A/N: So... long time no see, eh? Almost five years... I found this chapter start from my own files and decided to finish it. It's three years old so you probably can see quite clearly where I've continued this.

I have no idea if I'll return to this permanently but... I might if I get the correct inspiration. I know I had plans for this story but when I look at the very first chapters... (I started this series six years ago, holy shit...) there are some dubious plot choices and I'm quite terribly bound by the original script.

So I'm not sure when any possible update will come but I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways.

10. Ink in the air

The TARDIS materialized right in-between two gates, facing the wrong direction. The Doctor opened the door but found their current situation… quite difficult. Sierra looked in the Time Lord's direction while leaning against the console with Rose next to her. The sandy haired girl chuckled, remembering vaguely how River would be in a similar situation later in timeline, making Tardis eventually explode again and again in an endless timeloop.

"Ah…" The Doctor stated lamely before shutting the door and turning the Tardis ninety degrees. He stepped out once again. "Ah!"

Rose and Sierra followed him and the trio looked around. The blonde noticed almost right away a poster of Shayne Ward, advertising his greatest hits album.

"So, near future, yeah?" The young woman asked. Sierra looked at the poster, scrutinizing it with a frown. Who was that guy? She'd never heard of him…

"I had a passing fancy. Only it didn't pass, it stopped." The alien shrugged.

They walked down the road with the 'LONDON 2012' banner hung above their heads.

"30th Olympia." The Doctor stated. Rose, obviously delighted, linked her arm through his. Sierra looked at the two a bit sadly but decided to walk quietly on the Doctor's other side. Let them enjoy… The last few adventures together before… yeah.

"No way! Why didn't I think of this, that's great! Ah!"

"I was in Hastings when the Olympic torch came there." Sierra told the blonde. "It was a language course. The arrival of the torch had the traffic all messed up. For two days! First when it arrived in the late night and then the next day morning when it left. We – my roomie and I – had to walk to school because the busses weren't in use."

"What's the big deal with walking? Hastings isn't that big place, is it?" Rose frowned.

"No, but we weren't allowed. Not after two guys tried to get some French girl from our course to their car. Of course it was mostly just for evenings after discoes and such but… Even when the school ended for the day, we had to take a bus. But on that day, because we didn't know the traffic was screwed up and began walking a bit too late, we were almost late from school. End of story."

"What else did you see from the Olympics then?"

"Well, the opening ceremony I watched at home then, with Scott and parents. It was amazing spectacle. You Brits really appreciate your literature you know. There was Harry Potter, Mary Poppins… Oh and James Bond jumped from helicopter with Queen Elizabeth II. That was a stunt double naturally but in TV it looked so real. Oh, and there was a part about the English health care, hundreds of nurses and kid patients. It was so adorable!" Sierra gushed. Rose laughed.

"I can believe it. What about you Doctor? What do you have to say about the Olympics?"

"Well… To me it only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about... wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood about, begging... no, wait a minute... that was Club Med." The alien laughed at his own joke, nudging Rose. Sierra missed the reference. "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 watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch... lovely chap, what was his...?"

But Rose wasn't listening anymore. She had spotted something much more important and crucial: several 'MISSING' posters tacked onto the lamp post. The blonde slowed down and moved closer to investigate them, Sierra following her while the Doctor carried on, oblivious and still yapping to himself.

"Mark...? John..? Mark...? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet."

"Doctor…" Rose began.

"And in those days, everybody had a tea party to go to." The Time Lord continued.

"Doctor?" The blonde called again.

"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top-…"

"You should really look." Sierra stated, crossing her arms and leaning to take a closer look at one of the posters.

"Do you know those - those things?" The alien man finally sauntered over them. "Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius." He read the posters quickly, finding the unasked question. "What's taking them, do you think?"

They all turned around to look around the street.

"Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold...? Is something reducing the temperature...?"

"It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?" Rose read from the posters.

"What makes you think it's a person?" The Doctor questioned. A door opened from distance and a woman dumped a recycling sack on the pavement outside her house, hurrying back inside while casting furtive looks around her all the while.

"Whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death. Doctor, what-…?" Rose noted after seeing the behavior. Sierra nodded silently next to her. By the time they turned to face the Doctor, he was already at the other end of the road. Sierra jogged after him, Rose a step behind.

Near them, a car shuddered to a halt. Rose stopped to watch. A council worker – Kel – propped his broom up against his white van and approached the car with the blonde.

"There you go. Fifth today. Not natural, is it?" Kel told the driver cheerfully.

"I dunno what happened, I had it serviced less than a month ago." The driver muttered.

"Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. All the cars are doing it. And do you know what? It's bonkers. Bonkers. Come on then, pal. I'll help you shift it. Quicker you're on the way, happier you'll be." Kel continued as the driver came to help with pushing the car.

"There we go." The driver grunted.

"Do you want a hand?" Rose asked.

"No, we're all right, love." Kel smiled.

"No, you're not. I'm tougher than I look, honest." Was the girl flirting with him? In any case she began helping Kel and the driver with the car, by pushing it forward along with them. And the engine suddenly sprung to life, causing Kel to promptly fall over. He stands, brushing himself down.

