Chapter Forty-Four

Dream Link

Trapped within his own mind, Prince Jason tossed restlessly in bed. Quinton looked intently at him a moment and then turned his steady gaze across the room. The far wall dissolved into whiteness, colors suddenly appearing as the dream was projected upon it.

The Master was grinning evilly at the horrified prince, who stood staring at him, frozen with fear. It was not until the Time Lord started to laugh that Jason came out of his stupor. "No," he breathed, shaking his head. "No. No!" He turned and fled, suddenly feeling searing pain as he was caught in the ray of the TCE. A scream was torn from his throat and he fell to the ground where his body was compressed smaller and smaller.

In the real world, the thrashing Prince Jason went limp the instant his dream self was struck down, causing Shadra to cry out in anguish, "We're too late!"

"No! It's not real!" the Doctor reminded firmly. "In a dream, anything can happen. Concentrate on that."

Reality changed to unreality and Jason was shocked when he did not die. He collapsed to the floor, dazed and helpless, looking up fuzzily as Andrea came to stand over him. "Dèjá vú‚" he whispered.

"Still not dead!" she snarled angrily. "What does it take to kill you?" The Mythryn raised the weapon in her hand, intending to beat him to death with it. Her arm was suddenly grabbed by the Master, who stripped the TCE from her hand. "You're a little too impetuous, my dear," he said coldly, firing the weapon pointblank.

The tiny Prince Jason watched in revulsion as the Mythryn was subjected to the same fate as himself. Only this time the compressor's effects were lethal. He looked at the lifeless form and shuddered. Suddenly a shadow fell over him and he looked up, covering his face with his arms as the Master scooped him from the floor.

"The tables are turned, my prince," the Master cooed. "Now it is I who can squeeze the life out of you."

Jason cried out in alarm as the grip on him tightened. He fought back as best he could, finally struggling just to breathe.

In the real world, the Doctor could stand it no longer and turned to Muriel. "He's obviously gained control. How do I get in there?"

"Go to sleep," she replied succinctly.

"Or into a trance," the Emperor injected firmly. "Muriel, can you set up the link?"

Muriel nodded. "You'll have to give him as much power as you can. That's turning into a very realistic dream."

Taking a seat, the Doctor said quickly, "Don't worry about me, I know it's not real. Just get me in there before the Master kills him."

"One thing, Doctor," Muriel said soberly. "You won't be able to gain control of the dream until you gain control of PJ."

The Doctor looked over at the projected image just as the Master loosened his grip on the limp Alterran. "No, that's much too easy," the evil Time Lord muttered. Turning he made his way down a long corridor and, without realizing, provided the Doctor the time he needed to enter the dream.

The image swirled, changing into a brightly lit laboratory. The miniaturized prince moaned in the Master's grasp, coming to his senses just moments before he was placed on a tabletop. Too weak to stand, Jason dropped to his hands and knees, quickly rolling to a sitting position. A large magnifying glass was moved over him and he backed away fearfully. "What do you want?" he demanded. "Surely it's obvious I'm powerless to fight you?"

The Master raised an eyebrow, looking into the glass to more clearly read his tiny captive's expressions. "Powerless, are you? Completely? You'll forgive me if I don't believe you."

The Alterran made no answer, scuttling back further when his captor reached for him.

"Now you're not going to make this difficult, are you?" the Master said mildly. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You'll forgive me if I don't believe you."

"Touché," the Time Lord grinned. "I could've killed you already, you know?"

"Then why didn't you? Still playing games?" Jason asked, leaning back to look at the enormous face gazing down at him. "Just what do you want from me, Master? Other than my life, of course."

"Do you know what the translation key is to your memory extracts?" came the bland inquiry.

Jason blinked. "Of course I do. And so do you. You did try to steal it from me once."

"Indeed. The data was encrypted by your scanning."

"Very probably."

"The answer was so deliciously simple, but that fool Legrand couldn't see it," the Time Lord chuckled.

Realization dawned and Jason stared up at the enormous face. "It was you I heard," he gasped, a hand going to his head. "From the very beginning! And here I thought…" His eyes narrowed. "You're the one who planned all this, aren't you? Are you also Legrand's elusive financial backer?"

"Bravo," the Master grinned. "You now know more than the Doctor does. He still hasn't figured that out yet." After a long pause, he said, "Tell me, do you know where the extracts are?"

"No, thank goodness, I don't. With any luck the Doctor destroyed them when he finished with them," the prince replied.

The Master suddenly scowled and turned away.

Jason scowled as well, wondering how the Master actually fit into this whole mess and why he would go to all this trouble for a few transponder codes. Looking up, he seized the opportunity to look around the room, but for some reason he could not make out the lab, seeing only blurred shapes and colors. Was everything too big for him to focus on? Or was he dreaming? Details always looked fuzzy in his dreams. It was at that moment Jason suddenly realized he had no injuries, his body, although small, had no wounds at all. He was completely healed. When did that happen?

Apparently sensing he was losing control, the Master turned back. "Contemplating escape?" he asked sharply, startling the Alterran. "What will you change into, my prince?"

"Nothing. I can't transmute," Jason informed. "I've already tried. The compressor must've suppressed it, somehow."

"Which brings up another point. Why did the TCE not kill you?"

"I don't know. I'm just as surprised as you are."

The Master gave an evil smile. "Shall we find out?"

The next thing Jason knew he was being pulled across the table and he let out an alarmed cry. A piece of string was suddenly looped around one of his wrists. His captor picked up a pin, which to him looked more like a spear, and bore down on him with it. He covered his face with his free arm as the pin was stabbed thought the knot at the end of the loop, securing it, and him, to the table.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, the aghast Jason clawed desperately at the twine on his wrist. "No! Please, no!" he begged, hating himself at the same time. "Don't tie me down again, please. I'm perfectly willing to cooperate."

"Now wouldn't that make a nice change," the Master snorted, knocking his tiny captive onto his back with a flick of his finger. Within a few minutes, the Alterran was spread-eagled on the table and helplessly secured into place.

"I thought you weren't going to hurt me!" Jason spat contemptuously.

His captor merely laughed, placing a stack of slides on the table beside him. The prince stared at them in horrified disbelief. Was he going to dissect him? The magnifying glass was positioned over him and he swallowed hard. "This can't be happening," he said at last, closing his eyes tightly. "It's a dream. It has to be a dream!"

"Then why don't you wake up?" the Master taunted. "Or better yet, why don't you dream up a rescue?"

To the relief of Jason and everyone watching in his room, the Doctor suddenly opened the door. "An excellent suggestion," he said mildly. "I've always loved a good rescue."