If you're confused, feel free to read the one-shot 'SASHA'.
==MGCB==
A long time ago, there was a little girl. A sad, lonely little girl who was very scared. She wanted to do something fun. Something that made her feel brave and strong.
So she went to a town called Tremorton. The little girl expected to stay lonely. She thought she would be alone no matter where she went.
Who, after all, could she be friends with? Everyone she knew always had to be kept at a distance. If she met or came close to anyone, she would eventually have to leave them behind. These worlds belonged to them. The little girl was an intruder.
Then she met another sad, lonely little girl.
==MGCB==
"Books. People never really stop loving books." The Doctor announced.
They made my stomach drop. Like- completely drop. Right down to my pink boots. Or maybe it made my stomach jump up into my throat. Either way, I was not a happy go lucky camper.
It hadn't come out of nowhere. I'd known it was coming. Ever since we left Agatha Christie, I knew. No amount of running could get me out of today.
She would be there.
River Song.
A mystery of the future and the past.
Maybe.
Possibly.
She might not be there. Maybe I fuck up the future that much. Oh author do I?
The Doctor excitedly leapt over a box of books. He ran at the door.
Donna wanted to visit a beach. A warm, sunny beach. The Doctor agreed. The TARDIS started flying us there. Except all at once,
I hesitated. My hand gripped the handrail. The TARDIS hummed, whirring loudly and happy. She started a cacophony of noise in my head: Disney songs, images of people laughing and singing, myself telling jokes with Jack.
I get it. She's your friend too.
The TARDIS whirred. An image again. Myself, smiling and looking at an equally delighted River. Both of us rolled our eyes.
My hearts thumped.
"Terra, come on!" Donna called out.
Resigned, I sighed. Then I slapped on a quirky grin so I could skip out after the idiots.
The Library, for all its faults, was beautiful. Our arrival was smack dab in the middle of an empty room, covered in bookshelves. The smell of books and recycled air hit me. The marble floor squeaked beneath my boots.
"51st century!" The Doctor stated. I poked out my tongue to confirm. Then I stuck it right back in, because I didn't want to know the exact date. "By now you've got holovids, direct to brain downloads, fiction mist, but you need the smell. The smell of books, Donna. Deep breath."
The Doctor reached over. I raised my hand out to him. He grabbed it, excitedly running along.
Oh, wow. The Library from this balcony looked even more grand. The same view could be replaced with high story buildings, which would ruin this view of tall bookshelves full of books. Large empty walkways- not even with robots scurrying by. The sun shined down, casting shadows all around, reminding me of slow autumn days where one could sleep in a hammock with a book in their hands.
The Library was perfect.
"The Library. So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big The." The Doctor told us.
"It's like a city." Donna commented.
"It's Book World!" I gasped. "Right? A book world?"
The Doctor chuckled. "Basically. The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed."
"That's marvelous." I cheered. "Where on Book World are we?"
The Doctor considered. "We're near the equator, so this must be Biographies! I love biographies."
I pouted. Biographies only ever got me in trouble. Yeah, it helped me write a paper on Lincoln, but it also wasted three months of my life, and definitely resulted in historical changes.
Didn't even get a good grade on the paper, anyway.
"Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end." Donna snarked.
Author's Byline could you not
"Hey." I complained.
"Oh yeah, sorry."
"You need a good death." The Doctor argued, in favor of biographies. "Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size."
"I wouldn't mind a comedy." I pointed out. Donna picked up a stray book, left behind on the balcony railing. "Laughing at bad jokes, having good banter, and all the emotional beats are ruined by a pun."
The Doctor yanked the book from Donna. "Way-a. Spoilers!"
Donna stared at him, at the hall to yank a book from her hands. "What?"
"These books are from your future. You don't want to read ahead." The Doctor explained. "Spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."
Donna turned to me. "Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?"
"Yep." I popped. "We're bad at it."
"We try-"
"We?"
"-I try to keep you away from major plot developments." The Doctor corrected. "Which, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at, because you know what?" The Doctor looked around the Library. "This is the biggest library in the universe. So where is everyone? It's silent."
"...maybe it's not open yet." I offered.
The Doctor shook his head. He pulled out his sonic. He walked away from the balcony. Donna and I looked at each other.
"The library?" Donna asked.
"The planet." I answered. "The planet could be closed."
"Right, maybe it's Sunday." Donna guessed.
"Closed on a Sunday." I agreed, walking with Donna to the Doctor.
The Doctor pressed his sonic against an information screen. "No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring." Numbers blurred across the screen.
I ignored them.
"Well, maybe everyone's really, really quiet." Donna guessed.
"Yeah, maybe. But they'd still show up on the system." The Doctor tucked the sonic away.
"Doctor, why are we here? Really, why?" Donna asked.
The Doctor started typing on the keypad. "Oh, you know, just passing."
"No, seriously. It was all let's hit the beach, then suddenly we're in a library. Why?" Donna asked.
"I was ready to get a swimsuit." I told them. "And a parasol, and a volleyball, maybe even a- a dirt bike?" Donna raised an eyebrow at me. "I don't know what people do at the beach. Are turtle nests an all year thing, or-?"
My mad questions about the beach were interrupted by the Doctor "Now that's interesting."
"Turtle nests are very interesting! Oh you meant the computer." I jumped, leaning forward to better see the screen. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Scanning for lifeforms." The Doctor answered. "If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids. You know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada. See? Nobody home."
"But it says three." I pointed at the screen. "We're here."
"Yes I did say 'apart from us'." The Doctor typed on the keyboard again. "If I widen the parameters to any kind of life." The screen shifted to show the large, large number, eventually maxing out the counter. "A million, million. Gives up after that. A million, million."
"It could be bugs."
"It would count the bugs."
"Or birds. Or- or plants."
"We would hear the birds, or see the plants."
"Maybe the books are alive."
"Terra. There's nothing here." Donna waved her arm out towards the large city of libraries. "There's...there's no one."
"This could be where the bees went." I tried again. "There. Mystery solved!"
"Not a sound." The Doctor added, because today was cursed. Cursed to suck forever and forever. "A million. million life forms, and silence in the library."
I hate Steven Moffat so much
Like wow. He really did that. He named a monster after an episode title that killed a character he planned to bring back
I hate this timeline.
"But there's no one here. There's just books. I mean, it's not the books, is it?" Donna insisted. The Doctor wasn't any help, and neither was I. "I mean, Terra just said that like a joke, it can't be the books, can it? I mean, books can't be alive."
The Doctor and Donna looked at a nearby pile of books.
I stayed just a little bit behind them.
They reached for the book.
I stepped back, patiently waiting.
The Doctor's hand was closest.
I tapped his shoulder. At that exact second, an automated voice called out a greeting from the other room.
"Welcome." A non British voice echoed.
The Doctor and Donna yelped.
I giggled.
This is what true power feels like.
"A spooky voice? I'm gonna follow it!" I cheered, dashing back up the stairs.
The Doctor sighed. "Terra!"
I leapt up the stairs. The shadows were few around here. No doubt they were picking up on our scent even now. It wouldn't be long until they swarmed this area.
Or, they already smelled a bigger group of prey. A larger meal.
"It came from there, then?" Donna's voice carried behind me. That didn't matter. Very few things did matter at this moment. Or, rather, a million million things mattered all at once, so it wasn't useful whinging about how Donna's voice trembled after a near scare.
Not that it trembled very much, that's to say. She got a lot better at showing and feeling her fear since she started traveling with us. It made one feel like...like maybe we don't turn everyone we meet into soldiers. Sometimes, people just get braver and braver-
Who the fuck is that?
Darcy likes to say I am a paranoid, detail obsessed super-nerd. That's her strange way of pronouncing 'well prepared'.
So yes, I studied the faces of the many, many, many actors playing people in Doctor Who. From the soothsayers of Pompeii, to the Prince Charming shaped Node in a Library. It was how I noticed Clive was not Clive, but instead my clone brother. Or that the demon in the Pit was actually my evil future self. It told me the slightest variations of any possible outside presence. Yes, some people were still mysteries, but I am working on it.
This Node was supposed to be a dark skinned woman with dark brown eyes. She still stood in front of the information desk, somewhat helpfully. Instead of dark skin, this face was fair skinned. Her eyes were not dark brown, they were purple. A few shades brighter than Darcy's.
I walked closer to her, hopeful. Maybe five years away from the footage made my memories weak? No, no. When I regenerated, I spent a good week rewatching Season 4. The memories were only two years old- plenty fresh.
On closer inspection, not even the eyebrows were the same. Instead of dark brown as anyone would expect, they were- well they were a very dark black or an odd shade of blue.
