Rose strode into the TARDIS' lounge to find the Doctor and the Artist snuggled up on the settee, their arms around each other, watching a sports event on the wide screen telly. "Wos' on?" Rose asked them.
"The 2266 anti-grav Olympics." the Doctor replied, "One of greatest sporting events in history."
"We were there." the Artist added, "We were caddies for the Great British long-jump champion."
"Talking of Olympics..." Rose said, "Mum said that we're hosting the 2012 Olympics in London. Could we go see it?"
"Don't see why not." the Doctor replied, getting up to go to the console room.
"London, 2012 it is, then." the Artist agreed, getting up to follow him.
———————————————————————————
The TARDIS was soon landing in a car park in a residential area, near a railway line. The Doctor opened the door, only to find it blocked by a container. "Ah." he muttered, going back inside.
"And that's why I run environment checks." the Artist laughed, having seen where they'd landed on the monitor.
"I meant to do that." the Doctor mumbled awkwardly as he flipped a few switches. The TARDIS de-materialised again then re-materialised, this time with the doors facing away from the containers. "Ah!" the Doctor said cheerfully as he stepped out, Rose and the Artist following him.
———————————————————————————
The trio were soon walking down a street with a London 2012 banner strung across two lampposts. "30th Olympiad." the Doctor announced, "Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling with each other in the sand as the crowds stood around baying..."
"No, that was Club Med." the Artist joked and the trio all laughed at that.
"Just in time for the opening doo-dah, ceremony tonight." the Doctor continued cheerfully, "Thought you'd both like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back an' watched it all over again. You were with me that time." he added to the Artist.
"Oh yeah, I remember." she smiled, remembering that trip. It had been with the Doctor's last incarnation, about 20 years before they'd met Rose. "Remember that torch-bearer?" she asked the Doctor.
"Oh, yeah, lovely chap." the Doctor recalled, "What was his name... John? Mark? Legs like pipe-cleaners, but strong as a whippet."
Rose's attention meanwhile had been caught by something else. "Doctor?" she called, but the Doctor wasn't listening as he was too caught up in his memories.
"In those days, everyone had a tea party to go to." he continued.
"Artist?" Rose called, knowing she's be more likely to listen. Sure enough, the Time Lady heard Rose and came over.
"You ever had those cakes with crunchy ball-bearings on top?" the Doctor continued, in a world of his own.
"Doctor, stop rambling and look at this." the Artist called.
The Doctor turned to see the two women looking at posters on a lamppost. "Ya know those things..." he continued to yak as he walked over to join them, "Nobody else in this entire galaxy has ever bothered to make edible ball-bearings. Genius!" His smile dropped when he saw what the two women were looking at. They were missing posters, all asking for information on children that had gone missing from Dame Kelly Holmes Close, the very same cul-de-sac that the trio had just walked onto, and what was more, there was far too many missing children for it to be a coincidence. "What's taking 'em d'ya think?" the Doctor wandered, looking around the cul-de-sac, "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this."
"Is it me, or is there a bit of a nip in the air?" the Artist remarked, zipping her jacket up.
"Yeah, why's it so cold?" the Doctor agreed, "Something's reducing the temperature."
"Sez here they all went missing this week." Rose frowned, looking at the posters, "Why would a person do something like this?"
"What makes you think it's a person?" the Doctor asked.
The Artist at the moment noticed a woman putting her rubbish out and eyeing the trio suspiciously. "Well, whatever it is, it's got the whole street on edge." the Artist noted. The Doctor took her hand, and they rushed off further into the cul-de-sac. They both stopped by a front garden, and put their hands out. They both got an unsettling feeling, and the Doctor crouched down to examine a patch of grass.
Rose was walking down to join them when she saw a car grind to a halt right by her. A black man in overalls, who was unloading tools from a van came over to help the car owner. "There ya go!" the workman remarked, "Fifth today! That's not natural, is it?"
"Dunno what happened. I only had it serviced less than a month ago." the puzzled driver said.
"Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate." the workman replied, "All the cars are doing it, and ya know what, it's bonkers." He went round to the back of the car to push, the driver getting out to do the same. "Come on, pal. I'll help ya shift it. Quicker ya on ya way, the happier you'll be." They both began to push.
"D'you wanna a hand?" Rose offered.
"Nah, we're alright, love." the workman waved her off.
"Well, you're not." Rose laughed, seeing how he was really straining himself. "I'm tougher than I look, honest." She began to push the car too.
Suddenly, the car's engine roared back into life, causing the workman to trip over. "Cheers, mate." the driver called as he jumped back in and drove off.
"Does this happen a lot?" Rose asked the workman as he picked himself up.
"Been doing it all week." he grumbled.
"Since those children started going missing?"
"Yeah, s'pose so."
———————————————————————————
"Hmm, tickles." the Doctor laughed as he wiggled his fingers in mid-air above the patch he'd examined.
"Doctor..." the Artist called, and the Doctor looked up to see a rather irate-looking man standing there. This was the homeowner.
