Flashback
Tyra was hanging out with the Doctor and Rose in the console room, talking about where to go next when her phone started ringing. She glanced down at the display in surprise and answered "Hello?"
"Tyra," a hysterical voice came through the speaker of the phone "Please, you have to help us. They're coming to kill us."
The Original shot up from when she was sitting on the railing "James, James, calm down and tell me what's going on. Who is coming?" James was part of the London Alpha Coven and one of her friends. The vampire didn't see him as often as she wanted since she didn't really spend too much time in England anymore but whenever she did, Tyra visited him at least once.
"Vampires. Vampires are coming after us. I don't know what we did but they started hunting us down," James explained, slightly less hysterically.
"Okay," Tyra murmured, running a hand through her hair "Where are you now?"
James let out a shaky breath "Safe for now. They can't enter the house."
"Good. That's good… Can you tell me what date it is? Don't ask, just tell me," she asked him, looking at the Doctor. Her hand went over the speaker part of the phone "I need to go to London immediately. As close to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford as you can get me. Linear time."
The Doctor nodded seriously and set the Tardis into motion "Sure."
"James? I'll be there as soon as I can. Stay inside until I come. Don't open the door, don't do anything until I'm there. Do you understand?" the Original demanded.
"Y – Yeah. But Tyra… Our kids are still in school. They're going to come here soon."
She cursed loudly "Call the school. Tell them to keep the kids. Am I still an emergency contact? I'll pick them up and take them to my house."
"Thank you," the warlock breathed in relief, commanding someone to call the schools of their children "I'll text you the addresses. I'm sorry for troubling you."
"Not at all," the vampire waved off, holding onto the railing she had been sitting on previously "I told you that I would take care of all of you. After all, you're one of mine." When the Tardis stopped shaking, Tyra sighed "I'm coming, alright? Just hang tight." she hung up the phone, sliding it back into her pocket with a long sigh.
The Doctor looked over at the girl "Everything alright?"
"I'm not sure," she mumbled "Some… acquaintances need my help with… You heard."
"Do you want us to come with you?" he asked.
Tyra shook her head "No. They don't trust outsiders much. Sorry… I'll call you when I'm done, alright?"
The Time Lord walked over, placing his hands on the vampire's shoulders "Be careful."
"Don't worry about me," Tyra smiled.
Rose made a noise at the back of her throat, her disgust rising. Really, why did Tyra think that she was so much better than her? Rose would make a better vampire than the other girl ever could. She wouldn't be a murderer for one "So what are you going to do? Kill them all?"
Tyra looked over at the blonde and glared in annoyance "Don't talk about things you don't understand, Rose. They are after people under my protection."
The Doctor looked hesitant before nudging the Original towards the door "Go on, then. Don't forget to call."
"I won't. Thanks for this… I don't know…"
"I expect a story out of this one," the Time Lord pointed at her with a small grin. He might not be happy about what might happen but he understood where she was coming from "Go and help your acquaintances."
End Flashback
"You promised me a story," the Doctor spoke up, coming up behind Tyra.
Tyra dropped her head over the edge of her bed and groaned "Now?"
"Yup," the Doctor nodded, throwing himself onto the bed next to her "No time like the present."
"Says the time traveller," Tyra snorted.
The Doctor poked her in the side "Come on. Please?"
"Stop looking at me like that," Tyra mumbled, shoving a pillow in his pouting face "Fine. What do you want to know?"
"What happened? Who was the man who called you?" the Doctor frowned.
Tyra rolled to the side to look at him "Why? You jealous?"
"You wish," the Doctor grumbled a little too fast "No. I just want to know what happened."
"Some friends of mine," Tyra started "They are the London Alpha Coven. When Kol and I created the Coven, we promised them that we would take care of them and theirs. They are under our protection and since Kol isn't here, I have to be the one to protect them. A group of vampires thought it was a good idea to threaten them. I took care of it."
The Doctor hummed "So you protect them because you helped create the Coven?"
"Yeah," Tyra nodded "Back when we first started the Coven… It is a sanctuary. Not many people know exactly who they are but they take in the members of other Covens who were thrown out or never had a Coven, to begin with."
"You created a Coven to take care of the outcasts?"
Tyra nodded "Yeah. Kol and I – we were always close to witches and we learned a lot about magic over the centuries. Why not share it with people who appreciate our efforts?"
The Doctor smiled "See, you say that you're not a good person and then you turn around and do something like this."
"We know how it is to feel like outcasts," Tyra shrugged and looked down at her lap "Anyway, enough of that. I went to see Jackie too. Met a guy named Elton…"
"Yeah?" the Doctor asked "What did you think of him?"
Tyra paused for a moment, unsure of what to say "I have no idea. He's… different, that's for sure."
"Him and LINDA," the Doctor grinned "They've been around for a bit. I think I heard of a LINDA in my earlier regenerations… I was so embarrassed back then. Funny how people change."
"Well, they were your biggest fans," Tyra coughed in amusement "You have that kind of aura that just draws in the crazies."
The Doctor grimaced, rolling over to trap Tyra on the bed, a grin stealing its way across his face "Does that make you one of the crazies too?"
"Hm. I thought you already knew that I was crazy," Tyra breathed, staring into the Doctor's eyes. She swallowed before rolling them around, shifting to sit next to him with her legs crossed.
The Doctor, still sprawled out on his bed glanced up, a little disappointed. He had seen the look in her eyes and he couldn't stop the hope that blossomed in his chest "You said it."
"Doesn't mean that you have to agree," Tyra huffed before shaking her head "So… Where are we going next? Any idea?"
"I was thinking we could go to the London Olympics," the Doctor offered "Or maybe we could finally go to Barcelona."
Tyra tilted her head "I'd say Olympics. What year are they?"
"2012," the Doctor replied.
"Hm. Well, I'm not much into sports but we can still go to Barcelona some other time," Tyra shrugged "We have waited this long."
The Doctor hummed and rolled himself to his feet "Olympics it is. Let's get Rose and get going."
The three of them were gathered in the console room, Rose and Tyra watching the Doctor fly the Tardis. As soon as she materialised, the Doctor grinned at the girls, running to the door. He froze in the doorway and grimaced "Ah." Over his shoulder, Tyra could see the wall of a container blocking the way out.
"Messed up the landing?" Tyra teased, smirking as the Doctor trudged back to the console, pressing a few switches.
"It's not my fault," the Doctor huffed, throwing a small glare at the console. He opened the door again and stepped out "Better."
Rose followed him, shaking her head in exasperation. She checked out the posters on the container and raised an eyebrow "So, near future, yeah?"
The Doctor blinked "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you. Thirtieth Olympiad."
"No way," Rose laughed "Why didn't I think of that? That's great."
"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about," the Doctor shook his head in remembrance "Wrestling each other in the sand with the crowds stood around baying. No, wait a minute, that was Club Med. Just in time for the opening doo dah, ceremony tonight. I thought the two of you would like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948."
"Hm," Tyra mumbled "I think I was still in Africa back then."
