INT. HOTEL
A close-up of a cassette playing a light instrumental tune. CCTV shot of an empty reception area the switches to a dining room to a random hotel hall. We then see a winding staircase with staggered pendant lights hanging over the center. Back in the halls we see a figure slowly walking, garbled conversation coming over a radio. We hear a growling then see part of a wrinkled, animalistic face as an eye opens. In the hallway, we see a young policewoman, LUCY, slowly approaching room 214. She opens the door and sees a clown sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a red balloon. She continues down the hall.
LUCY: (V.O.) My name is Lucy Hayward, and I'm the last one left.
LUCY opens the door to room 215 and sees a man with an old fashioned tripod camera. She closes the door quickly and moves on.
LUCY: (V.O.) You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it, then you realise it could have never been anything else.
LUCY opens the door to the next room and hears the toilet flushing and the door to the bathroom opens and out comes a gorilla, a roll of toilet paper in its hand. A page from a book slips past, showing a drawing of a gorilla. A page of different fonts reading "Praise Him" takes over. Everything she's seen cycles through LUCY'S mind. With a scream, she backs out of the room, falls against the wall, and then slides to the floor. We see the Beast again open its eye. Back in the hallway, LUCY pulls out her notepad and writes furiously.
LUCY: (V.O.) The gaps between my worship are getting shorter. This is what happened to the others. Praise him. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy. Praise him. Praise him. (closes her eyes)
LUCY hears a growling and thudding footsteps and rises quickly to her feet. She sees a large shadow at the end of the hall. She drops her notes.
LUCY: (V.O.) Praise him.
MAN: (V.O.) Praise him.
We then look down the hallway towards LUCY, the Beast's out-of-focus point-of-view. We hear a woman's scream.
[SCENE_BREAK]
Matt Smith Karen Gillan Arthur Darvill
"The God Complex" By Toby Whithouse
Producer Marcus Wilson
Director Nick Hurran
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
The DOCTOR pops his head up as does AMY, her hair hanging down. RORY looks as well.
AMY: "Let's go to Ravan-Skala," he says. "The people are 600 feet tall, you have to talk to them"in hot air balloons and the Tourist Information Centre is made of one of their hats," he says. I'm sorry, but I don't see any huge hats.
DOCTOR: Amy. Beaky. This could be the most exciting thing I have ever seen!
RORY: You're kidding.
AMY: How can you be excited about a rubbish hotel on a rubbish bit of Earth?
DOCTOR: Because, assembled Ponds, this is not Earth. This has just been made to look like Earth. The craftsmanship involved... Can you imagine?
AMY: What? Then where are we?
They go back down to the floor where the TARDIS is resting. There are potted plants and framed photograph portraits hanging on the walls.
DOCTOR: I don't know. Something must have yanked us off course. Look at the detail on that cheese plant! (deeply inhales a leaf)
RORY: Right, but who would mock up an Earth hotel?
The DOCTOR takes an apple from a bowl.
DOCTOR: Colonists maybe, recreating a bit of home, like when ex-pats open English pubs in Majorca. (takses a bite of apple) No, whoever did this, I am shaking his/her hand/tentacle.
RORY looks at the photographs of varying species.
RORY: Have you seen these? Look at the labels underneath. (reads the label under a Sontaran) "Commander Halke, defeat." (human) "Tim Heath, having his photo taken." (human) "Lady Silver-Tear... Daleks."
AMY: "Paige Barnes, other people's socks." "Tim Nelson, balloons." (cat nun) "Novice Prin, sabrewolves." (human) "Royston Luke Gold, Plymouth." (LUCY) "Lucy Hayward, that brutal gorilla." Doctor, what does it mean?
DOCTOR: I don't know. Let's find out.
INT. HOTEL, RECEPTION
The DOCTOR taps the bell on the desk and three people come around the corner, one of them brandishing a chair leg.
DOCTOR: Blimey, that was quick.
ALIEN: We surrender!
RORY: No, it's OK, we're not..We're nice!
DOCTOR: She threatened me with a chair leg.
WOMAN: Who are you?
MAN: We're back in reception.
ALIEN: We surrender!
DOCTOR: Never been threatened with a chair leg before! No, I tell a lie.
AMY: (to RORY) Did you just say, "It's OK, we're nice"?
WOMAN: OK, I need everyone to shut up now!
The view switches momentarily to the security camera.
MAN: Rita, be careful, yeah?
RITA: Their pupils are dilated.
The view switches back to normal.
RITA: They're as surprised as we are. Besides which, if it's a trick, it'll tell us something.
DOCTOR: Oh, you're good. Oh, she's good. Amy, with regret, you're fired.
AMY: What?
DOCTOR: I'm kidding. (looks at RITA and mimes holding a phone)(whispers) We'll talk. I take it from the pathological compulsion to surrender, you're from Tivoli.
ALIEN: Yes, the most invaded planet in the galaxy. Our anthem is called Glory To Insert Name Here.
DOCTOR: You with the face, Howie, you said you were surprised to be back in reception.
HOWIE: The walls move, everything changes.
DOCTOR: You, clever one, what's he talking about?
RITA: The corridors twist and stretch, rooms vanish and pop up somewhere else. It's like the hotel's alive.
DOCTOR: (switches off music) That's quite enough of that.
HOWIE: And it's huge, with, like, no way out.
Switches to security camera.
RORY: Have you tried the front door?
Switches back.
RITA: No, in two days it never occurred to us to try the front door. Thank God you're here!
The DOCTOR scans the door with the sonic screwdriver as AMY laughs at RITA'S comment. He opens the doors wide to reveal a white brick wall.
