Fifth Circle
On the planet Trifecta, the storm entered its third week.
Acidic rain and toxic clouds, engineered by the Dalek ships above, were complimented by thunderbolts which struck targets at leisure. The lightning strikes had been programmed to hit with pinpoint accuracy any target they deemed a threat. Above the planet, at a safe distance from the artificial storm, the Daleks were busy monitoring ships on the planet, which were wreaking chaos across the globe.
“Report! How is the planet's population disposal progressing?” asked one of them, approaching another at the helm of the ship.
“Scans indicate that 63% of the population has been harvested or exterminated.”
“Increase the speed of our operations! The ships must return to battle as quickly as possible.”
“I obey!”
It opened the communications network to get a visual on the main planet-side ship, which linked all the other ships on the planet together, and was met with the sound of howling wind, thunder, and explosions. He could only hear his fellow soldiers screaming, and the ship they were on imploding in all sorts of places.
“Report! What is happening?!”
Another Dalek appeared on screen, looking as frantic as a Dalek could look, and spoke in a broken voice.
“Ship has...invaded...lords...attacking other...HELP US!”
“WHO IS THE ENEMY?!”
The damaged Dalek was about to answer when the sound of an exploding door was heard, and bits of another Dalek rained down on the one on screen. It fired, along with its shipmates, on the intruders off-screen and they were met with red blasts. The Daleks on the mothership kept screaming for status reports, and the exchange of laser beams continued. One of them had apparently hit the video circuit, because the screen suddenly frizzled out, leaving only the sounds of carnage to echo across the room.
Enraged and confused, the Daleks attempted to fix it until a sickening, warbled scream boomed through the room, and the damaged Dalek spoke his last words.
“I...AM...AFRAAAAIIIII-!”
A snapping noise, followed by the sounds of circuits breaking and wires being torn and stretched were heard, and the room went silent, except for the sound of the storm which raged outside. The Daleks stood still, feeling something which had been foreign to their species for many a century: fear.
Faint sounds of talking could be heard, and a whirring noise emerged. It grew louder and louder, until every speaker on the ship relayed the sound. The Daleks tried to block it out, only to find that their communication network was locked. And then, the voice of the devil reached their audio sensors.
“I assume you're trying to block this ship's communications from up there, but you'll find this to be a pointless attempt to silence me. My soldiers and I have hacked into your entire system, and it will remain open until I have finished speaking.
“At first, I thought I would be content after I had destroyed all your ships. But then I discovered what you've been doing with this world's population. Dalek shells, sent out to capture more Trifectians and destroy all they can. I have to admit, I'm always surprised at how you monsters find new ways of being revolting.”
The whirring sound resurfaced, and a booming noise could be heard in the background. Afterwards, the image on screen reappeared only to show a Dalek ship falling, engulfed in flames and covered with smaller explosions. The screen then shifted, and a face appeared. And that face terrified the Daleks of the mothership's control room.
It was an old man, covered in ash and whose face was splattered with Dalek fluids. But those fluids could not hide his face, carved by cold fury and pierced with dark eyes.
“That is the first of the ships I will destroy. As I speak, my fellow soldiers are tearing their way through the smaller ships around us, and so on and so forth. I have seized control of the storm, and I intend on raining fire and hell on every single trace of Dalek left on this planet. And after I've torn out the eyestalk of your last soldier...I will turn my attention to the skies. In other words, Daleks, I hope you have every ship at your disposal ready to fight or flee. Either way...I'm coming for you next.”
And with that the Doctor left, and the storm was the only sound left on the ship. The two Daleks present engaged a red-alert procedure, mobilizing every means they had to stop the monster that was about to meet them. On the planet, Dalek ships either fell or turned on each other, and the Doctor remained silent through it all.
************
A single Dalek returned to Skaro later on, and it was sent to the asylum shortly afterwards. The Daleks had scanned its memory core, and were horrified by the data they had found. The incarcerated Dalek, driven mad by what he had seen, kept repeating the same words over and over from the second he materialized in the Dalek War Temple to the moment he was thrown into the insane hell hole that served as their asylum.
“The storm is coming...the oncoming stoooooooooorm...the stormmmmmm...the oncoming storm...”
