The End of the Universe (Doctor Who fanific)

Chapter 14: Epilogue (Epic-logue:))

A/N Surprise epilogue! I'm really glad everyone's been enjoying this, thanks for reading and reviewing :)

The War Doctor lingered, contemplating the new universe. Or, rather, the old one reborn. It seemed a shame that he wouldn't see it. Leave it to...well, himself, to time-lock the war, and he couldn't even pretend he didn't understand why. He knew perfectly well, and was more than willing to sacrifice his chance to travel the universe in order to keep it safe. He thought of his final self, feeling a kinship with him. He'd made an impossible choice, and done it for the best of reasons. The War Doctor closed his eyes, hoping he would never have to make such a choice. He sighed and put a hand in his pocket, pulling out the small hard drive Twelve had surreptitiously given him when they had shaken hands.

"Time to be going, don't you think?" he asked the TARDIS, setting the coordinates for Gallifrey. He could tell, as any Time Lord would, that the time streams would be kept open for him to return to the war, in spite of the time lock. Seeing this...his successors, the universe they would help to begin, the War Doctor tried to think of returning to the war as his duty. His part to play in keeping the cosmos safe. It would be worth it, in the end, but it was the living through it that he wasn't sure he could do. The others, they were all returning to their friends, their wanderings among the stars. He wanted more than anything to just slip away, to travel the universe, but knew he couldn't

None of them had to return to what he did, the War Doctor thought in a rare moment of bitterness. He sighed and pushed the button to go, slipping Twelve's hard drive into the console. He had to have passed this on for a reason. Might as well see what was on it; it might make the difference to the war effort. The War Doctor winced, feeling himself return to battle plans and war tactics. He had so enjoyed the rest.

Suddenly, Twelve's face appeared on screen. "Hello!" he said.

"We've only just said goodbye," the War Doctor answered.

Twelve rolled his eyes, "If you answered me - and you must have, you're me - I can't hear you. But, I gave this to you for a reason." His gaze onscreen became more intense, glaring down at the War Doctor, who wondered briefly if this was what his life, specifically his, caused in his successors. Twelve went on, his voice lowering. "You're the one returning to Gallifrey."

"Yes?" the War Doctor said. "Although right now it doesn't look as if there'll be a Gallifrey for much longer."

"You're probably saying something about how Gallifrey might not have much time left," Twelve said. "I'm you, remember? I know how you think. You won't remember this, so write this down."

"Why would I pay attention to something I know I'm not going to remember?" The War Doctor asked, but he wrote a note in the TARDIS's memory circuits anyway.

"Gallifrey falls," Twelve said simply, cutting him off. "The war is lost. Both sides lose" The War Doctor caught his breath. He failed. In his one purpose.

"Sorry to be so rough about it, I don't have a lot of time," Twelve went on. "For a while I thought I could find it. Gallifrey. It wasn't destroyed, although I spent a lot of time thinking it was. Anyway, I thought I could find it. Except I couldn't. Don't worry, I knew how this was going to end. I always did. I remember it. The combined memories of Twelve lives is enough to break the safeguards around the First Rule."

"Oh, just get on with it!" the War Doctor snapped.

"Right! Time limit," Twelve said. He snapped back to attention. "Anyway, if you're watching this, you have the hard drive from the TARDIS matrix. I downloaded my brain wave pattern onto it."

"Oh!" the War Doctor said. Exactly the way dying Time Lords preserved their knowledge and memories for future generations on Gallifrey, only using the TARDIS memory circuits instead.

"I did it before I got here. You're the one returning to Gallifrey," Twelve continued. "Take it back there. Take it home, for me. So my memories won't die with me. Maybe they'll do Gallifrey some good, if anyone ever manages to find it."

The War Doctor looked at the screen shrewdly. It might do Gallifrey some good even before that. The experiences of all the Doctors might just be enough to tip the balance in favor of the Time Lords.

"I don't want my life experiences to disappear when I'm gone," Twelve continued. "I have too many of them, somebody should get some use out of them. And that's it, my time is up. I'll see you in person soon enough. And, Doctor, thank you." The image cut out and faded to black.

"I will," the War Doctor said to the blank screen. "Thank you, Doctor. You just might give us the chance we need." He set the coordinates, his step lighter than it had been in years. He could hardly wait to see the Council's faces when he revealed what he had brought back. Gallifrey's most famous son, returning home. And the future generations of Time Lords, if there were any, who would benefit from the knowledge he was bringing back. It might just usher in a new age for the Time Lords. It all depended on him. The War Doctor steeled himself.

He wasn't about to let Gallifrey down. Or let himself down. He was the Doctor, after all. And he would never, ever, give up.