The Doctor looked around "I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch. Lovely chap, what was his name?" Tyra's attention was drawn to a man who was putting up missing posters a few feet away. Rose noticed him too and walked over "Mark? John? Mark? Legs like pipe cleaners but strong as a whippet."
"Doctor," Rose called out, causing Tyra to join her quickly.
Tyra blinked at the posters on the wall "This is… Not totally unexpected. Why does this always happen to us?"
"I have no idea," Rose mumbled before turning back to the still rambling Doctor "Doctor."
"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top?" the Doctor questioned.
Tyra snorted "Doc, I think you should come and take a look at this."
"Do you know those things, Ty?" the Doctor asked, strolling over to them "Nobody else in the entire galaxy has ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius." He glanced over Tyra's shoulder at the two missing posters "What's taking them, do you think? Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold? Is someone reducing the temperature?"
Rose looked over her shoulder at him "It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?"
"Maybe it's not a person," Tyra offered with a shrug.
Rose crossed her arms "Well, whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death." Before she even finished, the Doctor ran up the street to investigate the front lawn of a house "Doctor, what…?"
As the two girls walked over, a car stopped in the middle of the road, the engine giving out. One of the road menders went over "There you go," he mumbled, looking at the driver "Fifth today. Not natural, is it?"
"I don't know what happened," the driver frowned in confusion "I had it serviced less than a month ago."
The road mender shook his head "Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. All the cars are doing it. And do you know what? It's bonkers," he exclaimed "Bonkers. Come on then, pal. I'll help you shift it. Quicker you're on the way, happier you'll be." The two men started pushing at the car, making very little progress.
"Do you want a hand?" Rose offered.
"No, we're alright, love," the worker shook his head, obviously struggling.
Rose raised her eyebrow "You're not. I'm tougher than I look, honest." She joined them in pushing the car before glancing over at Tyra. She had been watching with an amused look, her arms crossed "A little help?"
"I thought you were tougher than you look, Rose," Tyra mocked, watching them make slow to no progress.
"Don't be a bitch, Tyra," Rose grunted. She tilted her head and went to help somewhat reluctantly when the engine suddenly burst into life.
The worker fell over as the driver quickly got back into his car "Cheers, mate."
Tyra held out her hand, pulling the worker back to his feet easily as Rose looked at him "Does this happen a lot?"
"Been doing that all week," the man huffed.
Rose blinked "Since those children started going missing?"
Tyra looked over to where the Doctor was and saw a man standing over the Doctor, glaring angrily "Oh dear…." she mumbled under her breath, hurrying over in time to hear the Doctor's reply.
"Quite good at squash. Reasonable," he shrugged "I'm being facetious, aren't I? There's no call for it." The Doctor got up, slowly stumbling back towards the street "I'm – I'm a police officer. That's what I am. I've got a badge and a police car." Tyra coughed in amusement, earning herself a look from both the angry man as well as the Doctor "You don't have to get… I can – I can prove it. Just hold on."
"We've had plenty of coppers poking around in here," the man – one of the children's parents hissed. He had been the one to put up the posters earlier "And you don't look like any of them."
Tyra tilted my head "Are you stereotyping the police force?"
The Doctor threw his arm around Tyra's shoulders and gestured to Rose "See, look? I've got colleagues."
"They look less like a copper than you do," the man snorted before glancing at Tyra "And too young as well."
"Training," the Doctor cut in before Tyra could open her mouth to protest. She knew that depending on what she was wearing and her hairstyle, she could look anything between sixteen and twenty-one. At least, it was better than to be mistaken as a child every single time "New recruits. It was either that or hairdressing, so… Voila." The Doctor brandished his psychic paper in front of the man, still backing away towards Rose.
Several people had come out of their houses now, joining in the crowd around them "What are you going to do?" a dark-skinned woman questioned suspiciously.
"The police have knocked on every door," an older woman cut in "No clues, no leads, nothing."
"Look," the man who had put the posters up sighed "Kids run off sometimes, alright? That's what they do."
The old woman stepped forward "Saw it with me own eyes. Dale Hicks in your garden, playing with your Tommy and then pfft. Right in front of me, like he was never there. There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us."
"Why don't we…"
The Doctor was cut off by one of the other women "Why don't we start with him?" she sneered, jabbing her finger at the council worker "There's been all sorts like him in this street. Day and night."
"Fixing things up for the Olympics," he defended himself.
Tom's father crossed his arms "Yeah and taking an awful long time about it."
"I'm of the opinion that all we've got to do is just…" the Doctor started, only to be cut off again.
"You don't," the worker shouted "What you just said, that's slander."
The woman scoffed "I don't care what it is."
"I think we need to just…"
"I want an apology off her," the worker demanded, glaring at the woman who had accused him of being responsible for the missing children.
Tyra patted the Doctor's shoulder when his put-out look registered "Have fun," she whispered, leaning over to him.
"Stop picking on him," the old woman muttered.
The worker nodded "Yeah, stop picking on me."
"And stop pretending to be blind," the old woman huffed out "It's evil."
"I don't believe in evil," one of the women denied, looking at the older woman as if she lost her mind.
The council worker scoffed "Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van."
"Here, here, here," Tom's dad held up his hands "That's not what she's saying."
"Would you stop ganging up on me?" the worker groaned in annoyance.
The woman smirked "Feeling guilty, are we?"
"Fingers on lips," the Doctor shouted, finally cutting through the argument. The others slowly joined in and at the Doctor's sharp look, Rose raised her finger as well, making the shush gesture.
Tyra scoffed when the Doctor shot her a look "Yeah, n – hmpf." She was pulled against his chest with his hand over her mouth.
"Your own fault," he murmured into her ear before raising his voice "In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?"
The old woman nodded and looked down at her finger "Er, can I?" The Doctor nodded "Look around you. This was a safe street until it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will. Maybe you're coppers, maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?"
Tyra twisted away from the Doctor's hand before looking up when she heard something inside the house next to them. One of the women noticed a girl standing by the window and hurried into the house.
After the group had disbanded, the Doctor went back to sniffing the air by Tom's house. Tyra didn't need to ask what he was doing. The smell was pretty bad even from her place a few feet away. Rose raised her eyebrow at the Doctor's bloodhound routine "Want a hanky?"
"Can you smell it?" the Doctor asked Tyra "What does it remind you of?"
Tyra nodded and licked her lips "Metal. Some sort of metal or something."
"Mm-hm," the Doctor nodded before getting up, hurrying in the direction of a back alley between two back gardens "Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other." He shuddered slightly, holding out his hand "Whoa, there it goes again. Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand."
Rose raised her hand to her nose "And there's that smell again."
"There's a residual energy," the Doctor explained "In the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this." He shook his head, wandering back out of the side alley to the main street.
Rose cooed at a cat who had walked up to her "Aren't you a beautiful boy?" The Doctor turned around in confusion before seeing Rose talking to a small orange cat "I used to have one like that, you know." She glanced up, seeing the Doctor grimace "What?"
"No… I'm not really a cat person," he mumbled "Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple it kind of takes the joy out of it."