Great. Marvelous. Stupendous.
I gotta deal with River Song, and whoever the fuck this is.
"I am Courtesy Node one two six slash indigo." The Node explained. Her voice was familiar too. Not that face, just the voice. How did I know that voice? It's so high pitched, like a fairytale voice. "Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers, regardless of species or hygiene taboo."
The Doctor and Donna were behind me by that point. It, again, mattered little. I now had a million million problems plus 2.
"That face, it looks real." Donna said, clearly asking us about it.
"Yeah, don't worry about it." The Doctor told her. Cause telling Donna not to worry or notice something always worked.
Donna gave him a confused look. She tapped my arm. "Terra. The Doctor's keeping secrets from me again."
"It's a statue with a face." I replied, obediently. "I think it's friendly."
It could be nothing. The Nodes pick a face they think you would like, right? So maybe this isn't a 'someone I know is here' and more of a 'the Node thought I would like this face'. Yeah. Yeah that's what I'm sticking with.
Donna sighed. "Right. You're both useless."
I beamed at her. That's Donna, always doing just the right thing to make me feel better.
"Additional. There follows a brief message from the Head Librarian for your urgent attention." The Node explained. "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."
"I'm guessing we're here because of that message." I stated. The Doctor hadn't seen fit to show me the psychic paper. I'm not sure why. The blatant lie impressed me more than it offended me. If I saw it, I'd probably either start crying or swearing.
The Doctor nodded. "Any other messages, same date stamp?"
"One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of five zero eleven-"
"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine. Just play it."
"Message follows. Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows. Message ends." The Node reported.
Something about that face made the completely foreboding message comforting. Like, like bad news just could not come from an innocent face like that. I felt really safe despite knowing that these shadows could tear me apart in less than a second. There wouldn't even be time to feel it. But this Node? Yeah suddenly that fear was just gone.
"Terra? Donna?" The Doctor spoke up.
"Yeah?"
"Yessir?"
"Stay out of the shadows." The Doctor warned. He started walking away, towards a lit hallway.
"Why, what's in the shadows?" Donna asked. "Terra what's in the shadows?"
"Well...if the books aren't alive-"
"Nope. Forget I asked."
==MGCB==
The Library came with grand hallways, stacked hundreds of feet high with books. Every new turn showed off enough books to make any bookworm overcome with joy.
"So, We weren't just in the neighborhood." Donna said. She gave the Doctor a pointed look.
"Yeah, I kind of, sort of lied a bit. I got a message on the psychic paper." The Doctor pulled out the thin leather pouch.
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.
The Doctor made a face. "Well- well it's just- um."
"Did you forget to tell her on purpose?" Donna asked. "You're bad at that."
I held out my hand. The Doctor handed it over.
'Terra I'm really sorry.'
'Just tell me why?'
'...the last person that sent us a message, it was...do you rem-'
'Yes I remember.' The last message, like a really real message, came from the Face of Boe. From...from Jack. Before he died. 'I wouldn't have been upset.'
The Doctor made another face. His 'I'm sorry' face- the one that somehow managed to be a thousand different forms of grief all rolled into one.
'Really.' I flipped open the psychic paper. "Okie doki I take it back. I'm upset."
River saw fit to ruin my mood from the start. She hadn't even tried to be subtle in her mood ruining, either. As if the different Node face (that could be nothing) wasn't enough, she does this.
The Library- come as soon as you can
OX
That little bitch. I wanna kill her. She's gonna suffer.
A hug? She gives me a hug?
The audacity.
"What kind of monster signs a cry for help like that?" I huffed, showing Donna.
Her eyebrows waggled at the Doctor. "A cry for help with a hug and kiss?"
The Doctor shrugged, dismissive. "Oh, we've all done that."
"No we haven't. What kind of messages are you sending people?" I asked him.
"Who's it from?" Donna asked.
"No idea." The Doctor replied.
I kept my mouth shut. That woman would get an ass whipping when I saw her next!
The lights started going out.
I tensed up. The Doctor did too. We looked down the hall, seeing the lights being switched off. One by one. Right towards us.
"So why did we come here? Why did you-" Donna began.
"Donna." The Doctor and I warned.
Donna turned. More lights went out. "What's happening?"
"Run!" The Doctor shouted.
I started running. The others joined me. As I reached the end of the hall, I reached the locked door.
"Sonic it!" Donna shouted.
"She can't! It's wood!" The Doctor told her.
"What?! It doesn't do wood?!"
Standing in front of the door, I pulled my leg back. With a harsh kick the doors opened. A large room full of books awaited. A proper library space. Full of tiny desks and bookshelves stacked to the brim with books.
The Doctor and Donna caught up to me. I grabbed one door to close it. Once they came in, Donna grabbed the other side. We closed it. The Doctor stuffed a nearby book into the door handles.
Together, we sighed in relief. I slumped against the door.
Then I saw it.
A floating orb. A blinking camera eye staring at us.
No
Nonononono-
No it's not-
NO!
"Oh. Hello." The Doctor grinned at the floating orb. "Sorry to burst on you like this. Okay if we stop here for a bit?"
"If I told you, your hearts would break."
The ball dropped.
==MGCB==
No, literally.
The ball dropped. A dead faint, you could call it.
A person was in that ball
A little girl
I pressed myself against the door.
"What is it?" Donna asked.
"Security camera." The Doctor walked over to it. Her, that was her. A human existed in that orb. The Doctor knelt down. "Switched itself off. Nice door skills, Terra."
"The sky is full of diamonds-"
"Yeah. What, had a lot of bad boyfriends?" Donna asked.
"Mummy. Where is Mr Master?"
My shoulder bonked a spot on the door. It hurt, pushing into my shoulder blade. I bit my inside cheek, too worried to make a sound.
She's not a Toclafane. She's not. She's just a little girl in her Library. Nothing is wrong.
"I-I worked with p-police." I eventually managed to say. "Kicking in doors...easy."
The Doctor lifted the orb in his hands. I held back a scream. Donna scrunched up her eyebrows, a worried frown on her face.
Worried? Why was she worried? Oh right. The shadows.
"So that power outage. Weird." I swallowed. Wow, what a mess I am. Usually I am much better at hiding my emotions. "The shadows don't like us."
"Shadows can't like us." Donna replied. Then she realized what exactly she just said. "Shadows can't like anyone. They're- it wasn't shadows chasing us. It was probably just a power cut."
"Possibly." The Doctor agreed. He twisted the orb around in his hands. The sonic whirred.
My hearts pounded.
Donna glanced at the door behind me. She looked away. "Are we safe here?"
"Of course we're safe. There's a little shop." The Doctor nodded towards the tiny gift shop. The orb made a sound. "Gotcha!"
"Stop it!" I screamed. I ran at him. When I was close I fell to my knees, sliding the rest of the way to him. "Stop it!"
The Doctor froze as I reached for him. His grip loosened on the orb so I could pull CAL out of his hands. He held his hands up for good measure. CAL was pulled tight to my chest, protecting the small little girl from the mean Time Lord.
"It's alright, shhh. It's okay." I cooed, brushing on her side. A message started coming up. Red letters crying out in pain. "We're sorry. It's okay."
"Oh yes I am." The Doctor leaned forward. He read the message too. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's alive."
"Hey!" I hissed.
"They. They are alive."
"You said it was a security camera." Donna argued.
"They are. They're an alive one." The Doctor told her. He leaned forward. "Terra. Could I?"
I held tighter to the orb. He hurt her last time. Why wouldn't he hurt her again? That's all Time Lords did to floating human heads. The Master hurt the people of Utopia. I hurt them too. The Doctor killed the Face of Boe- my friend-
Others are coming
I stopped moving.
"Others are coming?" The Doctor read off.
"Others? What's it mean, others?" Donna asked.
With that, I squeezed the orb.
Oh
Yeah
Her too.
"Excuse me. What does it mean, others?" Donna asked a nearby Node.
They turned their head around. The machine whirred with it.
The Doctor came to my side. "That's barely more than a 'speak your weight' machine, it can't help you. Terra, you can let them go now."
I shook my head.
"So why's it got a face?" Donna asked.
The Doctor and I winced.
"This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death." The Node helpfully answered.
Donna gawked. "It's a real face?"
"It has been actualized individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy." The Node reported.
The Doctor reached out in my mind. I shuddered, pulling back. He tried again- gentle, and quiet. I let him in.
'I didn't mean to hurt them.' He apologized. 'Are they alright?'
Squeezing her tighter, I considered. The scene from the episode came to the top of my mind. 'Now, yes. Functioning properly.'
