Here we are again. Back at it with a new chapter. I'm getting excited for we're getting close to Ten. Yay!
Chapter 20
She walked into the TARDIS not long after the strange man from the future had left. Jack was no longer in the console room as she entered, leaving only the Doctor there waiting for her. He had his puzzled expression on as he stared at her curiously.
"What'd you go off to?" he asked her.
"Were you watching me on the monitor?" she questioned, walking up the steps and closer to where he was leaning against the console.
"So what if I did," he replied, crossing his arms and staring her up and down. "Were you meeting someone?"
"Actually, I was. I met someone tonight."
He raised a sharp brow, frowning hard now. "Oh?"
Shaking her head, she smiled at him. "It's nothing like that. It's someone from our future."
This took him by shock as he blinked and dropped his arms. "Our future?"
"He and I bumped into each other tonight. He thought I was his Madison at first, but I helped him realise his mistake." Walking over, she leaned against the console beside the Doctor, smiling at him. "I'm sure you'll like him once we meet him again. He reminds me of you in some ways, if I'm honest."
The Doctor nodded slowly as he crossed his arms again and stared up towards the ceiling. "Can you describe him for me?"
She gave him a brief description, without giving away too much. She watched as the Doctor hummed in thought. "But Doctor, that's not all." Smiling happily, she turned to him with a beaming expression. "When he held my hand, I felt his pulse. He had a double heartbeat. That means . . . well, it has to be a sign, right? He's a Time Lord."
Turning around, the Doctor faced the console again, beginning to fiddle with the controls absently. He did not appear moved by what she revealed, making her feel somewhat stumped. She blinked, turning to face him fully. "Isn't that good news?" she asked him quietly.
"That doesn't mean anything," he mumbled, looking away from her as though avoiding her eyes. This made her suspicious, feeling as if he were trying to step around the topic.
"But he had two hearts. Didn't you sense him tonight? You said your people sense each other, don't they?"
The Doctor smiled grimly as he looked back at her, shaking his head. "Don't mean to be a bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid there's a lot of species out there with two hearts. Some that even look and act like Time Lords, too."
"Oh." Madison felt her heart sink and her cheeks flush from embarrassment. "I thought . . . Oh, I'm sorry, Doctor. I didn't mean—"
"You're fine." He stared at the controls, fingers brushing around the edge of the console. "You were just trying to help."
"But I shouldn't have just . . . mentioned it without thinking of what you'd feel if I did." She placed a hand on top of his, sighing as she felt idiotic.
"It really is okay." He placed his other hand on top of hers, giving her a kind smile. "Don't think about it too much. We shouldn't focus on our future just yet. Might cause some problems if we do."
"Okay."
Watching how he walked away, and the way he still tried so hard to remain focused on the console, she had a strange notion that he was trying to avoid the subject altogether. Did it have to do with the rules of time, to not interfere with what was to come for one's own future? Or was this something different? He appeared uncomfortable, and she could see the avoidance of truth in his eyes. He was lying about something, but what? Unless . . . this strange man from the future was a Time Lord and he was trying to pretend this wasn't the case. Or maybe . . . Oh. She blinked as she thought of another possibility. This man could be from her future, but what if he had been from the Doctor's past somehow? Like how she had run into David again? She wanted to ask if this was true, however, she felt that she had troubled the Doctor enough for tonight. Best she simply wait for when the time came for him to actually meet that tall, skinny man.
She was distracted as Jack walked back into the console room and Rose came through the door. Both were already talking about their next trip in the TARDIS, with the Doctor grinning and bouncing around the console to begin their journey. Smiling, she walked over to join them in their excitement, joyful to see them all happy. The thought of the man in the pinstripe suit and his warning of the 'Siren' was placed away in the back of her mind, ready to be contemplated on another day.
XxXxXxXxXx
Everything was hazy for Madison as she woke up slowly. Blinking, she tried getting her vision to clear as she felt herself laying on a cold, hard ground. Feeling around to see where she was, she felt nothing but chilly metal beneath her fingers. She tried recalling where she might be but . . . nothing came to mind. It was as if her mind were blank. What happened? Where was she? Why can't she remember anything? Fear built up within her as she heard the sound of footfalls coming closer to her. She closed her eyes quickly, hoping to make the approaching person think she was still sleeping.
"I know you're awake. You're not fooling anyone," came a strict voice. Madison opened her eyes, finding them finally clear enough to see. She saw that she was in a gigantic metal room, with harsh lights hanging from the ceiling and pointing down. It was so bright that Madison almost mistook it for sunshine. She became aware, then, that she was laying on the ground rather curled up and with a strange man holding a clipboard standing over her.
"W-who are you?" she asked, her stomach twisting at the sight of a stranger. She felt vulnerable letting the man stand over her, so she got up from the ground in a rush. Perhaps too much in a rush as she felt woozy and off-balance. She leaned over with her hands on her knees, trying her best to let the feeling pass.
"Doesn't matter. You need to get up quick. Crash Mountain is about to start," the man said, not paying her much attention as he flipped through the papers on his clipboard.
"Huh?" Madison finally noticed everything else around her. It looked like some sort of indoor stadium, with fake grass around and everything. Though the strange thing was the obstacle courses were placed in different spots throughout the stadium. Obstacle courses that appeared oddly familiar. "Hold on . . . This looks like a game show. The, um, sorry I can't remember which one."
"You're in Total Wipeout, sweetheart. Not one of the worst for you I guess." The man grabbed her around her elbow, practically dragging her off towards a course set in the middle. There was a circular water area, with tall podiums circling around a massive structure in the centre. The structure itself had different levels to it, with its centre being an open, flat area like that of a playground roundabout a few people could sit on, two massive arms jutting slightly lower from this facing opposite directions. The arms had round metal ends and circular disks along the length of each arm. Lastly, there was a lower, slim platform just under the larger arms, seeming to be placed for someone to carefully walk across to get to the roundabout. Madison vaguely recognised the structure as she had seen Wipeout a few times, though had never watched that much of the show if she were honest. Reality television was not as interesting to her as fictional broadcasting.
"I'm on a show? But . . ." She looked around the place, hoping to see a familiar face. "Where's the Doctor? And Rose? Jack? My friends, where are they? What have you done to them?"
