A/N: Thank you to all of my lovely readers for their patience in me getting this chapter up!
Chapter 29: Revelations in the Forest of the Dead
The group was running away from Dave, who had been taken by the Vashta Nerada. River quickly used the squareness gun on the wall and yelled out,
"This way, quickly! Move!"
Without any hesitation, everyone went through the opening she had made. They arrived in another open area and heard River say,
"Ok, we've got a clear spot. In, in, in! Right in the center. In the middle of the light, quickly. Don't let your shadows cross. Doctor, Iris."
The Doctor quickly understood what she was indicating and went to scanning the area with his sonic screwdriver the best he could. As he was doing this, River continued talking.
"There's not light here. Sunset's coming. We can't stay long. Have you find a live one?"
Iris quickly asked Other Dave, "You have a chicken leg?"
With a sigh, Dave handed her the one he had with him. As the Doctor was complaining about how his sonic was not properly working, she tossed the chicken leg into the shadow. Everyone froze at how the meat disappeared before the leg hit the ground.
River backed up a little as she whispered,
"Okay… okay. We've got a hot one. Watch your feet."
The Doctor muttered, "They won't attack until there's enough of them. But they've got our scent now. They're coming."
Dave looked over at River and asked, "Oh, yeah, who are they? You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust them?"
River quickly responded lightly with, "He's the Doctor and she's Iris."
Lux frustrated, asked in an annoyed tone, "And who are they?"
River sighed and answered seriously with, "The only story you'll ever tell, if you survive them."
Iris tried not to listen too intently, but she couldn't help at the wistful tone River used when talking about not only the Doctor, but also her.
Anita spoke up this time as she said, "You say they're your friends, but he doesn't even know who you are, and you look at her as if you want her to do or say something to you."
Iris frowned at that and turned to look at the woman in question, who answered,
"Listen, all you need to know is this. I'd trust that man and woman to the end of the universe. And actually, we've been."
Iris glanced over at the Doctor, who was still fiddling with his sonic, completely in his own world as he did so. She wasn't sure what to do and continued to listen in on River's conversation with her group.
Anita responded to River with, "He doesn't act like he trusts you. Iris seems like she does, but she looks at you as if you were a puzzle."
River bitterly smiled at that and said, "Yeah, there's a tiny problem. They haven't met me yet."
With that, River walked up to Iris and the Doctor and asked, "What's wrong with it?"
Iris responded, "There's a signal coming from the moon, interfering with it."
The Doctor looked up at her and asked, "How do you know that?"
Iris shrugged and pointed to her head. The Doctor sighed at that and continued to try to figure out how he could override it. River tried to give a suggestion to the man by saying,
"Then use the red settings."
The Doctor frowned and said, "It doesn't have a red setting."
River sighed and said, "Well, use the dampers."
The Doctor's frown deepened as he responded, "It doesn't have dampers."
River looked towards Iris incredulously, who merely looked at her with amusement and nodded. River sighed and handed the man her sonic screwdriver and said,
"It will one day."
The Doctor took her sonic screwdriver and studied it warily as he said,
"So, some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver."
River shook her head and said, "Nope. It's Iris that gives me your screwdriver."
Iris looked at River with surprise written all over her features. She was just told a major spoiler there. It was nice to know that she would be still traveling with the Doctor at that point in his timeline, but it was also nerve wracking to think that. But before her mind could conjure up images of her future life, the Doctor asked,
"Why would we do that?"
Iris elbowed him, but River seemed to understand his side of things as she resignedly answered,
"I didn't pluck it from your cold dead hands, if that's what you're worried about."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the woman in front of him as he asked, "And I know that because?"
Iris sighed at that and said, "Doctor. You need to stop being so emotional. Donna's alive and safe and sound."
The Doctor asked her, "Less emotional? I'm not emotional."
Iris raised an eyebrow at him and River chuckled at that as she saw the two Time Lords converse through their bond. River sputtered out,
"Dear God, you're hard work young."