"Does this happen a lot?" Rose frowned. The driver got into his car and drove off.

"Cheers, mate!" The man called to them.

"Been doing it all week." Kel grumbled.

"Since those children started going missing?" Rose asked.

"Yeah… I s'pose so."

Sierra watched in amusement at the Doctor giggling as he felt whatever sensation he's experiencing over the grass.

"Tickles!" The Time Lord told the girl.

"Oh really?" Sierra gave him a crooked smile.

"Yup!"

The owner of the house suddenly appeared behind them, hands in his pockets.

"What's your game?" The man asked.

The Doctor spun around. Sierra just turned her head lazily at the man before focusing back on the spot of grass in front of her. She crouched down to examine it closer, fishing her Sonic Light from her pocket.

"My... um... Snakes and Ladders? Quite good at... Squash. Reasonable." The Doctor floundered until he saw the look he was receiving from the other man. "I'm... being facetious, aren't I? There's no call for it."

"Doctor… why don't you just shut up?" Sierra muttered quietly, taking a look on the scanning results on her Sonic Light. But the alien didn't hear and continued babbling feeble explanations. And gradually the man began looking like he was going to beat up the Time Lord.

"I'm- I'm a police officer! I've got a badge – and – and a police car... you don't have to get – I can – I can prove it! Just hold on—…" The Doctor fished in 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." The human male told the alien.

"See, look! I've got a colleague! Lewis." The Doctor was pointing Rose's face. The blonde winked.

"Well, she looks less like a copper than you do."

"Training. New recruit. It was either that or hairdressing, so..." And the psychic paper was found. "Voila!"

A woman from across the street had joined them by now. Sierra recognized her as Trish, mother of Chloe Webber, the girl who kidnapped the other children by drawing them.

"What are you going to do?" Trish asked the Doctor.

"The police have knocked on every door - no clues, no leads, nothing." The old lady with them explained.

"Look, kids run off sometimes, all right? That's what they do—…" The man, the father of a kid named Tom, tried to explain.

"Run off? I've never done that." Sierra straightened up, levelling a gaze on the man.

"Dale Hixon in your garden, playing with your Tommy, and then...! Maeve (the old lady) mimicked something disappearing. "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-…" Doctor tried to get a word edgewise.

"Why don't we start with him?" Some woman pointed accusingly at Kel. "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."

"Fixing things up for the Olympics!" Kel exclaimed.

"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it." Tom's father replied angrily.

"I'm of the opinion that all we've gotta do is just–…"

"You don't – what you just said, that's slander!" Kel shouted.

"I don't care what it is!" The other man yelled back.

"I think we need to just-…"

"I want an apology off her!" Kel pointed the woman who'd accused him. Sierra followed the exchange bemusedly. It was like a tennis match.

"Stop picking on him." Maeve sided with the young man.

"Yeah, stop picking on me!"

"And stop pretending to be blind! It's evil!"

"I don't believe in evil." The one woman glared.

"Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van—!" Kel shouted.

"Ay, ay, ay, that's not what she's saying."

"Would you stop ganging up on me?!"

"Feeling guilty, are we?"

"Fingers on lips!" The Doctor finally managed to overpower the shouting match. He put his finger on his lips and glared around at them all as if daring the neighborhood not to do the same. Sierra followed immediately, with a hint of smile on her face, with Kel and his coworker. The Doctor looked pointedly at Rose, who followed suit soon enough too. Once all of them had their fingers on their lips, and silence fell.

"In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?" The Doctor asked. Maeve gestured to ask permission to take her finger off her lips.

"Er... can I...?" The old lady asked. The Doctor nodded. "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?"

The trio stood on the front lawn of one of the houses. Actually it was the same one than where Sierra and the Doctor were previously at, investigating. Rose was now standing outside his house and the Doctor was sniffing around the front lawn like a sniffer-dog. Sierra just sat on the lawn, her feet stretched out in front of her. Rose watched the Time Lord sniff around for a few moments before finally speaking up.

"Want a hanky?"

"Can you smell it?" The Doctor asked.

"Smell?" Sierra frowned and sniffed the air with Rose.

"What does it remind you of?"

"Sort of... metal?" Rose guessed. The alien man nodded.

"Mm-hm!"

Rose grinned. "Oooh!"

Sierra frowned at the interaction. What was so special about the observation? Other than the fact Rose was obviously right. Nevertheless, she followed the duo as they left the lawn. Maybe she could visit Hastings of this universe soon. It was the right year after all.

They walked down a narrow alleyway.

"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other." The Doctor explained before falling silent and looking around. He obviously could feel something happening. "Whoa, there it goes again!" He brought his hand up for the girls to see. "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand."

"And there's that smell... it's like a… um... a burnt fuse plug or something." Rose inhaled.

"A smell like a taste." Sierra licked her dry lips. "Well, the two senses are connected."

"There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this." The Doctor continued. "Taste? How do you know what metal tastes? You do not…" The Time Lord gestured with his hands.

