From the look on his face as the lift whooshed upwards, Sandi could tell that the Doctor was thoroughly unamused at the tiny time-frame that Torchlink had presented to her to get the game and redesigned console in a marketable condition. She was wrong, of course. The Doctor wasn't just unamused. He was furious.

'Of all the stupid, idiotic... you humans are just a varied collection of total thickheads. How you ever fell out of the trees and began walking around completely eludes me. You find a major, downright dangerous design flaw and instead of pulling the whole thing to bits or chucking it out, oh no, you lot decide "Hey! Let's just throw this out to the public and see who sparks out first"! It's thoroughly insane,' he raged. Sandi stood silently beside, allowing him to continue ranting and determinedly not putting up a fight. She could see his point of view. It was insanity to even consider releasing the console. Sandi remembered the day that she had discovered the flaw.

She had been out of university barely a month when she applied for the design job at Torchlink. Overnight, a mass of jobs regarding computer game creation had appeared in the Sunday Times. It was a last resort. Both Sony and Microsoft had turned her down due to her lack of experience. Quite unexpectedly, the same day she applied she was called back to the brand-new steel structure that had suddenly sprung up a block down from Canary Wharf. The general manager, Rebecca Granger, had eyed her resume disdainfully.

'No previous experience?'

'Nope.'

'Just out of university?'

'Yep.'

'Says on your reference here that you have one hell of an imagination.'

'Err... yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right.'

Rebecca had leant back and stared at her thoughtfully.

'Let me explain something to you. At Torchlink Games, we aim to produce cutting-edge consoles with games that completely immerse the gamer inside a world they can escape to.'

'Yeah, I get that. Most gaming companies do.'

'What you probably don't get is that we're going to be using alien technology to extend the parameters within you can work.'

That had shut Sandi up. Rebecca had gone on to explain about the invasion of the Cybermen and the Daleks, how the board of directors of Torchwood had created Torchlink and had decided on exactly what it would be involved in. When she had finished, Rebecca had let Sandi have a few moments to let it all sink in. Sandi had sat up straight.

'Yes?' Rebecca had asked. Sandi had smiled winningly back.

'Does this mean that I have the job?'

On that point, she had been hired. Barely a few days later, she had been back at Rebecca's desk, arguing over the basic programme.

'This is insane! You can't market this!' Sandi had raged.

'We can and we will, Jenkinson! There is clearly nothing wrong with the game's basic design!'

'Are you mad? Have you actually played it? I had to cut the power and put the entire Madrid localisation team on stand-by for three hours before I could get them out of the prism. The game needs to be scrapped. We can't market it in this condition!'

'Then fix it! It's your problem now! I promoted you to Chief Designer for a reason, Jenkinson! Now, get back to work and start puttting that brilliant imagination of yours to better use than fiddling around with that archaic headset! Why you even think that we need spotters I'll never know.'

And that had been that. Sandi had been forced to continually work out the kinks in the disaster of a game that Torchlink that advertised as their first release. The initial date for release had been months away. That had been last week. That had been before the Utopia. Before the Doctor...

The lift stopped on level fifteen. The doors hissed open and she found herself standing in the familiar, surgical-white lobby of the top level of the Torchlink building. Windows lined most of the walls, proving just how high up they really where. There was a pale wooden desk with a blonde secretary in a crisp, white blouse in front of the opposite wall. Either side of the desk were two doors. The blonde looked up. She smiled brightly and slightly dim-wittedly.

'Sandi! Hiyyyeee! Sweetie, you just go right on in. Becky's waiting for you. But you, you're just gonna have to wait with me, gorgeous' she said, pointing to the Doctor and winking cheekly. The Doctor raised an eyebrow and let his eyes slide around to Sandi. Sandi grinned wickedly and winked.

'Oh, this is Doctor... John Brennaghan. He's been working with me on the game. He's got clearance, don't you Doctor? Go on, show Merri your clearance,' she said pointedly. The Doctor caught on quickly and whipped out the psychic paper. He handed it cheerily over to Merri, whose forehead wrinkled slightly, as if she was trying to concentrate. She handed back the wallet with a smile.

'Sorry about that, sir, you just go right on in as well,' Merri said cheerily. The Doctor beamed at her.

'Thanks very much! Don't mind if I do,' he said, following Sandi through the door on the left.

