The Trip of a Lifetime V2

by The Time Lord Oracle

(Rewrite of my first story) Rose Tyler was just an ordinary shop girl until one day she meets a strange man and woman. After helping them to save the world, she joins them in traveling though time and space on the trip of a lifetime, but two words keep following the trio on their travels, and something is stirring in the darkness. First in the Themii series.

12. Bad Wolf

The Trip of a Lifetime

Bad Wolf

The Doctor awoke to find himself crouched inside what appeared to be a small, darkened cupboard. He became aware of someone lying on the floor next to him. "Who's there?" he called.

"It's me." Gazelle's voice answered, "What happened?"

"Dunno." the Doctor replied, leaping to his feet. He helped Gazelle up and they began to feel around the walls. "What is it?" the Doctor called out, "What's 'appening?"

He found a door unexpectedly and fell through it, landing flat on his face on the floor of a brightly coloured room with drawings on the wall and modern style chairs. Gazelle stepped out behind him, a little unsteady on her feet, just as a blonde woman in a white hoodie came running over. "Oh, my God!" the woman gasped, "I don't believe it! Why'd they put you two in there? They never said you were coming."

The Doctor tried to pull himself up, feeling very disoriented. "But what 'appened?" he mumbled, "I was..."

"Careful now." the woman advised. The Doctor's legs gave way and he fell flat on his face again. "Oh! Mind yourself." the woman said, "Oh, that's the transmat. Scrambles ya 'ead. I was sick for days." The Doctor managed to stand again, while Gazelle leaned against the wall, rubbing her temples. "You both alright?" the woman asked concernedly, "So, what're your names then, sweethearts?"

"The Doctor, I think." the Time Lord muttered, "I was, er... I dunno what 'appened."

"And my name's Gazelle, I think." the Time Lady added, "I'll let ya know when this room stops spinning around. Ooh, my head feels like it's been through a blender."

"You both got chosen." the woman told them, grinning as if that explained everything.

"Chosen for what?" the Doctor asked, regaining his bearings.

"You're housemates." the woman answered, "You're in the house! Isn't that brilliant?!" She laughed as if that was something to be happy about.

"That's not fair!" an effeminate male voice complained, and the Time Lords looked round to see a man and a black woman sitting on a purple settee in front of a telly, which had a familiar eye logo on it. "We've got eviction in five minutes!" the man complained, "I've been here for nine weeks, I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning, and then they come swanning straight in."

"If they keep changing the rules, I'm gonna protest, I am." the black woman grumbled, "You just watch me, I'm gonna paint the walls."

The bemused Time Lords looked around the room to see that it looked like something out of those God-awful reality shows that early 21st century Humans were obsessed with. A camera on the ceiling turned to focus on them, then a voice that sounded like Davina McCall, but more robotic spoke up; "Would the Doctor and Gazelle please both come to the diary room?" The Time Lords looked round to see a silver door with an illuminated eye slid open behind them. They entered the diary room and sat themselves down in a pair of red armchairs, both still a little confused about their surroundings. "You are live on channel 44,000." the robotic Davina voice told them, "Please do not swear."

"You have got to be kidding." the Doctor scoffed. Of all the places in the universe to end up, they would have to end up in the Big Brother house!

~8~

Rose awoke to find herself lying on the floor of a darkened room in a beam of light. She looked around bemused with a just-woken-up look/ "What 'appened?" she mumbled blearily.

A black man was crouched beside her, observing her/ "It's alright." he told her, "It's the transmat. Does ya head in." Rose looked around at her surroundings, blinking in a daze. "Get a bit of amnesia." the man continued. "What's ya name?"

"Rose." the blonde mumbled, just about remembering. "But... where's the Doctor?"

"Just remember, do what the Anne-droid says." the man warned. "Don't provoke it. The Anne-droid's word is law."

"What d'ya mean, android?" Rose asked, "Like... a robot?"

"Positions, everyone!" a woman's voice called, "Thank you!"

"Come on, hurry up." the man said, helping Rose to stand, "Steady, steady..."

Rose hung onto him for support. "I was travellin'." she said, regaining her bearings, "Wiv the Doctor, a girl called Gazelle an' a man called Jack. They wouldn't just leave me..."

"That's enough chat!" the woman's voice ordered, "Positions! Final call!" The woman in question was standing next to an inactive robot which was being tended to by a few technicians. The Robot was standing on a platform, around which were six podiums, people milling about them. "Good luck!" the woman said.

"But I'm not s'posed to be 'ere." Rose frowned, confused and a bit frightened.

"Well, it says Rose on the podium." the man said

Rose looked, and sure enough, her name was on one of the podiums, causing her to stare in disbelief.

"Come on." the man said, and dashed off to stand behind his podium, which revealed that his name was Rodrick.

Still confused, but with a dawning realisation, Rose took her place behind her podium. "Hold on... I must be goin' mad." she muttered, recognising her surroundings as the set of The Weakest Link, a game show she and her mother sometimes watched. "It can't be. This looks like..."

"Anne-droid activated!" the woman said, she and the technicians stepping back as the robot sprang to life.

"Oh, my God, the android." Rose stared, "The Anne-droid."

"Welcome to The Weakest Link." the robot announced in a robotic version of Anne Robinson's voice, and the theme music cued.

~8~

Jack awoke to find himself lying on chair in the studio of What Not to Wear. Standing over him were robotic versions of Trinny and Susannah. "Here we go again." Trin-E commented, "We've got our work cut out for us."

"I don't know, he's sort of handsome." Zu-Zana answered, "That's a good lantern jaw."

"Lantern jaws are so last year."

Jack sat upright. "Sorry... nice to meet you ladies, but where exactly am I?" he asked

"We're giving you a brand new image." Trin-E told him

"Ok, hold on. I was with the Doctor and Gazelle..." Jack began, then registered what Trin-e had said. "Why? Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"It's all very 20th century." Zu-Zana answered, gesturing to Jack's t-shirt and jeans, "Where did you get that denim?"

"Little place in Cardiff." Jack replied, "It was called 'The Top Shop'."

"Oh, design classic." Zu-Zana said, gliding around him.

"But we're going to have to find you some new colours." Trin-E interjected, "Maybe get rid of that Oklahoma farm boy thing that you've got going on."

Jack stood up and faced then, rather indignant, but at a loss for words.

"Just stand still and let the defabricator work it's magic." Zu-Zana told him

"What's the defabricator?" Jack questioned. He got his answer when the robots activated a device which shot a beam of light at Jack, vaporising his clothing. "Ok, defabricator. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?"

"Absolutely!" the robots chorused

"Ladies, your viewing figures just went up." Jack grinned smugly.

~8~

In the Big Brother house, the Doctor was running his sonic screwdriver over the front door. "I can't open it." he said after trying for a few minutes.