"Yes, Doctor, I do not lick random things like you do." Sierra sighed in exasperation. The man huffed in indignation, like he was about to give a reason for his behavior or something similar. The sandy-blonde didn't give him a chance though. "But as a primary schooler when I had my first key to our home's front door I used to suck it. Not for long but I still did it. Now I know it was extremely stupid and unhygienic but what's done is done."

They met a cat. Rose went to pet it. The Doctor didn't notice. Sierra just watched the interaction with amusement. There had been lately so many situations like this… Where she was simply a bystander and not really with them in the present moment.

"Aren't you a beautiful boy?!" The blonde cooed.

"Thanks! I'm experimenting with back-combing." The Doctor grinned but turned then to look at Rose, who was petting the cat. "Oh."

"I used to have one like you." The girl continued. The cat meowed. The Time Lord watched the two uncomfortably, like he had something particularly a bad tasting in his mouth that he had to eat anyways.

"What?" Rose asked once looking up and noticing his expression.

"No, I'm not really a cat person. Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it."

"I like cats. Never had one though. Mum and I are allergic." Sierra smiled. "It's a pity. Cats are marvelous creatures."

The cat wandered over to a cardboard box and climbed in. Then a whooshing sound happened, leaving only the echo of the cat's meow as if it's fading into the distance. The cat was gone, leaving only the smell – and taste – of iron behind.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted in urgency. The Doctor hurried over to her with Sierra. The blonde stood up abruptly as the smell hit them. The alien man backed up a couple of steps in surprise.

"Whoa! Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Iron residue. Blimey! That takes some doing!" He picked up the box and turned it around to see all angles of it. "Just to snatch a living organism out of space/time. This baby is just like…" Cue a horrible accent imitation from wherever. "'I'm 'avin' some of that.' I'm impressed."

"So the cat's been transported?" Rose frowned.

"Most likely." Sierra crossed her arms on her chest and peered into the box which was now upside down. "And I think we really need to start looking for clues before more people – children – disappear." Her eyes wandered towards the Webbers' house, specifically to the bedroom window in the second floor. "And fast."

The Doctor sent both Sierra and Rose on their way to look for clues. Rose wandered off while Sierra began sweeping the area with her Sonic Light. What she could detect, everything indicated toward Chloe Webber's bedroom window but the residue strands were very, very faint and the Sonic Light could just barely catch a whiff of them. She wasn't exactly surprised that the Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver hadn't detected them. Firstly, the Doctor wasn't sure at the beginning what to look for. Secondly, the Screwdriver was a bit older edition than her Sonic Light. Probably still had the same software than when it was first made, centuries ago. Like the War Doctor realized… Or will realize. The same software, a different case. The same man, a different face.

The lost girl smiled faintly at the memory of watching the 50 anniversary special. The worldwide simulcast. It had been great. Three Doctors together, the secret of the Time War solved and…

Sierra's thoughts halted to a stop. Where in there would she be? She doubted with the War Doctor, he was straight from the Time War after all. Tenny? Maybe. But he spent his time flirting with Elizabeth I. Eleven with Clara? Would Sierra even survive that far or would something happen to her? Or would she find a way home by then?

She shook her head and the thoughts away. She should just wait and see. Right now they had a mystery to solve. With a slight skip in her step, Sierra headed back to the Tardis. That's where she'd most likely find the other two anytime soon.

Sierra looked at the round object on the Tardis console. She gingerly picked it up and rubbed her fingers against it. Graphite smudges appeared on her hands, just like after drawing something for a long time and hand occasionally swiping at the already drawn parts. But that's why fixative spray was invented.

While the sandy blond mused over her art supplies, Doctor was running a scan.

"Oh - hi ho, here we go. Let's have a look." The Time Lord snatched the ball thingy from Sierra's hands and placed it back atop of the console. A few tense moments later the result was on the screen. "Get out of here..." The Doctor murmured.

"What's it say?" Rose asked.

"Graphite would be my guess…" Sierra stated, showing her half-grey hands to the duo. The Doctor glanced at them still a bit disbelieving. He took a pencil from his pocket and held the ball of scribble out in front of him. Using the eraser at the end of the pencil, he rubbed out part of the object.

"It is!" He exclaimed in glee and blew at the ball."It really is graphite! Basically the same material as an HB pencil."

"I was attacked by a... pencil scribble?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"Yup!" Sierra grinned. "Can I keep it?"

"Sure." The Doctor tossed the grey ball to Sierra who immediately stored it inside her bag. "Scribble creature. Brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But... why make a scribble creature?!"

"Maybe it was a mistake... I mean, you scribble over something when you wanna get rid of it. Like a um... like a drawing. Like a... a…" The blonde trailed off, realizing something. "…child's drawing. You said it was in the street."

"Probably..." The Time Lord urged the shop girl(ex) to go on.

"The girl."

"Of course! ... What girl?" Once again he got it but didn't really. Sierra resisted the urge to shake her head.

"Something about her gave me the creeps... even her own mum looked scared of her." Rose explained.