DOCTOR: They're not doors, they're walls, walls that look like doors. Door-walls, if you like, or "dwalls", "woors" even, though you'd probably got it when you said, "They're not doors." I mean, the windows are... (opens curtains to reveal more wall) Right, big day if you're a fan of walls.
RITA: It's not just that. The rooms have...things in them.
DOCTOR: Things? Hello! What kind of things? Interesting things? I love things, ask anyone.
RITA: Bad dreams.
DOCTOR: Well, that killed the mood. How did you get here?
RITA: I don't know, I'd just started my shift. I must have passed out, because suddenly I was here.
HOWIE: I was blogging, next thing, this.
ALIEN: Oh, I was at work, I'm in town planning. We're lining all the highways with trees, so invading forces can march in the shade.
DOCTOR: Ah.
ALIEN: Which is nice for them.
DOCTOR: Yeah... So what have we got? People snatched from their lives and dropped into an endless, shifting maze that looks like a 1980s hotel with bad dreams in the bedrooms.(takes out a Rubik's cube) Well, apart from anything else, that's just rude.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
The DOCTOR leads the way up the stairs as viewed through a camera. It then switches back.
DOCTOR: We'll pop back to the TARDIS, I'll do a planet-wide diagnostic sweep, then we'll have a sing song.
The TARDIS is gone. The DOCTOR starts feeling for it in case it's invisible.
AMY: Where's the TARDIS? You parked it there, didn't you?
HOWIE: What's a TARDIS?
RORY: Our way out. And it's gone. (holds his head in his hands)
INT. HOTEL, RECEPTION
The music switches back on. The security camera shows no one there.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
The DOCTOR hears the music.
DOCTOR: OK. This is bad. At the moment, I don't know how bad, but certainly we're three buses, a long walk and eight quid in a taxi from good. Are there any more of you?
RITA: Joe, but he's tied up right now.
DOCTOR: Doing what?
RITA: No, I mean he's...tied up right now.
INT. HOTEL, DINING ROOM
JOE is tied up in a chair at one of the tables. All around him, seated at every table, are identical ventriloquist dummies. They are all laughing, heads bobbing, as the DOCTOR slowly enters. They stop as he approaches JOE. The others enter behind him.
DOCTOR: Hello. I'm the Doctor.
JOE: (dreamily) You're going to die here.
DOCTOR: Well, they certainly didn't mention that in the brochure. Is Joe there? Can I have a quick word? (gets a chair and sits across from JOE)
JOE: Oh, it's still me, Doctor, but I've seen the light. I lived a blasphemous life, but he has forgiven my inconstancy, and soon...he shall feast.
DOCTOR: Well, you've been here two days, what's he waiting for?
JOE: We weren't ready. We were still raw.
DOCTOR: But now you're what? Cooked?
JOE: If you like. Soon you will be, too.
The DOCTOR notices JOE has a horseshoe tie clip and dice cufflinks.
JOE: Be patient. First...find your room.
DOCTOR: My room...
JOE: There's a room here for everyone, Doctor. Even you.
DOCTOR: You said you'd seen the light now.
JOE: Nothing else matters anymore. Only him. It's like these things. I used to hate them! They make me laugh now. (laughs) "Gottle o' geer! Gottle o' geer!" (laughs and is joined by the dummies) You should go. He'll be here soon.
The DOCTOR gives him a thin smile before standing. He then gets a hand dolley and slides it under JOE'S chair.
DOCTOR: I think you should come with me.
INT. HOTEL, RECEPTION
The music continues to play. The DOCTOR, AMY, RORY and RITA are standing on the guest side of the counter. HOWIE and the ALIEN are on the employee side with JOE.
DOCTOR: Why you four? That's what I don't understand. Aside from all the other things I don't understand. (switches music off again)
ALIEN: What does it matter? Sooner or later, someone will come along and rescue us. Or enslave us.
DOCTOR: First, we find the TARDIS. Quick thing before we go. If you feel drawn to a particular room, do not go in, and make sure someone else can see you at all times.
RITA: Joe said "he" will feast. Is there something here with us?
JOE laughs.
DOCTOR: Something to add, Joe?
JOE: Here comes a candle to light you to bed, here comes a chopper to chop off your head. Chop, chop, chop, chop.
HOWIE: Can we do something about him?
JOE laughs.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR walks down the hall past the intersection where the ALIEN turns, pushing JOE who has his mouth taped shut. RITA, AMY, RORY and HOWIE, follow. The DOCTOR turns when he realizes they changed direction.
ALIEN: (to JOE) Personally, I think you've got the right idea. Times like this, I think of my old school motto, "Resistance Is Exhausting."
HOWIE: (to RORY) I've worked out where we are.
RORY: Hmm?
HOWIE: Norway.
RORY: Norway?
HOWIE: You see, the US government has entire cities hidden in the Norwegian mountains. Earth is on a collision course with this other planet, and this is where they're going to send all the rich people when it kicks off.
RORY: Amazing.
HOWIE: It's all there on the internet.
RORY: No, it's amazing you've come up with a theory even more insane than what's actually happening.
The door to room 158 opens and a PE teacher steps out in front of the DOCTOR.
DOCTOR: Hello.
TEACHER: Have you forgotten your PE kit again?
Everyone stops and watches.
TEACHER: Right, that's it, you're doing it in your pants! (goes back into the room and shuts the door behind him.)
The DOCTOR turns around in time to see HOWIE reaching towards a door.
DOCTOR: Hey! Don't!
The DOCTOR tries to push HOWIE away but he's already opened the door. Inside are young women of high school/college age. They laugh when they see him.
