The Doctor looked at his granddaughter and smiled. She may not have been strictly "his", but she was family none the less. A tear rolled down his cheek. After all these years, it was good to see her.
And she didn't come alone.
The Doctor looked around and he could see all of them. Or at least most. The friends who had helped him on his way here. All of them smiling. All of them happy to see him. All of them ready to give the Master hell.
And by the look on the Master's face, the Key to Time was doing it's work. He could see them too.
"What?" the Master stammered. "How.... How are you here?"
"I'm not," Susan smiled. "This is just the Key to Time sifting through the Doctor's memories. He's allowing us to say our piece. And I think we all have something to say."
"Oh we do," said Jamie MacRimmon, entering and standing cross-armed next to the Doctor. "We are all sick of you. You call us useless. Insignificant. Weak."
"Nothing next to the Doctor," said Victoria, suddenly standing next to Susan. "That's what you never got. In a way..."
"We are the Doctor!" said Jo Grant brightly from behind the Master. "We shaped him."
The Master whirled around to see two young women. Jo Grant and...
"We helped him find out who he is," said Sarah Jane Smith. "Each and every time that changed."
"And because of that," smiled the Doctor. "I never became you."
"He's been many things," said Leela, crouching on top of the console. "He's been a sorcerer."
"A Time Lord," said the First Romana, standing in front of the door.
"A big brother," smiled the Second Romana, standing next to the first.
"A friend to a planet," said Nyssa, appearing next to the Master.
"And we bring out the best in him," sneered Adric, leaning on the wall.
"Just like he brought out the best in us!" shouted Turlough from behind the Doctor.
"How?" The Master was starting to look afraid. "How are you all here?!"
"They're here," the Doctor began. "To tell you who I am now."
"He's the sort of bloke who will give you a lift to the airport!" called the thick Australian accent of Tegan Jovanka.
"At times he can be a bit unpredictable," said Peri Brown, rubbing her neck before smiling. "But he comes around eventually to the right decision."
"He can be a bit bombastic," squeaked Melanie Bush. "But that's part of his charm."
"And he may look a fuddy duddy old sod,"said Dorothy "Ace" McShane, shouldering a silver baseball bat. "But when the Professor acts like that, you know he's got something wicked up his sleeves."
"And he can seem a little strange," smiled Grace Halloway. "But he's actually okay once he's himself again."
"This is nonsense," the Master growled. "I thought you were talking about who you are now and the significance of these primitive idiots. You're simply talking about all your previous personae!"
"How thick can one time lord get!" laughed Rose Tyler. "After a millennium of knowing him I thought you'd guess! It's all the Doctor! His face, his voice, wven his brain may change..."
"But he's still as clever as they come," said Martha Jones. "Still will sacrifice anything to do the right thing, or to save a life."
"Still a flighty crafty old Spaceman," smiled Donna Noble.
"Bit of a dork, most of the time," shrugged Amy Pond.
"No," scoffed Rory Williams. "He's not a dork..."
"Yeah he is."
"...Yeah he is..."
"And above all," said Clara Oswald. "He gets by only with a little help from his friends."
"So in a way Master," the Doctor smiled. "I didn't defeat you all of the times we met..."
"We did," said the Companions in unison.
The Master's eyes darted around the room. All of the Doctors friends glared back at him. The Doctor was meeting his eyes without flinching. The Doctor was never more confident then he was right now. He had won. And the Master was furious. "Know something now, Doctor," the Master said calmly. "No matter how many of these proles you put around you, it won't change one thing. The differences between you and me are slim. Little. And it's only a matter of time before you take that final step over the line."
"Oh no," smiled the Doctor. "Because if that comes close to happening, all I need to do is look back into my past."
Behind the Doctor appeared thirteen men. Some young. Most old. All smiling.
"I suppose you thought I would eventually give in, hmm?" said the First Doctor, gripping his lapels.
"Well," scoffed the Second Doctor, pocketing his recorder. "Wasn't that thoroughly stupid of you?"
