Year Four- Chapter 11- Coersion

Theta stared, wide eyed, at the gate in front of him. The ancient metal was intertwined in complicated patterns. Some of the rust was beginning to show, but that just added to the rustic appeal of it all. Beyond the huge gate stood a house that was at least three times bigger than Theta's. It stretched artfully in all directions, the sprawling epitome of Earth-styled architecture. After a few moments of blinking, Theta fixed the way his bag was hanging over his shoulder and looked back at Ushas and Koschei, who were arguing about something.

"This is your house?" Theta asked timidly. He had seen it before. Whenever he had passed by it with his father, Epsilon would point out that it was a shame to ruin Gallifrey with another planet's idea of art. But Theta loved the look of it, regardless. He put a hand on the metal in front of him as Koschei came closer.

"Yep," he said, opening the gate. Theta stepped to the side and let Ushas walk onto the property first. She looked at some of the flowers growing along the walkway.

"They're drying…" she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, my parents have been a little too busy to water flowers," Koschei countered, motioning for Theta to shut the gate behind them. The smaller boy pulled at it, and, when it snapped shut with a loud crash, Theta jumped. "Don't worry," the older boy encouraged, "it does that all the time. Come on." Ushas was already at the front door, looking back to the two.

"Are they home?" she asked. Koschei nodded. At that, she knocked and stepped back. By the time Theta and Koschei had reached the door, it swung open to reveal Mekail dressed in simple Earth-clothes. He smiled at the children invitingly.

"Hello!" he greeted. He held a hand out to Theta. "I believe we've never really met." Theta took his hand and shook it quietly. Mekail then smiled to Ushas. "It's nice to see you," he said, patting her shoulder. Koschei edged his way in the door, past his father, so his friends could get through. "I thought you said that only Ushas would be coming."

"Koschei… convinced me to come." Theta admitted. Koschei smiled.

"Yep! So, Ushas, you can have the room you usually take unless you want another one…"

"I can sleep on the couch," Theta offered. All three of the others looked at him in surprise.

"No, you're a guest," Mekail said, motioning to the stairway ahead of them.

"Theta, they've got more rooms than a hotel," Ushas supplemented. Koschei nodded at both statements and grabbed Theta's shoulders from behind.

"Come on, let's go find you somewhere to stay," he offered to the younger boy. Theta was led down several halls, each of which seemed to contain more and more strange things. There were photographs and paintings from all over the universe, along with sculptures. For a minute, the endless maze continued, but Koschei soon stopped. He opened a door. "This is my room," he said. Theta wasn't surprised to see that it was as messy as their dorm room had been when he first moved in.
"I think I'm going to get lost…" Theta said, mostly to himself. Koschei overheard the comment and smiled.

"That's why you can have the room across from mine. That way you can shadow me until you get used to it. Trust me; it's not all that confusing." He gave a reassuring smile and walked over to the door that was a little bit further down the hall on the opposite wall from Koschei's room. "So, it's a little small, but it's bigger than the room, at the Academy, so I think you won't mind." As the older boy opened the door, Theta's eyes widened. It was definitely bigger than his room at his house. He was beginning to feel that he didn't belong in the house at all. It was all so foreign, the luxury, the space, the opportunities, the freedom. And it was all so overwhelming. "So you can just set your stuff down… And we can get something to eat. Or you could swim or something."

"Where'll Ushas be?" Theta asked quietly.

"In one of the studies, trying to find more information about science or something. She always heads there first. And doesn't really come out for much of the rest of the time, either. So what do you want to do?" Theta gave the intelligent answer of a blink and a small glance around. "Are you usually this indecisive?" Koschei asked. Theta shook his head.

"It's just… I don't belong here." Koschei rolled his eyes and grabbed Theta by his sleeve, dragging him through the hallways silently. Eventually, after several turns and multiple openings of doors, Koschei stopped in front of another door. He knocked on it and waited. After a moment, the door opened. The Protector stood in the door with a broad smile.

"Theta-Sigma, is it?" she asked. Theta gave a quick nod. "It's nice to meet you!" She turned to her son. "Was there a reason that you came up here?" Koschei nodded.

"Yeah. Theta keeps saying that he doesn't belong here, and it was annoying me."

"I only said it once," Theta argued weakly. Patience shook her head and stepped out of the room. "And I don't… My father doesn't like your family… And I'm lying to him… And…" He hoped that maybe she would send him home. After all, he had lied to his father, and now she knew. She had to do something, surely.

"Theta-Sigma, your father is very strict. Sometimes, I think that he doesn't quite know what actually is the right way to raise a child. So, please, stay. Enjoy your time here. And if Koschei starts to get annoying, just get Ushas. I'm sure she'll set him straight. Okay?" The young boy looked to Koschei before looked back to the Protector.

"It's okay that I stay?" He felt silly for asking such a question. Regardless, though, he felt like he didn't deserve such a good friend or such a nice place to stay. Callia beamed at Theta.

"Of course!" she insisted. Theta gave her a smile back. She was so nice that it was hard not to simply agree with her. "And, Koschei, behave yourself," she reminded as they walked away. Koschei turned around and frowned.

