A/N - Here's part 2! Enjoy :)
The Doctor and the Master kept their eyes locked on one another and noted the other's mirror confusion; they had been so preoccupied with each other that neither had heard anyone enter the room. Keeping their hands gripped on the other they both glanced around guardedly and observed the new occupants; the grappling pair were surrounded on all sides by members of the Chancellory guard armed with stasers and at the entrance stood the high council of Gallifrey.
Seeing that the only other option was to be stunned, the Master released his grip on the Doctor with a grunt and shoved his enemy far away from him; suddenly disgusted that they were so close. The Doctor caught himself easily and remained in a defensive position until the Master backed off to a safe distance; his heart's rocketed against his ribcage as the adrenaline raced throughout his body. That had been close; too close.
The guards indicated for the Doctor to move to the other side of the table with their staser rifles. He moved quickly away from the Master without another word; his muscles still tense and shirt ruffled from the previous scuffle. The Master scowled at the guards who attempted to guide him to a seat and then proceeded to choose his own; the Doctor seated himself directly opposite the psychotic Time Lord all the while never averting his gaze from the man; The Master was a ticking time bomb.
The Doctor's attention reluctantly turned to the new entrants as they began to fill in and occupy the other seats around the ancient table. The approaching Time Lords were all dressed up in the usual Gallifreyan garb; crimson robes flowing elegantly all the way to the floor and golden headpieces towering high above their heads. The Doctor rolled his eyes at the pomposity of it all; he had never been one for all this tradition.
All of the Council members gave him and the Master a wide berth to seat themselves at the opposite end; the Doctor noted their stern gazes as they passed. He faced frontward to see that the Master hadn't been intrigued by the Council members at all; the other Time Lord was still glaring directly into the Doctor's eyes. The Doctor struggled to retain eye contact as he recognised the madness and insanity in his old friend's eyes; he was still lost in a fit of rage and was clearly outraged he had been denied his chance of violence.
"Please stand for the Lord President."
The spell was broken as both the Doctor and Master's face showed signs of confusion for a split second, and they both reluctantly broke eye contact to face the door; so it was the president who was behind their rough calling back. The confusing matter was that Romana would never do something like this in a million years, that had to mean something must have happened with Romana's presidency… The Doctor felt his gut clench as the possibilities raced through his mind at a million miles per minute; worryingly the majority of the outcomes did not bode well for Romana or the Doctor.
He was abruptly pulled from his anxious musings as he felt a prod in his back from the guard and realised they were waiting for him and the Master to rise. With a grimace and scowl simultaneously stuck to his face the Doctor relented to the guards wishes. The entire chamber fell silent as the President of Gallifrey graced the occupants with his presence.
The powerful Time Lord purposefully marched into the room as his dark judgemental eyes scoured over each of the occupants; the Doctor met the newcomer's gaze and strangely felt a spark of recognition for a handful of seconds. He had never met this Time Lord before and yet he felt oddly familiar. The President broke off his glare to stare straight ahead as he passed behind the Master and Council members to reach the head of the table.
The President was dressed in blood crimson robes that were so lengthly they brushed the floor; the lapels and sleeves were embroidered in a golden colour with ancient Gallifreyan language. The President wore a head piece similar to the Council members except his had beautiful and intricate designs engraved into the golden metal; the darkened swirls were also written in the ancient language of the Time Lord's and looked just as striking. Attached firmly over his left hand sat a silver gauntlet, it almost looked like a metal glove, the Doctor didn't recognise the device but he doubted it was worn for show.
The Time Lord stood tall and mighty as he stared at each of the table's occupants in turn until they all averted their eyes away from his gaze; all except the Doctor and the Master. Funnily the action caused a slight smile to tug at the elder Time Lord's lips. The President broke eye contact and took his seat causing a ripple effect for the rest of the occupants; the Doctor caught the Master's gaze as he followed suit and read his old friend easily; the other Time Lord had switched his violent intentions to the newcomer for now.
