Chapter 10:

Secrets and Revelations

The day's events passed by rather quickly for Holly. After the interrogation of Ghor, the Doctor took over a guest room in the manor, and locked himself in. He said he was 'meditating', whatever he meant by that. Trouble worked Foaly and his techies to the bone, clearly becoming more and more nervous as the object was obviously growing closer and closer, clear now even in the daylight. They only stopped working for a lunch break; Butler supplied the cooking, with quite a bit of help from Mulch, to everyone's surprise.

''See if I ever cook for you people again'' he grumbled.

Artemis had taken the opportunity to help out bit more around the work camp. He ran diagnostics, tuned equipment, create diagrams of possible scenarios. It was awkward to work around these other fairies, however; half of them were nervous around him, and others fawned over him. One of had actually asked for an autograph for his niece. Foaly had even got him to try and talk the Doctor out of his room, but he just repeated the same thing: ''I'm meditating.''

Artemis was in his study with his all his friends now, watching the video of the interrogation. ''…Seeking your penance, justification of your act of genocide against your own people!'' the video Ghor yelled, his baritone voice making the speakers vibrate.

The video ended, and Artemis sat there, motionless, everyone staring at him. Finally, he shrugged. ''I don't what to say'' he said. ''I don't know anything about troll physiology, but as far as I can tell, he's telling the truth. Or he thinks he is, at least.''

''What about the cute little weirdo?'' Juliet asked ''You can't pull any of your fancy psychology moves on him?''

Artemis smiled in that condescending way that always made Holly want to punch him. ''No, I can't pull any moves on him. Whatever 'baggage' our friend has, this troll knew about it, and knew exactly which of his buttons to press, so to speak''

Holly snorted. ''Baggage? Not to poke fun at your credentials, Arty, but were you actually watching the video?''

''I was actually… trying to finish my symphony, but I heard enough.'' There it was again. Artemis seemed lost in thought again.

Foaly rubbed his temples. ''I admit he's upset about something. Depression is one thing, but if we accept that he feels guilt about something, we have to consider the fact that…''

''He's out of his tiny little mind?'' Mulch said bluntly. ''Come, Foaly, don't tell me you believe all of that. And just when I finally started to respect you.''

Butler spoke up. ''Much as I am hesitant to agree with Mulch…''

''Thank yo- HEY!''

''…and not even taking in to account how strange my life has become, I can't get behind the idea that that man is some genocidal-''

''Genocidal what?'' Every one turned around to see the Doctor leaning on the doorway. He looked fairly somber, and his hair was fairly dishevelled.

''…I understand that…recent events have put me in an interesting light,'' he began, ''and considering how fairly little you all know about me, I can see how it might be a little…confusing.'' He took in a breath through his nose, and out through his mouth. ''There's quite a bit about myself I haven't told all of you, and a lot more I would rather not say. But if I'm going to continue helping you, perhaps it's time I let you all in on some of my…personal information.''

He motioned for the group to follow him, and started down the hall….

The Doctor stopped at a door at the end of the hall, and opened the door after a moments hesitation. Inside were Trouble and Luskar, along with a small group of techies. In the center of the room sat the Doctor's blue box, surrounded by a ring of sensors and lab equipment.

''Captain. Foaly. So glad you thought it worth your time to join us'' Trouble said, clearly the days stresses taking toll on his patience.

''Might I ask what is going on?'' Artemis inquired.

Trouble ignored him, so Luskar turned around. ''The Mud Man said that he can open up his box for us.''

Foaly clopped up to the sensor control panel, very intrigued. ''Really? I've spent a good five hours in here, trying everything. Lasers, X-ray, mini explosives, robotic lock picker…''

And with that, the Doctor turned to his box, raised his arm, and snapped his fingers. The doors flew wide open.

''….Admittedly, I did not try that'' Foaly said meekly.

The Doctor walked up to the box, and held up his arm, signalling for them to go in. ''No more secrets'' he said flatly. This gave Foaly a pang of guilt; he remembered the video. He looked like he would say something, but stopped when he saw Trouble looking at him.

