An actual CHAPTER and not just a drabble...we're getting there guys! So, this is the next part to River's little saga. *rubs eyes* It's 3:30am here so I'm half asleep. Basically if you see any typos...just...ignore them, okay? Just pretend they're not there. Please. I'm dying.
Now. I'm going to go read my Doctor Who fanfiction. Complicated just got updated, and this chapter is either gonna make me hate or love them. XD Edit : Just read the chapter. Mind still reeling. Damn them for their cliffhangers... Oh yeah! Wanted to say that someone got the cover image word right!
Props to JanJan L-chan, who can read and write circle Gallifreyan an guess the words! They were Bad Wolf. Really you all had to see that coming. XD So...
Enjoy!
"What happened? Who was that?" River asked, leaning over to try and get a better look at the terminal that had just shown a video link with a little girl a few seconds ago. She tried to push away the fact that her voice sounded weary and cold...the fact that the Doctor didn't even notice was also annoying her. She wasn't sure if she was thankful he was too busy trying to get back into the terminal or if she should hate his short attention span.
She really wished Rose was here...
"I need another terminal," the Doctor spoke quickly, grin in his voice at having yet another mystery to solve. "Keep working on those lights. We need those lights!" he yelled back as he jumped over a desk and spun towards the terminal, a ball of manic energy that River couldn't help but smile at.
"You heard him, people! Let there be light!" River yelled, pushing the team to get moving. She had people to worry about and monsters to beat, she couldn't be concerned with her feelings. Much more important things to worry about than her world coming to an end, like this one for starters.
Seeing everyone getting the lights hooked up into place River glanced back to see that the Doctor was quickly typing into the computer terminal, although he was now looking at her diary. The woman sighed, realizing she would have to go over and take it out of his hands. Honestly...he was like a child with candy.
"Sorry, you're not allowed to see inside the book," River spoke, trying for a light tone as she gently took the book out of his hand. He looked over at her for a second, calculating look in his eyes. Oh she hated that look. "It's against the rules after all."
"What rules?" At the question River's eyes automatically hardened and she had to fight the urge to raise her hackles and do something stupid. Like slap him. Never mind the fact that Rose always thought it was funny as hell...it wouldn't do to slap him when he knew nothing about her. Yet. And God didn't that thought just rip her apart.
"Rose's rules. And yours...once she got you to agree," River slightly smiled, remembering that day. Rose had practically screamed at him that he couldn't be looking into his own future, did he want to destroy all of time and space? Needless to say she had been amused for the rest of the day.
Looking up at the Doctor's face he saw his eyes were harsh and cold. It was the first time in a very long time that she actually felt afraid of the man who had become so important to her over the years. It also hurt like hell. "It was usually her job to slap your hand away when you tried to read the book..."
Before the Doctor can snap at her and ask what exactly she's trying to accomplish, making up stories of Rose, he's distracted by the sudden movement of a book. Falling off a shelf...well...more like flying. Quirking an eyebrow at the shelf he watched as even more books started flying.
He really wished Rose was here because he could think of four puns right off the top of his head.
"What's that? I didn't do that," the Doctor muttered, quickly checking his terminal just to be sure. When he saw he actually hadn't he looked over towards Proper Dave who was on the other terminal. "Did you do that?" Book didn't just fly off the shelf for no reason, especially when they were in a dead library.
As River slowly walked back towards the center of the room, wondering what was going on and thankful for the chance to get away from the tense conversation, the Doctor looked back to his terminal, quickly trying to figure out what was going on.
"Not me," Dave called out, also searching through the files. The Doctor frowned before seeing something flash across his screen. Cal Access Denied. Well...that was...odd...
"What's Cal?" the Doctor mostly asked himself as he looked around the room in amused disbelief. Books were flying off the shelves and he had no clue how, and that was actually kind of refreshing. The fact that River was hauling cords around, acting as if all of this was normal, was also slightly amusing.
