The rise and fall of the Ninth begins and the Bad Wolf is asscending.

***

Annoying music flashed on, awakening the Doctor and causing him to panic. He found himself in a small cupboard that seemed to have no door leading to the outside world.

It spun around him as he tried to get up. "What is it? What's happening?" He felt like he had been spinning around forever, until he was finally freed by a young girl in her twenties.

"Oh, my God! I don't believe it! Why'd they put you in there? They never said you were coming." She rambled, helping the Doctor stand up.

"What happened? I was-" As soon as he stood up, he fell down again.

The girl was ready to help him up again. "Careful now. Oh! Oh, mind yourself! Oh, that's the transmat. It scrambles your head. I was sick for days. All right?" Finally, the Doctor was able to stand up on his own again. "So, what's your name then, sweetheart?"

While he was still very unsteady, he gave her an answer. "The Doctor, I think. I was, er. I don't know, what happened? How-"

"You got chosen." She smiled, becoming very excited.

He squinted in confusion. "Chosen for what?"

"You're a housemate. You're in the house." Her voice grew more animated, as if she were a fangirl. "Isn't that brilliant?!"

He scanned the room, noticing two other people standing by a TV. One was a tall, chav-ish young man and the other was a dark-skinned female. "That's not fair. 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 said, arguing with the group.

"If they keep changing the rules, I'm going to protest, I am. You watch me, I'm going to paint the walls." The woman protested.

Suddenly, a voice came through an intercom, addressing the Doctor. "Would the Doctor please come to the Diary Room?"

His eyes searched the room until they landed on a door with a stylised eye on it, telling him that he needed to go in there. He complied, heading inside and flopping down on a red, comfy chair.

"You are live on channel forty four thousand. Please do not swear." She instructed.

The Doctor couldn't believe where he was, he was on the TV show Big Brother. "You have got to be kidding"

***

Willow awoke on the floor, a strobing light trailed above her. They flashed every few seconds on a simultaneous loop. She was able to hear people in the background, talking to each other. Her head hurt like hell, as if someone had whacked her around the head.

Managing to get on my feet after constant agony, she searched her surroundings. This was definitely not the TARDIS, nor an alien planet. Everybody looked human, but they could be like the Doctor.

Beside her, on the floor, she spotted a familiar face. She softly grinned, relieved that she wasn't alone. Willow wandered over to her, shaking her awake. "Rose? Wake up."

"Willow?" She muttered, slowly opening her eyes. "What happened?"

An explanation for this occurrence was hard to find. "I'm not sure."

"It's all right. It's the transmat. Does your head in. Get a bit of amnesia." They both stared at a balding dark-skinned man, checking that they were alright and informing them of what had just happened. "What's your names?"

"Rose and this is my cousin, Willow." She answered. "But where's the Doctor?"

This man seemed nice enough, however, there was something about him that didn't seem quite right. "Just remember do what the android says. Don't provoke it. The android's word is law."

"What do you mean, android? Like a robot?" Willow questioned, fearfully. Nevertheless, he simply glared in bewilderment, like they didn't understand what he meant; he was right.

"Positions, everyone! Thank you!" A professional looking woman with a headset demanded.

"Come on, hurry up." Together, the pair took a hold of Rose's arms and pulled her up. "Steady, steady." He said as she slipped a little.

"We were travelling, with the Doctor and a man called Captain Jack." Willow insisted, wondering if he knew where they were. "The Doctor wouldn't just leave us."

The headset woman had an impatient expression. "That's enough chat. Positions! Final call! Good luck!"

Rose scanned for any sign that the Doctor or Jack were here. "But we're not supposed to be here."

"It says Rose and Willow on the podiums." He argued, pointing them out. They were taken back by the revelation that the girls were expected here. "Come on." He left Rose for me to help as he ran up to the podium in excitement.

"Ass." Willow muttered, making sure he didn't hear. They wandered up to their podiums and looked around.

"Hold on, I must be going mad." Rose said. "It can't be. This looks like the-"

"Android activated!" The woman commented as the robot in the centre sprung to life.

Willow recognised the design almost immediately. "Oh, my God, the android. The Anne-Droid."

"Welcome to The Weakest Link!" Both Willow and Rose stared at it with widened eyes.

They were a long way from home.

***

The Doctor was checking his surroundings with the sonic screwdriver, trying to find a way out. "I can't open it."

"It's got a deadlock seal, ever since Big Brother five hundred and four when they all walked out. You must remember that." The girl pleaded with him.

"What about this?" He pointed at a glass alcove with a picture on it.

She simply complied to his questions. "Oh, that's exoglass. You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through."

"Don't tempt me."

She paused for a moment, thinking about what to ask next. " I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching. Do people like me? Lynda. Lynda with a Y, not Linda with an I. She got forcibly evicted because she damaged the camera. Am I popular?"

She's a rambler.

The Doctor tried to avoid answering. "I don't remember."

"Oh, but does that mean I'm nothing? Some people get this far just because they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?" The Doctor detected that this "Lynda" was a bit at a loss of self-confidence. Doubting herself and thinking she's not good enough are all signs.

He decided to make up for it, even though he couldn't remember. "No, you're, you're nice. You're sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet."

"Oh, is that right? Is that what I am? Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?" His comment gave her a little boost of confidence, something she had been lacking for quite some time.

