The Shadow Calls
By Justin Horsey
Doctor: (Stepping out of TARDIS.) Here we are!
Kate: Where are we?
Doctor: About 100 year's travel from Earth. A planet called Hazos.
Kate: So we're 100 years away from earth?
Doctor: Yep. Question is this is meant to be the highest populated planet in the universe. Where is everyone?
Kate: Maybe that could help. (Pointing at billboard.)
Doctor: Good! (Runs over to board.) Hello?
Voice: Welcome to Hazos! Ask any questions here.
Doctor: Yeah, where is everyone.
Voice: In hiding.
Doctor: Why are they hiding?
Voice: They came for the shadows.
Doctor: Who did?
Voice: Creatures of the unknown.
Doctor: So they weren't from around here?
Voice: No. But they came with an evil plan.
Doctor: So what are the shadows then?
Voice: They run the planet. They keep it turning. We owe our lives to them.
Doctor: Ok, so the shadows aren't evil?
Voice: No.
Shadow 1: Doctor!
Doctor: Did you here that?
Kate: Yeah, what is it?
Shadow 1: Doctor!
Kate: What could it be?
Doctor: I don't know, I honestly don't know.
Voice: They are here. The creatures are here.
Shadow 1: Doctor!
Kate: Doctor?
Doctor: I think it's a shadow.
DOCTOR WHO THEME MUSIC
Kate: How can it be a shadow? Shadows aren't living things.
Doctor: These ones are. Who are you?
Shadow 1: We live in the shadows. We are the shadows.
Doctor: How did you know my name?
Shadow 1: Stories of you travel across the stars faster than the speed of sound Doctor.
Doctor: They do?
Shadow 1: They do.
Doctor: I'm trying to understand this. You're a shadow.
Shadow 1: Correct.
Doctor: How can you work things, then? You're a ghost, basically.
Shadow 1: But a special ghost. We're not just shadows, we're Hazos shadows.
Doctor: But who would want to kill shadows?
Shadow 1: To take over our world.
Doctor: Right. So by destroying you lot Hazos just stops spinning.
Shadow 1: And explodes.
Doctor: Can I touch you?
Shadow 1: No. But we need your help.
Doctor: I can't. All I can do is hear you; I can't see you and I can't touch you.
Kate: Doctor, what are they? (Pointing to 6 creatures emerging from the shadows.)
Doctor: Ok? Who are you?
Shadow 1: It is the enemy! Escape! ESCAPE!
Doctor: What are you?
Creature 1: We are unknown to anyone. We do not know our own identities, the destroyer of this world.
Doctor: I've heard stories about you. So named because you feed on the waste produced by worlds that have been destroyed. Quite interesting, you don't know your own identity's really?
Creature 1: You know our real name? What are we then?
Doctor: Sorry. If I told you you'd burn up. I'm sorry.
Creature: Who are you then?
Doctor: Oh, I'm not from around here. Far off.
Creature 1: Then we shall initiate scans.
Doctor: You don't need to do that. I could just tell you.
Creature 2: Then state your species.
Doctor: Time Lord.
Creature 2: State your intentions.
Doctor: Oh, fun. I'm out for fun.
Creature 1: This species is unknown to us. We shall initiate our scans. (Points Laser gun at Doctor.)
Creature 2: Time Lord. Two beating hearts. Home planet Gallifrey. Greatest enemy Daleks. Murderer of the Racnoss.
Doctor: So what does that mean then?
Creature 1: You will die!
Doctor: What?
Creature 1: We are close relatives of the Racnoss. We come from Defoss, sister planet of Racnoss.
Doctor: I know that, all the Time Lords know everything about the Racnoss.
Creature 1: And now you will die. And this human. (Pointing gun at Doctor.)
Doctor: Hang on! I didn't tell you that she was human and you didn't scan her.
Creature 1: You are the Doctor. You always travel with human accomplices.
Doctor: How did you know my… name? Who are you?
Creature 1: We don't know.
