The Doctor was crouching in what appeared to be a small cupboard. The tiny enclosure started spinning and spinning. The Doctor leapt to his feet and frantically tried to get out of the cupboard, unsure of what was going on. A prickling on his neck started, making him feel like he was being watched by unfriendly eyes. "What is it? What's happening?" he asked to the room, as if someone was in there with him. Unexpectedly, he found a door and fell through it, landing flat on his face, only having time to see that the room he had fallen into was brightly covered with drawings on the wall and a modern style chair.
"Oh my God!" A woman's voice gasped out, and the owner of it rushed over to the Doctor. She was about 30 with blond hair, the Doctor noted before she started to speak. "I don't BELIEVE it! Why'd they put you in there? They never said you were coming!" She continued, shocked. The Doctor struggled to get himself up, still disoriented.
"But what happened? I was..." the Doctor struggled to remember as the woman helped him to his feet.
"Careful now...oh!" She commented as the Doctor's legs gave way and he fell back onto his face. "Oh! Mind yourself! Oh, that's the transmat. Scrambles your head-I was sick for days." The woman explained in a bright, bubbly sort of fashion. The Doctor struggled to his feet by himself, and the woman helped him up again. "You all right?" the Doctor merely grunted in reply, finally managing to stabilize himself.
"So! What's your name then, sweetheart?" the woman asked, taking the Doctor's grunt as an answer.
"The Doctor, I think. I was er...I don't know, what happened? How—" the Doctor said groggily, trying to remember before he finally looked over at the woman for help.
"You got chosen." She explained, her voice breathless as she nodded, hoping that would help.
"Chosen for what?" the Doctor asked.
"You're a housemate. You're in the house! Isn't that brilliant?!" the woman laughed, trying to convey the honor, how good it was, to be chosen as a housemate in the...well, everyone knew once they had arrived where they were.
"That's not fair." A male voice said from inside the house. The Doctor turned somewhat shakily to see a man and a woman sitting on a couch keeping a close eye on the telly, which had a somewhat familiar logo on it, though from what, the Doctor couldn't remember.
"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, and then he comes swanning in." The man continued to complain, gesturing to the clearly confused Doctor.
"If they keep changing the rules, I'm gonna protest, I am. You just watch me, I'm-I'm gonna paint the walls." The woman threatened half-heartily, a small note of worry and fear in her voice.
The Doctor looked around at the House, mouth open, brow furrowed. Completely bemused. A camera was fixed to the ceiling was turning slowly, and a female voice rang through the House.
"Would the Doctor please come to the Diary Room?" The Doctor stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out where the voice came from. A buzzing noise came from behind him, and the Doctor turned to a silver door with an illuminated eye on the side waiting for him. He walked over to the door and opened it, going inside to find himself in the Diary Room where he plopped himself down in a bright red chair, looking rather useless.
"You are live on channel forty-four-thousand. Please do not swear." The voice commanded, and the Doctor raised his eyebrows.
"You have GOT to be kidding." He complained.
Rose was lying on a floor of a darkened room in a beam of light. Just staring to regain consciousness, she looked around, bemused with a just-woken-up look.
"What happened?" She wondered, her voice bleary. A man of about 25 was crouched next to her, observing her.
"It's all right...it's the transmat. Does your head in." He explained as Rose stared around at her surroundings. "Get a bit of amnesia. What's your name?" the man continued.
"Rose. But...where's the Doctor?" She asked, just remembering.
"Just remember-do what the Android says. Don't provoke it. The Android's word is law." The man warned, laying down the rules.
"What d'you mean, android? Like...a robot?" Rose guessed, but never got her answer because the floor manger called out,
"Positions, everyone! Thank you!" the floor manger ordered, holding a clipboard in one hand.
"Come on. Hurry up!" the man said, his tone now urgent as he helped Rose to her feet. "Steady, steady..." he told her as she hung onto him for support.
"I was travelling. With the Doctor and a man called Captain Jack and a woman called Kayla...? The Doctor wouldn't just leave me..." Rose was beginning to get scared, and her voice was showing it. Despite how many trips Rose had gone on with the Doctor, she did not put it pass Kayla to have convinced him to leave her somewhere.
"That's enough chat! Positions! Final call!" the stage manager called, she was standing next to an inactive robot, which was being attended to by technicians. The robot stood on a platform that was surrounded by six podiums. The contestants were milling about near them. "Good luck!" the manager finished, sounding like she actually meant it.
The man who had helped Rose smiled slightly in anticipation, looking at her. "But I'm not supposed to be here." Rose said, confused and frightened.