The Doctor continued to check the exoglass. "Yeah. Dead sweet."

She went a bit pink for a few seconds. "Thank you."

"It's a wall. Isn't there supposed to be a garden out there or something?"

"Don't be daft. No one's got a garden anymore. Who's got a garden? Don't tell me you've got a garden."

"No, I've just got the Tardis-" He stopped mid-sentence. "I remember."

Lynda shared his little glimmer of happiness. "That's the amnesia! So, what happened? Where did they get you?"

"We'd just left Raxacoriofallapatorius. Then we went to Kyoto. That's right, Japan in 1336, and we only just escaped." He explained, remembering the exact details. "We were together, we were laughing, and then there was this light. This white light coming through the walls, and then I woke up here."

"Yeah, that's the transmat beam. That's how they pick the housemates." Lynda never wiped her smile off her face.

"Oh, Lynda with a Y. Sweet little Lynda. It's worse than that. I'm not just a passing traveller. 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 looked into the class, hoping to catch the eye of who was working this game.

"Well, here's the latest update from the Big Brother house. I'm getting out. I'm going to find my friends, and then I'm going to find you."

***

The floor manager counted down when we were going on the air again. "Seventeen, sixteen, fifteen. Thank you, people. Transmitting in twelve, eleven, ten-"

Rose and Willow were still fearful of how they got here in the first place. "But we need to find the Doc-"

However, Rodrick instead shoved the afraid blonde back in a rude manner. "Just shut up and play the game."

"Seven. six-"

"Alright, then." Willow said, gaining some confidence. "If we're getting forced to play, we'll play to win." She noticed Rodrick glared at them, seeming slightly threatened.

"Three, and cue!"

"Let's play The Weakest Link. Start the clock." The android turned to the first contestant. "Agorax, the name of which basic food stuff is an anagram of the word 'beard'?"

"Bread."

"Correct." It turned to the next contestant, who seemed very unusually scared for her life. "Fitch in the Pan Traffic Calendar, which month comes after Hoob?"

Her nerves had probably gotten to her. "Is it Clavadoe?"

"No, Pandoff." The woman let out a sigh as the android turned to Rose. "Rose, in maths, what is 258 minus 158?"

She thought for a moment. "One hundred!" A beaming smile bounced on her face.

Taking in a deep breath, Willow was prepared for her question. "Willow, what correlation in space is known as an anomaly?"

She jumped when she heard the question, knowing the answer immediately. "The Andromeda Correlation!"

"Correct. Rodrick-"

"Bank-" He said in annoyance.

"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the word dangle, but not in the word gland?" It asked.

"E."

"Correct." Its head turned away, just as Willow and Rose did a little high-five. "Colleen, in social security, what D is the name of the payment given to Martian Drones?"

"Correct. Broff, the Great Cobalt Pyramid is built on the remains of which famous Old Earth Institute?"

Broff reminded her of a normal Earth teenager, perhaps he knew the answer. "Er, Touchdown." Or maybe not.

"No, Torchwood." It turned its head back to the beginning of the line. "Agorax, in language, all five examples of which type of letter appear in the word facetious?"

"Vowels."

"Correct. Fitch, in biology, which blood cells contain iron? Red or white?"

"White." Fitch looked like she was about to be in tears. It was only a game show; she doesn't have to be that emotional at getting the answers wrong.

"No, red." It spun back to Rose who was in a laughing fit. "Rose, in the holovid series 'Jupiter Rising', the Grexnik is married to whom?"

"How should I know?" The girls started laughing, though their mocking stirred a strange reaction from the people around them.

***

After questioning, they started to go into the voting stage. Both of them voted for Fitch, while others tried to vote for Rose. Willow gave them a deathly stare because of their choice.

"So, Rose, what do you actually do?" The android asked.

She shrugged. "I just travel about a bit. Bit of a tourist, I suppose."

"Another way of saying unemployed."

"No." She said, fighting back. Although, the android was right.

"Have you got a job?"

"Well, not really, no, but-"

"Then you are unemployed. And yet, you've still got enough money to buy peroxide." Willow giggled at her comment. This may have been an android, but the real Anne sounded just like her. "Why Fitch?"

Rose hesitated for a second. "Er, I think she got a few of the questions wrong, that's all."

"Oh, you'd know all about that." It said.

"Well, yeah, but I can't vote for myself, so it had to be Fitch." Looking over at her, she found Fitch in tears. "I'm sorry, that's the game. That's how it works. I had to vote for someone."

Something felt very wrong about this game. Very wrong.

"Let me try again. It was the lights and everything. I couldn't think." She sobbed, protesting against her termination.

"In fact, with three answers wrong, Broff was the weakest link in that round, but it's votes that count."

"I'm sorry. Please. Oh God, help me!" Rose stared at her in astonishment, whilst her cousin had guessed that something was terribly wrong.

"Fitch you are the weakest link." She opened her mouth to reveal a small funnel. "Goodbye!" A laser blasted out of its mouth and shot Fitch, causing her to disintegrate.

The girls watched in horror at this innocent women's death. What kind of sick game is this?

"And we've gone to the adverts. Back in three minutes." The floor manager said.

Her breathing became rapid as the android glared through her soul, like it was watching her. "What the hell just happened?"

"She was the weakest link, she gets disintegrated." Rodrick wiped off his voting board, glancing at them as if they didn't understand. "Blasted into atoms."

