FIVE
After hours of struggling, the Doctor's companion finally managed to bring the TARDIS fully into the dimension where the Time Lord was trapped. When the outside world was revealed on the viewer Jason moaned in disappointment. "It didn't work."
"Negative, Young Master," K-9 replied.
"Just look at…" Jason's voice trailed off as he himself looked a second time. The Tel-Shye he had left behind was green and colored with spring flowers, but the world outside was brown and colored with autumn leaves. "We haven't simply jumped forward in time, have we?" he asked suspiciously.
"Negative, Young Master," K-9 repeated.
"Good." Pulling the door lever, Jason said, "I'd better see if I can find the Doctor, then."
"Negative, Young Master."
"K-9, is that all you can say?"
"Negative, Young Master," the automation chirped, bringing a dark look to the young man's face. "Departure from the TARDIS inadvisable."
"Why?"
"Theoretical data indicates catastrophic outcome should you encounter your parallel counterpart."
"Theoretical data?"
"Affirmative."
Jason sighed heavily. "Well, I can't stay in here the whole time. I've got to—" An involuntary cry escaped him when he glanced back at the viewer and saw the Master practically at the TARDIS door. Looking around, he snatched up K-9 and disappeared through the inner door, leaving it open just enough to watch through the crack.
The Time Lord cautiously entered the console room, puzzling the watching Jason by looking for booby traps. When he was satisfied there were none, he went to the control console and scrutinized the readings. "So…you weren't lying after all," he muttered.
Jason transmuted to his true form and was out the door and upon the Master before he knew what was happening. "Where's the Doctor?" he demanded. "What've you done to him?"
"Nothing," the Master replied, struggling in vain against the powerful tendrils entwining him. "He's being held at Starbridge House."
"Starbridge? You're lying."
"I'm not," the Time Lord objected.
Jason searched the Master for weapons and was surprised to find him unarmed. "Why is the Doctor being held at Starbridge?"
The Master had to force himself to stop struggling. It was all too obvious the creature holding him, whatever it was, outmatched him in strength. Fortunately, it also seemed to be sentient, which meant he might be able to reason with it. In as even a voice as he could manage, he said, "Let me go and I'll tell you."
"You'll tell me whether I let you go or not."
"I would be more willing if you let me go."
Since this seemed reasonable, Jason thrust the Time Lord into a chair in the far corner. "Cover him, K-9," he ordered.
"Young Master," K-9 acknowledged, gliding out the door, the laser protruding from his snout.
The stunned Master looked at the strange and apparently deadly pair and shook his head. "And like a fool I was actually ready to believe him," he sighed.
"Ready to believe whom?" the Alterran demanded, returning to his human form and further shocking the Time Lord.
"Lord Krystovan!"
Jason rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, don't start all that nonsense. Jason will do perfectly well."
The Master looked him up and down, noting his exceptionally casual clothing. Then realization dawned, just as it had with the Doctor. "You're the Doctor's traveling companion. You? An Alterran?"
"Ye-es," came the patient reply. "So what?"
"So what!" The Master jumped to his feet, taking a step back when K-9 advanced menacingly. "You come from another dimension, yes? Where Time Lords and Alterrans are allies?"
"Ye-es. Is that relevant?"
"Relevant? It's incredible! Do you know what this means?" the Master asked excitedly. "The Doctor was telling the truth."
Jason was less than impressed. "Yeah, amazing," he snorted. "Now if it were you telling the truth, that would be news."
"Lord Krystovan—" Receiving a dark look, the Master held up his hands and quickly corrected himself. "Jason, this isn't simply a universe parallel to yours. It's very likely a mirrored one. Do you know what that is?"
Jason shook his head. "K-9, any ideas?"
"A mirrored parallel universe," K-9 informed, "is the theoretical twin to the universe currently occupied. Identical, but opposite."
"Correct," the Time Lord said approvingly. "Good twin, bad twin." Looking at the silent Alterran, he asked, "Which are you? The good Jason or the bad?"