"What's your game?" the man demanded.
"My, um... Snakes and Ladders?" the Doctor offered, "Quite good at squash... Reasonable. I'm being facetious, aren't I?" he asked the Artist.
"Very." she nodded, then fished in her pockets to find her psychic paper.
———————————————————————————
Rose and the workman, Kel, were walking down the street discussing the car problems. "Every car cuts out." Kel explained, "Council's going nuts. I mean, they've given this street the works, re-named it. I've been tarmacking every pothole." He gestured to a newly-tarmacked patch of road. "Look at that. Beauty, ain't it? Yep, and all this is because that Olympic torch comes right by the end of this close. Just down there. Everything's gotta be perfect, ain't it? Only it ain't."
An elderly woman stopped by them. "It takes 'em when they're playing." she said.
"What takes 'em?" Rose asked.
"Danny, Jane, Dale... Snatched in the blink of an eye."
———————————————————————————
The man backed the Time Lords towards where Rose was. "There ya go, sir." the Artist said, producing her psychic paper, "Detective Inspectors Smith & Jones, Metropolitan Police."
"We've had plenty of coppers poking round here, and you two don't look or sound like any of 'em!" the man scowled.
"We're undercover." the Doctor retorted, "We've got a colleague." He pointed to Rose. "Lewis."
"She looks less like a copper then you both do!" the man snorted.
"Like he said, undercover." the Artist told him.
At this point, they were joined by a middle-aged black woman. "What're ya going to do?" she asked them.
"The police have knocked on every door. No clues, no leads, nothing!" the elderly woman sighed.
"Kids run off sometimes, alright?" the man waved her off, "That's what they do."
"I saw it with me own eyes." the elderly woman insisted, "Dale Hicks in your garden playing with your Tommy, and then..." She made a disappearing gesture. "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 began.
Another woman came storming up. "Why don't we start with him?" She pointed an accusing finger at Kel. "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."
"Fixing things up for the Olympics!" Kel defended himself.
"Yeah, and taking an awfully long time about it." the man sneered.
"I'm of the opinion that all we've gotta do is..." the Doctor tried again.
"That's slander!" Kel shouted, outraged at being accused.
"I don't care what it is!" the other woman retorted.
"Can we please all just..." the Artist tried to pacify everyone, but it fell on deaf ears.
"I want an apology off her!" Kel snapped.
"Stop picking on him!" the elderly woman agreed.
"Yeah, stop picking on me!"
"And stop pretending to be blind. It's evil!" the elderly woman continued.
"I don't believe in evil." the other woman sneered.
"Oh, no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van!" Kel retorted angrily.
"Ay, ay, ay, that's not what she's saying." the man cut in.
"Will ya stop ganging up on me?!" Kel snapped.
"Feeling guilty, are we?" the other woman said nastily.
At this point, the two Time Lords decided they'd had enough. They both pulled out their sonic screwdrivers, held them together and switched them on. The sonics made a horrible high-pitched noise that immediately made the humans stop arguing and cover their ears. Satisfied that they'd shut everyone up, the Time Lords switched the sonics off. "Now then..." the Doctor said sharply, "In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?"
"Er, can I?" the elderly woman put her hand, as if asking for permission to speak. The Doctor nodded. "Look around you." She gestured around the street. "This was a safe street till it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will. Maybe you're coppers and maybe you're not. I don't care who you are, can you please help us?"
"We'll see what we can do." the Artist said, "We can't make any promises, but we'll try."
At this point, Rose noticed a young black girl watching them all like a hawk from her bedroom window. The black woman noticed as well and went into that house. Clearly she was the girl's mother.
———————————————————————————
The trio were soon standing in the man's front garden, where the Doctor was literally sniffing around. "Want a hanky?" Rose remarked.
"Rose, just sniff the air a moment." the Artist instructed her. Rose did so.
"What's it remind you of?" the Doctor asked her.
"Sort of... metal?" Rose replied.
"Like when a fuse blows." the Artist confirmed, then they left the garden and went into an alleyway.
"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other." the Doctor said.
The Artist suddenly shivered. "Can ya feel that?" she asked the Doctor.
"Yeah, look at the hairs on the back of my manly, hairy hand." he replied, holding up his hand.
"And there's that smell." Rose sniffed.
"There's a residual energy in the spots where those kids vanished." the Doctor realised.
"Could be a teleport exchange." the Artist pondered.
"Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this." the Doctor confirmed.
———————————————————————————
They finished in the alley and walked back into the street. "Well, aren't you a beautiful boy?" Rose said suddenly, going to pet a tabby cat, "I used to have one like you." She looked up to see the Doctor eyeing the cat disdainfully. "What?"
"I'm not really a cat person." the Doctor grimaced, "Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kinda takes the joy outta it."
"Technically, the cats weren't the ones that threatened us." the Artist pointed out.
"Yeah, still not a cat person." the Doctor waved her off.
"Fair enough, I prefer dogs myself." the Artist shrugged.