GIRL 1: Oh, look, girls, it's H-H-H-Howie!
The girls laugh. In his mind [i](?), Howie screams and then laughs.[/i]
GIRL 2: What's "loser" in K-K-K-Klingon?
HOWIE: (in his mind) Praise him. (sees the Beast)
HOWIE backs away from the door.
HOWIE: Shut the d-d...the-the door!
The DOCTOR closes the door.
HOWIE: This is just some m-m-messed-up CIA stuff, I-I-I'm telling you.
The DOCTOR puts an arm around HOWIE'S shoulders and pats him on the chest.
DOCTOR: You're right, keep telling yourself that. It's a CIA thing, nothing more.
As RORY and the DOCTOR walk with HOWIE, we hear a growling. HOWIE looks back over his shoulder. Curious, the DOCTOR looks back as well.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
HOWIE leads as they go up the stairs.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR walks down the hall, feeling the wallpaper, tapping the light sconces and feeling the plaster where it's been scraped off low beams. AMY finds LUCY'S writing on the floor. RORY stops to tie his shoe and sees a fire exit.
RORY: Er...guys?
AMY: Look.
They hear the growl louder this time. JOE strains against his bonds.
AMY: OK, whatever that is, it's not real, yeah?
DOCTOR: No, no, I'm sure it isn't, but just in case, let's run away and hide anyway. In here.
The DOCTOR takes AMY, HOWIE and the ALIEN into one room while ANITA pulls JOE into another.
RORY: No, this way! I've found a...
The fire exit has disappeared and a door to a room is there now.
INT. HOTEL, RITA'S ROOM
RITA turns away from the door and sees an older man in a doctor's lab coat with a stethoscope around his neck.
MAN: A B in mathematics?! You are lazy!
RITA purses her lips closed and sits on one of the beds.
MAN: Do you understand me, girl? Lazy.
RITA: I'm sorry, Daddy, I'm so sorry!
And like HOWIE earlier, in her mind, RITA goes from screaming to smiling. She also hears "Praise him" in her own voice.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR stands in the hall outside the door.
DOCTOR: Rory, come on!
RORY: There was a...
DOCTOR: Come on!
RORY runs down the hall and into the room.
INT. HOTEL, ROOM
RORY comes to a stop behind AMY and HOWIE. The DOCTOR runs in.
DOCTOR: Aiiee!
There are two Weeping Angels in the room. AMY is staring at them.
AMY: Don't...blink.
HOWIE: What?
The lights flicker and the ALIEN cowers in the cupboard. The Angels change position, arms stretched out.
DOCTOR: Amy, get back. (pulls her back) Why haven't they got us yet? (steps forward and puts a finger through one) Amy, they're not real.
AMY: What?
DOCTOR: They should have got us by now. Amy, look at me, focus on me. It's your bad dream, that's all.
RORY: I don't even think they're for us.
In the cupboard, the ALIEN screams and slams the door shut.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
We once again see through the Beast's eyes as he walks down the hall.
INT. HOTEL, ROOM
The DOCTOR is slowly approaching the door.
AMY: Doctor, what are you doing?
DOCTOR: I'm sorry, I just have to see what it is. I just have to see.
The DOCTOR looks out through the peephole. Through the crack under the door, we see the shadow as it passes by.
DOCTOR: Oh, look at you... You are beautiful.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
As if hearing the DOCTOR, the Beast turns its head towards the door.
INT. HOTEL, ROOM
The DOCTOR sees the face of the Beast staring back at him. He jumps back, startled.
DOCTOR: Oh, dear.
INT. HOTEL, RITA'S ROOM
JOE struggles against his bonds and stills as the ropes loosen and fall to the floor on their own. He pulls the tape from his mouth.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
JOE staggers into the hall.
INT. HOTEL, ROOM
The DOCTOR watches through the peephole.
DOCTOR: I think it's going after Joe.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
JOE: Come to me.
Switches to the Beast's POV.
JOE: Come to me.
Like HOWIE and RITA, his mind changes form screaming to laughing.
JOE: Praise him.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
The stairwell is empty.
INT. HOTEL, ROOM
The ALIEN opens the cupboard door. The DOCTOR opens the door and steps into the hall.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR turns his head in time to see JOE'S body being dragged away.
DOCTOR: Leave him alone!
The DOCTOR runs through the maze of halls and back to the stairs.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
The DOCTOR runs up the stairs.
DOCTOR: Joe! Joe!
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR runs down another hall and stops at a four-way intersection, unsure of which way to go. He checks them all.
DOCTOR: Joe!
He stops when he finds one of JOE'S cufflinks on the carpet. He turns around and sees JOE kneeling, propped against the wall.
DOCTOR: Joe? Joe! (walks over) Joe! Joe, what happened?
The DOCTOR takes JOE'S face in his hands and turns it to face him. There is no reaction. The DOCTOR lets JOE'S head rest back against the wall.
INT. HOTEL, DINING ROOM
A hand removes the whistling kettle from the stove. JOE'S body is stretched out on the small dais, the dummies set up against the wall behind him. The DOCTOR scans the body with the sonic. HOWIE rolls one of the tables past and RORY follows with a chair.
HOWIE: If we can wedge a chair under the door handles, that should stop anything from getting in.
RITA comes through with a tea tray.
RITA: Help yourself to tea.
AMY is sitting on the bar watching the ALIEN who is sitting nervously at a table.
RITA: Guys, tea over here.
AMY: If it's any consolation, I've met the Weeping Angels, so I know how... In fact, I thought that room was for me.
ALIEN: Joe was right. Whatever it is in here, it actually wants to kill us. Not oppress us or enslave us, kill us!