'John Brennaghan?' The Doctor murmured, as the door clicked shut behind him. Sandi shrugged.

'Lecturer at uni. Best I could come up with at short notice,' she muttered back. He grinned slightly as they entered the next room.

The room they entered was not so different to the lobby behind them. The only difference was the semi-circular desk over by the window that was neatly arranged with black and silver office supplies including a black LCD monitor, notepad and silver pen. Sitting behind the desk was a tall, willowy woman with pale skin and searing blue eyes. Her hair was shoulder length, straight and the kind of red that you could only get out of a bottle. The name plaque on her desk declared her to be REBECCA GRANGER, B.IT, hons. GENERAL MANAGER. She peered over the monitor as the pair entered. When she spoke, her accent was almost londonish, the Doctor thought, but the kind of london accent that's picked up after you've moved from another european country.

'Sandi, about time, too. Who is this?'

'Doctor John Brennaghan, Rebecca. He's a doctorate from Oxford in nanotechnology and information technology. He's been helping me make head-way with the faults in the game,' Sandi said quickly. The Doctor looked thoroughly impressed with her speedy explanation. He smiled warmly.

'I have my credentials, if you would like to be certain,' he said, helpfulness dripping from his voice, hand already reaching for the psychic paper. Rebecca waved a well-manicured hand.

'No matter. You are of no consequence here, sir. I'd appreciate it if you waited outside,' she said politely, but with a distinctly cold edge. Sandi's eyes narrowed.

'And I'd appreciate him being present, if you don't mind,' she snapped back. Rebecca raised a plucked eyebrow.

'If you insist, Jenkinson. But I must make this brief. I assume Anderson informed you of our intentions regarding the console's release?'

'Yeah, yeah he did and you must be mad to think that you're going to pull this off! Didn't you watch the last clip that I sent you? We almost lost one in California last week!'

Rebecca's face darkened.

'With or without you, Jenkinson, we will market this console and it's companion game. If you can't do your job well enough then I will simply find someone else to do it for you!'

Sandi went silent for a moment. Rebecca's face slowly twisted into a look of understanding and she half-rose from her ergonomic chair.

'Wait a moment... you're... you're not leaving, are you?'

The Doctor cleared his throat. Rebecca's boring glare snapped across to him.

'Yes?'

'Ah. Yes. Well. I've offered Sandi a position as my, er, research assistant. Y'know, researching the target audience for certain games and such. It's a lot of travelling and the pay's a bit rubbish, but she's agreed and I'm rather glad she has. So, we just thought that we'd stop in and give you notice.'

'Oh? When are you leaving?' Rebecca asked icily. The Doctor shrugged.

'In around twelve hours. You know, women. You all love to pack up and say goodbye to everyone you've ever met.'

Rebecca leant back in her chair, folding her long arms defensively.

'And what, might I ask, do you have to do with all of this? Jenkinson here tells me that you've been assisting with the game's development. How much do you know?'

The Doctor could tell that she was a whip-smart woman and decided that it was time to let her in on a few little secrets. He leant forward slightly. Rebecca obliged and rocked forward as well.

'Do you remember Yvonne Hartman? She worked for Torchwood,' the Doctor murmured quietly. If Rebecca had any colour left in her face, it left abruptly.

'How do you know of Yvonne? She's... she's dead,' she whispered, fear obvious in her voice. The Doctor nodded.

'I was there.'

'Are you human?'

'To a greater or lesser degree, no. Not really.'

'Then... then you're the... but you can't be!'

'Why not? I did survive the invasion and the closing of the rift. It cost me more than one life, sadly.'

'Why are you here?'

'Like I said. Sandi is coming with me as my assistant. I'm helping with the game and I'm telling you, Miss Granger, that in the state its in, you'll kill too many people! You can't sell it!'

Rebecca leant back, pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.

'If only it was that simple. I've got pressure from higher up. The Board of Directors for Torchwood are breathing down my neck to get this thing out there. I can't let something like this break down a successful advertising campaign. We've beaten XBOX390 and the Playstation4 for preorders this Christmas. They need to be on shelves by tomorrow! We've already shipped out six million consoles in the UK alone, as well as another five million worldwide. It's impossible. We can't stop it now!'

The Doctor thumped a fist down on her desk, making both women in the room jump.

