DOCTOR WHO:
"LEAVE THE DEAD TO DUST"
An Alternate Take On "Hell Bent"
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
Across the heated dunes of Gallifrey, several younglings are playing a game of tag with one another when a stern, commanding middle-aged woman urges them to seek shelter within, for she had spotted someone approaching in the distance.
This person-The Doctor, his coat slung over his shoulder, his head pouring with sweat under the searing sun of his homeworld. He has walked many miles and the fatigue is visible on his features.
Still, he walks with purpose. He heads towards the hut a few meters away. It is a place very familiar to him. Very personal. He begins to reminisce.
He hears Clara Oswald's reassuring voice soothing a frightened youth, until that point, very fearful of the future. She assures him all is well.
In the present, there is clear and visible answer across his face, a man driven to his limits. Clara's voice still echoed all around him.
He entered the hut, greeted inside by the woman, her younglings cowering behind her. For a time, the woman is concerned.
The Doctor does not say a word. He lets his eyes do the talking.
The Woman's facial expressions go through a series of expressions-curiosity turns to excitement-she recognizes him!
Then, as quickly as that expression appears-it's gone, as a looming dread washes over her.
Her hesitation to speak ends abruptly.
"They'll kill you"
Meantime, within the domed capital of the planet Gallifrey, we see panic on the streets as the familiar tolling of cloister bells ring out from across every corner of the city.
Peering out of a gleaming towering structure overlooking the capital is a robed figure- a stressed and perturbed expression on his features, his head resting against the metallic hand he has leaned on the glass of the window giving him a view of all that he surveys.
It is a frantic and bustling scene as Time Lords of supreme stature receive a visit from the captain of the chancellery guards. He leans down on one knee and bows before the assembled Time Lords
"My Lord President"
The President turns from the window to address the captain
"The entire cloister is ringing Captain Gastron...how many of the Wraiths are active?"
"All of them sir."
"Then we are facing great danger"
Another of the assembled Time Lords, The General, intercedes
"What of The Doctor?"
"Returned to his roots sir, the orphanage just east of the capital"
The President is quick to make an order
"Despatch a squadron to retrieve him immediately."
The General took The President aside
"Lord President, I have been in contact with Karn. Ohlia of the Sisterhood requests an audience"
The President's anger builds.
"They are exiles, cut off from our society, they should have no influence on the affairs of this planet!"
"Now is not the time to remind us of how divided we are. The hybrid is a danger that threatens all corners of the Universe. "
The President's ire is quick to fade , his face one of solemn resignation to the matter at hand.
"Very well"
Back at the barn, The Doctor is enjoying a piping hot bowl of soup. The Woman keeps the children at arm's length, watching The Doctor silently. The Doctor does not say a word, he takes a few spoonfuls.
One child chooses to be brave and breaks off from the sheltered group to ask The Doctor a question
"You're sad. Most sad. I can see it in your eyes. Why is this so?"
The Doctor stares coldly at the child, there is no compassion even in moments where there should be.
The Woman pulls the child back, The Doctor resumes his meal.
A distant rumble can be heard in the distance. Steadily, the noise gets louder, the table and soup bowl begins to shake.
Some of the children begin to talk amongst themselves. Some are frightened.
"Wait here"
She exits through the main door, the bright and searing sunlight seeps into the room, illuminating The Doctor. The children remain transfixed by him...and somehow all their fears evaporate
The Woman steps back into the barn, she steadily approaches The Doctor, anxious, but resolute.
"They've come for you"
The Doctor stares back at the children. He slowly rises to his feet and walks up to the Woman.
"Tell them everything will be alright"
The Woman finally permits herself a grin. The children smile too. Though his soul is lost, The Doctor is not without heart.
The Doctor pats the Woman tenderly on the shoulder and opens the door
The Doctor peers out of the door to find a small platoon of Gallifreyan storm troopers awaiting him. Towering high above them is a Gallifreyan assault ship, it's weapons firmly and locked on to the soil on which The Doctor stands.
The leader of the platoon, Bestral, approaches The Doctor and extends his hand in a gesture of friendship
"Doctor, I am Captain Bestral, on behalf of the high council, I welcome you back..."
The Doctor has no time for pleasantries, especially from this type of person. He quickly takes a few steps backwards back into the barn and slams the door firmly shut, leaving the guards flabbergasted.
"Put me through to the High Council"
Bestral is granted an audience with the assembled Time Lords. The President a tad overeager for progress to be made. His iron gauntlet shimmers with sheer power as if to more clearly convey his frustration as he tries to maintain a sense of composure.
"Why do you delay?"
"He is being... difficult...Lord President, as you had foreseen"
The President turns to The General, his features contorted as he juggles disbelief and paranoia.
"What does he want?"
"What any victim of the confession trials want and seldom never receive my Lord...a reckoning" replies The General
The child that had noted The Doctor's sadness from earlier spots the Time Lord searching through a casket. He removes several items, including several fob watches and an Edwardian era Jacket. At one point, he finds a packet of Jelly Babies. He takes a few out and offers them to the boy.
"Care for one?"
"No one's supposed to touch anything in there"
"Because a grownup said so?"
"We have to obey orders, they say we'll become soldiers one day"
"How long has it been since this planet last saw war?" The Doctor asks
"They say war is as eternal as time" the child replies.
