Inside, House, Parlor, Night...
There was now a slide projector set up as the Doctor and Lexi handed Alec the slides from the photographs they had taken
"What's wrong?" Emma enquired as she walked over to where Clara was looking at the photos pinned up on the board.
"Nothing really. It's just..." Clara sighed. "I kinda just saw something I wish I hadn't."
Emma tilted her head. "What did you see?"
"That... everything ends."
"No, not everything. Not love..." Emma shook her head before looking over at Alec. "Not always."
"Right! Done! That's it, gather round, gather round. Roll up! Roll up!" The Doctor spoke up as Jupiter and Lucas walked up beside him, Jupiter using her sonic on the projector. "The Ghast of Caliburn House - never changing, trapped in a moment of fear and torment. But, what if she's not?" He questioned. "What if she's just trapped somewhere time runs more slowly than it does here? What if a second to her was one-hundred thousand years to us? And what if somebody has a magic box - a blue box, probably - what if said somebody could take a snapshot of her, say, every few million years?" He asked as the slides showed his and Lexi's photos almost like stop-motion as they revealed a young woman.
"You see?" Lexi questioned, pointing at the woman. "She isn't a ghost at all. However, she is definitely a lost soul.
"Her name? Hila Tacorian." Jupiter added, pointing at the woman's face. "She's a pioneer. A time traveller. Well, at least she will be in a few hundred years."
"Time travel's not possible." Alec shook his head. "The paradoxes–"
"Resolve themselves, by and large." The Doctor said, cutting him off.
Lucas tilted his head as he gazed at the woman's photograph. "So... How long has she been alone?"
"Well, time travel's a funny old thing. I mean, from her perspective, she crash landed..." The Doctor trailed off. "approximately three minutes ago."
"Crash landed?" Emma glanced at him. "Where?"
"She's in a pocket universe... a distorted echo of our own - they happen sometimes but never last for long." The Doctor explained before blowing up two balloons. "Our universe." He stated, holding out the balloon in his right hand. "Hila Tacorian's here," He held out the balloon in his left hand. "in a pocket universe. Emma, you're a lantern, shining across the dimensions, guiding her home." He told her, bringing the two balloons together before deflating them. "Back to the land of the living."
"But what's she running from?" Clara questioned.
"Well, that's the best bit." Lexi grinned, spinning around to face her. "We don't know yet."
The Doctor smiled. "Shall we see?" He then used his sonic to change the slide, Lucas uncrossing his arms as Emma's smile vanished while Alec peered over his glasses
Jupiter walked up in between her parents, the three of them looking stunned as they gaze at the slide, Clara's facial expression being much the same as theirs.
On the slide was some weird looking, distorted sort of creature.
"Okay..." Lucas started. "What the hell is that?"
"I... don't know." The Doctor replied softly before clapping his hands together. "Still, not to worry!"
"So, what do we do?" Emma asked him.
"Not 'we', you..." The Doctor corrected, going to Emma. "you save Hila Tacorian because you're Emma Grayling."
"And you, Miss Grayling," Jupiter began, giving the woman a kind smile. "are the lantern. And I'm afraid that the rest of us are just along for the ride."
"Now," The Doctor clapped his hands together again. "we need some sturdy rope and a blue crystal from Metebelis Three. Plus, some Kendal Mint Cake."
"What do we need that last one for?" Lexi questioned as she and Clara followed after the Doctor, Jupiter and Lucas following behind them.
Inside, House, Front hall...
"Hang on." Jupiter whispered, quickly going and grabbing hold of the door the Doctor, Lexi and Clara has just walked through. Jupiter held up a hand to stop Lucas before putting a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet and listen.
"Don't do it." They suddenly heard Alec's voice from where he and Emma were in the parlor.
"I'm sorry?" Emma voice asked, confused.
Lucas smiled slightly, looking at Jupiter as they listened.