'Then recall them! If you don't, that programme is going to cause a mass brainstorm the world over! You don't need this! Not after Yvonne's lack of foresight over the rift. Rebecca, you have to listen to me! I've been inside the game! It's dangerous!'

Rebecca looked accusingly at Sandi, who looked away and scratched at her nose. She looked back, guilt clearly present on her face.

'What? I wanted his professional opinion! He's an alien, I'm working with alien technology, I thought he might be able to help!'

Her boss looked back at the Doctor.

'And I suppose that you really didn't study at Oxford?'

'Yes. Well, no. Not at your Oxford, anyway. But I do have loads of qualifications!'

'But nothing regarding design and development of video games?'

'Ah. Not as such, no.'

'So, besides the obvious fact that you are an alien, you really are of no consequence and use to us whatsoever.'

The Doctor turned and grinned at Sandi.

'I never thought I'd ever hear a Torchwood employee say that.'

'That's Torchlink, thank you Doctor.'

He faced the head of Torchlink and gave a shallow bow.

'Right then. Nice to meet you, Miss Granger. Very nice. Well, we'll be off then. Good luck with it all. Call us when you're ready to apologise.'

He turned on his heel and started for the door. Rebecca half-rose from her chair again.

'Wait.'

The Doctor stopped and grinned smugly to himself. Setting his face straight, he turned back to face her.

'Yes?'

Rebecca pushed her chair back and opened a thin drawer in her desk. She rifled through some paperwork before straightening and handing two, thin strips of paper over to Sandi.

'If you're going to be here for another twelve hours, perhaps you can do us the honour of attending the launch party tonight,' she said wearily. Sandi frowned at the tickets in her hand, then handed them to the Doctor. Rebecca extended a hand to her.

'No hard feelings, Jenkinson? I trust that you enjoyed the experience of working with us here at Torchlink Games,' Rebecca said, in a rather rehearsed manner. Sandi raised an eyebrow as she shook her hand gingerly.

'Er, yeah. No hard feelings. Though "enjoy" might be stretching it a bit. Best of luck to ya, Becks.'

As she began to leave with the Doctor, Rebecca called after them in an almost cheery voice.

'Don't forget to stop by Personnel on your way out for your care package! Fourth floor, door in the middle.'

Sandi waved a hand behind her as the door clicked shut. Rebecca sat back down and rubbed her forehead. This was proving to be a lot more difficult than she anticipated and now the Doctor was involved.

She opened the desk drawer again and pulled out a photo. A older blonde woman stood next to a gangly teenager.

'I'll set things right, sis,' she whispered.

'This time, things won't go wrong.'

---------

'What was all that about?' The Doctor inquired as they got back into the lift and Sandi pressed the fourth floor button. The doors slid shut.

'Oh, it's a silly quirk of Torchlink. Everytime an employee leaves the company, they get a care package. A sort of "Goodbye and good luck" type of thing. Ridiculous really, but what can you do? It's company policy.'

The Doctor was silent for the remainder of the trip to the fourth floor. Inside his mind, though, he was preparing for the worst on the other side of the lift doors. They hissed open, revealing yet another white lobby. This one, however, was totally enclosed and not as inviting as the fifteenth floor one. There were three doors, each clearly marked with the familiar bronze plaque. He peered at them. In order, from left to right, they read Public Relations, Personnel and Industrial Relations. Sandi pushed through the door in the middle, the Doctor hot on her heels.

The room they entered was different again to those they had already seen. It was painted in a soft pastel blue, with a desk in one corner and a psychiatrist's couch next to it. Behind the desk sat a young man with blonde hair and green eyes obscured slightly behind glasses. Sandi grinned sheepishly at him. He looked up, slightly surprised.

'Jenkinson? What are you doing...'

'I'm off, Brent. Gave Granger my notice and I'm off travelling for a while. Got offered a better job with him,' she said, thumbing in the Doctor's general direction. The Doctor gave the mildly perplexed Brent a small wave and a boyish grin.

'Hello. I'm the Doctor, by the way.'

Brent stood up. He wasn't overtly tall, but his mannerisms implied a height greater than inches.

'I'm Brent. Brent Carlisle. Head of Personnel.'

The Doctor saluted him quickly. Sandi elbowed him in the ribs. He grimaced slightly.