"It's got a deadlock seal." the blonde woman told him, "Ever since Big Brother 504 when they walked out. You must remember that?"

Gazelle was examining a mirror on the other side of the room. "What about this?" she asked, running her sonic over it.

"Oh, that's exoglass." the woman replied, "You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through."

"Don't tempt us." the Doctor remarked, crossing over to join Gazelle.

The woman came over as well. "I know ya not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you two must've been watching." she whispered, "Do people like me? Lynda with a Y, not Linda with an I, she got forcibly evicted for damaging a camera. Am I popular?"

"I don't remember." the Doctor replied, which was technically true as both he and Gazelle found Big Brother as entertaining as watching paint dry, so they didn't have a clue on people's opinions on housemates.

"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing?" Lynda asked, sounding slightly upset, "Some people only get this far cos' they're insignificant. Doesn't anyone notice me?"

Gazelle stopped sonicing and turned to her. "No, you're nice. You're very sweet." she told her, not wanting to upset her, "Everyone thinks you're sweet."

"Oh, is that right?" Lynda asked, feeling better at that. "Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet, really?"

"Yeah, dead sweet." the Doctor replied

"Thank you." Lynda smiled, touched.

The Doctor turned to look at one of the windows. It was solid black. "It's just a wall, isn't there supposed to be a garden out there?" he asked, going over to take a closer look.

"Don't be daft, no one's got a garden anymore." Lynda scoffed as she and Gazelle followed him over, "Who's got a garden? Don't tell me you've got a garden!"

"We've got a garden in the TARDIS." Gazelle replied

The Doctor spun round to face her, realising what she'd just said. "I remember." he said

"That's the amnesia." Lynda said, "So what 'appened? How did you two get here?"

"We'd just left Raxicoricofallapatorius." the Doctor recalled, "Then we went to Kyoto."

"Yeah, that's right, we went to Japan in 1336." Gazelle nodded, remembering too, "And we only just escaped."

"We were together, we were laughing." the Doctor continued, "And then... there was this light... this white light coming through the walls, and then..."

"We woke up here." Gazelle finished

"Yeah, that's the transmat beam." Lynda told them, "That's 'ow they pick 'ousemates."

The Doctor thought for a moment. "Oh, Lynda with a Y, sweet little Lynda..." He walked a few paces into the room. "It's worse than that. We're not just a couple of passing travellers. No stupid little transmat beam gets inside our ship. That beam was 15 times more powerful, which means... this isn't just a game. There's something else going on." He walked up to the mirror, knowing that there was a camera behind it. "Well, here's the latest update from the Big Brother house. We're getting out. We're gonna find our friends. And then we're gonna find you." He pointed ominously at the camera.

~8~

In the Weakest Link studio, the floor manager was counting down ready to begin filming; "17... 16... 15... thank you people, transmitting in 12... 11... 10..."

An agitated Rose turned to Rodrick. "But I need to find the Doc..."

"Just... shut up and play the game!" Rodrick told her impatiently.

"Alright then. What the hell?" Rose shrugged, "I'm gonna play to win!"

"3, and cue!" the floor manager finished

"Let's play The Weakest Link." the Anne-droid announced, and the music started up. "Start the clock." It turned to the first contestant. "Agorax, the name of which basic food stuff is an anagram of the word 'beard'?"

"Bread." Agorax answered

"Correct." the Anne-droid acknowledged and turned to the next contestant, "Fitch, in the Pan Traffic calendar, which month comes after Hoob?"

"Is it... Clavadoe?" Fitch offered hesitantly

"No, Pandoff. Rose, in maths, what is 258 minus 158?"

"100." Rose answered

"Correct, Rodrick..."

"Bank." Rodrick said

"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the word 'dangle' but not in the word 'gland'?"

"E." Roderick answered after a second's thought.

"Correct. Colleen, in social security, what D is the name of the payment given to Martian drones?"

"Default." Colleen answered

"Correct. Broff, the Great Cobalt Pyramid is built on the remains of which famous old Earth institute?"

"T... Touchdown." Broff tried hesitantly

"No, Torchwood." the Anne-Droid told him.

Rose laughed, while Broff looked distraught.

The Anne-droid turned back to the first contestant. "Agorax, in language, all five examples of which type of letter appear in the word 'facetious'?"

"Vowels."

"Correct. Fitch, in biology, which blood cells contain iron, red or white?"

"Um... white." Fitch tried nervously

Rose giggled, while Fitch looked as though her heart had sunk into her shoes.

"No, red. Rose, in the holovid series Jupiter Rising, the Grexnik is married to whom?"

"How should I know?" Rose chortled.

~8~

In the Not What to Wear studio, Jack stood admiring himself in the mirror, flexing his muscles. He was wearing a white tank top and black leather trousers. "It's the buccaneer look." Trin-E said, "Little dash of pirate and just a tweak of President Schwarzenegger."

"Nah, not sure about the vest." Jack said, "What about a bit of colour to lift it?"

"Absolutely not." Zu-Zana told him, "Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring. Now, let's talk jackets."

"I kinda liked the first one." Jack said

"No, that's a bit too much Hell's Angel. I think I like the shorter one."

Jack tried on the leather jacket in question.

"Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum."

"Works for me." Jack smirked

"Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face." Trin-E said, "Ever though about cosmetic surgery?"

"Well, I've considered it, yeah." Jack shrugged, "A little lift around the eyes... tighten up the jaw line... what do you think?"

"Oh, let's have a bit more ambition..." Trin-E said, taking a cap off it's forearm to reveal a chainsaw underneath, "Let's do something... cutting edge."

~8~

In The Weakest Link, the first round was over and it was time for the vote off. "So, Rose, what do you actually do?" the Anne-droid asked

"I just travel a bit." Rose said light-heartedly, "Bit of a... tourist, I s'pose."

"Another way of saying unemployed."

"No."

"Have you got a job?"

"Well... not really, no, but..."

"Then you ARE unemployed. And yet, you've still got enough money to peroxide. Why Fitch?"

"Uh... I fink she got a few of the questions wrong." a wrong-footed Rose replied, "That's all."

"Oh, you'd know all about that." the Anne-droid sassed

"Well, yeah, but I can't vote for myself." Rose retorted, "So it 'ad to be Fitch." Fitch began to sob silently. Rose didn't understand. "I'm sorry, that's the game." she told her, "That's 'ow it works... I 'ad to vote for someone."

Fitch ignored her and addressed the Anne-droid, completely terrified. "Let me try again." she pleaded desperately, "It was the lights and everything, I couldn't think."

"In fact, with three answers wrong, Broff was the weakest link in that round." the Anne-droid announced, "But, it's the votes that count."

"I'm sorry." Fitch begged, "Oh please... oh, God, help me!" She looked wildly around at her fellow contestants, pleading for help that they couldn't give.