AMY: (joins him at table) OK, listen... The Doctor's been part of my life for so long now, and he's never let me down. Even when I thought he had, when I was a kid and he left me, he came back, he...saved me. And now he's going to save you. But don't tell him I said that, because the smugness would be terrifying. (gets up)
ALIEN: Of course, if the Weeping Angels were meant for me, then your room is still out there...somewhere.
AMY turns away but is startled when RORY comes up beside her.
RORY: Every time the Doctor gets pally with someone, I have this overwhelming urge to notify their next of kin.
They watch as RITA brings the DOCTOR a cup of tea. AMY laughs at RORY's comment. He is startled by her
reaction.
RORY: Sorry. The last time I said something like that, you hit me with your shoe. And you literally had to sit down and unlace it first.
The DOCTOR has covered JOE'S body with a sheet and is sitting down.
RITA: What exactly happened to him?
DOCTOR: He died.
RITA: You are a medical doctor, aren't you? You haven't just got a degree in cheese-making or something.
DOCTOR: No! Well, yes, both, actually. I mean, there is no cause, all his vital organs simply stopped, as if the simple spark of life, his loves and hates, his faiths and fears were just... (sniffs cup) taken, and this is a cup of tea.
RITA: Of course, I'm British, it's how we cope with trauma. That and tutting.
DOCTOR: But how did you make it?
RITA: All hotels should have a well stocked kitchen, even alien fake ones. I heard you talking when you arrived. Look, it's no more ridiculous than Howie's CIA theory or mi...or mine.
DOCTOR: Which is?
RITA: This is Jahannam.
DOCTOR: You're a Muslim!
RITA: Don't be frightened.
DOCTOR: Ha! You think this is Hell? (sips tea)
RITA: The whole '80s hotel thing took me by surprise, though.
The DOCTOR stands and looks at the others as he stands next to RITA.
DOCTOR: And all these fears and phobias wandering about, most are completely unconnected to us, so why are they still here?
RITA: Maybe the cleaners have gone on strike.
DOCTOR: Ha! I like you, you're a right clever clogs. But this isn't Hell, Rita.
RITA: You don't understand, I say that without fear. Jahannam will play its tricks, and there'll be times when I want to run and scream, but I've tried to live a good life, and that knowledge keeps me sane, despite the monsters and the bonkers rooms. Gibbis...
The DOCTOR gargles with his tea.
RITA: ..is-is an alien, isn't he?
DOCTOR: Yeah. Sorry.
RITA: OK... I'm going to file that under "Freak out about later."
While RITA was talking, AMY found LUCY'S notes that she had put in her pocket.
AMY: Doctor, look at this. I found it in a corridor, I completely forgot I had it.
AMY hands the notes to the DOCTOR and he taps her on the head with them before leaning against a table and reading aloud. AMY sits next to RORY and HOWIE sits at the same table as GIBBIS, rearranging the silverware.
DOCTOR: Er... "My name is Lucy Hayward and I'm the last one left. It took Luke first. It got him on his first day, almost as soon as we arrived. It's funny. (overlaps with LUCY'S voice) You don't know what's going to be in your room until you see it, then you realise it could never have been anything else. I just saw mine. It was a gorilla from a book I'd read as a kid. My God, that thing used to terrify me. The gaps between my worships are getting shorter, like contractions. This is what happened to the others... and how lucky they were. It's all so clear now. I'm so happy. Praise him."
HOWIE: Praise him.
DOCTOR: What did you just say?
We briefly see the Beast.
HOWIE: Nothing. (tries to fight it) Praise him! (claps his hands over his mouth)
GIBBIS: This is what happened to Joe!
INT. HOTEL, HALL
We see through the Beast's eyes as it walks the halls.
INT. HOTEL, DINING ROOM
Everyone talks at once.
HOWIE: God, it's going to come for me now.
GIBBIS: You'll lead it right here.
DOCTOR: I won't leave you, I promise, you have my word.
HOWIE: I don't want to get eaten!
AMY: Howie, calm down!
GIBBIS: He's going to lead it right here!
The DOCTOR holds the sonic above his head and activates it. Everyone stops arguing and puts their hands over their ears.
DOCTOR: Thank you!
GIBBIS: Don't you see? He'll lead it right here!
RITA: What do you suggest?
GIBBIS: Look, whatever it is out there, it's obviously chosen Howard as its next course. Now...tragic though that is, this is no time for sentiment. I'm saying, if it were to... find him, it may be satisfied and let the rest of us go. All I want to do is go home and be conquered and oppressed, is that too much to ask?! (sits back down)
RITA: It's OK, I'll stay with Howie. You take the others and go.
DOCTOR: No. We stay together. (walks over to GIBBIS and whispers) Your civilisation is one of the oldest in the galaxy. Now I see why. Your cowardice isn't quaint, it's sly, aggressive. It's how that gene of gutlessness has survived while so many others have perished. Well, not today. No-one else dies today. Right?
GIBBIS: (mouths) Yes.
DOCTOR: Brilliant.
The DOCTOR walks back to HOWIE and puts an arm about his shoulder, leading him back to the table.
DOCTOR: Howie, any second, it's going to possess you again. When it does, I'm going to ask you some questions. Please try to answer them.
They all sit at the table.
HOWIE: I hope my mum's all right, she's going to be w-worried.
DOCTOR: Howie... Howie.
The DOCTOR sees the change in HOWIE and smiles.
DOCTOR: Howie, you're next, we're all dead jealous, so tell us...How do we get a piece of the action? Why isn't he possessing all of us?
