Doctor Who - American Version - Serial

by RevolutionMan

Doctor Who - Presented as a re-imagining of the show Doctor Who for American audiences. It presumes NO connection to the continuity established by the long running British television series, but absolutely WILL borrow heavily from that awesome/amazing show. Some characters will be re-named. Some "laws" will be broken. A serial adaptation, in script form.

30. Chapter 30 - To be a King

INT. GUEST QUARTERS - HABITAT WING - MASTIFF'S COMPOUND

The Doctor approaches Minister Mastiff as everyone comes out of hiding.

DOCTOR
Well, they certainly left in a hurry, didn't they?

PILOT
I wonder what for.

KING YOOLI (O.S.)
Is anyone alive in there?

DOCTOR
Ah. Asked and answered.

LAGYOT
We're in here, my king. It is safe.

DOCTOR (V.O.)
It turns out, Minister Mastiff had put up a jamming signal, so when Lagyot ordered the pilot to transmit a distress signal, it never got to the king. But, we had been out of contact for so long, the king came anyway. That's why the Jenu had been in such a hurry to get out of there.

Four royal bodyguards run inside the guest quarters, weapons raised. Lagyot motions for them to lower their weapons. King Yooli, wearing battle armor, enters next.

KING YOOLI
Lagyot, thank goodness.

The King surveys the faces of everyone in the room.

KING YOOLI
Wait, where is Teezu? Where is my son?!

Minister Mastiff's lip curls. He grits his teeth, stands, spins, and punches Yooli across the face.

In response to the assault on the king, Lagyot punches Mastiff across the face.

In response to Lagyot punching Mastiff, the Doctor punches the pilot.

PILOT
(to the Doctor)
Ow. What was that for?

DOCTOR
Sorry! I got excited.

Incensed, the King pushes his bodyguards out of the way and gets in Mastiff's face.

KING YOOLI
You vulgar, half-witted, craven, scoundrel!

MINISTER MASTIFF
Backstabbing, ungrateful, greedy, fourflusher! This is all your fault!

DOCTOR
Wonderful when the old band gets back together, isn't it? Listen, I hate to interrupt the Lannister family reunion, but the Jenu are getting away.

KING YOOLI
I'm not leaving without Teezu.

DOCTOR
Yeah, about that.

EXT. HIPTO – SPACE

The Jenu ship leaves orbit at top speed, followed closely by King Yooli's flagship. Red rockets eject from the rear firing tubes of the Jenu ship, propel themselves towards the flagship, and explode against its shields.

DOCTOR (V.O.)
At first, King Yooli didn't believe us when we told him what had happened, and that Teezu was the one behind everything. He wouldn't even believe Lagyot.

ROSE (V.O.)
Oh, are the King and Lagyot gay?

DOCTOR (V.O.)
No.

The flagship fires back, hitting the Jenu's port thruster. Plasma leaks from its engine, but the ship continues forward.

ROSE (V.O.)
What about Mastiff and the King?

DOCTOR (V.O.)
No, it was just Teezu and Gerund.

ROSE (V.O.)
Oh. Because how messed up would that have been?

DOCTOR (V.O.)
Yeah, because that's what this story needs. More "messed up". Do you mind if I finish? Okay, so we chased them for a little while on and around the planet, but eventually they had to make a run for it.

The Jenu ship veers toward Plaptoo Station.

INT. BRIDGE – KING YOOLI'S FLAGSHIP

The transport pilot sits at the navigation controls of King Yooli's flagship. He follows the image of the Jenu ship on the viewer in front of him.

PILOT
King, the Jenu ship has altered course. It's now headed for Plaptoo Station.

Standing in front of his command chair, the King addresses a three-dimensional holo-image of Prince Teezu projected on a nearby communication wall. Yooli is surrounded by the Doctor, Minister Mastiff, Akaela, Lagyot, and Gerund, whose head is wrapped in bandages.

KING YOOLI
Teezu, I can explain.

PRINCE TEEZU (V.O.)
Explain what? That my entire life is a lie? One huge disgusting joke of a lie?

KING YOOLI
It is not a lie. You were born to Mastiff and his wife, but you have always been my son. I adopted you when Queen Beeyaya died giving birth to our child.

DOCTOR (V.O.)
The Hiptots have a "once wed" law. The King wasn't permitted to re-marry, or it would screw up his afterlife or something.

KING YOOLI
Mastiff and I made an arrangement. He had two sons and I had... only a daughter.

Akaela looks to Mastiff. He notices in his periphery and bows his head in shame without saying a word.

KING YOOLI
The throne could not be passed down to a female. I had no choice.

ROSE (V.O.)
That's such bullsh-

PRINCE TEEZU (V.O.)
You could have told me the truth. Spared me this... this... nightmare!

DOCTOR
You know, this reminds me of the time I accidentally slept with my own brother.

Everyone looks quizzically at the Doctor. After a second, he smiles.

DOCTOR
I'm just joshing you. Of course that never happened. You people are crazy.

The King turns his attention back on Prince Teezu.

KING YOOLI
I did tell you the truth. You are my son as much as I have loved you every day of your life. That's all that ever mattered.

PRINCE TEEZU (V.O.)
You never loved me! You only loved what I could be to you. The purpose I served. It all makes sense, now, why I could never live up to your standards, why you always had to push me and force me to be something I wasn't. No need to worry anymore, because I know what I am now.

PILOT
Your majesty, the Jenu ship is no longer targeting us. Their weapons are now targeted on Plaptoo Station.

AKAELA
Tee, no.

