A/N: Thank you so much for all of your love and reviews! Please remember that I only own my OC and that everything else belongs to Doctor Who creators , BBC, and Big Finish Audios!
. : Hmmm… is this a reference to something? I'm not sure if this means something… I tried googling it, but I didn't quite get it haha… But I think I know what you are hinting at and hmm… I guess you will have to see what happens! Also, I apologize for the late update! I had gotten to a writer's block for the intended chapter for a Torchwood episode and opted to another Doctor Who episode because it fit better with the overall plotline I had planned.
Eleana666: Hahaha it's been a long time Eleana666! Yeah, I understand the frustration with Ianto and Jack. I honestly am kind of struggling with this whole love triangle thing going on since I started it. As I'm writing this, I realized what I got myself into and kind of trying to make a way to make it all work! You'll have to look forward and see what happens! Thank you so much for your review!
Chapter 27: Silence in the Library
Iris looked down at her hands, feeling hesitation seep through before she closed her eyes and muttered out,
"Earlier, I mentioned that I've been hearing a voice in my head from time to time."
The Doctor whirled around and responded with, "Rassilon."
Iris nodded and breathed out deeply as she managed to choke out, "I… I only hear him when I seem to have died or close enough to death."
The Doctor froze and asked, "What does he say?"
Iris looked up at him fearfully and said, "He… he calls me a name. A name that I don't know how I am associated with."
The Doctor felt her fear through their bond. And she wasn't just scared, she was terrified. Truly terrified enough to reach out to him. He gently grabbed her shoulders and then lifted her chin as he made her look at him and asked quietly,
"What did he call you?"
Iris shuddered as tears fell down her eyes and she said, "He called me Zagreus."
~~…..~~
The Doctor took a step back from the shock of hearing the name. It couldn't be possible. That was just impossible. There was only one time that name was applied, and that was in his eighth regeneration.
"Iris, are you sure that's what he called you?"
Iris looked up at him, tears streaming down her face as she whispered out,
"I couldn't lie about this. I know what Zagreus is… I possibly couldn't lie about this knowing how serious this is."
The Doctor walked up to her and shook her shoulders as he said, "Did he say anything else?!"
Iris shook her head and answered, "I don't think he did. I would tell you if he did!"
The Doctor saw and felt the pure fear in her as she cried out and hugged her quietly. With that, he sighed and tried to think of a reason why this would happen to her. He couldn't think of anything and heard Iris sniffle as she asked,
"What if I was brought here to… to become…but that's not possible, is it?"
The Doctor felt his hearts fall at that and shook his head as he said, "No, I'm not going to allow it."
Iris felt his anger and his own trepidation from this. She tried to calm herself down while the Doctor continued with,
"We'll solve this together. I promise."
Iris sniffled even more as it got a bit easier for her at those words and the comfort he gave her through their bond. Once she calmed down, she looked at the Doctor who smiled tightly, worry still etched into his eyes. Iris looked at him and smiled back, probably with the same tight smile.
The Doctor looked at her for a bit before chuckling and pinched her cheek. Iris' eyes widened at that and she glared at him as she tried to word,
"What are you doing?"
However, it came out more as "Wha- ah- yu doi-" since he still had one of her cheeks in his hand.
The Doctor laughed at that and said, "You look better with a smile. Also, you're very pinchable in this body."
Iris glared at him and rubbed her cheek that he had let go. She continued to rub at it and pouted with a withering glare. If he could smile still seeing her despite what she had reminded him of, she couldn't remain angry at him for pinching her.
Smiling a little at that, she then stood up and quietly said to the Time Lord,
"Doctor, thank you."
The Time Lord smiled back and nodded, feeling her appreciation through their bond. That was when the door behind Iris opened up to reveal none other than Jack Harkness, who had come in to check up on Iris upon seeing the TARDIS arrive not too long after.
Jack smiled widely as he ran up to lift Iris from the ground and hug her as he said, "How are you feeling?"
Iris giggled at the show of affection Jack showered her as he proceeded to peck her all over her face as she then suddenly frowned. Jack immediately grew worried as he set her down, asking,
"Iris?"
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the sensation of newfound discovery, and momentary disgust and cringe through the bond as Iris muttered out loud,
"Am I a giggling type of person now?"
The Doctor burst out laughing at that while Jack looked a little surprised at the comment. Almost looking like deer in the headlights, the former Time Agent looked to the Doctor, needing some understanding behind this.
Iris glared as she quickly turned around and started to punch the Doctor upon his laughter as she bit out,
"It's. Not. Funny!"
Jack chuckled a little at her display of frustration, realizing what this was. He gently grasped onto her arms as he pulled her off of the Doctor. The Doctor winced a little as he tried to calm himself down and then asked,
"Bloody hell. Am I like that when I regenerate."
Iris huffed and didn't respond while Jack merely shrugged. The Doctor then proceeded to say,
"Well… I hope that I adjust to my next body. Although, hopefully it's not in a long time."
Iris quickly sobered up at that, which caused the Doctor to wince internally. Jack noticed as he hugged Iris from behind, still tall enough to settle his head on top of hers. Iris immediately relaxed and appreciated it.
Feeling a sudden urge to show her appreciation for him, She turned around and tiptoed to peck him on the cheek. Jack blushed a little as the Doctor groaned at that. That was when Donna sauntered over to the console room, yelling out,
"Oi Spaceman! Tell your TARDIS, that I will not tolerate a holographic leopard in the bathroom again!"
Jack and Iris held onto each other, remaining quiet to not garner Donna's wrath. Iris hid her face in Jack's hug, hoping that it would be enough to hide herself from the companion. The Doctor responded with,
"Don't knock my TARDIS! She's just showing her affections, aren't you girl?"
Donna made a disgusted face at his outright display of affections to the ship when she noticed two others in the room. Donna recognized Jack immediately. Upon seeing the female hiding in his arms, Donna huffed with annoyance and cheekily said,
"Oi, don't I get a hug, Space-girl?"
Iris immediately turned around and pointed at Donna and said, "Space-girl?"
Donna directed a smirk at Iris, causing Jack to laugh as he said to the Time Lord, "She's a keeper. I like her."
Iris narrowed her eyes a little at Donna, before smiling widely as she yelled out,
"Donna Noble! My superwoman! I missed you so much."
With that the two women hugged tightly, rocking back and forth in a funny manner. Jack then joined in with, "I want hugs too!"
