Bad Wolf: Dust to Dust
The Doctor, Angel, Lynda, and Jack bolted out of the lift as it reached Floor 407, able to hear the Anne-Droid's voice ahead of them, "Roddrick, in physics, who discovered the Fifteen-Dash-Ten Barric Fields?"
"Game Room Six, which one is it?!" the Doctor called, looking around at the doors around them.
"This way!" Angel turned and ran for one, just knowing Rose would be in that one.
~8~
"San...Hazeldine," he answered hesitatingly.
"No..."
Roddrick 2, Rose 1.
~8~
The Doctor whipped out the sonic as they made it to the door, flashing it across as they heard the Anne-Droid continue from within, "...the correct answer is San Chen."
"Stand back, let me blast it open," Jack called.
"Can't, it's made of Hydra Combination," the Doctor replied grimly, frantically trying to work the door open.
~8~
"Rose, in history, which Icelandic city hosted Murder Spree Twenty?"
Rose stared at the Anne-Droid…if she could just answer this question right, a tie, more time, that was all she needed…
"Reykjavik..." she guessed.
"No, the correct answer is Pola Ventura."
The game was over.
Roddrick 2, Rose 1.
"Oh, my God!" Roddrick shouted, "I've done it!" he smirked at Rose, "You've lost!"
~8~
The sonic whirred, "Come on, come on, come on..." the Doctor muttered.
~8~
"But I'm not meant to be here!" Rose shouted, terrified, "I need to find the Doctor or Angel, they've got to be here somewhere. The Doctor's always here! He wouldn't just leave me!"
"Roddrick, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with 1,600 credits."
"Oh, thank you, thank you so much," Roddrick whooped.
"This game is illegal!" Rose yelled, leaning over her podium, "I'm telling you to stop!"
Suddenly the woman with the clipboard turned to see the Doctor, Angel, Jack, and Lynda barge into the room at the back.
"Rose!" Angel shouted, seeing her.
"Rose, you leave this life with nothing…" the Anne-Droid continued.
"Stop this game!" Jack yelled, brandishing his gun.
"I order you to stop this game!" the Doctor commanded.
"We're live on air!" the woman shouted.
The Doctor and Angel ran as fast as they could, Rose starting to run towards them, pushing the podium away.
"You are the weakest link."
"Look out for the Anne-Droid, it's armed!" Rose yelled.
The Anne-Droid turned her head, dropping her mouth, shooting Rose square in the back with the disintegrator beam.
With a scream, Rose was gone, mere feet away from the Time Lords.
Jack ran towards the set in a rage, "What the hell did you do to her?!"
The Doctor crouched down by the pile of dust that was Rose, the smoke clearing away from it, shocked, as Angel stood there, looking down at it curiously, before turning in a circle, looking around as though trying to see something that wasn't there. He reached out, picking up a piece of dust between his fingers, feeling it…so sorry.
"Back off!" Jack shouted, brandishing his gun.
"Doctor…" Angel whispered, looking at him again as she moved to kneel at his side.
"I need security and I need it here right now!" the woman ordered, "It's this lot..."
"She's not dead," she said and the Doctor looked up at her sharply, "She's still alive."
"Don't you touch them!" Jack spun around, seeing security guards approach the Doctor and Angel.
"How do you know?" the Doctor looked at her, desperate to believe it.
She smiled, resting a hand to the center of her chest, "I can feel it…"
"Leave them alone!" Jack ordered, turning the gun on the guards. The Doctor just started to hope, when the guard yanked him and Angel up, "You killed her!" Jack glared at the woman as the guards pulled his hands behind him, "Your stupid freaking game show killed her."
"Sir, ma'am, I'm arresting you under Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate," the guard recited.
The Doctor looked at Angel and she nodded, the two of them being led away.
~8~
The Doctor was half-thrown against a gate and searched as he stood there stoic, biding his time. The sonic was wrenched from his pocket as he was turned back to face the guard who shoved it in his face, "Can you tell us the purpose of this device, sir?"
The Doctor didn't even look at it, instead staring intently at Angel over his shoulder, searching for truth in her eyes.