GERUND
Can this really be the act of the man I once loved? You would kill everyone on that station because of your pain?

PRINCE TEEZU (V.O.)
Our pain, brother. I will destroy the station and while you are picking through the bodies, I will return to Jenu and raise an army against you, father. I will return in force to take the throne from you. After all these years of you telling me how I needed to be a man first to be king, I never understood what you meant until this moment. The only real way for a boy to become a man is to usurp his father.

The Doctor steps between King Yooli and the image of Teezu.

DOCTOR
He's stalling. He's dragging this out and using your emotions against you. He will attack that station in... how long?

The Doctor waves to the pilot.

PILOT
Fifty seconds.

DOCTOR
You can destroy that ship before it gets there.

KING YOOLI
My son is on that ship.

DOCTOR
And innocent people are on that station. Your people. For the past twenty years of Teezu's life you've been doing your very best to teach him how to be a man, but more than that, you've been trying to teach him how to be a king. He didn't get the message. Now, you don't have any choice. Now, you have to show him.

King Yooli desperately looks to Mastiff for help. Mastiff steps up to the communication wall.

MINISTER MASTIFF
Teezu... son... stop this.

PRINCE TEEZU (V.O.)
You'll be next.

Deflated, Mastiff turns to Yooli.

MINISTER MASTIFF
We were better men when this began.

PILOT
Twenty-five seconds to weapons range.

KING YOOLI
We were friends then.

The King takes a seat in his command chair.

KING YOOLI
Target their power core. All weapons.

At the weapon's station, Lagyot targets the Jenu ship.

PRINCE TEEZU (V.O.)
When I am King, the first thing I think I will do is tear down the palace, but I'll leave the ruins to rot, like a festering corpse. I'll build my own palace, somewhere else, perhaps in Gantha. And it will be twice the size of yours.

KING YOOLI
Fire when ready.

PRINCE TEEZU (V.O.)
And when the commoners see my palace's spires on the horizon, they will think to themselves how wonderful it must be to be a king.

Lagyot fires.

EXT. SPACE – PLAPTOO STATION

The royal flagship fires and incinerates the Jenu ship.

INT. BRIDGE – KING YOOLI'S FLAGSHIP

The holo-image of Prince Teezu fades to gray and freezes like a statue. Akaela cries. Gerund holds her. The Doctor looks away. Minister Mastiff walks away.

PILOT
The Jenu ship has been destroyed. The station is no longer in danger.

King Yooli stands from his command chair and approaches the frozen image. He reaches for Teezu's cheek, but holds back. He hangs his head.

DOCTOR
You had no choice.

KING YOOLI
Do you have any children, Doctor?

DOCTOR
No.

KING YOOLI
I had a choice.

The king leaves the bridge and the Doctor to ponder his words.

INT. TARDIS

Rose wipes a tear from her eye.

DOCTOR
Are you crying?

ROSE
Well, it's sad. He had to kill his son.

DOCTOR
Teezu was about to blow up a whole station full of people. We saved the day. Honestly, you were just reading me the riot act for cracking a few jokes after five people had died, and here we saved a few thousand and you're crying.

ROSE
You promised me your story was going to have a happy ending.

She bursts into tears. He walks over to her and hugs her.

DOCTOR
Aw, it does, it does have a happy ending.

ROSE
It does?

DOCTOR
You remember Akaela? Turns out, she was the little girl Yooli swapped for Teezu at birth. It took a little convincing but, left without an heir, King Yooli claimed her as his biological daughter, with Mastiff's permission. They all reconciled, a few laws got passed, a couple of ancient religious texts got "re-translated", and Akaela became the first Queen to inherit the throne.

Rose sniffles and composes herself.

ROSE
Really? Well, that's cool.

DOCTOR
Yup, and she had a long and prosperous reign and went down in Hiptot history as one of their greatest rulers. And you want to hear the best part of the whole thing?

ROSE
Yeah?

DOCTOR
They gave me some of the best Markovia loaf I've ever had and I totally won my bet.

Rose laughs.

ROSE
You and that stupid bet. For the best sandwich?

DOCTOR
The best in the history of the universe.

ROSE
Ya know, I hate to break it to you, Doctor, but that's impossible.

DOCTOR
How do you mean?

ROSE
Everyone knows the best sandwich in the universe is a Philly Cheesesteak from John's Roast Pork on Snyder Avenue in Philadelphia.

She smiles and walks back to her room.

He opens his mouth to object, but stops. A joker's grin creeps onto his face.

CUT TO BLACK.

EXT. PLAPTOO TRADING STATION – THE CRATER MOON BENZO

King Yooli's royal transport soars towards Plaptoo Station.

INT. MARKETPLACE – PLAPTOO TRADING STATION

The Doctor carries with him a sack filled with Markovia loaf. Lagyot helps him wade through the crowd on his way to one of the docking ports.

DOCTOR
Well, this is me. It'll be good to see the old Tardis again.

LAGYOT
I want to thank you for your help with the investigation.

The Doctor pats the bread sack.

DOCTOR
Oh, this is more than enough thanks. I just wish things had turned out different. Better for you.

LAGYOT
The truth is out in the open, now. Maybe... maybe that is better. But I'll miss him, who I thought he was.

The Doctor turns to head inside the Tardis, but Lagyot stops him.

LAGYOT
This bet of yours... strong competition?

The Doctor shrugs.

DOCTOR
Something called a "Philly Cheesesteak". I'm not worried.

He smiles.

END CREDITS ROLL

- End Episode 5 - Serial, To be Continued...-

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