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Runaway - Part Seventeen

~Masterlist~

Concept: Hazel Richards is a twenty-year-old woman living in London. When she meets a mysterious time-travelling alien known only as the Hunter, she’s thrust into a world of wonder she could only have imagined.

Warnings: swearing, follows S1 of Doctor Who.

The Hunter blinked as she woke, finding herself in a cupboard that seemed to be spinning dangerously. She made for a wall to lean against, then yelped as it gave way and she fell out into a brightly-carpeted corridor. "What's happening?" she demanded, struggling to get to her feet.

"Oh my God!" a high-pitched voice squeaked, making her wince. "I don't believe it! Why'd they put you in there? They never said you were coming."

"What happened? I was -" She cut herself off as she lurched sideways, the woman rushing to support her.

"Careful now. Oh! Oh, mind yourself!" she exclaimed as the Hunter hit her head on the wall behind her. "Oh, that's the transmat. It scrambles your head. I was sick for days. All right?" She let her stand for herself, leaning heavily against the wall. "So, what's your name then, sweetheart?"

"Art- no, no, that's not right. The Hunter, I think. I was, er - I don't know. What happened? How -?"

"You got chosen," the blonde woman stated.

The Hunter blinked, holding her head. "Chosen for what?"

"You're a housemate," the woman told her, grinning. "You're in the house. Isn't that brilliant?!"

"That's not fair!" a young man exclaimed. "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 she comes swanning in."

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

A tannoy rang out across the room. "Would the Hunter please come to the Diary Room?" The blonde woman showed the Hunter through a door with a stylised eye on it, and the Time Lady sat in a comfy chair, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. "You are live on channel forty four thousand. Please do not swear."

"You have got to be kidding me," the Hunter rolled her eyes as she finally recognised where she was.

***

Hazel groaned a little as she stirred, blinking when she saw a dark-skinned young man watching over her. "What happened?" she asked, her voice croaky from lack of use.

"It's all right," the man assured her. "It's the transmat. Does your head in. Get a bit of amnesia. What's your name?"

"Hazel. But where's the Hunter?"

"Just remember, do what the android says," the man advised. "Don't provoke it. The android's word is law."

Hazel frowned. "What do you mean, android? Like a robot?"

A woman called out instructions from about twenty yards away. "Positions, everyone! Thank you!"

"Come on, hurry up," the man said, helping Hazel to her feet and supporting her when she stumbled. "Steady, steady."

"I was travelling," Hazel remembered, "with the Hunter and a man called Captain Jack. The Hunter wouldn't just leave me."

"That's enough chat! Positions! Final call! Good luck!"

Hazel blinked, clutching onto the podium for balance. "But I'm not supposed to be here."

"It says Hazel on the podium," the man stated, shrugging. Judging by his podium, he was called Rodrick. "Come on."

"Hold on, I must be going mad," Hazel frowned, looking around at the set-up of the place. "It can't be... This looks like the -"

"Android activated!" the floor manager called.

Hazel's eyes widened as the robot came into view. "Oh my God, the android. The Anne Droid."

"Welcome to The Weakest Link!" the Anne Droid announced.

***

"Here we go again," a female voice sighed. "We've got our work cut out for us."

"I don't know," another stated. "He's sort of handsome. Has a good lantern jaw."

"Lantern jaws are so last year," the first scoffed.

Jack opened his eyes blearily to see a pair of droids - one tall and thin, the other short and curvy - looking down at him. He appeared to be lying on an examination couch, and a quick glance around showed not much more than some mirrors and a few racks of clothes. He grinned nervously. "Sorry, but - nice to meet you, ladies - but where exactly am I?"

"We're giving you a brand new image," one of the droids said. According to the badge on her front, her name was Trine-E.

"Hold on, I was with Queenie and Jules," Jack remembered. Then, what the droid had said caught up to him, and he frowned, standing. "Why, is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"It's all very twentieth century," the other droid, Zu-Zana, complained. "Where did you get that denim?" She was eyeing his jeans suggestively.

"A little place in Cardiff," Jack replied. "It was called the Top Shop."

"Ah!" Zu-Zana clearly knew of it. "Design classic."

"But we're going to have to find you some new colours," Trine-E decided. "Maybe get rid of that Oklahoma Farm Boy thing you've got going on."

"Just stand still and let the Defabricator work its magic," Zu-Zana advised.

