Ch3: In too Deep

● Gallifrey
With the Original Doctor

The Doctor gulped as he stood before the council of Gallifrey.

"Doctor." Rassillion growled his chosen name, "You stand accused of the highest crime against our planet's doctrine. Not only multiple counts of vast manifestation of the Timestream, for your own selfish desires, but also telling non-Gallifreyians your true name. For these crimes you are sentenced to forced regeneration. In the hope your next face views your actions as the crimes they are. Do you have anything to say on your behalf?"

The Doctor stood silent a moment then stood tall, looking out at the crowd who gathered to see his execution. Most of them wanting to see him escape, but he had something to protect, "I am guilty. Guilty of believing I could ignore the cruel indifference Gallifrey has become compliance in. I have witnessed other worlds and seen the terrors inflicted on them. At first it was a game. Flaunting our beliefs for no other reason then I could... but I see now. It is our responsibility to act... those with power should protect those without. Otherwise, what is the point."

Rassillion sneered, "Doctor! That sounds dangerously close to a desire to start a riot." The man looked to someone in the audience.

The Doctor turned his own eyes to look... to see his mate in the stands. The Doctor sighed, understanding the threat, "I am guilty." The Doctor insisted, "Now let's get this over with."

Rassillion raised his mechanical glove, pointing it at the man, and clenched his fist.

The Doctor screamed as he felt himself die... yet no one took his place. He collapsed to the floor, dead. Not even the slightest trace of regeneration energy.

The last thing he heard, was his mate screaming his name.

No one could figure out what happened to his regeneration energy. Why had he died? Yet they didn't have time to think on it... as the sky burned regeneration gold.

● TARDIS
With the 10th Doctor

"Time is not a straight line from 'A' to 'B'. It is more like a big ball of yarn, with trillions of intersecting strings in the form of moments. The various strings shift and change to be whatever but there are key moments that are fixed. Moments that must always happen the same way where the rest of the strains change. These fixed points ensure the ball remains stable so that the rest can change at the pleasure of sentient lifeforms' free will. You follow?" The Doctor asked as Danny stood by the console, appreciating his crash course in the secrets of the universe.

The immortal teen eagerly nodded, taking notes.

The Doctor smiled, "However there is some wiggle room, even in fixed points. So long as the key event itself happens, you can fix a fix a few things yourself. But that is extremely dangerous if you don't know what your doing.

"The Time Vortex keeps all this in check, not moving in any traditional sense of time. However, with the constant changing of history the Vortex must change as well. The Time Vortex goes through it's own cycle, like an orbit but tracking the movements of all of recorded history as they happen simultaneously. Time Lords measure and predict these cycles and call them 'Years' by their own 'Vortex Calendar'.

Gallifrey, the home planet of my people, was trapped on an exposed rift in time. Making the years of Gallifrey match the years of the universe's true age. However, outside Gallifrey, Time Lords age by more traditional years, unbound by the Vortex Calendar. Still, like all lifeforms, they do not mature at the same rate. It can take approximately 42 Earth years for a Time Lord to age 1, as they take "reverse dog years" to the extreme. Well our congestive powers mature more quickly then humans, our maturity actually develops slower then humans.

"Billions of years could pass for us but on Gallifrey only a single moment would have passed... or a billion years happen on Gallifrey and only a moment passes for us. You see time doesn't exactly correlate with Vortex cycles, yet they are consistent from their point of view.

"As a result of this confusion, Time Travel is reserved for only the most mentally sound and powerful psychics of Gallifrey-"

"and why the Doctor had to steal his TARDIS." Donna snarked as she stepped into the room.

"OI! Teaching here!" The Doctor mock glared.

"But why are you teaching him about Gallifrey?" Donna wondered, "I thought you said that place burned."

