Oh hai dar
Another day, another adventure, the saying went, and this one was something peculiar, and that was saying something, as the TARDIS received a covert message directed at him.
Getting messages in this manner wasn't foreign to Paul, however, the message was in the language of Gallifrey.
He learnt it from his father, but having not seen it in so long, Paul had trouble translating it, so the TARDIS did it for him, revealing it was an old form of the language.
It hadn't been used since the early days of his grandfather before it transitioned into what he calls knew.
The message was urgent, begging for the Doctor's aid, to come to Gallifrey, but no more than that.
Something unusual given the circumstances, that Paul couldn't help but become curious, and that would mean he would need to venture out to Gallifrey to get his answers.
Not something that came lightly, the stories told by his father showed that Gallifrey would revile his existence.
Unfortunately, despite what Paul tried, he couldn't get his answers by other means, even with the TARDIS's help, that he would have no other choice but leave for Gallifrey.
Only comfort he had was Taylor coming with him on this daunting task.
He hoped to find Raan, one of the few Time Lords that weren't like all the others, having given his father courteous upon meeting him for the first time.
His father mentioned that his uncle taught him and his siblings that all Time Lords have a birthright to be on Gallifrey, barring of course, if they committed heinous crimes that warranted them being executed.
Though, given the tumultuous changes Gallifrey underwent, he wasn't sure how it would go, but his burning desire outweighed the risks.
"So, the dunes change colours depending the hour of the day?" Taylor's emerald eyes gleams with curiosity as she looked at Paul.
Nodding, he mentioned how the dunes turned a deep shade of purple at night and a burning red during the day.
More than trillion shards of glass buried in the coarse sand helped reflect the light from the sun above, it's quite a sight to see from the safety of the domes.
What's even more impressive was that there's said to be temples and whatever else buried under the mounds of sand, ancient history left untouched since the bombs, but protected by the sand, that should the time come and the planet was no longer radioactive, the stories and whatever else to come from the archaeological studies would be monumental to Time Lord history.
However, that day won't come soon enough, since the radioactivity would kill all and any who so much as dig six meters into the sand.
It made him wonder when that time comes, that the descendants of Time Lords now would even understand what was written in the ancient tongue, if there be anyone who knew of it, and that will remain as a question for the ages.
Prepared to see it through, Paul exhaled sharply as he asked the TARDIS to take them to Gallifrey, and it did, and when the door opened, he and Taylor gone outside where they're greeted by the polished marble floors with golden grout that shined in the sunlight from the outside.
Marveling at the sight, Taylor expressed how it looked like a temple, Greek or Roman, Taylor's too excited to denote what it genuinely looked like to her as she stares in awe.
Seeing only a sliver of what Gallifrey offered, it was as his father said it looked, almost felt underdressed the way everything was elegant that it couldn't possibly be something mundane in the eyes of the Time Lords.
Slowly moving ahead, Paul glanced around with his angel eyes taking everything in, he couldn't help but think he was in a dream.
His arm around Taylor's waist, Paul began walking slowly throughout the marbled corridors, hardly a soul out, but given the time, a glance at the elegant wall clocks, the Time Lords kept to their schedules without fail.
Glancing around, Taylor noted the lack of security, no Vanguard in sight, something Paul acknowledged as he informed her how they're mainly relegated protecting the inner sanctum areas where only those of certain prestige may enter at any given time.
Much more since the Master showed his true colours, that the Time Lords prioritized protecting the inner sanctum from further abuses.
Make no mistake, with one order, the Vanguard would assemble within seconds, prepared to fight against all and any enemy of the Time Lords.
With Taylor close to him, Paul walked with her as he searched out for Raan.
He sees the statues made to cement the legacies of the Time Lords of then, some estimated to be thousands of years old, the sunlight glistening over them from the sunroof.
"Oh, I think that's Cappy!" Taylor spots a familiar face among the statues, causing Paul to turn his head and look in her general direction, from there, he saw the familiar face.
Capricornus al Janus, his full name etched into the gold, he was known to been a prominent strategist during the early days of Gallifrey that went on to become a philosopher.
This before he left Gallifrey due to his disagreements with the way it was going, Paul could see the hope in those marble eyes, and how bitter Cappy became later on.
Moving on, Paul could see the portraits of the former Presidents, chiefly among them, his great uncle and grandfather.
Staring at the portraits a smile on Paul's face as he sees them in the moment with their smiles. He could see the cheeky grin on his great uncle and the wide smile on his grandfather.
A far cry from the serious faced portraits of the other presidents.
Their journey continued until they came across the library that was once helmed by Layne.
His fate in the air, but likely executed for aiding and abetting the Master.
"My, how would you find anything in there?" Taylor stretched her neck out to see rows upon rows of books of different shapes and sizes, that it's almost dizzyingly impossible for her emerald eyes to focus.
Shrugging, Paul answers that they have their own system, but he can't imagine how long it'd take to put up books left out.
There's no one inside the library, so onward they went, and it became apparent that there wasn't a map of Gallifrey for them to reference.
Taylor found it baffling, but for Paul it made sense, since everyone who been here for ages already knew where everything is, having maps etched into marble would prove wasteful.
Still no one walking among the marbled floors, not even a straggler.
No one to ask for directions or a map to reference where they are, it left the couple in a peculiar situation, and Paul chews on his lip before Taylor suggested the library, figuring that if there's anything, maybe some blueprints left over could be of use to them.
Agreeing with her idea with a gentle tap on her nose, Paul retracted her steps with her back to the library, they saw two men wearing gold lined robes standing by the entrance talking to each other.
"The children will be using the library tomorrow," said one of the men.
The other man, much shorter, went, "I'll have their books prepared, Mem."
They turned their attention immediately to Paul and Taylor.
The shorter man grew quizzical at the sight while the other grew irritated as he pointed at them.
"State your business!" The other man gruffly demanded an answer and Paul gave it.
He was there because he was asked to be, nothing more, nothing less.
Scoffing at his answer, the man balks, "Even lesser creatures know their place!"
He immediately yelped when the shorter man twisted his ear out of anger.
"Memphis! Show some respect. A Lord of Time always returns to where time begins!" he punished the man for his display before immediately apologizing for his son's outburst.
Stunned, Paul asks, "How did you know?"
Snorting at him, the shorter man pointed at his face, saying that he can see Paul's ancestor quite clearly.
Rubbing his sore ear, Memphis argues, "But he wasn't born, here!"
Eying him, the shorter man retorts, "Born in a black hole or on a moon, a Lord of Time is always a Lord of Time. Haven't I taught you this?"
Groaning, Memphis was forced to swallow his pride as his father shooed him away to prepare for schooling tomorrow while he took over talking to Paul and Taylor.
"Forgive my son," Loran asks forgiveness for his son's shameful display.
Weakly gesturing, Paul modestly tells him that it happens, only for Loran to exhale sharply as he stated, "It always happens!"
Believe him, the elitism coming from his son was more than a symptom of a bigger problem, but he'll be talking into the void long before anyone agreed with him.
Introducing himself, Paul could see confusion in Loran's eyes as he tried to pronounce Paul's name.
"Human mother?" Loran asks him.
Slowly nodding, Paul affirmed that his name originated from Earth and Loran gestures with his finger as he brings up his grandfather and his mate, the human woman.
He looked towards Taylor and stopped in his spot with his pink eyes wide, causing Taylor to ask what was wrong, only for him to thoughtlessly muster that she could have been Rommy's twin sister.
"R-Rommy?" Taylor blinks as she echoes the name and Loran confirmed with a nod before telling her about Rommy.
Towards the end, sorrow filled those pink eyes.