AN: Oh boy, here we go.
Bad Wolf
Light. Blinding white light made the Doctor squint and cover his dreary eyes as it assailed his senses. It didn't help that his ears ringed, making his head throb in pain. He raised his hands out, finding himself trapped inside a small cubicle, his legs unstable like jelly as he tried to keep balance. "What's happening?" He called, the white light starting to fade and his hearing return, now assailed by a loud theme music. Something oddly familiar but his memory wasn't working as it should. "Clara? Rose? Jack? What's going on- "He stopped as he pushed on one of the walls of the cubicle, which gave way and made him stumble face first onto the floor again.
"Oh my god!" A female voice called as she came rushing over to kneel beside him. "I don't believe it! Why did they put you in there? They never said you were coming."
He looked up to see a young blonde woman, her hair tied up in pigtails helping him to his feet. "But…what happened?" He asked, his voice thick with weariness before he stumbled back to the floor again.
"Oh! Mind yourself." She helped him up again, this time slower. "That's the transmat. Scrambles your head, made me sick for days. You all right?"
After a few moments, he regained full control of his body again, now seeing his surroundings, which was a blaze of green, pink, purple and red. "I'm fine." He said, now gaining confusion. This is like that one film, with sparkles, reindeer games and Jeff Goldblum. No, hold on…is this-
"So, what's your name then, sweetheart?" She asked.
Do not overreact. She is just being friendly. "The Doctor…I think. I was…I don't know, what happened?"
She smiled. "You got chosen."
He blinked. "Chosen for what?"
"You're a housemate. You are in the house. Isn't that brilliant?" She beamed.
"That's not fair!" The Doctor turned to the large, purple couch, where a man and a dark-skinned woman were standing, giving pouty, disappointed looks. "We've got eviction in five minutes. I've been here for all nine weeks, I've followed the rules, I haven't had a single warning then he comes swanning in."
"Hold on. Please don't tell me." The female groaned, pointing to the cupboard where the Doctor came out of. Underneath the door, there was a bright, white light for a few seconds before it faded.
"Where am I?! Doctor?! Doctor-" Clara stumbled through the door, making him and the blonde rush to her help.
"Clara? Clara?" He said, pulling her up into a sitting position, holding her head as she blinked groggily. "Clara?"
"Doctor?" She whispered, looking like she just got out of bed.
He grinned. "Hello stranger."
"Where are we?"
"No idea." She groaned, closing her eyes to fight the drowsiness. "Give it a few seconds." He said, kissing her forehead.
"Ugh, now we have another one. If they keep changing the rules, I am going to protest, I am, you watch me. I'm…I'm going to paint the walls." The other woman groaned.
Clara blinked for a final time as her senses returned, her eyebrows furrowing at the room around her while the Doctor helped her to stand. "What's going on?"
"I'm…not sure."
"Where's Rose and Jack?" She asked.
He slouched his shoulders. "I don't know."
"Hold on…is this-"
"Yes."
"Would Clara Oswald please come to the diary room?" A loud, automated female voice blared through the room, making them wince slightly. A buzzer sounded in the corner by a grey door. Clara looked at the Doctor pleadingly, yet he could only shrug in bewilderment. She sighed, moving through the door to see a small, black room with a large red chair in front of a camera. She shivered nervously, moving to sit down in the chair. "You are live on channel forty-one thousand. Please do not swear."
"You've got to be fucking with me." She growled in irritation.
Outside, the two accomplices threw their hands above their heads. "Already, she's broken the rules." They groaned, while the Doctor and the blonde sniggered.
Rose blinked slowly as she rose from her sleep, grogginess heavy in her mind as she tried to focus on her surroundings, hearing only muffled voices and a pair of footsteps approaching her. As her sight cleared, she saw a dark-skinned man in a suit kneeling beside her. "It's all right." He said. "It's the transmat, does your head in. Give you a bit of amnesia." She nodded slowly in understanding. "What's your name?"
"Rose." She said, now looking around to see the room, however it was fruitless as all she saw was a group of podiums with names on them in a semi-circle, the room around them pitch black. "Where's Clara? And the Doctor and Jack?"
He shrugged. "Just remember: Do what the Anne Droid says. And do not provoke it. The Anne Droid's word is law."
"What do you mean "Android"? Like a robot?"
"Positions everyone!" A woman with a clipboard called making a group of people move up to the podiums. "Come on, thank you!"
"Come on. Hurry up." The man helped her to her feet, where she briefly struggled to keep balance. "Oh, steady."
"I was traveling with a few friends of mine. I shouldn't even be here." She protested.
"Well, it says "Rose" on one of the podiums." He said, which was true as her name flickered to life. "Come on." He led her up to the podiums, standing behind one that said "Rodrick" while she paused briefly. "What is it?" He groaned.
"I must be going mad. Is this-"
"Yes."
"So…by "Android" you meant-"
"Anne Droid activated!" A small group of technicians moved away from a large robot with orange hair in the centre.
"The…Anne Droid. Ah." She muttered.
"Welcome to "The Weakest Link"." Anne Droid said, spotlights flickering on to focus on the groups podiums while the theme music played in the background.
"Here we go again. We've got our work cut out for us."
"I don't know. He is handsome. With a good lantern jaw."
"Lantern jaws are so last year."
Jack groaned as he shook the drowsiness from his mind before his eyes widened. He found himself in a white room, filled with clothes and a pair of female androids in front of him, one with blue hair and one with no hair yet a purple head. "Sorry, nice to meet you ladies but where exactly am I?"
"We're giving you a brand-new image." Purple said.
"Oh, hold on. I was with the Doctor and Clara and…why? Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?" He glanced down at his dark blue jeans and white shirt with confusion.
"It's all very 20th Century. Where did you get that denim?" Blue asked.
"A little place in Cardiff. It was called "The Top Shop"."
"Ah, design classic." If she was Human, she would have winked flirtatiously.
"But we're going to have to find you some new colours. Maybe get rid of that "Oklahoma Farm boy" thing you've got going on."
They moved to a large laser gun on a mount in front of him as he got off the table. "Just stand still and let the defabricator work its magic."
"What's the "Defabricator"?" The laser shot out a blue beam onto him, which slowly disintegrated his clothes until he was fully bare. He glanced down quickly, nodding slightly. "*Clears Throat* Okay, "Defabricator". Does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?"
"Absolutely." They said in unison.
"Ladies," He glanced down, giving a quick flirtatious wink. "Your viewing figures just went up."
