Silence in the Library
"Books!" the Doctor cheered as he grabbed his coat and stepped out of the TARDIS, followed by Donna and the Professor, "People never really stop loving books," he looked around at the rather large, though empty, reception area of a library, "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," he led them across the room and through a door, down a staircase where they could see that the whole surface, the whole planet, was filled with bookshelves, "The Library. So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big 'the.'"
"It's like a city," Donna breathed.
"It's a world. Literally, a world."
"The whole core of the planet is the index computer," the Professor added, "The 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. We're near the equator, so..." he licked his finger and lifted it up, "This must be…"
"Biographies," she answered, having looked up the layout of the planet before they touched down.
"I love biographies!"
"Yeah, very you," Donna remarked, "Always a death at the end."
"You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size," Donna moved to pick up a book but the Doctor snatched it away, "Oi! Spoilers!"
"What?"
"These books are from your future. You don't wanna read ahead, spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."
"Isn't travelling with you one big spoiler?"
"I...try to keep you away from major plot developments. Which, to be honest…"
"You fail at," the Professor cut in, "Worse than your pilot's test."
"And again, not all of us can wear a skirt," he muttered at her recurring mention of his lack of success in obtaining his pilot's license on the first go before turning to Donna, "This is the biggest library in the Universe. So where is everyone? It's silent."
The Professor frowned and turned to one of the information terminals, pulling the Doctor's sonic out of his jacket and setting the controls to use on the terminal.
"The Library?" Donna asked.
"The planet. The whole planet."
"Maybe it's a Sunday?"
"He never lands on Sundays," the Professor stated, "Says they're boring."
"Which they are," he muttered.
"Well...maybe everyone's really, really quiet," Donna suggested.
"Yeah, maybe…"
"But they'd still show up on the system," the Professor added.
"Doctor, why are we here?" Donna turned to him as he watched the Professor work, "Really, why?"
"Oh, you know, just passing."
"No, seriously. It was all, 'let's hit the beach' then suddenly we're in a library. Why?"
"Now, that's interesting," he frowned.
"What?"
"Scanning for life forms," the Professor explained, "Basic humanoids renders a life form scan of 3, us," she pointed to the screen, "If I widen the parameters to any kind of life..." the number raced up to the point where an error came up, 1,000,000,000,000 life forms being recorded, "One trillion."
"A million million," the Doctor breathed, "Gives up after that. A million million."
"But there's nothing here," Donna shook her head, "There's no one."
"And not a sound. A million million life forms and silence in the Library."
"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?"
They each exchanged a glance before the Doctor and Donna slowly reached out cautiously towards a book lying on the railing before them. Just as they nearly touched it…
"Welcome!" a voice shouted behind them, the Professor spinning around with her blaster out and ready, but there was no one there.
"That came from in there!" Donna spun around.
"Yeah!" the Doctor ran back up the stairs with the girls to see what looked like a white modern art statue with a living face standing in reception.
"I am Courtesy Node 7-1-0/aqua," she stated as the Professor put the blaster away, "Please enjoy the Library and respect the personal access codes of all your fellow readers regardless of species or hygiene taboo."
"That face, it looks real," Donna remarked.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," the Doctor waved her off.
"But a statue with a real face, though! It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"
"No, but really, it's...fine."
"Additional," the node cut in, "There follows a brief message from the head librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by 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. Arg. Slarg. Snick.' Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm. units for the comfort of other readers."
"So that's why we're here..."
"Any other messages, same date stamp?" the Professor asked seriously.
"One additional message," the node replied, "This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of 5, 0, 11..."
"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine, just play it," the Doctor cut in.
"Message follows. 'Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember...if you want to live, count the shadows.' Message ends."
"Donna..."
"Yeah?" she breathed.
"Stay out of the shadows," the Professor ordered, looking around cautiously.
"Why, what's in the shadows?" she frowned. They didn't answer, simply turned and walked through another door into an aisle of bookshelves several stories high, "So...we weren't just in the neighborhood."
"Yeah, we kind of, sort of lied a bit," the Doctor admitted, "We got a message on the psychic paper," he held it out to her, 'The Library. Come as soon as you can. X.' was written on it, "What do you think? Cry for help?"
"Cry for help…with a kiss?" Donna held the paper up with an eyebrow raised.
"Oh, we've all done that."
"We have?" the Professor narrowed her eyes at him.
"Well…" he fumbled, "I'm…I'm sure some of us have. Not me. No, not personally, not me. Nope."
"Who's it from?" Donna shook her head, handing it back.
"No idea."
"So why did we come here? Why did you..."
"Doctor!" the Professor turned around as the lights at the end of the corridor started to go out.
"What's happening?"
"Run!" the Doctor shouted. They ran down the hall till they came to a door. The Doctor tried to open it but it was stuck, "Come on!"
"What, is it locked?"
"Jammed! The wood's warped!"
"Sonic it, use the thingy!"
"I can't, it's wood!"
"What, it doesn't do wood?"
"Hang on, hang on, if I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings, I can shatterline the interface..."
"Move!" the Professor ordered. He jumped aside as she kicked the door open. They ran into the room, her and Donna slamming the doors shut as he grabbed a book to bolt it and hold it closed.
