(no subject)

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor appears in mid-air, turned on his side as he aims a sonic blaster

when his shoulder slams into the stars, he looks more surprised than pained; slowly, cautiously, he sits up, examining the sudden change in scenery]

Well, I certainly wasn't expecting this.

[he keeps a firm grip on his weapon as he stands, but it stays at his side; his clothes are simple and elegant, save for the ragged tears and stains of blood

his body language is carefully casual; his expression is, at most, curiously bemused]

I will say it's a nice break from all the chaos and clamour.

Comments

I just intro'd him, but how can I resist??

[ninth_doctor]

[The Doctor looks over his younger counterpart.]

I didn't even use a sonic screwdriver when I was you. What're you doing with a blaster?

:D AW YEAH

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor arches a sceptical eyebrow] I can't say I enjoy it - guns are crass things, really - but I do like to keep a stock if I need it.

Are you quite sure - [but, slowly, that strange familiarity, that spark in the back of his mind, begins to grow]

You really are me, aren't you? In a matter of speaking.

XD

[ninth_doctor]

[A long stare, Dark!Him.]

Let me guess.... Watching... no... Adric?

[After all, things were never quite the same for that incarnation after Adric's death. And, well, worse after callously watching the Master burn. But this was fresh, like his own...]

[darkdoctor]

[something shifts in the Doctor's expression, so minutely most wouldn't notice it; the slightest tightening of his lips, the furrowing of his brow]

It hasn't been long.

[his voice is softer, now, absent of the casual affability he'd been affecting]

That has little to do with my current situation, however. [that, of course, is a lie; he would have spurred this frenzied revolution regardless, but there's really no need for him to be in the thick of it]

[ninth_doctor]

And what is my current situation?

[Oh, he'll still claim this Doctor as him. After all, they have a shared history up to... well Adric anyway. Perhaps this is the him that would become Lord Burner as Romana had mentioned when she recounted her visits to various Alternate Gallifreys.]

[darkdoctor]

[that draws a grim smile] Revolution, Doctor. It's rarely pleasant. [speaking to himself is always markedly odd, but if nothing else, he's adaptable]

[ninth_doctor]

War is hell, in any form.

[Long pause.]

So who are you revolting against?

[He sees the blood, instinctively knows it's not the Doctor's.]

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor regards him thoughtfully, for a moment, before answering]

The Morok Empire, at the moment. They've conquered Aractus, and they're up to their usual policies of enslavement and slaughter.

[ninth_doctor]

[He looks the other over pointedly.]

Lingerin' a bit aren't we? Usually about the time the blood is spilt is when we leave.

[darkdoctor]

[oh, he definitely arches his eyebrows at that] Is it really? That seems dreadfully irresponsible.

[ninth_doctor]

[His expression darkens a bit.]

Depends on the situation, of course.

[Sometimes he can't leave - sometimes he's the one who causes the blood to be spilt. He shudders to clear his mind of Gallifrey burning.]

[darkdoctor]

And what situations deserve our presence?

[ninth_doctor]

"Deserve"? I don't know that any deserve it...

[Not anymore. He's done enough - saved the Whole of Creation and now he's done.]

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor frowns, affecting a concerned expression] Come now, you can't think like that. How many lives have we saved, how many worlds have we changed? And they still need us.

[ninth_doctor]

And how many more lives have been destroyed? How many worlds are lost, in the end?

[He huffs, getting far more worked up about this than he intended. A flicker of the Oncoming Storm appears.]

They're better off without!

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor is cool and calm in the face of his anger, voice smooth and stern] We can't save everyone, Doctor. We never could. That hardly means it's not worth trying. If anything...we ought to ensure their sacrifice is not in vain.

[ninth_doctor]

[The Doctor rolls his eyes at that.]

You wouldn't say that if you knew what I know....

[...If he had done what he had done.]

[darkdoctor]

[quietly, but with stark resolve] I can think of nothing that would deter me from changing the universe for the better.

[ninth_doctor]

[He chuckles, but it's not a pleasant sound.]

Oh, so young and naive. Wish I could go back to those days.

[He pauses and his expression turns rather dark.]

Changin' it for the better is fine. Living with the changes is another thing entirely.

[darkdoctor]

[the Doctor has been called many things by those who truly know him, but that - well, that's a first, and his laugh is almost genuine]

I do nothing else, Doctor.

[the laughter fades from his features, leaving something grim and weary; another pretence, in its way, but there's sincerity to it, and the weight in his words]

Tell me - do you know what it's like to send children to die? To command good people to commit atrocities in the name of a better world? To comfort those left behind?

[ninth_doctor]

[And that presses a button and being the competitive guy he is, he replies.]

Do you know what it is to be the sole survivor of the Last Great Time War?

[There's a long look. He knows he was smart even back then and he's depending on his younger self to work it out.]

[darkdoctor]

[his eyes widen at that; there are very few races that can wage wars of time, and even if his own wasn't involved, they were known to intervene

it's not difficult, then, to realise what he's not saying

his voice is soft, almost stunned, as he says]

Gallifrey is gone.

[ninth_doctor]

[Nine doesn't realize the tear that slips down his cheek at Five's soft tone.]

By my hand... [Then he realizes the tears and swipes angrily at them and pulls himself together.] ...To spare the Whole of Creation. Any other questions?

[Nine has done far worse than anything Five can dream of in the name of "Saving others."]

[darkdoctor]

[his voice is gentle as he steps forward] No. Merely a statement.

You did what needed to be done, Doctor. It doesn't make you a monster. The best of them...would have understood.

[the best of them; there's a sudden, aching emptiness in his chest, and he loathes the vulnerability of it, even as he allows it to bleed into his words]

You - know for certain you're the only survivor?

[ninth_doctor]

[He taps the side of his head.] Silence.

[He pauses and offers the only bit of hope he clings to.]

And... the Daleks... finally.