Sentry - The Warrior Who Guards The Gate

DOCTOR: 

Now, there are only two things that I need to know. 

Where is my friend, and what destroyed the Roman army?
 

(The girl who had been chasing Bill enters, holding a stick with lots of pointed axe heads thrust through it and a red circular thing in a wicker frame.) 

KAR: 

I destroyed the Roman army.
 

DOCTOR: 

Really? What, you, just on your own? 

That's quite a trick.
 

KAR: 

I'm the Gatekeeper.
 

DOCTOR: 

Gatekeeper. What gate?
 

BAN: 

Didn't you hear the call? 

Where were you?
 

KAR: 

I had to find the Gatekeeper's Things.

  

DOCTOR: 

Sorry, wait a minute. 

Are you the Mighty Warrior that we've all been waiting for? Where are all the grown-ups?
 

KAR: 

There was a Great Battle. 

A Great Battle, and We beat The Romans.
 

BAN: 

Kar beat them. That's all that matters.
 

DOCTOR: 

Yes, but she's not a Warrior. 

She's an embryo. 

What did you do, throw your action figures at them?
 

KAR: 

Listen, Roman.
 

DOCTOR: 

We're not Roman. 

We're not part of the Roman army.
 

NARDOLE: 

No, we're not even slightly Italian. 

I mean, I do a mean spag bol.
 

KAR: 

Let me tell you about The Romans. 

They are The Robbers of This World. 

When they've thieved everything on land, they'll rob The Sea. 

If their enemies are rich, they'll take all they have. 

If their enemies are poor, they'll make slaves of them. 

Their work is robbery, slaughter, plunder. 

They do this work and they call it Empire. 

They make deserts and they call it Peace.
 

DOCTOR: 

Yeah, but you've got to love the indoor toilets, yeah?
 

KAR: 

They're not conquerors, they're cowards.
 

DOCTOR: 

They're also all dead.

There's an awful lot of dead cowards out there, and I don't believe that you killed them. 

Because the thing is, you said gate, 

you called yourself Gatekeeper, 

and you mentioned Gate weapons. 

So I've got to wonder, what kind of a gate is that, and what's on the other side?

DOCTOR: 

Now, they think these Cairns are gateways between Worlds.

 And given that they keep going on about gates, possibly they're right. 

(Outside, Kar grabs Nardole.) 

NARDOLE: 

Ooo! Ooo! No, but...

KAR: 

The Gate's opening. 

Your friend won't be coming back. 

(Nardole is now in Pictish garb, including a plaid and the face markings, and lecturing five villagers. The Doctor comes out of the Cairn.) 

NARDOLE:

You're back! 

They said you would probably never come back. 

DOCTOR: 

I was in there for seconds.
 

NARDOLE: 

Two days. 

(The Doctor thinks about this.)
DOCTOR: 

It's an inter-dimensional temporal rift. 

A second in there equates to days of time on this side. 

I was in there for two days? 

NARDOLE: 

And eight hours, five minutes, and...

DOCTOR: 

Well, that's good, then, isn't it? 

NARDOLE: 

Good? 

DOCTOR: 

Plenty of time for you to find Bill. 

NARDOLE: 

Oh. I looked. They helped me look. 

DOCTOR: 

How hard did you look? 

NARDOLE: 

I think we've lost her, Doctor. 

DOCTOR: 

No. No, no, no. 

We just don't know where she is. 

Not the same thing at all. Come on. 

 KAR: 

You came back. 

DOCTOR: 
Did you know what was in there? 

KAR: 
The Gate. 

DOCTOR: 
A portal between dimensions. 
Do you know what's on the other side? 
You don't know anything, do you. 
You just stand around making speeches and waving a TV aerial about. 

DOCTOR: 
Shall I tell you what's in there? 

KAR: 
No. It's called the Eater Of Light, and we held it back. 
Every generation, a new warrior went into the gate and fought the Eater Of Light so it couldn't break through. 

DOCTOR: 
But the creature did break through. 
(Kar nods) 
It broke through and it destroyed the whole Ninth Legion. 

KAR: 
It's weak, it's nearly dead. It will die soon. 

DOCTOR: 
Well, let's hope so, because there are millions more just like it on the other side, and very soon all of them will find their way through to this dimension. 

KAR: 
Then I'll hold them back. 

DOCTOR: 

You'll hold them back? 

What, with your lollipop and your kiddy face paint and your crazy novelty monster killing tool? 

Are you holding that thing the right way up, by the way? 

KAR: 

I don't want your Help! 

DOCTOR: 

But I'm all you've got.

DOCTOR: 

It's getting stronger again. It's strong enough to feed. 