He looked up to see the Professor eyeing something and turned around, "Oh!" there was a small sphere with a lens in it hovering before them, "Hello! Sorry to burst on you like this. OK if we stop here for a bit?"
It dropped to the ground.
"What is it?" Donna asked.
"Security camera. Switched itself off," he crouched down and picked it up, sonicing it quickly, "Nice door skills," he grinned at the Professor. She made no comment, eying the room for danger instead.
"What was that, what was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"
"Possibly."
"Are we safe here?"
"Course we're safe. There's a little shop," he nodded towards a wall, to a sign pointing towards the shop, before sighing. He'd been hoping that this trip would be an interesting one, not quite this interesting though. He hadn't even thought about visiting the Library till they'd gotten that message and then he'd nearly smacked himself for not thinking of it. The Professor always did love reading.
~/~\~
"There you are!"
The little 8 year old girl he'd been watching let out a gasp and pulled the book she'd been reading close to her chest, looking up in alarm only to see him standing there. She stared at him, wide eyed, as he plopped down across from her, resting his back against a bookshelf, grinning at her.
"I've been looking everywhere for you!" he informed her and he had. Ever since last night when he'd run into her and taken her to the healers, he hadn't been able to stop thinking of her, if she was alright, what happened to her wrist, if she needed any help, why she seemed so...sad...what she'd look like smiling instead...
He reached out to pick up a book from a small stack beside her only to drop it back down, "Always in the last place you look eh? Should have started here don't you think?" he looked at her but she just stared at him, unmoving, though her alarmed gaze had turned somewhat wary. He nearly frowned at that, had he startled her that much?
"Oh well," he shrugged, moving to sit cross-legged, "Found you now haven't I?" still she was silent, "Blimey you're a bit quiet aren't you?" she just eyed him oddly, "Nothing wrong with that though, bet you're a great listener then. I wouldn't know, mum keeps telling me I've a gob that doesn't stop. She's probably right, I mean two years ago I actually talked so much I gave my brother an earache. Can you imagine? A proper earache!" he laughed but she just kept watching him silently.
"Tell you one thing," he leaned forward, whispering conspiratorially, "If you really don't want me to get started, don't mention the Earth, it's my favorite planet in the whole Universe," he leaned back, "Have you learned about Earth yet? Nah, probably not, you're new aren't you?" he watched her, making sure that he didn't speak this time till she gave him some sign that she understood their language.
She was still a long while before seeming to realize he was waiting on her acknowledgement.
A short nod was all he got, more of a jerk of the head really, and even then she pulled her legs in, smushing the book between them and her chest as she hugged the book towards her, watching him over her knees.
"Oh you'll love it I know," he grinned, very pleased with himself for having gotten that nod out of her, "Trust me. It's this amazing planet, it's about 70 percent water and looks like a big blue ball with white swirls floating out among the stars. And there are these people who live there, humans they're called, and they're fantastic. I mean, the things they'll come up with, the thing's they'll survive...really, you're gonna enjoy that class a lot when you get to it. By the way, what are your classes like?"
She blinked and frowned, confusion on her face.
"I just want to know which classes you're in so I can meet you there."
Her frown deepened.
He blinked, "So I can carry your books for you," he eyed her arm, "That casing can't be very comfortable and it's probably best you don't strain it," he reached out and gently pulled her arm away from her, examining the casing around her wrist, "How did that happen by the way? It's too old to have happened here, but too recent to be so painful," he looked up at her, "Did this happen just before you left?"
She looked down and nodded.
His expression grew grim, "Did someone do this to you?"
She pulled her arm back, uncomfortable, and hugged herself again, looking away.
He nodded, that was all he needed to know, "Well, I can't do anything more for your wrist, sorry," she looked at him sharply, seeming almost stunned at his apology, "But I can help you with your classes, like I said, carry your supplies and things for you. If you want…"
She was silent.
He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed, before nodding to himself, he'd probably made an idiot of himself just then. She probably thought he was just some mad little boy. He shook his head and gave her a small smile, getting up and turning to head off.
"Why?"
He froze at the quiet voice. If it hadn't been so silent in the Academy's library, he probably would have missed it. But he'd heard it, the soft, breathy question from the girl behind him. He smiled to himself, she had a very nice voice judging by the one word he'd heard.
He turned around, "Why what?"
She hesitated, biting her bottom lip a moment, seeming to debate with herself whether to speak again, "Why…are you being so…nice…to me?" she asked, speaking haltingly.
He nearly frowned again. It was almost as if she wasn't used to speaking out loud. But why would that be?
He shook his head, plenty of time to figure that out later. For now, he had a question to answer. He grinned and plopped himself back down, though this time beside her, noting how she shied away slightly, jumping at the sudden move, looking very much frightened at his nearness.
He shrugged, "I like helping people. I don't like seeing them so sad and hurt so I try my best to make them feel better."
She was quiet a moment, "Like a doctor?"
He blinked, looking at her suspiciously, "You said you hadn't gotten to that lesson yet!" he pointed a mock accusing finger at her.
"You did," she said hesitantly, sounding almost afraid to contradict him.
"I did what?" he frowned, confused.
"You said I hadn't," she answered, "Not me."