'We're... just here because Sandi insisted on the care package,' the Doctor wheezed. The colour drained from Brent's face.

'Oh my God, you really are leaving? No... I can't... I can't do it... no...' Brent was suddenly hunched over his desk, shaking. The Doctor grabbed Sandi's shoulders as she started forward.

'Brent? What's wrong? You can't do what?'

Brent looked up, his eyes bloodshot. When he spoke, his voice was distorted.

'You must release all your memories regarding Torchlink into my custody. It is company policy that all ideas and creations formed during your employment remain property of Torchlink Games,' he growled, a baritone that was foreign to his usual cheerful banter. Sandi backed into the Doctor, who linked his fingers through hers. He glared at the young man.

'Who are you? What planet are you from?'

Brent grinned manically. His eyes began darting all over the room.

'Carruther Braxus from the planet Braxi III. I am Crown Prince of the immortal city of Loorie.'

The Doctor gulped. He began to edge away from the man.

'He's a Braxan,' he whispered to Sandi.

'A what?'

'A Braxan. They feed off the brainwaves of thousands of slaves kept below the surface of the city. He's basically the organic equivalent to a thumbdrive, only he can store far more information.'

'Then how does he... get the information?' Sandi whispered urgently back, never talking her eyes off the advancing man. Brent licked his lips.

'Just a quick kiss, sweetheart. One kiss and I can scan your brain for anything regarding Torchlink.'

'One kiss and he'll suck your soul out through your mouth,' the Doctor muttered. Sandi grabbed the front of the Doctor's shirt desperately. His eyes widened in surprise.

'But... if he does that... then that means you'll be wiped from my memory too!' Sandi shouted.

She spun to face Brent, her face blazing with anger. Suddenly a soft glow of light surrounded her and her hair appeared almost black...

Hear this, you creature of time, Sandi said in an ethereal voice. The alien halted warily. The Doctor stumbled backwards slightly.

You know not what you are messing with here. Show all due reverence to the Source of all Time!

For a moment, Brent appeared to be debating on what to do. Sandi therefore seized the oppurtunity to jump and land a solid kick to his right shoulder, sending him sprawling. She spun around and grabbed the Doctor's hand.

'Come on!' Sandi yelled and legged it from the room.

Brent's roars of agony echoed behind them as they thundered down the white-washed corridor. As they ran, Sandi eyed the Doctor dubiously.

'You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?'

'Ah. Yes. Well, no. Not exactly that, but something very similar, yeah.'

'And you felt obligated, as a Time Lord and protector of all that is good and just, to omit the part where you tell me that the head of personnel is a mind-sucking alien and therefore saving my life and ensuring that the future takes it natural course, that of us tearing up this corridor like headless chickens with their tails on fire?'

'Er... yeah. I think that's the general gist of it, yeah.'

'Time Lords,' Sandi sighed exasperatedly as they skidded to a halt at the fire escape stairs, which for some unknown reason, appeared to be locked. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and winked at his friend. Moments later, with the lock shocked to bits, the doors exploded open and the pair stumbled forward, feet desperate to find the quickest path out. Both could hear Brent's footsteps right behind them.

'Move move MOVE!' The Doctor shouted as he pounded down the stairs. The alien appeared at the top of the flight of stairs above them.

'Quarrantine the building! We have non-sanctioned visitors attempting to leave!' Brent shouted. Sandi sped up.

'Ooooooh, not good, not good, not good!'

'Less talk, more run!' The Doctor yelled over the klaxon that had burst into a wail over their heads. They raced down the remaining flights of stairs and burst through the first floor door. Sandi grabbed the Doctor's hand and yanked him to the right.

'Quick, this way! There's a service passage that leads out the back,' she hissed. She led the way down a narrow corridor that twisted behind the ground floor lobby and opened onto a loading bay where a few unmarked white trucks were parked. The pair ducked behind one of trucks to catch their breath, the sirens still screaming inside the building. The Doctor, still panting slightly, offered Sandi a small smile.

'I guess... they don't... want you to go,' he puffed. Sandi gave a bark of a laugh and peered cautiously underneath. She slumped back against a shiny hubcap and let out a sigh of relief.

'I don't think they managed to follow us, thank goodness. They probably think that we left through the front.'

'How did you know about the service entrance?'

'When you work for an agency like Torchlink, there are a few unwritten, golden rules, the first of which is this: Always find a quick way out for a fast getaway.'

