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Fic: All That Ever Could Be
Title: All That Ever Could Be
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
tarnera
Appearing in this work: Theta Sigma, Koschei, Drax, and Ranitoranari (aka, the Doctor, the Master, Drax, and the Rani)
Spoilers/Timeline: Pre-first episode (1963)
Word Count: 2,335
Summary: What if things had turned out differently at the Prydonian Academy?
Rating: Teen, just to be safe. A very mild swearword near the end, and implied Theta Sigma/Koschei. Nothing squicky.
Disclaimer/Thanks: I own nothing, save my crazy theories. The scene in the exploded classroom was lifted right out of Rich Morris' T10D page 205, found here, and done with his permission and approval.
Prompt: High School/College AU
Author's Note: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
cliche_bingo's challenge, but I owe Rich for the plot bunny.
It was the day after mid-term examinations. Theta Sigma looked up at the board that announced the results, scanning the complex Gallifreyan script for his name. There it was, a little better than halfway down. He made a face. His friend Drax, who was standing next to him, thumped his shoulder cheerfully.
"At least you made it through, Thete! Congrats!"
"Thanks," Theta Sigma said sourly. He looked at the list again. "Where are you, Drax? You're acting so cheerful that one would think you made the top of the list."
Drax shook his head. "Not me, mate, though I got pretty close. Top fifteen, and count myself lucky!" He laughed. Theta Sigma smiled at his friend's high spirits.
Drax poked his shoulder again. "I’m bored.”
Theta Sigma, who had heard those words many times before and knew they were nearly always followed by disaster, looked at Drax warily. “What are you going to do about it, then?” he asked, curious to see what scheme Drax had in mind this time.
“I just brought a particle accelerator back from Earth; let’s see if anyone else wants to help us test it out."
Theta Sigma gaped at him. "You went to a less developed planet and brought some of their technology back? That’s bold even for you, Drax! You're still in the Academy, do you have to try and get yourself kicked out at every opportunity?"
Drax grinned at Thete. It wasn't often that he could get his friend to react like that. "Aw, relax, life's no fun if you don't live a little! Don't worry, no one saw me in the TARDIS storage room, and I fixed the TARDIS I 'borrowed' so they couldn't detect me leaving or returning. Always was good at jiggery- pokery, me."
"You'd better be. I don't want to get in trouble just because you want to satisfy your curiosity about a lesser species' technology." Theta Sigma sighed. "Very well, let's go see who we can round up for this little experiment of yours." He strolled off down the corridor, hands in the pockets of his robes, trying not to look too eager about Drax's idea. Drax wasn't fooled—Thete was rather easy to manipulate when it came to strange technology. He grinned hugely as he followed after his friend.
***
Theta Sigma slipped into the lab. He hadn't found anyone that had seemed remotely interested in coming to a disused sciences lab after school for no reason. Perhaps he had been a little too secretive and subtle, but technology from a less advanced species was nothing to shout about in broad daylight--or a crowded hallway, as the case may be.
Inside the room, grouped around a bulky object resting on one of the tables, there were three people. There was Drax, of course, but there was also a woman who had brown hair and looked very haughty, and a handsome man with dark hair and a bit of a beard.
Drax waved at Theta Sigma. "Hiya, Thete! I guess you didn't find anyone, huh?" he concluded brilliantly after seeing that no one was following Theta Sigma.
How do I score so much lower than this guy every single test? Theta Sigma wondered irritably. Aloud he said merely, "No," and walked over to the table. He eyed the other two with curiosity.
Drax made the introductions. He gestured to the woman, "Thete, this is Ranitoranari," then nodded toward the man, "and that is Koschei."
Theta Sigma said, "A pleasure to make your acquaintances. I am Theta Sigma." They exchanged bows.
He turned to Drax. "With that business out of the way, what were you planning on doing with this thing?"
Drax shrugged. "Turn it on, see what happens?" he suggested.
Theta Sigma sighed. "Drax...I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Do you even know how this...this thing works?"
Drax grinned. "I've been tinkering with it. I'm pretty sure I know how it turns on, and what could possibly go wrong with such a primitive bit of tech?"
