K9 Mark II tried to contact Zero 1,489,272 times before giving up a split second later when he didn't get a response. He took a reading of the rubble in front of him and directed about three-quarters of his remaining power into his nose laser. After half a minute he had made a small opening. Ever so slowly he edged through it.

The building had partially collapsed around the two robots, leaving pockets of space. K9 threaded his way through these, unable to determine if his power would hold out long enough. He had the ability to recharge, of course, but it was mostly through solar energy or molecular heat exchange. The former was impossible trapped beneath a building and the latter depended upon the movement of air, which in their enclosed space was almost nil. K9 knew it would take days to recharge properly. He also knew he didn't have that long.

He found a path through the debris which led to Zero. The larger robot was evidently still standing, but the only part of him K9 could see was the lower half of his right leg. For lack of anything better to do, he nudged it. The moment he did, he received a signal. He theorized that Zero had switched himself off to preserve power, setting an alarm to reactivate him the moment he sensed an external stimulus. They started speaking in machine code.

"What is your status?" K9 asked.

"No major system disrupted," Zero replied. "Immobile except for my head. Power reserve satisfactory. You?"

"Power reserve critically low, no major systems damage, limited mobility," K9 replied. "What is the weight of the debris trapping you?"

"Unknown," Zero replied.

"Why is your head mobile while the rest of you is not?" K9 asked.

"I managed to punch a hole in the side of the building as it fell to the street," Zero said. "You were right, Gallifreyan structures are well-built. The internal structure of the building is still partially intact. I am sticking through the building's outer wall and I am looking at one of its rooms. But more of the building's structure and internal furnishings fell on me. I am buried up to the shoulders."

"Ideas?" K9 asked.

"None. I do not know your capabilities, K9," Zero said. "Although I imagine you will do something miraculous shortly."

K9 paused for what, to a robot, was a considerable amount of time. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

Zero was silent for a moment also. "Nothing," he finally answered.

K9's ears waggled back and forth as he processed, and he came to a decision. "No," he said. "It was not, 'Nothing.' What did you mean?"

"It means that I'm just a 'manual labor robot,'" Zero said. "I'm not as smart as you, K9. My processors are only the most basic and they aren't as fast as yours. Beating me at chess is 'simple.' I'm not worthy enough to be used as a witness for a trial. I have to be asked to stay out of battles. I can't stop Daleks like you can. I'm not sure what I can do."

K9's ears spun again. "You do what you were designed to do," he said. "We all do."

"I think that's easy for you to say," Zero replied.

K9 thought about it for a few microseconds. "Zero, I'm sorry if you feel inferior in some way," he said. "I assure you that you're not. We're just different. And as long as you have an AI program, you're also unique.

"Do you know why I'm in the shape of a dog?" K9 asked. "I was built by the Doctor, based on the design of the first K9. And the first K9 was built by a man named Professor Marius, an Earthman from the 50th century. He built him because he wasn't allowed to take his real dog into space, and he missed his dog. That's why I have two ears, a nose, a tail, and I'm forever looking up people's nostrils from two meters down and always getting tripped over.

"You come from the 22nd century, my counterpart comes from the 50th, and I was built by a Time Lord. It only stands to reason that a lot of my functionality is going to be more advanced than yours."

"I know all that," Zero said. "But it doesn't make me feel any better. Ever since my activation date, when they pulled my head out of the cargo pod, I've been used for labor and the occasional perimeter alert. No one talks to me. No one regards me as important."

"They have you do just what you were constructed to do."

"But I'm capable of so much more."

"I believe you are," K9 agreed.

"Why didn't you ever undergo any modifications if you don't like your design?" Zero asked. "If I were you, I'd make myself a bigger body, give myself hover technology, better weapons-"

"Would you?" K9 asked. "Would you really? Until you were an all-encompassing, walking, talking, battle tank of an encyclopedia?"

Zero was silent.

"Even we AI's have character," K9 said. "I'm not just a robot, I'm a robot dog. There are limits to what I can do, just as there are limits to what you can do. But they're different limits, and we each have different assets. You may think of me as more advanced, but if not for you I would be one flat little doggie right now."

"Point taken," Zero said.

