Author's note: This chapter takes place right after the novel Engines of War, but with a couple differences. In my version, the War Doctor is young-middle aged rather than old, and the Tear of Isha destroys far more than 12 planets. Other than that, it's about the same. If you can't handle the change in Canon, just remember that time was constantly changing during the Time War. Spoilers if you haven't read Engines of War! Also, I was going to add the song "Dust Bowl Dance" by Mumford and Sons, but it wouldn't let me! At least the link is there.
The Warrior stood on the ruined surface of Moldox, one of the thousands of planets in the Tantalus Spiral. In the sky was the Tantalus Eye, a massive, colorful, inter-universal spatio-temporal anomaly at the center of the spiral. It looked like a colossal human eye made from an aurora, with time winds forming the iris.
When the Warrior was investigating the area, an ambush of Dalek stealth ships destroyed the entire 5th Time Lord Battle Fleet. Preda, his only friend for many years, was killed.
The Warrior's TARDIS was shot down and crashed on Moldox. The Warrior met a new companion. She was known as Cinder, and she was a human resistance fighter on the Dalek-occupied world. With her help, the Warrior found out that the Daleks had been mining temporal radiation from the Eye to power their newest De-mat guns. They were also building a giant De-mat gun to fire at Gallifrey and erase the Time Lords from history.
The Warrior had taken Cinder and a Dalek De-mat gun to Gallifrey to inform the Time Lords of the threat. Rassilon decided to deploy the Tear of Isha, a superweapon from the Omega Arsenal, to close the Eye and neutralize the Dalek threat. This would also have destroyed the entire Tantalus Spiral and all the worlds within.
When the Warrior and Cinder objected, Rassilon threw them in prison. They escaped and stopped the Time Lords. Upon learning of his escape, Rassilon sent Karlax to kill the Warrior. He failed, but did kill Cinder. After this, the Warrior left Karlax on the Dalek command station above the Tantalus Eye, then used Borusa, a Time Lord who was converted into a Possibility Engine by Rassilon, to destroy the Daleks in the Tantalus Spiral.
Now the Warrior was standing by the grave of Cinder, one of only two friends for a long time, while the other friend didn't even have a body to bury. Just atoms in space.
The War had claimed too many victims. Far too many lives across far too many worlds. It had to end, and it would not end with the current administration on Gallifrey.
The Warrior was not going to tolerate Rassilon's madness any longer. This was the day he drew the line. This was the day the Warrior stopped following that tyrant. He should have stopped following him a long time ago. Rassilon could not remain in power. If he did, then all of creation would go up in flames. The Warrior could not allow that, no matter what it took.
The Warrior returned to his TARDIS and opened a communications channel to Gallifrey. Rassilon was going to get a piece of his mind.
"Rassilon," the Warrior said, "I'm giving you one last chance. The time has come for you to step down. If you do not, I will be forced to remove you from office myself."
"I will never step down," Rassilon replied. "You cannot do anything to hurt me. It is my right to rule Gallifrey. I elevated my people from the dust. I mastered the secrets of time and space. I have worked too long and too hard on this world traitors and renegades such as yourself to destroy it!"
"I have worked to long and too hard on the universe for megalomaniacs and power-mad conspirators such as yourself to destroy it!"
"You are in no position to claim authority over me, Doctor. You have betrayed Gallifrey, your people, and me. You have disobeyed direct orders, flouting our laws and our security."
"You're the one who has flouted our laws and security," the Warrior shouted. "You tried to destroy our allies who could have helped us! You have threatened, manipulated, and corrupted the people of Gallifrey, just to build up your own ego and your own little empire! You have treated lives and civilizations that you should have held sacred with no respect at all! You have flagrantly spat on and abused the Laws of Time, causing paradoxes and mayhem all over reality, to hell with the consequences! I followed you because I thought that no matter how corrupt you were, you still were better than the Daleks. I was wrong! You have long since lost sight of all that is truly good and important! I You now represent everything that you once opposed! If you don't step down right now, I promise you I will do everything in my power to stop you and ensure that you are overthrown!"
The Warrior had never seen Rassilon so infuriated.
"YOU ARE A TRAITOR AND AN ENEMY OF THE TIME LORDS!" Rassilon was standing up and his face was as red as a Supreme Dalek.
"I NAME YOU THE EVIL RENEGADE! I WILL SEND EVERY LAST SCRAP OF MANPOWER I HAVE TO UTTERLY ANNIHILATE YOU FROM THE COSMOS! NO ONE WILL REST UNTIL YOU ARE DESTROYED! EVERY TIME LORD IN EXISTENCE WILL HOUND YOU UNTIL-"
The Warrior cut off the connection. He'd heard enough. This result was as much as he'd expected, but Rassilon needed to be told off. He'd still hoped, though, that there'd still be a spark of sanity left in him. Apparently not. The War had changed the Time Lords. The War was no longer a noble battle for them, just bloodlust and insanity. Evil fighting evil. The Time Lords were no longer the people the Warrior had liked to think of them as.
On Gallifrey, the Warrior, now called the Renegade, became public enemy number one. The reward for his capture or death soon exceeded that for the Dalek Emperor. However, now he would be a beacon of hope for those who knew better than to trust Rassilon.
As the Renegade flew away to find the other Temporal Powers, the last hope for saving the Time Lords, he knew two things. The first was that the Doctor was long dead. He could not have fought this War. He had tried to help, but creation had rejected him. His old oath was no longer relevant or meaningful in this new, cruel reality.
The second was that the Renegade had a new promise. He would end the War. He would put a stop to it, at any cost. He would save reality, no matter what. He wanted to save Gallifrey too, but if he couldn't, then so be it. He only had one obligation now. To restore peace and sanity. An obligation that was summed up in just two simple words:
"No more."
That's the end of part II! Please vote and post any questions, comments, or complaints! If you liked it, please read part III! Here is a link:
http://w.tt/1KSirwq
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The Last Great Time War: part II
FanfictionRealizing that he cannot run from the War any longer, the Doctor has rejected his name to become a warrior. He must take a stand and fight to save the universe from the conflict and horrors engulfing it. Fighting Daleks is now in his nature. But see...