'Good. Good, that's good.' The Doctor looked at the message, still scrolling across the security camera. 'Who do you think the others are?'
'Our mystery writer.'
'That was just one person, not plural.' The Doctor pointed out.
'A person called us for help, just to help themself? And not other people?' I asked, confused. River was never like that- ever. That one time she used a blaxk box to call us, it had been to stop Weeping Angels from killing more people. Sure, it helped her too, but that's just her being pragmatic. 'That wasn't very smart.'
The Doctor kept his lips in a thin line. 'So some of that million million-'
'-are people in trouble with the shadows.'
"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like?" Donna's voice broke our conversation. We looked over at her. "That statue's got a real dead person's face on it."
The Doctor stood up. He squeezed my shoulder as he walked away. Looking at the orb one more time, I brushed my hand along the side. She had no nerves- CAL couldn't feel this. Still. I like to think she noticed. Then I let her go. Watching the Library was her job after all.
"It's the fifty-first century." The Doctor assured. "That's basically like donating a park bench."
"It's donating a face!" Donna shouted.
"Well he didn't need it!" I added. Then I saw where Donna was about to put her foot. "DONNA NO!"
Donna flinched back. The orb rolled on the ground, resting. The Doctor and I grabbed Donna by the arms. We pulled her back from the large, dark shadow.
"What?! What is it?" Donna asked. "Oi hands!"
"The shadow! Look!" I warned.
"What about it?" Donna asked.
"Count the shadows." I reminded her.
"One. There, counted it. One shadow." Donna replied.
"Yeah But what's casting it?" The Doctor asked.
Donna looked. Really looked.
Sure, the shadow stayed hidden behind the security camera orb. A long, wide shadow. Problem was that the only light source came from a large skylight above our heads. All the lamps were too small on their desks.
A shadow from nothing.
They're heeeeeeeeeeere
"Oh, I'm thick!" The Doctor shouted. Donna and I jumped- not in the shadow. "Look at me, I'm old and thick. Head's too full of stuff. I need a bigger head."
"How did you just realize it?!" I asked.
The Doctor huffed in annoyance.
"Danger shadows that you have to count! It's either vampires or the other thing!" I scolded.
"I know, I know-" He stopped. Up ahead in a small hallway, made up of bookcases, a light flickered.
"Uh-oh-spaghettios." I stepped back, hiding my terror.
"The power must be going." Donna suggested.
"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun." The Doctor told her.
"Then why is it dark?" Donna asked.
"It's not regular darkness, Donna. It's advanced darkness." I warned.
Donna swallowed. She looked around, trying to see if the other lights were going out. What she saw instead made her voice shake. "That shadow. It's gone."
The Doctor walked back to us. He held my hand, squeezing it tight. "We need to get back to the TARDIS."
"Why?" Donna asked.
"Because that shadow hasn't gone. It's moved." The Doctor warned.
I held out my hand. Donna took it.
"Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming." The Node told us. I glared up at it. "Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached."
The door exploded.
She walked in.
==MGCB==
People in white spacesuits walked in. The helmets weren't round, instead they were smaller around their heads. Six spacemen were walking up with blacked out lenses.
One suit walked right up to us.
I hate her
I hate this spaceman- I always will
I let Donna's hand go to properly glare. My most dangerous of the game faces. People were gonna die.
She turned off her visor. River Song smiled at us. Blue eyes sparkling in delight. Stray blonde curls tucking into the visor.
"Hello, sweetie, sweetheart." River greeted.
"Get out." The Doctor ordered.
"Doctor." Donna tried.
"Go away!" I added. River just smiled on. Author, that smile was so annoying.
"All of you. Turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away." The Doctor let go of my hand. He stormed past River Song, looking at the other suited people. He pointed out the door they came from. "Tell your grandchildren you came to the Library and lived. They won't believe you."
"Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers." River instructed. She popped off her helmet, holding it at her hip.
"How do you know they're not androids?" Anita asked.
"Because I've dated androids. They're rubbish." River winked at me. The rest of her team took off their helmets.
I will rip you to shreds
The Dave's
Anita
Miss Evangelista
Oh you poor babies...
"Who is this?" Lux asked. He stomped over to River Song. "You said we were the only expedition. I paid for exclusives."
"I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others." River dismissed.
Lux fumed. He pushed down the urge to shout at her. As someone that knows River Song, it's a thing that comes up a lot. "Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts." Lux ordered.
The young woman scrambled. She searched her bags for the requested papers.
River turned to me. "You came through the north door, yeah? How was that, much damage?"
"A lot of books were dog eared, if that's what you mean." I told her. River smiled, like she was holding in a laugh. Dammit I wanted to annoy her. "Dog ears on special editions. It's disgusting."
"Oh obviously." River replied. Her voice lilted in that sarcasm of hers. The one where she humored you cause she's a bitch.
"Please, just leave." The Doctor insisted. He gently guided me to the side, walking up to River's face to stare her down. River kept on smiling. Again, like a know-it-all bitch. "I'm asking you seriously and properly, just leave- Hang on." He turned around to point at Lux. "Did you say expedition?"
"My expedition. I funded it." Lux replied.
The Doctor frowned. All of his fear and rage about the shadows vanished, replaced with annoyance and disappointment. "Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists."
River quirked a grin. "Got a problem with archaeologists?"
"I'm a time traveller. I point and laugh at archaeologists." The Doctor told her.
River held out her hand. "Ah. Professor River Song, archaeologist."
She's a disgusting flirt and I hate her.
The Doctor shook her hand. "River Song, lovely name." He dropped her hand. "As you're leaving, and you're leaving now, you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code wall the planet, the whole planet."
Anita started walking off. She walked towards a darkened area of the room. I rushed over to her.
"Nope, nu-uh. Don't wanna do that." I told her.
"Nobody comes here, not ever again." The Doctor kept on scolding the archaeologists. I guided Anita away from the dark, back into the light. "Not one living thing, not here, not ever."
"What's your name?" I asked her.
Anita blinked at me, and of the dark. "Anita."
"Ah! God is merciful, how cute!" I cheered. "Never step in the shadows again. Okie dokie?"
"Yes! Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship!" The Doctor ranted.
I patted Anita's back. "We're very stressed today. Books were damaged."
"Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand." The Doctor kept going on about it. "If you understand me, look very, very scared."
Everyone in the room watched him in confusion. River smiled, amused.
"No, bit more scared than that." Still nothing. "Okay, it'll do for now." He walked towards Other Dave. "You. Who are you?"
"Er, Dave."
The Doctor grabbed his shoulder, walking him towards the door that they exploded.
I let go of Anita to stand by Donna. River looked over at me, grinning like we shared a joke. We weren't. No shared jokes here. I sent her a confused face back.
Yes. Yes. Look confused. Like- like why wouldn't anyone listen? They were in danger. They should be running.
Pretend you don't understand anything.
Pretend like River is any other background character.
Pretend like that Node had a normal face.
You can do that.
"Okay, Dave." The Doctor began.
"Oh, well, Other Dave." He corrected. "Because that's Proper Dave the pilot, he was the first Dave, so when we-"
The Doctor pushed him towards the exit. "Other Dave, the way you came, does it look the same as before?"
"Yeah." Other Dave answered. He looked down the hallway. "Oh, it's a bit darker."
"How much darker?" The Doctor asked.
"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now." Other Dave told him.
The Doctor pulled Dave back from it. "Seal up this door. We'll find another way out." He walked over to me. 'Have you got any ideas?'
'Our way is dark. I don't see any other way out unless you feel like breaking that window.'
'No, not keen on that.'
'I mean-' I couldn't point out that the little shop had teleports. That needed to be Donna's. She was so clever, and rarely got to show it. I won't take it from her. Also, the door Miss Evangelista found was locked by CAL., and led to a room full of shadows.
'No. What is it?'
'I don't think it would work. We could see if they have big lights?'
'They could use them to light their way back.' The Doctor agreed.
"We're not looking for a way out." Lux stated. He nodded at his assistant. "Miss Evangelista?"
Evangelista scrambled. She pulled up a clipboard, trying to balance the thing in her hands. She walked over to the three of us. "I'm Mister Lux's personal everything."
"Lux?" I spoke up. "Like Felman Lux, the guy that Node was talking about?"
Miss Evangelista paused. River came up. "His grandson." She explained.
I made an 'ohh' noise.
Evangelista blinked, thrown off by the question. She took a deep breath, getting herself back. She struggled to start it. "You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your...individual experience inside the library are...the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."
Lux mouthed it with her, making sure she got it right.
The Doctor reached for one of the blue papers. "Right, give it here."