Tyra rolled her eyes "Most of what happened in that Hospital was Cassandra's fault."
"Doctor," Rose shouted from over by a yard. She was kneeling next to a cardboard box. Tyra froze a couple of feet away from the box, the smell stronger than she could stomach at the moment. Funny, considering that she was used to smelling rotting corpses.
"Whoa," the Doctor blinked, his eyes watering "Ion residue. Blimey… That takes some doing. Just to snatch a living organism out of space-time. This baby is just like – I'm having some of that. I'm impressed."
Rose tilted her head "So the cat's been transported?"
"It can harness huge reserves of ionic power, the Doctor explained "We need to find the source of that power. Find the source and you will find whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. Ty, go that way, will you? See what you can find. Rose…"
Rose glanced at the other girl, gritting her teeth when the words that she wanted to say started choking her "I'm going with Tyra."
The Doctor frowned in confusion „Erm… Alright? Tyra?"
"Yeah, it's fine," she waved him off, raising an eyebrow at Rose. She had an inkling on what that was about but she honestly hoped that she was wrong. Thankfully, Rose hadn't been quite as annoying since Damon left but that didn't mean they got along.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Rose made a frustrated noise in the back of her throat "Oh, come on," she huffed.
Tyra coughed at Rose's impression of a fish "You good?"
"I hate Damon," she hissed "What did you tell him? Did you tell him to compel me?"
"He compelled you?" Tyra frowned "What did he…" She broke off and let out an amused laugh "Oh, this is priceless. He made sure you couldn't ask anyone to turn you. I should give him a gift or something." She nodded thoughtfully "I was wondering why you've been as nice as you have been."
Rose glared "This isn't funny," she grounded out "Reverse it."
Tyra held up her hands "Oh, no. This isn't my problem and if anything, it actually serves you right. You should have given up a long time ago."
"I want to stay with the Doctor," Rose argued.
"Okay," Tyra sighed, running a hand through her hair "Let's say that I do turn you." When Rose's eyes lit up, she shook her head "Hypothetically. Let's say I turn you. Do you honestly think that the Doctor would let either of us travel with him after that?"
"He lets you travel with him," Rose shrugged.
Tyra nodded slowly "He does. Now. But if I do turn you… If I turn you the Doctor won't let either of us tag along. You can stay with him as long as he allows it. Both of us are dependent on his choices. I don't think he would appreciate it if you throw your life away for him."
"You're just saying that," Rose huffed, crossing her arms. She wasn't being outright mean to Tyra because it always felt like the words were stuck in her throat but she could still act petulant. She really didn't understand why Tyra didn't just do her the favour.
"Are you…?" Tyra groaned "Rose, if I turn you then you wouldn't be able to stop yourself. You would hear the blood pumping through your mother's veins, hear her heartbeat and before you know what you're doing, you'd have her pinned against the wall with your teeth buried in her neck. Do you want that? And what if it doesn't happen with Jackie but a child or the Doctor, huh? You're never going to forgive yourself if you hurt someone."
"Then I'll just drink from blood bags like you do," Rose shrugged, still not getting why Tyra was arguing this much. Maybe she just wanted the Doctor for herself. Yeah, that must be it. Tyra was jealous that the Doctor liked her more "I really don't get why you keep saying that I wouldn't have control… Why you continue to say no."
Before Rose could blink, her back hit the garage of a three-story house "For the last time, Rose. No. I'm not turning you and if you don't get that through your thick skull, I will tell the Doctor. You won't be able to ask any other vampire because of what Damon compelled you to do, so the two of us are your only choice. You're not going to get what you want, Rose. This stopped being fun a long time ago. If you don't want me to snap, then I would suggest dropping the subject. I have been more than patient with you."
The two of them froze when a noise came from inside the garage. Tyra took a step back from Rose "Is that you, puss cat? Are you trapped?" she called out. Rose glanced at Tyra out of the corner of her eye but focussed back on the cat that was more than likely trapped in the garage. She jumped when more noises and thumping came through the door "Not going to open it," Rose mumbled to herself "Not going to open it, not going to open… Oh…" She gently opened the door as a big ball of scribble knocked her down.
Tyra snorted as the Doctor came running, his sonic in hand "Stay still," he shouted. With the help of his screwdriver, the ball became hand-sized, falling right into Rose's hand "Okay?"
"Yeah," Rose breathed, scowling at the sight of Tyra's grin "Cheers."
"No probs," the Doctor shrugged, taking the ball from the blonde "I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is." He held the ball up to his face and frowned "Because I haven't got the foggiest."
Rose huffed "Well, I can tell you, you've just killed it."
The Doctor shook his head "It was never living. Just animated by energy. The same energy that's snatching people. That is so dinky. The go-anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket, makes friends, impresses the boss, breaks the ice at parties."
"I think you're overestimating that thing," Tyra grinned "The only point I agree with is the fitting in your pocket part. Why would you even want to take it to parties?"
"Why not?" the Doctor questioned "It is rather nifty."
"Nifty is not what I would call it," Tyra muttered, following the Doctor to the Tardis.
The ball was sitting on the console, being examined "Oh, hi ho, here we go," the Doctor exclaimed "Let's have a look." He read the information on the screen and blinked in surprise "Get out of here."
"What's it say?" Rose questioned curiously, practically hanging from the Doctor's shoulder.
The Doctor glanced at her, shifting out of her grip to grab a pencil with one hand and the ball with the other. He used the eraser part of the pencil to rub some of the ball out "It is," he breathed "It's graphite. Basically, the same material as an HB pencil."
Tyra coughed out a laugh "You got attacked by a pencil scribble, Rose?"
"Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes with a huff "Laugh it up. I didn't see you helping…" She turned to the Doctor "I was attacked by a pencil scribble though?"
"Scribble creature," the Doctor corrected "Brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But why make a scribble creature?"
Rose hummed "Maybe it was a mistake. I mean, you scribble over something when you want to get rid of it. Like a – like a drawing."
"Like a child's drawing," Tyra added in realisation "That girl in the window earlier." She exchanged a look with Rose "Did you see her too?"
"Of course," the Doctor shouted before he blinked at the girls "What girl?"
Rose nodded at Tyra, her mind wandering away from wanting to be a vampire, Damon's compulsion kicking in without her realising "Something about her gave me the creeps," she admitted "Even her own mum looked scared of her."
"Are you two deducting?" the Doctor asked in surprise.
"Well, someone has to, what with you being as oblivious as you are," Tyra mocked good-naturedly.
The Doctor cuffed her over the back of the head lightly "Less cheek out of you."
"Erm, guys? The girl," Rose coughed, startling the Doctor and Tyra out of their staring match.
"Right," the Doctor nodded, striding back out of the Tardis with purpose before stopping in the middle of the street "Right… Which house is it again?"
Tyra shook her head at him and pointed to the left "That one."
The Doctor reached out to rattle the letterbox as well as ringing the doorbell when Tyra caught his hand "Someone's coming."
The dark-skinned woman from earlier opened the door, eyeing the group suspiciously "Hello," the Doctor waved "I'm the Doctor and these are Rose and Tyra. Can we see your daughter?"