Doctor: But I think you do. I think there's something you haven't told me. Something that I don't already know.
Creature 2: We worked out how to stop it.
Doctor: Stop what?
Creature 2: Burning up.
Doctor: Now I'm interested, how?
Creature 1: Too complicated for a Time Lord mind. Momentary brain overload.
Doctor: Ha! Too complicated! Don't be ridiculous. Brain overloads aren't complicated.
Creature 1: Yet it worked.
Doctor: Oh, good because I have a friend who could use that.
Creature 1: Donna Noble?
Doctor: How did you know that?
Creature 1: We know everything about you Doctor.
Doctor: Really? Who's this then? (Pointing to Kate.)
Creature 2: She is irrelevant.
Doctor: Don't know so much do you? She's not irrelevant. She's company.
Creature: Now you will die Doctor.
Kate: Doctor?
Doctor: (As creatures raise then guns.) Um… sort of. RUN! (Both run away. Creatures fire and miss as Kate and Doctor run around corner.)
Kate: Where are we going?
Doctor: Hopefully to the Shadow's conglomeration.
Shadow 1: Follow me Doctor!
Doctor: I will if you just stay out of the shadows.
Shadow 1: You have to run away from the shadows.
Doctor: What?
Shadow 1: I am part of you. I'm a shadow for goodness sake. We can't just form by ourselves. When our owners die then we are free.
Doctor: So tell me where to go.
Shadow 1: We work over near the big tower over there!
Doctor: (Pointing over towards a tower at least three times the size of every other building.) Can you control me?
Shadow 1: Yes but it takes massive amounts of energy. Pointing itself costs 5 human sized serves of energy.
Doctor: Can you put my arm down now? (Still pointing.)
Shadow 1: Ok, sorry. (Doctor stops pointing and runs through a pair of large gates.)
Doctor: Right, we're here (Slows down as runs inside a big workshop with a massive hole to the centre of the planet with the glow of fire coming up through the hole.)
Shadow 1: This is where we work.
Doctor: So what do you actually do here?
Shadow 2: We create motion for our planet.
Doctor: Oh, hello! How many of you are there?
Shadow 1: As many as people. And more.
Doctor: So I don't understand this. How do you make this planet spin?
Shadow 2: We disconnect from our owners and donate ourselves to the centre of the planet.
Doctor: How do you do that?
Shadow 2: It's a minor Controlled Temporal Shift.
Doctor: Ah, ok I see. And those creatures want to destroy you so they can feed on the planet's destruction. And you want me to stop them?
Shadow 1: That is correct.
Doctor: Then we better get to work then. Kate! Be on lookout.
Kate: Ok. (Turns back towards enterance.)
Doctor: Shadows, come with… actually never mind.
Shadow 1: What are you doing Doctor?
Doctor: Oh I'm coming up with a plan.
Shadow 1: And what is that?
Doctor: I know what those things are, and they do too. They can't know who they are. And I need a friend. So I'm retrieving the TARDIS.
Shadow 1: So what do you want us to do?
Doctor: Find the stuff that those creatures used that made them unburnable.
Shadow 1: Unburnable. Got it. (TARDIS appears.)
Doctor: Good luck. I won't be long Kate. Bye.
Kate: I hate it when he does that.
Shadow 1: Tell me about it.
(On Earth. Doctor steps out of TARDIS and sees Wilfred Mott outside his house.)
Doctor: Wilf!
Wilfred: Doctor! I knew you were coming back. I just knew it.
Doctor: Where's Donna?
Wilfred: You can't call her out here with that sitting there. (Pointing to TARDIS.)
Doctor: Just get her! I'm sorry but I need her. I can bring her back. I promise.
Wilfred: Donna!
Donna: What, what is it?
Doctor: Hello!
Donna: John Smith, isn't it?
Doctor: Yeah, and I'm sorry about this by the way. (Gets out sonic screwdriver and points it at Donna. Donna collapses.)
Doctor: Into the TARDIS! Quickly.
Wilfred: What did you do to her?
