Fear Her
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Note: I'm going to be skipping the episodes, "The Impossible Planet" &"The Satan Pit" because I don't really like the episodes. I'm also skipping "Love & Monsters" because it is Doctor-Lite and won't really work in my story. In this universe all three of those episodes happened before they met Teddy.
A day or two after our encounter with the Wire, I was in my room looking for my signature outfit. Rose was sitting on my bed watching as I dug through the section of the TARDIS' wardrobe that was attached to my room. I wasn't having much success I was glad to have female almost the same age as me on board. I don't think I'd have much success with just my uncle helping. "Explain to me why you need a signature outfit…" said Rose.
I poked my head out of the wardrobe door, "It's tradition." I went back into the wardrobe and continued looking. "Time Lords don't like to waste a lot of time picking out what to wear every day. Our parents dress us until we are 8. Then, we wear uniforms while we are at the Academy. After we graduate from the Academy we are free to wear whatever we like… But, once we choose a signature outfit, we usually wear the same thing or slight variations, until we regenerate… Then, we start the process over again…" I searched for a little bit and after several misses… "OK, Rose… I think I've got it this time…" I walked out I was wearing a sleeveless purple dress with pink flowers on it that reached to a little above my knees. Under it I was wearing a short sleeved TARDIS blue top and purple leggings. Over the dress, I was wearing a long sleeved blue cardigan with red flowers on it. On my feet I had black boots with no heel, and on my head I had a red straw fedora with a black ban above the brim. "What do you think?"
Rose smiled, "That's perfect…"
I smiled back, "Thank you…"
We walked into the control room and The Doctor said, "Ah… There you two are… Teddy… You look very nice…" He said with a smile.
"Thank you…" I said, I I gave a little turn.
"And, Rose, you look nice as well…" he said, Rose smiled and he continued, "Well, you two arrived just in time because we have just reached our next destination…" The TARDIS finished the remilitarization and we walked to the door. When my uncle opened the door, we were greeted by a large blue metal wall. "Ah." He closed the door and walked back over to the console and pressed some buttons and the TARDIS started back up.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Well, there was a slight malfunction with the positional guidance coordination system…" he said. I just rolled my eyes.
"What does that mean?" asked Rose.
"When we landed, we materialized next to a wall of some kind and the door was facing the wall…"
Rose laughed a little as the TARDIS landed again. The Doctor walked back to the door and opened it, "Ah!" he said I we walked out.
I turned and saw that we were parked between to large blue cargo containers. Rose walked over to a brick walk and looked at a poster on the wall advertising Shane Ward's Greatest Hits poster, "So, near future, yeah?"
"I had a passing fancy," said The Doctor, "Only it didn't pass, it stopped." We walked down a street and found ourselves down a typical suburban London street. We looked up and saw a banner with London 2012 on it and the logo for the 2012 London Olympic Games on either side. "Thirtieth Olympiad." he said.
Rose and I smiled, she liked his arm around his and said "No way! Why didn't I think of this? That's great! Ah!"
"Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about… wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood around, baying…," said The Doctor, "No, wait a minute, that was Club Med." He laughed at his joke and we continued to walk. "Just in time for the opening doo dah, ceremony, tonight, I thought you'd like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and took Teddy and we watched it all over again. You remember that?" He said as he looked at me.
I smiled it was a present for my 150th birthday my uncle's 5th incarnation took me to see the London Olympics in 1948. After that trip my uncle promised me that when I reached 200 that I could become a co-pilot of the TARDIS, "Yeah, that was great… What was the name of the guy who carried the torch? Mark? John? Mark? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet."
"Doctor…" said Rose.
"And in those days, everybody had a tea party to go to," said The Doctor.
"Teddy!" said Rose.
"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top?"
" You two should really look at this."
"Do you know those things?" asked The Doctor, as we turned to join Rose at a light pole with some signs tapped on it, "Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius." We looked at the posters. Three kids had disappeared on this same street with in the last six days, "What's taking them, do you think?" He looked up and down the street, "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this."
As my uncle talked I got a chill, "Why's it so cold? Did someone lower the temperature?" I asked. I turned back to the posters, "It says they all went missing this week.
"Why would a person do something like this?" asked Rose.
"What makes you think it's a person?" asked The Doctor.
Just then I heard the sound of a door. Rose and I turned and saw opening a woman took her recycling out to the curb and then practically ran back inside. I looked around and saw no one else on the street except for some guys, one white one black, patching the pavement and their white van. "Whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death. Doctor, what…?" We turned and saw The Doctor running up the street. Rose and I looked at each other rolled our eye and started to go after him.
As we jogged down the sidewalk, when we saw a Mini drive down the street and then it just stopped. One of the road workers came up to the car, "There you go. Fifth today. Not natural, is it?" said the road worker.
