Empire, blood and a werewolf - the Doctor and the Redgraves end up in the 1880s, with Queen Victoria. In the early days of Torchwood, an investigation into a familiar foe prompts the discovery of a terrifying truth.
In 1885, Torchwood House houses the operations of the eponymous Torchwood. It has been six years since the Werewolf incident, where Her Majesty Queen Victoria established the institute in the wake of involvement from a certain Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler.
With him labelled as the enemy, investigation into the Doctor has accompanied the first few years of the institute, at the behest of the Queen. However, the first leaders of Torchwood are unaware of the events of 1879, and are rather confused by the antics of the Queen, and her desire to pursue the Doctor. Six years, but no slim man in a brown suit, and no wee naked girl have been located. But the Doctor had regenerated half a dozen times since that night in Aberdeenshire, not to be known by the institute, of course. Upon discovery, the regenerative ability of a Time Lord would be scandalous, and likely would cause Torchwood to take this Doctor seriously.
A night in May 1885 - Her Majesty the Queen traverses through the surrounding area of Torchwood Estate in her horse carriage, being careful to avoid direct exposure with moonlight for an extended period. It is a superstition that has remained with her for the last six years, one unfounded as no werewolf has returned for her, as she was told.
Perhaps a hallucination, Victoria hears the faintest of howls, haunted by the Host that went on a murderous rampage in the House, slaughtering some of her most entrusted comrades based in Scotland.
Upon reaching the gates of Torchwood House, they are opened, as they anticipate the arrival of Her Majesty. Frantically looking through her carriage windows, she exits, and is helped up the stairs to enter Torchwood House, intent on finding out the latest of "the supernatural and the extraterrestrial." The latter was a word Victoria had never heard, and is yet to understand, until she met the Doctor and Rose Tyler.
Inside Torchwood House, the few hosts inside bow their heads to welcome the figurehead leader of Britain's great empire. In the middle of Pax Britannica, the period of peace where the United Kingdom served as global policeman, Victoria is at the height of her power and influence globally. This is why her work and desire for Torchwood to investigate a seemingly non existent foe has been allowed and unquestioned - publicly, at least.
"Your Majesty," one says. Victoria does not smile, and raises her hand gently to instruct him to stop bowing. "They are waiting for you."
Victoria knows what this means. And walks on, through a large double door. The hosts inside watch on in confusion, with a hint of fear on their face.
In the garden outside of the house, the TARDIS begins to materialise. When it's completed, the Doctor opens and attempts to step out, but immediately steps into a bunch of flowers.
"Ah," is his only response, looking to his right and noticing the area is clear, before entering the TARDIS again and shifting it three metres to the right. Once she has materialised again, the Doctor steps out again, and this time is not met by nature.
"Ah! Much better," he chimes, gesturing for Diana and David to follow him. They exit the TARDIS, with David pulling the door shut afterwards.
Diana shivers. "Christ Doctor its freezing, you couldn't have picked any other time?"
Shaking his head, the Doctor shows her the psychic paper again. "Call for help from 1885. Usually means you can't afford to be a second out." Not knowing where they are at first, he stops walking forwards, causing his two companions to bump into him.
"If you're gonna stop walking, would it kill you to let us know?" David asks. The Doctor doesn't respond, instead starting to sniff the air and look around, making the Redgraves chuckle. "Doctor? You alright?"
After finishing his peculiar tactics, the Doctor raises his right eyebrow. "Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Just didn't realise... I'd been here before..."
"Okay?" David starts. "Does it matter?"
The Doctor nods. "Yep. I'm technically exiled from this place. Well actually from everywhere owned by Britain. Which in 1885 is pretty much anywhere nice." The married couple share a look of confusion, so the Doctor continues. "I was here with a... friend. A good friend. I think it was six years ago? Fought a werewolf, technically a haemovariform, and it gave its life to save the world. And before you ask, yes she was blonde."
The Doctor continues walking, and Diana and David follow behind. They reach the doors, all whilst the Doctor was thinking of his cover story and name for whilst the trio are there. Knocking on the doors, the Doctor tidies his simple black jacket, tucks in his purple shirt and clears the psychic paper. The doors are opened by a young woman, taking the three by surprise.
"Evening, we were called here," the Doctor says.
The woman scans the Doctor, Diana and David, before answering. "Sorry, I don't recognise any of you. Going to need to see some identification."
The Doctor nods. "Of course." He shows her the psychic paper, before she smiles.
"You want to pull out the right paper next time?" she laughs. The Doctor confusedly flips the psychic paper to look at it, and it is the correct paper. Astounded, he looks up and admires the mental fortitude it requires for someone to see through psychic paper.