************
The two princesses of Equestria flew towards the Badlands in silence, the eldest glancing at her younger sibling from time to time only to find her staring ahead with an unreadable expression. Princess Celestia had rarely been stumped when it came to reading people, which is why she was both impressed and worried about how still Luna looked. Whatever had happened with the Doctor, it must have been bad.
They landed on the dusty orange ground, staring at the rock which jutted out of the earth like a massive spike and the gates which had been built in; or rather used to be. They were staring at a scorched hole, with twisted metal bars that had been fitted in curled up or blown off. Around the entrance of Tartarus, fragments of metal and rock lay strewn about, either burning or melting. As they walked towards the exploded entrance, Luna could see the deadbolts and locks and chains that kept the place sealed, and the runes carved in them had stopped glowing. When Luna looked down, she saw large hoofprints burnt into the ground.
“When was the last time you went off like this?” asked Luna, not looking back.
“Good question. I think it was...nine-hundred and twen- no, wait...yes, that's it: three-hundred and eighty years ago. Although this was a lot more tame.”
“Twas during the Griffon Invasion, yes?”
“Yes it was. I still regret what I did that day...a lot less, but still.”
“I regret I wasn't there to finish them.”
Celestia stared at her sister with wide eyes. Where did that come from? she asked herself, horrified to see her sister entertain such ideas. And then Luna turned around, and gave her sister a small hug.
“Thank you for you concern.”
“...It's nothing. I was just afraid of losing you again,” replied Celestia. She started shivering, and it wasn't because Luna was naturally cool to the touch. Something had changed in Luna after that encounter, and she was determined to find out what that was.
They walked in the prison, which was as dark and stuffy as it had been for hundreds and hundreds of years. Apart from bits of burning rocks, the remnants of the gate, and the soft light coming from Celestia's coat, they could hardly see the edge of the abyss in front of them. The only way down was with a large metal platform, lowered and raised with a series of gears and chains, and it could go through all nine levels of the prison before hanging above a very deep pit. The guards whispered among themselves that it was bottomless. Others claimed there was something down there, waiting. Either way, no one was sure.
“I'll raise the elevator, you check on the guard,” said Luna, casting a spell to get the platform moving.
“The guard? What guard?”
Instead of answering Luna simply pointed to the left, and Celestia was saddened by what she saw. Cowering in the corner and whimpering softly, the mighty Cerberus had tucked his three head beneath his paws, and his entire form was shaking like a leaf. When she approached the hound it started yapping and pawing at the ground in front of it, trying to dig a tunnel as fast as it could while laying on its belly.
“Shh, shh, shh. Relax, Cerberus, I'm me again. I'm sorry...shh, shh, shh...” she whispered, her chest tight with pity and regret. How bad must she have looked to frighten the beast that guarded Tartarus?
Slowly but surely, the massive dog calmed down, but remained wary and terrified until she softly lay a hoof on him. It was only then that he raised his head, and Celestia could almost see the relief in their eyes as he realized his master was back. She patted him on the heads and hummed a soft tune, scratching his neck and his ears until she heard the platform approaching. After leaving a small glowing ball of solar magic in front of him, she went to join her sister who was still standing there, focused on the task at hand.
When the platform reached them, they heard a wheezing noise. It came from a guard, who was laying on that platform and clutching his spear tightly, pointing it at those he thought to be intruders. When he saw them open the gate of the platform, he struggled to stand, and he only stayed that way thanks to his weapon.
“Your Majesties...are you...well?”
“Never mind us, soldier. What happened?” asked Luna, helping him stand with a wing.
“I'm not sure...I remember checking the gate when a...fireball or...something blew up the gates. I think I fell down three or four levels before the landing knocked me out. I woke up about ten minutes ago, and I was going to go check on the prisoner when the platform started moving.”
“I see. What level is he on?”
“Level five, Your Highness.”
“Take us there.”
They waited as he aligned the correct runes in a stone tablet at the back of the elevator, and when they clicked in place the gates were shut and the platform traveled down, with only the sounds of gears turning and the coughing guard to hear. When they arrived, the doors opened and the guard hobbled forward.
“He hasn't moved from his cell...since you left. I'm actually...a bit worried about him.”
“Do not worry, your friend is fine. Where are your fellow guards?”
“They did what the warden told them to, they all went to his office; after securing the entire complex of course.”
“I see. What is your name, good knight?”