"No," the woman snapped "You can't."
The Doctor shrugged "Okay. Bye." With that, the three time-travellers turned around, walking off.
"Why?" she called out, stopping them in their tracks "Why do you want to see Chloe?"
"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street and I just thought…" the Doctor explained "Well, we thought that she might like to give us a hand."
Rose nodded in agreement "Sorry to bother you," she added.
"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things," the Doctor apologised "On your own. Bye again."
The woman closed her eyes for a moment, her expression turning from angry to helpless and vulnerable in the space of a second "Wait. Can you help her?"
The Doctor smiled gently "Yes, I can."
She took a deep breath and nodded, stepping back and motioned for them to follow her inside the house "I'm Trish, by the way. Sorry, I can't remember your names."
"That's alright," Rose told her "I'm Rose. That's the Doctor and Tyra."
In the living room, the television was one, showing the torchbearer "The Torch Bearer is running up the Mall, which I can tell you is…" The news guy was cut off by Trish muting the TV as Rose sat herself down on the sofa, while Tyra leaned against the wall next to her.
"She stays in her room most of the time," Trish explained "I try talking to her but it's like speaking to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."
Rose looked up at her "What about Chloe's dad?"
Trish immediately went tense "Chloe's dad died a year ago."
Tyra bit her lip at the reaction, more than aware of what that reaction most likely meant. She herself and her siblings had that exact reaction whenever Mikael was mentioned "I'm sorry," Tyra told her quietly.
She snorted "You wouldn't be if you'd known him."
Tyra shook her head "I'm sorry for what you went through."
The Doctor rested his hand on her shoulder lightly, ignoring Trish's curious look "Well, let's go and say hi."
"I should check on her first," Trish shifted, hesitating for a second "She might be asleep."
"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" the Doctor murmured.
She swallowed before straightening up "I want you to know before you see her that she's really a great kid."
"I'm sure she is," Tyra told her softly.
"She's never been in trouble at school," Trish told them, sounding like a proud mother "You should see her report from last year. A's and B's."
Rose coughed lightly "Can I use your loo?"
The woman nodded as Tyra turned to watch Rose leave the room with a frown "She's in the choir," Trish continued "She's singing in an old folks' home. Any mum would be proud. You know…" She trailed off at the sound of small footsteps coming from the stairs "I want you to know these things before you see her. Because right now, she's not herself."
The Doctor nodded before leaning over to glance into the kitchen "Alright, there?" he called as the two of them walked into the kitchen with Trish "I'm the Doctor."
"I'm Chloe Webber," the girl said, putting the milk carton back into the fridge.
Tyra smiled lightly "Nice to meet you, Chloe."
"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?" the Doctor asked.
Chloe narrowed her eyes "I'm busy. I'm making something, aren't I, mum?"
Trish paled lightly, throwing them an apologetic look "And as I said, she's not been sleeping."
"But you've been drawing, though," the Doctor remarked, glancing at the girl's hands "I'm rubbish. Stickmen about my limit. Can do this, though." He gave her a Vulcan salute.
Tyra jabbed her elbow in his side, shaking her head "Are you serious?"
"Can you do that?"
Chloe barely looked at him "They don't stop moaning."
"Chloe," Trish warned.
"I try to help them," she insisted "But they don't stop moaning."
The Doctor tilted his head "Who don't?"
"We can be together," Chloe murmured.
Trish leaned down to look at her daughter, reaching out to pull her into a hug "Sweetheart."
"Don't touch me, mum," she jerked back.
Tyra's head snapped up when she heard something coming from upstairs "What is she doing?" she mumbled under her breath.
"Ty?"
"I'm coming," a deep, menacing voice called from upstairs.
The Doctor grabbed Tyra's shoulder "What's wrong?"
Tyra opened and closed her mouth a couple of times "Doctor, there's…"
"Doctor," Rose called hurriedly.
"That," Tyra finished, running after the Doctor and up the stairs.
"I'm coming to hurt you," the voice taunted, causing Tyra to shiver a little.
The Doctor shut the door, cutting off the light coming from the closet. Rose stared at him with wide eyes "Look at it."
"No," the Doctor snapped before walking around the room, looking at the pictures.
Trish who had frozen at the sound of the voice whirled around to look at Rose "What the hell was that?"
"A drawing," Rose explained "The face of a man."
"What face?"
Tyra grabbed a hold of her arm gently "Trish. Don't."
She shook her off and narrowed her eyes on her daughter "What've you been drawing?"
"I drew him yesterday," Chloe admitted with a shrug.
"Who?"
The little girl looked up "Dad."
"Your dad?" Trish blinked "But he's long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world, why him?"
"I dream about him, staring at me," Chloe admitted.
Tyra walked over to stand next to the Doctor, trying desperately not to think about her own father. She hated whenever the memories were brought up. She had been having nightmares ever since she had seen him in the 50s. Thankfully, she had managed to act normally but she was exhausted and all the reminders were killing her. Why did it seem like Mikael was around every corner nowadays? It was like a freaking omen or something. Tyra hated every second of it. She preferred Niklaus at his very worst to their father at his best "What is that?" she asked quietly, looking over the drawings.
The Doctor glanced down, immediately noticing the look on her face "Hey, are you alright?"
Tyra looked away "I'm fine. Focus on helping Chloe. She's more important."
"That's not true," he argued, glancing at the group of three across the room.
"Maybe not," Tyra shrugged "But they have their healing process still ahead of them. Focus your attention on them. My problems are still going to be there after this whole mess."
The Doctor squeezed her hand for a moment before turning to Chloe "Tell us about the drawings, Chloe."
"I don't want to hear any more of this," Trish snapped.
"But that drawing of her dad," Rose argued "I heard a voice. He spoke. Tyra, did you hear it too?" Tyra just looked at her quietly before she nodded lightly.
Trish wrapped her arms around herself in a hug "He's dead. And these, they're kid's pictures. Now get out."
"Chloe has a power," Rose murmured, looking at the child curiously "And I don't know how but she used it to take Danny Edwards and Dale Hicks. She's using it to snatch the kids."
"Get out," Trish spat, glaring at Rose.
Rose shook her head "Have you seen those drawings move?"
"I haven't seen anything," Trish lied.
The Doctor sighed lowly "Yes, you have, out of the corner of your eye."
"No," Trish denied.
"And you dismissed it," the Doctor continued, ignoring her protests "Because what choice do you have when you see something you can't possibly explain? You dismissed it, right? And if anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever again."
Trish looked away "She's a child."
"You're terrified of her," Tyra murmured, seeing the look in the woman's eyes.
The Doctor put a silencing hand on her shoulder "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 for me."
"Who are you?" Trish breathed.
"I'm help," the Doctor said, staring into Trish's eyes.
Down in the kitchen, the Doctor swiped a jar of jam off the kitchen counter as he leaned against it. He unscrewed the lid and dipped his fingers in it, sticking them into his mouth. Tyra grabbed the jar out of his hands with a small sigh and shot an apologetic grin at Trish. The Doctor glanced over at the woman as well, only to see her eying him cautiously. He gave a sheepish shrug, playing with the lid that he was still holding.