"I'm fourteen, Mother, I can handle myself," he informed her before continuing down the hallway. "So," he said to Theta once they were out of earshot, "now that you've been set straight, what do you want to do?" After a moment of consideration, Theta thought of something.

"Can we run? Ushas said you liked to, that you always used to be faster than her..." Koschei nodded.

"Sure, if you really want to. We have a garden in the back that we can run in." He led the younger boy through the maze of hallways until they were outside. Theta was beginning to get the feel of the house. It was a in a shape of a rectangle, with additions extending towards the back of the large property. The massive amount of land didn't surprise him. His father had mentioned something about the Guardian's family being one of the oldest and most revered families in Northern Gallifrey. Of course, he then promptly called the Protector a whore and defamed the entire family.

"Wow," Theta murmured when he looked around the open path in front of him. On either side, there were tall, silver-leafed trees and small bushes set to layout the paths through the yard. Theta would hardly have called it a yard, though. It was more of a small park. Koschei smiled to Theta.

"So, do you think you're faster than me?" Theta shrugged.

"I'm pretty fast." He may not have had much confidence in himself, but over the years, he had become adept at running as fast as he could to avoid the wrath of his father, and that had made him faster than anyone he had compared himself to. Koschei raised his eyebrows and nodded challengingly.

"Okay. Try to keep up," he challenged, taking off quickly. Theta closed his mouth and followed, kicking up dust behind his heels. He immediately found that Ushas wasn't kidding. Koschei was already a ways ahead, legs moving as fast as Theta's, and most likely a bit faster. Theta clenched his hands into fists and concentrated further. He brought back the memory of the first time he ran.

His father was yelling at him, calling him a failure. He was seven years old. After an hour of verbal abuse, he turned tail and fled out of his room, out of the house, as fast as he could. His father was yelling after him, his threats of violence more real than ever before. But Theta didn't care. He took off down the streets, dodging other Time Lords and assorted obstacles.

He didn't get far. A block from the house, his father cut him off and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Epsilon had dragged his son back to the house silently. Theta knew that he was going to regret it, but he could still feel the freedom flowing through his veins. For once, he had been free from his father's grasp.

Theta smiled grimly with newfound energy. He was free from his father when he was running. Nothing could stop him if he wanted to continue. He would not be under someone else's control. He would not lose. He kicked his heels back into the Earth and caught up to Koschei with a victorious smile. Both of them were sucking in air as quickly as they possibly could, but neither cared. Neither one planned on losing.

"Nice," Koschei complimented in a rush. "But I'm not even near at my fastest yet." At that, he sped up further. Theta slowed for a moment, surprised. But then, he wasn't going as fast as he could. He could still do it. He could run away from his father.

The fifth time he ran, his father had called the twins into his room. He informed Theta that he could never be as good as them, that he was incompetent, weak, and useless. Theta had stood there, trying to take it as stoically as possible, but he began to feel a familiar itch in his body. He had to run. He had to get away from the man who was feeding him lies. He pushed past the younger of the twins, Zeta, and barrelled down the stairs, knocking over his mother as he shot out the stairs. He knew that Epsilon always caught him, but this time, he was determined to not be trapped. He took alleys that no one ever travelled in. He ran through the main plaza of the Citadel. He ran until he reached a part of town he didn't know. He slowed to a walk and looked around. His father was nowhere to be seen. He was free. He paused for a long moment and suddenly, laughter bubbled up from inside of him. He gasped in air and laughed hysterically. His father was far behind him.

Theta forced his legs to pump faster. If he had freedom, he was going to make the most of it. Again, he caught up to Koschei a grim expression etched into his features. His muscles were screaming for him to stop; they wanted to quit, but Theta knew that quitting wasn't an option. It never had been.

Koschei knew that Theta was good as soon as he matched his pace the first time. Now, he was just impressed. He stopped quickly, taking in deep breaths and trying to not look too out of shape. He hadn't run like that in the longest time. It felt good, but the burning in his legs and chest informed him that he had fallen out of shape. Theta noticed the older boy's sudden change of pace and stopped as well.

"Nice," Koschei complimented, putting his hands on his knees. Theta took a deep breath and smiled.

"You're fast," he said, almost reverently. Koschei shrugged.

"Yeah, but you're in shape. Breathe heavily," he demanded. "You're making me feel fat." Theta smiled and shook his head.

"No, my father makes us run around the house every morning. I just get a lot of practice. And you don't, and you're still good. If I stopped running every morning, I'd probably be in worse shape than you are." Koschei took another few deep breaths and straightened up. He put an arm around Theta's shoulders, grinning madly.

"You're a good kid, Thete," he said. He paused when he realised what he'd said. "Eh, sorry about that." He backtracked immediately. Theta blinked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Um… it's fine."

"You sure? You look confused." Theta shrugged.

"I guess I've never had a real nickname before."

"Well, you're nickname's Theta, right?" Koschei asked. Again, Theta gave another shrug.

"Not really. Theta is my name. It's not a nickname." Koschei grinned and then began to lead Theta back to the house.

"Well, then, I think that I just gave you your first nickname."

Next Chapter: My Soul, My Hate

AN: Thanks to Unapologetically Bombastic for editing and for NobleBea for keeping me from rage-quitting on this chapter because it actually turned out to be really cute!