SPACESHIP
CASS: Help me, please. Can anybody hear me?
COMPUTER: Please state the nature of your ailment or injury.
CASS: I'm not injured, I'm crashing. I don't need a doctor.
COMPUTER: A clear statement of your symptoms will help us provide the medical practitioner appropriate to your individual needs.
CASS: I'm trying to send a distress signal. Stop talking about doctors.
DOCTOR: I'm a doctor. But probably not the one you're expecting.
TITLE CARD
DOCTOR: Where are the rest of the crew?
CASS: Teleported off.
DOCTOR: But you're still here.
CASS: I teleported them.
DOCTOR: Why you?
CASS: Everyone else was screaming.
DOCTOR: Welcome aboard.
CASS: Aboard what?
DOCTOR: I'll show you.
He leads her along the corridor away from the bridge.
CASS: Where are we going?
DOCTOR: Back of the ship.
CASS: Why?
DOCTOR: Because the front crashes first. Think it though. Oh!
The bulkhead seals itself.
DOCTOR: Why did you do that?
CASS: Emergency protocols.
Out comes the sonic screwdriver.
DOCTOR: What's your name?
CASS: Cass.
DOCTOR: You're young to be crewing a gunship, Cass.
CASS: I wanted to see the universe. Is it always like this?
DOCTOR: If you're lucky.
The bulkhead door opens to reveal the TARDIS.
DOCTOR: Don't worry, it's bigger on the inside.
CASS: What did you say? Bigger on the inside, is that what you said?
DOCTOR: Yes. Come on, you'll love it.
CASS: Is this a TARDIS?
DOCTOR: Yes, but you'll be perfectly safe, I promise you.
CASS: Don't touch me!
DOCTOR: I'm not part of the war. I swear to you, I never was.
CASS: You're a Time Lord.
DOCTOR: Yes, I'm a Time Lord, but I'm one of the nice ones.
CASS: Get away from me!
DOCTOR: Well, look on the bright side. I'm not a Dalek.
CASS: Who can tell the difference any more?
She closes the bulkhead door between herself and the Doctor.
DOCTOR: Cass!
CASS: It's deadlocked. Don't even try.
DOCTOR: Cass, just open the door. I'm trying to help.
CASS: Go back to your battlefield. You haven't finished yet. Some of the universe is still standing.
DOCTOR: I'm not leaving this ship without you.
CASS: Well, you're going to die right here. Best news all day.
DOCTOR: Cass, Cass. Cass! Cass! Cass!
PLANET SURFACE
KABOOM as the ship impacts a planet.
OHILA: And here he is at last. The man to end it all. My sisters, the Doctor has returned to Karn. We have always known in our bones that one day he would return here. Such a pity he's dead.
INT. TEMPLE
The Doctor wakes with a start.
DOCTOR: Cass!
OHILA: If you refer to your companion, we are still attempting to extract her from the wreckage.
DOCTOR: She wasn't my companion.
OHILA: She's almost certainly dead. No one could survive that crash.
DOCTOR: I did.
OHILA: No. We restored you to life, but it's a temporary measure. You have a little under four minutes.
DOCTOR: Four minutes? That's ages. What if I get bored, or need a television, couple of books? Anyone for chess? Bring me knitting.
OHILA: You have so little breath left. Spend it wisely.
DOCTOR: Hang on. Is it you? Am I back on Karn? You're the Sisterhood of Karn, Keepers of the Flame of utter boredom.
OHILA: Eternal life.
DOCTOR: That's the one.
OHILA: Mock us if you will, but our elixir can trigger your regeneration, bring you back. Time Lord science is elevated here on Karn. The change doesn't have to be random. Fat or thin, young or old, man or woman?
DOCTOR: Why would you do this for me?
OHILA: You have helped us in the past.
DOCTOR: You were never big on gratitude.
OHILA: The war between the Daleks and the Time Lords threatens all reality. You are the only hope left.
DOCTOR: It's not my war. I will have no part of it.
OHILA: You can't ignore it forever.
DOCTOR: I help where I can. I will not fight.
OHILA: Because you are the good man, as you call yourself?
DOCTOR: I call myself the Doctor.
OHILA: It's the same thing in your mind.
DOCTOR: I'd like to think so.
OHILA: In that case, Doctor, attend your patient.
Cass is brought in and laid on the altar stone. The Doctor scans her with his screwdriver.
OHILA: You're wasting your time. She is beyond even our help.
DOCTOR: She wanted to see the universe.
OHILA: She didn't miss much. It's very nearly over.
DOCTOR: I could have saved her. I could have got her off, but she wouldn't listen.
OHILA: Then she was wiser than you. She understood there was no escaping the Time War. You are a part of this, Doctor, whether you like it or not.
DOCTOR: I would rather die.
OHILA: You're dead already. How many more will you let join you? If she could speak, what would she say?
DOCTOR: To me? Nothing. I'm a Time Lord. Everything she despised.
OHILA: She would beg your help, as we beg your help now. The universe stands on the brink. Will you let it fall?
OHILA: Fast or strong, wise or angry. What do you need now?
The Doctor fingers Cass' baldric.
DOCTOR: Warrior.
OHILA: Warrior?
DOCTOR: I don't suppose there's a need for a Doctor any more. Make me a warrior now.
OHILA: I took the liberty of preparing this one myself.
She hands him a steaming chalice.
DOCTOR: Get out. Get out! All of you.
The priestesses start leaving the room.
DOCTOR: Will it hurt?
OHILA: Yes.
DOCTOR: Good. Charley, C'rizz, Lucie, Tamsin, Molly, friends, companions I've known, I salute you. And Cass, I apologise.
Physician, heal thyself.
The Doctor drinks the elixir and staggers, dropping the chalice. Regeneration energy starts to surge through his body. He doubles over. White out.
OHILA: Is it done?
A figure takes Cass's baldric and puts it on.
WAR DOCTOR: Doctor no more.
We are shown the reflection of a young John Hurt.