Every hour of sunlight that feeds it makes The World darker, and The Beast stronger. 

We've got very little time.
 

KAR: 

 I have to stop it. 

This is my fault. I'm the Keeper of the Gate. 

I have to put this right. 

DOCTOR: 

So, you were supposed to guard The Gate while everyone else went off to war. 

But you had strangers at The Door, and a guard dog in the attic, so you let The Beast come through. 

KAR: 

It was the only Thing that could defeat Them. 

DOCTOR: 

So you thought the Eater Of Light could destroy a whole Roman army. 

KAR: 

It did. 

DOCTOR: 

And a whole Roman army could weaken or kill The Beast.
 

KAR: 

Yes. 

DOCTOR: 

Well, it didn't work. 

You got a Roman legion slaughtered, and you made the deadliest creature on This Planet very, very cross indeed. 

To protect a muddy little hillside, you doomed your whole world. 

[Cavern]

 

LUCIUS: 

One Man? 

You think One Man can save Us all?
 

BILL: 

Come and meet him. 

He came here to meet you. 

He's met loads of people like you. 

The terrified, the desperate. 

And He always Helps. 

He always makes a difference. 

LUCIUS: 

There are painted barbarians up there. They outnumber us. 

There is a Beast of Darkness that laid waste to an entire legion in less than an hour. 

No One Man can make a difference to that. 

BILL: 

Maybe that's what you don't learn when you think it takes five thousand highly trained soldiers to slaughter a bunch of Scottish farmers. 

Yes, One Man Can. 

And He's Here.
 

THRACIUS: 

If you're calling us cowards, carry on. 

We already ran away. 

We know. 

BILL: 

You're not cowards. 

You're scared. 

Scared is fine. 

Scared is human. 

But I'll tell you what it isn't. 

It isn't a plan.
 

LUCIUS:

 She's right.

THRACIUS: 

Why are you even listening to her, Grandad?
 

LUCIUS: 

Because no one else is saying anything. 

We need a plan. 

A real commander would have a plan. 

BILL: 

Why did he call you Grandad? 

LUCIUS: 

They always call me Grandad.

 I'm in command. 

I'm the oldest one left. 

BILL: 

How old are you? 

LUCIUS: 

Eighteen. 

BILL: 

Right, listen to me, all of you. 

 I'm going up there to find my friend. 

If you come with me, I can't promise that you won't all die. 

 But I can promise you this. 

You won't all die in a hole in the ground. 

[Round house]

(Night.) 

DOCTOR:

 We have to drive it back through and close The Portal behind it. 

 Now, The Gate only opens when The Dawn Sun hits it. 

Why is that? 

BAN: 

Our ancestors couldn't close The Gate completely, but they built the cairn to control it. 

NARDOLE: 

Ah, like venting an oil gush. 

If they let the portal open a few moments every year, they stop the whole thing ripping apart. 

It's quite clever, really. 

DOCTOR: 

Are you sulking? 

KAR: 

I'm Remembering The Dead. 

DOCTOR: 

Oh, right. 

Well, save that for old age. 

KAR: 

They're dead because of Me. 

DOCTOR: 

You know, every moment you waste wallowing about in that happy thought means more of The Living are going to join Them. 

When You Want to Win a War, Remember This :-

It's Not About You.

Believe Me, I know. 

Time to grow up, Kar. 

Time to fight Your Fight. 

(He takes the red mirror-like object she carries.) 

DOCTOR: 

How does this work? 

BAN: 

It poisons The Light as The Beast eats it. 

DOCTOR: 

Good. 

We'll need more of this. 

It has optical cancellation properties. 

Now, we have one chance. 

Right now it's weak, it's injured, it's starving. 

But when The Sun comes up, it will feed and grow strong. 

We have to lure it back through the portal before that happens, before sunrise. 

Now, I've got a plan, but I need your Help.
 

KAR: 

But I'm afraid. 

DOCTOR: 

Who isn't? 

But you've still got to face Your Beast anyway. 

Can you do that? 

KAR: 

Aye. 

It's a Labyrinth. 

DOCTOR: 

Hello. 

BILL: 

Hi. I brought you The Ninth Legion. 

(Currently in a small defensive square fending off the Picts.)
 

DOCTOR: 

Whoa, there they are. 

The Lost Legion of the Ninth.
 

BILL:

Totally found them. 

DOCTOR: 

Yeah, you totally did. 

(Nardole waves between bites of something.) 

BILL: 

Nardole, what happened to you? 

NARDOLE: 

Oh, I'm blending in. 

(Scots) Welcome to our land. Scotch. 

