Chapter Nineteen: Bad Wolf

Alex had been having a perfectly nice day. They'd just got back from Japan in the 1330s, and she had been teasing the Doctor about his driving like usual. And then, within a couple of hours, she'd been kidnapped, nearly drowned, punched more times than she could count, and attacked by a killer robot. But then, that was Total Wipeout for you. Fortunately, killer robots didn't do so well when you pushed them into a conveniently placed swimming pool, so she'd managed to escape unscathed.

She'd come out of the ventilation shafts onto a corridor she vaguely recognised, which was odd. It was lined with doors, and she tried each one, finding most of them to be locked.

Except for the last one, which opened to reveal Captain Jack Harkness with a gun. "Jack!" She hugged him tight.

"Lexi!" he cheered. "You alright?"

"Not dead yet," she joked. "Any sign of the Doctor or Rose?"

Jack shook his head. "I can trace the Doc on this, though." He indicated his vortex manipulator. They headed for the lifts. "Two hearts, that's him. Which floor?" He pressed the button on the lift, and they descended. "So where'd you end up?"

"Killer robot, aquatic assault course," she replied succinctly, shrugging. "You?"

"Like always." He smirked. "Naked with a pair of robots."

Alex blinked, then shook her head. "I don't even wanna know."

***

"Hey, handsome!" Jack called as they exited the lift to find the Doctor trying to access a computer, a blonde woman at his side.

"Good to see you," Alex smiled, hugging the Time Lord. "Don't suppose you've found Rose?"

He shook his head, glancing at Jack. "Can't you track her down?"

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

"If I can just get inside this computer," the Doctor sighed. "She's got to be here somewhere."

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

"Do you think I don't know what?!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Jack sighed. He took off his vortex manipulator, handing it over. "There you go, patch that in. It's programmed to find her."

"Thanks," the Doctor said. He got to work, glancing at Alex. "You got out alright, then?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I was lucky. I managed to take out the android trying to kill me."

His lips turned up at the corners, just a little. "Like I said, jeopardy friendly."

"Hey, there," Jack said, smiling at the blonde woman the Doctor had rescued.

"Hello," she replied shyly.

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Lynda Moss."

He kissed her hand. "Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss."

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

"I was just saying hello!" Jack protested.

"Be fair," Alex pointed out, "that's flirting for you."

Lynda smiled coyly. "I'm not complaining."

Jack grinned. "Muchas gracias."

The Doctor made a noise of frustration, kicking the computer. "It's not compatible. This stupid system doesn't make sense." Alex helped him pull the front panel off the machine. "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?" Jack asked, brow furrowed.

"I don't know," the Doctor admitted. "This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with us. Someone's manipulating our lives. It's some sort of trap, and Rose is stuck inside it."

Alex activated the controls. "Found her," she announced, grinning. "Floor 407."

Lynda gasped in horror. "Oh my God, she's with the Anne Droid. You've got to get her out of there!" Alex's face fell and she sprinted for the lift, the others following.

***

When they arrived on Floor 407, they found another, similar corridor with doors all along the walls. "Game Room Six, which one is it?!" the Doctor demanded.

Lynda ran over to a door on the other side of the corridor. "Over here!" The others dashed over.

"Stand back, let me blast it open!" Jack suggested, lifting his gun.

The Doctor shook his head tensely, working at the lock with his sonic screwdriver. "You can't. It's made of Hydra combination." The door unlocked, and they all ran in.

"Rose!" Alex cried. "Stop this game!"

"Rose, you leave this life with nothing," the Anne Droid stated.

"Stop this game!" Jack ordered.

"I order you to stop this game!" the Doctor shouted.

"You are the weakest link," the Anne Droid continued.

"Look out for the Anne Droid," Rose exclaimed, starting to run towards them. "It's armed!"

The disintegrator beam hit her, and the world stopped.

A pile of dust on the ground. All that was left. The universe had shrunk to a few small feet, full of loss. It felt like a punch to the gut, forcing the air from Alex's lungs. She gasped for breath, falling to her knees.

It wasn't real, it couldn't be, it mustn't. Rose couldn't be dead. Alex refused to accept it. She was still there, in her mind's eye, still smiling that familiar smile they'd both inherited from their mother. She was still laughing, and joking, and teasing Jack. She was still rolling her eyes when the Doctor insulted the human race. She was still holding Alex's hand when things got tough.

And it went back further. How long had Alex relied upon her? How many tears had been shed on her shoulder, how many cheeky glances shared, how many battles won? How many years had it been them, only them, standing together against the rest of the world?

There were rough hands on her arms, tugging, pulling, dragging her off the ground, but Alex could hardly feel it. The universe kept turning, the satellite travelled on through space, but not for her. Never for her. How could the sun still rise, when it would never again shine upon Rose?