"Any luck, Clara?" The Doctor called as he checked a large mirror in the room.
"I can't open it." She said at the exit door, holding the sonic before making her way over to him.
"It's got a deadlocked seal." The blond-haired person said. "Ever since "Big Brother 504" when they all walked out. You must remember that."
"What is that?" She asked, moving to the glass the Doctor was examining.
"Oh, that's Exoglass. You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through."
"Careful." Clara warned, handing the sonic back to the Doctor who scanned the glass.
"I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching. Do people like me?"
"What's your name?" Clara asked.
"Lynda, with a "Y". Not Linda with an "I". She got forcibly evicted cause she damaged a camera. Am I popular?"
"We don't remember." The Doctor shrugged.
"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing? Some people get this far just because they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?" Lynda continued.
"No, you're…you're nice. You're sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet." Clara reassured despite some confused uncertainty.
Lynda smiled yet she blinked at bit in bewilderment. "Oh. Is that right? Is that what I am? Huh. No one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?"
Clara nodded. "Yeah. Dead sweet."
"Thank you." As Lynda looked away, the Doctor and Clara exchanged bewildered shrugs with each other until his attention moved to a pair of black and red doors in the room, where he noticed that they had no way of opening or seeing through them.
"It's a wall. Isn't there supposed to be a garden out there or something?" He asked as he and Clara walked over.
"Don't be daft. No one's got a garden anymore. *Gasps* Don't tell me you two have a garden."
"No, we just have the TARDIS." On this note, Clara put a hand on his arm, exchanging a wide-eyed look with him as they both nodded slowly.
"What is it?" Lynda asked.
"We remember." He answered.
"That's the amnesia. So, what happened? Where did they get you two?"
"We'd just left Raxacoricofallapatorius and then we went to…"
"Kyoto." Clara reminded.
"That's right, Japan in 1336. I got us into a little bit of trouble and we only just escaped. We were back in the TARDIS, laughing and then…there was this light. This white light coming through the walls. I couldn't see where I was and then…I woke up here."
"Same with me." Clara nodded.
"Yeah, that's the transmat beam. That's how they pick the housemates." Lynda smiled but the Doctor's face went grim.
"What's wrong?" Clara asked.
He walked over to another span of Exoglass, not glancing at them. "Clara, Clara, Clara. It's all worse than wrong. We're not some passing travellers. No stupid little transmat gets inside our ship. That beam was fifteen million times more powerful, which means…this isn't just a game. Somewhere, behind it all, something else is going on." He leaned into the glass but was more staring through it. "I know that whoever's in charge is watching us, so here's the latest update from the Big Brother House: I'm getting out, me and Clara. We're going to find our friends and we're going to find you."
In a large room, filled with workers in suits at computers, one man in his thirties was watching the Doctor and Clara. He put down his headset and gave a sigh, before getting up and walking to the computers behind him, to desk where a woman of similar age who was watching Rose. "Liz, I need a word." He whispers.
"Hold on. Let me finish this." She says without looking.
"19, 18, 17, 16. Thank you people. Transmitting in. 12, 11, 10." A woman said, holding up a clipboard on the monitor.
Rose leaned over to Rodrick. "But I need to find my friend-"
"Just shut up and play the game!" He interrupted with a groan.
She shrugged. "All right then. I'm going to play to win."
"3, and…cue!"
"Let's play "The Weakest link"." The theme music plays, with the spotlights flaring around them. "Start the clock. Agorax, the name of which basic foodstuff is an anagram of the word "beard"?"
"Bread." A balding man answers.
"Correct. Fitch, in the Pan Traffic calendar which month comes after "Hoop"?"
A blonde woman blinked in fear. "Is it…Clavadoe?"
"No, Pandov. Rose, in maths what is 258 minus 158?"
"100!" She exclaims with a grin.
"Correct. Rodrick."
"Bank."
"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the word "Dangle" but not in the word "Gland"?"
He shrugged. "E."
"Correct. Colleen, in social security what "D" is the name of the payment given to Martian drones?"
"Default." A black-haired woman answers.
"Correct. Broff, the great cobalt pyramid is built on the remains of which famous old earth institute?"
"T-touchdown." A black-haired man in his 20's stammered.
"No, Torchwood." Rose giggled to herself at the absurdity of these questions and her having no clue to the answers. "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?"
"Umm…" Rodrick looked at her with a "Are you serious?" look. "White."
"No, red." Rose muttered a sorry into her hand as her giggling increased. "Rose, in the holovid series "Jupiter Rising", the Grexnik is married to whom?"
"How should I know?" She quipped, bursting out into laughter. "Holovid. What on Earth is that?" Everyone looked at her like she was crazy.
"No, the correct answer is "Lord Drayvole"."
"Why is she laughing?" Elizabeth muttered before her eyes widened. "Oh my god. Davidge, I don't think she even knows."
"And I've got a couple of housemates who appeared out of nowhere. I told you, it's like the game's running itself."
Jack, now dressed in a white singlet and tight black jeans, was flexing his muscles in front of the mirror. "It's the buccaneer look. Little dash of pirate and just a tweak of President Schwarzenegger." Purple pointed out.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure about the vest. What about a little bit of colour to lift it?"
"Absolutely not." Blue shook her head. "Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring. Now, let's talk jackets."
"I kind of like the first one." Jack reached but she wagged her finger.
"No, that's a bit too much "Hell's Angel". I like the shorter one." She grabbed a different black jacket and handed it to him, who went ahead to put it on. "Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum." She marvelled, patting said bum as she finished.
He gave a wolfish smile. "Works for me."
"Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face. Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?"
"I've considered it, yes. A little lift around the eyes, tighten up the jawline. What do you think?" He blatantly reached out and massaged Blue's fake breasts. Thank god the Doctor and Clara aren't here. They'd be laughing at me.
"Oh, let's have a bit more ambition." Blue said, ignoring his action. "Let's do something cutting edge." She hid the devious tone in her voice.
The round had now ended, with everyone's votes written on their boards and held up for the Anne Droid. Rose's said "Fitch", and so the Anne Droid was looking straight at her. "So, Rose, what do you actually do?"
"I just travel about a bit. Bit of a…tourist, I suppose."
"Another way of saying unemployed."
"No." Rose said without thought.
"Have you got a job?"
"Well…not really, no-"
"Then you are unemployed!" The Anne Droid interrupted.
"*Sighs* Okay, fine, I don't have a job." She grumbled.
"And yet, you've still got enough money to buy peroxide." Rose nearly scoffed at that. "Why Fitch?"