"Well, it says Rose on the podium..." the man stated, and Rose looked at a podium where sure enough, her name was on it, lights brightening it up. "Come on!" the man continued. He dashed off, going to stand behind a podium with the name Rodrick on it. Slowly, but drawing on a revelation, Rose took her place behind her podium.
"Hold on...I must be going mad." Rose said shakily, starting to recognize the stage manager, the technicians, all of whom were still attending to the inactive android. "It can't be. This looks like the—" the Floor Manager turned to face the people behind the podiums.
"Android activated!" she warned, and the android sprung to life, raising her face.
"Oh, my God. The Android. The Anne...Droid." Rose stated, recognizing it.
"Welcome, to 'The Weakest Link'!" the Anne Droid said, and the Weakest Link theme music started up.
Jack was in a white clinical room. Blurry faces were slowly coming into view and he could faintly hear robotic voices as he started to come to.
"Here we go again. We've got our work cut out for us." One voice said.
"I don't know-he's sort of handsome. That's a good lantern jaw." The other voice defended Jack.
"I bet his daughter's that brown head beauty in Stars in their Eyes. Poor girl, wish she came here." Jack stiffened and opened his eyes, worried about Kayla. Judging by the place, he was in the Game Station, which meant that he had to win the game, and he was being examined by two robots...to female robot, both very detailed.
"Lantern jaws are so last year." Jack blinked, recognizing the two. He was in, What Not To Wear, which wasn't his favorite show, though he couldn't remember why, though he did remember the names of the robots. Trin-E and Zu-Zana, or something like that.
"Sorry...nice to meet you ladies, but where exactly am I?" Jack asked, deciding to play it dumb.
"We're giving you a brand-new image." Trin-E said excitedly.
"Oh, hold on, I was with the Doctor-" Realizing what he said, Jack swung into his vanity full force. "Why, is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?" He asked, trying to sound worried.
"It's all very twentieth century-where DID you get that denim?" Zu-Zana wondered, studied his legs which were clad in jeans.
"Little place in Cardiff...it was called 'The Top Shop.'" Jack told them, watching the robots face.
"Oh-design classic." Zu-Zana approved, gliding around him.
"But we're gonna have to find you some new colors. Maybe get rid of that 'Oklahoma Farm Boy' thing you've got going on..." Trin-E stated, not sounding sad about it. Jack faced the two, hands on his hips and trying to appear indigent while secretly thinking wildly, if Kayla was in Stars in their Eyes…then he had to get her, and quickly.
"Just stand still and let the Defabricator work its magic." Zu-Zana ordered him, and Jack did as he was told.
"What's the Defabricator?" He wondered, and then got a demonstration as a light was shot at him, hitting his clothing and making it leave, not that he was complaining. "Okay...Defabricator. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?" He wondered, slightly liking the idea.
"Absolutely!" Trin-E and Zu-Zana chorused together.
"Ladies..." Jack glanced down at his body, a smug grin forming on his handsome face, "... your viewing figures just went up." He finished.
Kayla woke on a floor with a woman hovering over her.
"Oh good, you're awake. Listen, if you're here, than you must be a good singer. Can you help me with this?" the woman was a red head, about 25, and terror was in her hazel gaze.
"Oh great, am I in Stars in their Eyes?" Kayla groaned, getting up shakily, clutching her head as the room tilted wildly.
"Uh, yeah. So, can you?" the woman wondered, and Kayla sighed, shaking her head as she did so.
"It's against the rules. If I help you then we're both losing." She reminded the 25 year old, who looked downcast but nodded, knowing they couldn't bend the rules without both of them getting killed.
"Alright, new girl, do you have your song ready. We took out the impersonating stuff recently, so just go with a song you know by heart." A man yelled, and Kayla nodded quickly. The Time Agency had forced her to memorize songs. Seeing her nod, the man waved her over and quickly got her set up.
"Wait for my signal!" the man commanded, and after a three second count down and then three more minutes of waiting, the man nodded to her, and she started to sing.
"Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you go on
Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go till we're gone
Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on
Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on
You're here, there's nothing I fear
And I know that my heart will go on
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on"
Tears slid down Kayla's face, and she turned her back to the camera as she finished. She wasn't that good of a singer, but the songs that she loved, she worked on to sound...good. Mostly because of her ex liking her voice. The red head ran up to her.
"Oh my gosh, that was such a good song." She gushed, but it just poured over Kayla, too busy thinking about her ex...and their child.
The sonic screwdriver in the Doctor's hand whirled and buzzed as he tried to open a door leading out of the Big Brother House.
"I can't open it." He told the blond, who was still following him around.
"It's got a deadlock seal. Ever since Big Brother Five Hundred and Four when they all walked out...?" The Doctor didn't answer, already walking to the other side of the room, looking for any possible ways out. "You MUST remember that." The woman continued.