Rose, still in the dark, looked at her in confusion. Roderick looked away indifferently, Agroax and Colleen both looked guiltily at the floor and Broff sobbed silently into the board he was holding up.

"Fitch, you are the weakest link." the Anne-droid announced, "Goodbye!" It's mouth opened and a gun protruded from it. Without a moment's hesitation, the Anne-droid fired a thick and fast bolt of yellow/gold light at Fitch, and in a flash, she disappeared, leaving behind nothing but billowing smoke.

"And we've gone to the adverts." the floor manager announced, "Back in three minutes..."

"What's that?" Rose asked Roderick, "What's just 'appened?"

"She was the weakest link." Roderick answered, wiping his board clean, "She gets disintegrated, blasted into atoms."

Rose was stunned. "But I voted for 'er." she breathed, "Oh, my God, this is sick! All of ya, ya just sick! I'm not playin' this..."

Broff lost his nerve. "I'm not playing." he whimpered in terror, "I... I can't do it!" The Anne-droid turned to him as he leapt off his podium and tried to run for it. "I'm not... please, somebody let me..."

"You are the weakest link." the Anne-droid said and fired at him, causing him to disappear mid-run. "Goodbye."

Rose was left staring, mouth open in shock and absolutely disgusted. "Don't try to escape." Roderick warned her, "It's play... or die."

~8~

In the Big Brother house, Lynda and the other two housemates were sat on the settee in front of the telly while the Time Lords tried again to sonic the doors open. "Doctor, Gazelle, they said all housemates must gather on the sofa." Lynda called to them, "You've both got to."

"We're busy getting out, thanks." the Doctor waved her off

"But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished."

The Doctor begrudgingly accepted this and stumped over to the settee, Gazelle following him. "Well maybe we'll be voted out, then." the Doctor huffed

"How stupid are you?" the man scoffed, "You've only just joined. Neither of you are eligible."

"And don't try anything clever or we'll all get it in the neck." Lynda warned as the Time Lords plopped down on the settee.

The robotic Davina voice spoke up; "Big Brother house, this is Davina-droid. Crosbie, Lynda and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction."

The three housemates all gripped each other's hands anxiously. The Doctor rolled his eyes and Gazelle slouched back, neither of them bothered in the slightest.

"And the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother house is..."

There was a long, tense pause, further annoying the bored Time Lords.

"Crosbie!" Davina-droid announced

The black woman looked as if her world had been crushed. The other two housemates were immediately all over her. "I'm sorry." Lynda counselled, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

"Oh, it should've been me, that's not fair." the man said, putting an arm around Crosbie, "Oh, Crosbie, love..."

"They're really milking this." Gazelle commented quietly to the Doctor.

"Crosbie, you have 10 seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!" Davina-droid said.

Crosbie shakily stood up and went to the door, Lynda and Strood accompanying her. The Time Lords stayed sitting, both rolling their eyes at the theatrics. "I won't forget you." Lynda said to Crosbie.

"I'm sorry I stole your soap." Crosbie sniffled

"Oh, I don't mind, honestly." Lynda replied, hugging the woman.

"And thanks for the food, you're a smashing cook." Strood added, kissing Crosbie on the cheek, "Bless you."

The door slid open to reveal a white room behind it, ending in another door. "Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House." Davina-droid said.

"Bye then." a terrified Crosbie said, "Bye Lynda."

"Bye.." Lynda sobbed. Both she and Strood made an archway with their arms and Crosbie walked underneath and into the room. The door closed behind her. "I don't believe it." Lynda breathed, "Poor Crosbie."

"It's only a game show, she'll make a fortune on the outside!" the Doctor scoffed, "Sell 'er story, release a record, fitness video, all of that... she'll be laughing!" Rose loved Big Brother and had forced the Time Lords to watch it with her sometimes, so they knew of the fate of some of the contestants, despite their dislike for the show.

"What d'you mean, 'on the outside'?" Lynda stared at him

The screen came on to show Crosbie standing in the middle of the white room, trembling. "Here we go." Strood said, he and Lynda dashing back to the settee and perching on the edge nervously. There were a few tense moments while Crosbie stood in the room, waiting, and Lynda and Strood watched her anxiously.

"Well, what're they waiting for?" Gazelle grumbled, "Why don't they just open the door and let her go?"

"Stop it, it's not funny." a tearful Lynda snapped

"Eviction in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!" Davina-droid announced. And with the same bolt of energy that the Anne-droid used on Fitch, Crosbie was disintegrated. The tension was released and Lynda and Strood both stared at the screen distraught.

The Doctor and Gazelle both leaned forward, shocked at what they'd just seen. "What was that?" the Doctor breathed

"Disintegrator beam." Strood answered

The Time Lords looked at the Humans, not fully understanding. "She's been evicted." Lynda elaborated, "From life."

The Doctor got up and paced around the room. "Are you insane?" he lay into the Humans, "You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important getting yer face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?!"

"You're talking like we've got a choice!" Lynda shot back, standing up.

"I thought you had to apply." Gazelle reasoned

"Don't be so stupid." Strood scoffed, "That's how they played it centuries back."

"Ya get chosen whether you like it or not!" Lynda explained, "Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant, the transmat beam picks you out at random. And it's non stop. There are 60 Big Brother 'ouses running all at once."

"How many?" the Doctor stared in shock.

"60?!" Gazelle spluttered.

"They've had to cut back." Strood said dejectedly, "It's not what it was."

"It's a charnel house!" the Doctor burst out, unable to believe what he was hearing. "What about the winners, what do they get?"

"They get to live." Lynda replied

"Is that it?!"

"Well, isn't that enough?!" she shot back

"This is sick!" Gazelle shook her head in disgust, then realised something else. "Rose and Jack are out there." she said, standing up and walking across the room, "They got caught in the transmat too. They're contestants."

"Time we got out." the Doctor said grimly, "That other contestant, Linda with an I, she was forcibly evicted for what?"

"Damage to property." Lynda replied

"What, like this?" the Doctor retorted, flashing his sonic at the camera, destroying it.

~8~

In the What Not to Wear studio, Jack was dressed up in tennis gear and standing in front of the mirror swishing a racket around. "No, I'm not getting this." he said, stopping, "It's too safe, too decent. And you'd never keep it clean."

"Stage two, ready and waiting!" Zu-Zana said

"Bring it on, girls!" Jack grinned, standing in front of the defabricator. It stripped him of his clothes and he was standing naked in front of the two robots once more.

"And now it's time for the face-off!" Trin-E said

"What does that mean?" Jack asked enthusiastically, "Do I get to compete with someone else?"

"No, like I said, face... off!" Trin-E replied, holding up it's arms. One had needles sticking out of the ends of it's fingers, the other a chain saw.

Jack stared at it, not scared, but mildly surprised.