The Doctor got serious, "It did... in our universe, or rather, our former universe. When we went to see Harry the sky was burning yellow. It wasn't just a reflection of the fire around the house. It was because our reality split apart from the hole and we become our own pocket dimension. That happens from time to time. Unlike interdimensional travel, or temporary pocket dimensions, this universe is stable and whole. I've tested it, measured it. Who are in a stable pocket universe, with approximately 1000 galaxies orbiting a black hole, the scare tissue of the explosion that created us... and in this reality... Gallifrey is still out there.

Donna gasped, "Would... would you like to visit it?"

"More then anything," the Doctor confessed, his face sad and serious, but then he hopped all smiles again, "But why would we want to do that when we could show Danny, first hand, how you save people in a fixed point." Without risking argument, he pulled the lever.

The TARDIS shook violent for a moment, then when it stopped, Donna's worry began to grow.

"Your actively trying to fight a fixed point! At Pompeii you were actively doing everything you could to get out of there!!!"

"Then you taught me something important." The Doctor looked at her, but soon his eyes turned to Danny. The alien passed down human Wisdom, "If you can't save everyone, save someone. Today is a horrible day... the day a village of my descendants is massacred and brought to near extinction. We can't save them, not all of them. This is a fixed point and they must die. But I'll be damned if I let children with my blood die a brutal death at the hands of Fanatics... there is a harsh lesson for heroes Danny. You can't save everyone. If you try you will rupture a hole in the Space time continuum and our new dimension will fall apart. But just because you can't save everyone doesn't mean you can't save someone. Today we are saving the children, as many as you can, ignore everyone else or you'll doom all of reality."

Danny... gulped...

"Doctor," Donna tried, "Sure this isn't too harsh of a first lesson?" He's just a boy."

"He'll always be a boy, but because of his Ghostly Obsession he's also a hero." Turning to Danny, "You've never played for keeps, but these people are... let's go."

The Doctor walked over to the door and pulled them open, revealing fire and death.

Danny flew through the burning village as an invisible phantom. Seeing humanoid creatures killing other humanoids. He didn't know how to process this. The Doctor was out here to, searching houses. Donna and Danny had separated from him to search for children.

He had saved a few so far, leaving them in the TARDIS.

Danny gaped as he saw a teenage girl fall to the ground, her skinny body and red hair reminded Danny of... Jazz...

A man standing over her with a bloody sword. He had no mercy in his eyes as he raised the blade to give a final blow.

Danny jumped into action. He dove in front of the blade and felt it slice into him... but it didn't hurt. Mortal weapons couldn't injure him in this form. The blade sliced into and and his body formed around it like some kind of goo until it got stuck inside him. The man's eyes widened as Danny turned visible.

Danny's green eyes sparked red as he snatched the sword out of the man's hand and pulled it out of his body leaving no injuries behind. Next thing Danny knew the sword was plunged into the solider's heart. Blood spurted from his mouth and in that moment Danny realized what he done. He killed the man.

A dark voice in the back of the boy's head insisted that it was for the best. This man was a murderer. He was going to kill a child without a second thought. He deserved to die. While the hero side of him screamed, saying he was supposed to save lives, not take them. The sides warred with each other until the girl brought him back with her voice.

"You saved me," She choked, as Danny watched her hand turn blue and clutch her wound. The energy began to heal the wound, "Thank you."

That was right... he saved her... saved her. He saved her by killing a bad man. He felt something in him... twist...

Once the wound was closed she stood up, with his assistance. "You a Shinobi? I don't recognize your those Jutsus."

"I'm..." Danny took a moment to gather himself, "I'm with the Doctor."

She tensed, her eyes widening, "He's real? I mean he really here? God has come to save us?"

● Equus

Twilight smiled as little peach winged monkey grabbed at her hoof. Spike cooed and giggled, as he spoke. It wasn't quite words, more like he was projecting feeling and thoughts. He was happy she was playing with him.

The other babies could care less but this one... this one loved her after only a day.

"I think your my favorite," Twilight whispered... immediately Naruto started crying well Harry laughed at him.

Twilight groaned at what she caused

● Uzumaki Village.

Donna pooled into the dark matter in her body. It infected her since the day she meet the Doctor. With it she threw energy balls at murderers and held others in stasis fields.

