Chapter 24

A Deadly New Role

The Master left the computer center by way of a hidden door that led to the Crystal Cavern. He went to the platform where his adversary still lay unconscious. After a quick examination, he administered a second injection to revive him, having no sooner returned he empty syringe to the drawer than the Doctor gave a soft moan and stirred weakly.

An evil smile parted the Master's lips. The stage was set, the props were in place, and all the players were assembled. Now it was time for the Doctor to make his entrance in the fatal starring role in which he had been cast.

Unable to contain his delight, the Master started to laugh. He turned on his heel and strode to the tunnel to the computer room. Pulling a lever on the side of the console as he passed, a panel silently slid shut behind him, leaving the Doctor on his own once more.

Upon returning to the Palace, the Master went straight to Shadra's room, emerging unobserved a moment later. He glanced at a clock and smiled. The dinner gong would be sounding at any moment. He went quickly to the main stairway, waiting until he heard voices below before beginning a slow descent. Jason and Turlough appeared just as he reached the halfway point.

"Doctor!" Jason said in surprise. "Where's Shadra?"

"Sorry?"

"Shadra. She said you wanted to see her."

"Jason, that was ages ago. I haven't seen her since she went to see her assistant off at the transmat," the pretender lied. "She said she was going to try to get a little work done before dinner. But then…I expect you've already checked her room," he added offhandedly, knowing full well the Prince had not.

Jason groaned. He could not believe he hadn't thought to look for Shadra in her own room. Thanking the impostor, he made his way to his fiancée's room.

The Master indulged Turlough's inquires about his health in order to stay where he was. The reaction he awaited came within seconds. A bloodcurdling scream resounded from the second floor.

Turlough and the bogus Doctor arrived at Shadra's room to find Jason clinging to the doorframe, ashen faced and trembling. Tegan arrived seconds later, running from her room down the hall.

Looking angrily at the man he thought to be the Doctor, Jason grabbed him by the lapels and shook him. "You should've let me kill him, Doctor!" he roared tearfully. "You should've let me kill him!"

The Master shuddered at the thought of how very close the Alterran had come to killing him once already. He was saved from having to deal with Jason by Turlough, who pulled the overwrought Prince away from the seemingly dumbfounded Time Lord.

"Jason, get hold of yourself!" the young man snapped. "What's happened?"

Unable to reply, Jason turned away. The Master entered the room, the Doctor's companions at his heels. Tegan let out a wail of despair at what they found inside. In the center of the room was what appeared to be Shadra's compressed corpse. In reality, it was Cedric whom the Master had ordered to take on Shadra's human form before killing him. He had planted the grotesque red herring only moments before.

"The Master!" gasped Turlough, knowing the grizzly calling card of the evil Time Lord all too well. "How did he get in?"

"Probably the same way he got out," said the Doctor's voice.

Turlough looked up to see the Time Lord pointing to the open exterior doors that led to the balcony and exterior stairway. Then he heard shouts from the hall behind him as the Palace Guard were summoned. Turlough turned just in time to catch Tegan as her knees suddenly gave way. Clinging to him a moment to steady herself, she fought unsuccessfully to hold back the tears. "Oh, Turlough, it's just like Auntie Venessa," she whimpered.

The Master came up beside her, doing his best compassionate Doctor imitation. "It's alright, Tegan," he purred soothingly. "He can't've gone far. I'm sure the guards will find him."

How very reassuring, the Master thought.

Not wanting to repeat his previous error, the Doctor (the real Doctor) had lain on the floor in the Crystal Cavern for some time after regaining consciousness. His head was still spinning and concentrating on anything for very long was next to impossible. He sat up very slowly, discovering that focusing on anything was equally impossible and therefore took no notice of the fact that his light colored cricketer's costume had been replaced and he was now elegantly clad in black velvet.

Rising painfully to his feet, the Doctor made his way to the door, wondering if his enemy had not anticipated his regaining consciousness so soon. Or was he simply going out of the frying pan and into the fire?

Pushing open, or more accurately, falling against the stone door, the Doctor saw that the sun had already gone down. The glow of twilight was swiftly fading into night; Tel-Shye's twin moons were clearly visible on the horizon. To his horror, he realized he had been lying in the Cavern all day. His companions must be frantic looking for him.

The Doctor cautiously made his way back to the beach. As he rounded a bend in the path, he saw a searchlight moving along the rock face ahead of him. He assumed, correctly, that it was searching for him and stopped, thinking it would be safer to continue once he could see where he was going. When the light fell on him, the Doctor held up a hand to shield his eyes against the glare. Before he could express his relief and gratitude, a booming voice called out from behind the searchlight. "Stop where you are! You're under arrest!"

"What?" the Doctor gasped in alarm, his brain still too muddled to take in what was happening. Why on earth would they want to arrest him? He was only lost. Well, in a manner of speaking, anyway.

The unresisting Time Lord was bundled into a transport at gunpoint and taken back to the Palace.

The Master was back on the balcony, taking in the sunset and congratulating himself on how brilliantly his plot was unfolding. Seeing the search party returning en masse, he smiled, chuckling evilly to himself as they drew closer.

"The star approaches," he observed.

Rising to his feet, he moved into the light so as to be visible from the ground. "Time to take on a new role, Doctor," he purred.

Upon arriving at the Palace, the Doctor got unsteadily out of the transport and leaned heavily against it for support. He waited quietly as the swarm of guards made their rambling report to an official looking individual. Squinting to focus, he recognized the Captain of the Palace Guard. What was his name? Devron, that was it.

The Doctor took in the scene, being more confused than ever, thinking the Palace Guards had become distinctly unfriendly. He threw a quick glance in the direction of his room, wishing they would just get on with it so he could go to bed. He was feeling extremely tired and, at first, the figure on the balcony did not register. Squinting again, he saw, to his utter astonishment, himself looking back, laughing. Closing his eyes tightly, the Doctor shook his head in an attempt to clear it, looking back to see the same image above him. His mouth dropped open and only then did he look down at himself. These aren't my clothes, they're—! Putting a hand to his face, he felt the beard cut neatly to a point on his chin, confirming his worst fears. Looking up, he stared in horror at the gloating figure above him.

As the guard ushered the Doctor inside, he suddenly remembered the last thing the Master had said to him. He was indeed a changed man.