~8~
They sat on a bench, in a little holding cell, as they were interrogated, Jack and Lynda on each end, the Doctor and Angel in the center.
"Can you tell us how you got on board?" the guard asked.
"Just leave him alone…" Lynda began.
The guard turned to her, grabbing her cheeks to silence her, "I'm asking HIM," he turned back to the Doctor, "Sir? Can you tell us who you are?"
Angel gave a small smile, "We're no one."
~8~
Lights flashed as the Doctor's criminal photo was taken, the guards ordering him to turn and face forward, then the side. But even as he did, his gaze remained locked on Angel.
~8~
"You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony," the guard stated, "There to be held without trial, you may not appeal against this sentence," none of them made a move to acknowledge him, though Lynda did shift uncomfortably, "Is that understood?" no reply, so he turned to the gate and pushed it open.
"Let's do it," the Doctor said to Jack.
They jumped to their feet, Angel pulling Lynda back as Jack threw punches and kicks as he went, leading them out of the cell, knocking one guard aside while the Doctor threw another into a wall. The boys each grabbed a weapon and ran for the lift, the girls behind them.
~8~
"Oh, my God," the male programmer breathed, watching this on a monitor, "Now we're in trouble."
The group piled into the lift, "Floor 500!" the Doctor shouting out as the lift began.
He reached over and pressed a button, setting off the alarm on Floor 500, "Clear the floor! He's on his way up here. With a gun!" the staff all stood hurriedly, looking at the door to the lift as they backed away.
"This is an emergency!" the female programmer turned to the Controller who had refused to stop the lift, "You've got to close the lift!"
"All staff are reminded that solar flares commence in delta point two…" the Controller ignored her.
"Never mind solar flares!" the male shouted, "He's gonna KILL you!"
The lift doors opened and the staff turned around to see the group stride out, the men armed to the teeth, "Ok!" Jack shouted, "Move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clears!" the staff scattered as the Doctor stalked towards the Controller, Angel running after him, "Stand to the sides. And stay there."
"Who's in charge of this place?" the Doctor shouted up at her, brandishing his gun.
"...18...19...20..." the Controller counted.
"This Satellite's more than a Game Station."
"79..."
"Where's Rose Tyler?"
"All staff are reminded that solar flares…"
"I want an answer!"
"When?" Angel asked, stepping forward, something about the solar flares just striking her.
"...in delta point one," the Controller finished.
"She can't reply," the male programmer called as the Doctor readied to ask another question. He swung the gun around to the staff, making them all flinch, "Don't shoot!"
"Oh, don't be so thick," the Doctor scoffed, "Like I was ever gonna shoot," he tossed the Defabricator to the programmer, "Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."
"Yes, sir!" Jack shouted, running off.
"You, what were you saying?" the Doctor turned back to the male programmer.
"But...I've got your gun…" he began.
"Ok, so shoot us," the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Why can't she answer?"
"She's, um..." he glanced down at the gun, "Can I put this down?"
"If you want, just hurry up."
"Thanks," he set it down, "Sorry. Um...the Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain, you're not a member of staff so she doesn't recognize your existence."
"What's her name?" Angel asked softly.
The Doctor turned to see her still staring up at the woman, sadly.
"I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."
"Door's sealed," Jack reported, "We should be safe for about ten minutes."
"Keep an eye on 'em," the Doctor nodded.
"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station," the male programmer added, "I think you're right. Unauthorized transmats...it's been going on for years."
"Show me."
"You're not allowed in there!" the female programmer yelled, seeing Jack about to put his hand on the pad to open Archive Six, "Archive Six is out of bounds!"
Jack just lifted his guns, "Do I look like an out-of-bounds sort of guy?"
"You won't need those Jack," Angel called, not even looking away from the Controller, "She was hiding the TARDIS for us," she gave a small nod towards the Controller, "Go on in, see if the TARDIS figured out what's going on."
Jack looked surprised by that bit of information, but turned and headed in anyway, smiling as, sure enough, the TARDIS was right there. He quickly walked to it, and got inside, running to the console, and checking the monitor, his expression growing puzzled, "What the hell..."
