Disclaimer: I don't in any way own the series Doctor Who . Those are the sole property of the BBC.
Return to Satellite 5 AU: "Bad Wolf", "The Parting of the Ways" and "Born Again".
Chapter One: Wolf Moon Rising
Rose came to, facing up in a dark room on a cold floor. Rose's stomach revolted; the blonde woman quickly rolled over as the impulse to retch overcame her. In the background she could hear voices, though she didn't have the energy to make out what was being said.
A hand touched her shoulder, helping her away from where she had expelled her last meal. "I'm so not having traditional Japanese any time soon," Rose groaned as her stomach lurched once again, but this time she was able to control the reaction.
"Come on, Dearie, we need to get you dressed." A brusque middle-aged woman with streaked hair of pink and blue, wearing a beige staff uniform, demanded as she hauled Rose to her feet.
"What? Why?" Rose questioned in confusion barely managing not to vomit again. Her skin was slick with perspiration and she was paler than normal.
"Well, we can't have you going on the floor looking like a street urchin. Besides the smell would knock over a Judoon," the pink and blue haired woman commented as she pushed a still befuddled Rose behind a curtain. There she was stripped out of her street attire and prodded into a slinky pink and yellow ballroom dress. Rose attempted to fight back but she didn't feel well and her efforts were in vain. She was able to retain her jewelry, though she had no idea with her clothes were placed. She was then propelled into a rickety chair where a person, Rose thought was a man but she couldn't tell for sure as it started to work on her makeup and hair. The makeup was put on even thicker than even she would normally do it, and he tugged and pulled at her hair so that she bit her the inside her cheek not to scream in pain. Finally he reached for her jewelry "Those have to go."
"Don't... you dare." Rose's hands went to her throat and ears trying to protect her personal items.. They could take her clothes but some of the pieces she was wearing were too important to her, and Rose didn't know if these people would give them back.
The stylists gave an exasperated sigh, "Fine... keep your baubles, but that clunky thing is too big and doesn't match everything else."
Rose glanced down knowing immediately which one the guy was talking about. Her locket with it's intricate engravings and about the size of a ladies pocket watch was out of place with the rest of what she was now forced to wear. Rose nodded sadly, "fine, but I want to be able to hold on to."
"Really, you're worried about that? Whatever." The stylist turned back to his table coming back with with cloth wristbands. "Here, you put it in there and you'll still be wearing it. Now quickly everything about to start."
Rose complied fast as she could still not knowing what was going on. The one wristband had a small compartment which would barely fit the locket, but Rose wasn't going to argue further.
With one brief look in the mirror Rose didn't recognize herself. Her hair was piled on top of her head with a couple of tendrils of wavy hair on either side of her face. Her face was transformed into something more exotic than the plain features of a girl that only a year before worked in a common shop.
"What floor? Where am I?" Rose asked once again as she was dragged from the chair and into another dimly lit room where the former shop girl counted at least seven couples and one lone man standing impatiently.
"Here's your partner, Number Five," said the pink and blue haired woman. The man scowled in annoyance.
A man stood nearby with a flat transparent screen he checked then announced in a booming voice, "and were going on the air in ten minutes. Right, people, places."
"But where am I? Where's the Doctor? Jack? What's going on?" Rose demanded in desperation.
"You're on the show 'Ballroom X.' Her dance partner said condescendingly.
Rose looked at the man about her age with dark brown hair and pleasant features: what the Doctor would call a pretty boy. He was dressed in a form-fitting yellow shirt with pink accents with a number five tagged to the front, black pants with thin pink and yellow stripes down the sides, with black dances shoes. Rose glanced down seeing a corresponding five on the front of her dress. "But I'm not a dancer." Sure she'd watched shows that had ballroom dancing in, and she did have to learn various moves when she was in gymnastics, but that had been ages ago.
"Ssh... Don't be so loud. You'll get us kicked off." The yellow shirted man looked around to be sure no one heard Rose's outburst. "Listen here, Girlie. You're not who I was supposed to be with. My partner should have been transmatted with me, but for some reason the producers thought throwing in a novice was a great idea. Unfortunately for me I got you."
"Hey well that's terrific. We both don't want me here. So lets just tell them there was a mistake. Yeah," Rose said as optimistically as she could. She really didn't feel good and thought she very well might be sick again.
"Yeah, no, that's not going to happen. No one's allowed to leave unless they are voted off," the brown haired man informed Rose as if she were a dunce. "And I for one don't plan on getting the boot even with you weighing me down."
