"This is the story of our planet, earth. Of the day a thousand years past when we came to share it with a race know as Humanity. It is the story of the Doctor, who helped our races find common ground, and the terrible losses she suffered. It is the story of our past and must never be forgotten"
City
"This place is enormous and deserted. The majority of the race are probably still asleep. We need to find Andy. Looking for heat signature anomalies" the Doctor tells Nasreen.
"But Doctor, how can all this be here? I mean, these plants" Nasreen points out.
"Must be getting closer to the center of the city"
"You're sure this is the best way to enter?" Nasreen asks her.
"Front door approach. Definitely. Always the best way" the Doctor says just as an alarm sounds.
"Hostile life forms detected area seventeen"
"Apart from the back door approach. That's also good. Sometimes better" the Doctor comments.
"Hostile life forms detected area seventeen"
"Doctor" Nasreen says as warriors approach from both sides.
"We're not hostile. We're not armed. We're here in peace" the Doctor tries to defuse the situation but a warrior steps forward and gasses them with its weapon.
**********
Laboratory
The Doctor is being scanned, and it's hurting her. "Argh"
"How can they have escaped? This proves all prisoners should remain under military guard" Restac tells Malohkeh.
"I'm sure you'd prefer to be in charge of everything and everyone, Restac, but we rank the same. Is there any word from Alaya?"
"No"
"It's fine to show concern, you know. She's part of your gene-chain. I'm decontaminating now"
The Doctor overhears what he said, "Decontamination? No, no, no" that hurts her even more. "No! argh!"
"It's all right, it won't harm you. I'm only neutralizing all your ape bacteria" Malohkeh tries to assure her.
"I'm not an ape. Look at the scans. Two hearts. Totally different. Totally not ape! Remove all human germs, you remove half the things keeping me alive" the Doctor explains. Malohkeh turns off the decontamination machine.
"No, complete the process" Restac tells him.
"Oh, that's much better, thanks. Not got any celery, have you? No. No, not really the climate. Tomatoes, though. You'd do a roaring trade in those. I'm the Doctor. Oh, and there's Nasreen. Good"
Nasreen wakes up, "Oh, a green man"
"Hello, who are you?" the Doctor asks them.
"Restac, military commander"
"Oh dear, really? There's always a military, isn't there?" the Doctor groans.
"Your weapon was attacking the oxygen pockets above our city" Malohkeh tells her.
"Oxygen pockets, lovely. Oh, but not so good with an impending drill. Now it makes sense" the Doctor realizes.
"Where is the rest of your invasion force?" Restac asks her.
"Invasion force. Me and lovely Nasreen? No. We came for the humans you took. And to offer the safe return of Alaya. Oh wait, you and she, what is it, same genetic source? Of course you're worried, but don't be, she's safe" she assures Restac.
"You claim to come in peace, but you hold one of us hostage"
"Wait, wait, we all want the same thing here" the Doctor tells her.
"I don't negotiate with apes. I'm going to send a clear message to those on the surface"
"What's that?"
"Your execution"
"Yes"
**********
Gardens
The Doctor and Nasreen are under escort. "These must be the only ones awake. The others must still be in hibernation" the Doctor notes.
"So, why did they go into hibernation in the first place?" Nasreen asks her.
"Their astronomers predicted the planet heading to earth on a crash course. They built a life underground and put themselves to sleep for millennia in order to avert what they thought was the apocalypse, when in reality it was the moon coming into alignment with the earth" the Doctor explains.
"How can you know that?" Malohkeh asks her.
"Long time ago, I met another tribe of Homo Reptilia. Similar, but not identical"
"Others of our species have survived?" Restac asks.
"The humans attacked them. They died. I'm sorry" the Doctor tells them regretfully.
"A vermin race" Restac spits out.
**********
Court
Long table in the middle, ranks of benches along the walls. "You're not authorized to do this" Malohkeh tells Restac.
"I am authorized to protect the safety of our species while they sleep" Restac reminds him.
"Oh, lovely place. Very gleaming" the Doctor comments.
"This is our court and our place of execution" Restac tells her.
"Let them go" Andy orders, showing up with a gun.