"I'll never lose," said the Third Doctor straightening his cuffs. "Not as long as I have these people around me in my hearts and in my head."
"And it's good that I have them in my hearts," smiled the Fourth Doctor as he threw his scarf over his shoulder. "My head gets so jumbled I can hardly remember.where I put them. I could louse them in there."
"I can vouch for that," said the Fifth Doctor, replacing his hat.
"I've done things that have made the universe a better place," said the Sixth Doctor.
"I've done things that have changed the course if reality," said the Seventh Doctor, twirling an umbrella.
"I've done things that I'm proud of," said the Eighth Doctor.
"And things that I'm not," said the War Doctor, with a sad look in his eyes.
"But through all o' that," said the Ninth doctor. "One thing remains entirely constant."
"Old or young," smiled the Tenth. "Short or tall. Calm or manic. Humanoid or equine. Round things on his TARDIS or not."
"It's all the Doctor," smiled the Eleventh Doctor.
The Master was beginning to back away now. "What... What does this mean?!"
"That's not the question," said the Twelfth Doctor. "The question is, what are you going to do next?"
"My guess?" said the Doctor, a look of pure fury in his eyes. "Scream. All right girls!" The Key to Time levitated out of his hoof and began to glow. "Get him the hell off of my ship!"
An Orange hoof landed on the Key to Time. "Whoo doggies!" said Applejack. "You don't have to tell me twice."
"This is," said Rainbow Dash, putting her hoof on Applejack's. "So. Awesome."
"Now girls," scoffed Rarity, daintily putting her hoof on the pile. "Just because we are going to be doing an ugly job, doesn't mean we can't look good doing it. Honestly, even in the realm of imagination you still have no sense of coordination!"
"Really?" asked Twilight, one hoof on the pile and one hoof in her face. "We're talking about fashion now?"
"Um...," started Fluttershy. "I'm not sure what exactly is going on..."
"Easy!" squeaked Pinkie Pie. "The Doctor used the Key to Time to make a projection of his memories to all come out and talk to the Master. Lecturing him about both the value of human and/or pony life, and about how amazing he is. He's kind of vain like that. And now the segments of the Key to Time (that's us), are going to blast him out of the TARDIS as far away as we can send him (into the void is a good option) and save the world!"
The Doctor and the other five stared at Pinkie blankly.
"What?" Pinkie asked. "I know the writer! Grrr!"
The Key to Time spun rapidly and fired an energy wave straight at the Master. I wasn't long until he was enveloped by the energy. "This isn't the end!" called the Master from the center of the beam. "You should remember, whenever it looks like I'm dead, I'm not!" The Master's mad cackling faded away as the light died down.
Once again. The Doctor was alone. The Crusaders and Spike were both unconscious from the Master's attack. He had won.
He nearly collapsed.
Only a guardian should wield the Key to Time like he just did. Using that much cosmic force had caused an energy backlash. He was weak. A voice soon told him what he already knew.
"You are dying, Doctor," came a cruel voice.
The shape the Black Guardian liked to take was soon in the middle of his TARDIS. "I told him," he said smugly. "I told him his little coup attempt would fail. I didn't have to do a thing. And thanks to your use of the Key to Time, and the Master's beating... You're close to Regeneration! But don't worry." His horn glowed a sickly red. "I'll spare you the tingling.
"No!" came a Regal voice.
The form of Princess Celestia stood in front of the Doctor. This wasn't the real Celestia, merely the preferred form of the White Guardian. "It's over, Black!" she said firmly. "I am revived, and I have the Key to Time. You've lost."
The Black Guardian's eyes widened in disbelief. Soon a quiet rage filled him and he closed his eyes. "Doctor," he said through gritted teeth. "You will die for this..."
"Yeah, yeah," the Doctor wheezed. "I've heard it before."
The Black guardian soon left the Doctor alone with the White Guardian.
The White guardian shot the Doctor a sad look. "I'm sorry it had to come to this."
"Oh I'm not!" The Doctor looked at his hoof and smiled.
His skin began to shimmer a dim orange.
"I'm excited! Big changes ahead."