“Covert Shield, my Princess.”
“We applaud your professionalism, Covert Shield.”
And with that she bopped him on the horn with her hoof, making him fall to the ground.
“What are you doing?!” shouted Celestia, bewildered by her sibling's actions.
“Oh do not worry, Celestia. We hath simply put him to sleep with a recovery spell, he will be well. Now then, I have business with the Doctor. You should go to the guards along with this one,” she said, nodding to the unicorn whom was glowing a soft blue color. Celestia looked down at her sister to find a hard, cold look. Not violent, simply cold.
“Luna, what has gotten into you?”
"...Nothing. Now go,” she said, while walking towards the exploded doors. Celestia looked at her sister, then sighed and activated the platform to lower themselves down, to the ninth level of Tartarus.
Luna stepped into the cell, past the battered metal doors, to find the Doctor sitting on his pedestal with his chin resting on his chest. The Princess walked up to him, and lifted his chin with a hoof.
“Ah, right. Internal psychic recovery...how did I know that? No matter.”
She proceeded to sit down in front of him, closed her eyes, and let her conscience drift back to her realm.
************
When she entered the Doctor's mind, she was surprised to find herself in a rather strange room. Not strange by dream standards, which she knew very well, but 'generally strange things' standards. She was standing in a rather messy room, with a series of what appeared to be white panels covered with buttons and switches standing to her left, surrounding a glass case of sorts, which pumped up and down. It stood roughly at the same height as she was, and she felt as though she had seen this place before.
The walls had several round...things plastered across them, emitting a soft white light, which contrasted with the jungle of wires dangling overhead. The floor grate, which clinked when she took a step, felt fitting when she looked at the few lockers and chests which stood against the walls of the room.
And that's when it clicked.
Is this...the TARDIS he spoke of?
She took a few steps to look around, and found the doors. With a shaky hoof she pulled them open, and was shocked by the sight which greeted her. She was back on the hill, it seemed, although she never would have recognized it in this state. The grass was gone, the earth beneath was scorched, and far way on the horizon, the citadel stood broken. The mountains were either leveled or cracked or blown off in several places, and the sky was a deeper orange than before. In the distance, the forest of the Gargantrees had been reduced to ash.
Is this what happened to Gallifrey? Because of the war?
“I hope that satisfies your curiosity.”
Luna jumped from fright and yelped, whirling around to find an old man leaning against the door frame of a battle-scarred TARDIS. In his hand, he held a small glowing ball where several lights flashed. Before closing his hand, which made the sphere fade away, she heard a scream. That scream was something she remembered, but had never heard in her life.
“Was that...Trifecta?”
He looked at her, and she was shocked by how sad and tired, yet imposing he looked. His short gray hair was messy and stuck out, he wore a damaged, weathered-gold chest plate beneath a rugged brown leather coat, and his deep red pants were as dusty as his battered black boots.
“So that's what he did; he forced his memories upon you, and not the good ones I presume. I understand what he did, but I still think it was wrong,” he sighed.
“I don't want these memories, Doctor. They burn in my mind, and I can tell they have changed who I am. My own sister looks at me with fear in her eyes, and I feel empty. Why, Doctor? Why would you do-”
“If what you say is true, then you should remember that I am not the Doctor. Although some of my soldiers called me the Medic, if you can remember that. It was nice,” he chuckled, scratching his beard. “As for why he did it, I don't know. He was rather strange after the war, which is partly my fault I suppose, but that was not something I ever expected him to do. And I don't think he would answer you if you asked,” he finished, pointing to her right.
She looked there, down the the hill, and saw that two figures were sitting near the end of it, at the border of the late forest. One was the Doctor who had crashed into her life, and the other was the one who lay asleep before her in the conscious world. They appeared to be talking, and laughing at the same time.
“They appear to get along quite well. What do you think they're talking about?” she asked the War Doctor, who now stood next to her with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his big coat. He took a moment to reply, still looking down at himself – or them, if you'd prefer.
“I have no idea, but I suppose our clown is laughing at his ponified persona. I still don't completely understand why he refused to let you in the TARDIS; you seem to be a lovely person.”
“That machine has withstood my efforts to open it for weeks, so I was angry and curious. But I suppose I broke his trust by trying to sneak in, and thank you,”she said with a smile, blushing slightly at his compliment. “Where art thou brothers?”
