The Doctor was on the floor, examining shadows, while Luna wandered around.
"You travel with them, don't you?" River asked Donna. "The Doctor and Lu, you travel with them."
"What of it?" Donna asked.
Going around the room, the Doctor arrived at Proper Dave's feet.
"Proper Dave, could you move over a bit?" he asked.
"Why?" Proper Dave asked.
"Over there by the water cooler." The Doctor told him. "Thanks."
Proper Dave sighed, but did as he said.
"You know them, don't you?" Donna asked.
"Oh, god, do I know those two." River replied. " We go back, that pair and me. Sadly, just not this far back."
"I'm sorry, what?" Donna asked.
"They haven't met me yet. I sent them a message but it's all gone wrong and arrived too early. This is still the Doctor and his Loony but in the days before they knew me. When they look at me, they look right through me and it shouldn't kill me but it does."
"What are you talking about?" Donna asked. "Are you just talking rubbish? Do you know them or don't you?"
"Donna!" The Doctor called. "Quiet! I'm working."
"Theta, there are a few things called manners." The crimson haired Gideon shouted, glaring at him through narrowed eyes which caused Donna to laugh.
"Sorry!" he called back.
"Donna?" River asked. "You're Donna? Donna Noble?"
"Yeah." Donna replied. "Why?"
"I do know the Doctor." River told her. "But in the future. His personal future."
"So why don't you know me?" Donna demanded. "Where am I in the future?"
However, before River could offer her any answer, the Doctor's voice echoed throughout the room.
"Okay, we've got a live one!" the Doctor called.
Rolling her eyes, Luna collected the pair of chatting women before leading them over to the time lord's side. When she got there, her hand instinctively moved to rest on his shoulder while he remained crouched down, as though to assure herself that he wouldn't teeter forwards and into the shadows.
"That's not darkness down in those tunnels and this isn't shadows. It's a swarm. A man eating swarm." He told the assembled group around him before very carefully tossing a chicken leg into the thick black shadows but by the time it hit the ground, all the meat had been completely stripped to leave only the bone.
"They're like piranha of the air, the Vashta Nerada. Literally, it translates to ' the shadows that melt flesh' though people on Earth call them 'Umbra Vivus' which means 'Living shadows'." Luna explained briefly, allowing Theta to continue the explanation.
"Most planets have them but usually in small clusters. I've never seen an infestation on this scale, or this aggressive."
"What do you mean, most planets?" Donna asked. "Not Earth?"
"Mmhmm, Earth, and a billion other worlds." The Doctor told her. "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." Donna replied.
"No offence babe but humans aren't exactly the most observant race out there. Lets see it this way, Theta here parks a police box everywhere and hardly anyone notices except that LINDA lot but they're harmless enough." Lu babbled until the time lord cut in.
"Besides, they normally live on road kill." The Doctor added. "But sometimes people go missing. Not everyone comes back out of the dark."
"Every shadow?" River asked.
"No." the Doctor asked. "But any shadow."
"So what do we do?" River asked.
"Daleks – aim for the eyestalk." He told her, making a brief gesture to his eyes.
"Sontarans are at the back of the neck." Donna added, causing the Gideon to laugh quietly at the startled look on the Doctor's face.
"Molluscari... Boil the aggressive space oysters but Vashta Nerada, there's only one thing you can do." Luna explained, her eyes trailing to the door.
"Run. Just run."
"Run?" River asked. "Run where?"
"This is an index point." The Doctor said. "There must be an exit teleport somewhere."
"Don't look at me, I haven't memorized the schematics!" Lux told them.
"Doctor, the little shop!" Donna said. "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff."
"Yeah, I hate when they do that. I literally had to buy a life supply of jelly babies the last time I went shopping with him."
"Really?" The ginger temp asked as the pair of women walked towards the little shop, arms linked together while avoiding any shadows which may have crossed their paths.
"Yeah. Got confused and took too much to Victorian London so when I asked for a pounds worth, the shop keeper went completely bonkers... rushing around with this huge white bag. Theta had to help me finish them." When the pair had gone through the door, Proper Dave tried to follow but the Doctor stopped him.
"Actually, Proper Dave, could you stay where you are for a moment?" he asked the man.
"Why?" he replied.
"I'm sorry." The Doctor said. "I am so, so sorry. But you've got two shadows."
Everybody looked at Proper Dave in mixed horror and pity.
"It's how they hunt." The Doctor told them. "They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh."
"What do I do?" Proper Dave asked.
"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 told him.
"'Course we're not leaving." The Doctor said. "Where's your helmet? Don't point, just tell me."
"On the floor, by my bag." He told him.
Anita went and got the helmet.
"Don't cross his shadow!" The alien snapped, taking the helmet from her.