Donna took one. I grabbed it too. "Yeah, lovely. Thanks."
I spun around, getting to work.
The Doctor and Donna tore them apart.
"Terra?" The Doctor asked..
I spun back around. In my hands, a tiny little origami bird. "I made it into a swan!"
"That's a unicorn." River corrected, her mouth tilting in a fond smile.
I held the bird close. "Don't body shame her."
Evangelista stared at us, eyes wide. She turned to Lux, lost and scared.
The bird needed a new home. I stepped forward, holding up the bird. "Here! You can have my swan."
The assistant looked between me and her boss, oh so confused about what to do.
"My family built this library." Lux scolded us. "I have rights."
I put the swan down on the clipboard. Evangelista picked them up.
"You have a mouth that won't stop." River replied. She came up to me. "You think there's danger here?"
"Something came to this library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be." The Doctor snarked.
River hummed. "That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here's long dead."
"Bet your life?" The Doctor asked.
River grinned. "Always."
The Doctor gave her a once over. Then he grinned.
I couldn't help it. My eyes rolled. They dared flirt in front of me. It could melt my eyeballs. This was awful.
When I get back from Werewolf land, I get to deal with shit like this? For what, two hundred years? A thousand? This universe sucks. These people sucked.
My disgust made River smile wide. That is so like her- I hate it.
I hate her.
I really, really hate her.
'Alright. They won't leave. Other ideas?'
I scrunched up my face, thinking. While I wanted to say my other ideas, our only bet was the one he ended up taking. Besides, River needed to be glared at. The awful archeologist. 'When we leave, can we hide pots and pans in the wrong decade to confuse archeologists?'
'I meant about keeping them alive.'
'So is that a no?'
'I didn't say that.'
Lux walked over to Other Dave. "What are you doing?"
Other Dave looked up, confused. The Doctor went to join them. "He said seal the door."
The Doctor held out his hand. "Torch."
Lux held up his. The Doctor took it. "You're taking orders from him?"
"Spooky, isn't it?" The Doctor walked off.
I can do that trick too. You're not special.
Lux looked at the Doctor, then his empty hand. The confusion on his face made me giggle.
The matching grin on River made me sneer.
The Doctor nodded his head. Donna and I followed him. At his side, I reached in my Bag for a flashlight. The one that came out was pink and sparkly.
The darkened hallway stayed dark. The Doctor shined his light down. I shined mine. There was no dust in the beams. If I strained my ears, I could make out a sound. A faint, threatening snarl.
"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark." The Doctor told Donna. "But they're wrong, because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."
"What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna asked.
"It's what makes the darkness advanced." I answered. Donna turned to me. "You'll never know it's there. By the time anyone ever realizes, it's too late."
Donna's eyes widened.
'Terra. We need those lights.'
'I can set them in a circle from the skylight. It's making a perfect model. We still need a way out.'
'We'll come up with something. For now, we just need to keep them safe.' The Doctor sent a mental wave of annoyance. 'Can't stand it when they're stubborn.'
'Lie better.'
"Lights!" The Doctor shouted, abruptly leaving the conversation. "That's what we need, lights." He turned back to River. "You got lights?"
"What for?" River asked, looking at me.
"To defend against sea bears!" I walked over to Anita and Other Dave. He'd finished sealing the door. "You gotta form a circle."
"Make a safe area. Big as you can, lights pointing out!" The Doctor ordered.
River started moving first. She reached for her backpack. "Oi. Do as they say." Anita and the Daves obeyed. They reached in their packs, pulling out the lights packed away.
Lux gawked at his team. "You're not listening to these people?"
"Apparently I am." River replied.
"Miss Anita, unpack the lights!" Donna's lines? I would never take those. River's? I would take them with gladness. "Other Dave, double check on that door, then help Anita."
"Mister Lux-" River cut in. "Put your helmet back on, block the visor."
"Proper Dave, check the terminals. One of them has to work. Get me a report about what happened a hundred years ago." I ordered.
"Pretty boy, sweetheart, you're with me." River lifted up her backpack. She walked towards a desk, far away from the rest of them. "Step into my office."
Lux huffed. "Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?" Lux asked.
River smiled at him. "I don't fancy you."
Lux scoffed.
Shut up.
The Doctor went over to Proper Dave. "Probably I can help you." He propped his glasses on, leaning over a terminal to get a look at the screen.
Donna and I exchanged a look. Like, I knew that River's demeaning nickname was for me. My heart is not sweet. It is vile and full of darkness and hate and is dark as the abyss.
The Doctor being a pretty boy was a factual statement.
Resigned to my fate, I walked over to her.
"Pretty boy, with me I said." River called out, nodding at me. "You too, sweetheart."
I can unmake you
One word from me, your parents never conceive you
"Pretty?" The Doctor asked, apparently questioning her nickname choice.
I looked back to him, shrugging. "You've looked in a mirror."
The Doctor gaped at that, turning to Donna. "Pretty?"
"Yes!" Donna teased. "Oh, that came out a bit quick."
"Pretty, come on. We're waiting." River teased, locking her arm in mine and guiding me towards a check-in desk. "Our pretty boys are so slow, aren't they?"
Boys?
As in plural?
As in, not just the Doctor?
The fuh-!?
"Don't let your shadows cross!" The Doctor shouted. I turned back. Evangelista stared at the Doctor in terror. "Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."
"How can a shadow be infected?" Other Dave asked.
I pulled away from River. She let me go, without protest.
"Evangelista, keep watch of that swan." I ordered.
The assistant's lip wobbled. She tried to figure it out- maybe scared it was a joke or a clever thing she couldn't understand. "It- It- Professor Song called it-"
"It doesn't matter. She's magical the way she is." I squeezed her hand. "And she's a lot smarter than people think."
Evangelista stared at the origami.
I walked back to River. She eyed me, curious but…proud.
Dammit.
==MGCB==
At the little desk, River dropped her bag. She unzipped it. She reached in, grabbing an even smaller bag.
The Doctor and I looked at her.
'You think I'm pretty.'
'More adorable. Like a puppy that licks walls.'
'Ugh. Will you let that go?'
'No.'
'It was for a good cause!'
'Every time?'
'Yes!'
'Last week you licked my shoes to see what kind of mud I walked in.'
'And that helped us track down-!'
"Are you two done?" River asked.
The two of us paused.
"Sorry what?" The Doctor replied.
River pulled out her TARDIS style diary. "It's rude to exclude people from conversations."
"He likes to lick things. Walls, floors, shoes, anything." I told her. "You still think he's pretty?"
River hummed. "Pretty, not smart. He's like...a puppy."
I hate you so much
"Alright, come on. I'm not that bad."
I hummed. "Well."
River nodded. She opened her diary. "Thanks."
"He makes it so easy to joke-"
"I meant about coming when I called." River said. "Even if I don't have a bribe today, Terra, it means a lot."
The Doctor blinked. "Oh, that was you?"
"You gave him a hug and a kiss?" I asked.
"No. The hug was for you." River admitted.
The traitor.
"You're doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. Not you, Terra, you're doing awful. I'm assuming there's a reason."
"A fairly good one, actually." The Doctor replied. 'You know her?'
'I've never met River Song before in my life.'
"Okay, shall we do diaries, then?" River asked. "Where are we this time?" She looked up at us. "Er, going by your faces, I'd say it's early days for you, yeah? So, er, crash of the Byzantium. Have we done that yet?"
Neither of us said anything.
'She sent you a hug?'
'She sent YOU a kiss?'
'It could mean nothing.'
'Right yeah. People kiss each other all the time in the future.'
'Actually-'
"Obviously ringing no bells. Right. Oh, picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet?" River asked. She squinted, her eyebrows scrunching up. "Okay. Terra, have we gone to Asgard? Obviously not." She turned the pages in her book. "Blimey, very early days, then. Whoo, life with time travellers. Never knew it could be such hard work."
'People that have a diary that exact shade of blue, and TARDIS shaped, and are asking about time questions definitely meant that kiss as friendly. Why does every future person wanna kiss you?'
'Oi. It's not like I asked.'
River paused. She leaned forward to the Doctor. "Look at you. Oh, you're young."
The Doctor snorted. "I'm really not, you know."
"No, but you are." River reached her hand up. I sat back, leaning against the desk. "Your eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you."
...okay maybe I understand
She expected to see a floppy haired wuss. A man in a bowtie. A man with green eyes. A Doctor with a chin so pointy you could cut yourself on it.
Instead she gets a man who forgets books are made of paper. An idiot with sideburns and sticky uppy hair. She loves him too- somehow.
"You've seen us before, then?" The Doctor asked her. "Me and Terra?"