Theta Sigma looked uneasily over at the other two. Ranitoranari stared at the particle accelerator; she looked eager and excited. He frowned slightly. That was hardly an attitude to take when their lives could all be at risk, but he wasn't about to say anything to her. He glanced over at Koschei. The man met his eyes squarely, and it was like a jolt of electricity shot between them leaving Theta Sigma feeling shaken in its wake. He broke eye contact and tried to recover himself.
When he looked again nothing happened. Getting back to the insanity at hand, Theta Sigma thought that Koschei looked as uneasy about Drax's 'plan' as Theta Sigma felt, which made Theta Sigma feel much better. At least there was someone in this room besides himself who was sane.
He turned back to his friend who was looking at him, concerned. Theta Sigma shook his head at Drax to say it was nothing, don't worry about me. "Drax, turning it on is all well and good, but do you know how to turn it off? Because I think that's a rather important thing to know."
Drax waved a hand dismissively and leaned over the machine. "Oh, I'm sure it's simple, I'll figure it out." He started hitting buttons.
Theta Sigma stared at his friend. "Drax, have I told you lately that you're utterly mad?"
Drax appeared to think about the question. "Yesterday," he said, and pressed one final button. The particle accelerator whirred to life. Koschei and Ranitoranari moved closer to get a better look at the process.
Theta Sigma found himself wanting to back away from it, and he very nearly blushed. It was just a piece of primitive technology, Drax was right. What could possibly go wrong? He forced himself to walk a bit closer to the thing, stopping next to Drax. "What does this thing actually do, anyway? I never thought to ask," he said in an undertone.
"It creates black holes, according to the species that made it," Drax said casually.
"…what?"
Drax nodded. "Oh don't worry, everything's fine. I mean, this one probably isn't fast enough to do it anyway, I only took it from the early 22nd century there, and this was an older model. Nothing is going to happen."
Almost immediately after this assurance a low grinding sound started coming from the machine, quickly building up to a roar. "What is that?" Koschei shouted at Drax.
"I don't know, I've never done this before!" he yelled back.
"Maybe you should try stopping it now, Drax," Theta Sigma said loudly as he backed away from the table and the howling contraption on it.
Drax started pressing buttons, more-or-less randomly. Nothing worked and the roar was getting steadily louder. "Drax, get away from that thing!" Theta Sigma shouted. Drax looked up and nodded frantically. He looked terrified, not that Theta Sigma blamed him. They all ran toward the door, Ranitoranari and Drax slightly ahead of Koschei and Theta Sigma.
Making it to the door, Drax and Ranitoranari ran through. Koschei was about to do so as well when there was a loud explosion behind them as the particle accelerator blew up. The shockwave caught Koschei and Theta Sigma, knocking them off their feet. The following fireball singed them a bit, but thankfully Gallifreyan fire-prevention systems were very advanced. The oxygen cut out for a few seconds which completely put out the fire. Too late to save my eyebrows, though, Theta Sigma thought as he got to his feet slowly. He offered Koschei a hand up and flinched slightly when Koschei took it. His skin was suddenly tingling and hypersensitive wherever Koschei was touching him, something he had never before experienced. He dropped Koschei's hand as soon as he could, and caught a flash of puzzled hurt on the other man's face.
He looked down at himself to avoid seeing it, brushing at his robe. "This is completely ruined," he complained. "These were good robes, too."
"I'm sure you'll be able to get new ones somehow," a disapproving voice said from behind him. Theta Sigma turned to see Borusa standing there with Drax and Ranitoranari in front of him and looking sheepish. His arms were folded and he looked quite cross. There were a few Citadel Guard standing behind him. "Would any of you care to explain what, exactly, is going on here? Drax? Ranitoranari?"
They shook their heads. "No, sir," Drax ventured. He threw a pleading look at Theta Sigma who stifled a sigh. It looked like he was going to have to cover for his friend yet again.