"Sorry, I'm Smith, Doctor John Smith, and these are my associates from Scotland Yard. We don't carry proper identification when we travel, as confiscation or apprehension could allow a breach into the force," the Doctor blabbers, hoping to catch her out.
The woman squints her eyes and stares the Doctor down, seeing through him a second time. "I never knew they dressed in purple and black."
David steps in front this time, showing her his army identification that he carries with him at all times. "Spare the DOB, printing error. And you know the cost of printing at the moment!"
The woman finally relents and believes David, allowing the trio to enter. The Doctor quietly fist bumps David for getting them into Torchwood House.
"So, what did Her Majesty request you for?" she asks the Doctor.
"I've been here before, six years ago, to help her out with something," he replies.
She finds this hard to believe. "You don't look old enough to be trusted by Her Majesty six years ago."
The Redgraves once again share a look, this time of acknowledgment that she might've just flirted with the Doctor. They're left interested by his response, as he's an awkward yet sociable character, especially on Darillium.
"Uh, thanks, I suppose. I am a little older than I look. What's your name anyway? So busy trying to get in we didn't ask," is his response. Diana and David facepalm at the awkward measure of the response.
"Alice," she confirms. "The werewolf." She confuses the Doctor with the suddenness of the statement. "Six years ago, that lines up with the dates. You were there?"
Before the Doctor can answer, enter into the room Queen Victoria. She approaches the trio of travellers as they bow their heads, as does Alice.
"Mr. and Mrs. Redgrave, might I introduce Her Majesty Queen Victoria," the Doctor announces. "Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."
A few doors down, Don Clarkson is working in one of the kitchens of Torchwood House, fiddling with the stove. Frantically looking up at the Moon at points, he just can't stop twitching, not exactly ideal for someone working at a kitchen.
His colleague, the kitchen porter, has noticed his weird behaviours in the last few days and has attempted to alleviate his behaviour.
"Don," she soothingly says, noting his irritation and his flustered state. "You need to relax. Sit down, have a break. You've been on your feet all night."
He shakes his head with fervency. "No, Her Majesty has got to eat well. Impressions and that."
She smiles. "Sure. But if you need to sit down, I'll be okay on my own."
"Maybe I'll have to take that offer... I'm feeling so rushed right now," Don admits, and sits down besides the woman. She chuckles, knowing he would take the opportunity. Continuing on, she gloats playfully at her correctness.
"Haha, I knew you'd want to take me up on that break. So obvious," she teases, but all Don can do is frantically itch and twitch. Noticing, she enquires. "Hey, are you okay?"
Don throws his hands up and orders her to stand back. "Look... just just please. Stay back, I'm begging you... I-I can't stop it when it starts..."
"Stop what silly? I'm not standing back whilst you fluster and are uncomfortable, no way," she says and places her hands over his. But she notices they're more hairy than usual, and pulls her hand away to examine his. "Don... why are your hands like that?" She looks up to meet his eyes, but they've blackened right to the core, the pupils have turned black, as has the entire eye.
"Leave. Please," Don pleads, but the woman, paralysed in fear and in astonishment, remains where she is. But with a howling anger, reminiscent of what he is about to turn into, he screams. "LEAVE!"
But it is too late, as Don completes the transformation into an unrestricted Haemovariform. Hair all over, and his clothes ripped, but he cannot control himself from here, as his soul continues to be corrupted and ripped apart. Wide eyed, the woman gasps, and knows exactly what is about to happen.
Don, now completely a 'werewolf', for now is no more. The werewolf growls, and the woman bloodcurdlingly screams as it grabs her by the throat, and proceeds in brutally executing her.
The Doctor, hiding his identity, is in conversation with Victoria, spouting whatever he can to get the Queen off of his back.
"...and I was a part of that investigation in London. Turns out the murderer was a big fan of Mozart. Didn't know how good his favourite composer was at darts though, well except until he met me, the inventor of darts," he rambles.
"What on Earth are you on about man?" Her Majesty asks, bemused.
The Doctor, realising he had rambled enough to confuse the woman he is trying to keep happy, looks to Diana and David for support, but they look just as lost as he does. "Erm... that is something I'd also like to kn-"
Mid sentence, the Doctor is interrupted by the bloodcurdling scream of the woman from the kitchen. The Doctor, the Redgraves, Alice, Victoria and three hosts run to the kitchen where the scream came from, in real haste.
But they are also too late, as the woman's mutilated remains are all that is left. The Doctor, first to reach the room, stands and blocks off the door. "Wouldn't go in there. The scenes aren't that pretty to be honest."
