Well... This one is more like a prologue of the next chapter rather than a normal one. But obviously important to the story. Anyway.
Thank you for your amazing reviews!
They were running. Running with all their mights. They had to get away - and fast.
Rose looked behind her shoulder just to see a group, of around 200 samurai, just behind them, dangerously pointing the edges of their weapons - katanas, right at them. Just a few steps slower and it would pierce their skin.
"How much longer?" Rose yelled out to the Doctor.
"We are almost there. Hurry!" he shouted back while running himself. At the same time he started to slower his pace, falling slightly bit behind Jack and Rose.
"What are you doing, Doc!?" Jack looked at him in horror.
"Take Jimbo." The Doctor told Jack as he placed Jimbo on the ground from his embrace and nudged him on the back to make him run towards Jack. Then he turned to face Rose. "Open the TARDIS, I'll buy you time."
"Wha-. No!" Rose looked at him in horror.
"I'll be alright. Now, hurry!" He told her with a smile.
As Rose and Jack, together with Jimbo in his arms, reached the TARDIS, Rose placed the key in the doors, to let them open. At the same time they saw how the Doctor was standing further away from them, with samurai nearing by each second.
Just when Rose was about to call out for the Doctor, with the warriors making a swing movement towards the Doctor, he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at them - a loud siren sound echoing and a blue light emitting out of it.
It seemed to be enough to make the group stop in their tracks, as they covered their ears in defence.
"That's more like it." The Doctor beamed at the sight and seconds later turned around to dash into the TARDIS. "Open the door!"
In a moment the trio plus one were safely inside their protective home. Safe and sound.
"That was brilliant!" Rose exclaimed first and then started laughing.
"Oi! Rose Tyler, we were almost killed by a historical samurai army only so they could get hands on this little fellow here." He pointed at Jimbo."And you laugh at it?" He raised an eyebrow in all seriousness.
Rose put her lips together. They locked their gaze for a moment. But it didn't last long, Rose's mouth was already quivering. And then the hysterical laugh started, together with a background oinking sound.
It would have lasted for hours if a sudden blinding light wouldn't have made them freeze. The Doctor saw how that bright light surrounded Rose firstly, then Jack and himself. Taking them somewhere, where their lives would be changed forever.
And now, here she stands, at the Weakest Link, with her fellow player Rodrick. He was all about himself again. He didn't care about other people at all. True enough, people weren't killed inside the games, but nor he or anyone inside the games knew it. Only Rose.
She bit her lips to stop herself from talking too many times now. She wanted to comfort the people who were evicted, to make their "last moments" not so frightening. But she couldn't make herself be evicted instead. She had to win. And for all she knew, Rodrick used his "tactical voting" as she expected. That's all she needed.
"Rose," Anne Droid stated the last question."In history, which Icelandic city hosted Murder Spree Twenty?"
"Pola Ventura," Rose answered calmly.
"That is correct answer," Anne Droid announced. "Rose got 4 right, Rodcrick 2. Rose, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with one thousand six hundred credits," the droid announced.
"Oh, well. As long as I live." She laughed nervously.
Rodrick looked at the robot with horror filled eyes. "No. You can't. I can't die yet!" He began to shake, when he turned to face Rose.
"You!" He pointed at her. "I thought you were plain stupid, but you just were playing all along?"
Rose shrugged. "Strategic play."
"Oh, wonderful," he spat his words in disgust. "You looked like you cared so much about the others while in turn you just laughed at them, didn't you?"
It made Rose uncomfortable. She knew he was unreasonable, but only to her eyes. From his view of point, she really looked quite bad. But there was nothing else she could have done. She needed to be with the Doctor in this battle. And there was no need to make him worried unnecessary. At least for once, she wouldn't face death in his eyes.
And the next moment the lift opened with a very frantic looking Doctor and Jack, together with Jimbo (?).
"Rose! Stop this game!" The Doctor searched the room with his eyes. When he saw her name still emitting light, he sighed in relief.
"Rodrick, you leave this life with nothing," Anne Droid announced.
"You managed to win?" Jack asked in surprise. Rose just laughed nervously.
"I order you to stop this game!" the Doctor shouted at the Anne Droid coldly while running inside the room. This game was just wrong. He could only be thankful that Rose escaped the punishment, in whatever way she managed to do that, but that didn't mean that other innocent people could die in vain.
"You are the weakest link." The robot was starting to point the beam at Rodrick, but by seeing the Doctor run forward, turned to face him.
"Look out for the Anne Droid, it's armed!" Rose tried to warn the Doctor, but he didn't slow down, so the only thing she could do was step ahead of him.
She dashed in front of the Anne Droid as she was preparing to shoot. "Rose!" The Doctor's frantic voice could be heard. She closed her eyes, waiting to be transported to the Daleks.