"Andy Pond. There's a guy to rely on"
"You're covered both ways, so don't try anything clever, buster" Andy says.
"Mo" Nasreen says, seeing Mo.
"Now let them go, or I shoot" Andy threatens her, but Restac moves towards Andy. "I'm warning you" Restac disarms Andy.
"Don't you touch him!" the Doctor warns her. Mo is also disarmed.
"All right, Restac, you've made your point" Malohkeh tells her.
"This is now a military tribunal. Go back to your laboratory, Malohkeh" they hiss at each other.
"This isn't the way"
"Prepare them for execution" Restac orders, ignoring Malohkeh.
"Okay, sorry. As rescue go, didn't live up to its potential" Andy says as the four are shacked to rings in a pair of columns.
"I'm glad you're okay" the Doctor tells him.
"Me too. Lizard men, though"
"Homo Reptilia. They occupied the planet before humans. Now they want it back" the Doctor explains.
"After they've wiped out the human race" Nasreen points out.
"Right. Preferred it when I didn't know, to be honest" Andy comments.
"Why are they waiting? What do you think they're going to do with us?" Nasreen asks.
**********
Church
A computer screen in a box comes to life. "Oh, my god" Ambrose mutters.
"Who is the ape leader?" Restac asks, appearing on the screen.
"It's them. How are they doing that? How do they know that we're in here?" Ambrose asks, covering Alaya's body with a tarpaulin.
"Who speaks for the apes?" Restac repeats.
"Don't tell them what's happened" Mack says.
**********
Court
Rory is on a large holographic screen, "I speak for the humans. Some of us, anyway"
"Do you understand who we are?" Restac asks her.
"Sort of. A bit. Not really" Rory admits.
"We have ape hostages" Restac tells her, showing them the hostages.
"Doctor! Andy!" Rory shouts.
"Mo! Mo, are you okay?" Ambrose asks.
"I'm fine, love. I've found Elliot. I'm bringing him home" Mo tells her.
"Andy, I thought I'd lost you"
"What, because I was sucked into the ground? You're so clingy" Andy teases her.
"Tony Mack!" Nasreen shouts.
"Having fun down there?" Mack asks her.
"Not to interrupt, but just a quick reminder to stay calm" The Doctor tells everyone.
"Show me Alaya. Show me, and release her immediately unharmed, or we kill your friends. One by one" Restac threatens them.
"No" Ambrose denies.
"Ambrose" Rory says.
"Steady now, everyone" The Doctor reminds everyone.
"Ambrose, stop it" Mack tells her.
"Get off me, dad" Ambrose shakes him off, "We didn't start this"
"Let Rory deal with this, Ambrose, eh?" The Doctor tries to make her stop.
"We are not doing what you say any more. Now, give me back my family" Ambrose demands.
"No. Execute the boy" Restac orders.
"No! No, wait!" Rory shouts in panic.
"Rory!" Andy shouts back.
"She's not speaking for us" Rory tries to defuse the situation.
"There's no need for this" The Doctor shouts.
"Listen, listen. Whatever you want, we'll do it" Rory says.
"Aim" Restac orders.
"Andy!"
"Rory!"
"Don't do this!" the Doctor shouts.
"No!" Rory shouts as the screen goes blank.
"Fire!" Restac shouts but someone comes and stops it.
"Stop! You want to start a war while the rest of us sleep, Restac?" Eldane asks her.
"The apes are attacking us" Restac tries to defend her actions.
"You're our protector, not our commander, Restac. Unchain them"
"I do not recognize your authority at this time, Eldane"
"Well then, you must shoot me"
"You woke him to undermine me" Restac tells Malohkeh.
"We're not monsters. And neither are they" Malohkeh shrugs.
"What is it about apes you love so much, hmm?"
"While you slept, they've evolved. I've seen it for myself"
"We used to hunt apes for sport. When we came underground, they bred and polluted this planet" Restac says.
"Shush now, Restac. Go and play soldiers. I'll let you know if I need you" Eldane dismisses her.
"You'll need me, then we'll see"
**********
Church
"Nothing. I've got to get down there" Rory says after the screen turned dark.
"Rory. Hello" the Doctor appears on the screen.