"What about this?" the Doctor asked, referring to a mirror.
"Oh, that's exoglass. You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through." The woman explained as the Doctor scanned the edges of it, and seeing that she was right.
"Don't tempt me." He warned her. The woman looked around casually and leaned on the wall next to him, lowering her voice as she spoke.
"I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching. Do people like me? Lynda with a Y, not Linda with an I-she got forcibly evicted because she damaged the camera." The Doctor nodded, grinning at her in an uninterested sort of way. "Am I popular?" she continued.
"I don't remember." The Doctor said indifferently, not seeing why it bothered Lynda with an I.
"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing? Some people get this far just 'cos they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?" The fear in Lynda's voice made the Doctor look at her properly, almost pityingly.
"No...you're...you're nice. You're sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet." The Doctor reassured her, grinning as he spook.
"Oh! Is that right? Is that what I am?" Lynda wondered, very flattered and pleased. "Oh, no-one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?" She pressed, no one had ever given her a real complement, giving her a small picture of herself. Being on the Big Brother House hadn't helped matters.
"Yeah. Dead sweet!" the Doctor agreed with himself.
"Thank you!" Lynda was grinning broadly, touched. The Doctor glanced over at one of the so-called mirrors, which was black, solid black.
"It's just a wall-isn't there supposed to be a garden out there?" he wondered, racking his brains for memories.
"Don't be daft. No-one's got a garden anymore. Who's got a garden?" She gasped suddenly. "Don't tell me YOU'VE got a garden!" the Doctor examined the wall.
"No, I've just got the TARDIS..." He spun around, like he was hit by inspiration. "I remember." He breathed out.
"That's the amnesia! So what happened? Where did they get you?" Lynda asked quickly.
"Raxacoriofallapatorius…we'd only just escaped." In his mind's eye, he could clearly see Jack, Rose, and Kayla, and himself, all of them laughing, and then Kayla stopped, her eyes closing as she cursed. "We were together, we were laughing, and then…Kayla cursed, closing her eyes…and there was a light…" A bright light reached through the TARDIS, starting to suck Kayla away from him and towards it. "... this white light coming through the walls, and then..." Kayla disappeared.
"And then I woke up here." The Doctor finished, stopping his narration of his memories.
"Yeah, that's the transmat beam. That's how they pick the housemates." Lynda explained.
"Oh, Lynda with a Y... sweet little Lynda..." the Doctor walked a few paces in the room. "It's worse than that." He muttered darkly.
Someone was watching through the mirror, someone watched the Doctor walking about the room.
"I'm not just a passing traveler. No stupid little transmat gets inside my ship. That beam was fifteen million times more powerful, which means... this isn't just a game. There's something else going on." He explained, thinking it through. Kayla knew something about it, so it was something going on in the 51st Century. He stepped closer to the mirror, where the camera was hidden. "Well! Here's the latest update from the Big Brother house. I'm getting out." His gaze was in the dead center of the camera, like he could see it. "I'm gonna find my friends and my Kayla. And then I'm gonna find YOU." The Doctor threatened, putting his finger on the mirror.
That someone who was watching the screen was a Male Programmer, and he is very far above the show. He got up an approached a Female Programmer who was working on a computer.
"Need a word." He told her.
"Hold on...let me finish this." She answered. On her screen was an image of, The Weakest Link, where Rose was. "19...18..." the Female Programmer continued, starting the countdown.
"17...16...15...thank you people, transmitting in 12...11...10..." the stage manager took up the countdown, chanting with the Female Programmer. Agitated, Rose turned to Rodrick.
"But I need to find the Doc—" She started, but Rodrick just pushed her back angrily.
"Just-shut up and play the game!" he commanded her.
"All right then. What the hell? I'm gonna play to win!" Rose smiled at him, and Rodrick seemed distracted, believing that she was mad.
"3, and cue!" The Floor Manager cued, and the Anne Droid started up.
"Let's play 'The Weakest Link!'" She commanded, and the familiar theme song started up, so did the lights. "Start the clock." The Anne Droid continued.
"Agorax-the name of which basic food stuff is an anagram of the word 'beard?'" She asked a woman.
"Bread." She answered confidently.
"Correct. Fitch-in the Pan Traffic Calendar, which month comes after Hoob?"
"Is it...Clavadoe?" He guessed.
"No, Pandoff. Rose, in maths, what is 258 minus 158?"
"One hundred!" Rose yelled confidently, looking extremely pleased with herself.
"Correct. Rodrick –"
"Bank." Rodrick called out, saving all the money.
"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the word 'dangle' but not in the word 'gland?'" After a second's thought, Rodrick answered.
"E." He stated, confident.