Victoria scoffs, and gestures for her hosts to move the Doctor out of the way - he relents, holding his hands up, and steps aside. The Queen walks in, and gasps upon seeing her remains.
"Told you," the Doctor sighs, before signalling for the rest to go in. They oblige, and with varying degrees of disgust, shock and regret at seeing what is left of her, the Doctor rubs his eyes. "One day, people will listen when I say 'don't go in there.' Maybe."
Going back into the room, Diana is cuddled with David, hiding her face in his shoulder. Not even thinking about his hidden identity, David looks at the Doctor, who is looking around the room inceptively. "Doctor, couldn't have picked anywhere less gruesome?"
"Doctor? You're a Doctor?" Victoria, startled, asks. She looks over to Alice, but the Doctor puts his finger to his lips in a pleading manner asking her to keep quiet. Alice is confused, but quickly pieces it together. There were mentions of a Doctor with the legendary werewolf story, and she realises HE is that Doctor, and was banished from the United Kingdom six years ago. But, knowing that someone has died and he may be their best chance of stopping others from dying, she decides to keep his secret.
"Yeah. Doctor John Smith. Achieved a Doctorate from the University of Oxford in Criminal Justice and is probably their best man at the Yard at the moment, judging by his credentials," she 'confirms'.
"Is that so? So how come I've never heard of this Doctor Smith?" the Queen asks, narrowing down on their lies.
The Doctor jumps in. "Special investigation unit. No one knows except who needs to. Not even the Prime Minister," he starts, swanning around and over to Diana, who is stood next to her husband again, and she knows he's going to need her knowledge. "The Prime Minister currently being..."
"Gladstone," she whispers, picked up by the Doctor, who pats her on the shoulder in thanks and apology for having to see the mutilated remains of the woman.
"Gladstone. Funny old guy. Drank him under the table when he was elected..." he says. But, towards the end of the sentence, he notices in the back corner of the room a giant hole in the floor, tucked away from everyone's sight. "...but maybe we were all too tipsy to miss that." He rushes over to the massive hole, and crouches down.
"Miss Bailey, this Doctor Smith and his associates must have clearance, or there will be consequences," Victoria growls. She puts her hand up to stop a response, and continues speaking. "There has been a murder in Torchwood House, in the same manner of which the creature did those years ago. And there will be an investigation. And if they are perpetrators or associates to the creature, I will NOT be amused."
"They are. I promise Your Majesty. And I think they can help us find out what's happened here! Right, Doctor?" Alice replies. The Doctor doesn't respond, instead feeling the edges of the hole and attempting to figure out where it has gone.
"Creature, eh Your Majesty? Well, whatever it is, it's still here I think. And it's headed to the... right, looking at the tears here. Downstairs. So I guess that's where we're off to," the Doctor announces, standing up and heading out of the room, leaving everyone behind him. Alice, Victoria and her protectors follow, but Diana stays behind for a second.
She crouches down next to the deceased woman, and closes her eyes to allow her peace wherever next. David stands besides her, hand on her shoulder, to provide her comfort.
"I don't think I can do this life much longer," she admits. "I've seen things in hospitals but this, I can't see this every day."
David sympathises. "Even the military wasn't this gruesome. Maybe you're right. But we're still with him, so we better catch up before we get lost." Diana obliges, and the two head off to catch up with the rest of the investigation team.
"So, Your Majesty, tell me a bit more about what happened six years ago, and what you've done since," the Doctor commands, leading the group downstairs and onto the level below.
"This creature, a werewolf of some kind, attacked this very house. Many were murdered and two other worldly beings assassinated the creature, before they were rightfully banished from my empire," Victoria explains. Offended by the term assassinated, the Doctor moves to protest, but realises he has to stay undercover here. "I established this institute to investigate these fiends from other worlds, yet no one believes I about the incident here."
"I see," he says, attempting to gather the information he didn't know from after his last visit in 1879 in his tenth incarnation. "So you've been working here for six years trying to figure out what happened?"
"Correct. I thought I had been infected by the blood of the creature, before the truth confirmed I had not. Paranoia controls my life now, Doctor Smith, and I would be much obliged if you were to succeed here," she continues.
"If I'm going to, I need all of your helps too. So, have a look around," the Doctor commands again, rotating on the spot, arms open. "But be careful. And anything even remotely off, you find me. Go."
Everyone bar Diana and David disperse. The Doctor starts sniffing, attempting to smell out any potential monster. Diana and David chuckle slightly, as this is a thing the Doctor seems to do very often. The latter stands forward to have a quiet word.