"Look, you're our new replacement. Your friends aren't here." The man pushed her towards a large vehicle that looked as though its purpose was to transport her to one of the podiums. She could see other people standing on their podiums already. Each one of them had a nervous expression as they gazed around the place. "The transmat effects will wear off soon enough. You'll start remembering things in a while. But you got more important things to worry about now."
"And what is that exactly?"
"Surviving."
He pushed her towards the vehicle, making her step onto the platform. The arms of the machine lifted her and the platform up into the air, taking her over to a podium. She hesitated as the platform came over to the empty podium, indicating for her to step over to it. That man said she needed to survive. Though what that entailed could mean anything. And why was she even here? Could she protest and demand for better answers? But, deciding she needed to play along, she was soon getting onto the podium, watching the machine move away from her and back to its position. She began glancing around the area, looking at the different people. It was an even mix between males and females it seemed.
"Can anyone tell me what's going on? Why did that man just tell me I needed to survive?" she asked carefully, hoping for some straight answers.
"You've got to not be wiped out. Or else," answered a woman who was anxiously biting at her nails.
"First five across get to go onto the next stage of the show. So you better make it if you don't want to be disintegrated," said a man on her other side.
"'Disintegrated'? What do you mean 'disintegrated'?" Madison demanded in question, her fear rising as she stared around in desperation for answers.
"As in disintegrated. What do you think? If you don't die from the electric volts and saw blades in this challenge, you're disintegrated into a million atoms," said the man, his eyes solely fixed on the platform ahead of them.
"What?" Madison gaped at him, alarm going through her. Her breath caught as she heard someone yelling away from the stage.
"The twelfth guy refused to play, so he was disintegrated before you showed up. Guess that means you're his replacement," said the woman, lowering her arm to her side to stare blankly at the platform.
"People, we are about to begin in five, four, three, two . . .," came a voice. Then the lights seemed to grow harsher over on top of them and a metal arm with a camera attached came down from above. It panned around with a robotic male voice heard speaking from it. From the sounds of it, the camera and voice were introducing each person who stood on a podium. Everyone gave happy and delighted responses. Completely different from what they had been only moments before. When it came time for her introduction, Madison stood there motionlessly, dread, confusion, and fright still coursing through her.
"Aww, look at that. Someone's a bit camera shy," said the male robotic voice as the camera came closer to her face. "Go on, love. Let everyone know who you are and what you're in for."
"Madison," she spoke quietly, feeling her face heating up in aggravation for being forced to participate in such a thing. If they were going to kill her, just do it already. Don't make a show of it. Opening her mouth to give the camera a cross retort, it quickly zoomed away from her to pan around the course.
"Rules are simple. Make it across or make a big splash. And best rule of all, have fun with it everybody!" said the robotic voice, sounding ever so pleased to see them all fight for survival.
A loud alarm went off, signalling for them to go. Madison watched as the arms and slim platform began turning in opposite directions while the centre roundabout spun. The platform came by a man first, allowing him to leap onto the platform and run down the slim arm. He slipped a bit but managed to get onto the roundabout before one of the spinning arms came for him. All the while the robotic camera voiced a play-by-play, exciting talking as it zoomed around and filmed what was going on. She paid more attention to what was happening than the idiotic camera. She noticed then that the round saw blades around the length of the arm and the bulb at the end made a low humming sound as it passed in front of her, telling her that it was a metal ball of electricity. Soon enough, she saw a woman falling from the platform and into the water, where her body jerked once before floating face down and motionless. Electricity in the water, too.
Madison felt ready to weep for the poor soul lost. And it was only one so far. How many others were going to lose their lives? Could she even save any of them? No . . . she didn't think she could. Even if she managed, they would only be disintegrated in the end. There was no winning from something like this. This time . . . her sole focus had to be on staying alive. She simply had to. For her friends. They had to be lost somewhere out there. Maybe in a worse spot than even she was. She needed to live to save them. That had to be her goal. Save her friends, and she could worry about bringing down the bastards of this show later. So, with this in mind, she squared herself up and waited for the next turnaround for the slim platform.
The moment it came into view, she sprung for it. She landed messily, falling sideways. She held onto it for dear life, clinging to the edge. She sucked in a breath as the arm above crossed over her. She could feel the electricity from the bulb and hear the churning of the saw blades. Waiting for it to pass, she hurriedly pulled herself up onto the platform and began crawling across it. It was not the most dignified way to get to the roundabout, but it was the safest and most sure way of living. She gasped as the second arm came for her then. She dove forward, pressing herself down to the platform and curling up to be in the empty space between the two saw blades. The moment it was gone she was up again and crawling fast. She had to duck one more time from the arm coming over, barely missing another saw blade, but she finally managed to pull herself up onto the roundabout. She sighed in relief, turning to sit down and face out towards the other podiums.
Things got worse for the others. She had to close her eyes when the first person got hit by the saw blades. She just couldn't bear to watch. It was all just so . . . horrible. Her stomach churned from all the sounds of agony and every splash that she heard, knowing it meant another had died. Finally, a buzzer sounded off and she opened her eyes to see two women and two men on the roundabout with her. All of them panting from the terror they had just gone through.
"And that's our five! Well done, everyone," said the camera, panning around them in a merry state. Then it turned to the few that remained stiffly standing on their podiums. "Oh, so sorry. Looks like you lot didn't make it end. Welp, that's how she goes sometimes!"
"No, wait!" called a woman.
"Let us try again, please!" cried a man. But their shouts were in vain as an electric shot of lightning came down from above and zapped them all, turning them into nothing more than dust. Madison let out a shuddering breath as the roundabout slowly came to a stop. The machine from earlier came over to them, pushing forward a large platform for them all to step on. She numbly got up and followed the others to safety.
"That was . . .," she tried speaking, feeling at a loss of words to describe what she had just witnessed.
"That's Wipeout," said the man from earlier, muttering under his breath. "Just be glad we're not in Ground Force."
The five of them were soon led over to a resting area of sorts. One with a few picnic tables to sit at and a few long tables with a variety of snacks and drinks provided. The different women and men (those who appeared to be running the show behind the scenes from Madison's guess) told the lot of them that they could rest there in between commercial breaks. After the clipboard people left, Madison turned to her gameshow acquaintances in hopes of gaining some insight through them. Or even possibly gather a way of revolting against the show itself. Though none of them seemed to want to even speak to her, no matter how much she tried.
