Untold Knowledge (Doctor Who x Genius Fem! Oc) [Book 1]

Chapter 44: The Den of Desire

The three traveling companions immediately found themselves outside a large metal door, tucked away and isolated from anywhere densely populated. Before they went in, Echo turned to them with hesitation. "It's probably best if you two wait out here. For your own peace of mind." Echo unexpectedly said, confusing them greatly. 

"Why? Where are we?" Rose asked with furrowed brow, becoming increasingly curious by her avoidance. 

The brunette struggled to find the right words, "Uhm... Well... It's kind of... a business, that promotes women who just so happen to lack conservative apparel. But the point is, it's owned by Echo J Zeta 17. All that needs to be done is going in there, collecting the ten thousand blemflarks, then spending the rest of the day playing games and eating the best ice cream in the multiverse."

"Please let us go with you?" Rose asked, eager to see more of parallel Echos and the vast differences to hers. 

When the Doctor also gave her puppy eyes, Echo sighed heavily and gave in. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you. You'll want to avoid making eye contact, or just look at the ground the whole time now that I think about it. And you can't ever tell your mother that I took you here." She then turned back to the door and went to open it. "And off we go." she mumbled to herself, always hating having to come to such a place.

They came to another door, though this entrance had a guard. But instead of stopping them, he opened the door for them with a nod. Inside, they were met with dim lights, pounding music, and an obviously rich crowd surrounding the half naked women dancing seductively on podiums. The air was heavy with smoke, sweat and music. Rose and the Doctor had never been to such an establishment in their lives. As they walked, deeper into the 'Den of Desire', the Doctor refused to look at anything but the floor just as she said. He felt awkward, out of place, and over all conflicted. Though, imagining his Echo dancing for him in such a way tainted his thought processes. "Don't worry, my love. We'll be out of here before too long." she muttered to him quietly, feeling just as uncomfortable as him.

After walking into the V.I.P. area, it didn't take them long to find the correct sitting area. Echo J Zeta 17 was sipping at a glass of whiskey while receiving a lap dance from a smiling red head dressed in skimpy, black and red lingerie. "Sorry not sorry about breaking up your little party. But you owe me something, don't you?"

J Zeta 17 rolled her eyes and glared at them. "You always pick the most convenient times to pop in." she grumbled with obvious annoyance, looking back to the dancing girl.

"What can I say? It's a gift. Now cough up the ten thousand and we'll be on our way." she said, folding her arms expectantly. 

With a deep sigh and a shake of her head, J Zeta 17 grabbed a black pouch with draw strings from a side pocket at the bottom of her pants. She then tossed the bag to their Echo without a second thought. Knowing exactly who she was dealing with, there was no hesitation in counting it out before leaving.

Once she was satisfied, Echo mock saluted J Zeta 17 and proceeded to lead them back out to the street. It was only when they were completely outside did she finally shoot a portal for them to go back to the Tardis. "Sorry, I would have just got into the room to avoid all that. But J Zeta 17 made the whole building portal proof."

After walking through and into the console room, Rose looked at Echo. "So what are we going to do with all those blemflarks?" she wondered curiously, unable to anticipate what her best friend had in mind.

"I wanted to go get ice cream, then spend the rest of the day at the arcade. There's this new game I wanted to try. It's kind of like air hockey, but you play telepathically." she said without skipping a beat.

"Great! I can't wait to play that virtual life simulator game again. I'm totally going to crush your score this time." Rose said happily. She didn't know what it was, but she definitely favored this Echo the most. The fact that she was the Echo that would stay with them made her even more overjoyed to have her as a best friend.

The moment they arrived at the arcade, Echo made sure they got their ice creams first before letting Rose got wild with her equal share of blemflarks. As she and her Doctor walked hand in hand through the sea of games, Echo was telling him about her adventure climbing Vesuvius only a few years to a decade before it destroyed Pompeii. "The tremors were still minor at the time, but it was still pretty unnerving."

"That must have been intense." he commented with a smile of enjoyment.

She shrugged, "I suppose. It wasn't as intense as watching Krakatoa erupt. That was a party and a half. The sound traveled up to three thousand miles away. And thanks to specifically designed earplugs, I didn't have to worry about certain deafness." she mused fondly.

Her Doctor nodded, "Oh yeah. I remember checking it out, too. The bang was phenomenal. Very impressive."

Just then did an idea pop into Echo's head, making her smile brightly. "What do you say to inviting Mickey, Ricky, and Jake to a game of drag racing?"

His smile immediately grew. "That sounds like a great idea! I know for certain I'll win this time. Especially if I have you on my team."

She chuckled with a shake of her head as she pulled out her portal gun. "Good luck with that." Moments later did she type in the correct information and pulled the trigger towards the ground. Though, unexpectedly, nothing happened but a deep bleep of denial. Echo furrowed her brows with intense confusion clouding her mind. "Wait, what?" she mumbled quietly. Never before had her portals refused to connect; except, of course, when dealing with locked away realities. 'Prison worlds' as she called them.

Quickly checking her watch for more specific readings, her love watched with growing concern. "What's wrong?" When she didn't reply, he immediately knew that something was very wrong. "Echo? My love, what's happened?"

Slowly, she eventually met his gaze in devastated disbelief. "It's-- The--... F97-6D... It's closed itself off... It's locked itself away..." she revealed, desperately keeping as much composure as she was able.

"What does that mean?" he inquired, already having an idea of what it meant.

Echo shook her head and took a deep breath. "We can never go back. My portals won't connect. It's a lost dimension now..."

He remained silent as the news settled in. "Do you have an idea on what caused it?"

Checking her watch for a brief moment, she nodded with a sigh. "When the Tardis crossed over, it shattered the barrier. When she left, the walls of that universe scabbed over, scarred, and healed like a broken bone without a cast. Skewed and incorrect. If it's broken again, both realities would collapse." she explained morosely. When she spotted her blonde friend laughing joyously as she played one of the many arcade games with a purple insectoid girl laughing and playing along side her. "How are we going to tell her?"

The Doctor looked at the oblivious human girl with an equally troubled expression. "I don't know. But we'll figure it out." He then wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close. "I know we will."