"Doctor, are you sure it's safe to lead us straight into the danger here?" David asks, as Diana starts to search the area as well.
"Yes yes I'm sure if the werewolf was here it would've found us by now," the Doctor responds, leaving David to raise his eyebrow in disbelief. "Okay okay maybe not. But I threw you in the deep end with the Daleks and you had no problem."
Scoffing, David responds with, "but we knew about what the Daleks could do. We don't know anything about this werewolf thingy."
"Aha, now that's where I come in," proclaims the Time Lord, flicking David's forehead and moving away to join the search.
But soon after, something is found.
"Doctor!" Alice shouts, before an audible growl can be heard. She had found the werewolf, tucked away in a dresser room feeding on another victim. The Doctor and the three hosts rush over to help her, and they are just in time. The Time Lord grabs her arm, and pulls her out, as the three hosts lag behind.
"Run!" he shouts to everyone, and of course everyone did exactly that. Except for one of the three hosts.
"You fiend!" he cries at the werewolf. "My wife! My wife!" The victim the werewolf was feeding was his spouse, and in emotional outrage, he fires several rounds from his handgun at the wolf, stunning it but only enraging it. Instead of wisely fleeing with the Doctor, the Redgraves, Alice, Victoria and the other two hosts, he remains in order to attempt to finish the job.
It would be the last thing he did.
The wolf staggers to his feet, and brutally rips the host from limb to limb, his screams audible to the retreating septet.
The seven remaining members rush back to the staircase and downwards once more, abandoning the floor above and regrouping below.
"Okay! Change of plan. Now it thinks we're aggressive. So I think it's probably best to lay low for a bit..." the Doctor instructs, gesturing for everyone to move into this floor's dining room for a moment. But furious that he and his wife have had to witness another gruesome murder, David pulls the Doctor over after everyone has entered the room.
"I swear to god, if we get out of here, we're done," he angrily proclaims. Stunned, the Doctor attempts to walk in but David, with his grip still firm, pulls his arm back again. "We can't just keep seeing things like this all the bloody time!"
Catching on that their travels are beginning to have a detrimental effect on the psyches of his best friends, the Doctor apologetically looks at David. "I'm sorry. I really am, I don't go looking for us to get into trouble. The opposite actually. I wanted to show you two everywhere and when, as my best friends, but I keep getting that wrong, don't I?" He shakes David off, and walks into the dining room. David facepalms, realising that he went about confronting the Doctor wrongly at a bad time, but decides against continuing the conversation until everyone is safe and out of the House.
The last to enter the dining room is David, who barricades the door with one of the chairs, making the lock secure.
"So, what next?" Diana asks. Everyone shrugs their shoulders and/or looks expectantly at everyone else, until all eyes fall on the Doctor, whose leaning against the wall silently. "Doctor?" The Doctor looks at her grimly, and she gets the hint that something is up. She remembers that David was the last one to enter after the Doctor, and notices they took a few seconds longer.
Everyone takes the opportunity to catch their breath, whilst Diana moves to talk to her husband.
"What did you say to him?" she demands to know.
"Sorry, what?" he scoffs in response, but Diana puts her hands on her hips, expecting an answer from him. "Okay okay... I had a word with him about picking somewhere where everyone is getting butchered, it's not good for us. You were half in tears back up in the kitchen when you saw that woman, and we heard what happened to the bloke afterwards too. That's three dead already in pretty grim ways."
"You couldn't have waited until after we're all out of here to have a go?" she frustratedly says, shoving his right shoulder. "You definitely had more than a word, he looks like someone just shot him and then ran him over in that yellow car he said he had once."
"I'm sorry alright? But we've been thinking about our future with him for ages. And the more I think about it, the more I want to just go back home with you and be married, normally," he says. Diana is unable to stay annoyed with him for long, kissing him on the lips and hugging him instead of remaining irritated.
The Doctor, still leaning against the wall silently, is joined by Alice.
"You've got some explaining to do," she says, unamused. The Doctor acknowledges Alice is next to him, but doesn't say a word. "You've seen something like this before, and judging by your manners and calmness, I'm gonna assume you see this stuff often." He still doesn't speak. Alice stands directly in front of him in order to force him to take notice. "People are dying and you seem like you know how to stop it. So you're going to, or we're going to have a problem."
The Doctor moves from his position leaning against the wall, and leans hands on against a chair instead. Alice follows him, beginning to grow frustrated at the Doctor's ignorance. But before she can berate him once again, he breaks his silence.