Rose scowled at Number Five in annoyed exasperation. "Really."
"Yes. Really, and don't even think about messing me up. You won't like the consequences." He stepped menacing into her space. Rose had to swallow back the bile that rose into her mouth.
"Fine," Rose grumbled, already formulating a plan to get out the stupid contest so she could go and find her friends.
"What is it? What's going on?" The Doctor questioned as he found himself in a cramped cupboard in the dark. In searching for a way to get out, the Doctor jammed his fingers and knocked his head into a wall before finding the door knob. The door opened easily and, still being uncoordinated, the Time Lord fell out into the other room.
The Doctor's face connected with the floor as he landed ungracefully in a brightly colored room. The walls had large drawings that were ultra modern with just splashes of color. The furniture was also in the same style: puffy and bright. He finally noticed a woman standing over him.
"Oh, wow, are you alright?" a blonde woman with pigtails asked concern evident in her bubbly voice.
She wore clothes that reminded him of someone, but at the moment he was having a hard time thinking clearly.
The woman continued on, not waiting for an answer. "We didn't know you were coming. I wonder why they put you in there. It's unbelievable."
Still trying to make sense as to what happen, and not wanting to stay on the floor, the Doctor attempted to gain his feet with the help of the blonde woman. "Ah, what? What happened?" Unfortunately his limbs seemed to be not getting the message as he was once more faced-planted on the floor.
"Oh, be careful there," the woman said. "That transmat, it scrambles your head. Mind when I came through I was sick for days."
Once again the Doctor pushed himself up and, clutching more firmly on to the familiarly dressed woman, he finally got to his feet. Still using her, he managed to stay up right.
"Well! Love, what's your name?" The bubbly woman smiled encouragingly.
The Doctor looked at her as if not comprehending the question; he shook his a bit before answering. "Ah. I think. Um, the Doctor. I'm unsure what's going on? Where..."
"You were selected." She grinned brilliantly, not understanding the Doctor's question and thinking her answer was all he needed to know of what happened.
The Doctor still had a puzzled look on his face at the woman's explanation as it didn't make much sense to him. "For what?"
"It's brilliant really. You're the newest house mate. You were selected to be in the house." She let out a genuinely happy laugh that he'd been given a great honor.
"That's not fair," a whiny voice came from across the room, and there stood two more house mates. The voice was that of a man with brown messy hair and a thin face, wearing a white t-shirt with a big red-lipped mouth, pink tongue sticking out. A pretty black skinned woman with black hair pulled back into a ponytail and wearing a pink shirt stood next to him with the same expression of annoyance.
The Doctor took in more of the large room with it's big stylized eyes everywhere; it gave him the impression that they were constantly being watched, which, if his memory served him as things slowly began to come back to him, they were anyway with camera's being pointed at them.
"In five minutes someone's going to be evicted. It's not right that he comes swanning in now. I've not had a single warning and followed the rules to the letter. This can't be happening," the man continued, peeved about the Doctor's appearance in the house. The Time Lord looked on still confused as to how he got there.
"That's it, I'm gonna protest. They're changing the rules again. I'll give them a reason to give me a warning... I'll paint the walls. I'll do it, don't see if I don't," the black haired woman said all bluster.
The Doctor for the third time looked around, trying to understand what was happening. The place still wasn't registering in his mind with the over-colorful oddness and the three people that were living there in their own world.
The camera attached to the ceiling turned slowly taking in the whole drama for the hundred of thousands of views. A female synthesized voice blared out over the loud music that had started to play. "The Doctor, would you please come to the Diary Room?"
The Doctor's blue eyes scanned the area, trying to find where the newest voice came from. He turned around abruptly when a buzzing came from behind him. There was another door, silver with the ever present black stylized eye staring back, and beside it was a blue-lit sensor shaped also as an eye.
He tentatively stepped over, opening the strange door, and went inside. He didn't have a good feeling about any of it.
The Diary Room was dark with a light center on a red oversized, oddly shaped chair in the center. He walked over and dropped into the chair, feeling out of his element, though he wasn't sure what that would be; he also was starting to feel a little nauseous which didn't seem right either.
Once again the female voice came over the music, "You are live on channel forty-four-thousand. As always, please do not swear."
A look of incredulity appeared on the Doctor's face at the utter surreality of it all. "You have got to be kidding."
TBC...