"Doctor, Master." The President greeted the two renegade Time Lords in a bitter tone.
The Doctor couldn't shake the niggling feeling that this particular Time Lord felt familiar; he couldn't place it no matter how hard he thought about it. There was nothing for it he would have to play into this man's power play.
"You seem to have us at a disadvantage…" The Doctor drawled; deliberately leaving out the title before adding with a cheeky smile. "…Lord President."
The President's features screwed up in disdain for a second before a controlled calmness overtook him once more, and he responded with a sly glint in his eye. "I am Rassilon, Lord President of Gallifrey."
The smile was ripped right from the Doctor's face. He felt his respiratory bypass system kick in as impossibly the Doctor forgot how to breathe; his face fell and he fought the desperate urge to run with all of his might. One of the founder's of the Time Lord Civilisation was sitting no more than a couple of metres from him; this man had engineered the transduction barrier, had brought the eye of Harmony to Gallifrey, invented TARDIS' and mapped out all of creation. It was a surreal feeling seeing the infamous Time Lord in the flesh; the Doctor had come across ghosts and rumours in all of his lives but the real Rassilon was a first. The Council had evidently sought fit to resurrect the ancient leader in time of war; the Doctor realised the action was probably due to Rassilon's rumoured ruthlessness and experience with war.
Many Time Lord's on Gallifrey were under the belief that Rassilon was the sole creator of the Time Lord way of life; the Doctor was amongst the others who knew Omega was just as responsible as Rassilon was. Omega was the Time Lord the Doctor had always looked up to. There was still a great deal of mystery surrounding Omega's demise but it didn't take a giant leap of logic to believe Rassilon was behind it; people did not cross Rassilon and live to tell the tale.
"How is this possible?" The Master queried seemingly in awe over the possibilities this could mean; immortality.
"I was resurrected in the same way you were." Rassilon answered the Master in a bored tone; much like a teacher to an annoying student. He turned to the Doctor and the glint returned to his gaze; interest peaked. "From your expression Doctor it seems you had not heard rumours of my existence."
"No…"
Rassilon dipped his head and smirked which had the Doctor on guard immediately. "You have heard of the war though surely?"
"Yes." The Doctor replied bitterly through gritted teeth; he really wanted to avoid this but it was beginning to look like he wouldn't be able to. There was no running away from this one.
"Yes…" Rassilon growled his body language and tone growing more aggressive with every syllable. "…And yet we have to drag you back kicking and screaming to your own people. After all we have given you."
The Doctor clenched his fists together tightly in an attempt to reign control of his own temper; he refused to lower himself to Rassilon's level he knew the other man was attempting to get a rise out of him. He spat back exactly what he thought of the Time Lord's accusations.
"You have given me nothing, I owe my people nothing. This is an unjust war that is already killing millions of innocents but you don't care about that as long as the Time Lords live!" As hard as the Doctor tried to control his temper he couldn't help but yell louder with each word, the war and everything it stood for filled him with a loathing he hadn't known he could feel.
Rassilon's face fell with every word; his features morphing into disdain and disgust towards his fellow Time Lord. The President was not used to such open defiance when being spoken to; the Doctor was proving to be even more rebellious than his reputation indicated.
"Unjust? You know nothing about this war Doctor; you wouldn't be up their on your moral high ground if you did. We demanded you return and you ignored us!" Rassilon roared to a stony silent room. It was as if the Doctor and Rassilon were the only ones present; the Council members were frozen in fear and the Master seemed to be enjoying the show.
"So you hijack my TARDIS and treat me like a common prisoner just because I said no to you? You have more of a power complex than I imagined."
"Enough!" Rassilon thundered powerfully before visibly checking himself; he hadn't handled anyone who could get him genuinely angry in quite some time. "When I call on a Time Lord I expect them to respond, and that TARDIS you traipse around in does not belong to you Doctor. It is the property of Gallifrey."