But nothing happened.
There was silence in the room. She slowly fluttered her eyelids open to see the droid looking at her. "You are the strongest link. Can't shoot." It spoke and began to move from side to side, shaking. "Cannot shoot. Link. Strongest," it shuttered.
It was enough time for Rose to make her way to the Doctor. Once she was in the reachable distance he took her hand and smiled upon seeing her. "You alright?"
"Never been better." Rose beamed at him and found herself in a tight hug. "Good to see you," she said softly.
"Yeh, you too," he exhaled, squeezing her just a bit tighter. Rose smiled in his embrace.
Moments later Jack, Jimbo and some other girl approached the two of them, forcing the pair to break apart. "Rose, you okay?" Jack was first to ask.
"Same good," Rose answered him, smiling while pulling him in a brief hug. And at that moment Jack saw how Anne Droid managed to fix itself and was once again moving towards Rodrick.
"Stop it!" Jack shouted, now breaking free from Rose's arms and pointing a gun at the Anne Droid, but was too late. Rodrick disappeared in front of their eyes.
"You've killed an innocent man!" the Doctor yelled out with disgust towards this game.
Rose grabbed his hand to squeeze it tightly in assurance. Oh, she so wished she could tell him that it was not what it seemed.
Seconds later, two security guards appeared out of nowhere, separating Rose and the Doctor, taking their arms behind their backs.
"Don't touch them!" Jack was pointing a weapon at them.
"Sir, put down the gun or I'll have to shoot," the security guard warned him.
Jack glanced at the Doctor, who just nodded lightly.
All five of them were brought by the security guards. They took pictures of their faces' front, left and right sides and placed them inside the same cell, even with Jimbo.
Is this the place where they were taken, when she was disintegrated the last time? She felt glad all the more that she managed to stay together with them. It was really too horrible place to be at, when you think that one of your friends were dissolved into atoms just moments ago.
When one of the guards took the Doctor's sonic screwdriver from him, he started talking inside the cell.
"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?" Nobody answered him. The Doctor was silent. And it could only be a sign, that he's thought of a plan.
When the second guard unlocked the cage to let his colleague out, the game began.
"Let's do it," the Doctor said, his head turned to Jack.
Jack was out first, knocking out the guard with a swing movement, the Doctor close behind him, taking care of another one.
"Nice work, boys." Rose grinned at both of them.
"Always." Jack winked at her while reclaiming his Defabricator with the Doctor retrieving his sonic and Rose with Lynda taking the guard's weapons.
They began walking out of the room when Rose came to a stop. "Wait a minute. What's Jimbo doing here?"
"He was brought here the same way as we were. Found him in the cage together with a lion playing gladiator game." Jack told her while still walking. Rose's face started to change colour just by imagining the scene.
"I was about to shoot the beast when our little fellow took care of it himself, by using his canines." He giggled at the memory.
"Canines?" Rose asked Jack in bewilderment. "He has canines?" Now facing the little piggy boy.
"You bet he does." Jack smirked at her while patting Jimbo's head.
They went into the elevator to be lifted to floor 500. Once again something was going on there.
"Okay, move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear. Stand to the side and stay there," Jack stated, letting the occupants of the room be aware that they were armed, while the Doctor's team walked forward into the room.
"Who's in charge of this place?" the Doctor said coldly, while standing in front of the controller.
"Nineteen, eighteen." She was counting.
"This Satellite's more than a Game Station. Who is behind the Bad Wolf Corporation?" the Doctor asked.
"All staff are reminded that solar flares," controller continued.
The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at her.
"She can't reply. Don't shoot!" The man put his hands in defence mode when the Doctor turned to face him.
"Oh, don't be so thick. Like this thing can shoot," the Doctor added lightly. "Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."
"Yes, sir." Jack replied while taking off.
"You. What were you saying?" the Doctor continued. "Why can't she answer?"
"She's, er... The Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain. You're not a member of staff so she doesn't recognise your existence," the man stated, looking worriedly at the blonde woman by his side still with the gun. If the thing in the leather man's hands couldn't shoot, he was more than sure, the one in the girl's hands could.
"What's her name?" the Doctor pestered.
"I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."
Rose narrowed her eyes. "Oh, my God. And you just let her stay like that?"
"I...we - don't know anything about her! She was always just...there. It's her only proper existence," the man tried defending himself.
Rose nodded. "Right," she agreed tightly.
"Door's sealed. We should be safe for about ten minutes," Jack announced.
"Keep an eye on them," the Doctor shouted out to him. Then looked back to Rose. "What are you doing with that gun again?" He narrowed his eyes.
"Oh." Rose looked at her hands blankly. "I thought at least I would look dangerous." She shrugged.