"Correct! Colleen-in social security, what D is the name of the payment given to Martian Drones?"
"Default." She answered.
"Correct. Broff-the Great Cobalt Pyramid is built on the remains of which famous Old Earth Institute?" the boy who the Anne Droid had asked, heisted, not knowing the answer.
"T-Touchdown." He guessed.
"No-Torchwood." Rose laughed, not because she knew the answer, but because the boy's face was genuinely distraught.
"Agorax-in language, all five examples of which type of letter appear in the word 'facetious?'"
"Vowels." She answered.
"Correct. Fitch-in biology, which blood cells contain iron-red or white?"
"Um…white?" Fitch guessed, and Rose giggled softly because Fitch looked like her heart had sank to her shoes.
"No, red."
The Female and the Male Programmer watched the show with interest.
"Rose-in the holovid series 'Jupiter Rising', the Grexnik is married to whom?"
"How should I know?" Rose laughed at the absurdity of the situation.
"No, the correct answer is Lord Drayvole."
"Why's she laughing?" the Female Programmer wondered, watching Rose.
"Rodrick-in maths, what is nine squared?"
"Oh, my God...I don't think she knows..." the female gasped out, and the Male Programmer leaned over her shoulder.
"And I've got a housemate to appear out of nowhere. I told you-it's like the game's running itself. And Darleen says that she has the Kayla Hark in her game." The female gasped.
"But she's with the Time Agency, off-limits and all." She exclaimed.
"Well I guess she quit, because she's there." He told her.
Jack stood in front of a mirror, admiring himself. He flexed his muscles, showing off the white vest and black leather pants.
"It's the buccaneer look. Little dash of pirate and just a tweak of President Schwarzenegger." Trin-E said excitedly.
"Nah, not sure about the vest. What about a little bit of color to lift it?" Jack suggested, still trying to find a way to get to his daughter, his Kayla.
"Absolutely not. Never wear black with color. It makes the color look cheap and the black look boring. Now, let's talk jackets." Zu-Zana disagreed.
"I kinda like the first one..." Jack said, shrugging the black leather jacket on.
"No, that's a bit too much Hell's Angel. I think I like the shorter one." Zu-Zana stated, looking at him in the jacket. "Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum." She patted Jack's bum.
"Works for me." Jack said, turning to face her.
"Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face. Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?" Zu-Zana suggested.
"Well, I've considered it, yeah. A little lift around the eyes…tighten up the jaw line…but my daughter wouldn't let me. What do you think?" He placed a hand on Zu-Zana's plastic breasts.
"Oh, let's have a BIT more ambition..." Trin-E tusked, her back was to Jack which is why he didn't see her take a cap off her arm, revealing a chainsaw. "Let's do something...cutting edge." She suggested.
"Kayla, you're up next." The stage manager yelled, and Kayla stepped under the now familiar beam, wincing at the pile of ash that was the red head she had met. The game didn't just make people blind, they also killed them. This place was run by monsters, and Kayla knew she was the biggest one of them all because she was playing their games, and winning. There were only three others, a girl who was about 15 with a powerful voice and brown hair, a man who was 80 and also was amazing, and a 30 year old who was also pretty good, and had good stage presence with her dark blond hair.
"Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round
Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears
Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit nervous that the best of all the years have gone by
Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit terrified and then I see the look in your eyes
Turn around, bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
Turn around, bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild
Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit helpless and I'm lying like a child in your arms
Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit angry and I know I've got to get out and cry
Turn around, every now and then
I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes
Turn around bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
Turn around bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
'Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do and I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna to start tonight
Forever's gonna to start tonight
Once upon a time I was falling in love
Now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
Turn around, bright eyes
Turn around, bright eyes
Turn around, every now and then
I know you'll never be the boy you always wanted to be
Turn around, every now and then
I know you'll always be the only boy who wanted me the way that I am
Turn around, every now and then
I know there's no one in the universe as magical and wondrous as you
Turn around, every now and then
I know there's nothing any better, there's nothing that I just wouldn't do
Turn around bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
Turn around bright eyes
Every now and then I fall apart
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you'll only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
And we'll only be making it right
'Cause we'll never be wrong
Together we can take it to the end of the line
Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time
I don't know what to do, I'm always in the dark
We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks
I really need you tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Forever's gonna start tonight
Once upon a time I was falling in love
Now I'm only falling apart
There's nothing I can do
A total eclipse of the heart
Once upon a time there was light in my life
But now there's only love in the dark
Nothing I can say
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
A total eclipse of the heart
Turn around, bright eyes
Turn around, bright eyes
Turn around"
She bowed and then stalked out of the camera's eye, and the 80 year old came on and started to sing some hymn about the Bad Wolf, and Kayla froze as she translated it in her head.