As more books started flying, and faster, River finally spoke up. "What's causing that? Is it the little girl?" The Doctor half-noticed that her voice sounded a little shaken but at this point he wasn't quite sure what was the cause of it. She was still too much of a mystery which didn't quite settle well with him.
He hated not knowing what someone was going to do.
"But who is the little girl?" he mused, trying to focus on the mystery itself as the books finally stopped flying, for how long he didn't know. "What's she got to do with this place?" As he talked he adjusted his position on the desk he was now sitting on, one leg crossed under him and the other he leaned on. He was trying to piece together this puzzle but also wondering if Rose would be shoving him off the desk or sitting up there beside him. "How does the data core work? What's the principle? What's Cal?"
"Ask Mister Lux," River answered, voice still rather cold. Deciding not to touch upon that, he'd had enough slaps to last a lifetime, he turned his head towards Lux. He was annoyed to see that the man looked a little self-satisfied, knowing the answers when no one else did. Oh he was going to clash with this one.
"Cal, what is it?"
"Sorry, you didn't sign your personal experience contracts," Lux said lightly, a small smirk playing on his lips. Oh yes, he was definitely going to clash with this one.
"Mister Lux," the Doctor started, jumping off the desk and walking towards the man in a relaxed stride, hands in his pockets. "Right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life. And you're protecting a patent?"
"I'm protecting my family's pride," Lux stated firmly. A small corner of the Doctor's mind wondered at that, it sounded like there was something he was hiding... If he didn't have the lives of everyone in this room to worry about he would probably wonder about that more.
"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." As soon as the words were out of his mouth the could hear a little corner of his treacherous brain, the part that sounded like Rose, mutter something about the pot calling the kettle black. He decided to ignore it.
"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River asked, arms crossed as she slightly smirked. The Doctor shot a glare at her before she softly snorted. "Oh don't look like that, I didn't sign it either... Goodness, I'm getting as bad as you. Oh...Rose would be angry at us both right about now..."
The Doctor looked between her and Lux for a few seconds, mind turning at yet another mention of Rose, before walking away and looking uncomfortable, hands coming out of his pockets as he started using gestures to get his point across. He would just ignore River for now, and her strange comments.
Why did blondes always have to give him so much trouble...
"Okay, okay, okay," the Doctor started, half to clear his head and half to clear the previous conversation, "Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?" As soon as he finished his questions he looked over at the team, a small part of him noticing that he was now standing beside Donna. That same part noticed that she had been rather quiet so far...that couldn't be good...
"There was a message from the Library. Just one. The lights are going out," River explained, voice rather grim. "Then the computer sealed the planet and there was nothing for a hundred years."
"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in," Lux broke in, sounding cross that it had taken that long. Absently the Doctor was impressed that the Library had that great a seal on it, well...either that or the Lux family was very stupid.
As his mind turned over the possibilities he absently noticed Lux and that girl, Miss Evangelista, talking. He then tuned them out, trying to figure out just what he was missing. Something...there was something going on here that he hadn't yet understood.
"There was one other thing in the last message," River spoke up, reaching down to open her bag as she did so. Beside her Lux bristled and glared down at her as she pulled out a communication device.
"That's confidential," the man said, sounding as if he wanted to kick the Doctor off the planet. That part didn't really surprise him, he had been kicked off a lot of planets. The part that surprised him was what River said next.
"I trust this man with my life, my everything." And damn if that didn't scare him more than a Dalek. Being trusted absolutely like that...he didn't deserve the trust of others... He never did.
"You've only just met him," Lux snarked, and the Doctor very much wanted to say the same. Who could trust someone they've only just met? Well...besides Rose...but his pink and yellow human had never been exactly normal to begin with, even before she had absorbed the time vortex.
"Nope, he's only just met me," River responded, trying to sound like she didn't mind that fact even as a look of comprehension overtook the Doctor's features. So she was from his personal future...that would explain why she knew him. Although...she didn't act as if she was a future companion...and if she knew him in the future it didn't explain why she kept talking as if Rose was still there, with him.