The two Time Lords' conversation broke at that as the Doctor asked in shock, "Young? Who are you?"
Lux, having grown impatient at the trio's conversation, yelled out, "Oh, for heaven's sake! Look at the three of you. We're all going to die right here, and you're just squabbling like a family on a trip gone wrong."
Iris almost laughed out loud at that revelation. She barely managed to keep a straight face. Technically, she did consider the Doctor part of her new family she built in this universe. River studied the Doctor and Iris for a moment before saying,
"Doctor, one day, I'm going to be someone that you trust completely, but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I'm sorry. I'm really very sorry."
With that River leaned into Iris, whispering something in her ear. The Doctor watched and tried to get a sense of Iris' reaction through the bond they shared. Iris' eyes widened, and the Time Lord felt shock flow through their bond. Iris leaned back and studied River, tears welling up in her eyes. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. It seemed to change everything for her based off of what she could gleam from River's confession. With that, River said,
"I have something for you Iris. It's strictly for your eyes only, and Doctor, this should help you trust me."
With that, River took Iris a little away from the Time Lord and brought out her diary. Iris froze and said,
"I shouldn't read that."
River smiled sadly as she said, "Well, we made a rule about reading about the last journey we shared together, so that you knew where we were. But I think you know where I was last, so I have something else for you today."
With that, River took out a slip of paper from her diary and handed it to her. Iris unfolded the paper and read the contents. Iris froze at the shock of what she read and quietly handed it to River with her trembling hand.
The Doctor felt various emotions from Iris through their bond. But he was surprised at the love that seemed to emanate from the woman. Iris walked up to the Doctor and whispered to him,
"Doctor, do you trust me?"
The man looked down at her and responded with, "Must you ask? Iris? What is it?"
Iris sniffled a little and said, "What River told me, I can't share it… but I need you to trust her, for me."
The Doctor's eyes widened as he once more, asked, "What did she say?"
Iris shook her head and said, "I can't. But I can tell you that I would trust River with my life, if needs be…. Is that enough?"
The Doctor's silence made Iris nervous. She hadn't expected or anticipated what River had told her. So she resorted to using her bond with the Doctor and said,
"Theta? Please… believe in me."
The Time Lord's eyes widened at her use of his Academy name. She had never called him with that name before. Something about how she said it, made his hearts beat faster. The Doctor studied her, trying to gauge any reaction to see if River was not trustworthy from Iris. But he couldn't find anything through their bond. With that, he swallowed a little and nodded.
River seemed to have noticed the end of the conversation and asked the Time Lord,
"Are we good? Doctor are we good?"
The Doctor nodded and said tightly, "Yeah, we're good."
River let out a breath of relief as she said, "Good."
With that, she took her screwdriver back from the Doctor, who had been still holding onto it. The Doctor took a deep breath in, telling Iris through the bond,
"Well, here goes nothing!"
Iris smiled at him, thankful for him trusting her so much. She saw him wink back at her before walking up to the group and excitedly say,
"Know what's interesting about my screwdriver? Very hard to interfere with. Practically nothing's strong enough. Well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that."
River looked over at Iris with surprise, and the Time Lady couldn't help but roll her eyes at the man's antics. But she smiled warmly at him, letting him know that she appreciated his support and trust in her.
The man continued with, "So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before. So what's new? What's changed? Come on! What's new? What's different?"
Iris raised her hand and said, "I know!"
The Doctor looked at her with mild amusement in his eyes when Dave interjected with,
"I don't know. Nothing. It's getting dark?"
The Doctor eyed him, saying, "It's a screwdriver. It works in the dark. Moon rise. Tell me about the moon. What's there?"
He ignored Iris who still raised her hand at his question, while Lux answered with,
"It's not real. It was built as part of the Library. It's just a Doctor Moon."
The Doctor tipped his head to the side as he asked, "What's a Doctor Moon?"