River pressed her lips together, bracing herself. "Doctor, please tell me you know who I am."
The Doctor blinked. "Who are you?"
River leaned back. She tore her gaze from the Doctor to me. "Terra. Stop pretending. You know me. You know me."
I frowned. The look in her eyes only steeled my resolve. She honestly couldn't tell? "Professor Song, I'm-"
"No." River stopped me, sucking her tears in. "No. Don't even say it." She closed her book, slamming it down on the counter.
An alarm went off. A loud, buzzing going off in the whole room. Everyone turned to it. Proper Dave held up his hands.
"Sorry, that was me." I leapt away from the desks. I ran over to him- jumping over a large shadow on the ground. "Trying to get through into the security protocols. I seem to have set something off. What is that? Is that an alarm?"
Donna sat upright. "Doctor? Terra? That sounds like-"
"It is. It's a phone." The Doctor agreed.
"What happened?" I asked Proper Dave. The others started coming over, circling around us.
"I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding." Proper Dave explained. I typed on the terminal. "Just that noise."
"But it's a phone." Donna told us again.
The Doctor came to my side. He reached over. I stepped aside, giving him room. "Let me try something." He typed on the terminal. The screen flashed red- access denied. "Okay, doesn't like that. Let's try something else."
He kept typing.
"Wait, try this." I pressed a few buttons.
"Okay, here it comes." The Doctor looked at the screen.
The screen blurred. It showed a young girl in her living room, coloring.
"Hello?" The Doctor replied, confused.
"Hi there!" I waved.
The little girl gawked at us. "Hello. Are you in my television?"
The Doctor blinked at the screen. "Well, no, we're, we're sort of in space."
"We tried calling the data core." I told Charlotte. "It sounded like a telephone."
"You rang my phone too?" Charlotte asked. "Were you trying to call my dad?"
"Dad or your Mum. That'd be lovely." The Doctor replied.
Charlotte squinted "I know you. You're in my library."
"Your library?" He repeated.
"The library's never been on the television before. What have you done?" Charlotte asked.
"Good idea to blame him." I told her. "But this was actually all me. Just a reroute of that interface-"
The screen blanked out. It reset to that access denied warning.
"What happened? Who was that?" River asked.
The Doctor and I rushed off.
"We need another terminal." The Doctor went to one terminal. I went to the other. "Keep working on this lights! We need those lights!"
"The brighter the better!" I added. "Let there be light!"
"You heard them, people. Let there be light." River glanced over to me, starting to wink. Then she stopped herself before going for their packs.
Ha
Good
Get upset. Be hurt. Hold back the urge to cry and sob. It'll be hard, cause crying is all you'll want to do.
But you can't.
Because your childhood taught you not to cry, and to get the work done instead.
You helped show me that, at least, before you left me alone.
==MGCB==
As I typed away on the screen, my brain wandered in other directions.
The spacesuits looked like the one from her childhood. The spaceman that chased her for all her first life
A little girl talking to the Doctor, over a thing that was definitely not a phone. A little girl asking for help- to be saved. That must ring some bells with her.
The Doctor was talking to a sassy ginger, one that snarks him right back.
How much of this sounds like your old adventures, River Song? How much does it hurt, that he remembers none of it?
How does it feel to live out your childhood fear?
Turnabout is fair play
I smacked the keyboard. The data core sealed itself off from us. Dr Moon had a hand in that.
He feared for Charlotte's safety. As her protector, that's his job. He wanted her to not know about her current state- another perfectly fine point. Us talking to her through the data core could expose the secret. He wouldn't let us in again.
"Sorry, you're not allowed to see inside the book." River explained.
I looked over. River's diary was in her hands. The Doctor stared, confused.
"It's against the rules." River told him.
"What rules?" The Doctor asked.
River nodded her head at me. "Her rules. Number 69: No one touches River Song's diary. Wouldn't want to break one of Terra's rules."
I scoffed. While it was possible that it was the 69th rule, as I hadn't gone up that high yet, the impossibility came from giving that rule that number. Darcy would never give it up.
River gave me a look. A fond, familiar smile. Like she was thinking about Darcy too- about the rule. Darcy would rather die than let anyone have slot 69. It's an insult.
But...if she gave it to anyone...
'She even knows about your rules.'
'Can we not talk about that?' I asked.
'It's weird to me too. We don't even know this woman. She just calls us on the psychic paper, and- and just-'
'You're bad at answering the phone.' I told him. 'She got that right too.'
'Why not call you? You answer.'
'I wouldn't have told you about the kiss. She obviously wanted you to see it.'
'Obviously?'
'Author, you are such a bonehead.'
"Oi. I'm not that bad." The Doctor argued.
"I don't even know what it's about." Donna noted. "But you are."
The Doctor frowned at Donna. She nodded, sticking with her words. I grinned. As I caught sight of River, moving about to help the lights, I frowned again. She looked...fuck she looked like a kid being kicked off the popular table.
To save me, books flew off the shelves. I ducked before one could hit my head.
"What's that? I didn't do that." The Doctor defended himself. "Did you do that?"
I held up my hands. More books went flying. "Nope!"
"Or me." Proper Dave called out.
The Doctor turned to his terminal. I ran to his side, watching him type. The screen only said CAL: access denied.
"What's Cal?"
"Computer automated...library?" I guessed.
Another set of books went flying. We ducked to dodge them. Miss Evangelista yelped, stomping her foot in fright.
"You all right?" Donna asked.
"What's that? What's happening?" Evangelista asked, her voice hitching with a whine.
I stepped away.
'I could use some help here.'
'Ask your penpal.' I replied.
"Oh, thanks, for er, you know, offering to help with the lights." Donna told her, giving the assistant a comforting smile.
Evangelista shook her head. "They don't want me. They think I'm stupid, because I'm pretty."
"Course they don't. Nobody thinks that." Donna assured her.
"My swan doesn't think that."
Donna jumped. "Would you stop doing that?"
"Doing what?" I asked. "Oh, you mean speaking for the swan? My bad." I turned to Evangelista, whispering. "But between you and me, my swan thinks your clever."
"No, they're right though." Evangelista told us. "I'm a moron, me. My dad said I have the IQ of plankton, and I was pleased."
I winced. "Oh, dearie."
Mr Spencer thinks I cheat on tests, cause I'm never really that smart. I have to do bad on purpose so he'll accept my scores.
Mrs Spencer said my brothers got all the brains.
Donna just laughed. "See, that's funny."
"Donna. No." I shook my head.
"No, no, I really was pleased." Evangelista explained. My hearts broke. "Is that funny?"
Donna shook her head. "No, no."
"It's okay." I came up, patting Evangelista's shoulder. "My swan still thinks you're smart. And if she says you're smart, then I agree."
Evangelista stared at me, eyes big and wide and confused. "But...but I'm not-"
Another book flew off the shelf. I jumped up, catching it.
"What's causing that? Is it the little girl?" River asked. More books went flying. It knocked on a light. Anita fixed it back.
"But who is the little girl? What's she got to do with this place?" The Doctor asked. He hopped up on the counter. "How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's Cal?"
"Ask Mister Lux." River replied.
I skipped over to the man, tapping his shoulder. "Mr Lux. Who is CAL?"
Lux clenched his jaw, bracing himself. He shook his head at us. "Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts."
"She is a swan, not a contract." I reminded him.
"Unicorn." River corrected.
She's doing it to annoy me at this point!
The Doctor walked up to Lux. He pulled off his glasses, glaring down at the man. "Mister Lux. Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?"
"I'm protecting my family's pride." Lux told him.
"Well, funny thing, Mister Lux. I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important." The Doctor scolded.
"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River asked. The Doctor glared at her. She smiled. "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you."
That made him start grinning.
Again. Ridiculous. He just got over his last relationship. He doesn't need another blonde time traveler in his life.
Literally every blonde time traveler has emotionally devastated him.
Rose.
River.
The Master.
He has a fucking type.
"Okay, okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here?" The Doctor asked. "On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"
"There was a message from the Library." River reported. "Just one. The lights are going out. Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years."
"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in." Lux admitted.
I heard the door swing open. Turning back, the open wall called out to me. Or to Miss Evangelista.
"Er, excuse me?" Evangelista asked.
"Not just now." Lux snapped.
I moved to follow. The Doctor held my shoulder, pulling me back.
"There was one other thing in the last message." River reached in her pocket.
"That's confidential." Lux warned.
'Doc Brown. There's something-'
'We'll look at it later.'
Yeah. That's the problem. 'But I-'
"I trust these two with my life, with everything." River told him.
"You've only just met them." Lux replied.
"No. They- He's only just met me." River stated.