Iris laughed, happy that Jack was readily accepting with her severe mood swings that came with this regeneration. The Doctor smiled warmly, feeling her giddiness through their bond. When Iris noticed a melancholy feeling from him, she looked over as she yelled to him to join.
"We're missing one more person you know!"
The Doctor smiled widely and joined in hesitantly, not feeling sure of the group hug. Jack rolled his eyes and threatened to shag him right there, causing the Doctor to blush and hug them more enthusiastically. Iris felt warm and fuzzy inside, feeling comfortable and happy at getting so much love from the people around her.
This was probably the biggest difference of this regeneration of hers and her human self. The human Iris always craved love but hated the outright display of it for her. So, when Jack had first shown his feelings for her, she had hesitated for various reasons. But the Time Lady Iris in this regeneration was able to accept that love, enjoying it without doubt or hesitations much.
It made everything so much easier and better for her.
Once the group separated from the hug, Donna was laughing and then asking the Doctor,
"So, are we going on a trip anytime soon?"
The Doctor chuckled and then looked over to Jack and asked, "Do you want to join? We were thinking of a library. Should be calm."
Iris immediately tensed, but hid it from everyone. Jack looked a little unsure, seeing some hesitance in Iris' eyes as he said,
"I won't say no, but it's up to the little lady here."
At the word little, Iris bristled as she glared up at him before turning to the Doctor and saying, "We're going. But it would be nice to have Jack there with me."
In all honesty, Iris knew she was being selfish. She wanted Jack there for her comfort. But it didn't work out when Jack's phone rang out and he picked it up, answering the call with,
"Captain Jack Harkness."
Jack quietly responded to whatever the call was when he groaned out loud. Iris looked over worriedly at him when he knew her silent question as he answered,
"Politics and UNIT."
Iris groaned out loud exactly like Jack, making the man chuckle while she whined, "Can't you come with us? This is a TARDIS for a reason…"
Jack shook his head as he gently kissed her and said, "We know that we can't trust him to actually arrive on time Iris."
The Doctor glared at Jack as he said, "Oi, I resent that."
Donna rolled her eyes and nudged the Time Lord to remain quiet. The Doctor pursed his lips a little but followed her directions as they gave the couple privacy.
Jack smiled down at her as he cupped her face with his two hands as he said,
"I expect you to come back to me. Promise me that you'll be safe."
Iris smiled and said, "Always. Jack… I love you."
Jack looked down at Iris' eyes, before leaning in towards her, his lips gently and slowly moving on hers. Iris leaned in, trying to send him all her love for him in that one kiss. Her two hearts beat quickly with the love that they shared. When they pulled away, Iris smiled and gave Jack another peck before hugging him and said,
"I'll see you after this."
Jack nodded and said, "I'll take good care of Ianto."
Iris blushed at that, remembering something. The last time he said that he would take care of her, he had ended up persuading her to do hide and seek around the Hub… naked. That was all games and fun until Ianto had joined and made things more interesting for the three of them.
Seeing her face blush bright red, Jack chuckled and whispered in her ear, "You're always welcome to join once you're back."
Iris felt her face heat up even more, if that was even possible. She felt light-headed at the image that popped up in her mind when Jack quickly walked over to the door before turning to face her and give a wink. With that, he left the TARDIS. Iris let out a shaky breath that she wasn't aware she had been holding.
"Did he leave?" Donna asked as the Time Lord and companion came back to the console room.
That was when Donna spotted Iris' bright, red face and smirked a little. But before she could comment on how Iris was blushing furiously, the Doctor started to pull levels and push buttons as he said out loud,
"Books. People never really stop loving books."
That seemed to have brought Iris out of her stupor as her eyes regained focus, only to meet Donna's knowing smirk. Iris cleared her throat a little, blushing again at her embarrassment. Donna just patted Iris a little on the shoulder before talking with the Doctor.
Once the TARDIS materialized, the trio walked out as the Time Lord excitedly said,
"51st century. By now you've got holovids, direct to brain downloads, fiction mist, but you need the smell. The smell of books, Donna. Deep breath."
Iris grimaced and muttered under her breath about something of becoming high on books rather than drugs. Donna laughed at that. They all kept walking around, looking at the library. The more they walked, Iris grew a little nervous at all the shadows that seemed to be present in the place. But in one corner of her now expanded mind, she also felt excitement to finally get to meet a certain someone.
As they were walking towards a stairwell, the Doctor said,
"The Library. So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big The."
Donna was in awe as she responded, "It's like a city."
The Doctor quickly corrected her with, "It's a world, literally, a world."
Iris hummed with, "It's a planet. And it's amazing."
The Doctor smiled at that, happy that Iris and Donna seemed to like the location. With that, he continued,
"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."
Iris then hopped off of the last stair to stand next to the Doctor at the balcony, looking at the multiple buildings in front of her, taking in the view.
The Doctor still kept on talking as he said," We're near the equator, so…"
With that, the Doctor licked his pointing finger and lifted into the air, making Iris and Donna grimace a little at it in disgust when he made her jump by yelling out,
"this must be biographies! I love biographies."
Iris rolled her eyes at that and asked, "Is the TARDIS manual the only thing that you don't like when it comes to books?"
The Doctor booped her nose as he said, "It's not like that."
Iris quipped, "Yeah, it is."
Donna shook her head at how childish the two were now when they were together as she distracted them with,
"Yeah, very you, Doctor. Always a death at the end."
The Doctor looked down at Donna as he answered, "You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size."
Rolling her eyes, Donna proceeded to pick a book up, causing the Doctor to steal it from her, while Iris took it from him and set it down to its original location. Donna looked at the Time Lord and Lady with a questioning look on her face. Iris responded with,
"These books are from the future. Well, our future. We wouldn't want to read ahead."
The Doctor continued, "Yup. Would spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."
Donna doubted that was the real reasoning as she narrowed her eyes at them and said, "Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?"
The Doctor looked a little sheepish at that as he answered, "I… try to keep you away from major plot developments."
Iris snorted at that as she said, "Sure, say that to Queen Elizabeth. Who wants you dead."
Donna's eyes widened at that and she asked, "She what?"
The Doctor glared at her, but she could see the amusement in his eyes as he said, "I still don't know why she wants my head, but things must have happened, and that can't be the major plot development."
