Bittersweet but Triumphant End:
"Night of the Doctor"
Prequel Minisode, November 14th, 2013
This seven-minute minisode opens with a young woman (Cass) piloting a distressed spaceship, about to crash-land. "Help me, please!" Cass says, trying to work the ship's communications. "Can anybody hear me?"
"Please state the nature of your ailment or injury," replies the computer voice in a pleasant tone.
"I'm not injured, I'm crashing!" Cass says, irritated. "I don't need a doctor." We see a shot of space outside the troubled ship--it is heading fast toward a red planet in the distance. But a familiar-looking blue police box is pursuing...
"A clear statement of your symptoms will help us provide the medical practitioner appropriate to your individual needs," the computer voice answers.
"I'm trying to send a distress signal--stop talking about doctors!" Cass snaps.
"I'm a Doctor," says a man's voice from somewhere behind Cass. Surprised, she turns in her seat to see the speaker standing there, leaning against one of the ship's exposed girders. He finishes his sentence: "But probably not the one you were expecting." Though he's banged up and a little older, the dark green coat (and his relatively unchanged face) identify him as the Eighth Doctor. He steps forward, ready to jump in and help.
(Title sequences roll!)
"Where are the rest of the crew?" Eight asks, approaching the ship controls and studying them.
"Teleported off," Cass responds.
"But you're still here?" Eight looks back at her, surprised.
"I teleported them off," she replies, toneless.
"Why you?"
Cass shrugs. "Everyone else was screaming."
Eight pauses, as if that confirms what he was about to do. "Welcome aboard."
"Aboard what?" she asks, incredulous.
"I'll show you." Eight takes Cass by the hand, and they run toward the back of the ship.
"Where are we going?" she asks as they run.
"Back of the ship."
"Why?"
"Because the front crashes first--think it through," Eight replies, pragmatic as always as they approach the back section of the ship. But before they can get through one of the doorways, it closes in front of them; Eight lets out a frustrated sound. "Aw, now why did it do that?"
"Emergency protocols," Cass says, almost in apology.
Eight brings out the sonic screwdriver and runs it around the edge of the doorway. "What's your name?" he asks as he works, trying to keep her mind off the trouble.
"Cass," she replies.
"You're young to be crewing a gun ship, Cass," he says.
"I wanted to see the universe," she says, rueful. "Is it always like this?"
"If you're lucky," Eight replies, with a grin. The sonic screwdriver finally releases the stuck door, and they both breathe a sigh of relief, walking through. Now Cass sees what's in the back room of the ship--the TARDIS, complete with "POLICE BOX" logo and everything. But she looks less calm and more horrified.
Catching her expression, Eight reassures her, "Don't worry, it's bigger on the inside."
This, however, does not help Cass in the slightest. "What did you say? Bigger on the inside, is that what you said?" she repeats, as if disgusted."Yes, come on, you'll love it," Eight says, trying to get her to safety.
"Is this a--TARDIS?" Cass almost spits the last word.
"Yes, but you'll be perfectly safe."
Cass wrenches her hand out of Eight's grasp. "Don't TOUCH me!"
Eight looks stunned for a moment, but quickly realizes why Cass is reacting this way. "I'm not part of the war," he says, quietly. "I swear to you, I never was."
"You're a Time Lord," Cass says, accusingly.
"Yes, I'm a Time Lord, but I'm one of the nice ones," Eight says, trying to assuage her fear.
"Get away from me!" Cass says, backing away enough that she's past the doorway again.
"Well, look on the bright side, I'm not a Dalek!" Eight replies, a little frustrated.
Cass lets out a mirthless laugh. "Who can tell the difference anymore?" She slams the emergency close button on the doorway, officially separating herself from Eight.
"Cass!" Eight cries, coming toward the door, but it shuts before he can reach her.
"It's deadlocked, don't even try!" she retorts.
"Cass, just open the door--I'm trying to help!" he shouts through the reinforced steel and glass.
"Go back to your battlefield," she snaps. Tears glisten in her eyes. "You haven't finished yet. Some of the universe is still standing!"
Eight looks at her, heartbroken and horrified, as she speaks. "I'm not leaving this ship without you!" he declares.
"Then you're gonna die right here," Cass replies, savagely. "Best news all day."
"Cass--Cass," Eight says, shaking his head, trying to get her to understand. She looks away as the ship shudders around her, and Eight cries her name a few more times, pounding on the door standing between them.
~~~~~
The scene switches to the craggy surface of the red planet, pierced by cliffs and clawlike mountains; Cass' ship hurtles down and crashes on the planet's surface, causing a massive fireball. From a nearby cave, an old woman in deep red robes (Ohila) steps forth from the cave entrance. "And here he is at last," she says; now some similarly-garbed women are visible behind her. "The man to end it all. My sisters--the Doctor has returned to Karn."
The burning wreckage of the ship appears on screen as Ohila continues to speak: "We have always known in our bones that one day he would return here." The camera focuses in on Eight's face, barely visible among the twisted metal. "Such a pity he's dead."
~~~~~
The scene changes yet again; Eight is propped up against the side of a rock, and jolts back into consciousness, crying Cass's name. Ohila stoops down to speak to him. "If you refer to your companion, we are still attempting to extract her from the wreckage."