Iris finally grew impatient and answered him with, "The Doctor Moon checks for viruses. It's there to support and maintain the main computer, which is at the core of the planet."
The Doctor nodded and said, "Well, still active. It's signaling. Look. Someone somewhere in this library is alive and communicating with the moon. Or, possibly alive and drying their hair."
Iris rolled her eyes at that and continued for him with,
"Nope. That signal is coming from the moon, 100%."
The Doctor then used his sonic again, grunting, "I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through."
As he said this, an image of Donna appeared in front of them. Donna's eyes were wide from shock, staring back at them. Iris and the Doctor called out to her, but the image of their friend disappeared quickly as the signal from the moon came back.
The Doctor desperately said, "Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength. Argh, I'm being blocked."
That was when Anita's shaking voice rang out with, "Professor?"
Iris whipped around to face the woman and gasped at the sight of the two shadows. She looked up and said,
"Oh, Anita… I'm so sorry."
River frowned and then realized what had caused Iris to apologize. She held back tears that threatened to fall as she said with an authoritative voice,
"Okay. Helmets on, everyone. Anita, I'll get yours."
Anita looked up towards the woman who had been a leader for the team and asked tearfully,
"It didn't do Proper Dave any good."
River's shaking voice said, "Just keep it together, okay?"
The Doctor felt Iris' guilt flow in and glanced at her, who had gone to hug herself a little, as if trying to fend off the negative emotions threatening to overwhelm her.
Anita sniffled as she stood still and allowed River to put the helmet on her as she said,
"Keeping it together. I'm only crying. I'm about to die. It's not an overreaction. And Iris, don't apologize. You didn't know it was coming."
Iris tensed at that while River and the Doctor simultaneously looked over to the woman with worry in their eyes. Iris felt guiltier at Anita's comment. Because she knew that it was about to happen. Because she knew it would happen. Iris turned around, not able to bear looking at Anita's trustful gaze. She couldn't look at that look without opening up about the truth.
The Doctor walked over to Anita and sonicked her helmet as he said, "Hang on."
With that, Anita's visor turned black and River stepped back with horror as she said,
"Oh God, they've got inside."
Iris shook her head and quietly said, "No… he just tinted her visor."
The Doctor continued with, "Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone."
River incredulously looked at them and asked, "Do you think they can be fooled like that?"
The Doctor gave her a wince as he responded with, "Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm. It's not like we chat."
Other Dave warily stood up and asked his coworker, "Can you still see in there?"
Anita answered cautiously, "Just about."
But Iris noticed the hint of fear in her voice and couldn't help but wish Jack was with her. She missed his warmth. She just wanted to cuddle up next to him and feel safe. The newest revelation and the letter that she had read from her future self was too much to bear along with the whole situation.
The Doctor realized the direction Iris' thoughts took and wondered what River had told her. It had shaken her to the core and he feared that Iris would no longer want to travel with him. That thought scared him. But he tried to keep that thought for later as he told River and Iris,
"Just, just stay back. Professor, Iris, a quick word, please."
Iris walked over to River and the Doctor, maintaining a calm demeanor as much as she could. River asked, "What?"
Iris glanced over, having realized why the Doctor had called them over. She let the Doctor tell River this as he said,
"Down here."
They all crouched down and Iris said,
"If there are five people still alive in this room…"
The Doctor then finished her sentence, like they had been doing for a while now as he said,
"So why are there six?"
River's eyes widened and she cautiously glanced towards the darker area, where what used to be Proper Dave was standing in silence. And then, as if knowing it had been found out, the voice of Proper Dave rang out as it said,
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
The Doctor yelled out, "Run!"
And with that, the group hastily ran out of the temporary safe area. They were running through a high level walkway that led to another skyscraper when the Doctor said,
"Iris, Professor, go ahead. Find a safe spot."
Iris grabbed onto River's hand and said, "He knows what he's doing."
River grimaced and glared over at her and said, "It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit. He can't reason with it."
