Chapter 43

"Tell Me All!"

The torturous silence was broken when Jason started to chuckle just loud enough to be heard. It turned out to be the last straw. The Master had had enough rebellion from his captive and took the bait: hook, line and sinker. "You mock me, boy, and I will know why!"

The force of the renewed mental attack caused Jason to stagger. This isn't going to be fun. His captor still had the advantage of the shackles.

"You will tell me why!" the Master demanded again.

Playing for time, the Prince answered haltingly, "If…if you…kill the Doctor…it…it…AH!" He cried out in pain as the impatient Time Lord bore down on him with greater ferocity. "You'll …break the…psychic link—" Biting off his own words, Jason tried unsuccessfully to turn away from his attacker.

"Tell me all!"

Jason gave another anguished cry and the rest came flooding out in a rush. "If you break the link by killing the Doctor, the process will reverse itself. Your mind will be returning to a corpse!"

This shattering revelation caused the Master to completely lose his concentration and release his mental grip on the nearly exhausted Alterran. Jason staggered back a few paces and wavered unsteadily on his feet, shaking his head to try and clear it.

Tegan and Turlough exchanged a look of mutual astonished and then turned at the Doctor, who cautiously motioned for them to remain as they were. Silent. "I think I know what he's doing," he said softly. Unfortunately, he could do little more than watch as his friend tried valiantly to stave off the merciless mental abuse.

After digesting the Prince's pronouncement, the Master came to the only conclusion acceptable to him. "You lie!"

Jason suddenly felt the full weight of the Time Lord's wrath descend on him and he collapsed to the floor. The excruciating pain in his head made him certain the roof had just caved in on him.

"I will have the truth, boy," the Master thundered.

Jason could feel his defenses starting to weaken and struggled in vain against the metal bonds aiding in the attack on his mind. He would not—Could not!—let the Master know the truth. "Stop, please! I…I've…told you…everything!" he wailed in desperation.

The assault continued unabated. "I will have the truth."

"Stop, please! You're destroying my mind!"

Unnoticed by all save Turlough, Tegan had inched her way over to the control console in the appearance of shrinking away from the raging Time Lord. When Jason dropped to the ground, she could bear it no longer and grabbed the largest crystal from the center of the starburst, yanking it from its socket. Her intention had been to hurl it at the Master and thereby break his concentration. Instead, she did a great deal more. The gem was no sooner in her hand than both Time Lords cried out and sank painfully to the ground.

Horrified, Tegan froze, certain she was witnessing the Doctor's final death throes. She did not know that she had, in fact, just saved all their lives.

Inside the hidden computer center, Tegan's snatching out of the crystal had an equally dramatic effect. A major influx of power suddenly charged the Matrix, sending a colossal surge of energy through the gossamer web suspending the sleeping Shadra, who had fortune on her side. Had she not been sleeping and relaxed, the shock might very well have killed her. As it was, she only managed a startled cry before sagging back into the web.

In addition to knocking Shadra unconscious, the power surge completed the induced realignment of her molecular structure, going one step further by connecting her directly into the power of the Cavern Matrix.

"The platform," the Doctor gasped, unable to say more. The removal of the crystal had seriously unbalanced the stabilizing influence of the control console, and inside the confines of the Cavern, the effects of the instability were concentrated. A high-pitched whine filled the Doctor's ears and multicolored lights danced before his eyes. There was a crushing weight on his chest that made breathing almost impossible and he wondered if it might not be easier to just give in, as blackness was already starting to edge its way into his vision.

Freed from the grip of the Master's fury, Jason lay on the floor, dazed and gasping for breath. Hearing the Doctor's strangled cry, he struggled to sit up, blinking hard to clear his vision. Seeing what had happened to release him, he realized his friends had absolutely no idea what to do next. "Don't just stand there, Turlough," he yelled. "Get him on the platform!"

The shout brought Turlough back to his senses and he rushed to the Doctor's side. Tegan made to help, only to stop when the Prince ordered, "Tegan, put the crystal back before the instability kills them!"

Jason tried to stand, only to find it impossible. The effort of holding off the Master's mental attack had all but exhausted him. He watched as Tegan replaced the crystal and called to her again. "Would you please get these things off me?" he asked imploringly, moving his cape out of the way to reveal his securely shackled wrists. "There's a switch on them somewhere," he informed as she came over to help. Tegan found the activator and switched it off. The cuffs sprang open instantly. "Thank-you," Jason breathed gratefully.

The instant his hands were free, Jason felt his strength surging back and his mind was again pricked by the phantom memory of the rhyme. If only I could remember the wretched thing! It would have to wait. Rising to his feet, he placed the unit on the floor and crushed it under his heel with a satisfying crunch.

Tegan had already gone to assist Turlough with the Doctor and together they half-dragged, half-carried the semi-conscious Time Lord to the platform before finally managing to place him on it. A beam of light suddenly streaked down from overhead, engulfing the gasping figure in an eerie red glow, and causing them both to fall over backwards in alarm.

The Master was in no better condition than the Doctor when Jason effortlessly swept him into his arms. He had to resist the urge to roughly dump him onto the ground, knowing that if all went well it would be the Doctor who would have to contend with the bruises.

Gently placing the incapacitated Time Lord on the platform, the Alterran took a quick step back to avoid being caught in the light beam. He picked up the loathsome TCE as he crossed to the console and then threw a cautious glance back at the Doctor's companions. "Cross your fingers," he said and then carefully reset the controls. Unlike the Doctor, Jason was completely familiar with the technology, his hands moving quickly over the instruments.

The moment the system came back on-line, Jason drew a deep breath and hit the activator, announcing quietly, "It's started." Turning, he returned to the platform to wait, wondering if he had just saved, or just killed, his best friend.

The instant the crystal was returned to its socket, the stabilizing influence of the console normalized. The Doctor's vision cleared and he found breathing far less laborious. He was aware of his companions' assistance but didn't come fully to his senses until he was immobilized on the platform. Upon hearing Jason's announcement, he braced himself. He was not looking forward to the overpowering process a second time.

As the power continued to build, the Doctor became aware of the system pulling on his mind, only this time he did not resist and was immediately drawn from the body he had been trying so desperately to vacate. To his surprise, he found himself fully alert and surrounded by an odd, multicolored glow. It was as if he had been absorbed by the tangible serenity permeating the Cavern. He also had the sensation of being suspended in time itself and could not recall ever feeling so completely at peace. It was really quite extraordinary, he observed dreamily.

Eventually, the Doctor was gently drawn out of his quiet cocoon. He wondered almost abstractly how long he had been in his limbo-like state. Seconds, probably. But with no frame of reference it was difficult to gauge. Not that it mattered. His companions could tell him once it was over.

Once it was over.

This thought brought a twinge of regret as the Doctor realized he would soon be out of this peaceful world and back in the world of reality.

Suddenly reality reared its ugly head as the same rush of hate-filled emotions abruptly flooded past him as they had during the first exchange. The Doctor realized, finally, that it was the Master's mind touching his own, but before he could consider the implications, consciousness started ebbing away, and even this he found relaxing. He sank peacefully into the blackness, his last thoughts those of blissful tranquility.

Reality could wait.