KAR: 

Drop your weapons. 

DOCTOR: 

Oh, for goodness' sake! 

We don't have time for this. 

LUCIUS: 

Stay back! 

BILL: 

Lucius, stop it! 

KAR: 

Are you their Champion now? 

BILL: 

There is no time for fighting! 

DOCTOR: 

Exactly. 

KAR:

 We never wanted to fight. 

We lived in peace, and then you came and laid waste to everything and everyone we loved. 

All you understand is War. 

BILL: 

No, he understands. 

Don't you? 

Now he's wondering why. 

LUCIUS: 

You speak Latin? 

KAR: 

I don't. 

BILL: 

Neither do I. Not a word. 

And I don't speak whatever they speak either. 

It's him. It's you, isn't it? 

DOCTOR: 

Yes, it's me. 

BILL: 

Something to do with the TARDIS. 

Maybe, telepathic field? 

So now that we all understand each other, how do we all sound? 

LUCIUS: 

You sound like children. 

KAR: 

You sound like children too. 

DOCTOR: 

You all do. 

BILL: 

Is this what happens when you understand what everyone in the universe is saying? 

Everybody just sounds like children? 

DOCTOR: 

There are exceptions. 

NARDOLE: 

Thank you very much. 

DOCTOR: 

Not you. 

Okay, kids, pay attention. 

She slaughtered your legion. 

You slaughtered everything that she loves.

Now, you all have a choice. 

You can carry on slaughtering each other till no one is left standing, 

or you grow the hell up! 

Because there's a New War now. 

I think these creatures are light-eating locusts, looking for rents and cracks between worlds to let themselves into Dimensions of Light. 

Once they break through, they eat. 

They will eat The Sun, and then they will eat The Stars. 

And they will keep eating until there are no stars left. 

So, whose side are you on now? 

Because as far as I can see, there's only one side left.
 

DOCTOR: 

They can only come through one at a time.
 

BILL: 

I know. 

DOCTOR: 

That's why guarding the gate worked. 

One Pict in there, fighting it off for a few minutes, that adds up to sixty or seventy years out here. 

BILL: 

I get it, yeah, and then the next one goes in. 

But what do we going to do this time? 

Or are you going line up Picts sacrificing themselves until the End of The World? 

DOCTOR: 

I've got a better idea this time. 

BILL: 

Which is the part you never tell me. 

DOCTOR: 

Don't I? 

BILL: No. 

DOCTOR:

I probably just get interrupted. 

(The musicians start up, repeating the same short theme from the top of the show. Bodhran, tin whistle which I hope is made of wood really, and there should be a small harp in there too.) 

NARDOLE: 

This is worse than jazz. 

[Outside the Cairn]

 

NARDOLE: 

Maybe it won't come.
 

(He sees a crow on a rock.)
 

NARDOLE: 

Hello. 

CROW: 

Hello. 

NARDOLE: 

Hello. 

CROW: Doc-tor! 

NARDOLE: 

No, no. Nardole. 

It's probably a bit tricky for you, that, innit? 

CROW: 

Nar. 

NARDOLE: 

Lovely. 
Hello! 

CROW: 

Monster! 

NARDOLE: 

Sorry? 

CROW: 

Monster! 

(And flies off as feet stomp by the small fires set along the ceremonial route to the Cairn then breaks into a gallop.)

BAN: 

There! 

NARDOLE: 

Oh! 

[Inside the Cairn]

 

NARDOLE: 

It's coming!
BAN:

 It's here! 

DOCTOR: 

Get ready! 

(Lucius takes the 'tv aerial' weapon from Ban.)
 

DOCTOR: 

Channel The Light! 

(Lots of those quartzite prisms are held up to colour and focus the light rays from the torches onto the beast. That stops it dead and annoys it.) 

DOCTOR: 
Keep it here! We've got to hold it here till sunrise.


(Other Picts poke at it with their 'tv aerials'.)
 

DOCTOR: 

Keep it there! Keep it there! 

(Lucius slashes at the tentacles with his sword. Dawn breaks over the mountains and shines down the passageway.) 

DOCTOR: 

Turn it, The Sun is rising! 

(The Doctor focuses the biggest mirror onto its head.)
 

DOCTOR: 

Back! Back to the void! 

(The rear wall opens and the beast backs through, then disappears into the vortex.) 

DOCTOR: 

It'll only stay open as long as the sunlight's on it. 

Give me your weapon. 

BILL: 

What are you doing? 

DOCTOR: 

This is the clever bit. 

BILL: 

Well, tell me. 

DOCTOR: 

The Gate has to be Guarded. 

There's no other way. 

