Chapter 24: The Long Game

A/N: Yeah so I'm so sorry for being late. It's crazy right now at school and I'm also having some family problems. I think I'm going to start posting updates every three weeks now because I just don't have a lot of time to write. I'm really sorry guys! I hope this chapter being long makes it up. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, it belongs to BBC

Gold- Imagine Dragons

First comes the blessing of all that you've dreamed,

But then comes the curses of diamonds and rings.

Only at first did it have its appeal, but now you can't tell the false from the real.

Who can you trust?

Kit lay in her bed looking up at the ceiling. She had been in that position for about an hour thinking. She left the Doctor not too long after their conversation. She told him she needed to change which was the truth. Her clothes were caked in sweat from running for so long but it wasn't the total truth either. She needed to be alone just for a bit to collect her thoughts. Her mind was still reeling from what happened and the conversation with the Doctor didn't really help.

Kit sighed after some time. She was starting to feel restless. She got up and peeled off her dingy sweatshirt and pant. She threw on a somewhat clean baggy gray shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

She walked over to the mirror and frowned. She thought she looked bad this morning but she looked ten times worse now. Her eyes were puffy and red from the crying she did recently. Her face was paler then usual. It made her deep brown freckles and eyebrows stand out like a blinker light. Her hair was a disaster. Most of it had fallen out of her ponytail. She took the rest out of it and her hair puffed into a big frizzy mess covering her face. She tried to smooth it out but it just bounced right back out.

"Stupid hair," She grumbled. "Can't you do anything else then frizz?"

She was about to take her brush and try to comb her hair when there was knock at her door. Kit stared at the door. She really didn't feel like talking to someone when she looked like a natural disaster. Unfortunately, the person at the door seemed persistent and kept knocking.

She sighed and went to the door. She tried to smooth out her head once more before she opened the door.

When she opened the door she was surprised to see Rose. She honestly expected it to be the Doctor. Rose looked to have changed out of her clothes from before as well.

"Um, hi?"

Rose smiled sweetly. "Hey, I like your room. It's very…you."

Kit raised her eyebrow in suspicion. "Thanks?"

Rose seemed to notice Kit's suspicious gaze. "Oh sorry, I'm being weird. I just wanted to come by and… thank you."

Kit was still confused. "Thank me? For what?"

"For getting me to the door before it closed. You could've left me but you didn't and I owe you… a lot."

Kit was taken aback. "Oh, yeah, no problem. I know we aren't exactly friends but your worth saving."

Rose smiled brightly. "Your worth saving too, Kittredge. Don't forget that."

An awkward silence descended upon them. Rose played with her hair and Kit shifter uncomfortably. Kit wasn't sure what to say or do next. Would it be rude to just shut the door? Er, probably.

"I also wanted to ask you something," Rose began slowly. "Today, when you said you'd nowhere else to go, what did you mean by that?"

Kit ran her hand through her hair. Should she tell Rose? There really wasn't a point in lying about her family. Most people already knew anyways.

"I kinda lied about some things. I don't really have a family. They—they die when I was a baby. I traveled with an amazing man for most of my life and that's how I landed in London. He was my only family but he's… gone. It's just me now. I don't really have anywhere to go," she finished. She tried to hold back tears.

"I'm sorry. My dad died when I was a baby as well," Rose said quietly.

Kit nodded. They had an understanding. "I know."

There was another pause but this one was less awkward. Then Kit looked behind Rose and realized that she didn't see Adam.

"Ah, Rose, where's Adam?"

"Oh, he's in my room. He kinda fainted. He'll wake up soon… I hope."

Kit couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. Just imaging Adam falling flat on his face was making her double over.

"It's not funny!" Rose shouted but Kit could see a grin forming.

"Yeah, it kinda is."

Kit kept laughing and after a moment Rose joined in.

"Okay, you're right. It's a bit funny."

They laughed for a good minute. It felt good. Maybe it wasn't all that funny but she needed a good laugh; they both did. They finally settled down, smiles still plastered on their faces though.

"I better go check on him," Rose concluded. "Make sure he didn't wake up and isn't wondering around the Tardis."

Kit nodded. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea. It was nice talking to you though, Rose."

Rose smiled. "It was good talking to you too."