"What's Bad Wolf?" Kayla asked the 15 year old.
"Our Lords and Masters, they rule us, and worship them. They're kind, and they give us the channels." The girl explained. "I'm Lucy, what's your name?" Kayla tensed, tears welling up in her eyes.
"Lucy, my daughter is named Lucy." She told her softly. "I'm Kayla." She introduced, giving her a sad smile.
"So, Rose. What do you actually do?"
"I just travel about a bit. Bit of a...tourist, I suppose." Rose answered the Anne Droid in a light-hearted sort of way. Rodrick, who was holding up a card that had Fitch's name on it, glanced sideways at her.
"Another way of saying 'unemployed.'"
"No." Rose disagreed.
"Have you got a job?"
"Well...not really, no, but—" Rose tried, feeling like the actual host was scoffing at her.
"Then you ARE unemployed! And yet, you've STILL got enough money to buy peroxide. Why Fitch?"
"Uh...I think she got a few of the questions wrong." Rose answered, wrong-footed and nervous. Upon hearing her answer, Fitch started to sob even harder, making Rose more confused, still holding onto the flimsy belief that this was just a game.
"I'm sorry...that's the game. That's how it works...I had to vote for someone." Rose told the woman, who sobbed less silently than before, and then ignored her.
"Let me try again, it was the lights and everything-I couldn't think." Fitch said desperately.
"In fact, with three answers wrong, Broff was the weakest link in that round, but-it's votes that count." Broff flinched at his name.
"I'm sorry. Oh, please...oh God, help me!" Fitch begged, looking around wildly at the other contestants for help they couldn't give. Rose looked down, not understanding why she was so scared. Rodrick also looked down, not wanting to face her, and Broff sobbed silently into his board, not wanting to watch. Rose glanced back up at the Anne Droid, ready to hear the famous words.
"Fitch-you are the weakest link. Goodbye!"
The Anne Droid's mouth opened and a gun protruded from a hole in it. Without any hesitation, it fired a thick and fast bolt of golden light, hitting Fitch with it, making her disappear and leaving a pile of ash in her place. The gun retreated back into the hole in the Anne Droid's mouth, which closed. Rose, who had hidden her face when the gun came out, looked over at Fitch's spot only to see billowing smoke where the woman had once stood.
"And we've gone to the adverts. Back in three minutes..." the Floor Manager warned.
"Wassat? What's just happened?" Rose asked Rodrick, gesturing to the smoke.
"She was the weakest link-she gets disintegrated." Rodrick said casually, like he was explaining the weather to her, wiping his board as he spoke. Rose made a noise at the back of her throat, not understanding him, and he rolled his eyes. "Blasted into atoms." He elaborated with the air of addressing a dimwit.
"But I voted for her. Oh, my God. This is sick." Her voice rang through the silent studio, making all the contestants glare at her. "All of ya, you're just sick! I'm not playing this—" Broff cut her off.
"I'm not playing!" He whimpered out, terrified and crying. "I…I can't do it." He stuttered out, and the Anne Droid turned to look at him slowly, and Broff made a run for it, leaping off his podium and ran for it. "I'm not-please, somebody let me—" He begged, crying and sobbing.
"You are the weakest link." The gun came back out and the Anne Droid fired at Broff in mid-run. "Goodbye." The gun retreated back into her mouth, Rose watching the whole scene, her mouth opened from a mixture of disgust and shock. Rodrick felt this, and he shifted, suddenly uncomfortable as the Anne Droid turned to face the remaining people.
"Don't try to escape. It's play...or die." Rodrick warned.
Lynda, Strood, and Crosibe sat on the sofa in front of the TV, watching it.
"Doctor, they said ALL the housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to." Lynda told the Doctor. If it had been anyone else who had said that to him, he would have ignored them, but the Doctor respected Lynda, so he answered her.
"Busy getting out, thanks." He was standing at one of the doors, his sonic screwdriver whirling away at it.
"But if you don't obey, then ALL the housemates get punished." She protested, and the Doctor grudgingly excepted that, not wanting Lynda to get hurt on his account, so he sat onto the sofa, clicking his sonic off.
"Well maybe I'll be voted out, then." The Doctor commented, wanting nothing else but leaving this place.
"How stupid are you? You've only just joined, you're not eligible." Strood spat at him. The Doctor tried to make it a habit not to want to kill people, but Strood was really pissing him off.
"Don't try anything clever or we all get it in the neck." Lynda warned.
"Big Brother House-this is Davina Droid." The voice introduced. At the voice, Lynda, Strood, and Crosibe clutched each other's hands, Crosibe hanging onto the Doctor's, who rolled his eyes. "Crobsie, Lynda and Strood-you have all been nominated for eviction." All three housemates tensed. "And the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is..." a long tense paused which was filled with the Doctor rolled his eyes. "... Crosbie!" Lynda and Strood are immediately all over her, comforting the young woman.