The Doctor laughed and patted her shoulder.

'Oh, well done, Sandi Jenkinson, well done.'

He straightened up and glanced around the corner. The entrance was still empty. He extended a hand and helped his companion to her feet. Then he strode off purposefully in the direction of Sandi's flat. She almost had to run to keep up.

'Doctor? Where are you going? We've got to stop those consoles being released!'

The Doctor shot her a sidelong glance and grinned wickedly at her. Oh God, he's got a plan, Sandi thought desperately.

'Ah, but you see my dear, sweet Sandi, you are forgetting something.'

'What's that?'

The Doctor pulled out the tickets that Rebecca had given them earlier. He chuckled and waved them lazily in the air.

'Tonight, we're going to a party.'

---------

'You lost them? You lost them. You, one of the best trackers this side of the Milky Way Galaxy lost a Time Lord and a human in fifteen levels of concrete.'

'S'not my fault. The pain in my shoulder interfered with my tracking.'

Rebecca leant back in her chair and glared at Brent, who was rubbing his shoulder where Sandi had kicked him. He looked back guiltily.

'Said I was sorry, 'Becca. Plus, he is a Time Lord. They are pretty smart, y'know. He knew I was a Braxan.'

'Then you should have killed them both on principle. You were hired on the basis that you are a Braxan. Can't you track his thoughts at all?'

'Nope. He's shielding them and the girl's thoughts are... odd. Before she came back with him, her thoughts were easy to spot. But now, it's like they're being... distorted. It's like picking up static on a television. You can't tell what it is that you're getting or where it's coming from.'

Rebecca pinched the bridge of her nose and waved Brent Carlisle of her office. Sandi Jenkinson was becoming more a headache than expected, especially with her potentially dangerous new ally. She really didn't need this.

Closing her eyes, she exhaled slowly. There was no reason to panic. Sandi didn't know the extent of the problem anyway, thankfully. Had she known exactly what had been going on for the last three months, she would have gone directly to the Board of Directors and, well... Rebecca didn't want to think about what could have happened next. She opened her eyes and smiled tiredly. No, there was no need to worry. Let Sandi go. She was of no consequence now.

Rebecca got to her feet and grabbed her handbag from under the desk. She had a party to go to.

---------

'You're insane. I mean, I always knew that, but you've just gone and proved it,' Sandi groaned as the Doctor straightened his bow tie and tugged the jacket of his tuxedo down and into place. He grinned at her and patted her shoulder.

'Oh now, come on. I'm not all that mad. Well, maybe. But that's beside the point.'

'What, exactly, do you plan on gaining from a trip to a party stocked chockers with people who want to kill us?'

'You'd be surprised at the information people will tell their potential victims before they up and do them in.'

'Heaven save me,' Sandi moaned and flopped down on the bed. The Doctor spun around and looked appraisingly at her.

'What are you going to wear?'

'What?'

'To the launch party, of course! You're not going in that ratty old dress, are you?'

'This is not a ratty old dress, thanks very much and I don't plan on going, anyway. You wanna go risk your life, fine. Just don't expect me to tag along.'

The Doctor knelt in front of her looked up seriously.

'I mean it. I can't do this without your help. I need someone to watch my back. Remember, you signed up to this.'

Sandi matched his stare steadily.

'I didn't think it would involve my life back here.'

'Sandi, after this, your life here won't exist anymore. Everything changes when you leave with me. You change. You have to be prepared for this. When you leave, you can't come back to the life you led before. You can't just... plop back into society. You'll have memories of experiences that no other human in the world has. You'll be alone. Can you handle that?'

Sandi was silent for a moment, then grinned wryly.

'I think, under the circumstances, I can put up with it. After all, how many humans do you know rent out space in their brain for bodiless Time Lords?'

The Doctor smiled gently. He could tell that, behind the bravado, Sandi already felt alone in this world. He stood up and took her hand in his.

'Everyone needs a hand to hold in the universe. Let me hold yours, just for a little while, then, if not forever.'

Sandi squeezed his hand and rested her head on his shoulder.

'No, Doctor. Let me hold yours.'

They stood that way for a minute, silently welcoming the feeling of just the two of them, together. Then the Doctor shifted his weight slightly.

'So... what are you going to wear?'

---------