Iris hummed in a nonchalant manner, looking suspicious. Donna laughed at that and shook her head when the Doctor frowned as he started to look around them and ask,
"Which, to be honest, I seem to be very bad at, because you know what? This is the biggest library in the universe. So where is everyone? It's silent."
Iris gulped a little, reaching for Donna's hand. Donna looked a little confused as she asked, "The library?"
Iris muttered, "The planet. The whole planet. It's eerily too quiet, and there aren't any cars moving on those rails. It's empty."
Iris then looked over to the Doctor, hoping he got the hint while Donna shook her head ands aid,
"Maybe it's a Sunday."
The Doctor looked a little irritated at that comment as he said, "No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring."
Iris sighed and nudged him a little. He looked down at Iris and grimaced, "Not good?"
Iris nodded as she said, "Tiny bit?'
The Doctor sighed and then hit his head as he looked at her again and said, "You said it was empty. Is this an episode?"
Iris grimaced and nodded while the Doctor rushed to the next question, asking, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad?"
Iris looked at him with disbelief and said, "I can't answer that. One, because I wouldn't measure this on a scale like that, and two, because it would go beyond that."
The Doctor's eyes softened at that and he sent an apology to her through their bond. Iris nodded so that he could see that she understood why he did that. Donna sighed, feeling trepidation settle in as she asked,
"Doctor, why are we here? Really, why?"
The Doctor had the decency to look a little nervous as he said, "Oh, you know, just passing."
Donna shook her head, realizing that this was no relaxing trip that she had initially thought it might be. She countered with,
"No, seriously. It was all let's hit the beach, then suddenly we're in a library. Why?"
The Doctor ignored her as he muttered, "Now that's interesting."
Iris grimaced at that and walked over to the machine that he was starting to look at, frowning heavily at the readings. The newly regenerated Time Lady wasn't sure at how exactly CAL was able to do all this, but she felt sadness fall onto her as she read the numbers that were being written on the screen.
The Doctor hadn't felt the twinge of sadness from her as he was distracted while staring at the numbers with newfound curiosity. He said out loud,
"Scanning for life forms. If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids. You know, your book readers, a few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada. See? Nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life…"
With that, the numbers changed and Donna, who had walked over to stand next to Iris, read the numbers, gasped in shock. How was that possible?
The Doctor commented, "A million, million. Gives up after that. A million, million."
Donna shook her head and said, "But there's nothing here. There's no one."
Iris sighed and looked warily at the shadows, gently putting a hand on Donna as she said, "Or at least, not anything we can obviously see."
The Doctor nodded as he said, "And not a sound. A million. Million life forms, and silence in the library."
Donna's eyes widened as she felt fear trickled into her and adrenaline start to pump through her body, a familiar feeling as she responded with,
"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."
Iris looked at the woman, nodding alongside her, despite knowing that Donna was so brilliant that she had picked up on that without realizing that it was the actual answer. The Vashta Nerada in this library were from the books, and it terrified Iris to think that any of these shadows were just waiting for them throughout this planet. She warily walked with the duo as she watched both individuals in front of her reach for a book. That was when all three of them jumped when a voice broke the silence and said,
"Welcome."
Iris reigned in the shock from the voice and grabbed Donna's hand as the older woman said,
"That came from here."
The Doctor nodded while Iris said, "Then let's go see who wants to greet us."
With that, the trio started to walk towards the source of the voice. Iris clearly knew it was the node, but she had to play along with the situation. Once they entered a section of the library, they returned to the mostly empty room they had landed at. The node then turned around to reveal a woman's head at the top as she said,
"I am Courtesy Node 7-1-0-slash-aqua. Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers, regardless of species or hygiene taboo."
Donna's eyes widened and she gripped Iris' hand tighter as she breathed out, "That face, it looks real."
Iris' lips pursed as she heard the Time Lord quickly respond with, "Yeah, don't worry about it."
Iris knew that the Doctor was trying to get Donna's mind off of the strange customs that people did in the future, but Donna did not let go of the topic easily as she said,
"A statue with a real face, though? It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"
The Doctor tensed a little as he said, "No, but really, it's fine."
Donna looked down towards Iris, who grimaced as she looked at the other companion. Donna wanted an answer and Iris just shook her head as she said, "You might not like what the answer is Donna. As much as I know you're open to a lot of things when it comes to the universe, this might shock you."
That was when Iris heard the node say, "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."
Iris sighed and grabbed Donna's hand at that message. Donna looked terrified but remained silent, knowing that it wouldn't help to start screaming like a madwoman. The Doctor noticed the sadness from Iris this time as he whispered, "So that's why we're here. Any other messages, same date stamp?"
The Node responded with, "One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of five zero eleven."
The Doctor had the look of impatience come over his features as he said, "Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine. Just play it."
The Node's blank face then continued with, "Message follows. Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows. Message ends."
The Doctor's eyes widened at that and he warily eyed the shadows and then felt Iris' own wariness flow with his. He looked up at Iris, holding Donna's hand tightly as he said,
"Donna? Iris?"
Donna looked up and answered cautiously, "Yeah?"
The Doctor warned them with, "Stay out of the shadows."
Donna gulped and looked down, trepidation written all over her features as she shivered a little bit and asked, "Why, what's in the shadows?"
Iris looked at her and said, "Something you have to run from."
With that, the two women followed the Doctor towards the stacks, while discussing things. Donna responded to Iris' comment with, "So we weren't just in the neighborhood."
The Doctor grimaced a little as he sheepishly said, "Yeah, I kind of, sort of lied a bit. I got a message on the psychic paper."
Iris looked a little curious at that as she received the psychic paper from the Time Lord. Iris smiled a little in her excitement at the message that read,
"The library. Come as soon as you can. X"
Donna was reading the message over Iris' shoulder while the Doctor asked them, "What do you think? Cry for help?"
Donna scoffed a little at that and responded with, "Cry for help with a kiss?"
Iris smiled a little and said, "It's definitely a cry for help. But the kiss is a bonus."
The Doctor frowned a little at that. Iris was talking as if she knew the author of the message very well. But then again, he understood that Iris was aware that this was an episode. But the mention of the kiss bothered him a little. The Doctor shrugged then, as he thought out loud,
"Oh, we've all done that."
Donna then asked to Iris, "Who's it from?"
Iris smirked a little, a mischievous look in her eyes as she answered the companion with, "Spoilers."