She ran through the school, to find the children were being evacuated through secret tunnels.

"Donna Noble," a Woman gasped seeing her, "It's you, it's really you!"

Donna blinked, "You know me?"

The young woman smiled as the children cowered behind her, her fellow teachers just as scared.

"You're a servant of our god," the woman.

"Oi, I'm nobodies servant."Donna snapped, "And ignoring the fanatic Doctor Worship I need to get you lot out of here."

The woman insisted, "These tunnels,"

"They know about the tunnels!" Donna repeated what the Doctor told her, "There is an army of magic ninjas waiting at the exit!"

The teachers began to murmur at each other.

"I'm here to save you lot," Donna insisted.

The woman eyed, "Are you? Are you really? This is a fixed point, we all sense it. Are you really telling me the Doctor sent you out here to change it?"

Donna sighed, "He might have just wanted... wanted to save the children. The rest of you are on your own."

The woman smiled at that, "He always did have a soft spot for children." She turned to the teachers, "We need to give them time to escape." The teachers stiffened in fear at the implication of that, "It's what Lord Uzumaki wants. Be thankful he is getting the kids out." They gained a strange determination at that.

"KIDS!" She called through the crowd of dozens of children, maybe hundreds, "Follow the nice Celestial to the Doctor's TARDIS." She turned to Donna, "Mito."

Donna blinked, "You what?"

"My name, it's Mito. Tell the Doctor to look me up. I'll be seeing you." With that she turned. The teachers and staff followed after her, leaving Donna alone with the children.

"Let's go," Donna forced herself to say and the kids followed. None of them appeared older then 12.

She brought dozens of children to the TARDIS, Where Danny was waiting with dozens more. The kids were sitting around the TARDIS, all crying. He didn't seem to know what to do.

The teenagers were helping take care of the younger ones. A few of them were using Ninja magic to heal the injured.

Danny stood tall, looking over them. He seemed... different... he looked the same but he held himself differently.

Donna opened her mouth, but the TARDIS Doors opened again as the Doctor walked in. There were a few babies floating around him as he held out his Sonic screwdriver. He waved the wand like device about and the babies floated inside. Some of the teenagers gently took them out of the air and walked off with them.

"I thought you said your wand wasn't magic," Donna teased.

The Doctor gaped, "It's not! Alright so it can do magic but most of it involve using sonic vibrations to-"

"Magic," Donna grinned.

"Not Magic," the Doctor pouted, "Magic is for priest. I gave it up a long time ago." He insisted, "Nasty habit."

Danny spoke up, "How many people could you save with it?"

The Doctor frowned, "The end doesn't always justify the means. Magic often makes things worse then better."

Danny felt something twist in him again. Just a tiny pinch in his soul. Part of him agreed with the Doctor, while another denied it.

"Well kids" The Doctor smiled, looking at the Uzumaki children, "Let's find you a safe place to live."

"Doctor!" Donna hissed in the alien's ear, "Please tell me you don't intend to leave a heard of children out on their own!"

The Doctor blinked, "Well the older ones can look out-"

"No! Their coming with us. You wanted to take care of your orphans. Well I hate to break it to you." She motioned at the kids, all staring at them. "You can't think to abandon them now! You saved them, that makes them your responsibility! They need us! It's not like the TARDIS isn't big enough!"

The Doctor gulped, looking around. Their must be near a hundred kids. He sighed, "I really didn't think this through."

"Are you going to do the gene thingy," Danny asked.

The Doctor's eyes widened.

"Doctor..." Danny tried to explain. "I'm one of 2 beings like me in the universe... giving your kids their own proper species... it could be the best thing you could ever do for them. Plus these kids are your descendants as well. Why don't you want to keep them around for just as long as the other kids?"

The Doctor sighed, "Gene splicing them like that had been an accident."

"Like how I was an accident." Danny looked up at him. There was something in the boy's eyes. "I would give anything if their was more of me then just Vlad..." the boy trailed off.

The Doctor looked at all the children, scared and sad. He sighed.