"I think you'd look good with a dog's head." Zu-Zana said, snipping the enormous scissors that had replaced it's forearm.

"Or maybe no head at all." Trin-E pipped in, "That would be so outrageous."

"And maybe we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest."

"NOTHING is too extreme." Zu-Zana gloated, "It's to die for."

Jack raised an eyebrow, not remotely perturbed. "Now, hold on, ladies." he said calmly, "I don't wanna have to shoot either one of you."

"But you're unarmed." Trin-E gloated

"You're naked." Zu-Zana added

Jack just reached behind him and produced a small gun, then aimed it at the two robots.

"But... that's a compact laser deluxe!" Zu-Zana spluttered

"Where were you hiding that?" Trin-E questioned

"You really don't wanna know." Jack retorted

"Give me that accessory." Trin-E demanded, advancing on him.

Jack just simply fired his weapon at it, blowing it's head off, then he did the same to Zu-Zana.

~8~

In The Weakest Link studio, another round had ended. "You are the weakest link, goodbye!" the Anne-droid said, and vaporised Colleen.

"Going to the break." the floor manager announced, "Two minutes on the clock. Just a reminder, we've got solar flare activity coming up in ten."

Roderick was wiping his board clean. Rose turned to him. "Colleen was clever, she banked all our money. Why'd you vote for 'er?" she demanded

"Cos' I want to keep you in." Roderick retorted, "You're stupid! You don't even know the Princess Vossaheen's surname. When it comes down to the final, I wanna be up against you. So that you get disintegrated, and I get a stack-load of credits. Courtesy of the Bad Wolf Corporation."

"What d'ya mean?" Rose frowned, "What's Bad Wolf?"

"They're in charge." Roderick replied as if it was obvious, "They run the Game Station."

"Why're called Bad Wolf?"

"I dunno. It's just a name. It's like an old Earth nursery rhyme sort of thing... what, does it matter?"

"I keep 'earing those words everywhere we go." Rose said pensively, "Bad Wolf. Different times... different places like it's written all over the universe..." She thought back to Gwyneth's words in 1869 Cardiff about the big bad wolf, then she recalled the graffiti on the TARDIS during the Slitheen incident, followed by a TV channel on Satellite Five called the 'Bad Wolf channel', then there was a rave poster in 1987, the name of the bomb that had nearly destroyed the Chula med-ship and most recently, the nuclear power station that Blon Fel-Fotch Passameer-Day Slitheen had been planning to build.

"What're you going on about?" Roderick snorted

"If the Bad Wolf is in charge of this quiz, then... maybe I'm not 'ere by mistake." Rose said thoughtfully, "Someone's been plannin' this..."

~8~

In the Big Brother house, Lynda, Strood and the Time Lords were sat on the settee. "The Doctor, you've broken the house rules." Davina-droid said, "Big Brother has no choice but to evict you." The Doctor punched the air in triumph. "You have 10 seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!"

"That's more like that!" the Doctor grinned, leaping up and running to the door, "Come on then, open up!"

"You're mad!" Lynda stared, "It's like you wanna die!"

"I reckon you're both plants." Strood said to Gazelle, "You two were only brought in here to stir things up."

"Oh, we're plants alright." Gazelle retorted, "But not to stir this excuse for mass murder up."

The door slid open and the Doctor dashed through it into the white room beyond. "The Doctor, please leave the Big Brother house." Davina-droid ordered

Strood rushed back to the settee to watch on the telly, while Lynda stayed by the doorway with Gazelle, who was completely casual about the while thing. When the door shut, both women turned back to the telly.

"Come on then, disintegrate me!" the Doctor egged, "Come on, what're yer waiting for?!" He looked impatiently and expectantly up at the disintegrator.

"He is, he's mad." Lynda said to Gazelle, "He's bonkers!"

"Oh, yes." Gazelle grinned, "That's our Doctor. Complete nutter, and that's how I like him."

"Disintegrate me!" the Doctor continued to goad the cameras.

He folded his arms and calmly waited as the Davina-droid counted down; "Eviction in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1."

Lynda braced herself, but nothing happened.

"Ha-ha! I knew it!" the Doctor crowed, "Yer see? Someone brought us into the game. If they'd wanted us dead, they could've transmatted us into a volcano. They want us alive." He walked up to the other door. "Maybe the security isn't as tight this end." He looked menacingly up at the camera. "Are yer following this? I'm getting out!" He soniced the lock and the door opened, as did the one back into the house. "Yer coming?" he asked Gazelle.

"You bet I am." she replied, joining him in the white room, then she turned back to Lynda. "Come with us." she encouraged

Lynda looked to Strood, who was kneeling on the settee. "We're not allowed!" he protested

"Stay in there, yer got a 50-50 chance of disintegration." the Doctor told Lynda, "Stay with us, we promise we'll get you out alive. Come on!"

"No.. I can't, I can't..." Lynda protested

"Lynda, you're sweet." Gazelle told her, "From what we've seen of your world, sweet means bugger all. D'ya think anyone votes for sweet?"

Lynda saw the logic in this. The Doctor held out his hand and after a moment's hesitation, she took it and off they went.

After going through the door, they found themselves in a familiar setting. "Hold on... we've been here before." the Doctor realised, "This is Satellite Five!"

Gazelle went to another door and soniced it open. "No guards for once." she remarked, "Makes a change."

"Yer'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth." the Doctor agreed, sonicing a control panel.

"No one's called it Satellite Five in ages." Lynda remarked, "It's the Game Station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a 'undred years."

"100 years exactly." Gazelle observed, checking her watch, "It's the year 200,100."

"We were 'ere before." the Doctor explained to Lynda while sonicing a door, "Floor 139. Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then... had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious."

"As long ya consider a great big lump of meat on the ceiling messing about with Humanity nothing serious." Gazelle remarked, rolling her eyes at the Doctor's casual attitude.

"Easy." the Doctor continued, ignoring that remark, "Gave 'em a hand, home in time for tea."

"A hundred years ago?" Lynda smiled sceptically, while the Doctor tried to open a door with it's touch-sensitive hand pad to no avail. "What, you were 'ere a hundred years ago?"

"Yep." Gazelle replied, scanning the edges of the door with her sonic.

"Well, ya both lookin' good for it." Lynda smiled

The Doctor turned to her. "I moisturise and Gazelle gets plenty of beauty sleep." he said nonchalantly. 'Not that she needs it.' he thought to himself.

"Hmm, I'm getting some funny readings." Gazelle frowned, checking her sonic, "All sorts of energy."

The Doctor checked his sonic too. "Yeah, this place is humming." he concurred, "It's weird. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?" He tried another door.

"I dunno." Lynda shrugged, "I think we're the first contestants to get outside."

After failing to open the door with the hand pad, the Doctor scanned it with his sonic. "We 'ad two friends with us." he told Lynda, "They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?"

"I dunno. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."

