AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the slight delay but the updates are probably going to be like this for a while as I'm back to school tomorrow and I have my prelims coming up in a few weeks time. But anyways! I'm going to try to update at least once every fortnight and if your lucky, once every week. Thanks for the reviews everyone! The response to this story has been brilliant! Molto Bene! So many new follows and new comments. Keep up the good work! It makes me very excited to write more. This chapter has been made a bit longer just for you guys because the delay of the update. Hope you enjoy it! Poor David, he doesn't know what's coming.
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor who, but I do own a TARDIS towel, which hardly even dries at all. I swear it's water resistant. Damn you BBC franchise!
Bump. Bump. Bump. Bump.
"No!" He gasped lowly, slowly lifting his head up to Donna's whom was looking at David as if he'd lost a head.
"I've got two hearts!" He breathed shakily, not being able to even fathom the circumstances. I couldn't just have my cake, couldn't I?! He thought bitterly.
No, David. Because you can't have your cake and eat it too. That's just life.
"Oi, alien boy! No more messing with me today! Two hearts. What do you take me for?! Of course you got two hearts, you're a Time Lord, dumbo!" Donna scoffed off to the space dunce.
David was in a trance-like state, tuning out the yapping ginger and focusing on the double beat that was pounding in his ears, too much in shock to focus on anything else. Though, as soon as he started focusing on the rush of his blood and the pumping of his heart-er hearts, he realised suddenly that he could feel the functions of his body; every detail and element. He could feel his organs manufacturing the needed acids, nutrients, gases and liquids for his body. He could feel the circulation rate of his blood flow, from the tip of his toes to the intricate circularly system in his brain. He could feel each and every electrical pulse charging through his synapses in the nerves of his neocortex. He could feel the exchange of oxygen in his...a sudden daunting realisation came upon him. He had no lungs. How could he breath if he had no lungs?! David started to hyperventilate. He was was panicking, badly and could hardly breathe with his muddled up thoughts.
"Doctor! Doctor what's wrong?! What do you need?! Are you choking?! What are you choking on?! Air?!" Donna frantically shouted still with her attitude intact, as she started to run comically behind David. She then wrapped her arms around his torso to do the Heimlich manoeuvre, mistaking his hyperventilation as choking.
"Don't worry spaceman! I've got you! Now don't you dare die and regenerate on me!" She announced as she punched his stomach both harshly and awkwardly.
David grunted at the pain and snapped out of his panic trance, trying desperately to get out of the arms of the destructive woman.
"Do-onna st-op! I'm fine!" He choked out in a shout of discontent. Donna dropped her arms immediately as David grabbed his stomach in pain from the repetitive hitting to his torso.
"Blimey, you can pack a punch!" David gasped, unaware of the death stare the redhead woman was giving him.
"What the hell happened?!" Donna shouted, a bit rattled from the dramatic events and the heavy breathing. David lifted himself up from his crouched position and gave a tired sigh, finally more calm and relieved but still a bit shaken.
"Oh that was freaky. Never doing that again! I must be dreaming or hit my head really hard or something. Could be both really. Cos this is unbelievable!" David blurted out, slipping back into his Scottish accent. Donna rolled her eyes, exasperated.
"Oh no. Did your mind explode and do that time traveling thing again? Oh great! I've got the mad Scot again! Can't you just act normal? For once!" Donna remarked in irritation.
David looked at her curiously, convinced now that this was all some weird dream that he conjured up in his mind. All he wanted to do was wake up now and get back home. Is it actually normal to feel tired in your dreams? Because he was exhausted! But he decided if he wasn't waking up anytime soon then he might as well go along with the flow. The realism of it though! He's had some pretty realistic dreams before, most of which consisted of him somehow arriving naked at work, (Those were not dreams! They were complete nightmares. He shuttered.) but none of them even compared to the one that he was living in now. Not only could he actually feel, but he could properly think as well! Most dreams that he had, there was no control over his actions or anything but with this one he could actually focus on what he was doing. God, I feel like I've been zapped right into the Matrix! If he didn't know any better than he would've definitely thought that this was all real, but he knew that was completely impossible; utterly and wholly, no questions asked. That didn't stop him, though, from feeling a huge foreboding that he might possibly be wrong.