"I dunno what happened, I had it serviced less than a month ago," said the driver.
"Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. All the cars are doing it. And do you know what? It's bonkers. Bonkers." The driver got out of his car, and the road worker said, "Come on then, pal. I'll help you shift it. Quicker you're on the way, happier you'll be." The road worker started to push from the back of the car while the driver pushed from the drivers side. Rose and I could tell by the look on his face that the road worker was straining. "There we go."
Rose and I and walked up to him , "Do you want a hand?" asked Rose.
"No, we're all right, love," said the road worker.
Rose and I smiled, "You're not," I said, "We are tougher than we look…" We got behind the car and helped the worker push the car. Then the engine suddenly came back to life, the car moved forward and the road worker fell to the street. The worker stood up and brushed himself off.
"Does this happen a lot?" asked Rose.
"Cheers, mate!" said the driver as he took off.
"Been doing it all week," said the worker.
"Since those children started going missing?" I asked.
"Yeah, I suppose so." said the worker, who we found out that his name was Kel. Rose and I walked with Kel and he told us a bit about what was going on. "Every car cuts out. The council are going nuts. I mean, they've given this street the works. Renamed it… I've been tarmacking every pot hole…" He gestured down proudly at a freshly patched section of the street… "Look at that. Beauty, init? Yeah! And all that is because that Olympic Torch comes right by the end of this Close. Just down there. Everything's got to be perfect, ain't it? Only it ain't."
As we were walking down the street an older white lady was walking in the opposite direction, "It takes them when they're playing." said the lady.
" What takes them?" I asked.
"Danny… Jane… Dale… Snatched in the blink of an eye."
Just then were heard my uncle's voice pleading. He was backing away from a very angry looking white gentleman. Obiously, my uncle was being his usally charming self…" I'm… I'm a police officer! I've got a badge… and a police car… you don't have to get… I can… I can prove it. Just hold on…" The Doctor started to search his pocket for the psychic paper.
"We've had plenty of coppers poking around here, and you don't look… or sound… like any of them." said the angry man.
"See, look. I've got a couple of colleagues. Lewis." said my uncle as he pointed at Rose. Then he pointed to me, "Duncan."
"Well, they look less like a copper than you do."
"Training. New recruits. It was either that or hairdressing, so…" Then, he pulled out the psychic paper in front of the man, "Voila!"
Just then a black woman in her 30s walked up to us and asked, "What are you going to do?"
"The police have knocked on every door. No clues, no leads, nothing." said the older woman.
"Look, kids run off sometimes, all right? That's what they do." said the man.
The older woman looked at the man, "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…" I said.
Another woman, white in her 30's walked up to us, "Why don't we start with him?" She pointed at Kel, "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."
"Fixing things up for the Olympics," said Kel.
"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it." said Tommy's Dad.
"I'm of the opinion that all we've got to do is just…" said The Doctor.
"You don't… What you just said, that's slander!" said Kel
"I don't care what it is," said the young white woman.
"I think we need to just…" I said.
"I want an apology off her," said Kel.
"Stop picking on him," said the older woman.
"Yeah, stop picking on me," said Kel.
"And stop pretending to be blind. It's evil!"
"I don't believe in evil," said the young white woman.
"Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van," said Kel, angrily.
"Here, here, here, that's not what she's saying," said Tommy's Dad.
"Would you stop ganging up on me?!" said Kel
"Feeling guilty, are we?" said the young white woman.
The Doctor and I were getting tired of this so together we said, "Fingers on lips!" Then we rased our hand and put our pinky fingers to our lips. Everyone in the small circle including Rose were copying us. Then, The Doctor spoke, "In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?"
"Er, can I?" asked the older woman. The Doctor nodded and she continued, "Look around you… This was a safe street 'til 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?"
"We'll do our best," said The Doctor.
I looked at Rose and saw she was looking at something. I turned and saw a young black girl looking at us through parted curtains in a window on the second floor of the house across the street from us.
A short time later we were in the small front yard of Tommy's Dad's house. There was a soccer goal set up. The Doctor was sniffing around the yard like a bloodhound. I took a sniff. There was defiantly a metal smell of some kind in the air. "Want a hanky?" asked Rose.
"Can you smell it?" asked The Doctor.
Rose took a sniff. I asked, "What does it remind you of?"
"Sort of metal?"
I smiled and the Doctor nodded, "Mmm hmm."
Rose grinned, "Ohhh!"
A short time later we were walk through an alleyway between some back yards. "Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other," said The Doctor, "Whoa, there it goes again!" He showed us the back of his hand, "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand." I rolled my eyes.
Rose took a deep breath of the air around us and said, "And there's that smell... It's like a um… a burnt fuse plug or something."