"But I voted for her." Willow regretted that moment. Being forced to vote for someone to die is wrong. It's horrific. Who the hell is running this game?

"Oh, my. This is sick. All of you, you're just sick! I'm not play-" Rose yelled in fear and anger against this horrible version of The Weakest Link.

"I'm not playing!" Broff stated, just as Rose mentioned it. "I can't do it. I'm not. Please, somebody let me out of here." He ran off his podium, sprinting towards an exit, hoping to escape.

"You are the weakest link." The android opened the funnel again and zapped Broff in the backside. She heard a little whimper before he was reduced to dust. "Goodbye."

All grew silent until Rodrick whispered. "Don't try to escape. It's play or die."

At this point, Willow really hoped the Doctor was coming back for them.

***

Lynda looked at the Doctor in annoyance. "Doctor, they said all the housemates must gather on the sofa. You've got to-"

"I'm busy getting out, thanks."

She grew impatient with him, most people did. "But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished."

"Well, maybe I'll be voted out, then." He said, sarcastically.

"How stupid are you?" The man said with an annoying London voice. "You've only just joined, you're not eligible."

Rolling his eyes, he finally complied, sitting down on the sofa in drub. Lynda continued to explain what not to do. "Don't try anything clever or we all get it in the neck."

However, the Doctor simply leaned back on the seat and waited until it was all over. The voice-over above came on, telling the contestants who was going to be evicted. "Big Brother House this is, Davina Droid. Crosbie, Lynda and Strood, you have all been nominated for eviction. And the eighth person to be evicted from the Big Brother House is..." She took a long pause. "Crosbie!"

"I'm sorry! Oh, I'm sorry! Sorry!" She said to the woman sitting beside her, both of them hugged her, they must have become very close.

"Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're going to get you." Davina Droid said in a playful manner. All the Doctor could do was sit while Lynda and Strood both said their goodbyes.

"Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House." She hesitated, looking a bit fearful of what was going to happen next. She wandered in, the door closing behind her.

There were sobs all around as the Doctor did nothing but groan at how they're acting. "I don't believe it. Crosbie."

"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."

They both eyed the Doctor in a state of sadness and confusion. "What do you mean, on the outside?"

"Here we go." Strood pointed out, watching the TV. They both climbed onto the sofa and waited.

The Doctor was bewildered that they weren't letting her go yet. She's been evicted, why isn't she going home? "What are they waiting for? Why don't they just let her go?"

"Stop it, it's not funny."

"Eviction in five, four, three, two, one." The Doctor watched in horror as a beam came down and hit Crosbie, reducing her to dust.

Instead of relaxing, he sat up in concern. "What was that?"

"Disintegrator beam." Strood answered.

"She's been evicted." Lynda said, implying a different meaning for the word 'eviction'. "From life."

***

The Doctor was angry. More than that, he was furious. How could a simple reality game show kill people off? Why would people even apply for a show like this if they know they're going to have a fifty-fifty chance of dying?

"Are you insane?" He shouted at them in anguish. "You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?"

Lynda gasped, thinking that he really was thick. "You're talking like we've got a choice!"

His anger ceased, transforming into incertitude. "But I thought you had to apply."

Strood shook his head, squinting. "Don't be so stupid. That's how they played it centuries back."

"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." She informed him.

However, the Doctor was swaying from madness to confusion and then back again. "How many? Sixty?"

His disbelief astonished them. "They've had to cut back. It's not what it was."

"It's a charnel house!" Sickness inside the Doctor grew about how horrific these games were. "What about the winners? What do they get?"

"They get to live."

"Is that it?"

"Well, isn't that enough?!" Even sweet little Lynda had a ferocious bite that could intimidate the Doctor.

"Willow is out there. She got caught in the transmat. She's a contestant." He stated in worry. Willow was important to him, even though he'd only known her for just under a year. "Time I got out. That other contestant, er, Linda with an I. She was forcibly evicted for what?"

"Damage to property."

"What, like this?" He whipped the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and aimed it at the camera, causing it to explode into oblivion.

***

"You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" The android aimed her laser at a clever woman called Colleen and atomised her. She was nice, sweet to the girls at least; always knew that this was the end for her. Clever and sweet; did they have to kill her?

"Going to the break! Two minutes on the clock. Just a reminder we've got solar flare activity coming up in ten. Thanks, everyone."

Rose and Willow were hoping that every round wasn't going to be their last. "Colleen was clever. She banked all our money. Why'd you vote for her?"

"Because I want to keep you two 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 one of you, so that you get disintegrated and I get a stack load of credits courtesy of the Bad Wolf Corporation." Whilst Willow was rolling her eyes in disgust, something occurred to her.

She turned to Rose, who had exactly the same expression as she. The words repeated inside her head like they did in Cardiff.

Bad Wolf

Bad Wolf

Bad Wolf

So many places. So little time.

"What do you mean? Who's Bad Wolf?" She asked.

Rodrick shrugged. "They're in charge. They run the Game Station."

Willow's cousin raised her eyebrows in surprise. They weren't here by mistake then. "Why are they called Bad Wolf?" She persisted.

They could tell he was getting annoyed by the amount of questions being asked. "I don't know. It's just a name. It's like an Old Earth nursery rhyme sort of thing what does it matter?"

