Interlude:
TimeWar.
The Doctor of the Main Universe.
CHAPTER:
Early Life.
When a reincarnation of The Other was discovered, Rassillion did the honorable thing. Ignoring the boy's half-human heritage, Rassillion reached out to the child. Taking him on as an apprentice. As was Time Lord custom for past lives.
This child's mother, had experienced her heat, while off planet. And ended up laying with a lesser lifeform. While not in itself shameful, the fact she chose to keep the child of such a union was. Gallifreyians typically consider children, born from Heats, sacred... but not when tainted by "lesser" bloodlines.
The boy's father was a member of a Humanoid species, so primitive, they actually called themselves "Human".
The boy had a hard life, because of this. As his mother had been cast out of her Clutch, due to the sheer scandal... and died from the struggles inherent with poverty. An unfortunate situation, even Rassillion had yet to learn how to prevent.
Clutches were essential to Time Lord Culture, to the point being cast out of one was almost always a death sentence.
The poor child, was left alone. Knowing his very existence, the shame his Clutch felt, for his mother choosing to keep a half breed... that her love for her child, is what killed her. Yes, the boy had scars.
The child spent near a year in an orphanage. Before a routine physical, revealed his magical signature was a match for The Other.
Rassillion was contacted, and after a talk with Omega, they chose to bring the child into their own Clutch. Usually an honor reserved, for some great deed, for the Clutch.
While not having as much independence, in his decisions regarding the child, as a human parent, Rassillion did make sure he was involved in the boy's life.
They also decided to leave it up to the boy, if they were to awaken his past life. Which the boy declined, and Rassillion respected that.
The boy had always been obsessed with his human heritage. Much to Rassillion's annoyance. Such un-evolved creatures, they didn't even realize "Humanoid" was an Animal Kingdom, and not a proper name for a species. Yet Omega humored the boy's obsession, and regaled him with stories of his lesser heritage.
Regardless what Rassillion thought of that, he was a good mentor, if not a father figure of old. The man may have been strict, but the boy never questioned if he was loved... not something all Time Lord children can say.
Rassillion and Omega, both, had been present on the day the boy chose his title. A sacred occasion for Gallifreyians. With Rassillion inviting all of their Clutch. All of whom went to great lengths to come, and make the boy feel truly a part of a Clutch, for the first time.
During his Right of Passage Ceremony, The boy proudly announced himself as "The Doctor". The title was his promise "To never be Cruel or Cowardly. To Never Give up, never give in." as the word "Doctor" means in Gallifreyian.
The next day, as is tradition, he began his higher studies, as an Academy student. There had been... some behavioral issues, such as constantly correcting his teachers, and frequently arguing with them over the purpose of even the most basic assignments. All of which he completed with ease.
These habits were attributed to the flaws of his human blood. Forcing him to question the state of things, instead of just accepting his place within the system. They claimed it was Human ambition at its worse... if they only knew...
During his Academy days, is where The Doctor met the Master. A child just as brilliant as himself.
By the time the children turned 12 years old, they had completed every subject the school had to teach. Gaining the highest level degrees in them all.
That is something that usually takes most Time Tots, an entire Cycle of Study. Even his teachers were forced to acknowledge, the ambition of humanity was a terrifying thing, when added to the superior intellect of a Gallifreyian.
Although, unlike the Master, the Doctor struggled in his Medicine and piloting lessons.
He did qualify as a field medic, but he failed his piloting classes, and would have had to retake them, before being allowed to enroll in the Time Lord Institute... a rule that had never, previously, existed. It was just an excuse to keep the "half breed" from becoming a noble.
Stealing a Time Capsule .
Rassillion should have known, with how willful his apprentice was, The Doctor would rebel. The Other would have done the same.
The Doctor snuck out of the compound, met up with the Master, and together, the two stole a Time Capsule.
While visiting the past is impossible, without the aid of a Paradox, the future is always in flux, making time travel possible, so long as they stayed in the infinitely changing future.
