Reality Marble, that is."
Indeed, this entire landscape was a temporary Reality Marble, created by the last Lord of Time`s EX-ranked Noble Phantasm. The crystallization of the legacy of the War Doctor. His other previous incarnations could all have the Noble Phantasm of re-creating Gallifrey too, only War`s was indeed special.
The reason was War had another Noble Phantasm. The Moment (The Last End of Eternity). The exalted Time Lord super-weapon, used by the Warrior himself to end the Last Great Time War. It was such an almighty Noble Phantasm that the multiverse itself could not forgive its existence. Therefore, the Doctor was unable wield it as his Noble Phantasm, substituting instead with this Reality Marble.
A manifestation of Gallifrey`s final hope on the final ravaged day of the Last Great Time War. A place where life is miraculously re-born in its darkest hour. A land that symbolized the War incarnation`s tragic salvation, forged from his last sacrifice to make certain this majestic utopia will fall no more...
No more...
"What a lonely man the Doctor is..." Gray thought sadly. "All this time after saving his utopia as a Warrior, he never stopped running away from the past..."
Zelretch himself halted, admiring the sight for a moment. "Beautiful..." He witnessed many things in his long life...albeit nothing quite extraordinary as this. A utopia where Akasha itself is unable to reach... "Although the battle is not over, Doctor."
"I know..." the Doctor sighed in resolve. "Only I will warn you, it is not too late for surrender. This will be your last - "
Zelretch was not listening. Rather, the Wizard flew at the madman, stabbing the Jeweled Sword into the Doctor`s chest.
"Doctor!" Gray screamed.
Although the Doctor staggered up, smiling grimly despite his wound. This was one capability of his Noble Phantasm. For long as the last Time Lord remain within the Reality Marble, he was absolutely immortal. Any wounds he sustained are auto-healed, his personal abilities enhanced. The planet`s natural environment was all under the Doctor`s command. All Magic-based attacks were severely weakened by the crystallization of Gallifrey`s Science. Nothing could force the Reality Marble to disappear unless the Doctor deactivates it himself. All these wondrous effects are the manifestation of the War incarnation`s final victory, the salvation of the utopia he long thought was destroyed.
"This battle will continue on...no more!" the Doctor moved with lightning speed, valiantly disarming the surprised Zelretch. At this moment, the madman was finally more of a reluctant warrior than a healer.
"You couldn`t maintain this Noble Phantasm forever, Doctor!" Zelretch activated 'Operations of Parallel World' to teleport out of the Reality Marble. Nothing happened. The presence of Science here was too absolute. "At the maximum you only have a minute more before being weakened to near-regeneration!"
"Only that is all the time I need." The madman countered as the Wizard blasted every Magecraft technique he could think of at him.
Zelretch sneered. "Oh? Fine...only I want to see you defeat this!" The Wizard jumped a distance back, retrieving the Jeweled Sword before drawing a Magic Circle in mid-air. Time to unleash his signature world-ending attack. "Ether - !"
"Look up." the Doctor calmly interrupted.
"...What?" The Wizard hesitated. There was nothing in the burnt autumn sky of the Reality Marble, aside from the dual suns rising from the clouds -
Suns?
"The original Gallifrey was located in a binary star system." the Doctor backed away roguishly. "Therefore, the planet orbited around two suns at once. Lovely sunrises, although for you..."
Zelretch became pale. The Doctor had tricked him. Being an immortal vampire-Magician, the presence of one sun was survivable enough. Only for another sun`s radiance to shine upon this creature of the night... "No!" Forget about unleashing the Ether Cannon. The Wizard desperatly launched at the madman.
"Love from Gallifrey, old chap!" the Doctor quickly manipulated the Reality Marble`s workings, making the overhead suns flare like a supernova.
Zelretch shrieked blindingly as light rained upon him, his vampiric self slowly withering into ashes. "Doctorrr!"
"Who?" the Doctor smirked only began coughing up blood. He was at his limit for activating this Noble Phantasm...
Gray staggered as another greater light shone. The eternal landscape of Gallifrey began fading away into nothingness as the Reality Marble disappeared. No more will any mortal being witness this unfallen utopia...
