Title: Rassilon's Promise
Fandom: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst, missing scene, charakter moment
Charakters: Rassilon, Chancellor, 8th Doctor
Word count: about 1300
Description: The High council of the Timelords have chosen an new Lord President. In the dawn of the Time War they called back Rassilon, the founder of their civilisation. But something changed him, especially one person he has a special interest in. But what is the reason for all this? - Foreshadowing of "The end of Time".
Notes: The Doctor and the Time War is a period, it seems, I like to write in. And I have my own theories of the reasons, why Rassilon dislikes the doctor so much. Here is one and maybe the first explanation. At first it will be only an One Shot, but if you like I can make a series of Short Stories out of it.
Although there is a similar story in German, I try my luck now in English, so that you also might have fun with my thoughts. I am no native speaker, so have mercy, when looking at my spelling and grammar.
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„The travelling Timelords have answered our call. They will come back immediately and join the celebration of your inauguration, although we did not tell them everything, especially not, whom we will present them as their new Lord President. But they are used to obey without further question as it is custom in our society since your times." The Chancellor bowed his head. "My Lord, everything is ready. We are so happy and proud, that you decided to return to us and help us in these dark times."
„It is a honour for me, to be called back to life by the High Council, my dear Chancellor, and I will do my very best to help you in the struggle against the Daleks. I am sure, that we will find the best solution possible for Gallifrey and its people", Rassilon answered with a smile and touched the men's shoulder. „But tell me now about my special request?"
The Chancellor nodded. „As you asked, we send a a more cryptic and demanding message to him, giving him every reason to return. But as you know, it is not certain, that he will join us." He sighed. „This one is a very special case … one of the most famous Timelords of our time, my Lord – so brilliant and cunning, but …"
„But?" Rassilon rose an eyebrow, although he already knew the answer and gave it instead of the man in front of him. "While I rested in the matrix, I found many threads leading to the one, who calls himself The Doctor. And I studied them with growing interest."
He paused a moment, then he turned away to the window, looking through the glass on the Gallifreyan landscape, drinking the vivid colours, he had missed so long, with all his senses.
"Yes ...", he said quietly. "... a favourite son, I could have been proud of …" Then he turned back to the Chancellor. "He has a passionate soul, a curious mind and the unbreakable will to explore and to chance things, although they seem unchangeable. He is so similar to my friends, the explorers of old … oh yes … like Omega, like Salyavin, like Ulysses - he is a dreamer and an vivid dancer in the Vortex of his own … "
He sighed deeply. "But as we both know his tragic flaw, he is also stubborn to the core of his bone."
"Oh yes, the Doctor is a rebel from head to toe, my Lord, never able, to obey orders, since he stole his Tardis. A dangerous renegade, who stood trial several times!"
"But he never was executed or imprisoned for long, I know. ", Rassilon hold up his hand. "These are the qualities of a survivor – skills we might need at the front of the battle lines, if war is inevitable – as we know it is …"
"He will never accept nor obey!" was the Chancellors immediate answer. "You can try to persuade him, but he will stand to his moral codex, especially in this incarnation. You can ask the coordinators of the Celestial Intervention Agency for sure. They have a long record of his meddeling with time and space, especially when it comes to one planet in the galaxy …"
"We will see …" Rassilon smiled again, then his face changed from one moment to the other. "We will see, if he will disobey me, when I speak to him", he said with a could tone in his voice. "If he does, he will suffer the consequences."
The Chancellor, shuddered, when he looked in the eyes of his great leader. All warmth and friendliness was gone, only anger and … hate? … stayed.
Emotions, he could not understand, but had to accept, because Rassilon was the founder of his civilisation the greatest man of Gallifrey's past, and the one the High Council chose to lead them here and now.
For one moment he shuddered and asked himself, if it was good to fight fire with fire, the cruelty and coldness of the Daleks with dark emotions instead of logic, but then he shunned away his scepticism.
The man on his opposite was right. An example has to be stated, if the Doctor would choose to stay disobedient. Although he did not know, why Rassilon firstly spoke so kindly of the Renegade, then turned to hate so openly, he agreed. As far as he knew, the founder of Gallifreyan civilisation and the Doctor could never have met, but he was certain, that I he would ask, he would get no answer right now. Maybe …
Rassilon looked at him once more and broke his thoughts and the silence in the room. Now he looked more kindly again. "Please leave me now. I must rest and meditate."
"Yes my Lord!" The Chancellor bowed his head and turned to the door. He decided not to ask any further questions, because he was accustomed to confirm to rules.
Rassilon waited till the door had closed behind the man, then he returned to the window, looking at the reflection of his face in the glassy surface.
A thin smile showed itself at the corner of his mouth. It was obviously, that the Chancellor was not aware of certain events, that happened before.
Good … for him, that his predecessor, the long lost Lord President Romana had cleansed some files in the matrix regarding her friend and mentor … something he agreed with, because she had also cleansed the record of Rassilons faults and his biggest shame …
His thoughts returned to the moment in time, when the doctor stopped the Neverpeople, but infecting himself and his Tardis with anti-time.
He became Zagreus, a creature of Gallifrean myth - but also the weapon, Rassilon had waited for so long. For a while, the Doctor had danced on his strings like a puppet, had willingly forged a blade and prepared to open the gates to another universe.
But then – in the moment of Rassilons greatest triumph – looking forward to the destruction of the Divergence, the only force, that could endanger him and his creation, Zagreus teared the strings with one blow and turned against him.
Although his own personality seemed to have died and the Doctor had become another entity, his stubbornness remained and caused the downfall of all his plans and wishes.
A hot wave of anger flashed through Rassilons body, an emotion he drank like finest wine, because it made him feel alive and breathing again.
The treachery followed a long exile not only for the Doctor, but for him too. He endured much disgrace in front of the Divergence, was at the mercy of those he once banned. At last, after much humiliation and fear he made it back to his own universe, at the cost of much of his power and some of is precious knowledge about space and time … although he did not return with bare hands.
He took a deep breath.
Unwillingly or not, the Divergence had shared some of their precious secrets with him, he would show Gallifrey if the time had come. Maybe his people should also take the next step in their evolution – not longer depending on hulls of flesh and bone or simple technology. He had seen how capable minds of pure energy can be, how simply they wove themselves in the fabric of space and time. This was his aspiration for his race … his people … his children …
But one step after another. For now, he would like to be content to the meeting with one very special person.
"Yes Doctor!", he mumbled to himself. "Soon we will meet again. And then I will show no mercy, if you will not do, as I wish. You will dance like a puppet from my string, follow my will without hesitation – or you will suffer every second in the rest of your pathetic life. That will be - not only a promise, but my oath!"