Fictions Mentioned:
Short Story
OP Song:
Adele - Skyfall (Lyric Video)
Insert Song: Start
Ookami Kakushi -The Beginning of The End (w/ lyrics & translation)
"...My Champion..."
The Man With No Name stopped whatever that is that he was doing. He heard a voice that was very familiar to him. He turned to see a very young woman with blonde hair and regular clothing.
The Man only became silent as he recognize a well-regarded figure in his life that he had dealt with for the past two incarnations ago. She was an Eternal, but more than just an Eternal. She was one of the Menti Celesti, a group of goddess deities that the ancient Gallifreyans worshipped during the Pythia's rule, at least according to one historical account. She was one of the more considerate among the gods and the Man is considered firstly as her Champion along with her other sister that represents Life. She was known as Time, and she had come to pay a visit to her Champion.
The Man however didn't even speak to her and simply get back to whatever it is that he is doing. His face was blank, focused-driven on the task at hand as he begins to get back to work. Currently, he was working on a piece of machinery that was both simple and complex - it looked more like a large mysterious black box with no labels that denote whatever it was except for one big red button that was visible for all to see. And he was now about to ignite it, allowing the black box to emit a bright light color that was now doing its part.
It is finished, the Man thought.
The black box would begin to boost the time lock surrounding the Earth of his universe further, preventing anything relating to the Time War out as much as it is possible by about 99%, boosting the reality quotients. It wasn't perfect but it was better than nothing. Earth had already been surrounded by a time lock thanks to the intervention of Gallifrey as it had very important temporal zones, some of which made history turn in many ways. Even more so, this was the planet that the Doctor had the most involvement in its development, one of a few. This was his second home in a sense and he'd be damned if it would fall to the Daleks or to anyone else that was out there. He would have to thank the Chronosmiths for assisting him in this endeavor.
The Chronosmiths were the masters of the art of temporal technology. They were thirteen in number - ancient rogue Gallifreyans from the Pre-Rassilonic Era, an era that is filled to the brim with multiple contradictory pasts that relate to the pre-history of the universe before the events are fixed for good. The War was leaking things little by little from any point from known and unknown epochs. The time lock of the Dark Times was still holding strong, untouched by the War. But echoes of it being breached would ripple back as if a precursor of things to come.
There was a second reason in mind for doing what he is doing for this specific moment. Because of the impossible and complex nature of his travels in the past several incarnations, the timeline of his Earth appeared to be quite inconsistent when one was to be looked at it from the outside perspective. Rumor had it that it even caught the attention of the Accord ("the Guardians of Time") and did what they thought best, finding the sense of a temporal fault - an enfolded spontaneity and it affected things such as his companion Sarah Jane Smith or even his old friend Brigadier or even historical figures such as Mary Shelly or even the entire years worth of the Man's experiences in UNIT that lead to a temporal controversy that was sometimes discussed in the proceedings among the Temporal Powers.
The Man was simply here to add the finishing touches after everything that had been done to keep the timeline of Earth as stable as it can ever be hoped to be. But he felt in heart of hearts that this may or may not last depending on the next move...
No...it's better not to think about it.
The Man did his part and simply begins to leave for his ship...
"...Wait!"
The young woman—Time begins to hold onto his sleeve, preventing his escape.
"My Champion, why are you ignoring me?" she asked.
The Man only gave a sad worn-out expression, simply saying. "I am no longer your Champion anymore, my Lady. That honor belongs to the Doctor, but not to me."
"But...you are him," the young woman's eyes grew sad.
"No..." the Man shakes his head, both solemn and negative. "I have forfeited that title since Karn. Now I have no name. People can call me what they like, it would serve to my purpose well. The Doctor would not do the things that I am about to do, my Lady. Your blessings are to be given to someone else, and that would also have to include the blessings of Life as well, and that right only belonged to the Doctor."
"Why do you contradict yourself?" the woman pointed out the flaws. "Have you forgotten? My and my sister's blessings upon you cannot be revoked as long as you live with both of your hearts beating. You are and will remain our Champion even in this darker day of the War that has already begun the moment you were born."
"Why haven't you fled yet?" the Man diverted the subject. "Last I've heard, all of the Eternals were already fleeing away from N-Space, fleeing from this universe, and fleeing beyond the borders in order to try to escape the War. Why are you still here?"
"I am no mere Eternal," the woman's eyes flash with gold for a mere second as if to demonstrate a fraction of her power that is unfathomable to mortal eyes. "Have you forgotten who I am? I am Time, the one who represents one of the most fundamental universal cosmic principles that keeps everything in stability and order. I am the dreams and the nightmares of the Time Lords born true. I am the one who holds the chaotic fractures of the meta-structure of time. And I am the one who declares to you anew that you have and always been my Champion. I do not choose such souls lightly, especially if it were a Lord of Time."
"Nevertheless, I cannot answer by the name that you will call me by," the Man said, referring to the name that he had recently rejected on Karn at the feet of the dead body of Cass Fermazzi. Stubborn in his heart of hearts.
"Then...how about the name of the Other? Would that make you finally be able to speak with me properly?" the woman said, her eyes narrowed and stubborn.
The Man flinched vehemently as he was reminded of another form of life that he had led. Mysteries that were to remain unknown had started coming back to him - rushing back as if the past was the present and vice versa. He sees...multiple contradictory accounts of his life. Was he loomed? Was he a Founder? Was his wife named Patience? All of this crashed into him and it shook him. It echoed and reverberated through his entire timeline. It made him flinch and lowered his head.
"...I didn't think so..." the woman simply said with a solemn tone. "But...if you wished to not be called by that name, then I will grant you a new one in its place for you to be known by."
The Man remained silent, looking at the woman with a hint of surprise that didn't show on his face.
The woman said. "I decree that from this moment forward, I name thee thus...the Warrior."
The Man simply remained silent. The name that was chosen by Time herself echoed and reverberated throughout the ages, reminding him of probable futures that tasted so bittersweet. It echoed, reaching back and forth, seeing the potential of various incarnations that would have become the name. And he was the first among the first to use it. He was the X-factor incarnation. Taking that name on would fix his destiny forever as the Man With No Name that carries all names that hide his name and the name that he was born with and one that children would hear in their sleep.
"Alright..." the Man answered after what felt like an eternity. "I allow that word to be used when addressing me."
"...Good," the woman smiled, content. "Now I would bid you farewell and glad tidings on your journey, my and my sister's Champion. The Multiverse has need of you for this very hour...for this is your hour."
The Man nodded. Then he begins to walk back to his ship, opening the door. He glances at the woman one last time, seeing the smile on her face that was encouraging and heartbreaking. He lowered his head as he closes the door. A moment later, the grinding sound was heard as the ship begins to dematerialize. The woman only watches with a saddened smile as the ship now disappears into the endless Vortex.
Vrowp Vworp Vworp
"...Alas...the Warrior can also mean something else in other cultures...the Doctor," the woman smiled sadly, lowering her head.
For the word Doctor meant "mighty warrior" in other cultures.
As the Eternal Time declares as of this moment.
The Man With No Name—The Warrior has come armed with the blessings of the gods. Once again, he is now renewed as Time and Life's Champion and is prepared for the tasks that lay ahead.
Insert Song: End
ED Song:
Terminator Salvation - Break The Silence (Soundtrack)
Incarnation(s)/Regeneration(s) of the Doctor:
The War Doctor - A: John Hurt
New Characters:
Time (Menti Celesti)