HOWIE: You guys have got all these distractions, (taps his head) all these obstacles. It'd be so much easier if you just let it go, you know, clear the path.
AMY: You want it to find you? Even though you know what it's going to do?
HOWIE: Are you kidding? He's going to kill us all! How cool is that?!
They walk away from the table, leaving HOWIE alone.
DOCTOR: It's as I thought, it feeds on fear. Everything, the rooms, Lucy's note, even the pictures in reception, has been put here to frighten us. So we have to resist it. Do whatever you have to, cross your fingers, say a prayer, think of a basket of kittens, but do not give in to the fear.
AMY: OK, but what are we actually going to do?
DOCTOR: We're going to catch ourselves a monster.
INT. HOTEL
We go from empty Reception to a hall and the dining room. We hear HOWIE.
HOWIE: (V.O.) Bring me death! Bring me glory! My master, my lord, I'm here!
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. HOTEL, BEAUTY PARLOR
There are places for washing, cutting and drying hair as well as a manicure area. There is also a water feature and a small fishbowl.
HOWIE: (V.O.) Come to me. I'm waiting here...for you. He has promised me a glorious death.
The DOCTOR is lining up a framed full-length mirror.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The Beast is walking the halls. RORY waits in the hall outside the beauty parlor armed with a mop.
HOWIE: (V.O.) Give it to me now, I want him to know my devotion.
INT. HOTEL, ROOM
AMY and RITA hide in one of the rooms as the Beast passes. Sitting on one of the beds is the same clown from before.
RITA: (to AMY) Anything to do with you? (to clown) How's it going?
AMY: Don't talk to the clown!
The Beast passes in front of the door.
HOWIE: (V.O.) Praise...him.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The Beast's horns scrape the low beams, the cause of the marks the DOCTOR had seen earlier. It heads for the salon.
HOWIE: (V.O.) Praise...him.
INT. HOTEL, BEAUTY PARLOR
The Beast enters the parlor.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
AMY and RITA close the door behind the Beast and AMY yanks a rail off the wall and jams it through the handles.
AMY: Rory, he's in!
RORY blocks the other door to the beauty parlor with the mop.
INT. HOTEL, BEAUTY PARLOR
The DOCTOR shuts off the lights. The Beast knocks things over in the dark.
HOWIE: (V.O.) Let his name...be the last thing I hear. Let his breath on my skin be the last thing I feel.
The Beast turns a chair around to reveal a speaker. The Beast turns around and sees itself in mirrors.
HOWIE: (V.O.) I was lost in shadows, but he found me.
INT. HOTEL, RECEPTION
HOWIE is behind the desk, duct-taped to a chair, GIBBIS watching him. The DOCTOR has set up his sonic to act as a microphone.
HOWIE: His love was a beacon that led me from darkness to light, and now I am blinded by his majesty! Humbled by his glory! Praise...
INT. HOTEL, BEAUTY PARLOR
The DOCTOR stands by a speaker on the wall.
DOCTOR: That's quite enough of that.
HOWIE: (over speaker) ..him.
The DOCTOR pulls the wires from the speaker.
INT. HOTEL, RECEPTION
Feedback seems to pull HOWIE from his "trance".
HOWIE: What's going on? You lied to me!
GIBBIS: Calm down, Howie. This is for your own good.
HOWIE: At least stand where I can see you!
GIBBIS: I've been told not to speak to you.
HOWIE: Don't mean you can't listen.
INT. HOTEL, BEAUTY PARLOR
The DOCTOR speaks to the Beast from a separate area, using the mirrors to see. He converses with the Beast, interpreting its growls.
DOCTOR: Nothing personal. I just think we should take things slowly. Get to know each other. You take people's most primal fears and pop it in a room. A tailor-made hell, just for them. Why? Did you say "they" take? Ahh, what is that word? The guard? No, the warden? This is a prison?
INT. HOTEL, RECEPTION
HOWIE: You were right, you know. Chances are if you hand me over, he'll leave you alone.
GIBBIS: Yes, well, we saw how that idea got shot down in flames.
HOWIE: It's not like chucking me out of a plane to lighten the load. I'm asking you for this. I'm begging you.
GIBBIS: You're possessed. You'd say anything.
HOWIE: Possessed guys can be quite strong. Who's to say I didn't overpower you?
INT. HOTEL, BEAUTY PARLOR
DOCTOR: So, what are we? Cell mates? Lunch? We are not... ripe? (steps out) This is what Joe said. That we weren't ready.(stands behind the water feature) So, what? You make us ready? You... what? "Replace"? Replace what? Fear? You have lived so long, even your name is lost? You want this to stop. Because you are just... instinct. Then tell me. Tell me how to fight you.
HOWIE: (V.O.) My master, my lord.
INT. HOTEL, HALL OUTSIDE PARLOR
In his hall, RORY hears.
HOWIE: (V.O.) I'm here!
RITA and AMY also hear him.
RITA: That's Howie.
AMY: He's got out.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
HOWIE is calling for the Beast.
HOWIE: Bring me death!
INT. HOTEL, BEAUTY PARLOR
DOCTOR: No, no, no, no!
The Beast swings at the water feature, shattering the glass.
DOCTOR: (falls back) Rory, watch out!!
AMY and RITA open the doors behind him.
DOCTOR: Stay back!
The Beast shatters the window in the door by RORY, who covers his face. The Beast then pulls the mop from the handle
DOCTOR: Pond, bring the fish. (leaves)
AMY: What, the fish? Oh, the fish!
INT. HOTEL, HALL OUTSIDE PARLOR
RORY is lying on the floor and the DOCTOR checks on him.
DOCTOR: Where did he go?