Both Time Lords gave her their full attention. "Like what?" the Doctor asked.

"Well, there's 10 floors of Big Brother." Lynda replied, "There's a different 'ouse behind each of those doors. And then beyond that, there's all sorts of shows, it's non-stop. There's Call my Bluff with real guns. Countdown, where ya got 30 seconds to stop the bomb goin' off. Ground Force, which is a nasty one... ya get turned into compost. Erm... Wipeout, speaks for itself, same with Gladiators. Hole in the Wall, where ya 'ave to fit through the hole or ya fall in acid. Oh, an' Stars in their Eyes. Literally, stars in their eyes. If ya don't sing, you get blinded."

"And you people watch this stuff?!" an appalled Gazelle stared. She remembered the Doctor telling her that about how he'd once seen torture and murder being televised for entertainment on the planet Varos, but she couldn't believe that planet Earth itself would ever stoop to that low.

"Everyone does." Lynda shrugged, "How come you two don't?"

"Never paid for our licence." the Doctor replied, just as appalled at what he'd just learned.

"Oh, my God, you get executed for that!" Lynda exclaimed

"Let 'em try." the Doctor retorted, holding up his sonic.

"You both keep sayin' things that don't make sense." Lynda observed, "But who are you two, though? Really?"

"Doesn't matter." the Doctor waved her off, walking off to try the next door.

"Well, it does to me." Lynda retorted, "I've just put my life in your 'ands."

"We're just two travellers wandering around." Gazelle replied, while the Doctor examined the door lock, "Believe it or not, but all we want is a quiet life."

"So... if we get out of 'ere, what're ya gonna do? Just... wander off again?" Lynda asked

"Fast as we can." the Doctor replied

"So... I could come wiv ya." Lynda said tentatively

The Time Lords both looked at her. "Maybe yer could." the Doctor smiled

"I wouldn't get in the way."

"We wouldn't mind if ya did." Gazelle smiled, "The more the merrier, Lynda with a Y."

"But first of all, we've gotta concentrate on the getting out." the Doctor said, going back to business and scanning the edges of the door, "And to do that, you've got to know yer enemy. Who's controlling it, who's in charge of the satellite now?"

"Hold on..." Lynda ran to the opposite end of the room and pulled down a lever, which illuminated huge letters on the wall. "Your lords and masters." Lynda said, pointing to the letters, which said 'Bad Wolf Corporation.'

Both Time Lords paled at those familiar words. They had intended to look more into them after dropping Blon-Fel-Fotch off, but had ultimately forgotten thanks to the Sltheen's attempt to open the Cardiff rift and then the subsequent adventure in Kyoto.

"Definitely not a coincidence." Gazelle mumbled.

~8~

In the Not What to Wear studio, Jack had assembled an outfit for himself and was now busy attaching his compact laser deluxe to the defabricator. "Compatible systems... just align the wave signature..." he rambled to himself, "Thattaboy! Got myself a gun." He picked his new weapon and turned to the smoking remains of Trin-E and Zu-Zana. "Well, ladies, the pleasure was all mine. Which is the only thing that matters in the end." And off he went.

Jack ran out onto floor 299 and and placed his hand on the pad to open the door to the lift, then he checked his Vortex Manipulator. "Two hearts each, that's them. Which floor?" He impatiently pressed a few buttons on the lift and the door closed.

~8~

Meanwhile, the Time Lords and Lynda were on floor 56, walking out onto an observation deck. "Blimey!" Lynda exclaimed, rushing over to the window, "I've never seen it for real before! Not... not from orbit. Planet Earth."

The Time Lords joined her by the window, but the planet Earth below was not any that they had expected to see. The whole planet was grey with smog, with just a few patches of light here and there. "My God, what's happened to it?" Gazelle asked

"Well, it's always been like that." Lynda replied casually, "Ever since I was born. See that there?" She pointed at something. "That's the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It's been goin' 20 years. We get newsflashes tellin' us when it's safe to breathe outside."

"So, the population just sits there?" the Doctor asked, "Half the world's too fat, 'alf the world's too thin, and you lot just watch telly?"

"10,000 channels." Lynda replied brightly, not seeing any problem with that, "All beamin' down from 'ere."

"The Human race." the Doctor shook his head grimly, "Brainless sheep, being fed on a diet of..." He turned to Lynda and suddenly changed to a more light-hearted tone; "Mind you, have they still got that program where three people have to live with a bear?"

"Oh, Bear with Me, I love that one!" Lynda grinned

"Us too." Gazelle smiled, "The best one was that celebrity edition where the bear..."

"Got in the bath." all three finished together and laughed at the memory.

"But it's all gone wrong." the Doctor went serious again, "I mean, 'istory's gone wrong, again. This should be the Fourth Great & Bountiful Human Empire. I don't understand. Last time we were 'ere, we put things right."

"No, but that's when it first went wrong." Lynda remarked, "A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight."

"But that was us." Gazelle breathed, "We did that."

"There was nothing left in their place." Lynda continued, "No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed... that was the start of it. 100 years of hell."

"Oh, my..." the Doctor stared, horrified at the revelation, "We made this world."

"Margaret was right." Gazelle said sadly, "We do leave devastation in our wake."

~8~

It was the end of the penultimate round on The Weakest Link, and Agrorax was the unlucky loser.

"That leaves Rose and Rodrick, you're going head to head." the Anne-droid announced, "Let's play The Weakest Link."

"Right, that's the end of tactical voting." Rodrick said to Rose without looking at her, "You're on ya own now."

~8~

On floor 56, Jack had found the Time Lords. "Hey, handsome, hello beautiful." he greeted, "Good to see ya both! Any sign of Rose?"

"Can't you track her down?" Gazelle asked

"She must still be inside the games." Jack replied, "All the rooms are shielded."

The Doctor was tinkering with a computer. "If we can just get inside this computer..." he said, "She's got to be here somewhere."

"Well, you'd better hurry up." Jack told him, "These games don't have a happy ending."

"Yeah, we saw for ourselves." Gazelle replied, going to help the Doctor.

Jack handed the Doctor his Vortex Manipulator. "There ya go, patch that in. It's programmed to find her."

"Thanks." the Doctor nodded and set to work.

Jack then noticed Lynda. "Hey there!" he greeted.

"Hello!" she waved back

"Captain Jack Harness."

"Lynda Moss."

"Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss!"

"Can ya save the flirting till later?" Gazelle cut in. Usually, she found Jack's flirty nature entertaining, but now was not the time and place.

"I was just sayin' hello!" an indignant Jack defended.

"For you, that's flirting." the Doctor grunted. He too found Jack's flirting entertaining nowadays, but not at the present moment.

"I'm not complaining." Lynda smiled to Jack

"Which is a very good idea." Jack smirked and kissed her hand, "Muchas gracias."