She'd never before realised how her steps had always landed on solid ground. How she had danced and ran and jumped, always knowing she would land safe. But no more. The music had stopped. The air had grown heavy around her. The ground had crumbled away beneath her feet. She held on by a single strand, the memory of her sister's face, the memory of that smile and all the happiness and joy it had entailed. A single bright star left in a universe that had grown dark. How could she dance, when Rose could not? Where would she run, if not to her? For what would she jump, when all there was left was to fall?

Icy cold handcuffs closed around her wrists, and as she was marched away, she felt her heart break.

***

"Ma'am, can you tell us who you are?"

Silence.

"Ma'am?"

Silence.

"Can you tell us your name?"

Silence. Alex just stared at the wall, her eyes glazed over. It was like she couldn't hear the questions, and perhaps she couldn't. The Doctor could still hear Rose's scream, echoing over and over in his mind. It was the kind of sound that never ever left you. A sound of agony.

Still, he had to step up. He had promised Jackie he would look after them both, and even if Rose was lost, he couldn't let Alex go the same way. He couldn't let her go. So he spoke up, loud enough for the guard to hear, loud enough to stop his incessant questioning. "Her name is Alex."

"What was that?"

"I said, her name's Alex. Just leave her alone!"

The guard grunted, but nodded. He turned to the door of the cell, his colleague opening it up.

Alex moved like lightning; she grabbed the guard's head and smashed it into the wall. He fell to the ground, unconscious, and she grabbed the top of the door, swinging forwards to kick the other guard down. The third guard ran, calling for back-up.

The quartet grabbed their possessions—the sonic screwdriver, the toolbelt, the defabricator gun, and the weapons the guards had used—and ran for a lift.

***

"Okay, move away from the desk!" Jack ordered as they came out on Floor 500, raising his guns threateningly. "Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear. Stand to the side and stay there." He and Lynda kept the workers back, while Alex and the Doctor strode down the middle aisle towards the Controller. She was wired into the satellite, her brain a part of the computer.

"Who's in charge of this place?" the Doctor demanded.

The Controller seemed to ignore them, murmuring under her breath. "Nineteen, eighteen..."

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

"Seventy-nine, eighty..."

Alex's eyes blazed with anger as she glared up at the Controller. "Who killed Rose Tyler?"

"All staff are reminded that—"

Her voice cracked. "I want an answer!"

"—occur in delta point one."

A young man, Davitch, put his hand on her shoulder. "She can't reply." The Doctor turned on him, and he retracted his hand, holding both up in surrender. "Don't shoot!"

The Doctor scoffed. "Oh, don't be so thick." He threw his gun onto a nearby desk. "Like I was ever going to shoot." He turned to Jack. "Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."

Jack nodded, heading for the doors. "Yes, sir!"

"You," the Doctor turned back to Davitch. "What were you saying?"

The man smiled timidly. "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 Doctor's brow furrowed. "What's her name?"

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

"Doors sealed," Jack reported. "We should be safe for about ten minutes."

"Keep an eye on them," the Doctor ordered.

"But that stuff you were saying about something going on with the Game Station," Davitch said. "I think you're right. I've kept a log. Unauthorised transmats, encrypted signals, it's been going on for years."

The Doctor nodded. "Show me." They went over to a computer.

On the other side of the room, Jack put his hand on the access panel for a side room. A woman stood in his way. "You're not allowed in there," she told him. "Archive Six is out of bounds."

He showed her his guns, his voice raised in anger. "Do I look like an out of bounds sort of guy?" She backed away and he entered the room.

Meanwhile, Alex had found herself a chair. She didn't really remember sitting down—one moment she had been standing, the next she wasn't. The weight of everything was starting to settle on her shoulders, crushing her down. She wasn't sure she'd had the strength to keep standing.

Rose was gone. It was a fact. She had died. And it was terrible, and it was awful, and there was nothing that could be done. It wasn't like Alex had never lost someone before. No chance of that. No, but this was different. All her life she'd looked up to Rose, followed her big sister around like a lost puppy. She'd never known a life without her.

Until now. Until her legs had given way underneath her, until her heart had splintered and broke. She felt like she'd lost something so integral she'd never imagined coping without it. And now she'd have to learn to walk again, to smile and sing and dance in a world that had let Rose Tyler die.

All of a sudden, it was too much. She let herself collapse, buried her head in her arms and sobbed. Her shoulders shook and heaved with the weight of her grief, and her hand stretched out, reaching for a hand it could never hold again. Another hand covered hers, a familiar, comforting weight. It was nothing but a whisper in the dark, but it was enough.

"Excuse me," a woman's voice said, addressing the Doctor. "If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out. The staff are terrified."

The Doctor's voice was hard. "That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day."

"That's not our fault," the woman protested. "We're just doing our jobs."

Alex looked up then, fixed the woman with a murderous, bloodshot gaze that seemed to see right through to her soul. "Go to hell."

The power cut out, the room going dark. Davitch, sat at a nearby computer, glanced across at them. "That's just the solar flares," he explained. "They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."

"Doctor?" the Controller asked faintly, but they heard. "Doctor? Where's the Doctor?"