Donna and the Doctor both looked at her strangely before Donna grumbled, "So why did we come here? Why did you-"
But before she could finish, Iris tensed as she felt a chill go down her spine. The Doctor tersely called out the woman and all three people turned around them to find the lights slowly go out behind them. Iris' heartbeats quickened at the sight and Iris quickly grabbed Donna's hand as the woman by her side started to panic as she asked,
"What's happening?"
Iris shook her head and started to run with the woman in tow, as the Doctor yelled out, "Run!"
They ran through the great columns of books in the library for a few minutes when they reached an area with a closed door. The Doctor struggled to open the door as he muttered, "Come on."
Donna asked, "What, is it locked?"
The Doctor grunted out, "Jammed. The wood's warped."
Iris saw the Time Lord fumble with his sonic screwdriver and Iris was about to throw her body onto the door when Donna came over and said,
"Oh, get out of the way."
With that, the ginger kicked the door open. Iris smiled and quickly pushed the Doctor into the room before turning around and closing the door. Iris let out a breath of relief after she had secured the door shut. The younger woman laughed a little as she said,
"You are brilliant. Also, remind me to never hide from you."
Donna laughed at that when the Doctor walked up to something, catching the women's eyes. There was a sphere floating in front of them. Iris remembered the little girl, CAL. She watched the Doctor walk up to her as he said,
"Oh, hello. Sorry to burst on you like this. Okay if we stop here for a bit?"
The globe quickly fell and Iris ran to catch it before it could actually land on the ground. She whispered to it,
"Sorry if we surprised you. We need a safe spot in the library for a while. Sorry."
Donna watched Iris whisper to it as if the sphere was a living thing as she asked, "What is it?"
The Doctor answered, "Security camera. Switched itself off."
Iris shook her head and said, "She didn't turn herself off. She's just shocked from Donna's brilliant door opening skills. We did come to an empty library."
The Doctor studied Iris cradling the sphere like a baby as he turned to his companion and smiled as he acknowledged Donna's kick with,
"Nice door skills, Donna."
Donna looked a little exasperated as she finally felt the adrenaline die out a little and said,
"Yeah, well, you know, boyfriends. Sometimes you need the element of surprise. What was that? What was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"
The Doctor ran his hand through his already tousled hair as he answered, "Possibly."
Donna then asked, "Are we safe here?"
Iris joined into the conversation again as she said, "For the moment. Right now though, we should go to the shop."
With that, Iris continued to mumble to the sphere, asking CAL to open the camera so that we could talk to her. She was hoping that she could get the girl to interact with them without being in pain. In the episode, the Doctor had sonicked the sphere and it had hurt CAL. Iris did not want to let that happen and she thought that talking to CAL was the best option out of all of them.
That was when the camera finally opened and Iris smiled warmly as she softly said,
"Hello there."
That was when the camera floated a little out of Iris' grasp and the Doctor came up behind Iris and said, "Hello! Sorry for the shock earlier. Hope you don't mind us staying here for a bit."
The sphere merely floated for a bit as Donna asked the two people, "You both said it was a security camera."
The Doctor leaned over to his companion and said, "It is. It's an alive one."
Iris nodded and said, "I know that the library is not quite safe right now, but would it be possible to…"
But Iris did not get to finish her sentence as the camera suddenly flashed the words,
"The library is breached. Others are coming."
Iris frowned at that as Donna asked with utter confusion, "Others? What's it mean, others?"
The younger woman's eyes widened and she reached out towards Donna, but couldn't get to her in time as the companion already arrived in front of a node and asked it,
"Excuse me. What does it mean, others?"
The Doctor noticed Iris feeling something akin to nervousness as he realized that she didn't want Donna to be interacting with the node. He quickly spoke up to distract her,
"That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you."
Donna glared at them as she retorted back, "So why's it got a face?'
Iris grimaced and looked down to the ground as she saw the face on the node. The node answered Donna's most recent question with,
"This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death."
Donna looked aghast at that and whispered out, "It's a real face?"
Iris looked back at Donna with sadness in her eyes as she didn't respond. The Doctor gently held Iris' hand, feeling sadness come from her through the bond. Iris had recognized the man, which meant she knew him from the events that were to follow. The Time Lord sent waves of comfort through their bond to her. Iris grasped his hand a little tighter as the node responded to her question again with,
"It has been actualized individually for you from the many facial asepcts saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."
Donna looked thoroughly disturbed as she hissed out, "It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like? The statue's got a real dead person's face on it."
Iris shook her head, but didn't say anything while the Doctor responded with, "It's the 51st century. That's basically like donating a park bench."
Donna glared at him and pointed out, "It's donating a face!"
Iris then let go of the Doctor's hand and went up to Donna as she gently moved Donna closer while saying,
"Donna. All I can say is that the face on these nodes, not all of them are dead. It has to do with the library system."
Donna looked perturbed when the Doctor pulled both women closer to him and away from where they stood as he said, "The shadow. Look."
Iris warily put Donna behind her while Donna asked, "What about it?"
Iris responded, "There's nothing that should be casting the shadow."
Donna looked terrified at that and muttered something to calm herself down. The Doctor looked at Iris for a moment, studying her as he took her words into consideration. That was when his brown eyes grew big and he hit himself in the head, yelling out,
"Oh, I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick. Head's too full of stuff. I need a bigger head."
Donna smirked weakly at that as she added, "Or Iris tagged with you at all times. Seriously, she's been giving hints this entire time. Have you not been listening?"
The Doctor winced at that when another light near them went out. Iris cursed at that. Donna hadn't noticed the two people react to the light as she commented,
"The power must be going."
Iris shook her head as she responded. "No, it's not that. The library runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun."
Donna turned around to face her friends as she swallowed her fear a little, asking, "then why is it dark?"
The Doctor responded to her this time as he said, "It's not dark."
That was when the red-haired woman noticed the difference in their location as she said, "The shadow, it's gone."
The Doctor quickly grasped Iris' hand, causing the Time Lady to look at him with concern while he said, "We need to get back to the TARDIS."
Donna looked even more perplexed as she asked, "Why?"
Iris continued responding to her as she said, "Because that shadow isn't gone. It moved."
Donna looked absolutely terrified. Iris went over to Donna, holding her hand to help her feel a little bit calmer if she could help at all. As she was helping, the node began to talk again,
"Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached."
As the node continued to repeat this, Iris held onto the Doctor and Donna, saying, "I know who these people are. It's best if we stay here. It's the safest place for a few more moments."