"There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished," I said, "Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this."
We moved back to the street. Rose and I were walking a few paces behind my uncle when We saw a beautiful orange and white striped cat. "Aren't you a beautiful boy?!" said Rose as she knelt down to pet the cat.
"Thanks! I'm experimenting with back combing," said The Doctor. Then he turned around and saw me & Rose petting the cat. "Oh.
"I used to have one like you."
I looked up at my uncle, "What?" I asked.
"No, I'm not really a cat person," said The Doctor, "Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it."
I shook my head and the cat walked over to a cardboard box, "Come here, puss!" said Rose. The cat went inside the box, "What do you want to go in there for?" There was a whooshing sound and a distant meow.
I looked inside the box and it was empty, "Doctor!" The smell was stronger than ever. Rose and I quickly stood to get away from the smell.
"Whoa! Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo!" said the Doctor as he waved the smell away and picked up the box, "Ion residue. Blimey! That takes some doing!" he turned the box around, "Just to snatch a living organism out of space-time. This baby is just like, 'I'm having some of that.' I'm impressed."
"So the cat's been transported?" asked Rose.
"Whatever it is," I said, "It can harness huge reserves of ionic power."
"We need to find the source of that power." said The Doctor, "Find the source and you will find whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. See what you can see. Keep them peeled, Lewis."
Rose nodded and the three of us spit up to see if we could find the power source. I met up with my uncle after a little bit, "Find anything?"
"Nope…" he said as he scratched the back of his head, "Whatever it is, its well hidden if the sonic screwdrivers can't pick it up." Just then we heard a loud bang. We quickly walked in the direction of the sound. We turned a corner and saw Rose on the ground about to be attacked by what looked like a large tangled ball of wire, making a strange buzzing sound.
"Stay Still!" I said, as The Doctor and I took out our sonic screwdrivers and pointed them at the ball. It convulsed, and collapsed into a small ball which Rose caught.
"Are you all right?" I asked as The Doctor and I helped her up.
"Yeah, cheers," said Rose, out of breath.
"No probs." he said, as she hugged us, "I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is, because I haven't got the foggiest."
" Well, I can tell you you've just killed it." said Rose, still out of breath.
I took it from Rose, "It was never living. It's animated by energy. Same energy that's snatching people."
"That is so dinky!" said The Doctor as he took it from me and threw it up and down, "The go anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket… makes friends, impresses the boss, breaks the ice at parties…" He put it in is pocket and Rose laughed as we headed back to the TARDIS to analyze it.
We put the ball on the console so the TARDIS could analyze it, "Oh, hi ho, here we go. Let's have a look," said The Doctor as the three of us looked at the screen. Soon, the TARDIS showed us the answer in Gallifreyan.
"Get out of here!" I said.
"What's it say?" asked Rose.
My uncle reached into his jacket pocket and took out a pencil. Then he rubed the eraser end on the ball and part of the object erased. "It is!" he said as he blew on it, "It's graphite! Basically the same material as an HB pencil."
"I was attacked by a… pencil scribble?" asked Rose.
"Scribble creature," I said as The Doctor sniffed the ball and let me and Rose sniff it, "Brought to life with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But… why make a scribble creature?!"
"Maybe it was a mistake… I mean, you scribble over something when you want to get rid of it. Like a um… like a drawing. Like a… a child's drawing." Rose then looked at the Doctor, "You said it was in the street."
"Probably…" said The Doctor.
"The girl."
"Of course! What girl?"
"Something about her gave me the creeps… Even her own mum looked scared of her."
"Are you deducting?" I said with a smile."
"I think I am." said Rose.
"Copper's hunch?" asked The Doctor.
"Permission to follow it up, Sarge?"
Rose took us to the little girl's house that we were standing in front of earlier. The Doctor rang the doorbell but there was no answer. So he rattled the letterbox. Then, the young black woman who was talking with us earlier. We all smiled, "Hello. I'm the Doctor and this is Rose and Teddy. Can we see your daughter?"
"No, you can't."
"Okay! Bye."
We turned around and started to walk way, I heard my uncle count in his head… "Three… Two… One…"
"Why?" asked the woman. We turned around to face her, "Why do you want to see Chloe?"
"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and we thought, that she might like to give us a hand," I said.
"Sorry to bother you," said Rose.
"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again!" said The Doctor. We turned around and started to walk away again. He counted in his head again, "Three… Two… One…"
"Wait!" said the woman. We turned around and the look on Chloe's Mom's face was one of helplessness, "Can you help her?"
"Yes, I can," said The Doctor.
Chloe's Mom introduced herself to us as Trish. She took us into her living room. The TV was showing the Olympic Torch Relay as it was taking place. Rose and I sat down on the couch. "She stays in her room most of the time," Said Trish, "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?" asked Rose.
