I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my head. My head hurt badly, and I felt sore every time I moved. What the hell?! I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. Empty metal room, curtains at the entrance, cameras everywhere. Oh. Bad Wolf. Great. Turns out my attempts to get everyone out of the TARDIS after Kyoto had failed.

I stood up, looking to see if anyone else was there. I was probably at one of those shows, and it didn't seem to look like any of the games the others were in. Brilliant, so I was on my own. Hopefully, the game was something easy, or I was somewhere easy to escape. I reached into my pockets and sighed in relief when I felt it. I'd have to be careful, though, I didn't know if communication devices could be detected or recorded or something.

I walked across the room, looking for people, or at least for a bunch of murderous androids. I really didn't want to be alone in some sort of a twisted game. I walked to the curtains and slowly pulled them back. Oh. Thank God, I guess. There was a row of people waiting there, nervously whispering amongst themselves. I slowly slipped through and stood at the end of the row, next to a red haired woman, who was staring around, scanning her surroundings in what looked like the typical "Ninth Doctor looking around" expression.

This room was more well-lit than the one I was in. There were white lights over all of us, producing an almost blinding light at some places. The Android judge was nowhere to be seen. However, there was a huge space at the end of the room which had something covered by a grey cloth. Nearby, there were tables that had things that looked like grenades on them. Could it be some sort of a target hitting thing?

This was a waste of time. I had to go meet up with the others as soon as possible, and hopefully do something that wouldn't make things as terrible as they would be. I thought about the things I could do when I was rewatching the episodes in preparation. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about the impending regeneration- that would just end up disrupting too many timelines and ruining too much. The whole Bad Wolf thing- maybe I could probably trigger the thing sooner so that we could prevent about ninety percent of the damage caused by the Daleks. And Jack- I wish I could've not made him immortal so that he could continue travelling with us, but Torchwood was too important. But anything that could be done would depend on how fast I could get out of the game and get to the others, which depended on how close I was to them.

"Hey," I said to the woman beside me. She turned to me and her eyes widened. "Beth? Oh my God, that's why I'm here!"

Wait- Beth? I backed away from her. "Who are you? Why do you know my name?"

She frowned. "What do you mean 'who am I'?"

"I'm asking you who you are. Did you not hear me the first time?"

"Right, what point of your timeline are you on? Oh no, wait- which Doctor are you travelling with?"

"Nine- I meet you in the future, don't I? You're one of the Doctor's future companions- maybe one that isn't televised."

"Nine? That's extremely early days, then. I mean, I recall hearing that Ten himself was 'very early days'. Wonder what the Doctor's like now."

"Spoiler alert-" Her eyes widened and she placed her hands on her ears. I shook my head. "It was a figure of speech, I wasn't actually gonna give you a spoiler, I'm not dumb."

She shrugged. "I dunno, apparently early you made a lot of references and may have given indirect spoilers. And you were the one who told me that."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm pretty sure you know I tend to exaggerate a lot. Anyway, back to what I was actually saying- he's probably not gonna trust you. I don't know if this is concrete, but like, he didn't trust River until she whispered his name in his ear, and that was when he was Ten. Aka the more trusting one. Wait- you know River, right?"

She frowned. "That was what she told him? And yeah, I do. Anyway, what is this place?"

"The Game Station, aka Satellite Five. It's the year 200100, and we're about to go and play a game which we have to try and win because if we lose, we end up getting a beam from the android judge. Well, we don't have to win, we just need to stay in the game as long as we can before formulating an escape plan that'll lead us to Floor two hundred and ninety nine because that's where Jack will be- and after that, it'll be relatively easy to track down the Doctor since all we need to do is find the only person with two hearts in the entire ship." I turned to her. She was biting her lip sheepishly. I frowned. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

She got out of her trance and shook her head. "Right. This is early days Beth, sorry. Anyway, the Doctor's not the only Time Lord in this ship. I mean, there's me." She shrugged. My eyes widened. "What? Who are you?"

She grinned at me. "That's a massive spoiler, but you can call me Melody. Melody Laghetto, but I honestly don't think anyone calls someone by their full name all the time."

"Melody Laghetto." I deadpanned. "Totally doesn't sound like you came up with it specifically to create a joke."

She laughed. "River and I thought it would be funny."

"It's- well, it sounds like something River would do."

At that moment, the curtains opened. Everyone in the line stilled, and turned toward them. There was an android judge holding a clipboard. "Welcome to the Android Beam!"

Behind the android was a huge board-like thing with a huge android head with an open mouth. Beside the judge was a table with a bunch of guns on it. Brilliant. I'd never used a gun before, and now I was expected to fire one at a huge android head.

"Let's begin the game!" The android looked down at the clipboard. "Cathy with a C!"