"At least I found home...the long way around." the madman muttered before the devastating weight of unsealing The Oncoming Storm came upon him.
Without another sound, the Doctor lost consciousness.
The young boy who would one day become the Doctor watched as darkness descended upon Gallfrey.
It was nighttime on his childhood home planet.
He should return to the House of Lungbarrow before it became too dark, otherwise no one else will be remaining out in the cold. What a lonely little child...
The boy sighed sorrowfully. One day, he will depart this place. The entire universe was out there, awaiting for someone like him...
For the moment, all the boy could do was hope for that time to come.
One day...
Gray watched the Doctor awaken quietly.
"Doctor...are you...?"
The madman sighed, the memories of his childhood fading into nothingness. "I...I`m fine, Gray. What happened - ?"
"Oh, I see you are alive after all!" A charred-looking Zelretch staggered up, smirking calmly. "Shame too, I was hoping I would witness you regenerate. It would have been quite a lovely tragedy to conclude everything..."
Gray helped the Doctor stand, using basic Healing Magecraft to restore his wounds. "Doctor, the battle ended as a draw. You and Zelretch were incapacitated at the same time."
"I was nearly burned to death, you Raggedy Man!" Zelretch laughed despite himself, deactivating the battier around the TARDIS. "You fell unconscious after over-usage of your Reality Marble. I suppose this little battle revealed we really are equals in everything, eh?"
The Doctor grimaced. At least he finally learned to unseal The Oncoming Storm in the aftermath. Although he would have to be careful from here on. The more powerful Skills/Noble Phantasms he used from it, the more it will weaken him to worse than merely falling unconscious. Regeneration would be out of the question... "Zelretch, you weasel...I`m not going to forgive you for hurting Gray..."
"Ah..." The Wizard`s smile faded slightly under the madman`s withering glare. "I do apologize. Watch this." With a snap of his fingers, Zelretch revealed a previously invisible force-field surrounding the girl. "I secretly placed a simple protection spell around her before the battle, young Gray here was never in any true danger from me."
"I see..." the Doctor gave the Wizard one last scathing look. He really was an obnoxious loon after all... Was this what others thought of the madman too? Interesting perspective here... "I assume we should teleport back to London?"
Zelretch dusted himself off. "Hmm...no. I will return to the Mage`s Association. You go on without me in your TARDIS. Continue investigating the Shadow of Eternity. The Mysterious Crisis`s identity has been solved, yet the game is not quite over. We need to prepare ourselves for what is to come, remember? I will call upon you when the time arrives for the final battle."
The Doctor sighed solemnly in affirmation. "I...I understand." One day, he shall have to face the Master once more...until that moment comes, he will continue onwards until the end...
"Oh, Doctor?" Zelretch prepared to depart using 'Operation of Parallel Worlds'. "Smile a little eh? It is quite once in an eternity when one defeats me in battle. You are indeed a madman with a box."
The Doctor gave a faint smile at his Magical rival. "...I know I am."
With a flare of light, the ancient Wizard disappeared.
A moment of silence passed.
"Er..." Gray spoke up awkwardly.
The Doctor blinked. "Oi! Zelretch! You forgot to bring Gray with you!"
No one answered.
"...Doctor?" Gray looked at the Doctor anxiously. "...What am I suppose to do?"
The Doctor was not listening, quickly looking inside his pockets. "That obnoxious old Wizard stole my jelly babies when I was unconscious too! I swear, I`m going to bring a silver stake with me when I see him after all this - "
"Doctor!" Gray snapped. The Doctor jumped, surprised at the normally shy girl`s assertiveness. She indeed inherited the blood of the King of Knights within her... "Lord Zelretch has abandoned me behind in this otherworldly place, being the eccentric trickster he is. I am an amateur of a magus, with nearly no Magecraft abilities at all. I would appreciate you doing at least something to aid me here."
The madman sighed. Somewhere out there, Zelretch was cackling like a lunatic for having the last laugh in all this.
"No need to worry, my dear. I promise everything will be fine."
The young girl blinked at this strange answer. "Oh? What are you going to do?"
The Doctor smiled, heading for the TARDIS. "Gray...would you like to come with me?"