"Are you deducting?" The Doctor leaned toward the blonde.

"I think I am."

"Copper's hunch?" They were still playing that? Seriously?

"Permission to follow it up, sarge." Yeah, apparently. This time Sierra did shake her head, a fond smile on her lips.

Sierra rang the doorbell of the Webbers' house. They waited until the Doctor got impatient (which was less than minute later) and rapped the letter box.

"Really Doctor? Really?" Sierra sighed just when Trish opened the door. The trio gave her friendly smiles.

"Hello! I'm the Doctor and these are Rose and Sierra. Can we see your daughter?" The Time Lord spoke.

"No! You can't." Trish rebutted immediately.

"Okay! Bye." They begin walking away in silence. Well, a tactic was this one too.

"Why?" A working tactic. "Why do you want to see Chloe?"

"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and I just thought - well, we thought - that she might like to give us a hand." The Doctor explained as they turned back towards the door.

"Sorry to bother you." Rose offered.

"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again!" They turned to go away once again. This time Sierra just leaned against the door and crossed her arms. To wait…

"Wait!" Bingo. "Can you help her?"

The Doctor smiled, "Yes, I can."

"She stays in her room, most of the time. 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." Trish explained once they all were seated in the living room.

"What about Chloe's dad?" Rose asked.

"Chloe's dad died a year ago."

"I'm sorry."

"You wouldn't be if you'd known him." At the statement Sierra frowned. There wasn't much she remembered about this episode but did that mean… that Chloe's father had been abusive? Or drunkard? Or something? Chloe had cared about him to some degree though since she'd drawn that giant picture of him, even though it caused her nightmares.

"Well! Let's go and say hi!" And the somber mood was broken by the Doctor.

"I should check on her first... she might be asleep." Trish said hesitantly, making her way to the stairs.

"Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" Sierra spoke up then. She knew, of course, but the girl gathered Trish wanted to tell to her rather than to the Doctor who wasn't exactly… confidence and trust inspiring with his flippant attitude. The event at Torchwood manor was a great example about it.

"I want you to know before you see her that's she's really a great kid."

"I'm sure she is." The Doctor nodded sagely.

"She's never been in trouble at school... you should see her report from last year. As and Bs." The woman smiled at Sierra and Rose, obviously proud of her daughter's success. The girls smiled back.

"Can I use your loo?" Rose asked then and received a permission. The blonde left the room with both the Doctor and Sierra closely following her actions. They both knew or at least had an inkling what the girl was up to. Meanwhile Trish continued telling the remaining duo about Chloe.

"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."

The Doctor went to the kitchen with Trish. Chloe was there, drinking milk. Sierra just listened to the conversation occurring, trying to pick up some clues.

"All right, there? I'm the Doctor."

"I'm Chloe Webber."

"How're you doing, Chloe Webber?"

"I'm busy. I'm making something. Aren't I, mum?" It was like a warning – or an order – for the woman to reply in a desired way.

"And like I said, she's not been sleeping." Trish told.

"But you've been drawing, though. I'm rubbish. Stick men are about my limit. Sierra is brilliant, you should see the people and landscapes she can create. Can do this, though..." Cue the Spock hand sign. "Can you do that?"

"They don't stop moaning." The girl told then. Sierra frowned.

"Chloe..." Trish muttered.

"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning."

"Who don't?" The Doctor asked quietly, like fearing what she might say.

"We can be together."

"Sweetheart– …" Trish made to approach Chloe, presumably to hug her. Chloe took a step back.

"Don't touch me, mum… I'm busy... Doctor." The girl told them and left.

"Oh, come on, Chloe! Don't be a spoil sport!" The Doctor called after her. Sierra got slowly on her feet and followed the Doctor to the hallway. "What's the big project? I'm dying to know! What're you making up there?"

Then Rose's terrified shout sounded from the upstairs. "Doctor!"

And they all run up the stairs to the second floor.

They discovered the life-sized drawing in the wardrobe and all the papers littering the wall and floor of Chloe's room. At first Trish tried to chase them all out of the house but the Doctor managed to convince her that Chloe needed their help. The Time Lord herded everyone back to the kitchen then, leaving Sierra to talk with the little girl.

The teen sat on the desk chair opposite Chloe who was sitting on her bed. The little girl's face was impassive and Sierra could remember how she'd flinched when Trish had touched her. There was no doubt of it anymore. Chloe's father had been abusive.

"Hello, Chloe. I don't think I introduced myself yet. I'm Sierra. Sierra Adler." She left out her hand for the girl to take, palm facing upwards so it would be less threatening. Chloe took it slowly and shook it.

"I'm Chloe Webber."

"Nice to meet you." Sierra smiled before looking at the constantly changing drawings. "You have talent. If you keep on drawing, I'm sure you'll create masterpieces eventually."

"…Thank you."

"Could you tell me about them?"

"No."

"Okay. That's alright. Do you want to see what I've drawn then?"

"Yes."