"Chloe's dad died a year ago."
"I'm sorry."
"You wouldn't be if you'd known him."
"Well, let's go and say hi," said The Doctor.
Trish was hesitant, "I should check on her first. She might be asleep."
"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" I asked.
"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… you should see her report from last year. A's and B's." Trish looked over at Rose and I and smiled.
Rose smiled back, "Can I use your loo?" Trish nodded and then Rose got up to leave the room
Trish looked over at my uncle, "She's in the choir… She's singing in an old folks home. Any mum would be proud. You know… I want you to know these things before you see her, Doctor. Because right now, she's not herself."
A short time later we hear some noise coming from the kitchen. We walked in and saw a young girl getting some milk fron the fridge. "All right, there?" said my uncle, "I'm the Doctor and this is my niece, Teddy."
"I'm Chloe Webber." said the Girl, as she turned to face us.
"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?"
"I'm busy. I'm making something, aren't I, mum."
"And like I said, she's not been sleeping." said Trish.
"But you've been drawing, though," said The Doctor, "I'm rubbish. Stick men about my limit. Can do this, though." He performed the Vulcan salute. "Can you do that?"
"They don't stop moaning," said Chloe.
"Chloe," said Trish.
"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning."
"Who don't?" I asked.
"We can be together."
"Sweetheart," said Trish as she started to move toward Chloe.
"Don't touch me, mum…" said Chloe. Trish stopped and lowered her hand. The three of us just looked at each other unsure of what to do next, "I'm busy, Doctor." Then, she started to leave the room.
"Oh, Come on, Chloe!" I said as we started to follow her, "Don't be a spoil sport. What's the big project? I'm dying to know. What're you making up there?"
Just then we heard Rose scream from upstairs, "Doctor! Teddy!"
We all ran upstairs with The Doctor leading the way, we heard a deep voice coming from Chloe's closet, "I'm coming to hurt you."
The Doctor slammed the doors shut without even a glance inside. "Look at it." said Rose.
"No, ta." said my uncle, as he walked away from the closet doors. I looked around and saw that Chloe had many drawings taped up all around the room. He put his reading glasses on and walked over to the pictures. I did the same. I didn't really need the glasses, but I thought they made me look cool.
"What the hell was that?" asked Trish.
"A drawing," said Rose, "The face of a man."
"What face?"
Trish tried to open the door, but Rose stopped her, "Best not." she said.
"What've you been drawing?" asked Trish.
"I'm drew him yesterday." said Chloe.
"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. What's the matter with you?"
" We need to stay together."
" Yes, we do."
" No. Not you, us…" The Doctor and I turned and looked at Chloe as she said that, then she continued, "We need to stay together, and then it'll be all right." Trish walked up to Chloe and put her hands on her cheeks. Chloe flinched at this.
"Trish, the drawings…" said Rose, "Have you seen what Chloe's drawings can do?"
"Who gave you permission to come into her room?" said Trish, in a very cold tone of voice, "Get out of my house."
"Tell us about the drawings, Chloe," I said.
"I don't want to hear any more of this." said Trish.
"But that drawing of her dad. I heard a voice. He spoke," said Rose
" He's dead. And these, they're kid's 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."
"Get out."
"Have you seen those drawings move?" I asked.
"I haven't seen anything."
"Yes, you have, out of the corner of your eye," said the Doctor.
"No."
"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 me."
"Who are you?"
"I'm help."
We went back downstairs to the kitchen to discuss what happened upstairs with Trish. The Doctor saw a jar of orange marmalade on the counter, opened it, stuck a couple of fingers inside and started to suck the jam off his fingers. Rose cleared her throat and when he looked at us I just looked down, crossed my left arm across my chest, put my right hand to my forehead and shook my head. Rose shook her head and mouthed 'no' The Doctor looked like a little kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He looked over at Trish who was just staring at him. He then meekly put the lid back on and pushed the jar behind im on the couter.
"Those pictures, they're alive," said Rose, "She's drawing people and they end up in her pictures."
"Ionic energy," I said, "Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kid of holding pen made up of ionic power."
"And what about the dad from hell in her wardrobe?"
"How many times do I have to tell you he's dead," said Trish.
"Well, he's got a very loud voice for a dead bloke."
"If living things can become drawings, then maybe drawings can become living things…" said The Doctor. Then he suddenly shivered, making me and Rose jump, "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's drawn and he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world…"
"She always got the worst of it when he was alive."
"Doctor, how can a twelve year old girl be doing any of this?" asked Rose.
"Let's find out," he said as he led us out of the room.