At this point, the cat began to walk towards a cardboard box lying on the pavement. "Come 'ere, puss." Rose cooed, going after it. "What d'ya wanna go in there, for?" she asked as the cat went inside the box. Suddenly, she heard a whoosh and the cat's meowing got fainter, until it went completely silent. She crouched down and looked into the box to find it completely empty. "Doctor, Artist." she called, and the Time Lords came over to examine the box.
"Woah, hoo-hoo!" the Doctor recoiled as that same smell hit his nostrils, "Ion residue, blimey! That takes some doing. Just to snatch a living organism out of space and time. I'm impressed."
"So the cat's been transported?" Rose asked.
"It can harness huge reserves of ionic power." the Doctor confirmed, "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. See what you can see. Keep 'em peeled, Jones and Lewis."
———————————————————————————
The trio split up to do some investigating. The Doctor took the alley, the Artist took one side of the street and Rose took the other. Rose suddenly heard a banging coming from some garages. She went over to find the source of the noise. "Is that you, pussy cat?" she asked, "You trapped?" She heard more banging coming from behind one of the doors. "Not gonna open it, not gonna open it, not gonna open it..." she muttered, before deciding to open the door anyway. She pulled the door open, only for what looked like a tangle of wires or black tape to launch itself at her. She fell flat on the floor and covered her face as the object buzzed her.
The Artist heard the noise and came racing over. "Stay still!" she warned as she flashed her sonic at the object. It shrunk down to hand size and landed in Rose's hands. "You okay?" the Artist asked, helping Rose up.
"Yeah, cheers." the blonde panted.
"Anytime." the Artist replied.
Just then, the Doctor came running up. "Everything okie-doke?" he asked.
"Yeah, fine." the Artist told him, "Any idea what that is?" She pointed to the object.
"Haven't the foggiest." the Doctor replied.
"Well, I can tell ya just killed it." Rose said to the Artist.
"I don't think it was ever living in the first place." the Artist replied, "It's animated by energy. I'd hazard a guess it's the same energy that's been taking the kids."
The Doctor tossed the object in the air. "That is so dinky!" he laughed, "The go-anywhere creature. Fits in ya pocket, makes friends, impresses the boss, breaks the ice at parties." He stuffed it into his pocket and they all walked off back to the TARDIS.
———————————————————————————
When they returned to the time-ship, the Doctor plugged the object into the console and let the computer scan it. "Hi, ho, here we go. Let's have a look." the Doctor said as the results came up on screen. "Get out of here!" he exclaimed.
"What's it say?" Rose asked. The screen was displaying information in the Time Lords' language so she couldn't read it.
"Graphite." the Artist frowned, "Apparently, that thing's made of graphite."
The Doctor picked up the object and began to erase parts of it with a rubber on a pencil. "It is!" he confirmed, "Basically the same material as a HB pencil."
"I was attacked by a pencil scribble?" Rose blinked in disbelief.
"A scribble creature." the Doctor explained, then sniffed the object. "Brought into life with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But why a scribble creature?"
"Maybe it was a mistake." Rose suggested, "I mean ya scribble over something when ya wanna get rid of it, like a drawing. Like a..." A thought suddenly struck her. "Child's drawing. You said it was in the street."
"Probably." the Doctor replied.
"The girl!" Rose realised.
"What girl?" the Artist asked.
"Summat about her gave me the creeps." Rose explained, "Even her own mum looked scared of her."
"Are you deducting?" the Doctor grinned.
"I think I am." Rose went along with it.
"Copper's hunch?" the Artist asked.
"Permission to follow it up, sarge?"
"Permission granted." the Doctor smirked, and they set off to investigate the girl.
———————————————————————————
The trio soon arrived at the house Rose had seen the girl in. The Doctor rang the doorbell several times, but received no answer, so than he tried knocking the letterbox. Finally, the black woman, Trish, answered. "Hello!" the Doctor said cheerfully, "I'm the Doctor, this is the Artist and this is Rose. Can we see your daughter?"
"No! Ya can't." Trish said bluntly.
"Ok, sorry we bothered you." the Artist said simply, "Goodbye." And the trio turned to leave.
"Why?" Trish called after them, "Why d'you wanna see Chloe?"
"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street." the Doctor replied, "And we just thought that she might like to give us a hand."
"Like the Artist said, sorry to bother you." Rose added.
"We'll leave you to to it." the Artist chimed in.
"On ya own." the Doctor finished, "Bye again." And they began to walk away.
"Wait." Trish ran after them, "Can you help her?"
"Yes we can." the Artist reassured her.
Trish lead them into the house. On the telly, BBC news was showing the Olympic torch bearer. Rose sat down on the settee, while the Time Lords stayed standing. "She stays in her room most of the time." Trish explained, "I try talking to her, but it's like talking to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."
"What about Chloe's dad?" Rose asked.
Trish stiffened slightly. "Chloe's dad died a year ago."
"We're sorry." the Artist counselled.
"Ya wouldn't be if you'd known him." Trish grunted.
