A/N - I own nothing.
Please let me know what you think.
Silurian Doctor.
No Longer Human Looking.
As he walked through the devastated streets, the Doctor winced in pain.
It was starting.
He could feel the regeneration energy surging through him, and as he walked through the now ruined streets of Trenzalore, the Doctor could feel the regeneration energy resetting his body so it would appear to be youthful once more. As he headed back for the TARDIS, the Doctor had time to think.
When he had come to Trenzalore, it had been part of the Destiny Trap - while he did question the Silence's ability to understand the temporal theory, he had to admire their guile even if their methods were disgusting - and he had stayed on the planet, understanding why the Silence had come for him, all those years ago.
Tricking the Silence hadn't been too difficult - after he had woken Rory and Amy up in their bedroom after that fiasco in Berlin, the Doctor had taken them back in time to the Silent's time machine. Travelling back in time to a moment after his TARDIS had already left… it was a close thing; while he and the TARDIS shared a strong bond, she really needed precision flying to arrive mere seconds after her earlier self, carrying an earlier him, and an earlier Rory, and an earlier Amy from a time before that mess with House and the whole heartbreaking disaster which was Demon's Run had already left.
But they had managed it, and they'd managed to download the Silence's data-core and they'd taken it back into the TARDIS. The Doctor wasn't really concerned about the Silence finding them; with the defeat of the Silents on Earth thanks to what he and River had done, the few of them left on Earth were more concerned about the humans turning on them than worrying about the security of one of their time machines. The data-core was worth the risk to the Laws of Time, and thanks to the information that he had gained from other sources, such as the Daleks and the Sontarans, the Doctor had pieced enough of the details together in order to make a plan for countering the Silence and for getting out alive, but one of the problems as he had related to Amy and Rory before they'd headed back to America in 1969 was he no longer had any regenerations left.
The biggest problem was, thanks to the Time War, all of the Time Lords former holdings and secret facilities such as Artrons' tomb were locked off by order of Rassilon and the High Council of the Time Lords, although the Doctor knew that one of the bigger reasons behind that decree was not because Rassilon did not want any Time Lord technology of any era falling into the Daleks suckers and tentacles, although that was a secondary concern. It was because Rassilon had not wanted any Time Lord to go to a Tomb like the one on Parrak and use its technology contained inside to become more powerful than himself.
For the pre-Time War era, travel to those worlds was still possible, and since his eighth self had taken the Eleven to Parrak when the Master was there, it was easy for the Doctor to jump back in time to the pre-Time War universe. True, he had needed to make it very tight and arrive on the planet at around the time before the Eleven got his hands on the brain print of Artron, and used it to give the Ravenous a massive source of regeneration energy, but he had gained a new regeneration cycle out of it.
Okay, sure, he had taken other precautions when the TARDIS had shown him a potential timeline where he could be killed regardless if he stayed on Trenzalore; a timeline he had been forced to see thanks to the Great Intelligence. Stupid entity. The Great Intelligence hadn't realised that in jumping through his timeline, it had given Clara the means and the excuse to save him.
The Doctor felt a pang in his hearts as he thought about Clara. Like with Rose, he had sent her home to her own time. He was more regretful in Clara's case since he had resorted to retconning her and her family, but he had little choice. With the awkwardness of the Christmas party and him carrying her in his arms since he was trying to juggle being there for them, the Doctor had needed to wipe their memories so they did not recall any of it.
He hated the habit of wiping people's memories, but ever since he had hidden away from the Silence the Doctor had been trying his level best to keep people from coming after him. It was hard to follow someone you could not recall. But he had ensured she could not return to Trenzalore; he had taken her back in time using the TARDIS, and he had ensured her family did not remember him.
He had told her straight mind to mind that he needed to do this alone, and he had a plan. The Doctor had not given Clara too many details, just that she didn't need to worry, and he had told her he had a new regenerative cycle, and the alternate timeline they had seen and experienced where Clara had thrown herself into his time stream to save him would only be a possibility in the universe now.