Sierra took off her backpack and dug out her sketch book. "I use this for quick drawings. Something that I see briefly but want to remember for later use. The size is so handy. At my room then I have bigger papers for more detailed works." She flipped open a page with the Fifth Doctor drawn in it. "This is my friend… Davey. He loves playing cricket. And eating celery. I can't eat celery at all. I'm allergic."

Sierra offered the little book for Chloe to take and the girl did. She flipped the pages and the teen kept explaining. Thankfully she didn't have any monsters in there. Except one Dalek which was then a 'robotic pepper pot'. She kept talking and the girl occupied. A bit this and a bit that. Just something to do and say until the action would begin. Though in the end Rose would be the hero of the Isolus and Doctor the hero of the people gathered to watch the Olympic Torch. So where would Sierra fit in?

Moments passed. After a while the door of Chloe's room opened and The Doctor, Rose and Trish entered. The girl looked up and gave then the sketch book back to Sierra. The Doctor walked to stand right before her, looking down at the girl. Chloe didn't say anything but did make the Spock hand sign.

"Nice one." The Time Lord complimented and crouched down, extending his hand to hold the girl's head. It was the telepathy thing. The same way Ninth Doctor had held Sierra and this current one Madame Pompadour… Sierra instinctively flinched away from the duo but remained seated on the desk chair. Chloe's eyes rolled in her head for a moment before closing. The Doctor closed his own eyes also briefly before letting Chloe fall backwards onto the bed.

"There we go..."

"I can't let him do this-…" Trish began advancing the trio in the room but Rose stopped her.

"Shh, it's okay. Trust him." The blonde whispered. Meanwhile the Doctor straightened up and looked down at Chloe, addressing her. Or rather the being inside her.

"Now we can talk."

"I want Chloe. Wake her up. I want Chloe." The being, Isolus, spoke with a whisper.

"Who are you?" The Doctor asked.

"I want Chloe Webber!" The Isolus whisper-shouted.

"What've you done to my little girl?" Trish demanded while Rose looked worriedly at the Doctor.

"Doctor, what is it?" The alien man didn't answer, just walked around the bed while keeping a firm eye on the unconscious girl.

"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."

"Doctor… Let me…" Sierra slid from the chair to kneel beside Chloe's bed. She placed the sketch book on the floor and gently took a hold on the girl's left hand. This needed some gentle approach. And Doctor was not that good at it. "Hello, are you alright?"

"I don't want parlez."

"That's alright. Would you mind telling me what do you want? What do you care about?"

"I want my friends."

"I see. You're lonely. I'm guessing you are far away from home. Can you tell me where are you from? Do you know? If you don't, that's alright too."

"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!" Chloe's hand squeezed aggressively Sierra's and the girl's eye flew open. The Doctor made a move to protect Sierra but the young woman just withdrew one hand and gestured the Time Lord to stay back.

"It's alright. We can help you. But we can't do that if you won't tell who you are." Sierra told the girl gently.

"Isolus."

"Thank you."

"You're Isolus. Of course." The comprehension dawned on the Doctor's face.

"Our journey began in the Deep Realms when we were a family." The Isolus spoke. She had reached for a paper at her other side and was drawing on it with her free hand.

"What's that?" Trish wondered as she looked at the forming picture.

"The Isolus Mother, drifting in Deep Space." The Doctor began explaining while pacing in the room. "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 cannot be alone."

"Our journey is long." The young Isolus stated.

"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... poor things – don't they go mad with boredom?" Rose frowned.

"We play." Chloe whispered.

"You... play?

"Well, they are children." Sierra mused. "It's natural for them to play."

"Mm. While they travel, they play games. They use their ionic power to literally create make-believe worlds in which to play." The Doctor sat on the bed, right next to Chloe.

"In-flight entertainment." Rose hummed.

"Helps keep them happy. While they're happy, they can feed off each other's love. Without it, they're lost." The space man looked at the unconscious girl and asked. "Why did you come to Earth?"

"We were too close." The Isolus whispered and began a new drawing.

"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 was like me. Alone. She needed me. And I her."

"You empathised with her. You wanted to be with her because she was alone like you."

"I want my family. It's not fair." Chloe whispered. Sierra slowly stood up and gestured Trish silently to take her place holding the girl's hand. The woman complied without a fuzz.

"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." The Doctor contined speaking.

"I am alone."

There was a thump in the wardrobe and a distorted voice called out: "I'm coming to hurt you."

Chloe's whole body began trembling though nothing appeared on her face. Nothing indicated that she was scared.

"I'm coming."

"Trish, how do you calm her?" Sierra asked, laying a hand on the woman's shoulder. Trish looked up in confusion.

"What?!"

"This is a nightmare, a bad memory she is living right now. How do you calm Chloe down?"

"I... I..."

"Please, this is important! What do you do?"

"I sing to her."

"Then please… Sing."

"Chloe... I'm coming."

"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree, merry merry king of the bush is he..."

"Chloe... Chloe..."

The banging and thumping on the wardrobe door continued despite everything. The Doctor and Rose both looked over at it, whilst Trish stroked Chloe's hair, trying to sooth the girl. Sierra looked at the drawings on the walls, trying to form her thoughts in a clear order. It was harder than expected.