The Doctor turned to her, swallowing. "I'm here."

"Can't see," she told him. "I'm blind, so blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you."

"What do you want?"

"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?" the Doctor asked.

"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."

"My sister died inside your games," Alex said quietly, her throat hoarse.

"Doesn't matter."

She rose to her feet, tears falling from her rage-filled eyes. "Don't you dare tell me that!"

"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."

"Who are they?" the Doctor asked again.

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

"Who are they?"

"But they speak of you, my masters, they fear the Doctor and the Angel."

"Tell me, who are they?!"

The power came on, and the Controller stiffened. "Twenty-one, twenty-two..."

The Doctor sighed, turning to Davitch. "When's the next solar flare?"

Davitch bit his lip. "Two years time."

"Fat lot of good that is."

Jack burst out of Archive Six, a wide grin splitting his face. "Found the TARDIS!"

"We're not going anywhere," the Doctor told him firmly.

"No, but the TARDIS figure it out. You'll want to watch this, Lexi." Jack sat down at a computer. "Lynda, could you stand over there for me, please?"

Lynda sniffed. "I just want to go home."

"It'll only take a second," he assured her. "Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can?" She did so, and he smiled. "Everybody watching? Okay, three, two, one..." He hit a button, and a beam came down. Lynda disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Alex's breath caught in her throat. "But you killed her!"

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Oh, do you think?" He pressed another button, and a second beam brought Lynda back.

She blinked. "What the hell was that?"

The Doctor stared. "It's a transmat beam... Not a disintegrator, a second transmat system."

Jack grinned. "People don't die in the games, they get transported across space!"

"So..." Alex hesitated, hardly daring to believe it. "Rose is still alive?"

"Yes!" Jack cheered. She started to cry again, but this time her tears were full of joy, and she was laughing as she hugged him. "She's out there somewhere!"

"Doctor!" the Controller called, making them all look up. "Coordinates 5.6.1—"

"Don't!" the Doctor protested, even as he typed the coordinates into the computer. "The solar flare's gone, they'll hear you!"

".434. No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma 77—" She screamed, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Alex's eyes widened. "They took her."

Davitch sighed, handing Jack a disc. It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."

"Nice, thanks," Jack grinned. "Captain Jack Harkness, by the way."

"I'm Davitch Pavale."

Jack winked. "Nice to meet you, Davitch Pavale."

"Jack," Alex complained, rolling her eyes playfully.

"There's a time and a place," the Doctor agreed, but they were both smiling.

"Are you saying this entire set up's been a disguise all along?" one of the workers asked.

The Doctor nodded. "Going way back. Installing the Jagrafess a hundred years ago. Someone's been playing a long game, controlling the human race from behind the scenes for generations."

"Here we go," Jack said, handing Alex a small device. "Click on this. The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system." She did as she was told, and a hologram showing blank space appeared.

Davitch frowned. "There's nothing there."

"Maybe that's what this satellite does," Alex theorised, biting her lip. "Under the transmission, a second signal, beaming out..."

"Doing what?" Davitch asked.

"Hiding whatever's out there," the Doctor replied. "Hiding it from sonar, radar, scanner. There's something sitting right on top of planet Earth, but it's completely invisible." He frowned. "If I cancel the signal..." He started typing commands.

"Christ..." Alex muttered, her eyes widening as a legion of bronze flying saucers became visible on the hologram. Even though she had never seen them before, she recognised that design.

"That's impossible," Jack blanched. "I know those ships. They were destroyed."

The Doctor had paled too. "Obviously they survived."

"Who did?" Lynda asked, frowning. "Who are they?"

"Two hundred ships," the Doctor murmured, and Alex realised with a start that he was really, properly scared. "More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them."

"Half a million what?" Davitch demanded.

"Daleks," the travellers said together.

Suddenly, the holoscreen changed to show the Daleks in their ship, Rose alive and well in one corner. "I will talk to the Doctor," one of them decreed.

"Oh, will you? That's nice. Hello!" The Doctor waved, trying to maintain a blasé facade.

"The Dalek stratagem nears completion. The fleet is almost ready. You will not intervene," the Dalek ordered.

"Oh, really? Why's that then?" the Doctor asked.

"We have your associate. You will obey, or she will be exterminated."

"No," the Doctor said bluntly.

The Dalek shuffled, surprised. "Explain yourself."

"I said no."

"What is the meaning of this negative?"

"It means no."

"But she will be destroyed!"

"No!" The Doctor got to his feet, and beside him, Alex began to smile. "Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Rose Tyler 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!"

The Dalek rolled backwards slightly. "But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan!"

"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, and just for a moment, his smile looked lethal. "And doesn't that scare you to death?" He moved his gaze to his friend. "Rose?"

"Yes, Doctor?" she answered, grinning.

"We're coming to get you." He ended the transmission with the sonic screwdriver, and then the trio ran for the TARDIS.

It was time to start a war.

~~~