Although this Capsule wasn't the one, that would eventually become his signature transport, it served it's purpose. However, the theft of a Time Capsule, even a more mundane model, couldn't be covered up.
The rogue Tots travelled the galaxies, as Adventurers, completely disregarding the Time Lord code of non-interference, even with the more primitive cultures.
The two went in search of The Doctor's human father. One King Philip II. However their Capsule, due to neither boy being properly trained in piloting, crashed. Though at least at their destination. In what would eventually be called "Ancient Greece".
With the ship needing decades to repair itself, the boys were trapped. So the King decided to conceal their origins, knowing the dangers for "Demigods".
The King believed he had bedded with a god, and that by extension, the Doctor was a demigod. While believing the Master was another Celestial child, his son had befriended. He took both of the boys into his home.
The Master, who was given the name "Hephaestion", by the King (as the boy claimed his real name was too holy, to be comprehended by a human), was raised alongside the Doctor. Though left more to the nurturing of his tutors and nursemaids.
The Doctor came to regret telling his human father, his true name. As the man chose to share it with the world. To Time Lords, names are sacred, only allowed to be known by family. Whom were still expected to call, even children, by their chosen name.
AlexanderMacedon Sigmaakronosvexsithkada, the Doctor was just thankful humans couldn't pronounce his Clutch name, and it was forgotten to history.
To his surprise, the King eventually chose the Doctor as his successor.
But when the Doctor was made King, he believed it wasn't enough. So much could be fix with a united government, and so he tried to use his army to conquer the planet.
The Master died in this war, and regenerated into a woman. Whom the doctor introduced to the world as his consort.
The war continued until an assassin poison the Doctor. While his Time Lord biology helped him survive, he realized not everyone was ready for the united utopia he wanted to build, and forcing it on them kinda defeated the purpose.
So he left Earth to it's own devices, jokingly telling his advisors that the country should go "to the best", which caused a civil war. The only thing the Advisors agreed on, was covering up the Doctor's Origins, and hide the fact he didn't die, as it was the Doctor's final order.
The Doctor and the Master then spent a few centuries travelling alone together. Until they picked up a pet. A stray human wandered into their Time Capsule, and the tots took off without realizing it. This new boy, named, Alister Gorden Lethbridge Stewart, joined them on their travels, but he left after only a few months.
Although the Doctor would try his best to visit the human, and occasionally taking him on other adventures.
This Human child later grew up to become a "Brigadier" in the military branch of Earth's "United Nations". Though he would always remain the Doctor's first human companion. With the Doctor frequently stopping by, to assist on his missions.
After traveling for the cosmos for a thousand years, The master underwent a "Heat" of her own. Which the Doctor chose to help her through... after much begging on the Master's part.
After which, the heat near immediately ended, as the Master had become pregnant. The Master chose to return to Gallifrey, for the sake of the baby... and the Doctor followed.
The Doctor, given his age, and more importantly his political connections, was given a wrist slap for his crimes. More accurately, a series of public spankings, and community service.
However, the Master, since she was in her first regeneration, meaning her second face. Was given an adult's punishment... which was forced regeneration into a preadolescent body, and re-education... this caused her to loss her own developing child.
Which the Master became highly resentful of, but didn't yet fall prey to madness.
Once the Master regained their physical Prime, and their sentence was up. Rassillion gave his blessing for them to claim the Doctor as their mate. Which normally was frowned on with first time bodies, but the Rassillion insisted it was decent. Due to the Doctor's half human heritage. He wasn't truly a child, by Time Lord standards...
This got him some complaints that the Doctor shouldn't have been let off with a child's punishment, if Rassillion didn't believe him a child, but Rassillion insisted this was discovered afterwards, and that they couldn't exactly punish the Doctor twice.
The Master's Next Heat.
Another thousand years passed, and the Master went through another heat, which the Doctor again aided them with... where she once again became pregnant.
This child was named, Smartholomew Mouthitcus, and was quite the spoiled Prince. Proving this through his chosen name... "Smart Mouth".
The rest of the galaxy had come to know that title, to describe a sassy brat, much like himself. However, it was originally just an abbreviation of his name, which he was allowed to use as his chosen title. Giving it no greater meaning or thought.