Jack frowned. "What's a defabricator?" Trine-E didn't answer, just activated it. Jack looked down at himself as his clothes vanished. "Okay. Defabricator. Does exactly what it says on the tin. Am I naked in front of millions of viewers?"

"Absolutely!" Trine-E and Zu-Zana cried simultaneously.

Jack grinned confidently. "Ladies, your viewing figures just went up."

***

The Hunter had left the Diary Room to investigate the house. She hadn't got her jacket with her, but thankfully, she'd been using her sonic screwdriver as a decorative piece in her simple up-do, so she was able to use it to try and open the door out of the house. She swore when the door refused to budge. "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 blonde woman told her.

"What about this?" the Hunter asked, indicating what looked like a darkened window.

"Oh, that's exoglass," the woman supplied. "You'd need a nuclear bomb to get through."

The Hunter rolled her eyes, biting her lip as she worried about where Hazel and Jack were. "Don't tempt me."

"I know you're not supposed to talk about the outside world, but you must've been watching," the woman said, looking nervous. "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?"

"I don't remember," the Hunter shrugged, trying to brush it off as she searched for a possible exit.

Lynda's eyes widened. "Oh, but does than mean I'm nothing. Some people get this far just because they're insignificant. Doesn't anybody notice me?"

The Hunter sighed. "No, you're, you're nice. You're sweet. Everybody thinks you're sweet."

"Oh, is that right?" Lynda's face had lit up. "Is that what I am? Oh, no one's ever told me that before. Am I sweet? Really?"

"Yeah," the Hunter flashed a grin. "Dead sweet."

"Thank you," Lynda smiled sincerely.

The Hunter frowned as she came to the other end of the house. "It's a wall." She remembered times she'd seen it on TV at Jace's flat. "Isn't there supposed to be a garden out there or something?"

Lynda snorted. "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." The Hunter's eyes widened. "I remember!"

"That's the amnesia," Lynda nodded, grinning. So what happened? Where did they get you?"

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

"Yeah, that's the transmat beam," Lynda told her. "That's how they pick the housemates."

"Oh, Lynda with a Y. Sweet little Lynda," the Hunter sighed, shaking her head. "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." She turned to one of the cameras and glared at it. "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."

***

"Seventeen, sixteen, fifteen," the floor manager counted down. "Thank you, people. Transmitting in twelve, eleven, ten..."

"But I need to find the Hun-!" Hazel protested.

"Just shut up and play the game," Rodrick hissed. There was something in his voice that made her want to play, if only to kick his ass.

"All right, then," she shrugged. "What the hell. I'm going to play to win!"

"Three, and cue!"

The Anne Droid came to life suddenly. "Let's play The Weakest Link. Start the clock. Agorax, the name of which basic foodstuff is an anagram of the word 'beard'?"

"Bread," Agorax answered, looking scared.

"Correct. Fitch, in the Pan Traffic Calendar, which month comes after Hoob?"

"Is - Is it Clavadoe?" Fitch guessed.

"No, Pandoff. Hazel, in maths, what is 258 minus 158?"

"One hundred," Hazel answered confidently. This wasn't so hard.

"Correct. Rodrick -"

"Bank," he stated.

"Which letter of the alphabet appears in the word dangle but not in the word gland?"

"E," Rodrick answered.

"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?"

"Er, Touchdown," he guessed, trying to sound confident.

"No, Torchwood. Agorax, in language, all five examples of which type of letter appear in the word facetious?"

"Vowels," Agorax answered.

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

"White," Fitch tried.

"No, red. Hazel, in the holovid series 'Jupiter Rising', the Grexnik is married to whom?"

Hazel laughed, shrugging. "How should I know?"

"No, the correct answer is Lord Drayvole. Rodrick, in maths, what is nine squared?"

"Eighty one," he answered.

***

Jack was posing in front of the mirror, not looking convinced about his new outfit.

"It's the buccaneer look," Trine-E assured him. "Little dash pirate and just a tweak of President Schwarzenegger."

"Er, not sure about the vest," Jack confessed. "What about a little bit of colour to lift it?"

"Absolutely not," Zu-Zana admonished. "Never wear black with colour. It makes the colour look cheap and the black look boring. Now, let's talk jackets."

"I kind of like the first one," Jack suggested, his mind too busy trying to figure out a plan to focus on the jackets.

"No, that's a bit too much Hell's Angel," Zu-Zana told him. "I think I like the shorter one. Look, waist length, nice and slimming, shows off the bum."

Jack shrugged as she slapped his ass. "Works for me," he smirked.