Rose gave her a small wave and walked back to her room. Kit closed her door and smiled. That conversation went better then she thought.

Kit went back over to her bed and laid back down. Maybe there was hope for a friendship between Rose and herself. Although she doubted they would ever be best friends. They were just two very different people but who knows maybe she'd be wrong.

While she was thinking this over she started to feel tired. All that running she did was finally catching up to her. She knew she should probably try to sleep a little before they went on their next trip. Her eyes started to feel heavy and before she knew it she was fast asleep.

...

Kit woke to pounding on her door. She groaned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She had no idea how long she'd been asleep for but by how groggy she felt she concluded that it had been a couple of hours.

She stumbled out of bed and over to the door. She passed her mirror and hair still looked like a mop. She tucked her hair behind her ears then opened the door. On the other side was Rose again but this time she was with a still very pale Adam.

"Yes?" Kit asked.

"The Doctor wanted me to get you. I convinced him to take us somewhere in the future to show Adam," She explained. "He's in a mood for some reason so you better hurry and get dressed."

Kit looked down at herself in confusion. "I am dressed."

"Oh, right, of course," Rose forced a smile.

Kit rolled her eyes. Yeah, they definitely weren't going to be best friends anytime soon. "Just give me a second."

She went over, grabbed her cowboy boots and put them on. She left her room and followed Rose and Adam to the control room. When they entered she noticed a very impatient looking Doctor leaning up against the console.

He wore a frown on his face and Kit realized Rose was probably right; the Doctor was in a mood. She could always tell by his excitement level when they were about to go to a new place. Kit could only guess that this was because of Adam. She kind of felt bad for Adam. He had no idea he had just been thrust into a weird love triangle.

"There you guys are. What took so long?" The Doctor questioned.

"Kittredge wouldn't answer her door," Rose defended.

Kit crossed her arms. "I was sleeping! Excuse me for being tired."

The Doctor shook his head. "Doesn't matter now. Everyone's here, we can go."

The Doctor ran around the console, starting up the Tardis. Rose and Kit gripped the railing getting ready for the bumpy ride. Kit glanced over at Adam and noticed he wasn't holding on to anything. She forgot that he didn't realize how crazy it could get. Rose must have forgotten too. Kit opened her mouth to tell him to hold on but stopped. Would it be mean to just watch him fall on his face? Yes, yes, it would be but then again he wasn't her responsibility. He was Rose and if she forgot to tell him then that wasn't Kit's fault. She closed her mouth and grinned.

The Tardis suddenly jerked, way more then usual, sending Adam flying. He landed face first and Kit tried her best to not laugh but didn't do a very good job. The Tardis stopped and Adam groaned in pain.

Rose gasped. "Adam?! Are you alright? I forgot to say that the Tardis isn't all that steady." Rose glared at Kit when she heard her laugh. "It's not funny, Kittredge! He could have hurt himself."

"Right, right, I'm sorry. Totally not funny," Kit choked down a laugh. At the corner of her eye she could see the Doctor doing the same.

Rose ran over to Adam and helped him up. "Are you sure you're not hurt?"

Adam tried to play it off. "Just my pride."

"Why don't you stay here and we'll go and check to see if it's safe."

"Wouldn't the Doctor land somewhere safe?" Adam asked looking between the three of them in confusion.

This caused Kit to snort loudly. The Doctor glared at her. Adam grew even more confused and looked up at Rose for help.

"He would but you can never be too sure," Rose reassured him. "Just wait here. We won't be too long."

The three of them walked down the ramp and to the door. Before they left the Doctor stopped and turned to Rose.

"Adam doesn't have to stay here. I've already checked," The Doctor whispered.

"I know but I was hoping you could tell me about where we landed," Rose confessed. "I want to impress Adam."

For a split second the Doctor face was sour but it disappeared as fast as it came. It was a blink and you miss it moment. Rose didn't seem to have noticed but Kit did.

The Doctor sighed. "Fine. Come on, I'll show you."

They left the Tardis. They were in a large room. Red, blue and yellow lights engulfed the place. The whole room was metal with some sort of booths scattered around.

"So, it's two hundred thousand, and it's a spaceship," the Doctor explained to Rose. "No, wait a minute, space station, and er, go and try that gate over there. Off you go."