Smartholomew, being quarter human, had a more active sex drive than most Gallifreyians. Actually experiencing their Heat, during their first face. Getting a woman in her 5th face pregnant. While this was a bit of a scandal. The Time Lady received no repercussions, given she was also experiencing a heat at the time.
This child's own Child was named Larn Arkytior later chose the name "Susan Foreman", meaning "Merciful Mother of Champions."
Stealing a TARDIS...
again...
When Susan was 16 years old, The Doctor again failed his Time Lord Institute Acceptance Exam... for the forty second time. While he was a genius, he still couldn't pass the piloting exam... nor the psychological evaluation...
The Doctor got tired of it, and stole another Time Capsule. Or rather, she stole him. As the Other's "TARDIS", She recognized who the Doctor used to be, and allowed herself to be taken. Leaving her doors unlocked for him.
The Doctor brought his grown son, and teenage granddaughter, with him... but they ended up crashing on Skaro... the home of the Daleks.
They, accidentally, allowed the Daleks the secrets of Time Travel... with Smartholomew dying, trying to defend it... and this time he didn't regenerate.
Due to this tragedy, Rassillion had no choice but to issue an arrest warrant for his young apprentice.
Adventures in Time and Space .
Now on the run, the Doctor and Susan returned to Earth, at a distant point in the planet's future, 1961. This potential Timeline seemed calm enough, and Susan attended human school for a few months, mostly for the social interaction.
A couple of teachers grew curious, of this strange girl, who knew so much about science.
This resulted in tens of thousands of cycles, of taking on humanoid Companions, and growing attached to them... only to lose them all. Even Susan left him.
The Doctor continued saving planets, but was eventually captured, towards the end of his second regeneration. Rassillion was lenient, forcing the Doctor to regenerate into a child, and banishing the boy to Earth, during the 10th Century.
Earth was chosen, given the Doctor had been using it as a Refugee planet, for lifeforms that had their worlds destroyed by Daleks.
Rassillion claimed, since the Doctor made the mess on this planet, it was his responsibility to restore order to the world...
Rassillion called it "Community Service", when in truth, it was just an excuse to allow his apprentice to live on a world he loved.
The 3rd Doctor, Merlin .
The Refugees came to call the Doctor "Merlin", and idolized him for helping to bring forth a Golden age, with his muggle apprentice, "King Arthur", and the 42 magical disciples.
The 3rd Doctor spent a thousand years on Earth. Protecting the planet from the shadows, later with the help of UNIT. An organization his old friend, the Brigadier, started, through the united nations.
After the Doctor's sentence was up, in the 1970s, the Doctor went right back to travelling the possible futures.
Rassillion used the good job The Doctor did with Earth, to convince the Council of Gallifrey, a union of thousands of Gallifreyian Clutches, that the Doctor could be used to help them keep order in the universe. Granting him a field commission of "Time Lord General".
However, the Doctor largely did his own thing, unless forced to complete a specific task for the Gallifreyians.
The Doctor ran into the Master, only to learn the, currently a man, swore vengeance for his son. Blaming the Doctor for their child's death.
Preventing the Time War .
Later in his career, the 9th Doctor (Christopher Eccleston), erased himself from existence. By sending his conciousness back in time, and forcing himself to regenerate into a Warrior. Creating the War Doctor, as the 9th Doctor.
In order to prevent the Time War. By bringing the fight to the Daleks. He managed to rewrite history, by keeping Time Travel out of the Daleks tentacles.
The War Doctor met Rose Tyler, and took her on as a companion. Still fighting Daleks, but also taking her on more mundane adventures.
He later died, of old age. Regenerating into the 10th Doctor (David Tennant, with Eccleston being erased from this reality).
10th Doctor .
After regenerating, the 10th Doctor lost his hand, in a sword fight. Insisting he "was still getting used to the steering".
He continued fighting Daleks with Rose, as the Time War still hadn't started yet, but the Daleks remain a threat to the universe. But they also went on a lot more relaxing and fun adventures... and fell in love.
