"I'm trying to call up the data core," Proper Dave told them as they walked over, "but it's not responding. Just that noise."
"But it's a phone!" Donna said.
"Let me try something." The Doctor said, using the sonic screwdriver on it.
The screen now showed the Library logo with 'ACCESS DENIED' over it.
"Well, that was a complete fail so why don't we let the professional of the trio try, shall we?" Luna asked, plucking the sonic from out of his hand then flipping it into the air with a huge grin. All the Doctor could do was roll his eyes while River chuckled quietly though it had a hint of sadness to it.
It didn't take Lu long to hack into it and before they knew it, a little girl appeared on the screen where all the group could take a good gander at her.
"Voilà."
"Hello?" he called, pulling Luna to his side and slipping an arm around her waist in order to briefly hug her to him. Maybe joining Torchwood hadn't been that bad as she seemed to have learned a lot of useful things during her time on Earth.
"Hello." The girl replied, turning around to the TV. "Are you in my television?"
"Nah honey. We're currently in space after following a mysterious note from my newest friend, River Song." The female alien said, leaning forward to whisper "She's an archaeologist. Not too bad but he doesn't like them." she shared, gesturing to the Timelord by her side with a nod of her head.
"I, I was trying to call up the data core of a triple-grid security processor."
"And I managed to get my wires crossed and accidentally call up your TV. Sorry about that." Lu muttered as blood rushed to her cheeks, causing the ivory skin to tint a bright crimson colour which almost matched the shade of her hair.
"Would you like to speak to my dad?" the girl asked.
"Dad or your mum, that'd be lovely." The Doctor told her.
"I know you!" the girl said suddenly. "You were in my Library."
"Your Library?" the Doctor repeated.
"The Library's never been on the television before." She told him. "What have you done?" she asked, directing the question to the woman by his side.
"Ah, I…I just rerouted the interface…"
The connection broke, filling the screen with those damn words again.
'ACCESS DENIED'
"What happened?" River asked. "Who was that?"
The Doctor continued to push buttons on the terminal, but nothing happened, so he ran across the room to the terminal where River's things were.
"I need another terminal." He told them. "Keep working on those lights, we need those lights!"
"You heard him, people." River said. "Let there be light."
While he was working on the terminal, the Doctor spotted River's diary on the desk. After a moment's internal debate, he reached for it, only for it to be grabbed away by River.
"Sorry." She told him. "You're not allowed to see inside the book, it's against the rules."
"What rules?" he asked.
"Your rules." She replied.
Suddenly, books began to fly off the selves.
"What's that?" the Doctor asked. "I didn't do that. Loony girl?"
"Safe to say, I'm not throwing books at us when I'm nowhere near them."
The Doctor turned back to the terminal. It said 'ACCESS DENIED' still, but now it said CAL on top.
"What's CAL?" the Doctor asked.
When the books finally stopped flying, Donna walked over to Miss Evangelista, who seemed very distressed by everything that was happening around her.
"You're all right?" she asked the woman.
"What's that?" she asked. "What's happening?"
"I don't know." Lux answered.
"Oh, thanks for… you know…offering to help with the lights." Donna told her, trying to calm her.
"They don't want me." Miss Evangelista told her. "They think I'm stupid, 'cause I'm pretty."
"Course they don't." Donna told her. "Nobody thinks that."
"No, they're right though." She replied. "I'm a moron, me. My dad said I have the IQ of plankton, and I was pleased."
"See, that's funny." Donna told her, laughing.
"No…no, I, I really was pleased." Miss Evangelista said. "Is that funny?"
"No, no." Donna replied.
Books started to fly again.
"What's causing that?" River asked. "Is it the little girl?"
"But who is the little girl?" The Doctor asked. "What's she got to do with this place?"
A group of books fell while another set went flying through the air to hit Luna in the head. Growling, she picked it off of the floor then tossed it against the wall with all the strength she could muster.
"Right now, I want to put her over my knee.." she grumbled, making the Doctor, Donna and River laugh at her face.
"How does the data core work?" the Doctor asked. "What's the principle? What's CAL?"
"Ask Mr. Lux." River told him.
"CAL, what is it?" he asked again, turning to Mr. Lux.
"Sorry." Lux replied. "You didn't sign your personal experience contracts."
"Mr. Lux, right now, you're in more danger than you've ever been in your whole life." The Doctor told him. "And you're protecting a patent?"
"I'm protecting my family's pride." He replied.
"No offence to you but I don't fancy seeing everyone in this room get murdered by flesh eating parasites because some idiot has the delusion that his pride is more important than their lives. Now, you're going to tell Theta what CAL is before I throw you in the TARDIS, take you to the closest black hole and throw you." Lu threatened but once again, he decided he wasn't going to take any cheek from a teenager so, drawing himself up to his full height, he stomped towards her.
"I'd like to see you try kid. I funded this operation and the only thing I care about at present is the preservation of my family's good name and pride." When he got to the point where there was nothing more than an inch between their faces, she grabbed his suit then dragged him forward so she could whisper into his ear.
"Right now, the only things I care about is everyone in this room who isn't you so can you see the predicament this puts me in? Now shut up and do exactly what the Doctor tells you.". Theta, seeing that she was getting a little annoyed, placed a hand on her shoulder to carefully move her away from the ignorant human.
"Okay, okay, okay." The Doctor said. "Let's start at the beginning. What happened here? On the actual day, a hundred years ago, what physically happened?"