Iris raised an eyebrow at that and River didn't know what to say as she realized what the other woman seemed to be indicating. With a huff, River ran off. Iris pushed Other Dave and told him,
"Go! Don't linger here. It's not safe here anymore either. Go with River."
The man nodded and bolted, following the woman through the hallway. Iris looked back at the Time Lord and said through their bond,
"Don't be stupid and remember, the books in the library are made of trees."
The Doctor looked at her strangely at the riddle she had given him. He nodded, however, and watched her run.
Iris caught up to River, Lux, Anita and Other Dave. She found River checking the shadows using her screwdriver as she muttered,
"You know, it's funny, I keep wishing the Doctor and Iris were here."
Anita turned towards the woman and responded,
"The Doctor and Iris are here, aren't they? They are coming back, right?"
Iris watched silently, putting a finger to her lips when Lux and Other Dave spotted her, wanting to hear what River had to say. They all heard he answer with,
"You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them. And it's like they're not quite finished. They're not done yet. Well, yes, the Doctor and Iris are here. They came when I called, just like they always do. But not my Doctor and Iris. Now, my Iris and Doctor, I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And they'd just swagger off back to their TARDIS and open the doors with a snap of their fingers. The Doctor and his flower in the TARDIS. Next stop, everywhere."
Iris felt the Doctor grab her hand as he said, "Spoilers. Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that."
Iris shook her head, a sad smile on her features as she said, "Actually, we can. You just hadn't tried it."
The Doctor looked down at her with surprise and River chuckled a little as she said,
"It does for the Doctor and his Iris."
Iris frowned at the mentioning of being the Doctor's Iris. She wasn't anybody's. If she were to belong to someone, it would be Jack and Ianto. But she remained quiet as the Doctor said,
"I am the Doctor."
River scoffed slightly and said, "Yeah. Someday."
But that was when Anita asked, "Why haven't they gotten me yet?"
Iris walked towards Anita, still maintaining a safe distance from the woman as she said,
"We don't know Anita. Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference."
Anita sniffled and said sarcastically, "It's making a difference alright. No one's ever going to see my face again."
The Doctor stepped behind Iris and grasped her shoulders, trying to send some comfort to the Time Lady as he said to Anita,
"Can we get you anything?"
Anita responded, trying to lighten the mood for her peers, "An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?"
Iris glanced towards the sonic in River's hand as thoughts ran through her head. It was something about how River said that she had been the one to give the sonic to River. As she was thinking in on this, Anita brought her out of her reverie as she said,
"Iris, Doctor. When we first met you two, the Doctor didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered a word in Iris' ear, and then both of you did. My life so far… I could do with a word like that. What did she say? Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."
But before Iris could give Anita an answer, the Doctor's grasp on Iris' shoulder tightened as he whispered out, "Safe."
Anita asked, "What?"
The Doctor turned Iris around and hugged her tightly as he realized what Iris had been hinting at this entire time and yelled out,
"Safe. You don't say saved. Nobody says saved. You say safe. The data fragment! What did it say?"
Iris smirked a little as she realized that he began to figure it all out as she said,
"Four thousand and twenty-two people saved. No survivors."
River asked with confusion, "Iris?"
The Doctor rambled on, "Nobody says saved. Nutters say saved."
At that, Iris elbowed him with a look that clearly shouted, 'rude', causing the Doctor to give her an apologetic look before continuing with,
"You see, it didn't mean safe. It meant, it literally meant, saved!"
Iris cleared her throat as she explained, "What he means, is that the main computer in the library saved the people into the data cloud."
River's eyes widened at that bit of information. The Doctor was looking into the Library Archive File as he said,
"See, there it is, right here. A hundred years ago, massive power surge. All the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm. The computer tries to teleport everyone out."
River caught on as she asked, "It tried to teleport four thousand and twenty-two people?"
Iris nodded and answered, "It succeeded. Pulled them all out, but then it realized that it couldn't send them anywhere else on the Library. The whole planet was compromised. So now they're all stuck in the system, waiting to be sent like emails. So what do computers do in this scenario?"