We went back to Chloe's room and saw her sitting on the bed cross-legged. When she saw us, she gave my uncle the Vulcan salute, "Nice one." he said. Then, he knelt in front of her, held her head in his hands, and put his fingers on her temples. Then, her eyes rolled back into her head for a moment before closing. He closed his own eyes before suddenly Chloe fell backwards onto the bed.
"There we go." he said as he eased her onto the bed.
"I can't let him do this…" said Trish as she moved toward them. But Rose stopped her.
"Shush, it's okay. Trust him," said Rose, as she comforted her.
"Now we can talk," said The Doctor.
"I want Chloe," said Chloe, in a strange whisper that was obiously not Chloe speaking, "Wake her up. I want Chloe."
"Who are you?"
"I want Chloe Webber!"
"What've you done to my little girl?" asked Trish.
"Doctor, what is it?" asked Rose.
He walked around the bed, while looking down at Chloe, "I'm speaking to you, the entity that is using this human child. I request parlez in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation."
"I don't care about shadows or parlez." said Chloe.
"So what do you care about?"
"I want my friends."
The Doctor knelt beside her, "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." Then Chloe's eyes snapped open
"Name yourself!"
"Isolus."
"You're Isolus. Of course."
"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family," as she spoke Chloe started to draw very quick on a piece of paper. It was a flower shaped object that I recognized from my studies at The Academy.
"What's that?" asked Tris.
"The Isolus Mother," I said, "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 can't be alone."
"Our journey is long," said Chloe.
"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, "Poor things. Don't they go mad with boredom?"
"We play." said Chloe.
"You… play?"
The Doctor sat down on the bed and said, "While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make believe worlds in which to play."
"In-flight entertainment."
"Helps keep them happy," said The Doctor, "While they're happy, they can feed off each others love. Without it, they're lost. Why did you come to Earth?"
"We were too close." said Chloe. Then she ripped the sheet of paper with the drawing of the Isolus Mother on it off the pad then she started a new drawing.
The Doctor looked at the drawing and said, "That's a solar flare from your sun. Would've made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus 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?"
" 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 as he stroked her head, "You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you."
"I want my family. It's not fair."
"I understand. You wanna 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."
Just then there was a loud bang from the closet. Chloe started to shaking like she was having a seizure.
A dark deep otherworldly male voice started to come from the closet, "I'm coming to hurt you… I'm coming."
"Trish, how do you calm her?" asked The Doctor.
"What?" she asked.
"When she has nightmares, what do you do?"
"I… I…"
"What do you do?" asked The Doctor, urgently.
"I sing to her."
"Then start singing." he motioned for her to come over to the bed and she took his place next to Chloe.
"Chloe… I'm coming." said the voice from the closet.
Then Trish started to sing, "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry king of the bush is he…
"Chloe… Chloe…" said the voice as the banging and thumping continued on the closet door, "Chloe… Chloe…"
Trish continued to sing and stroke her daughters hair, "Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be." Then the banging and the voice started to fade, "Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be."
Chloe fell asleep and Trish started to cry. She buried her head in the girl's shoulders and wrapped her arms around her, "He came to her because she was lonely… Chloe, I'm sorry…"
A short time later we were downstairs collecting everything we could to keep Chloe from drawing more pictures and possibly taking more people. We were down in the sitting room, "Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper when he'd had a drink. The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free." Rose handed her a bunch of pencils, "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." I said, " Because she has all these terrible dreams about her dad, but she can't talk to you about them."
"Her and the Isolus. Two lonely kids who need each other." said the Doctor from the doorway.
"And it won't stop, will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in." asked Rose.
"It's desperate to be loved. It's used to a pretty big family."
"How big?"
"Say around… four billion? "
Then we were walking out of Trish & Chloe's house and we headed back to the TARDIS, "We need that pod." said the Doctor as he pulled on his coat.
"It crashed. Won't it be destroyed?" asked Rose.
"Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can. Hopefully that should keep it in a fit state to launch," I said.
"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," said the Doctor. We got back to the TARDIS and as we were walking inside, he said, "We can scan for the same trace that I picked up from the scribble creature. We'd need to widen the field a bit."
The Doctor and I started to build a device to help us find the Isolus pod. "You knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you. How?" asked Rose as she was chewing some gum.
"I know what it's like to travel a long way on your own. Give me the styner-magnetic erm… The thing in your left hand."
Rose handed him the thing and he put it into the device, "Sounds like you're on its side."
"I sympathize, that's all."
"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people."
"It's a child. That's why it went to Chloe. Two lonely kids." I said.
"Hmm… Feels to me like a temper tantrum because it can't get its own way." said Rose.
"It's scared. Come on, you were a kid once. Binary dot." She handed me the Binary dot and I handed it to my uncle.