"Chloe... Chloe..."

"Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be." The banging faded away until it stopped completely. "Laugh, Kookaburra laugh, Kookaburra, gay your life must be." Chloe was finally asleep.

"He came to her because she was lonely... Chloe, I'm sorry..." Trish was in tears and buried her head in the girl's shoulder. Sierra ushered both the Doctor and Rose out of the room to give the small family of two their privacy.

In the sitting room Trish was striding around and gathering up all pens, pencils and other drawing utensils that were lying around. Rose was helping her.

"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… I thought it was over." The woman spoke.

"Did you talk to her about it?" Rose asked carefully.

"I didn't want to." Trish sighed.

"But... maybe that's why Chloe feels so alone. 'Cos she has all these terrible dreams about her dad, but she can't talk to you about them." The blonde explained after sitting down on the sofa.

"Her and the Isolus... two lonely kids who need each other." The Doctor stated.

"And it won't stop, will it, Doctor? It'll just keep pulling kids in."

"It's desperate to be loved. It's used to a pretty big family."

"How big?"

"Say around... four billion?"

"That's quite a lot indeed." Sierra mused from behind her sketch book where she was drawing the outlines of the TARDIS. "Would it be okay if I went to keep her company?" The brunette looked up at the adults in the room. "To make sure she won't draw more but also so she don't need to be alone."

Trish glanced at the Doctor who nodded. "S-Sure. You seemed to know how to talk to her…"

"I… I simply understand what's it like to be alone and scared. My own family is quite far away too…"

Sierra walked the stairs up and knocked on the doorframe of Chloe's room. The girl looked away from the window through which she'd been watching the Doctor and Rose to leave.

"Hey, do you mind if I spend some time with you?"

Chloe shrugged. Sierra took it as a sign it was okay to enter and went to sit on the girl's bed.

"Are you alright, Chloe?" The brunette asked.

"I'm fine."

"It's perfectly fine not to be alright too…"

"What's your family like?" The little girl sat on the desk chair and leaned towards Sierra.

"I…" Sierra bit her lip and glance down at her clasped hands. "They are far away or completely gone."

"How so…?" A head-tilt.

"There are different worlds out there. Some of them are weaved together, completely parallel to each other. It's like knitting a scarf with two different colored strings. The Doctor and Rose visited one a while back. It's separated from this one by the Void. Then there are worlds that are similar but bigger. Worlds with windows to others. Those windows are printed in books, scripted into movies, drawn into paintings… I came from one of those. The Ground Zero so to say. Events of this world bleed through the cracks and became a TV series. At least I think so. And apparently the bleed through goes both ways. I fell in here. But because the Doctor doesn't know about my world like I do – like I've theorized – he doesn't know how to get me back. My family is at the other side of those windows."

"Still. Could you tell me about them?"

"I can tell what I remember." Sierra took a deep breath. She hadn't opened up to anyone in a while. The last person… Well, Sierra has told Rose some basic facts but not that much. Mere the bare essentials about the subject. "I… I have a little brother. His name is Scott and he likes all sort of computer stuff. We have wonderful parents. Helen and Marcus Adler. We were born in Britain. All of us, but now we live in Finland. I had to relearn English at school.

"But before that… I was very young. I had an older sister. And other parents. I was called Juniper. That's my first name. Sierra is the second one I began using after adoption."

"What were their names?" Chloe asked.

"I called my sister 'Dee'. Our surname was Williams. But I don't remember much of that time. They all died… And the Adlers took Scott and I in. A new beginning. I got even cousins. My favourite was Catherine. I called her Reenee. She disappeared some years ago though. I wonder if she ended up here too…"

"But you got friends though…"

"Yeah… I had friends. And here I got to know the Doctor and Rose and Mickey… Now Mickey is gone too… The Doctor and Rose are together… Sort of. I'm alone." Sierra smiled. Chloe frowned. "I'm right here yet I'm alone."

"Okay."

Sierra shrugged. Here she was, pouring her heart out on that little girl. What did she really know? "Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure." Chloe shrugged back. The young woman got up, left her bag on the bed, and exited the room. She went to down stairs. Behind her Chloe reached for the bag and the sketch book and pencil case inside it.

Sierra took a moment to compose herself and filled two glasses with water. Trish was talking in a phone. Something about Chloe's temperature and going to a doctor. There was something that nagged at the back of Sierra's mind about this moment but she couldn't for a life to remember what it was. Shrugging, she made her way back to the girl's room.

"Chloe? I have the water now. I'm sorry I didn't ask if you'd wanted something else…" The girl was hunched over her desk, Sierra's bag lying on the floor. Open.

"Wha-? Chloe, what are you doing?" Sierra placed the glasses on the window sill and went to look at what the girl was… drawing. It took only a moment for the brunette to recognize who was in it. After all it was the face she saw in the mirror every day. "Why, Chloe?"

The little girl looked up from the picture. It was drawn on Sierra's own sketchbook with the brunette's own pencils. But it wasn't the materials that drew the young woman's attention. No, it was the complete lack of emotion on Chloe's face.