But the timeline where the TARDIS jumped into her own future, well, a possible future had worried him since it had meant there was a chance that despite his new regeneration cycle, it would be for nothing. So, he had gotten himself an Elysian field, something he had never pictured himself ever feeling the need to possess since it would have the power to cut himself off from his timeline since it broke down a Time Lord body into atoms and reconstructed them into a different body, granting a new regeneration cycle in the process.
He had never really thought much of Elysian Fields; he could appreciate the speed and the ease they could work, but their temporal properties allowed too many possibilities where things could go wrong. An Elysian Field was dangerous; it created a temporal tourniquet where the Time Lord would be able to go back in time, and kill their own self, that was why they were banned.
It said a great deal when the Doctor had opted to use one for his own survival.
And he had.
He had used the regeneration energy he had gained from Artron's brain print on Parrak to destroy the Daleks after channelling it into a weapon and using it to destroy the regeneration inhibitor satellites the Dalek fleet had placed in orbit above the planet. They had worked out he was the guardian of the planet, and the Time Lords and the only way they could ensure Gallifrey could not return was if they ensured he couldn't do anything to survive.
The Daleks had scanned his body, and they'd detected he had new regenerations in his body, and they had responded accordingly. During the Time War, the Daleks had developed a lot of regeneration based weapons, reasoning that Time Lords wouldn't be a threat for long if they were cut off from their regenerations. It just angered him so much of their Time War knowledge had survived, and he hated how the Daleks were likely pleased they finally had a chance to use them on him.
But thanks to the work he had done to the TARDIS after he had taken Clara back home and left there behind in her own time for her own safety while wiping her memories, the Doctor had managed to convert his ship into a means of channelling regeneration energy into a deadly weapon while he used an Elysian Field to restore him to life after manipulating the timelines so the Daleks shot him, and his body was teleported and reassembled with a new regeneration cycle.
And now he was regenerating. The Doctor had triggered it after feeling he had spent so long in this one body, dealing with the multi-century war with the Silence, and now defending Trenzalore.
He wanted to see the universe with brand new eyes. His eleventh incarnation was not like his predecessor, clinging on to life with the vanity issues clouding his judgement as they had when he'd wasted a regeneration during that mess in the Medusa Cascade. Besides, thanks to the Blinovitch Limitation Effect limiter he had stolen from Altrazar to help him ensure the Silence didn't threaten any of his previous lives, the Doctor knew he had other lives even if he hadn't wanted to see the proceeding one after him.
He was just tired, that was why he was letting the regeneration take place and why he'd allowed the Daleks to shoot him.
The Doctor made a face as he remembered how he had come up with a desperate plan to destroy the growing Dalek presence around Trenzalore. Ever since he had changed his mind after meeting his wartime and tenth selves, with that business with the stasis cubes, and Gallifrey had been saved and the Time Lords were still alive, although he had known Gallifrey had survived in the first place, he just hadn't realised how he had done it at the time when he and Rory had downloaded the Silent's data-core, the Doctor had known about the Siege of Trenzalore.
He had known about it for a good few centuries, right through the whole mess with the Weeping Angels where Rory and Amy were taken from him, and he'd been immersed in the mystery of Clara, but it wasn't until he had met Clara the mystery of the Time Lords' survival became clear.
He had saved Gallifrey.
He had changed his mind and the mind of his wartime self who had been so prepared to push the button on the Moment to end the Time War.
Somehow the Time Lords had communicated with the universe through the crack - not the best of ideas in his private opinion, but there was not much that they could do about that and he had come here to Trenzalore.
The Doctor saw the TARDIS in the distance, and he smiled at the reassuring shape of the classic blue police box which had been a constant in his lives for centuries. As he walked, he noticed his legs becoming stronger again and he found the aches in his chest which had made walking a slow, painful process leaving as well, and his back straightened out. His smile became sad; it was good to feel young and strong again, but he knew it would not last. Soon the would be a different man, sauntering off, as his predecessor had said to Wilf before that mess with the Master and the Gate.
Finally arriving at the TARDIS, the Doctor opened the doors and stepped inside. He headed for the console and began entering the coordinates thoughtfully. He had some time before he regenerated, so he decided to look in on his old friends as his predecessor had (Rory and Amy would be hard, but he would do his best, anything to see them again), and he hoped to return for Clara.