"Well, you see, sir..." he began, and told Borusa the whole, almost entirely made up story, which told of Theta Sigma stealing the accelerator, talking Koschei into testing it with him, and left Drax and Ranitoranari completely uninvolved. Innocent passers-by, if you will. The whole time Theta Sigma was talking he could see Koschei smirking at him out of the corner of his eye. It was very distracting.
While this was going on, the two "innocent passers-by" went over to the table to see what sort of damage an exploding particle accelerator from the early 22nd century could do to its surroundings.
When he was done with his tale, Borusa shook his head angrily. "I can't believe you, Theta Sigma. You are smart, but you don't seem to even try to apply yourself to your studies. And then you go and drag Koschei into your ridiculous schemes." He came over to the two of them and took them by the shoulders. "The only reason you two aren't expelled is because you're too smart. But you had better learn to control yourselves. I dread to think what horrors you would unleash on the universe." He dropped his arms and said, "Now clean up this mess, and see that the machine is disposed of properly." Walking back to the door, he motioned to the other two. "Come along, Drax, Ranitoranari. These two have work to do and it is quite late. Let's leave them to it."
Ranitoranari left without a backwards glance or a word spoken. Theta Sigma realized she hadn't said a thing throughout the whole fiasco. Drax at least had the decency to mouth "thank you" and give him an appropriately apologetic face before he too vanished through the door. Theta Sigma turned to Koschei. "So," he stated.
Koschei was still smirking at him, damn the man. "So," he echoed. "Do you often clean up your friend's messes? Or is it just Drax?"
Theta Sigma felt his face heat up. "W-well, it depends on the friend," he said, wondering why he was telling this guy he barely even knew everything.
Koschei's smirk widened. "What, are you and he..." a suggestive eyebrow finished the sentence.
"Drax and I? Sweet Rassilon, no! We're just friends that go a long way back. He was the first person I met when I came into the Academy, you see," he almost babbled, again wondering why it was important that Koschei understand all these facts.
Koschei's smirk turned into a real smile. "Good," he said softly. Theta Sigma found himself smiling back, feeling a bit foolish but unable to help himself.
They stood there for a minute or two just smiling at each other before Koschei suddenly said, "Right! We should get to this." He gestured at the blackened walls and the heap of junk that was once a functioning Earth machine.
"Right," Theta Sigma echoed, and moved over to help him clean up.
***
After that, Koschei started hanging out with Theta Sigma more and more. Theta Sigma felt a bit guilty about spending less time with Drax, but Drax seemed to understand. Theta Sigma supposed Drax probably felt a bit guilty about all the times Theta Sigma had bailed him out of trouble and that not complaining about how Theta Sigma spent his time was Drax's way of repaying him for those occasions. Still, he was grateful that his friend seemed to approve of his relationship with Koschei.
Koschei helped him with his studies, or at least that's how the study sessions always started out. Despite the fact that very little studying actually occurred, his grades actually started rising as a result of these sessions. When they finally graduated from the Academy, Theta Sigma was at the top of the class right along with Koschei. Drax and Ranitoranari also did very well for themselves.
After graduation, Theta Sigma lost track of Drax. His friend had always been good at loosing himself, and Theta Sigma never did find out exactly what had happened to him. Centuries later, he heard a rumor that Drax had stolen a TARDIS, an old type 40, and had left Gallifrey for good taking one member of his family with him. Theta Sigma had smiled when he heard the news, and silently wished Drax luck and happiness.
Ranitoranari, who was calling herself "The Rani" by this point, got herself banned though some sort of strange experiment involving growth hormones and mice. Theta Sigma thought it was probably for the best. The Rani clearly didn't agree with certain Gallifreyan laws.
***
Years passed; centuries. Koschei and Theta Sigma did well for themselves in their chosen professions, and rose in the ranks and the esteem of the Time Lords. They lived together and were very happy in each other's company. Every now and then, Theta Sigma found himself wondering what would have happened if he had never met Koschei and built a life with him here on Gallifrey. Would he have been the one to steal the type 40 and run away? Or would he have stayed on Gallifrey despite being unhappy? At times like these he would look over at the other man who shared his everything and was his happiness, and remind himself of the good things he had gained through his choices. He wouldn't want to live his life any other way.
