Chapter 11:
The travel within the TARDIS has been calm and quiet as Weiss awaits where they will land. To say that she was bored would be an understatement as she was still amazed by the interior of the time machine and the books the Doctor has. After reading a book, she looks down to see the Doctor and the Dalek speaking with each other which makes her want to ask a question.
Weiss: Doctor?
The Doctor: Yes Weiss?
Weiss: If you don't mind answering, how did you and Dalek Khan meet?
The Doctor and Dalek look at each other with a serious look which Weiss caught regretting the question.
Weiss: Y-You don't gotta answer! It was just-
The Doctor: I'll tell you. Just to let you know, what I am about to tell you will be a little hard to tell from our perspectives. *Deep breath* Back in my home planet...Gallifrey...there was a war. The war that ended so many lives and unfortunately destroyed my home. It was called the Last Great Time War between the Time Lords and the Daleks.
Weiss: B-But then how-
The Doctor: Dalek Khan is different. But every Daleks from my universe is born with hatred and desire to exterminate every single life form until they are the supreme rulers.
Weiss: How long... was this war?
Dalek Khan: 400 YEARS.
Weiss felt her eyes bulge out, a war that lasted centuries. There was never a war in Remnant that lasted more than 10 years. The voice and the eyes of the Doctor made her realize this war had left enough damage to him mentally.
The Doctor: My family and I were in Arcadia which was considered the safest place during all this but eventually the Daleks found a way. From there... everything changed for me.
*FLASHBACK*
The young time lord wakes up in rubble after being knocked from a near explosion while trying to evacuate from a building to approach an evacuating vessel. His hearing and vision were still recovering but he could still tell he could only see darkness and fire. Screams from people, explosions, Daleks exterminating people, it was beginning to haunt him, and he needed to get out.
The Doctor: Mom! Dad!
He last remembered running with his parents and were about to approach the ship before a Bomber Dalek blasted the area. He looked around for them but to his horror, he found them...dead in the rubble.
The Doctor: No... No! No! NO! NO! MOM! DAD!
He wanted to believe they were just unconscious from the blast as he removed the rubble from them but when he finally checked on them, no heartbeat from either of them. His parents were gone, taken from him. It broke him as he shed tears holding both his parents as he heard Daleks approaching him, but it didn't matter. One blast would reunite him with his parents, and he was ready.
Dalek: PREPARE TO FIRE!
The blasts from the Daleks never came as the Doctor heard them get blown up and turns around to see them destroyed with their alien forms gone as well. He heard footsteps approaching and saw the old man who saved him.
War Doctor: You shouldn't be here preparing to commit suicide!
The Doctor: My parents are gone, what am I supposed to do...I rather be with them now than be separated from them forever.
War Doctor: You think your parents would want that? They would want you to continue running and live on for them. This planet...it'll burn down either way. I've done all I can to finish this war, but the Time Lords and Daleks will never stop...No More...
The Doctor: *Eyes widen* I-It's you...You're the Doctor!
War Doctor: Not anymore, I have not gone by that name for a very long time.
The young Time Lord saw in the face and eyes of the old man who was known as a public figure across the universe. All that is left is the shell of a broken man tired of losing people and tired of the war.
The Doctor: You shouldn't give up! You give people hope, the belief that everything will be alright in the end. That is why you are called the Doctor!
War Doctor: I'm not him anymore! People like the Doctor are forged in fire. It is the privilege of lesser men to light the flame. I am simply a war soldier.
The Doctor was going to continue arguing and trying to find it within the War Doctor that he shouldn't give up but was interrupted by the noises of the Daleks approaching.
War Doctor: You must go! Run straight and take a left. Find a way to sneak inside the transportation base of the remaining TARDIS. Follow your own path from there and live on: For Gallifrey, for me, and for your parents.
The Doctor hesitated at first before changing his mind and running to the direction given by the War Doctor before he stopped and looked at him one last time.
The Doctor: The Universe will know of you Doctor. From your adventures to fighting for Gallifrey. It'll become a legacy for decades to come and I'm going to carry your name in honor. I hope to be the one to continue saving the lives of millions
The War Doctor looked at the young boy and felt a bit of hope. There will be light after all from the darkness. If Gallifrey Falls and so does he, he knows now the Doctor will still be around, but it won't be him.