"I'm sorry! Oh, I'm sorry! Sorry!" Lynda apologized even though she was in no fault.
"Oh, it should've been me, that's not fair...oh, Crosbie love..." Strood put his arm around her. The Doctor watched, relaxing back into his chair with his hands behind his head.
"Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!" The three housemates leapt to their feet, the Doctor not even bothering to move. The three rushed to the door, and the Doctor shook his head. They were really taking this too seriously.
"I won't forget you." Lynda promised.
"I'm sorry I stole your soap." Strood apologized, and Crosibe dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
"Oh, I don't mind, honestly." Strood hugged her.
"Thanks for the food, you're a smashing cook." He kissed her cheek. "Bless you." The door slid open, revealing a small and narrow gleaming white room beyond, ending in a door.
"Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House." The female voice instructed, and Crosbie stared at the room with worry.
"Bye, then...bye Lynda..." Crosibe said, sounding scared, looking at Lynda and Strood.
"Bye..." Lynda caught Strood's eye, and they made an archway for Crosibe to walk under, and the Doctor looked at them in disbelief from over the back of the sofa. The two remaining housemates waved to Crosibe, who waved back until the door closed.
"I don't believe it. Poor Crosbie..." Lynda gasped out, close to tears. What was with these people?
"It's only a game show, she'll make a fortune on the outside! Sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that...she'll be laughing!" the Doctor called from the sofa.
Lynda stared at him blankly. "What d'you mean, 'on the outside?'" She wondered, like she never thought she would see the sun again.
Crosbie stood in the white room, shivering but trying to remain brave, not letting her family see how scared she was. She hoped her three children would survive, that their father would be able to take care of them.
"Here we go..." Strood and Lynda ran to the sofa and perched on the edge nervously. The Doctor sighed and relaxed back again. There were a few tense moments of Crosbie just standing there, terrified, and the Doctor getting border throughout the whole time. Lynda and Strood watched her, also tensed.
"Well, what are they waiting for? Why don't they just let her go?" the Doctor wondered, bored.
"Stop it, it's not funny." Lynda protested tearfully, she turned her head away from the Doctor and back to the screen.
"Eviction in...5...4...3...2...1!"
With the same bolt that the Anne Droid used on Flitch in her game, Crosibe was disintegrated, a pile of ash in her place. The tension left the room like a snap, leaving Strood and Lynda staring at the screen, sad, but not shocked, the exact opposite of the Doctor, who was sitting up and staring at the screen.
"What was that?" He asked, not getting.
"Disintegrator beam." Strood replied. The Doctor looked at them, still not understanding it, they looked back at him.
"She's been evicted." Lynda paused, swallowing hard. "From life." She finished. Behind the three, the, Big Brother House, logo started to spin innocently.
Far away, down on planet Earth to be exact, Crosibe's small family stared at the screen. Her husband sobbed silently, his three children, a girl about 7, and a boy about 5 with a twin who was a girl that was about 5 too, also sobbed. They were being risen in a dark world, and they had just watched their mother die, something that would be printed in their minds for the rest of their lives.
"No one programmed the transmat, no one selected the new contestants...it is exactly like those stories." The Male Programmer told the female one on the top of the Game Station.
"Oh, don't start that again. I think you need to take a session off." She teased.
"Well, I would. If you'd take it with me." He offered, and the woman gave an audible sigh.
"And don't start that again either." She instructed, making the Male Programmer smile at her.
"Saying that something's been...hidden up here. Underneath the transmissions." The Male Programmer explained.
"But the Controller would know. She watches everything." The Female Programmer insisted in the manner of someone who had said this line almost daily.
"Maybe she just can't see it. Gotta allow for human error." The male said, and the female smirked at him.
"Well, that's your problem, then." She leaned in, whispering into the man's ear. "I don't think she's been human for years." They smiled at each other and then looked to the back of the room where the Controller is wired up to the computers. Her whole body is deathly white, and as the two stare at her, she continues to mutter under her breath, monitoring and controlling the transmissions, hence her name.
"18...19...20...21...22...23...transmit."
Kayla let out a small sob as the 80 year old man screamed in pain and fear as he realized he couldn't see, and then there was nothing left to mark his existence but a pile of ash. It was just her, the 30 year old, and the 15 year old with the same name as her baby, could life be any crueler?
"Kayla, just go." A person yelled, and she realized that her emotions were showing, in fact, everybody who worked on the show looked sick, glancing from the ash to the hysterical 15 year old with the 30 year old arms' around her.