Author:
tarneraAppearing in this work: Theta Sigma, Koschei, Drax, and Ranitoranari (aka, the Doctor, the Master, Drax, and the Rani)
Spoilers/Timeline: Pre-first episode (1963)
Word Count: 2,335
Summary: What if things had turned out differently at the Prydonian Academy?
Rating: Teen, just to be safe. A very mild swearword near the end, and implied Theta Sigma/Koschei. Nothing squicky.
Disclaimer/Thanks: I own nothing, save my crazy theories. The scene in the exploded classroom was lifted right out of Rich Morris' T10D page 205, found here, and done with his permission and approval.
Prompt: High School/College AU
Author's Note: Written for
cliche_bingo's challenge, but I owe Rich for the plot bunny.It was the day after mid-term examinations. Theta Sigma looked up at the board that announced the results, scanning the complex Gallifreyan script for his name. There it was, a little better than halfway down. He made a face. His friend Drax, who was standing next to him, thumped his shoulder cheerfully.
"At least you made it through, Thete! Congrats!"
"Thanks," Theta Sigma said sourly. He looked at the list again. "Where are you, Drax? You're acting so cheerful that one would think you made the top of the list."
Drax shook his head. "Not me, mate, though I got pretty close. Top fifteen, and count myself lucky!" He laughed. Theta Sigma smiled at his friend's high spirits.
Drax poked his shoulder again. "I’m bored.”
Theta Sigma, who had heard those words many times before and knew they were nearly always followed by disaster, looked at Drax warily. “What are you going to do about it, then?” he asked, curious to see what scheme Drax had in mind this time.
“I just brought a particle accelerator back from Earth; let’s see if anyone else wants to help us test it out."
Theta Sigma gaped at him. "You went to a less developed planet and brought some of their technology back? That’s bold even for you, Drax! You're still in the Academy, do you have to try and get yourself kicked out at every opportunity?"
Drax grinned at Thete. It wasn't often that he could get his friend to react like that. "Aw, relax, life's no fun if you don't live a little! Don't worry, no one saw me in the TARDIS storage room, and I fixed the TARDIS I 'borrowed' so they couldn't detect me leaving or returning. Always was good at jiggery- pokery, me."
"You'd better be. I don't want to get in trouble just because you want to satisfy your curiosity about a lesser species' technology." Theta Sigma sighed. "Very well, let's go see who we can round up for this little experiment of yours." He strolled off down the corridor, hands in the pockets of his robes, trying not to look too eager about Drax's idea. Drax wasn't fooled—Thete was rather easy to manipulate when it came to strange technology. He grinned hugely as he followed after his friend.
***
Theta Sigma slipped into the lab. He hadn't found anyone that had seemed remotely interested in coming to a disused sciences lab after school for no reason. Perhaps he had been a little too secretive and subtle, but technology from a less advanced species was nothing to shout about in broad daylight--or a crowded hallway, as the case may be.
Inside the room, grouped around a bulky object resting on one of the tables, there were three people. There was Drax, of course, but there was also a woman who had brown hair and looked very haughty, and a handsome man with dark hair and a bit of a beard.
Drax waved at Theta Sigma. "Hiya, Thete! I guess you didn't find anyone, huh?" he concluded brilliantly after seeing that no one was following Theta Sigma.
How do I score so much lower than this guy every single test? Theta Sigma wondered irritably. Aloud he said merely, "No," and walked over to the table. He eyed the other two with curiosity.
Drax made the introductions. He gestured to the woman, "Thete, this is Ranitoranari," then nodded toward the man, "and that is Koschei."
Theta Sigma said, "A pleasure to make your acquaintances. I am Theta Sigma." They exchanged bows.
He turned to Drax. "With that business out of the way, what were you planning on doing with this thing?"
Drax shrugged. "Turn it on, see what happens?" he suggested.
Theta Sigma sighed. "Drax...I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Do you even know how this...this thing works?"
Drax grinned. "I've been tinkering with it. I'm pretty sure I know how it turns on, and what could possibly go wrong with such a primitive bit of tech?"