"Look, there's no point in chatting up if you're just gonna die. Gives you less of a chance of getting attached," said one of the gruffer men of the group. Madison could only stare at him as he glared back at her. She glanced around at the others, seeing how they all merely stared at the tables in front of them, heads lowered and eyes avoiding looking at one another.
"If you lot want to give up before you've even tried, then be my guest. But I'm not going down without a fight and neither should you," Madison countered, voice lowered as she felt a mixture of anger towards the situation, the people, and the lack of will to fight. She leaned over the table, placing her hands on the flat surface as she eyed them all. Still, they refused to meet her gaze. "Now I will try to save you all, you can guarantee that. However, I can't save those who don't at least try to survive."
"We are trying. It's more of the problem that only one of us gets to go home," said the gruff man as he folded his arms. "If I were you, I'd try my best not to get in anyone's way. 'Cause I will take out anyone who gets in my way. Got it?"
"What about unity? Helping your fellow man? If we work together, we can stop the ones in charge of this. We just have to think of a way," she implored them, hoping for some kind of reaction. "Please, don't give up. There's got to be a way out of this."
"Why would there be? Everyone loves watching this stuff. Just . . . no one really thinks it'll be them on the telly until it's too late," mumbled a woman.
Madison gaped in horror. "You love watching people die and suffer? Why? What twisted mind told you that was okay?"
The woman shrugged. "It's just how it is. Have to have some way of entertainment, don't we? Besides, it's a fair system. Everyone's chipped, so as soon as you're of age, you got a chance of being dragged into a show."
"Then stop watching it! If everyone decided to stop watching, there'd be no money in it. No money, shows end, no one dies. End of story."
"Yeah, right. Like anyone would stop watching this stuff. It's fun!" argued the younger man.
"Watching people die is fun?" Madison replied in disbelief, feeling sick to her stomach at the very idea. She knew humans were cruel at times and could grow twisted minds, but she thought they would have been far past this point in the future (for this had to be the far future given the technology). Perhaps she really did have too much optimism for her own good.
"Better than the old stuff. At least this way it's real."
Sighing, Madison walked away, sitting at a table by herself. She knew it was pointless. As the saying goes, one could lead a horse to water, but it didn't mean the horse would drink. She knew there had to be other ways of getting them to listen, but none that she could think of. She wasn't as brilliant as the Doctor, who always seemed to get people to listen to him. Or . . . perhaps that was just him having a way with people. Oh, she hoped he was okay, wherever he was. Him, Jack, and Rose. Madison was starting to remember what happened now. They had gone on a variety of different trips before they had finally visited Raxacoricofallapatorius to return Margaret's egg. Then the Doctor had suggested visiting Japan, which led to them ending up in 1336 Kyoto and in a world of trouble when they found themselves in the middle of a massive battle. Apparently, the TARDIS had brought them to the same time period of the battle of Minatogawa, Japan's imperial forces against the Ashikaga. Not actually a fun experience in her book, and one that had almost hurt Rose gravely if not for Jack being quick on his feet. Madison remembered they had just left Japan. She had been leaning against the console, smiling and rolling her eyes as the others were laughing in relief in managing their escape when . . . a bright light overwhelmed her sight. It had filled the TARDIS, making it impossible for her to see anyone else. She had reached out for the Doctor in hopes to grasp onto him to keep him close, then . . .
She gazed around, trying to think of what had actually happened. The man with the clipboard mentioned something about a 'transmat'. She wondered if this was some sort of strong teleportation device that could even outmatch the TARDIS. She had thought that the Doctor said it was impossible for anyone to be able to teleport in or out of the TARDIS as the ship actively protected them. Though it seemed that there were still things out in the universe even the TARDIS could not stop.
"All right, people! Places! We're on in five minutes!" came a call.
Madison sighed heavily as she watched her fellow contestants getting up from their table. Again, she wished there was more she could do, but she knew that any action might cause the people running the show to end her quickly only to replace her with another. She did not want to have this fate placed onto anyone else. And her peers . . . she hoped that perhaps she could think of something to help save them. Until then . . . she just had to focus on keeping herself alive for the time being.
XxXxXxXxXx
Things progressed just as bad as she had been expecting. The different 'trials' of such were courses placed in various locations around the stadium. Each one designed to weed out the weak. Each one devious and cruel in their design. So many blades and spikes, electricity and flames, and even a couple of wrecking balls for some reason. She didn't know how she was able to get past it all, but she felt incredibly lucky. Though it saddened her as two others from the group had fallen into the hazardous courses. Each one worst than the last. She felt she could barely stomach it, but she kept her goal focused on surviving. At least until she could think of a way out of this. There just had to be a way . . .
"What a show! Our last three contestants have really been through the runner. But now it's time for our final stage: The Wipeout Zone!" came the voice from the camera.
Currently, Madison was panting after coming out of the last course. She leaned over, hands on her knees, as she tried to catch her breath. She had a couple of cuts from a few blades jutting after her, but nothing too bad from what she could tell. She glanced over, seeing that the other two were not doing so good. The one woman had a harsh cut along her arm, and the gruff man from earlier was wincing with every breath. He had taken a bad fall earlier when ducking a wrecking ball. She wondered if he had some broken ribs.
"Places people!" came the call.
Madison's attention was drawn to the final course for them to participate in. It did not seem much different from the rest. In fact, it was rather 'plain' in comparison to some. Though she knew this was because the focus was not so much on the deadly obstacles, but rather on getting through the stage in the fastest amount of time. If she were too slow compared to the rest . . . it would be a death sentence for her. Even if she did manage to not die from the stage itself. She watched as the gruff man was led to the stage first. She took in the obstacle course of what they would have to face, seeing the first slide down towards the water and the leap they would have to make at the end towards a low platform, trying their best to avoid the electrified water. Though the electricity did not scare her all that much as Mer could withstand quite a shock compared to humans. What frightened her more was the idea of getting too wet from the waterfalls and sprinklers scattered around the place and transforming in front of everyone. What would happen then, she wondered.
"Ooh! Too bad, Mike. Looks like you have been wiped out!" came the cheer from the robotic camera. Madison gazed over only to quickly avert her gaze from where the man lay in the water. It seems the spiked wall had gotten him. She glanced over to the woman beside her where they stood at the platform, ready to go. The woman was shivering from head to toe but put on a brave face when the camera called her name.