The Doctor was still trying to hack into the computer with the Manipulator, but not having much success. "It's not compatible. This stupid system doesn't make sense!" he fumed, whacking the computer in frustration.

"Let's try again." Gazelle soothed, removing the cover of the computer terminal.

"This place should be a basic broadcaster." the Doctor said to Jack, handing Gazelle the Manipulator, "The systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television... this station's transmitting something else."

"Like what?" Jack asked

"We don't know." Gazelle replied, getting to work with the Manipulator.

"This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with us." the Doctor explained, "Something's manipulating our entire lives. It's some sort of trap and Rose is stuck in it."

~8~

In The Weakest Link studio, Rodrick had answered his first question correctly and now it was Rose's turn.

"Rose, in geography, the Grand Central Ravine is named after which ancient British city?" the Anne-droid asked

"Is it York?" Rose tried

"No, the correct answer is Sheffield."

~8~

The Vortex Manipulator beeped. "Ah-ha, got her!" Gazelle said, "She's on floor 407."

Lynda gasped with horror. "Oh, my God! She's with the Anne-droid! You've gotta get 'er outta there!" she said frantically

"Well, what're we waitin' for?" the Doctor urged, and they all raced to the lift.

~8~

"Rodrick, in literature, the author of Lucky was Jackie who?" the Anne-droid asked

"Stewart?" Rodrick guessed

"No, the correct answer is Collins." the Anne-droid told him and turned to Rose; "Rose, the oldest inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy is the Face of what?"

"Boe!" Rose said immediately, "The Face of Boe!"

There was a few seconds tense silence then...

"That is the correct answer."

~8~

The Time Lords, Jack and Lynda were in the lift to floor 407, with the Time Lords watching the numbers on the indicator impatiently. "Come on... come on!" the Doctor urged. Lynda had told them what happened on The Weakest Link and they knew they had to get Rose out of there before the murderous Anne-droid made the blonde it's next victim.

~8~

"Rodrick, in history, who was the President of the Red Velvets?" the Anne-droid asked

"Hoshbin Frame." Rodrick answered

"That is the correct answer. Rose, in food, the dish gaffabeque originated on which planet?"

Rose had absolutely no clue. "Um, is it... Mars?"

"No, the correct answer is Lucifer. Rodrick, which measurement of length is said to have been defined by the Emperor Jate as the distance from his nose to his fingertip?"

Rodrick didn't know this one. "Would that be a goffle?"

"No, the correct answer is a paab. Rose, in fashion, Stella Pok Baint is famous for what?"

Rose took a firm but random guess. "Shoes."

"No, the correct answer is hats."

~8~

The lift finally arrived at floor 407 and the quartet belted out. "Game Room Six, which one is it?!" the Doctor frantically asked Lynda

"Over here!" Lynda answered, and they rushed to a door at the far end.

The Anne-droid's voice sounded over the speakers; "Rodrick, in physics, who discovered who discovered the 15-dash-10 barric fields?"

"San... Hazeldine?" Rodrick's voice answered

"No, the correct answer is San Chen." the Anne-droid told him just as the quartet reached the door.

"Stand back, let me blast it open." Jack said, readying his defabricator.

"Yer can't, it's made of hydra combination." the Doctor told him, pressing his sonic to one end of the hand-pad while Gazelle used hers at the other end.

~8~

"Rose, in history, which Icelandic city hosed Murder Spree 20?" the Anne-droid asked

"Reykjavik...?" Rose tried hesitantly

There was a few seconds tense silence, then...

"No, the correct answer is Pola Ventura."

The game was finished and Rodrick was the winner. "Oh, my God! I've done it!" he grinned. "You've lost!" he jeered at Rose

"But I'm not meant to be 'ere!" a terrified Rose burst out, "I've gotta find the Doctor an' Gazelle, they've gotta be 'ere somewhere... they're always 'ere! They wouldn't just leave me!"

The Anne-droid ignored her and spoke over her; "Rodrick, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with 1,600 credits."

"Oh, thank you." Rodrick grinned, "Thank you so much."

"This game is illegal!" Rose said, strong but scared, "I'm tellin' you to stop!"

At that moment, the door at the end of the studio burst open and the Doctor, Gazelle, Jack and Lynda all charged in.

"Rose!" Gazelle yelled, attracting the blonde's attention.

"Rose, you leave this life with nothing..." the Anne-droid began

"Stop this game!" the Doctor demanded to the floor manager, "I order you to stop this game!"

"We're live on air!" she waved him off

Rose ran towards her friends, who in turn ran towards her. "Look out for the Anne-droid, it's armed!" Rose warned them

"You are the weakest link..." The robot in question turned it's head and it's jaw dropped open. The disintegrator beam shot out, hitting Rose square in the back.

And with a scream, Rose was gone, mere feet from the Time Lords, leaving just a pile of ash on the floor. Enraged, Jack stormed towards the set. "What the hell did you to do to her?!" he raged.

Gazelle dropped to her knees in shock beside the smoking pile of ash that was once Rose Tyler. The Doctor knelt down beside her and pulled her into her arms as she sobbed into his shoulder, while he stared numbly in shock at the pile of ash. A furious Jack continued to tell the production team what he thought of their cruel game, while the two Time Lords just stared where they were.

A bunch of security goons stormed in and two of them roughly pulled the Time Lords to their feet. "Don't you touch them!" Jack growled, brandishing his weapon, "Leave them alone!"

One of the goons aimed a pistol at the Doctor's head. "Drop your weapon!" he demanded to Jack, who had no choice but to comply.

"YOU KILLED HER!" Jack screamed at the floor manager as another goon dragged him away, "YOUR STUPID FREAKING GAME SHOW KILLER HER!"

The two broken Time Lords made no moves to resist as the goons cuffed them and listed charges.

~8~

They had soon all been taken to a brig. The security leader roughly shoved the Doctor against the gate and searched his pockets. The Time Lord was completely unresisting, past caring. The goon wrenched the sonic from the Doctor's pocket and roughly turned him round to face him. "Can you tell us the purpose of this device, sir?" the goon asked brusquely.

The Doctor didn't answer, he just looked blankly at the goon, who shoved him into a cage with the others.

"Can you tell us how you three got on board?" the goon demanded to the three time travellers.

"Just leave them alone..." Lynda protested

The goon grabbed her chin, silencing her. "I'm asking them." he retorted wickedly, then turned back to the Doctor. "Sir, can you tell us who you are?"

Still no answer, ditto with Gazelle and Jack, so they were taken to have their mug shots taken, then taken back to the cage for sentencing. The three time travellers were numb and blank the whole time.

"You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal Colony, there to be held without trial." the goons' leader stated, "You may not appeal against this sentence. Is that understood?" he finished coldly. He got no response from any of the quartet, so went back to the gate to join his colleague.