Back in the main room the Controller announced, "Solar flare activity at delta point zero..."
"If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out," the female programmer turned to the Doctor impatiently, "The staff are terrified."
"That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day…" the Doctor began.
"That's not our fault, we're just doing our jobs."
"And with that sentence, you just lost the right to even talk to me," his eyes narrowed in disgust, "Now back off."
Lynda flinched at the sound of his voice as the female programmer stared at him in shock.
Just then one of the screens went to static and the lights flickered.
"That's just the solar flares," the male programmer reassured them, "They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."
"Quickly," Angel said, they looked at her to see her looking at the Controller intently, "You've got moments."
"Doctor..." the Controller breathed.
The Doctor blinked, stunned for a moment or two.
"I think she wants you," Lynda nudged him.
"Angel..." the Controller whispered as well.
"What is it?" Angel asked as the Doctor hurried over to her.
"Doctor...where's the Doctor? And the Angel?"
"We're here," the Doctor called.
"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you. I saw the both of you, burning so brightly..."
"What do you want?"
"The solar flares hid her," Angel answered, "They can't hear her."
"Who can't?" the Doctor frowned, looking at her.
"I…I don't know," Angel frowned as well, not sure why she'd said that.
"My…my masters," the Controller answered, "They always listen but they can't hear me now. The sun...the sun is so bright..."
"Who are your masters?" he asked her.
"They wired my head, their name is forbidden. They control my thoughts, my masters...my masters, I had to be careful. They monitor the transmissions but they don't watch the programs. I could hide you inside the games."
Everyone in the room turned to listen to her intently.
"My friend was lost inside your games."
"Doesn't matter."
"Don't you DARE tell me…"
"Doctor," Angel cut him off, putting a gentle hand on his shoulder to quiet him, "There isn't much time."
"They've been hiding," the Controller continued, "My masters, hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth...so, so, so many years...they've always been there. Guiding humanity, hundreds and hundreds of years…"
"Who are they?" he asked her.
"They wait. They plan and grow in numbers, they're strong now. So strong, my masters…"
"Who are they?!"
"They are not yet aware of the Angel," she suddenly looked right at him, "But they speak of you. My masters, they fear the Doctor."
"Tell me!" he shouted, stepping forward, "Who are they?"
At that moment the Controller gasped, the power turning back on, and she resumed counting, "20...21...22..."
"When's the next solar flare?" the Doctor spun to the male programmer.
"Two years," Angel answered before the man could, blinking a bit as she stared at the Controller.
"Fat lot of good that is," the Doctor grumbled, stalking off.
Angel shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, and wandered over to one of the computers, sitting down heavily in one of the chairs. Her gaze moved to the monitor before her, then to the Controller for a moment, before she started to type hesitantly. There were numbers, numbers she could see in her mind, codes, but...she wasn't sure why...
"We've got the TARDIS!" Jack appeared in the room.
"We're not leaving now!" the Doctor told him.
"No, but the TARDIS worked it out," he turned and shoved the male programmer out of his chair, "You'll wanna watch this," the Doctor turned to watch, "Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?"
"I…I just wanna go home…" Lynda remarked.
"It'll only take a second. Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can?" Lynda walked over, "Everybody watching? Ok...three, two, one…"
He pressed a button and the disintegrator shot down and hit her, leaving nothing but a billow of smoke. The Doctor looked at Jack in a cross between shock and incomprehension. Jack just pushed a button again and Lynda reappeared next to the Doctor, slightly dazed but unharmed.
"...what the hell was that?" she shook her head as Angel looked up, her eyes wide, but slowly started to smile.
"It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system," Jack grinned, "People don't get killed in the games! They get transported across space! Angel was right, Rose is still alive!"
The Doctor laughed, so relieved. It wasn't that he didn't believe Angel's feeling about it, but he wasn't sure if it was real or a wishful thought. Now he knew.