War Doctor: *nods* As of now, for this moment...You are the Doctor. Thank you.
And that was the last time he saw the Doctor, the original. He now passed on the name to him but first he needed to get out of here. He ran straight before taking a left seeing a transportation base.
The Doctor: Need to find a way in FAST!
?: H-HELP ME...
The Doctor stopped the moment he heard a familiar voice but thought he was imagining that it was asking for help. He turned to his side slowly and scared only to find what he hoped not to find: A Dalek. It was damaged and stuck, but he was only filled with anger and hate.
The Doctor: Why should I? AFTER EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ALL DONE!
The damaged Dalek looked at the Doctor as he grabs a huge rock piece ready to slam it through its armor and kill it.
The Doctor: MY PARENTS ARE DEAD! MY HOME WILL BE A WASTELAND BECAUSE OF YOU! WHY SHOULD I HELP YOU WHEN I CAN KILL YOU!
Dalek: Because...I am scared...I do not want to die...
It seemed impossible but he was completely shocked. A dalek scared and not wanting to die.
Dalek: I saw darkness, fear, death, and I wanted to RETREAT! But I was hit by a BOMB, and I was damaged and stuck.
The Doctor: How do I know this isn't a trick of yours? Are you gonna blast me if I get close to you? Do you have other friends of yours hiding around ready to exterminate me? Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you!
Dalek: I want to escape as well. I do not wish to see more of this nor continue...I want to start anew...
This Dalek had identical thoughts as the Doctor. They both want to escape this war and live on. The Doctor struggled to decide on what to do whether to kill him on spot or risk his life to save a Dalek. In the end, he dropped the rock and proceeded to lift the Dalek looking at its damaged armor but its case where its true form is, remains untouched.
Dalek Enforcer: TIME LORD DETECTED!
All hope was dropped from the Doctor as he heard another Dalek voice and turned around to see two more Daleks approaching him. He should've known this was a trap and he fell for it because of his naïve heart. He failed everyone, the Doctor, his home, and his parents.
Dalek Enforcer: READY!
This was it. The end of him.
Dalek Enforcer: AIM!
He closes his eyes one last time as he feels his life flash before him.
Dalek Enforcer: EXTER-EUGH!
Suddenly he hears the Daleks scream and are blown up. He opens his eyes to see the Enforcers dead then turns around to find the Dalek he just helped rescue him.
The Doctor: You...saved me?
Dalek: YES! You did the same for ME!
The Doctor wanted to say more but heard more explosions nearby. More Daleks were approaching, and he needed to go.
Dalek: WE MUST GO! I WILL TRANSPORT US INSIDE THE FACILITY!
The Doctor without thinking holds on to the Dalek as it activates its Emergency Temporal Shift to transport inside successfully.
The Doctor: Come! We are taking a TARDIS and getting out of here!
Dalek: UNDERSTOOD!
The Doctor and Dalek ran through different hallways to finally approach the room of the TARDIS but when they arrived, the room was destroyed and all, but one TARDIS were damaged or demolished. Both beings run inside of the undamaged TARDIS as they begin to prepare to escape.
The Doctor: Take Us Anywhere! Anywhere that the Daleks can't find us!
The Dalek wasted no time launching coordinates into the navigation system as the Doctor pulls down the Control lever activating the TARDIS to depart. He fell to the ground in exhaustion, he made it out. He escaped the Time War but at a cost, his home and family were now gone. After resting for a bit, he noticed the Dalek looking at him.
Dalek: ARE YOU HURT?
The Doctor: Not really, just exhausted and scared. What about you?
Dalek: WEAPONS ARE SEMI FUNCTIONAL! ARMOR CASE IS 53% DAMAGED! I WILL NEED REPAIRATION!
The Doctor looks at the damaged parts of the Dalek before getting an idea and a concern at the same time.
The Doctor: Won't they track us down?
Dalek: NO. AS I WAS SHOT, IT DESTROYED MY EMOTION REMOVER AND MY LOCATION CHIP!
The Doctor: That's a bit of a relief then. If we land somewhere that has a population, we could perhaps find something to help fix your armor.
Dalek: What is your name?
The Doctor: O-Oh...um...Well it's a bit complicated but...I am the Doctor...