"You will be right here. You don't need to be alone." And all Sierra saw was white. She wanted to hit herself. Of course she needed to be out of the way. And now Chloe was going to go and spy TARDIS in order to draw it too. And then the Doctor.

Chloe packed all Sierra's pens away but left the sketchbook on the desk. The girl silently creeped the stairs down and out of the front door. In the drawing Sierra was sitting cross legged in the white background. She had a pen in her hand and she was writing on the ground in front of her.

The ground around Sierra was full of scribbles. And now Chloe was back. The girl reached under her bed and took out a doll from there. She pulled the head off and took out pens that were stashed inside of it. She was obviously in a hurry. And Sierra was powerless to stop her. All she could do was write in the white space and hope that Rose would notice her. The sketchbook was pushed off the table and on the floor when Chloe began drawing the TARDIS on a new paper. And then the Doctor. When the sketchbook hit the floor, it closed, completely forgotten by all.

Rose knocked on the door of Trish's house frantically. The Doctor and the TARDIS had just disappeared and the blonde just knew who the culprit was. Trish opened the door and Rose barged past her and up the stairs.

"It's okay! I've taken all the pencils off her!" Trish called after the blonde who stopped only shortly in the stairs. Rose looked down at the house owner.

"Where is Sierra? The Doctor just vanished and I know she wouldn't have let this happen."

"She… She came to get some water while ago but after that I haven't…"

The two ran upstairs. Rose burst into Chloe's bedroom. Crossing the room with a couple of steps, the blonde came to the desk, swiping away the paper Chloe was drawing on. It had the TARDIS and the Doctor sketched onto it. Childlike but still obviously recognizable.

"Leave me alone! I want to be with Chloe Webber! I love Chloe Webber!" The Isolus spoke from the young girl.

"Bring him back, now." Rose demanded.

"No."

Rose made a move as if to turn away for a second but suddenly spun round and grabbed Chloe by the shoulders.

"Don't you realise what you've done? He was the only one who could help you, now bring him back!" The blonde hissed.

"Leave me alone! I love Chloe Webber!"

Rose sighed, before softly speaking again."I know…I know." She looked down at the paper she was holding. "Doctor, if you can hear me, I'm gonna get you out of there. I'll find the pod." The young woman informed the alien in the drawing before addressing Trish. "Don't leave her alone, no matter what."

Trish nodded shakily.

Rose got to work. With a pickaxe she struck the pavement apart in order to get the Isolus pod. She found it and when she returned to the Webber house, she found out Chloe had been drawing again while Trish was distracted by television commentary about the Olympics and the torchbearer about to arrive soon. And then the spectators and crowds gathered by Olympic stadium vanished.

And Chloe was looking for more things to draw. The entire earth even.

Sierra was trapped in her own sketchbook that was lying shut on the floor. She could do nothing but wait.

The Doctor has the solution of course and coincidentally the television commentator shed more light to it, for Rose to get what the Time Lord drawing meant.

"It's much more than a torch now, it's a beacon. It's a beacon of hope and fortitude and courage. And it's a beacon of love."

Sierra could only listen Rose run out of the room and how then Chloe's wardrobe started trashing. She hated how powerless she was here. But then again… Rose could handle it. Sierra only needed to wait for Isolus to leave.

Sierra came to in the middle of Chloe's room. She was kneeling and her sketchbook was right next to her. Chloe was in Trish's arms, finally showing emotions that Isolus hadn't. It was a relief to see.

But the relief was short-lived when the wardrobe started growling and the… life-sized drawing of Chloe's father began hacking against the doors. Red light was shining through the gaps.

"Get out of here!" Sierra gasped. She showed her sketch book to her bag and threw herself against the doors whilst Chloe and Trish scrambled out of the room. The brunette almost bounced off when the drawing attacked again. For a mere drawing, powered by the Isolus or not, it was quite strong. And Chloe's fear of what it represented only made it stronger.

Sierra could hear Trish trying to open the front door. Likewise, she could hear other doors closing in the house, trapping the two.

The doors of the wardrobe banged open, throwing Sierra to the ground. The two-dimensional picture of the man stepped out, growling threats at Chloe all the while. It completely ignored Sierra as it began slouching out of the room and towards the stairs.

Sierra stared after it for a moment, stunned about its… exaggerated features. But then she leaped on her feet and dug her blaster from her bag. She knew… Oh, she knew that Chloe would banish the monster, but Sierra wanted to be sure it wouldn't reach them.

There was singing.

"Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree; 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."

The drawing's voice became weaker and weaker. The red light around it stopped glowing. Sierra raised her blaster on setting one and aimed it at the figure. It was weak but not completely gone. Fear was out of Chloe's voice though, and she was laughing.

Sierra fired once at the weakened creature and it sizzled away, leaving no trace but faint smell of graphite.

They settled down at the sitting room, to watch thought the television how the crowds had returned to the stadium. Rose and Kel arrived to the house as well. Sierra and Rose shared a smile when reuniting.