"Once we've got an outfit, we can look at the face. Ever thought about cosmetic surgery?" Trine-E asked.

"I've considered it, yeah," he nodded. "A little lift around the eyes, tighten up the jaw line. What do you think?"

"Oh, let's have a bit more ambition," Trine-E stated. "Let's go something cutting edge." Her forearm detached to reveal a spinning chainsaw. Jack gulped.

***

"So, Hazel, what do you actually do?" the Anne Droid questioned.

"I just travel around a bit," Hazel shrugged. "Bit of a tourist, I suppose."

"Another way of saying unemployed," the Anne Droid stated.

Hazel narrowed her eyes. "No."

"Have you got a job?"

She blinked. "Well, not really, no, but -"

"Then you are unemployed. And yet, you've still got enough money to buy peroxide," the Anne Droid noted. Hazel frowned. She was a natural blonde! "Why Fitch?"

"Er, I think she got a few of the questions wrong, that's all," Hazel bit her lip.

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

Hazel glared. "Well, yeah, but I can't vote for myself, so it had to be Fitch." She blinked as Fitch burst into tears. "I'm sorry, that's the game. That's how it works. I had to vote for someone."

"Let me try again!" Fitch begged, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It was the lights and everything. I couldn't think."

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

"I'm sorry!" Fitch cried. "Please! Oh God, help me!"

"Fitch, you are the weakest link. Goodbye!" A gun came out of the Anne Droid's mouth and the beam it shot disintegrated Fitch.

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

"What's that?" Hazel demanded, staring in horror at where Fitch had stood, a small pile of dust being all that remained of her. "What just happened?"

"She was the weakest link, she gets disintegrated," Rodrick shrugged. "Blasted into atoms."

"But I voted for her," Hazel whispered, feeling nauseous. "Oh my God. This is sick. All of you, you're just sick! I'm not playing this."

"I'm not playing!" Broff shouted suddenly, drowning her out. "I can't do it! I'm not - Please, somebody let me out of here." He started running across the studio.

"You are the weakest link," the Anne Droid announced, and disintegrated him. "Goodbye."

"Don't try to escape," Rodrick advised a pale Hazel. "It's play or die."

***

"Hunter, they said all the housemates must gather on the sofa," Lynda called. "You've got to."

"I'm busy getting out, thanks," the Hunter told her, sonicing the door to no effect.

"But if you don't obey, then all the housemates get punished," Lynda reasoned.

She shrugged. "Well, maybe I'll be voted out, then."

"How stupid are you?" the man, Strood, demanded. "You've only just joined, you're not eligible."

"Don't try anything clever or we all get it in the neck," Lynda warned as the Hunter sighed, coming over and sitting on the sofa.

The TV in front of them came to life suddenly. "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..." There was a long, drawn-out pause, making the Hunter roll her eyes, lean back and put her feet up on the table. "Crosbie!"

Lynda gasped. "I'm sorry! Oh, I'm sorry! Sorry!"

"Oh, it should've been me," Strood said, hugging Crosbie. "Oh, that's not fair, Crosbie love."

"Crosbie, you have ten seconds to make your farewells, and then we're going to get you."

"I won't forget you," Lynda promised.

"I'm sorry I stole your soap," Crosbie apologised tearfully.

"I don't mind, honestly," Lynda assured her.

"Thanks for the food," Strood said. "You're a smashing cook. Bless you."

"Crosbie, please leave the Big Brother House," Davina Droid ordered. A door opened into a short white corridor, with another door at the far end.

"Bye then," Crosbie whispered. "Bye, Lynda."

"Bye," Lynda sniffed. She and Strood made an arch with their arms and Crosbie walked through into the corridor. The door shut behind her, and she appeared on the TV screen. "I don't believe it. Crosbie."

"It's only a game show," the Hunter pointed out, rolling her eyes. "She'll make a fortune on the outside. Sell her story, release a record, fitness video, all of that. She'll be laughing."

"What do you mean, on the outside?" Lynda asked, staring at her tearfully.

"Here we go," Strood muttered, and the pair of them ran to see Crosbie onscreen.

"What are they waiting for?" the Hunter frowned. "Why don't they just let her go?"

"Stop it, it's not funny!"

"Eviction in five, four, three, two one." A beam came from the ceiling and hit Crosbie. She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The Hunter, who up until this point had only been half-watching, shot up, her eyes widening. "What was that?"

"Disintegrator beam," Strood replied.