"Oh so that's the angle here, stolen property?" The Doctor mocked as his face morphed into shock at how childish the Time Lord's could be. "I've been piloting that TARDIS for over 700 years. You have no right to abduct people against their will Rassilon; no matter who you are!"
"I have every right!" Rassilon could not stay seated a moment longer; the insult was one step too far. The President jumped to his feet abruptly, shifting the grand table a few inches as he did so, and boomed. "I am your President!"
The Doctor's face showed his aversion and lack of respect for the man standing before him; he was not a President he would have chosen: a warmonger. Not many had earned the Doctor's contempt in all the galaxy only the truly evil beings; the beings that simply did not care what their actions would do to others. Rassilon was one of the few.
"You are not my President." The Doctor responded quietly.
Rassilon's expression turned stormy and the Doctor realised he had just touched a nerve, and perhaps taken things a step too far. The room was eerily silent as the two Time Lords held their ground and gaze; the Doctor had seen madness and rage in all his years but what he briefly glimpsed in Rassilon's eyes actually caused his heart's to race faster. The terrifying thing was he did not know this man he had just denounced; he did not know what he was capable of and as usual had spoken before thinking. It didn't detract from the fact that the statement was true as this man had not and would never earn his loyalty.
The Doctor felt his heart's slam against his ribcage as the silence was drawn out, only being interrupted by a few hushed whispers from the other occupants; the Doctor realised Rassilon had most definitely not experienced such open disobedience to his rule. Everyone else was too afraid of him; not that the Doctor was blaming them he would have to be a fool to not feel scared; he was at this man's mercy after all. The Doctor's gaze fell to Rassilon's arm as he noted the slight twitching movement of the gauntlet; Rassilon was actually having trouble resisting the urge to kill him.
'Maybe I did go too far…' The Doctor mused; unable to draw his gaze away from the weapon. He was now sure that the gauntlet was at the very least damaging and most likely fatal; Rassilon was clearly as murderous as history suggested.
"Well… this was definitely worth getting out of bed this morning for!" The Master interrupted the lull unhelpfully in a sing-song voice.
The Master's words broke the spell and snapped the two out of their reverie's. The Doctor blinked in surprise and he realised just how involved and preoccupied he had become; he had completely lost track of time and had stopped watching the Master. Evidently his mind had calculated Rassilon equalled or even exceeded the threat the Master posed.
Rassilon too recomposed himself and made a visible effort to shake off the effects of the Doctor's words; he was not a man who liked to lose control in front of an audience and he almost had. He turned his wrath on the other renegade in the room, whilst a fake smile forced itself on his face.
"What about you Master… Why did you ignore the callback."
The Master leant back in his seat looking comfortable and laid back; a grin spread across his face as the attention was turned to him. The Doctor rolled his eyes at his old friend; he was always happiest when he was the centre of attention.
"I don't answer to you." The Master purred with a stupid grin still plastered to his face.
Rassilon's right hand twitched in response to the disobedience; the Doctor didn't miss the minute action and by the look of the Master's grin widening neither had the other Time Lord. The Doctor wanted to hold his head in his hands. The Master had a front row seat to how Rassilon reacted to this kind of behaviour, and yet he still wanted to push the President's buttons. It was all a game to the Master.
With visible effort Rassilon controlled the tone of his response and leaned forward in an supposedly intimidating posture."You were resurrected to answer to me; that is your purpose."
The Master's eyebrows shot up abruptly and he burst out laughing. "What do you think you can bully me into being your puppet? Ha! Do you even know who you're talking to? You're best off trying again with the Doctor he has on occasion done the Time Lord's bidding."
The Doctor listened to his adversary's rantings intently whilst simultaneously watching Rassilon's reactions; the President's mood was becoming more infuriated with every word and the Doctor was wary to how unpredictable Rassilon could be. Neither of them knew how this little get-together would end. The Doctor groaned inwardly as the Master tried to goad him back into an argument; his old friend knew he could not stay silent at such a jibe.