A dark haired woman stepped forward, her hands in her pockets. She walked toward the table slowly and took one of the guns and pointed it towards the android figurehead's mouth. She shot at it, and a laser beam went straight into its mouth. She sighed in relief as the android said, "You have been qualified for the next round."

After her went Amanda, and after her went James, and then went Bryce, and after him went Kathy with a K. They all got qualified for the next round. Andrew was the first one who missed. He whimpered and tried to run, but the figurehead emitted a huge beam that disintegrated him. I closed my eyes and swallowed as Melody gasped. "They kill them? For losing a game?!" She stared at the android, clenching her fists.

"Worse." I muttered.

"What's worse than death by laser beam? Wait, no, don't answer that, I already know. Well, the Doctor was kind enough to list out all of them to me as a bedtime story- much to my mum's annoyance. Laser beam is the eleventh worst. Painless, apparently." I turned to her, and she clamped her hands around her mouth. "Oh no."

"Okay, judging by what you just said, I'm assuming you travelled with the Doctor at an extremely young age."

"I wasn't supposed to be saying that." Her voice was extremely high-pitched and I almost laughed. Emphasis on the almost- people were still dying, and- oh no. My turn was getting closer. The funny feeling in my stomach intensified for a few moments, and then reduced a little- but it still made me feel a little sick.

"This is my first time meeting past versions of you- I'm terrible at handling spoilers, I think."

I shrugged. "Don't worry about it. And anyway, even if you do reveal something by accident, I promise I won't pressurise you for answers- especially since you know the future version of me- and I don't think I want any previews of my future."

She chuckled. "Yeah, you really don't. Or, well, maybe there's a few parts you would, but then again that could end up changing everything and that would end up becoming disastrous- or maybe not."

"Are you gonna keep providing contrasting notions till it's your turn to fire at the android? And by the way, that seems to be really close. Which is bad for both of us because I have a feeling that I'm gonna be called after you."

She turned to me, frowning. "You're scared."

"Why would I be scared? I'm just gonna be wielding a gun for the first time in my entire life and possibly end up getting beamed by the android figurehead and go to literal hell. Nothing to be scared of there." I scoffed, folding my hands.

"You don'tneed to panic. And anyway, a very wise person once told me that fear is a superpower."

I let out a huge breath. "Well, I mean, the Doctor's used to this stuff. I'm not. I probably would be in the future, but a gentle reminder that this is Early Days Liza and she's never wielded a gun. Ever."

Melody shrugged. "Well, there's a first time for everything."

Like I had predicted, her name was called out a couple of minutes after that. She casually walked towards the table and picked up a gun. She shot at the figurehead casually and the beam went right into its mouth. She walked to the group of people who were qualified for the next round.

"Liza!" The android said. The pit in my stomach hurt, and I felt sick. I slowly walked toward the table. I glanced at Melody, who smiled and gave me a thumbs-up sign. I picked up the gun and pointed it at the figurehead's mouth. I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. A beam shot out of the gun and went into the figurehead's mouth. A sigh of relief escaped me.

It felt surreal when the android said that I'd been qualified. I barely acknowledged putting the gun back on the table and walking towards Melody, who grinned at me and gave me a side-hug.

"I told you that you could do it."

The next few rounds proved to be even more challenging than the first one, which wasn't really a surprise. In the second round, the figurehead started spinning around, and in the third one, it moved from left to right. I managed to get past those with sheer luck and some tips from Melody, who along with me, had calculated the amount of time it took for the figurehead to move from place to place. She, of course, looked like she was having the time of her life. She effortlessly shot at the figurehead in every round.

As the rounds progressed, more and more people got shot by the figurehead. By the fourth round, there were only seven of us.

The fourth round involved a bunch of blockades which periodically popped up- and by periodically, I meant randomly- there were so many, it was almost impossible to figure out any patterns. If that wasn't hard enough, the figurehead also moved from side to side. My panic increased as two more people were beamed in this round. It worsened when even Melody showed slight nervousness. However, she managed to get through.

And then, it was my turn. I walked towards the table and picked up the gun. My hands were shaking as I slowly picked it up. I felt sick at the stomach as I slowly pointed my gun at the figurehead. My heart rate increased, and my breathing quickened. My chest felt constricted. I felt sick. So sick.

As the figurehead moved towards me, I put my hand on the trigger. There were no blockades. I assumed it was safe, and pulled the trigger. Just as my luck would have it, a blockade popped up the moment I fired, and it collided with the beam.

"No! Beth! No!" I could barely hear Melody's scream. I could barely hear anything. My stomach hurt and I couldn't breathe properly. I was going to the Dalek ship. I would at least be there with Rose, but I didn't know if that would take place immediately, or if she would come much later.

