The Last Great Time War-Beginning of The End
(Universe DB)
Chaos Rising
Fires rage across all time and space. But like ants in a tornado, the majority of the Universe is left unaware of the death that surrounds them. They simply cannot comprehend the destruction.
There were few neutral parties in The Time War. Galactus, acting in his role as a force of nature, cares not for the conflict going on around him. Abstracts such as the creation trio and those of the void tried to keep out of the conflict as well, with mixed results in the end. And then there was the Doctor, who legends say denounced his title to join the war as a warrior, judging the combatants, and administering judgement.
The only truly neutral race, however, were those only known as the watchers. They meticulously recorded nearly every moment of The Last Great Time War. They keep any memory of the disasters to themselves, living in fear of how such knowledge could be put to use.
To date, a subjective matter when all is considered, it is still argued what began this war. Some believe it was an attempt to preempt the New Gods prophecy of their own demise. Others submit the theory that the Daleks simply gained access to time travel and sought total conquest of time and space. Still more believe that the Time Lords sought to evolve their species to a higher form of existence, even superior to that of their then allies, the self-proclaimed Guardians of the Universe.
How the Time War began is but a vague foot note to the atrocities that it spread. Unchecked access to Galifreys vaults left them empty, save for a single Gem and its guardian. The Life and Anti-life equations left only death in their wake. Those whose names were lost to times waves destroyed their own world, and many others, through the power that would come to be known simply as Chaos.
In the wreckage of their dead world, these ancients left a single relic. A gem shining bloodred. The normally powerful artifact held deep within the planet was influenced by the Chaos of the war. Directed by the leftover power of the Ancients, it subtly reformed the world centuries after its end. The wonders you find when you combine infinite control of reality and infinite variation within reality. Physical laws bend around the wasteland, building up an atmosphere around the once ruined world.
Finally, the dead star the planet once orbited is relit, without the bother of gravity it once had. Forests start to sprout on this reborn world, and animals much like those which populated it originally returned, but different. Eventually the gem would sense its sibling's power, causing a reaction that would give the fledgling energy driving the planet a soul of its own.
But this wasn't a kind natural soul, it was chaotic in the truest sense of the word. An attitude that would only be worsened by the first words it would ever hear. Though the words' greater effect would be reversed for the rest of reality soon enough, their message of darkness would linger on this spirit for eons to come.
… … ...The End of Days... … ...
This leads us to a pivotal moment of the War.
The dead world of Apocalypse holds only fire and sulfur for the senses. A realm home to the New God of Tyranny, Darkseid; often credited with the destruction of more worlds than either the Daleks or Time Lords combined. He sits atop his throne unblinking to the war raging above his planet.
In the dead worlds skies fly legions of parademons. They fight and die against the combined forces of the last inhabitants of the now flame ridden New Genesis. Joining them are nearly all other parties in the war, including the living entities of the now broken Life Equation.
Oblivious to the destruction above him, an old man walks through the halls of the tyrant's throne room.
"So, this is where you ended up Uxas." The man greets darkly. "I hope I'm not too late for a chat."
"The oncoming Storm." Darkseid intones. "Come to sweep me away in your wake?" the tyrant mocks, not bothering to rise, only rotating his arm to reveal a blue gem in his hand. "You believe your clever words the match for me? I am not Davros or the Nightmare Child that you can face with trickery and threats. I am Darkseid."
"Yes, you certainly are." The man formerly known as the Doctor responds, a frigid anger in his voice. "To think Uxas, you held such promise before. Such intellect, surpassing even your brother Izaya. Now look what's become of you."
"You should be proud warrior." he is countered. "I hold the end of this war, what you have sought for many millennia. This will be over, all will be eternal, as is Darkseid."
"Only as your slaves." The Time Lord spits out. "You think you've won? Even as we speak, Xernias fights your little pet in the entity's stead. You sought to save your life Uxas, but you have only brought about the day of your own demise. This is over."
"Darkseid is eternal." The being counters, power of the infinity Gem of space radiating in his hand. "You believe you have time to prevent fate. You are wrong." He begins to speak, words radiating through all of space.
loneliness + alienation + fear + despair + self-worth ÷ mockery ÷ condemnation ÷ misunderstanding × guilt × shame × failure × judgment n=y where y=hope and n=folly, love=lies, life=death, self=dark side
With every word the Time War slows. The emotions driving them in battle stills.
