"We need that pod." the Doctor said as he and his girls walked down the street in the direction of their magnificent ship.
"It crashed though. Won't it be destroyed?" Rose asked, unsure of how to locate such an elusive object.
He frowned slightly. "Well, it's been sucking in all the heat it can. Hopefully that should keep it in a fit state to launch."
Echo looked around absently, "It has to be close to Chloe's house." she agreed, having faith in their irreplaceable abilities.
"It should have a week energy signature that the Tardis can trace. Once we find it, then we can help the Isolus." he added. What they didn't realize, however, was that Chloe was watching them first from her bedroom window. She then eventually followed them all the way back to the Tardis without being seen.
As they walked inside their beloved ship, Echo and the Doctor were planning out what they'd need to do and what to build. "We'll then need to scan for the same trace we got from the scribble ball. All we'd have to do is widen the parameters a bit."
Gathering all the equipment they'd need took no time at all. Wanting to enjoy his genius, Echo then opted for simply watching and handing him what he needed as he built their gizmo. That was also when he gave her a piece of gum to chew for their creation. "You both knew the Isolus was lonely before it told you. How?" Rose asked, only wanting them to answer if they were willing.
"We're both very familiar with what it's like to travel a long way on your own." their Doctor answered without looking up from his work. "Hand me the styner- magnetic pulse generator."
Echo then handed him the device in her right hand with amusement.
Rose furrowed her brows. "Sounds like you're both on its side."
Her brunette bestie gave her a confused expression. "To be honest, I don't really blame it for what it's done. For acting out. Especially when considering the circumstances." she answered, unsure on why she didn't see it that way as well.
The human girl gave her a disbelieving look. "The Isolus has caused a lot of pain for these people." she immediately defended.
"It's a child." the Doctor countered. "That's why it went to Chloe. Two lonely, mixed up kids." he reiterated as he adjusted a few gears.
Rose crossed her arms. "Feels to me like a temper tantrum because it can't get its way." she added, not quite understanding what enough isolation could truly cause in a being.
"It's scared. Come on, you were a kid once. Hand me the Binary dot." he said, then attached the tiny piece of specialized metal.
She shrugged, "Yeah, I guess. I know they're right little terrors, too." Echo chuckled and nodded her head in agreement, then gave him the wad of gum he had given her. "I've got cousins. Kids can't have it all their own way. That's part of being a family." she added matter-of-factly.
He glanced at her for only a split second. "What about trying to understand them?"
"Easy for you to say. You don't have kids." she said, not quite realizing just how little she truly knew about him.
"I was a dad once." he answered easily, having no intention on explaining further.
Rose stared at him in shocked disbelief. "What did you say?"
Once the Doctor had succeeded in fixing a component in place with the gum, he then closed the glass dome on top with a pleased smile. "I think we're there. Fear, loneliness. They're the big ones, Rose. Some of the most terrible acts ever committed have been inspired by them. We're not dealing with something that wants to conquer or destroy. Just a lost child. There's a lot of things you need to get across this universe. Warp drive, wormhole refactors. You know the thing you need most of all? A hand to hold." He then took Echo's hand and gave her a loving kiss on her knuckles. Much to his satisfaction, a blush colored her cheeks as a joyous grin adorned her features from the simple yet intimate action.
"Hey, look. There's a thing." Rose then said as she saw the blip on the scanner; pushing a wave of jealousy to the very back of her mind.
"It's the pod! It's in the street." he said with glee. He then quickly led the way back outside. "It's about two inches across. Dull grey, like a gull's egg. Very light." he then explained excitedly so the blonde would know exactly what to look for.
She nodded, "Okay. So those pods, they travel from sun to sun using heat, yeah? So it's not all about love and stuff. Doesn't it just need heat?" Before either of them could answer her questions, the Tardis, the Doctor and his Echo were taken and locked away in their own prison worlds. Their creation crashed to the ground and broke completely, immediately catching her attention. "Doctor? Echo?" Rose looked around with wide eyed horror, already knowing what had happened.
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Pain. Anguish. The feeling was more than could be endured. A quick intake of breath and her lungs were filled with a heavily metallic steam. A quiet squeal escaped involuntarily for a split second; to which wasn't much of a noise any how. With her arm covering her face as though she were surrounded by a thick plume of smoke, Echo tried to run. Run anywhere. She could sense her beloved Doctor's presence, but she couldn't find him. In fact, she couldn't find anything. This painful existence was far more chaotic and beyond empty than even the Void itself. She could feel the unimaginable power that held her in place. She couldn't see light nor dark. She couldn't feel gravity or lack there of. There was no warmth, and yet no cold. She felt so much agonizing torment in her entire mind, body and soul that she couldn't make even the slightest noise any more.