I took a deep breath and turned to Melody, who was reaching for something in her pocket. I shook my head. There was no use in doing anything at all. It would hit me anyway. And when it did, everything went black.

Melody's POV:

No. No. No no no no no no. She couldn't have, she knew me in the future, she couldn't have died. But time can be rewritten. The Doctor's voice echoed in my head. No. I shook my head. She couldn't have died. But she did, right in front of you. You don't know that. She got shot, she got killed by the android figurine. She said something about facing something worse than death. What if that meant she was alive? She said 'worse'. Meaning she could be dead, but in a worse way.

That was it. My instincts took over and I reached into my pockets. I pulled out the grenade I'd put in there. "Oi, Android Lady!" The android turned to me and I threw the grenade at her. A bunch of alarms started sounding, and the lights fluctuated between red and blue.

I ran. I ran toward what looked like an exit at the corner of the room and turned toward the first turning of the corridor. Floor two hundred and ninety nine. That's where she said Jack would be. I ran until I saw a lift, which I entered. I wasn't alone there. Instead, I was face to face with Jack Harkness.

"Captain Jack Harkness." I said, and he raised an eyebrow. "Who are you? How do you know me?"

"That's a long story. I'm assuming you know where the Doctor is?"

"You know the Doctor as well?"

I turned to him as the lift doors closed and took a deep breath. "Listen, I have no time for your questions now, we need to find the Doctor and Rose Tyler, and then blow some androids."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. We find the Doctor and Rose, and then we find Liza Cole. And then we blow some androids."

Of course. I took a deep breath. No time to mourn now. "We can't." I said, and swallowed, as Jack raised an eyebrow. "She's- gone."

"Gone. Gone as in 'lost' gone or 'dead' gone?" He placed a hand in his pockets and pulled out a gun.

"I don't know. I think she's dead, but she was being extremely vague about it when I asked her about the laser beams."

"She does that." He pointed the gun at me. "And how do I trust you anyway? How do I know that you're not the one who killed her?"

"Why would I kill her?!" I put my hands up. "Of all people, me! She's practically my-" I cut myself off in time. Going Hagrid in the middle of a situation like this was bound to have some negative effects. However, the half-finished sentence was enough to pique Jack's interest.

"She's practically your what?"

"I can't say. Spoilers. And about the trust part- her first name is Elizabeth, and nobody knows her middle name because she wants it to be similar to the person she was 'middle named' after." Well, one person knew it, but he was with her in the future- that is, if she hadn't died.

He lowered his gun slightly. "That's right, but I'm still gonna be a little wary. No offense, but I just met you and you told me that my best friend could be dead."

She nodded. "I figured. According to her, the Doctor would be worse, though."

"Oh, yeah, he's definitely not gonna welcome you with open arms. Especially since you bear bad news. And by bad I mean the worst of the worst for him."

"Tell me about it. She's not any better, though."

"You're telling me that as if it's something new." The lift doors opened behind me. "Anyway, we're here, and for the sake of the Doctor's sanity, let's just say that she's most probably alive."

"I think it's best we all assume that. Denial's the only way to go."

"Unless she actually is alive." We walked toward the observation deck, where the Ninth Doctor was standing with another person. A woman with her hair in space buns. "Hey Doc."

He turned around and I took a deep breath. The Ninth Doctor. Aka Big Ears. Beth had told me so much about him, while the Eleventh Doctor would interject sometimes ("What is it with you bullying my poor ears?!" and then she'd just smile at him before continuing). His ears weren't as huge as she made them out to be- although she did exaggerate a lot. He was holding a phone in his hand, and seemed to relax a little on seeing Jack. "Harkness! Finally! I was just gonna call you."

"I'm assuming you tried Liza?" He asked nervously. The Doctor nodded. "Her phone's switched off. She never does that." He then seemed to notice me. "Who are you?"

"Melody. Future companion of yours. Beth from the future sent me here. And no, I won't answer any questions."

He frowned at that, and turned to Jack. "Anyway, did you have any luck finding the two of them?"

Jack shook his head, after giving me a pointed glance. "No," He pulled off a wristwatch. "But this is programmed to find them- catches cell phone signals."

"A gentle reminder that Liza's phone is off."

Jack groaned. "I know, okay?! And anyway, I tested that thing out, but I wanted to find you first. You know, since two hearts. Although, there was someone else who fit that description as well."

"That would be me." I said, and the Doctor snapped his head toward me, his eyes wide. "What?!"

"Can't explain now, we need to find the others." I shrugged, and turned to the woman who was with the Doctor. "Hello."

She smiled weakly. "Hello. I'm Lynda Moss."

Jack smiled at her. "Hey Lynda, nice to meet you. I'm Jack." No flirtatious tone. Beth's disappearance must've really affected him, she said that he only turned off his cocky persona when things were serious.