"Don't you ever, don't you ever
Stop being dandy, showing me you're handsome
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Stop being dandy, showing me you're handsome
Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Stop being dandy, showing me you're handsome
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Lower yourself, forgetting all your standards
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Lower yourself, forgetting all your standards
Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Stop being dandy, showing me you're handsome
Silk or leather or a feather
Respect yourself and all of those around you
Silk or leather or a feather
Respect yourself and all of those around you
Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Stop being dandy, showing me you're handsome
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Lower yourself, forgetting all your standards
Don't you ever, don't you ever
Lower yourself, forgetting all your standards
Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of
Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Ridicule is nothing to be scared of..." Kayla finished the song, trying to matein a grin on her face, but when the light went off on the camera, she left and sobbed. Only two others, Lucy and Jessica, 15 and 30 years old.
The Doctor was pacing around the Big Brother House, venting at Lynda and Strood, who were still on the sofa.
"Are you INSANE? You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Is it worth DYING for?" Lynda stood up, glaring at the Doctor in a sudden fit of anger.
"You're talking like we've got a choice!" She accused.
"But I thought you had to apply!" the Doctor protested.
"Don't be so stupid. That's how they played it centuries back." Strood spat, making the Doctor want to kill him even more.
"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 non-stop. There are sixty Big Brother Houses running all at once." Lynda explained, frustrated.
"How many? SIXTY?" The Doctor nearly yelled, shocked.
"They've had to cut back. It's not what it was." Strood said dejectedly.
"It's a CHARNEL house! What about the winners? What do they get?" the Doctor asked, knowing it was nothing.
"They get to live." Lynda answered.
"Is that it?!" the Doctor asked, wishing people would get a little pocket money for being in hell for 8 weeks.
Kayla was in hell, his Kayla…ever since his talk with Jack, the Doctor realized that he did…love Kayla, and he had wanted to tell her, but then this happened. Rose was out there to, his baby sister was out there. If he had to choose between the two, which would he pick? With a start, he realized his brain had automatically picked Kayla, who he barely knew, yet he wanted to save her before Rose.
"Kayla is out there. She got caught in the transmat. She's a contestant. Time I got out." The Doctor stated, moving across the room.
The Male Programmer watched the show. He had seen some interesting episodes of Big Brother House, but this was the best one yet. He zoomed in on the Doctor.
"That other contestant-Linda with an I-she was forcibly evicted for what?" the Doctor asked his house.
"Damaged property..." Lynda said softly, unsure.
"What, like this?" the Doctor pointed his sonic device at the camera, and it the image cut out, leaving the Male Programmer with an open out and a static filled screen.
Jack was now dressed in white tennis garb, swishing a racket back and forth in front of the mirror, thinking. If he could survive this game, which he was rather enjoying, then he could get to Kayla, who would win whichever game she was in because of the Time Agency, and then they would find Rose and the Doctor. It seemed like a good plan.
"No. I'm just not getting this. It just too safe-too decent. And you'd never keep it clean." Jack stated, getting back into the game.
"Stage Two ready and waiting!" Zu-Zana called.
"Bring it on, girls!" Jack yelled, and went to go stand in front of the Defabricator so it can do it job, leaving him naked in front of them one again. He needed one of those.
"And now it's time for the face-off!" Trin-E said excitedly.
"What does that mean? Do I get to compete with someone else?" Jack asked, bring his hands up in a fighting stance, still naked.
"No, like I said-face...off!" Trin-E held up both of her arms-one had needles for all the fingers, the other was a chainsaw. Jack stared at it, suddenly he wasn't liking the game so much, but he wasn't scared, but mildly surprised.
"I think you'd look good with a dog's head." Zu-Zana called, snipping the giant scissors that have replaced her forearm.
"Or maybe no head at all. That would be so outrageous." Trin-E suggested.
"And we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest." Zu-Zana added, and Jack raised an eyebrow, not remotely perturbed. He was always armed, even when he's naked because of the time that he was shagging someone that decided to kill him afterwards, and Kayla had to swoop in, see that all, and save her father's life.
"Nothing is too extreme. It's to die for." Trin-E told Jack.
"Now, hold on, ladies. I don't want to have to shoot either one of you." Jack warned. Damn Doctor and his, 'don't kill first, talk first.'
"But you're unarmed!" Trin-E protested.
"You're naked!" Zu-Zana pointed out. Jack reached behind himself and produced a small gun and pointed it at them. After this, he would disinfect the gun thoroughly, and then find a better hiding place for it. "But...that's a Compact Laser Deluxe!" Zu-Zana continued.
"WHERE were you hiding that?" Trin-E asked.
"You really don't wanna know." Jack told them, hell he didn't want to think about it.