The trouble is, human life spans, they're tiny. 

They're hilarious. 

You get used up too quickly. 

So what's the answer? 

Go on, figure it out. 

The answer's Me. 

I go on for ages. 

I don't even really die, I regenerate. 

I can hold that gate till The Sun goes out. 

BILL: 

No, you can't. 

DOCTOR: 

Course I can. 

I'm going to. 

BILL: 

This isn't your job. 

DOCTOR: 

No, it isn't, Bill. 

It's Who I Am. 

(He moves away from the opening to speak to Bill, and Kar moves towards it.) 

DOCTOR: 

I've been standing by the gates of your world, keeping you all safe, since you crawled out of the slime. 

I'm not stopping now. 

BILL: 

Doctor, please. 

DOCTOR: 

Listen. The TARDIS will take you home. 

Return journeys are easy. 

BILL: 

Listen to me. 

DOCTOR: 

Leave the instruments on the current setting. 

Just hit them with a spanner. 

(to Kar) The weapon. Now. 

KAR: 

No. 

DOCTOR: 

Give it to me. Come on. You'll be safe. 

Tomorrow you'll be farming. 

You can name a cow after me. 

BILL: 

What about the other gates that you have to guard? 

What about the Vault? 

DOCTOR: 

The Vault will never exist if I let those things come through. 

BILL: 

Well, then someone else better stop Them. 

DOCTOR: 

Nobody else can. 

KAR: 

I can. 

DOCTOR: 

What are you saying? 

KAR: 

Time to grow up, Doctor. 

Time to fight My Fight. 

(The Picts hold the Doctor back at spear point.) 

DOCTOR: 

I'm sorry, no. 

No one else can do this, not like I can. 

LUCIUS: 

We can. I'm ready. 

I'll guard The Gate with You. 

I'll fight by your side. 

DOCTOR: 

Awesome. Brilliant. 

You'll be a hero for two seconds, then the whole solar system will be devoured.
 

KAR: 

Stop him.
(Spears point at the Doctor's throat.) 

KAR: 

This is my destiny, my fight.

DOCTOR: 

Out of my way. Now! 

LUCIUS: 

We'll take it in turns. 

DOCTOR: 

Two of you can't hold the gate. 

THRACIUS: 

Two of them? 

I'm counting more than two. 

The Legion of the Ninth stands ready to serve. 

DOCTOR: 

Oh, stop being brave. 

I can't bear brave people. 

BAN: 

I'll put The Story in The Stone. 

I'll put Your Name in The Air. 

They'll see it for hundreds of years, and they'll know Your Name forever. 

KAR: 

Good. 

(They hug) 

Ready? 

DOCTOR: 

No. Listen to me! 

No, listen ...
(A stocky Pict clouts the Doctor over the head, and he falls. Bill picks up his lens.) 

BILL:

 You're wrong, Doctor. It's their destiny, not yours. 

NARDOLE: 

Sorry. You're going nowhere. 

(Nardole binds the Doctor's wrists. Bill gives Kar the lens.)
DOCTOR: 

Bill! Bill, stop it! 

BILL: Quickly! Quickly! 

LUCIUS: 

Soldiers of the Ninth, advance! 

KAR: 

Come on!
(Two Legionnaires lead Kar into the vortex, and the musicans follow. Lucius looks back at Bill and smiles before he disappears. Then the hilltop shakes.) 

[Outside the Cairn]

(Bill comforts the sobbing Ban, who has a crow perched on his hand.) 

BAN: 

Kar. 

She's holding The Gate. 

Remember, Her Name is Kar. 

CROW: 

Kar! 

BAN: 

Kar. 

CROW: 

Kar! Kar! 

 (flies off) 

NARDOLE: 

There, you were wrong. 

The Crows aren't sulking. 

The Crows are remembering.
 

CROW: 

Kar! Kar! Kar!
(They walk off across the moorland.)

DOCTOR: 

All right, I was wrong. 

I didn't know what really happened to the Ninth Legion.
 

BILL: 

No, we were both wrong about that.
 

DOCTOR: 

They were never really missing. 

They've always been Here. 

The Ninth Legion and the Keeper of The Gate, 

Seizing The Day 'til The Sun Goes Out. 

Holding Back The Dark. 

(He unlocks the TARDIS. A snatch of Pictish music.)
 

DOCTOR:

 What? 

BILL:

I thought.... Do you hear that? 

I thought I could hear the music, but I can't, can I. 

They're in another Time.
 

DOCTOR: 

Music's funny like that.

 "Sir, what are your orders?"

"There's only one order, lieutenant. 

We hold."

- Larkin and Captain Sisko