I eyed the archeologist. Yes, she rightfully guessed I was faking. She deserves this, as far as I'm concerned. That she acknowledged the moment only made me more upset. She's aware of what happened before. She knows, yet she hasn't apologized even once. She deserves to suffer like this.
"Er, this might be important, actually." Evangelista called out.
"In a moment." Lux snapped.
I bristled.
River held out a device to me. I took it, handing it to the Doctor. Maybe now I could save Miss Evangelista. I snuck off from the Doctor. Carefully, I walked towards the open wall. "This is a data extract that came with the message."
"Four thousand and twenty three saved. No survivors." The Doctor read out.
I stopped. My hearts dropped as a lot of loose pieces came together.
The Node.
Fuck, it was a thing.
It was a me-thing.
H-How?! What- no why?!
"Four thousand and twenty three. That's the exact number of people who were in the library when the planet was sealed." River informed the Doctor.
The Node with a different face. Fair skin, purple eyes- oh fuck, is it my sister? No- the Node would see through any disguise. I've seen my sister's face here and what it looks like. That Node wasn't her.
A stranger.
A stranger was here- stuck like all the others.
"But how can four thousand and twenty three people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Donna asked.
"That's what we're here to find out." River explained.
"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies." Lux pointed out.
There was a scream.
I started running.
==MGCB==
The room was full of books. It looked like a college classroom, only full of books instead of people.
No. One person was here.
I knelt at the seat, staring up at the skeleton. A clean, white skeleton. It was covered with a white suit, torn to shreds.
My hearts wept.
My eyes stayed dry.
I'm sorry.
I'm- I hadn't meant to forget.
I wanted to save you
You should've been saved.
"Everybody, careful." The Doctor warned, when he eventually caught up to me. "Stay in the light."
"You keep saying that. I don't see the point." Proper Dave huffed.
"Who screamed?" The Doctor asked.
Proper Dave shrugged. "Miss Evangelista."
"Where is she?" The Doctor snapped.
River reached for her neck, for a comm on her neck. "Miss Evangelista, please state your current-"
My hand tightened on the spacesuit. It crinkled, some of it tearing off in my hand. River's voice echoed from the suit.
"Please state your current position." River repeated. The voice came from the comm of Evangelista's suit. "It's her. It's Miss Evangelista."
"We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?" Anita asked.
"That's all it needed." I said, my voice cracking.
"What did?" Anita asked.
"Hello?" Evangelista asked.
I winced.
"Er, I'm sorry, everyone. Er, this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting." River explained.
"She's what?" Donna asked, sounding like she was a moment away from crying.
"Hello? Excuse me. I'm sorry. Hello? Excuse me." Evangelista asked.
"That's, that's her, that's Miss Evangelista." Donna realized.
"I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just, you know?" Proper Dave asked.
"No." I hissed. The group froze. "She'll get her words. You shut up."
"Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?" Evangelista asked me.
"But that's Miss Evangelista." Donna pointed out, confused.
"It's a data ghost. She'll be gone in a moment." River replied. "Miss Evangelista, you're fine. Just relax. We'll be with you presently."
"What's a data ghost?" Donna asked.
"There's a neural relay in the communicator. Lets you send thought mail." The Doctor explained. "That's it there. Those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an afterimage."
Anita sniffled. "My grandfather lasted a day. Kept talking about his shoelaces."
"My-" I took a breath, squeezing her knee again. "My friend...made no cents. For hours."
River sucked in a breath.
"She's in there." Donna reminded us- desperate, and definitely crying.
"I can't see. I can't... Where am I?"
"She's just brain waves now. The pattern won't hold for long." Proper Dave explained.
"She is still there!" I hissed again. "Didn't I tell you to shut up?"
"I can't see, I can't. I don't know what I'm thinking." Evangelista went on.
"She's a footprint on the beach. And the tide's coming in." The Doctor told Donna.
"Where's those women? The nice woman, and the girl? Are they there?" Evangelista asked.
I sucked in a pained breath.
"What women?" Lux asked.
"She means. I think she means us." Donna admitted.
"Are they there? The nice women." Evangelista asked.
"Yes, she's here. Hang on." River came up to me. "Go ahead. She can hear you."
I nodded.
"Hello? Are you there?" Evangelista asked.
"Hi." I squeezed her suit. "Hello, it's me."
"Hello? Is it the nice girl?"
"She's dead." Donna reminded me in a broken, soft whisper.
"Please." I pleaded. "Yes. It's me."
"I'm sorry about your- about your swan." Evangelista replied. I bit my cheek again- holding it all in. "I lost it."
"It's okay." I told her.
"Hello?" Donna stepped forward. "Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm here. You okay?"
"What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh." Evangelista asked.
"No, no of course not." I looked back at Donna. I ignored the rest of the team. Right now, I would forget how to be kind.
Donna nodded, definitely crying. "Course we won't. Course we won't tell them."
"We'd never say a word." I promised, my bottom lip trembling. "Promise."
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh." Evangelista pleaded.
I fought back tears. This shit was hard. "We promise."
"I won't tell them. I said I won't." Donna agreed.
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh." Evangelista repeated.
"I'm not going to tell them." Donna insisted.
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
"She's looping now. The pattern's degrading." River explained, her own words heavy with held back tears.
"I can't think. I don't know, I, I, I, I scream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream."
I leaned forward. Nobody stopped me when I disconnected her comm from her suit. The small, blinking green light hurt to squeeze in my hand. That didn't stop me from holding it tight.
As I sat back on the ground, I held the disabled comm unit against my heart.
"That was, that was horrible. That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen." Donna told us.
"No." River took a breath, bracing herself. She still sounded like she'd been crying, only that she moved on from it. "It's just a freak of technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her, I'd like a word with that."
"I'll introduce you." The Doctor walked forward to me. He held out his hand.
I squeezed the comm unit again.
"Terra. Come on." He said.
I shook my head. I was too- too emotional. If I got up I would- oh the stuff I would do. The shadows, I would kill every shadow on this damn planet. Then, I'd hurt the Daves and Anita for treating Evangelista so terribly when she was alive. After that, I would pummel Lux for bringing Evangelista along, also for CAL. Lastly it would be River that I just-
That I just-
4,023 saved. No survivors.
I just-
4,023 saved. No survivors.
Fuck I have to be peaceful until I can save that plus 1. Author damn my life to hell.
"Can I kill the shadows?" I asked.
"I'll show you how." The Doctor promised.
Not letting go of the comm, my other hand grabbed the Doctor's hand. He pulled me up to my feet.
==MGCB==
We ran back to the main room.
"I'm going to need a packed lunch." The Doctor called out.
"Terra, use the meat biscuits in your bag." River instructed.
"Hey! I don't-" A look. "Okay maybe I do. But it-"
"You wouldn't let them expire." River argued.
Huffing, I started searching my Bag for the treats.
"What's in that book?" The Doctor asked.
"Spoilers." River replied.
"Who are you?" The Doctor asked.
"Professor River Song, University of-"
"To me. Who are you to me?" The Doctor stressed.
"Again, spoilers."
"Rule 23." I told her.
"Spoilers are not your friend today." River countered. "Biscuits?"
I sighed. In my Bag, I pulled out a baggie of dog treats. The Doctor took the Bag.
"Then who are you to Terra?" The Doctor asked. "You said you had met her before."
"Terra. Could you please?" River asked.
"I don't take orders from people." I reminded her.
River scoffed. "Right, thanks."
"Welcome!"
The Doctor tossed a flashlight in the air. "Right, you lot. Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada." He knelt on the ground, starting his search for a shadow.
I pulled out my flashlight. River wrapped her arm around mine. "Hey-"
"Into my office." River stated. She dragged me off.
"I don't do orders-"
"I'll give you a spoiler." River promised.
Well now you have my attention. Even if it's a lie, it's a good lie.
River pulled me aside. She set down her backpack, standing next to it. Her entire body faced away from the Doctor. She wanted to see my face. She trusted me to keep my face clear of any expression.
"What's wrong?" River asked. "Like for real. What's happening? You're angry."
"I am never angry-"
"I understand that Evangelista's death upsets you." River cut me off. "We're all upset by it. But you're never that emotional in public. What's wrong?"
"Nothing is wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" I asked, blinking innocently.
"Something is upsetting you." River stated. "You never let something upset you during an episode. What happened? Not my comment about the hug."
I hate you.
I really, really hate you.
"Hugs always upset me." I reminded her.
River gave me a look.
"What? They do."
"Did something change?" River asked. "You always get like this when something changes."
