The Doctor was dragged to a small cell with no windows and once he had been searched and had everything from his pockets removed he was locked in. The Lord Mayor opened the small window on the door and looked in. The Doctor was aware of him there but didn't look at him, he simply sat on the small bench and stared at the wall opposite, his hand entwined on his lap giving the appearance that he was calm.
"We are not a bad people, Doctor" the Lord Mayor told him "But you are a terrorist. You caused much pain to much of my planet and therefore this is necessary. You should be glad that you are not being treated any worse beforehand."
The Doctor continued to ignore him, staring at the wall like it was the most fascinating thing in the universe but too lost in thought to really see it.
"You don't fight against us, why is that Doctor?" asked the Lord Mayor, curiosity entering into his voice.
"It would make no difference." replied the Doctor without looking at him. "If I told you that I did what I did to end the suffering it would make no difference so why should I bother?" he turned to look at him "Let the Master go. What he said was true, he hates me for what I did, he doesn't deserve to be punished for my actions."
"You are in no position to be giving orders, Doctor." The Lord Mayor told him being slamming the window closed.
"You said you're not a bad people then let him go." The Doctor said quietly and calmly to the closed window.
He heard the Lord Mayor's footsteps retreat and was alone with his thoughts. It wasn't being in a cell he had a problem with, it wasn't the fact that he was going to be tortured, it was the Master's agreement. He knew the Master hated him and what he did but he would never have expected that. That hurt more than any torture the Astrians put him through possibly could.
FG
"What are you planning?" the Master asked the moment the Lord Mayor was back in the room. He had been let out of the confines of the chair and instantly rounded on the Lord Mayor.
The Lord Mayor stepped back from him, his expression clearly blank "He will be made to feel the pain he caused."
"Let him go." The Master said.
"No. The Doctor must be punished for the actions he took."
"I don't disagree with that, but he is a Time Lord and that makes him my responsibility." The Master replied.
"You have handed that responsibility over to the people of Astria."
"I have done no such thing." The Master argued. "I am the only Time Lord left aside from him and that makes him my responsibility. What happens to him is up to me not you."
"You agreed that he deserves to be punished and in doing so you handed over the responsibility. It is in our hands now." explained the Lord Mayor.
"Now you listen to me, I don't care what rules you have on your tiny little excuse for a planet but I am the last surviving Time Lord who except for him and that makes the Doctor my responsibility and I will keep saying that until you bloody well listen to me." The Master raged.
"And I will keep repeating to you until you understand, you handed over the responsibility to us and therefore it is now out of your hands."
The Master forced himself to calm down, placing a reassuring hand on the Lord Mayor's shoulder "Look," he spoke softly "I understand the pain you feel because of the Time War and the actions the Doctor took. I do, I woke up at the end of the universe to discover that my planet was gone, all my people dead except for him because he did it. He's the one who destroyed all of my people."
"Then you understand-"
"I'm not done" The Master said simply, glaring pointedly at the Lord Mayor warning him to stay quiet. "He destroyed everything, but I'm still here and I'm a Time Lord and therefore it is up to me to uphold the rules and beliefs of the High Council of Time Lords. We don't allow Time Lords to be punished outside of Gallifrey." The Master angry expression wavered to distress for just a second and he amended "Or in this case outside of the only other surviving member of the race…" he regained his previous composure "Therefore the Doctor is my responsibility and I cannot allow this to happen."
"With due respect," the Lord Mayor replied, his tone calm and reasonable, "Gallifrey is no longer there and their laws no longer apply."
"Then you are as much as a hypocrite as the Doctor is." The Master told him. "What happens to him now is my responsibility, you will hand him over."
"I will not." The Lord Mayor said. "No you have two choices, Master, you can leave Astria now or you can stay and get make acquaintances with my people. You will be made welcome, it has been a long time since we have had a Time Lord in our midst."
"You will not get-" the Master cut off, and smile friendlily "Thank you, I think I'll stick around for a while. Perhaps your people are more agreeable than you are."
He walked off, not looking back when the Lord Mayor added "We are only doing what is necessary."
The Master left the Guildhall and aimed for the city centre.
FG
The Doctor was left in the small cell for a few hours. He looked around for some way to escape but he knew without the Sonic it was useless and quickly gave up. Instead he simply sat and waiting for whatever was going to happen with him. Maybe he'd be able to reason with the Lord Mayor? He doubted it, but when the time came he would at least try.