"Well, let's go and say hi!" the Doctor said brightly.
"I should check on her, first." Trish replied, "She might be asleep."
"Trish, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you afraid of her?" the Artist asked.
Trish stiffened again "I want ya to know, before you see her that she's really a great kid."
"We're sure she is." the Artist reassured.
"She's never been in trouble at school." Trish continued, "Ya should see her report last year. A's and B's."
"Can I use your loo?" Rose asked suddenly. Trish nodded her consent and Rose headed upstairs. "She's in the choir." Trish continued to the Time Lords,
"She sings in old folks' homes. Any mum would be proud. I want ya to know these things before you see her, Doctor. Because, right now, she's not herself."
———————————————————————————
Upstairs, Rose crept along the landing. She saw a shadow behind a closed door, evidently Chloe. Rose hid in a cupboard and watched as Chloe left her bedroom and headed off downstairs. Once the coast was clear, Rose left her hiding place and entered Chloe's room. One wall of the room was covered from top to bottom with drawings, and there were pencils everywhere. Rose's attention was caught by a drawing of a frowning boy and a tabby cat. Suddenly, the wardrobe behind her began to rattle, causing her to spin round, knocking over a pencil holder in the process. She picked them up and turned back round to see that the boy in the picture was now bearing his teeth.
———————————————————————————
The Doctor, the Artist and Trish walked into the kitchen to see Chloe drinking milk out of the carton. "Alright there?" the Doctor called, "I'm the Doctor."
"And I'm the Artist." the Time Lady added, "What's your name?"
"I'm Chloe Webber." the girl replied in a somewhat emotionless voice.
"Nice name." the Artist smiled, "How are you today?"
"I'm busy." Chloe replied, "I'm making something. Aren't I, Mum?"
"And like I said, she's not been sleeping." Trish said.
"But you've been drawing, though." the Doctor remarked, "I'm rubbish. Stick men are about my limit but the Artist well she's just brilliant."
"My son was brilliant too." the Artist smiled sadly as she remembered him. "I've still got some of his drawings. I could show you if you want."
"I can't draw, but I can do this, though." the Doctor continued, holding up his hand in a Vulcan salute. "Can you do that?" he asked Chloe.
"They don't stop moaning." Chloe stated.
"Chloe..." Trish began.
"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning." Chloe continued.
"Who don't?" the Doctor asked.
"We can be together."
"Sweetheart..." Trish approached her daughter.
"Don't touch me, Mum!" Chloe snapped, causing Trish to flinch back and look to the Time Lords helplessly.
———————————————————————————
In Chloe's bedroom, the wardrobe began to rattle again. Rose cautiously approached it and pulled the doors open. A breeze began to blow, and Rose moved some clothes aside to see a drawing of an angry-looking man with eyes that were glowing red. "I'm coming!" a demonic voice growled.
———————————————————————————
"I'm busy, Doctor, Artist." Chloe said rudely and began to walk out of the room.
"Oh, c'mon, Chloe." the Doctor called, "Don't be a spoil-sport. What's the big project? We're dying to know. What're you making up there?"
At that moment, Rose's voice called out from upstairs; "Doctor! Artist!"
Like lightening, the two Time Lords raced upstairs.
———————————————————————————
In Chloe's room, Rose listened as the voice growled; "I'm coming to hurt you!" The Doctor and the Artist sped into the room and slammed the doors shut.
"Look at it!" Rose breathed.
"No, ta." the Doctor replied, and he and the Artist went to study the drawings on the wall.
"What the hell was that?" Trish demanded as she and Chloe joined them.
"A drawling." Rose replied, "Face of a man."
"What face?" Trish tried to open the doors, but Rose was blocking them.
"Best not." she advised.
"What've you been drawing?" Trish asked Chloe.
"I drew him yesterday." Chloe answered in that emotionless voice of hers.
"Who?"
"Dad."
"Your dad?" Trish stared, "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." That attracted the Time Lords' attention. "We need to stay together and then it will be alright." Trish went forward to try and comfort her daughter, but Chloe just flinched away from her.
"Trish, the drawings. Have you seen what Chloe's drawings can do?" Rose said.
"Who gave you permission to come into her room?" Trish said angrily, "Get out of my house."
"Could you tell us about the drawings, Chloe?" the Artist asked.
"I don't wanna hear anymore of this." Trish snapped.
"But that drawing of her dad... I heard a voice, he spoke!" Rose pointed out.
"He's dead! And these, they're kid's pictures! Now get out!" Trish demanded.
"Chloe has a power." Rose insisted, "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, Trish?" the Artist asked reasonably.
"I haven't seen anything." Trish scoffed.
"Yes you have." the Doctor stated, "Out the corner of your eye."
"No."
"And you dismissed it because what choice did you have?" the Doctor continued, "When you see something you can't possibly explain, you dismiss it, right?" He went right up to her face. "If anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of again."
"She's a child." Trish protested.