River answered, "It saved them."
With that, the Doctor whipped out a marker from his pocket and drew on the table as he tried to make it clearer for the people around them as he explained,
"The Library. A whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved four thousand and twenty-two people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."
Suddenly though, an alarm sounded and Iris swore out loud, causing everyone to look at her with shock. Lux asked, "What is it? What's wrong?"
Iris shouted out, "Cal, she's shutting everything down. We don't have time."
That was when the computer displayed the message: AUTODESTRUCT ENABLED IN TWENTY MINUTES.
River asked, "What's maximum erasure?"
The Doctor answered with trepidation, "In twenty minutes, this planet's going to crack like an egg."
Iris and the Doctor looked up when Lux had a look of slight panic appear on his face as he said,
"No, No, it's alright. The Doctor Moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect Cal."
Iris shook her head and said, "No. Cal's resisting him. The Doctor Moon can't do much when an entire planet is resisting it."
That was when the terminal screen became blank, causing the Time Lord to frantically repeat the word "no" under his breath as he tried to reboot the system. But nothing seemed to work as a voice from the computer stated,
"All library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience."
Iris saw the fear come across Lux's features as he managed to yell out in sheer panic,
"We need to stop this. We've got to save Cal."
Iris put a hand on his shoulder and said cautiously, "We will. I promise you."
With that, the Doctor turned around and asked, "What is it? What is Cal?"
Lux remained hesitant, not sure if he really wanted to answer. Iris looked straight into his eyes and told the man,
"Lux, listen to me. Cal will still have a chance of surviving for what was intended for her. You need to tell us what Cal is. Whatever it is, we promise to keep it in our confidence so that it remains a secret if you wish it."
With that, Lux managed to choke out,
"We need to get to the main computer. I'll show you."
River then pointed her screwdriver to the library logo in the middle, telling the group,
"Well then. Let's go."
The Time Lords and the rest of the group then proceeded to walk up, seeing how the logo opened up to reveal a platform. Iris quickly hopped onto it, not wanting to waste time. She extended a hand for River. The woman smiled softly and quickly followed her, grasping onto the offered hand tightly. Iris' smile almost faltered, but she continued to hold the woman's hand.
The Doctor eyed the two warily, but said joyfully, "I bet I like you."
River smirked and said, "Oh, you do. But I only come second to who you like."
Iris raised an eyebrow at that with curiosity but didn't ask. River just chuckled, as if knowing an inside joke that nobody knew about. She dearly missed the old days when she and Iris both teased the Doctor about not knowing anything. Once everybody had gotten onto the platform, it descended to the data core.
After arriving, they all heard the computer alert them with, "Autodestruct in 15 minutes."
The Doctor and Iris hurried over to the globular energy that seemed to cause the area to crackle a little bit. Iris winced as she tried to look at it, failing to do so from the brightness of the data core. The Doctor, however, stated,
"The data core. Over 4000 living minds trapped inside it."
River hurriedly added, "Yeah, well, they won't be living much longer. We're running out of time."
Iris sighed and got inside the access terminal, knowing what she had to do. She wanted to reduce the amount of time it took to get this adventure done. Of course she dreaded the end-result, but knew that this wouldn't be the last time she saw River Song. No, she had an inkling that River would see her again after this.
But not too long after they all heard a girl's voice state, "Help me. Please, help me."
Anita asked with a horror-filled voice, "What's that?"
Other Dave joined in with, "Wasn't that a girl?"
The Doctor hadn't heard them and said, "The computer's in sleep mode. I can't wake it up. I'm trying."
Iris elbowed him, taking back the control over the computer again and tried to calmly ease Cal into waking up. However, it didn't seem to work as River stood next to her and muttered,
"Iris… these readings."
The Doctor winced and said, "I know. You'd think it was dreaming."
Lux then joined in with the conversation as he said, "It is dreaming, of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written."
Anita retorted back to that statement with, "Computers don't dream."