RORY: Somebody hit me. Was it Amy?
The DOCTOR chuckles and heads off.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
The DOCTOR runs down the stairs.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR runs through the halls until he finds HOWIE'S glasses on the floor.
INT. HOTEL, HALL OUTSIDE PARLOR
AMY and RITA find RORY.
RITA: Rory, are you all right?
RORY nods.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR stands and runs down the hall.
INT. HOTEL, HALL OUTSIDE PARLOR
AMY: We should find the Doctor.
AMY steps over RORY as RITA helps him stand. AMY stops and turns to look at room 7. She walks slowly towards it and turns the knob. She looks inside.
VOICES: 'Praise him. Praise him.'
RITA pulls the door closed and stands in front of it.
RITA: You shouldn't have done that. What did you see?
AMY: Nothing. Nothing. I don't know, it was weird.
RITA: Come on.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR finds HOWIE kneeling on the floor, leaning against the wall. He puts the dead man's glasses in his hand before gently patting his face. He looks up when AMY, RORY and RITA come running down the hall. The DOCTOR shakes his head. GIBBIS appears at the opposite end of the hall.
GIBBIS: He got free. He overpowered me.
The DOCTOR strides back to the others and GIBBIS follows timidly.
GIBBIS: It might leave us alone now. Maybe now we'll be safe. (runs past HOWIE'S body) Wait!
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
The DOCTOR is looking at HOWIE'S picture on the wall when RORY joins him.
DOCTOR: Have you found your room yet?
RORY: No, no. Is that good or bad?
DOCTOR: Maybe you're not scared of anything.
RORY: Well, after all the time I spent with you in the TARDIS, what was left to be scared of?
DOCTOR: You said that in the past tense.
RORY: No, I didn't.
The DOCTOR leans back against stair rail as RORY looks at the photo.
RORY: You know, Howie had been in speech therapy. He'd just got over this massive stammer. What an achievement. I mean, can you imagine? I'd forgotten, not all victories are about saving the universe.
INT. HOTEL, DINING ROOM
HOWIE is laid out next to JOE.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
AMY finds a new home for the fish on a table by the base of the stairs. The DOCTOR is going down the stairs when he meets RITA on her way up.
DOCTOR: Rita! Brilliant! How are you? Not panicking, are you? Good, good. Because I am literally an otter's toenail away from getting us out of here.
RITA: Why?
DOCTOR: Excellent question. (passes her) Excellent question. (turns back) Why what?
RITA: Why is it up to you to save us? That's quite a God complex you have there.
DOCTOR: (looks down at AMY) I brought them here. They'd say it was their choice, but offer a child a suitcase full of sweets and they'll take it. Offer someone all of time and space and they'll take that, too. Which is why you shouldn't. Which is why grown-ups were invented. (turns away)
RITA: All of time and space, eh?
DOCTOR: (swings back) Oh, yeah. And when we get out of this, I'll show you, too.
RITA: I don't know what you're talking about. But I have a feeling you just did it again.
DOCTOR: (notices the security camera) Right down to the smallest detail. Got you, Mr Minotaur.
The DOCTOR runs down the stairs. RITA walks over and looks up at the camera. She tilts her head back and closes her eyes.
RITA: Praise him.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR stops running when he hears the voices.
VOICES: Praise him. Praise him. Praise him.
He is drawn to room 11. He opens the door and looks inside.
DOCTOR: Of course. Who else?
The DOCTOR closes the door and puts a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the knob.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
RITA continues up the stairs.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR keeps looking for Security.
INT. HOTEL, STAIRWELL
AT the base of the stairs, GIBBIS finds the fishbowl and picks it up.
INT. HOTEL, SECURITY ROOM
The DOCTOR sees the panel of monitors.
DOCTOR: Oh, you beauty! Come on, big fella. Where are you? (sees RITA) Rita, where are you going? (picks up a phone and dials)
On the monitor, RITA stops and looks at a room door.
DOCTOR: Come on, come on, come on!
RITA looks right at the camera.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
RITA opens the door.
INT. HOTEL, SECURITY ROOM
DOCTOR: Come on, come on. Rita, where are you going? Can you take the phone into the corridor? Will it reach?
On one of the monitors we see RITA come back into the hall.
DOCTOR: You started to praise it, didn't you?
RITA nods
DOCTOR: Rita, come back. Please. We'll find a way to stop it, I swear to you.
RITA: (gets down on the floor) No, I need to get as far away from you all as possible.
DOCTOR: No, you don't. The creature only wants whoever's praising it.
RITA: You'll put yourself in its way?
DOCTOR: I'm coming to get you. Block out the fear and stay focused on your belief.
RITA: The hotel will keep us apart. I could be 50 miles away by now. I want you to do me one last favour, Doctor. I can feel the rapture approaching, like a wave.
The DOCTOR can see the Beast on one of the monitors.
RITA: I don't want you to witness this. I want you to remember me the way I was.
AMY and RORY enter the room.
AMY: What's going on? Rita's disappeared. What's she doing there?
DOCTOR: Rita. Rita, please. Let me find you.
RITA: You stay where you are. Please, let me be robbed of my faith in private.
RORY: (points at a monitor) Look.
DOCTOR: Rita. Rita. Go into the room, lock the door.
RITA: I'm not frightened. I'm blessed, Doctor.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
RITA: I'm at peace. I'm going to hang up.
INT. HOTEL, SECURITY ROOM
DOCTOR: No, no, no, Rita.
RITA: Goodbye, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Rita!
RITA: Thank you for trying.
DOCTOR: Rita, please!
RITA hangs up the phone.