"Good luck," she whispered to the woman. The lady glanced at her before hurriedly going down the slide.
Madison watched, with breath held slightly, as the woman worked hard and fast through the course. With shock and awe, Madison let out a sigh of relief when watching the woman leap from the spinning platform onto the one holding the red button. Quickly getting the button pressed, the woman sort of sagged where she was, breathing hard and her clothes were torn up from the mess she had just encountered. As the robotic camera celebrated and gave the woman congratulations, Madison felt queasy as she knew it was her turn now. Somehow . . . she did not think she was going to survive this. But she would give it her best, at least.
"All right, Madison. The time to beat is two minutes. Think you can do it?" the camera said excitedly to her as it swung across the room and over to her, practically in her face. She glared at it, refusing to speak. She had tried giving it a piece of her mind before, but she had been warned not to say 'rude things' on television. Honestly, all these messed up things to watch yet rude gestures and words were taboo? Such a bizarre time indeed.
"Looks like someone is still camera shy!" the robotic voice laughed before zipping away to get a wider shot of her. "Time begins with the buzzer. Ready?"
The buzzer rang and Madison ran as fast as she could, practically launching herself down the slippery slide. She leapt from the slide the moment she was towards the end, falling to the platform just across. She swiftly picked herself back up before running down the thin bridge. She then grabbed the rope attached to the gooey slide, pulling herself towards the top. She avoided the spikes that would occasionally pop up around where she tried to step. At one point a spike came up and grazed the side of her leg, ripping her trousers along her lower leg. She ignored the stinging pain, not even bothering to look at it as she kept going. Once she reached the top, she ran across the slim bridge to the next obstacle, trying to outrun the massive boulder that was dropped and started rolling after her. She dove into a tunnel that she had to crawl through before the blades from above came down and crushed her. A blade tip pushed into her shoulder just as she was leaving the tunnel, making her let out a small yelp of pain. Grimacing, she stood up and grabbed her shoulder, hoping the blade had not gone too deep. Then she was running across another slim bridge that had massive axes swinging back and forth at different intervals. She had to pause a few times, waiting for the right moment to get around the axes before she was running again.
After passing this, she ran into the last few obstacles. One that mostly relied on her being about to leap across the different platforms that were spinning and not fall into the electrified water below. She jumped to the first one, catching herself from falling as she lost a bit of her footing. Stumbling, she tried her best to keep an eye on the next moving platform to jump to. It was hard as she had to constantly turn against the spin of the current platform she stood on. Eventually, she made her jump. Unfortunately, it seemed her luck ran out as she slammed into the fast spinning flat surface. Her breath left her as the corner of the hard platform jabbed into her chest. Her hands scrambled to hold on, scratching across the rough texture of the concrete platform. She managed, by sheer luck, to be able to hold onto the ledge, but she was left dangling, holding onto the platform by her gripping fingers and continuously spinning around with the platform. She could feel herself growing dizzy and her fingers growing weak in trying to hold herself up. She knew her time was running short now and she felt herself shaking from the thought of falling into the water. She let out a short laugh, feeling foolish to fear being seen transforming more than actually dying. How silly of her.
"Madison!"
"Hold on!"
Blinking, she was shocked as the platform came to a sudden halt, no longer spinning around. The jolt from it stopping almost made her lose her grip, but she managed to keep hold. Looking over, she saw the people running the show standing around in shock as the Doctor and Jack came bursting into the stadium. A few of the showrunners tried stopping the Doctor and Jack, though were halted when Jack pointed a large gun at them. While Jack held them all back, the Doctor stood by the edge of the above-ground pool, staring at her in urgency.
"Just hang on! I'll come get you!" the Doctor called out to her.
"Careful, the water's electrified!" she cried out to him, urging him to be safe. She watched as he ran over to a man with a clipboard and earpiece, beginning to shout orders at the man. Her arms began shaking, growing weaker by the second. Grunting, she tried pulling herself up onto the platform, but her arms were too worn out. All she could do was just hang there and pray for it to be over soon. She heard the whirling of a large machine.
"You can let go. I've got you," she heard the voice of the Doctor nearby.
Her breath wavered as she opened her eyes. Funny, she did not even remember closing them. Looking to her right, she saw the Doctor was standing on a similar platform from the machine that carried her over to the podiums from a few courses ago. He stood beneath her, holding out his arms. Hesitating for a moment, she eventually let go and let herself fall. She gasped as she landed in his arms in a thud. He rocked only slightly on his feet from this but mostly stayed firm, not appearing at all phased by her weight.
He stared down at her in concern as she stayed laying in his arms. "You all right?" he asked gently.
"Yes," she breathed, her voice coming out a bit wavering. She adjusted herself as he helped her stand beside him. She gripped him hard as the machine moved them back away from the obstacle course and towards the steady, dry ground. Her hold on his arm tightened as she stared down at her feet. "I . . . I'm so sorry. So many people died here."
"I know. There's games like this all over this station. All of them filled with people who have to fight for their lives," the Doctor explained.
"I didn't know how to save them. I couldn't think of any way around this," she whispered, feeling like a failure.
The Doctor wrapped an arm around her, hugging her close to his side. "Don't blame yourself. You're not the one who made this game. The important thing is that you're alive. That's all that matters." When the platform finally reached the fake grass, he led her away from the scene behind her, guiding her towards the open exit he and Jack had come from. The Doctor looked at Jack, eyes hard as he spoke. "We're going. Got to find Rose next."
"Excuse me! You can't just waltz in here and take one of our contestants!" came a shout.
"If the man says we're going, then we're gone," came a curt response from Jack. Madison glanced over when hearing him catching up with her and the Doctor. He gave a bright grin to her. "You okay there, Mads?"
"Yes. You?" she replied softly.
"Never better," he responded brightly, winking at her. As they stepped through a doorway in the wall, Madison saw a woman quickly coming over to them.
"Did you get your friend? Is she safe?" questioned the woman.
"She's fine," the Doctor answered, still holding Madison close to him. At this point, Madison felt herself blushing lightly.
"Um, hello. I'm Madison. I'm assuming you got wrapped up with the Doctor somehow?" she introduced herself, giving the woman a small smile.
"He was in the House with me," the woman explained, though this answer did not tell Madison much. The young woman (with dirty blonde hair tied up into messy buns on either side of her head and wearing a white jacket over her maroon shirt and denim trousers) was then smiling kindly, holding out a hand. "Lynda Moss. Nice to meetcha!" Madison went to shake the woman's hand but was pulled away by the Doctor as he rushed her over to a lift.