But Cal's voice rang out again, filled with pain, and Iris sighed as she said, "She's no longer dreaming. In fact, she's having a full-blown panic attack from Evangelista trying to get Donna to realize that they're stuck in the cloud."
Lux's face went pale at that news and asked, "How do you know?"
Iris ignored him as she walked briskly over to the breaker, pulling it to open the door. The Doctor immediately ran in, getting Iris' message and froze upon seeing the face on the node. It was of a small girl, who whimpered,
"Please help me. Please help me."
River whispered out in horror, "Oh, my God."
Other Dave gasped and they all heard him stutter as he couldn't manage to get his voice out to state whatever he was thinking. But they were all sure that they thought the same thing he was. Anita choked out with,
"It's the little girl. The girl we saw in the computer."
Lux shook his head and responded with, "She's not in the computer. In a way, she is the computer. The main command node. This is Cal."
The Doctor whirled around, eyes flaring a little bit of the Oncoming Storm as he faced Iris, incredulously asking her,
"Cal is a child? A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this the moment we arrived? I needed to know this!"
Iris remained quiet, not taking her eyes off of his, as she answered him with, "Do you think that I didn't want to? I debated and debated throughout this entire sequence of events. But this was not my secret to tell. It was his."
With that, she pointed to Lux, who yelled out,
"Because she's family! Cal. Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show."
The Doctor's eyes softened instantaneously at that and he voiced,
"So you weren't protecting a patent. He was protecting her."
Iris nodded, feeling how embarrassed and guilty he was feeling through their bond. She sighed and pushed forward and said,
"It's been so long that she's forgotten that she saved so many people. She's just started to, and now she's aware that she has over 4000 living minds chatting away inside her mind."
River barely managed to stop a tear from falling as she asked, "So what do we do?"
But before either of the Time Lords could answer her, they heard the computer say,
"Autodestruct in ten minutes."
That was when the Doctor jumped up, moving quickly throughout the area, stating,
"Easy! We beam all the people out of the data core. The computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult. Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer. Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer. She can borrow my memory space."
Iris shook her head while River panicked and stopped the Time Lord as she yelled out,
"Difficult. It'll kill you stone dead. And what about Iris?"
The Doctor rolled his eyes as he just said back to her, "Yeah, it's easy to criticize."
Iris remained quiet at this, knowing what was coming. River adamantly argued as she said,
"It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate."
The Doctor paused a little, eyeing Iris apologetically, as he said calmly,
"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing."
Iris raised an eyebrow at this, but remained quiet, eyeing Other Dave and Anita cautiously throughout this entire encounter. With that, she whispered to Anita, "I'm so sorry."
But nobody heard her, and the Doctor so focused on his task, hadn't realized what she was feeling through their bond. River frustrated by his antics, raised her arms above her head, in a resigned gesture and yelled at him. The Doctor continued to ramble on about how he was going to fix the situation, ending it with,
"… and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as you're here, shut up."
River glared at him and screamed, "Oh! I hate you sometimes."
The Doctor scoffed back with, "I know!"
River grabbed Lux and Other Dave with her as she said, "Mister Lux, Dave, with me. Anita, if he dies, I'll kill him if Iris hasn't first!"
Iris jumped a little at the mention of her name, before shuffling back towards the Doctor, who was still working things out. Anita asked them, voice almost monotone, making both Time Lords wince a little,
"What about the Vashta Nerada?"
The Doctor answered her with, "These are their forests. Iris hinted at it in the beginning. I really should start to listen to her more carefully you know. So now, I'm going to seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content."
Anita's voice rang out again as another question was asked.
"So you think they're just going to let us go?"
The Doctor ground out, "Best off they're going to get."
The Vashta Nerada asked them once more, "You're going to make 'em an offer?"
The Doctor tensed and stood up straight, as he said, "They'd better take it, because right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what? I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying. And she never gave in. And you ate her. Also, you're holding Iris. That's a very dangerous thing to do."