"Thanks." He said. "Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up. We'll need everything we've got." he murmured, putting the helmet onto Proper Dave.
"Professor, anything I can do with the suit?" the Doctor asked.
"What good are the damn suits?" Lux demanded. "Miss Evangelista was wearing her suit, there was nothing left."
"We can increase the mesh-density, dial it up 400%." She told the Doctor, ignoring Lux. "Make it a tougher meal."
"Okay." He replied, sonicing Proper Dave's suit. "800%! Pass it on."
He went to hand the screwdriver to River, but she held up her own.
"Gotcha!" she said.
"What's that?" the Doctor asked.
"It's a screwdriver." She replied.
"It's sonic." He said.
"Yeah, I know." She said. "Snap!"
He stood, staring at her for a few minutes then shook his head, not bothering to ask before dashing into the little gift shop where Lu was tinkering with the teleport system while Donna kept herself entertained by glancing at all the little knick-knacks which decorated the many shelves.
"Is it a good time to shop?"
"No talking, just moving!" he told her. "Try it! Right, stand there in the middle. It's a teleport. Stand in the middle. Can't send the others, TARDIS won't recognize them."
"What are you doing?" Donna demanded.
"You don't have a suit, you're not safe!" he told her.
"But you and Luna don't have suits, so you're in just as much danger as I am and I'm not going to leave..." she ranted but Lu quickly cut through it by jumping up, holding the ginger's hand for a couple of moments.
" We want ya to be safe. To us, this is just a day at the office and we'll be with ya before ya can say ' What the hell have they gotten themselves into now?'... To be fair though, ya might wanna say it a quite slow."
"B-But.."
"Donna!" the Doctor interrupted. "Let me explain."
He pressed a button and she disappeared though luckily, there was enough time for Luna to release her hold on the woman.
"Well, that's another way of doing it though she's gunna be annoyed at ya."
"Then why don't you go and convince her to be forgiving when I get back?" He asked casually, hoping to fool her into going back to the TARDIS but all she did was look at him, an eyebrow raised.
"You ain't getting rid of me that easily Theta." She told him firmly, causing his lips to twitch upwards briefly.
"I didn't think so." With that said, he put an arm around her waist then yanked her body tightly against his, his lips moving almost desperately over hers. Gasping quietly, she slipped her arms around his neck, closing the space so there was no distance between them. Their hands tangled in each other's hair as they forgot where they were, consumed by the need to be close but Theta quickly recovered, pulling away to rest his forehead against hers.
"W-What was that for?" she whispered, trying to catch her breath.
"I love you." Was all he said in return until they heard River's voice.
"Doctor!" A moment later, the pair took off running.
Donna started to materialise inside the console room of the TARDIS but before the process could finish, she disappeared again with a loud shriek.
"Where did it go?" Theta asked, looking down at the floor while Lu stood by his side, her hand holding his tightly.
"It's just gone." Proper Dave replied. "I…I looked round, one shadow. See."
"Does that mean we can leave?" River asked. "I don't want to hang around here."
"I don't know why we're still here." Lux said. "We can leave him, can't we? I mean, no offence…"
"Shut up." River and Luna snapped at the same time before looking at each other for a couple of moments in subtle shock.
"Did you feel anything?" the Doctor asked Dave. "Like an energy transfer? Anything at all?"
"No, no, but look, it's, it's gone." Proper Dave said, starting to turn around.
"Stop there." The Doctor ordered. "Stop, stop, stop there, stop moving! They're never just gone. And they never give up." he explained, releasing Lu's hand so he could kneel down and scan the shadow with his sonic screwdriver.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Proper Dave suddenly asked.
"No one's touched them Dave, they're still on." The Gideon told him, casting a weird look to Theta who seemed to understand them.
"No, seriously, turn them back on!" Proper Dave told them.
"They are on." River assured.
"I can't see a ruddy thing." He told them.
"Dave, turn around." The Doctor told him.
He turned around slowly and the group saw that his visor was completely blacked out.
"What's going on?" he asked. "Why can't I see? Is the power gone? Are we safe here?"
"Dave, I want you to stay still, absolutely still." The Doctor told him.
Suddenly, Proper Dave stiffened.
"Dave." The Doctor said. "Dave? Dave, can you hear me? Are you all right? Talk to me, Dave."
"I'm fine." He replied. "I'm Ok, I'm…I'm fine."
"I want you to stay still, absolutely still." The Doctor told him.
"Doctor…" Luna said softly.
"I'm fine, I'm OK, I'm…I'm fine."
The lights of Proper Dave's communicator were blinking.
"He's gone." River said. "He's ghosting."
"Then why is he still standing?" Lux asked.