"Your Majesty, the last time you were here, the Wolf was killed, wasn't it?" the Doctor asks, knowing the answer but needing to sound unsuspicious. Victoria nods. "Right. So, the legends state that werewolves originate from moonlight, and I'm guessing it's at earliest midnight and at latest 1am right now. We have two options then. One, we wait it out until dawn and figure it out from there, or two..."
"Go on," Victoria says.
"I haven't figured out number two just yet," the Doctor reveals. "But give me a moment and I will."
A thunderous knock is heard on the door, arousing attention from the seven occupants of the room.
"Please, please, let me in!" a male voice cries, one recognised by Alice, who runs over to the door.
"Don!" she shouts, and David helps her to clear the door upon realising there's a person locked outside and in danger. Once the door is opened, Don is let into the room, and embraces Alice. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"N-no... thank you," he shivers, wearing only underwear and a ragged shirt that look like they've been taken from a dead man. David barricades the door once again, unknowing of who Don really is. "Did one of you... say... you were a Doctor?..."
The Doctor, still hands on chair, raises his eyebrows. "Guilty as charged. What's the problem?"
"I feel... really sick... all the time..." he shivers, attempting to stumble over to the Doctor, but falls to his knees. The Doctor rushes over and helps him back to his feet, before looking at him as best he can.
"Woah woah, it's alright. Come on, sit down," he says, pulling a chair out and gently sitting him down on it. "Relax for a minute. And when you're ready, tell us why the hell you're dressed like you just came out of a public house fight."
"Doctor! Not helping," Alice scolds, shutting the Doctor up.
Victoria, growing ever more suspicious, decides to investigate Doctor "Smith". "Doctor Smith, I would like to see those credentials of yours."
"Hmmm? Oh, yes. Sorry," he says, walking around the long table and over to Victoria to show her the psychic paper. Alice is initially worried, as when she saw the paper it was blank, so is stunned when the Doctor shows her and she for now relents in her suspicion.
"I see. You did say that you were an Oxford graduate in Criminal Justice. I was unaware there was even a possible pathway there," Victoria apologises.
"Neither did I until I was a part of the original board William II put together and I asked for it. Anyway, back to what we were doing. Any ideas from anyone? Your Majesty, Alice? Hosts? Don, was it? You know this place better than myself and the two lovebirds over there," he says, pointing at Diana and David. "Come on! Bright ideas, please."
Don moves to speak, but vomits all over the table instead, irking out everybody in the room. Alice moves over to help her friend, placing her hand on his shoulder and rubbing it gently.
"Well you said there's a second option," Diana starts, and the Doctor looks over tentatively. "The wolf, you said it was killed last time Your Majesty, but then you also said it wasn't of Earth so you set up Torchwood. But what if we've got it wrong?"
"Got it wrong?!" Victoria, in an offended state, growls. "How can you get a murderous and devilish creature wrong?"
"The first creature was 'assassinated', so what if this one is only after revenge for it?" Diana proposes. The Doctor acknowledges this thought process, and nods at Alice, who is looking at him. "And that Doctor you had last time was also an alien. But he spoke normally, else you wouldn't have been able to banish him."
"How did you know he was banished?" Victoria picks up on, resuming her suspicions of this Doctor Smith and his associates. But before she could question, she notices the gentile twitches of Don, lying face down in the table. "Miss Bailey. Move back at once." Alice shoots a look of bemusement at the Queen. "I said move back!"
The shouting of Victoria causes the twitches to intensify, and Alice attempts to calm Don down. But that's not Don twitching, not at all. The Doctor, realising what is happening, springs into action and runs over, grabbing Alice and thrusting her away from him.
"David, door!" Diana shouts, and her husband gets the hint, throwing the chair blocking the door out of the way and undoing every lock on the door.
They had the room barricaded to stop the werewolf getting in, but instead allowed him in by opening the door for him.
Shocked, Alice complains that her friend is being left to die, but as Don's next transformation completes and the room evacuates, the Doctor keeps hold of her and forcefully drags her out of the room. The two hosts stay behind, however, in an attempt to avenge their deceased comrade, invoking the ire of the Doctor.
"You two, get out of there!" he demands as he drags Alice out, but they don't listen as they fire rounds of ammunition at Don, transforming into the werewolf. But even during transformation, its capacity to take bullets is increased, and the guns are only delaying the inevitable. Finally, as he fully becomes the werewolf, it leaps onto the first of the two
men, forcing the Doctor to abandon the other one and retreat.
Alice, still kicking and screaming as she wants to help her vulnerable friend, makes the Doctor have to stop and comfort her outside of the abandoned dining room.
