Torchwood's large, black SUV rolled up into a little dirt pathway right outside the old hospital building. From the outside, there was no way to tell whether it was inhabited or not. Several windows were broken, various amounts of plant life were growing on the brick, and the air around it even felt abandoned. The Doctor knew better. Time Lords were very good at keeping to themselves. They'd done it for centuries, after all.
The Doctor, Rose, and four other Torchwood field investigators stepped out of the vehicle and stared up at the large building. Each one kept to their own thoughts. Everyone was preparing themselves for the major turning point that was about to occur inside this very building.
The Doctor looked over at Rose, who was now instructing her co-workers to make sure to maintain safety at all times. They were going to be stationing two of them outside, while the other two went inside with Rose and the Doctor, much to his chagrin. He had no idea the condition this small civilization was in. If it was as strong as he feared, then they all could be in danger.
After everyone was deemed ready for the task, the inside group filed in. Rose and the Doctor walked side by side, with one man in front of them and another behind. The first few rooms and hallways they passed were completely deserted and covered with debris. Finally, at the end of an especially long hallway was an elevator, which, much to the Doctor's surprise, was fully functional.
It came down, empty. This further elevated his worry.
"Rose, do they know we're coming?" the Doctor asked, peering around at the quite large elevator as the doors closed.
"Yes, why?" Rose replied, furrowing her brows.
"That's odd that they didn't send anyone down. Time Lords usually have very good manners." Rose just laughed at his comment and looked back at the elevator doors, looking slightly antsy. She actually had arranged it this way. After how he acted the day before when learning that his race was here, she wanted to take every precaution.
Finally, after a long extended silence, the elevator made a noise that notified them that they had arrived. The doors opened to reveal a room teeming with life. People-Time Lords-were roaming about, chatting amongst themselves. They walked up and down the hallways, some going into the hospital bedrooms, others going down separate hallways. At the end of this main hallway was what would be the waiting room. This is where the Doctor could see the Time Lord leader, Rassilon.
As soon as the group stepped out of the elevator, the noise and movement seemed to stop all at once. Every head turned toward them, or rather, the Doctor. Some looked scared, others awed, but most seemed to have a look of gratitude. Rose noticed this and set it aside to ask the Doctor about later.
The group continued to move down the hallway, and people began to move once again, though the silence remained. The walk seemed to go on forever before they finally reached the automatic doors leading to the make-shift council room. As they entered, the council looked up and their faces straightened from their previous joyful looks.
"Doctor, we've been expecting you," Rassilon was the first to speak. The Doctor spared him only a glance as he continued to glance around the room. There was no sign of any Gallifreyan technology, only a coffee machine and an old laptop. The Doctor wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried.
"How long have you been here?" the Doctor asked, leaving no room for pleasantries. Rose gave him a stunned and reproving look before turning away and waiting for a response.
"Two months," Rassilon replied.
"How many of you are there?"
"A few thousand."
"Why are you here?"
"The Time Lords have been believed to be obliterated for many a century, Doctor. If we were to show up now there would be panic. We had to escape, from the others and from you. In doing so we used up every amount of our technology, stunting our ability to leave this planet and find a new one, to begin again."
"That's not what I'm asking. I already knew that. How did you get here? How are you alive? What happened to the Time War?"
"Oh, of course. You don't remember, do you? You and your other regenerations, all thirteen, locked us away in a statis cube, ultimately letting the Daleks blow each other up," Rassilon laughed.
The Doctor stopped his questioning and began pacing, thinking over all of this new information. Stopping to look at the Time Lord leader again he said, "So, you escaped your statis cube and wound up here, but what for? And what are you going to do now? There's nothing for you here in this universe."
"Oh but there is, Doctor. And you know there is. This Torchwood that we've come into contact with has so much technology, so much potential. Seeing as how we have no way of leaving this planet, we have come to the decision that it must become ours."
"No. This planet isn't for you to scavenge, I've been protecting this Earth for too long to have my own species come and take over!" The Doctor was now seething with rage, worrying Rose.
"But Doctor, why is this such a bad thing? Your people are back, isn't that good? They could drastically improve our technology," Rose said, trying to reason with the angry Time Lord.
"Oh, Rose, I never told you. Every time I spoke of my people I always made them sound so wonderful. But they're not. The war changed them. They no longer wish to hide amongst themselves, they have no desire to stay out of the affairs of other species. It's either conquer or be conquered to them. Isn't that right, Rassilon? You'll destroy every civilization until you're the only ones left!"
"We will not have history repeat itself, Doctor!" Rassilon said, raising his voice at the screaming Doctor.
"Don't you see? By destroying worlds, you create panic. You call attention to yourself. Others will fight back. You have to see that, you have to believe me. I've been protecting this world, and they have yet to see the end. They even colonize out into space! If you just live in harmony with the humans, you can see that everything can live," the Doctor was all but pleading with Rassilon as he tried desperately to get him to understand.
"I've had enough of this conversation, leave this place at once. You're a renegade, Doctor, you always have been."
"No!" the Doctor shouted as guards forced themselves upon him and his companions. "Listen to me! I saved you! Don't do this!"
The Doctor's shouts echoed across the walls of the hospital as Rassilon watched him leave. "You can't save them, Doctor," he said to the fading figure. "Not this time."