"Give me that accessory—" Trin-E commanded, moving towards him, but Jack was ready. He fired and blew her head off before doing the same to Zu-Zana, which was a shame, he had liked the robot. If they had had the time, he would have taken her to the TARDIS…well it's no use crying over missed opportunities.
"You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" Rodrick averted his eyes while the gun blasted Colleen, leaving a pile of ash behind.
"Going to the break! Two minutes on the clock." The Floor Manager called out. Rose sighed, tired and fed-up with this hell. "Just a reminder-we've got solar flare activity coming up in ten." The Floor Manager reported. Rodrick wiped his board clean, and Rose turned to face him.
"Colleen was clever, she banked all our money. Why'd you vote for her?" she wondered.
"'Cos I want to keep you in! 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..." Rodrick answered selfishly.
"What d'you mean? Who's Bad Wolf?" Rose interrupted, hearing, yet again, the familiar words that seemed to hunt her throughout Time. Rodrick looked at her, shocked that she didn't know that.
"They're in charge. They run the Game Station." Rodrick explained.
"Why are they called Bad Wolf?" Rose asked sharply, scared.
"I dunno, it's just a name. It's like an Old Earth...nursery rhyme sort of thing-what does it matter?" Rodrick wondered.
"I keep hearing those words everywhere we go. Bad Wolf." Rose said pensively.
The Moxx of Balhoon told the Face of Boe that being trapped on the exploding Platform One is a classic Bad Wolf scenario.
"The things you've seen...the darkness...the big bad wolf—" Gwyneth's frightened voice told her, looking into her mind.
The graffiti on the TARDIS, Bad Wolf.
"Attention all personnel-Bad Wolf One descending." Tannoy warned.
The Face of Boe's face on the Bad Wolf channel on Satellite Five.
'Bad Wolf' was scrawled out on a 1980's club sign.
The bomb that was about to land on Rose, Kayla, the Doctor, and Nancy had 'Schlechter Wolf' scrawled on it.
"Blaidd Drwg, doesn't have that much of a ring to it." Kayla commented.
"What's it mean?" Rose questioned, lost.
"Bad Wolf." The Doctor answered.
"Different times...different places like it's written all over the universe..." Rose said, her voice taking on the same haunted note that it did when the Doctor and Kayla explained what Blaidd Drwg meant.
"What're you going on about?" Rodrick asked impatiently, now knowing that Rose is mad.
"If the Bad Wolf is in charge of this quiz, then...maybe I'm not here by mistake. Someone's been planning this..." Rose stated, the possibility dawning on her.
The Big Brother logo was still on the screen as Lynda, Strood, and the Doctor waited for the announcement that meant that the Doctor was…dead.
"The Doctor-you've broken the House Rules." The female voice that the Doctor now called, Big Brother, told him. "Big Brother has no choice but to evict you." Big Brother continued, making the Doctor raise his hand in triumph. "You have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're gonna get you!" the Doctor leapt to his feet, and dashed to the door, ready to get out.
"That's more like it! Come on then, open up!" he commanded.
"You're mad! It's like you WANT to die!" Lynda yelled, running after him.
"I reckon he's a plant! He was only brought in to stir things up!" Strood guessed at the same time that the door slid open and the Doctor sprang into it to the white room behind.
"The Doctor-please leave the Big Brother house." Big Brother commanded, even though there was no reason, the Doctor was waiting.
Strood, who had gone after Lynda, rushed back to the sofa, jumping over the back of it to watch the screen. Lynda stayed at the doorway until it was done sliding close, trying to keep him in vision for as long as possible. Once the door was shut, she turned to watch the TV, feeling ready to watch the one person who had given her a compliment die.
"Come on then, disintegrate me! Come on, what're you waiting for?" the Doctor asked the disintegrator, glaring at it impatiently an expectantly.
"He is, he's mad. He's bonkers." Lynda stated, like it was just occurring to her.
The programmers watched the Doctor on the Male Programmer's screen.
"Disintegrate me!" He commanded.
"I told you to keep an eye on him, not KILL him." The Female Programmer chastised.
"He damaged the property. It's an automatic process." The Male Programmer defended himself.
The Doctor folded his arms and looked up at the disintegrator, still grinning and waiting.
"Eviction in 5...4...3...2...1..." Big Brother counted down, almost chanting.
Outside, in the actual house, Lynda screwed her eyes closed, the Doctor had, for a brief moment, replaced the father icon she held in her heart, and now he was going to die like her real father. The countdown finished, and nothing happened except for the sound of power failing.
"Haha!" the Doctor laughed, and Lynda opened her eye in surprise.
So, I messed up, sorry. I'll post another chapter tomorrow as an apology. Thanks for reading, bye!