"Alice, I swear to you we are going to fix this," he promises, twisting her around to look at him. "Hey, hey. I promise." She ceases her scuffle, and upon hearing the screams of the second man, the pair sprint to retreat and join Victoria and the Redgraves. Five remain now. Having already moved to the next floor down, the three wait for the Doctor and Alice, who eventually join them after running down the staircase.
"Your Majesty, where is the observatory?" a frantic Doctor asks. Victoria looks confused. "The observatory! The one with the telescope that we used last time!" He shouts in desperation, invoking a rage filled look from the Queen, and astonishment at the use of the phrase 'last time'.
Alice pulls on the Doctor's arm to lead them to the right. "This way, move move!" She leads the way as the other four lag behind her, sprinting to the library with the telescope the Doctor first used to defeat the last werewolf. Making it into the observatory, David throws the doors shut, but instead of barricading, the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to lock them as best he can.
"He's going to find us, and I need to talk to him. And yes, Your Majesty, I did just shout at you, and no, this is much better technology than the era allows for," the Doctor spitefully says, flashing the sonic screwdriver at the Queen and rushing over to the telescope.
Victoria has finally had enough. "I demand to know who you are, Doctor Smith!"
And so has the Doctor. "Does the name 'James McCrimmon' remind you of anyone?" And it does remind her, as the Doctor starts to fiddle with the telescope using the sonic. "Remember him, that alien Doctor who called books the greatest arsenal ever?" Victoria finally pieces it all together, and stands silent in shock waiting for the Doctor to finish his sentence.
And he moves in front of her. "I am the Doctor. Not just anyone. THAT Doctor." The Queen is amazed, as the Doctor continues to scan the room with his screwdriver. She never knew he could change face - she knew he was an alien but never thought it possible - but instead of asking him further questions, turns to Alice.
"Miss Bailey, you proclaimed this man to be of true intentions and verification!" Victoria berates. "How dare you!"
"Yeah, because he still is. Your Majesty, he's our best chance of sorting this out," Alice pleads, moving to tenderly talk with the Queen. "I'm sorry for lying but it was necessary."
Diana sighs. "Oh good, we can stop lying to Queen Victoria now."
Victoria remembers that the Redgraves are here too, and decides to question them. "You two. You must be his associates like that girl, that Rose, once was. My condolences."
The Doctor decides to ignore that comment, but David does not.
"Condolences? What, because he shows us all the best things to have ever happened and the best places that have existed, and you're just jealous that isn't you, and you're just some boring old fart?" he angrily notes, invoking a sense of offence in Victoria, and shock from everyone else in the room that he's prepared to insult the Queen. He backs down upon realising who he's just raised his voice at. "Ahem... sorry, Your Majesty."
"Doctor. You do not look the same as you did then. Is it a hereditary title, or something? What happened to the man I banished?" is her latest question.
The Doctor jumps down from a higher platform to talk to the Queen. "I'm him. Literally. Just changed a little bit since then."
Victoria raises her eyebrow. "Nonsense. You may not be of this Earth but complete change of physical appearance is impossible."
"So was a werewolf until six years ago," the Doctor says. "Remember, the Host. That boy we had to kill using this telescope. And you banished me and Rose because you said I'm blasphemous. Same man."
Victoria realises he's telling the truth - he is the same man as the Doctor that defeated the werewolf six years prior. But she accepts that in order to escape, he will be needed.
The five remaining individuals wait for the werewolf to find them, as the Doctor continues to fiddle with the telescope. Victoria takes this opportunity to speak to Diana, David and Alice, who are all in conversation whilst sat at one of the tables.
"You two. The married two. Why do you traverse with this 'Doctor', a man who lies and a man who leads you straight into danger?" Victoria questions.
Stunned, Diana takes the opportunity to respond. "With all due respect, Your Majesty, we're from about 140 years into the future from here, so your jurisdiction to order people around doesn't work on us."
"Very well. But I wonder where his previous 'friend' is to testify," Victoria casually mentions as her next argument, which does cause the Redgraves to think. "All this time, I'm sure you are far from the first. And you must ask yourselves, why are you far from the first? And what happened to those before?" Now, she directs her attention and fury at Alice.
"And for you, Miss Bailey," she begins, as Alice fears a harsh punishment for deceiving the Queen. "You may have swindled me into a scenario with the man this institute is set up in the name of, but I will allow this betrayal this once, as the secret of this creature may finally be revealed."
Alice stands to her feet and bows to Victoria. "Thank you, Your Majesty. Truly. I'm sorry but these people could be assets to Torchwood and we needed them. I didn't know until later that Doctor Smith was just the Doctor, and the same man that was here six years ago," she rambles, but Victoria places her hand up with a small smile to relax her.