"And you're terrified of her." the Artist said simply, "But you've got no one to turn to because no one will believe you. But we do. We can help, Trish, if you let us."
"Who are you?" Trish asked.
"We're help." the Doctor replied.
———————————————————————————
Trish and the trio retreated to the kitchen to discuss things. "Those pictures, they're alive." Rose said, "She's drawing people, an' they end up in her pictures."
"Ionic energy." the Doctor mused, "Chloe's harnessing it to steal those kids and place them in some kinda holding pen made up of ionic energy."
"And what about the dad from hell in her wardrobe?"
"How many times do I have to tell you? He's dead." Trish insisted.
"Well, he's got a very loud voice for dead bloke." Rose muttered.
"If living things can become drawings, maybe drawings can become living things." the Doctor murmured thoughtfully.
"Ah, of course." the Artist nodded, "Chloe's dad may be dead, but he's still alive in her nightmares. That dad's very real to her, and that's the dad she's drawn."
"And he's a heartbeat away from crashing into this world." the Doctor finished.
"She always got the worst of it when he was alive." Trish explained.
"How can a 12-year old girl be doing this?" Rose questioned.
"Let's find out." the Doctor replied, taking the Artist's hand and leading the way back upstairs.
———————————————————————————
When they entered Chloe's room, the group found her sitting cross-legged on her bed. As the Doctor approached her, she gave him a Vulcan salute. "Nice one." he nodded. He knelt down in front of her and placed his hands on her temples. Her eyes rolled into her head and she fell back on the bed. "There we go." the Doctor remarked.
"I can't let him..." Trish protested, about to rush forward but the Artist stopped her.
"It's alright." she reassured, "We won't harm her. Trust us." She went over to the bed and began to stroke Chloe's hair.
"Now we can talk." the Doctor remarked.
"I want Chloe!" a whispering voice from inside Chloe spoke up, "Wake her up! I want Chloe!"
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.
"I want Chloe Webber!" the voice demanded.
"What have you done my little girl?" Trish cried.
"What is it?" Rose asked.
"Something's possessing Chloe." the Artist explained, "That's the voice we're hearing."
"I'm speaking to you." the Doctor said in his commanding tone, circling the bed, "The entity that is using this human child. I request parley in compliance with the Shadow Proclamation."
"I don't care about shadows and parleys." the voice retorted.
"So what do you care about?" the Artist asked, " Do you care about Chloe?"
"She's my friend." the voice answered.
The Doctor knelt down. "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." Chloe's eyes snapped open. "It's not fair and I hate it!"
"Name yourself." the Doctor ordered.
"Isolus."
The Doctor and the Artist shared a look. Now it all made sense. "You're an Isolus." the Artist nodded, "That explains everything."
"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family." the Isolus said, using Chloe to do a drawing.
"What's that?" Trish asked.
"The Isolus mother." the Doctor explained, "Drifting in deep space. See, she jettisons millions of fledgling spores, her children. The Isolus are empathic beings of intense emotion. When they're cast off from the mother, their empathic link, their need for each other is what sustains them."
"They need each other." the Artist added, "They just can't be alone."
"Our journey is long." the Isolus continued.
"The Isolus children travel, each inside a pod." the Doctor elaborated, "They ride the heat and energy of solar tides. And it takes thousands and thousands of years for them to grow up."
"Thousands of years just floating through space?" Rose frowned, "Don't they go mad with boredom?"
"We play." the Isolus answered.
"You... play?"
"While they travel, they play games." the Doctor explained, "They use their ionic power to literally create make-believe worlds in which to play."
"In-flight entertainment." Rose nodded.
"That helps keep them happy." the Artist said, "Happy Isolus can feed off each other's love. Without it, they're lost."
"Why did you come to Earth?" the Doctor asked the Isolus
"We were too close." the Isolus replied, and used Chloe to draw a picture of a sun.
"That's a solar flare from your sun." the Doctor realised, "Would've made a tidal wave of solar energy that scattered the Isolus pods."
"Only I fell to Earth." the Isolus said, "My brothers and sisters are left up there. And I can not 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 needed her."
"Kindred spirits." the Artist said, gently stroking Chloe's cheek, "You empathised with her. You came to her because she was lonely too."
"I want my family!" the Isolus moaned, "It's not fair!"
"We understand, you wanna make a family." the Doctor said, "But you can't stay in this child. It's wrong. You can't steal any more friends for yourself."
"I am alone!" the lsolus moaned again.
The wardrobe began to rattle again, accompanied by the voice again; "I'm coming to hurt you! I'm coming!"
Chloe's body began to convulse in fear, though her face remained neutral. "Trish, how do you calm her?" the Artist asked.
"What?"
"When Chloe has nightmares, what do you do?"
"I...I sing to her." Trish replied.
"Start singing." the Doctor advised as he and the Artist stepped back from the bed.
Trish came forward and began to sing; "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree. Merry, merry bush is he." As Trish sang, the growling and the banging subsided. "Kookaburra, gay your life must be." Chloe rolled over, asleep. Trish began to sob. "It came to her because she was lonely. Oh, Chloe, I'm so sorry." she hugged her daughter close, crying.