"Look, we can talk on the way. We've got to get Rose next," he said quickly. Madison felt herself going tense.
"Where is she? What's happening?" she questioned hurriedly, finally pulling herself away from the Doctor as she prepared herself for what was to come next. If Rose was in danger, then she knew she needed to be at her best to save her friend.
Madison remained beside the Doctor as they rode the lift up as the Time Lord refused to let go of her hand. Jack and Lynda were behind them, both rapidly explaining what they had been doing before finding her. The Doctor would add in a few key points for her to know, adding in about the year they were in and what had come of his and Rose's past journey from here. However, when he mentioned the corporation's name that was in charge of this hellish game station, Madison felt dread and fright hit her with a force. The Siren Corporation. Again, there was that name. She caught the Doctor's eye, seeing the anger there brimming away within him.
"What does it mean? Why does one name keep following us? There has to be a reason," Madison said quietly, trying her best not to let the Doctor see her nervous.
"It's me. Whoever they are, they're after me, manipulating my life, trying to get me here. For what, I don't know. But I've dragged you and the others in with me. Whatever happens, it's my fault," the Doctor muttered, staring hard at the lift door as they ascended.
Madison squeezed his hand gently. "It's not your fault. Like you told me just a moment earlier, you're not the one who created these games. You're not the one trying to kill us." The Doctor turned to look at her. She watched him swallow heavily, but he did not say anything. Only stared at her with those soft, ancient eyes. She then frowned slightly as she thought over what he said. "However, I don't really feel as though whatever this is, is necessarily after you. If that had been the case, why drag the rest of us in with you? Why not just steal you away? It would have been simple and easy. No chances of us getting a possibility to save you since we would have no idea where you would have gone or how to even get to you."
"We could have just gotten in the way of their transmat," Jack suggested in thought. Though the frown on the Doctor's face told Madison that he was starting to see what she was noticing.
"But that doesn't make sense, either. Their transmat system seems very specific without much room for error. Instead, it feels more like . . .," Madison continued.
". . . like it picked us all for a reason. Like it was separating us, to get to one of us specifically," the Doctor finished for her. He stared down at the floor as he nodded. "Maybe I got it wrong. Maybe, whoever's in charge of this 'Siren' isn't after me. What if . . ." He looked up suddenly, eyes going wide as he stared at Madison. "What if they're after someone who's travelling with me."
"Rose," she breathed just as the lift made a noise and opened for them.
Lynda rushed forward for them, pointing at the way as the Doctor asked for which room. They went up to the door, with the Doctor working fast to get it open. Jack asked something about whether or not he could blast through this door, though only to be reminded by the Doctor (like from the last one) it would be impossible. Soon, the Doctor had the door open and they were all running into the room. It was dark, with only a few spotlights showing the centre of the showroom. There Madison could see different podiums with names on them and places where people could have stood. Rose and another man were at the centre two, facing an android of sorts that stood large and tall a few feet away from them both. The android was heard speaking to Rose and saying something along the lines of 'weakest link'. Rose was seen crying and shaking as she stared at the android in terror. Then, the blonde spotted them.
"Look out for the Anne Droid, it's armed!" Rose shouted at them, running around her podium to get to them.
"Rose, run!" Madison yelled, knowing what was about to happen next. She pushed herself forward to get to Rose first, trying to pull the girl down or even place herself in front of what the android was about to do. But she was too slow. They all were. For the next thing she knew, she heard Rose screaming as the beam shot out from the android's mouth at the girl's back. There was nothing left of Rose but a scattering of dust which floated around in the air in a cloud while a pill of it fell to the floor.
"NO!" Madison screamed, falling to her knees in front of the pile of dust in dismay. A sob tore itself from her chest as tears fell freely down her face. Her heart broke as she wept over the dust. Rose, her young friend, was gone. Just like that. She had failed to protect Rose. She had failed another friend. Another one, lost because of her.
Madison looked up as she heard angry men coming into the room. Security guards with guns. One tried to grab her roughly first, but she saw red as he touched her shoulder. Her fist came up before the man could recognise the danger, hitting him squarely in the face. He screamed in pain, but she ignored this as she lifted herself up from the ground to swiftly kick him hard into the stomach, sending him tumbling down. She was just about to launch herself at him when someone tackled her to the ground. She landed with a gust of breath leaving her as someone had her pressed down on her stomach and their knees pushing down on her back, right into her spine. But she didn't care that she was in pain. All she cared about was lashing out in her anger.
"Bastards! Cowards! Killing people for your own gain, it's sickening!" she screamed as she tried to get the person off of her, but they managed to grab her arms and yank them behind her. She could feel metal cuffs being placed around her wrists.
"Just shut up," growled a male voice from behind her as a security guard began lifting her up off the floor by her arms.
"Deplorable degenerate," Madison spat at him, uncaring to how he twisted her arms roughly or the bite of the metal around her wrists. All she cared about was screaming out all the pain she felt in the loss of Rose. All she wanted was to end the suffering of all those in the station. In any way possible, she was going to put a stop to all of this and make those who had created this station pay somehow. There needed to be justice done today. Somehow. Some way. There needed to be justice for Rose and all those who had come before her.
Yelling and shouting coming from around the room finally took Madison's notice. She looked over, seeing Jack with his large gun pointing at crew members of the game show and the contestant that had been standing next to Rose earlier. The shouting came from a few other security guards. Two who were trying to get Jack to stand down. Another had grabbed Lynda, who had been standing there away from them all in utter shock. She glanced towards the Doctor, who had been crouched down in front of the pile of dust, and saw how another security guard grabbed the Time Lord and yanked him up from the ground. He pointed a gun to the Doctor's head and ordered Jack to stand down.
"Leave him alone!" both Madison and Jack shouted at the same time. Madison tried jerking herself out of the guard's hold that still gripped her. But he was too strong, keeping her locked in place.
"Don't you dare harm him," Madison growled as she glared at the man who held the Doctor. Her warning was ignored as the guard started to place cuffs around the Doctor's wrists after Jack dropped his weapon. The other two guards were also placing Jack under arrest while he continued to shout at everyone. Madison growled as the guard holding her tried to make her move by pushing at her roughly. She fought against him, throwing her head back to slam into his. The guard gave a yell before swiftly punching into her head as retaliation. She ignored the pain, turning to scream harsh words at him and fight even harder.
