Alone, Together

Summary: In the aftermath of the Doctor's defeat, one particular Mimiga still has trouble coping with what he took from her.

This one's short, but it's been a long time since I posted anything here and I wanted to get something out.

"Hey, Colons! C'mere! We need to ask you something!"

Mira's ears perked up at the sound of Curly's voice. She relayed the call to her other friends, in the midst of an impromptu game of tag where Balrog had proven to be a faster runner than expected. They all trotted back to the base camp, curious as to what they were needed for.

Curly was standing with Mister Quote- Mira still had trouble thinking of him as anything else- and the third, blocky robot who'd become her friend at some point. The three had gathered around a makeshift workbench set up just in front of the pair of tents, apparently mulling over the blueprints for their future house.

"We're figuring out where each of our rooms will be," Curly said. "You wouldn't want to be crammed in the same place again, right? We probably can't give you all individual bedrooms, but we might be able to fit two of you each into one so everyone can have more space. How's that sound?"

Mira turned to the other Colons, each of whom bore a similar hesitant expression to her own.

They didn't have to say anything to understand their shared mindset. It was Sammy, the oldest (though barely by a week), who gave Curly an answer.

"We… um, we don't want separate rooms. We wanna stay together."

As expected, that answer elicited looks of varying confusion.

"Available space or resources aren't a concern," said the blocky robot. "We're certainly capable of providing you with a pair of double bedrooms. Wouldn't you prefer that to your previous living conditions?"

Mira took a step forward, drawing all eyes to her, and reflexively stepped back. She awkwardly tapped her paws together before forming a response.

"I-I guess we're just used to it. We've always stayed with each other, no matter how much space we had. Even before we met you, Curly!"

She almost instantly shut herself up afterwards. There was only one event of note before they first met the robot around a month earlier, and Mira didn't want to think about it. Her discomfort didn't go unnoticed, judging by the abrupt silence that fell over the group. The blocky robot eventually broke the silence.

"If you insist; I'm sure we could put the extra space to some other use. Or, better yet, we could increase the size of your bedroom to accommodate four residents. As long as this is what you all want, at any rate. That will be all for now, thank you."

Mira received a quick tap on the shoulder from Vivi and realized she was It. The other Colons and Balrog darted away from her while the blocky robot and Curly turned back to the blueprints. Right before she returned to chasing her friends, for just a moment she saw Mister Quote giving her an odd look. She didn't stick around, suddenly wanting to get as far away from that discussion as possible.

Weeks passed. Their house came together nicely, thanks in no small part to the structural expertise of Malco, that chatty, blocky robot who'd shared a tent with the Colons beforehand. Mira and her friends had been given a room for the four of them, as requested, wherein they pushed all of their new beds against one another. Curly vocally found the idea adorable and didn't seem to further question them wanting to stay together. Even Sammy, Vivi, and Nicky hadn't brought mention to why they all preferred sharing space again. After the chaos and tension of the Doctor's reign, things seemed to finally be settling down for everyone.

But moving on didn't come so easily for Mira. As she lay on her portion of the bed, the others having darted out at the call for lunch, she rolled onto her stomach with a barely audible sigh. She wished she would have left with them, as she'd always hated being alone the most, but for some reason she couldn't seem to find the motivation to get up.

No, not for "some reason." She was actively forcing herself not to think about what sent her on the path to where she was in the first place.

Being there, in a new house with a new family, was of course wonderful for her, but it also dug up painful memories she'd done her best to fight down. Memories from just two years earlier, when her first family had been lost. It was all so vivid… the other Colons had their families taken away too, but Mira's situation was different. She'd seen it happen.

The last time she laid eyes on her parents had been moments before they were completely swallowed up by a blinding ray of red light. Behind them, there was a tall human man in a white coat and a crude blue helmet. He'd asked about red flowers, and when he didn't get an answer he'd lashed out. The Doctor had turned his attention to Mira, but didn't kill her. As she stood there, so thoroughly petrified she couldn't even bring herself to scream after the deaths of her loved ones, the Doctor just smiled and spoke very quietly.

"Shush, shush, shush… don't fret, little one. Am I correct to assume you also know nothing about the flowers I seek? It would be a terrible waste to get rid of you, when you're still so young. Run along, now. Go wherever you choose, and one day I'll have a better use for you."

Footsteps at the doorway. She snapped her teary-eyed gaze up to see Quote standing there, his expression unreadable as usual.

"…lunch is ready," he said.

Mira opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything. She just stared back to her pillow, trying to keep herself composed.

The bed creaked, and she looked up again to see Quote had taken a seat on it beside her. He, too, was silent.

"I'm… sorry if I'm worrying you," Mira somehow choked out. "I-I just… can't forget what happened to my family. To all our families… and we can't sleep without each other, not after what the Doctor did!"

The four Mimiga children found each other in a desolate corner of the Sand Zone. It was Mira who'd attracted them there to begin with, mostly due to her sobbing. When the Doctor left, and there wasn't so much as a speck of ash left behind by her parents, nothing was stopping her from completely breaking down. She was alone, and she was terrified. They all were. But she, who had apparently come closer to the crowned monster than any of the others, was in such a state that she had to be carried to safety by her kin. They took shelter in a rusted-out bar, the only place they could possibly stay in, and waited for nothing in particular. Days came and went, but nobody ever came to look for them. Their only company was each other, and the nightmares looming over them all. Mira in particular only ever saw the shine of a pair of glasses in her sleep, followed by a red flash.

The only way any of the kids could possibly rest without torment was by huddling together as close as they could. It wasn't much in the way of helping them recover, but at least it made them feel less soul-crushingly alone. Four sad, scared little Mimiga children hid there with nothing but each other for over a year until, one day, they found someone new in their midst…

It took a moment for Mira to realize she was crying. It took her another to realize she wasn't laying on the bed anymore. Quote had lifted her into his lap, leaning her face against his chest while she bawled uncontrollably. He clearly wasn't sure what he was doing, judging by his rather stiff and tense posture, but it was enough for her. She clutched his shirt, trembling and gasping with every sob as all of the pain she'd tried to shove aside broke loose.

She felt a hand lightly rub against her back, and officially lost any scrap of composure she had left.

Curly had waited long enough. She walked upstairs to the room the Colons shared, the Mimiga themselves hot on her heels. It seemed they were just as curious about what was taking Mira and Quote as she was. She entered the room and froze at the sight before her, so convinced she was imagining things that she nearly stepped out altogether.

Quote was on the bed, Mira clutched protectively in his arms while she quietly whimpered. He would pet her at slow intervals- a rather uncertain pet thanks to his inexperience, but nevertheless a pet. How long they'd been like that, Curly didn't ask. She just looked to Quote, who gave her a short nod to come closer.

"Mira?" she asked, kneeling beside them. "Are you okay?"

The girl didn't respond. As the rest of the Colons gathered round, she just held her arms out for everyone to hug her. Mira's eyes still shone with tears, but there was unmistakably a very small smile behind them.