"We keep hearing those words everywhere we go. Bad Wolf." Rose said.

They've seen them, heard them. The words have always been there, throughout their travels like a virus. It's infecting them, drawing them here.

"Different times. different places, like it's written all over the universe." theorised Willow.

"What're you two going on about?" Rodrick commented, interrupting our thoughts.

"If the Bad Wolf is in charge of this quiz, then maybe we're not here by mistake." She suggested, connecting the dots like a puzzle. "Someone's been planning this."

***

Once again, the housemates sat on the couch, waiting for the Doctor to be evicted. "The Doctor, you've broken the House Rules. Big Brother has no choice but to evict you. You have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're going to get you!" Davina Droid spoke.

"That's more like it." He leapt off the sofa and headed towards the door, waiting for it to be opened so he could receive his punishment. "Come on, then. Open up!"

"You're mad!" Lynda screamed. "It's like you want to die."

"I reckon he's a plant. He was only brought in to stir things up." Strood thought.

"The Doctor, please leave the Big Brother house." As the door opened up, the Doctor ran inside, hoping for the disintegration to come sooner.

"Come on then, disintegrate me! Come on, what're you waiting for?"

She shook her head in disgust at his actions. "He is, he's mad. He's bonkers." Her voice resembled Rose before she met the Doctor, however, the Doctor couldn't hear it.

"Disintegrate me. What are you waiting for?" He screamed at the camera, talking to the people on the other side.

He closed his eyes as the Davina Droid came on again. "Eviction in five, four, three, two, one."

Everyone held their breaths and waited. But nothing happened. The Doctor crossed his arms and laughed as nothing happened. He knew everybody would be glued to their screens, unsure what was going on, even the producers would be shocked. "Ah, ha! I knew it! You see, someone brought me into this game. If they'd wanted me dead, they could've transmatted me into a volcano."

He started to unlock the doors. "They want me alive. Maybe security isn't as tight this end." He turned to camera to address the watchers once more. "Are you following this? I'm getting out!"

The door on the house end opened up, Lynda stood there in surprise, watching him unlocking the door on the other side. "Come with me." He held out his hand to her, offering to get her out.

"We're not allowed!" He heard Strood say in the background.

"Stay in there, you've got a fifty-fifty chance of disintegration. Stay with me, I promise I'll get you out alive. Come on!"

"No, I can't. I can't."

"Lynda, you're sweet. From what I've seen of your world, do you think anyone votes for sweet?" His words coaxed her into agreeing, she grinned as she bounced inside, taking his hand as she was led out.

They entered an old building, but the Doctor immediately recognised where they were. "Hold on. I've been here before. This is Satellite Five." Both of them strolled over to a few doors, hoping to unlock them. "No guards. That makes a change. You'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth."

They headed into another room, seeing where it led. "No one's called it Satellite Five in ages. It's the Game Station now. Hasn't been Satellite Five in about a hundred years." She said.

"A hundred years exactly. It's the year two zero zero one zero zero." He started to explain his first experience here. The Adam situation, the blob on the ceiling. Worst of all, leaving Willow vulnerable inside the TARDIS.

"I was here before, Floor one three nine. The Satellite was broadcasting news channels back then. Had a bit of trouble upstairs. Nothing too serious. Easy. Gave them a hand, home in time for tea."

"A hundred years ago? What, you were here a hundred years ago?" She queried the impossible revelation.

"Yep!"

She eyed him up and down, looking at every detail of his body. "You're looking good on it."

"I moisturise." He joked, making a pun about his first adventure with Rose. "Funny sorts of readings. All kinds of energy. The place is humming. It's weird. This goes way beyond normal transmissions. What would they need all that power for?"

"I don't know." She wondered for a bit. "I think we're the first ever contestants to get outside."

"I had two friends travelling with me. They must've got caught in the same transmat. Where would they be?" He thought.

She diminished, eager to change the subject. "I don't know. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."

"Like what?

Even though the games had gruesome acts of injustice, Lynda still looked excited. "Well, there's ten floors of Big Brother. There's a different House behind each of those doors. And then beyond that, there's all sorts of shows. It's non-stop. There's Call My Bluff, with real guns. Countdown, where you've got thirty seconds to stop the bomb going off. Ground Force, which is a nasty one. You get turned into compost. Er, Wipeout, speaks for itself. Oh, and Stars In Their Eyes. Literally, stars in their eyes. If you don't sing, you get blinded."

"And you watch this stuff?"

She shrugged at him. "Everyone does. How come you don't?"

"Never paid for my licence. He said, sarcastically.

"Oh, my God! You get executed for that."

"Let them try."

"You keep saying things that don't make sense. Who are you though, Doctor, really?" Sounds like the questions Willow asked him when she first came on board the TARDIS.

"It doesn't matter."

"Well, it does to me." She sounded slightly concerned. "I've just put my life in your hands."

He knew that she was right, however, he was too focused on getting his friends back. "I'm just a traveller, wandering past. Believe it or not, all I'm after is a quiet life."

"So, if we get out of here, what're you going to do? Just wander off again?"

"Fast as I can."

He noticed her hesitation and interest as a curiosity. "So, I could come with you?"

He loved the year he was having. Everybody wanted to come with him. To see the wonders of the universe or a historical event happen before their eyes. Perhaps it's good to have lots of friends. "Maybe you could."