"Yes, and I know what kids can be like. Right little… terrors. You should know Teddy… You've got three younger siblings…" I nodded. Gabe and Charlie could be a handful at times when they didn't get what they wanted.
"Gum," said the Doctor.
Rose spit her chewing gum into my uncle's hand and continued her thought, "I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family."
He stuck the gum onto the device and said, "What about trying to understand them?"
Rose turned away from us and said, "Easy for you to say. You don't have kids."
"I was a dad once."
Rose turned back around and said, "What did you say?"
"I think we're there," said the Doctor as finished the device, "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." My uncle and I went around the console pressing buttons and pulling levers. He continued, "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."
Rose was holding her hand out so he took it and smiled at her. Rose laughed a little, "No! Look, I'm pointing." She was pointing at the screen. On the screen was a map of the neighborhood with a flashing white dot on the screen.
"It's the pod!" said The Doctor, "It is in the street! Everything's coming up Doctor!" We walked out of the TARDIS and he was explaining what the Isolus pod, "Okay. It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gull's egg. Very light."
"So these pods they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah?" asked Rose, "So it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need heat?"
Before he could answer there was a crash behind us. We turned and saw The Doctor was gone, the device was smashed on the ground, The TARDIS was gone and there was a very familer scent in the air. Rose and I looked at each other and instantly knew what happened, "Chloe!" we said together as we ran for the house.
We both pounded on the door and when Trish let us in we ran up the stairs with out stopping, "It's okay. I've taken all the pencils off her."
"No… You didn't…" I said without stopping.
The three of us went in the room and saw Chloe at her desk drawing. I walked up to her and snatched the picture. It was of The Doctor and the TARDIS I showed it to Rose. Chloe looked up at us and in the Isolus' voice she said, "Leave me alone. I want to be with Chloe Webber. I love Chloe Webber."
"Bring him back, now." said Rose.
"No."
I got down on my knees and grabbed her by the shoulders "Don't you realize what you've done? We were only trying to help you... Now bring him back!"
"Leave me alone! I love Chloe Webber!"
"I know," I said as I stood, "I know."
I looked at the picture that Rose was holding. I took it and said, "Doctor, if you can hear me, we are going to get you out of there. We'll find the pod. Come on Rose…"
We went outside, "OK. So… let's look at what we know. We know that the pod is somewhere on this street. Wherever it landed six days ago, it had to be very hot."
They looked and saw Kel on his knees in front of a patched pothole, "Look at this finish. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Not a bump or a lump."
We went over to him and crouched down to speak to him, "Kel," asked Rose, "was there anything in this street in the last few days giving off a lot of heat?"
"I mean, you can eat your dinner off this. Beautiful. So you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it when I gave it the same love and craftsmanship I did this one!"
"Well, when you've worked it out, put it in a big book about tarmacking," I said, "But before you do that, think back six days."
"Six days. When I was laying this the first time round," said Kel.
"What?" said Rose.
"Well, that's when I filled in this pothole for the first time."
I started put it all together, "Six days ago… Hot fresh tar…"
"Blended to a secret council recipe."
Rose and I looked at each other and smiled. We could tell that we were both thinking the same thing. Rose then ran to Kel's van.
"I don't keep it in the van!" said Kel. Rose opened the door, "Ay, that's a council van. Out." Rose ignored him and climbed inside. She picked up a pickax. She laughed and hopped out of the van. "Whoa, wait, wait, wait. You just removed a council axe from a council van. Put it back. No, don't, wait. Put the axe back in the van. That's my van. Give me the axe." Rose then swung the axe behind her, read to bring it down hard on the road, "No! Wait! No!" Rose shouted and brought the axe crashing down on to the road smacking through the tarmac. "No! You, stop!" Rose ignored him and just kept hacking at the road, "You just took a council axe from a council van and now you're digging up a council road! I'm reporting you to the council!"
Rose then dropped the axe and we stated to dig through the rubble and found a small little pod. "It went for the hottest thing in the street. Your tar." said Rose.
"What is it?" asked Kel.
"It's a spaceship," I said, "Not a council spaceship, I'm afraid." We went back into the house. Rose was carrying the pod. "We've found it!" Then, Trish came into the sitting room.
"I don't know what to do with it, but maybe the Isolus will just hop on board," said Rose, "Hang on, I told you not to leave her."
"My God! Er, what's going on here?" said the commentator on TV. We looked at the TV and saw a completely empty Olympic Stadium. I looked at the time… the stadium at that moment should have been filled with people.
Just then Kel walked in and said, "I don't care if you've got Snow White and the Seven Dwarves buried under there, you don't go digging up…"
"Shut up and look!" said Rose as she pointed at the TV.