Theta Sigma looked uneasily over at the other two. Ranitoranari stared at the particle accelerator; she looked eager and excited. He frowned slightly. That was hardly an attitude to take when their lives could all be at risk, but he wasn't about to say anything to her. He glanced over at Koschei. The man met his eyes squarely, and it was like a jolt of electricity shot between them leaving Theta Sigma feeling shaken in its wake. He broke eye contact and tried to recover himself.
When he looked again nothing happened. Getting back to the insanity at hand, Theta Sigma thought that Koschei looked as uneasy about Drax's 'plan' as Theta Sigma felt, which made Theta Sigma feel much better. At least there was someone in this room besides himself who was sane.
He turned back to his friend who was looking at him, concerned. Theta Sigma shook his head at Drax to say it was nothing, don't worry about me. "Drax, turning it on is all well and good, but do you know how to turn it off? Because I think that's a rather important thing to know."
Drax waved a hand dismissively and leaned over the machine. "Oh, I'm sure it's simple, I'll figure it out." He started hitting buttons.
Theta Sigma stared at his friend. "Drax, have I told you lately that you're utterly mad?"
Drax appeared to think about the question. "Yesterday," he said, and pressed one final button. The particle accelerator whirred to life. Koschei and Ranitoranari moved closer to get a better look at the process.
Theta Sigma found himself wanting to back away from it, and he very nearly blushed. It was just a piece of primitive technology, Drax was right. What could possibly go wrong? He forced himself to walk a bit closer to the thing, stopping next to Drax. "What does this thing actually do, anyway? I never thought to ask," he said in an undertone.
"It creates black holes, according to the species that made it," Drax said casually.
"…what?"
Drax nodded. "Oh don't worry, everything's fine. I mean, this one probably isn't fast enough to do it anyway, I only took it from the early 22nd century there, and this was an older model. Nothing is going to happen."
Almost immediately after this assurance a low grinding sound started coming from the machine, quickly building up to a roar. "What is that?" Koschei shouted at Drax.
"I don't know, I've never done this before!" he yelled back.
"Maybe you should try stopping it now, Drax," Theta Sigma said loudly as he backed away from the table and the howling contraption on it.
Drax started pressing buttons, more-or-less randomly. Nothing worked and the roar was getting steadily louder. "Drax, get away from that thing!" Theta Sigma shouted. Drax looked up and nodded frantically. He looked terrified, not that Theta Sigma blamed him. They all ran toward the door, Ranitoranari and Drax slightly ahead of Koschei and Theta Sigma.
Making it to the door, Drax and Ranitoranari ran through. Koschei was about to do so as well when there was a loud explosion behind them as the particle accelerator blew up. The shockwave caught Koschei and Theta Sigma, knocking them off their feet. The following fireball singed them a bit, but thankfully Gallifreyan fire-prevention systems were very advanced. The oxygen cut out for a few seconds which completely put out the fire. Too late to save my eyebrows, though, Theta Sigma thought as he got to his feet slowly. He offered Koschei a hand up and flinched slightly when Koschei took it. His skin was suddenly tingling and hypersensitive wherever Koschei was touching him, something he had never before experienced. He dropped Koschei's hand as soon as he could, and caught a flash of puzzled hurt on the other man's face.
He looked down at himself to avoid seeing it, brushing at his robe. "This is completely ruined," he complained. "These were good robes, too."
"I'm sure you'll be able to get new ones somehow," a disapproving voice said from behind him. Theta Sigma turned to see Borusa standing there with Drax and Ranitoranari in front of him and looking sheepish. His arms were folded and he looked quite cross. There were a few Citadel Guard standing behind him. "Would any of you care to explain what, exactly, is going on here? Drax? Ranitoranari?"
They shook their heads. "No, sir," Drax ventured. He threw a pleading look at Theta Sigma who stifled a sigh. It looked like he was going to have to cover for his friend yet again.
