CHAPTER 8

AN EVENING AT THE BALL

After a short nap, Kyska felt like she could take on the world, so long as the Doctor and Anon were close by. When she learned Jason still hadn't returned, she became worried. It wasn't like him to leave her on her own when he knew how nervous she was.

"Kyska, don't worry so much," the Doctor called from outside her room. "I'm sure you're just overreacting. Jason said it might take him a while, and asked me to look after you. I'm sure he'll join us—" He broke off when Kyska appeared in the doorway wearing a full length persimmon evening gown trimmed with lace and pearls. Her long black hair was pulled up on her head and interlaced with a string of pearls. Combined with her oriental appearance, the affect was stunning.

The Doctor was momentarily at a loss for words. "You look...positively radiant, my dear."

Kyska smiled in relief. "Oh, Doctor, I'm so nervous. I've got butterflies you wouldn't believe. I wish Jason were here," she added longingly.

At that moment Anon arrived wearing a white tuxedo complete with cane, gloves, and top hat. He, too, was at a loss for words when he saw the jittery young woman. With a broad smile, he gave a courtly bow and kissed her hand. "My dear Lady Kyska, may I have the honor of escorting you to the ball?"

Kyska giggled, relaxing slightly. As she started to leave, she glanced back at the Doctor with a look of uncertainty.

"Go on," the Time Lord encouraged. "Jason's probably there already and wondering where we are."

"Well, what are you waiting for, Payne?" the Master snapped impatiently. "You wanted to kill him. Get on with it."

"In my own way?"

His tone intrigued the Master. "Is it possible that you have some glimmer of intelligence with which to be creative?" he asked condescendingly. "Or are you as unimaginative as the rest of your race?"

The Colonel's icy smile was fixed. He went over to the console and changed the settings. "Tell me, Master," he asked mildly, "have you ever witnessed a misfire?" He looked down at the bewildered Time Lord and then slowly returned his gaze to the alcove.

Jason's eyes were wide in horror, his mouth dropping open in disbelief. "No…" he breathed, shaking his head. "No, you wouldn't...you wouldn't!" He pulled vainly at the chains securing him against the wall and from which he was now powerless to escape. "No, please…" he begged. "Don't do this!"

Payne gave him an evil smile, and with the greatest of satisfaction stabbed the control console.

"Noooo!" Jason screamed as a blue beam was fired, engulfing him completely. His body shimmered as it usually did when he transmuted, only it immediately stated to fizzle out, sending shock waves of searing pain throughout his entire body. A shriek of agony was torn from his throat as his body distorted in shape, slipping free of the chains and falling to the floor, where he continued to writhe in pain.

The Master dispassionately watched his prisoner's agony as Payne explained about a misfire. Unlike the energy weapons that shatter the crystalline lattice instantly, a misfire caused the total devastation of the molecular structure. Initially it left its victim completely helpless, and if left untreated, a very slow and extremely unpleasant death would follow.

When the shimmering finally faded, Jason's body returned to its human appearance and he slumped limply back onto the floor, completely drained of energy and gasping for breath. He felt sick and dizzy and was unable to move at all. He lay on the floor gazing vacantly up at the ceiling, only vaguely aware when Payne came to stand over him, apparently to gloat. Suddenly Jason realized he wasn't afraid anymore, feeling oddly detached from reality, content in the certain knowledge that his own death was inevitable, and he welcomed it as an end to his torment. They couldn't hurt him anymore.

He was wrong.

"By the way," came Payne's taunting voice, "don't worry about your family. I'll make sure your father knows where to find the pieces."

Jason stared in horror at his own murderer, the words "your father" suddenly crashing into his benumbed brain like a thunderclap. My father! This thought was even more horrifying than anything else they could have done to him. The words echoed through his mind; bouncing, refracting, jumbling together, tumbling over and over until the black void he prayed for finally and mercifully swallowed him.

The Doctor arrived at the ball shortly after Kyska and Anon. The enormous room was just as jammed with people as the Gathering Hall had been earlier. The event was exactly as Jason described; a collection of dignitaries and courtiers strutting like peacocks. The costumes were as varied as their wearers, diverse and quite extraordinary, the Doctor thought as he took in the colorful display. There were jewels, feathers, miles of silks and velvets, gold and silver trappings and much, much more in the swirling mass of visitors. Somewhere in the crush was Kyska, who not only managed to find the Doctor, but also somehow persuaded him to dance with her. Only once, of course, he did not want Anon to get jealous. Or so he claimed.

The Doctor had been keeping watch for the Master the whole time and had not realized until he was on the dance floor that there was a gallery above the ballroom.

While the Doctor was looking for the Master, Kyska was looking for her cousin, finding no trace. No one seemed to have seen him since their arrival that morning. Not even the Palace Guardsmen. Seeing the Doctor in the crowd once again, Kyska excused herself and hurried over to him.

"Doctor, I can't find Jason anywhere!" she exclaimed, now frantic with worry. The Time Lord did not seem to have heard her and she took hold of his arm and repeated her statement.

It was at that moment the Doctor had caught a glimpse of the Master on the balcony and was about to go after him when Kyska grabbed him. He was torn between putting her off or putting off his own trip up the stairs. The note of panic in her voice was the deciding factor in his choosing the latter.

"I've looked everywhere," the young woman was saying hysterically.

"Alright, just calm down," the Doctor soothed. "Let's go out into the hall so we don't have to shout at one another." As he led her out into the corridor, he shot a quick glance up to the gallery, seeing, to his annoyance, the Master had vanished.

Taking a seat on a bench, Kyska told of her long, fruitless search, explaining how all of the palace staff knew her cousin on sight, his having practically grown up with the king. "I know I tease him all the time, Doctor," Kyska said guiltily, "but I do love him."

"Of course you do, my dear," the Time Lord replied gently. "But if he'd met an old girlfriend, as you thought…"

Kyska shook her head. "He'd still be here. He has this silly idea that I need protecting. Uncle Aaron calls him the Guardian of the Krystovans. With no brothers or sisters to look after, he looks out for us all. His cousins, I mean."

"And you're sure—" The Doctor never finished this thought. Kyska suddenly burst into tears.

"I just know something terrible's happened," she sobbed. "He never should've gone near those wretched energy barriers, the silly idiot. Why must he always run to danger?"

"Now let's not go jumping to conclusions," the Time Lord admonished gently, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to the sobbing girl. He patted her on the shoulders. "I'll tell you what. You go back—"

Kyska looked up sharply and opened her mouth to object. The Doctor put a finger to her lips and shushed her, saying firmly, "You go back and enjoy yourself. I'll go look for Jason."

Reluctantly, Kyska agreed and returned to the ballroom. The Doctor watched her go and sighed heavily. He would much rather have been looking for the Master, he thought, wondering why his enemy had so abruptly resurfaced only to disappear again. Still, he had given Kyska his word…

Rising to his feet, the Time Lord walked slowly away from the noisy ballroom. It shouldn't be too difficult to find the wandering Healer, he thought. Not if the palace staff already knows him on sight. He decided to start with Jason's last known location and go on from there, making straight for the detention area. With any luck, the boy was still there.