The Doctor nodded and said to her via their bond, "Can we actually trust the people coming through?"
Iris nodded and smiled to him, causing the Time Lord to immediately relax a little. His brown eyes searched her own until he felt calm enough to remove the doubt in his hearts. That was when the door was suddenly blown open, causing Donna to screech in surprise.
Donna quickly collected herself as she blushed a little and cleared her throat, while the rest of the other adventurers continued to watch as six figures clad in spacesuits entered through the door. Iris felt both her hearts flutter a little upon seeing one of the figures adjust their polarizing filter to reveal her face. River Song had finally arrived.
River smiled warmly at Iris, then over to the Doctor as she said, "Hello, sweeties."
Iris' eyes widened a little, which did not go unnoticed by River. The woman smirked knowingly, causing Iris to blush a little. Seeing River in person, she could see how attractive the woman in front of her appeared. She was definitely… more mature in her physical features than Iris was. Iris was a bit lankier in her appearance compared to River Song.
But the Doctor seemed to not have seen this very subtle interaction between the two women as he yelled out, "Get out."
Donna shook her head, not having missed the interaction Iris had with the mysterious woman, tried to calm down the Time Lord by calling out to him. Bit the Time Lord ignored her as he said,
"All of you. Turn around, get back in your rocket and fly away. Tell your grandchildren you came to the library and lived. They won't believe you."
Iris grimaced at that but remained still. River saw this and rolled her eyes as she told the other people still clad in spacesuits, "Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers."
That was when another woman, who Iris immediately recognized as Anita, asked the woman who seemed to be the leader of the expedition, "How do you know they're not androids?"
River smirked a little at that as she said, "Brecause I've dated androids. They're rubbish."
Lux glared at the trio in front of them that were dressed in normal clothes, if you could consider the Time Lords' fashion sense normal, as he questioned,
"Who is this? You said we were the only expedition. I paid for exclusives."
River saw Iris raise an annoyed eyebrow at the man's incessant questioning through the corner of her eyes. But she also noticed a slightly sad gleam in the other woman's eyes. She recognized that look. This was an episode. River quickly hid her concern as she responded in an almost nonchalant tone,
"I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others."
Iris chuckled a little at that comment, causing the Doctor to stare over at her with a question. Iris shook her head, telling him through their bond,
"You'll realize why later."
The Doctor huffed a little in irritation at that as he continued to study the people in front of him. But Lux, upon hearing River's response, did not seem to appreciate it as he called out to the young girl,
"Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts."
River then went over to Iris, rather than the Doctor, as she asked, "You and they came through the North door, yeah? How was that, much damage?"
That was then River noticed Iris look almost flabbergasted at how River had asked her the question rather than the Doctor. Although the woman had quickly hid it, River had seen the look of surprise.
In all honesty, Iris did not expect River to come to her first. In the episode, she had talked to the Doctor. This decision of the archaeologist made Iris curious about their relationship with each other as the Doctor interrupted them with,
"Please, just leave. I'm asking you seriously and properly, just leave."
But that was when both of the Doctor's companions and River clearly saw the look of sudden hesitance and annoyance come across his features as he asked,
"Hang on. Did you say expedition?"
Lux responded to that question with, "My expedition. I funded it."
The Doctor groaned out as he asked, "Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists."
Iris glared over at the Time Lord, scolding him through their bond,
"Rude! And I happen to like archaeologists, mind you."
River smirked as she asked, "Got a problem with archaeologists?"
Iris shook her head as she quickly covered the Doctor's mouth using her hand as she said,
"I don't know about this idiot, but I love archaeologists. I actually used to consider becoming one as a kid."
River smiled widely at that, almost a reminiscent look on her face when the Doctor licked Iris' hand. Iris squeaked in surprise as she looked at the Doctor, shocked at his action. River looked slightly disgusted and put out by what she realized the Time Lord had done as Iris quickly proceeded to wipe her hand on his brown trench coat as he muttered,
"I'm a time traveler. I point and laugh at archaeologists."
River smirked and extended her hand to him as she said, "Ah. Professor River Song, archaeologist."
Iris smiled widely, reminding River of the woman she knew while the Doctor retained his cold look as he said,
"River Song, lovely name. As you're leaving, and you're leaving now, you need to set up a quarantine beacon. Code wall the planet, the whole planet. Nobody comes here, not ever again. Not one living thing, not here, not ever. Stop right there. What's your name?"
By the time he had been spouting out the last part of his question, he had walked over to Anita and the woman responded with her name. The Doctor quickly nodded as he impatiently said,
"Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared."
When Evangelista put on a fearful face, the Doctor urged, "No, bit more scared than that. Okay, do for now. You. Who are you?"
That was when Iris saw the Doctor go up to one of the Daves when the man answered, "Er, Dave."
As the Doctor and the other members of the expedition were discussing this, River whispered,
"I don't understand how you can stand this regeneration of the Doctor."
Iris looked decently surprised at the woman and sighed as she smiled a little bit while saying,
"I don't understand how I do it either from time to time."
River eyed the woman for a moment before paying attention to the Doctor's discussion with Other Dave as the man in the spacesuit said,
"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker."
Iris felt the slight concern flashing through their bond as the Doctor quickly asked, "How much darker?"
Iris grimaced as Other Dave said, "Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."
The Doctor sighed as frustration bubbled within him as he managed to calmly say,
"Seal up this door. We'll find another way out."
That was when Lux marched up to the Time Lord and said, "We're not looking for a way out. Miss Evangelista?"
Iris smiled in an apologetic way as the girl came up to her, Donna and the Doctor as she said, "I'm Muster Lux's personal everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the library are the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."
Upon focusing on the word 'everything', Iris frowned. She quickly looked over to River, whose eyes widened and quickly shook her head upon the silent question. Iris let out a breath of relief at that as she picked up the sheet Evangelista was handing out.
Iris looked down at it when she heard paper ripping. That was when she saw two pieces of paper fall out from the Doctor's hands and an identical one from Donna's. Frowning, Iris smacked the back of the Doctor's head as she hissed out, "Rude!"
Donna looked decently guilty at that while Iris handed the sheet back to Evangelista and said, "Sorry, I read the contents, and I can't agree to everything on here since it's not written out clearly."
Evangelista started to panic but Iris winked and said, "I don't think it's your fault that a Corporation's contract is grammatically incorrect here and there. If anything, I blame your boss."