Doctor: Defence mechanism. It's alright she'll wake up.
(Back on Hazos.)
Kate: So you are living shadows.
Shadow 2: Yeah, it's cool isn't it?
Kate: Yeah. (TARDIS reappears. Doctor and Wilfred carry Donna out.)
Doctor: Have you got it?
Shadow 2: Yeah over there (Kate points over to a machine in the corner of the room.)
Kate: Stop that. (Kate stops pointing.)
Shadow 2: Sorry.
Doctor: How long does this take? (Wilfred and Doctor sit Donna in the machine.)
Shadow 1: 2 minutes or so.
Kate: Doctor, they're here.
Wilfred: (Doctor and Wilfred run over.) What are they? They look like spiders.
Doctor: Oh they're strange like that.
Creature 1: (6 creatures enter room.) You have declared war Doctor!
Doctor: Since when did I do that?
Creature 1: Since you ran.
Doctor: Really? That's declaring war? I'm unarmed, honestly. You can win this war you've created against someone who's unarmed. What a great story that will be to tell mum.
Creature 1: Who is that? (Pointing to Donna.)
Doctor: It's Wilfred Mott. Good friend.
Creature 1: Not him, her. (Pointing.)
Donna: Doctor!
Wilfred: Donna!
Doctor: That was quick. Almost certainly not 2 minutes.
Shadow 1: Well.
Doctor: Anyway, you're back.
Donna: Yeah. I see you've bought this one along as well.
Doctor: He insisted.
Donna: Donna, by the way, since you were wondering. (To creatures.) And who are you? Like the Racnoss or something?
Doctor: Close relatives.
Creature 1: And now Hazoskind will be destroyed.
Donna: Well that's not nice. Hazos, aye?
Doctor: Long way from home Donna.
Donna: Ok. I was just wondering. Am I part Time Lord still?
Doctor: I don't think so.
Creature 2: Prepare to die.
Doctor: Um, just a tick. There's one thing you may have left out.
Creature 5: What's that?
Doctor: This. (Pulls out sonic screwdriver.)
Creature 4: Ha! That's harmless.
Doctor: Quite right too. But you know, it doesn't need to be harmful when it can do this. (Doctor uses it and a machine behind him explodes.
Creature 3: What have you done?
Doctor: The shadows stole that off you didn't they?
Creature 6: Yeah.
Doctor: Crucial to your evil plan?
Creature 1: (Moving over to machine.) As it turns out yes.
Doctor: Then there you have it.
Creature 1: They stole that machine off us! They should be punished.
Doctor: You appear to be missing two words. Evil! Plan! You should be punished for putting the words together.
Donna: I have a question.
Doctor: Not now.
Creature 2: Not now.
Doctor: So before you kill me and what have you are you going to tell me what exactly your plan is?
Creature 1: We destroy this planet, by destroying the shadows.
Doctor: But, they're shadows. It's a bit like, I don't know, stabbing air. They can't die. You can kill their owner. But that just frees them.
Creature 1: That's what this is for. (Rolls forward a machine.)
Doctor: Oh! I see. A Laser Atomizer.
Donna: A what?
Doctor: It's like a gun but shoots certain atoms you want. These shadows aren't just the bit blocked from the sun. They're people. You remember the Vashta Nerada?
Donna: Yeah
Doctor: Close cousins. Blimey there's lots of relies going round.
Donna: Really! I can talk to the shadows.
Doctor: You bet ya.
Donna: Hello!
Shadow 1 and 2: Hi.
Doctor: So really the gun it seek the particles that make up the shadows, then Wham! It kills them. Particle by particle.
Kate: Well then let's stop that happening. (Grabs the sonic screwdriver and points it at the machine and it blows.)
Creature 1: NO!
Creature 6: You will die now! (Shoots at Kate but the Doctor steps in the way and collapses.)
Donna: Doctor!
Doctor: Watch it Earthgirl. It's going to start soon.
Donna: Oi!