"Madison, enough," came a sudden sharp voice in her mind.
She froze, going stiff as she felt a presence wrap around her mind and settle in. A small shiver went through her as it had been so long since she had felt an establishing mental connection with another. Not like this. There had been the TARDIS's connection, yes. Even the Doctor and her brief sharing of memories and emotions. But this was . . . different. Especially as it was coming from the Doctor. This was something far more binding as it was the only way to speak telepathically, twisting one's own mental scape with another in a more . . . permanent sense. It was overpowering from his unwavering mind, yet it also caressed her into a gentle blanket of warmth. She tried her best to walk where the guard behind her was pushing her to. To not focus on the pounding of her heart as she glanced towards the Doctor and saw his stormy blue eyes staring at her. This was neither the time nor the place for her to lose herself in the overwhelming sensation that was his mind and hers connecting. In fact, she was rather annoyed with herself for feeling this way.
"I'm sorry," she apologised, feeling foolish to have lost herself in her anger. Though her apology was more than just for her actions. It was for their lost friend as well. If only she had acted sooner. Perhaps Rose would still be there with them now. Her heart sank and she bowed her head as more tears came forth.
"It's not your fault. It isn't anyone's," came a soft reply in her head.
"It's not your fault, either," she replied just as gently. No, the Doctor was right. It wasn't her fault, nor anyone's from their party. Rose's death had been out of their hands. Though it was her fault for making that promise to Jackie. She should have known better than to make such a promise. She knew what sort of dangers came around the life of a time traveller (or that of the dangers that came around just being in her life), so she should have realised it was an impossible promise to begin with. Oh, Jackie. How was she going to tell the mother of Rose's loss? Or even Mickey? He had trusted her, too, after all.
"What are we going to do?" Madison asked as they were roughly pushed into the lift along with the others.
"We'll make it out of this. I swear," the Doctor answered strongly, staring straight ahead with a blank expression on his face. "Just stick close beside me, okay?"
"Okay," she breathed, nodding absently. She knew he was answering her for more than just what they were dealing with currently. No, he meant for what was to come for them after. Facing the aftermath of Rose's death . . . was going to be the true heartache to face.
XxXxXxXxXx
It felt like ages had passed while she and the others were 'processed' by the security guards. Pictures taken. Fingerprints scanned. Interrogation after interrogation of all sorts of questions and demands. Madison mostly just sat there numbly, still reeling in the loss of Rose Tyler. She barely paid much mind to anything around her. She knew the initial event of Rose dying had not been truly processed in her mind. Not quite yet. But it was beginning to and Madison was starting to feel the usual wave of utter despair she normally would feel after losing someone close to her. Why was it, no matter how many times she lost someone in her life, that it always hurt so greatly every time? Perhaps she was merely foolish to believe that things would have not ended up this way. It was just how her life went, after all. Especially now that she lived her life dangerously as a time traveller. Still . . . Rose had filled her with such hope, with joy for looking out for the future. Madison had thought that this time would have been different because of Rose. This time . . . would have been so much better.
Her attention was drawn when hearing the lead guard telling them something about going to a 'colony' of some kind. There was something else about no trial, but Madison couldn't care less. It was doubtful any justice system from this era would have been fair in any way. This was a brutal world in the year 200,100. Nothing was decent, except Lynda it seems as the girl tried sticking up for them many times throughout their interrogations from earlier. In fact, as Madison glanced over, she took in Lynda being rather withdrawn and timid. It seemed the idea of this 'colony' was a rather scary prospect for her. Madison then wondered what kind of punishments this era had that was so terrible that the game shows seemed 'decent'. She looked over towards Jack and the Doctor then, seeing how both were being oddly quiet and reserved. Neither one seemed to be up for talking back, which was rather unusual for them. Though, the same went for her as well. She wondered if they too were still reeling from the loss of Rose.
As soon as the guard began turning away from them, the Doctor looked at Jack and said gruffly, "Let's do it."
Jack reacted immediately, standing up swiftly and giving the guard a punch in the face as soon as the man had turned in surprise. When the guard had fallen to the floor unconscious, another guard rushed towards the cage door of their holding cell to intervene. Jack leapt up, grabbed the bar of the doorway of the gated door and kicked his feet out, throwing his weight into the door to knock the other guard over. The guard was up again after stumbling to his feet, trying to get at Jack while another man came over fast to grab the Doctor who had just stepped out of the cage. The Doctor grabbed the man and threw him into a pipe along the wall, knocking the guard out quickly. Jack was seen soon having his own guard down on the ground and knocked out cold. Madison grabbed Lynda's hand the moment she saw all the guards were taken care of. She was not going to fail to protect Lynda as she had done with Rose. Madison knew she would protect this young woman with her life, that was assured.
She watched as the Doctor, Jack, and even Lynda grabbed weapons off a table in the guard room. She, herself, grabbed a small pistol of sorts, at the ready to keep any other guards at bay. Though Madison would have felt better about holding the weapon if she knew where the safety was.
"Where's the safety?" she decided to ask as they all stood in the lift, riding it up to the top floor.
"Why do you want that on?" Jack asked her.
"In case it accidentally discharges," she stated, frowning as neither Jack nor the Doctor really looked at her. Then, her stomach sank. Memories of the time with the Dalek back at Van Stattan's bunker ran through her mind. "We're not harming anyone," she reminded them clearly. "That goes against—."
"Our rules. Yes, I know," the Doctor said gruffly, eyes locked on the lift's door.
Seeing how he did not say anything else, she stepped forward and gently placed a hand on his arm. "We've talked about this. You don't have to be a soldier anymore. Using physical methods is one thing, but guns are an entirely different story."
The Doctor turned to look at her, eyes storming in a rage as he stared hard at her. "They didn't hesitate to kill Rose. They shot her in the back. Probably done the same to thousands of others." His grip on the large gun in his hands tightened. "Why should I give them that right?"
Madison reached a hand up, cupping his cheek as she stared softly into his eyes. "Because . . . you're better than that," she said aloud. "You're a Doctor, remember?" she then spoke into his mind, gently nestling her mind against his in a hug of sorts. She felt an instant release of tension from him as he sighed and closed his eyes.