———————————————————————————
After Trish had stopped crying, she and the time travellers retreated to the living room, where Trish began to gather up Chloe's pencils. "Chloe usually got the brunt of his temper, when he'd had a drink." she explained, "The day he crashed the car, I thought we were free. I thought it was over."
"Did you talk to Chloe about it?" the Artist asked.
"No, I didn't want to."
"Hmm, I think that's why Chloe feels so lonely. She has nightmares about him, and she can't talk to anyone about them."
"Her and the Isolus." the Doctor sighed, "Two lonely kids who needed each other." the Artist took his hand soothingly. He had revealed during their chats when Rose was asleep that he'd had a lonely childhood, and he could relate with both Chloe and the Isolus. Of course, he was no longer lonely. He had made many friends on his travels and he had the Artist now, his soulmate. Nowadays, when he looked back at that terrible day when he'd ended the Time War, he recalled that there was one good thing that had happened on that day; the Artist had entered his life. She truly had been a godsend for him. She'd understood when he'd told her what he'd done, and assured him that he'd made the right choice, and over the years they'd grown very close to each other, culminating in their current relationship. She'd been by his side, keeping the darkness from consuming him, and stopping him when he was in the wrong. He really loved her.
"And it won't stop, will it?" Rose asked them, "It'll just keep pulling kids in."
"It only wants to be loved, Rose." the Artist told her, "It's used to a pretty big family."
"How big?"
"Say around four billion." the Doctor replied, causing the two humans to look completely stunned.
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"We need that pod." the Doctor said as the time travellers left the Webber house.
"It crashed, won't it be destroyed?" Rose asked.
"Well, it's been sucking 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 the TARDIS can trace. Once we find it, then we can stop the Isolus." the Doctor explained, blissfully unaware that Chloe was watching out of her bedroom window and had overheard every word he said.
"Why not just use ya sonic screwdrivers?" Rose suggested.
"Signature's too weak for them to pick up." the Artist replied, "The TARDIS' scanners are more powerful."
They soon reached the place where the TARDIS had landed. "We can scan for the same trace we picked up from the scribble creature." the Doctor explained, "Just need to widen the field a bit." He unlocked the door and the trio ventured inside.
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The Time Lords were soon busy, the Doctor assembling a device and the Artist working the scanner. "You both knew the Isolus was lonely before it told ya, how?" Rose asked.
"I know what it's like to travel a long way on ya own." the Doctor replied, "Give me the steino-magnetic... Um, the thing in ya left hand."
"Sounds like ya on it's side." Rose remarked as she handed him what he'd asked for.
"We sympathise, that's all." he replied.
"The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people."
"It didn't mean to, Rose." the Artist said, "It's just a lonely child, that needs to be loved."
"That's why it went to Chloe." the Doctor added, "Two lonely mixed-up kids."
"Feels to me like a temper tantrum cos' it can't get it's own way." Rose muttered.
"It's scared." the Doctor retorted, "Come on, you were a kid once. Binary dot." he requested.
Rose handed him the item in question. "Yes! And I know what kids are like, right little terrors!"
"Gum." the Doctor requested, holding out his hand.
Rose spat her gum out into it. "I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way! That's part of being a family."
"And so is understanding them." the Artist said, "The Doctor and I have been parents, so we understand what the Isolus is going through."
"The Doctor was a dad?!" Rose stared. She knew about the Artist once having a son, but the Doctor having kids, now that was news to her.
"I think we're there." the Doctor waved her off as he finished assembling his device and got up to join the Artist by the monitor, "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... Ya know the thing you need most of all?"
"A hand to hold." the Artist finished for him just as the monitor bleeped. "Doctor, we're in business." she said.
"It's the pod!" he grinned, "It is in the street! Everything's coming up Doctor!" And with that, he dashed off to the doors with the women right behind. "Okay." the Doctor said as they stepped outside and he paused to lock the TARDIS, "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 the heat, yeah?" Rose asked, "So it's not all love and stuff. Doesn't the pod just need heat?"
"Well, a bit of both." the Artist replied, "The pod needs heat, but the Isolus needs love."
Suddenly, they heard a crash behind them and they turned to see the Doctor's device in bits on the ground and the Doctor and the TARDIS gone. "Chloe." the Artist realised and took off running back towards the close, Rose hot on her heels.
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When the women reached the Webber house, the Artist knocked the door urgently. Trish soon answered. "We need to see Chloe again, it's urgent." the Time Lady said as she and Rose went into the house and upstairs.
"It's okay, I've taken the pencils off of her." Trish called after them.
They entered Chloe's room, and there was a drawing of the Doctor and the TARDIS. "Leave me alone!" the Isolus demanded, "I want to be with Chloe Webber! I love Chloe Webber!"
"Bring him back now!" Rose demanded.
"NO!"
"Look, we're trying to help you!" the Artist reasoned, "We need the Doctor to do that. Bring him back, please!"