Were he with the Doctor, the Master would not have had to ask. Jason's dimensional counterpart was in the process of turning the captive Time Lord over for questioning. The Doctor was transported to the capital city of Krystos and deposited in the lower levels in the Royal Palace where the dungeons and torture chambers were located. In his own dimension, the Doctor knew the Alterrans had abandoned these levels centuries before, but this was not the case in this parallel world. In fact, as far as the Doctor could see business was booming.
The captive Time Lord was locked in a holding cell while the official paperwork concerning him was taken care of. He found it morbidly amusing that his captors were so bound up in bureaucracy that they had to record all the proper paperwork before torturing a prisoner. Something he and his companion would later come to appreciate.
"Well?" the Master asked pointedly. "Which is it?"
Jason ran his fingers through his hair. "Great. As if I don't have enough problems with my duality as it is," he moaned.
"If the Doctor is to return to his own dimension, he's going to need my help," the Master stated startlingly. "And I'm going to need yours."
"Wait a minute. Hold it," Jason said at last, holding up his hands. "Me help you? You're not serious?"
"Never more so."
"No way!" the Alterran exploded. "You tried to kill me!"
The Master could not help himself and laughed. "I've never met you, Jason. And I only met your counterpart last night."
"What? No, that's not right. I met you—him—years ago"
With a grin, the Time Lord replied, "Apparently we're a bit behind you in more ways than one."
"Or my calculations messed up more than just the dimensioning circuits," Jason concluded.
Looking down at K-9, who was still covering him with the laser, the Master said evenly, "If you want to help the Doctor, you're going to have to trust me."
"I don't trust you as far as I can throw you, but I don't seem to have any choice," the Alterran responded darkly. "Stand down, K-9," he then ordered, adding, "But stay on alert."
"Affirmative, Young Master."
Turning back to the Master, Jason asked him his plan and was astonished to learn he didn't have one. "The Doctor is being held in Starbridge. We may be able to simply remove him from there."
"Oh, great. No problem," Jason snorted. "How am I supposed to do that if I also have a counterpart there? Theoretically, if we meet, we'll rupture the inter-dimensional fabric and destroy both universes."
"Theoretically," the Master grinned. "I've never much cared for theories myself."
The young man stared at him a moment before looking down at K-9. "This is too weird. He sounds like the Doctor."
"Don't be insulting," the Time Lord said acidly before suggesting the Alterran take on a different appearance. "We don't want anyone knowing there are two Lord Krystovans just yet."
"I'd rather they not know I'm here at all," Jason informed. He decided to simply take on the form of a garment the Master could wear until the Doctor's whereabouts was determined.
The Master returned to Starbridge to find Cal waiting for him. His aide informed him that the Doctor had been moved to Krystos in his absence. "Then perhaps this is a good time for us to take our leave," the Time Lord suggested. He made his formal good-byes to Aaron and then returned to Krystos.
Upon reaching the city, and in an alley beside the transmat station, the Master revealed Jason's presence to his aide. The Alterran did not take on his normal human appearance so as not to be recognized. He was then told that the Master's aide was, in fact, his traveling companion. His reaction upon hearing Cal's status was equal to Cal's when he was told of Jason's true identity and the status of their mission.
"We're going to help him?" Cal exploded. "Are you out of your mind?" Looking over at Jason, he then said, "Who's to say he's not setting us up to be killed?"
The appalled look on Jason's face made the Master grin. "See what I mean?" he observed. "Mirrored parallel."
"Look, I don't like this any more than you do," Jason said sourly. "So let's just get this over with so we can go on our separate ways." With that, he turned towards the street.
"Where are you going?" Cal called suspiciously.
"To the Royal Palace. If the Royal Guard—"
"Royal Security Ministry," the Master corrected.
"Whatever," Jason said dismissively, waving a hand in the air. "State prisoners are always taken to the Royal Palace and I'm assuming it's the same here. I'm also assuming he was taken to the lower levels."
"Is that bad?"
"If they're used the way they once were in my world," Jason replied darkly, "it's not good."