"Miss Bailey, you are forgiven. For now, we must collaborate in defeating this creature," she starts, before ending with, "am I correct, Doctor?"
Somewhat bitterly, the Doctor responds with a simple "mhm". He has no intention of making the same mistake as he did the last time he was here with Rose, in being forced to kill the werewolf as it pleaded, but he will if he has to.
"But remember you two," Victoria starts, lowering her voice and directing her message to the Redgraves. "You are certainly not the first and certainly not the last. There may be wonders untold but is it worth the trade for your lives?"
Diana and David take note of Victoria's advice, but are stopped from thinking by the return of the werewolf.
It has found them, and pounds on the door. The Doctor, taking charge once again, rushes over to the door and raises his voice. "I demand to speak with the Haemovariform inhabiting this human, and forcing this conversion!" The pounding stops, and the Doctor repeats his command.
The voice of Don returns, but is altered to become slightly deeper and is the true voice of the Haemovariform inhabiting within the man. "This is the Lupine Wavelength Haemovariform inhabiting this human," it stumbles to say.
"Good, good. Look, I can help you, I'm sure," the Doctor begins. "But please, tell me why, what on Earth do you think you're doing here?"
"My brother," the voice says behind the doors. "He is missing. In earth years, he is missing for six. My brother. The human he inhabited has been terminated. Where is my brother? He is missing. Where is my brother?" cries the voice of the Haemovariform.
Guilty, the Doctor takes a second to collect his thoughts and presses his hands against the door. Victoria realises something she previously neglected about the Doctor during her six year investigation - he may be alien, but aliens have emotion too. "I'm sorry. Your brother is dead."
The Haemovariform makes a disturbing noise that ends in weeping as it mourns the loss of its brother. "My brother. My brother was murdered. The humans murdered my brother!"
Now racked even further with guilt, the Doctor continues speaking, but this time is locked in eye contact with Victoria. "No. It wasn't the humans. It was me, in their defence. Your brother rampaged and murdered. Choices like having to execute him are not easy, but I had to."
Victoria looks away. The Haemovariform speaks again. "My brother was scared. Lupine Wavelength Haemovariforms turn to self defence when scared. I could tell my brother was scared. He howled and he cried. My brother is dead and it is the fault of you!"
The Doctor attempts to calm the situation. "Your home planet, I don't know what it is, but I can take you there. Return you home. It's the least I can do to apologise."
The Haemovariform ceases speaking, before violent growls can be heard from the outside, as it attempts to transform back into the werewolf likeness it naturally occupies. The Doctor rubs his eyes and collapses to his knees.
"I am so sorry," he says again, as the guilt of his past actions continue to consume him. "He asked me to end his life, he was in pain and alone. I only did what I was asked because he was alone." The Haemovariform cannot head, as it continues to violently growl as it transforms into its true self.
Victoria storms over to the Doctor. "To your feet, Sir Doctor of TARDIS." The Doctor doesn't move and continues to sit on his knees. "Sir Doctor, one passage of speech has made me learn more about you than six years of deep infatuation and investigation. To your feet and to your duty. I understand the tribulations you must go through, and you must not allow for your past actions to consume you, of which I am sure there are many. Do not be like me."
The Doctor rises to his feet. Smiling at the Queen, who returns a faint one, the Doctor looks over to his best friends and to Alice, before sprinting over to the telescope.
"Ah, this telescope. Well, not a telescope but a light chamber ray. Never thought I'd see you again," he jokes. "Diana, David, I need you underneath the light chamber. Turn that wheel clockwise! This thing is made of moonlight but we can drown it in it!" Diana and David oblige, as the Doctor rotates the upper section to align it with the bottom, and with the opening to the Moon. Victoria stands back, raising the same crucifix she did the last time they were attacked by a Haemovariform. Alice stands behind her.
The werewolf finally wears down the door, and it splinters, with Victoria being careful to avoid being cut by it this time.
Diana and David finish twisting the wheel just as the Doctor aligns the top of the light chamber, and the moonlight is reflected onto the werewolf, initially making it stronger but eventually leaving it trapped in a prism of moonlight.
The Doctor jumps down from the top of the light chamber, hands in the pockets of his black trousers, to speak to the Haemovariform. "Lupine. What's your name?"
The Haemovariform reverts to the form of Don, but at first retains the voice it did when last conversing with the Doctor. "My name does not matter. It cannot be remembered."
"Please, I can take you back to your home planet. If I know its name and if you work with me, I can take you home. If I made this offer with your brother perhaps no one would've died here today, and you wouldn't have come looking, but I didn't, so I'm here making it to you," the Doctor pleads, attempting to appeal the ideal of a return home to the Haemovariform.