He had wanted to keep her safe and he had also needed the TARDIS if his long-term plans especially after seeing the way Trenzalore was going to go which was why he'd gotten that damn Elysian Field in the first place to make sure he survived, especially after meeting the Curator at the British Museum.
The Doctor sighed and he thought back about the places he had visited in this life - there were thousands of them, but then he remembered that business with the Silurians. He wondered how it was going, after that he would return for Clara.… Entering the coordinates for the Silurian city under Cwmtaff, the Doctor pulled the dematerialisation lever, and he grinned as the TARDIS dematerialised. He didn't have any plans of returning to Trenzalore ever again unless he had no choice.
The Doctor winced as he felt the regeneration energy surge through his body.
X
The Doctor shivered as he looked around the chamber.
The TARDIS had landed in the same place she had been brought to when the Silurians drew the old girl to their city, but that wasn't why he was shivering. The place brought back memories of how Rory had jumped in Restac's way just to save his life before that version of him was erased in the time field of the crack.
From what he had checked in the console room, the Doctor knew he had travelled back to a point no less than a couple of hours after negotiations with the Silurians broke down when Alaya's corpse had been brought in. The Doctor closed his eyes in regret at the thought of the hostile Silurian warrior's death. He should have made sure she was locked up more properly, maybe even brought inside the TARDIS; the old girl would have kept Alaya locked up easily enough and he could have gone and got her out without any trouble, and a golden opportunity for peace would have been made.
It was just too bad Silurians like Morka, Alaya, and Restac were nothing like Okdel and Vastra.
The Doctor decided to visit the Silurian city. He hadn't really seen enough of it, and besides while Silurian technology had a creepy feel to it, the Doctor was fascinated by it. And besides, he might learn something more about the tribe and their general culture. He set off for the direction of the city, only to hear breathing. Suddenly a Silurian wearing a red tunic appeared.
"Restac?" The Doctor whispered in shock at the sight of the almost psychotic Silurian warrior who appeared as surprised to see him as he was her. "I thought you were dead?"
"No, Doctor. You and your apes left me for dead, but I only caught a small amount of the poison gas you unleashed on my people. For someone who desires peace, you show how hypocritical you are!" Restac finished with a snarl.
The Doctor said nothing because in a horrific way the Silurian was telling the truth about him and they knew it. "Let me guess, you passed out and you have only just woken up?"
"Yes," Restac's expression reminded the Doctor of a vicious and hungry tigress, and he tensed.
"And you plan on returning to the city, and you plan on reviving your people for the war you want so badly you're willing to devastate the planet you are so hellbent on calling yours?" The Doctor carried on guessing, unfortunately, he chose the wrong words.
"This planet is ours! It's been overrun by those savage apes for centuries, and they are a threat to us-!" Restac shrieked.
"Restac, your civilisation didn't leave any signs of its presence that the humans could have found to know about your existence. If you had and they're the savages you claim them to be, do you really think they would have bothered to probe underground or in the seas because they knew if you came back they'd take everything away from them?" The Doctor pointed out.
Typically the arrogant (the Doctor was also starting to view Restac as nothing more than a psychopath, but truthfully this kind of reaction was something he had come to expect from Silurians; it was so tragic a noble and ancient race would favour blind bigotry to anything else) Silurian ignored the question. "We shall destroy the apes and reclaim the planet," she promised. Suddenly Restac smirked at him -it was nothing like the smiles Vastra sent him, it was more malicious and the violence behind the thought of the smile worried him. "But first, Doctor, you must pay….," she whispered.
The Doctor instantly tensed, but Restac's smirk widened and she threw something at the ground.
The Doctor screamed suddenly when a brilliant light flashed in front of his eyes, blinding him. What the hell had Restac done? What had she just thrown? Fortunately, the light had only dazzled him, not blinded him as he quickly realised. But it was more than enough for Restac to launch herself at him, unleashing a bestial shriek like a predatory animal. The Doctor grunted at the impact as Restac knocked him to the ground, and they wrestled around on the ground. The Doctor had been lucky to have regenerated into a healthy, young, and athletic incarnation this time around, and he was fairly strong, but with his regeneration energy granting him extra strength it didn't take long for him to throw the enraged Silurian off him.
