CHAPTER 2

I do not own Doctor Who and I am making no profit off of this.

Thank you for all of your favorites, follows, story alerts, and reviews!

This chapter is set during Arkytior's time at the Time Lord Academy and occurs not too long after the first chapter.

THE WOLF AND THE SNAKE

Arkytior had never been jealous of anyone in her life. That changed when a Time Lady named Eris started taking a sudden interest in Theta. She would constantly be appearing wherever Theta was and would engage him in conversations for hours on end.

Theta would do his usual babble about nothing, and Eris would just sit there and listen as if she were completely fascinated by it. That was a new experience for Theta. No one had ever actually wanted to listen to him talk on and on before. Usually they invented some excuse why they had to leave in a hurry. Only Arkytior would listen to him for longer than a few minutes, and he could tell that she was just doing it to be nice. He would sometimes catch her with a blank expression on her face, and he could tell that she was no longer listening to him. She was his best friend, and even she couldn't stand to listen to him talk for long.

Eris though was different. She gave her full attention to everything that he said, and she was always complimenting him and telling him how brilliant he was. Needless to say, Theta loved it. He could now be found talking to her all of the time and going places with her that he used to only go with Arkytior.

So yes, Arkytior was jealous. She knew that she had no right to be. She had never been able to gather the courage to ask him on a second date or to even tell him that their one and only date to look at the stars together was actually supposed to be a date in the first place. She was so shy that she couldn't even tell him how she felt about him so he had no idea. This was Theta after all. He was totally clueless when it came to knowing that she felt more for him than just friendship. Much more!

So of course, Theta didn't realize how much he was hurting her by suddenly spending all of his time with this new woman. She knew that in his mind he would think that she would have no problems with it and would probably be happy for him that he had found a new friend. She also knew by watching them together that he had no idea that Eris was even interested in him. He was totally oblivious to her true intentions even though she was practically bashing him over the head with her advances.

After a week or so of Theta practically ignoring her and spending all of his time with Eris, Arkytior was so angry that her Vortex powers had started to trigger. She had found herself starting to glow several times recently and had had to quickly calm herself down in order to keep from being found out. She also had started having bad thoughts about Eris. This frightened her because she was afraid that she might unleash her power on Eris in a moment of anger and ruin both of their lives forever.

She didn't want to hurt anyone. She just wanted this new woman to go away and never come back. In other words, she wanted to scream at her to keep her hands off of Theta. He belonged to her whether he knew it or not.

Cliodna knew that something was wrong with Arkytior, and she didn't have to read her mind to know that it had to do with Theta suddenly spending all of his time with this new woman. She hadn't said anything to her about it for several days now because she knew how Arkytior didn't like it when anyone poked into her personal life. After watching her friend become more and more upset for so long though, Cliodna finally decided that she wasn't going to keep silent anymore.

One day when Cliodna caught Arkytior glaring at Eris like she wanted to shoot her, she finally said to Arkytior, "Ari, we have to talk about this."

Arkytior's anger was immediately hidden as a pleasant smile came over her face to hide it. This was the same smile that she always used whenever she was around Theta now. It fooled him, but it didn't fool Cliodna for a second.

"Talk about what?" Arkytior asked innocently.

"You know what. You need to tell Theta how you feel about him. I know that if you do that then Eris will be out of the picture instantly. If he knew how much you really loved him, he'd never hurt you like this," Cliodna said.

"I'm fine. I'm perfectly okay with it. Theta can spend time with whoever he wants," Arkytior said with that same phony smile still on her face.

"You want to rip her apart with your bare hands, don't you?" Cliodna suddenly blurted out.

"So badly that it frightens me," Arkytior admitted in an unguarded moment.

She realized what she had just said and put her hand over her mouth. She quickly became very embarrassed and ran from the room. Cliodna was like a sister to her, but there were some things that she didn't want to talk about even with her.

Cliodna wasn't giving up yet though. She was tired of seeing the anger and pain on Arkytior's face. She followed her to her room and went right in with her.

"We're talking about this whether you want to or not," Cliodna insisted.

"Leave me alone!" Arkytior screamed at her as her hands suddenly balled up into fists.

Cliodna was taken aback by this sudden display of anger. Arkytior had never yelled at her in all of the time that she had known her. This wasn't like her at all.

"What's wrong with you?" Cliodna asked in concern.

"Get out of my room right now, or you're going to be very, very sorry!" Arkytior threatened her.

The look of pure hatred in her eyes made Cliodna afraid of Arkytior for the first time in her life. As she backed away from her, Arkytior seemed to realize what she was doing. Her eyes suddenly became very sad and full of sorrow.