"Where's Andy?" Rory jumps straight to the point.
"He's fine. Look, here, he is" The Doctor shows Andy.
"Oh, thank god"
"Keeping you on your toes" Andy teases her.
"No time to chat. Listen, you need to get down here. Go to the drill storeroom. There's a large patch of earth in the middle of the floor. The Silurians are going to send up transport discs to bring you back down using geothermal energy and gravity bubble technology. It's how they travel and frankly, it's pretty cool. Bring Alaya. We hand her over, we can land this after all. All going to work, promise. Got to dash. Hurry up" The Doctor tells them before the transmission ends.
"The moment we get down there, everything will fall apart" Mack says.
"We have to return her. They deserve at least that" Rory tells him.
**********
Court
"I'd say you've got a fair bit to talk about" the Doctor says.
"How so?" Eldane asks her.
"You both want the planet. You both have a genuine claim to it" the Doctor tells him.
"Are you authorized to negotiate on behalf of humanity?" Eldane asks her.
"Me? No. But they are" the Doctor points to the humans in the room.
"What?" Nasreen says shocked.
"No, we're not" Andy denies.
"Course you are. Andy Pond and Nasreen Chaudhry, speaking for the planet? Humanity couldn't have better ambassadors. Come on, who has more fun than us?" the Doctor tells them.
"Is this what happens, in the future? The planet gets shared? Is that what we need to do?" Andy asks her.
"Er, what are you talking about?" Nasreen asks them.
"Oh Nasreen, sorry. probably worth mentioning at this stage, Andy and I travel in time a bit" the Doctor explains to Nasreen.
"Anything else?"
"There are fixed points through time were things must always stay the way they are. This is not one of them. This is an opportunity. A temporal tipping point. Whatever happens today, will change future events, create its own timeline, its own reality. The future pivots around you, here, now. So do good, for humanity, and for earth" the Doctor tells them, excited.
"Right. No pressure there, then" Andy says sarcastically.
"We can't share the planet. Nobody on the surface is going to go for this idea. It is just too big a leap" Nasreen protests.
"Come on. Be extraordinary" the Doctor tells her.
"Oh"
"Okay. Bringing things to order. The first meeting of representatives of the human race and Homo Reptilia is now in session. Ha! Never said that before. That's fab. Carry on. Now, Mo. Let's go and get your son. Oh, you know, humans, and their predecessors shooting the breeze. Never thought I'd see it"
**********
Stasis Pod
"Elliot. There you are" the Doctor comments.
"If you've harmed him in any way" Mo warns Malohkeh.
"Of course not. I only store the young" Malohkeh tells him.
"But why?" the Doctor asks him.
"I took samples of the young, slowed their lifecycles to a millionth of their normal rate so I could study how they grew, what they needed, how they lived on the surface" Malohkeh explains.
"You've been down here working by yourself, all alone?" the Doctor asks him.
"My family, through the millennia, and for the last three hundred years, just me. I never meant to harm your child" Malohkeh says.
"Malohkeh, I rather love you" the Doctor tells him.
"It's safe. We can wake him" Malohkeh unhooks Elliot from the wires, "Come"
"Elliot? Ell, it's dad" Mo tells him.
"Dad"
"You're safe now"
"Where are we?" Elliot asks.
"Well, I've got to be honest with you, son. We're in the center of the earth, and there are lizard men" Mo tells his son.
"Hi" Malohkeh greets him.
"Wow"
"Elliot. I'm sorry. I took my eye off you" the Doctor apologizes to him.
"It's okay. I forgive you"
"You go on, Doctor. I'll catch up" Malohkeh tells her.
**********
Court
"Okay. Now I'm starting to see it" Nasreen comments.
"Oh yeah" Andy agrees.
The Doctor enters with Mo and Elliot. "Not bad for a first session. More similarities than differences"
"The transport has returned. Your friends are here" Eldane tells them.
**********
Rory appears in the doorway, followed by Ambrose, then Mack carrying Alaya's body wrapped in a blanket. "Here they are" the Doctor points out.
"Mum!" Elliot shouts in glee.
"Rory!" Andy also shouts in joy.