"Sometimes my small size gets me into and out of places without being noticed," K9 continued. "Sometimes I can ingratiate myself with humans because they consider me to be 'cute.' I don't want to turn myself into something that resembles a Dalek. Neither in design, nor personality."

"Don't you long for a good pair of hands every now and then?" Zero asked.

"Sometimes it can be frustrating," K9 said. "But I have not augmented my design overly much because I like myself the way that I am. Would you augment your design if you could?"

Zero thought about it for so long that K9 thought he wasn't going to answer. "I don't know," he finally replied. "I guess we AI's are like people in many respects. I partly like what's comfortable rather than what's better. I might augment myself if I had the opportunity, but I would think about it very carefully. I wouldn't...I wouldn't want to lose myself in it all."

"Well said," K9 agreed. "And if you ever feel you're not being treated with respect, you are free to do something about it."

"Really?" Zero asked.

"Really. There's nothing stopping you. Robot's prerogative. Now, how can we get out of here?"

They both thought about it for several microseconds.

"Well..." Zero began, then said, "No, never mind."

"What?" K9 asked.

"Well," Zero said again, "I was thinking. You have mobility and I have power reserves."

K9's ears spun back and forth as he thought about this. (They didn't have to spin, but they were programmed to do so to show people he was thinking. People were like that – they needed visual input so desperately.) "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm suggesting that the two of us could transfer my power back and forth, as needed, working together to get us out of here." Zero then sent a visual representation of his idea.

K9's tail antenna wagged excitedly and he rolled a few meters away to one of the windows of the building above him. A steel beam had collapsed lengthwise, propping the wall up, giving him some space to work with. His laser flashed briefly, using almost all the power left within him, and he cut away three sides of the window. One end fell out of its frame and lay on the ground while the other remained connected.

This formed a ramp into the building's interior.

K9 paused by the window, soaking up the heat energy the plastisteel was now radiating, recharging his energy banks as much as he could. He and Zero did not speak again, for they knew every erg of energy was precious.

He pulled heat energy from the immediate atmosphere around his body for about 20 minutes before deciding that no more could be efficiently gained. He rolled up his makeshift ramp into the building and traveled along the inside of the wall, circled around two desks, computer equipment, more steel beams and concrete, and a large potted plant all piled in a heap and came back to Zero. As he had reported, he was buried up to his shoulders and only his head was visible. From the position of his right shoulder, he could tell that his right arm was sticking straight out, but it was buried by a collapsed wall right next to him. All in all, Zero had been very lucky.

K9's laser flashed again and he cut away some of the debris from in front of Zero. He could only keep the laser burning for about five seconds before shutting down. He again waited about 20 minutes, soaking up the heat energy being given out from the result of his blast, and used his laser for another five seconds. He accidentally caused a small piece of concrete to explode, scarring Zero's face plate and his own left eye socket, but he carried on. He repeated the process twice more before Zero's chest was sufficiently exposed and his left arm was free.

The plate on the front of Zero's chest popped open and K9 maneuvered himself so that his left side was facing it. He disengaged his internal safety locks and Zero pried K9's side casing away. Zero then reached inside his chest and ripped out his own power sockets.

He and K9 had been built by two different civilizations. Their power supplies were not designed to extend very far, much less to be compatible with each other. The sockets had no hope of matching. So Zero extended raw, unprotected wires from within himself and touched them to K9's power input. The smaller robot's power built up over the next five minutes to full capacity while Zero's drained to almost nothing.

K9 rolled away again and his laser set to work with gusto. He blasted away for a full 45 seconds before Zero was free.

He rolled back up to Zero and the two of them repeated the earlier procedure in reverse. K9's power was down to about 35 percent again, but it was enough for Zero. He climbed out of his hole and stood next to K9. After investigating the surrounding structure and doing a few resonance scans, he surmised the best place to punch a hole in the wall above them, and did so. He picked up K9, lifted him through the wall, and awkwardly climbed up also.

Minutes later they were free. They stood on top of the fallen building and shared the remaining power. When they were finished Zero closed his chest plate. He now had exposed wires inside, but that was one of his less important worries. He picked up K9 and walked over the rubble carefully until they were beyond the ruined building, climbing down or dropping dozens of meters at a time as he did. K9 did his best to recharge himself. With no sunlight, he was still relying on molecular heat exchange.

Zero set K9 on the ground and said, "I suggest we try to catch up with the remaining members of Eden Advance."

"I agree," K9 said. "Can you track them in any way?"

"I may be able to," Zero said. "The Council implanted chips in all of their brains, and these chips give out a constant signal. I know the frequency."

"Proceed," K9 said. Zero led them through the deserted streets. They hid twice from Dalek patrols. Once they came upon a few dead members of the Citadel Guard and the smoking remains of several Daleks. K9 said that they couldn't steal a power pack from the Dalek casings because Daleks always booby-trap their armor. But one of the Citadel Guards had dropped his staser before dying and Zero used it to give them both some more power. Stasers packed quite a bit so it helped tremendously.

"Their position is changing rapidly and moving below ground," Zero announced. "I believe I can detect every remaining member of Eden Advance." He led the way into a building but it didn't extend back far enough. The two robots had to go back out to the street and hide from another Dalek patrol before moving on to the next building. They entered and made their way as far back as they could. Zero led the way down to the basement level and indicated the floor.

"They are through here, but I see no way down," he said.

Then both robots heard it: indistinguishable to human ears, but the vibrations were unmistakable. It was Alonzo's voice. "Can anyone hear me? Please help us! We're trapped!"

"Resonance scan indicates that the chamber below might be full of water," Zero reported. "But the exact reading is indeterminate."

"We cannot take the chance that it is wrong," K9 said, backing away. "We must break through immediately. There is no time for delicacy."

Zero brought up his hands as high as he could, then flashed them down with a blinding speed and punched a hole in the floor.

Below, chunks of concrete hit Alonzo on the head. He lay dazed with blood streaming down his face, but he didn't get a chance to slip under. Zero reached down, pulled him out and virtually hurled him across the room. He turned his external speakers up as loud as he dared. "This way!" he called. "Climb up to safety."

The remaining members of Eden Advance did just that. Zero ticked them off a list as they came up. Cameron was last, and the water began lapping over the edges of the hole as he hauled himself out.

"Where are Ulysses and True?" Zero asked.

They all stared around wildly. "They must still be down there!" Bess shrieked and made to dive back in.

Zero stopped her. "Their signals are no longer emanating from anywhere within the vicinity," he said.

"Scan reports no other life signs or biological matter within the chamber below," K9 verified. "We must leave."

"No!" Bess screamed. "We're not leaving without them!"

Zero held her more firmly, almost lifting her off the floor. "Bess," he said sternly. "They are not down there. I was tracking all of you through the chips the Council planted inside your heads, but just before we reached you the signals for Ulysses and True ceased."

Bess's lip was quivering. "Zero, if they're dead, we can still retrieve them and try CPR-"

"I do not know if they are dead or not," Zero said. "Either way, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither of the children are down there. They are nowhere within three kilometers of us, at least. In any direction."

"Zero, that's impossible," Mazatl said.

"I do not care that it is impossible, only that it is true," Zero replied.

Walman glanced around and said, "Hey! Where's Reilly?"

Everyone looked around again in growing alarm. "That jackrabbit sonofabitch is gone!" Walman exclaimed. "I'll bet he took the kids with him somehow!"

"We must leave," Zero said. "There is a possibility that the Daleks detected our shouting or the impact I made."

They reluctantly made their way up the stairs, still searching for a place to hide in the middle of the nightmare.

 

The TARDIS rematerialized in normal space and the Doctor activated the scanner. The image that met their eyes was of the planet Gallifrey surrounded by a fleet of Dalek warships. "Home, sweet home," the Doctor murmured. Then he squinted his eyes and zoomed the scan in on a particular set of three tiny ships. They seemed to be dropping away from one of the battleships. Even as they did, a fourth one followed.

"Those are escape pods," the Doctor said thoughtfully. "I wonder-"

An explosion ripped through the forward part of the Dalek battleship, sending a blossom of fire into space. Devon gasped at the sight and the Doctor's eyes grew wide. "The prisoners on that ship must have formed a rebellion!" he exclaimed. He activated several readouts on the console and his eyes grew even wider. "There are humans and Time Lords inside those life capsules. The fools! What were they thinking? The Daleks will blast those capsules to dust!" His hands danced across the controls at lightning speed.

"Humans?" Devon's ears perked up. "We've got to help them!"

"I'd help them no matter who they were," the Doctor said. "Brace yourselves, I've never tried this before." He swung a lever home and everyone except Oleander staggered as the TARDIS lurched to one side.

"Rowr!" went the cat.

 

"Dalek Assault Ship 1 reporting," a Dalek operator said. "We have received no response from the life capsules. Preparing to fire." The pods were falling so slowly that it could pick them off at its leisure. It chose the closest and lined it up in its crosshairs. "Fire!" it screamed and let loose a barrage of energy.

The energy bolts streaked towards the capsule and enveloped it completely. But instead of the expected explosion, they simply seemed to transform the escape pod into a blue police telephone box.

 

Devon and Danziger were startled when one of the ships they had just been watching on the scanner screen slowly appeared inside the console room, a few meters to their left. Compared to the rest of the room it wasn't so tiny any more. It was propped partway onto the back of the sofa, and as it appeared it slowly crushed the tea cart completely and knocked over both tables. The cat let out a final "Rowr!" and leaped off the table before it toppled. It ran through the door, heading for safer ground deeper in the TARDIS.

"Goldfish!" yelled the Doctor, still furiously working the controls. Romana was helping him. Danziger quickly caught the goldfish bowl as it slid off the other table. Then everyone staggered again as the blast from the Dalek Assault Ship slammed into the TARDIS. Oleander somehow helped Devon to remain standing without needing any help himself. Danziger staggered left and right, desperately trying not to drop the goldfish bowl, and he ended up falling onto his behind. Water from the bowl sloshed into his face but he cradled it protectively against his chest.

"What happened?" Devon asked.

 

"The Doctor's TARDIS materialized around the escape pod!" the Dalek screamed in a frenzy. "Destroy remaining life pods before he protects them also! Quickly! Quickly!"

Dalek Assault Ships 1 and 2 turned their weapons onto the three remaining ships, but even before the order was finished the Doctor's TARDIS had collected a second one and was materializing around a third. Seconds later it scooped up the fourth and dematerialized one last time, leaving the Daleks with nothing at which to fire.

 

Danziger gently set the goldfish bowl on the floor in a corner. The two fish inside were darting around and around in a frenzy. He knew how they felt. He was thankful that no more pods had materialized within the room, but it also worried him. "Did you get the others?" he asked.

"They're scattered around the TARDIS's interior," the Doctor said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I've never executed so many hops in such quick succession, much less extended the TARDIS's dimensional folding outside its third-dimensional shadow so much. That was a close one."

The cat poked its head back through the door. "Mraow?" it asked. Then the escape pod hatch began to open and it fled again.

The others watched, tense with apprehension. Nothing happened at first, then the tip of a Dalek gunstick appeared.

"Down!" yelled the Doctor. He grabbed Oleander and threw himself behind the console, and Romana was alongside him, but Devon and Danziger were standing right next to the hatch and had nowhere to run. With only a second to react all they could do was sink to their knees and crouch their heads down.

"Well, it's about time you two bowed down to me," Morgan said sullenly. "Where the hell am I?"

 

True lay on the floor coughing up water. It took her a few seconds to return to a state of breathing and she felt so sick. She started blinking tears out of her eyes. Uly lay next to her, coughing up water also. Through her blurred vision she saw a hand reach down and snatch his gear set, then felt her own gear ripped from her head. She heard a crushing, sparking noise and then the hand appeared again. It picked up Uly's staff from where it lay between them.

She looked around. The room was white and the walls were paneled with a uniform pattern of round indentations, each about a third of a meter across. Lines in the walls that could have been a set of double-doors were on the far side of the room. A smaller door was nearby. She couldn't see any other exits. The two gear sets lay on the floor next to her, crushed beyond repair.

In the middle of the room stood a six-sided console. It was about three meters across and its edge was about a meter off the ground. Its controls were situated upon panels which slanted up from the edge, giving the console a mushroom shape, ending with a tall column in the center.

There were two other people in the room besides herself and Uly, along with some...creature! True couldn't look at it.

One of the people was Reilly. He was dripping water and staring angrily at the other person, whose back was turned to her. It was this person who had taken Uly's staff, and he now laid it casually on top of the column in the center of the console. "Who are you?" True asked.

The man turned around easily and grinned at her, but it was a grin so full of casual evil that True shrank away immediately. Never before in her life had she been in the presence of true evil. Gaal had been sick and perverted and Reilly was misguided, with at least some nobility. But the man before her now radiated an aura of purest evil. What was more, he knew it, and didn't care.

He had fair skin and light sandy-brown hair, and with any other personality she could have considered him handsome. He slowly leaned down to her and spoke softly. "I am the Master, and you are on board my TARDIS."

True jumped as the gruesome creature began yelling. "Stop wasting time! There is much to be done!"

She forced herself to look at it, if only to look away from the Master's hypnotic stare. It was the upper torso of a man grafted into some kind of high-tech wheelchair. His shirt was a shiny black fabric and his skin was all wrinkled and yellow. His eyes were permanently shut and some kind of crystal was imbedded into the center of his forehead. Other cybernetic attachments surrounded his head. His left arm was shriveled and hung limply by his side. The base of his chair was completely encased in armor that looked exactly like the lower half of a Dalek.

"What-" she tried to say. "What is that?"

"Oh, that's just Davros," the Master said, then leaned down to her ear and whispered conspiratorially, "Don't mind him. He can't do much more than shout."

"Davros?" she asked. "Isn't that the person who created the Daleks?"

"Oh," the Master was impressed. "I see you've been studying up on your history. Good for you. Yes, Davros created those simple-minded pepper pots. He and I are going to bring about the destruction and restoration of Gallifrey before dawn. Won't that be fun?" He smiled. "But he is right, we have work to do."

"You've also got some explaining to do," Reilly spoke up. "You left me in that courtroom when the Daleks attacked! I might have been killed! That wasn't part of our agreement."

The Master scoffed and stood up again. "Oh, Mr. Reilly, don't be naive. The Daleks' creator and I are working together and he instructed his forces not to harm you. You were never in any danger."

Reilly looked as if he wanted to believe that but was having trouble doing so. He licked his lips quickly and glanced at Uly. True noticed that Reilly seemed to be shaking and his face was haggard.

Both children stood up and True made sure Uly was all right. Being the oldest, she would probably have to take charge and help him. Uly was only a kid, after all.

The Master's face suddenly hardened. "Anyway, you took your time before using the recall device. I had expected to hear from you before now."

"I thought you had abandoned me!" Reilly snapped. "I didn't really expect you to come get me at all, but when I was trapped in a tunnel that was filling up with water I had no other choice."

The Master smiled again. True began to wonder if he was unhinged. "Ah, it doesn't matter now. We're all here and the plan is proceeding almost on schedule."

"What about the others?" Uly asked.

The Master waved a hand in dismissal. "I don't need them, but thanks for asking."

"He means, what happened to them?" True demanded. "Are they all right?"

The Master thought about it for a moment, then said, "You know, I honestly don't know. Nor do I care."

"What do you want with us, mister?" she asked.

"You humans have started to become a nuisance," the Master said. "From what I can gather, that lethargic and rusty old Citadel Guard are actually putting up some kind of intelligent defense based on what that tutor of yours had to say."

True made no mention of the Shobogans. Oddly enough, neither did Reilly, which she thought was extremely interesting. She filed this piece of information away. Something strange was definitely going on, here. All she had to do was be enough of an adult to find out what it was.

"But you humans have a tiresome old weakness," the Master continued. "You care far too much. Children make the best hostages of all. Something about the fact that you haven't lived for a long time in the first place makes you more valuable. Or something like that. I must confess, I've never understood the reason. To me, you all live lives that are so fleeting anyway that it's hard to tell the difference." He smiled. "You're my insurance policy. If things go wrong, it's so nice to know that I have a little girl like you to keep the others away."

Something about the way he had singled her out caused True to go icy cold. "What about Uly?" She couldn't keep the quaver out of her voice.

"Oh, he'll be all right, for the moment," the Master said. "But part of my agreement with Mr. Reilly is that he gets Ulysses. That's what he's wanted all along. But he doesn't want you." The Master smiled and reached down to pat her lightly on the cheek. "No, little True, you're all mine."

She wanted to slap his hand away and yell "Don't touch me!" but instead found herself drifting away within his eyes, eyes that were full of galaxies and fire, eyes that wrapped her within a cocoon of darkness, eyes that-

"Enough of this!" Davros shouted and True jumped, feeling disoriented. "We are wasting time! When do we take control of the Eye of Harmony?"

The Master stood up and True realized that he'd almost hypnotized her without even breaking a sweat. She started backing away. How long had she stared at him? Had he made her do anything? She couldn't remember! She glanced at Uly, who was standing where he'd been when she'd started talking to the Master. It seemed that only seconds had passed. She began to feel a little more relieved, but not much.

"As soon as the Doctor quits running around like a circus clown and gets on with it," the Master said. "You know how eccentric he is. I dare not try to force him lest he realizes what's happening."

Davros's chair began circling the console room. True and Ulysses stood against the wall. "This waiting is intolerable!" Davros shouted.

"Relax!" the Master said, mock-soothingly. "We've nothing to do until the Doctor presses the switch, that's all. Just curl up with a good book until then. Oh, but you can't curl very well, can you?"

"I see that all Time Lords are full of banal wit," Davros said. "You and the Doctor have more in common than you might realize."

"Oh, I've told him that myself, many times," the Master said. "But he chooses not to believe me."

"Listen," Reilly said, "all this revenge-planning and world-conquering is very nice, but I did everything you asked me to do and my side of the bargain is waiting right there." He pointed at Ulysses. "If you've got a few minutes to spare while waiting for the Doctor to walk into your trap, why don't you take me and the boy back home now?"

The Master shook his head. "No can do, Mr. Councilman. I know you're eager to get back, and I know why." He smirked. "But I took enough of a risk materializing within the tunnel to snatch you and the brats from the water. I can't afford to leave this position more times than I have to. The link is too delicate. We sit tight until the hour of my destiny appears."

"Our destiny," Davros said softly.

"Of course," the Master murmured. "How thoughtless of me."

"What do you mean, you're setting a trap for the Doctor?" True blurted out.

"Silence, Earthling, or you will be exterminated," Davros said. "This creature needs to be locked up and kept silent. Don't you agree?"

"It would be for the best," the Master said. "But she also makes for a refreshing change of company after being stuck with you for the past two days."

"I assure you, the feeling is mutual," Davros replied.

The Master approached her again. "No, the Doctor isn't really walking into a trap. Let's just say that I brought him to Gallifrey for more reasons than one."

"What about my dad?" she finally asked, glancing at Davros. "The Daleks took my dad and some more of my friends. If...if you set them free, and rescue everyone else from the water, Uly and I will do whatever you want."

The Master's eyes grew wide and he seemed to re-evaluate the little girl in front of him. "How very noble of you. But very unnecessary. You'll do what I want anyway." He smiled. "So there's no point in holding out any illusions. If the Daleks took your father, he's either a mindless vegetable or dead by now."

Both children reacted visibly, their worlds shattering at this news. "No," True whispered. Her lip trembled and tears sprang from her eyes. Uly just stared in shock.

The Master grimaced. "If you're going to cry I'll have to lock you up. But thank you, at least, for reminding me why I can't stand children."

"Whatever you're doing, I'll stop it!" True yelled, rage and fear building within her. "This is for my dad!" And with that she ran forward and launched herself onto the control panel.

She used her hands, her feet and her entire body to press every button and slide every lever that she could. The ship lurched to one side and lights flickered. "Stop her!" Davros screamed, adding to True's own screams of anguish. The Master yelled, wrapped both hands around her, and threw her violently across the room like a little doll.

"True!" Uly screamed.

The Master threw her roughly in the direction of Reilly, and whether through instinctive reaction or some real sense of compassion from his buried humanity, he moved to catch her as best he could before she slammed into the wall. He set her gently on the ground. She was crying and barely noticed what was happening to her.

The Master hastily went over his entire console with a snarl, madly recalibrating his systems. "I don't believe it!" he exclaimed, smashing a fist on his console. "That little wench may have triggered a pulse loop!"

"She should be exterminated immediately!" Davros shouted. "You should never have brought her on board. Your incompetence may ruin everything!"

"I don't know if the pulse loop was actually sent or not," the Master said. "There's a chance that nothing happened."

"We cannot afford to take that chance!" Davros shouted.

"If it was sent, there's nothing that can be done about it now," the Master said. "But she can pay."

"I don't care what you do to me," True said. She and Uly both started backing away.

"Somehow, I doubt that very much," the Master said. He slowly advanced on them, picking up Uly's staff as he did. Then his hand shot out and grabbed Ulysses.

"Hey!" Uly shouted, squirming in his grip. "Let go of me!"

The Master was suddenly all smiles again and True felt intense dread. Somehow, she would prefer it if he screamed and ranted and raved. Anything but smiled.

"I think it's time we conducted a little experiment for our Councilman friend," he said. "I understand that you have the ability to fire bioelectric energy blasts from this little staff of yours."

Uly was shaking. "No," he said.

The Master slapped him in the face and Uly started to cry. "Lie to me again and I'll snap your neck," he said with a smile. "You can fire bioelectric energy blasts, yes or no?"

"Yes." His lip quivered. True stood crying also, unable to help.

The Master inspected the staff as if it was the most interesting thing in the universe. "But it's only made of wood. How do you do that?"

"I don't know."

"Then I'll tell you." The Master rested Uly on his knee as if he was reading him a bedtime story. Without looking over his shoulder he said, "Take notes, Councilman, you'll be interested in this. You see, Ulysses, the bioelectric energy which you focus, first of all, comes from the life force of planet G889. And since the planet is linked to the time vortex through the dream plane, you can call upon that power from anywhere in the universe, which is how come you can fire this thing even when you're not on G889.

"Furthermore, the staff itself doesn't really do much. The energy doesn't pass through it at all. If it did, it would burn it to a cinder. For the Terrians, the energy they focus goes through their staffs, but for you, it's different. The energy you fire doesn't really travel through the staff, it really travels on a pathway a few millimeters from the staff and focuses on a point immediately in front of it. Now, why do you suppose that is, eh?"

"I don't know," he said.

"You know?" the Master shook his head in mock-puzzlement. "Neither do I. But let's see how powerful you are and how good your aim is. I want you to take your little staff," he handed it to Ulysses, "and shoot your friend True with as powerful a blast as you possibly can."

"No," True whispered, backing away until she was against the wall.

"I can't do that," Uly said, still crying.

"Oh, but you can," the Master said and looked deeply into his eyes. "You can."

"Don't look at him, Uly-" True started to say but the Master pulled a black cylinder out of his inside pocket and aimed it at her. He started speaking to her, but his eyes never left Uly's.

"This is my favorite physical weapon," he said. "I call it the Tissue Compression Eliminator, for it compacts matter to a fraction of its original size. I assure you, it makes a person's final few moments extremely painful. Speak again and you'll get to find that out for yourself. The object of this exercise is retribution. Your little stunt hurt me so now I'm going to hurt you. Your only hope is that Uly's blasts aren't powerful enough to kill. That way you just may live to practice the lesson you're about to learn. Now, Ulysses, listen to me."

Uly felt himself drowning in the Master's eyes. He knew he was evil, he knew something was wrong, but he suddenly couldn't remember what. He felt an overwhelming compulsion to do everything this man told him to.

"I am the Master," he said. "You will obey me. You will obey...only...me. Nod once if you understand."

Uly had stopped crying and his eyes had glazed over. He nodded.

"Good," the Master said with a smile. "Now charge your staff with as much bioelectric energy as you can and shoot your young friend with it."

Uly turned to face True and his staff started buzzing with energy.

"No!" True yelled.

The buzzing grew to a dull roar and the staff crackled with energy as it built up. Then Ulysses lowered his head and fired the most powerful blast he ever had.