Iris' eyes widened as she looked down, only to find that, like he had said, she had two shadows. Iris tensed and felt a shiver run through her back. The Doctor then stated,
"But I'm going to let his pass, just as long as you let them pass and let Iris go."
The Vashta Nerada asked them, "How long have you known?"
The Doctor shrugged with a frown on his face as he answered with, "I counted the shadows. You only have one now. She's nearly gone. Be kind."
The creatures answered in a strained, monotone voice of Anita, "These are our forests. We are not kind."
The Doctor's voice grew slightly desperate as he said, "I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go."
The Vashta Nerada responded with, "These are our forests. They are our meat."
Iris felt a lump form in her throat as she stood still as possible. She would not be of any assistance in the state she was in. She was brought out of her reverie when she heard the former body of Anita state,
"You have one day."
With that, both Time Lords watched the spacesuit fall down the moment River ran back into the room. River's eyes widened and she shakenly said, "Oh, Anita."
Iris saw the second shadow disappear and she hurriedly walked over to River, hugging her, saying,
"I'm so sorry. She had been dead for a while. I wish I could do something about this."
The time traveler smiled bitterly at that and shook her head, stating, "No, it's not your fault. There is no reason for you to apologize to me."
Iris looked up at her with surprise when the Doctor rolled his eyes, impatient to resolve things as best as he could and yelled out, "I told you to go!"
River glared at him and scoffed back, "Lux can manage without me, but you two can't."
With that, before the Doctor realized what had happened, he fell to the ground, unconscious, after River had punched him squarely in the face. Iris grimaced but tried to hold in the overwhelming sense of doom that overtook her. Tears threatened to spill as Iris shook her head and whispered,
"River, no..."
The woman in front of her watched as Iris' normally bright and cheerful features revealed a softer, sadder side that she had rarely seen. Hugging Iris, she whispered,
"You know I have to."
Iris hugged River Song tightly as she asked,
"River, you called me a name. There would be only a few scenarios as to why you would-"
River put a finger to Iris' lips and said, "Shhhh… you will find out soon enough."
Silent tears fell down Iris' face as she shook with sadness. Despite knowing that River would be saved, despite knowing that there would be more adventures with the woman to come, she couldn't shake off the feeling of despair that settled within her.
Iris choked out, "River- no, Melody Pond… you are a special woman, and I won't forget you. Ever."
River smiled sadly upon hearing her birth name, as she managed to let a tear fall and respond with, "I love you too."
Iris hung her head in defeat as River apologized to her, "You know I have to do this. If the Doctor suspects-"
The Time Lady hugged the woman tightly and quietly whispered to her, "I know. See you soon."
With that, she stood back and the next thing she knew, a flash of pain wracked against her face and everything turned black.
Moments later when she woke up, she felt the Doctor tense before anything else. That was when she heard him sadly say,
"Iris, don't open your eyes."
Iris, having realized that she had been knocked out, did just what he had told her not to do. The sight before her caused a sob to come out as she struggled to get closer to the figure in the machine. She didn't stop herself from holding it in. Rather, she outwardly cried out when a sharp tug was felt on her wrist, preventing her from reaching the person.
Iris looked back at the pole, frustrated only to see herself having been handcuffed to the pole next to the Doctor. The Time Lord looked sadly at her as he realized that the pain he felt through their bond was real. That the mysterious River Song was truly someone special to Iris, even if that had been her fist time meeting the time traveling archaeologist.
"Iris… I'm sorry."
That was all he could manage. He didn't want this to happen. And yet, he had failed to protect Iris from being sad again. With quiet resolve, he hugged Iris tightly as best as he could, to prevent her from looking at the woman that had sacrificed herself to save so many people.
It felt like forever for both Time Lords when Lux had finally reached them with joy about the return of the citizens. However, when he saw what the cost was, he quickly turned solemn. He had lost everyone on the expedition, and he felt guilty about it.
