THE CHOICES OF A TIME LORD

Author note chapter 2 is now up, Please review.

Disclaimer. I dont own Doctor who the BBC refuse to let me own it.

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"We cannot be seen to interfere with affairs which do not concern us. That is everything we Time Lords stand for!" said Chancellor Flavia. "If we start interfering then where shall it end, child?"

Flavia spoke kindly to Erisa, who was on the verge of tears; not many did, as she was labelled a troublemaker by many among the High Council.

"Come here, child," said the Chancellor softly, looking down upon the agitated girl kneeling before her. "Do you understand what we are telling you?"

Erisa got to her feet, determined to stand up for what she believed in, just as the Doctor would. If the Doctor had taught her anything it was that no injustice should be allowed to pass if one could stop it, no matter how trivial.

"How do you sleep at night, when they are worlds out there in danger? You lot interfere only when it suits you," spat Erisa. "If you don't act, whatever the Time Lords stand for will be irrelevant! The worlds around us are being destroyed by the Daleks and if you don't do something..."

The Lord President took a deep breath. "Perhaps we made a mistake in allowing you freedom from Gallifrey and allowing you to travel with the Doctor," he hissed. "It is obvious he has brainwashed you."

"Brainwashed me! What the hell does that mean?" retorted Erisa angrily. "The Doctor has shown me a better way of life! You don't just give up, you don't just let things happen - you make a stand, you say no, you have the guts to do what's right! Compared to the Doctor you Time Lords are just cowards, running away, hiding behind your ancient rules and refusing to use your great powers for good!"

"Silence, child!" shouted the President in rage. "We will not interfere, do you hear me?"

"Tough, because I'm not doing what you say," replied Erisa.

"Enough. Perhaps some time in the Tower will give you some perspective."

"You can't make me, I'm a Time Lord not an outsider!"

"Then perhaps you should remember your training..."

"My training? The entire universe is in danger and you want me to remember my detachment training? I want to care, and so should you!"

"Should we? Take her to the Tower," growled the President He nodded curtly, and turned away.

Two guards stepped forward and grabbed Erisa by her arms, and began to drag her towards the exit. Erisa struggled bravely, kicking and scratching at the men, but to no avail. She spat at the Castellan who was leading the group, but to her surprise he didn't even flinch; the faces of the guards also remained expressionless despite her act of defiance. On closer inspection, she noticed that something was amiss with these three Gallifreyans - their faces were a little too pale and pasty, the grips on her arms were just a touch to strong, and their eyes seemed cold and lifeless.

Realisation dawned on Erisa, aided by her gift of vision: they weren't Time Lords at all but clones, possibly created by the Daleks infiltrate the society of their greatest enemy. She struggled with renewed vigour, and finally managed to break free of the grip of the guards and sprinted towards a crowd of Time Lords who had gathered to see what the commotion was about. They all parted as she ran past, except for one skinny man with spiked hair, doing his best to blend in. She recognised the future Doctor immediately, grabbed his hand and dragged him with her.

"Run!" she cried. The Doctor got the hint, but was still confused.

"What's going on?" he asked, hesitating.

"Time Lord clones, now come on!"

"What?"

"Come on!" she shouted, leading him towards the TARDIS bay. She pulled him into the TARDIS and quickly shut the door.

Her Doctor glanced up from the console, grinning. Erisa groaned.

"Now there's two of you... This is going to get very complicated," she muttered, looking at both Doctors.

"There you are Erisa!" said her Doctor, not noticing his future incarnation until he bumped into him.

"Terribly sorry," he said to the other as he made his way round the console, before quickly spinning on his heels to face the stranger on board again.

"Hmm," he said thoughtfully. "I'm the Doctor, that's Erisa, and just who might you be?"

"Yes you are! You are the Doctor. Brilliant!" said Ten, grinning from ear to ear.

"I... What?" asked Four, confused.

"Oh, I remember the big curly hair, the scarf, the big eyes... Mind you, I haven't seen that scarf in years, I'm sure Romana stole it."

"Oh no," muttered Four, stepping back.

"And here it comes," said Ten, glancing towards Erisa, who rolled her eyes.

"You're him!" cried Four.

"That's me!"

"The Master!"

"Wait, no, what?"

"Doctor, we don't have time for this," said Erisa, turning to the Doctor from the future.

"No, no, I'm not the Master, I'm..." said Ten, holding out his hands defensively. Four, however, had turned his attention to Erisa.

"Did you just call him 'Doctor'?" asked Four incredulously. Erisa nodded, and promptly decided to leave the two Doctors to sort themselves out.

"I'm you, you from the future!" said Ten, beaming.

"You what?" asked Four again. "I really should stop saying that. Anyway, if you are indeed me, why are you here?"

"To stop me, by which I mean you, from making a terrible mistake. If you do as the Time Lords ordered and go to Skaro, your actions will become the key to a war..."

"What happens? What war?"

"A Time War. Worlds are torn apart, billions lose their lives in an instant... And Gallifrey falls."

"Impossible. We have the strongest defence system in the universe! Not even a fully fledged Dalek army with all their friends could break through."

"I hate to tell you this but there are clones, probably Dalek ones, within the High Council itself," Erisa blurted out. "Who knows how many there are in the Citadel! I'm sorry Doctor, but Gallifrey is not safe." She looked at both Doctors but was met by silence.

"Doctor, please say something!" she said desperately, looking at Four who had turned away for a moment deep in thought.

Finally he turned to Erisa and asked, "What do you see happening?" Erisa shuddered and forced herself to close her eyes to relive her terrifying dreams.

"Everything falling, burning; countless people screaming; so much suffering and death. It's the end, there's no point to anything..." she whispered. "But it's in a period of flux as it stands right now. The future can change - what I see is but one possibility."

She turned to Ten. "What happens to us?"

"We survive," he replied quickly.

"What about me? Do I survive?"

"Yeah, 'course you do," lied Ten, shifting uncomfortably.

"Tell me," she asked, knowing the Doctor wasn't being honest with her. He sighed, and grasped her shoulders gently.

"You die by falling through the Void with the Daleks. Because of me." Erisa froze, and gripped his hands tightly. He didn't know if it was because of fear as her face remained expressionless. Finally, she spoke.

"Whatever happens to me, I will never blame you, not ever."

"Trust me, I won't let that happen to you. You are not going to die, because the Time War never happens and we are all where we are supposed to be."

"So that means I was left on Gallifrey and you went on travelling," muttered Erisa, then looked at Four. "Why would you do that?"

He refused to answer, turning his attention back to the console, and so she turned to the future Doctor.

"Well? Why?"

"I... I was ordered to return you to Gallifrey by the Time Lords," he replied, centuries of regret evident in his eyes.

"Well, I'll defy that order. They can't make me go back! I won't!"

"You can't fight the Time Lords, not really," said Ten.

"You did."

He shook his head. "It might've looked like it, but the reality was very different," he replied sadly. Erisa noticed for the first time the pain in his eyes, all the sorrow and loss that was his burden to carry.

"'Was'? What happened? Tell me what the Time Lords did," she asked. He didn't answer.

Erisa stepped in front of him, her arms folded, and looked directly into the eyes of the Tenth Doctor. Even Four looked up in curiosity.

"They were good, noble, but the War changed them," said Ten slowly.

"Into what?" asked Erisa.

"The War began to twist them, change them to the very core when they realised it could go on forever," he whispered. "I had to do it, Erisa. I ended the War, wiped out everything and everyone.

"I destroyed the Time Lords."

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