Ch6: Think of the Children

● The Vault, in the TARDIS,
With The 12th Doctor,
Shortly After the Beginning of the Universe.

"No." Missy glared. "I refuse."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter," The Doctor smirked. "Besides, I thought you would be thrilled to learn you're legitimately immortal," he teased.

"I am NOT an angel!" Missy glared. "Do you have any idea how humiliating that would be! I would need to get a harp and one of those ridiculous white robes. Not to mention a fluffy cloud to sit on!"

"You've been watching too much human television," The Doctor scolded.

"Well whose fault is that?!" Missy's glare never left her face. "It wasn't enough you had to turn me good. You had to turn me into a literal Celestial. Shame on you."

"It's not my fault."

"Of course it is. How much you want to bet whatever splinter the universe was directly your fault!"

The Doctor frowned. "I suppose it is rather likely isn't it?... Bill is rather excited about being an angel," he not so subtly changed the subject and Missy decided to allow it.

"Of course she would be," Missy scoffed. "You've granted a mayfly near immortality. I'm sure that will work out wonderfully."

"I did not!" The Doctor insisted.

"So is there another Bill running around the university now. Since you turned this one into a time abnormality I image there is another running about."

The Doctor sighed. "I'm not the only one who was written out of history. So were the companions traveling with me at the time of my previous regenerations. Well all my incarnations got erased and ascended into elder gods... their current companions got erased when they ascended into Celestials. None of them were every born. Good thing they didn't have families or that could have gotten messy for the space time continuum. My former companions, the ones that were no longer traveling with me, still exist... but they never met any of my incantations in this reality.

"The 11th Doctor, for example, was supposed to regenerate into me just before becoming aware of the Clara Echoes. But that adventure never happened for him. Nor did any of the ones after. The universe completely reset without knowing any of us. Then they all wrote themselves back into a new history. None of them are really me anymore, of course. I mean they are, in the sense that were are all fragments of the same soul, but they all exist simultaneously instead of one after the other. Since this dimension was born a week ago, from my perspective, I haven't really had time to leave my own mark... want to help with that?"

Missy blinked. "Are you finally inviting me to do the good guy thing with you? Letting me out of this box?"

"Well you are a literal angel now." The Doctor smirked. "I suppose if the universe believes your reformation so should I."

Missy smiled, then sighed. "What about my other faces? Was I never born either?"

"From what I can determine, instead of not being born it's just your current regeneration that has been erased. You got splintered off him like I was from all my regenerations. Only it was solely you and all your other regenerations stayed as one person. Probably because only you traveled with me in this TARDIS... and the fact you ascended means you were most definitely an ally of mine when I was supposed to regenerate this time. It's why I know I can trust you... to an extent...

"You'll be happy to know The current master is the first master, still out there living his life on Gallifrey, looking forward to raising his son well missing his mate. What happens after that I can't find. As you know, with the rip in the space time continuum Gallifrey is parked on, makes it difficult to look into the past or future of the planet. It's always in correlation with the Time Vortex's cycles. Making time travel near impossible as well."

"Since the universe is young, so is Gallifrey. It's only been a few months by the Vortex Calendar. The universe appears to have begun when I was executed, but instead of regenerating all of my incarnations splintered off into their own separate entities scattered across the cosmos, while my original face died permanently... Gallifrey isn't even aware that is what happened yet. They think it was a botched execution, where they accidentally killed the condemned."

Missy smirked. "Forced regeneration is an odd definition of 'execution' but seeing as Gallifrey didn't actually have a death penalty back then it was the worst they could do. I don't imagine a Time Lord dying on the block is very appreciated by the people." Missy shook her head. "Gallifrey may very well be destined to go through their little Civil War even without you... and Theta Sigma will die as she always does. Truthfully, I can't imagine a reality where our daughter lived."

"HE, was born a boy. You know how much of a chip on his shoulder he had about his gender."

"She got that from you. Your mutt blood confused her." Missy rolled her eyes.

