Chapter 34

What is Mind-Bonding?

"That's not funny," Turlough said sourly. He was about to object vehemently to the decision to let Tegan go when the Time Lord cried out in pain, his knees buckling under the weight of another surge of instability. Grabbing the console for support, the Doctor slowly lowered himself to the floor, being only vaguely aware of his companion coming up beside him.

Tegan was transfixed by what she saw happening. Turlough was actually helping the Master! How could he? Come to that, how was she going to explain any of this? It was so unbelievable. Excuse me, I've just found the Master. He's in the TARDIS with Turlough. But…not to worry, he thinks he's the Doctor. Tegan shook her head. They'll be locking you up for sure if you tell them that one.

The wave came and went leaving the Doctor visibly shaken and breathing heavily. "The instability's grown…far too strong," he managed finally. "I can't…control it any longer. It's…as if I'm being…torn apart."

Turlough felt completely helpless, unable to do more than watch as the Time Lord battled the mounting instability, each episode draining his strength a little more. "I don't know what to do to help you," the young man said. "Please, tell me."

The Doctor shook his head dejectedly, thinking he could not even help himself. A sudden, terrifying thought struck him and he looked up sharply, staring intently at his companion. "Perhaps there is something…"

Tegan had heard quite enough, suddenly remembering the open doors behind her. She was about to bolt through them when she spotted her TARDIS key on the control console where the Doctor had left it. By this time she had been completely forgotten and she took advantage of it, snatching up her key and fleeing through the open doors.

Tegan practically knocked Jason over as she ran blindly into the Palace and down the main corridor. He could see she was frightened and feared she had encountered the Master. He was only half right. "Tegan, are you alright? What's wrong?" he asked concernedly.

Tegan tried to catch her breath and explain at the same time. The results were unintelligible.

"Calm down. Calm down," Jason soothed.

"Oh, Jason, you have no idea what's been going on!"

"Then tell me."

Tegan took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts. Where should she start? By rights, she shouldn't even be there to be telling him anything. She should be a prisoner in the TARDIS. Why had the Master let her go? Was it just a ploy to convince her that his crazy story was true? How could it be? The whole thing was so totally off the wall. Even the name of that secret process sounded phony.

"Jason, have you ever heard of something called KaRoon-Tar?" she asked suddenly.

The Alterran's eyes grew wide in astonishment. "Where did you hear about that?"

"Never mind. Just tell me, what is it?" Tegan replied. "It's very important."

"Tegan…I can't…" Jason stammered, shaking his head.

"Then tell me this. Does it mean mind-bonding?"

Jason's jaw dropped open. The KaRoon-Tar was one of his people's most closely guarded secrets and the only outsiders with access to the information were the Time Lords. So how had Tegan found out about it? Surely the Doctor wouldn't have told her.

"Jason, please, does it mean mind-bonding?" Tegan repeated.

The Prince could see she was determined to know, and the panicky edge to her voice told him her question was more than just idle curiosity. "Come with me," he said, taking her into the privacy of a nearby room.

Tossing his cape onto a chair, the Alterran crossed to the sofa, having Tegan take a seat beside him. "Tegan, you've got to swear to me that what I tell you goes no further than this room," he said firmly.

"Jason—"

"I mean it. Or I tell you nothing."

After extracting Tegan's promise, Jason explained that in ancient times on Tel-Shye, the KaRoon-Tar had been the final ritual of a Royal marriage. The knowledge of the process was limited to only to a handful of individuals, he himself having learned of it only after his elevation to the rank of Crown Prince. The process linked the minds of the couple undergoing it, permanently joining them in a telepathic unity that was once unique to the ruling family of his home world.

"Shadra found the idea intriguing when I told her about it," Jason said with a bittersweet smile. "She said she always wanted to know how my mind worked."

Tegan could see how difficult this had been for him, and wished she did not have to press further. But if there was really something called KaRoon-Tar…

"What if someone who wasn't Alterran underwent this process?" she asked innocently.

"It would be disastrous!" The Prince was aghast, having misinterpreted her question as a reference to herself.

The emotionally charged response did nothing to ease Tegan's mind, either. It did, however, tell her she was on the right track. "How?" she persisted. "I mean, say Turlough and I went through it. What would happen?" Turlough wouldn't be very happy about it, that's what would happen, she thought. Neither would I, come to that. Being inside the mind of that devious, self-centered brat. Tegan shuddered at the thought.

Jason sighed, staring in wonderment at the persistent Earth woman before him. There was no doubting she had recaptured the spark that had been missing the previous evening. "If you and Turlough underwent the process," he began slowly, "instead of your minds joining, you'd switch places entirely."

"You mean, I would be Turlough, and he would be me?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Permanently?"

"Well…yes and no," Jason replied unhelpfully. "Because of the way the process is geared, the switch isn't total. There's still a link between mind and body. As time passes, the link becomes more and more unstable as your body tries to pull your mind back to where it belongs."

Tegan took this all in, marveling. It was all sounding very familiar. Frighteningly familiar. "Jason, does that mean I would eventually revert back to the way I started?"

"No, the process has to be reversed. Otherwise the instability would continue to build until it killed you. That's why it's been kept a secret," the Alterran stated matter of factly. "Now would you please tell me…?" His voice trailed off as an odd look came to the woman's face. "Tegan? What is it?"

Tegan was no longer listening. Instability! That's exactly what the Master said before she bolted from the TARDIS. What the Master said! She looked down at the key she still held in one hand.

"The Master…not the Master," she muttered, "but…" Her eyes grew wide with the sudden horrifying realization. "Oh, no! Jason, you've got to come with me. NOW!" Grabbing the bewildered aristocrat by the hand, she practically dragged him from the room.

"Where are we going?" the Prince wanted to know.

"To the Doctor. The real Doctor."