River snorted at that, unable to hide her laughter. Evangelista smiled at that but was able to hold her own laughter down. Lux glared at the Time Lady as he said,
"My family built this library. I have rights."
River quickly interjected with, "You have a mouth that won't stop."
With that, River looked over at the Doctor and Iris as she seriously asked, "You think there's danger here?"
The Doctor gravely nodded as he said, "Something came to this library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be."
Iris rolled her eyes at the sarcastic comment as she added, "Ignore this idiot while he's being rude. But yes, this place is still dangerous."
River seemed to quickly realize the dire situation she had placed her crew in upon Iris' steely gaze as she said,
"That was a hundred years ago. The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here's long dead."
The Doctor beat Iris to it as he asked, "Bet your life?"
River smirked and responded with, "Always."
Iris grimaced and she shifted her body weight at the sad feeling settling in as she said, "You really shouldn't do that."
River looked over at her and a warm feeling settled within her. Despite the early days this Iris seemed to be in, she still cared for her like she always had. As River was reminiscing, they all heard Lux ask,
"What are you doing?"
Other Dave looked perplexed as he answered with, "He said sealt the door."
The Doctor walked over as he demanded, "Torch."
Iris groaned at how rude he was being while making sure to keep an eye out for both Donna and Evangelista. She didn't want either of those two far away from her. Lux looked dumbfounded as he asked incredulously,
"You're taking orders from him?"
The Doctor muttered, "Spooky, isn't it?"
Iris felt a headache coming as she rubbed her temple. River sighed and patted her gently on the shoulder saying, "I'm impressed that you lasted this long without kicking him."
Iris raised an eyebrow at that and whispered to her, "Do I tend to do that a lot?"
River smirked and responded, "Spoilers."
Iris chuckled at that and shook her head while watching the Doctor glance over at them with concern before he cleared his throat as he shook off a weird feeling of irritation upon seeing how friendly River was to Iris. She was too close to her and it bugged him.
But he quickly held himself back from making another caustic comment as he said,
"Almost every species in the universe has an irritational fear of the dark. But they're wrong, because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada."
Iris tensed when Donna asked, "What's Vashta Nerada?"
The Time Lady stepped up to her and explained, "It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark. They're deadly and the only way to survive them is to run as fast as you possibly can."
Donna gulped a little and Iris kept an eye on Evangelista. Seeing how the girl trembled in fear. Iris walked over to her while the Doctor said,
"Lights! That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"
River watched the Time Lady console the girl as she asked, "What for?"
The Doctor explained, "Form a circle. Safe area. Big as you can, lights pointing out."
River then told the expedition team, "Oi, do as he says."
Lux groaned out, "You're not listening to this man?"
River rolled her eyes as she said, "Apparently I am. Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mister Lux, put your helmet back on, block the visor. Proper Dave, find an active terminal. I want you to access the library database. See what you can find about what happened here a hundred years ago. Pretty boy and Lovely girl, you're with me. Step into my office."
Iris blushed a little at River's nickname for her and she quickly turned to Evangelista, handing her the flashlight she had been carrying around and said,
"Could you be with Donna for the moment? I might need both of your help with some things later on. And if anything weird were to happen, I want you to tell me in person. If I'm distracted by something, just come up to me and make sure I hear it from you, alright?"
Evangelista nodded and grabbed the flashlight from her and walked to Donna, making small talk with the woman as they stood together. Iris then stood next to River, who smiled at that while Lux, who looked around himself, confused, asked,
"Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?"
River said, "I don't fancy you." At the same time as Iris said, "She doesn't fancy you."
The Doctor was still with Dave at the terminal when River groaned with annoyance as she yelled out, "Pretty boy. With me, I said."
Iris looked at River, gauging her reactions to the Time Lord. Unlike the constant flirting she had seen in the episode, River seemed to be almost dragging the Doctor along. Something was different about her reactions. Though she said flirty comments, they didn't feel like she was actually flirting with him. Rather, it almost felt like if anything, River felt more comfortable around her rather than the Time Lord.
That was when her attention was brought back to thep present as the Doctor yelled out,
"Don't let your shadows cross. Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."
Other Dave asked curiously, "How can a shadow be infected?"
Iris then eyed Evangelista again, but smiled a little as Donna and Evangelista seemed to be snickering over something. That was when Donna glanced over at her and then to River with a smirk and a wink, causing the Time Lady's eyes widen before she blushed. What was that for?
That was when Iris saw River bring out a blue book, one she recognized from her backpack. The Doctor approached them while River looked up to Iris, almost as if she wanted to say something when the Doctor had stood in front of the two women. River quickly closed the slightly open book as she said, "Thanks."
River then scooched a little away from the Time Lord so that he couldn't see inside her diary as she seemed to sift through it, looking for something while the Doctor asked,
"For what?"
River responded, "The usual. For coming when I call."
The Doctor looked surprised at that and said, "Oh, that was you?"
River glanced over at Iris, almost as if to ask her, 'seriously?' Iris grimaced and shrugged at that, while River looked back down, sifting through her diary, before saying,
"You're doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason."
The Doctor muttered under his breath, "A fairly good one, actually."
Iris quickly stepped up as she called out, "River-"
But she was ignored as the River excitedly said, "Okay, shall we do diaries, then? Where are we this time?"
Iris tried again, trying to stop the woman, but River continued on,
"Er, going by your face, I'd say it's early days for you, yeah? So, er…"
"River!" Iris emphasized this time. River immediately stopped and looked over to the Time Lady. Iris shook her head, causing the woman's eyes to widen as she looked over to the Doctor and whispered out,
"Oh, you're young."
The Doctor's eyes immediately darkened as his thoughts went back to a dangerous place. Iris gripped his hand with her own to remind him that he wasn't alone as River glanced over at Iris again. The woman held a sad look in her eyes as she glanced back at the Time Lord, whispering,
"No, but you are. Your eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you."
The Doctor sighed, and he asked curiously, "You've seen me before, then?"
River then looked panicked as she asked, "Doctor, please tell me you know who I am."
The Doctor frowned as he felt guilt rip through Iris as he asked, "Who are you?"
River looked utterly heartbroken as she then looked to Iris. But it didn't last long when a sound eerily similar to a phone ringing, made all of them jump. The Doctor quickly left their side as he went to deal with it. River stood there frozen, processing the information she had just gotten.
