In Memoriam

The face sneered into view; Rassilon brought the curved dagger down onto the battered console.

"You won't do it Doctor!"

"I must1" the Doctor shouted back over the cacophony. "If I don't then all of history will be undone."

With that the Doctor kicked out sending Rassilon back, the Doctor raised his own dagger and without a second thought rushed forward and cut off Rassilon's left hand before snatching the staff and snapping it on his left leg as he turned back to the device on the other side of the console and pressed the tine white point star into the alcove. Then there was a flash as bright as the sun for the merest moment, annihilation so profound it stretched deep into the past and far into the future. Then Gallifrey was gone.

The Doctor woke screaming, the nightmares never changed, it was always those moments from the Time War when the Doctor had chosen the lesser of two evils. Getting out of his bed he pulled off his scarlet red Gallifreyan robes and the dress shirt tie and blue suit as he made his way to the large double doors emblazoned with the seal of Rassilon.

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair as he looked up and saw Donna waiting for him.

"You alright space man?" Donna looked him in the eye, the bags under her eyes showed her lack of sleep.

"Yep, I'm always alright" the Doctor tried to smile as he popped his 'p', but it was too early for him to even try to hide his emotions.

Donna just looked at him.

"I think we should go somewhere nice, who about the Eye of Orion?" the Doctor started for the console room full of maniac energy.

Running loops around the organic console completely unlike the worn wooden console that had remembered in his dream. The console was far larger and in order to maintain control the Doctor was in constant motion.

"Donna left hand down!" the Doctor called as the TARDIS rolled to the side, Donna dutifully moved forward and put her left hand down on the control the Doctor had shown her.

Coming down with a crash the Doctor surged forward and grabbed his trench coat, as he turned around he looked at Donna.

"The Eye of Orion is the most tranquil planet in the universe; well it was for a long time before…" the Doctor sniffed back tears. "And it is once more."

Stepping forth Donna was immediately struck by the deathly silence and peaceful feeling sounding the hill top and medieval ruins, walking forward she saw the Doctor sitting before a hexagonal pillar, kneeling the Doctor reached forward and traced a series of names engraved in both English and circular Gallifreyan:

Irving Braxiatel

Salyavin

Leela

The Rani

Magnus

The Doctor looked and the names, friends he'd known, Donna's hand briefly touched his shoulder in wordless support, ever since the War he came here once every year. Never with Rose, but when he'd been with Martha she'd pushed him and the Doctor had told her some of the details of the battle.

Reaching upwards he cleared some vegetation to show another engraving.

Here in memorial until the End of Time are the last remnants of those noble Time Lords of Gallifrey who died in the Last Great Time War not just for Gallifrey, but for all of creation.

"The battle wasn't fought over this planet," the Doctor looked up into the night sky to show Donna an area of pulsing blue and red area of energy. "That is all that remains of the telac Galactic cluster, more than fifty Galaxies destroyed at once by Timeonic fusion device, well I say destroyed, what I really mean is whipped from existence, the entire cluster of Galaxies never existed. This is one of the places where the War was actually tame by comparison to some of the other fronts."

The Doctor winced as he saw Donna's fury and outrage in her eyes.

"Tame! An entire Galactic cluster and you call that tame! I don't know what kids you've been hanging around with but I'm not having you wallow in what, your victories!" Donna shouted at the Doctor. "How many people died here in this battle?"

"Trillions, possibly more," the Doctor said, his eyes clouded and filled with guilt and darkness. "But that's why I go on, in their name! Donna I come here to remind myself of why I carry on so that their deaths mean…"

The Doctor just stopped, the wind stopped.

Donna looked around to find an elderly woman with parted black hair and specks of grey reaching back; she walked forward to stand over the Doctor before looking at Donna.

"Be kind, what the Doctor saw would have broken others."

"Who are you to say that, trillions died!" Donna said angrily in expiration.

"I was lost once, a long time ago, the Doctor died here, what you see is the man reborn in penance for his actions."

"What do you mean?"

"The Doctor is a legend woven throughout time, as the champion of Time and justice. A two term President of Gallifrey who refused to be pinned down by the needs of duty," the Woman stepped forward. "You are one of the Doctor's best friends, be there for him and remember as he won't be able to."

"… Something," Donna spun back as the Doctor continued as if nothing had happened. "Are you alright?"

The Doctor got to his feet and stood before her looking into her eyes, as Donna prepared to answer a golden tunnel of light began to form…