She seemed surprised. "I wouldn't get in the way."

"I wouldn't mind if you did." A cascade of happiness waved over both of them. "Not a bad idea, Lynda with a Y. But first of all, we've got to concentrate on the getting out. And to do that, you've got to know your enemy. Who's controlling it? Who's in charge of the satellite now?"

"Hold on." She went over to a lever, that resembled a light switch, and pulled it down. Lights flickered on, showing who was running this place. "Your lords and masters."

The sign said 'Bad Wolf Corporation', once again, the Doctor was shocked to see those two words up above. He could only stare at the sign in a state of shock.

***

The Doctor and Lynda found themselves on the observation deck, glaring at Planet Earth in a brownish shade of colour. "Blimey! I've never seen it for real before. Not from orbit. Planet Earth. " Lynda said with joy, looking down at her home world.

The Doctor, however, squinted his eyes at the planet that looked all too familiar. "What's happened to it?"

"Well, it's always been like that, ever since I was born. See that there?" She pointed down at the ever growing smog. "That's the Great Atlantic Smog Storm. It's been going twenty years. We get newsflashes telling us when it's safe to breath outside."

"So the population just sits there? Half the world's too fat, and half the world's too thin, and you lot just watch telly?" He revulsed at the thought of it.

Even though this crisis was imminent, Lynda continued to smile. "Ten thousand channels, all beaming down from here."

"The Human Race. Brainless sheep being fed on a diet of-" He paused, thinking about something. "Mind you, have they still got that programme where three people have to live with a bear?"

She guffawed, knowing what he was insinuating. "Oh, Bear With Me. I love that one!"

"And me. The celebrity edition where the bear got in the bath." They laughed a bit, until the Doctor turned back to the matter at hand. "But it's all gone wrong. I mean, history's gone wrong again. This should be the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. I don't understand. Last time I was here I put it right."

She shook her head, disagreeing with him. "No, but that's when it first went wrong. A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight."

"But that was me. I did that."

"There was nothing left in their place. No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it. One hundred years of hell." This was one of the only times where Lynda was serious.

The Doctor looked back at the Earth, realising what he did all those years ago. He thought he saved the world, instead he ruined it. "Oh, my. I made this world."

***

Both Rose and Willow kept their eyes away from Rodrick being disintegrated, his screams were nauseating. Although, it was nice to see that this bastard got what he deserved. She smirked a little when the girls voted him off; he definitely didn't see it coming.

"That leaves Rose and Willow. You're going head to head. Let's play The Weakest Link."

She knew what she had to do next to protect her best friend. "I'll lose for you."

Rose glared at her in shock, confounded by what she said. "No!" She protested. "You can't do that-"

"Rose when Pete died all those years ago, I made a promise to myself that I would protect you." She glimpsed through her honey-brown eyes like a window. "I can't lose you, neither can Jackie, Mickey or anyone else. Trust me, this is for the best." Willow's sentence silenced her, looking at her podium in defeat.

She had nothing left. No parents, no boyfriend, no job and no life. Let's face the music, she was a loser. Maybe this was it. Perhaps the Doctor only took her with him because he knew that she would die here. He probably never even cared at me; he wouldn't even look me in the eyes. Yet, Willow poured out her heart and soul to him, as if she could trust him. How can you trust an alien when some want to kill you?

***

"Hey, handsome." The Doctor gazed over his shoulder to find Jack waltzing in with a gun in hand. "Good to see you? Any sign of Rose or Willow?"

"Can't you track them down?" He asked.

"She must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded."

"If I can just get inside this computer. They've got to be here somewhere." The Doctor worked his magic on the same console Adam used to find out information about this century.

"Well, you'd better hurry up. These games don't have a happy ending."

He swiped his head round with a stern expression. "Do you think I don't know that?"

He nodded, realising that the Doctor had already been inside a game. Jack handed a small wrist computer. "There you go, patch that in. It's programmed to find them."

"Thanks."

Jack's eyes next landed on sweet little Lynda, who was simply minding her own business and watching the professionals at work. "Hey, there." He flashed a coy, but flirty grin.

She blushed a little. "Hello."

"Captain Jack Harkness." He did a little wink after his introduction. Though a had a small thing for Rose, he couldn't help but flirt with other ladies who are as cute as she is.

"Lynda Moss." She grabbed a hold of his hands, shaking it lightly.

"Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss."

The Doctor rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Do you mind flirting outside?"

"I was just saying hello!" He protested.

"For you, that's flirting."

Nevertheless, she disagreed with him. "I'm not complaining."

"Muchas gracias." Spanish always wins over the ladies.

"It's not compatible. This stupid system doesn't make sense." The Doctor said, thoroughly vexed that he isn't able to track down Willow and Rose almost immediately. He was the smartest person in the whole of this station.

He gave Lynda the computer, who kicked it a few times to see if it would work better. The Doctor was still making theories on how and why they all here. "This place should be a basic broadcaster, but the systems are twice as complicated. It's more than just television. This station's transmitting something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know." The Doctor always hated not knowing. "This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with me. Someone's manipulated my entire life. It's some sort of trap and the girls are stuck inside it."

***

"Rose, in geography, the Grand Central Ravine is named after which ancient British city?" It asked.

She was clueless about it; she only dropped out of school when she was 16. "Is it York?"