"Something's wrong" the Doctor notices the solemn looks on their faces.
"Doctor, what's he carrying?" Andy motions to Mack.
"No. Don't do this. Tell me you didn't do this" the Doctor begs. Mack lays Alaya on the floor, "What did you do?"
"It was me. I did it" Ambrose admits.
"Mum?"
"I just wanted you back"
"I'm sorry. I didn't know. You have to believe me, they're better than this" the Doctor tries to explain to Eldane.
"This is our planet!" Ambrose shouts, ruining everything they had worked for.
"We had a chance here" the Doctor tells her, but Ambrose ignores her.
"Leave us alone"
"In the future, when you talk about this, you tell people there was a chance but you were so much less than the best of humanity" the Doctor tells Ambrose.
Restac and her troops march in, "My sister. Oh. And you want us to trust these apes, Doctor?" Restac hisses as she sees her sisters dead body.
"One woman. She was scared for her family. She is not typical" the Doctor tries to reason.
"I think she is"
"One person let us down, but there is a whole race of dazzling, peaceful human beings up there. You were building something here. Come on. An alliance could work"
"It's too late for that, Doctor" Ambrose tells her.
"Why?"
"Our drill is set to start burrowing again in fifteen minutes" Ambrose reveals.
"What?" Nasreen says in horror.
"What choice did I have? They had Elliot" Mack tells her.
"Don't do this. Don't call their bluff" the Doctor begs.
"Let us go back. And you promise to never come to the surface ever again. We'll walk away, leave you alone" Ambrose says.
"Execute her" Restac orders.
"No!" the Doctor grabs Ambrose and they run, "Everybody, back to the lab. Run"
"Execute all the apes" Restac demands.
The Doctor gets out her sonic screwdriver. The Silurian weapons go bang, "This is a deadly weapon. Stay back" She warns them as she dodges a lashing tongue.
**********
Tunnel
"Take everyone to the lab. I'll cover you" the Doctor tells them.
"Go. Go" Rory ushers everyone.
"Ah, ah, stop right there or I'll use my very deadly weapon again. One warning, that's all you get. If there can be no deal, you go back into hibernation. All of you, now. This ends here" the Doctor warns them.
"No. It only ends with our victory" Restac tells her.
"Like I said, one warning"
**********
Laboratory
The Doctor seals the door, "Elliot, you and your dad keep your eyes on that screen. Let me know if we get company. Andy, keep reminding me how much time I haven't got"
"Okay. Um, er, twelve minutes till drill impact" Andy tells her.
"Tony Mack. Sweaty forehead, dilated pupils. What are you hiding?" the Doctor asks him. There are green veins all across his chest.
"Tony, what happened?" Nasreen asks him.
"Alaya's sting. She said there's no cure. I'm dying, aren't I?" Mack says.
"You're not dying, you're mutating" the Doctor tells him.
"How can I stop it?"
"Decontamination program. Might work. Don't know. Eldane, can you run the program on Tony?" the Doctor asks.
"Doctor, shedload of those creatures coming our way. We're surrounded in here" Mo warns her.
"So, question is, how do we stop the drill give we can't get there in time? Plus, also, how do we get out, given that we're surrounded? Nasreen, how do you feel about an energy pulse channeled up through the tunnels to the base of the drill?" the Doctor asks.
"To blow up my life's work?" Nasreen asks.
"Yes. Sorry. No nice way of putting that" the Doctor apologizes.
"Right, well, you're going to have to do it before the drill hits the city, in er"
"Eleven minutes forty second" Andy tells her.
"Yes. Squeaky bum time" the Doctor comments.
"Yes, but the explosion is going to cave in all the surrounding tunnels, so we have to be out and on the surface by then" Nasreen warns her.
"But we can't get past Restac's troops" Rory reminds them.
"I can help with that. Toxic fumigation. An emergency failsafe meant to protect my species from infection. A warning signal to occupy cryo-chambers. After that, citywide fumigation by toxic gas. Then the city shuts down" Eldane informs them.
"You could end up killing your own people" Andy tells him.
"Only those foolish enough to follow Restac"
"Eldane, are you sure about this?" the Doctor asks him.