The Doctor sighed. "Regardless, I hope he lives a full life, and doesn't involve himself in a war the worst of Gallifrey is destined to win. Hopefully, without me there, he won't try to destroy himself while following in my footsteps."

"... It wasn't your fault."

The Doctor stiffened, looking up at Missy.

"I realized that almost immediately upon regenerating. Each face gains a new perspective of our memories and I almost immediately started to... to miss my friend. I even felt my first taste of shame in thousands of years for turning my back on my mate... I'm happy to learn my current face will always keep my new perspective... I needed someone to blame after the death of our daughter... I could have blamed the High Council for their war but instead I took the less rational route... I want to start again."

The Doctor stared at her for near a full minute in silence. "Missy? You have no idea how much I want that to be true."

"Still you doubt me." Missy frowned. "Or is it you don't believe your worthy of forgiveness."

"Can't it be both?" The Doctor gave a sad smile.

Missy gently took his hands. "I forgive you, Doctor. Now it's time you forgave yourself. It is most unbecoming of a god to sulk so."

The Doctor groaned. "Is that going to be a running joke for you?"

"I appreciate the irony, is all. In the old universe there were entire civilizations that worshipped you while you screamed at them to stop. Now you're the thing you always hated. Excuse me if I still take a little pleasure from your misery." Missy smiled.

"I'm not a god," The Doctor insisted. "Even if I am one by technicality, I refuse to accept that role. I intend to help, like I have always done. I'm just, and will always be, a madman in a box."

● Elemental Prime,
with the Time Tots

Goku marvelled as he left the TARDIS. He was standing on the top of a small mountain in the middle of a lake. Then the lake was in the center of a large compound, surrounded by a large 12 foot wall. Several TARDISes could be seen down the roads within the walls... though they seemed... off. They were mostly brown but came in various colors... and looked to be embedded into a foundation.

"They aren't real TARDISes," Naruto helpfully supplied. "Just bigger on the inside houses. They each have a huge estate with lots of fruit trees and nuts growing wild, but also huge grass lands and a giant mansion in front of all of it. Each of the kids got one."

"WE DO!?" Goku gaped.

Naruto snorted. "Not us. I mean the Uzumaki clan. When we were still babies the Doctor used his TARDIS to go back in time and save all the children from the attack that wiped out their village. From what Danny says lots of the adults of the clan sacrificed themselves so that their children could live. The Doctor wasn't able to save anyone else though because of timelines, and paradox stuff, and something about fixed points. The adults knew that... so they didn't even ask him to save them. They just thanked him for getting the children out, according to Danny.

"Then Daddy brought all the Uzumaki kids up here to Konoha and built them this compound, where he has been looking out for them ever since. They don't have time travel machines or future alien tech but they do have secret clan Jutsus they are teaching us, cool timey wimey stuff.

"See that large white building? The one with the gold dome for a roof?"

Goku looked to here Naruto was pointing. It was near the back of the village, where a lot of big buildings were.

"That is a Hyperbolic Time Chamber, also know as the Uzumaki training grounds. It leads to this huge endless white room. A day out there is an entire year in there. The further out there you go the heavier the gravity gets. It's insane! All the kids used to training in their for months and it only be a few hours out here in the real world. But the Clan Elders put a stop to that when they looked in the mirror and realized they really WERE elders after nearly a full real world month of training in there. Even with all the weird gene stuff he did to them."

"Gene stuff?" Goku's head was spinning.

"We were an accident, a gene therapy thingy gone wrong. But he purposefully turned the Uzumaki clan into our new species, so we wouldn't be alone.

"He did alter them a little so they don't age like us. It takes us like 42 years to age one! Is how we are able to cram so much stuff together and barely age at all. Daddy made it so that the Uzumaki clan age the normal way for their first life. Then when they regenerate they turn back into their prime and start aging the Time Lords way. Daddy didn't do that for us because we live with him and he wanted to keep us around for as long as possible. At least that is what he says. Personally I think he just didn't think of it.