"Drop that down," the Doctor said and in a split of a second Rose tossed the gun behind her. The Doctor gave her a look.
"What? You told me to drop it." She looked at him confused. The Doctor just rolled his eyes, before the man started to talk again and he had to turn to face him.
"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station. I think you're right. I've kept a log. Unauthorised transmats, encrypted signals, it's been going on for years," the man said.
"Show me," the Doctor said in a low voice. "Rose? Lynda?"
"Coming with you." And with that the Doctor followed the man with Rose, Lynda and Jimbo not far from them.
At the same moment Jack tried to open the Archive six.
"You're not allowed in there. Archive Six is out of bounds," the woman of the staff told him in a warning.
"Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?" Jack pulled up his weapons, making his point clear.
Jack placed his palm at the engraved palm, which was emitting some sort of blue light and opened the doors just to find the TARDIS parked in the white room.
Once inside the TARDIS, Jack quickly went to operate the console when his face twisted from the readings he saw on the monitor.
"What the hell?"
On the floor 500, the Controller turned off the monitors and started asking for the Doctor.
"Doctor?"
"I think she wants you," the staff woman told him.
"Doctor? Doctor? Where's the Doctor?" Controller was asking.
"I'm here." The Doctor told her as he walked up to her.
"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you." Rose looked at her in a pained expression. This was just so wrong.
"What do you want?" the Doctor asked her.
"Solar flares hiding me. They can't hear me. My masters, they always listen but they can't hear me now the sun, the sun is so bright."
"Who are your masters?"
"They wired my head. The name's forbidden. They control my thoughts. My masters. My masters, I had to be careful. They monitor transmissions but they don't watch the programmes. I could hide you inside the games. Knew that you would find me."
"People have dead inside your games," the Doctor said with a cold voice.
"Doesn't matter."
The Doctor's gaze darkened at her words.
"Excuse me, Controller, was it?" Rose interrupted in an offended voice. "That's not sort of way of talking about human life, do you mind?" She knew full well that those same people didn't die, but the Controller's attitude towards that just made her blood boil. What's more, those same people were brought here, inside the warzone full of Daleks. Rose furrowed her forehead. They would die, after all. And she didn't know of any way to save them.
"They've been hiding. My masters hiding in the dark space, watching and shaping the Earth so, so, so many years. Always been there, guiding humanity, hundreds and hundred of years."
"Who are they?" The Doctor's voice stronger now.
"But they speak of you, my masters, they fear the Doctor."
"Tell me, who are they?" The Doctor was getting impatient.
With the power back Controller went back to counting. "Twenty one, twenty two."
"When's the next solar flare?" the Doctor asked the crew.
"Two years time."
"Fat lot of good that is," the Doctor muttered.
"Found the Tardis." Jack called out to them.
"We're not leaving now," the Doctor said firmly.
"No, but the Tardis worked it out. You'll want to watch this. Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?" Jack asked her gently.
"I just want to go home." Lynda shook her head.
"It'll only take a second," Jack pleaded. "Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can." As she went. "Everybody watching? Okay. Three, two, one." He pressed the button and a beam came down, making Lynda vanish in a puff of smoke.
Rose winced at that. The Doctor only stared in disbelief. He couldn't understand why would Jack do it. "But you killed her!
"Oh, do you think?" Jack shrugged lightly.
And with another beam he brought Lynda back next to the Doctor.
"What the hell was that?" Lynda asked as the Doctor just looked at her in bewilderment. A new set of hope making its way on his face as he looked back at Jack.
"It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system." Jack began talking. "People don't get killed in the games." The Doctor began to smile with Rose together with him. "They get transported across space!" he exclaimed.
"But that's fantastic!" The Doctor looked at him grinning. "Show me those readings."
They rushed inside the TARDIS, the Doctor looking all excited about their new discovery, as he checked the data of the beam together with Jack. Muttering some technical terms and grinning all happily.
Only Rose Tyler was watching the scene in a pained smile. He was getting a false hope. He will not be able to save everyone. She could feel the lump make its way towards her throat. She gulped and felt a soft nudge on her leg.
There stood their little friend, looking at her with wide eyes filled with concern in them. Rose smiled at him, patting him on the head fondly. Then suddenly the TARDIS started to shake violently and an alarm sound broke off.
"What's going on, Doctor?" Rose asked.
"Don't know." The Doctor looked frantically at the screen, searching for the answer. "Everything was fi-" Then his eyes widened in horror.
"Daleks."
to be continued...
Okay, I know I cut off a lot but those parts were not essential for my story. And all of you already know how those games went. So well they just played out the same.
Well, please tell me, whatever you think. I'll take your notes into consideration and if there will be anything I can change for the better, I will surely do so.