~8~
Rose awoke on a floor, looking around as something caught her eye, "It can't be…" she breathed, scrambling to her feet and backing up with a gasp, "But you're dead...I saw you die!" she backed against a wall, trying to edge to the side only for a sucker arm to stick out and block her.
~8~
"She's out there somewhere!" the Doctor shouted, running from control to control.
"Doctor!" the Controller cried. They looked up to see her struggling to communicate, betraying her masters, "Coordinates five point six point one…"
"Don't!" the Doctor shouted, typing frantically, "The solar flare's gone, they'll hear you!"
"Point four three four…no my masters, no! I defy you! Sigma seven seven…" she screamed as the wires fell away, leaving her spot empty, dust on the ground.
"They took her…"
"Oh you think?" Angel asked.
They looked over at her as she smiled wider...
~8~
The Controller appeared on the floor of a spaceship, holes all over her body where the wires entered her. She stood up, her blind eyes staring forward, defiant, proud, "Oh, my masters..." she said as they glided towards her, "You can kill me. For I have brought your destruction!"
There was the sound of a laser shot moments after a bright yellow light filled the room.
~8~
The Controller gasped as she reappeared on her platform as Angel hit a button.
"Fantastic!" the Doctor shouted, rushing over to Angel, hugging her tightly as Jack ran to the Controller's side, helping her up and down the platform. He handed her over to one of the staff, to lead her off somewhere safer.
"Can't you do that for Rose?" Jack ran back to Angel and the Doctor.
"I could only reverse the last transmat," she said, "I wasn't sure how it was working till you showed us with Lynda, but it's a lot like the teleports in the TARDIS. She was the last before the Controller…"
The Doctor nodded as the male programmer called out, "I've got the records," they ran over to him, Jack pushing him out of his way to sit down, looking at the records, "Look, use that…" he handed Jack a disk, "It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."
"Nice...thanks..." Jack glanced up at him, holding out a hand and eyeing him in an entirely un-platonic manner, "Captain Jack Harkness, by the way..."
"I'm Davitch Pavale," he greeted, taking the offered hand.
"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale..." Jack grinned.
"Time and a place Jack," Angel chastised lightly.
"Are you saying this entire setup's been a disguise all along?" the female programmer asked, seeing that her partner may have had a point.
"Going way back," the Doctor nodded, "Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game. Controlling the Human Race from behind the scenes for generations."
Jack handed a small device over to the Doctor, "Click on this," he did so and an image of empty space materialized over their heads, "The transmat delivers to that point. Right on the edge of the solar system."
"There's nothing there," the female programmer shook her head.
"Nothing you can see," Angel muttered.
"It looks like nothing," the Doctor agreed, recalling the last time Angel had made that remark, "'Cos that's what this satellite does. Underneath the transmission, there's another signal…"
"Doing what?" Davitch shook his head.
"Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner..." they all looked at the blank space, "There's something sitting righton top of Planet Earth...but it's completely invisible. If I cancel the signal..." he leaned forward, pressing a few buttons, and when he looked back up the space was no longer empty. There was a large spaceship revolving slowly.
The Doctor and Angel stared at it, eyes wide in horror as the image zoomed out to reveal more and more spaceships.
"That's impossible!" Jack exclaimed, "I know those ships...they were destroyed."
"Not quite," Angel replied quietly, the Doctor quickly taking her hand as they stared at the remnant of their past.
"Who did?" the female programmer asked, "Who are they?"
"Two hundred ships," the Doctor muttered, "More than 2,000 on board each one. That's just about half a million of them."
"Half a million what?" Davitch frowned.
"Daleks," the Doctor and Angel answered at once.
~8~
A Dalek entered an area of the spaceship where several others were stationed, "Alert! Alert! We are detected!"
"It is the Doctor!" another cried, "He has located us!"
Rose huddled against the foot of the wall and stared around at them, wide eyed.
"Open communications channel!"
The first Dalek swiveled around to face Rose, "The female will stand. Stand!" she stood quickly as they looked up to see an image appeared before them, the Doctor, Angel, Jack, Lynda, the programmers, and the staff staring back at Rose and the Daleks.