"This is a data extract that came with the message," River explained while handing him the device, the Doctor looking at it intently. Well...that was helpful...
"Four thousand and twenty two saved. No survivors."
"Four thousand and twenty two. That's the exact number of people who were in the library when the planet was sealed," River explained while her lips twitched upward. It seemed she loved a mystery as much as he did, which made him feel even more uncomfortable around her.
"But how can four thousand and twenty two people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Donna finally spoke up, sounding confused while she looked down at the device in their hands.
"That's what we're here to find out," River said, taking the device back and walking over to her bag as Lux rolled his eyes.
"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies." The Doctor snorted at that. Looked like he found another cheery sort. Saved, saved, saved...something...at the back of his mind... He'd probably have been able to figure it out by now if he wasn't so worried about the mystery that was River Song...
Just who was this woman that claimed to know him in the future...
::
The Doctor strided back into the room, looking like an animal close to lashing out. Death followed him everywhere, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight back when given the chance, and he'd be damned before he let anyone else die.
"I'm going to need a packed lunch," the Doctor muttered while he pulled his sonic screwdriver out. It was time to find himself a living shadow.
"Hang on," River replied while kneeling down and rifling through her bag, pulling the TARDIS blue book out as she did so. Even though his brain was racing on what to do next the Doctor still found his attention drawn back to the little blue book in thought.
"What's in that book?" he asked, kneeling down beside her, sounding urgent. If he wanted to concentrate on how to get them all out of there, alive, he needed to know all the variables. And that included figuring out what exactly River was... No...even as he thought it that little part of his mind told him it was an excuse. What he really wanted was to find out why River talked like Rose was still with him.
When she was from his future.
"Spoilers," River replied tensely, looking and sounding like a wolf with raised hackles. The Doctor frowned at the tone of voice he had heard. That word sounded like something she had been saying for far too long...it has sounded like she had kept things hidden for far too long.
"Who are you?"
"Professor River Song," the woman quickly replied, "University of-" The Doctor quickly cut her off. She knew that wasn't what he meant.
"To me. Who are you to me? How do you even know about Rose?!" The Doctor asked, getting more and more tense. "If you really are from my future then you should know..." here he trailed off, hearts clenching in pain. "There's no way she can ever come back. It's impossible."
"Didn't think you were one for believing in the impossible," River spoke softly, a small, sad smile on her lips. "After all, there are quite a few things in your life that you claimed were impossible. Watching a young human absorb the time vortex from the TARDIS itself," at that the Doctor twitched, as if he had been poked in the side rather hard. "Finding out the Daleks were still alive...
"Falling in love with a young human girl."
Donna's eyes narrowed as she watched the Doctor flinch from where she was standing. It had looked like the man had just been slapped. As the woman watched the two talk thoughts whirled around her head and yet the only thing she could really think was where the hell did that woman get off bringing Rose up? Especially when it was such a sore subject for the man she had come to see as family.
"Who are you..." the Doctor quietly asked, hurt still showing on his face. He looked as if he didn't expect an answer but still thought he should ask. River looked at him for a few seconds longer before smiling softly and looking close to hugging him.
"Spoilers..." River hardly voiced before shaking her head, "Right. Chicken and a bit of salad. Knock yourself out," River grinned while reaching the man her packed lunch, the Doctor staring at her quietly before taking it and acting as if nothing had just happened.
"Right, you lot! Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada." As the man spoke Donna's eyes just narrowed at the two even more as she crossed her arms. The Doctor was like a little brother to her and if that woman kept hurting him like this then Donna was going to have some words with this Professor River Song.
::
River and Donna were both watching the Doctor, who was kneeling on the floor and scanning on and off with his sonic screwdriver, the humming sound starting to put the women on edge. River glanced over at Donna quickly before taking a deep breath, braced for what she was about to ask.
