Ficlet: Warrior

[dbskyler]

Title: Warrior
Rating: All ages
Characters: The War Doctor
Word count: 336
Summary: He was a warrior now.
Spoilers: Night of the Doctor Mini Episode
Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction, offered freely. Doctor Who and all characters belong to the BBC.
A/N: Written for who_contest. Prompt: Label.



He was a warrior now.

That's what Ohila had promised, holding out her chalice of regeneration brewed from the Elixir of Life. He was a warrior created from a potion of life; that was ironic. He would laugh, but he didn't think warriors laughed at things like that.

As the pain of regeneration passed, he raised his head. The first thing he saw with his new eyes was Cass' body laid out on the rock before him. A stab of a different type of pain went through him, a wave of grief for the life he hadn't been permitted to save. Automatically, he reached out to caress her face, then wondered at himself for doing so. Was this how a warrior acted? Who was he now? He was a new man, but what kind of a man?

He felt different, but not different enough, and that frightened him. He had expected to become a person who would want to join the Time War, someone who could do what was needed without regard for the destruction left in his wake. Shouldn't a warrior care only about winning the war? It seemed he was not to be so fortunate.

He lifted an ammunition belt from the body — no, not from the body; from Cass —and fastened it around his torso. He had a promise to keep, and it didn't matter that he wasn't as warlike as he had expected to become. No longer could he remain on the sidelines; however he felt about it, whoever he was now, he would go to war. And, perhaps, that in itself was enough to justify his being called a warrior.

He tried to see his reflection in the nearest surface, tried to learn what this new warrior looked like, but the image that stared back at him was blurred. All was uncertain; the universe itself stood on the brink. There was only one thing he knew, one clear fact for him to carry into this regeneration, into battle:

"Doctor no more."

Comments

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, this was sad and perfect and...

Thank you...

*HUGS*

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading and commenting. The War Doctor definitely had the hardest regeneration, didn't he?

[thisbluespirit]

Oh, very good! This is excellent. (Poor War!Doctor!)

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Thanks. And yes, I think he had a hard time right from the start.

[alumfelga.livejournal.com]

Fanfiction often makes me like elements of the show I'm not convinced of, and the War Doctor seems to follow that pattern. In the show, he looks like a substitution for the Ninth but you made him an actual person, a unique version of the Doctor. The Doctor and the warrior. Labels. Not so easy to judge him when he's both...

Thanks for sharing!

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I've had the same experience with fanfic. I'm flattered that this managed to bring the War Doctor to life as his own incarnation for you.

[scripsi.livejournal.com]

Oh, I really like this! I guess he will have to learn to be a warrir, just as he has to re-learn being the Doctor after a regeneration.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) I think the War Doctor is a very interesting character, and I would love to see some of his adventures during the Time War, but I suspect we'll never get them.

[paynesgrey.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, fantastic introspection and characterization here. Splendid job.

[dbskyler.livejournal.com]

Thanks!