FG
The Master got talking to an Astrian by the name of Hastica, with a young child called Bele. Hastica spoke of the Time War with a distant look in his eyes and a sad tone which told of his understanding and yet distance, something the Master could easily relate with.
"We could see the burning from Astria," Hastica explained. "We stayed out of it, we owed nothing to Gallifrey or Skaro and frankly we didn't want to fight. We'd been in a civil war for three generations before the Lord Mayor ended it and brought us to peace. That War was too raw in our memories so we stayed away. We knew the Time War would be worse and it was, we could see it."
The Master stayed quiet as Hastica spoke. He really wanted to hear about Gallifrey and he knew he was unlikely to get that from Hastica but he stayed listen anywhere, he would take anything that could bring him any closer to knowing about the Time War.
"Other planets from our solar system burnt in that War. Our defences were all that stopped us being incinerated with them. And they were our friends, our allies. Short range space travel was popular on Astria, nothing compared to what you're used to being a Time Lord, but it was enough for us, it was all we needed. Holidays and visits to those planets and they're not even there anymore."
Hastica sniffed, and the Master looked up at him, noticing the tears pricking his eyes and the pain written on his face and again the Master could relate. He never cared for Gallifrey when it was there, but there was a comfort in knowing it was there, without it he felt lost.
"Sorry, it's still a bit raw." Hastica added quickly, clearly feeling stupid for getting emotional. The Master shook his head understandingly to show it was fine and Hastica continued. "I think it's going to be at least a couple of generations before it's not raw. Getting used to not having that. The friends there no longer being there, it's hard. Sometimes I think death is easier than living."
The Master thought about that for a moment, he was in complete agreement. He was sure he'd rather have died with Gallifrey than be here now without it. Did that make him a hypocrite because he never cared before? He didn't know. He didn't care. All he knew was he couldn't get the image of the empty space that should've been Gallifrey out of his head.
"What about the Doctor?" The Master asked, meeting Hastica's eyes for the first time since he'd started talking. "What do you think for him?"
Hastica hesitated "I can't talk about the Doctor."
The Master watched him, noting the fear in his eyes "Why not?"
"Come with me." Hastica said. He scooped Bele into his arms gently from his sleeping position on Hastica's lap. He stood up and led the Master away from the crowd, into a deserted back street. "We are not to speak of the Doctor unless to attack him. His name has become like that of the devil's to Astria."
"Because he destroyed them?"
"The Doctor is hated because of what he did but I don't see him as the monster" Hastica continued in a hushed voice "I think the real monster is…" he stopped and shook his head "Never mind." Before continuing, "I think he was very brave and I think he must be going through a living hell constantly now but the way I see it, it was necessary." Hastica looked around paranoidly "We got some messages from our friends during the War, there were two kinds. Most people couldn't cope, they were falling apart, the horrors, they said, had no words to describe them and the others? The others were corrupted by it, enjoyed it, they weren't themselves anymore. If they could've seen themselves they would've hated it and they would've been glad at him ending it."
The Master followed suit and kept his voice hushed, waiting for a more appropriate time to ask why they were doing so. "Not many people would appreciate multiple genocide." He commented.
"No, but no other situation is like the Time War. They were dying anyway or worse they were surviving, they wanted it to be over. The Doctor, to me, is the hero who realised that and had the bravery to save everyone." Hastica suddenly looked very fearful, his eyes widening and his grip on Bele tightening protectively, "Please don't tell anyone I said that."
"Why are you so scared?" the Master asked.
"Don't you know anything of this planet?" Hastica asked bitterly, then looked apologetic and continued quietly "The Lord Mayor is seen by the main as a hero, but the main are brainwashed." He stopped, the fear over taking again.
"I'm not going to tell anyone what you're saying," the Master reassured him.
"He ended the civil war, yes, and we were grateful for he was harsh in it. He ended it by near destroying one side. And when it was over he was practically a dictator. The death penalty is his favourite form of punishment. That or torture" Hastica shuddered and the Master guessed he was talking from experience. "Anyone from Astria thought to be supporting the Doctor or basically having thoughts of their own is hanged as a traitor."
"And people think this guy is good?" The Master was impressed at the level of control the Lord Mayor had over them and how he was using it, but also worried by it. He knew he had to get past the Lord Mayor to get the Doctor out. And he knew, looking at Hastica and Bele, that they didn't deserve to live like that, but he didn't really care enough to stop them. He knew the only reason he cared at all was because he had been around the Doctor so long.