CHAPTER 6

THE MANIA TAKES HOLD

After leaving the Sorenson mansion, Jason went straight to the Director's office, gaining entry to the locked room with conspicuous ease. He crossed to the bookcase and started searching for the concealed door. A security camera detected his presence, displaying his image on a monitor in the surgery and alerting Tobias at the same time.

While Director Black was going the long way around to his office, Jason was struggling with the door trigger. When at last he got it to work, he passed through the door, not sure what he would find on the other side. The last thing he actually expected to see was the Doctor strapped to an operating table with an appalling assortment of surgical instruments ready and waiting on the nearby counter top. Without a word, the Healer snatched up a scalpel and bore down on the helpless Time Lord.

It was Jason who had so suddenly appeared over the Doctor, but in light of his experiences over the last few hours, he had no way of knowing the man standing over him with a knife in his hand was really his companion. As far as he knew, his insane Alterran captor had taken on Jason's appearance once again and had returned to sever his vocal cords.

Jason was baffled by his friend's reaction, which seemed more like fear than relief. Was the Doctor actually flinching away from him? He followed the Time Lord's eyes to the blade in his hand and was appalled when he realized what he was thinking. "Good Lord, I'm not that mad at you, Doctor!" he exclaimed, carefully pulling the tape from his friend's mouth.

"Jason, you have no idea how delighted I am to hear that," the Doctor sighed relievedly. "You've got an evil twin running around here somewhere. And I can assure you, he's quite mad."

"I know," the youth said despairingly. "Toby's entering the Changeling mania—the idiot!" As he spoke, the hand of the true surgeon moved quickly to cut the Doctor's bindings.

"Changeling mania?" the Doctor said in bewilderment. He was vaguely familiar with the Alterran horror stories concerning a group known as Changelings as well as their connection with the Time Lords of old. But the stories went back to the time of Rassilon. Could there really be any of them left after so many millennia?

When the last of the bindings was cut, Jason tossed the scalpel onto the counter. He then helped the Doctor down from the table. "I hope you won't be offended if I don't explain," he said in an urgent tone, "because right now—you especially—need to get the hell out of here!"

"No arguments there."

Jason flashed a smile and led the way into the passage through the bookcase. The Doctor made to follow only to stop short when he heard a howl of rage from out in the Director's office. Jason suddenly came flying backwards though the door, having been stuck savagely by Tobias Black on the other side.

The Doctor caught the stunned youth and backed up as the enraged Director entered. The Time Lord was almost relieved to see he hadn't changed his appearance again. Laying the semiconscious Jason on top of his coat that was still on the floor where his captor had thrown it, the Doctor braced himself. He had no doubt that the Alterran lunatic would take another run at him.

He was quite right. Tobias returned to his true Alterran form and lunged at him, but this time the Doctor was ready and easily eluded the long, coiling tendrils, making certain to keep the table between them.

"Don't make this hard on yourself, Doctor," Black snarled. "I will not be denied my glory."

"Still striving for godhood, Tobias?" the Doctor taunted as he continued to circle the table to stay out of reach. "Think you've got the right stuff?"

"I've already told you, Doctor, the gods have smiled on me."

The Doctor's voice hardened. "Are you sure of that? You know what they say, don't you? Those whom the gods destroy they first drive mad." So saying, he bolted through the connecting door hoping to lead the raving lunatic away from his stunned companion. He only succeeded in leading him to the other side of the door before he was caught from behind.

"I am not mad! Do you hear me, Time Lord?" Tobias Black raged fiercely. "I am not mad!"

His actions spoke otherwise. He took the Time Lord by the throat and started to throttle the life out of him. The Doctor knew he didn't stand chance as the coils constricted around his neck, but he was determined not to give up without a fight and struggled in vain against the powerful being.

The Alterran laughed scornfully at his efforts, twisting his arms painfully behind him and then lifting him several inches off of the floor. "You dare pit your puny strength against mine?" Tobias laughed. He was rather enjoying taunting his choking captive. "You'll beg my forgiveness as you die in agony, Time Lord."

The Doctor could feel himself weakening as consciousness started to slip away. One way or another, he knew death would follow. To his great relief, he heard Jason's voice suddenly cry out, "Toby, stop it! For pity sake, you're killing him!"

