Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Doctor Who
"She stays in her room most of the time" said Tish as Rose and Harry sat down on her sofa, the Doctor flinging his coat next to her. "I try talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."
"What about Chloe's dad?" Rose asked.
"Chloe's dad died a year ago."
"I'm sorry."
"You wouldn't be if you'd known him" Tish scoffed.
"Well, let's go and say hi" the Doctor said cheerfully.
"I should check on her first. She might be asleep." Tish said hesitantly.
"Why are you afraid of her, Tish?" the Doctor asked softly.
"I want you to know before you see her that's she's really a great kid."
"I'm sure she is."
"She's never been in trouble at school" Tish insisted. "You should see her report from last year. A's and B's." she smiled proudly at Rose, who easily returned it, having the same pride in Harry despite how much trouble he could get into.
"Can I use your loo?" asked Harry, rubbing his legs together for emphasis. Tish nodded and Harry ran out of the room, as Tish continued to try and convince the Doctor and Rose that her daughter was a wonderful girl.
Abandoning the pretext of needing the bathroom, Harry was free to explore the house. His first stop being Chloe's room. Creeping up the stairs and down the hall, he quickly darted into a hall closet when Chloe stepped out of her room. Waiting until she passed, Harry quietly snuck into her room and was shocked by what he found.
All around the room, various drawings of the children that had gone missing…and the cat. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, Harry begins taking readings of the room and is shocked by the huge amounts of ionic energy present.
Ok Harry think. Chloe's room is the center of a ton of ionic energy. Problem is no normal human should be able to channel that kind of power without some form of technology. Maybe she's a 'magical' like me. Nah, dad said this was pulling people out of space time no witch or wizard has that kind of power. Maybe…
Harry was quickly pulled from his thoughts as a loud banging came from inside Chloe's wardrobe, a red light spilling through the cracks and a muffled rough sounding voice. Taking a few small steps closer Harry could just make out what the voice was saying.
"I'm coming. I'm coming to hurt you" the voice threatened. Swallowing his fear, Harry opened the doors and bathed in red light as a powerful wind shook the room. Looking past the hanging clothes the little Time Lord hybrid could make out the image of a bearded man on the back wall, his face twisted in rage.
"Mum Dad!" Harry cried in fear. The Doctor came barreling into the room, slamming the wardrobe shut as Rose pulled their son to safety.
"Harry are you alright?" Rose asked, to which Harry nodded slightly as he started to calm down.
"What the hell was that?" Tish demanded, shocked by the display.
"It was a drawing" Harry said shakily. "It was this really mean looking man."
"What face?" Tish asked, going for the doors but Rose stood in her way.
"Best not" she said, knowing that Harry wasn't the kind to frighten that easily.
"What've you been drawing?" Tish asked her daughter.
"I drew him yesterday" Chloe replied.
"Who?"
"Dad."
"Your dad? But he's long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world, why him?"
"I dream about him, staring at me."
"I thought we were putting him behind us" Trish moaned. "What's the matter with you?"
"We need to stay together" said Chloe.
"Yes, we do."
"No, not you." Chloe said harshly, making the Doctor glance critically at the girl. "Us. We need to stay together. And it'll be alright."
Trish stepped over to her daughter, putting her hand on the girl's cheek. Rose and the Doctor shared a look as Chloe flinched away from her mother's touch.
"There's something really weird about Chloe's drawings" said Harry.
"Who gave you permission to come into her room?" Trish asked coldly, her arms around her daughter's shoulders.
"Tell us about the drawings, Chloe" the Doctor urged quietly, taking the room's focus off Harry before Rose and Trish could get into an argument.
"I don't want to hear any more of this."
"But that drawing of her dad, it spoke" said Harry.
"He's dead" Trish argued. "And these….they're just kids' pictures. Now get out!"
"Chloe has a power" said Rose. "And I don't know how, but she used it to take Danny Edwards, Dale Hicks. She's using it to snatch the kids."
Rose understood that it isn't always easy raising a child with powers. But the important thing was to focus on the child you loved with all your heart, and right now she needed Trish to do that for Chloe and get over her fear of this strange power. Unfortunately Trish was determined to ignore it and demanded that they leave.
"The drawings move!" Harry argued, pointing to the clearly frightened expressions on the drawing's faces. "They're trapped and scared."