"Uhm…I think she got a few of the questions wrong, that's all." Said person's eyes teared up, making Rose blink in confusion.
"Well, you'd know all about that." The Anne Droid quipped. If she had eyebrows, one would have cocked up.
"Well yeah, but I can't vote for myself, so it had to be Fitch." Now Fitch was sobbing quietly. "I'm sorry. That's the game. That's how it works. I had to vote for someone." She said.
"Let me try again." Fitch protested; her voice broken by the tears. "It was the lights and everything, I couldn't think."
"In fact, with three answers wrong, Broff was the weakest link in that round but it's the votes that count."
"I'm sorry. Please. Oh god, help me!" She cried. Everyone else looked either sad or respectfully silent while Rose blinked.
"Fitch, you are the weakest link. Goodbye." The Anne Droid opened her mouth and out popped a small laser beam, which shot at Fitch and disintegrated her into nothing, leaving behind an echoing scream as she died, along with a small pile of ashes where she once stood. Rose looked on in horror while everyone else moved about, as if it was normal for them.
"And we've gone to the adverts! Back in three minutes!" The woman with the clipboard called.
"What was that? What just happened?" Rose asked.
"She was the weakest link, she got disintegrated." Rodrick said. Rose shook her head, making him roll his eyes. "Blasted into atoms." He clarified.
"But I voted for her." Rose protested. He gave her a "Yeah, I know" look. Her eyes widened at his and everyone else's behaviour. "Oh my god, this is sick. All of you, you're just sick-"
"I'm not playing!" Broff exclaimed in terror. "I-I can't do it." The Anne Droid looked at him, making his nerves shatter. "Please! Somebody help me!" He cried, racing for the exit door, the Anne Droid following his movements.
"You are the weakest link. Goodbye." She shot him dead, his ashes and the beam glittering the exit door for a moment before it descended into darkness again. Everyone gave a shuddering breath. The Anne Droid looked back at Rose in challenge again, making her flinch.
"Don't try to escape." Rodrick warned. "It's play or die." His words made Rose glance down in guilt.
"Doctor, Clara, they said all the housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to." Lynda said as her and the two accomplices sat on the sofa while the two in question were still checking for exits.
"We're busy getting out, thanks." He said.
"But if you don't obey then all the housemates get punished."
Clara rolled her eyes. "Talk about baiting us with guilt." She grumbled yet she took his arm and led him over. "Maybe we should just be voted out then."
"How stupid are you? You've only just joined, you're not eligible." The man scoffed.
"Try us." Clara growled lightly, making him flinch.
"Big Brother House, this is Davina Droid." A loud voice rang through the room, starting up the theme music. The three grabbed each other's hands with fearful looks, the woman grabbing the Doctor's hand while he sent Clara a bewildered look. "Crosbie, Lynda and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction and the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is…Crosbie!" Lynda and Strood at once took a now tearful Crosbie in their arms, muttering how sorry they were and how it should've been them.
"Why are they acting like this?" The Doctor whispered to Clara.
"Are we missing something?" They both shrugged.
"Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells and then we're going to get you!" The three led Crosbie to a white door at the other end of the room, while the Doctor and Clara looked on in confusion.
"I won't forget you!" Lynda said, hugging Crosbie.
"I'm sorry I stole your soap." Crosbie muttered.
"I don't mind, honestly."
They parted, letting Strood hug her. "Thanks for the food, you're a smashing cook. Bless you." He said, giving her a farewell kiss on the cheek.
The white door opened, revealing a small compartment and a locked door. The walls were gleaming a white light, making them flinch slightly at it before ignoring it again. "Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House."
"Bye, Strood. Bye, Lynda." Crosbie said. The two linked their hands and lifted, imitating an archway for her to walk through as the door closed behind her.
"I don't believe it. Poor Crosbie." Lynda cried as Strood hugged her.
Now the Doctor and Clara were rolling their eyes. "It's only a game show." He said. "She'll make a fortune on the outside, sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that. She'll be laughing."
"What do you mean "On the outside"?" Lynda asked. A live video of Crosbie appeared on the television, the two rushing over to the couch.
"Well, what're they waiting for?" Clara asked. "Why don't they just let her go?"
"Stop it. It's not funny." Lynda said, her voice breaking. Clara and the Doctor shot each other another bewildered look, so they just decided to wait.
"Eviction in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." On this, a disintegration laser shot out of the ceiling, melting Crosbie into ash. Lynda and Strood looked down in sadness while the Doctor and Clara shot up in their seats.
"What the hell was that?" The Doctor asked in shock.
"Disintegrator beam." Strood answered.
The two-shot horrified looks at Lynda and Strood. "She's been evicted. From life." Lynda clarified.
The two workers walked up to the elevator door and pressed the button, waiting for it to arrive. "No one selected the new contestants. It is exactly like those stories." He said.
"Oh, don't start that again." She groaned. "I think you need to take a session off."
"Well, I would…if you'd take it with me." He suggested.
"And don't start that again, either." She smirked playfully.
"But the rumours go back decades, saying that something's been hidden up here, underneath the transmissions."
"But the Controller would know. She watches everything."
He shrugged. "Maybe she just can't see it. Got to allow for Human error."
"Well, that's your problem, then." She leaned in and whispered, "I don't think she's been Human for years." He smirked before starting off with uncertainty at the other end of the room, where a woman with messy blonde hair, linked up with a multitude of wires was glancing around the room with a distant gaze, muttering aloud to herself.
"Are you insane?!" The Doctor roared, Lynda and Strood flinching while Clara stood to the side with a stern expression. "You just step right into the disintegrator?! Is it that important, getting your face on the television?! Is it worth dying for?!"
"You're talking like we have a choice!" Lynda protested.
"Then why did you apply for it?!"
"Don't be so stupid, we didn't." The Doctor and Clara blinked at Strood. "They played it like that years back, but the truth is that you get chosen whether you like it or not."
"Everyone on Earth is a potential contestant! The transmat beam picks you out at random, and it's nonstop! There are sixty Big Brother House's all running at once!"
"How many, sixty?!" Clara interrupted.
"They've had to cut back. It's not what it was. Now it's-"
"A slaughterhouse!" Clara growled, making him flinch again. "What do the winner's get then, huh?!"
"They get to live." Lynda shrugged.
"Is that it?!"
"Isn't that enough?!"
The Doctor raced over to the white exit door, a camera in the room was following his movements. "Our friends are out there. Rose and Jack, the transmat caught them, now they're contestants."