"Those pictures," Rose started, rolling her eyes at the Doctor's antics "They're alive. She's drawing people and they end up in her pictures."
"Ionic energy," the Doctor added "Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kind of holding pen made up of ionic power."
Rose leaned back "And what about the dad from hell in her wardrobe?"
"Rose," Tyra warned, not liking the other girl bringing up a subject as uncomfortable as this.
"How many times do I have to tell you, he's dead?" Trish snapped.
Rose huffed "Well, he's got a very loud voice for a dead bloke."
"Stop it, Rose," Tyra hissed "Drop it, alright?"
"If living things can become drawings," the Doctor cut in before the girls could start fighting "Then maybe drawings can become living things. Chloe's real dad is dead but not the one who visits her in her nightmares. That dad seems very real. That's the dad she has drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world."
Trish sighed, looking down at her fingers "She always got the worst of it when he was alive."
"You shouldn't blame yourself," Tyra told her "People like him will always find a reason to hurt others. I don't think you would have been able to stop him."
"How do you know so much?" Trish asked.
Tyra met her eyes for a moment "I think you know."
"Doctor, how can a twelve-year-old girl be doing any of this?" Rose asked, ignoring what Trish and Tyra had been talking about. It was a topic she wouldn't even try to get into. Her mother had always been loving, doing everything for her even while Rose wasn't necessarily the most grateful.
The Doctor looked up at the ceiling "Let's find out." He strode out of the room and back up the stairs. Tyra followed him up the stairs where Chloe was sitting on her bed. As soon as they walked into the room, Chloe held up her hand in the Vulcan gesture the Doctor had shown her earlier "Nice one," the Doctor complimented before kneeling before Chloe, holding her head in his hands, fingers on her temples. Her eyes immediately rolled back into her head for a moment before closing. The Doctor was using a technique that was similar to the one Tyra had used to draw him out of his unconscious state after the regeneration. He closed his own eyes before Chloe suddenly fell backwards onto the bed with the Doctor catching her "There we go…"
Trish surged forward "I can't let him do this."
"Shush," Rose mumbled, her eyes on the Doctor "It's okay. Trust him."
The Doctor straightened up and looked down at the child on the bed "Now we can talk."
"I want Chloe," Chloe spoke up in a raspy whisper, the voice clearly not her own "Wake her up. I want Chloe."
"Who are you?" the Doctor frowned.
Chloe huffed "I want Chloe Webber."
"What've you done to my little girl?" Trish demanded, her hand reaching out to grasp Tyra's. She glanced at the woman for a second before choosing not to say anything about the hard grip she had on her hand.
Rose stepped forward "Doctor, what is it?"
The Doctor walked around the bed slowly until he was on Chloe's right, glancing over at Trish "I'm speaking to you," he started, turning his attention back to the entity inside the girl "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," Chloe rasped.
"So, what do you care about?" the Doctor tilted his head.
Chloe shifted "I want my friends."
"You're lonely," the Doctor realised "I know. Identify yourself."
"I am one of many," the girl said "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."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes "Name yourself."
"Isolus."
"You're Isolus," the Doctor breathed "Of course."
"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family," Chloe explained, her hand starting to move rapidly as she spoke.
Trish craned her neck "What's that?"
"The Isolus Mother," the Doctor murmured "Drifting in deep space. See, she jettisons millions of fledgeling 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."
Chloe stopped drawing "Our journey is long."
The Doctor nodded and continued to explain "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."
Rose gasped "Thousands of years just floating through space. Poor things. Don't they go mad with boredom?"
"We play," the Isolus exclaimed.
"You… play?" Rose repeated incredulously.
The Doctor turned around "While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make-believe worlds in which to play."
"In-flight entertainment," Rose joked.
"Helps keep them happy," the Doctor shrugged "While they're happy, they can feed off of each other's love. Without it, they're lost. Why did you come to Earth?"
The Isolus huffed "We were too close." She started drawing again.
"That's a solar flare from your sun," the Doctor remarked "Would have made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods."
"Only I fell to Earth," the Isolus pouted "My brothers and sisters are left up there and I cannot reach them. So alone."
The Doctor rubbed a hand over his head making his hair stick up everywhere "Your pod crashed. Where is it?"
"My pod was drawn to heat and I was drawn to Chloe Webber," she said "She was like me, alone. She needed me and I, her."
"You empathised with her," Tyra mumbled, staring at the girl on the bed "She was just as alone as you were."
The Isolus grumbled "I want my family. It's not fair."
"I understand," the Doctor soothed "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," the Isolus whined as a crash sounded from the wardrobe again. A red glow shone from inside as the door shook along with Chloe.
"I'm coming to hurt you," Chloe's dad called out "I'm coming."
"Trish, how do you calm her?" the Doctor asked, quickly turning to look at the woman as Chloe's body started jerking in fear. Her face was impassive but her body was showing the fear that Tyra could feel radiating from her.
"What?" the woman asked, dropping Tyra's hand to sit down next to her daughter.
The Doctor gestured "When she has nightmares, what do you do?"
"I – I," Trish stuttered.
"What do you do?"
Trish licked her lips "I sing to her."
"Then start singing," the Doctor urged, his eyes trained on the closet. Tyra inched between the bed and the closet, ready in case something worse happened.
Trish grabbed her daughter's hand and started singing slowly "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he…"
"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe, Chloe."
"Laugh," Trish's voice cracked a little "Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be. Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be." Chloe fell asleep at the same time as the wardrobe fell silent. Trish sniffed, wiping at her tears "He came to her because she was lonely. Chloe, I'm sorry." She buried her head in her daughter's shoulder, her arms around the girl in a tight hug as she sobbed.
Tyra bit down on her lip harshly. She wanted to tell Trish that it wasn't her fault but like with Tommy, it felt wrong for her to give advice. Especially now, that Mikael kept haunting her dreams again. He might be trapped in a tomb but that didn't mean that he would stay in there forever. Tyra glanced at the two on the bed one more time before she hurried out of the room. Downstairs, she sank down on the sofa, her hands buried in her hair.
"You okay?" the Doctor asked quietly, sitting down next to her.
Tyra flinched, having been too lost in her thoughts to hear him come in "Yes. I'm fine," she told him.
He wrapped his arms around her "I will always worry about you. I know that you're still scared of your father."
"Don't," Tyra shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. Not now.
"Ty, it's –"
Tyra shot up "I said don't," she snapped, storming out of the house. As soon as she was outside, she calmed down. The light wind ruffled her hair as she watched Kel working on the street. She leaned back against the outer wall of the house, drinking in the momentary peacefulness.
"I'm sorry," Tyra mumbled as she rejoined the others in the living room "I shouldn't have snapped at you."
The Doctor tilted her head up, his hands bracketing her face gently "I shouldn't have made you talk. Not here. We never talked about things outside of the Tardis and I'm sorry that I forgot that."