"I'm so sorry, Cliodna! I don't know why I said that. I didn't mean it. I'd never hurt you," Arkytior said with tears in her eyes.

"Your anger is turning you into a different person, Ari. You're becoming someone I don't recognize anymore. You need to talk to him now before you do something that you're going to regret," Cliodna advised.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Arkytior continued to apologize as she put her arms around Cliodna.

"It's okay. I forgive you," Cliodna said softly as she returned Arkytior's embrace.

"Something's wrong with me. It feels like I'm not myself anymore," Arkytior admitted.

"Your anger is only going to get worse if you don't talk to him," Cliodna said.

Arkytior nodded and said, "I'll tell him tomorrow. Just give me some time to think of what I'm going to say."

"Do you want my help? I'm here for you if you want to talk about it," Cliodna offered.

"No, I'm fine. I'll be okay. I'm going to do what you said first thing in the morning tomorrow," Arkytior said.

"I hope you do. I'm tired of seeing you in pain," Cliodna said.

She left Arkytior alone then and started to search for Theta. She walked through all of the usual places in the Capitol that he could be found and finally found him alone for once in the library. She watched him silently for a minute as he read a book about Thraskins. She knew that he was totally oblivious to what he was doing to Arkytior.

The anger over this welled up inside of her until she couldn't take it anymore, and she walked over to Theta intending to give him a piece of her mind. Theta looked up at her and instantly tensed up as he saw her angry expression. He looked at her in confusion. He truly had no idea what she was so mad about.

"What's wrong, Cliodna?" Theta asked in a mixture of curiosity and fear.

Cliodna started to tell him, but she knew that Arkytior would never forgive her if she did. Instead she did the next best thing. She pulled her arm back and slapped Theta across the face as hard as she could!

Theta screamed out in pain like a wounded animal and said, "What was that about?"

"You should know what it was about. It's just so sad that you don't. You need to get your act together, Theta Sigma. Arkytior has something that she's going to talk to you about tomorrow morning. It's about something very important. I swear that if you don't listen to everything that she has to say, then I'm going to make that slap seem like a love tap! Do you understand me?!" Cliodna shouted.

"Yes," Theta said nervously.

"Good. That's all that I have to say to you," Cliodna said as she turned around to leave.

"Is something wrong with Arkytior? Is she sick?" Theta asked with worry.

"She'll have to tell you about it herself tomorrow," Cliodna said as she walked away.

Eris walked up to him then and asked, "What's her problem?"

"I don't know. I think that something may be wrong with Ari," Theta said with his face filled with worry.

"I'm sure she's fine. It's probably nothing but jealousy," Eris said.

"Jealousy? Why would Ari be jealous?" Theta asked confused.

"You honestly don't know, do you?" Eris asked in amazement.

"Know what?" Theta asked.

"Never mind, Theta. It's not important. I see that you're reading about the Thraskins. I've always wanted to see Venus. Maybe when we graduate from the Academy, we could go together. What do you think?" Eris asked.

Theta sat there silent with his face clouded with worry, and he never said a word. Eris moved her hand back and forth in front of his face, but he never even blinked. He was so lost in his own mind that he seemed to have forgotten that she was even there.

"Theta? Hello!" Eris said as she got right in his face.

She then did something that she'd wanted to do since the first day that she met him. Something that she was sure would snap him out of his trance. She quickly kissed him right on the lips.

Theta never moved. He hadn't even noticed!

Eris was furious. She stomped away muttering under her breath. Theta sat there lost in worry about the one woman that meant more to him than anyone for hours afterward. He wanted to go to her but knew that if he did before she was ready that she wouldn't say a word. He just sat in the library wondering what to do and worrying about what it could possibly be about.

Cliodna walked by the library later on that night and looked at him in shock. He was still sitting in the same spot that he had been in earlier that day when she had slapped him.

"Theta, have you been here all day?" she asked him.

He never responded, and she could see immediately that he was lost in thought.

After several unsuccessful attempts to get him to respond to her, Cliodna went to find Koschei. The two of them then picked him up and carried him out of the library. They laid him in his bed and then left him there alone in his room.

"It's about Ari, isn't it?" Koschei asked after they left the room.

"What else? They have the weirdest relationship I've ever seen. They both love each other deeply, but neither one of them will admit it. I think that they've convinced themselves that the other one might not feel the same way that they do," Cliodna said with her eyes rolling.

"It makes no sense to me either. Then again, I don't really know anything about love so that's probably why. I've never been in love with anyone," Koschei admitted.