"So you really are Donna, then. Blimey, no wonder for the mouth and the slapping. I just thought it was really good acting!" David commented. Donna was very much not amused with this remark.
"Oi! You better watch it there, ya spacey Scot! And snap out of it will ya! Do I need to give you another good whack on the head to get the oxygen back to that gerbil vortex thingy in ya brain?" Donna threatened David.
David instantly retreated in fear of another hit and surrendered back into his 'Doctor' act.
"Yes. Quite right-Wait no! No. More. Hitting! My brain's already been jumbled up enough as it is, thank you very much! No need for more cerebral damage. And that is how you are suppose to pronounce it. Not gerbil vortex but cerebral cortex. But well...technically speaking, the effects of the temporal displacement specifically took place in my superior temporal lobe, located in the lateral surface of the cerebral cortex, in which hypoxation occurred in as well as in the cerebellum! Both lobes, in which hold the functions of my language receptions and expressions, as well as my perceptual thinking, slowed down their neuronic connectivity making my language and perception deceptive and illusionistic. Hence the mad Scot! Ha! Definitely explains the relapse though...oh look! A banana! In my pocket! Oh. That. Is. Brilliant! Molto bene! Bananatastic!-Oh...never using that word again." David rambled as he marvelled at the elliptical shaped fruit, peeling it's skin and promptly shoving it in his mouth. The sudden distraction of the yellow food, made David completely unaware of the long and complicated technical evaluation he had just expressed. Half of those words he hardly even knew. A neurosurgeon would barely be able to keep up with the technical mumbo jumbo he had just blurted out and yet he had spoken it with such fluency and with no hesitation. It was as of it had come right off the top of his head because scarily enough, it did.
Donna once again stared at the Time Lord blankly as if he had just spoken in an entirely different language. What surprised her even more was the sudden outburst of sounds after he took a bite of the banana. An outbursting sound of pleasure.
"Mmm. Oh that-that is exquisite!" David moaned as the heightened tastes of his new senses indulged the sweet, delectable fruit. He closed his eyes in satisfaction, savouring every sense, every flavour, every delightful chemical reaction of the food with his enzymes and bodily hormones. The new tingles and delights enveloped his body and David found himself sighing with contentment. That has to be the most delicious thing I've ever tasted.
Donna looked on with disgust and horror.
"Ugh! Should I leave you two alone?! Honestly! And really? You're eating a banana now?! Out of all times! Right here, right now." She remarked aghast. David looked like a deer caught in headlights but then changed his expression quickly to a look of innocence, banana half way down his throat, to try and cover up the embarrassment of her accusation. Donna gave an exasperated sigh at his expression, head shaking indignantly as she brought her hand to her head.
"Speaking of which, where exactly are we right now? A library?" Donna asked, starting to wander through the dim, open room. David immediately consumed the rest of his banana then stuffed the peel in his pocket humorously. Once the peel was disposed, he scratched the back of head awkwardly and then ran to catch up with Donna.
"Not a library, the Library. So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big The. 51st century, we landed in, if I remember correctly." He explained remembering his lines from this particular episode. It always gave him the shivers, this one; the darkness and death. For a whole week he couldn't sleep in the dark because of it, always had to leave his door slightly ajar to let light spill in. It was irrational and childlike, he knew of course, but even as an adult these things did affect him as it would to a kid.
They opened a set of double doors where they eventually met a grand marble staircase, one that David remembered filming on during this scene. As they came to the bottom, a breathtaking view of a glorious futuristic city came to their sights. David was in awe at the picturesque landscape, all soaked in golden light from the sun setting. He'd never seen anything like it. The way his dream had captured this view was almost impossible. Everything was so clear and in so much detail. The way the sky became a brilliant orange and how the entire silver city shone a radiant gold, shimmering in the rays of the resting sun. When he filmed this scene he never really got to see a view like this, mainly because it was all done with green screen and computer animation. David gave an awed sigh then turned his attention to the cheeky redhead who was also admiring the magnificent view.