"Two hundred thousand?" She checked.

The Doctor nodded. "Two hundred thousand."

"Right." Rose opened the Tardis door. "Adam? Out you come."

The minute Adam stumbled out of the Tardis, his jaw dropped. He looked around in absolute awe.

"Oh my God," he exclaimed.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"Where are we?"

Rose pretended to think. "Good question. Let's see. So, er, judging by the architecture, I'd say we're around the year two hundred thousand. If you listen… Engines. We're on some sort of space station. Yeah, definitely a space station. It's a bit warm in here. They could turn the heating down. Tell you what— let's try that gate. Come on!"

Kit and the Doctor were both trying hard not to laugh. The look on Adams face was priceless. They followed Rose through the gate and into some kind of massive viewing window. The three of them stood side by side with Adam just behind them.

"Here we go! And this is—I'll let the Doctor describe it."

"The Fourth great and bountiful Human Empire. And there it is, planet Earth at it's height. Covered with mega-cities, five moons, population ninety-six billion. The hub of a galactic domain stretching across a million planets, a million species, with mankind right in the middle," the Doctor explained.

Kit looked back to see what Adam had to say about it but just as she looked back, Adam fainted. Kit's eyes light up and she burst out laughing.

"Oh man, I am so glad I got to see that!" She beamed. "It's definitely as funny as I though it would be!"

"He's your boyfriend," the Doctor said sarcastically.

"Not anymore," Rose replied which made Kit laugh even harder. "Would you shut up, Kittredge?"

"Oh, don't be like that. You think it's funny too," Kit pushed.

Rose tried to hide her smile. "No—no I don't."

"Liar, liar!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "What are you, twelve?"

Kit grinned. "Um, yeah."

"Oh, right." Rose shook her head. "Doesn't matter. Help me wake him up. Last time he was out for an hour."

"He fainted before?" The Doctor smirked.

"Well, yes but—" Rose began but stopped when the Doctor and Kit started laughing again. "God, you two are the worst. Just help me wake him up."

They went over to where Adam lay. Rose shook him a couple of time and yelled his name but he wouldn't wake up.

"Maybe we need to try a different approach," Kit suggested after a couple of minutes.

"Like what?" Rose asked.

"Like this." Kit slapped Adam across the face. "Wake up, Adam!"

Adams eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly. "Where am I? What happened?

"We're in the future and you fainted," Kit grinned.

"Oh," was all he said.

"Are you feeling aright?" Rose cut in.

"I think so," he replied, rubbing his cheek.

"Good. Then we should probably get going. We have a lot of ground to cover," the Doctor told them.

They helped Adam up and left the viewing area. Adam was still in awe as they walked around the large room.

"I still can't believe this," Adam muttered.

"Come on, Adam. Open your mind," the Doctor urged him, wrapping his arm around the shoulders of Rose and Adam. "You're going to like this. Fantastic period of history. The human race at its most intelligent. Culture, art, politics. This era has got fine food, good manners—"

Someone cut him off yelling, "Out of my way!"

Suddenly, there was a rush a people coming out of basically nowhere. People were opening up vending stations and serving other people. There was yelling and swearing. People were pushing them and shouting at them. It was chaos.

"Fine cuisine?" Rose asked skeptically while looking over some of the food.

Kit looked around the bustling mess. "Are you sure we're in the right place?"

"I thought so. My watch must be wrong." He looked down at his wrist. "No, it's fine. It's weird."

"Well, somethings wrong."

Rose shrugged. "That's what comes of showing off. Your history's not as good as you thought it was."

"My history's perfect," he defended.

"Well, obviously not."

"They're all human," Adam cut in. "What about the millions of planets, the millions of species? Where are they?"

Kit opened her mouth to tell him they weren't all human when she noticed that he was right. Not one person was something other than human. Most places in the future she'd been to had other species. Something wasn't right.

"He actually makes a good point," Kit said.

"Yeah, he does," the Doctor said slowly. He then turned to Adam. "Adam, me old mate, you must be starving."

Adam shook his head. "No, I'm just a bit time sick."

"No, you just need a bit of grub." The Doctor went over to one of the venders. "Oi, mate! How much is a kronkburger?"

