Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for the reviews. They really made my night. :)
Donna and The Doctor headed back to the room where they had parked the TARDIS, where they thought they had heard the computerised voice coming from. Donna was amazed to see the vaguely human-shaped, statue that reminded her of an art nouveau vase move, the top part spinning to show a very lifelike face. "I am Courtesy Node seven-one-zero-slash-aqua. 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 said, half-wanting some science-y explanation for once.
The Doctor made a face, as if he was thinking, and then brushed off the statement. "Yeah, don't worry about it." He had a feeling Donna's twenty-first century sensibilities regarding the dead would not take the fifty-first's very well.
Donna wasn't so easily put off. The fact that he wasn't going off on an explanation, even a short one, was odd and therefore worrying. "A statue with a real face, though? It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"
"No, but really, it's fine." The Doctor replied very quickly. He was saved from having to explain by the node.
"Additional. There follows a brief message from the Head Librarian for your urgent attention. It has been edited for tone and content by a Felman Lux Automated Decency Filter. Message follows. Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. I can't remember...Silence will fall... Oh, they're here. Argh. Slarg. Snick. Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm units for the comfort of other readers." There was something disturbing about the way it read the message in an almost cheerful monotone.
The Doctor was perplexed, but he knew it had to have something to do with the distress call. "So that's why we're here. Any other messages, same date stamp?" He patently ignored the look Donna gave him.
"One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of five zero eleven." The node replied.
"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine. Just play it." The Doctor said, speaking over the warning. Stupid fifty-first century automated censors.
"Message follows. Don't look away. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, when you see them, don't look away. Message ends."
This sounded too much like an old enemy for the Doctor's comfort. "Donna?" He said keeping his voice even as he looked around for anything resembling angels.
"Yeah?" Donna asked, feeling that odd creeping feeling over her skin.
"If you see an angel statue, don't look away." The Doctor said, scanning the empty room yet again. "They can't move if you're looking at them."
"Angels?" Donna said, voice rising. "What's angels got to do with anything? Is this another robot Santa thing?" The Doctor didn't answer, leading them into the stacks, and as much as Donna trusted the daft spaceman, he was going to start talking or she was walking straight back to the TARDIS. Well, not really, but she could pretend. The daft alien would probably get himself killed without her. "So, We weren't just in the neighbourhood."
The Doctor turned to face his understandably peeved companion. She had been looking forward to a beach, and he had pulled her into a library full of mysteries that weren't in books. "Yeah, I kind of, sort of lied a bit. The TARDIS picked up a plea for help."
"Who's it from?" Donna asked, processing this information, and losing a bit of her anger. Cries for help were understandable.
"No idea." The Doctor replied, with half a shrug, looking about the silent library.
Okay, that was slightly more irritating. Donna let out a puff of air. The man had to know he couldn't save everyone, answer every distress call in the universe. "So why did we come here? Why did you..."
The Doctor noticed that it was suddenly getting darker, and interrupted his companion's well-deserved lecture. "Donna!"
"What?" Dona asked. and then saw the lights from the way they had come going out. "What's happening?"
The Doctor had only one answer as he grabbed her hand. "Run!" They headed for the nearest door, but he couldn't seem to get it open. He tried to find a setting on his screwdriver as quickly as he could, but it wasn't quite quick enough. "Come on!"
Donna was approaching irate, as she was literally being chased by darkness. "What, is it locked?"
"Jammed. The wood's warped." The Doctor said, as he tried to force it.
Donna's hands fluttered as the darkness got closer. "Well, sonic it. Use the thingy!"
The Doctor was doing his best, and his tone was a bit short as he answered. "I can't, it's wood!"
"What, it doesn't do wood?" Donna asked in disbelief. His magic screwdriver could do a million things, but couldn't do the one thing a screwdriver was supposed to do? See if she ever let him bleep her again.
"Hang on, hang on. I can vibrate the molecules, fry the bindings. I can shatterline the interface..." The Doctor said, in a last ditch effort.
Donna rolled her eyes. "Oh, get out of the way!" She kicked the door open and the two rushed into the room. She watched as The Doctor jammed a book into the handles to prevent whatever it was from chasing them from doing the same thing.
The Doctor took a deep breath and shook his head. "Nice door skills, Donna."
Donna resisted the urge to snort, remembering the time when she had to kick in her own door because one of her pathetic exes had changed the locks. Her own locks! "Yeah, well, you know, boyfriends. Sometimes you need the element of surprise. What was that? What was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"
"Possibly." The Doctor admitted. He was beginning to doubt his theory of the Weeping Angels. They were able to drain lights, but there was something different about this, but if it wasn't the angels, what was it?
"Are we safe here?" Donna asked, nervously. Darkness couldn't be stopped by a book in a door, could it?
"Of course we're safe." The Doctor lied, for her peace of mind. "There's a little shop."
Suddenly, another node turned, this one with a male face. "Attention: The library is breached. Others are coming."
Donna was instantly on alert, and looked at The Doctor, who shrugged. So, she went up to the node. "Others? What do you mean, others?"
The Doctor leaned back against a desk. "That's barely more than a speak your weight machine, it can't help you."
"So why's it got a face?" Donna asked.
Before The Doctor could answer, the node let the flesh out of the bag, apparently thinking Donna was still talking to it. Either that or it wanted to get the Time Lord in trouble. "This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death."
"It's a real face?" Donna asked, a note of hysteria entering her voice, which surprised The Doctor slightly. He had expected anger.
The node answered her, possibly winning the award for the worst at helping. "It has been actualised 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." Donna asked, the hysterical note in her voice rising further.
"It's the fifty first century. That's basically like donating a park bench." The Doctor replied, trying to keep her calm.
"It's donating a face!" Donna said, a bit shrilly to her own ears. Didn't he see what was wrong with this?
The Doctor was distracted by something he saw moving past the plate-glass window in the shop. "No, wait, what are you?" He called out.
Donna stared at him in confusion, glancing behind her. "Doctor, what are you talking to?"
"What?" The Doctor asked, looking back at her. "Did you say something?"
The node apparently took this as instruction. "Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming. Reminder. The library has been breached. Others are coming."
As if in answer, another door blasted open, and seven figures entered, all dressed in black suits. The lead man lowered his silver gun slowly, and spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. "Doctor?" He looked over his shoulder. "Amy!"
The group behind him parted, to allow an eighth figure to step up from behind him, tapping on a small tablet. "What is it, Canton?" She looked up, and saw The Doctor. "Doctor? What happened to having to stopping a paradox?" She trailed off as she caught sight of Donna. "Or...this was the paradox."