I bristled. I glanced at the Doctor and Donna. Donna watched me, concerned and silent. The Doctor kept searching for the Vashta Nerada, but he still was totally trying to listen.
So I had to whisper the next bit. Really, really whisper. "4022 saved. No survivors."
River sucked in a breath. "Someone you know was here."
"No survivors." I repeated. "I would never send someone to a Library."
River put on a guarded expression.
I narrowed my eyes. "You know."
"I suspect." River admitted.
"Liar." I smiled, wide and gentle. "Who?"
"I can't tell you that." River explained.
"You promised me a spoiler." I reminded her.
River made a face. She huffed. "Twilight Sparkle." River answered, in the tone like I'd pulled out her teeth while I was at it.
"Don't you dare tell me she was one of those sparkly bats." I warned her. Then I gave a bright smile, for Donna's sake.
"No. That's her name. Twilight Sparkle." River answered.
I snorted. "I know someone called Twilight Sparkle? Seriously?"
"No. She's your best friend." River replied.
"Now I know you're lying. I don't have friends. Definitely not any I'd bring here."
"Well if you took Twilight anywhere, it would be a library. She loves books." River explained. "But I don't understand. You wouldn't send her to a place to put her in danger."
No. No I wouldn't. Unless, of course, I knew that the Library people would be okay. That this Twilight Sparkle would be okay. This all depends on River Song telling the truth. That's not something I would accept- not so easily.
That's what today was supposed to be. Today I should've been focusing on River Song. On her, and how much I hate her.
"Oi Terra! What are you talking about?" Donna asked.
"The number is funny!" I replied, leaning against the counter beside River. "Cause it's got a 4, a 3, a 2, and a 0 but no 1. Which is like, weird, and not what you expect-"
"Right, weird. Got it." Donna nodded. She looked over at the Doctor.
I walked away from River. She reached for me, trying to bring me back. I ignored her. Donna needed me.
"It's not weird. It's funny." I argued. "You gotta admit it's funny."
"I don't have to actually." Donna replied.
"You travel with them?" River asked. "Terra and the Doctor, you travel with them?"
"What of it?" Donna asked her.
'Do you know how you know her yet?' The Doctor asked.
'Can we not talk about her right now?' I countered. 'I wanna focus on shadows.'
'Is she dangerous?' The Doctor asked. 'Is that why you won't say anything?'
'I always tell you when they're dangerous.' I reminded him.
'You said nothing about Jack.'
'He wasn't dangerous.'
'Sure.'
'Hey!'
"Proper Dave, could you move over a bit?" The Doctor instructed.
"Why?" Proper Dave asked.
"Over there by the water cooler. Thanks." The Doctor added. "Terra, bit of help?"
"Watch for shadows!" I warned him.
"Not what I meant." The Doctor said.
I went over, kneeling by his side. My flashlight was out, shining in the dark corners of the room. "It's helpful though."
'But is she dangerous?'
'I don't know. Probably.'
"You know them, don't you?" Donna asked River.
"Oh Author, do I know that man and that girl." River sighed, fondly shaking her head. I bristled. Did she- did she really have to use Author too? That's my thing. Let it stay my thing. "We go way back, that man and me. Just not this far back. Terra and I go even farther back."
"I'm sorry, what?" Donna asked.
"He hasn't met me yet. I sent him a message, but it went wrong. It arrived too early. This is the Doctor in the days before he knew me." River explained, taking deep breaths to calm herself. "And he looks at me, he looks right through me and it shouldn't kill me, but it does. Terra knows me. She has for a long time. She's known me since..."
Then River stopped.
Really, stopped and thought about it for two fucking seconds.
She looked up at me, blue eyes wide in shocked realization.
Yeah.
It's about fucking time.
'I get that you don't want to talk about it. It's only odd that you're not saying anything.' The Doctor said.
'Maybe I don't wanna talk about it for good reasons. Think about that?' I snapped.
'What's the reason?' The Doctor asked.
I glared at him. 'Hey. Please? Drop it?'
'I'm just worried-'
"What are you talking about?" Donna asked, irritated. "Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know them or don't you?"
"Donna! Quiet, I'm working." The Doctor scolded.
"Sorry." Donna huffed, crossing her arms.
"Hey." I scolded right back. "Apologize to Donna."
"Sorry." The Doctor replied, trite and not meaning it. 'I'm worried about you.'
'You're always worried about me.'
'No I'm not.'
'Yes you are.'
"Thank you." Donna replied.
River smiled, laughing under her breath. Donna watched River's face. I did too. "I do know the Doctor, in the future. Terra and I...we were old friends."
"Did you tell Terra that? Because she's not being friendly with you now." Donna replied. "I've seen her with old friends. She's nothing like that with you."
River grimaced, frowning. She looked at me. I pretended to be looking for Vashta Nerada. "We parted on...bad terms."
"How bad?" Donna asked. "What happened?"
The Doctor glanced over at me. I ignored him. Maybe talking about a dark trauma isn't what I want to focus on right now. Did anybody ever think about that? I apparently have a bookworm to save.
"I've got one!" I called out. They all turned to me. I pulled out a dog treat.
The Doctor stood up, leaning beside me. "That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm." He explained to the archeologists.
I tossed the dog treat.
It never hit the ground.
The group went quiet.
Well they were already quiet but...like this quiet came from fear.
"The piranhas of the air. The Vashta Nerada." The Doctor explained to the silent archeologists. "Literally, the shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets have them, but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."
"If they caused the incident a hundred years ago, then they have been here for one hundred years." I pointed out. "A swarm of shadows...starving for one hundred years."
"What do you mean, most planets? Not Earth?" Donna asked.
"Mmm. Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada." The Doctor explained. "You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."
Donna laughed, in denial. "If they were on Earth, we'd know."
"Nah. Normally they live on roadkill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark." The Doctor cautioned.
"Every shadow?" River asked.
"No. But any shadow." The Doctor replied.
"So what do we do?" River asked.
"Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run." The Doctor warned.
"Run? Run where?" River asked.
"This is an index point. There must be an exit teleport somewhere." The Doctor explained.
Lux held up his hands. "Don't look at me, I haven't memorized the schematics."
"Weren't you bored during the flight?" I asked him.
"Doctor, the little shop." Donna realized. "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."
'Can't believe we missed the little shop.'
'Shame on us!'
"You're right. Brilliant!" The Doctor praised her. "That's why I like the little shop."
"You like the knick knacks." I argued.
The Doctor laughed.
"Okay, let's move it." Proper Dave started moving.
I gawked.
Fuck dammit
"Proper Dave, sir?" I spoke up.
Proper Dave stood still. "What?"
"You need to stay where you are for a moment?" The Doctor asked.
"Why?" Proper Dave asked.
"I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows." The Doctor revealed.
The group gasped. They looked down to Proper Dave's shoes.
Two shadows stretched out from him.
"It's how they hunt. They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh." The Doctor explained.
"What do I do?" Proper Dave asked, voice shaking.
"You stay absolutely still, like there's a wasp in the room. Like there's a million wasps." The Doctor cautioned.
"We're not leaving you, Dave." River promised.
"Where's your helmet?" I asked. "Don't point. Just say it."
"On the floor, by my bag." Proper Dave answered.
I looked at Anita. She walked to it.
"Shadows!" I reminded her. "Thank you!"
"Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got." The Doctor explained.
Anita handed over the helmet. The Doctor slipped it on Proper Dave's head.
"But, Doctor, we haven't got any helmets." Donna reminded him.
The Doctor shrugged. "Yeah, but we're safe anyway."
"How are we safe?" Donna asked.
"We're not. That was a clever lie to shut you up." The Doctor admitted. Donna huffed. "Professor, anything I can do with the suit?"
"What good are the damn suits? Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit. There was nothing left." Lux snapped.
I glared at him.
"We can increase the mesh density. Dial it up four hundred percent. Make it a tougher meal." River stated.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic. I grabbed mine. "Okay." He pressed the sonic to Proper Dave's suit. "Eight hundred percent. Setting 484 - Charlie."
"Got it." I walked to Anita.
Anita stayed still. I pressed my sonic to her suit.
"What's that?" The Doctor asked.
River held up a sonic. Her sonic. A thin stick, stuck tighter with brass metal coating and a ring circle for balance. "It's a screwdriver."
"It's sonic." The Doctor stated, dumbly.
"Yeah, I know. Snap." River upgraded the suit of Other Dave. The Doctor just watched her- gawking. That meant I had to upgrade the suit for Lux.
The Doctor grabbed my hand. As he walked off, he grabbed Donna's too. "With me. Come on."
==MGCB==
He dragged us into the little shop. Not gonna lie, I thought about stealing all of the things here. It's not like anyone would use it again. The store would never sell another item again.