“Oh, they went for a walk. It's not often they have the displeasure of seeing Gallifrey like this, so they tend to try and rediscover it when that happens. I guess that leaves me in charge, for now. That's a nice feeling,” he sighed, feeling content.
They sat there for a while, looking at the world around them, before he broke the silence.
“As you've gathered by now, I'm quite old and silly. I suppose that's why he punished you the way he did, but that's no excuse. On behalf of my future selves, I apologize.”
She looked at him, and was saddened to see how empty he looked as he stared into the void.
“No Doctor, it is I who is at fault. I suppose my centuries of existence have not gotten the best of my curiosity yet.”
“You're...immortal?” he asked, looking at her with wide eyes. “But how? You look so young, how is that possible?”
“...I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind,” she said, closing her eyes as a headache started growing within her. He was about to press her, but he restrained himself, knowing he had acted quite rudely enough already.
“How do I not know this? Did you never tell my counterparts before?”
“I'd lie or change the subject whenever that threatened to come up. I didn't want to be seen as something strange to you, or a threat,” she said, turning to face him. “But now that I know we are both cursed and blessed with immortality, I'd like to thank you, Doctor. Thank you for being the proof that there are other beings like my sister and I out there,” she finished, giving him a warm smile.
He smiled as well, and it looked both heartwarming and as if a crack had split a rocky surface.
“Well, I'm not immortal; but I do know how it feels to live for too long. Although I suppose you know how I feel, don't you?”
“...Yes. Not entirely, but I do know the gist of your life. And I do not wish to know what you lived through anymore. I know you can fix that, so do it,” she growled, suddenly angered by the Doctor. This one she liked, the other she hated, and the others either pleased or confused her. How could one person be so complicated? And yet he looked at her, unfazed by her anger.
“No.”
She stared at him, thrown off by his answer.
“No?”
"Yes. Just...no.”
“WHY?!” she shouted, giving a strong stomp.
“Because if you forget everything that happened, you will repeat your mistake again. I do not wish for you to be hurt any longer. And I could take away your memories of our encounters, but I was under the impression you enjoyed my company. Or at least, I hope you did.”
She calmed down after that, and thought about it. It was true: even though she thought he was a charming man and very intelligent, she also knew there was a dark side to him, which disgusted and frightened her so much she felt like hitting him. But in the end, he was a good man, and she did want to spend more time with him.
How can I prevent myself from doing what I did? I can't simply have him tell me what happened, that might push me away or simply feel like a lie. What could be the right words...
And then she remembered the war, and the moon, and her eyes widened in horror. She knew what he could tell her, the words strong enough to stop herself from trying his patience and testing his character by going through his secrets. She hesitated before talking, ashamed of what she was going to say but knowing she had wronged him, and that it had to be done.
“And what if I told you something that would make me understand, after I forget all this? Something you could tell me when I come back, proof that I should stop thinking about trying to sneak into your TARDIS?”
He turned to her, his eyebrows raised.
“I suppose that if you did that, we could meet again under better circumstances. Let's hear it.”
“Very well,” she said, rubbing her hooves together because of how nervous and horrible she felt, “but you have to know I regret this, and what I'm going to tell you. Please, do not hate me for what I did, and do not tell another soul of this.”
He nodded, and she took a deep breath. She told him a story. A story of what happened on the moon, many years ago, and what she had done there. When she was done, he looked up to see him frown and scratch his beard.
“Very well, princess. I shall repeat the words."
"...What, that's it? Thou aren't...angered, or anything?" she asked, dumbfounded.
"Well, it would be quite hypocritical of me to judge you. But understand this: had you told this to any other of my counterparts, they would have turned on you so quick it would have made your hair spin. Although I do like your hair," he chuckled. She laughed nervously, creeped out by his nonchalant attitude.
"What you did...is inexcusable. And I would have stopped you with no remorse, had we met under any other circumstances. But I suppose that given the facts you have told me, I cannot hold you responsible for your crimes," he sighed, and held out his hand. "For what it's worth, I forgive you, as a fellow immortal. Of sorts."
She smiled, and placed her hoof in his hand.
************
They regained consciousness at the same time, and smiled at each other. She stepped towards him, and lowered her head. It was at that moment Celestia entered the cell.