"I don't believe that. What about Ushas? Don't you have some kind of feelings for her?" Cliodna asked.

"No, nothing. Even if I did, it's not like she'd feel the same way. She can't even stand me," Koschei said.

Cliodna could tell that he was lying. She knew that he cared about Ushas despite what he said. He just didn't want to admit it for some reason. It was probably some kind of macho thing. He was almost as bad as Theta sometimes.

"Yeah, sure you don't. I don't believe that for a second," Cliodna said.

"You can believe what you like. I really don't care," Koschei said as he walked away from her in anger.

"What is it with everyone today?" Cliodna asked herself in bewilderment.

Later that night when everyone else was asleep, Arkytior lay on her bed crying. She couldn't sleep. She had worried all night about what to say to Theta in the morning, and she still had no idea what she would do about it. She didn't know whether to tell him the truth or not. Maybe she shouldn't say anything at all. She could deal with Cliodna's anger about it later. She just didn't know if she could tell him that she loved him or not. If he rejected her or worse laughed at her, she wouldn't be able to survive that. She would die inside.

She finally fell asleep from mental exhaustion eventually, and then she had a strange dream later that night. She dreamed that she was walking through the corridors of the Capitol, but there was no one there at first. She felt so alone and depressed, and she could find no one there anywhere. She searched and searched through the entire Capitol but still found no one. Then Theta appeared out of nowhere and began to laugh at her. He pointed at her and started to laugh even harder now. She ran away from him, but his laughter just kept following her.

"I can help you," a disembodied voice suddenly said in her dream.

"What? Who are you?" Arkytior asked in surprise.

"A friend or at least I can be. I've been watching you, and I know what's bothering you. I want to help. Let me help you to take back what's yours, Arkytior. Just say yes, and let me into your mind," the voice said.

"No, I don't even know who you are," Arkytior said.

"I told you. I'm your friend. Let me into your mind, and I can make you stronger and much more self-confident. I can take away your shyness and your fears. I can give you the confidence that you need to stand up to Eris and drive her off. I'll even help you to tell Theta how you feel. You'll be a new person and have a much better life with my help," the voice said.

"What do you get out of it?" Arkytior asked.

"I get to help you. That's all that I need. The satisfaction of having helped a friend," the voice said.

The laughter continued to get louder and louder now until Arkytior had to put her hands over her ears to block it. Then a new chorus of laughs joined in, and she could recognize the voices of some of her classmates now mocking her. The mocking and the laughing continued to get worse and worse until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Let me help you. I can make all of this go away. Do you agree to this?" the voice asked.

"Yes! Yes!" Arkytior screamed in despair.

The dream ended, and Arkytior awoke with a serpent tattoo on her arm now. She had a huge smile on her face, and a snake-like voice that was not hers came out of her mouth and said, "Yes!"

Arkytior now got of bed and got herself dressed. She quickly walked to Theta's room and opened his locked door with golden energy that poured out of her hand. She then shut it behind her locking them both into the soundproofed room. The Mara inside of her was glad that it was soundproofed so that no one could hear his screams.

"Ari? Are you okay? I've been worried about you all day and night," Theta said as he finally came out of his trance upon seeing her. It never even occurred to him to ask what she was doing there in the middle of the night or how she had gotten into his room since Cliodna had locked the door before leaving.

"I bet you have," a voice that both was and wasn't Arkytior's said.

"Of course I have. Cliodna said that there was something very important that you needed to tell me. What was it? Are you sick? Is that it? Is there anything that I can do to help?" Theta asked.

"Yes, you can feel the pain that you put your friend through! Feel it and burn!" The creature speaking through Arkytior said with an evil laugh.

Golden energy poured out of Arkytior's hand and enveloped Theta's body. He began to scream in pain now as the pain continued to get worse and worse.

"Louder, boy! Scream louder. It's like music to my ears," the evil snake-like voice hissed.

"You're not Ari. Who are you? What have you done to her?" Theta asked through his pain.

"I am Arkytior's deliverer from the torment that you in your thoughtlessness have put her through. She asked me to help her, and so I did. I am the dark impulses of her mind given form. The anger and despair that she felt over your betrayal of her called to me across the gulf of space and time and brought me to her. Now she belongs to me. She is the new vessel for the Mara," the Mara said with an evil laugh.

"My betrayal? I didn't do anything to her," Theta protested.

"You were ignoring her to spend time with another woman. What do you call that?" the Mara accused.

"She's just a friend like Arkytior is. I'm not betraying her by spending time with her. Cliodna is my friend too, but Ari never gets angry when I spend time with her," Theta defended himself.