"It's not your fault," Tyra shook her head "It's this whole situation and the night…"
"Nightmares?" the Doctor finished when Tyra broke off "Why didn't you tell me?"
Tyra shrugged and was about to respond when Trish walked into the room, causing the Doctor to let go of the girl "Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper when he'd had a drink," she spoke up softly "The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free. I thought it was over."
"Did you talk to her about it?" Rose asked, glancing over at Tyra. Despite everything, she could quite stop the worry welling up inside of her. Tyra really looked awful. She seemed extremely tired and it confused Rose because she had looked normal just a few hours ago. Rose frowned at her own thoughts and shook her head. It wasn't the time to worry about this.
Trish shook her head "I didn't want to."
"You were trying to avoid it," Tyra murmured in understanding "I can tell you now that it doesn't work that way. Avoiding the subject made Chloe feel alone, feel like she couldn't talk to you about her nightmares."
The Doctor grasped Tyra's hand in his again "Her and the Isolus. Two lonely kids who need each other."
"And it won't stop," Rose realised "Will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in."
"It's desperate to be loved," the Doctor nodded "It's used to a pretty big family."
Everyone looked at him "How big?" they asked in trepidation.
He pulled on his earlobe uncomfortably "Say around four billion?"
The Doctor looked down the street "We need that pod."
"It crashed," Rose pointed out, following the Doctor and Tyra down the street "Won't it be destroyed?"
The Doctor hummed "Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can. Hopefully, that should keep it in a fit state to launch. It must be close. It should have a weak energy signature that the Tardis can trace. Once we find it, then we can stop the Isolus." They reached the open area close to the Tardis "We can scan for the same trace that I picked up from the scribble creature. We'd need to widen the field a bit."
Tyra curled up on the jump seat, watching the Doctor building some gizmo that will help him find the pod. Her mind was on Chloe and whether or not she should talk to her once the Isolus was gone. Maybe she could stop her and Trish from becoming as broken as her siblings and she have become.
"You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you," Rose spoke up after a while "How?"
The Doctor barely glanced at her "I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own." He paused for a second before continuing "Give me to styner-magnetic… The thing in your left hand."
Rose handed it over "Sounds like you're on its side."
"I sympathise, that's all," the Doctor mumbled.
"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people."
Tyra shook her head "From what I've heard the Isolus is a child."
"That's why it went to Chloe," the Doctor added "Two lonely mixed-up kids."
"Yes, and I know what kids can be like," Rose shrugged "Right little terrors."
The Doctor held out his hand "Gum."
Rose spat her gum into his hand "I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family."
"What about trying to understand them?" the Doctor asked.
"Or helping them understand when they do something wrong and how to avoid doing it again?" Tyra finished.
Rose looked from the Doctor to Tyra "Easy for you to say. You don't have kids. Either of you."
"I was a dad once," the Doctor admitted quietly before focussing back on building whatever he was building.
Tyra looked at his back, wholly unsurprised. He was so old that she had no doubt that he had a family before. That and she vaguely remembered the Doctor mentioning that he once travelled with his granddaughter, Susan. He hadn't gone into detail on that part of his life but Tyra didn't mind. He would tell her once he was ready "I took care of the kids under my protection," Tyra said to Rose "Made sure that their families had what they needed."
"What did you say?" Rose blinked, staring at the Doctor in shock.
The Doctor used Rose's chewing gum to fix a component in place and then closed the lid on the glass globe containing the gizmo "I think we're there. 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."
"Doctor," Tyra spoke up, pointing at the scanner. There was something registering but she couldn't understand anything other than the fact that the Tardis had found the pod. Where it was, she didn't know.
"It's the pod," he exclaimed "It is in the street. Everything's coming up Doctor. Come on." He grabbed his gizmo and ran out of the Tardis, back to the street "Okay," he started "It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gull's egg. Very light."
Rose hummed "So these pods they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah? So, it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need that?"
Tyra inhaled and started coughing at the strong metal smell "Rose," she called at the same time as the Doctor's gizmo shattered on the ground.
"Doctor?" He was gone along with the Tardis.
Rose and Tyra exchanged a look "Chloe," they chorused before taking off down the street. Rose hammered on Trish's door until the woman opened. Without a word, Rose pushed past her, running upstairs.
"It's okay," Trish soothed "I've taken all the pencils off her."
Tyra glanced over her shoulder "You didn't," she explained "The Doctor's gone." Tyra reached the bedroom in time to see Rose snatch a drawing of the Doctor and the Tardis.
"Leave me alone," Chloe shouted, throwing the nearest object at Rose "I want to be with Chloe Webber. I love Chloe Webber."
Rose glared at the Isolus "Bring him back, now."
"No."
"Don't you realise what you've done?" Rose questioned harshly "He was the only one who could help you. Now bring him back."
Chloe shook her head harshly "Leave me alone. I love Chloe Webber."
When Rose made to snap again, Tyra stopped her "Child, remember?" She knelt down next to the Isolus "Listen, I know that you love Chloe but you love your brothers and sisters too, am I right? And your mother? Think about how Chloe's mum feels like now that Chloe isn't here." She glanced up at Rose "Let's go and find that pod."
Rose nodded and turned to Trish "Don't leave her alone, no matter what." They went back outside, leaving the woman to watch over her daughter.
"Heat," Rose mumbled, glancing around. Her eyes landed on Kel who was admiring his latest tarmac patch "They travel on heat."
As soon as the two girls were close enough, Kel pointed at his patch "Look at this finish. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Not a bump or a lump."
"Kel, was there anything in this street in the last few days giving off a lot of heat?" Rose asked.
"I mean, you can eat your dinner off this," Kel breathed in awe "So you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it when I gave it the same love and craftsmanship as I did this one."
Tyra blinked "Er… Rose? Fresh tarmac. Heat."
„Of course," Rose groaned „Six days, Kel. Think back six days."
Kel hummed and gestured to the pothole in front of them "When I was laying this the first time around." Rose looked down before running off. Tyra was about to ask what she was doing when she saw Rose heading for the council van "Hey, that's a council van. Out."
"Ty," Rose called out, chucking a pickaxe from the back of the van to Tyra.
"Woah, wait, wait, wait," Kel exclaimed "You just removed a council axe from a council van. Put it back. No, don't, wait. Put the axe back in the van." Tyra spun the pickaxe around in her hand and carefully dropped it in the pothole. There was a chance of hitting the spaceship, so she wasn't using as much strength as she could have "No. You, stop! You just removed a council axe from a council van and now you're digging up a council road. I'm reporting you two to the council."
Tyra dropped to her knees, searching through the loose tar "I got it," she called, holding the tiny spaceship in her hand.
Rose snatched it away to study it closer "It went for the hottest thing in the street. Your tar."
"What is it?" Kel blinked.
"It's a spaceship," Rose explained "Not a council spaceship, I'm afraid."
The two girls turned and ran back to the house, leaving Kel to stand in front of the rubble that was his formerly done pothole "We found it," Rose shouted as she saw Trish "I don't know what to do with it but maybe the Isolus will just hop on board. Hand on," she blinked, seeing the woman in the living room "I told you not to leave her."