"She's been evicted. From life," Lynda added.

"Are you insane?" the Hunter demanded angrily. "You just step right into the disintegrator? Is it that important, getting your face on the telly? Is it worth dying for?"

"You're talking like we've got a choice!" Lynda shot back.

Now the Time Lady was confused. "But I thought you had to apply."

"Don't be so stupid," Strood scowled. "That's how they played it centuries back."

"You get chosen whether you like it or not," Lynda explained. "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."

"How many? Sixty?" the Hunter asked, paling.

"They've had to cut back," Strood nodded. "It's not what it was."

"It's a charnel house!" the Hunter retorted. "What about the winners? What do they get?"

"They get to live," Lynda stated.

"Is that it?"

"Well, isn't that enough?"

"Hazel's out there," the Hunter realised. "She and Jack got caught in the transmat. They're contestants. Time I got out." She got up. "That other contestant, uh, Linda with an I. She was forcibly evicted for what?"

"Damage to property," Lynda supplied.

"What, like this?" the Hunter asked, crushing a camera telekinetically.

***

Now Jack was in tennis whites. "No, I'm just not getting this," he sighed, keeping an eye on the droids behind him. "It's just too safe. Too decent. And you'd never keep it clean."

"Stage two, ready and waiting," Zu-Zana announced.

"Bring it on, girls." They disintegrated his clothes again.

"And now it's time for the face off!" Trine-E cheered.

"What does that mean?" Jack asked warily. "Do I get to compete with someone else?"

"No. Like I said, face off." Trine-E started up her chainsaw.

"I think you'd look good with a dog's head," Zu-Zana suggested, snipping a pair of large scizzors menacingly.

"Or maybe no head at all," Trine-E countered. "That would be so outrageous."

"And we could stitch your legs to the middle of your chest," Zu-Zana added.

"Nothing is too extreme," Trine-E declared. "It's to die for."

Jack sighed. "Now, hold on, ladies. I don't want to have to shoot either one of you."

"But you're unarmed!" Trine-E pointed out.

"You're naked!" Zu-Zana added. Jack grabbed a small gun from behind him. "But that's a Compact Laser Deluxe!"

"Where were you hiding that?" Trine-E questioned.

"You really don't want to know," Jack chuckled.

"Give me that accessory," Trine-E ordered, moving forwards with Zu-Zana. Jack shot their heads off.

***

"You are the weakest link. Goodbye!" Colleen was atomised.

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

"Colleen was clever," Hazel hissed. "She banked all our money. Why'd you vote for her?"

"Because I want to keep you in," Rodrick told her. "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."

Hazel had blanched, but not at the disintegration thing. "What do you mean? Who's Bad Wolf?"

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

"Why are they called Bad Wolf?" Hazel questioned.

"I don't know," he frowned. "It's just a name. It's like an Old Earth nursery rhyme sort of thing - what does it matter?"

"I keep hearing those words everywhere we go," Hazel remembered. "Bad Wolf."

"The things you've seen. The darkness. The big bad wolf."

"Attention all personnel. Bad Wolf One descending."

"Blaidd Drwg."

"What's it mean?"

"Bad Wolf."

She smiled, remembering the little boy that had graffitied Bad Wolf on the TARDIS at the Powell Estate. "Different times, different places, like it's written all over the universe."

"What're you going on about?" Rodrick frowned, confused.

"If the Bad Wolf is in charge of this quiz, then maybe I'm not here by mistake. Someone's been planning this," Hazel realised, seeing a tiny glimmer of hope.

***

"Hunter, 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!"

"That's more like it!" the Hunter grinned, banging on the door. "Come on, then. Open up!"

"You're mad!" Lynda shook her head. "It's like you want to die!"

"I reckon she's a plant," Strood decided. "She was only brought in to stir things up."

"The Hunter, please leave the Big Brother house."

The Hunter grinned, running into the corridor, then smiled for the camera. "Come on, then, disintegrate me! Come on, what're you waiting for? Disintegrate me! What are you waiting for?"

"Eviction in five, four, three, two, one." The machine shut down.

"See! I knew it!" the Hunter grinned victoriously. "You see, someone brought me into this game. If they'd wanted me dead, they could've transmatted me into a volcano. They want me alive." She turned to the door that lead outside. "Maybe security isn't as tight this end. Are you following this? I'm getting out!" She soniced the door, opening it. Lynda opened the other door. "Come with me."

"We're not allowed!" Strood protested.