"No, the correct answer is Sheffield."

Rose couldn't lose. She wouldn't let Rose risk her life for a stupid game where people get disintegrated for getting the wrong answer.

***

The Doctor grinned enthusiastically "Found them. Floor four oh seven."

Although, his happiness was short-lived. "Oh, my God, she's with the Anne Droid. You've got to get them out of there."

Their panic made them sprint faster than a cheetah, faster than a lightning strike and fast than the speed of light combined. Heading for the lift, they all swooped inside and headed for 407.

***

"Willow, in literature, the author of Lucky was Jackie who?"

She knew this one. Books was an easy spot for her, nonetheless, she needed to save Rose. "Stewart."

"No, the correct answer is Collins." It turned back to Rose, questioning her again. "Rose, the oldest inhabitant of the Isop Galaxy is the Face of what?"

"Boe! The Face of Boe!"

Rose smiled as she got the right answer, relieved. "That is the correct answer. Willow, who was the President of the Red Velvets?"

"George Bush?" She answered, knowing it was probably wrong.

"No, the correct answer is Hoshbin Frane." It was going back and forth like they were on DVD. "Rose, in food, the dish Gaffabeque originated on which planet?"

"Er, is it Mars?" She vacillated.

Willow had to up her game on losing this. "No, the correct answer is Lucifer. Willow, which measurement of length is said to have been defined by the Emperor Jate as the distance from his nose to his fingertip?"

"Metre?"

"No, the correct answer is a paab. Rose, in fashion, Stella Pok Baint is famous for what?"

"Shoes?"

"No, the correct answer is hats." She wasn't able to help her, even Willow didn't understand half of these questions. "Willow, in physics, who discovered the Fifteen Dash Ten Barric Fields?"

Answering the questions wrong were hard; she couldn't understand anything. Her hope of getting out here was slowly descreasing. "I don't know!" Willow objected.

"The correct answer is San Chen." She wished that the Doctor and Jack were right outside the door right now and this was just a big practical joke. "Rose, what is the extinct race of aliens, with two hearts, known as?"

Her tears slowly fell from her eyes. Rose sighed, she had hope that they would both get out of here together, but it was long gone by this point. She had to let Willow go. "Timelords."

"Correct." After her voice came out for the last time, a little musical interlude came on, showing it was the end of the game. Rose scored one, while Willow scored zero.

"No!" She screamed, defending her cousin. "This is sick! You can't kill her!"

"Rose, please get out of here while you still can-"

"Stop this game right now!" She continued to shout over the android, making a fuss over it being the end for her. "This game is illegal. I'm telling you to stop!"

This was the end. Willow had nothing left. This was goodbye. She closed her eyes, waiting for her death sentence.

"Willow!" Unexpectedly, she opened her eyes to find the Doctor, running towards them. "Stop this game!"

Jack ran in after, along with an unknown girl by his side. "Stop this game!"

"I order you to stop this game!"

"You are the weakest link."

"Look out for the Anne Droid, it's armed!" Rose screamed. They both ran off their podiums, towards the Doctor and Jack in relief. His arms were stretched out for a hug and Willow couldn't wait to give him one.

However, happy endings don't exist; not for Willow at least. Right behind her, the Anne-Droid shot its laser in their direction, hitting Willow in the backside. The only thing she saw in that split second was the Doctor, smiling at her, before everything went dark.

The Doctor witnessed every part of Willow's body crumble into dust, every atom and every particle were separated. He bent down, leaning over what would be her dead body. The others stood there in shock, both Lynda and Rose had their hands over their mouths and Jack was threatening the people running this. The Doctor could hear his shouts and the sobs of Rose; he couldn't help but shed a tear too.

He really fell for her. He fell for her too deep.

"What the hell did you do to her?" Jack screamed to them. "Back off!" He threw his gun in the face of the floor manager, who was calling security.

"I need security and I need it here right now! It's this lot."

Guards ran in, from the same door the group came in, and took a hold of Rose, the Doctor and Lynda. "You killed her! Your stupid freaking game show killed her!" The guards took Jack's gun off his hands, arresting him.

Their yells were for nothing. Willow was dead; the evidence was all there as the Doctor was staring at her ashes, her remains or her soul.

They were all taken away to a holding cell for a thorough investigation into why they arrived on the Game Station, without being chosen.

"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?" One of the guards said, looking right at the Doctor, who was known as the leader of the group.

Rose's tears cleared up and Lynda tried to defend the Doctor a few times, however, to no avail. Jack was as mad as the Doctor was, hoping to get vengeance for Willow's unfortunate death. The guard got no response from either of them; he gestured to the second guard to let him out of the cell.

"Let's do it." The Doctor muttered to the group, who in return nodded their heads and prepared for their escape. Jack got up from his seat, knocking the guard unconscious and grabbing his defabricator while the Doctor retrieved the sonic screwdriver. Lynda and Rose took the guard's weapons, even though they didn't know how to use them.

All of them strolled into the lift, heading up to the top floor: Floor 500. This is for Willow. This was for everyone who died in these horrific games.

***

After a minute, they finally reached Floor 500, but the Doctor and Jack wasn't in the mood for a long chat. "Okay, move away from the desk! Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear. Stand to the side and stay there." Jack commanded, moving the terrified workers away from the controls.