After what felt like an endless eternity, Echo even began to pray to every deity she would always doubt exists to be merciful when giving her her long deserved punishment. Though, over all still, she only wanted quick escape due to the bet she'd made with one of her old, rare friends. She refused to allow them victory by her dying in such an anguish inducing, glorified cage. She couldn't help but feel so alone that she had a hard time convincing herself that other people even existed anymore.
It didn't take Echo long to come to the conclusion that she was either already dead or in one of the Isolus's drawings. Already knowing it wouldn't work, she fought the urge to take out her portal gun. The only problem that thwarted her plan was the fact that there was no physical existence for her portal to lock onto. The ionic energy she was engulfed in would undoubtedly wreak havoc on her technology any way.
All she could think about was the reunion with her soulmate that she refused to let slip away. Nothing in the universe would be able to stop her from returning home. Quickly realizing there was not a single thing she could do outwardly, Echo decided to try focusing her mind on where she wanted to go instead. The entire time did she ignore her own pain, not particularly caring what she herself went through. Her only concern being those still dealing with the young Isolus.
When nothing happened, she knew then that her only course of action left was to simply wait for her release. Her faith in both Rose and her Doctor remained strong and averred.
What disturbed her the most was the fact that she didn't know where she was; dimension wise, that is. She didn't know how exactly she had gotten into such nonexistence, or how she was going to be released. All she knew was that she felt incredibly lost. Yet, even in the midst of all her darkest selves, Echo refused to be bowed. She would never give up, even if it seemed all hope had been irretrievably lost as well. For she knew that being lost was so close to being found. Whether it took seconds or centuries, she'd patiently await her moment of truth.
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In a split second that was faster than the blink of an eye, Echo found herself in the same spot she had been taken from. In the same instant, her beloved Doctor pulled her into a relief fueled hug. "Ionic energy is a bitch and a half." she said quietly and snuggled into his warmth as much as possible, absorbing the comfort his mere presence offered. She then pulled away with a smile. "Let's get that Isolus home, shall we?"
With immense joy and amusement, Echo piloted their Tardis so that her beloved could run the Olympic torch to the finish line and light the Olympic Flame. The fact that they were able to truly help such a lost, lonely, and in pain child only made their victory all that much more sweet and satisfying.
By the time the lovers made it back to the street they had been investigating, they were both holding hands, joking around and simply enjoying the merry atmosphere of those around them. The relief and euphoria of having regained lost children felt as though it were a physical entity all its own. Something they both loved to the highest extent.
They had only been looking for their blonde best friend for around five to ten minutes roughly. That was until Rose jogged over to them and immediately pulled Echo into an almost desperate embrace. Holding back her instinctive urge to throw hands, the brunette wrapped her own arms around her once she realized who had attacked her with their physical affirmation of affection. "I thought I'd lost you two." she admitted without shame and obvious relief.
The Doctor's smile widened, "Nah. Not on a night like this. This is a night for lost things to be found. Come along." he answered, then continued walking.
"Where are we going?" she asked with confused curiosity.
Echo smiled as she linked arms with the younger woman. "I still want to go and see the Games. It is the whole reason we came here in the first place."
Her eager smile brightened as well as she then looked at the Doctor. "Go on, give us a clue. Which events do we do well in?"
He chuckled with immense amusement. "Well, I will tell you this. Papua New Guinea surprises everyone in the shot put." he answered with purposeful vagueness.
Rose's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really? You're joking, aren't you?"
"Wait and see." came his mischievous response.
As an entertaining and obligatory fireworks display lit up the night sky moments later, they paused to admire the show. "You know what? They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will." the blonde mused, oblivious to what the couple beside her had already been sensing. The constant, overwhelming, crushing fear that something terrible was about to happen.
"Never say never ever." he muttered quietly, not liking the foreboding sensation that could only grow.
"Nah. We'll always be okay, you two and me." she brushed off, confident in her ability to spend the rest of her life with them. They were her family and so much more. Even though she was still greatly in love with the indescribably magnificent Time Lord, she knew her relationship with him was nowhere near romantic. She loved them both. It was a love as one loves another person whom one simply cannot do without. They gave her life purpose and that was more than enough for her. For she saw it as just about the greatest gift one friend could give another.
A frown pulled at the corners of his mouth. "There's something in the air. Something's coming." he stated, an occurrence even Echo could feel. She, too, frowned. What could it be? What did it mean? What's to happen? What would she have to do to stop it? It felt inevitable, absolute, irreversible; and it would not be ignored.