Dalek: THE DOCTOR? THE ENEMY OF THE DALEKS!
The Doctor: Uh Oh...
Dalek: YOU are not him.
The Doctor: It was passed on to me by the Original Doctor. He said he no longer went by that name and passed it to me.
Dalek: I SEE! YOU ARE THE NEXT DOCTOR!
The Doctor: You can say that. How about you? Don't you have a name?
Dalek: YES! IT IS DALEK KHAN!
The Doctor: Well then Dalek Khan, we are gonna get you fixed up and begin a new adventure.
*END FLASHBACK*
The Doctor: For about a year and a half in your time zone, we have been exploring the universe, visiting new places, meeting people, and most importantly saving lives. It's the duty that is held in the name of the Doctor.
Weiss stayed there frozen, and eyes widened hearing the full backstory of the Doctor. He lost his family, his home, and nearly died. She felt much sicker to the stomach hearing all of this but noticed a tear falling from the Doctor's eye.
The Doctor: Gallifrey fell in the end, and I am now the last of my kind. The Last of the Time Lords. But I do intend to live for a very long time despite a few close calls.
The very last of his entire race and it made Weiss feel her heart drop hearing that. It made it much worse when the realization hit her that if she did kill him in her nightmare world, there would be no more time lords. She doesn't know how the Doctor can stay positive and strong after everything he went through. Without thinking, she jumps to the Doctor giving him a comforting hug which caught him off guard.
Weiss: I...wish *sniffs* I could say more...wish none of this would ever happen to you...no one especially you deserve this and yet...you remain positive and strong!
The Doctor: It took a while but eventually I recovered and knew that in this new adventure, I needed to be strong, brave, smart, and ready with one goal in mind: Protecting the universe and saving many lives.
Weiss: *wipes tears* I bet if the Original Doctor was here, he would be happy to see who you are becoming.
The Doctor smiles thinking if he had made the original Doctor proud. He hoped that perhaps this universe wouldn't deal with the same darkness his universe encounters.
Weiss: So...I take it the Daleks won the war?
The Doctor: No one won this war. At that time, Khan and I believed we were both the last of our kinds with almost the entire race of the Daleks gone as well. We were wrong.
Dalek Khan: MY RACE SURVIVED! IT WAS...UNFORTUNATE!
The Doctor: Not long before we got to this universe...we detected a strange signal and decided to follow it. Khan and I thought it was a distressed call but when we got there, the signal was cut and in front of us was a Dalek ship.
Weiss felt her nerves pick up from what the Doctor had described these killing creatures to be besides Dalek Khan.
The Doctor: We went on to make a run for it as they continued to try and kill us on sight. I felt offended at hearing them call me Imposter.
Dalek Khan: YOU ARE NOT THE ORIGINAL DOCTOR!
The Doctor: Yes, Yes I get it Khan!
Dalek Khan: AS WE TRIED TO ESCAPE! THERE WAS A CRACK!
Weiss: A crack?
The Doctor: Not like anything we've seen before. I didn't know whether to fly to it or lure the Daleks into flying there. That's when we were hit by them and next thing we know, we fell through the crack. The TARDIS began to malfunction as we tried to regain control.
Dalek Khan: NAVIGATION CHANGED AS WE APPROACHED A DIMENSION VORTEX AND ENTERED A NEW UNIVERSE!
Weiss: Which means...
The Doctor: Yep. This Universe.
Weiss finally understood now what he meant from their conversation before she entered the TARDIS. The Doctor is a time lord from another universe.
The Doctor: We were still dealing with trying to pilot it again as we were heading to crash on Beacon. Once we got control of it, we crashed sending me out of the TARDIS and hitting my head on a tree before falling into the lake.
Weiss: *eyes widen* THATS WHERE WINTER FOUND YOU!
The Doctor: Yep, and where I lost my memories. So now we're here AND by the looks of it, we have reached our destination!
The TARDIS lands at last but the question Weiss now had is where?
Weiss: Where exactly?
The Doctor: *smiles* Let's find out!
The Doctor opens the door for Weiss to come out and to her amazement, it looked like Earth but there were different races of aliens all around. It looked like a small town and they had landed in what looked like a market.
The Doctor: Weiss Schnee, Welcome to Elentear.