"Hey!" he said suddenly, making them all jump. "Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
Cautiously, the Doctor moved towards him.
"Doctor, don't!" River said.
"Theta, please step away from the potentially dangerous situation. Just this once."
"Dave, can you hear me?" the Doctor asked.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
He grabbed the Doctor and started to choke him. The helmet became illuminated and they saw that only a skeleton was left in the suit.
"Who turned out the lights? Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"I'm sorry Dave... and with all respect." Luna told him, yanking a few wires at the back of the suit. For a few seconds, the built in life support systems began to blare loudly, startling the thing in the suit.
In its shock, the Doctor was released.
"Get back!" the Doctor told the others, his hand reaching for Lu's. "Back from it, get back!"
The group backed away and the thing walked towards them in an awkward manner.
"Doesn't move very fast, does it?" River asked.
"It's basically a swarm in a suit Ray but it's learning quickly." Luna told her, the nickname slipping out easily. River wanted to ask but then the swarm sent out several shadows, attempting to reach for them.
"What do we do?" Lux asked. "Where do we go?"
"See that wall behind you?" River asked. "Duck!"
She pulled out a blaster and created a square whole in the wall.
"Squareness gun!" the Doctor exclaimed.
"Is that you Jack?" The female alien asked jokily, hoping to break the somewhat tense atmosphere as it made her feel uneasy. Luckily for her, River knew exactly how she felt about tension in the air so she played along.
"Please, Jack wishes he was me." River told her. "Now, everybody out. Go, go, go! Move it, move, move! Move it, move, move!" They all turned, running until they reached a shadowy aisle between two huge book shelves.
"Well...you said not every shadow." River said.
"Yes but any shadow!"
"Hey!" the swarm said as it arrived in the aisle. "Who tuned out the lights?"
"Run!" River yelled. Instinctively, Luna and the Doctor grabbed River's hands and began to run, pulling her between them.
"Sweetie, dinner's ready." The girl's Dad called.
"Donna Noble has been saved." She told him.
"Sweetie?" he asked, confused.
The Doctor was fiddling with a lamp, using the sonic on it, while River and Luna stood nearby; the rest of the group collapsed on the floor, panting heavily from running.
"Trying to boost the power." He told them. "Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down."
"But maybe, if we can increase the intensity of the light by... oh... 5000%? It won't stop them but it'll sting a little. If not, we could increase it ten fold, excite the light photons enough that they'll sort of... bounce off of the individual Vasta Nerada and force them apart. Less dangerous if we thin 'em out a lil. Strength in numbers and all that." Lu suggested, her eyes slightly narrowed as she thought about it so she missed the surprised look on the Doctor's face as her idea. Though, while both were lost in thought, River pointed her screwdriver at the lamp and suddenly, the light became brighter; stronger.
"Wait a minute... Is that a sonic screwdriver?" The Gideon asked, staring at it with wide eyes.
"Yes it is...and it looks like mine." Theta replied.
"Yeah." River said. "He gave it to me."
"Oh believe me, he wouldn't give it to anyone! He even hesitates to let me use the damn thing!"
"I'm not anyone." She replied.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"What's the plan?" she deflected.
"I teleported Donna back to the TARDIS." He told her, moving on.
"After I finished tinkering with the machine, of course."
"If we don't get back there in under five hours," he continued, "emergency program one will activate."
"Take her home, yeah." River said. She turned to the rest. "We need to get a shift on."
"Wait... she's not there. The console should signal me if there's a teleport breach, and I didn't receive a signal."
"Well, maybe the coordinates have slipped." River suggested. "The equipment here's ancient."
The Doctor ran to a nearby Node.
"Donna Noble." He said. "There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this Library. Do you have the software to locate her position?"
The Node turned its face and revealed Donna's.
"No!" Luna said, horrified.
"Donna Noble has left the Library." The Node told them. "Donna Noble has been saved."
"Donna!" the Doctor whispered.
"Donna Noble has left the Library." The Node repeated. "Donna Noble has been saved."
"How can it be Donna?" River asked. "How's that possible?"
"Oh, Donna!" the Doctor said softly.
"Not Donna... please, not her." Lu whimpered quietly, a tear rolling down her cheek.
"Donna Noble has left the Library."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
The others began to panic at the sound of the Proper Dave's voice but the two aliens couldn't pull their eyes away from their friend's face which has been incorporated into the Node.
"Doctor!" River called.
"Donna Noble had been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library."
"Doctor, Luna, we've got to go now!" River shouted, grabbing their hands and dragging them after the rest of the group.
"Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
They turned down an aisle, the voices following them ; taunting them.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
They were trapped.
"Doctor, what are we gonna do?" River demanded.
"Hey! Who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved."