"Ow!" muttered the Doctor as he slowly returned to reality, blinking rapidly to clear the fuzziness from his eyes. The continuous pounding that had been going on in his head for he didn't know how long had left him with a very real headache. He lay staring at the ceiling, giving his mind a chance to catch up, and when it did, it sent a cold shiver down his spine.
Where's Kerry?! was his first clear thought. He listened, straining his ears for any sounds that might betray her presence, but heard nothing. He forced himself to sit up, wincing as the effort made his head spin. And suddenly, there was Kerry by his side, helping him to his feet.
"Kerry!" he yelled with joyful relief, forgetting his throbbing head for a moment as he threw his arms around her and almost lifted her cleanly off her feet. Then lights flashed in his eyes and he was forced to release Kerry and grab onto something to stop himself falling over (which happened to be Kerry.) He dropped his voice to a whisper and asked, "How long have I been out?"
"I don't know." admitted the girl, "About two hours, I think; maybe even three." She found herself wondering how long she'd been in the Caves – she'd had no way to track time in there –and suddenly she felt weak at the knees. The Doctor caught her as her legs buckled, steadying her. Concerned, he looked closely at her face, taking in the bloody scratches that covered it. He took her hands in his and examined them with a sinking feeling. They too were covered with scratches.
"What happened to you?" he asked her softly, though he already knew the answer. "You went in without me, didn't you?"
Kerry nodded solemnly then broke into a grin.
"And I succeeded!" she cried, her eyes blazing with pleasure.
The Doctor found himself hit by a hot blast of pleasure and an even bigger wave of surprise. He briefly wondered whether to scold, congratulate or just hug her, but before he could make up his mind, Kerry had grabbed his hand and turned him to look down the steps. The Doctor's puzzled frown froze on his face when he saw the boy, who was watching him with interest. He broke into a grin, vaulted down all the steps at once, and skidded across to the lad.
"Hello," he said cheerfully, "I'm the Doctor. And this Kerry…perhaps you've already met. Yes, you probably have. Anyway, hi. Kerry, have you seen my sonic screwdriver?" He said all this in a single breath, patting his pockets all the while. Kerry tossed the screwdriver to him and watched as he waved it in the lad's direction. He momentarily focused the sonic's green light at the boy's head, and Kerry knew, from the way that the lad's face grew pink again, that the Doctor had just given him a subtle energy boost using the sonic's – well, sonic – energy. When he'd finished, the Doctor skipped back across to Kerry, leaving the boy staring into the middle distance with a look of utter wonderment on his face. Then he turned to his friend.
"I can fix those scratches with the sonic, if you like." he offered gently. Kerry turned and looked up at him with a playfully dubious expression.
"Can you do that? Without rewriting my DNA?" she teased. The Doctor gave her a pained look, twiddled a setting on the sonic and waved it vaguely over her from head to toe. Kerry felt a strange, warm and prickly sensation spread across her body and she closed her eyes. She could feel the scratches knitting back together – she was pleasantly surprised at the lack of pain – and a few seconds later she opened her eyes and gazed in wonder at her now good-as-new hands.
"Wow!" was all she managed as she felt the renewed skin on her face. "Thanks!" She gave the Doctor a brief hug before going across to the boy and taking him by the hand. "Oh, by the way, there's a group of Gallifreyans outside." she told him before she disappeared down the corridor towards the nearest bathroom, with the boy in tow, for a wash, followed by a visit to Kerry's bedroom for a set of clean, dry clothes each.
"Come, one and all; the boy is found!"
This was the shout that rang out across Gallifrey in every direction, and the people were soon flocking to the Panoptican for the celebratory feast that had been prepared. Almost everyone was there; the adults talking and laughing, happy to have an excuse to let their hair down, and the children were playing together and laughing merrily, delighted to have an excuse for finishing their lessons or chores early. Everyone was talking about the young stranger who had apparently caused all these celebrations, and those who had not heard about the lost boy, the frantic search or the girl who had saved him were soon told.
Kerry was feeling completely awed (not to mention full-up; the feast had been amazing) by the spectacular scene before her, and the buzz of activity reminded her distinctly of a hive of busily working bees, the only real difference being that these people were having fun rather than making honey.
She was sitting at a table – a short distance away from the masses – with the Doctor, the boy and a small group of high-up Gallifreyan people. Among the 'Nobs' at the table were two that stuck particularly in her mind. The first was a tall man in a green, satin robe, whose name was Chancellor Valstrem – he had been the leader of the party who had escorted Kerry and her two friends here from the TARDIS –, and the other was a grizzled old man who wore a fine, hooded burgundy cloak that almost gave him a really mysterious air, and sat in a large, comfortable-looking armchair (which, to Kerry's surprise and amusement, was snoring gently.) He seemed slightly awkward about being among so many people, and kept teasing a tiny inkwell that sat on the table before him, trying to play with his outstretched finger in much the same way that a kitten tries to play with its mother's tail. The man's name was Elder Marcarstam, but he only revealed this after making everyone at the 'Royal' table (as it was known) – who didn't already know his name – swear to secrecy on the subject.
"The time is near for my identity to be revealed, but until then it must not be spoken of." he explained solemnly.
Also at the table was the leader of the group who had first brought the lad's disappearance to Kerry's attention, whose name turned out to be Commander Flayden, though to most people he was simply the Castellan. He was dressed in a resplendent orange robe, and wore a rather show-offy and heavy-looking headpiece that must have been uncomfortable to wear. However, he wore it with dignity, and he received many respectful gestures wherever he turned (which he courteously returned. Even the children were politely acknowledged as they ran passed, waving). Beside him sat the handsome young man who Kerry had correctly guessed was his second-in-command; his name was Captain Ronan, and his robes were bright yellow. He caught Kerry's eye, across the table, and threw her a discreet and embarrassed grin that said "I know how you feel; I felt out of place when Ifirst sat up here with the Nobs." Kerry couldn't help but grin (rather weakly) back.
At the head of the table sat the Lord President (Kerry didn't know his name); a rather sprightly man for someone his age. He always had at least two attendants at any one time, but he treated them very nobly.
"That meal was exquisite." he said appreciatively, glancing meaningfully at the smart man on Kerry's left. (This was Vice-President Borusa, according to the boy, who was sitting on her right.) Clearly, this look was the smart man's cue, as he immediately pushed back his chair, saying "Now it is time for me to make an announcement to the people." as he rose and made his way towards the President's chair. He bowed deeply before taking the old man by the hand and gently helping him to his feet. As the President stood, so did the rest of the immense crowd (so many colours! thought Kerry as the sunlight reflected off the Gallifreyans' robes), and they remained standing until the President was settled into a grand-looking chair atop the small platform that had been rigged up for the event. Valstrem and Marcarstam followed (Valstrem walked, but Marcarstam remained seated in his armchair which somehow managed to transport him from the table to his place on the platform –beside Valstrem –without appearing to have actually moved!).
Once Valstrem had taken his place between the President and Marcarstam – and Flayden, Ronan and the Chancellory Guard (which Flayden was the Head of) had taken their positions flanking the dais –, Borusa, who was standing on the President's right, cleared his throat and began to speak, loudly and clearly.
"Ladies and Gentlemen of Gallifrey…"