Fictions Mentioned:

Episode 1

Insert Song: Start

Max Payne - Main Theme

It was a park somewhere in Nishinomiya. The ground and the trees were covered and full of snow. There was a man that looks young and handsome, a bloke that you can find from the country of Scotland, whose breath that came from his mouth was seen. He had a tall, slim frame, finely boned hands and face, thick brown hair, pale skin scattered with freckles, and large, dark brown eyes. He wears a brown pinstriped suit, with a brown Duster-type overcoat, and Converse All Stars for footwear.

It was sometime at night, on the late hour of about 11, on the cold month of early December, when everyone is already asleep. He was sitting on a wooden bench, waiting for something as he looks out upon the twinkling stars and the shining half-moon.

"...You can come out from wherever you're hiding. I know that you're there," the man asked, his tone not giving his feelings or his thoughts away. It was casual and focused, directed somewhere else.

From there, a young woman with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing clothing appropriate for the winter, appeared from the shadows, looking quite hesitant to even talk with the man. Not that she could be blamed for it because she just knows who this man truly is. Her organization would even consider this man a top level classification, on a need-to-know basis only, and that not just anyone can freely discuss something in relation to him.

Who was he that would make even a time traveller like Mikuru Asahina, a young woman in her adult years and one that had already undergone tremendous experiences, be afraid and hesitant around him?

Well, for starters, this man is not human. You can say that he isn't even from this universe at all, not native to it and came from somewhere far away. His name is a legend. Those who admired him called him names such as The Lonely God or The Wandering God. Those who feared him, and rightly so, called him The Destroyer of Worlds and The Oncoming Storm. But there was another name for him that most people would call him by, and is one that he generally prefers to be called as it is the name of a promise, of a vow to be better, of a vow to be a doctor, even in the most impossible day.

"...Doctor, I am-" Asahina tried to speak, having calmed herself down before and made a deep breath. She wanted to voice her concerns, with a tone of respect, if only because of the man that she would be speaking to.

"I know who you are," the man cut her off, his eyes not looking away from the starlight of the heavens. "And I know why you're here. You've come to ask why am I here at this time, in this specific time and zone where nothing of import happens. Or rather, a thing happened where I met somebody that I wasn't even supposed to."

"Th-That's...right..." Asahina spoke with a tone of great care. She felt like she hopped back in time and became her younger self again who was timid and lacking in self-confidence. Not like her of the present (or future) day when she overcame that and became an almost entirely different person. Or summarily, she's all grown up.

But this is different. Because the man she is currently speaking to is someone that, if he wanted to, but he of course wouldn't, but has the capacity for doing so, he can dismantle her entire universe from the inside out. Subtly, scarily, and efficiently in such a way that by the time she and her organization realizes it, it would have already been far too late. Not even the eponymous Haruhi Suzumiya, the girl that she and her organization, and many others keep an eye on, would be someone that wouldn't be able to stop him.

"Not like it was my fault really," the man said, muttering softly. "I was actually visiting your universe in order to hunt down something that shouldn't even be in this world. The people around here might call them tengu when they meet them, but in reality, they are highly advanced robots that were set up in a temple not too far from here where their ship crashed landed a long time ago. Everyone on the ship died, confirmed it all for myself by hopping back to that point. Because of the crash, the robots all went out to find help but without anyone to give them orders they automatically shut down. The ship was mostly buried by the crash and then some people built their temple over it and used the inactive robots as guardian statues to scare away any spirits that might come. Somewhere in my line of investigation, I just so happen to meet a young boy who ended up crossing paths with me, which I found odd because he just so happen to be there at the same time I'm conducting an investigation. Normally, I'd say it's a coincidence, but this type of coincidence should not have happened."

By boy in this case, the Doctor meant someone in particular who is vital to the entire history of this universe. His real name is regal sounding, but people can or would call him Kyon. The young boy that the Doctor met up with would become someone who despite his ordinary background would keep a certain someone of remarkable power named Haruhi Suzumiya from going a little bit too far.

"Although..." the Doctor's expression turned grim. "Considering the temporal shockwave that I felt subtly with my senses and one that I could verify with my TARDIS's scanners, I would also assume that you, and the organization that you work for, are well aware of how history had changed, the present and future being a blank slate as it were."

"...Yes," Asahina made a hesitant expression.

"...You know, you can just sit beside me if you like," the Doctor suggested.

"Oh?! But-" Asahina tried to turn down the offer.

"But nothing. It's a little awkward from my perspective that a young woman of your age should be talking to me at a distance. People might get the wrong idea," the Doctor pointed out.

"But...there's no one here," Asahina pointed out.

"Yes, but that doesn't change the point of the matter, is there? I don't really like the whole 'being afraid of me' thing going on for me since I've had to deal with that on my home cosmos in general. I know that you've been told stories about me and I could probably confirm that more than half, if not all of them are true, but I would really enjoy it if people can just sit down beside me like I'm not going to chew them out of their deepest darkest secrets and scare them out of their metaphorical pajamas. But then again, that's the price for being well-known in the Multiverse when you've interacted and done so much for so many years. People either love you, hate you, or fear you. The last part is one that I have mixed feelings about as I never wanted to be considered a boogeyman, to most people at least. Besides, it's the holidays. At least this time, I get to enjoy a month of December without something major happening again," the Doctor spoke as if monologuing to himself, carrying a slight tone of annoyance as he realizes how the month of December in general isn't really so kind to him, in any world.