"Luna? What's going on?" she asked, ready to jump in if the Doctor made a single wrong move.
"I'm alright, sister. The Doctor and I had a talk, and he is going to remove some of my memories. Don't worry," she added, sensing the fear and anger radiating from her sister as soon as she said that," just my visits to his dreams."
She looked at him, gave him a single nod, and he placed his hooves on either side of her head.
"Oh, and before I forget. Tell me I gave you my Royal Pardon after giving me the message."
"I will, Luna. Oh?! Look at that!" exclaimed the Doctor, letting her go.
"My voice has changed! What is this? Aaah, Ooooh, mi mi mi mi faaaa, bananaaaaa. Unconstitutional. Polygons. Raghmagorn. How about that," he laughed, "a hybrid accent! Grand! A bit of British, and some American! Oh wait, that's a tiny drawback. Oh well. A hint of Colonial? Nevermind, I'll figure it out later," he said, putting his hooves back on her head. Before he closed his eyes, she put a hoof to his and stared into his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Doctor."
"It's alright, I forgive you."
"Not that. I'm sorry about the war, Doctor. I'm sorry you had to live through that."
He looked at her in shock for a second or two, then gave her the first sincere smile since his arrival.
"I...well, thanks."
"Friends?"
"...Friends," he replied, grinning.
He then closed his eyes, and Celestia saw that both their eyes were glowing underneath their eyelids. Luna trembled a bit, and he gritted his teeth. A few seconds later, she collapsed into his forelegs and he shook his head. The Doctor looked up, and saw Celestia smiling down on them.
"What?"
"Oh, nothing. It's just been a while since I've seen Luna in the arms of another stallion. Also, I like the accent," she giggled.
"Har har har, very witty," he said, blushing slightly, "and yes, I think I like it too. It sounds...exotic, yeah?"
"It certainly does," she replied, placing her sister on her back. After they walked out of the cell, and Celestia had set the glyphs into place, she turned to him while the platform rose to the surface.
"When you said you wouldn't care if I dropped you...what exactly did you mean?"
"...I meant I wasn't supposed to be here," he said, scratching his foreleg.
"Well you did crash into our planet, and no one expected you to...regenerate, was that it?" she asked, as they walked towards the exit. On the side, Cerberus stirred in his sleep.
"Well that's the thing; I wasn't supposed to regenerate."
"Really? Do tell," she said, as they stepped out of the prison.
"It's complicated, now what is that?! This is new and interesting," he said, gesturing at the shard, "I was in an underground complex protected by some guards in the middle of the desert and...what used to be a solid gate," he finished, titling his head sideways to look at the wreckage.
"Tartarus is the only prison in Equestria, Doctor, and we aim to keep it strong."
"...Tartarus, huh? How about that," he said while looking at a broken lock, then turned to her to see her horn glowing. "What are you doing?"
"Preparing our teleportation back to the castle. Luna and I need to rest, and you could use some sprucing up," she said, looking down at the shaggy-looking pony.
"Teleportation?! Oh, that is glorious! But wait, wait, wait," he shouted, waving his forelegs - which was a bit of an effort. "Before we do that, could we just...take a walk? It's a nice night, and I feel like walking."
She looked at him with a sad expression, then smiled softly.
"I don't see why not."
"Alrighty then!"
So the Doctor and the princesses took a walk, in a barren orange desert under a star speckled sky. A few minutes later, they were gone in a flash of golden light.
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While this is really cool, there is the official version from the show...
themindrobber.co.uk/gallery/Hurt3.png
Anyway, loved the chapter. Can't wait for the next one!
3985668 True, but that TARDIS desktop was born from the three Doctors being together, and we don't know what it looked like during the war. And even so, I'm free to do whatever I want in my story
I don't mean 'haha this is my story so I make the rules so fcuk you', I mean that these two fandoms are always changing and give a lot of creative freedom. So there
3985684
Fair enough.
On another note, I did like the opening flashback to the Time War - it's quite hard to do that well and you pulled it off magnificently.
3985736 Why thank you
Pease update
4189187 Christ, two months?! Time just flies by doesn't it?
I want to, but right now I'm in the middle of some exams and I've been lacking the motivation to write. Some of my exams end around the 15th of this month, so I'll complete the next chapter starting then.