The Other Side
"You've been asking a question, and it's time someone told you you've been getting it wrong. His name... his name is the Doctor. All the name he needs. Everything you need to know about him. And if you love him... and you should... help him! Help him."
~8~
On the other side of the crack, in a slice of time trapped universes away, the inhabitants of a war-torn planet heard a new voice. The Doctor's had been heard often, ever since they made contact nine hundred years ago. But this one...
These were the words of a human woman, and she was pleading for their help.
An emergency council session was hastily convened to discuss this matter and the troubling realization that the window of opportunity to return to their universe was growing even thinner. They wouldn't return until the Doctor got rid of the enemies sitting on Trenzalore's doorstep and gave them his blessing, for fear the Time War would start again. Things were looking rather grim on this front. The Daleks still held strong, even after hundreds of years. The Doctor was slowly dying of old age, with no regenerations left.
A post-war council- made of both poor townsfolk and well-to-do Academy graduates, Gallifreyans and Time Lords- listened to the human's passionate words. Open discussions began on what the best course of action should be for the planet and its inhabitants' future. Many were touched by the human woman's loyal plead for help, but only one was truly and deeply affected by it.
This Time Lady froze the moment the feminine voice brushed against her ears. It came from so far away, but somehow seemed unrealistically close. It was something so tangible, something so familiar... Flashes of memory flickered through her mind, memories derived from experiences she never had before. The more she concentrated on these, the more she worried she was tapping into something forbidden, knowledge she should never have gained.
She told a young Time Lord which TARDIS to steal when she interned in the repair shop, a long time ago. And yet, she never knew why.
"His name... his name is the Doctor. All the name he needs. Everything you need to know about him."
That was the Doctor I helped fly away, these memories prompted. She found she could see gold if she closed her eyes. It felt like the ground beneath her feet was melting away, leaving nothing but oblivion to fall through.
As quickly as these realizations came to light, all of the missing pieces snapped together. The Time Lady saw twelve faces- eleven Doctors, and one who denounced the title. She saw herself jump into his time stream and save him thousands upon thousands of time, just because she couldn't stand by and watch her best friend perish. She saw everything.
"And if you love him..."
These words echoed deep in the cavity of her soul. She felt warm inside, and strangely at peace. There were no more doubts. She knew what she had to do, what she was meant to do. Years ago, her actions started the Doctor's timeless journey, and today, she would extend it.
~8~
As the Doctor breathed in new life only minutes later on Trenzalore, he would never think to guess that the one who sacrificed their regenerations and existence to save him was an echo of his Impossible Girl, completing the circle .
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