"I haven't seen anything" Trish denied.
"Yes, you have, out of the corner of your eye" said the Doctor. "And you dismissed it, because what choice do you have when you see something you can't possibly explain? You dismiss it, right? And if anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever again."
"She's a child."
"You're terrified of her. But there's nowhere to turn to, because who's going to believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except us."
"Who are you?" Trish asked, glancing between the three family members.
"We're help" Rose said softly, laying an understanding hand on the woman's shoulder.
Moving to the kitchen, Harry ran over to the counter and swiped a jar of marmalade. He was about to stick his finger in when his head popped up, as Rose cleared her throat, giving her son a warning look. Mouthing the word sorry, the little Time Lord quickly returned the jar lest he face his mother's wrath. Anticipating his actions, Rose turned and gave the Doctor the same warning look, honestly sometimes Rose felt she was looking after two children.
"So, I checked the room and it's the center of a lot of ionic energy." Harry reported.
"Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kid of holding pen made up of ionic power" said the Doctor.
"What about the dad from hell in her wardrobe?" Rose asked.
"How many times do I have to tell you he's dead" Trish snapped.
"Well, he's got a very loud voice for a dead bloke" Harry remarked, causing the Doctor shoot Rose a look. They both knew that was a very Rose like comment.
"If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings can become living things. Chloe's real dad is dead, but not the one who visits her in her nightmares" the Doctor said thoughtfully. "That dad seems very real. That's the dad she's drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world."
"She always got the worst of it when he was alive." Trish said sadly.
"Doctor, how can a twelve year old girl be doing any of this?" asked Rose.
"Let's find out."
Returning to Chloe's room, they found the girl sitting cross-legged on her bed. Noticing their presence, Chloe gave the Doctor the Vulcan salute.
"Nice one" the Time Lord commented. Kneeling in front of the girl, the Doctor gently held Chloe's head in his hands, his fingers on her temples. Using his telepathic abilities, Chloe's eyes rolled to the back of her head, as they closed and she slipped into unconsciousness.
"There we go" the Doctor said quietly, gently laying Chloe down on her bed before standing back up. "Now we can talk."
"I want Chloe" the girl said in a raspy whisper. "Wake her up. I want Chloe."
"Who are you?"
"I want Chloe Webber!" she said again, banging her fists on the mattress.
"What've you done to my little girl?" Trish asked tearfully as Rose, Harry, and the Doctor moved closer to the bed, surrounding it on three sides.
"I'm speaking to you" the Doctor said in a strong voice. "The entity that is using this human child. I request parley in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation."
"I don't care about shadows or parleys" the being inside Chloe whispered.
"So what do you care about?"
"I want my friends."
"You're lonely, I know. Identify yourself."
"I am one of many. I travel with my brothers and sisters. We take an endless journey. A thousand of your lifetimes. But now I am alone. I hate it. It's not fair, and I hate it."
"Name yourself!" the Doctor commanded as the girl's eyes shot open.
"Isolus."
"You're Isolus" the Doctor said slowly in realization. "Of course."
"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family" said the Isolus,as she began to draw on one of the nearby papers.
"What's that?" asked Harry, as the drawing began to take shape.
"The Isolus Mother, drifting in deep space. See, she jettisons millions of fledgling spores. Her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotions, but when they're cast off from their mother, their empathic link, their need for each other, is what sustains them. They need to be together. They cannot be alone" the Doctor explained. "The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod. They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. It takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up."
"Thousands of years just floating through space" said Rose, stroking Chloe's hair. "Poor things. Don't they go mad with boredom?"
"We play" the Isolus replied.
"You play?"
"While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make believe worlds in which to play" the Doctor explained.
"Inflight entertainment" Rose commented.
"Helps keep them happy. While they're happy, they can feed off each other's love. Without it, they're lost. Why did you come to Earth?" he asked the Isolus.
"We were to close" she said, as she started a new drawing.
"I think that's a solar flare" said Harry, looking at the girl's newest creation. "The wave of solar energy must've scattered the pods."
"Only I fell to Earth. My brothers and sisters are left up there, and I cannot reach them. So alone."
"Your pod crashed. Where is it?" But the Isolus ignored Harry's question as she continued with her story.
"My pod was drawn to heat, and I was drawn to Chloe Webber. She was like me, alone. She needed me, and I her."