DOCTOR: Please! Please.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
RITA stands in the middle of the hall and faces the way the Beast will come from, her back to the camera. She puts her arms out and her head back.
INT. HOTEL, SECURITY ROOM
The DOCTOR hangs up the phone and slowly sits down. They watch on the monitor as RITA turns around and smiles at the Beast as it comes up in front of her. The DOCTOR uses the sonic to shut them off. On one of the monitors, GIBBIS is in the kitchen and it looks like he is eating the fish.
INT. HOTEL, DINING ROOM
RITA is with JOE and HOWIE.
INT. HOTEL, BAR
AMY and RORY are sitting in the bar. In the room beyond them, the DOCTOR is having a tantrum, screaming and knocking things off tables. He then moves to the far booth, GIBBIS at the middle booth.
DOCTOR: OK. It preys on people's fear and possesses them. (there is a completed Rubik's cube on the table in front of him) But Rita wasn't afraid, she was brave and calm. Maybe it's something to do with the people, some connection between the four of you that'll tell me how to fight it.
GIBBIS: Yes. You keep saying that, but you never do. And while we wait, people keep dying. And we'll be next!
AMY: Look, he'll work it out, he always does. Just let him riff and move anything expensive out of his way.
DOCTOR: Oh, no. Oh, no, no.
AMY: Doctor, what is wrong?
DOCTOR: It's not fear. It's faith. Not just religious faith, faith in something. (walks over to the middle table) Howard believed in conspiracies, external forces controlling the world. Joe had dice cufflinks and a chain with a horseshoe. He was a gambler. Gamblers believe in luck, an intangible force that helps them win or lose. (moves between the tables) Gibbis rejected personal autonomy and is waiting for the next batch of invaders to tell him what to do. They all believe there's something guiding them, about to save them. That's what it replaces. Every time someone was confronted with their most primal fear, they fell back on their most fundamental faith. (sits on barstool and runs his eyes) And all this time, I've been telling you to dig deep. Find the thing that keeps you brave. I made you expose your faith. Show them what they needed.
RORY: But why us? Why are we here?
DOCTOR: It doesn't want you. That's why it kept showing you a way out. You're not religious or superstitious, so there's no faith for you to fall back on. It wants her. (points at AMY)
AMY: Me? (sits by the DOCTOR) Why?
DOCTOR: Your faith in me. That's what brought us here.
RORY: But why do they lose their faith before they die and start worshipping..."it"?
The DOCTOR stands and walks over to RORY.
DOCTOR: It needs to convert the faith into a form "it" can consume. Faith is an energy, the specific emotional energy the creature needs to live. Which is why at the end of her note, Lucy said...
AMY: Praise him.
DOCTOR: Exactly.
It takes a moment for what AMY said to sink in. RORY is on his feet.
RORY: No. Oh, please, no.
They hear the Beast coming.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The four of them run through the halls. The Beast chases after them. AMY stops and faces it. The DOCTOR and RORY come back for her.
DOCTOR: Amy?
GIBBIS: What are you doing?
AMY: He is beautiful.
GIBBIS: Leave her! Just leave her!
The DOCTOR and RORY each drape one of AMY'S arms over a shoulder and drag her down another hall. GIBBIS follows.
INT. HOTEL, AMY'S ROOM
They run into a room and see young AMELIA sitting on her suitcase, waiting and watching for the DOCTOR at the window. RORY tries to hold the door against the Beast. GIBBIS gets down between the beds. AMY kneels on the floor.
AMY: Doctor, it's happening. It's changing me, it's changing my thoughts.
DOCTOR: I can't save you from this, there's nothing I can do to stop this.
AMY: What?
DOCTOR: I stole your childhood and now I've led you by the hand to your death. But the worst thing is, I knew. I knew this would happen. This is what always happens.
The BEAST pushes the door open, forcing RORY into the corner.
DOCTOR: Forget your faith in me.
The Beast growls.
DOCTOR: I took you with me because I was vain, because I wanted to be adored. (strokes her hair) Look at you. Glorious Pond. The girl who waited for me.
He is now speaking to AMELIA.
DOCTOR: I'm not a hero. I really am just a mad man in a box. And it's time we saw each other as we really are.
He kisses her forehead and she is back to AMY. The BEAST staggers out the doorway.
DOCTOR: Amy Williams. (taps her on the chin) It's time to stop waiting.
The DOCTOR stands in the door and moves into the hall.
INT. HOTEL, HALL
The DOCTOR moves slowly as he watches the BEAST collapse onto the floor. The lights begin to flicker. The DOCTOR kneels beside the BEAST and strikes it comfortingly.
DOCTOR: (whispers) I severed the food supply. Sacrificing their faith in me. I gave you the space to die. Shhh, shhh.
INT. CONTROL ROOM
The DOCTOR stands as the hallway disappears and turns into a black room with a lit grid floor. An instrument panel is running off to the side. AMY, RORY and GIBBIS are there.
AMY: What is it, a minotaur? Or an alien? Or an alien minotaur? That's not a question I thought I'd be asking this morning.
DOCTOR: It's both, actually. (walks to the panel) Yeah. Here we go. (checks the information) Distant cousin of the Nimon. They descend on planets and set themselves up as Gods to be worshipped. Which is fine, until the inhabitants get all secular and advanced enough to build bonkers prisons.
RORY and GIBBIS look through a porthole in the floor. They are in space.
RORY: Correction. Prisons in space.
AMY: Where are the guards?
DOCTOR: No need for any. It's all automated. It drifts through space, snatching people with belief systems and converts their faith into food for the creature.
GIBBIS: (points) See that planet, there?
RORY: Which one?