"You travel with him, don't you?" River asked, Donna looking over at her with a raised eyebrow. "The Doctor, you travel with him."
"What of it?" Donna asked back, still uneasy around this woman. There was something about her that screamed she was hiding something. As the two watched the Doctor scoot Proper Dave out of the way Donna looked back over at River. "You know him, don't you?"
"What do you know about Rose Tyler?" River asked softly, soft enough to where not even the Doctor could here her from where he was. Donna furrowed her brow at the question before taking time to think about it. Really there wasn't much she could say about Rose Tyler.
"Not much really. All I know is that the Doctor said something about losing her, right before I first met him," Donna said softly, thinking back to when she had first appeared on the TARDIS in her wedding dress. The first thing she had noticed, besides the fact she was now no longer walking down the aisle, was the sad, sad man standing in front of her.
"I know the Doctor," River spoke quietly, smiling softly as she looked at Donna. Even though she was looking at her Donna could tell that her mind was far, far away. In another time. "Both him and Rose... God do I know those two... We go so far back, the three of us... Just not this far."
"I'm sorry, what?" Donna asked, wondering if this woman was ever going to make sense. She talked like she knew the Doctor and yet she also talked as if she barely knew who the man in front of them was. It was enough to give her a headache.
"He hasn't met me yet," River bit out, sounding as if the words had cut her, "I sent those two a message but it went wrong somehow. The message arrived too far back...far too back... This is the Doctor in the days before he knew me...back before he had his Rose with him..." she muttered the last part softly, as if admitting it made her want to cry.
"What are you talking about? Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know him or don't you?" Donna snapped, feeling herself go into overprotective sibling mode. She may have been younger than the Doctor but the man acted like a child half the time so she felt justified in seeing herself as the older one. All she knew was that this woman was somehow causing the Doctor pain and she did not like it. At all.
"Donna!" the Doctor snapped back over his shoulder, "Quiet, I'm working."
"Sorry," Donna called over, scowling and glaring at the man's back. Really instead of apologizing she wanted to ring the man's neck. Stupid little Time Lord brother.
"Donna," River said, sounding stunned, "You're Donna. Donna Noble." River was astounded. She was talking to Donna, the woman who the Doctor and Rose mentioned to her in stories. The most important woman in the universe.
"Yeah. Why?" Donna asked, sounding as if she didn't really care either way. River took a breath before looking over at her, deciding to explain as much as she could to the woman who her family had loved so, so much.
"I do know the Doctor," River explained, "But in the future. His personal future." Donna nodded slowly, she supposed it would make sense why River knew him but he didn't know her if she was from his future. Blimey...time travel was too confusing by half.
"So why don't you know me?" Donna asked, wondering why River had sounded so shocked at learning her name. "Where am I in the future?"
"Okay, got a live one!" the Doctor called out, River sighing in relief as Donna went to go kneel beside him. "That's not darkness down those tunnels. This is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm." As River shined her light in the dark in front of them she couldn't help but be a bit grateful for the Doctor's rubbish timing.
As they watched the chicken bone hit the floor, the flesh stripped bare in less than a second, the whole room stared in mute horror at the spot. The echoing noise of bone hitting floor seemed to sink into them as they realized just what they were up against.
::
"What do we do? Where do we go?!" Lux asked, sounding panicked. The Doctor rolled his eyes from in front of him. Sure they were rather stuck at the moment and about to die, but that didn't call for panic. That was the worst thing they could do right now.
"See that wall behind you?" River asked, nodding to the wall as she pulled out a small gun that had been strapped to her side. A small smile played on her lips as she aimed it at the wall she had pointed out, "Duck."
"Squareness gun!" the Doctor shouted, astounded. He hadn't seen one of those, well, since Jack. River shot him a grin while pulling the gun up and looking at the neat, square whole in front of them.