He blinked again, "So I did," he nodded, smiling, before he realized something, "Wait a minute! Lessons only started yesterday...and you're new..." he KNEW she was new. He'd been trying to place her all night, going over as many people as he'd seen in the Academy only to come up with nothing. He doubted he'd forgotten having seen her before, he'd easily been able to call up an image of her in his mind, so she had to be someone who'd just arrived, probably the day before lessons began when all the new children arrived, "You COULDN'T have gotten to Earth yet!"
She shifted slightly, lifting up her book for him to see that it was one on Earth.
"Oh..." he nodded, laughing at himself for how he'd actually believed for a moment that she wasn't as new as he thought, "Good on you! You tricked me! Oh my friend would love to meet you, he's always trying to trick me. Never really works. You could give him lessons eh? I'm supposed to go meet him in a few minutes, you should come…" his grin faded, seeing her tense, looking uncomfortable at the mention of another person. He realized she must be shier than he thought she was if just the thought of two people speaking to her made her that uncomfortable.
He looked down at her as she looked away from him and nodded, "Ah well, he'll be fine on his own," she looked at him, startled, and he could see it in her eyes, she fully expected him to go play with his friend and not stick with her. But, if there was one thing he was, it was unexpected, and...he just couldn't bring himself to leave her alone like that. There was just...something about her that made him want to be around her, try and get her to laugh, smile, talk...
He shook his head, "He just wanted to teach me how to play Earth chess anyway," he rolled his eyes, "He's always doing that you know, picking games and learning them, wanting to 'teach' me them. Really, I think he just likes winning."
They fell into a small, though very comfortable, silence for a few minutes before…
"I can."
He looked at her, startled, "What?"
She looked away, a tiny hint of pink on her cheeks, "Teach you."
His eyes widened, "You know how to play Earth chess?"
She gave a small nod, "Mum."
He nodded, her mother had taught her. Lots of parents had games from other planets that they enjoyed teaching their children. His dad had taught him Nukeball ages ago, his mother had been fuming, to say the least, when she'd come back home to see the yard half destroyed.
"And you'll teach me?" he asked. She nodded again and he beamed, "Well let's get to it!" he cheered, jumping up and holding out a hand to her.
She flinched back, closing her eyes, tensing quickly.
His eyes widened and he quickly dropped his hand, kneeling down before her, "Hey," he called softly, seeing her still tense, "It's alright, hey…" he reached out and placed a hand on her uncased one, gripping her book so tightly her knuckles were white, "It's ok," he whispered.
She slowly blinked her eyes open again, glancing at him a moment before looking down, tears in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," he murmured, she looked back up at him, startled again, and he realized, whatever it was that had made her so quiet and easily startled must have hurt her badly, and, chances were, whatever or whoever it was never apologized, "I didn't mean to scare you," he pulled his hand away and held it, palm up, waiting for her to make the first move.
She eyed his hand a moment, then him, searching his eyes for something, before looking back at his hand, tentatively reaching out her uncased hand and rested it on his palm.
He beamed at her and gently pulled her to her feet, "How 'bout that chess game eh?" he took the book from her, tucking it under his arm as he entwined their fingers, nodding his head towards the end of the row, back towards the main doors to the library.
She gave him a small nod and he laughed, "You do know you'll have to actually talk and explain the game to me yeah? I can't just guess what I'm doing wrong from your expressions."
He was rewarded with another nod and a small, admittedly very cute, smile.
~/~\~
He smiled to himself at the memory when the lens of the camera popped off, pulling him from his thoughts, "Gotcha!"
'No, stop it, no, no!' displayed across the camera in digital letters.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" his eyes widened, "I really am, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he handed it to the Professor gently, allowing her to scan it without hurting it.
"It's alive," she replied, just rolling it in her hands a bit.
"You said it was a security camera," Donna looked at the Doctor.
"It is," the Professor confirmed, "But it's sentient."
'The Library is breached,' the words displayed again, 'Others are coming.'
"Others?" Donna frowned, "What's it mean, 'others?'" she turned and walked over to another node, "Excuse me, what does it mean, 'others?'"
"That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you," the Doctor called.
"So why's it got a face?" Donna asked as it spun around to reveal a man.
"This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death," the node replied.
"It's a real face?"
"It has been actualized individually for you from the many facial aspects saved to our extensive flesh banks. Please enjoy."
"It chose me a dead face it thought I'd like? That statue's got a real dead person's face on it..."
"It's the 51st century, that's...basically like donating a park bench," the Doctor commented.
"It's donating a face!"
She started to back away when the Doctor grabbed her, "No, wait, no!"
"Oi!" she slapped him away, "Hands!"
"The shadow, look…"
She looked down at a shadow jutting into a lightened area of the floor, "What about it?"
"'Count the shadows,'" the Professor repeated.
"One. There, I counted it, one shadow."
"Correct...but what's casting it?" she asked as they looked around but couldn't see anything that could have cast it. The Professor did notice something else though, "Doctor," she called, pointing at a lamp flickering in the darkness that surrounded them.
"Oh!" his eyes widened, "I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick! Head's too full of stuff, I need a bigger head!" he turned to her, "How do you fit it all in that small one?"
"If you could focus?"