"There is nothing left for me on my planet. No family. No friends. Home is where those things are, so hence my home is lost," the Haemovariform speaks. The Doctor sympathises with those words, with the disappearance of Gallifrey leaving him in the same situation. Diana and David discern, and move to comfort their friend, who stands silently and looks on at the Haemovariform/Don forlornly.
"Your brother was in this exact position six years ago," the Doctor says. "He pleaded for me to turn it up and free him, as did the human he inhabited. I can do the same for you. But I would like you to let Don go first, before."
"Please. I can be with my brother again," the Haemovariform pleads, before reverting to the voice of Don. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
The Doctor gestures for Alice to speak to her friend one more time. She initially is reluctant, but realises these are his final moments, so elects to comfort him.
"Don, it's me," she tenderly says. Alice takes a second before saying her next words. "Thanks for being one of the only nice people around here. Settling me in and just helping me to work here."
"I thank you, for this mercy. This thing has been inside of my soul for months, and I am finally being freed of its influence. Goodbye, my friend," he says. Alice fights back tears, as the Doctor moves to increase the intensity of the moonlight.
Upon turning up the dial, both the Haemovariform and Don fade away into the moonlight beam. Victoria moves to comfort young Alice, emotional at the loss of her friend. The Doctor moves to sit down, before putting his hand firmly in his face. Diana and David share a look, and move over to the Doctor, standing him up and pulling him into a joint hug of three. It is the second Haemovariform and second human he has had to execute here at their behest, four lives lost that they knew the Doctor would be desperate to save.
A silence falls upon the observatory, as the only five survivors reflect on the many deaths of another tragic night at Torchwood House...
The Doctor and the Redgraves were invited to stay the night at Torchwood House by Queen Victoria, quick to revoke the Doctor's banishment from the British Empire. She notified him that she was still going to have Torchwood keep a close eye on him, attentive to his involvements on Earth, but certified he would not be enemy number one. Being aware of what happened in Canary Wharf, the Doctor dismissed that what Victoria said would be true.
The following morning, the trio prepare to leave Torchwood House quietly to return to the TARDIS. But just as they are about to leave, they are caught up with by Alice.
"Where do you think you're going?" she asks the three of them, who stand at the threshold of the doorway. The Doctor moves to say goodbye to Alice.
"Look, we have to go. We weren't even really meant to be here. But seriously, you were a huge help in stopping this from escalating," the Doctor says, with a manufactured smile and a pat on her shoulder, turning to leave.
"That blank paper, the one with your identification on," she says, causing the three to enter the room again. "It wasn't blank to the Queen. So how come I couldn't see it?"
The Doctor smiles at her. "That paper is effectively magic. You see what I want you to see. Unless, you're really clever or really stupid. And you're certainly really clever."
Flattered, Alice smirks at the Doctor. "I never said thank you, for saving our lives."
"Ah well, couldn't have done it without Di and David. Can barely do anything without them," the Doctor awkwardly says, noting that Alice flirted with him earlier and is keen to avoid the situation. He turns around again, but Alice plants a hand firmly on his shoulder, causing him to face her again.
"I better say goodbye properly then," she smiles, before throwing the Doctor against the wall next to the door Diana and David are stood at. Startled, the Doctor doesn't move, before a grinning Alice passionately kisses him. David watches on in shock, and Diana struggles to hold in her laugh, as Alice snogs the Doctor for a solid few seconds. Breaking it off, and pulling away, she smiles at Diana and David before simply saying, "see you around."
The startled Doctor remains wide eyed against the wall for a moment, sliding down to the floor, before thrusting back up to his feet and walking to the door. He clears his throat, and adjusts his jacket.
"Right then, TARDIS?" he says, walking on out. Diana and David chuckle as they follow.
"Hold on though, Doctor," Diana starts, as the trio return to the TARDIS. "Who sent the message on the psychic paper then? The one that brought us here?"
The Doctor shrugs his shoulders. Unlocking the door and opening it, he answers. "I don't know. Don't think it matters, really. We got here and stopped the problem. That's what we do." He grins, as do Diana and David, who walk into the TARDIS hand in hand.
The Doctor stops, and waits out in the morning sun for a moment. He pulls out the psychic paper for a moment, looking at it. It's odd how the events with the Daleks in London, in Paris and on Darillium seem to be linked. The search for Gallifrey might be coming to a head soon, and the Doctor knew it. Whilst taking in the morning sun for the moment, she stuffs it back into his pocket and dismissing any questions. He enters the TARDIS, the door closes behind him, as it dematerialises.