"I know where Rose is. No luck with Liza, though." The Doctor looked up at the two of us. I tried my best to remain expressionless- he could not find out about Beth. Jack shrugged. "Maybe she has some sort of a plan which involves her phone being off? Like, we have absolutely no idea as to what's even happening here."

The Doctor nodded. "History's been off- this is supposed to be The Great and Bountiful Human Empire, you're all two hundred years backward. The whole place seems to be run by Bad Wolf Corporation-"

"Hold on- Bad Wolf? Is it just me or have we been seeing that word quite a lot recently?" Jack said.

The Doctor nodded. "You're right, we have."

"Coincidence?"

"Never ignore a coincidence, unless you're busy." I murmured, and everyone turned to me. I shrugged. "Someone I know said that."

"We're busy now." Jack shrugged, but the Doctor shook his head. "No, Liza said something about it- that it was a title or something. The way she said it- like it was a title to be taken only at a time when all hope is lost." He trailed off, staring into the distance. He then turned toward all of us. "Anyways, Floor Four Hundred and Seven. We find Rose, and hope that Liza's somewhere nearby."

Lynda's eyes widened. "Oh my God, she's with the Anne Droid!"

"The what?"

"It's one of the most brutal androids here!"

"More brutal than the one in the Android Beam?" I raised an eyebrow. Lynda shrugged. "They're all equally bad- although, the Anne Droid is probably worse, according to the winners."

My eyes widened and I started to move towards the lift. "Come on, we'll have to go then! Rose isn't safe!"

"Rose!" We all ran in as the Doctor yelled, "Stop this game!"

Jack pulled out his gun and pointed it at them. I pulled out mine as well, aiming straight for the Anne Droid, as Rose started running towards us. "Watch out, the Anne Droid is armed!"

"Rose, look out!" I yelled, running towards her as the Anne Droid took aim, but it was too late. "No!"

The Doctor knelt down in front of her dusty remains. I immediately stood up and started shooting at the Anne Droid.

Security then burst in and tried to restrain us. Someone's arms grabbed the back of my shoulders. I kicked behind me and heard a shout of pain. Good. You all deserve the pain anyway.

I continued shooting the Anne Droid, whose head I'd blown off. People were screaming, but I couldn't hear anything. My head felt heavy as all the blood rushed to it, and all I could see was the Anne Droid. I repeatedly shot at it, despite the fact that it's head was blown off. That's what you get for killing Beth. And Rose. I could vaguely hear someone else screaming as well. My throat hurt. My cheeks felt wet. Hands grabbed my shoulders. My gun was knocked off. I struggled, but with no avail. And then, everything stopped.

I breathed heavily, slightly relaxing. The soldiers behind me ordered me to put my hands up. I did. They announced that we were now prisoners. Good for them. I was a professional at jailbreak anyway. Or, well, breaking someone out of jail, or breaking into it.

They forced us to walk across the corridors, insisting to keep a firm hold on us. "Liza's dead, isn't she?" I turned towards the Doctor, who was beside me. Of course they did. That's what they do. That's what everyone always does. Destroy. Kill. Destroy. Kill. Des- I shook my head. "That's what we think, but she was very vague about what the beams do."

The Doctor nodded and continued staring at the floor. "She wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"You lied. When I asked you before, you lied. About Liza." He turned to look at me. I shivered when I saw the expression in his face. It was so new, and yet so familiar. Especially the eyes. The exact same cold, angry eyes. It was like they always remained consistent. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I know you in the future, meaning I know how you react whenever you think you've lost her."

He chuckled humourlessly. "Except this time, I've actually lost her, haven't I? Time's gonna be rewritten- your future will never exist now. It won't be the same. It won't ever be the same 'cause she's gone."

Liza's POV:

The first thing I saw when I landed was a Dalek in front of me. Oh no. I turned around to see if I could run away from it, while also miraculously dodging its attacks and finding a place to hide till the Doctor got there. However, luck was not on my side. Another Dalek stood behind me. I looked around for more places to run, but more and more Daleks kept coming and surrounded me. The panic in the pit of my stomach resurfaced.

"You are not a Dalek, you will be exterminated!" One of the Daleks charged towards me, while the other Daleks repeated it;s sentiments. The panic built up, and the sick feeling started to come back. I clenched my hands into fists, trying my best to not cry. I was breathing heavily, and the lump in my throat hurt. It hurt so much. "No!" I yelled without thinking.

"What is this negative?"

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them again. "It means no. I refuse. You must not kill me." I spun around, spreading my hands and trying to ignore the fear and pain. "You wanna know why?" I looked around, raising my eyebrows, as if waiting for an answer. "Because I'll kill you myself. You see, I'm the Doctor, aka your worst nightmare."