The Doctor raced back to the TARDIS, only to hear running footsteps behind him and he realised Restac was following him. He clicked his fingers and the doors to the TARDIS opened, but he felt a pair of taloned hands dig themselves into his throat while a lithe female body wrapped itself around his body, making him topple into the TARDIS console room.
The Doctor choked, but while his respiratory bypass system had been slightly renewed by the new regeneration cycles he'd received, it was still difficult for him to breathe properly.
"You will never escape me again!" Restac roared in his ear before he felt a blinding pain in his throat. The pain in his throat made him scream before he felt a burning sensation coursing through his throat, but the Doctor knew it was not from regeneration energy. Suddenly he gasped in horror at what Restac had done. She had poisoned him. Her branch of the Silurian species had a mutagenic poison delivered through the tongue. It was mutagenic in humans, so he didn't know what it would do to a Time Lord who was regenerating.
The poison might not affect him that much, and it wouldn't make a difference because he was regenerating anyway; if there was one thing is third, fifth, sixth, ninth, and tenth regenerations had taught him, it was that his body could regenerate through poisons, toxaemia's and radiations to say nothing of the time vortex coursing through him. But the mutagenic effects did worry him. What would it do? Would it be burnt out by the regeneration?
The Doctor grunted as he felt Restac punch and kick him in the head, the chest, and the legs, and he collapsed on the floor of the console room close to the console but too far away to stop her.
The burning feeling in his throat was starting to spread to other parts of his body, and it was joined by the burning sensation of regeneration. The stress of the fight had thrown off his concentration of holding it back for a bit. It was starting, soon he would regenerate.
"Restac," he grunted while he tried desperately to throw the Silurian off of him again, but the Silurian didn't listen. She was flipping him over until she was straddling his waist. The Doctor grunted in pain as he felt the back of his neck and neck hit the floor of the console room.
Restac leaned in closer. "I don't normally like or indulge in bestiality, Doctor, but I am going to make sure you don't ever interfere in the plans of your betters again."
The Doctor couldn't believe this xenophobic bitch. Here she was, in a Type 40 TARDIS, a ship heralded from an ancient and super-advanced civilisation which had grown old long before life on Earth had even evolved, and create ships that transcended the normal laws of physics, and yet it seemed she had been so focused on him, she had not looked around. Or maybe she had and she was just making it clear her race was better than him.
Either way, he didn't care.
Restac leaned closer. "I'm going to enjoy this, Doctor since you will die painfully."
As Restac planted her lips onto his own, the Doctor's eyes widened in horror and pain as he felt her bite down on his tongue, and his screams of pain were muffled before he felt his mouth start to burn. From what he had learnt about this branch of the Silurians, the venom sacs were not only held in the tongue but in the mouth. The venom was pumped into the harpoons in the tongue, injecting the victim with venom, but there were other sacs that delivered poison through fangs. Right now Restac was biting down on his tongue, and it felt as if his mouth was on fire.
The Doctor realised in horror too late that his body was regenerating, and he tried hard to shove Restac off of him, but the Silurian warrior was pumping so much poison into his body it was hard for him to move, but he had to try. He had heard horror stories of cross-species regenerations, the last thing he wanted was to become one when it would likely be really psychotic and unstable, but no matter how hard he tried to throw her off, his body would not respond.
As the pain of the poison and the regeneration passed through his body, the Doctor felt himself becoming weaker and in his last moments, he regretted not having a chance to reunite with Rory and Amy, to say nothing of Clara, and convey his regret for hurting them all so badly in this incarnation…
And then his eyes were surrounded by the burning glow of regeneration energy, and energy tore through his body, and the Eleventh Doctor ceased to exist - at the same time he heard the startled sound of Restac, but he couldn't tell if she was screaming or gasping, and he thought he heard the sound of the TARDIS taking off…