Disclaimer - I don't own Doctor Who, but if I did then the run of the Thirteenth Doctor would have been massively different, and I hope some of my ideas shine through in this story.
Enjoy.
-8-
The Dark Thirteenth Doctor.
-8-
The Doctor - the Twelfth Doctor, although he wouldn't be the twelfth for much longer, as the impending regeneration brought about by the two weeks of his injuries at the hands of two versions of the Master - he was done trusting them now - and the Cybermen before that Mondasian Cyberman got lucky and fired into his chest a few times - was becoming increasingly more agonising for him - pulled the dematerialisation lever. As the Tardis dematerialised, a wave of dizziness rocked him, until he found himself staring at the monitor screen.
It was showing a map of the universe.
And he sighed.
He knew what the Tardis was doing.
"Oh, there it is. The silly old universe. The more I save it, the more it needs saving. It's a treadmill," the Doctor said wearily.
How many centuries had he spent zipping through time and space, meddling in the affairs of others?
How many lives had he spent fighting the same battles?
The Tardis bleeped, flashing and burbling at him.
"Yes, yes, I know," the Doctor groaned; ever since that mess with House, he and the Tardis had become far better at communicating with one another, and their bond had grown even more, but he wished the old girl would realise he needed time to unwind. "They'll get it all wrong without me."
The TARDIS bleeped even more.
Finally, the Doctor conceded. "I suppose one more lifetime wouldn't kill anyone," his hand started to glow; this regeneration was persistent. "Well, except me."
The Cloister Bell began to toll, making him worried.
"You wait a moment, Doctor. Let's get it right," the Doctor dashed up to the upper floor of the console room, deciding to put off the change a little bit longer. "I've got a few things to say to you. Basic stuff first. Never be cruel, never be cowardly, and never, ever eat pears! Remember, hate is always foolish, and love is always wise."
The Doctor, fighting down waves of pain, staggered down the stairs to the console, focusing on the impending change and hoping for something new, like maybe a fresh start as a woman instead of a man. "Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind. Oh, and you mustn't tell anyone your name. No one would understand it, anyway. Except, ah!" A fresh wave of pain made him lose his balance, and he gasped in pain. "Except children. Children can hear it sometimes. If their hearts are in the right place, and the stars are too, children can hear your name. Argh! But nobody else. Nobody else, ever. Laugh hard, run fast, be kind. Doctor, I let you go."
Standing in the console room one last time, the Doctor threw his head back and held his arms out, and the regeneration just exploded out of him.
Energy streamed out of him, slamming into the walls, and causing Tardis systems to be badly damaged; if a Harry Potter fan witnessed this, then they would liked it to Fawkes the Phoenix being reborn.
Where the Twelfth Doctor felt the fires of death, every cell of his already badly injured body dying, the Thirteenth Doctor felt the fires of rebirth as her predecessor's body shortened, and she felt two weights on her chest and a distinct emptiness between her legs, and new thoughts sparked into existence while old ones shifted back, and the Twelfth Doctor's personality was locked in the new Doctor's mind.
When it finally ended, and the new Doctor was left staggering around on unfamiliar legs, the engines were left stuttering, and the signet ring fell off the Doctor's right hand. As the Doctor staggered around, she noticed that her body was much shorter, and her clothes, which had once fit her predecessor were much baggier, and she realised her new body was female.
Concerned and even a bit scared by the implication of her new gender, the Doctor grabbed the scanner, absently noting the damage to the Tardis, and stared at the reflection. She had a new, younger face with jaw-length blonde hair. She really was a woman. The Doctor pulled away, staring in disbelief.
Dimly she remembered wishing for a change, a fresh start…she hadn't expected to get it out of the lottery of regenerations. Her last self had been inspired by a Pompeii inhabitant, but controlling regeneration had always been something that eluded her in her past regenerations…as far as she could remember.
But the newly regenerated Thirteenth Doctor grinned, and she loved this grin; it reminded her of her Tenth self's grin. "Oh, brilliant!"
Absently noting her accent had changed, although she would need time to place it, the Doctor pressed a button, hoping to set the controls to a peaceful time and place so she could recuperate and give the Tardis a chance to rebuild herself after being wrecked like this…
But the console room exploded. The Doctor was thrown to the ground, and she was left groaning; her mind was ringing with what she had seen on the monitor screen - Systems Crisis MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FAILURES.
The Doctor looked around in horror as the console room began tilting dangerously so she could barely find a foothold never mind a finger hold. All the time, the Cloister Bell continued to toll.
Just as she slid down the decking, the doors opened and the Doctor saw out of the corner of her eye the Tardis had snapped out of the vortex, and was back in the real universe. Mustering the effort, the Doctor managed to clamber back onto her feet, cursing her post-regenerative clumsiness as she tried to hang on to the console, but she was left hanging onto dear life, looking down through the opened doors.
She thought she could see lights below, and she knew she was in danger if the Tardis rocked and she would fall.
The Doctor was about to swing herself away from the doors, try an emergency dematerialisation and hope the reset would trigger the Tardis to arrive somewhere safely, but then the panel she was holding onto for dear life, exploded along with the Time Rotor, and she lost her grip and fell out of the door.
Dimly, she realised the books she had loved were spilling papers out through the door, but she was more concerned for herself.
Desperately she tried to grab hold of the doors, but she was falling so fast her fingers barely scraped them. She screamed as she fell. Now the Tardis is completely on its side, with the door open downwards.
The Doctor watched in horror at the explosions caused by her last self's late regeneration wrecked the Tardis. As she fell, the Tardis dematerialised, while she fell watching in horror.
-8-
Deep in the Doctor's mind, the darker side of the Doctor's nature watched in growing fury and frustration.
How stupid could they be in trying to avoid the regeneration?
But as the personality of the Twelfth Doctor passed over the boundary, the darker personality, buoyed by the blast of temporal energy both from the regeneration and from the damage of the TARDIS, had a glimpse of the future; it watched as the Thirteenth Doctor bumbled even more than other Doctors of the past, preferring the sound of her own voice than really preventing enemies from coming back.
The dark personality could only see so far, and get vague glimpses; it was like a really well-done movie trailer, which didn't give too much away, but presented enough to give the viewer a good idea of what was coming.
The persona saw a silver-haired man in a sharp suit, and there was something about spiders, and the shadow of what looked like a Dalek…
The persona watched a tall, dark-haired man with a beard and an air of arrogant menace, wielding what looked like a time weapon at the TARDIS, and felt a thrill of protective rage that anyone would dare harm the TARDIS…
The persona saw something moving like giant serpents, or worms on a desert planet, saying something like "The Timeless Child…" over and over again..
A child wearing gold robes with a massive ruin with something flickering overhead, like a wormhole…
The persona reared back in shock, wondering what in the name of Omega was that.
But something else was in the wings….an old woman, a condescending look on her face that made the persona want to reach out, and tear her to bits saying something about her being a virus.
But most of all, the image of a young woman with dark skin looking radiant shone through, and despite the persona's attitude and potential for cruelty, there was something about this young woman that captivated it.
Lusted, after, in fact…
Her beautiful dark skin was captivating, and her hair shone.
Desiring her, and wanting to make her mark on the legacy of the Doctor, and make the hypocrite finally accept the fact darkness was in their future, whether they liked it or not, the persona reached deeply past the weakened mental defences of the Doctor's mind, and sought out the wealth of time energy from the regeneration…
It was time for the dark side to appear, at last. Right now, she had a regeneration to alter….