Then she whispered to her, "This means that this is your first time…"
Iris nodded as she said, "Meeting you… yes. But I'm glad that you recognizing me indicates that I'll be seeing more of you in the future with 11."
River smiled weakly at that as tears were still in her eyes. Iris immediately grew concerned as she wiped one off from River as she asked,
"River? What's wrong?"
River shook her head before wiping them roughly. River sniffed and put a smile on her face, causing Iris to get more concerned of her. Something was wrong. But that was when a girl's voice rang out through the room and everyone heard,
"Hello. Are you in my television?"
Iris stood by River as she watched the Doctor answer,
"Well, no, I'm… I'm sort of in space. Er, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple grid security processor."
Iris sighed out loud and felt like slapping something. Preferably the Doctor. River smiled at that, being reminded of the Iris she knew. The little girl then asked,
"Would you like to speak to my Dad?"
The Doctor smiled a little awkwardly as he said, "Dad or your Mum. That'd be lovely."
The girl turned around a bit, almost as if she was going to run after her parent, but stopped and turned to face the television as she said with disbelief,
"I know you. You're in my library."
Iris witnessed Lux tensing just a little bit as the Doctor frowned and asked, "Your library?"
The girl nodded and said, "The library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"
The Doctor wasn't sure how to explain this to a child as he managed out, "Er, well, I just rerouted the interface."
Iris smacked her forehead with her hand as she groaned. How was a child going to understand that? As she was mentally berating the Doctor, the signal got cut off, causing River to ask,
"What happened? Who was that?"
Iris was about to respond when the Doctor said, "I need another terminal Keep working on those lights. We need those lights!"
Iris sighed and answered River, "That was CAL."
River seemed to have more questions, but asked one simple question, "And the rest?"
Iris apologetically eyed the woman in front of her and said, "Spoilers. Sorry."
River shook her head and chuckled as she said, "Well, I did get that from you, so don't apologize."
Iris blushed a little at the statement, but also felt flustered. River had said that she had heard it from her. What did that mean? River quickly walked towards her expedition as she said,
"You heard him, people. Let there be light."
Iris walked over to the Doctor, seeing what he was doing when she felt a flash of dark curiosity go through the bond. She jerked her head up and grabbed the hand that had started to reach for River's diary. The Doctor quickly looked down at her, as Iris shook her head and said,
"Sorry. You're not allowed to see inside the book. It's against the rules."
The Doctor frowned as he asked, "What rules?"
River joined them again as she answered, "Your rules. But there is one person who can."
The Doctor and Iris shared a confused look as River sighed and said, "Iris. It's you."
Iris' eyes widened at that when she fell to the ground upon feeling something hit her head hard from the side.
"Iris!" The Doctor yelled out as he helped her up, but it was slowly starting to become pandemonium in the section of the library they were in as books were flying off of the shelves. Everyone shielded themselves from the books, while Iris groaned as she rubbed the side of her head and muttered,
"Of everyone here, makes sense that it would be me to get hit with the book."
The Doctor looked around as he held Iris close, asking, "What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?"
With that, he looked over to Dave. The man denied it with, "Not me."
That was when the Doctor stood back to the nearest terminal and read the screen say, "CAL access denied."
The Doctor scrunched his brows together, like he normally did whenever he didn't know something, and asked, "What's CAL?"
Iris was rubbing the sore spot still as she groaned out, "Spoilers."
In the corner of her eyes, she saw Donna looking after Evangelista, keeping Iris relieved for the moment. But knowing better, she continued to glance towards the girl from time to time, hoping that she could change something for the better.
River asked Iris, "What's causing that? Is it the little girl?"
Iris nodded, and the Doctor asked, "But who is the little girl? What's she got to do with this place? How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's CAL?"
Before Iris could say anything, River responded with, "Ask Mister Lux."
Upon hearing that, the Doctor quickly walked over to the man that had just been mentioned and asked,
"CAL, what is it?"
Lux smirked a bit at that and responded with, "Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts."
Iris glared at Lux and hissed, "This library is still dangerous, and you know that it's crucial to figure out what it was that caused so many people to have died and disappeared without a trace and all you can think is of your stupid contract?"
River put a hand on Iris' shoulder to stop her from lunging at the man and beating him up. The Doctor made a hand motion, indicating towards Iris as he added,
"Mister Lux. Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?"
Lux ground out, "I'm protecting my family's pride."
Iris sighed as she felt the Doctor's anger only grow at that as he said,
"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."
River had a mischievous look in her eyes as she then commented, "Then why don't you sign his contract? I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you."
Iris chuckled at that, feeling the highs and lows all at once. Clearly, this body did not like to just pout all day like her human body had. She was easily distracted and focused all at the same time. The Doctor groaned at her newfound discovery as he responded to River,
"Okay, okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened? Iris? Anything?"
Iris shook her head and said, "Sorry. Spoilers."
The Doctor glared at her a little, while River said,
"There was a message from the Library. Just one. The lights are going out. Then the computer sealed the planet, and there was nothing for a hundred years."
Lux added on, "It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in."
That was when Iris felt a tap on her shoulder as Evangelista asked, "Er, excuse me?"
Lux tried to shut her up, but Iris glared at the man before politely asking Evangelista, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Evangelista silently pointed to the panel that had slid up in the wall. Iris gulped at that and quickly whispered to Evangelista,
"Under no circumstances should you go in there. Got it?"
Evangelista nodded as fear settled in her. But that was when River's comment brought both women to look back at them,
"there was one other thing in the last message."
Lux tried to prevent River from saying it as he said, "That's confidential."
River glared at him as she said, "I trust this man and woman with my life, with everything."
Iris felt a pang go through her hearts at that, while Lux was surprised at that as he said, "You've only just met them."
River shook her head and argued, "No, they've only just met me."
With that, River pulled something out as she said, "This is a data extract that came with the message."
The Doctor read out, "Four thousand and twenty-two saved. No survivors."
River nodded as she said, looking at him, "4,022. That's the exact number of people who were in the library when the planet was sealed."
Donna came up to them, and asked, "But how can four thousand and twenty-two people have been saved if there were no survivors?"
River smiled a little, trying to calm the red-haired woman, who looked fearful, "That's what we're here to find out."
Lux shook his head and said, "And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies."