Artemis was the first to take the Doctors offer. He strode up to the box, and stuck his head in. Because of the angle the box was at, Holly couldn't see what her friend was seeing. He was obviously seeing something, because it was a full minute before he pulled his head back out. He looked shocked; his face was pale, and his eyes were wide. He motioned rapidly, urging everyone to follow him. And with that, he walked, somewhat stiffly , into the box.

Holly, Foaly, Butler, Juliet, Mulch, Trouble, and Luskar all went for the entrance at once. Holly was the first to go through, and that was when she knew things were far stranger than she originally thought.

She was in a massive, dome shaped room. The walls were a copper colour, curved into a half sphere with large circular screens dotting the walls. She walked up a gangplank made of glass up to the center, which was raised on a large pedestal. In the center of the pedestal there was a console in the shape of a hexagon. It was a curious blend of old human tech with technology Holly had never seen. In the center of said console there was a column that stretched to the ceiling, containing a smaller, oddly shaped glass column that bobbed slowly up and down. Artemis was examining what looked like a typewriter, which was situated next to a pulsing mass of fleshy green wires.

Butler stood up to his full height, his jaw falling farther and farther down his face. Juliet and Mulch were the same. Foaly looked like a kid in a candy shop, marvelling at each new piece of machinery. Trouble and Luskar just looked shocked. The Doctor closed the doors behind him, and turned to face his new friends.

''Welcome to the TARDIS'' he said proudly, if he was presenting his first born son. ''Before you ask, Mr. Foaly, it means 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space'. It's a spaceship, time machine, and all around, one sexy piece of machinery. And yes, it's bigger on the inside than the outside. Any questions?''

''D'arvit" Mulch wheezed.

"Not what people usually say, but I can see how that could be acceptable." The Doctor ran up the gangplank, and began to spin knobs and twist dials.

Artemis and Foaly clumped between the Doctor, their inner scientists coming to the surface. "Doctor, may I ask what you're doing?" Artemis asked. The Doctor just grinned, and then flipped a lever down.

Suddenly the whole room lurched to one side, tossing the occupants around like beans would be tossed if you shook the can. Holly flew right of her feet smashing Artemis right into the guardrail.

"D'Arvit!" Holly swore, rubbing her head. "Sorry." Artemis looked like he would say something, but simply nodded. Again, he was acting strange…

No time to worry about that now! Holly thought. The room had lurched to the other side, causing everyone to fly to the other side. Holly grabbed Artemis by the wrist, and used the other hand to grab the console when they flew by.

The Doctor seemed blissfully unaffected by the room's spastic revolutions. He hung onto the console, keeping his feet firmly pressed onto the ground and grinning like a mad scientist. He had seemed somewhat sad before, but now he was giddy, back in his element. Suddenly, the room righted itself, depositing everyone onto the ground.

"OW! Dammit!" Trouble fumed. "FOALY! What the hell was that?"

"No need to shout, Commander" Butler groaned. "We can all hear you just fine."

Holly got up, feeling her body for bruises and cuts. "Mind telling us what you just did?" she said, treating the Doctor to her 'I-am-extremely-pissed-off' look. The Doctor seemed immune to it, however, and jumped over Juliet and Luskar, striding up to the doors and flinging them wide open.

Everyone gawked. They were no longer inside the manor. Nor were they outside the manor. They were not even on planet Earth, it seemed. Outside the door was nothing but outer space. Stars twinkled from far away, and a gaseous cloud spun listlessly in the nothingness, soon to become a new star.

The Doctor sighed. "Welcome to Alpha Centauri, my friends. Are you close to fainting in awe, or do I have to wait a few more minutes?"

Everyone was speechless. Finally, Artemis found the courage to speak. "Why aren't we suffocating?"

The Doctor made a face. "You are witnessing the birth of a star, in a galaxy mankind won't reach in another thousand years, and those're the first words that come into your mind?" He closed the doors. "Atmosphere shell, if you really must know."