"It's like a city." Donna stated, eyes still fixated on the scenery.
"It's a world. Literally a world. The whole core of the planet is a computer. An index computer I think. Biggest hard drive ever with every book ever written all up here. Continents of all different authors, series, Monty Python's Big Red Book...all brand new and specially printed." He explained trying to correctly remember the information from the episode. He was pretty sure that he might've missed a line or two but he was still trying to wrap his head around this whole dream thing. He did, however, remember his next part as he stuck his finger in the air like he was testing the wind or temperature.
"We're near the equator, so this must be biographies. I love biographies!" He mentioned cheerfully.
"Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end." Donna voiced dryly, wandering over to a stack of books.
"You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us-" David immediately cut himself off as Donna picked up a book from the balcony railing. Knowing what actually was in them, David ran over to her instantly and desperately slapped the book right out of her hands, the heavy object hitting the ground with a thunk.
"What was that for?!" Donna screeched, momentarily shocked by the sudden attack.
"I-uh-er-Spoilers!" David stuttered out, not wanting Donna to know the real reason in fear of scaring her for some reason or another. I mean, she is just a figment of my imagination. So why do I even care about something like that?
"What?" Donna questioned, a little confused and very irritated. David ran a hand through his thick hair in stress, pacing back and forth in a fidgety manner.
"These books are from your future. You don't want to read ahead. Spoil all the surprises, like peeking at the end." He answered unconvincingly, a little bit of fear tinging his voice. Why was he even afraid anyway? What was with all the anxiousness from the books? It's just a dream. Nothing can truly hurt me. I am safe. At least that's what I think...
"What? That's your reason for scaring the life out of me? Spoilers. Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?" Donna replied sassily.
"I try to keep you away from major plot developments. Which, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at, because you know what? This library, this whole planet is completely silent and I betcha if I do this-" He walked over to a display screen and used the sonic screwdriver over it, then typed on a keypad."-scan for humanoid life forms; zippo, nada. Well...excluding us of course. But scan for any kind of life..." He paused letting Donna see the information display. "A million million. Gives up after that. A million million life forms on this planet." David dramatically exclaims.
Donna being very spooked by David's dramatic explanation, uses her mouth to somehow relieve the foreboding stirring inside her from the severity of David's voice.
"But there's no one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it? I mean it can't be the books, can it? I mean books can't be alive." She insisted doubtingly, in disbelief of the potential threat this library could be.
David's stare was fierce as he looked into Donna's eyes firmly and grabbed her shoulders for extra attention.
"Stay out of the shadows." He whispered firmly in command, seriousness dripping on every word. Donna looked as if she might combust from terror.
"W-why? What's in the shadows?" She asked with a slight tremble. Her question was only met with silence, as David kept quiet and stared intensely at the ginger woman.
"Welcome."
David and Donna jumped at the sudden noise emitting from the room where they just came from.
"That came from here."
"Yeah."
They gasped out simultaneously as they turned back to the room to investigate the voice. When they walked back up the marble staircase, they then proceeded to open the doors and enter into the wide open room. Once inside they noticed a desk situated in the middle of the large chamber, resembling some sort of receptionist area. As they got closer, they noticed a kind of robot shaped sort of like a weird mannequin turning around, revealing a realistic human face. David grimaced at knowing that they really were real. The thought of it sickened him slightly whilst also intriguing him a bit. Why am I even thinking like that? This is not real. It's just a dream...so why does it feel otherwise?
"I am Courtesy Node 710/Aqua. Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers, regardless of species or hygiene taboo." The emotionless female voice of the realistic face emitted, her chocolate skinned face embedded into the robotic interface.
"That face, it looks real." Donna stated obviously.
"Yeah, don't worry about it." David quickly dismissed, knowing how she would react to the truth.