~8~
"I will talk to the Doctor," a Dalek shouted.
"Oh, will you?" the Doctor asked, "That's nice. Hello!" he threw them a mocking wave, his rather fake grin fading rapidly.
"The Dalek Stratagem nears completion. The Fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene."
"Oh, really? Why's that then?"
"We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated."
"No."
Everyone looked at the Doctor shocked, save Angel, who was looking at the Daleks, shaking just a bit, she didn't have the fondest memories of them, the last one she'd met having killed both her sister and herself.
Rose's mouth dropped open.
"Explain yourself!"
"I said 'no.'"
"What is the meaning of this negative?"
"It means 'no.'"
"But she will be destroyed."
"No!" the Doctor jumped to his feet, "'Cos this is what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna rescue her. I'm gonna save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek Fleet, and then I'm gonna save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last STINKING Dalek outta the sky!"
"But you have no weapons! No defenses! No plan!"
He nodded, "Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death?" he smirked, "'Cos guess what else I've got. You lot are scared of one Time Lord eh?" he reached out and took Angel's hand, tugging her forward, "How do you think you'll be facing TWO?!" he laughed as the Daleks actually rolled back at the introduction of a second of the enemy race.
"Rose?" Angel called up, shaking her head, needing to focus, she had to help Rose.
"Yeah?" Rose beamed.
"We're on our way," she winked, as the Doctor tapped the device, shutting off communications.
~8~
"The Doctor is initiating hostile action!" a Dalek reported.
"The Stratagem must advance," a second stated, "Begin the invasion of Earth!"
They spun around wildly, Rose gasping but they took no notice of her.
"The Doctor and the Time Lady will be exterminated!" a third Dalek called.
"Exterminate!" the Daleks chanted as Rose looked around in terror.
To be continued…
A/N: Did you see the tiny shift in the show? What Angel did? Well, someone's alive who wasn't alive in the actual show...that'll be a hint of things to come. And, can I say, there is most certainly a reason for it, but one we won't see for a VERY long time...probably not for MONTHS :)
And...WOW! You guys! This story isn't even over yet and you've already beaten my record for reviews in my first OC series! I love you!
As promised, the theme song I see as being Angel is...Fantastic Voyage by (ironically) Future World Music :)
To answer a review, I don't mind if readers/fans do fan art or make videos or write mini-stories if proper credit is given :) I'm actually trying my hand at videos, but I really am rubbish at them (visual media is not my forte apparently lol). So anyone who wants to try can go ahead :) I do prefer though, that anyone who wants to do anything (mostly in terms of writing) PM or review to ask permission first, just so I know what OC is being used and how they plan to be used/the context. I tend to give it, I've had a few ask about the idea of Linking from my Lunar Cycle or the 'non-scent spray' the Professor used to trick the Family and ask permission to use it in their stories, and I'm totally cool with that. I've even had people request crossovers between their stories and mine where OCs meet :) The fan art/videos, I don't really think permission has to be asked for those, just giving proper credit is fine :) But I'd love a link though if they are done as I'd love to see them :)
As for my fanfic Heaven, thank you for your opinion, to each his/her own. I know not everyone will like my OCs and that's fine. All I can say is, fanfiction lets you make up different things especially when it is not fully established in the shows/books, like the rules among angels and other things. I tried my best to keep it believable within the context of the show and the history/background I gave my OC.
And, can I just say, you guys really cheered me up yesterday with your reviews. As you probably know, I've been in talks with another author who had plagiarized parts of my Hidden Lady of Time story, Phantom's Ange's Rebel Companion story. PA has gone back and changed quite a bit of the chapters, though it was not mentioned for the readers where the original chapters came from, but promising the rest would be different, but the latest chapter had a section at the end which was far too word for word (same original dialogue(!)/thoughts/actions/descriptions/etc.) for me to feel it was written entirely from scratch so I had to contact PA again. I believe the chapter was removed and that part is being edited but it just really upset me because I thought this was all over and wouldn't happen anymore. But then I saw your reviews and my day really did get better, so thank you all so much, you really put a smile back on my face :)