"So, how're we going to get out?" Clara asked.
"Lynda, the other Linda, with an "I", she was forcibly evicted for what?"
"Damage to property."
"What, like this?" He pulled out his sonic and used it to spark and explode the security camera.
Jack now dressed in a white tennis outfit was performing said sports moves in front of mirror before pulling a disgusted face.
"No, I'm just not getting this. It's just too…safe, too decent. And you'd never keep it clean."
"Stage 2, ready and waiting." Purple said as she and Blue moved by the defabricator.
"Bring it on, girls!" The defabricator now bared Jack once again.
"And now it's time for the face off."
"What does that mean? Do I get to compete with someone else?"
"No. Like I said: Face off." She emphasized her words by holding up her right hand, which had syringes in it and her left had a chainsaw. Jack looked at this with wide eyes, yet he started to loosen his backside slightly.
"I think you'd look good with a dog's head." Blue held up her right hand which had oversized weed cutters and her left had a sabre-saw.
"Or maybe no head at all. That would be so outrageous."
"And we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest."
"Nothing is too extreme. It's to die for."
Jack held up his hands in warning. "Now, hold on ladies, I don't want to have to shoot either one of you."
"But your unarmed. Your naked-" Jack pulled out a small, hand sized weapon and pointed it at them. "But…that's a Compact Laser Deluxe."
"Where were you hiding that?" Blue asked.
Jack held back a sigh. "You really don't want to know."
"Give me that accessory-" Jack shot both Purple and Blue's heads off completely, sending chunks of debris all around the room, making him flinch to cover his eyes at it. However, he felt relieved as the Androids stopped moving.
"The Doctor, you've broken the house rules. Big Brother has no choice but to evict you. You have ten seconds to make your farewells and then we're going to get you!"
"Yes! That's more like it!" He roared triumphantly, Clara rolling her eyes.
"You sure you're going to be okay?" She asked.
"Oh yeah." He winked at her before jumping up and racing to the white door. "Come on! Open up!"
"You're mad! Do you want to die?!" Lynda protested.
"I reckon they're plants. They were only brought in to stir things up." Strood accused.
The white door opened, the Doctor rushing inside. "The Doctor, please leave the Big Brother House." The door closed behind him, Strood rushing over to the sofa as the Doctor appeared on the tv.
"Come on, then. Disintegrate me. Come on, what are you waiting for?"
"He is. He's mad, he's bonkers." Lynda said.
"And I love him for it." Clara smirked.
"Well, if you're boyfriend's about to die, why didn't you stop him?!"
"Because he won't." She said simply.
The Doctor crossed his arms and looked up at the laser on the ceiling with a grin. "Eviction in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." However, instead of a laser beam, nothing happened. He just stood there, his smug grin beaming even more brightly. Clara's smile mirrored his while Lynda's jaw dropped.
"Ha ha! I told you, Clara, I knew it! You see now?! Someone brought me into this game! If they wanted me dead, they could've transmatted me into a volcano! They want me alive!" He turned around and pulled out his sonic for the other door.
"Oh, don't tease them like that." Clara muttered, despite her smirk.
"Maybe the security isn't as tight at this end." He glanced back at the laser. "Are you following this? I'm getting out." He opened the door, turning around to see Clara rushing over and taking his hand.
"Come with us." She implored to Lynda who watched.
"We're not allowed!" Strood protested.
"Stay in there, you've got a 50/50 chance of disintegration. Stay with us and I promise we'll get you out alive. Come on."
"No, I can't." She shook her head.
"Lynda, you're sweet." The Doctor interjected. "From what I've seen of your world, do you think anybody votes for sweet?" He held out his hand, Lynda contemplating for a few moments.
"Bugger it." She grumbled, rushing over, and taking his hand, as Clara moved through the door and paused, the two bumping into her back and nearly shoving her to the ground. "Oops!"
"Sorry!" The Doctor said.
"Wait!" She held up a hand. They looked around, his eyes widening to match Clara's. "We've been here before, haven't we?"
"Yeah. This is Satellite Five." And indeed, it was, albeit empty, without the busy people or the intense roaring heat.
"You are the weakest link. Goodbye." Colleen closed her eyes as the Anne Droid shot her to ashes.
"Going to the break! Two minutes on the clock!"
"Colleen was clever. She banked all our money." Rose whispered to Rodrick. "Why'd you vote for her?"
"Because I want to keep you in." He said it in an obvious tone. "You're stupid. You don't even know the Princess Vossaheen's surname. When it comes to the final, I want to be up against you, so that you get disintegrated and I get a stack-load of credits. Courtesy of the Bad Wolf Corporation."
Rose's breath hitched. "What do you mean? Who's "Bad Wolf"?"
He shrugged. "They're in charge. They run the game station."
"But why're they called "Bad Wolf"?"
"I don't know. It's just a name. It's like an old Earth nursery rhyme sort of thing. What does it matter?"
"I keep hearing those words everywhere we go: Bad Wolf. Various times and separate places like it's written all over the universe."
"What on Earth are you going on about?"
"If the Bad Wolf oversees this quiz, then…maybe I'm not here by mistake. Someone's been planning this."
The Doctor and Clara were checking the many doors in the massive room, Lynda watching them with curiosity.
"No guards. That makes a change. You'd think a big business-like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth."
"No one's called it Satellite Five in about a hundred years."
"100 years exactly. It's the year 200,100. We were here before, Floor 139. Satellite Five was broadcasting news channels back then. We had a bit of trouble upstairs; it was nothing too serious. Easy. Gave them a hand and home in time for tea."
"Excluding the part where we got caught and could've been killed." Clara admonished. He grumbled, blushing sheepishly.
"100 years ago? You two were here 100 years ago?"
"Yeah." She shrugged.
Lynda looked them up and down appreciatively. "You're looking good on it."
Clara shot the Doctor a smirk. "We moisturize." He sniggered at her inside joke. The sonic buzzed repeatedly in his hands, making him furrow his eyebrows.
"Funny sorts of readings. Place is humming…it's weird. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?"
"I don't know." Lynda shrugged.
"We had two friends traveling with us. The same transmat snatched them. Where would they be?"
"They could've been distributed anywhere. There's a hundred different games."
"Like?" Clara asked.
