Chapter Thirteen

"I Think He's Dead."

Juris' mouth dropped open and he stared at his captor. "What?" he gasped, not quite able to take in the extraordinary request.

"You will explain this emotion called love to me. It is very powerful and my function is to utilize the energies created by such powerful emotions. I cannot use what I don't understand. You must teach me."

Wiping the tears from his face with a trembling hand, the captive Prince looked at the cloud, seeing it change in size as it did when it was thinking. "Are…you serious?" he asked hesitantly, still unable to grasp the significance of the request.

The cloud darkened and moved slightly closer in an obvious threat. "You have agreed to answer all inquires if I do not—"

The youth threw up his hands and shrank back. "I know, I know," he said quickly. "I…I just …I need to think." Taking a deep breath, he tried to regain his composure. "This… It isn't… well, it's not the kind of thing you usually ask me. You need to give me time to…to get my thoughts together. Surely you understand that, don't you?"

"This is acceptable," Asta replied blandly.

Greatly relieved, Juris took another deep breath, shakily wiping away stray tears and wondering where he should start. It was not just the basic emotion of love Asta needed to understand, but its many facets, which Juris felt gave the emotion its power. Friendship, affection, admiration, tolerance, and what he considered the cornerstone, mutual trust.

"This could take some time," the Prince said finally.

"I have suspended time," Asta announced startlingly. "What you call hours will pass as minutes in the world across the rift."

"I see," came the dubious reply.

"Now. You will explain love to me."

The Doctor had taken his time before returning to King Jason's chambers. He was not sure what, precisely, he was going to tell his friend about his findings. As it turned out, it did not matter. The moment he entered the room he was arrested and dragged to the dungeon area where he was roughly thrust into the cell with his companion.

Although distressed that the Doctor had been arrested, Peri was inwardly delighted to see him. She had heard the tortured screams echoing through the halls and hoped that instead of being real, they were recordings designed to unnerve her, which they had done very effectively. She had come to this questionable conclusion because the sound had stopped only minutes before the Doctor arrived.

The Time Lord made no remark on this theory, choosing instead to sit on the cot and brood.

After several silent minutes, Peri hesitantly said, "Doctor, do you remember what Jason said about his son? About how he'd changed?"

"Ye-es," the Doctor prompted. "What about it?"

"Well…it's just…" Lowering her eyes, Peri said, "I saw him with the people who brought me here."

The Doctor's reaction was not what she expected. He sprang to his feet and grabbed her by the shoulders, causing her to cry out in alarm. "Peri, are you sure?" he demanded. "Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, pushing him away. "He's hard to miss with Fort Knox around his neck."

The Doctor drew a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Then it's as I feared," he said darkly. Before his companion could ask him what he was talking about, his suspicions were confirmed when the cell door was thrown open and King Jason's limp form was unceremoniously dumped onto the hard stone floor. Peri was at his side immediately, but the Doctor did not move. He stood with his eyes locked with those of the arrogant Prince Juris who stood in the open door way.

"Why?" the Time Lord demanded pointedly.

"It is the will of Ormril," came the unrepentant reply before the door was slammed shut.

"I was afraid of that," the Doctor remarked, returning to reality with a jolt when his companion said shakily, "Doctor, I…I think he's dead." He was at the motionless Alterran's prostrate form instantly, and carefully turned him onto his back. He checked for any signs of life and found a weak pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief before gently lifting the limp form from the cold floor and placing him on the cot.

"Peri, bring that light over here," the Doctor ordered. He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the dirt from the unconscious monarch's face before giving his hairline a closer look.

"Doctor, what did they do to him?" Peri asked quietly.

"Judging from the bruising on his scalp, I'd say they used some form of mind probe on him." Looking up, the Doctor informed softly, "His mind is gone."

"Mind probe? That's that?"

"It's a device used to extract the truth. Only this one probably comes from a technological dark age."

"Extract the truth? You mean…like a lie detector?"

"When used correctly, yes." The Doctor's face clouded over with rage as he looked down at the pallid and haggard face of his friend. "But when used improperly, it's an abomination. Resist too long and your brain turns to jelly."

Peri shuddered, looking down at the once bright and animated face of the young Lord Krystovan. "Is he going to die?"

"Yes, I'm afraid he is."

Peri shook her head in disbelief. "His own son," she said in a horrified whisper. "How could his own son do this to him?"

"Ormril," the Doctor responded cryptically as he rose to his feet. "Under his influence, even a once gentle Alterran can turn violent. Farrell must be stopped."

"Farrell? But you just said—" Peri was cut off when more guards appeared, dragging the Doctor away and leaving her pounding on the door once again. The only thing her hammering fists brought was a cascade of crumbling stonework, most of which had been jarred loose earlier. The dust got caught in her throat and Peri kicked angrily at the chunks of stone as she went to the cask of water across the room and got a drink. She noticed that one of the lumps of rock at her feet had some of the strange colorful fungus on it that Jason had been so excited about. Upon closer scrutiny, she found several of the stones in the wall had the same shell-like growth on them. She pulled off a few pieces and went back to the motionless figure on the bed, sitting down beside him.

"I…found some of that rainbow fungus you were telling me about," she began conversation ally. "It's funny. I thought it'd be soft, but it's as hard as a rock."

Not knowing what else to do, Peri continued to talk to the dying Alterran. "I'll bet you'd know what to do for yourself, wouldn't you, Healer? You'd probably—" Catching her breath, she looked at the lumps in her hands. "You'd use this!"

Looking around the room, the former botany student found a flat-sided stone and proceeded to pulverize the fungus with it. With this done, she wondered how to administer it. She touched some of the powder to her tongue and winced. It was extremely bitter. She'd never get it into him that way. Maybe she could dilute it. Getting a cup of water, she mixed in a handful of the powder. "I hope this isn't too much," she muttered as she went back to the bed.

By this time Jason was pale as death itself, his lips having taken on a bluish cast and at first Peri thought she might already be too late. To her relief she found a weak pulse that confirmed the monarch was still alive. Barely. But for how long?

Mentally crossing her fingers, Peri decided to go for broke. Taking the handkerchief the Doctor had used earlier, she soaked it in the solution and wiped Jason's face, laying the cloth on his forehead in the hopes the mixture would be absorbed into his skin. Then, using her fingertip, she began meticulously placing the solution on Jason's lips, one drop at a time.

The Doctor was roughly dragged into the mind probe room where he was forced onto the couch and strapped down. "Wasn't it enough for you to kill King Jason on this thing, Farrell?" he hissed bitterly as the elaborate headgear was brought into place.

Farrell waved a hand in the air. "He needn't've suffered at all had he freely given me what I wanted."

"So you can release a force that will destroy this planet and hundreds like it?" the Doctor retorted sharply. "No, I don't think so."

"Like the King, Doctor, you're an alarmist. Ormril's power; his wondrous creation…needs my help to be brought forth."

"His creation of evil, you mean," the Doctor countered. "It's not real. It's just an extension of his own twisted mind. It has no substance. No conscience. No mind of its own. It's a thing. A thing that will destroy you, just as it's destroyed the hundreds of other fools who thought they could control it."

"No, Doctor," Farrell hissed in reply. "I shall succeed where others have failed. I'll win over the creature and possess it myself."

"Farrell, you idiot, it's not alive!"

The eyes of the Inquisitor were now blazing with the madness that had overtaken him. "If you don't give me what I want, Doctor," he said threateningly, "you won't be alive, either."