As the coils at the Doctor's throat were pried away, the tendrils pinioning him tightened. Then they were pulled away by his unseen rescuer. He dropped gratefully to the floor, drinking great gulps of air into his oxygen-starved lungs. Leaning back against the bookcase, the Doctor dazedly looked up and was astounded by the sight of the two Alterrans locked in battle. They were both in their true forms now, the only noticeable difference between them being the color of the crystals encircling their bodies: Jason's being blue, and Tobias' being black.

The incredibly powerful beings grappled in an apparent deadlock for several minutes, crashing into various objects and destroying the far section of the office. Finally Jason was flung aside. He turned a priceless vase into hundreds of pieces of worthless broken glass as he careened into a display pedestal.

Tobias flew blindly into the surgery, taking on Jason's human likeness as he did so.

The real Jason followed his lead, returning to his human form in the blink of an eye. He stormed across the office, pausing briefly at the door and throwing a concerned look in the Doctor's direction. "Don't move. You'll be safer here," he instructed before passing through the door. He stopped just inside, facing his demented old friend. "Toby…Toby, listen to me. You must listen to me," he said urgently. "You're not thinking rationally. Do you understand? It's the mania. It's controlling you."

"No, I control! I control all!" Jason's own voice thundered back at him.

Tobias tried to make a dash through the door but Jason barred his way, grabbing hold of his wild man double to keep him away from the Doctor. The crazed Tobias struggled to push past the determined youth without success, screaming at him to get out of his way. Finally he pulled away and fell back against the counter, coming up with a laser pistol.

Jason stiffened and held up his hands. His immediate thoughts were what a weapon of this kind could do to the Doctor. He, on the other hand, could absorb the energy discharge of so small a human weapon.

"Now, Toby…"

Jason never got the chance to complete his sentence. Tobias fired the weapon pointblank.

The force of the shot slammed Jason back against the wall where, to his astonishment and horror, he felt a searing pain in his side. A scream of agony was torn from his throat and he stood against the wall in shock, staring wide-eyed at his homicidal twin a few seconds before his legs started to give way.

This had all occurred out of the Doctor's line of vision. When Jason screamed he could stay out of sight no longer and appeared at the door just as his companion slid to the floor.

"He pulled a gun on me, Doctor," the impostor lied. "It…went off during the struggle."

The Doctor made no reply, not seeming to have heard. His hand suddenly flashed onto the counter and he snatched up a spray can, aiming it straight into the face of the pretender, who cried out as the mist burned his eyes. A karate chop sent the pistol flying, and before Tobias could react, the Doctor had recovered the weapon and came up with it in both hands.

"Back off!" he commanded. "Or I swear I'll empty this thing into you!"

The disguised Tobias gasped in mock surprise. "Doctor, what're you doing? He's the Change ling, not me."

"Maybe he is, and maybe he isn't."

From his place on the floor Jason dazedly took in the situation and prayed the Doctor remembered his remarks about Toby's atrocious Latin. Summoning all his remaining strength, he said, "Doctor, fronti nulla fides," and then slumped back to the floor, exhausted by the effort.

This was all the Doctor needed to hear. Roughly translated, his companion had just told him that looks could be deceiving. He ordered Tobias Black into the cell, making certain to call him by name as he did so.

Tobias altered his form again, returning to his own, larger human likeness. "Or else what, Time Lord?" he spat contemptuously. "You haven't got the guts."

"Try me! Now, get in there!" the Doctor growled, his rage written clearly all over his face.

Tobias Black's eyes locked with those of the enraged Time Lord. Slowly, very slowly, he backed up until he was finally inside the booth, which was promptly closed and sealed shut.

Setting the gun down beside the controls, the Doctor made certain the speaker was switched off before going to his gravely injured companion.

A large white stain covered with fine fracture lines had spread across Jason's body from the wound in his side. The Doctor knelt down just as the cracking spread a bit more, causing the boy to catch his breath and wince in pain. The Time Lord touched him gently, and he looked fuzzily up at him, taking hold of his hand.

"I'd…worked out…dozen apologies…" Jason said faintly.

The Doctor hushed him. "I accept them all. Now, please, you mustn't talk."

Jason groaned as the strange fracturing continued to spread and hung on to his friend's hand with such force that it made him wince. The Alterran's breathing was very labored and he was finding it difficult to focus his thoughts. "Crystalline lattice…shattering," the Healer informed weakly.

The Doctor looked on helplessly. He knew if he didn't do something, and fast, his companion would die. "Jason, I don't know what to do to help you."

From out of nowhere, a voice said calmly, "I do, Doctor."