"Well…there's ten floors of Big Brother and beyond that, there's all sorts of shows. It's nonstop. There's "Call My Bluff", with real guns. "Countdown", where you have thirty seconds to stop the bomb going off. "Ground Force", which is a nasty one. Turns you into compost. Um…"Wipeout". Speaks for itself. Oh, and "Stars in their eyes". Except its literal. If you don't sing, you get blinded."
"And you watch all of this?" She said, shocked.
"Everyone does. How come you don't?"
"We've never paid for our license." She said bluntly.
"Oh my god, you get executed for that."
"Let them try."
"You two keep saying things that don't make sense. But who are you, really?"
He sighed, so Clara answered for him. "We're just travellers, that's all."
"So, if we get out of here, what're you going to do? Just wander off again?"
"As fast as we can."
"I could come with you." She offered.
The two exchanged a look. "Maybe." Clara said.
"I wouldn't get in the way of you two." Lynda clarified.
Clara smiled. "It's a maybe. But first, we need to focus on finding our friends and getting out. So, might I ask, who's in charge of this place now?"
Lynda held up a finger. "One moment." She rushed over to the other end of the room and pulled a large lever. This flicked on a couple of lights above their heads, lighting up a sign that said, "Bad Wolf Corporation". "Your lords and masters." Lynda quipped, missing their eyes widening at the words.
"*Sighs* Okay, you win, the Controller's got to handle this." Davidge groaned as they saw the trio on the monitor. "Archive Six has got a record of all transmat activities. Find out how they got on board." He took off his headset, Elizabeth walking away while he strolled cautiously to the front of the room, to stand in front of the Controller. "Controller, we have a problem."
"Continue working." She said, her voice hoarse and breathless.
"We have a security problem." He clarified.
"Continue working."
"I'm sorry, but I can't. We have contestants outside of the games, but the alarms haven't gone off."
"No security. The games continue."
"But we can't just let them wander." He protested.
"They are no one." He blinked at her in bewilderment. "They are no one." She repeated. Suddenly, she gasped in pain as Elizabeth placed her hand on the sensor of the door to Archive Six.
"Sorry…I was just-"
"Archive Six is out of bounds."
"But I need to check the transmat log." Elizabeth protested.
"Archive Six is out of bounds. No one may enter Archive Six. Return to work." She returned to her incoherent muttering, making them sigh in defeat.
The Doctor, Clara and Lynda entered the observation deck, looking down upon the Earth. Lynda's eyes went wide with awe, however the Doctor and Clara looked on in bewilderment. The Earth was ash grey, vastly different from any Earth they've ever seen.
"Blimey!" Lynda mumbled. "I've never seen it for real before. At least, not from orbit."
"What's happened to it?" Clara asked.
"Well, it's always been like that, ever since I was born. See that there?" She pointed to a large swirling mass of clouds moving slowly across the Earth. "That's the Great Atlantic smog storm. It's been going twenty years. We get newsflashes telling us it's safe to breath outside."
"So, the population just sits there?" The Doctor concluded. "Half the worlds too fat, the other too thin and all the while you lot just watch telly?"
Lynda nodded. "Ten thousand channels, all beaming down from here."
"The Human race. Brainless sheep fed on a diet of…" He trailed off, blinking for a moment before gaining a small smile. "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."
"And me." He grinned. "And the celebrity edition where the bear got-"
"In the bath!" They said in unison. "How about you?" They asked Clara.
She shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Aww. You're missing out." Lynda said.
"But it's all gone wrong." He said in a grim tone, making them blink. "I mean, history's gone wrong again. This should be the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire, I don't understand. Last time we were here, we put it right."
"No, but that's when it first went wrong, one hundred years ago, like you said." Lynda clarified, their eyes widening. "All the news channels, they just shut down overnight."
"But…that was us. We did that." Clara said sadly.
"There was nothing left in their place. No information, the whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it. One hundred years of hell."
They turned to look out the window again. "We did this. We made this world." Clara said sadly.
"It wasn't your fault. I did it too." The Doctor said, taking her hand to comfort her.
"You are the weakest link. Goodbye." The Anne Droid shot a screaming Agorax, who disintegrated into ashes. "That leaves Rose and Rodrick. You're going head to head. Let's play "The Weakest Link"."
"Right, that's the end of tactical voting. You're on your own now." Rodrick said to Rose. She stared at him with wide eyes, her breathing hitching, knowing she might not win the next round.
"Compatible systems. Just align the wave signature." Jack muttered as he tinkered with the defabricator. It flickered to life, making him grin. "Attaboy! Got myself a gun." He pulled it out of its stand, moving to the door. "Well ladies, the pleasure is all mine. Which is the only thing that matters in the end." He said as he moved through the door, finding himself on Floor 299. He opened the elevator and pressed a few buttons on his wrist pad. "Two hearts, that's him." Hopefully he has Clara and Rose with him. "Which floor?" He muttered as he worked. The wrist pad beeped, making him nod as he moved into the elevator, coding the desired floor. He waited and waited until it arrived at the designated floor, moving out and towards the observation deck, where the trio stood, the Doctor tinkering with a monitor. "Hey handsome and gorgeous. Good to see you."
"Good to see you too." Clara smiled, embracing him in a hug.
"Where the hell did you end up?" The Doctor asked.
""What not to wear."" He said simply. "Any sign of Rose?"
"Can't you track her down?"
"No. She must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded."
"If I can just get inside this computer. She's got to be here somewhere."
"You'd better hurry up. These games don't have a happy conclusion."
"Do you think we don't know that?" Clara snapped before the Doctor could. She looked down in guilt at Jack's hurt face. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault." Jack said, quickly taking off his wrist band and handed it to her. "Here you go. Patch that in. It's programmed to find her."
"Thank you." Clara said, handing it over to the Doctor.
Jack stole a glance at Lynda, approaching her with a smirk, Clara rolling her eyes. "Hey there."
"Hello." She said with a smile, shaking his hand.
"Captain Jack Harkness."
"Lynda Moss."
"Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss."
"Do you mind flirting outside, thank you." The Doctor groaned as he worked.
"I was just saying hello."
"For you, that's flirting."
"You two can talk." He scoffed.
"I'm not complaining." A blushing Lynda says.
"Muchas gracias." He kissed her hand, making her giggle.
"It's not compatible. Give me a hand, Jack." He pocketed the wrist band and grasped the monitor, Jack moving to help him rip off the outside guarding before he returned to work. "This place should be a basic broadcaster, but the systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television. This station's transmitting something else."
"Like what?" Jack asked.
"I don't know. This whole "Bad Wolf" thing's tied up with me and Clara. Someone's been manipulating Rose's life and now she's stuck inside this trap. Clara, the wrist band."