In the Library, a wall opened and no one noticed but Miss Evangelista.
"There was a message from the Library." River told the Doctor. "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 told him.
"Um…excuse me…"Miss Evangelista called.
"Not just now." Lux replied.
"There was one other thing in the last message…" River said.
"That's confidential." Lux told her.
"I trust this man." River told him. "With my life, with everything."
"You've only just met him!" Lux protested.
"No, he's only just met me." River replied.
"Um…this might be important actually…" Miss Evangelista tried again.
"In a moment!" Lux replied.
"This is a data extract that came with the message." River said, handing the Doctor a handheld.
"4022 saved." The Doctor read. "No survivors."
"What the heck does that mean? 'Well, we saved them... but they died anyway. Oh well, butter fingers?'" Luna asked.
"4022, that's the exact number of people who were in the Library when the planet was sealed." River told her.
"But how can 4022 people have been saved if there were no survivors?" Donna asked.
"That's what we're here to find out." River replied.
"And so far, what we haven't found are any bodies." Lux added.
Suddenly, they heard a scream and they took off running through the opening in the wall. They arrived in a lecture room, but they only found a skeleton.
"Everybody, careful!" the Doctor called. "Stay in the light."
"You keep saying that." Proper Dave said. "I don't see the point!"
"Who screamed?" Luna asked.
"Miss Evangelista." Proper Dave replied.
"Where is she?" the Doctor asked.
"Miss Evangelista," River called into her communicator, "please state your current…"
They all turned when they heard River's voice coming from the direction of the skeleton.
"Please state your current…" She trailed off, realizing the horrifying truth. "…position." She whispered.
She walked over to the skeleton and moved the remains of a collar to reveal the green lights of Miss Evangelista's communicator.
"It's her." River confirmed. "It's Miss Evangelista."
"We heard her scream a few seconds ago." Anita said. "What could do that to a person in a few seconds?"
"It took a lot less than a few seconds." The Doctor told her.
"What did?" Anita asked.
"Hello?" Miss Evangelista's voice called from the communicator.
"Um, I'm sorry everyone, um, this isn't going to be pleasant." River said. "She's ghosting."
"She's what?" Donna asked.
Luna looked at the remains of the young girl, her eyes filling with a sadness that Donna had never seen before. The bright sapphire colour turned to a deep navy as a few tears built up though they didn't fall. Instead, she simply closed her eyes, whispered something in a language she'd never heard then left the room, unable to look.
The Doctor watched her leave before turning back to the group.
"Hello, excuse me?" the voice called again. "I-I'm sorry, hello? Excuse me?"
"That's…that's her." Donna said. "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 told him. "A little respect, thank you."
"Sorry, where am I?" the voice asked. "Excuse me?"
"But that's Miss Evangelista." Donna repeated.
"It's a data ghost; she'll be gone in a moment." River told her, reaching up to her communicator. "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, lets you send thought mails." The Doctor explained. "That's it there, those green lights. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. Like an after image."
"My grandfather lasted a day." Anita said. "Kept talking about his shoelaces."
"She's in there!" Donna protested.
"I can't see, I can't…" the voice said. "Where am I?"
The Doctor, Donna and River could hear a few muffled sobs floating in from the other room, knowing instantly whom they belonged to. Despite the fact that they wanted to go see how she was doing, none of them left.
"She's just brain waves now." Proper Dave said. "The pattern won't hold for long."
"She's conscious!" Donna said. "She's thinking."
"I can't see, I can't…" the voice continued. "I don't know what I'm thinking."
"She's a footprint on the beach." The Doctor told Donna. "And the tide's coming in."
"Where's that woman?" the voice asked. "The nice woman…is she there?"
"What woman?" Lux asked.
"She means…I think, she means me." Donna said.
"Yeah, she's here, hang on." River told her. "Go ahead. She can hear you."
"Hello?" the voice called. "Are you there?"
Donna shook her head in horror.
"Help her." The Doctor said.
"She's dead." Donna protested.
"Hello?" the voice called. "Is that the nice woman?"
"Yeah." Donna said hesitantly. "Hello. Yeah, I'm, I'm…I'm here. You okay?"
"What I said before, about being stupid." The voice said. "Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
"Course I won't." Donna told her. "Course I won't tell them."
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh…" she repeated.
"I won't tell them." Donna said. "I said I won't.
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh…"
"I'm not going to tell them." Donna repeated.
The green lights were now blinking.
"Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh…"
"She's looping now." River said. "The pattern's degrading."
"I can't think," the voice said. "I…don't know, I…I…I…Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream."
She just kept repeating it.
"Does anyone mind if I…?" River asked.
She stepped over to the skeleton and turned off the relay.
"That was…that was horrible." Donna said, in tears. "That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen."
The Doctor laid his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.
"No." River replied. "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 said.
He led them back to the other room.
"I'm gonna need a packed lunch." The Doctor said.
"Hang on." River told him.
They crouched next to her bag as she searched for the food. She pulled out the TARDIS book.
"What's in that book?" the Doctor asked.
"Spoilers." River replied.
"Who are you?" he asked her.
"Professor River Song, University of…"
"To me." He interrupted. "Who are you to me and Luna?"
"Again…spoilers." River answered.
She handed a lunch box to him.
"Chicken, and a bit of salad." She told him. "Knock yourself out."
After a long look, he finally stood up.
"Right, you lot." He said. "Let's all meet the Vashta Nerada!"