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

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

"Lynda, you're sweet," the Hunter sighed. "From what I've seen of your world, do you think anyone votes for sweet?" She held out her hand. Lynda took it and they left the house. The Hunter frowned as they entered a long, familiar-looking corridor. "Hold on. I've been here before. This is Satellite Five. No guards," she noticed. "That makes a change. You'd think a big business like Satellite Five would be armed to the teeth."

Lynda frowned. "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."

"A hundred years exactly," the Hunter confirmed. "It's the year two zero zero one zero zero. I was here before, Floor One Thirty 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?" Lynda echoed. "What, you were here a hundred years ago?"

"Yep."

"You're looking good on it," she mentioned.

The Hunter flashed her a grin, getting out her sonic screwdriver. "I moisturise. 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," Lynda shrugged. "I think we're the first ever contestants to get outside."

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

Lynda shrugged again. "I don't know. They could've been allocated anywhere. There's a hundred different games."

"Like what?"

"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. Uh, Wipeout, speaks for itself. Oh, and Stars In Their Eyes. Literally, stars in their eyes. If you don't sing, you get blinded."

The Hunter raised her eyebrows. "And you watch this stuff?"

"Everyone does," Lynda told her. "How come you don't?"

"Never paid for my licence," the Hunter shrugged.

"Oh my God!" Lynda gasped, her eyes wide. "You get executed for that."

The Hunter snorted. "I'd like to see them try."

"You keep saying things that don't make sense. Who are you though, Hunter, really?" Lynda asked.

"It doesn't matter," the Time Lady dismissed.

"Well, it does to me. I've just put my life in your hands," Lynda pointed out.

The Hunter smiled briefly. "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?" Lynda wondered. "Just wander off again?"

"Fast as I can," the Hunter nodded.

"So, I could come with you?" Lynda suggested casually.

"Maybe you could."

"I wouldn't get in the way."

The Hunter smirked. "Yeah, but first, we've got to concentrate on the getting out part. 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," Lynda muttered. She ran over to a breaker lever and pulled it, lighting up a sign behind the Hunter. "Your lords and masters." The Hunter turned and blanched when she saw the name - Bad Wolf Corporation.

***

Jack had found himself some decent clothes before starting to take apart the Defabricator for parts. "Compatible systems," he muttered. "Just align the wave signature... Attaboy! Got myself a gun. Well, ladies, the pleasure was all mine. Which is the only thing that matters in the end." He ran out onto Floor Two Ninety Nine, called the lift, then checked his vortex manipulator, scanning the space station. "Two hearts, that's her. Which floor?" He smirked, getting into the lift.

***

"Blimey!" Lynda breathed, looking out of a large observation window to the planet below. "I've never seen it for real before. Not from orbit. Planet Earth."

The Hunter frowned, her brow furrowing at the sight before her. "What's happened to it?"

"Well, it's always been like that," Lynda shrugged. "Ever since I was born. See that there? 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?" the Hunter asked. "Half the world's too fat, and half the world's too thin, and you lot just watch telly?"

"Ten thousand channels, all beaming down from here," Lynda confirmed.

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

"Oh, Bear With Me!" Lynda grinned. "I love that one!"

"And me," the Hunter grinned. "The celebrity edition where the bear got in the bath."

"Got in the bath!" Lynda exclaimed at the same time, laughing.

"But it's all gone wrong," the Hunter shook her head, suddenly serious again. "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."

"No, but that's when it first went wrong," Lynda stated. "A hundred years ago, like you said. All the news channels, they just shut down overnight."

"But that was me," the Hunter blinked. "I did that."

"There was nothing in their place," Lynda explained. "No information. The whole planet just froze. The government, the economy, they collapsed. That was the start of it. One hundred years of hell."

The Hunter had blanched, staring down at the ruin of a planet below. "I made this world," she realised.

***

Agorax screamed as he was disintegrated, and Hazel bit her lip, closing her eyes.

"That leaves Hazel and Rodrick," the Anne Droid announced. "You're going head to head. Let's play The Weakest Link."

Rodrick nodded. "Right, that's the end of tactical voting. You're on your own now."

***

"Hey, gorgeous!" The Hunter whipped round and ran to hug Jack as he stepped out of the lift. "Good to see you too, Queenie. Any sign of Jules?"

"Can't you track her down?" she asked, indicating his vortex manipulator.

He shook his head. "She must still be inside the games. All the rooms are shielded."