"My God," the commentator gasped "What's going on here?" Tyra pushed past them, seeing that the crowds of the stadium along with all the athletes have vanished completely.
Kel entered behind us "I don't care if you've got Snow White and the Seven Dwarves buried under there, you don't go digging up…"
Tyra grabbed his arm and jabbed her finger at the television "Look."
"The crowd has vanished. Er, they're gone. Everyone has gone. Thousands of people have just gone," the commentator stuttered "Right in front of my eyes. It's impossible. Bob, can we join you in the box? Bob?" The picture cut to two empty chairs "Not you too, Bob?"
"The stadium won't be enough," Rose remarked "The Isolus has four billion brothers and sisters…"
Everyone bolted up to Chloe's room, trying to open the door "Chloe?" Trish called out.
"Chloe, it's Rose and Tyra," Rose shouted urgently "Open the door."
Tyra took one look at the door and sighed "Sorry in advance, Trish," Tyra mumbled before placing a hard kick to the lock part of the door. The chair crashed to the floor and the door opened easily "There. Problem one solved."
"We found your ship," Rose spoke up, starting to walk toward Chloe. She froze though when the closet came back to life.
"I'm coming to hurt you," the voice of Chloe's dad taunted from inside "I'm coming…"
By now, Chloe had the outline of the Earth on the wall and had started colouring it in "We've got to stop her," Rose pointed out, starting forward. As soon as she did, the wardrobe rattled violently, the growling becoming louder.
"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out," the Isolus threatened "We will let him out together."
"Do you really think Chloe would want that?" Tyra asked, looking around the room "She will never forgive you if you hurt her mother or set free the nightmare she is so scared of." Her gaze stopped on the drawing of the Doctor who was starting to move around.
"Look, I got your pod," Rose pointed out, holding up the small spaceship.
The Isolus barely looked at it "The pod is dead."
"It only needs heat," Rose shrugged.
"It needs more than heat," the Isolus huffed, not pausing in her drawing.
Kel exhaled shakily "I'm not being funny or anything but that picture just moved. And that one."
"Is still on its way," the man on the television reported "I suppose it's much more than a torch now, it's a beacon. It's a beacon of hope and fortitude and courage. And it's a beacon of love."
"Rose, get the pod to the torch. You heard it. Love… Maybe that will be enough to get that pod going," Tyra told her "I'll stay and make sure she doesn't finish that picture." When Rose hesitated, Tyra snapped "Go."
As Rose ran out of the house with Kel, Tyra turned to the shaking closet and glanced at the Isolus. She just hoped that Rose would hurry up because she didn't dare to get closer to that closet. Chloe was afraid of the man and Tyra would rather die a hundred times than to be the one responsible for letting him out. Picture or not.
Then, all of a sudden, Chloe stopped. She had nearly finished colouring in the Earth when she just froze, her eyes going wide "I can go home," the Isolus breathed happily "Goodbye, Chloe Webber. I love you."
Chloe's eyes rolled into the back of her head as the tiny creature floated out of her mouth. Tyra flashed over, steadying the girl as she blinked lethargically for a moment "Mum?"
"I'm here," Trish smiled, tears in her eyes.
Chloe dropped her pencil, running into her mother's arms "Mummy."
"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Tyra spoke up carefully, eyeing the wardrobe "But the drawing in there is still moving."
Trish's eyes went wide "What?"
"Come on," Tyra grabbed their arms "Out. Now." She herded them down the stairs to the front door as quickly as possible when it slammed shut directly in front of them "Dammit."
"Trish," Rose called from outside "Get out."
Tyra glanced over her shoulder "Rose, go look for the Doctor. I'll try and get this over with."
"You mean he's not in there?" Rose frowned.
"No," she blinked "You know him. He's as bad at wandering off as we are. Now go."
"Chloe," the deep voice of the girl's father called out "I'm coming to hurt you."
Chloe cowered against the door, whimpering "Please, dad. No more." Tyra swallowed heavily, remembering a time when this was her.
"Chloe."
Tyra dropped to her knees in front of Chloe, glancing at Trish who had her arms wrapped around her daughter tightly "Chloe, you have to listen to me, alright? Are you listening?"
"Help us," Trish breathed.
"I'm trying," Tyra shot back, reaching out to make Chloe look her in the eyes "Look, I know that you're scared but you're so brave. While other kids are scared of the monster hiding under their beds or in their closets, you know what a real monster is like. The fear that he inspires is overwhelming, isn't it? Your pain is unimaginable and your fear unbearable but believe me when I say that all they are now are memories." Tyra jabbed her finger over her shoulder "That thing up there is just a memory, Chloe."
Trish stared at Tyra with panic in her eyes "How is that helping?"
"Just…" Tyra broke off "Okay… Memories, they can bring you down. Hard… But they can also make you so much stronger. Even stronger than the people who hurt us. The bad memories can make us – they can give you the strength to become a superhero. Isn't that awesome? You can be a superhero and beat the bad guys because let's face it, superheroes always beat the villain in the stories."
The voice upstairs got quieter along with the banging and Tyra let out a small breath, grabbing Chloe's hand "How about the three of us stop him together, hm?" She looked at Trish and held out her other hand to her "We just have to tell him 'No. No more, Mr Bad Guy. You're not hurting us anymore. I won't let you hurt us.' It's alright to be scared, Chloe and one day you'll be able to look back and the monsters will be gone."
The light faded completely, as did the man's voice. Tyra's shoulders slumped in relief "You have a loving mother, kid. She would do anything for you and she will always be there. Now, I want you to promise me something. Can you do that?"
"Y – Yeah," Chloe nodded, her face set in determination.
Tyra smiled shakily, trying to pull her mask back up "I want you to promise me that you will look after your mum just like she looks after you. To always be there for her, just as she will always be here for you. Can you do that for me?"
"I promise," Chloe nodded before turning to her mother who had tears in her eyes "I promise, mum."
Trish let out a sob, pulling her daughter into a tight embrace "Oh, Chloe. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry."
Tyra straightened from her uncomfortable position, moving over to slide down the wall. Her eyes slid closed as a memory pushed to the forefront of her mind.
Flashback
"Well," a voice spoke up behind Tyra, making her freeze "It certainly seems as if you have made a life for yourself, girl. You and your siblings."
Tyra clenched her fingers into the bark of the tree. She should have gone with the others. It had been stupid to stay behind but she had hoped… Well, she had hoped that Mikael would find her. She had been nothing but a shell of her former self ever since Henrik died and her brothers and sister were only concerned with themselves. She understood… This whole life was something new, something that they had never experienced before but it didn't mean that she deserved to be left behind.
Mikael spun his daughter around by the shoulder, pinning her against the tree trunk with more force than strictly necessary "Where are your siblings, girl?" He raised his eyebrows at her silence "Well? Do speak up." Tyra let out a grunt when she was thrown into a tree a couple of feet away, falling to the ground with a dull thump. Mikael stalked over, raising her to her knees, his hand clenched in his fist tightly "Where are they?"