The Doctor noticed a woman attached to a bunch of wires. Her eyes were whit with a little black dot in the middle, resembling an iris. "Who's in charge of this place?"

However, the woman simply muttered numbers instead of a response. "Nineteen, eighteen."

"This Satellite's more than a Game Station." He continued.

"Seventy nine, eighty."

His anger grew as the woman didn't respond to any of his questions. "Who killed Willow Hughes?"

"All staff are reminded that solar flares-"

He was done with this woman's actions, knowing that she had something to do with this. "I want an answer!"

"She can't reply." He turned to a young man around late twenties. "Don't shoot!"

The Doctor squinted his eyes in confusion, until noticing he had a gun in his hand. "Oh, don't be so thick. Like I was ever going to shoot." He threw the gun in the man's direction, who caught it in his hands. "Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits." He ordered.

"Yes, sir."

"You." He pointed back at the man. "What were you saying?"

He blinked in bewilderment. "But I've got your gun."

He shrugged. "Okay, so shoot me. Why can't she answer?"

"She's er-" He hesitated for a moment, noticeably shaking. "Can I put this down?"

He rolled his eyes. "If you want. Just hurry up."

"Thanks." He placed it on the ground, nervously. "Sorry. 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."

"What's her name?" He questioned.

"I don't know. She was installed when she was five years old. That's the only life she's ever known."

Rose waltzed up, crossing her arms. "You mean you plugged a child into a machine and used her to power the games. A child?!"

"It was necessary-"

"Like it was necessary to kill Willow, you-"

"Anyhow!" The Doctor butted into their argument.

He was about to see what Jack was doing, until he was stopped by the man. "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."

"Show me." He ordered, while Jack headed into a room called Archive Six.

"You're not allowed in there." A woman with slicked back hair demanded. "Archive Six is out of bounds."

"Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?" He said, pointing the gun in her direction. He wandered inside while the Doctor, Rose and Lynda waited for the transmat logs to arrive.

"Solar flare activity in delta point zero fifteen." The computer stated.

The woman stormed up to the Doctor. "If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out. The staff are terrified."

"That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day, including a girl I care about." The Doctor commented, making a point.

"That's not our fault. We're just doing our jobs-"

"And with that sentence you just lost the right to even talk to me. Now back off!" A word of advice when you meet the Doctor, messing with him is the last thing you ever want to do. At that moment, the power shutdown and left the entire room in darkness.

The man spoke up again. "That's just the solar flares. They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."

"Doctor."

Rose and the woman both turned around to see the controller looking straight at them with her white eyes, however, she couldn't see them in actuality. "Doctor?" Rose said to him.

"Whatever it is, you can wait."

"I think she wants you."

He turned to find the Controller, asking for him. "Doctor? Doctor? Where's the Doctor?"

He sauntered up to her, seeing what she wanted. "I'm here."

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you." She rambled on like an eerier version of Lynda.

"What do you want?" He persisted.

Instead of answering his questions, she simply rambled on about how "they" can't hear 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." She started to make sense of why they were all here. She put them inside the games so they wouldn't find them.

However, the Doctor wasn't here for an explanation, he was here for an answer to Willow's death. "My friend died inside your games."

"Doesn't matter."

"Don't you dare tell me that." He said, defending her. All those times with Willow made him happier than he's ever been before, he couldn't let her death be in vain.

"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 hundreds of years."

He knew that she wouldn't respond, so he continued to interrogate her until he could get the answers he wanted. "Who are they?"

"They wait and plan and grow in numbers. They're strong now. So strong, my masters."

He repeated his question. "Who are they?"

"But speak of you, my masters, they fear the Doctor." She glared down at him, as if she could see him.

"Tell me, who are they?" Nevertheless, before she could answer, the power came back on. This caused her to resume her work.

"Twenty one, twenty two."

He raced back over to the controls, where the others were waiting. "When's the next solar flare?"

"Two years' time." The man answered.

"Fat lot of good that is."

Jack came out from Archive Six in an ecstatic mood. "Found the TARDIS-"

"We're not leaving now." The Doctor paced around a bit in anger that he couldn't get the answer he wanted.

"No, but the TARDIS worked it out. You'll want to watch this." He explained, turning to Lynda. "Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?"

"I just want to go home." She expostulated.

he flashed a smile and pointed in a certain direction. "It'll only take a second. Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can." She nodded in a fuss, obeying his command. "Everybody watching? Okay. three, two, one." He pressed a button, causing a streak of lightening to come down from the ceiling and hitting Lynda. She quivered for a bit before being atomised.

The Doctor turned to Jack in shock. "But you killed her!"

"Oh, do you think?" Everyone watched Jack press another button, causing the same beam of lightening to come down from the ceiling. This time, placing a fully alive Lynda right next to the Doctor, who jumped in fright upon seeing her.

She held her head, disoriented. "What the hell was that?"

"It's a transmat beam. Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games. they get transported across space. Doctor, Willow is still alive!" A smile appeared on the Doctor, Rose and Jack's faces. They all ran to hug each other, knowing that she was still alive.

But if she's alive then where was she?

***

Willow ached all over, it felt like she was struck my lightning. She stretched out on the ground, noticing that it was cold as marble.

She didn't understand, she was supposed to be dead.

If she were dead, she'd feel it. Her blood wouldn't be pumping through her veins, and she wouldn't be able to breathe. Hell, she wouldn't even be able to feel pain.