The Doctor finally showed some life again. "Let's do it!" he said to Jack.

All four of them leapt to their feet. Jack rushed the leader, slamming him into the gate and knocking him out. He then gave the other goon a good kick to the face, knocking him out too. A third goon tried to intervene, only for the Doctor to slam him against the wall, knocking him out too. With the way out now clear, the Time Lords retrieved their sonics, while Jack snagged two of the goons' guns and the defabricator, then they left the brig.

~8~

The quartet all piled into the lift and the Doctor took the defabricator from Jack, releasing the safety catch in readiness, while Gazelle programmed the lift to take them to floor 500, which they assumed was still the nerve centre of the satellite.

They assumed correctly as they stepped out of the lift to find floor 500 full of computers and staff. "Ok, move away from the desk!" Jack demanded, "Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear! Move to the sides and stay there!"

The staff wisely complied while the Time Lords strode purposefully to a woman wired up the computers. She was deathly white and muttering under her breath, monitoring and controlling all the transmissions. "Who's in charge of this place?" the Doctor demanded, brandishing the defabricator at her, "This station's more than a game station."

"79... 80..." was all the woman said.

"Who killed Rose Tyler?" Gazelle demanded

"All staff are reminded that solar flares..."

"We want an answer!" the Doctor growled

"... in delta point one." the woman continued

"She can't reply." a male programmer reasoned, only to flinch back when the Doctor turned abruptly to him, defabricator at the ready. "Don't shoot!"

"Oh, don't be so thick!" the Doctor scoffed, tossing his weapon to the surprised programmer, "Like I was ever gonna shoot."

"We've got more guards on the way up, Flirt Boy." Gazelle said to Jack, "Can you make sure we're not disturbed?"

"Right on it, Biker Girl." Jack answered, and went off to seal the doors.

"You, you were saying." the Doctor said to the male programmer

"But... I've got your gun." the bemused programmer said

"Ok, so shoot me." the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Why can't she answer?"

"She's um... can I put this down?"

"If yer want, just hurry up." the Doctor said impatiently

"Thanks." The programmer put the defabricator down. "Sorry. Um.. the Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not members of staff so she doesn't recognise your existence."

"What's her name?" Gazelle asked

"I don't know." the programmer replied, "She was installed when she was five-years old. That's the only life she's ever known."

"Just when I thought this world couldn't make me any more sick." Gazelle muttered, shaking her head in disgust. "Jack, how we doing?"

"Door's sealed." Jack reported, "We should be safe for about 10 minutes."

"Keep an eye on 'em." the Doctor instructed

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station, I think you're right." the male programmer continued, "I've kept a log. Unauthorised transmats, encrypted signals... it's been going on for years."

"Show us." the Doctor ordered, while Jack went to open a door nearby.

"You're not allowed in there!" a female programmer called to him, "Archive Six is out of bounds."

"Do I look like an out-of-bounds sort of guy?" Jack retorted, holding his guns up. He placed his hand on the pad and entered Archive Six.

Archive Six was a sort of storeroom. Jack smiled as he saw a sight for sore eyes; the TARDIS, standing in the middle of the room. He fit his key in the lock and entered the box.

The TARDIS was humming away, a comforting and familiar sound. Slung casually over one of the railings was Rose's denim jacket. Jack paused, putting his hand on the jacket briefly, before pushing aside his grief and moving onto the console. He checked the monitor and leaned in closer, seeing something puzzling. "What the hell?" he frowned.

~8~

Outside, the Controller continued to ramble on about solar flares while the female programmer cautiously approached the two Time Lords. "If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out." she said impatiently, "The staff are terrified."

"Is this the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day for entertainment?!" Gazelle retorted

"That's not our fault, we're just doing our jobs." the programmer answered indifferently

"And with that sentence, yer just lost the right to even talk to us. Now back off!" a disgusted Doctor snapped, and the programmer wisely obeyed.

One of the screens suddenly went to static and the lights flickered off. "That's just the solar flares." the male programmer explained, "They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."

"Doctor..." the Controller suddenly spoke up

"Doctor?" the female programmer called

"Whatever it is, you can wait." the Doctor told her bluntly

"I think she wants you." the female programmer persisted, gesturing to the Controller.

"Doctor. Gazelle." the Controller said, "Where are the Time Lords?"

The Doctor and Gazelle both quickly ran up. "We're here." the Doctor said

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you two."

"What yer want?" the Doctor asked

"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My... my masters, they always listen but they can't hear me now. The sun... the sun is so bright..."

"Who are your masters?" Gazelle tried

"They wired my head, their name is forbidden." the Controller continued, "They control my thoughts, my masters... my masters. I had to be careful. They monitor the transmissions but they don't watch the programmes. I could hide you both inside the games."

"Our friend died inside your games." the Doctor said coldly

"Doesn't matter."

"Don't you dare tell me that!" the Doctor glared

"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 hundred of years..."

"Who are they?" the Doctor asked

"They wait. They plan and grow in numbers, they're strong now. So strong, my masters..."

"Who are they?" the Doctor persisted

The Controller suddenly looked at him. "But they speak of you. My masters, they fear the Doctor and all Time Lords."

"Tell us! Who are they?" the Doctor demanded, stepping forward.

But at that moment, the Controller gasped. The power flickered back on and the Controller went back to firing off numbers.

"When's the next solar flare?" Gazelle asked the male programmer.

"Two years time." he answered

"Fat lot of good that is." the Doctor grumbled

Just then, Jack emerged from Archive Six. "Found the TARDIS."

"We're not leaving now." the Doctor told him

"No. But the TARDIS worked it out." Jack replied, shoving the male programmer out of his chair and taking his place, "You'll wanna watch this. Lynda, could ya stand over there for me, please?"

"I... I just wanna go 'ome." Lynda protested

"It'll only take a second." Jack said with a fixed smile, "Could ya stand in that spot, quick as you can?" Lynda complied and stood in an empty area of floor. "Everybody watching? Ok... 3... 2... 1..." He pressed a button and a disintegrator beam shot down from the ceiling and hit Lynda, leaving nothing but a billow of smoke.

The Time Lords stared at Jack. "You killed her!" Gazelle burst out.

"Oh, d'ya think?" Jack replied calmly and pressed the button again.

Lynda reappeared right next to the Time Lords, slightly dazed but completely unharmed. "What the 'ell was that?" she asked

"It's a transmat beam, not a disintegrator." Jack explained, "A secondary transmat system."

Both Time Lords realised what he was saying, causing their eyes to light up. "Ya mean..." Gazelle began, daring to hope.

"People don't get killed in the games!" Jack confirmed, "They get transported across space! Rose is still alive!"

The Doctor and Gazelle both laughed ecstatically at this news and all three threw their arms around each other in a group hug.