"I told you about altering my thoughts and feelings," he warned her lightly.
"I'm not. I'm merely giving you a 'hug'. I think you needed it." She relaxed as she felt him return the 'hug', wrapping her mind up with his presence.
He opened his eyes, smiling at her. "I think you needed one, too." He reached forward then, grabbing her gun. "Safety's on the side here," he said as he pressed it. He then handed it back to her, his eyes softer as the storm within him calmed. "And don't worry, I was never gonna hurt anyone. Already had my safety on." He patted his gun lightly. Then, his smile dropped and he stared steadily at her. "I know who I am. I won't forget that again."
Madison smiled in return, nodding. "I'm glad."
"Captain, put your safety on, too. I don't want to take any chances. We're just making them think we'll shoot so they listen to us. Got it?"
"Right," Jack agreed, switching on his gun's safety. "Though what's the point of having guns if we're not shooting?"
"It's a deterrent," the Doctor replied smoothly, winking lightly at Madison. Her smile grew warm as she nodded again before turning to face the lift's door as she felt it slowing down. Then the Doctor stepped forward, gently pushing her back. "Stay behind me. You're still hurt and I don't want to make your injuries any worse."
"I'm fine," she tried arguing, but seeing his sharp gaze she sighed and nodded all the same.
The door opened as the lift stopped on floor five hundred. Madison was only able to take in the sight of a control room for only a moment, with chairs in front of monitors lined all around the place, and the strange woman, with wires hanging around her, in the back of the massive room. Madison was not able to take in anything else further as the Doctor and Jack were both moving into the room, guns pointed towards the people at the front of the room and making demands. Jack ordered everyone to stay back and not make any sudden movements while the Doctor marched towards the strange woman standing in the glow of blue light. Madison and Lynda stayed mostly behind the Doctor and Jack, with guns held to their sides and not actually drawing them just yet. It seemed Lynda was like her and was not comfortable with the idea of pointing guns around. Not yet anyway. Madison knew she would act the part if necessary.
"Who's in charge of this place?" the Doctor demanded from the woman standing in the blue light. When he received no response, he continued. "This Satellite is more than a Game Station. Who killed Rose Tyler?"
As Madison got closer to the front of the room, she realised in shock the state of the young woman. The wires that were all around her were not actually just hanging around her. Instead, they were embedded into her skin through countless holes lining her body from shoulders to ankles. Her jumpsuit (old and worn in appearance) had slits down the length of her body to allow the wires to be connected into her. Her hair was shaved close to her head, with some portions somewhat longer and tied into short, tight knots. Wires were around the top of her head, seemingly attached into her skull. Her eyes were cloudy as she gazed out into the room, and she kept muttering under her breath different numbers.
"All staff are reminded that . . .," the young woman began to announce, though the Doctor yelled over the rest of her words.
"I want an answer!"
"Doctor," Madison said softly, coming over to his side and touching his arm that had the gun raised, "something's wrong with her. Look."
"She can't reply," said a man wearing a white button shirt and tie, looking to be one of the crew members in charge. When the Doctor turned with gun pointed still, the man backed up slightly in fear and raised his hands further. "Don't shoot!"
"Don't be so thick, like I was ever gonna shoot," retorted the Doctor as he tossed the man the gun. The man caught it in his arms, blinking in utter bewilderment.
"Oh, are we stopping the charade now?" Madison commented lightly as she dropped her gun and kicked it away. She listened as the Doctor ordered Jack to remain with his own gun as more guards were coming up the lift towards them. As Jack rushed off to stand guard, the Doctor looked back at the young woman with the wires. Madison stared at her as well, feeling at a loss for what had been done to her. It couldn't have been by choice, was it? "Who is she?" she asked then.
"She's the Controller," answered the man from before, still holding the gun and staring at them in confusion. "Um . . ."
"You! What were you saying before?" the Doctor questioned as he turned back towards the man.
"I've . . . got your gun," replied the man.
"Okay, so shoot me. Why can't she answer?"
"What is she exactly? Why called the 'Controller'?" Madison asked.
"She's . . ." Glancing at the gun then back at the Doctor, the man shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Can I put this down?"
Madison laughed, shaking her head as she smiled kindly. "Yes, you may. Now, please, answer our questions."
Placing the gun onto a nearby desk, the man turned to them and appeared more at ease. "The Controller is the main processing unit to the station. She's linked into the transmissions, monitors them. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not a member of staff so she doesn't recognise your existence."
"But . . . why? Why use a person for what a computer could do?" Madison questioned, even more confused by this backwards society they came into.
"Computers can be hacked. A person can't," the man replied easily.
"What's her name?" the Doctor asked, looking back at the woman now.
"I don't know. She was installed when she was five. It's the only life she's ever known."
"A child?! You 'installed' a child and turned her into a machine?! Are you so pusillanimous that you cannot even think for yourself and realise what horrendous atrocity that is?!" Madison shouted, growing enraged quickly as the idea of hurting a child was beyond imagining. She had thought this world would have the decency of leaving children out of their brutalities. Apparently, she had too high of hopes for the human race of the future. Truly they never learn from their past.
"I . . ." the man blinked, apparently surprised by her sudden anger, "I wasn't here when she was installed. I've only worked for three years now."
"No excuse!" Madison spat at him. She felt a sudden presence in her mind, reeling her anger back.
"Madison, I need you to calm down," came the Doctor's voice.
Sighing, she stepped back, refusing to look at the man now as she turned to the Doctor beside her. She saw how he stared at her in concern. "Apologies. I . . . don't like it when children are harmed."
She walked away to give herself some breathing room. Her anger from Rose's death was still rather fresh. She knew it would be best if she remained silent and away from the others for the time being. She only half-listened as the man began explaining something about 'logs' to the Doctor. The strange goings-on with the station and what information the man had been gathering. Her attention was turned as she heard Jack breaking into a room where he had been warned to be 'off limits' by a woman. Madison walked over to join him, wanting to be of some use today. So far . . . she felt like she was doing everything wrong. First, she couldn't save any of those contestants in the game she had been in, then her friend Rose . . . and now she was letting her anger get the best of her. Could she do nothing right?
When she came around to the doorway of a sort of cupboard space, she was relieved to see the TARDIS there within the white-glowing room. She hadn't even really thought of what might have happened to the poor ship. Madison hoped that the old girl was not harmed. She seemed in good shape outwardly, but Madison knew there could be damage done internally. Especially to the soul of the ship herself.