"Well, you see, sir..." he began, and told Borusa the whole, almost entirely made up story, which told of Theta Sigma stealing the accelerator, talking Koschei into testing it with him, and left Drax and Ranitoranari completely uninvolved. Innocent passers-by, if you will. The whole time Theta Sigma was talking he could see Koschei smirking at him out of the corner of his eye. It was very distracting.
While this was going on, the two "innocent passers-by" went over to the table to see what sort of damage an exploding particle accelerator from the early 22nd century could do to its surroundings.
When he was done with his tale, Borusa shook his head angrily. "I can't believe you, Theta Sigma. You are smart, but you don't seem to even try to apply yourself to your studies. And then you go and drag Koschei into your ridiculous schemes." He came over to the two of them and took them by the shoulders. "The only reason you two aren't expelled is because you're too smart. But you had better learn to control yourselves. I dread to think what horrors you would unleash on the universe." He dropped his arms and said, "Now clean up this mess, and see that the machine is disposed of properly." Walking back to the door, he motioned to the other two. "Come along, Drax, Ranitoranari. These two have work to do and it is quite late. Let's leave them to it."
Ranitoranari left without a backwards glance or a word spoken. Theta Sigma realized she hadn't said a thing throughout the whole fiasco. Drax at least had the decency to mouth "thank you" and give him an appropriately apologetic face before he too vanished through the door. Theta Sigma turned to Koschei. "So," he stated.
Koschei was still smirking at him, damn the man. "So," he echoed. "Do you often clean up your friend's messes? Or is it just Drax?"
Theta Sigma felt his face heat up. "W-well, it depends on the friend," he said, wondering why he was telling this guy he barely even knew everything.
Koschei's smirk widened. "What, are you and he..." a suggestive eyebrow finished the sentence.
"Drax and I? Sweet Rassilon, no! We're just friends that go a long way back. He was the first person I met when I came into the Academy, you see," he almost babbled, again wondering why it was important that Koschei understand all these facts.
Koschei's smirk turned into a real smile. "Good," he said softly. Theta Sigma found himself smiling back, feeling a bit foolish but unable to help himself.
They stood there for a minute or two just smiling at each other before Koschei suddenly said, "Right! We should get to this." He gestured at the blackened walls and the heap of junk that was once a functioning Earth machine.
"Right," Theta Sigma echoed, and moved over to help him clean up.
***
After that, Koschei started hanging out with Theta Sigma more and more. Theta Sigma felt a bit guilty about spending less time with Drax, but Drax seemed to understand. Theta Sigma supposed Drax probably felt a bit guilty about all the times Theta Sigma had bailed him out of trouble and that not complaining about how Theta Sigma spent his time was Drax's way of repaying him for those occasions. Still, he was grateful that his friend seemed to approve of his relationship with Koschei.
Koschei helped him with his studies, or at least that's how the study sessions always started out. Despite the fact that very little studying actually occurred, his grades actually started rising as a result of these sessions. When they finally graduated from the Academy, Theta Sigma was at the top of the class right along with Koschei. Drax and Ranitoranari also did very well for themselves.
After graduation, Theta Sigma lost track of Drax. His friend had always been good at loosing himself, and Theta Sigma never did find out exactly what had happened to him. Centuries later, he heard a rumor that Drax had stolen a TARDIS, an old type 40, and had left Gallifrey for good taking one member of his family with him. Theta Sigma had smiled when he heard the news, and silently wished Drax luck and happiness.
Ranitoranari, who was calling herself "The Rani" by this point, got herself banned though some sort of strange experiment involving growth hormones and mice. Theta Sigma thought it was probably for the best. The Rani clearly didn't agree with certain Gallifreyan laws.
***
Years passed; centuries. Koschei and Theta Sigma did well for themselves in their chosen professions, and rose in the ranks and the esteem of the Time Lords. They lived together and were very happy in each other's company. Every now and then, Theta Sigma found himself wondering what would have happened if he had never met Koschei and built a life with him here on Gallifrey. Would he have been the one to steal the type 40 and run away? Or would he have stayed on Gallifrey despite being unhappy? At times like these he would look over at the other man who shared his everything and was his happiness, and remind himself of the good things he had gained through his choices. He wouldn't want to live his life any other way.