"Two credits twenty, sweetheart. Now join the queue," the vender ordered.

"Money. We need money." The Doctor started to walk away. "Let's use a cashpoint."

Kit was a bit suspicious of the Doctor. Something told her he had some kind of plan and it didn't include Adam.

She ran up to catch up with him. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"Getting money."

Kit rolled her eyes. "Other than that."

"Nothing."

"It feels like something."

"Just your imagination."

They came to a cash machine that looked a lot like an ATM. The Doctor soniced it and it dispensed a strip of metal.

The Doctor gave it to Adam. "There you go, pocket money. Don't spend it all on sweets."

"How does it work?" Adam asked.

"Go and find out. Stop nagging me. The thing is, Adam, time travel's like visiting Paris. You can't just read the guide book; you've got to throw yourself in. Eat the food, use the wrong verbs, get charged double and end up kissing complete strangers. Or is that just me?"

Kit shook her head. "That's more information then I needed."

The Doctor looked over to Rose as Adam started to walk away. "Stop asking questions, go and do it. Off you go, then. Your first date."

Rose smiled. "You're going to get a smack, you are."

Rose followed Adam. Kit watched as the Doctors smile slowly faded and a frown appeared.

"You know green isn't a good colour on you," she commented.

The Doctor looked down at his shirt. "I really like this shirt. I think the green really brings out my eyes."

Kit rolled her eyes. "I don't mean your shirt. I meant Rose."

He seemed to realize what she was trying to say. "I'm not jealous."

"You know, even though I'm young, I'm quite perceptive. It's pretty obvious."

The Doctor sighed. "It really doesn't matter."

"Well, I think it does."

"Can we talk about something other than my love life?"

"Like?"

"Like how The Fourth great and bountiful Human Empire is all wrong. It should be one of the many marvels of the universe. It shouldn't look like the slums."

"Well then, what do you think happened?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't know but I'm going to find out."

The Doctor looked around and then noticed two women walking together. He walked towards them and stopped them.

"Er, this is going to sound daft, but can you tell me where we are?"

"Floor One Three Nine. Could they write it any bigger?" The women in black bit out then looked at Kit. "What is she doing here? Children are not permitted in Satellite Five."

The Doctor put his hand on Kits shoulder. "It's take you Kid to Work Day."

"I've never heard of that."

"Well, do you have a kid?"

"No."

"Then maybe that's why. Now, what's Satellite Five?"

The women in black raise her eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, we're not kidding. Just tell us," Kit demanded.

"How could you get on board without knowing where you are?"

"Look at me. I'm stupid," the Doctor replied causing Kit to shake her head.

Suddenly the women in the purple eyes widened. "Hold on, wait a minute. Are you a test? Some sort of management test kind of thing?"

"You've got me. Well done. You're too clever for me." The Doctor showed them his psychic paper.

"We were warned about this in basic training. All workers have to be versed in company promotion," she told the women in black.

That women straightened. "Right, fire away, ask your questions. If it gets me to Floor five hundred, I'll do anything."

Kit looked at her in question. "What's so special about floor five hundred?"

The women looked between Kit and the Doctor. "Do I have to answer your daughter's questions too?"

"Yes," he replied impatiently.

"The walls are made of gold," she finally answered. "And you should know, Mister Management. So, this is what we do." They followed the women to a monitor on the wall. "Latest news, sandstorms on the new Venus archipelago. Two hundred dead. Glasgow water riots into their third day. Space lane seventy-seven closed by sunspot activity. And over on the Bad Wolf channel, the Face of Bo has just announced he's pregnant."

There were two things that caught her attention. One was that the Face of Bo was pregnant. She didn't know a head could get pregnant. The other thing was the two words Bad Wolf. She remembered seeming the words on the Tardis. Just hearing it gave her the same shiver down her spin. She felt like it was important but didn't know why.

"I get it. You broadcast the news," the Doctor interrupted her thoughts.

"We are the news. We're the journalists. We write it, package it and sell it. Six hundred channels. Nothing happens in the whole human empire without it going though us."

"And how exactly do you get all this information?"

"We can show you if you want," the women in the purple offered.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer. Do you mind if some of my colleagues come along?"

"Of course. The more the merrier," the women in black said too sweetly.