"If I can just get inside this computer," she sighed, returning to it. Lynda eyed Jack curiously. "She's got to be here somewhere."

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

She bristled. "Do you think I don't know that?"

Jack squeezed her shoulder, handing over his vortex manipulator. "There you go, patch that in. It's programmed to find her."

"Thanks," she muttered, and he turned to Lynda.

"Hey, there."

"Hello," Lynda smiled.

"Captain Jack Harkness."

"Lynda Moss."

Jack winked. "Nice to meet you, Lynda Moss."

The Hunter rolled her eyes. "Do you mind flirting outside?"

"I was just saying hello!" Jack protested, grinning.

"For you, that's flirting," the Hunter reminded him.

"I'm not complaining," Lynda blushed.

"Muchas gracias," Jack grinned.

The Hunter growled. "It's not compatible. This stupid system doesn't make sense!" Jack took off the front plate and started working inside the computer. "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.

"I don't know," the Hunter sighed. "This whole Bad Wolf thing's tied up with me. Someone's manipulated my entire life. It's some sort of trap and Hazel is stuck inside it."

***

"Hazel, in geography, the Grand Central Ravine is named after which ancient British city?"

"Is it York?" Hazel guessed.

"No, the correct answer is Sheffield."

***

"Found her," the Hunter exclaimed victoriously. "Floor Four Oh Seven."

Lynda blanched. "Oh my God. She's with the Anne Droid. You've got to get her out of there."

***

"Rodrick, in literature, the author Lucky was Jackie who?"

"Stewart," Rodrick answered.

"No, the correct answer is Collins. Hazel, the oldest inhabitant of Isop Galaxy is the Face of what?"

"Boe!" Hazel exclaimed, ignoring Rodrick's surprised expression. "The Face of Boe!"

"That is the correct answer."

***

"Come on, come on!" the Hunter muttered, bouncing on her toes impatiently in the lift.

***

"Rodrick, in history, who was the President of the Red Velvets?"

"Hoshbin Frane," Rodrick replied.

"That is the correct answer. Hazel, in food, the dish Gaffabeque originated on which planet?"

Hazel bit her lip. "Uh, is it Mars?"

"No, the correct answer is Lucifer. Rodrick, which measurement of length is said to have been defined by the Emperor Jate as the distance from his nose to his fingertip?"

"Would that be a goffle?" Rodrick guessed.

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

"Shoes," Hazel replied, shrugging.

"No, the correct answer is hats. Rodrick, in physics, who discovered the Fifteen Dash Ten Barric Fields?"

***

"Game Room Six, which one is it?" the Hunter demanded as they ran out of the lift on Four Oh Seven.

"Over here!" Lynda called.

***

"San Hazeldine," Rodrick stated.

"No, the correct answer is San Chen."

***

"Stand back, let me blast it open," Jack ordered.

The Hunter shook her head, pulling out her sonic screwdriver. "You can't. It's made of Hydra combination."

***

"Hazel, in history, which Icelandic city hosted Murder Spree Twenty?"

"Reykjavik?" Hazel guessed, her heart thumping.

"No, the correct is Pola Ventura." Hazel's heart sank.

"Oh my God! I've done it! You've lost!" Rodrick exclaimed.

***

"Come on, come on, come on," the Hunter muttered under her breath as she worked on the lock.

***

"But I'm not meant to be here!" Hazel protested, close to tears, fighting to keep it together. "I need to find the Hunter, she's got to be here somewhere, she's always here! She wouldn't just leave me!"

"Rodrick, you are the strongest link, you will be transported home with one thousand six hundred credits."

"Oh, thank you, thank you so much!" Rodrick was crying in relief.

"This game is illegal!" Hazel insisted. "I'm telling you to stop!"

The Hunter burst through the door. "Haze! Stop this game!"

"Hazel, you leave this life with nothing."

"Stop this game!" Jack shouted.

"I order you to stop this game!" the Hunter yelled.

"You are the weakest link."

"Look out for the Anne Droid, it's armed!" Hazel cried. She ran towards the Hunter and Jack, and the Anne Droid shot her, the beam disintegrating her instantly. The Hunter ran to where she'd been, kneeling next to the pile of dust.

"Back off!" Jack shouted as guards flooded in, keeping them away from the Hunter. "Don't you touch her! Leave her alone!"

A security guard took the Hunter's arm, trying to pull her away, while another dealt with Jack. "Sir, put down the gun or I'll have to shoot."

"You killed her!" Jack cried, his voice cracking. "Your stupid freaking game show killed her!"