But he was unable to state his guilt when he saw how heartbroken the woman in front of him was like. The man in the brown pin-stripe suit was quiet to the point that it felt suffocating. It was as if they had lost everything that meant something to them. And that was how Donna Noble had found them.
Iris quietly walked towards a certain crowd, waiting by the teleportation pod, while Donna and the Doctor leaned onto a nearby wall, emotionally exhausted from the trip. Donna watched Iris carefully, knowing that the woman was holding more of her tears in to prevent the Doctor from worrying too much about her, but she knew that this new Iris was still new to these experiences, figuring out who she is as a person.
The duo heard the computer once again state,
"Please be patient. Only three can teleport at a time. Do not state your intended destination until you arrive in your designated slot."
They continued watching Iris move about, as if she was looking for something or someone. Donna tiredly watched as she told the Time Lord,
"There apparently wasn't even anyone called Lee in the library that day. I suppose he could have had a different name out here, but let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?"
The Doctor sighed as he answered, "Maybe not."
Donna winced at the brutal truth but knew not to snap back at the moment as she responded, "I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?"
That was when the Doctor eyed her warily as he said. "Everything. Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say nothing. I was aiming for nothing. I accidentally said everything."
Donna gave him a withering glare, not having the energy to actually be angry at the man as she snorted with a response,
"What about you two? Are you alright?"
The Doctor then noticed Iris feel something akin to recognition and a tiny bit of joy but didn't seem to see her anymore as her still, short-height of a figure was blocked by the crowd of people. He sensed the overwhelming sadness, but it had dimmed just a little. He wasn't sure what the source was, but it made him a little happier too.
The Doctor quietly answered with, "We're always alright."
Donna then carefully looked at the exhausted features of her friend as she turned around and responded,
"Is alright special Time Lord code for really not alright at all?"
The Doctor got curious as he saw Iris pop out of the crowd, seemingly dragging someone closer to them as he asked, "Why?"
Donna answered, "Because I'm alright too."
But before the Doctor could say anything, Iris finally brought the man close enough for Donna to recognize who was being brought to them. With a surprised gasp, Donna quickly rushed over and hugged the man she knew as Lee.
"What?! How?! How are you here?" Donna exclaimed.
Lee stuttered his way, but he managed to answer every one of Donna's questions and Iris quickly walked away, letting them have their moment. It was really up to Donna whether she brought the man with her or not.
The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her in question, and Iris shrugged as she looked at the screwdriver that the man was playing with. She stared at it with a newfound intensity and realization before snatching it away from him and running back towards the core of the Library.
The Doctor yelled out and followed her, causing Donna to watch them before grabbing Lee's hand and following after the duo. Lee looked a little lost, but went along with Donna, not willing to lose her yet.
When they all caught up to Iris, she exclaimed, "I should have realized it when she called me something! I should have realized that I would be the one to do this."
The Doctor looked lost, but watched as she plugged River's screwdriver into the core, transferring her neural energy. The Time Lord's eyes widened at that and a smile formed on his lips at the new revelation of the adventure. They had saved River Song.
~~~…..~~~
River felt the energy surge within her, light blinding her as she rerouted the detonation system. But instead of burning pain, she was overwhelmed with a sense of serenity and peace. Confused, she opened her eyes to find herself wearing a loose white robe and standing on a field of grass. That was when she heard a familiar voice of a young girl say to her,
"It's okay. You're safe. You'll always be safe here. The Doctor fixed the data core and the Time Flower brought you here. This is a good place now. But I was worried you might be lonely, so I brought you some friends. Aren't I a clever girl?"
That was when another familiar voice rang out with snark, "Aren't we all?"
Gasping in shock, River turned to face her friends Anita, the two Daves and Evangelista. River shed tears of joy and relief as she muttered under her breath,
"Oh, for heaven's sake. They just can't do it, can they? That woman and man. That impossible duo. They just can't give in."
With that, River smiled and joined her friends, waiting for a new life and adventure to begin for her.