Rose later "died" by looking into the heart of the TARDIS, and ascending into the Bad Wolf. To this day, Rose exist between life and death, as a god of Time and Space. She continues to look after the Doctor, and his companions... Although she keeps her distance.
Much later, after traveling with Martha. The 10th Doctor met Donna Noble. And Inevitably died, while stopping the Daleks from unleashing a Reality Bomb.
In this universe, The 10th Doctor didn't regenerate into himself, although the Meta Crisis and DoctorDonna were still created, from the 10th severed hand.
Donna's body couldn't handle the mind of a Time Lord, however, she refused to let the Doctor wipe her mind. Instead, choosing to die as she is, as opposed to living as she was.
The 11th Doctor .
The Doctor regenerated into the 11th Doctor, who is truly the 11th face the Doctor has had. Meeting Amy Pond, and still fighting the Daleks.
Later, after Amy is trapped in the 1930s, the Doctor meets Clara... who seems truly impossible. As he remembers meeting a girl, with her name and face, at least once for each of his lives... and she always died. Yet she appears completely human.
The 11th Doctor later learns, this is because the girl jumped into his exposed Timeline, at his future grave, and thereby scattered herself across his history, as echoes of herself... Creating a million billion Paradoxes.
However, that wasn't the whole story, and the fact she survived, should have clued him in.
Clara Doctor .
Later regenerating, again from old age, he became the 12th Doctor, and continued fighting Daleks with Clara.
It turned out, Clara was the last face of the Doctor, who threw herself back in time, to stop the Doctor from becoming the Valeyard. Much as how the 5th Doctor sent his conciousness to help the 4th Doctor, before merging with him. The 9th Doctor did the same.
Although Clara wasn't aware of her role, until she jumped into the Doctor's Timeline. Later, After the Doctor rejected Missy's gift of a Cybermen Army, Clara continued to travel with the 12th Doctor, until they parted ways. The 12th met bill, and then when the Doctor regenerated, Clara arrived to merge with him.
The 12th finally regenerated into Clara... and a whole new disaster arrived.
Restarting the Time War .
In this Timeline, all this happened before the Time War.
As the Clara Doctor, devoted all their resources into not becoming the Valeyard. They took their eyes off the Daleks... While the Time Lords had become dependent on the Valeyard for repressing them... Without anyone watching them, the Daleks managed to rediscover time travel, Starting the Time War all over again.
Last Day of the Time War .
The Doctor walked for miles, and miles, and miles... a single thought in his head... "No More".
The universe was dying, pain and misery stretched on into Infinity. It took thousands of years, to save a single second... and the Doctor was chosen to end it.
As the Daleks attack from above, The Time Lords sat in their homes, the children in their arms... waiting to die.
It was "The Final Sanction", the council ruled that the moment would be activated. A device which channelled the power of the Bad Wolf, herself.
As a god, Rose existed as a "higher being", long before she actually ascended.
Regardless, this device had grown a mind of its own. Worst yet, it had gained a conscience, a moral compass... a need for Cosmic balance.
If it was to destroy an entire race... it would demand to take the ones who used it as well. All things Dalek would be destroyed... but at the cost of all things Time Lord.
"You're Time Lords are more noble then mine," smiled Q, Another Higher Being, that took far too much enjoyment in pestering the Doctor. "Our final sanction wasn't nearly so selfless."
The Doctor didn't even acknowledge the entity.
"Keeping Omega with Rassillion, really did wonders for your entire race. It be admirable... if you weren't just idealized versions of ourselves. An Echo of our own universe... Did I ever tell you about that?"
"I'm not in the mood for your games, Q." The Doctor sighed. "Let me die in peace."
Q made a noise that was halfway between a snort and a chuckle. "Oh you won't die. Didn't you know, as the ultimate punishment for destroying another race. The moment doesn't just kill off both warring species... but leaves the one who activated it alive... to suffer alone, as the last of their kind."
The Doctor stopped. Frozen in a state of horror induced shock.
