So, again, posting earlier than necessary! Thanks to imsuchanut for reviewing :)

THE QA QUARTET

Finally, the Doctor stopped in front of a hill with a door, stepping up to the metal slab and banging on it. "Don't worry, Rose. We'll be fine once Marun let's us in. Marun! Marun Yuld!" Rose tried to think positive, but after the numerous corpses and rustles they'd seen and heard, it was almost certain that Marun Yuld was little more than a ripe corpse himself.

After banging for a good two minutes, the Doctor gave up, opening the door with his sonic screwdriver. Quickly, he and Rose entered, finding themselves in complete blackness. The sound of the sonic rang out and the lights flickered on, weakly.

The sight before the pair did nothing to ease their anxiety: the reception room had been torn apart, the door to the lab ripped open and clawed at. Papers were strewn all over, chairs were broken and tipped over, the walls were scratched.

The lab itself did not fare any better. Glassware was shattered, benches overturned and broken, substances littering the floor… One particular microscope had been knocked over, it's objective lenses shattered over a piece of paper that was torn at the edges. Frowning, the young woman reached for the document, skimming the chicken scratch writing with a squint. She had seen this before. "Doctor? Come see."

He strode over, putting on his specs. "I don't really understand what it's saying," she continued, "but it looks like the results of some experiment, yeah?"

The Doctor's frown deepened, his voice dark. "How did you know to pick this up?"

"What?"

"This paper, Rose. Out of every bit of paper in this entire lab, how did you know to pick this one up? You went straight for it. Why?"

"I dunno. It just looked… interesting, I guess. It called out to me."

"It called out to you?" he asked dubiously.

"Yeah. Why's it so important anyway? It's like you said: hundreds of papers in here, probably all lab data. What makes this so special?"

The Time Lord bit his lip, fidgeting for a moment before handing the paper back to her. "See the values on the leftmost column? Those are empathetra levels."

She nodded. "Right. And empathetra is…?"

The Doctor gave her a look, one of the ones that made her feel small. She raised a row defiantly. "Go on. Empathetra is…"

"A hormone. More specifically, a hormone that exclusively triggers the empathetic response in specific organisms. See, on this planet, there are these creatures called the Qa, who were extraordinary mainly because of their sensitivity to any and all pheromones, and then the production of empathetra right after that fact."

"So… the Qa could feel empathy?"

"Yes! The Qa were essentially what you'd call empaths: they could sense people's emotions and behave accordingly. Which was unheard of before: pheromones of a species are usually only detected by organisms of that same species."

"But not for the Qa."

"Exactly. They used it as a defense mechanism. Upon secreting empathetra, the hormone takes on the smell of the pheromone it had previously been activated by. Now, look at the levels on the right. Doesn't that seem low for a creature that uses this hormone to survive?"

"But why is it so low? Some sort of plague or something?"

The Doctor flipped the paper over, seeing if there was anything of note on the other side. There was.

Trial #3 Observations:

Subjects seemed more aggressive. Subject 23 demonstrated signs of frustration so great, it bit untested organism. They have grown to three times their normal size, and larynx transplants have yielded marginal results. Need to work out kinks but there are whispers and whispers mean the end.

"He was testing on the Qa?" Rose asked, "but he swore to protect this planet!"

"He did," the Doctor agreed grimly, "but look at this writing, this isn't the proper procedure for recording observations. And see the end bit? That's definitely not the work of a man who's well. But why? Why would he- Oh."

"What?"

"Oh, Rose, you're brilliant!" the Doctor exclaimed, kissing her forehead spontaneously. "That's it! He was alone. As the novelty of this new concept planet wore off, less and less people starting to visit… Marun was alone. Completely alone. It drove him mad."

"But what about the Qa? If they're empaths, they must have been some form of good companionship, yeah?"

"Not enough," the Doctor replied. "They speak at a frequency undetectable to the human ear. That's why he was trying to change them; they were the best candidates. Unfortunately, it looks like the experiments backfired. The Qa were a very peaceful species: herbivores, quiet, loyal… Never vicious. They didn't have to be." The alien picked up a paper on one of the bench tops, shaking his head. "Marun, what did you do to them?" Holding out the piece of paper to his companion, the blonde took it hesitantly.

It was a drawing of a creature in stages of metamorphosis. From an adorable, brightly coloured ball of fluff about the size of a teacup with large eyes, four small paws, large ears that resembled those of a cat and a round, pointed nose, to a dark creature whose limbs had grown longer, body more slim, and eyes completely black. From the drawing alone, Rose thought they looked like shadows.

Shadowshadowshadowshadow.

"Doctor!"

"Rose, get back to the TARDIS!"

Poundingpoundingpounding.

"Oh my God," the young woman breathed. "Doctor?" But the Doctor was too busy poking around the lab, frowning at every paper he came across. "Doctor," she called, feeling lightheaded. This was impossible. This wasn't happening. There was no way this was happening. It was another dream. Another terrible, terrible dream. She pinched herself and a sharp pain shot through he arm. She felt like crying. "Doctor!"

He turned, the volume breaking his intense concentration and rushed to her side in an instant, a concerned look adorning his features. "Rose? What's wrong?"

"We need to leave."

"What-"

"Now."

"Why -"

"My dream. This is my dream. The Qa, they're the creatures from my dream. They're coming for us."

"Rose, it was just a nightmare-"

"I watched you die!" she exclaimed frantically, holding up the paper for him. "I watched you be ripped apart by these things and turned into one of them! Are you seriously willing to take that chance? And for what? What is left here?"

"We need to stay."

"Well, what are we meant to do!?" she exclaimed, desperately. "There is nothing left for us here! We need to leave."

"Not when we can save them!"

"Save who?! The Qa? Marun? They're all dead, Doctor! Everything on this planet is dead, and you know it! Please, don't make me watch you die. Not again. Please. We need to go."

Taking a step towards her, both parties froze as a rustle of paper was heard from the reception room, a metal stool being knocked to the side immediately after. Rose jumped, heart beating out of her chest as she heard it, low and dark as ink, slithering upon the floor and into her eardrums:

Can you hear us in the dark? Black like night that drowns out stars.

Can you see us eat your meat? Raw and red the greatest feast.

Not long now, no, not long now, the blood and red we will devour.

Too long, yes, it's been too long, since fresh meat sang it's boisterous song.

"Doctor?" she whispered, horrified.

"Run."