With nothing else to do, Asahina would have no other choice but to comply with the Doctor. She slowly walks towards the bench and sits down beside the occupant who hasn't turned in her general direction so far and is concentrated on the half moon and the stars.

"I have to ask but what exactly do you do in the holidays back in your time?" the Doctor cheerfully asked.

"Eh? Well...nothing much. And even if I were to tell you, it's-"

"I know, I know, it's classified, but..." the Doctor finally turn his grim face in her direction and smiled subtly. "Nothing's really classified to me at least. I know how everything in your universe goes. It's all fixed like one big casual loop: past, present, and future. I memorized them all to the back of my head so many years ago when I was content to simply observe this universe and never interfere. All of them are pre-determined, even abrupt paradoxes and seemingly minor inconsistencies. Every attempt to alter the past of this universe is inevitably only going to either change back to how things used to be or the universe itself modifying and accommodating itself with the smallest of changes that would not matter or simply splitting altogether from the main timeline, effectively becoming an alternate universe. But something's changed. Since my 'accidental' encounter with a very young Kyon who simply strolled around on one December night, I automatically begin checking, double-checking, and triple-checking the scanners of my TARDIS and everything pointed to a blank. The future is just...gone, not written yet, no longer set in stone, no longer predetermined. That's the interesting part. So many infinite possibilities are swirling now; one history, infinite futures. By the time Kyon catches up to the relative present, it may be similar from the outside, but from the inside, things can and inevitably will be different. Meaning..."

The Doctor stopped for a moment before speaking again for immediate effect, looking at Asahina in the eye.

"You're predetermined future timeline is no longer the 'main' future of this 'current' world now. Your future is now one of many countless possible futures of the main reality all coexisting simultaneously as a definitive future no longer exists and has yet to form. Everything that you may do in your relative past, may already be effectively changing into something else as the 'future' isn't written yet. The change for the 'new' timeline all starts at the point where I meet Kyon and dealt with the robots. Potential time loops would still be likely to occur in the future that sets up the 'present' as it should be. And the gap between this 'now' present and the 'future' present is where everything starts. And there lies the problem regarding Suzumiya Haruhi herself. By her very nature, she's the focal point of this universe. Everything 'unnatural' came all the way back to her, but because of my meeting with Kyon, interactions between the two would be at risk, one that could either benefit or doom this universe, since Suzumiya Haruhi's power isn't something controllable. And that's not even going to mention a potential 'time war' that may happen once the inhabitants of these coexisting futures, including yours, would realize that the present is no longer fixed and that time can be abused."

"What do you suggest at this time, Doctor?" Asahina asked. It was the main reason why she was sent here by her superiors because they know that the Doctor is the only one that can solve this problem that they find themselves in because he was one of the factors involved in the changes, not directly causing it, but because of something else as this wasn't the first nor last time that the Doctor had been taking care of elements from outside this universe, performing damage control if one will. She knew the ultimate reason why such things occur. Echoes of a 'lost' inter-multiverse spatio-temporal war whose aftermath had weakened the barriers of this universe, making it susceptible to outside interferences.

"Well...for now, we do the 'wait and see' approach and let history take course for the most part. The universe's changes have yet to truly settle in at this specific time period, meaning anything can happen. Until the 'actual' meeting of the 'future' present takes place and events solidify enough, I'll keep a close eye on Kyon from here on out, make sure to subtly prepare him for his 'future', and to keep absolutely sure that his meetings with Suzumiya Haruhi end up similarly enough that there may not be any difference, maintaining some time loops and tweaking others a bit."

"...I see," Asahina said, her expression being conflicted and in deep thought.

With that being said, the Doctor taking Kyon under his wing might be the only applicable option at this point in order for this universe to run smoothly without the paradoxical dangers and inconsistencies making things worse. Since the unknown temporal wave swept in, anomalies of histories are becoming a norm for Asahina's organization to fix by themselves, and there were so many of them to the point where the Doctor's assistance is more than appreciated at this point.

"Although I sense the understandable confliction within you," the Doctor suddenly interrupts Asahina's thoughts, making the latter turn towards him in surprise. "Considering the temporal anomaly of your universe, the Kyon who met me may no longer be the Kyon you remember due to both experiencing different events, with one of those differences being Kyon meeting me when he wasn't supposed to. You understand, don't you?"

"...Yes," Asahina sadly agreed.

History has changed. History can be changed. Something has made the boundaries of predetermination and predestination overturned. The 'present' events may in fact be no longer the same as anyone who intimately knew the events can remember.

Yes, there is still Haruhi Suzumiya.

Yes, there is still the SOS Brigade.

Yes, there is still Kyon.

But...

Things are subtly different. The pathways are different. The possibilities are endless. And it would be the Doctor's to investigate.

Insert Song: End

OP Song:

Steins;Gate Opening Theme - Hacking to the Gate (Full Version)

Incarnation(s)/Regeneration(s) of the Doctor:

The Tenth Doctor - A: David Tennant

New Characters:

Mikuru Asahina (Future) - VA: Yūko Gotō