"Power must be going," Donna commented, eyeing the lamp.
"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun."
"Then why is it dark?"
"It's not dark," she nodded towards where the shadow had been.
"That shadow. It's gone."
"We need to get back to the TARDIS," the Doctor decided.
"Why?"
"Because the shadow hasn't gone," the Professor replied, "It's moved."
"Reminder," the node called, "The Library has been breached, others are coming. Reminder: the Library has been breached, others are coming. Reminder: the Library has been breached..."
A door burst open on the other end of the room and six people in white spacesuits entered. Their leader paused a moment before walking straight over to the Doctor and Professor, switching her visor to transparent to reveal a smiling, female face with light brown curls.
"Hello sweetie," she grinned at the Doctor before winking at the Professor, "Sweetums."
"Get out!" the Doctor shouted.
"Doctor…" Donna called.
"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."
"Pop your helmets, everyone," the leader called as her crew did so, "We've got breathers."
"How do you know they're not androids?" a young woman with short black hair asked.
"'Cos I've dated androids. They're rubbish."
"Who is this?" an older man eyed the trio, "You said we were the only expedition, I paid for exclusives."
"I lied, I'm always lying. Bound to be others."
"Miss Evangelista, I want to see the contracts."
"You came through the north door, yeah?" she turned back to the Time Lords, "How was that, much damage?"
"Please, just leave," the Doctor continued, "I'm asking you seriously and properly, just leave before the Professor grabs her blaster an...hang on. Did you say expedition?"
"My expedition, I funded it," the older man called.
"Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists."
"Got a problem with archaeologists?" the leader raised an eyebrow at him.
"We're time travelers. We point and laugh at archaeologists. Seriously," he nodded at the Professor, "She really has."
"Ah. Professor River Song, archaeologist."
"River Song, lovely name," he shook her hand and led her back towards the door, "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," the Professor grabbed the arm of the short haired woman, yanking her back.
The Doctor looked over, "What's your name?"
"Anita."
"Anita, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship."
"Do it," the Professor warned. Anita nodded and stepped back, the Professor releasing her arm in the process.
"Goes for all of you," the Doctor added, "Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared," they just looked at him blankly while River smiled, "No, bit more scared than that," the young woman, Evangelista, did looked a bit scared though, "OK, do for now. You, who are you?"
"Uh, Dave," one of the men blinked as the Doctor turned to him.
"OK, Dave..."
"Oh, well Other Dave, because that's Proper Dave the pilot," he pointed to another young man, "He was the first Dave, so when we..."
"Other Dave, the way you came," he pulled him to the door, "Does it look the same as before?"
"Yeah…oh, it's a bit darker."
"How much darker?" the Professor called, walking over.
"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."
"Seal up this door," she ordered, turning to the Doctor, "We need to find another way out."
He nodded at Other Dave as he got to work, the two of them walking back to the group.
"We're not looking for a way out!" the older man shouted, "Miss Evangelista?"
Evangelista stepped over to the trio with papers in her hand, "I'm Mr. 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."
"Right, give it here," the Doctor took a paper along with the Professor.
"Yeah, lovely," Donna took one as well, "Thanks."
And then the three tore them in half and then to pieces.
"My family built this Library!" Lux shouted, "I have rights!"
"You have a mouth that won't stop," River rolled her eyes before turning to the Professor, "You think there's danger here sweetums?"
The Professor could only narrow her eyes at the nickname.
"Something came to this Library and killed everything in it," the Doctor cut in, "Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be."
River eyed him a moment, "Long time since YOU'VE said something was dangerous," she muttered before shaking her head, "That was 100 years ago. The Library's been silent for 100 years. Whatever came here is long dead."
"Bet your life?"
She smiled, "Always."
"What are you doing?" Lux demanded, turning to Other Dave.
"She said seal the door," he shrugged.
"Torch!" the Doctor called, snatching the light from Lux's hands.
"You're taking orders from her?" Lux continued.
"Spooky, isn't it?" the Doctor grinned, walking to the other side of the room and looking around, using the torch on the dark corners while the Professor stood 'at ease,' eyeing the dark, "Almost every species in the Universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong. 'Cos it's not irrational."
"It's Vashta Nerada," the Professor stated.
"What's Vashta Nerada?" Donna frowned.
"It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark."
The Doctor spun around, "Lights! That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"
"What for?" River asked.
"Form a circle," the Professor ordered, "A safe area."
The Doctor nodded, "Big as you can, lights pointing out."
"Oi!" River turned to the crew, "Do as they say."
"You're not listening to them?" Lux shouted.
"Apparently, I am. Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mr. 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, Sergeant, you're with me. Step into my office," she turned and walked to a desk with a terminal behind it.
"Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?" Lux asked as she walked past.
"I don't fancy you."
The Doctor walked over to Proper Dave, "Probably I can help you…"
"Pretty Boy!" River shouted, "With me I said. You too Sergeant."
"Oh, I'm Pretty Boy?" the Doctor turned around, dumbfounded.
"Yes," Donna nodded, "Oh, that came out a bit quick!"
"Pretty?"
"Meh."
"Suppose that makes me Sergeant," the Professor reasoned. The Doctor could only shrug as they walked over to River.