But it was at that moment that Iris had not noticed Dave discover the panel in the door and walk towards it. Evangelista however, had spotted that and quietly walked over to push Dave back. But in doing so, Dave and she had started to silently argue. As they argued, Dave tried to gently push Evangelista to the side. But the woman tripped over something, falling into the room. Dave looked surprised as she slowly stood up and looked around her. But that was when Dave noticed a shadow creep towards Evangelista, and before he could pull her out, Evangelista was enveloped in darkness.
That was when he heard a bloodcurdling scream leave Evangelista's mouth. Upon hearing the scream, Iris' eyes widened and she quickly ran inside the room while the Doctor followed right after her. The moment they ran in, they saw Dave tremble severely and the Time Lord quickly said,
"Everybody, careful. Stay in the light."
Dave whispered, "The shadow… it… it took her…"
Iris walked numbly over to the skeleton in the seat. Tears fell from her eyes as she asked,
"What happened? She was standing right next to me not too long ago."
Dave answered guiltily, "It's my fault… I was about to come in when she told me not to. I said that we had to take a look to make sure it was safe to remain open… and when I tried to get her out of my way, she tripped inside…"
Iris felt anger bubble in her. She wanted to beat the man up for his stupid actions, but he hadn't know that this would happen. The Doctor grasped her hand as he asked, "Where is she?"
River quickly spoke, "Miss Evangelista, please state your current…"
But the woman stopped as they all heard her voice echo in the same room. Iris let go of the Doctor's hand and kneeled in front of the skeleton as she whispered,
"I'm so sorry…"
The Doctor's eyes widened at the realization hitting him. River didn't get it as she tried again,
"Please state your current position…"
But after that one sentence, River also realized what must have had happened. She walked over to stand by Iris as she picked up the comm. unit from the skeleton. She whispered out, chokingly,
"It's her. It's Miss Evangelista, isn't it?"
Iris nodded while Anita disbelievingly said,
"We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?"
The Doctor felt the immense sadness and guilt from Iris and felt angry that he couldn't do anything for her. He knew Iris was protecting the girl, making her feel a bit better as much as she could with the situation, and yet, she had died. So he ground out,
"It took a lot less than a few seconds."
Anita whispered in shock, "What did?"
That was when everyone jumped upon hearing Evangelista's voice, "Hello?"
River sniffled as she choked out, "Er, I'm sorry, everyone. ER, this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting."
Donna asked quietly, "She's what."
But her answer seemed to be answered as Evangelista once again said, "Hello? Excuse me. I'm sorry. Hello? Excuse me."
Donna felt tears stream down her face as realization hit her and managed to say, "That's… that's her, that's Miss Evangelista."
Dave quietly responded, "I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just, you know?"
He was terrified. He had seen her just the split second before her death. To hear her ghost was painful as guilt wracked his entire subconscious for how he had treated her during their entire expedition.
River glared at him as she said, "This is her last moment. No, we can't. A little respect, thank you."
That was when Evangelista's voice rang out again as she asked, "Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?"
Iris felt her two hearts breaking. The Doctor sensed this and hugged her, gently resting a hand on her neck so that she was facing him rather than the skeleton. Donna shook her head, denying this as she said again,
"But that's Miss Evangelista. It can't be."
River shook her head, seeing Iris cry silently in the Doctor's arms as she explained,
"It's a data ghost. She'll be gone in a moment. Miss Evangelista, you're fine. Just relax. We'll be with you presently."
Donna felt horrified and asked, "What's a data ghost?"
The Doctor answered, his voice tight and brown eyes tearful, "There's a neural relay in the communicator. Lets you send thought mail. 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 joined in with, "My grandfather lasted a day. Kept talking about his shoelaces."
Donna cried out, "She's in there."
Evangelista sounded terrified as she said, "I can't see. Where am I?"
Iris wanted to shut it out, but couldn't as she heard Dave whisper out,
"She's just brain waves now… The pattern won't hold for long."
Donna glared at him as she aid, "But, she's conscious. She's thinking."
Iris sniffled as they all heard Evangelista's voice say, "I can't see, I can't. I don't know what I'm thinking."
The Doctor rubbed a circle on Iris' back as he whispered, "She's a footprint on the beach. And the tide's coming in."
Evangelista added, "Where's that woman? The nice woman with the red hair. Is she there?"
Lux looked lost as he asked, "What woman?"
Donna sniffled as she muttered, "She means… I think she means me."
Iris nodded in confirmation and Evangelista asked again, "Is she there? The nice woman."
River, having seen Iris nod in response to Donna, said,
"Yes, she's here. Hang on."
With that, she changed the setting on her own comm. unit as she said, "Go ahead. She can hear you."
Evangelista said, "Hello? Are you there?"
Donna nodded as tears continued to stream down her face, but no words came out. The Doctor whispered, "Help her."
Donna cleared her throat a little as she managed to say, "She's dead."
Iris grabbed Donna's hand and said, "Yeah. Help her. She needs you at this moment."
Donna felt a flick of bravery as Evangelista once again asked,
"Hello? Is that the nice woman?"
Donna nodded and said, "Yeah. Hello. Yeah, I'm… I'm here. You okay?"
Evangelista seemed to pause before answering, "What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
Donna held back a cry as she managed to say, "Course I won't. Course I won't tell them."
Iris let another tear fall as Evangelista now fell into a loop as she repeated, "Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
Iris saw the green light start to flicker and she grabbed Donna's hand a bit more tightly, whispering, "She… she's now in a loop Donna. She's gone."
Donna cried out at that and more tears started falling. River quietly asked everyone in the room, who had all gone quiet,
"Does anybody mind if I?"
Nobody said anything, and River approached the skeleton as Evangelista's voice last said,
"Ice cream. Ice cream."
River then turned the comm. unit off and quietly took it off the suit and pocketed it. Iris whispered out, "I'm so sorry."
River shook her head and said, "Don't blame yourself. I saw you trying to stop her from coming in here. This was supposed to happen."
Iris went quiet at that, but River could see that Iris wasn't stopping the self-blame. Donna choked out,
"That was… that was horrible. That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen."
River looked apologetic as she responded, "No. It's just a freak technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her, I'd like a word with that."
The Doctor then put a steely look in his eyes as he said, "I'll introduce you."
With that, Iris thought through this. Evangelista was gone, and this meant that no matter what happened, she couldn't stop Donna from being saved into the computer and the others' death. But she wanted to make sure of one thing:
The Doctor would not be alone at the end of this adventure.