"My death you say…" The Doctor replies. "How…how very unexpected…I'm sure."
The Galifreian robed stranger circles the bewildered time traveler and continues to speak as he keeps his eyes focused on his face.
"You are one of the rare numbers to enter this realm, Doctor. Not since the days of Rassilon have I ever encountered one to come here. But that fact aside…you are going to die nonetheless."
The Doctor blinks rapidly and quickly begins to chuckle hysterically.
"I get it…oh yes, this is supposed to be the fabled Lost Zone or Zero Time…the Timelord myth of between worlds…yes, yes…very funny."
The regal looking dressed man stops pacing and gives him a curious stare.
"Funny? What is it you find amusing, Doctor? This is the Lost Zone or Zero Time…as you come to know it."
"Please…" He scoffs at him. "It was childhood fear, they used to frighten our young by telling us that if we didn't take care of ourselves and navigate time streams properly, we'd be taken out of time and space…locked away forever in zero time."
The man steps back in front of the giggling non-believer and stretches out his arms.
"And so you are…I am the keeper of this realm. This is no tale my friend…but a simple truth."
Shaking his head and still doubting his location, The Doctor sighs and places his hands in his pockets.
"So I guess that makes you a Guardian I suppose…hm? What are you then? The Limbo Guardian? You're not the white Guardian…and you're certainly not the Black Guardian, both of them would have been much more elaborate in their appearances. So I guess that makes you the …what…Red Guardian I suppose?"
The man stares at his own dressing as the Doctor points out the color in his garb, but snickering again and smiling at the Timelords continual disbelief makes him that much more happier to shatter his ego.
"I am not the White nor the Black…I am the forgotten, the one placed here since the beginning of time itself…I am the Infinite Guardian. Keeper of the Zero Realm of Time and Space. And you…like the few before…are now here to decide which path you will follow, the one that leads to your final moment."
The Doctor stops giggling suddenly, the smile that once stretched ear to ear was now dimming quickly as he realized that this was no dream, no joke, and this man before him was the one he and all other Galifreians had feared of in their nightmares.
"It can't be. I'm still in my prime! You can't just scoop up any Timelord that you feel might be a challenge to you…that makes you no better then the other Guardians!"
"But I didn't take you out of your time Doctor." The Infinite Guardian muses. "You did."
"I did?" The Doctor scoffs. "I took myself out of time and space. Oh come on! Your really expect me to believe your lies? And just how did I do that? I haven't the power to will myself out of existence!"
The Guardian sighs at his anger, the look in his bored eyes shows that he's had to deal with this sort of behavior before and loathes having to go through it all over again.
"No Doctor…you don't have that power. But you did do something no Timelord has done in over two and a half million millennia. You bonded with another Timelord and shared a single life-force, no one but the Timelords of Rassilon's era were ever allowed to do so, only because they had the power to maintain their own after it was done. Since no Galifreian retains that special gift any longer…they now forfeit their lives in a means to balance the harmony of the universe. That is what brought you here to my domain."
Twiddling his fingers together as he mulls over the Guardian's explanation, the Doctor takes a few steps away as he puckers his lips and discovers how this has happened to him.
"The Master." He groans. "He used me to get a new body and now I'm the one left to suffer. Typical…just typical."
Spinning back around and pointing at the Guardian, the quirky Timelord stepped back over at him and asks a question.
"Wait a moment…Why isn't the Master here with me? Hm? If my life-force is bonded with his…shouldn't he be in here with me as well?"
"Because he's already on the path to his end, his fate has already been decided. The extension of his life is only delaying the inevitable and will…in due time…bring about his own destruction. You on the other hand Doctor have now altered your own destiny, the paths given to you now are were you must go."
Holding on to jacket and standing in defiance, the Doctor hold his head up and lowers his eyes at the Infinite Guardian.
"And what if I decide not to go? Hm? I don't see any paths before me that you're on about."
The red and gold trimmed dressed man smirks at him and points beyond the snippy Timelord.
"Look again…and see…"
The Doctor slowly turns around and looks in the direction of where the Guardian points. His eyes grow wide with shock as he suddenly gazes upon a dirt road that splits into three directions at he end. A lone signpost has arrows navigating to which path leads where. Rebirth, Destiny, and Endless Void are lettered on the white arrowed sign, the typeface that of British laneway designations which the Timelord has been familiar with before. Walking up to the split path and reading the sign, the Doctor gulps in fear as he turns his head back to see the Guardian laughing at his reaction.
"The paths await you, Doctor!"
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Andrea and Megan are lead into the large Time Reconstruction Chamber with the Lord President of Galifrey. The massive room looks more like a cathedral to them as they scan the place over, the ceiling high above is domed with a golden machine sticking downwards towards a flat marbled alter at the bottom. The Doctor's shifting body is placed onto the smoothly polished alter as the guards lay him down carefully, the golden machine powers up as he is placed and begins to pulsated with a faint blue and purple light. The women are amazed at the device; it looks as if it was created by renaissance artisans, but alien in the design. Gears could be heard spinning and the ground shaking sound of each pulse moving through it filled the room with a low thump. Megan watched the Timelords as they prepared the Doctor's body for whatever the machine was supposed to do.