"If you do this, if you kill them all, you and your echoes will be spared. After all, your technically the same soul stretched across 13 bodies... but you'll live... or, you could have someone else press that button... Smart Mouth for example... it could be your final act as a hero... sacrificing your life, so that your son could live."
The Doctor turned to face Q. "And condemn my son to be the last of our race?"
"He may end up the last, but he won't be alone," Q assured. "I'll make sure of that."
"Why would you lower yourself to babysitting?" The Doctor glared.
Q gave a sad smile, looking strangely serious. His jokes forgotten. "He may only be an Echo... but he's the closest connection I have to my Son."
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Master?"
"You wish," Q snapped his fingers.
The Doctor suddenly found himself in a field of glowing light.
There was no matter here. Not even a single atom. Just pure, unrestrained Energy.
"Where are we?" The Doctor looked around, clutching the moment.
"My former universe," Q smiled. "Where your Time Lords voted to sacrifice themselves, to save the multiverse... mine condemned all of reality. We let our universe die, to it's last atom, and used the Cosmic energy, to ascend into gods."
"Couldn't your Doctor stop you?" The Doctor gaped. "Surely Rassillion would have!?"
"Don't ask stupid questions," Q sighed. "I already told you, our Rassillion wasn't as cuddly as yours. He was quite the vengeful prat. I actually led two rebellions to depose him. My latter one actually succeeded... Unlike with yours, whom adopted you out of love for your past life... Mine left me in that orphanage to rot. The Other was nothing to him, but a scientific curiosity... and a mighty weapon.
"It's strange, considering how much Rassillion did to me, and I him. Yet I let the Prime Universe be destroyed... and the Cosmos with it.
"I later worked with Rassillion, to birth your universe, As well as the thousands of "Canon" universes attached to it... then the trillions of multiverses that spawned from each Canon universe... until the whole Cosmos was restored...
"If only the Canon Doctor, hadn't stupidly "trapped" Daleks in the Void. Those Daleks never would have discovered our peaceful "Main Universe".
"We Q designed this place to be a Paradise. With no Galactic, or even planetary threats. No Halo Flood, Mass Effect Reapers, or thousands of other threats. We prevented them from developing. Along with evil planet busting individuals. This place was designed to live in harmony... but because of this, it truly can't handle interdimensional threats... like the Daleks from one of the Canon Universes.
"We couldn't prevent the destroyers from developing in all universes... so we didn't try. This led to disaster for countless universes... and we've spent eternity trying to clean up our own mistakes...
"But I'm glad to see this universe remains true to the values we instilled in you all... so very noble." He spoke that last bit with a good deal of mockery, in his tone. As if he found nobility to be a great Cosmic joke.
"Get on with it Q," The Doctor sighed. "Every second I am delayed, countless more worlds die."
Q waved off, unconcerned, "You can always just wish them back with the Dragon balls." Then carried on, as the Doctor looked shocked he hadn't thought of that. His son had already used the Dragon Balls, to try to destroy the Daleks... and just assumed they'd be of no help, when the Dragon revealed he couldn't interfere with Cosmic level entities. Sighting some nonsense about Cosmic treaties.
As the Doctor thought, Q finally got to the point. "But if you insist, I brought you here, To what is left of the original Prime Universe, to this void between multiverses, so that the moment could channel the power of this realm of pure energy. So that it could kill every last Dalek that travelled the void. That's all of them, every last one you know of. Other Daleks are much more manageable. You'll save the Cosmos ... won't that be nice?"
The Doctor scowled, "What happened to you trying to convince me to have my son commit genocide!" he snapped.
Q waved off, "Genocide. I offer you salvation, and you speak of Genocide. Such a simple minded mortal. But I remember when I had such ideals... part of me Wishes I could spare you from such a 'Grownup' decision... and that same part longs to see our son live through this... but he to... is mortal... and might get hung up on the 'Genocide' as well."
"..." The Doctor stayed quiet for a moment. Then sighed. "I can understand wanting to spare him... but I can't let him live with that much blood on his hands."
