A/N: Was afraid I wouldn't get this up tonight because of internet connection! Got here, though. I woulda posted earlier but it was down. PLEASE FORGIVE ME!!! (Cries) Oh, and I'd like to take this oppurnity (As I have in the other one) to THANKS YOU ALL for all your reviews, there's been a ton and I'd loved ever letter of 'em. I NEVER have enough time to reply because I'm severely inefficient so sorry :P I have no idea how far this is off of the end. I miiht even extend it O.o
Chapter 10 – Security Breech!
Resetting in progress.
"No!" she found herself screaming, watching the Doctor's body as it began to flicker and fade before her eyes…but she was helpless to do anything. "Doctor! I need you!"
This is the moderator. Game progress has been deleted and you will be disconnected from the game.
Her eyes suddenly bolted open wide, her hands reaching immediately up to her helmet and yanking it forcedly off. Her vision was blurred, imperfect – but she could tell the attendant had long since gone.
"Rose?" asked a low familiar voice, that of the employee's standing next to her.
"What's…?" she began to ask, confused – but the employee shushed her quickly.
"We haven't much time," he said quickly, "I hacked into the mainframe and got rid of the memory filters, which is why the memories started coming back to you. They should be totally gone when you re-enter, but the Doctor's is a little more complex, it might be a while before I can totally crack it – but he should have enough to remember what just happened. There's no way to unlock the cage the Doctor is in without shutting the game down first, which is activated by a modus operandi in game."
"Mo what?"
"A security protocol. You need to say: prime configuration setting order number zero, zero, one. Got that?"
"Prime configuration setting order number zero, zero, one." She rolled her eyes as the words passed her lips. "Geez, you'd have thought they'd have made it easier. Sounds easy. What's the catch?"
"The catch is you have to say it in World's End, the last room of the game, at the precise moment the final task is completed."
"How do I know which is World's End?"
"You can't mistake it. Big, grand room."
She nodded. "Good. Easy. …Ish."
"Жemnas is watching, and we can't have the game reset again, now without risk to the real Doctor. You can't arouse any suspicion as to the fact you know what's going on. Neither must the Doctor. Got all that?"
She nodded, looking around the room at the hundreds of people watching her intently from the seats. Some had popcorn and snacks. For Christ's sake, this wasn't a damn movie.
"There's nothing more I can do now, it's up to you and the Doctor."
"It usually is," she said with a joyous grin, and jammed the helmet back on as the employee inserted one more credit.
"This is my only bit of change…" his voice said from outside, starting to fade away as the game started to activate once more. "Try not to die else we're both screwed!"
The Doctor's head was buzzing faintly, sort of like that ever-present sound of electric you can use to tell whether the television is on standby or not. His entire body felt heavy and cold like they were blocks of ice, but he ignored the discomfort in favour of his mixed up head.
He was laying on something damp…something…a little spiky, but he could feel someone's arms around his body, holding him up. He dared to open his eyes, only to be met by the beaming face of his beautiful companion, Rose Tyler from above.
"Beginnin' to think you'd never wake up," she said, smiling down at him. He hid his confusion with a reassuring smile, pulling himself up to sitting position and casting his gaze around at their surroundings. He knew this place. Old manor. Unkempt garden. Graveyard. He'd bet his right heart there would be that same, daunting inscription on one as before if he checked the gravestones now.
"I could sleep through a meteor shower," he said as he mentally assessed the situation. What was the last thing he remembered? "Infact, I have." The heat. The burning heat. A voice from above commanding a resetting of the game...or had that all been a freaky dream?
It must've been a dream. The voice had said she was going to get kicked from the game…
Rose was standing now, helping him to his feet and placing her right hand on his lower arm, her left as support above his elbow. She remained liked that for a few seconds, the both of them just pausing to have a glance around. He turned, about to ask her why she was holding his arm like that – when he saw it himself.
Three long parallel scratches tore his upper right arm skin and material of his clothing, the mark of the ghost's scratch. His pain must've been artificial, which is why he didn't feel anything this time around.
That's when he knew his dream hadn't actually been a dream.
And Rose knew.
She was keeping a guise, but had somehow managed to cling onto her memories and stay in-game. She was pretending not to know what was going on so they could find a way out of this game without arousing further more suspicion.
He raised a grin and a wink, looking around and finally fixing his eyes on the front door of the manor. Time to cut the rubbish and get to the end.
"Care to accompany me through the incredibly daunting looking manor, Miss. Tyler?"
"With pleasure my Doctor dearest."
They linked arms, and skipped towards the front door.
Time Catcher has proven to be an innovation in gaming technology, especially with the introduction of 'the Doctor'. Here's hoping we'll see the character in future Жemnas creations. 10/10.
The staggering authenticity and detail in-game makes for a huge impact in the biggest, brightest, and most mind blowing game this year! Could we be seeing a sequel anytime soon? Perhaps, one of the mysterious 'Doctor's' past? 10/10.
Жemnas has achieved the impossible – after the recent launch and plummet of the critically ridiculed 'Frogs Go Wild', 'Time Catcher' proves to be the dramatic U-turn he so desperately needed. 'The Doctor' breathes life into the Жemnas Corporation with his unique and eccentric character, and easy man to fall in love with. 10/10.
The charm of 'the Doctor' moves all who play, a truly inspired character. The clarity of communication with the Doctor makes Time Catcher easily the best game this year. 10/10.
A brilliant game and amazing realism. No longer do you sit on the floor with your controller in hand – you move around inside the game with the wonderful character of the Doctor, who makes the game come to life. 10/10.
Zender Жemnas smiled to himself, throwing the print out of reviews across the desk without care. Of course, what they didn't know was that the Doctor was as real as the noses on his face (All three of them) and bending his brain to synch with more than two games was entirely out of the question.
He swivelled on his chair to look at his bank of monitors, not having looked at them in a while. They were mainly security cameras, recording vandalisms within the complex – but he kept one spare, one for his prize possession. The Doctor.
He could see him now, helpless and drugged in the centre of the room. The pod worked by accessing every single hair on the Doctor's head, every single freckle, every single scratch. The water around him was constantly processing data of his looks, how his body changed and grew as he slept all for the more accuracy.
Жemnas smiled satisfactorily. Turning his head from the Doctor's monitor to the Time Catcher observation monitor. This girl was doing quite well. She was well on her way to the last task and she hadn't a scratch on her.
…Wait a minute.
He had seen that girl earlier, in the Doctor's room. He had assumed she was just staff…but the staff weren't allowed on the games during opening times.
Slowly, he reached for the phone, dialling the number without taking his eyes off of the screen.
"Hello, Amrok? We have a security breech."