~8~

Meanwhile, Rose awoke to find herself lying on a metal floor. She sat up to see that she was aboard some kind of spaceship. Then, she saw something that sent shivers down her spine. "It can't be..." she breathed, scrambling to her feet as something horribly familiar advanced towards her. She stumbled backwards, gasping. "But you're dead... I saw you die!" She was backed against a wall and tried to edge sideways, but was stopped by a plunger arm.

~8~

Back on the Game Station, the Doctor had asked Jack and the programmers to try and track down where the secret transmats took their victims to. "She's out there somewhere." he said, dashing from console to console.

"Doctor!" the Controller spoke up. It was causing her pain to communicate with the Doctor and defy her masters, but she carried on determined; "Coordinates 5.6.1..."

"Don'! The solar flare's gone, they'll hear you!" the Doctor warned, typing in those coordinates.

".434." the Controller continued, crying out with pain. "No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma delta 77..." She was cut off as she was hit by a transmat beam.

"No! They've got her!" Gazelle groaned, looking at the mass of wiring where the Controller was.

~8~

The Controller reappeared on the floor of the same spaceship Rose had been taken to. She got to her feet, her blind eyes staring forward, defiant and proud. "Oh, my masters." she said gleefully, "You can kill me. For I have brought your destruction."

She was blasted by a ray gun, causing her to glow negative and show her skeleton, before slumping to the floor dead.

~8~

On the Game Station, Jack was sat at one of the computer terminals with the others gathered around him. "Look, use that." the male programmer said, handing him a disc. "It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmission."

"Nice, thanks." Jack smirked, holding up his hand and eyeing him in an entirely un-platonic manner, "What's ya name?"

"I'm Davitch Pavale." the programmer replied, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale." Jack said flirtatiously

"There's a time and a place." the Doctor cut in

"Are you saying this entire set-up's been a disguise all along?" the female programmer, Nisha, asked.

"Going way back." the Doctor replied, "Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game. Controlling the Human race from behind the scenes for generations."

"The question is, who?" Gazelle mused, "This goes far beyond a simple consortium of banks."

"Well, let's find out." Jack said, handing the Doctor a small device, "Click on this." The Doctor took it, pointed it upwards and clicked. A holographic image of an empty expanse of space appeared in front of them. "The transmat delivers to that point." Jack said, "Right on the edge of the solar system."

"There's nothing there." Nisha pointed out.

"No, it just looks like nothing." Gazelle told her, "Cos' that's what this station is doing. There's another signal underneath the transmissions."

"Doing what?" Davitch asked

"Hiding whatever's out there." the Doctor answered, "Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanners. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it's completely invisible. If I cancel the signal..." He typed some commands into the computer.

When he looked back at the screen, the expanse of space was no longer empty. Right in front of them was a huge saucer-shaped spaceship revolving slowly. Both the Doctor and Gazelle recognised the ship instantly. Their faces fell and they both went as pale as sheets. The camera panned back to reveal ship after identical ship, 200 in total.

"That's impossible." Jack breathed, "I know those ships... they were destroyed."

"Obviously they survived." the Doctor said quietly

"Who did? Who are they?" Lynda asked

"200 ships." the Doctor murmured fearfully, both he and Gazelle griping each other's hands tightly, "More then 2000 aboard each one. That's just about half a million of 'em."

"Half a million what?" Davitch asked

"Daleks." the Doctor and Gazelle said together, the fear in their voices clear to everyone in the room.

~8~

And indeed, Rose found herself surrounded by Daleks. "Alert! Alert! We are detected!" one announced

"It is the Doctor." another one said, "He has located us! Open communications channel."

Another Dalek swivelled round to face Rose. "The female will stand. Stand!"

Rose wisely obeyed. A holographic screen came up, showing the Doctor, Gazelle, Jack, Lynda, Davitch and Nisha.

~8~

The Doctor was grim. He looked at the Daleks surrounding Rose with distaste.

"I will talk to the Doctor." a Dalek said

"Oh, will you? That's nice, hello!" the Doctor waved mockingly

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene."

"Oh, really?" the Doctor retorted, "Why's that then?"

"We have your associate. You will obey or she will be exterminated."

"No." the Doctor said simply

As one, the Humans all jerked their heads in his direction, while Rose stared, all of them wandering what he was doing. The only person not looking at the Doctor was Gazelle, who just glared at the Daleks. She may be the more civil one of the Time Lords, but Daleks were an exception for her.

"Explain yourself." a Dalek demanded, clearly not having anticipated this answer.

"I said no." the Doctor repeated in a dangerous voice.

"What is the meaning of this negative?"

"It means no." Gazelle said, her tone matching the Doctor's.

"But she will be destroyed!"

"No!" the Doctor snarled, standing in his passion, "Cos' this is what we're gonna do; we're gonna rescue her." Rose listened, the pride evident in her eyes, while the others looked at him in awe. "We're save Rose Tyler from the middle of the Dalek fleet, and then we're gonna save the Earth." the Doctor continued, passionate and fiery, "And then, just to finish off, I'm gonna wipe every last stinking Dalek outta the sky!"

"But you have no weapons!" a Dalek shrieked, "No defences! No plan!"

"Yeah." the Doctor grinned, "And doesn't that scare you to death?!"

Gazelle stepped forward; "Rose?"

"Yeah?" the blonde answered eagerly

"We're coming to get you." Gazelle said, and nodded to the Doctor, who shut the screen off.

~8~

The Daleks took the Time Lords' threat very seriously and went into battle stations. "The Doctor is initiating hostile action!" one said

"The stratagem must advance." another said, "Begin the invasion of Earth!"

"The Doctor and the Time Lady will be exterminated!" a third Dalek said as they spun round and pressed their plungers onto the wall controls.

"Exterminate!" the Daleks chanted.

The entire ship was filled with thousands of Daleks, all crying 'Exterminate' as one. Rose could only look around in horror at the huge, insane army.

To be continued...

Author's notes: And we're kicking off V2 of the series 1 finale. Safe to say, this version of Bad Wolf is a considerable improvement over V1. There's a fair bit of Big Brother bashing in that chapter. Apologies to anyone who liked Big Brother back in the day, but I personally found it as entertaining as watching paint dry. Revisiting this episode, I love just how the TARDIS crew react to the game shows they're in. The Doctor is completely disinterested, Rose thinks it's all a laugh and Jack enjoys himself. Note that I dropped in a nod to a game show that I loved as a kid, Gladiators. That show was the business back in the 90's! In fact, my family and little me were in the audience once. It was a long time ago, so the memory's a bit hazy, but I can vividly remember having one of those big foam hands audience members used to have. Thinking about it, Gladiators was the perfect show for the Game Station. One of this episode's few faults is that the game shows they showed do date it, which is a shame, as the basic concept is fine. Anyway, hope you all enjoy this new version and hopefully see ya next time for V2 of 9's swansong.