"Leave me alone!" the Isolus said stubbornly, "I love Chloe Webber!"
"And I love the Doctor." the Artist retorted, then turned to Rose; "C'mon, we need to find that pod."
"Don't leave her alone, no matter what." Rose said to Trish as they left.
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"The pod travels on heat." the Artist mused as they went outside, "So it would've crashed somewhere where there's heat."
"Kel's been working on this street, he might've seen something." Rose suggested, noticing him patting a newly-tarmacked patch of road, "Let's ask him."
"Look at this finish." Kel said proudly as the two women ran over to him, "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 lotta heat?" Rose asked him.
"I mean, you could eat ya dinner off this." Kel continued, too pleased with his handiwork to take any notice, "Beautiful, so you tell me why the other one's got a lump in it, when I gave it the same luv and craftsmanship as I did this one?"
"No idea." the Artist told him, "Now, listen. We need you to think back six days.."
"Six days. When I was laying this the first time round."
"What?" Rose blinked.
"Well, that's when I filled in this pot hole for the first time." Kel replied.
"Of course!" the Artist realised ,"Hot, fresh tar. perfect."
"Blended to a secret council recipe." Kel said proudly. The two women just stood up and raced over to Kel's van. "I don't keep it in the van!" he scoffed. The Artist soniced the van's back doors and opened them. "'Ey! That's a council van! Out!" Kel protested. The Artist ignored him and pulled out a pair of pickaxes, giving one to Rose. "Whoa, wait a minute. You've just removed council axes from a council van!" Kel continued to moan, "Put 'em back!" The two women began to smash the newly-laid tarmac with the axes, ignoring Kel's protests. "You just took council axes from a council van, and now ya digging up a council road! I'm reporting you two to the council!"
"So do it!" the Artist retorted as she and Rose continued to hack at the tarmac.
"I got it!" Rose shouted, pulling out a small egg-shaped object. "It went for the hottest thing in the street, your tar!" she laughed.
"What is it?!" Kel demanded.
"A spaceship." the Artist told him, then turned to Rose; "C'mon, let's get it back to Chloe." And they promptly raced back to the Webber house. "We found it!" she called upstairs as they rushed in.
"What do we do with it?" Rose asked her, "Does the Isolus just hop on board or something?" Then she noticed Trish standing in the living room. "Hang on, I told ya not to leave her!" she said to her.
Then their attention was caught by something on the telly. "My god! What is going on here?!" They all saw an empty Olympic stadium. The crowds and athletes had all vanished.
At that point, Kel came storming into the house. "I don't care if ya got Snow White and the Seven Dwarves buried under there!" he complained, "You do not..."
"Shut up an' look!" Rose snapped, pointing to the telly.
"The crowd has vanished!" a bewildered Huw Edwards said, "Erm, they've gone. Everyone has gone. Thousands of people just gone, erm, er, right in front of my eyes. It's impossible."
"That won't be enough." the Artist said grimly, "The Isolus has four billion brothers and sisters." She, Rose and Trish hurried upstairs to Chloe's room, only to find that the door was jammed. "Chloe?" the Artist called, "Chloe, it's Artist and Rose. We need you to open the door."
"We found ya ship! We can send ya home!" Rose added.
"Chloe!" Trish called.
"Open up!" Rose demanded, but to no avail.
"Right then, sorry about this, Trish." the Artist said, and she and Rose promptly demolished the door with their axes.
They hurried in to find Chloe busy drawing the whole Earth on her wall, while the voice of her dad was gloating about coming to hurt her. "We've gotta stop her." Rose cried. She stepped forward but the wardrobe doors rattled.
"If you stop Chloe Webber, I will let him out." the Isolus threatened, "We will let him out together! I can not be alone! It's not fair!"
"We've got your pod." Rose tried.
"The pod is dead." the Isolus retorted.
The Artist scanned it with her sonic. "It's not dead, it just needs charging up." she said.
"Well, there we are then." Rose said, "Just give it a bit of heat and ya away."
"No, it needs more than heat." the Artist told her, "Remember, it needs love too."
Rose suddenly remembered something; something that Kel had told her was due to pass the end of the street, a source of heat and a beacon of love. "The Olympic torch! It's supposed to pass by this street any minute!"
"Perfect." the Artist nodded, and they ran out quickly.
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The two women sprinted down the street, towards a crowd of people watching the torchbearer pass by. They squeezed their way through, but were stopped from getting through the barricade by a policeman. "Sorry, you'll have to watch it from here." he told them.
"We've gotta get closer!" Rose protested.
"No way." the policeman told her bluntly.
"Look, this is an emergency." the Artist tried to reason, when the torchbearer passed by.
The pod chirped in Rose's hand. "You felt it, didn't you?" Rose said to it, then pressed it to her lips. "Feel the love." she whispered, then threw the pod in the air. It flew after the torch and went straight through the flame. "YES!" Rose cheered.
"Nice shot!" the Artist praised.