"Nobody asked her to risk her life. This woman. She doesn't deserve... Whoever she is - however brilliant, however brave, she's not you." Alec told Emma. "She's not worth risking a single hair on your head. Not to me!"
"Tell me what I'm thinking." She told him softly.
"I can't." He sighed. "I don't have your gift."
"You don't need it... just look at me and tell me." There was a few moment's pause before she spoke again. "There you are, you read my mind."
Jupiter smiled, shaking her head before opening the door wider and motioning for Lucas to quietly follow her out so they could go join everyone else in the TARDIS.
Inside, TARDIS, Console room...
"Can't you just... y'know?" Clara asked as she and Lexi stood up on the console level as the Doctor worked underneath.
"What?" The Doctor called up to them just as Jupiter and Lucas entered the TARDIS.
"Fly the TARDIS into the parallel universe?" She clarified, pushing off from where she and Lexi leaned against the console before going over to look over the side.
"Ah, it's not a parallel universe. It's a POCKET universe." The Doctor corrected. "Plus, it is collapsing." He stated, putting a crystal in his pocket before walking over and popping his head of from the underneath level to look at her and everyone else. "I mean, the TARDIS could get in there alright, but entropy would bleed her power sources, you see? Or in other words, she would be trapped there until the entire universe decayed back into the quantum foam. Which would take about three minutes, give or take, you know."
Inside, House, Music room...
Wires were now going from the door through to the music room. They were hooked to a tripod, the top of it holding the large crystal-like object the Doctor had slipped into his pocket from the TARDIS.
"What is that?" Lucas questioned, pointing at it.
"A subset of the Eye of Harmony."
"I don't..."
"Of course you don't. Be weird if you did, I barely do myself." The Doctor told him quickly before looking too Emma. "Right, you, sit down." He told her before Lexi gently put a wire 'crown' over Emma's head, in the middle of which was a blue crystal. "This is all the way from Metebelis Three."
Around the perimeter of the room were a variety of clocks that were resting either on boxes or piles of books on chairs.
"What does it do?" Emma questioned, referring to the object Lexi had just placed on her head.
"It amplifies your natural abilities, like a microphone." Jupiter answered as she scanned the clocks with her sonic, the clocks then starting to tick.
"What exactly is this arrangement?" Alec asked.
"A psychochronograph." The Doctor replied just as Lexi and Clara began to help him and Jupiter into harnesses.
"I don't like this." Lexi whispered as she helped Jupiter adjust her harness.
"Well, either you or Dad needs to stay here." Jupiter stated, adjusting the straps on her shoulders. "And since he wants to go, at least one person needs to go with him. There really isn't another option, Mum."
"Still." Lexi shrugged. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Forgive me," Alec said, getting everyone's attention. "but isn't it all a bit, well... make-do and mend?"
"Non-psychic technology won't work where Jupiter and I are going." The Doctor answered as Clara helped fasten his harness, Lexi tying a rope on Jupiter's before connecting it to his so they wouldn't get separated. "All we need to do is dive into another dimension, find the traveller, help her escape the monster, get home before the entire dimension collapses and Bob's your uncle."
"See?" Jupiter rolled her eyes. "Simple."
"Will it hurt?" Emma asked, a bit concerned as to what the repercussions were going to be.
"No." The Doctor shook his head. "Well, yes. Probably. A bit. Well, quite a lot. I don't know. It might be agony. To be perfectly honest, I'll be interested to find out."
"That's great reassurance, Dad." Jupiter sighed, tightening her harness as the clocks continued ticking.
Emma glanced over at Alec, said man nodding at her before she looked back at the Doctor and Jupiter and took a few deep breaths.
Emma closed her eyes. "I'm talking to the lost soul that abides in this place. I'm speaking to Hila Tacorian."
The Doctor and Jupiter slowly picked up the ends of the ropes on the winches as some clocks began to go backwards while others sped forwards.
Emma breathed deeply before opening her eyes and looking straight ahead. There was an electronic whizzing just before she gasped as the spinning back dish reappeared on the other side of the room just before the glass shattered and a bright light appeared as well as a high wind.