"The crowd has vanished!" said the commentator on TV, "Er… um… they're gone. Everyone has gone. Thousands of people have just gone. Er… um… right in front of my eyes. Um… It's impossible. Bob, can we join you in the box?" The TV cut to an empty box, "Bob? Not you too, Bob?
"The stadium won't be enough," I said, "The Isolus has four billion brothers and sisters."
We ran upstairs, Rose was still carrying the axe. We tried to open the door but it was locked some how. I tried my sonic screwdriver but nothing happened, "It's not locked… She must have it barricaded." I pounded on the door, "Chloe, it's Teddy and Rose! Open the door! We found your ship! We can send you home!"
"Chloe?" said Trish.
"Open up!" said Rose. Then she looked at us, "Right, stand back." Rose picked up the axe and we stood back.
Rose then started to chop the door down. As she chopped we could hear the voice of Chloe's Dad coming from her closet. "I'm coming to hurt you…"
Once she had a hole big enough, Rose moved the chair that was blocking the door and opened it. We went inside and saw Chloe drawing a giant picture of Earth on her bedroom wall. "Chloe!" called Rose.
"I'm coming to hurt you…" said the voice from the closet, "I'm coming…"
"I've got to stop her," I said.
I took a step toward Chloe then the closet doors rattled very violently and I stepped back.
"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out. We will let him out together. I cannot be alone. It's not fair."
"Look, I've got your pod." said Rose as she showed Chloe the pod in her hand.
"The pod is dead."
"It… It only needs heat."
"It needs more than heat."
"What, then?"
Just then it dawned on me, "Love… It needs love… That's why it need all the people… But where are we going to get that much love?"
"I'm not being funny or nothing, but that picture just moved.," said Kel as he pointed to one of the pictures on the wall, " And that one!" He pointed to the picture of The Doctor and the TARDIS. I picked up the picture. There was now another drawing in the picture. It was a picture of the Olympic Torch.
"She didn't draw that, he did," said Rose, "But why?"
"It's much more than a torch now," said the voice of the TV commentator. We turned our attention to laptop in Chloe's room. She was watching coverage of the Torch Relay. "It's a beacon. It's a beacon of hope and fortitude and courage. And it's a beacon of love."
"Love." said Rose. We looked at each other and again we could tell that we were both thinking the same thing.
"So let's have a look from the helicopter. There we go, the torch bearer running past Dame Kelly Holmes Close."
"I know how to charge up the pod. Come on, Teddy…" said Rose.
We ran out the door and headed to the end of the road. The end of the road was packed with people hoping to catch a glimpse of the Torch going by. We pushed our way to the front of the barricade when we were stopped by a policeman. "Sorry, you'll have to watch from here."
"No," I said, "We've got to get closer."
"No way."
"We can stop this from happening!" said Rose.
Just then the torch bearer passed by and the pod in Rose's hand started to chirp, "You felt it, didn't you?"
We backed out of the crowd and then I looked at her. "It's a spaceship… and spaceships can fly… " I smiled.
Rose nodded understanding what I was saying. She brought her cupped hand close to her mouth and whispered to the pod, "Feel the love…" Then she threw the pod in the air. The moment it was over the heads of the crowd it locked onto the Torch and headed right for it. When the pod touched the Olympic Flame, there was a bit of a burst of flame. The torch bearer stopped for a moment but when the flame appeared to be alright he continued
Rose and I started to cheer and jump up and down, "Yes!" she said.
Then Kel came up to us, "You did it!" He said, then he said in a confused voice, "What was it you did?" We didn't answer but Rose gave him a hug and spun him around, while giggling and bouncing up and down.
We looked down the street and we could see all the children have returned but for some reason The Doctor wasn't around. The old woman from earlier came up to us and said, "I don't know who you two are, or what you did, but thank you both!" She kissed our cheeks and we both laughed, "And thank that man for me too!"
I smiled, "You bet…" I gave her a hug and she walked away.
"Where is he?" asked Rose, "He should be here." Then she looked at me, "Where is your uncle?"
"I'll find out…" I closed my eyes and sent out a message to him telepathically, "Uncle Theta? Where are you?"
"I'm alright, Theodora," He replied, "Both the TARDIS and I reappeared from the exact spots where we were taken from. Where's the pod?"
"Rose threw it into the Torch…"
"Good. You two stay there I'll make sure the Isolus gets home."
"Okay." I opened my eyes and looked at Rose, and smiled, "The Doctor is making sure the Isolus gets home."
"How do you know that?" she asked.
"Since, The Doctor and I are blood relatives we can tall telepathically." Rose nodded and I looked around, I put my hands in the pockets of my cardigan, and smiled "Well, since The Doctor and the TARDIS are back that mean that all the drawings have come to life…" I looked up at Chloe's bedroom window and my face dropped… "And I do mean all of them…"
Rose looked up and saw what I saw. A red light filling Chloe's room. Then, we heard the sound of Chloe's Dad growling, "Oh, no…" said Rose. Then we both ran to the house and found the front door locked. Rose banged on the door, "Trish, get out!"