"I don't know," Tyra murmured, her neck still being bent back in an uncomfortable angle "They left."
"You want me to think that they left you behind?" Mikael laughed in disbelief "Do not take me for a fool, little haukr. Where. Are. They?"
"I don't know," she insisted, tears starting to run down her face.
Mikael gritted his teeth and threw her to the side again, sneering when he noticed the tears "You're weak, girl. As weak as that bastard of your mother." With that, he twisted her neck, stalking off angrily. He would find Niklaus if it was the last thing he did. They had to be here somewhere… If they hadn't left Tyra until now, why would they do so now?
"Here," Kol called out, causing Finn to hurry over to where the voice had come from. They had been looking for Tyra since they noticed that she hadn't been with them for a while. Both Elijah and Niklaus thought that she was just pouting because they had made her leave but Kol had known better. After a week of Tyra not appearing, Kol and Finn split form their siblings, tracing their steps back to find her.
Finn fell to his knees next to their sister and gasped when he saw her "What…" He reached out, carefully running his fingers through her hair, exposing her tear-stained face "Oh, what happened to you, little one?"
Tyra let out a low groan, trying to curl away from the hands when she registered that she wasn't alone "I'm sorry," she breathed, squeezing his eyes shut "Please, I don't know where they are."
"Ty," Kol called out quietly, drawing his hands back before motioning for Finn to do the same "Ty, it's alright. We're here."
Tyra turned her head toward the voice, not opening her eyes "Why did you come?"
Finn raised an eyebrow "You didn't really think we would leave you behind, did you?"
"Finn?" Tyra blinked "Kol?"
The two boys exchanged worried looks "We're here, Ty." Finn reached out, pulling Tyra up and into his chest.
She stiffened, fighting against the grip "No, please. I'm sorry, Father. I didn't… Henri…"
"Oh, Ty," Kol sighed, hating to see his sister's pain. She hadn't been herself since Henrik died and it hurt them all to see her as withdrawn as she was. That's when the rest of her words registered "Tyra, was Father here?"
She nodded, slumping against her oldest brother's chest when she realised that the danger was over "He wanted Nik."
End Flashback
Small arms wound themselves around her neck, causing Tyra to snap out of the memories. She had to hold herself back from reacting, just relaxing in the hold "Thank you," Chloe whispered into her neck.
Tyra climbed to her feet, hoisting the girl into her arms. She wondered whether it looked as funny as she felt since Tyra wasn't that much taller than Chloe but her weight was low enough for the vampire to pick her up easily "You're welcome. I know how hard it is to forget something like this but you can start healing now. Your father is gone and you have your mother."
"Yours isn't, is he?" Trish spoke up, tilting her head. A small smile crossed her face at the picture the two made "He's still around?"
Tyra took a deep breath and nodded "Somewhere. I haven't seen him in years but… He has the bad habit of appearing whenever my siblings and I get too comfortable."
"Didn't your mother help you?" Chloe asked, sending her mother a smile.
"No," Tyra mumbled "No, she never went against her husband. For me, the people I could mainly rely on were two of my older brothers. Everyone has a person who helps them through their memories, be it your mother, your siblings or even a friend. I found someone outside of my family who helps me leave my past behind and become the best person I can be."
"The Doctor," Trish realised "He's the person, right?"
Tyra nodded with a small grin "Yes." She glanced down at Chloe "Do you want to meet him? As yourself this time?"
"Can I?" Chloe breathed, staring up at her mother with wide, pleading eyes "Please, mum?"
Trish let out a small laugh "Sure. Be careful outside, okay?"
"Want to walk?" Tyra asked, nudging the girl she was still carrying.
Chloe's arms tightened around her neck "No," she mumbled childishly, causing Tyra to snort.
"Well, then," she sighed, making her way over to where Rose was standing with the Doctor "I see you survived." She turned to raise her eyebrow at Rose "Where did you find him, then?"
Rose rolled her eyes lightly "He was carrying the torch."
"Seriously?"
"Yup," the Doctor grinned "Now, why don't you introduce me to your limpet, Ty? Hello, Chloe. I'm not sure how much you remember but I'm the Doctor."
Tyra prodded Chloe's side when she didn't look up "You wanted to meet him," she reminded her quietly, setting her down on her feet.
"Hello," Chloe smiled shyly, holding out her hand.
The Doctor took it with exaggerated care and gave it a little squeeze "Do you want to come with us to look at the games, Chloe?"
"You're going?" Tyra asked. She wasn't really surprised though. They did come to see the games after all. Chloe bit her lip, glancing over at her house "How about you go and ask your mother if she wants to come along as well, hm?"
As soon as Chloe was gone, Tyra slumped against the Doctor, running a hand down her face to get rid of the tiredness that had started to set in "Are you alright?" the Doctor frowned, wrapping his arm around Tyra to steady her.
"No," she muttered, burying her face in his jacket "I'm not. But I have to be."
Rose looked over at them, feeling a twinge of jealousy "You know what? They keep on trying to split us up but they never will."
The Doctor looked away from Tyra "Never say never ever."
"Nah," Rose shook her head "We'll always be okay. Don't you reckon, Doctor?"
"There's something in the air," the Doctor pointed out, trepidation seeping into his voice "Something's coming."
Rose tilted her head "What?"
"A storm's approaching."
"Ty," Chloe called out from behind, making Tyra pull away, wiping all traces of tiredness from her face. She turned around just in time to catch Chloe.
Trish walked up to them, keeping an eye on her daughter. Without missing a beat, she pulled Tyra into a three-way hug between her and her daughter "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Tyra mumbled uncomfortably, shifting away from her.
She focussed her attention on Chloe, telling her a story of when her siblings and she were little while Trish was telling the Doctor about what she did earlier "Is she alright?" Trish asked quietly, her eyes glued to her daughter and the girl who had helped them.
The Doctor sighed "I don't know. This isn't easy for Ty," he murmured "We ran into her father not too long ago and… I'll talk to her later. She will be fine. I promise you."
"Good," Trish nodded "She deserves someone who cares for her."
"Yeah," the Doctor nodded, smiling as Chloe dragged Tyra off to look at something further down the street "She does."
As soon as they reached the Tardis, Tyra vanished into her room. She wanted to be alone when she let her masks fall again. That, and she was exhausted. Whenever Tyra felt like she had a chance of happiness, whenever she felt as if something good happened to her, Mikael appeared again. Whether through memories or in person. It wasn't fair.
Tyra curled up on her bed, back facing the door. She was close to dozing off when a knock sounded at the door. Despite her lack of reaction, the door opened and quiet footsteps came closer "That was very brave what you did back there," the Doctor whispered, sitting down behind her "I know how hard it must have been for you. After all, that happened recently…" Tyra turned her head to look at him, tears shining in her eyes. The Doctor sighed and got rid of his shoes, laying back on the bed as he held his arms out "Come here."
Tyra scooted over to him, burying herself in his arms "Do you think Chloe is going to be alright?"
"You know what? I think she is," he nodded "Both Chloe and Trish will be just fine. They can move on and live a happy life."
"Yeah… I guess so."