She took it and worked with it, the three waiting for an answer. It beeped twice, making her smile. "Found her! Floor 407."
Lynda's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, she's with the Anne Droid! You've got to get her out of there!"
"Rose, in geography, the grand central ravine is named after which ancient British city?"
She stuttered for a second. "Is it York?"
"No, the correct answer is "Sheffield". Rodrick, in literature the author of "Lucky" was Jackie who?"
"Stewart."
"No, the correct answer is "Collins". Rose, the oldest inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy is the Face of what?"
"Boe! The Face of Boe!" She exclaimed.
If the Anne Droid had eyebrows, both would've raised in surprise. "That is the correct answer."
"Come on! Come on!" Clara implored as the elevator raced through the first hundred floors.
"She's going to be all right, Clara." Jack reassured.
"She'll be fine when she's not in danger anymore." The Doctor snapped. "Come on!" He said, mirroring Clara's tone.
"Rodrick, in history who was the President of the Red Velvets?"
He blinked for a few moments. "Hoshbin Frane."
"That is the correct answer. Rose, in food the dish Gaffabek originated on which planet?"
Rose felt her insides shatter. She had no chance of winning and no sight of her friends coming. I'm going to die. "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?"
"Would that be a goffle?"
"No, the correct answer is a parb. Rose, in fashion Stella Pok Baint is famous for what?"
"…Shoes."
"No, the correct answer is hats."
The elevator opened, the four rushing out onto Floor 407. "Game room 6! Which one is it?!" Clara demanded.
"Over here!" Lynda pointed to one door, which they rushed over to, the Doctor pulling out his sonic to use on the sensor.
"Stand back! Let me blast it open!" Jack said, holding up the weaponized defabricator.
"You can't! It's made of hydra combination!" The Doctor said.
"Rose, in history, which Icelandic city hosted murder spree 20?"
"…Reykjavik?"
There was a moment of silence from within, sending a dreadful chill down their spines as they figured out the outcome.
"No, the correct answer is Polar Ventura."
The theme music played, Rodrick laughing gleefully. "Oh my god, I've done it! You've lost!"
"Way to brag about it!" Clara growled. "Come on!"
"I'm trying!"
"I'm not meant to be here!" Rose cried.
"Rodrick, you are the strongest link."
"I need to find the Doctor! I need to find Clara! They've got to be here somewhere!"
"You will be transported home with 1,600 credits."
"They wouldn't just leave me! They're always there!"
"Thank you so much!" Rodrick said.
"This game is illegal! I'm telling you to stop!"
"I've got it!" The door opened, Clara racing in first as the three behind her followed.
"Stop this game! I order you to stop this game now!" The Doctor ordered.
"Look out for the Anne Droid! It's armed!" Rose warned as she raced over towards them.
"Rose, you are the weakest link. Goodbye." She opened her mouth and shot Rose to ashes on the spot in front of them. Lynda put her hand over her mouth in shock, while Clara knelt beside the ashes, the Doctor clenching his fists together.
"What the hell did you do to her?!" The Doctor demanded as Jack rushed over to the clipboard woman.
"Security! I need security here right now!" The woman demanded, said group racing into the room.
"Back off! I said back off!" The security officers demanded as they disarmed Jack and held his arms in a grasp before clasping them in cuffs. "Back off or we will shoot her!" They turned to see a silent Clara held at gun point by the head security soldier.
"Leave her alone!" The Doctor ordered.
"Sir stand down or I'll have to shoot!"
They complied but not willingly, the Doctor now clasped in cuffs. "You killed her!" Jack accused. "Your stupid fucking game show killed her!"
The head soldier took out cuffs and clasped them onto Clara's wrists. "Ma'am, I'm arresting you and your friends under private legislation 16 of the Game Station Syndicate."
Clara however stopped listening to everyone, drowning all the noise in the room into nothing as they were all hauled out.
The soldiers led the group into a small, makeshift prison. After getting searched and confiscated of all items and freed of handcuffs, they sat down on a long chair. Jack and the Doctor stared at the soldiers with disdain, Lynda with fear while Clara stared down at the floor. The head soldier took out the sonic screwdriver and held it up for them. "Can you tell us the purpose of this device?" They were silent at this making him pass it to the other two soldiers in the room, who placed it onto a table beside all their belongings. "All right then, can you tell us how you got on board?"
"Just them alone-" The man grasped Lynda's throat, making her stop talking.
"I was asking them." He removed his grasp, turning to the Doctor. "Sir, can you tell us who you and your friends are?" They once again remained silent, making him sigh and move out of the cell, through the mesh gate to converse with the soldiers. Clara stared at the Doctor and Jack with a stern, rageful look, making them nod at her in return. The head soldier re-entered the cell again, looking at them with a tired expression. "You will be taken from this place to the Lunar Penal colony, there to be held without trial. You may not appeal against this sentence. Is that understood?" They once again gave him the silent treatment, so he moved to exit the cell again.
As he reached the door, the Doctor leaned into Jack and whispered, "Let's do it." The soldiers turned to them as they opened the door. Jack pounced on them and knocked out the head soldier. He then grasped the railing above the door and heaved himself up, kicking the door into the two soldiers behind it, knocking them towards the ground. He and the Doctor moved through the door as another two soldiers came rushing in. The Doctor grabbed one and shoved him against the wall, knocking him unconscious while Jack pummelled the other with his fists. They then grabbed their belongings, the Doctor taking the defabricator while Jack took two guns and they rushed for the elevator.
"Floor 500." Clara ordered as they entered.
Davidge stared at his monitor with wide eyes, taking off his headset. "Oh my god, now we're in trouble." He mumbled, racing up to the front of the room and pressing the alarm button. "Clear the floor! They're on their way up here!" Nobody moved. "With a gun!" He clarified, making everyone jump out of their seats. He turned to the controller, who simply stood there, still muttering. "Controller, you have to close the lift down!"
She ignored him, still muttering. Elizabeth came up to his side with an irritated expression. "This is an emergency! You've got to close down the lift!"
"All staff are reminded that solar flares commence in Delta.2."
"Ugh, never mind the solar flares! They're going to kill you!"
The elevator behind them opened, everyone freezing as the Doctor and Jack came out of the elevator with their guns raised, Clara and Lynda moving out behind them.
"Okay, move away from the desk!" Jack ordered, the workers doing as he said. "Nobody try anything clever! Just stand to the sides and stay there!"