"Still, Daddy made us our own proper species so we wouldn't feel lonely. He even did the same thing to himself. The humanoids here just think of all their weird hybrid traits as nothing more then a very powerful bloodline trait. They have all the special powers unique to our clan. They don't even have to go potty like most humanoids do.

"Donna!" The Doctor called to the boys favorite aunt, "Can you watch over the kids? I need to run an errand."

● Earth,
Year 5 billion

Jack sighed as he watched the Earth burn. The sun began to expand and consumed the Earth with it. It was... a difficult sight to watch.

Jack was billions of years old, yet he looked just the same as he always did. Even dressed in the same World War 2 coat.

"Lord Boekind," A humanoid tree stepped beside him. For a moment all Jack could do was think about how beautiful she was. However the sight of the dying Earth prevented him from acting on it, out of respect.

"Forest of Jabe," Jack acknowledged but didn't look away from the burning planet.

"Where is your Entourage?" Asked the tree, "Do they not wish to see the Earth's final moments."

"They are just having trouble accepting it." Jack sighed, "We have been protecting this planet since the first fish stepped out of the water... it was hard enough to leave the first time when humanity evacuated the planet... to see the world itself actually die... it's more then some of them can handle."

The Sapient tree nodded, "I never knew what it was like to walk the Earth, but this is where my people evolved. Where so many species evolved. Most lifeforms can trace their lineage to a human that travelled this world. All because your people,"

"We never publicly revealed ourselves to the humans, not until the Supernova that forced us to evacuate their people. Although they always had rumors of us... and the Doctors. I'm a little shocked they aren't here... We were kinda hoping to finally meet them."

"The Doctors Guild," Jabe awed at the concept, "Every planet in the universe has a story about being found by one of the fragments. I admit, as a child... I dreamed about being chosen as on of his companions."

"That usually doesn't end well for them." Jack finally turned his eyes to her.

"But it be worth it." Jabe insisted, "Just to meet a Doctor would be well worth all the horrors."

"Oi! Not everywhere I go has horrors."

Jack froze, recognizing that voice.

He turned to spot the man from his dreams. The man from a reality that never was, "Nice wings." Jack smiled looking the wings up and down. The back was covered in blue scales while the under side was made up of short brown fur. The Doctor even had a monkey like tail with dragon like spines.

"OI! Eyes up here!" The Doctor mock scolded.

"Have you come to watch the end of the world?" Jack smiled, as Jabe tried to form words looking at him.

"Actually..." the Doctor scratched the back of his head, "I have come for my companions. If you would like to come with me."

Jack smiled, then said something unexpected, "No."

The Doctor deflated.

"But I will tell you where we are supposed to meet." Jack informed.

The Doctor groaned, "Paradoxes, can never get away from Paradoxes."

"It's not just that." Jack looked back at the Earth, "Boekind are a proper race now. There are billions of us in our own private mega system... I can't leave them. But younger me... he is in desperate need of comfort."

The Doctor frowned, "What happened?"

"One moment I was saving the universe from a reality bomb... the next I was in an entirely different dimension where I was never born. My Torchwood team never met me and were living happy lives without my interference. Torchwood was never founded in the first place. I had memories have an entire life that never happened... you can imagine how I coped."

The Doctor groaned, "You always were a bit of a booze hound when depressed."

Jack chuckled, "The others are fairing no better then myself. Some tried to contact their former families only to be rejected as raving lunatics. I'll give you the coordinates to all of us, but Doctor... we can't give you what you need. They are like me now. We are immortals. We can't think like mortals... you need someone by your side that will guide you through human values... or things will go very badly for all of us."

"I have my kids for that,"

● Elemental Prime
With the Time Tots

Goku's days were busy for a big boy of 7... but in many ways he was shocked he was only 7. When the Doctor modified him he made sure the boy aged like his brothers instead of their clan. The Doctor had been measuring how carefully the boys aged in relation to the worlds he visited a lot more carefully since the boys started school (which was soon after Goku joined them). As well as packing full their daily schedule.