"Ma'am, I'm arresting you under Private Legislation Sixteen of the Game Station Syndicate."

***

"Can you tell us the purpose of this device, ma'am?" A guard brandished the sonic screwdriver in front of the Hunter's emotionless face. "Can you tell us how you got on board?"

"Just leave her alone," Lynda scowled.

The guard glared at her. "I'm asking her. Ma'am? Can you tell us who you are?" He sighed, giving up. "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?"

As a second guard unlocked the cage to let his colleague out, the Hunter glanced at Jack and said the first words she'd spoken since Hazel's death. "Let's do it."

Immediately, Jack kicked out the legs of the guard, before the Hunter telekinetically smashing the other man's head into a wall, then threw them both in the cell and locked the door. Jack grabbed his Defabricator gun, the Hunter took her sonic screwdriver, and Lynda stole the guards' weapons.

They ran to the lift. "Floor 500," the Hunter ordered.

***

"Okay, move away from the desk!" Jack ordered as he left the lift first, aiming his Defabricator gun at the staff. "Nobody try anything clever. Everybody clear. Stand to the side and stay there."

The Hunter came out next, Lynda following her. "Who's in charge of this place?" the Hunter demanded, walking towards a woman who was hooked up to the computers, the Controller.

"Nineteen, eighteen..." the Controller counted.

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

"Seventy nine, eighty..."

"Who killed Hazel Norton?"

"All staff are reminded that solar flares -"

"I want an answer!"

"Occur in delta point one -"

"She can't reply," one man exclaimed, then cowered as the Hunter turned to him. "Don't shoot."

"Oh, don't be so thick," the Hunter rolled her eyes. She threw the gun she'd commandeered to him, then glanced at a computer, seeing guards getting into the lifts on some kind of CCTV. "Captain, we've got more guards on the way up. Secure the exits."

Jack nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

The Hunter pointed at the man who now held her gun. "You. What were you saying?"

"But I've got your gun," he stammered.

She narrowed her eyes. "Okay, so shoot me. Why can't she answer?"

"She's uh... Can I put this down?"

"If you want, just hurry up."

"Thanks. Sorry. The Controller is linked to the transmissions. The entire output goes through her brain," the man explained. "You're not a member of staff so she doesn't recognise your existence."

"What's her name?" the Hunter questioned.

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

"Door's sealed," Jack reported. "We should be safe for about ten minutes."

"Keep an eye on them," the Hunter called back, meeting his eyes for a second before looking away, swallowing.

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

"Show me," the Hunter ordered.

***

Jack tried to open another door, seeing if it was an exit. A woman tried to stop him. "You're not allowed in there. Archive Six is out of bounds."

"Lady, I am holding a gun and my sister is dead because of you," Jack glared. "You really wanna tell me what I can and can't do?" She backed off, and he opened the door, grinning a little when he saw the TARDIS. He went inside and activated the monitor. "What the hell?"

***

"Solar flare activity in delta point zero fifteen," the Controller stated.

"If you're not holding us hostage, then open the door and let us out," a woman pleaded. "The staff are terrified."

"That's the same staff who execute hundreds of contestants every day, yes?" the Hunter checked, not looking up from the computer she was looking at.

"Yes, but - That's not out faults! We're just doing our jobs."

The Hunter looked up to give her a cold glare. "And with that sentence you just lost the right to even talk to me. Now back off!" She looked round as the power cut out.

"That's just the solar flares," the man - who'd introduced himself as Pavale - assured her. "They interfere with the broadcast signal, so this place automatically powers down. Planet Earth gets a few repeats. It's all quite normal."

"Hunter," the Controller whispered.

"Hunter?" the woman asked.

The Hunter just barely kept herself from screaming at her. "Whatever it is, you can wait."

"I think she wants you," the woman said, ignoring the Time Lady's anger.

"Hunter? Hunter? Where's the Hunter?"

"I'm here," the Hunter stated, moving to look up at her.

"Can't see. I'm blind. So blind. All my life, blind. All I can see is numbers, but I saw you."

"What do you want?" the Hunter questioned.

"Solar flares hiding me," the Controller muttered. "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."

"My... my friend died inside your games," the Hunter said, narrowing her eyes.

"Doesn't matter."

The Hunter bristled. "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 Hunter asked.

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

"Who are they?"

"But they speak of you, my masters, they fear the Hunter."

"Tell me, who are they?" the Hunter demanded.