The Doctor walked up to the Controller and raised the defabricator. "Who's in charge of this place?!" He demanded, yet she ignored him. "This satellite's more than a game station." More muttering. "Who killed Rose Tyler? I want an answer!"
"All staff are reminded that solar flares occur in Delta.1."
"She can't reply." Davidge interrupts. The Doctor turns the gun on him, making him and the staff raise their hands. "Don't shoot!"
"*Scoffs* Don't be so thick. Like I was ever going to shoot." He tossed the gun into his hands making him blink incredulously.
"Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure those exits." Clara ordered, looking on the monitors, showing security footage.
"Yes ma'am." He said, moving off to work.
"You…" She clicks her fingers a few times. "What's-your-name, what were you saying?"
He blinked at her in slight offense before staring incredulously at the defabricator in his hands. "But…I've got his gun."
"So, shoot me. Why can't she answer?"
"She's…um…can I put this-"
"Hurry up." She snapped.
"Sorry." He mumbled, setting the gun aside. "Um…the Control is linked into the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You and your friends are not members of staff, so she doesn't recognize your existence."
"What's her name?"
"…I don't know." He shrugged. "She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."
"Door's sealed. We should be safe for about 10 minutes." Jack called.
"Keep an eye on them." The Doctor ordered, turning back to Davidge.
"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the game station, I think you're right." Davidge said. "I've kept a log: Unauthorized transmats, encrypted signals. It's been going on for years."
"Show me. Clara, go with Jack. See what's behind that door." She nodded, hurrying over to Jack, who was standing by the door of Archive Six.
"You're not allowed in there!" Elizabeth called, making them turn to look back. "Archive six is out of bounds!"
He rolled his eyes, holding up the rifles. "Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?!" He opened the door, motioning Clara through with him. They entered a small, white room and right there, under their relieved gaze stood the TARDIS.
Clara giggled, walking up and patting the box. "Oh, I've missed you."
*Beeps* (I've missed you too)
"Am I getting left out again?" Jack quipped as they entered. Before they went up to the console, they paused by the railing, seeing one of Rose's blue jackets left behind. Clara put a hand on it, giving out a sad sigh. Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, receiving a gentle smile.
"You're a good friend, Jack." She said softly.
"You too." They held the comfortable silence for a moment before walking up to the console, Jack moving in front of the monitor. He pressed a few keys, finding what the TARDIS had been up to while they were away. The findings made him pause in disbelief. "What the hell?" He muttered.
"What is it?" Clara walked over, gazing at the monitor. "What's got you in a daze?"
"It's the transmissions." He said as if it was obvious. "The station has been sending out transmissions, but there's also ones underneath it. And it's hiding something, out in the solar system."
Clara leaned over and clicked a few more keys, bringing up more findings. "What do the disintegration beams have to do with it?" Clara muttered.
The Doctor groaned as he and Lynda stood by Davidge's desk, while Elizabeth rattled off her domestics to him.
"If you're not holding us hostage then open the door and let us out! The staff are terrified!"
"That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day?" He accused.
"That's not our fault. We're just doing our jobs."
That made his jaw clench. "And with that sentence, you just lost the right to even talk to me now back off!" He growled, making her flinch. When he turned back to the monitor, the lights in the room flickered and dimmed until it became dark, like the cold embrace of night. It didn't ease their tension that the computers flickered and sputtered with static.
"That's just the solar flares." Davidge informed. "They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats, all fairly normal."
The Controller blinked for the first time in years, taking small breaths of relief as her mind cleared from the cloud of inspection. Yet as her gaze shifted and focused, it was still distant as she couldn't see her surroundings, only the echoing light of all the numbers she had seen over her life, fading away into pure darkness. She opened her mouth to speak, finding no words but a hoarse throat, so she cleared it to try again. "Doctor?" Yet the word only came out as a small whisper. "Doctor?" She called again, her voice still hoarse and wrecked from so much talking over her life. "Doctor?"
"Doctor?" Elizabeth asked as she noticed the Controller's strange, unfamiliar words.
"Whatever it is, you can wait." He said coldly.
"I think she's calling for you." That made him blink, turning to look at the Controller.
"Doctor? Where's the Doctor?"
He rushed over to stand in front of the Controller. "I'm here."
She shook her head. "Can't see. I'm blind, so blind. All my life, I've been blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you."
"What do you want?"
"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My-my masters listen, but they can't hear me now." She took another hoarse breath, her throat burning as she did. "The sun is bright now. So bright."
"Who are your masters?"
She shook her head. "They wired my head, forbidding the name. They control my thoughts, see what I think. They check the transmissions, but they don't watch the programs. I had to be careful, to hide you inside the games. So that you could find me."
"My friend died inside your games." He said coldly.
The Controller smiled. "No, she didn't."
"Don't tell me lies." He growled.
"They've been hiding. My masters hiding in the dark space, watching, and shaping the Earth. So, so many years. They've always been there, guiding humanity for hundreds and hundreds of years."
"Who are they?"
"They wait and plan and grow in numbers. They're strong now, so strong, my masters."
"Who are they?"
"But speak of you, they do not." She said sternly, making him blink. "My masters, they fear the Doctor."
"Tell me! Who are they?!" Bad luck. The solar flare passed, power returning to the room and the Controller returned to her muttering, making him inwardly curse. "When's the next solar flare?" He asked Davidge.
"Two years' time."
"*Scoffs* Fat lot of good that is."
Clara and Jack re-entered the room. "We've found the TARDIS." Jack informed.
"We're not leaving right now."
"Doctor." Clara called, making him turn around. "The TARDIS worked it out. Jack, if you could, please?"
Jack stood by a computer, the Doctor blinking at them incredulously. They're both grinning. Did they forget what's going on here?
"Now then, Lynda. Could you stand over there for me, please?" Jack asked, pointing to beside elevator door.
"I just want to go home." She mumbled.
"It'll only take a second. Now, could you stand in that spot? Quickly please." Jack ordered, making her rush over. "Okay…everybody watching? All right then, 3, 2, 1." He flicked a switch, causing a laser to shoot out of the ceiling, disintegrating Lynda.
The Doctor stared at them in shock. "But you killed her-"
"Ah, ah, ah!" Clara tutted, her grin beaming now. "Let us finish." She leaned over and flicked the switch again, causing Lynda to materialize beside the Doctor. The Doctor looked at her with wide eyes, while she stared around, blinking incredulously.
"What the hell just happened?" She demanded.