"Are you okay, old girl?" Madison asked gently as she placed a hand on the closed door. "They didn't harm you, did they?" She received a calm response in her mind of sorts. Nothing telling, but mostly a feeling of happiness that she was there and asking. Madison smiled. "I'm glad you're all right. I'm sorry I didn't worry about you more. I was . . . emotionally compromised for a moment." She patted the door as she felt another wave of peaceful sense coming from the ship. It seemed she was forgiven for not having the TARDIS's safety on her mind. Blinking, she was taken back when the lights around the room suddenly dimmed to the point of hardly being on at all. Worried for everyone's safety, she quickly went back into the main room, gazing around to see a similar occurrence happening for the entire game station.
"Doctor . . . Doctor. Doctor. Where's the Doctor?" she heard the Controller calling out. Walking swiftly, Madison stood next to Lynda as the Doctor stepped forward to speak with the young woman at the controls.
"I'm here," he said.
"Can't see. Blind. So blind. All my life blind, all I can see is numbers. But I saw you," uttered the Controller, her eyes searching in vain for any source of sight.
"What do you want?"
"Solar flares hiding me, they can't hear me. My Masters listen but they can't hear me now. The sun is so bright."
"Who are your masters?"
"They wired my head. The name's forbidden. They control my thoughts. My Masters. I had to be careful. They monitor transmission but they don't watch the programmes. I could hide you in the games. I knew that you'd find me."
Forming a hard stare, the Doctor glared at her. "My friend died inside your games."
The Controller shook her head. "Doesn't matter."
Outrage went through Madison as her anger spiked once more. "How dare you say such a thing!" she shouted, stomping towards the Controller. "I know what's been done to you is horrible and has warped your sense of right and wrong, but don't say such awful things. She was our friend!" She felt the Doctor's firm grip on her shoulder, keeping her from moving any closer. She glanced at him, seeing the strong gaze of his and she immediately felt ashamed for having an outburst. She bowed her head, but then she felt him holding her hand and giving it a squeeze, reassuring her that it was all right.
"They've been hiding. My Masters," said the Controller, apparently unfazed by Madison's angry response. "Hiding in the dark space. Watching and shaping the Earth. So . . . So—so many years. Always been there, guiding humanity. Hundreds and hundreds of years."
"Who are they?" asked the Doctor.
"They wait and plan and grow in numbers. They're strong now. So strong, my Masters . . ."
"Who are they?"
"But speak of you, my Masters. They fear the Doctor . . ."
The Doctor let go of Madison's hand, stepping forward quickly to stand right below the Controller. "Tell me, who are they?" It was at this moment the lights started flickering again and the monitors around, which had been nothing but static, showed signs of coming back on. Images were displayed on the monitors and the lights came fully on. The Controller shook and then went back to muttering numbers under her breath. The Doctor turned back to the crew members behind them. "When's the next solar flare?"
"Two years time," said the man with the white shirt and tie.
"Fat lot of good that is," grumbled the Doctor as he glanced back at the Controller.
"Is there a way we can simulate a solar flare? The TARDIS is in the cupboard. Maybe she can help?" Madison offered in thought.
"That would take a lot of power that the TARDIS might not have. Even if it did, it might harm everyone here in the process," the Doctor explained. It was then at that moment Jack came rushing out of the cupboard. She had wondered where he had been doing as the expression on his face spoke of glee and excitement.
"Found the TARDIS," Jack stated excitedly.
"Yeah, Madison mentioned that, but we're not leaving now," responded the Doctor.
Jack's smile grew. A delighted spark was seen in his eye. "No, but the TARDIS worked it out. You'll wanna watch this." He moved the man with the tie from a computer monitor, beginning to work on it. "Lynda, could you stand over there for me, please?"
Bewildered and a bit nervous, she tried voicing her concern but eventually Jack convinced her to go along with the request. Lynda walked over towards the spot where he had pointed her to. Jack counted down and then hit a button on the computer. An electricity beam of light hit Lynda's head and she turned into dust. Madison couldn't keep back her yelp of shock away.
"Jack? What have you done?!" she cried, confused by his actions and hurt by what happened to Lynda. The Doctor seemed in a similar state, staring at Jack with brow furrowed.
"No, no, it's okay," Jack assured her, giving her a gesture of easement. "Watch." He pressed another button on the controls and a beam of light came from above, zapping the ground next to where the Doctor and Madison stood. In an instant Lynda was standing beside them, stumbling somewhat and staring around with wide eyes.
"What the hell was that?" Lynda demanded, staring at Jack for answers.
"It's teleportation," Madison breathed in awe. "Does . . . does that mean . . ."
"Close to a teleport. It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator," Jack explained, smiling widening as he saw the piece Madison was putting together. He walked over, beaming away. "It's a secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games. They get transported across space. Rose is still alive!"
An absolute laugh of joy left Madison as she ran over and hugged Jack. He was laughing as well, returning the hug vigorously. She felt someone else hugging her from behind and she heard the hearty laugh of the Doctor in her ear. With her spirits lifted, she turned around once the hug was dropped, facing the Doctor with the biggest smile. She then acted on her glee, reaching for his jacket lapels and pulling him down for a kiss. She pulled away quickly though, her face heating up as she blinked.
"Sorry . . . I tend to do that when I'm excited," she apologised. But then she let out a noise of surprise when the Doctor pulled her forward and gave her a stronger kiss.
"So do I," he replied when they pulled away, winking at her cheekily as he grinned.
"Hey, don't I get one?" Jack said, raising a brow at them and appearing amused.
Madison's blush deepened. "Sorry, Jack, but I'm not one to go around just kissing anyone."
"Didn't say that the kiss had to come from you," Jack responded smoothly, smirking now towards the Doctor.
The Time Lord rolled his eyes. "We don't have time for flirting. Now, we've got to figure out how to get Rose back." He walked away, going to different computer systems that were around and beginning to type away at them.
Jack laughed, grinning in cheek. "By the end of the day, I'm getting my kiss, Doc. Whether it be from you, or Mads." He snickered at seeing the Doctor's annoyed glare and Madison's heavy blush.
If you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to leave a review. If you have any ideas in what you want to see happen, please let me know! I'm excited to see what everyone thinks.
Thank you all again for the support!