"A statue with a real face, though? It's a hologram or something, isn't it?" Donna remarked, humour lacing her voice with a tad of smugness.
"No, but really, it's fine." David brushed off in irritation, thinking of a way to somehow get out of this Library. Maybe he could...
"Additional. There follows a brief message from the Head Librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by a Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The library has sealed itself, we can't. Oh, they're here. Argh. Slarg. Snick. Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm. units for the comfort of other readers." The robotic voice spoke.
Donna was a bit startled by the extreme weight of the message and it's suspense. Something in the Library must've killed all those people. The question was where was it now?
"Come on, Donna. Let's go. Back to the TARDIS." David commanded, mind already made. He definitely would not stay there any longer. There was no need to make this dream into a nightmare. He knew what would happen if he stayed and the Vashta Nerada was something that he would very not like to face, even if it's in a dream/nightmare.
"What? But? But what about all those people?" Donna questioned David incredulously, walking up to stop him.
"No questions asked, Donna. We're going." He replied a bit harshly whilst strutting towards the Police Box, Donna in tow. What's the matter with me? Why am I so scared? It's just a dream. It's just a dream. It's not real. It can't be.
"Oi! Don't you talk to me like that, spaceman! Those were real people! Real people, Doctor. Aren't you going to find out what happened to them?" Donna inquired suspiciously but David kept marching forward.
"No." He said simply, reaching out to the blue door of the space-time machine. Using the sonic as a key, David pushed the doors to open but to no avail, they didn't budge.
"No no no! Not now! Don't do this to me!" David yelled, banging his hands on the wooden doors. David was suddenly thrown back as a sharp irritated noise poked at his head.
"Ah! What the hell was that?!" He cursed, hands holding his head in pain. As soon as it dissipated, David noticed something faint at the back of his head. It was almost like a humming in his mind, not irritating but actually rather soothing. A song must be playing at the moment while I'm sleeping.
"Doctor, are you alright?" Donna asked sympathetically, helping the ruffled Time Lord get back upon his feet.
"Yeah yeah. I'm fine. Just a little headache." He answered in disregard. David took a deep breathe in order to think.
"Well, the TARDIS seems to not want us in at the moment which is kind of unlucky for us because it's not safe here. There's option one: we stay here until she quits being stubborn. Which might be a while. Option two: I wake up now, which I kinda am favouring at the moment because this dream seems to never end! I like option two. Maybe we should just stick with that-oh but wait. We can't! Because for some reason my mind wants me to stay asleep forever! So that leaves option three which is..." David trailed off as he noticed the desk lights at the reception flicking off. In a momentary stroke of panic, he grabbed Donna's hand and rushed off to a door on his right, dragging his companion along with him.
"Run!" He yelled as he sprinted through the doors. Once he entered the corridor of shelves, he desperately slammed the doors behind him and his companion.
"What the hell was that for?!" The annoyed ginger woman shouted, still huffing from the unexpected sprint.
"The lights were going out which means that room was becoming infected or already was." David explained, not as puffed as Donna from the run.
"Infected? Are you telling me that we were running away from a power cut?" She raised to David in an incredulous manner.
"Yep. And we're about to do it again. Quick! Allons-y!" He commanded as he saw the row of overhead lights shutting down one by one through the corridor. They ran hand in hand, sprinting down the shelves of books, away from the growing darkness until they came across a door to the right.
"It's jammed!" David yelled as he attempted to push the door. He pulled back then looked at Donna.
"On three, we kick. Ready?" David ordered. Donna gave a silent nod.
"One." Please let me wake up soon.
"Two." Why can't I just go home?
"Three!" This is no longer a dream. It's a terror.
The doors bursted open as the duo kicked and immediately they ran inside, its entrance awaiting an adventure, a story...
A nightmare.
AN: And that's that! Next chapter will come soon. So since you guys have been reviewing and everything I thought at the end of each chapter I might ask a question for you guys to answer. I see fanfiction authors do this all the time and I think it's a great way to interact with the followers of the story. So! Here's the question:
"What was the weirdest or most vivid dream you have ever had?"