"Don't let your shadows cross!" the Doctor ordered, "Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."
"How can a shadow be infected?" Other Dave wondered.
River unpacked things from her bag as they approached, pulling out an old TARDIS-shaped book, "Thanks."
"For what?" the Doctor asked.
"The usual. For coming when I call."
"Oh, that was you?"
"You're both doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason."
"A fairly good one, actually."
River eyed the Professor curiously, "You alright?"
"Fine," she replied shortly, "Why?"
"You're…a bit silent…" she remarked but then shrugged, putting it off as an aftereffect of regeneration, "OK, shall we do diaries, then? Where are we this time? Uh, going by your faces, I'd say it's early days for you two. Yes? So, um..." she flipped a few pages, "Crash of the Byzantium, have we done that yet?" she looked at the Professor who stared back expressionless. She'd noticed the Professor was more closed off than she'd ever seen her and turned to the Doctor instead for some sort of clue, only to see him equally as expressionless, "Obviously ringing no bells," a few more pages, "Right, um, oh. Picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet?" more stares, "Obviously not. Blimey, very early days, then. Huh, life with time travelers, never knew it could be such hard work," she looked between them, eyeing their faces carefully, before gasping, "Look at you! You're young."
"We're really not, you know," the Doctor commented.
"Nah, but you are. Your eyes. You're younger than I've ever seen you."
"You've seen us before, then?" he wondered, shifting under her gaze, the Professor tensing, cautious now.
"Doctor...Professor…please…tell me you know who I am?"
"Who are you?"
Before she could answer a loud, ringing alarm sounded.
"Sorry, that was me," Proper Dave called, "Trying to get through into the security protocols, I seem to have set something off. What is that? Is that an alarm?"
"Doctor?" Donna called, "Professor? That sounds like..."
"It is," the Doctor rushed over to the terminal with the Professor, "It's a phone!"
"I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding," Proper Dave told him, "Just that noise."
"But it's a phone!" Donna shook her head.
"Let me try something," the Doctor typed in a code to see it still said 'Access Denied,' "OK, doesn't like that, let's try something else…" a moment later a little girl in a sitting room appeared, "OK, here it comes," he looked up to see her, "Hello?"
"Hello," the little girl turned around, "Are you in my television?"
"Well, no, I'm...I'm...sort of in space. I...I was trying to call up the data core of a triple-grid security processor…"
"Would you like to speak to my dad?"
"Dad or your mum, that'd be lovely."
"I know you! You were in my Library."
"Your Library?"
"The Library's never been on the television before. What have you done?"
"Ah, I...I just rerouted the interface..." the screen moved to static and back to 'Access Denied.'
"What happened, who was that?" River asked.
The Doctor typed in a few more keys but nothing happened.
"We need another terminal," the Professor stated, turning around and walking over to the one by the desk.
"Keep working on those lights, we need those lights!" the Doctor shouted, running to join her.
"You heard him, people, let there be light," River called, walking after them. She scooped up the diary off the desk just as the Doctor started reaching for it, "Sorry. You're not allowed to see inside the book, it's against the rules."
"What rules?"
"Her rules," she nodded at the Professor, the one who always enforced it whenever the Doctor got curious.
Suddenly books started flying off the Library shelves.
"What's that?" the Doctor ducked, "I didn't do that, did you do that?" he looked at the Professor who shook her head, so he turned to Proper Dave, "Did you do that?"
"Not me," he called.
"What is CAL?" the Professor asked. He turned around to see 'Access Denied' on the screen but this time with 'CAL' at the top.
The books stopped falling for a moment or two before starting up again, "What's causing that?" River ducked down, "Is it the little girl?"
"But who is the little girl?" the Doctor asked, "What's she got to do with this place?"
"How does the data core work?" the Professor turned to River, "What's the principle? What is CAL?"
"Ask Mr. Lux," she replied.
The Doctor turned to Lux, "CAL, what is it?"
"Sorry," Lux smirked, "You didn't sign your personal experience contracts."
"Mr. Lux!" he called quickly, seeing the Professor's jaw tense and her hand moving for her blaster, "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!"
"Well, funny thing, Mr. Lux, I don't want to see everyone in this room dead because some idiot thinks his pride is more important."
"Then why don't you sign his contract?" River retorted, "I didn't either. I'm getting worse than you."
"Okay, okay, okay. Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"
"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."
"It's taken three generations of my family just to decode the seals and get back in," Lux remarked.
"Um..." Evangelista called, seeing a panel of the wall behind her open, "Excuse me..."
"Not just now."
"There was one other thing in the last message..." River added.
"That's confidential."
"I trust these two. With my life, with everything."
"You've only just met them!"
"No, they've only just met me."
"Um," Evangelista tried again, "This might be important actually..."
"In a moment!" Lux snapped.
"This is a data extract that came with the message," River held out a small PDA to them.
"'4,022 saved,'" the Doctor read, "'No survivors.'"
"Saved?" the Professor repeated, her eyes narrowing in thought.
"4,022, that's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed," River nodded.
"But how can 4,022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Donna asked.
"That's what we're here to find out."
"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies," Lux remarked.