The power came back on. "Twenty one, twenty two," the Controller muttered.

"When's the next solar flare?" the Hunter asked.

"Two years time," Pavale stated quietly.

The Hunter swore. "Fat lot of good that is."

"Found the TARDIS," Jack announced, jogging out of Archive Six.

"We're not leaving now," the Hunter told him.

"No, but she worked it out," Jack grinned, moving to a nearby console. "You'll want to watch this. Lynda, could you stand over there for me please?"

"I just want to go home," Lynda mumbled.

"It'll only take a second," Jack promised, flashing that brilliant grin. "Could you stand in that spot, quick as you can. Everybody watching? Okay, three, two, one." He pressed a button. A beam came down, and Lynda vanished in a puff of smoke.

The Hunter blanched, staring at her friend in horror. "But you killed her!"

Jack grinned. "Oh, do you think?" Another button made another beam, and Lynda reappeared.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, looking dazed.

"It's a transmat beam," Jack replied, and the Hunter's eyes widened in hope. "Not a disintegrator, a secondary transmat system. People don't get killed in the games, they get transported across space. Queenie, Jules is still alive!" She hugged him, crying in relief, him laughing happily.

***

Hazel stirred, feeling the ground below her humming. Her eyes widened when she saw a very familiar enemy approaching her. "No, it can't be. You're dead. I saw you die!"

***

"She's out there somewhere," the Hunter whispered, grinning as she worked at a console, trying to figure out where she'd been taken to.

"Hunter," the Controller called, making the Time Lady look up. "Co-ordinates five point six point one -"

The Hunter quickly typed them in. "Don't! The solar flare's gone. They'll hear you."

"Point four three four. No, my masters, no! I defy you! Stigma seven seven -" She disappeared with a scream and a puff of smoke.

"They took her," the Hunter sighed, inputting the co-ordinates. They weren't done yet.

"Look, use that," Pavale said, offering them a disc. "It might contain the final numbers. I kept a log of all the unscheduled transmissions."

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

"I'm Davitch Pavale."

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

"Time and place, Jack," the Hunter admonished, but it was in much better spirits than it had been earlier.

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

"Going way back," the Hunter confirmed. "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 grinned as he found the co-ordinates. "Click on this. The transmat delivers to that point, right on the edge of the solar system." A hologram screen showed a blank bit of space.

"There's nothing there," the woman pointed out.

The Hunter shook her head. "It looks like nothing because that's what this satellite does. Underneath the transmission there's another signal."

"Doing what?" Pavale asked.

"Hiding whatever's out there," the Hunter replied. "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..." She typed at the computer, then looked up as she heard Jack's gasp.

He'd blanched at the sight of a familiar bronze saucer, the screen zooming out to show dozens more. "That's impossible. I know those ships. They were destroyed."

"Obviously they survived," the Hunter breathed, her own face paling in horror.

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

"Two hundred ships," the Hunter whispered. "More than two thousand on board each one. That's just about half a million of them."

"Half a million what?" Pavale demanded.

The Hunter grabbed Jack's hand, squeezing it tight. "Daleks."

***

"Alert. Alert. We are detected."

"It is the Hunter! She has located us. Open communications channel."

"The female will stand. Stand!" Hazel stumbled to her feet amongst the hundreds of Daleks, seeing a viewscreen pop up, showing the Hunter and Jack, and some other people she didn't know.

"I will talk to the Hunter," one Dalek stated, moving forwards.

"Oh, will you?" the Hunter rolled her eyes. "That's nice. Hello!" She waved sarcastically.

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

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

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

The Hunter snorted. "Yeah, no, I don't think so, love."

The Dalek shifted uneasily. "Explain yourself."

"I said, no."

"What is the meaning of this negative?" the Dalek demanded.

"Ooh, you skipped the queue for brains, didn't you? It means no, dumbass."

"But she will be destroyed," the Dalek threatened.

"Nope," the Hunter smiled sweetly. "Because this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to rescue her. I'm going to save Hazel Norton 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 bloody Dalek out of the sky!"

"But you have no weapons, no defences, no plan," the Dalek pointed out.

"Yeah," the Hunter agreed. "And doesn't that scare you to death. Haze?"

"Yes, Artie?" Hazel asked, grinning.

The Hunter flashed a quick, reassuring grin. "I'm coming to get you." She soniced the transmission, ending it.

"The Hunter is initiating hostile action."

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

"The Hunter will be exterminated!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!"

~~~

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