That's when it all flooded back to her like a distant memory:

Bad Wolf

The Weakest Link

Game Station

Losing the game

Disintegration

Doctor.

But she was supposed to be dead. Willow felt it happen. She knew it happened. So, why was she still here?

Abruptly, she spotted something approaching her like a wolf, hunting its prey. Willow gazed up at it, realising that she recognised it all too well. That haunting being she watched kill itself because it thought it was an abomination. How was it alive?

Willow was taken aback, quickly getting back on her feet in fear. "You're dead. I saw you die! I saw you die!" It blocked her from moving anywhere by placing its plunger beside her. Its eye-stalk stared through her like she was nothing.

She never thought she'd face one of those creatures again. Now she took it that she was its prisoner. Again.

***

"She's out there somewhere."

The Controller struggled with her words, she couldn't take not telling him anymore. "Doctor. Coordinates five point six point one"

He turned around in a panic, unaware of what could happen to her. "Don't, the solar flare's gone. They'll hear you."

"Point four three four." Her face crumpled, as if someone was yelling at her. "No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma seven seven-" She screamed, disappearing in a flash. Smoke rose from where she once stood.

"They took her." He muttered.

The man worked on the coordinates at his desk, wondering what they may lead to. "Look, use that. It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."

"Nice, Thanks." He shone another flirty grin. "Captain Jack Harkness, by the way." He held out his hand after the introduction.

"I'm Davitch Pavale." He smiled, blushing slightly.

"Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale."

The Doctor frowned at Jack's unneeded flirts. "There's a time and a place."

"Are you saying this entire set up's been a disguise all along?" The woman questioned.

"Going way back." He explained, using every detail about the Satellite that he knew about. "Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game, controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations."

Jack was instructing Pavale what to told, so they could find whoever was behind this. "Click on this. The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system."

They loaded up a screen that showed nothing but space. A few stars and galaxies, but no spaceships or shuttles anywhere. "There's nothing there." The woman stated.

"It looks like nothing because that's what this satellite does. Underneath the transmission there's another signal." He typed something into the computer, trying to find out what was being shielded.

"Doing what?" Pavale asked.

"Hiding whatever's out there. Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it's completely invisible. If I cancel the signal-" He looked up, pausing at what he saw. Horrified at what was out there. Something that he recognised all too well.

Rose and Lynda stared at them, wondering what they meant. Jack had the exact expression the Doctor had. "That's impossible. I know those ships. They were destroyed."

"Obviously, they survived."

Rose shook her head, asking what it meant. "Who did? Who are they?"

"You know them, Rose." He implied. "Two hundred ships. More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them."

"Half a million what?"

"Daleks."

***

Willow sat in the corner, crouched in fear of what they might do to her. One of the Daleks came out from a corridor, alerting the others. "Alert. Alert. We are detected."

"It is the Doctor. He has located us. Open communications channel." Another one said.

The Dalek that came in turned to her. "The female will stand. Stand!" Willow had no choice but to obey; because she knew what would happen if she didn't.

A holographic screen flickered on, showing the face of the Doctor. She smiled at him; he shed a little smirk back. He was just happy to see her alive.

"I will talk to the Doctor." The Dalek vocalised.

He wore a cheesy smile, making a joke. "Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!" The Doctor did a little wave. Every time they faced someone or something, it always ends up becoming a big joke.

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene." That was unlikely.

Raising his eyebrows, he questioned their actions. "Oh, really? Why's that, then?"

"We have your associate." It said, referring to Willow. "You will obey or she will be exterminated."

At first, there was a long pause. The Doctor's smile faded, looking right at the Dalek. "No." He bluntly said. She noticed the Daleks becoming confused by his statement.

"Explain yourself."

"I said no."

"What is the meaning of this negative?"

"It means no."

"But she will be destroyed."

"No!" He rose to his feet, objecting. "Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Willow Hughes from the middle of the Dalek fleet and then I'm going to save the Earth, and then, just to finish off, I'm going to wipe every last stinking Dalek out of the sky!"

That's the Doctor she knew.

The Daleks, even though they have no emotions, began to become infuriated with him. "But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan."

"Yeah. And doesn't that scare you to death." They could only stare at him from that moment on. "Willow?"

He said, directing his question at her. "Yes, Doctor?"

"I'm coming to get you." The Doctor softly smiled before he aimed his sonic screwdriver at the screen, switching it off.

"You should know that I'm not just the Doctor's associate." Willow told them

However, they ignored her, pushing Willow to the side. "The Doctor is initiating hostile action."

The other one spoke. "The stratagem must advance. Begin the invasion of Earth!"

"The Doctor will be exterminated!" She looked up to find millions of Daleks. They all survived; who knew what the Doctor would do to them. But what were they planning to do to him when he arrived? It was simple. "Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

***

Did I just finish a chapter in the span of a few days? Yes I did!! 

I actually did something! I am proud of myself!

Next is The Parting of Ways and I promise that it will be spectacular!! 

I can't believe it's almost the end of the story, I'm kind of emotional now. I mean I didn't picture getting over 700 reads, #8 in doctorwho and getting mentioned by other people (added to reading list and comments).

I'm still amazed by this!

Thank you!

-Alice ❤

Edit: Sorry! Forgot a little bit of the ending. All fixed now!