Doctor: Hey, shadow bloke. How much of a difference does regeneration energy make to the planet?
Shadow 1: With that kind of energy we could stop working. We could close the factory.
Doctor: Well. I'm about to make a donation. (Looking at glowing hand.)
Creature 1: What is happening?
Doctor: I'm regenerating! (Starts to regenerate, then points the energy toward the hole. And then the regeneration ends.)
Shadow 1: You must be repaid!
Doctor: No, I mustn't.
Shadow 1: But you must!
Doctor: This is my life! I don't get paid from other species that I save, you don't have to either.
Shadow 1: Fine then. (The hole starts to close.) What's happening?
Doctor: The planet's sealing the energy in. It no longer needs you. Thankful for the years you put in.
Creature 4: It can't! (The hole closes. He shoots at it in vain.)
Doctor: I'm sorry. But you shouldn't have shot me. Well, you didn't shoot me on purpose. Well…
Creature 6: I'll shoot you again if you don't be silent.
Doctor: Wow! Harsh words. But now you've got nothing left. Nothing that can defeat me and my shadow. Oh and by the way, you still have shadows.
Creature 1: What?
Doctor: Since you stepped onto this planet you've had a Hazos shadow. And well, considering they can control you, I'll just leave them to their ways.
Creature 3: Doctor! You can't let this happen.
Doctor: I can't stop it. You're just going to have to hope they be merciful.
Creature 4: But surely you can stop it!
Doctor: Well it's a bit like stabbing air. I'm sorry but I can't. You did this. You could have come for fun. But you had to come to kill.
Creature 5: Then what are they going to do?
Doctor: I don't know. I can't tell.
Creature 2: (All creatures start to burn up.) What's happening to me?
Doctor: I think they're doing the only thing a shadow knows how to do. Disappearing in the darkness.
Creature 1: Do something Doctor!
Doctor: I can't. It's too late. It's already started. But know this, you cannot defeat a shadow.
Creature 6: You managed it.
Doctor: Well, unless of course you're me.
Creature 4: There's no way you can stop it?
Doctor: Fraid so.
Creature 4: Then Doctor! Goodbye!
Doctor: Goodbye. (Creatures completely burn up.)
Wilfred: They just disappeared! That's incredible!
Doctor: Well that's what would have happened to Donna if she remembered. Good thing we fixed it though.
Donna: So, I don't think we were introduced. Donna Noble. (To Kate. Offers her hand for a hand shake.)
Kate: Kate McDonald. (Shakes Donna's hand.)
Donna: Just a quick question have you ever tried to hug him? (Referring to Doctor.)
Kate: No, Why?
Donna: He is just far to skinny. Just watch you might get a paper cut.
Doctor: You keep saying that.
Donna: Well you are.
Wilfred: She's right you know. Should beef up Doctor, you might need it.
Doctor: I'm fine the way I am thank-you.
Donna: Fine.
Kate: So. Where to now?
Doctor: I don't know. But I was thinking, that if you want, maybe Donna would like to travel with us again.
Donna: I said I wanted to travel with you the rest of my life. And I stand by that.
Wilfred: You can just drop me at home thanks.
Doctor: Oh and it might be an idea Kate to visit your parents to let them know you'll be away.
Kate: Yeah.
Doctor: So…
Donna: Allons-y?
Doctor: Allons-y! (Steps into waiting TARDIS and sets about his work.) Hold on!
(Switches to inside the Noble home.)
Silvia: I wonder when they'll be back.
Shaun: (Hears the whooshing of the TARDIS.) That would be them now wouldn't it?
Silvia: (Running outside.) Donna! You're not dead.
Donna: You say that as if it's a bad thing.
Doctor: I fixed her. Now she still wants to travel with me.
Shaun: Not if I have anything to say about it!
Doctor: Well, it's her life.
Wilfred: It's alright, I'm staying here. (Goes inside.)
Doctor: You can do one of two things Shaun Temple Noble. You can let her travel with me having the time of her life, visiting far away places. Or you can keep her at home, being miserable.