"You just don't get it, do you? Cliodna is not in love with you and Eris is. She wants to take you away from me," a voice that now sounded more like Arkytior's said.

"What are you talking about? Eris isn't in love with me, and I'm certainly not in love with her," Theta said.

"Liar! You would say anything to keep from dying. Tell her the truth," the Mara said.

"I'm . . . not . . . lying. I'd never . . . hurt . . . her," Theta said through the ever increasing pain.

Don't listen to him. You can't believe him. He's already betrayed you once. Destroy him, and then destroy Eris! Get your revenge! the Mara said to Arkytior.

Theta fell over onto the bed and stopped moving. The Mara started to laugh with joy at the sight.

"No! Theta!" Arkytior said as she regained control of herself once more.

The shock of seeing Theta possibly dying had made Arkytior come back, and she raced to check his pulse. She breathed a sigh of relief as she found that it was still there.

Finish him! the Mara's voice said in her head.

SHUT . . . UP! Arkytior shouted to him in her mind in a voice of pure anger.

You could have killed him! I never wanted him to die. I just wanted him to know how I felt. You twisted everything around into something dark and ugly. Arkytior thought.

That's what I do. I feed off of misery and suffering, and I make it worse so that I can make more to feed off of. I'm in your mind now of your own free will; and as long as I'm here, sooner or later I will take control of you again. You can fight me for hours, maybe even days, but I will break you permanently sooner or later. Then I will use you and your incredible power to cause untold carnage and destruction throughout time and space. What a feast that will be! There's nothing that you can do to stop me. Sooner or later, I always win! The Mara said in Arkytior's mind.

Not this time! Arkytior thought.

She began to glow brighter and brighter as she became angrier and angrier at the thought that the Mara had almost used her to kill Theta. The Mara began to scream in pain as Arkytior reached inside of herself and yanked it out of her. She could see it for what it truly was now, and its true form seemed oddly appropriate to Arkytior.

The Mara was a large snake, and it just kept getting larger and larger. It hissed at her in defiance as it leapt towards her in an attempt to take her over again.

Arkytior grabbed the Mara by its throat before it could reach her though and poured energy into it making it scream. Her anger fueled her attack the more that it grew, and she used that rage to disintegrate the Mara completely.

As the snake being's body fell apart in her hand, she began to deliberately try to relax herself. Her anger quickly subsided, and her power faded away again with it. She breathed out a sigh of relief. She had been afraid that she wouldn't be able to shut it back down that time.

Theta suddenly woke up with a huge smile as he saw her standing there and said, "Ari, what are you doing here? It's funny that you're here actually. I just had the weirdest dream about you. You'll never believe it when I tell it to you."

Arkytior ran to him and hugged him tightly in relief now that she knew that he was okay.

"What's this about? It was just a weird dream that's all. Nothing to be worried about," Theta said.

"There's something I have to talk to you about, Theta," Arkytior said as she pulled away from him.

"I know. Cliodna let me know that. She really let me know it," Theta said as he rubbed his face where his friend had slapped him.

"What did she say?" Arkytior asked in fear.

"Nothing much. She just said that I needed to listen to what you had to say, or she'd hit me . . . again!" Theta said as he continued to rub his face.

Arkytior laughed for a minute, and then turned serious as she said, "Theta, I want you to stop seeing Eris. I know I have no right to tell you what friends that you can have, but she bothers me because I think that she has plans to be more than a friend to you."

"If she upsets you that much, then she's gone. I'll tell her in the morning which should be pretty soon now. I'd never knowingly do anything to upset you. You know that right?" Theta asked.

"I know," Arkytior said.

"I'm not interested in her in the slightest so don't mistake my next question as indicating that. I just wanted to know something. Why do you care if she wants to date me?" Theta asked.

Arkytior started to tell him the truth, but she choked up and couldn't make the words come out of her mouth.

"I don't think that she's good for you. I don't want her to hurt you. That's why," Arkytior lied.

"I'll tell her that I don't want to see her anymore in the morning. I can't believe that she ever wanted to be anything more than friends though. If she did, then she was barking up the wrong tree as they say on Earth. I was never interested in her in that way in the first place. I don't need to find a girlfriend," Theta said as he gave Arkytior a meaningful look.

She started to ask him why that was. Her courage deserted her though, and she reminded silent.

"Ari, since you're up anyway, would you like to go outside and see the stars with me again? I never did get to tell you everything about Flutterwings the last time," Theta asked.

"I'd love to," Arkytior said with a smile.

Next: Arkytior encounters the ghost of a famous figure from Gallifrey's history or does she? What is she really seeing?