Goku spent a lot of his free time on the training grounds, sparing with his brothers. First thing, after the morning rituals were complete, the boys ran off to the infinite white room train, for a few hours that was really only a few seconds in the real world. They all loved training, pushing each other to be better.

Once that was over they started their day on Elemental Prime. The planet's entire day but just the start for them. 12 hours at Shinobi Academy. THEN another 4 hours running around playing / training with the Shinobi children at the Konoha playground and around the village. Then they went to visit Grampa Hokage for 8 hours while all the other kids were sleeping.

Afterwards they spent their afternoon in 1600th century London. So he and his brothers could be privately tutored in wand style spell casting with their own Sonic Screwdrivers, by the instructors Queen Liz found for them. That took about 8 hours. They took lots of breaks for that and spent those playing with Queen Liz. Harry thought daddy fancied her, and insisted the feelings must be mutual. They spent an additional 12 hours learning various magical crafts: potions, runes, and enchantments. 4 hours were devoted to each. Again with lots of breaks for Liz time.

Then they spent another 16 hours following Twilight Sparkle around her school. They followed her to all her classes, in the various sciences as well as magic, and Celestia even enrolled them in her school properly. The boys couldn't actually use unicorn magic so they stook to magical theory, crafting, and the sciences well at that school. Dad said Ponies knew almost as much about science as Time Lords! Probably because they had 3 pony Doctors taking a special interest in the planet... who didn't seem to care about teaching the entire planet scientific theories and magical enchantments. Starswirl was the worst of them.

Anyway, The boys were study buddied with Twilight, spending most of their time studying and doing homework. They barely got to do anything besides study there but sometimes they got to help Twilight practice her spells. Seeing the amazing ways unicorns could use their magic made it all worth it.

Followed by 16 hours training with Master Roshi. That was super tough but a lot of fun.

Finally 30 hours of games and movies with the family in the TARDIS. Then bedtime, with a well restful sleep of 3 hours.

Time Lords were weird when compared to other races. He aged much slower and could go weeks without sleep, then just needing a quick nap to feel fully rested. The Doctor said it was a result of evolving on a planet with 2 suns. One red giant they were near a lightyear away from and a yellow dwarf star orbiting the planet. Days lasted longer and nights shorter.

The boys had extremely long days... but they didn't feel like that. If anything the days felt rather short. They were constantly busy jumping about the cosmos and cramming so many hours into on day... but they didn't even get sleepy until bedtime and then that measly 3 hours left all of then fully refreshed... life was truly bizarre since he moved in with the Doctor.

How yeah!!! Goku forgot. He also spent 16 hours learning from an old dragon named Spyro on how to control their dragon breath to use the 5 core Elemental breathes (fire, water, wind, earth, and Ether - AKA raw magic) and the various techniques each breath can be used. Most dragons could only channel one of these breath but since Spike was capable of all of them, being some kind of destined dragon warrior himself, the boys were as well when the Doctor grafted Spike's traits onto themselves and the whole of the Uzumaki clan. Even the recently born babies had all 5 breaths, which made life super exciting in the clan.

While the Tots studied at all these places the Doctor would take Danny and Donna adventuring, promising the boys could go with them one day... when they were older. Then their weekends lasted like a month. Where they just traveled to various amusement parks and museums together, talking and playing. The only downside was they skipped Summer vacation. The way the Doctor saw it they got a month off in a week so they didn't need a summer vacation.

All in all it was a busy day that felt like no time at all.

Spike grinned like a loon as he blocked Sasuke's punch. The Uchiha sneered at him as he attacked with full force but nothing got through Spike's defense. While Sasuke was distracted by his hands and feet, Spike swung his tail and tripped the boy.

"3rd down!" Iruko sensei called. "Spike Uzumaki wins."