"You empathized with her" said the Doctor. "You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you."
"I want my family. It's not fair!" the Isolus cried, banging her fist in frustration.
"I know" the Doctor said soothingly, giving Harry and Rose a significant look. "You want to make a family. But you can't stay in this child. It's wrong. You can't steal any more friends for yourself."
"I am alone" she said as if it justified everything. Suddenly there was a loud thumping from the wardrobe. Trish gasped as a familiar voice roared from inside.
"I'm coming to hurt you" said the voice of Chloe's dad. The little girl's face stayed blank, but her body started to shake and tremble as Chloe was trapped in her nightmares. Rose did her best to try and comfort the girl, but to no avail. The violent banging inside the wardrobe continued to grow louder and louder as the voice continued to threaten the frightened girl.
"Trish, how do you calm her?" the Doctor asked urgently.
"What?"
"When she has nightmares, what do you do?"
"I….I" Trish stammered.
"What do you do?" he asked again, adding another layer of urgency to his voice.
"I sing to her" she said finally.
"Then start singing." Sitting down at her daughter's side, Trish began to sing the Kookaburra song for Chloe, stroking her hair as she tried to soothe her. Finally the violent banging and threats came to an end as Chloe turned on her side, sleeping peacefully for now.
"It came to her because she was lonely" said Trish, crying at the state of her daughter. "Chloe, I'm sorry."
"Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper when he'd had a drink" said Trish, as she collected all of the pencils in the house. "The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free. I thought it was over."
"Did you talk to her about it?" asked Rose.
"I didn't want to."
"But maybe that's why Chloe feels so alone." Rose said gently, remembering those nights when she'd stay up with Harry after a nightmare. "Because she has all these terrible dreams about her dad, but she can't talk to you about them."
"Her and the Isolus" the Doctor said thoughtfully. "Two lonely kids who need each other."
"And it won't stop, will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in."
"It's desperate to be loved. It's used to a pretty big family."
"How big?" asked Harry.
"Say around…four billion?" the Doctor replied. Grabbing his coat, the Time Lord told Trish they'd be back as Rose and Harry followed him out the door.
Returning to the TARDIS, the Doctor got to work on building a device to locate the Isolus pod.
"You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you. How?" asked Rose, watching as the Doctor allowed Harry to help him build the strange gizmo in his hands.
"I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own" said the Doctor. "Harry, hand me the styner-magnetic" he instructed, giving his son a grateful smile as he accepted the component. "I can sympathize."
"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people."
"It's a child. That's why it went to Chloe. Two lonely mixed up kids."
"I understand that Doctor but this feels like a temper tantrum because it can't get its own way."
"It's scared. Come on, you were a kid once."
"Yes, and I know if this was Harry acting like this, I wouldn't hesitate to put him over my knee." Rose counted, motherhood had taught her that kids just can't have everything they want.
Harry grimaced as he remembered how sore he was after he disobeyed Rose and tried to make his grandmother's toaster sonic. Unfortunately the modifications didn't work out and nearly set the kitchen on fire. It was hours before he could sit again after that.
"I think we're there" said the Doctor, checking over the now completed device in his hands. "Fear, loneliness. They're the big ones, Rose. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to conquer or destroy. There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refractors. You know the thing you need most of all? You need a hand to hold."
The Doctor smiled as he took hold of Rose's outstretched hand.
"No, look I'm pointing" Rose corrected, though she did enjoy the feel of the Time Lord's hand in her own. Checking where she was pointing, the Doctor saw that the scanner had located the Isolus pod.
"It's the pod! It is in the street. Everything's coming up Doctor." Rose and Harry shared a look as they laughed at the corny display of the Doctor's sense of humor.
"So what does the pod look like Dad?" asked Harry, as they stepped out of the TARDIS.
"It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gull's egg. Very light" the Doctor replied.
"So these pods they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah?" Rose asked. "So it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need heat?" The sudden sound of the tracking device falling to the ground causes Rose to turn around, thinking that the Doctor and Harry were just messing around. But to her horror she finds that the Doctor, Harry, and the TARDIS have vanished, leaving behind the distinct smell of metal.
"Doctor….Harry. Doctor! Harry!" Rose cries in desperation. But she already knows the truth they'd been taken by the Isolus.
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