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In the Webber house, Chloe was almost finishing the drawing of the Earth when she stopped suddenly. "I can go home." the Isolus said, "Goodbye, Chloe Webber. I love you." Chloe's eyes rolled slightly and the Isolus flew out of Chloe's mouth and out the window.
Chloe blinked. "Mum?" she asked, scared.
"I'm here." Trish reassured, realising her daughter was back to normal.
"Mummy!" Chloe promptly launched herself at her mother and they hugged tightly.
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In the street, Rose was hugging Kel in relief. "Nice one!" he laughed, "You did it! What was it you did?"
"Saved the day." the Artist told him and they turned back to the street in time to see all the missing kids reappear and reunite with their relieved parents. The Artist smiled wistfully as she watched this. "Doctor?" she called telepathically, but received no answer, her hearts sank.
Just then, the elderly woman came up to them. "I don't know who you two are, or what you did, but thank you, darlings." She kissed both time travellers' cheeks. "And thank that man for me too."
"We will." Rose nodded, then turned to the Artist. "Where is he?" she asked
"I don't know." she sighed, "He should be here. I can sense he's still alive, but he's not answering me." Then she suddenly realised something. "All the drawings have come to life." she murmured, "And that means.." She looked at Chloe's bedroom, where there was a red glow coming from it. "Oh, no!" she breathed, and took off towards the house.
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Trish and Chloe were just coming down the stairs when the front door slammed shut in front of them, as did all the doors to the other rooms. The Artist raced up to the door. "Trish, get out!" she urged.
"I can't, the door's stuck." Trish told her.
The Artist tried her sonic on the lock, but it was no good. "Deadlocked." she muttered.
"Is the Doctor in there?" Rose asked as she joined them.
"I don't think so." Trish answered.
"Mummy." Chloe whimpered as a thumping sounded from upstairs.
"Chloe, I'm coming to hurt you!" her dad's voice growled.
"Please, Dad, no more." Chloe cowered.
"Chloe."
"Chloe, listen to me." Rose 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!" Trish begged.
"He's real because you're scared." the Artist called, "Stand up to him, and he'll go. You can do it!"
"I can't!" Chloe whimpered, sinking to the floor.
"Chloe, I'm coming!" her dad's voice taunted.
"Mummy!"
"I'm with you, Chloe." Trish said, taking her daughter's hand, ""You're not alone. You'll never be alone again."
"Chloe, Trish, sing!" the Artist advised.
"Kookabura sits in the old gum tree..." Chloe began.
"I'm coming to hurt you, Chloe!"
Then Trish joined in. "Laugh Kookabura, laugh kookabura, gay your life must me." they both sang. That did the trick. The growling stopped and the red light disappeared.
Outside, the two time travellers sat down on the doorstep in relief.
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A few minutes later, Rose, Trish and Chloe were in the living room watching the opening ceremony when the Artist came back in, having gone to check the car park. "The TARDIS is back." she told Rose, "No sign of the Doctor, though."
"He's gotta be somewhere." Rose reassured.
"Hang on, the torchbearer seems to be in a bit of trouble." Huw Edwards said on the telly, and they could see the torchbearer slowing down, out of breath, then he slunk to his knees. "Does this mean the Olympic dream is dead?" Suddenly, the Doctor appeared on the screen, grabbing the torch.
"That man." the Artist laughed. She should've know that he'd do something like that. The Olympic flame would be the perfect boost of heat the Isolus ship needed to get back into space. They all watched as the Doctor ran up the stairs at the Stratford stadium, held the torch up in the air whooping, then lit the flame. The crowds all cheered, not noticing the Isolus ship streaking up into the sky.
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Later, the Doctor was nonchalantly strolling along Dame Kelly Holmes Close when he heard a familiar voice coming from behind him; "Cake?" He turned round to see the Artist standing there, a massive smile on her face and a cake in her hand.
"Top banana!" the Doctor laughed, taking the cake and having a bite, "I can't stress enough...Ball bearings you can eat, masterpiece!" He swallowed the bit of cake. "Although it's not a patch on this masterpiece." He pointed to the Artist, who promptly launched herself at him and they kissed like there was no tomorrow. Rose watched them happily. God, she loved this. She never wanted these good times to end and it seemed like they never would.
When the Time Lords finally broke apart, the trio began to walk off to attend the games. "Go on, give us a clue. Which events do we do well in?" Rose asked.
"Well, I will tell ya this." the Doctor replied, "Mo Farrah an' Jessica Ennis.. there the ones to watch."
"Yeah, these games are gonna be amazing." the Artist added.
Fireworks began to go off in celebration. "Ya know what? They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will." Rose remarked.
"Never say 'never ever'." the Artist said, her smile dropping.
"Nah, we'll always be okay, us three." Rose said. Neither Time Lord answered, they both looked at the sky with worried expressions. "Don't ya reckon?" Rose tried.
"Something in the air." the Doctor murmured, "Something coming."
"What?"
"A storm's approaching." the Doctor said ominously.