"See?" The Doctor questioned, turning to look at Alec, Clara, Lexi and Lucas. "The Witch of the Well! It's a wormhole!" He and Jupiter then hooked ropes to their harnesses.
"A reality well!" Jupiter agreed. "A door to the echo universe!" She then looked to Emma. "Ready?!"
"READY!" She nodded.
The Doctor and Jupiter then turned back around, both of them sharing a look before looking at the wormhole.
The Doctor cracked his neck, shrugging as he and Jupiter got into a running stance.
"Geronimo!" He yelled before he and Jupiter ran and jumped through the wormhole, Lexi, Lucas, Clara, Emma and Alec not being able to do anything but watch.
Inside, Wormhole...
"Ahhh!" Jupiter screamed as she and the Doctor clung to the ropes as they traveled/fell through the wormhole.
Inside, House, Music room...
The winches spun as the ropes were pulled.
"Doctor! Jupiter!" Lexi shouted, Lucas attempting to hold her back.
Outside, Woods, Pocket universe...
"Whoa!" The Doctor exclaimed as he and Jupiter landed, the two of them unbuckling their harnesses and taking them off before letting them drop to the ground.
The duo then ran off to look for Hila, the both of them skidding to a stop at the literal edge of the universe.
It looked like a giant floating island in a sea of stars as the wind howled around.
"Hila! Hila!" Jupiter shouted as she and the Doctor ran back into the woods. "Hila Tacorian!"
The two of them came to a sudden stop, just then being aware that something else was there with them. There was then a whooshing sound, the Doctor taking a couple of small steps as he and Jupiter heard a scampering sound.
Jupiter walked slowly to come stand next to the Doctor, looking about as she and the Doctor tried to find the source of the scampering sound.
"One... two..." The Doctor whispered, closing his eyes. "...three!"
"Help me! Help!" Someone shouted, making the Doctor and Jupiter turn quickly and almost run into the woman who was presumed to be Hila as she ran out of the fog.
"Ah, you're Hila Tacorian, I presume." Jupiter greeted, grabbing her hand before they and the Doctor started to run again.
"Who are you?" Hila asked, confused as they ran through the woods.
"Collapsing universe. You and me, Jupiter, dead, two minutes." The Doctor said as he ran past her and Jupiter. "No time, complete sentences - abandon planet!"
"But, wait!" Hila told them. "There's something in the mist."
"Then run! Run!" Jupiter tugged her along, running to catch up with the Doctor.
Inside, House, Music room...
Lexi bit her lip nervously as she and everyone else watched the wormhole.
Outside, Woods, Pocket universe...
"Doctor! Jupiter! Come home!" Emma's voice shouted from off in the distance as the Doctor, Jupiter and Hila continued to run. "Doctor, Jupiter, come home!"
"Not that way." The Doctor said, before turning back and keeping running. "Which means... probably..."
"What's wrong?" Hila asked as she and Jupiter ran after him.
"You know that exit we mentioned?" The Doctor called back to her.
"Yes?"
"We seem to have misplaced it."
The three of them then came to a stop as they heard scampering sounds. They all backed up against each other and turned, frightened.
"Doctor! Jupiter!" Emma's voice called out again from off in the distance.
Jupiter glanced in the direction from which Emma's voice came. "That way!"
Inside, House, Music room...
Emma reached a hand out towards the wormhole. "Doctor, Jupiter... come home!"
Outside, Woods, Pocket universe...
"Doctor, Jupiter, we're here!" Emma's voice shouted just as something started to appear in the mist ahead of them.
"Whoa!" The Doctor held up a hand, him, Jupiter and Hila stopping to see that Caliburn House was now in front of them.
"What's that?" Hila asked.
"An echo house, in an echo universe." Jupiter stated, not being able to stop the smile from spreading across her face. "Clever psychic. That is absolutely brilliant."