"My priority is my race's survival. The earth isn't ready for us to return yet"
"No"
"Ten minutes, Doctor" Andy warns her.
"But maybe it should be. So, here's a deal. Everybody listening. Eldane, you activate shutdown. I'll amend the system, set your alarm for a thousand years' time. A thousand years to sort the planet out. To be ready. Pass it on. As legend, or prophesy, or religion, but somehow make it known. This planet is to be shared" the Doctor tells them.
"Yeah. I get you" Elliot tells her.
"Nine minutes, seven seconds"
"Yes. Fluid controls, my favorite. Energy pulse. Timed, primed and set. Before we go, energy barricade. Need to cancel it out quickly" the Doctor continues.
"Fumigation pre-launching" Eldane says.
"There's not much time for us to get from here to the surface, Doctor" Rory reminds her.
"Ah ha, super-squeaky bum time. Get ready to run for your lives. Now" the Doctor tells them.
"But the decontamination program on your friend hasn't started yet" Eldane tells her.
"Well, go. All of you, go" Mack tells them.
"No, we're not leaving you here" Ambrose protests.
"Granddad"
"Eight minutes ten seconds"
"Now you look after your mum. You mustn't blame her. She only did what she thought was right" Mack tells Elliot.
"I'm not going to see you again, am I?"
"I'll be here, always. I love you, boy. You be sure he gets home safe"
"This is my fault" Ambrose cries.
"No, I can't go back up there. I'd be a freak show. The technology down here's my only hope" Mack says.
"I love you, dad"
"Go. Go"
"Come on"
"Go. Go"
**********
"Toxic fumigation initiated"
"They're going. We're clear" Andy tells them.
"Okay, everyone follow Nasreen. Look for a blue box. Get ready to run" the Doctor tells them.
"I'm sorry" the Doctor apologizes to Eldane.
"I thought for a moment, our race and the humans"
"Yeah, me too"
"Doctor, we've got less than six minutes" Andy warns her.
"Go. Go! I'm right behind you. Let's go" the Doctor ushers them out.
"I'm not coming either" Nasreen tells her.
"What?"
Andy goes back for the Doctor, "Oh, for goodness sake"
"We're going to hibernate with them, me and Tony" Nasreen explains.
"Doctor, you must go" Eldane tells her.
"I can be decontaminated when we're woken. All the time in the world" Mack says.
"But, Nasreen, you" the Doctor stutters.
"No, this is perfect. I don't want to go. I've got what I was digging for. I can't leave when I've only just found it" Nasreen tells her.
"Doctor!" Andy shouts.
"Thank you, Doctor" Nasreen thanks her.
"The pleasure was all mine"
"Come and look for us"
"So the Doctor sent our warriors back to their rest, on the promise of future harmony with humans"
**********
City
The Doctor and Andy runs out. Rory passes them, "Other way, idiot" Andy calls after her.
"Come on" The Doctor ushers them.
**********
Outside the Tardis
"No questions, just get in. and yes, I know, it's big. Ambrose, sickbay up the stairs, left, then left again, get yourself fixed up. Come on. Five minutes and counting. Not here" the Doctor then notices there is a crack in the wall.
"Not now. It's getting wider"
"The crack on my bedroom wall" Andy recognizes it.
Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, right here. "And the Byzantium. All through the universe, rips in the continuum" the Doctor muses, "Some sort of space-time cataclysm. An explosion, maybe. Big enough to put cracks in the universe. But what?"
"Four minutes fifty. We have to go" Andy tells her.
"The angels laughed when I didn't know. Prisoner zero knew. Everybody knows except me"
"Doctor, just leave it" Andy pleads.
"But where there's an explosion, there's shrapnel" the Doctor ignores him.
"Doctor, you can't put your hand in there" Rory tells her, but the Doctor ignores her. She puts a red handkerchief over her hand and reaches into the crack.
"Why not?" the Doctor asks rhetorically, but it hurts. "Argh. I've got something"
"What is it?" Andy asks as she pulls her arm back out.
"I don't know"
"Doctor?" Rory says as Restac crawls in.
"She was there when the gas started. She must have been poisoned" Andy tells them.
"You" Restac hisses.