Suddenly there was a scream and the Doctor bolted out of the room after it, racing through the hidden panel and into a lecture room. The Professor was close behind him, her blaster out and ready, but there was nothing, save dusty books and a skeleton in a shredded white cloth.
"Everybody, careful!" he shouted, "Stay in the light."
"You keep saying that," Proper Dave remarked, "I don't see the point!"
"Who screamed?"
"Miss Evangelista."
"Where is she?"
"Miss Evangelista, please state your current..." River trailed off, speaking into her comm., when her voice echoed from the skeleton, "Please state your current..." she breathed out, "...position," she stepped over, pulling the white cloth forward to reveal the green lights of the communicator on it, "It's her. It's Miss Evangelista."
"We heard her scream a few seconds ago," Anita shook her head, "What could do that to a person in a few seconds?"
"It took far less than a few seconds," the Professor eyed the skeleton, assessing it. It was clean, not even a morsel of flesh still on it.
"What did?"
"Hello?" Evangelista called out of the comm..
"Um, I'm sorry everyone, um, this isn't going to be pleasant," River swallowed, "She's ghosting."
"She's what?" Donna frowned.
"Hello, excuse me? I…I'm sorry, hello? Excuse me?"
"That's...that's her, that's Miss Evangelista!"
"I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just...you know?" Other Dave asked.
"This is her last moment...no, we can't," River snapped, "A little respect, thank you."
"Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?"
"But that's Miss Evangelista," Donna remarked.
"It's a data ghost," the Professor replied.
"She'll be gone in a moment," River nodded before speaking into her comm., "Miss Evangelista, you're fine, just relax. We'll be with you presently."
"What's a data ghost?" Donna asked.
"There's a neural relay in the communicator," the Professor stated, "It lets you send thought mails. Those green lights," she nodded at the blinking lights of Evangelista's comm., "At times it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death."
"Like an after image," the Doctor nodded.
"My grandfather lasted a day," Anita recalled, "Kept talking about his shoelaces."
"She's in there!" Donna gasped.
"I can't see, I can't...where am I?"
"She's just brainwaves now," Proper Dave shook his head, "The pattern won't hold for long."
"She's conscious!" Donna continued, "She's thinking."
"I can't see, I can't...I don't know what I'm thinking."
"She's a footprint on the beach," the Doctor said softly, "And the tide's coming in."
"Where's that woman? The nice woman...is she there?"
"What woman?" Lux frowned.
"She means...I think, she means me," Donna whispered, recalling how she'd talked to the young girl when the others had shunned her help.
"Is she there? The nice woman?"
"Yeah, she's here, hang on," River opened the comm., "Go ahead. She can hear you."
"Hello? Are you there?"
Donna shook her head in horror, not wanting to do it, when the Doctor put a hand on her shoulder, "Help her."
"She's dead."
"Yeah. Help her."
"Hello? Is that the nice woman?"
"Yeah," Donna swallowed hard, "Hello. Yeah, I'm...I'm...I'm here. You OK?"
"What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
"Course I won't. Course I won't tell them."
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh..."
"I won't tell them. I said I won't."
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
"I'm not going to tell them."
The lights started to blink faster, "Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
"She's looping now," River remarked, "The pattern's degrading."
"I can't think, I...don't know, I...I...I...Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream."
"Does anybody mind if I..." River stepped forward and turned off the relay.
"That was...that was horrible," Donna breathed, "That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen…" the Doctor put his arm around her comfortingly as she wept.
"No. It's just a freak of technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her...I'd like a word with that."
"I'll introduce you," the Doctor rushed back to the main room, the rest following, "We're gonna need a packed lunch."
"Hang on," River moved over to her bag, crouching down as the Doctor and Professor joined her, rummaging through it for the meal, pulling out her diary first.
"What's in that book?" the Doctor asked, kneeling down as the Professor remained standing, on alert.
"Spoilers."
"Who are you?"
"Professor River Song, University of..."
"To us. Who are you to us?"
"Again...spoilers," she handed him the lunch box, "Chicken and a bit of salad. Knock yourself out."
He stood up, "Right, you lot. Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada!" he handed the Professor the box to hold as he pulled out the sonic and examined the shadows with it.
"You travel with them, don't you?" the Professor heard River say to Donna, "The Doctor and the Professor, you travel with them."
"What of it?" Donna asked.
"Proper Dave, could you move over a bit?" the Doctor asked as he came to Proper Dave's feet.
"Why?"
"Over there by the water cooler. Thanks," Proper Dave walked off and he continued his task.
"You know them, don't you?" Donna asked River.
"Oh, God, do I know them," she laughed, "We go way back, those two and me. Just not this far back."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"They haven't met me yet. I sent them a message but it went wrong, it arrived too early. This is the Doctor and Professor in the days before they knew me. And the way they look at me…" she shook her head, "He looks right through me and she looks at me like I could be the enemy...and it shouldn't kill me, but it does."
"What are you talking about? Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know them or don't you?"
"Donna!" the Doctor snapped, "Quiet! I'm working."
"Sorry!"
"Donna?" River's eyes widened, "You're Donna? Donna Noble?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"I do know them. But in the future. Their personal future."
"So why don't you know me? Where am I in the future?"