The Doctor started looking around for Rose and Adam when a loud horn sounded. People started running about and disappearing like how they came. With the crowd dispersing, they were able to spot the others.

The Doctor waved at them. "Oi! Mutt and Jeff! Over here!"

Rose ran up to meet them while Adam dragged behind. Adam had an almost guilty expression on his face and Kit was curious as to why.

"What's up?" Rose asked.

"These two lovely journalists were going to show us how they get all their information. Care to come along?" The Doctor asked.

Rose smiled widely. "Of course! Wouldn't miss it for the world. You want to see, Adam?"

"Um, sure, I guess," he replied uneasily.

"Well then, lead the way ladies." The four of them followed the other two.

As they were walking, Rose leaned in and whispered, "So, what's going on?"

"Apparently this place is called Satellite Five. It's like a giant news station," the Doctor explained. "They know everything the minute it happens."

"And that's a problem because?"

"Because it's sketchy as fuck," Kit cut in.

"Kit, language."

"Er, I mean it's sketchy as hell?"

The Doctor sighed. "That'll have to do. Kit is right though. There's something not right."

They finally stopped at a door. They door opened and they filed in. The room was medium in size. It had white walls, white floor and white ceiling. In the middle were several people seated an octagonal desk. In the middle of that was a chair with wires coming out of it. Above the chair was some weird machine. The four of them stood back to watch.

"Now, everybody behave," the women in black announced. "We have a management inspection. How do you want it, by the book?"

"Right from scratch, thanks," the Doctor replied.

She turned back to the other people. "Okay. So, ladies, gentlemen, multi-sex, undecided or robot, - my name is Cathica Santini Khadeni." She looked back to the Doctor. "That's Cathica with a C, in case you want to write to Floor five hundred praising me, and please do. Now, please feel free to ask any questions. The process of news gathering must be open, honest, and beyond bias. That's company policy."

"Actually, it's the law," the women in purple spoke up.

"Yes, thank you, Suki," Cathica snapped. "Okay, keep it calm. Don't show off for the guests. Here we go." She sat on the chair. "And engage safety."

The several people around her held out their hands over what looked like a palm print. Light started to come on all around the room. They watched as Cathica snapped her fingers and a part of her forehead opened up revealing a part of her brain. All four of their jaws dropped.

"And three, two, and spike." A bright beam of light shot into her exposed brain.

"Compressed information, streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head," the Doctor explained to them. "She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer."

Kit shook her head. "But all that information, shouldn't it kill her?"

The Doctor started walking around the circle of people. "Her head would blow up, yes but she's not going to remember it. The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets."

"So, what about all these people round the edge?" Rose asked following the Doctor.

"They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels. Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place. Now that's what I call power."

"Whoa," Kit muttered. She's never seem this kind of technology. "That's amazing."

The Doctor nodded slowly, a frown on his face. "Amazing, yes, but wrong."

"Trouble?" Rose asked with amusement in her voice.

The Doctor smiled. "Oh, yeah."

Kit shook her head. "Why am I not suspired."

Suddenly Suki pulled her hands away like something shocked her. The light stopped beaming into Cathica's brain and everyone around the circle was pulled out of their trance.

"Come off it, Suki. I wasn't even halfway. What was that for?" Cathica demanded.

"Sorry. It must've been a glitch," She replied weakly.

Cathica sighed but turned to the Doctor. "Sorry, Minister. We can try it again if you like."

Before the Doctor could answer, a blue screen popped up and a voice said promotion. The four watched in confusion. Cathica stood up straighter with her jaw tight.

She squeezed her hand in a ball. "Come on. This is it. Come on. Oh God, make it me. Come on, say my name, say my name, say my name."

"Promotion for Suki Macrae Cantrell. Please proceed to Floor five hundred," the voice said.

Suki's jaw dropped. "I don't believe it. Floor five hundred."

"How the hell did you manage that? I'm above you," Cathica argued.

Suki shrugged. "I don't know. I just applied on the off chance and they've said yes!"

Cathica crossed her arms. "That's so not fair. I've been applying to Floor five hundred for three years."

Rose lead in. "What's Floor five hundred?"

The Doctors frown deepened. "The walls are made of gold."