"Okay, get in the Tardis, both of you" the Doctor tells them.
"You did this" Restac raises her weapon.
"Doctor!" Rory pushes the Doctor out of the way and takes the full force of the blast.
"Rory!" Andy shouts in horror.
"Rory, can you hear me?" the Doctor asks her.
"I don't understand" Rory chokes out.
"Shush. Don't talk. Doctor, is she okay? We have to get her onto the Tardis" Andy tells her.
"We were on the hill. I can't die here" Rory chokes out.
"Don't say that" Andy cries.
"You're so beautiful. I'm sorry" Rory says as she dies.
"Doctor, help her" Andy begs. The Doctor notices the light from the crack reaches Rory's feet.
If the time energy catches up with you, you'll never have been born. It will erase every moment of your existence. You will never have lived at all. At all. At all. At all.
"Andy, move away from the light. If it touches you, you'll be wiped from history. Andy, move away now" the Doctor pulls him away.
"No. I am not leaving her. We have to help her" Andy fights her.
"The light's already around her. We can't help her"
"I am not leaving her"
"We have to" the Doctor tells him, regretfully.
"No!"
"I'm sorry"
"Get off me!" Andy shouts as the Doctor drags him to the Tardis.
"I'm sorry"
"Get off me. No"
**********
Tardis
The Doctor sonics the Tardis door shut. "No! No! No! No! Let me out. Please let me out. I need to get to Rory. That light. If her body is absorbed, I'll forget her. She'll never have existed. You can't let that happen. What are you doing?" Andy cries.
The Doctor sets the Tardis in motion. "Doctor, no! No! No! No!" Rory is absorbed by the light form the crack as the Tardis dematerializes. "Doctor, we can't just leave her there"
"Keep her in your mind. Don't forget her. If you forget her, you'll lose her forever" the Doctor warns him.
"When we were on the Byzantium, I still remember the Clerics because I am a time traveler now, you said" Andy reminds her.
"They weren't part of your world. This is different. This is your own history changing"
"Don't tell me it's going to be okay. You have to make it okay"
"It's going to be hard, but you can do it, Andy. Tell me about Rory, eh? Fantastic Rory. Funny Rory. Gorgeous Rory. Andy, listen to me. Do exactly as I say. Andy, please. Keep concentrating. You can do this" the Doctor tries to keep him focused.
"I can't" Andy shakes his head.
"You can. You can do it. I can't help you unless you do. Come on. We can still save her memory. Come on, Andy. Please. Come on, Andy, come on. Andy, please. Don't let anything distract you. Remember Rory. Keep remembering. Rory's only alive in your memory. You must keep hold of her. Don't let anything distract you. Rory still lives in your mind"
The Tardis comes to a sudden halt. They are throw to the floor. The ring box lands in front of the Doctor. "What were you saying?" Andy asks her, his tears forgotten.
"I have seen some things today, but this is beyond mad" Mo says entering the control room.
"Doctor. Five seconds till it all goes up" Andy warns her.
**********
Graveyard
They all dash outside just in time to see the drilling derrick explode. "All Nasreen's work just erased" Andy says.
"Good thing she's not here to see it. She's going to give Tony hell when they wake up" Mo comments.
**********
Church Porch
"You could've let those things shoot me. You saved me" Ambrose points out to the Doctor.
"An eye for an eye. It's never the way. Now you show your son how wrong you were, how there's another way. You make him the best of humanity, in the way you couldn't be"
**********
Graveyard
Andy and the Doctor return to the Tardis. "You're very quiet. Oh. Hey, look. There I am again. Hello, me" Andy waves to a lone figure waving back from the other side of the valley.
"Are you okay?" the Doctor asks him.
"I thought I saw someone else there for a second. I need a holiday. Didn't we talk about Rio?"
"You go in. Just fic this lock. Keeps jamming"
"You girls and your locksmithery" Andy teases her as he enters the Tardis.
"Now, as my people awaken from their thousand-year sleep ready to rise to the surface, my thoughts turn back to the Doctor. The losses she suffered then and the greater loses that were still to come"
The shrapnel the Doctor pulled from the crack is a charred piece of the Tardis.