"I do nobody's bidding." The Doctor muttered darkly.
The Master grinned triumphantly at hooking his catch; the Doctor was powerless to ignore the slander and the Master knew that. He was playing him just as he always did.
"Oh Doctor, Doctor… You really don't see it do you? You're the Time Lord's lapdog! How many times have you come running when they call?"
The Master was positively beaming and chuckled madly; it was like he had come to life after a sustained silence. The Time Lord had been moping since he had been denied the chance to inflict violence upon the Doctor; but now he was back in his element as he continued their previous assault verbally.
"I didn't come running this time…" The Doctor spat. He knew his attempt to claw any ground back was a pitiful one; the Master had successfully pressed his buttons again.
"No…" Rassilon interrupted the quarrelling pair and cruelly twisted the knife. "When your people finally need your help you turn your back on them."
The Doctor did not fall into the guilt trip; not this time. "You don't need my help to kill, you seem to be handling that quite well all by yourself…"
"Always the dramatic one…" The Master muttered; effectively interrupting the Doctor mid-sentence. The Doctor threw his long-time adversary one of his famous glares.
Rassilon snarled in response ignoring the Master's words entirely; his focus was purely fixed upon the Doctor. "I know your history Doctor; the renegade who ran away from home, the man who has never stopped running. Would you really run from this war when you are called upon? Could you? With all those dying innocents screaming out for their saviour the Doctor."
The Doctor clenched his fists painfully tight as he listened to Rassilon's speech; he knew what the other Time Lord was attempting to do and was having none of it. "Don't try and guilt trip me you don't care about the innocents you never have; they're just the little people to you. This great war of yours has already spun out across the cosmos; countless worlds destroyed because of senseless actions here. You are responsible for every innocent death Rassilon; every day you wage this war is another day you condemn children to hell."
The Doctor took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly shut for a moment; he had lost control of his emotions and needed a moment to compose himself. The Doctor had always been affected most when the stakes were so high; there was a reason why he was so passionate about life.
He opened his eyes and met Rassilon's unwavering fiery stare; the other Time Lord was growing more resentful with every breath the Doctor took. "Genocide as collateral damage. I won't accept that I cannot be part of it, I won't countenance death on that scale."
The Master scoffed loudly and butted in with an outraged tone. "You won't countenance. Who do you think you are Doctor? Judge, Jury and executioner?"
The Doctor turned on his friend in a reflection of the Master's own outrage; why did his enemy always have to hijack a conversation and make the Doctor out to be the bad guy.
"Why should others suffer because of us! Time Lords are supposed to be the overseers of the universe and now we're sacrificing whoever we can just to stay alive for a little longer; what have we become?"
He directed the last question to the entire chamber looking at each Council member in turn; and not one of them could meet his judgemental gaze only Rassilon did not look away. The President had a sly smile plastered on his face and if the Doctor didn't know better he would have thought Rassilon was acknowledging the Doctor's question; perhaps he was and perhaps he was like the Master. Did Rassilon really not care and was he willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of the Time Lords? The Doctor was drawn away from the troubling question as the Master refused to let the matter rest.
"Oh please Doctor you know as well as I do that we are superior to all those puny creatures; they wouldn't even be here if it weren't for us so why shouldn't we sacrifice them."
This argument was as almost as old as their friendship; the Master and the Doctor disagreed other many things but this was the reason that truly drove them apart. The Master really did not care for others; his god complex rivalled any the Doctor had ever experienced and he had met the most evil souls in the galaxy; the Master lacked the very thing that the Doctor could not forgive: compassion.
"You know that's exactly how a Dalek would think." The Doctor stated wistfully; his point proven. He looked to the entire room once more and directed his next question to all occupants; harsh but true words spilling out before he could really stop himself. "You want to know why I won't fight for my people? Maybe because you don't deserve my help. Both of you are as bad as one another…"
A/N - The next part should be up some time tomorrow
Until next time...