"Just look at this! Utterly incredibly scenes at the Olympics stadium - eighty thousand athletes and spectators, they disappeared - they've come back! They've returned. They've reappeared. It's quite incredible. Bob, this will certainly..."

"Eighty thousand people, so where's the Doctor...?" Rose murmured, choking back tears. "I need him."

Sierra reached for the blonde's hand and took it, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

"You know him. Always running and being right where he needs to be."

"The torch bearer seems to be in a bit of trouble. We did see a flash of lightening earlier which seemed to strike him... erm, maybe he's injured... he's definitely in trouble." On screen the torch bearer collapsed. "Does this mean that the Olympic Dream is dead?"

And there was the Doctor, picking up the torch and starting to run.

"There's a mystery man - he's picked up the flame... we've no idea who he is... erm... 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."

It was time to leave. Sierra and Rose bid goodbye to Trish and Chloe and Kel. Before stepping out of the house though, Sierra's hand was grabbed by Chloe.

"You… Thanks to you and your friends I'm not lonely anymore. And Isolus is not lonely either." The girl said seriously. "And I think you won't be lonely either. You got your friends after all."

Oh, the irony. While Sierra didn't doubt the sincerity of those words and knew Chloe didn't have all the facts… The brunette glanced behind her where Rose had crept up to the Doctor. They were laughing at a cupcake decorated with edible ball bearings. Then she smiled at Chloe.

"Yeah, they are right there."

Chloe let go of Sierra's hand and the dimension traveler made her way to her fellow travelers. Just in time for Rose to throw her arms around the Doctor.

"Ooh, I thought I'd lost you." The blonde told the man.

"Nah! Not on a night like this! This is a night for lost things being found. Come on!" The Doctor grabbed her hand – and then Sierra's – leading them down the road.

"What now?" Rose asked then.

"I wanna go to the games! What we came for!"

"Go on - give us a clue - which events do we do well in?"

"I think Britain came third in medal count." Sierra mused. "After USA and China."

"Really?" Rose beamed.

"Yeah."

"Well, I will tell you this: Papua New Guinea surprises everyone in the shot put." Doctor told them, mouth still full of cupcake. Sierra arched her eyebrows. If she remembered correctly, it was New Zealand's athlete who took the win in women and Poland that took the win in me. Grandmother had been following almost all competitions religiously and thus Sierra had learnt stuff through osmosis. Personally, she preferred watching Winter Olympics more. Probably because Finland generally did better in them. From London Finland only got three medals…

"... Really? You're joking, aren't you?" Rose was enquiring. Sierra pondered if she should interject the claim but… This was a different world. Even the torch looked different. Who knew how different the athletes were here. Maybe Papua New Guinea would do well in shot put in this world. "Doctor, are you serious or are you joking?"

"Wait and see!" The Doctor grinned. Fireworks started to go off in the sky.

"You know what; they keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will." Rose mused aloud, with conviction. The Doctor looked at her, coming to a halt.

"You just jinxed it." Sierra muttered.

"Never say never ever." He said seriously. Rose looked back at him evenly.

"Nah. We'll always be okay, you and me." She replied confidently. "Don't you reckon, Doctor?" She asked when the Doctor didn't reply.

The Time Lord looked up at the sky, at the fireworks, searching for… something.

"Something in the air. Something coming." He eventually said.

"What?" Rose blinked.

"A storm's approaching."

Sierra let go of the Doctor's hand and left them to watch the fireworks, still feeling the apprehension of the Doctor's declaration. She needed to do some reflecting herself.

A/N: Okay, like things have been going on with my other fics, I'll reply to your reviews for the last time on this bottom note and afterwards replies will come via pms.

Replies to Reviews:

-D0ct0rwh0l0ckf4n:
Thank you!

-livi: (guest)
Thank you very much. Glad you like it.

-IsoldeAhlstrom:
I haven't fully decided how Sherlock will survive the fall. The show version was workable if weird... But yeah, Sierra helping would be interesting as well.

-TheASP:
I'm glad to hear that. I try my best... maybe.

-ollie: (guest)
I know it has been ages but I hope you see this update anyways. As you can see, we got Doctor here as we came back to the main plot.

-Basil and Mallow and Moss:
Done.

-schntgaispocked:
Thank you! I'll try to keep it up. At least I try to finish this season. I've finally graduated but now I got so many other fics going on that who knows when I get the chance to continue this one.

-Emmy Rain:
Thank you!

-MajesticSkittles:
I very rarely actually abandon stories. Thus far there are only two that I've completely abandoned and one that I deleted and the rewrote completely. This won't be abandoned... but updating will be very slow.

-luvsfangirling112:
Thank you. As you can see, I accidentally found this half-done chapter and decided to finish it. I'm very glad for your review.

-LadyofTime9:
Like you see, update is here. But I have other stories that have a priority so this is very slow-going project.

()

BTW, I'm considering of reposting this series to AO3. Not sure yet as that'd involve rewriting a lot of stuff... But in any case, I got an AO3 account under this same name if you want to follow me there as well.