(no subject)
I. The Shining World of the Seven Systems
The Citadel shone as it caught light from the sunset to the north and mid-afternoon rays from above. If you had particularly good eyesight, you could just see the Gallifreyans inside going about their business: newly-initiated members of the Academy struck quiet with nervousness and anticipation, tired professors who spend their days imparting knowledge they haven’t used for a long time if at all, and experienced Time Lords bogged down by their years of traveling and never appreciating.
Framed by the Citadel, even the ridiculous Gallifreyan robes Romana wore didn’t look entirely bad. Koschei was moved to point this out. “You’re blocking the view.”
Romana crossed her arms and stared down at him, unimpressed. “The Council wants to know your decision.”
He eased his legs downward and outward into the grass, giving them the first stretch they’d had in several hours. “Would they wait any more if you told them I needed more time?”
At his insistent frown, Romana settled primly beside him on the ground. “They suspect you of stalling them. Three days is hardly usual.”
“Any excuse to annoy them,” Koschei said agreeably and pointed to a small grouping of trees sloping up the mountains beyond the Citadel. “Look.” As the planets and suns shifted position minutely, colour upon brilliant colour added itself to the shining display of silvery leaves, creating the illusion that the mountain was on fire with the suns.
“Very pretty,” Romana understated, to Koschei’s chagrin. “Do you have an answer or don’t you?”
“Of course I do. I’m going to be morally outraged at their attempt to use me as an assassin, spiritually disturbed by this new low in acceptable tactics that the High Council has adopted, and personally offended by their formal robes.” He stood and pointedly brushed dirt from his perfectly comfortable and sensible trousers. “It’ll probably take a week to get to the bottom of this latest scheme of theirs to deal with Thete. Do you know what set them off this time?”
Romana remained seated. “It does look very pretty,” she said.
“Now you notice.” He extended a hand to help her up. “Come on. Shouldn’t keep the High Council waiting any longer; their pomposity has to be deflated every hour promptly or the slightest pressure from a pointy object- such as their headdresses- causes them to burst.”
II. Cat’s Cradle
“Are you certain that was a good idea, Kosch-“
It had taken Cassandra much less time to adjust to Koschei’s body than it did for the Doctor to reassert control in his. It had taken only the difference between the two recovery times for Cassandra to remove a pistol from the Doctor’s pocket and point it at him.
“You’re going to help me out of here,” Cassandra said through Koschei’s lips.
The Doctor raised his hands slightly. “And what happens if I do?”
“Then you and your friend get to live. Once I find a new body.” S/he gestured towards the doors with the pistol. “Come on. Let’s get moving, Blondie.”
The Doctor shook his head minutely as he followed the direction. Koschei was going to hear of this for a long time to come.
III. School Reunion
“Think of it, Doctor- with the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it.”
Thoughtfully, the Doctor considered the Krillitane’s statement. “And what do you gain by letting me have this power?”
“The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a God. At my side. Imagine what you could do.“
“Yes-“
It was almost palpable, the crackle in the air, the energy, the universe holding its breath as the Skasis Paradigm bridged into the last link in the chain, the mind in the computer that would make it all work-
“Damn it, Thete.” A voice cut through, soft and frustrated, and a jagged, pained gasp of air as a laser spanner overloaded, and burnt through flesh as it was aimed towards the computers’ main power source. The system exploded, setting synapses all over the building on fire, releasing its information back into the nooks and crannies of the universe, tearing apart a portion of the room as its first and final act of power. Where the Krillitane had stood there was death, and where the Doctor had stood-
Koschei rolled away from the Doctor carefully, having knocked him clear of the explosion at the last moment. “Damn it, Thete,” he repeated, and tried not to notice the numb, blackened skin on his hands.
IV. The Four Koscheis
“Hello.”
Koschei whirled towards the voice, laser spanner in hand. Finding himself in the Death Zone had left him hypertense, and justifiably so.
And Thete, waiting patiently for a response, was not exactly a comforting sight. “What are you doing here?”
A small smirk tugged at the Doctor’s lips. “Come now, is that any way to greet your rescuer?”
“My what?”
“Since your mysterious disappearance from the time stream, the High Council requested my help preventing your erasure from the universe.” Koschei snorted. The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “You doubt my word?”
“I have trouble making it fit, yes.”
“I’m hurt by your distrust.” Nevertheless, the Doctor slipped a gloved hand into his pocket for the weighted sphere and offered it to Koschei. “The seal of the Council.”
Koschei barely glanced at it. “I’d point out that we both know that can be faked-”
“But?”
“But we have a more immediate problem.” For once, he’d seen something Thete hadn’t, and he extracted a small amount of morbid satisfaction from being the first to point out the Cybermen preparing to shoot at them.
“Ah. Shall we?”
“After you.”
They ran.
V. Planet of Fire
Quietly, “Your security’s slackened, Thete.”
The Doctor turned towards the voice and asked mildly, “Should I have them reprimanded?”
“If they can’t keep their Lord and Master adequately protected,” Koschei agreed, not stepping into the room fully. He didn’t need to, to get his point across.
“You’ve regenerated,” the Doctor observed. “Did one of your charity cases turn sour?”
“In a way. I was sacrificed to a god.”
“How unfortunate.”
“I found out,” Koschei added in a soft, understated tone, “that the order was given by a man called ‘the Doctor’, care of Logar’s Chosen One, Vislor Turlough.”
The glimmer of surprise in the Doctor’s eyes that greeted Koschei’s statement could have been satisfying. “I hadn’t realized it was you.”
“Would it have made a difference?” Without giving the Doctor the chance for a reply, Koschei shook his head and held up a hand. “No. Don’t answer that.” His face was new, but already it was tired and worn. “I just thought you’d want to know. Enjoy your victory.”
This one gets author's notes! More or less. Um, sections are not chronologically ordered, most of them are borrowed from Doctor Who episodes- old and new- and none of them are actually to be considered canon unless Ash says so. Yes. And the Romana in the first part is Tamm!Romana, just because.
Also, this is not a month and a half late. That's just your imagination.