Shaun: She can do what ever she likes. But if she does go, when she comes back, it will be over.
Silvia: Oh Shaun!
Donna: I made my choice. Years ago, I said I wanted to travel with him for the rest of my life, and I still do.
Doctor: That decides it then.
Silvia: Donna!
Doctor: Um… Allons-y? (stepping into TARDIS.)
Donna: Bye mum, bye Gramps!
Wilfred: (From inside.) Bye!
Donna: Bye Shaun Temple minus the Noble. And Allons-y Doctor! (Stepping into TARDIS.)
Kate: Oh, bye everyone. (Waving and stepping into TARDIS.)
Doctor: Right, the McDonald conglomeration.
Kate: Conglomerwhat?
Doctor: Conglomeration. Never mind. We're here.
Kate: That was quick. (Stepping out of TARDIS.)
Doctor: Getting better at driving her, I reckon.
Kate: (Walking to front door and knocking. The door opens.) Mum!
Mrs McDonald: Kate! Where have you been?
Kate: I've just come to let you know, I'm going away for a little bit.
Doctor: Hello! I'm the Doctor.
Mrs McDonald: With him?
Kate: And her. (Gestures to Donna.)
Donna: Donna Noble.
Kate: So are we good?
Mrs McDonald: Yeah. Off you go.
Doctor: Off we go!
Kate: Ahh. (In pain. Collapses.)
Mrs McDonald: Kate!
Kate: Mum!
Doctor: No, no, no, no, no, no!
Donna: What's happening to her?
Doctor: When they shot me some of the energy must have radiated through. I'm sorry there's nothing I can do.
Kate: What's going to happen to me Doctor?
Doctor: Sorry Kate, but you're going to die. (Starts to cry.)
Mrs McDonald: What's going on?
Doctor: I was shot. But some of the laser energy passed through me and got to your daughter, and I'm sorry there's nothing more I can do.
Mrs McDonald: Kate, no! No, Doctor! She can't, I have no-one else!
Doctor: Of course! (Get's out Sonic Screwdriver and points it at Kate.) Step back!
Kate: (Expels a wave of energy and stands up.) So, Doctor! Let's go.
Doctor: Oh, Kate, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but you can't.
Kate: Why not?
Doctor: Your mind will be weak for the rest of your life. It can't handle the strains of the Space Time Vortex anymore. That radiation is stored in a time lock capsule in the back of your mind. One trip through time and it snaps.
Kate: So this is it Doctor?
Doctor: For now.
Kate: Will I ever see you again?
Doctor: If I'm lucky.
Kate: Well Doctor. Molto Bene, wasn't it?
Doctor: Yeah.
Kate: Remember though, if there's ever a problem here on earth. Don't forget to pick me up.
Doctor: Yeah, I will. Bye (Hugs Kate.)
Kate: Bye. (Hugs Donna.)
Donna: Bye.
Doctor: And Mrs McDonald. Bye. Just know, your daughter's brilliant. And she saved the universe.
Mrs McDonald: How did you do that?
Doctor: She cut off my hand.
Mrs McDonald: But I can see both your hands.
Doctor: I grew another one.
Mrs McDonald: Oh ok. Wait what?
Doctor: We better be off. Your daughter's brilliant.
Mrs McDonald: I know.
Kate: Goodbye Doctor.
Donna: (Both walking to TARDIS and stepping inside.) So mister, where to now?
Doctor: You know who I'd like to meet? Merlin. I don't actually think he's real.
Donna: Of course not, he's legend.
Doctor: Well, let's find out. (Pushes down lever. He falls over before looking at the moniter.) Oh, hang on!
Donna: What?
Doctor: Felspoon? What? (Looks closer at monitor.)
Donna: Doctor what's happening?
Doctor: It's taking us to Felspoon. (Cloister Bell starts ringing.)
Donna: What for?
Doctor: (Looking around and listening to Cloister Bell.) It's the end of the universe!
DOCTOR WHO THEME MUSIC