"Got it from an old friend of mine," River spoke up, "A rather handsome captain that is quite the flirt. Not to mention quite the conman. Even stole my Chula warship from me!" River rolled her eyes, as if she still couldn't quite believe that one. "Now everybody out! Go, go, go. Move it!"
As River herded the group out through the whole behind her the Doctor seemed to pale. This woman knew both Rose and Jack, two people who he almost never talked about if he could help it, and yet he didn't know anything at all about her...
::
The group was leaning against the stacks of books, trying to catch their breath after how far they had just run. A little ways away the Doctor had one foot balancing on a step ladder and another braced against a bookshelf as he used his sonic on a light fitting that was glowing dimly.
"Trying to boost the power," he explained. "Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down." River walked up to him while lowering her voice, trying not to let the others hear, which the Doctor had to admit was rather smart of her.
"So, what's the plan? Do we have a plan?" she asked, all while turning her own sonic on and boosting the light the Doctor had been working on. The light quickly sparked until it came on and glowed brightly.
"Your screwdriver," the Doctor murmured slowly while gently letting go of the light before staring at it. He then carefully looked down at River. "Looks exactly like mine."
"Yeah. It was a gift from you, well, you and Rose..." River trailed off, twirling the sonic before looking as if she was trying to recall something. "Actually...it had been one of Rose's temporary ones when her old one had gotten broken, think she blamed you for that, and oh had she gotten mad... What was it again..."
"Rose never had a sonic," the Doctor muttered flatly, stepping off the ladder as he did so. River looked over at him to see his eyes had gone cold again. She repressed the urge to sigh as he started talking again. "Even if she did we never would have given a screwdriver to anyone.
"I'm not anyone," River grinned. Most of it was fake but a little bit was real. She did so love being enigmatic. Rose had called it karma for all the times the Doctor had been like that over the years.
"Who are you?" the Doctor asked. River had to hold back a snort since he sounded like he actually expected an answer from her. Silly Time Lord, she thought he would have learned by now.
"What's the plan?" she asked, grinning as she tucked her screwdriver away. The Doctor stared at her coldly for a few more moments before deciding to drop it and switch subjects.
"I teleported Donna back to the TARDIS. If we don't get back there in under five hours Emergency Program One will activate," he explained, holding up his own screwdriver so he could look at something.
"Take her home, yeah, I know. Oh...Rose hated when you used that on her. She also said, well, will say, that if you ever use that on her again she'll personally find her way back, again, and make you regenerate herself with nothing but a slap," River grinned, the Doctor flinching at the thought of a Tyler slap. He then stared down at River for a few seconds before deciding to just ignore her, and her comments about Rose.
"We need to get a shift on!" River said, slightly louder, as glanced back at the others and silently commanded them to stand up. It was time for them to get out of here. As she did so the Doctor stared down at his screwdriver in confusion. Well...that couldn't be right.
"She's not there..." the Doctor said slowly. "Donna. She's not there. I should have received a signal by now. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach." As he spoke, quickly, he held the screwdriver up to his ear, starting to look frantic.
"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped," River suggested, not to worried about it at the moment. "The equipment here's ancient after all." The Doctor brushed her off and ran over to a nearby Node, hoping that maybe they would have something to say.
"Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library," the Doctor spoke up to the Node quickly, hoping to find out where his friend was soon. "Do you have the software to locate her position?"
As the Node turned it's head around both the Doctor and River flinched back, looking beyond shocked.
"Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved," the Node replied in a monotone voice, Donna's face the one showing up. The Doctor looked up in despair, feeling close to breaking down.
"Donna..." It had barely been a whisper and yet everyone there could feel the pain he had voiced. The pain of losing what had felt like his older sister.
May have been a bit cruel on this one... Oh well! You'll find out what happens next time, and how it all ends with River. Oh! One of you asked if River was their daughter. I said no but now... Who knows. Anything could happen. Time can be rewritten after all... Although, if you really REALLY want to know what I am doing... Well...
Spoilers.