"I can't! The door's stuck!"
I tried my sonic, "It's no good. It's deadlocked…"
"Mummy…" said Chloe, sounding very scared.
"Chloe, I'm coming to hurt you…" said Chloe's Dad.
"Please, dad. No more."
"Chloe…"
"Chloe, listen to me," I said, "It isn't real like the others. It's just energy left over by the Isolus, but you can get rid of it…"
"Help us!" said Trish.
"Oh, it's 'cos you're so scared that he's real! But you can get shot of him, Chloe!" said Rose.
"Mummy!"
"You can do it, Chloe!"
"I can't!"
"Chloe… I'm coming…" said Chloe's Dad
"I can't! I can't!" said Chloe
"I'm coming…."
"Mummy…"
"Chloe…"
"I'm with you, Chloe. You're not alone. You'll never be alone again."
"Sing again! Chloe, sing!" said Rose.
Chloe began to sing the Kookaburra song. But we could barely be hear it over Chloe's Dad's roars, "Chloe… Chloe… Chloe… Chloe… Chloe, I'm coming to hurt you." Just then we heard Trish join in, "Chloe!" called out Chloe's Dad.
Chloe and Trish started to sing louder as they did his voice became weaker. "Merry merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be." Rose and I, sighed with relief, and slid down the door. Chloe and Trish continued to sing. "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry merry king of the bush is he. Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be."
"We did it…" I said with a smile.
Rose smiled back, then
Kel came up, "Maybe he's gone somewhere…"
I closed my eyes and opened them a second later, "I think I know where he is…"
We walked back inside Trish and Chloe's house. They were watching the end of the opening ceremonies, "Just look at this!" said the announcer, "Utterly incredibly scenes at the Olympic stadium. Eighty thousand athletes and spectators. They disappeared, they've come back! They've returned. They've reappeared. It's quite incredible…"
"Eighty thousand people, so where's the Doctor?" asked Rose.
I Smiled, "Just watch…"
"Hang on, the Torch Bearer seems to be in a bit of trouble," said the announcer, "We did see a flash of lightning earlier that seemed to strike him. Maybe he's injured. He's definitely in trouble." Then the torch bearer collaped, "Does this mean that the Olympic dream is dead?"
Then we saw a very familiar brown coat and sneakers, pick up the torch Rose smiled, "Doctor."
"There's a mystery man," said the announcer, "He's picked up the flame. We've no idea who he is. He's carrying the flame. Yes, he's carrying the flame and no one wants to stop him. It's more than a flame now, Bob. It's more than heat and light. It's hope, and it's courage, and it's love."
We watched my uncle run up the red carpeted stairs with the torch, the spot light following him. He faced the crowd with a huge grin on his face, whooping. Then he lit the Olympic Flame. "Go on. Join your brothers and sisters. They'll be waiting," He said. The crowd screamed and cheered as the Isolus rose up into the air and flew away into the night.
Later that night, Rose and I saw my uncle walking down Dame Kelly Holmes Close with his hands in his pocket. Rose had a treat for him as we walked up behind him. "Cake?" She offered.
The Doctor turned, looked at the cake in her hand and laughed. Rose and I joined in his laughter. It was a cupcake with the edible ball bearings he was talking about earlier.
"Top banana!" he said as he took it and took a big bite out of it, "Mmm. I can't stress this enough. Ball bearings you can eat, masterpiece!"
After a couple of seconds she wrapped his arms around him and said, "I thought I'd lost you."
"Nah. Not on a night like this. This is a night for lost things being found. Come on."
I smiled as we walked back down the street, "What now?" asked Rose.
"I want to go to the Games. It's what we came for." He said.
"Go on, give us a clue. Which events do we do well in?"
With a mouthful of cake he replied, "Well, I will tell you this. Papua New Guinea surprises everyone in the shot put."
"Really? You're joking, aren't you?" asked Rose, "Doctor, are you serious or are you joking? Teddy is he joking?"
"Wait and see." I said with a smile.
Just then fireworks started to explode overhead. I looked and smiled as I saw Rose and my uncle walking hand in hand. "You know what? They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will."
"Never say never ever," said my uncle as he stop walking.
" Nah, we'll always be okay, us three. Don't you reckon, Doctor?"
The Doctor looked up in the sky, "Something in the air. Something coming."
"What?" asked Rose, as she and I looked up.
"A storm's approaching." said The Doctor.
I looked up in the sky and I could feel it too… Something was coming… and It wasn't good…