The Doctor leapt to his feet, "OK, we've got a live one! That's not darkness down those tunnels, this is not a shadow. It's a swarm. A man-eating swarm."
He nodded at the Professor and she threw the chicken leg from the box into the shadows. By the time it hit the ground it was bone.
"Vashta Nerada, the piranhas of the air," the Professor explained as the crew gathered, stunned, "Literally translated it means 'the shadows that melt the flesh.' A majority of planets have them in small clusters," she looked at the Doctor, "I've never heard of an infestation on this scale or this aggressive."
He nodded, that was a bad, bad thing.
"What d'you mean, a majority of planets?" Donna frowned, "Not Earth?"
"Mmmm," the Doctor nodded, "Earth, and a billion other worlds. Where there's meat, there's Vashta Nerada. You can see them sometimes, if you look. The dust in sunbeams."
"If they were on Earth, we'd know."
"Nah, normally they live on road kill. But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."
"Every shadow?" River looked around.
"No," the Professor stated, "But any shadow."
"So what do we do?"
"Daleks, aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans, back of the neck. Vashta Nerada..."
"Run," the Doctor cut in, "Just…run."
"Run?" River scoffed, "Run where?"
"This is an index point," the Professor turned to her, going through the different layouts she'd memorized for the Library, "There must be an exit teleport somewhere…"
"The little shop!" Donna exclaimed, "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."
"You're right!" the Doctor cheered, "Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop!"
"OK, let's move it!" Proper Dave grinned, turning to head towards the shop.
"Don't move," the Professor ordered him, a hard edge in her voice that gave him pause.
"Why?" he frowned.
"I'm sorry," the Doctor swallowed, "I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows," everyone looked down at Dave's feet to see two shadows, horrified, save the Professor who simply eyed the shadows with narrowed eyes.
"It's how they hunt," she stated, "They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."
"What do I do?" Dave gasped.
"You stay absolutely still," the Doctor told him, "Like there's a wasp in the room, like there's a million wasps."
"We're not leaving you, Dave," River reassured him.
"Course we're not leaving. Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me."
"On the floor, by my bag," Dave nodded in that direction.
Anita moved to fetch it when the Doctor called out, "Don't cross his shadow!" he took the helmet from her, "Thanks. Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got," he put the helmet on Dave.
"But, Doctor, we haven't got any helmets," Donna reminded him.
"Yeah, but we're safe anyway."
"How are we safe?"
"We're not, that was a clever lie to shut you up. Professor," he turned to the Professor to specify which of the two women he was speaking to, "Any way the suits can help?"
"What good are the damn suits?" Lux cried, "Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit, there was nothing left."
"Custom made suits," she touched River's suit, analyzing it, "Ready for any environment or danger, threaded with mesh density for possibly explosions…" she looked at him, "If we increase that to 800 percent it would make it more difficult for the Vashta Nerada to get in."
He nodded, "OK," he turned to Proper Dave and soniced the suit, "800 percent! Pass it on," he held it up to River but she just held up one of her own, similar but older, with a red light.
"Gotcha!" River smiled.
"What's that?"
"It's a screwdriver."
"It's sonic."
"Yeah, I know. Snap!" she turned and began sealing everyone's suits while the Doctor watched her with suspicion.
He caught the Professor's eye and she nodded.
He reached out and grabbed Donna's hand, "With us, come on!" and dragged her through the shop.
"What are we doing, we're shopping?" Donna asked, confused, "Is it a good time to shop?"
"No talking, just moving! Try it! Right, stand there in the middle," he positioned her on the teleport pod, while the Professor went to the controls, setting them, "It's a teleport. Stand in the middle. Can't send the others, TARDIS won't recognize them."
"What are you doing?"
"You don't have a suit, you're not safe!"
"You don't have a suit, so you're in just as much danger as I am and I'm not leaving..."
"Donna! Let us explain," he pointed at the Professor who pulled a lever and Donna teleported away, he turned to her and grinned, "Oh, that's how you do it!"
"Doctor!" River called, "Professor!"
They ran back to see Proper Dave only had one shadow now, "Where did it go?"
"It's just gone," Proper Dave replied, "I...I looked round, one shadow. See."
"Does that mean we can leave?" River looked at the aliens, "I don't want to hang around here."
"I don't know why we're still here," Lux rolled his eyes, "We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offence..."
"Shut up, Mr. Lux."
"Did you feel anything?" the Professor stepped up to stand before Dave, "An energy transfer?"
"No, no, but, look, it's…it's gone," he turned in a circle to show her.
"Stop there," the Doctor pulled her back, "Stop, stop, stop there, stop moving!"
"They are never just gone," the Professor frowned slightly, eyeing Dave's shadow, "And they never give up."
The Doctor knelt down and started to flash the shadow with the sonic, "Well, this one's benign."
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"No one, they're fine."
"No, seriously, turn them back on!"
"They are on," River called.
"I can't see a ruddy thing."
"Dave, turn round," the Doctor ordered lightly.
Proper Dave turned around to the group, his face invisible in the darkness of the helmet, "What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone, are we safe here?"
"Dave, I want you stay still, absolutely still," Dave stiffened, "Dave...Dave? Dave, can you hear me, are you alright? Talk to me, Dave."
"I'm fine, I'm OK, I'm...I'm fine."