The Doctor couldn't help but smile before he, Jupiter and Hila all ran for the house. None of them noticing, that as they got closer to the house, the creature was following them.
Inside, House, Front hall, Pocket universe...
The Doctor, Jupiter and Hila entered the house, slamming the doors shut behind them before the Doctor locked them.
Growling and snarling then came from the other side, making Jupiter put her ear up against the to listen. "It's looking for a way in..."
Suddenly, the beast rammed the door on the other side, causing Jupiter to jump back before she, the Doctor and Hila ran for the music room.
Inside, House, Music room...
"I'm not strong enough!" Emma cried as she tried to keep the wormhole open.
"Just a few more seconds!" Clara shouted, Emma screaming as Lexi and Lucas looked on nervously.
Inside, House, Statuary hall, Pocket universe...
"Grab the rope, give it three tugs!" The Doctor told Hila as he helped Jupiter fasten her harness back on. "Quick as you like!"
"What about you?" Hila asked him as she put on the other harness.
"I'll be next."
"You sure?" Jupiter asked as she and Hila got ready to tug the ropes as directed.
"Yes, now go!" The Doctor insisted as he took off his bow tie.
Inside, House, Music room...
Everyone saw the ropes on the winches move, Alec and Lucas quickly going to crank the ropes as Lexi and Clara kept their eyes on the wormhole.
Alec and Lucas continued to work the winches just before Hila and Jupiter fell into the room with a cry.
Inside, House, Statuary hall, Pocket universe...
The Doctor turned from having used his bow tie to fasten the door closed before heading for the wormhole, stopping when he heard a familiar thudding as the creature banged against the door.
"Ah. That's what that noise was... Lovely." He said before continuing towards the portal.
Inside, House, Music room...
With a gasp, Emma fell from the chair and to her knees, Alec quickly running over to her as the portal began to disappear.
"No!" Lexi shouted as Alec cradled Emma in his arms just before the portal completely disappeared.
Inside, House, Statuary hall, Pocket universe...
Eyes wide at having just watched the portal disappear, the Doctor turned around slowly, knowing the creature was on the other side of the door.
The Doctor took one step...
Outside, Woods, Pocket universe...
...and found himself alone in the woods.
The house was gone.
The Doctor then heard the whooshing of the creature again and looked around nervously before kneeling down and carefully picking up his bow tie without taking his eyes off the trees.
"Oh, dear." He said quietly as he slowly stood back up. "Oh... dear." He then heard the whooshing and looked around again. "Where are you?"
The Doctor then heard the noise of the creature again before dashing in the opposite direction.
Inside, House, Music room...
"Wake up!" Clara exclaimed, rushing over to Emma and Alec as Lexi stood, frozen as she stared at the place where the portal once was. "WAKE UP!" Clara shouted, kneeling beside Emma. "Open the thing!"
"I'm sorry." Emma sobbed into Alec's chest.
"Don't be sorry." Alec told her, stroking her hair. "Don't be. What you did–"
"Wasn't enough." Clara cut him off. "She needs to do it again."
"She can't. Look at her!"
"She HAS to!" Clara stared at Alec, who in turn looked at a tired Emma, no one doing anything.
"Okay." Lexi finally spoke up, turning around to face everyone. "Emma, I know it had to have hurt, but you are the only one who can open that portal." She stated as she walked past Lucas, Jupiter and Hila as she went over to kneel in front of Emma. "We can't leave the Doctor in that universe. It is going to collapse. So, I'm going to need you to try very hard to get that portal back open." She said before standing back up.
"You have an idea don't you?" Clara asked, getting to her feet again.
"Yep." Lexi nodded.
"Well, come on then!" Clara exclaimed, grabbing Lexi's hand before running from the room; Lucas and Jupiter sharing a look before following after them.
Alec watched them leave before turning his head back and holding Emma's head between his hands. "I know you feel that you can't do this, Emma, but... look at that woman over there." He nodded over at Hila. "You saved her. She's only here because of your strength... and so am I."