Spike's loon grin did not falter, until he saw Sasuke's face. The boy looked like he was holding back tears. "You okay?" Spike asked.

"Of course I am!" Sasuke glared with watery eyes, "I'm an Uchiha!" He got off the matt and refused to look at anyone. Storming to the back of the class in the sparring room. Spike discreetly followed him as their teacher called the next pair of students to spar.

"I know you're too tough to let a trip hurt ya," Spike played to the boy's ego. "So what's wrong?"

Sasuke looked at the boy... and sighed. He nearly whispered, "I'm an Uchiha. We're supposed to be the best but every time I go against you or that stupid brother of yours I get my ass kicked. You even beat me on the academic side of things. I get Naruto is like some bad ass prison for a demon but why can't I beat you either?"

Spike shrugged. "We spend nearly our every waking moment training as hard as we can. Besides, don't feel too bad. You're much better then either of us at Chakra control. All my brothers tend to waste way too much well using jutsus."

"Only cuz you have so much you can afford wasting it. Besides, Medical-nin are the ones supposed to be good at Chakra control. Uchihas are not Medical-nin. We are supposed to be on the front line, doing the most damage... not patching people up... my dad thinks I'm a disgrace already."

"You're the 3rd best in class! In the top 10 percent! How is that a disgrace?" Spike rolled his eyes.

"Like you would understand. You Uzumakis never have to work for anything."

Spike snorted. "Who told you that? My clan use secret Jutsus and artifacts to create pockets in time so we can train for days in the span of a few hours. I literally have to break the laws of physics for my training and you know what? YOU'RE STILL KEEPING UP WITH ME! You should be proud of that!"

Sasuke lightly smiled. "Can you teach me that time pocket Jutsu?"

Spike snorted. "Oh sure. I don't mind teaching you a secret clan technique that will likely get me executed."

Sasuke laughed. "Right. Even though my dad is the head of my clan, I don't think I could get away with giving away clan secrets either."

"I can think of another option." Spike grinned, "After school my brothers and I take our friends to the village training grounds. They aren't as cool as the Uzumaki training grounds but those are off limits for none clan members. You could come come with us to the public training grounds? We can become stronger together."

Sasuke smiled. "Sure. Who's all coming?"

"Well." Spike thought about it. "I always bring Choji, from the Akimichi Clan, and Shikamaru, from the Nara Clan. Naruto brings his girlfriend from the Hyuga Clan, Hinata I think her name is." Spike smiled. He could practically hear his brother scream "She's not my girlfriend!" as he always did. "They don't have a third partner yet, so this would be perfect! Then Nagato, he's another boy from our clan that joined the Academy with us this year. He's the carrot top with the purple eyes that have the multiple rows of circles in them. He brings his friends to. Kiba, from the Inuzuka clan, and Shino, from the bug clan."

"Aburame clan," Sasuke automatically corrected. He was raised to respect the bug collectors.

"What I say?" Spike blinked, not seeing a difference. "Anyway, Nagato isn't allowed in the Uzumaki Training Grounds until he graduates sinces he isn't part of the main house. It's some stupid rule to make sure he doesn't age faster then the other children. We of the main house age slower so it's encouraged for us to train in the pocket dimension."

How does someone "Age Slower", Sasuke wondered. Then again the Doctor was supposedly thousands of years old. Maybe the main house of the Uzumaki Clan was made up of legitimate Demigods like the stories said?

Spike moved on, so Sasuke forced himself to pay attention, "Then my older brothers bring some kids from their year. Goku brings this kid called Lee, don't think he's from a Shinobi family. Then Harry brings over this kid called Neji. He's from a branch family of the Hyuga Clan. That kid is a serious ass but he's Harry's best friend so we can't exclude him.

"Grampa Hokage told us that if you stick to the same people during all your team exercises assignments, and you do really well together, your more likely to get put on the same team. So we ALWAYS practice together. That way we can stand out as a good potential team to the Jonin when they pick their Genin. I know that is a few years away but you got to plan for this stuff early."