"I want you to stay still, absolutely still."
"I'm fine, I'm OK, I'm…I'm fine. I can't...why can't I? I...I can't...why can't I? I...I can't...why can't I? I..."
"He's gone," River breathed as the lights on the relay started to blink, "He's ghosting."
"Then why is he still standing?" Lux asked.
"Hey!" Proper Dave called, "Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
Cautiously the Doctor moved closer to Proper Dave.
"Doctor, don't!" River shouted.
The Professor crept closer as well, tense, ready to help should anything happen.
"Dave, can you hear me?" the Doctor asked.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" he suddenly grabbed the Doctor by the neck and started choking him, his helmet revealing a skeleton, "Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
The Professor reacted quickly, grabbing Dave's arm and, with a swift jab, snapped his arm which fell limp at his side, freeing the Doctor who the Professor quickly pulled back.
"What did you do!" he demanded as she pulled him away.
"Broke his arm."
He shook his head, now was not the time, and turned to the others, ushering them back, "Back from it, get back, right back!" but then Dave started to slowly approach.
"Doesn't move very fast does it?" River remarked.
"It's a swarm in a suit. But it's learning."
Several shadows suddenly reached out from Dave, across the floor, towards them.
"What do we do?" Lux asked, "Where do we go?"
"See that wall behind you?" River asked, "Duck!" Lux ducked and River pulled out a sonic blaster, cutting a square hole in the wall as the Professor's eyes narrowed.
"Squareness gun!" the Doctor laughed.
"Everybody out. Go, go, go! Move it, move, move! Move it, move, move!"
They ran into the room to see themselves in a shadowy aisle between bookshelves. The Professor rounded on River and grabbed her wrist, holding up the blaster, looking at it, "This is my blaster."
"No time for that now," she turned to look at the dim hallway, the shadows lining it, "You said not every shadow…"
"But any shadow!" the Doctor reemphasized.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Run!" River shouted, leading the way down the hall
~8~
The Doctor stood on a bin in another section of the Library, working on an overhanging lamp with the sonic. The Professor standing by, 'at ease,' keeping a lookout, when River walked over, "Trying to boost the power," he mumbled, "Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down."
"So, what's the plan?" River asked, pointing her own sonic up, making the light stronger, "Do we have a plan?"
"Your screwdriver...looks exactly like mine," the Doctor commented.
"Yeah."
"So does your blaster," the Professor held up her own, "It's mine. Older, but mine."
"You gave it to me."
"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone," the Doctor frowned, "And the Professor doesn't let anyone touch her blaster."
"I'm not anyone."
"Who are you?"
"What's the plan?"
"We teleported Donna back to the TARDIS. If we don't get back there in under five hours, Emergency Program One will activate…"
"Take her home, yeah," River turned to the rest of the group, "We need to get a shift on."
The Doctor looked at his sonic, concerned, "She's not there. I should've received a signal, the console signals me if there's a teleport breach."
"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped. The equipment here's ancient."
The Doctor ran to a node behind them, "Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this Library. Do you have the software to locate her position?"
The node spun around, wearing Donna's face, "Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Donna!" he cried, horrified.
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"How can it be Donna?" River shook her head, "How's that possible?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Oh, Donna…" the Doctor muttered.
"Donna Noble has left the Library."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
River turned around to see Proper Dave at the end of the aisle, the Professor readied her blaster.
"Doctor!" River shouted.
"Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library."
"Doctor, we've got to go," the Professor grabbed his arm and pulled him back, "Now!"
"Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library."
They were cornered as Dave approached them, shadows moving in on them.
"Doctor, Professor, what are we gonna do?" River asked.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
To be continued…
A/N: I HAD to throw that flashback in there. I'm seriously going through a Keta withdrawl and needed SOMETHING even if it was pre-Keta. I really wanted to show that even THEN, the Professor's really been it for the Doctor. I mean, that's the morning after they ran into each other and he's already tracking her down, wanting to help her and check on her, worried about her, already thinking she's cute and nice, choosing to spend time with her over his friend...I bet you can guess who that 'friend' was eh?
According to wikipedia, Nukeball is a game that was played by the Judoon, but is now illegal on their planet. It'll be making another appearance in a few chapters :) And, speaking of future chapters, I just have to say, the Professor's whole 'breaking arms' thing, is going to show up again, and will probably be a very important move in the next chapter as well.
As for the flashbacks for the 10-specials, I'm going to try to do them...IF...I get enough requests submitted (at least 5) :)
So...if there are any flashback/memories/moments you wanted to see but haven't yet (even if it's a passing comment the Doctor made about an offscreen adventure) or if there are any funny/sad/cute moments you wish could have happened between the Doctor/Professor on Gallifrey, even those I've never mentioned in passing throughout the stories (just an example, the Professor gets a cold and the Doctor...well...doctors her...) drop a review with the scene/idea, you could even specify an episode you'd love to see it take place in. You can request/suggest as many scenes as you want until the end of this story, so for another 5 days. I'll probably be using 5 of the requests (I have one idea for a flashback for The End of Time Part 1, but if you have an idea for that chapter, let me know too, I might change it). But never fear, any requests made that don't end up in those chapters might just show up in series 7 or beyond :)