The rage of the Daleks cools, the avarice of the Time Lord Council ceases to want. The will of the Guardians loses to fear, and the fear of the Watchers swallow themselves. The last vestiges of emotions as the universe knew them flicker in the Herald of broken life.
Darkseid opens his eyes, feeling his ultimate control of the cosmos. All except for one.
"Are you done yet?" Asks the man once known as the Doctor, strain evident in his voice. He can feel the will seeping from him, but steps forward toward the throne of Apocalypse, fighting with every step. "I must admit, you make a compelling point Uxas. That spiel of yours. Alone in an endless universe of destruction and despair, why not submit to the inevitable? But in all your grandiose pattering you forget a simple fact."
A pair of red beams flies towards the Time Lord, jagged lines displaying the Dark Gods rage and disbelief. The great power is deflected by a purple glow around the old man.
"You may have solved that fancy equation of yours, even managed to damage its counterpart. But you don't understand it. You don't live it every day of an eternity dammed existence. Not like me. I lost my will to live a long time ago, but am I done? No. I can die when this is over. I will do it gladly. But I have one job left. And you, Uxas? You need one final lesson."
The planet below them shakes with every step. "You are not a God." The man once known as the Doctor declares. "You may have been once, but this war made your people generals and soldiers like any other race. You want to see a god? Infinite power unbridled?"
A deafening roar shatters the planet's silent stasis, shaking it to the core and tearing down the tyrant's palace around them. The Time Lord smiles. Not a happy smile, nor the smile of a man facing great despair with pride. It's the smile of someone knowing everything is going his way. "Here's your picture of godhood. A god killer if you will. Darkseid? meet Godzilla."
The ensuing battle is hard to follow, and even harder to describe. The call of Anti-Life useless against a being with no mind, only a guardians instinct driven by infinite power. But no Infinity Gem can be greater than another, and the God of Tyranny is not one to fall from a challenge, so the battle lasts longer than any could determine.
The battle isn't left at a standstill forever. As the two Titans throw all their power against each other, the herald of life escapes its opposites thrall, blasting Darkseid with a blinding white energy, destabilizing the new god. This gives the warrior present one chance.
"No more." He mutters, approaching the fallen Space Gem. "No more." He picks it up in his left hand, blue energy mixing with the purple in his right. "No more. No More. No More!" A final blast of infinite power finishes the dark god in one final attack.
Once again, we are left with a question debated by even the Watchers, as they were unaware at the moment Darkseid fell. Was he destroyed? Sealed for all time to come? Left dormant to awaken again? Nobody knows the answer, and perhaps they never will.
What we do know is that in this battle's aftermath, all that remained were the warrior and the King of Monsters staring at a resumed battle in the skies of a now chilled hellscape.
"They're still going I see." comments the Time Lord dryly. "They just faced the end of everything, and it's not enough for them. It never will be."
Beside him, a grunt from the monster gets his attention. Even at a colossal size and lacking any form of communication, what he wants is clear.
"The Gem? Yes, thank you for your help, but... I'm afraid I can't give it back quite yet." The old man walks out to face the carnage before him directly, ignoring the growling guardian. The Infinity Gems in his hand once again activate, destroying the planet beneath them, leaving one last message in its debris.
"No More."
And so, the final days of the Time War begin. I've had the idea of the Doctor vs Darkseid since I started on this AU, but it never felt right. None of the Doctors I came up with quite felt right for the confrontation. Add on the fact that the Doctor usually avoids the major points in history that someone like Darkseid necessitates in this kind of crossover, I was left without any ideas of how to bring it to fruition.
Cut to when I had the AU filled out with the Infinity Watch and made mention of Godzilla guarding the Power Gem and fighting Darkseid. This emphasis on the Time War era reminded me of the "Doctor" I hadn't considered before. The man in the middle of the biggest conflict in history and who could stomach a few infinity stones before having to regenerate. The Warrior.
This story also worked to fill out my idea for Discords, and by extension the planet he's home too, origins. This is specifically meant to be the planet of the ancients, (Sonic) reformed. A process that defies base laws of physics seems fitting for such a strange planet, while also solidifying a connection between the two source materials with some of the strongest connections with "Chaos" not based on the already plenty bizarre Earth.
This probably isn't the last trip to the Time War, as I have ideas for both the Doctor and the eventual birth of the original Infinity Watch.
Thank you for reading, and please have a wonderful day!