Itachi stood in the shadows, watching his brother talk with the reptilian Uzumaki boy... it wasn't long before the younger Uchiha was laughing and smiling... it been so long since he did that... Ever since he joined the Shinobi Academy father had been constantly berating the boy for falling short to a couple of brats from a minuscule clan... and here the boy was consorting with the enemy. Making plans to go play with them and call it training... and Itachi couldn't be prouder.

Itachi suddenly stiffened, looking back he saw the Doctor standing there... he hadn't even noticed him approach. Likely the only reason he noticed him now is because the man wanted him to.

"I know what Danzo orded you to do," the Doctor cut to the chase and for a moment Itachi feared he was going to have to fight a god... but the entity stood loosely. More sad then vengeful... like he agreed this terrible thing had to be done.

"They are planning to take over the village." Itachi explained something he was sure this man already knew. "They will kill thousands to assume control."

"Still, that is a hell of an order to put on you," The Doctor observed.

"Danzo wants it to be handled discreetly. The whole clan is in on it."

"Not the whole clan," The Doctor said.

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"The children have no idea what their parents have planned, yet you have been ordered to kill them as well." That he did sound like he would fight him on. "Would that include, him?" the Doctor looked eyed the raven haired child laughing with his son.

"Danzo promised me Sasuke would be spared."

"Why him and not the other children?" The Doctor eyed the boy.

Itachi sighed. "Danzo believes they will grow up to become a threat to the village if they learn why their parents were executed... if I attack and flee the village... it would seem like the actions of a single rogue ninja. Then Sasuke will grow up without the stain of our family's sins... loyal to the village I love... I don't mind staining my reputation, even my soul, to protect it..." Itachi looked at Sasuke a moment, "He's already going to hate me. He needs to hate me... to keep him safe... I don't mind playing the villain in his eyes if it means he'll have a happy life."

"If you make too big a show of it he will take you to the extreme... it will destroy his life that way as well," informed the Doctor.

Itachi looked back. "What have you seen, seer?"

"A horrible future, where that sad little boy destroys himself... to kill you... I realize part of you longs for that, as some odd idea of repentance for the sin you are about to commit. I ask you to think about what is best for your brother. Not your own selfish desire for forgiveness from the heavens... if you are going to do this, then do it right. Don't half ass it or set up some scapegoat to redeem you later on."

Itachi sighed, looking at the boy in the distance. "What should I do..."

"Seems to me that if all the children were miraculously spared, and then you died by the ANBU, that would also achieve the same effect for all of them. They would believe a rogue Shinobi turned on their village, never knowing what their clan had planned, and even feeling as though the village you love was able to avenge them."

Itachi eyed him a moment, "You really are as cruel as the stories say."

The Doctor smiled. "The world isn't black and white. Sometimes good men have to die as villains for the world to keep spinning. This is a fixed point. I can only interfere so much."

Itachi gave one last sigh. "If I don't use this to infiltrate the Akatsuki-"

"Then our village will have to find some other way to determine their plans. If only we had access to a powerful Psychic," The Doctor snarked.

Itachi eyed him a moment. "Can a dying man take that as an oath if I go through with your plan?"

"You can," The Doctor swore.

Itachi nodded. "Best leave now... so it can be finished without him seeing..."

"I put in a good word for you at the pearly gates," the Doctor assured as he slowly walked off.

Itachi eyed his raven haired brother a moment longer, before turning his back to him and leaving... time to save the village... and it seemed there was also a way to save the future of his clan.

Hours later, well the children were still at school and daycare, social workers arrived to inform the youngest Uchiha that their clan had been massacred. Itachi had gone insane, killed off everyone inside the Uchiha compound, before attacking the the Hokage Tower.

He injured several of the council members, even killing a man named Danzo, before being put down by the Hokage and ANBU black ops. It was a sad day for the village indeed.

The Uchiha children went to bed weeping that night at the senseless tragedy of it all, but they went to bed alive and safe.