"And just like time...it inevitably passes" The Doctor answers back
The Doctor finds what he is looking for, a musical instrument, a wooden, six string guitar, he plays a solemn version of Clara's theme on it. The children all gather around him as he plays, transfixed by the occasion. Even The Woman, trying to maintain a semblance of structure and attempting to pry the children's attention away from The Doctor, cannot help but be moved.
"There was such sadness in your eyes...now there is pain in this song. This one, does it have a name?"
The Doctor spots something in the crate, a small soldier figurine from, he stares at it, a sense of longing in his ancient face.
"I think it's called...Clara"
A voice from behind the door swiftly interrupts them
"Doctor, this is your last warning. Accompany us to the capital, or we will be forced to remove you from this dwelling by force"
"What are you going to do?" the child asks
The Doctor begins playing a different track on the guitar, "Excuse Me While I Kiss The Sky"
"Don't worry, it's empty words. I trust them to follow their conscious. They know what I did in the last war."
"What did you do?"
"I did some counting"
We find the President is again in great distress, his frustration knows no limits as the guards delay outside the hut
"Who do they think he is to warrant more delay?"
"The man who won the time war sir" The General replies.
Ohlia and the Sisterhood of Karn enter the chamber, flanked by guards
"I see The Doctor's homecoming has not come without it's inevitable problems"
"He blame us for the horrors he faced in the confession dial" The President replies
"No, not at all..he just blames YOU"
Back at the hut,The Doctor is perched on a straw bed, hearing the music he'd been playing earlier played back to him by the child, who he is now allowing to play with the guitar. He hears another loud hum overhead. He steadily rises to his feet, he seems to know this is the kind of house call he had been desiring. His reckoning is here
The President of the Time Lords, flanked by Bestron and his guards, stands outside the hut
The Doctor takes the Edwardian jacket from the pile left on the floor and puts it on. He make his way to the door. The woman and children are there to greet him. The woman is conflicted, not wanting to defy the President, but does not desire The Doctor to give himself up when he has brought much joy to her children.
"He's waiting for you...I don't think we should delay any further. If you knew the stories about what he can do...I don't wish for that on the boys, you understand of course."
"Yes. I know. This is where we part, thank you for all you've done for me"
The child, still holding the guitar in his right hand, tugs at The Doctor's coat with his left.
"Will we see you again?"
"In time...and maybe in space. It's a big universe. You could do with running straight into it when you're older"
The Doctor pats the child on the head and boldly takes steps to exit the Hut.
Again, the bright searing Gallifreyan sunlight bursts forth and some of its rays illuminate the tense showdown between The Doctor and the President
"We did not go to this much trouble for you to create discord upon your return"
"Get off my planet" The Doctor demands.
The President laughs.
"You have no gratitude. Were it not for my orders, you would not standing before me now with a new face...a new life"
"This face is old, this life is scarred. Also by your orders. Another life has been lost. I do not forget these deeds."
"Your companion's death was a result of her own reckless overconfidence"
"You set a trap for me and she walked straight into it"
"We required your assistance"
"You could have summoned me"
"And give our location away to our enemies? We are more vulnerable now than ever Doctor, we have seen much conflict since returning to this universe. Many have tried to stand in Gallifrey's ruins."
"There were other ways"
"You would have been difficult to deal with if merely summoned. You may not have been willing to tell us all you know about the Hybrid, a danger to us all"
"The Hybrid was a story" The Doctor points out
"Every story ever told is history Doctor, history that has either been prevented by us, or history that is bound to happen if we leave it unchecked
"You said you were the Hybrid Doctor" The General replies."
"Yes I did, and no, I didn't. Have you been paying attention to history?
"Tell us what you know" demands The President
"Get off my planet" The Doctor reiterates.
"Gallifrey is mine" The President says in responses, he raises his iron glove, it begins to glow
"Lord President, please, this is not the way" The General pleads
"No, let him sic his mitten on me, it's bringing out the colour in those ice-cold cheeks " The Doctor responds, egging The President on.
"I do not jest Doctor, I shall go to any lengths to get the truth. In the confession dial you died time and again...and where we come from, time has no desire to leave the dead alone."
The Doctor stands firm, the two stare intently at each other, neither backing down from what they mean or say.
Finally, one Time Lord can stand it no longer.
"Lord President, do not-"
The President unleashes a sudden burst of energy from his glove, the General throws himself into the line of fire and becomes a smouldering wisp of smoke and ash.
The Doctor catches the President unawares with a firm right hook, the President falls to the floor, The Doctor places one foot soundly on his glove as guards swarm over them
The Doctor removes the President's glove
"Take a look at what he is willing to do here, make a choice."
The Doctor stares at the remnants of the General's clothes, a pained yet stern and commanding presence on his face as he recalls the smoke pouring from Clara's corpse from their encounter with the Raven in Trap Street.
The soldiers drop their weapons and pick up the fallen President, restraining him, their choice made.
"I am Rassilon, the redeemer, Rassilon the resurrected, Gallifrey is mine. You will obey me!"
"Noone is your servant and you are not The Master, and I mean that quite literally. You do not rule over these men or any other. Not any longer."
Rassilon is taken back to his ship, he looks over at the children staring back at him. The young boy plays 'Excuse Me While I Kiss The Sky' on the guitar.
"Nicely played kid" The Doctor says, complimenting the child.
"My Lord Doctor, shall I order the potion mixers back at the capital to prepare the General for resurrection?" Bestral asks.
"No, no soldier, he's earned his rest. Even as it comes to claim us all, it's best for life and time if we merely leave the dead to dust."