The Doctor pranced, (yes, pranced), back up to the console, and began twisting more dials, staring at a small TV screen attached to the column. "Now, do you want answers? Because I'm about to show you something I've never shown anyone else."

Foaly rubbed his head, still sore from the trip. "Why us, then?"

The Doctor's face took on that solemn expression again. "My friends, the people I've travelled with, they often asked me the same things that you all have. I never showed them because I don't think that they could...handle it the same way I think you could."

And with that, he pulled down the lever. Everyone took a quick moment to grab something connected to the floor. Artemis noticed that the glass column inside the bigger column was moving faster now, and that same strange sound was emanating from below their feet.

A couple moments passed, and when the shaking had subsided, the Doctor strode back to the doors and pulled them open.

The sight they say was as impressive as the star cloud, but more horrifying. Mulch's hair stood up on its end. Holly felt a shiver go down her spine. Both Butlers drew in sharp breaths, and everyone else just stared, transfixed by what they saw.

It was a planet. A planet the same size of Earth, but it was impossible to know for sure because the planet was tore apart. A large gash that went straight down to the core of the planet stretched across the surface of the planet, as if some giant had ripped away at the surface. The surface itself was charred, as if it was set fire and left to burn. Chunks of the planet orbited in circles, flying uncomfortably close to the TARDIS.

"This is what remains of the planet Gallifrey." The Doctor said. "Welcome to my home."

A cold silence filled the ship, which Holly couldn't stand. "You're an alien, yeah?"

"Time Lord, yeah."

Foaly didn't take his eyes off the planet. "So what that troll said…."

"There was a war" the Doctor said, interrupting Foaly. "It was long, brutal; bad people did bad things on both sides. In the end, boom. No more Time Lords except me."

Everyone decided to leave it at that. Whatever had happened, it affected The Doctor in some way. Butler realized that was why the man's eyes didn't make his demeanour; The Doctor wore a mask.

The Doctor, meanwhile, had decided they had had enough. He closed the doors, and ran back to his console. A couple minutes later, the TARDIS landed back in front of Fowl Manor.

Everyone stumbled out, clearly shaken by what they had seen. The Doctor stayed inside. "I'll be out in a tic" he said. "I just need a couple minutes to sort some problems out with the stabilizers."

Medics and techies rushed up to meet them, inquiring about what happened and checking for symptoms of shock. Holly brushed them off, and sidled up to Artemis. "You okay, Mud Boy?"

Artemis nodded. "That was quite….something." He held his head on his hands. "This changes everything, Holly. I mean, we just travelled light years in a second, in an alien ship, for god's sake."

Holly started giggling, trying to let off her nerves. "Well, it's something to cross off the bucket list, eh?" They both shared a laugh at that. "I guess we should go see the medics," she said finally. "They probably want to see if we're still sane."

"Agreed." They both started walking to the medical tent. Suddenly, Artemis stopped. "Holly?"

"Yes?"

Artemis looked a bit nervous. "On second thought, I think I'm going to pass on the sanity check…"

"And…?"

Artemis took a deep breath. "There's… something I need to talk to you about. Meet me on the roof in about ten minutes, okay?"

Holly nodded. Before she could ask any questions, Artemis ran off and wet up the manor's front stairs, disappearing through the double doors.

"Is that why he's been acting so odd? He wanted to talk?" Holly thought. Whatever it was, she'd find out soon enough. She set her suit's watch to go off in ten minutes, and made her way to the medical tent, where five gremlins were standing on each other's shoulders trying to attach medical diodes to Butler's head.

It was at this moment that the entire situation was about to turn on a dime, to use a phrase. Everything that transpired after this became legend in the LEP among those who were there, and began a long, complex conspiracy that was fed to the fairy public about what had happened. Humans who were as far as Dublin saw what happened, but only the people who were there at the manor know the whole story, and it's a story that they wouldn't forget…