"The Time Reconstruction Chamber." Devendari announced to the Earth women. "We've never had to use it on another Timelord until this day. For over a thousand centuries has this machine lay dormant…not since the dark times of Rassilon has anyone activated ancient technology such as this."
"Are you serious?" Andrea says gawking at the Timelord. "You mean nobody has used this…ever?"
Devenari clears his throat and tries to explain again.
"As I said, it hasn't been used since our ancestral times. We've never encountered this problem during our reign and the chances of it ever happening were very remote at best."
"Well it seems to me that the odds came in." Andrea snaps at him. "Just say that you know how to operate this contraption and get him well again."
"Of course." The man bows. "Our technicians and scholars in the field are completely well versed in its use, just be patient my dear child and have faith in our skill."
"I'll have better faith in you once you get it going."
Andrea walks away from him and holds her face in her hands. The Timelord president sighs at the woman's overly emotional comments and chalks it up to typical human behavior. Megan, being the one of a more analytical mind, asks the Galifreian a more rational question.
"If this machine fails to do the task…is there some other that can help? Another ancient device of some sort?"
"No, I'm afraid not." The man states. "This is the only thing we have that might reverse his condition. It's never been used on a Timelord to my knowledge…it was more for removing temporal incursions or various objects that were out of normal time according to some of the rumored legends. The other myths are that it was a device that Rassilon used to study time and space and guided it with his mental powers."
"Then what makes you think it will work on him?" Megan says with apprehension.
"I didn't say that it would. It may or may not work…" The Lord President replies. "But anything is worth a try to save his life."
Andrea watches the Doctor's body glow in the purple light, her eyes show the concern and fear for him as she stands helplessly not knowing what will happen to him. She takes a few steps closer to his body, but keeps well enough away to let the Timelords do their work.
"Oh Doctor…hang on…hang on…" She whispers.
Megan remains standing next to the President as he watches the progress of the machine's beam intensify.
"What is that doing to him exactly?" Megan inquires.
"Well...in a way, it is attempting to pull him back into focus, trying to draw him back into our time stream and strengthen his mind. The Doctor has lived many lives…it will cascade into his other selves and draw on them to give him the power to survive. Or so we hope…"
"And if it doesn't help? What then? What will happen to him?"
Devendari closes his eyes as he shutters to think of such a thing.
"Then…the Doctor will die."
Opening his eyes again and staring at Megan, he gives a worried brow and breathes an air of doom.
"He has been involved in many time streams, many changes and historical moments throughout the universe…his previous selves are all linked to each other and now affects all that happens around him. If the Doctor dies…it will alter the past, the present and the future…and in the end will cause the total collapse of time and space itself. His death will be the death of us all!"
Megan becomes worried now, and looks over at Andrea who is still watching the Doctor with great fear.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
"Choose Doctor!" The Infinite Guardian commands. "Take the path to end your suffering"
Staring at the split dirt pathway, the Doctor breathes in and stands in defiance.
"No. I refuse to play this game."
The Guardian suddenly is seen beside him and glares at him as he raises his voice.
"You cannot refuse! These are paths…your death is already at hand! If you do not choose the road to your destruction…then you will remain here with me where time and space has no meaning!"
"Then I'll stay here then…" The Timelord remarks in a humorous tone. "I could do with a bit of a rest. The only downside is that I won't be able to get a good spot of tea for an eternity."
The Guardian rolls his eyes and sighs with disbelief. He calmly walks out in front of the Timelord and strokes his graying red beard in thought.
"You find this amusing do you Timelord? That by not deciding will ultimately free you of any wrong choice? Is that what you believe?"
"Yes…" The Doctor answers as he holds his hands behind him. "Clearly the choice cannot be made if by any road I take will lead to my demise. But if I remain here…I stand a better chance to live a little bit longer."
Turning around and smiling, the Guardian wiggles his right finger at him.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…that's called cheating Doctor. If you think by staying here with me will prolong your existence…I'm happy to say…you are clearly wrong. Death is coming for you no matter where you stay or not, I have nothing to gain by any of your choices…if you stay with me…you will stay and never exist again."
The Doctor's eyes lower as he hears the Guardian admit it, he now unlocks his arms from behind and has a lost look on what to do next.
"You see Doctor…you cannot escape what has already been in motion, you've wasted you're life energy and have nothing left to regenerate into. To go forward now, you must die…to be born into a new life, to be sent back to the thing you fear the most or to go into the void of nothingness and erase all that you were, have been and what you would have become."
"Then…this is truly it then." The Doctor breathes in sorrow. "This is the end of my life…forever."
"I'm afraid so." The Guardian utters with no emotion. "But if you still cannot decide…then let this one convince you otherwise."
As the regal robed man points to the middle road, a dark figure stands in the middle of it with his head lowered. The Doctor's eyes grow wide curiosity and takes careful steps closer to see who it is.
"The path to my destiny…what lies for me there?" The Doctor asks questioningly.
"Darkness my dear Doctor…" The darkly dressed man now speaks.
The Timelord recoils in shock as he sees the man raise his head and slowly giggling in that familiar evil tone he's always heard from this individual.
"The Master!" The Doctor gasps.
The evil Timelord chuckles at the Doctor's reaction and glares at him in delight.
"Yes Doctor…take a good look. For I am your destiny and your destroyer!"
The Master's laughter echoes into the air and taunts the Doctor as he continues to gaze at him with malice.