"What are we doing? We shopping? Is it a good time to shop?" Donna asked.
"No talking, just moving." The Doctor moved me and Donna on the teleport. I stood on the first dias. Donna took the middle. "Try it. Right, stand there in the middle. It's a teleport. Stand in the middle. Can't send the others, TARDIS won't recognize them." He went to the control panel, pulling switches and turning knobs.
"Doc Brown." I spoke in a low voice, warning him. "You better not try this."
The Doctor ignored me.
"Why's she upset? What are you doing?" Donna asked.
"You don't have suits. You're not safe." The Doctor reasoned.
"Your suit is about as useful as a flip-flop in a hurricane." I scolded. "You're in danger too."
"We're not leaving you." Donna told him.
"Terra, Donna, let me explain." The Doctor warned.
I jumped off the teleport. Just as I left the teleport, Donna vanished.
"Terra!" The Doctor scolded.
I pointed a warning finger at his face. "You're not doing that to me again. You gotta deal with me."
The Doctor grit his teeth.
"Terra! Doctor!" River called out.
He shook his head at me. I grinned at him. The Doctor rolled his eyes, frustrated. We rushed out of the little shop. In the middle of the room, Proper Dave stood still. Only the second shadow disappeared.
"Wha-? How?" I asked.
"Where did it go?" The Doctor asked.
"It's just gone. I looked round, one shadow, see." Proper Dave told us.
"Does that mean we can leave? I don't want to hang around here." River admitted.
"The teleports could take you to your ship." I suggested.
"No. We can't leave." Lux insisted. "I refuse to leave here empty handed."
"Shut up, Mister Lux." River scolded.
"Did you feel anything?" The Doctor asked. "Like an energy transfer? Anything at all?"
"No, no, but look, it's gone." Proper Dave moved his arms, spinning around. He showed off his one shadow.
"Stop there. Stop, stop, stop there. Stop moving." The Doctor ordered. Proper Dave stood still. "They're never just gone and they never give up." He knelt down, scanning the shadow.
I stepped forward.
Proper Dave stood still. His back to me.
"Well, this one's benign." The Doctor reported.
Proper Dave tensed. "Hey, who turned out the lights?"
I held back a scream. Damn Moffat, damn Author, damn all of today.
"No one, they're fine." The Doctor answered.
"No seriously, turn them back on." Proper Dave insisted.
"They were never off." I told him.
"I can't see a ruddy thing." Proper Dave argued.
The Doctor stood up, standing by my side. "Dave, turnaround."
Proper Dave did so. His visor was blacked out. The Doctor and I took a sharp breath.
"What's going on?" Proper Dave asked. "Why can't I see? Is the power gone? Are we safe here?"
"Dave, I want you to stay still. Absolutely still." The Doctor ordered.
Dave jerked, his back arching.
"Proper Dave?" I asked. "Proper Dave?!"
"Can you hear us?" The Doctor asked. "Are you alright? Talk to us, Dave."
"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm fine." Came the robotically flat answer.
I swore under my breath.
"I want you to stay still. Absolutely still." The Doctor instructed him.
"I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm fine. I can't." The suit replied. "Why can't I? I, I can't. Why can't I? I, I can't. Why can't I? I-"
"His light is blinking." I told them.
"He's gone. He's ghosting." River realized.
"Then why is he still standing?" Lux asked.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" The swarm repeated. Hey, who turned out the lights?"
I stepped forward.
"Terra." The Doctor warned.
"Don't." River warned.
"Sorry about this." I replied.
The suit reached forward. At the exact same time, the Doctor reached for me. As expected. I leaned back into his grip, raising my foot. Mindful of the shadow I kicked at the suit. It stumbled back.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" It asked.
The Doctor put me back on my feet. "Back from it! Get back. Right back. What were you thinking?!"
"I can kick better! River! Time to leave!" I told her.
River pulled out her squareness gun. "Doesn't move very fast, does it?" She aimed it towards the back wall.
The suit struggled to get back to balance, swaying and stumbling about. "Who turned out the lights? Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"It's a swarm in a suit. But it's learning." The Doctor replied.
"Duck." River warned the group.
Lux ducked. River fired her gun. It cut out a square hole in the wall.
"Ugh!" I huffed.
"Squareness gun!" The Doctor exclaimed.
"You tilted it!"
"It'll save your life." River dismissed. "Everybody out." The group moved, rushing to the wall. "Go, go, go. Move it. Move, move. Move it. Move, move!"
We climbed through the wall. Our new room was a hallway, made up of bookshelves towering high. It wasn't brightly lit. I reached for the gun from River.
She tucked it in her bag. "You said not every shadow."
"But any shadow." The Doctor replied.
The suit stumbled towards the hole. "Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Let me switch it back!" I snapped.
"Then we lose our only light!" The Doctor argued.
"Run!" River grabbed my hand. The archeologists started running.
I yanked myself away. "Never touch me again!"
River gawked.
The Doctor quickly grabbed my arm. We ran away from the shadows.
==MGCB==
We ran for a long while. We stopped in a hall for the humans to catch their breath.
The Doctor went to a nearby light. He raised his sonic at it.
I did the same to the light beside it.
"You could've died." He warned.
"I didn't."
"I know." The Doctor looked over at me. Then he smiled, proud. "Good kick."
It got a hesitant smile out of me. "Yeah?"
"Yeah."
River walked over to us. I ignored her, focusing on the Node down the hall.
"Trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down." The Doctor explained.
"So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?" River asked.
"Do you have any sunlight in your pocket?" I countered. River shook her head.
"Your screwdriver looks exactly like hers." The Doctor said.
I looked back. River had her sonic out, pointed at a light.
"Yeah. She gave it to me." River replied. "Well you did, but she built it. Her style is distinct."
Choke on a fork
You suck
You know my 'style'. You know it do well- like the back of your hand.
At one point it was the back of your hand.
"I don't give screwdrivers to anyone." The Doctor stated. "Neither does Terra."
"I'm not anyone." River replied.
"Who are you?" The Doctor asked. "What did you do to Terra?"
River huffed. "Terra. You have a plan. What is it?"
The light above me brightened. "We run and hide. We get you and them in your ship, then you fly away and never come back."
River made a face of pain. A bad feeling spiked in my chest. Twinging just between my hearts, deep and leaving an ache behind.
"Doctor. How's our lady?" I asked.
"I teleported Donna back to the TARDIS." The Doctor held up his sonic. "If we don't get back there in under five hours, emergency program one will activate."
"Take her home, yeah." I nodded.
"We need to get a shift on." River reminded us.
The Doctor twisted his sonic. His face dropped into panic. "She's not there."
"Run that by me again?" I asked. "Did you say Donna is missing?!"
"I should have received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach." The Doctor explained. He walked towards the Node.
"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped. The equipment here's ancient." River reasoned.
"No. The TARDIS would pick up any slack. She's amazing." I scolded her.
"Donna Noble." The Doctor asked the Node. "There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library. Do you have the software to locate her position?"
The head spun around.
"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved." The Node answered, using Donna's voice and her face.
"Oh no." I gasped.
The Doctor reached up to it. "Donna."
"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved." The Node reported.
"How can it be Donna? How's that possible?" River asked.
"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved." It repeated.
"What has made sense today?!" I snapped.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Oh just what we needed!" I yelled, stomping my foot.
"Doctor!" River called out.
The Doctor stayed by the Node.
The Nide kept repeating the message. The suit did too as it approached.
I ran to his side. The Doctor barely reacted to me nudging his arm. "Doc. We gotta run."
"Terra." He breathed out, brown eyes big and heartbroken.
"Doctor. We gotta run."
The Node repeated the answer again. The suit came closer.
I put my hand on his shoulder. He reached up, squeezing my hand.
"Okie dokie?"
He nodded. "Okay."
So, with River and the rest of the group, we started running again. We ran and ran. The Node's words echoed after us. The suit's words were practically shouted at us.
But we kept running and running.
We had no other choice.
==MGCB==
AN: I did it! It took awhile but I did it! Morgan/Terra has met River Song, and there are even more things to wait for. Terra is gonna deal with that Forest of the Dead.
Also, in case you were confused, the next chapter will go deeper into it. Or you can read the one shot of mine called 'SASHA' to get an idea of what happened.
(As for Twilight Sparkle...I wanted to be mean)
(Sorry this took so long, actually- homophobic parents found out I'm fruity and basically things are falling apart, but Terra is here having a worse life so it's fine. I can handle it. The whole thing threw me for a loop.)
Thanks to Heisei512 for following