GIBBIS: The grey one, there.
RORY: Mmm-hmm.
GIBBIS: That's where I'm from.
AMY: It didn't want just me. So, you must believe in some god or someone, or they'd have shown you the door, too. So, what do Time Lords pray to?
DOCTOR: According to the in-flight recorder, the programme developed glitches. It got stuck on the same setting, the fears from the people before us weren't tidied away.
The BEAST growls.
AMY: What's it saying?
DOCTOR: (translates) "An ancient creature, drenched in the blood of the innocent, drifting in space through an endless, shifting maze. For such a creature, death would be a gift." (kneels and puts his hand on the BEAST'S) Then accept it. And sleep well.
The DOCTOR stands and walks away as the BEAST growls again.
DOCTOR: "I wasn't talking about myself."
The BEAST'S eyes close as it dies. The DOCTOR walks to the TARDIS. AMY and RORY walk back, their arms about each other. GIBBIS is standing by the TARDIS.
GIBBIS: Could I have a lift? Just to the nearest galaxy would do.
The DOCTOR unlocks the TARDIS.
EXT. STREET, DAY
A row of colorful townhouses are across from a fenced-in park. One is a soft blue with a royal blue door. A classic red Jaguar E-Type is parked outside. The TARDIS materializes and the DOCTOR, AMY and RORY step out.
AMY: Don't tell me. This isn't Earth, that isn't a real house. And inside lives a goblin, who feeds on indecision.
DOCTOR: Nope. Real Earth, real house. (tosses AMY a set of keys) Real door keys!
AMY: You're not serious?
RORY: The car, too? (walks towards the car) But that's my favourite car. (the DOCTOR fake boxes) How did you know that was my favourite car?
DOCTOR: You showed me a picture of it once and said, (mimics RORY) "That's my favourite car." (tosses RORY the car keys)
AMY: Rory, can you give us two minutes? Two minutes?
RORY: (puts an arm around the DOCTOR and pulls him aside) She'll say we can't accept it because it's too extravagant and we'll always feel a crippling sense of obligation. (looks over his shoulder at AMY) It's a risk I'm willing to take!
RORY keeps staring at the car as he heads to the front door of the blue house. AMY leans against the bonnet of the car and pats next to her.
AMY: Hey.
The DOCTOR leans next to her.
AMY: So... You're leaving, aren't you?
DOCTOR: You haven't seen the last of me. Bad Penny is my middle name! Seriously, the looks I get when I fill in a form...
AMY: Why now?
DOCTOR: Because you're still breathing.
AMY: Well, I think this is about the washing-up, personally.
Both of them laugh a little sadly.
DOCTOR: (stands and walks to the TARDIS) I mean, you're right, there's still heaps of stuff out there to look at. Do you know, there's a planet whose name literally translates as "Volatile Circus"? (stands in doorway) Or maybe there's a bigger, scarier adventure waiting for you in there.
AMY: (looks at the house) Even so, it can't happen like this. (walks towards him) After everything we've been through, Doctor. Everything. You can't just drop me off at my house and say goodbye like we shared a cab.
The DOCTOR walks back and meets her in the middle of the road.
DOCTOR: And what's the alternative? Me standing over your grave? Over your broken body? Over Rory's body?
AMY: (hugs him) If you bump into my daughter, tell her to visit her old mum sometime.
DOCTOR: And look after him.
AMY: Look after you. (kisses his forehead)
The DOCTOR walks slowly back to the TARDIS and stops in the doorway to wave. AMY laughs and cries.
AMY: (waves back) Bye.
The DOCTOR closes the door and the TARDIS dematerializes. RORY comes out of the house with glasses and a bottle of champagne just in time to see it disappear.
RORY: What happened? What's he doing?
AMY: (faces RORY) He's saving us.
We switch to an aerial shot of the street, with the two of them standing in the middle.
INT. TARDIS
The DOCTOR watches the rise and fall of the center column.
INT. WILLIAMS HOUSE
AMY stands at the window and looks up at the sky
INT. TARDIS
The DOCTOR stands at the console and turns around, leaning against it. He is alone.
[SCENE_BREAK]
FADE TO BLACK.....
Plan: A: a disguised alien structure; Q: What does the Doctor recognize as a 1980s hotel? A: The layout; Q: What is constantly shifting in the hotel? A: the TARDIS; Q: What do the Doctor and his companions lose in the hotel? A: Joe; Q: Who is the first human to be killed by the monster? A: Gibbis; Q: What alien is in the hotel with the Doctor and his companions? A: a minotaur-like monster; Q: What creature possessed Joe, Howie, and Rita? A: The Doctor; Q: Who takes Amy and Rory back to Earth? A: a specific faith; Q: What did the minotaur feed on? A: the monster collapses; Q: What happens when the Doctor convinces Amy to break her faith? A: a prison ship; Q: Where is the hotel setting revealed to be part of a simulation taking place on? Summary: The TARDIS lands in what appears to be a 1980s hotel, which the Doctor recognises as a disguised alien structure. The layout of the hotel is constantly shifting, and they soon lose the TARDIS. They meet others who had also suddenly found themselves in the hotel: humans Rita, Howie, Joe, and the alien Gibbis. One by one, Joe, Howie, and Rita are seemingly possessed by a minotaur-like monster and lured to it and subsequently killed. The Doctor surmises that the minotaur fed on a specific faith each of them had and discovers that Amy will be next, as she has faith in him. He convinces her to break her faith and the monster collapses and the hotel setting is revealed to be part of a simulation taking place on a prison ship. The Doctor takes Amy and Rory back to Earth, believing it is best for them to stop travelling with him before they are killed.