The Doctor looked at the moment, setting it down on the ground of energy.
A blonde echo of the bad wolf, dressed as a Gallifreyian civilian, appeared before him.
"Soooooo you've finally gotten the nerve to face me?" She spoke to the Doctor, then looked at Q, "And you won't let me stop this? There are other ways."
"Maybe in other universes... but not this one." Q sighed. "The interdimensional Daleks are a Cosmic level threat... it be nice if you realized that. and just killed them off."
"The cosmic scales must be balanced. If one side dies, so must the other." The Moment insisted.
The Doctor stepped forward. "My people are willing to make that sacrifice."
"And are you willing to make the more personal one?" The moment asked. "You just got your son back..."
The Doctor felt the billions of billions of lives in his hand. Both Gallifreyian, and Dalek.
He had a sneaking suspicion... Rassillion knew whoever pushed the button would live... this was his own way of saving his son... and the Doctor would never forgive him for it.
The Doctor simply said, "I'm prepared... please, I beg of you, end this war..."
Time Lord Survivors .
Unknown to the Doctor, not all the Gallifreyians died... well they did indeed die, but they didn't stay dead. Those that had gone through the procedure, to split their faces into 13 separate bodies, were able to send their conciousness to merge with developing fetuses.
The Q Doctor even helped them survive, by hijacking their souls, and sending them across the multiverse. Given the moment was erasing both races from across Time, Q figured they just needed the added boost of a New Timeline...
Q made sure to keep each Clutch, within the same Leyline. While still giving them some space from the other Time Lord Houses.
Q didn't bother telling the Doctor this, mostly Because the moment might overhear him... but also out of vindictive righteousness... for the Doctor not trying to spare their son.
The way Q saw it, let the Doctor wallow in his guilt for a few centuries. They'd run back into each other eventually...
But these Time Lords, so unlike his own, deserved to live.
I survived, because I wrote I would, but the official reason was because I was a Royal Fae, with a Time Lord's soul. I might have all my Clutch's memories, and even their DNA... But that was a fraction of my biology. I was mostly made of solid magic, a construct of a Fae.
The Doctor's Wish .
After the Time War, the Doctor followed Q's advice and gathered the dragon balls. It was easy, with 13 of him put to the task.
The Doctors wished, for all worlds that got erased from existence, to be brought back, before the Time War. To which the dragon granted.
"There is a problem," A voice spoke to the Doctors. As their dragon disappeared, being more limited then the Cosmic Shenron, and only able to grant 1 wish...
Regardless, as it disappeared, Q appeared before the Doctors. "You really are idiots. There were millions of ships, off world, that didn't get erased with their planet. They exist as Time Abnormalities. And now their planets are back in the sky, with other versions of all of them, on the worlds. So... prey tell, what do you intend to do with these lifeforms?"
The Doctor's, with Q's guidance, collected all the ship's, and brought them to the Destiny Verse. Using planets of the Styx Leyline, a type of Cluster of Chakra streams, throughout the multiverse, to house millions of these Time Abnormalities.
Keeping them all in the Destiny Verse, so that they couldn't do too much harm. While Q and the Fates, guided these worlds' histories, until they resynchronized themselves, into similar timelines, as their "Canon" counterparts. A tricky thing to do, given the Smart Mouths were always defying the more cruel destinies, and shaping this universe to be more benevolent. Although the Doctors were unaware of Smartholomew's involvement, nor that he even survived the Time War.
The Doctors, including Q, tried to get the worlds to live in Harmony, on different continents that matched their native environments as closely as possible. Land was too limited to give each race their own planet. As habitable worlds were rare.
The Doctor gave them a fresh start, at the beginning of the final Harvest Cycle of the Reapers. That way they could eventually aid in their defeat... as well as be more likely to survive the upcoming conflict.
For the Reapers, a Mass Effect based race of starships, had not only developed in this universe, but were an intergalactic threat to rival the Daleks. Bent on "Harvesting" all organic life, in a misplaced attempt to preserve it.
The Surviving Time Lords were actively working on stopping them