"No, she wasn't my companion," Eight says in a tone of regret, grimacing as he moves his arm.
"She's almost certainly dead," Ohila replies. Eight reacts to this, visibly shaken, but does not speak. "No one could survive that crash."
"I did," Eight replies, disbelieving her words.
"No," Ohila says, firmly. "We restored you to life, but it's a temporary measure." The horror of what's just happened to him ghosts across his face as she speaks. "You have a little under four minutes."
"Four minutes?" Eight repeats, laughing a little at the impossibility. "That's ages! What if I get bored? I need a television, a couple of books--anyone for chess? Bring me knitting." His forced humor does little to ease him, however.
"You have so little breath left," Ohila says, softly. "Spend it wisely."
"Hang on," Eight says; recognition lights his eyes. "Is it you? Am I back on Karn?" he asks, struggling to rise to his feet, bracing himself on the rock he was propped against. Finally standing, he turns enough to see the other women gathered in the space. "You're the Sisterhood of Karn," he says at last. "Keepers of the flame...of utter boredom."
"Eternal life," Ohila corrects, sternly.
"That's the one," Eight says, beginning to pace a little.
"Mock us if you will," Ohila says, "but our elixir can trigger your regeneration." Eight eyes her suspiciously, but she explains, "Time Lord science is elevated here on Karn. The change doesn't have to be random." She points back toward her sisters, who are all holding steaming goblets. "Fat or thin? Young or old? Man or woman?" she asks.
"Why would you do this for me?" Eight asks, still distrustful.
"You have helped us in the past," Ohila replies, simply.
"You were never big on gratitude," Eight replies, his words punching straight through her argument.
Ohila is not deterred. "The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords threatens ALL reality," she says. "You are the only hope left."
"It's not my war," Eight says, just as firm. "I will have no part of it."
"You can't ignore it forever," she says, quietly.
"I help where I can--I will not fight!" Eight is not about to be backed into a corner if he can help it.
"Because you are the 'good man,' as you call yourself?" Ohila's tone is subtly mocking.
"I call myself the Doctor," Eight corrects, resenting her mockery.
"It's the same thing in your mind."
Eight nods, tightly. "I'd like to think so."
She nods. "In that case, Doctor..." She glances to the side. "Attend your patient."
Eight follows her gaze to the two sisters bringing Cass' body into the room; he rushes to her side, using the sonic screwdriver on her, but there is, of course, no response.
"You're wasting your time," Ohila says, even as Eight works. "She is beyond even our help."
"She wanted to see the universe." His tone is half regret, half horror at what has happened despite his help.
"She didn't miss much," Ohila says. "It's very nearly over."
"I could have saved her--I could have got her off, but she wouldn't listen," Eight says; tears choke his voice.
"Then she was wiser than you." Ohila presses her point. "She understood there was no escaping the Time War." Eight raises pain-filled eyes as she continues: "You are a part of this, Doctor, whether you like it or not."
Eight's pained expression changes to one of scorn. "I'd rather die."
"You're dead already," Ohila replies, steadfast. "How many more will you let join you?" Eight does not answer; the camera focuses on Cass. "If she could speak," Ohila continues, "what would she say?"
"To me? Nothing," Eight says, his voice dejected. "I'm a Time Lord--everything she despised."
"She would beg your help," Ohila argues, her own eyes now tearful. "As we beg your help now." The word "beg" catches Eight's attention. "The universe stands on the brink," she whispers. "Will you let it fall?"
Galvanized by these words, Eight looks around the room, at the sisters holding the steaming cups of different elixirs. Sensing she's close to breaking through to him, Ohila continues: "Fast or strong? Wise or angry? What do you NEED now?"
Eight glances down at Cass' body, and takes the bandolier off her vest, studying it. "Warrior," he breathes after a moment.
"Warrior?" Ohila asks, confirming.
Eight nods. "I don't suppose there's any need for a Doctor anymore." He pauses, thinking hard. "Make me a warrior now."
Ohila hands him one of the goblets. "I took the liberty of preparing this one myself."
Eight barely hears her--he stares at the fateful cup in his hands, his eyes near overflowing. "Get out--GET OUT!" he shouts. He glances around the room. "All of you," he adds, quietly.
Ohila nods, understanding; the sisters begin to leave, until Eight has one last question. "Will it hurt?"
"Yes," Ohila answers.
"Good." Eight grasps the goblet. "Charley...C'rizz, Lucie, Tamsin, Molly...friends, companions I have known, I salute you," he says, the beloved names tumbling out of him. "And Cass..." He glances down at Cass. "I apologize." Then he turns his attention back to the elixir. "Physician, heal thyself," he whispers, and raises it to his lips and drinks.
The elixir takes immediate effect; the goblet falls from his nerveless hands, which begin to glow with the familiar golden hue of regeneration. Eight watches, horrified, fascinated, until the regeneration takes hold and he cries out in pain, crumpling to the floor. Ohila stands watch over him, as the scene fades slowly to white...
~~~~~
...and then, Ohila appears again, crouching down slightly to look at the Doctor. "Is it done?" she asks.
The Doctor does not reply; he approaches Cass, stroking her face gently, then takes her bandolier and straps it around himself. His changed reflection appears in a polished urn as he says, in his new voice, "Doctor no more."