Clara rushed over to the Doctor. "It's a transmat beam." On that, the Doctor started to smile. "Not a disintegrator."
"People don't get killed in the games." Jack informed, coming over as well. "They get transported across space."
"She's alive?" He finished, now sharing their grins. They nodded. "She's alive!" He cried, hugging the two and kissing their foreheads. They parted, letting their smiles relax. "But first, we've got to find her." They rushed over to the computers in front of the Controller, the two workers moving to help. "Where do they get transported to?"
"Somewhere at the edge of the solar system." Jack informed as he sat down.
"Doctor!" The Controller called, drawing their attention. "Coordinates: /9!"
"Don't!" The Doctor pleaded. "The solar flares gone! They'll hear you!"
".434!" She started to scream in pain, electricity arcing into her mind. "No, my masters! No, I defy you! Sigma 77-aaah!" She screamed as a transmat shot out of the ceiling, dematerializing her before their eyes. Then white light followed. The same white light that every contestant saw as they appeared in the games. Slowly it faded, along with the grogginess of instant space travel. The Controller opened her eyes, feeling the first moments of joy in an exceedingly long time as she could see. She was no longer blind. It was all just a trick to control her. She looked up, seeing a mixture of gold, bronze, and brown all around her, despite the hard-black floor. The walls had dozens of spheres attached to them, arcing all the way up to the ceiling. She stood up, spotting in the corner of the room the unconscious body of Rose Tyler while a Dalek moved towards her, staring its dim blue light straight into her very soul. For the first time in her life, she smiled. But not of joy or nervousness. It was warning. It was bliss. It was victory. "Oh, my masters. You can kill me, for I have brought your destruction."
"Exterminate." It shot directly, making her scream in agony before collapsing dead onto the floor.
Davidge walked back over to them with a small stick, like a USB and handed it to Jack. The Doctor, Clara, Lynda, and Elizabeth stood patiently behind him. "Here, use this. It might hold the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."
Jack smiled at him, but it was…appreciative. "Nice." He held out a hand to shake his. "Captain Jack Harkness, by the way."
"I'm Davidge Pavel."
"Nice to meet you, Davidge Pavel."
"There's a time and a place." Clara groaned, Jack returning to his work with a small, sulking yet playful look on his face.
"So, what you're saying is that this setup has been a disguise all along?" Elizabeth asked.
"Going way back." The Doctor said, Clara nodding. "Back to installing the Jagrafess one hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game, controlling humanity from behind the scenes for generations."
Jack finished, passing a small remote to the Doctor. "Click on this." The Doctor took it, holding it up to where the Controller stood and pressed the key. It brought up a live image of outer space, thanks to the security cameras all over Satellite Five. "The transmat delivers to this point, right on the edge of the solar system."
"There's nothing there." Elizabeth shrugged.
The Doctor shook his head. "It looks like nothing, because that's what this satellite does. But underneath the transmission, there's another signal."
"Doing what?" Davidge asked.
"Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, or scanner. There's something sitting right in Earth's own home, and it's completely invisible." He knelt before the computer, pressing a few keys. "If I cancel the signal…" He trailed off as he looked up, his, Clara's and Jack's eyes widened while the three beside them furrowed in confusion. On the image was a massive assortment of Dalek ships, with one twice the size of any of them sitting in the middle, like a shepherd standing amongst his flock.
"That's impossible." Jack denied. "I know those ships. They were destroyed."
"Obviously they survived." Clara muttered.
"Who did? Who are they?" Lynda asked.
"Two hundred ships." The Doctor informed. "More than two thousand aboard each one, maybe over four thousand in the command ship. That's just about half a million of them."
"Half a million what?" Davidge asked.
"Daleks." The Doctor said, his tone now not of horror but of grim anger.
Rose awoke, blinking away her post sleep grogginess, but her confusing peace was short lived. Her eyes widened as all around her was more than a thousand Daleks, and that was just in her eyesight. What did obscure it was a large shadow in the massive room in front of her, and she couldn't make out what was casting it. "No, it can't be." She breathed.
"Alert! Alert! We are detected!" A Dalek screamed, making all the others in the room move in agitation.
"It is the Doctor! He has found us! Open communications channel!" Another screamed.
One Dalek moved in front of Rose. "The female will stand! Stand!" It ordered, making her rise in haste, moving towards the wall to stand as far away from the Daleks as possible.
"You can't be here. I saw you die." She said, her voice still full of shock, but it was now turning into horror. They all ignored her words, turning around to stare up at the wall opposite her, a large, live image appearing of the group at Satellite Five. While none of them expressed it, they felt a surge of relief seeing their friends alive, both Rose and the TARDIS trio before her. One emotion that she did see, was the Doctor clenching his jaw in held rage.
"I will talk to the Doctor!" One Dalek commanded, moving in front of the group.
"Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello." He sassed in sarcasm. Rose sniggered slightly, and she could tell the people beside them smirked as well.
"The Dalek stratagem nears completion! The fleet is almost ready! You will not intervene!"
"Oh really? Why's that then?"
"We have your associate." It turned around to look at Rose, making her flinch for a second before it turned back. "You will obey, or she will be exterminated!"
Rose gulped as she stared at them, wondering what their answer will be. She saw Clara put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder, making him glance at her. Rose smirked as she made out what Clara mouthed to him: "Go get them, tiger." She finished this with a wink.
He glanced back again and said, "No." The other four stared at him in disbelief while Clara beamed. The Daleks also paused at this, like they were blinking despite their inability to do so.
"Explain yourself!"
"I said no."
"What is the meaning of this negative?!"
"It means no."
"But she will be destroyed!"
"No!" He roared, making the Daleks flinch. "Because this is what I'm going to do: I'm going to rescue her. Me and my friends will save Rose Tyler from the middle of your Dalek fleet, then I'm going to save the Earth and then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe out every stinking Dalek out of the sky!"
"But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan!"
"Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death?!" He taunted. That silenced the Daleks, making Rose grin. "Rose?"
"Yes, Doctor?"
"We're coming to get you." He shut the connection off, the Daleks starting to dart around the room like kids on a sugar rush.
"The Doctor is initiating hostile action!"
"The stratagem must advance! Begin the invasion of Earth!"
"The Doctor will be exterminated!"
"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!" The Daleks started to chant in unison, making Rose cover her ears as their screams echoed throughout the chamber. Please hurry, Doctor, Clara, and Jack. Please.
AN: You know what's coming up next. ;) As always, thank you for reading and leave a review if you wish. :)