*several years later*
“Did you have to pull that lever Cait?” shouted the Games as he ran down the corridor. Next to him was Caitlin, holding a torch and running along the Time Lord, trying to keep up so she wouldn’t get squished by the giant boulder that was heading after them.
“Well I assumed if I didn’t, you would!” she replied casually. The Games frowned at her response.
“Why the hell would you think that?! Ugh, nevermind.” This was typical of Caitlin. Or at least, this incarnation of Caitlin. Though it wouldn’t be incorrect to say that her first incarnation was just as reckless.
“Alright jerk.” said Caitlin with a smile and laughed. Knowing fully well that she was joking, the Games laughed as well. At the very same moment they approached a narrow gap on the right side of the corridor. Deciding to use this to their advantage, he grabbed Caitlin’s free hand and pulled her towards him. Together they entered the gap and let the boulder pass.
“Seems like we are safe now.” he said, catching his breath. They had been running for a solid ten minutes now. But it wasn’t only because of that they felt lucky. Soon enough they heard a crashing noise. It was the boulder colliding with something, possibly a wall. Normally they would consider themselves lucky and just return to the TARDIS. But before they could, they heard a second collision sound, this being far louder than the first. The duo looked at each other with a surprised expression and without any need to speak, they both followed the path. Passing through the wall the boulder had demolished they entered a wide chamber. And in the middle of the room was the boulder, reduced into smithereens.
“Wow. The boulder crumbled into pieces.” commented the Games as he approached them.
“Yeah. But look. What’s that?” asked Caitlin, pointing at the hexagonal structure that was, in fact, an ancient sarcophagus.
“No idea. A tomb, perhaps?”
“Isn’t it… I dunno… too strong for a regular tomb?” pointed out the girl. She was right, it wasn’t natural for some old tomb to be able to withstand a boulder of that size, let alone destroy it.
“Let’s find out.” said the Time Lord, as he took his sonic screwdriver out and used it on the tomb. Though he did get absurd readings from his sonic, he also seemingly activated a mechanism within the structure.
“I… didn’t do that.” The Games tried to stop the process, as he feared yet another trap was going to come after them. But that wasn’t going to be the case. The sarcophagus opened and revealed its inhabitant.
“A woman?” Caitlin stood surprised, looking at the ginger woman emerge from the sarcophagus.
“Ah finally. Thank you for letting me out. God knows how long I was stuck here. Days do pass quickly.” said the woman while dusting her clothes off. She looked at Caitlin first and then the Games, and smelled the air. They were indeed Gallifreyan like her, and after understanding that she continued looking at them almost as if she was expecting them to do something. They did, in the end, but something entirely different.
“Sorry, just so we don’t have any misunderstandings. I wasn’t trying to get you out.” The Games was pointing his sonic screwdriver at the woman. Caitlin sighed at this. What was he going to do with a sonic, assemble a cabinet around the woman?
“What… are you doing?” asked the woman, surprised.
“Come on. You expect me to be familiar with someone I accidentally set free?” The Games didn’t change his position, which surprised the woman even more.
“Wait. You don’t know who I am?” “Should we?” said the girl while raising one of her eyebrows, signifying her doubt.
“Well yes! Unless you live in a cave of course.” Caitlin wondered where the woman was from. Perhaps she was a celebrity from a far away planet. That would explain this constant need for recognition.
“We do actually. Hermits United. We meet up every ten years and swap stories about caves. It’s good fun... for a hermit.” joked the Games under his breath. He received a judging look from Caitlin.
“Can’t you just tell us your name miss?” After Caitlin’s request, the woman finally understood that the duo wasn’t joking.
“I’m Ivydellaphecaterionhi, obviously. Now, can we get going? I have a lot to do to cover my absence.” The Games’ eyes opened widely as the woman walked towards him.
“Oh… Yes. I’m sorry for the unpleasantness. Please lead the way.” He said apologetically and allowed her to pass. Caitlin noticed the change in his demeanor, so she waited until the woman was far enough from them to ask him what was going on.
“Games, what’s wrong? Who is she?” The Time Lord cleared his throat and took a moment to speak.
“She is the Architect. One of the founders of modern Gallifrey. She invented the Matrix, which over time indirectly allowed the Time Lords to access temporal and spatial travel…” “But?” continued Caitlin, wondering what his sudden stop meant.
“These were all thousands of years ago. In the Academy we were taught that she had mysteriously disappeared and was ultimately assumed dead. Yet, there she stands.” Although it was hard to believe, it was the truth. The Time Lord had mixed feelings about this: what was he supposed to do with her now that he knew she was alive? Was the history that was being taught at the academy a lie? If it was, how many more lies were there?