Hello all! Here the next chapter. It was a pretty fun one to write. Really hope you will like it! Also I don't know why but I can't seem to be able to responds to review from the precedent chapter. Everytime I try I have an error message...So thank you so much for all the messages, really. It was really nice to read everything. Like always, tell me what you think of it. It's always nice to know :)
Once again, thanks yo my beta! She is the best.

Chapter 29

"Rose are you okay?" the Doctor screamed as he barged into the room, almost launching a chair into the wall as he looked around frantically, suddenly afraid he was too late for her. The only thing he could see was a skeleton dressed in rags in the corner, looking like it has been here a long time. "Rose?" he screamed again, his voice strangling as the word came out.

"I'm here. I'm ok…" Rose called as she crawled out from under the desk, her face white the snow. She was shaking badly, tears in her eyes. The fear in her was real and it broke the Doctor's hearts.

Without wasting another second, he engulfed her in a desperate hug, trying his best to mold her into his body as she clung to him. "You're ok. You're ok…" he whispered in her hair, making her sob instantaneously.

"Oh my god, Rose what happened?" Donna asked as she entered the room, followed by the rest of the group. She exchanged a worried look with River as the only response from Rose was more tears.

The Doctor looked at them over Rose's shoulder. "Everybody stay in the light please." His voice was subdued but strong.

"I heard Miss Evengelista scream too," said Dave while looking around. "Where is she?"

"Over there…" Rose sniffled as she loosened her grip on the Doctor, facing the group with red eyes while pointing to the skeleton. "I looked at the books only for a second, and when I turned back she was swarmed with black all around and she...she…" The Doctor tried to take her into his embrace once again but she refused, wanting to get it out as quickly as possible. "Evengelista dissolved right in front of my eyes. She was there and then...she was not."

Nobody dared to speak as they watched with horror what was left of the poor Miss Evengelista. River, after a few seconds, squatted. Taking out the communicator on the poor woman suit. She smiled sadly when Donna looked at her with surprise.

"There's a neural relay in the communicator. Sometimes it can hold an impression of a living consciousness for a short time after death. It's not much but if she has a family, I think they will want to hold on to it," she explained while putting it safely away in her suit. "I suggest we get back to the lighted area, we don't know when they will be back…"

Everyone nodded in a somber and subdued manner, leaving the room one by one. As Rose and the Doctor left, Rose looked still very shaken up by the event that took place. Donna was pretty sure the Doctor would refuse to leave her side for now one. She sighed, she was really missing the TARDIS right now…

"So what do we do now?" Donna asked as she sat down right next to Rose and River. "I mean we know it's a killer swarm, but how can we defeat it?"

"You can't," the Doctor replied as he was busy scanning hallways with his sonic. For Daleks: aim for the eyestalk. Sontarans: hit the back of the neck. Vashta Nerada? Run. Just run. Nothing can be done…"

"Reassuring…" muttered Rose with a gulp. She had seen them in action, and it was not an experience she wished to revisit. At least the Doctor had the courtesy to look at least a little bit ashamed for his boldness.

Donna looked a bit freaked out, and sideyed the few shadows she could see around. "Does Earth have them?" she finally asked aloud, her voice a bit unsure, like she didn't really want to know the response.

He hummed in response. "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…Now hush I'm trying to work now."

Donna gave him a hard eye roll. "Yeah sure whatever, it's not like it's a murderous species that eats people alive in 5 seconds flat."

As Rose paled a bit, the image of the poor Miss Evangelista literally disappearing in front of her eyes still printed in her mind, she felt someone elbowing her. She turned around to see River looking at her with a big smile.

"I see he never really changed. At least that is something reassuring."

Rose's eyebrow shot up. "You mean… He is still like that? Even after?" she paused for a second and sighed. "Who am I kidding, he was already like that before. Pretty sure half of his DNA is just 'Oblivious and rude' written in bold letters." She chuckled. "Let's say that makes him endearing."

"Was always your words, not mine," River responded kindly. "At least it's never boring."

"So you know him don't you?" interrupted Donna. She was really curious about the situation and what that could mean exactly.

"Yes, I've known him for a long time," River continued with a smile.

"And do you know me?" Donna finally asked after a few moments of silence. She knew that River had history with Rose. How she talked to her and the way she looked at her, it was as clear as crystal. But she seemed a bit more subdued while dealing with her and she didn't know what that could mean.

River scoffed as if Donna had just told a great joke. "You're Donna Noble," she answered with an air of finality, like it explained everything.

"Ah dammit!" the Doctor exclaimed suddenly, abruptly ending everyone's conversations and making them all turn at once. "This one is not a shadow. It's a swarm. We cannot go that way." He turned around, still focused intensely on whatever scheme he was concocting in his mind. "Lux, where is the exit teleport?"

The old man raised his arms with alarm. "Don't ask me, I haven't memorised the schematics. I'm just the heir."

"Doctor, the little shop," Donna exclaimed suddenly. "They always make you go through the little shop on the way out so they can sell you stuff!"

The Doctor perked up instantly "You're right. Brilliant! That's why I like the little shop. Let's go!"

"Him and his obsession with the shop. Sometimes I wonder about his age," Rose joked to River who cracked a smile at the image.

As they all began to move, the Doctor suddenly jumped in front of her and basically body-blocked her. "Nobody moves," he said, all humor gone from his voice. They all froze in place as he slowly moved to Dave. "I'm so so sorry, Dave. But you've got two shadows."

Dave looked around and could effectively see both shadows around him. "What should I do?" he asked, too frightened to move even a finger.

" It's how they hunt. They latch on to a food source and keep it fresh," the Doctor mumbled, not really helping the situation for Rose, but she was too afraid to say something that could risk making poor Dave move. "You stay absolutely still, like there's a wasp in the room. Like there's a million wasps."

River forced a smile. "We are not leaving you. Right, Doctor?"

The Doctor had the audacity to roll his eyes. "Course we're not leaving him. Where's your helmet?" When Dave automatically went to point he quickly said, "don't point. Just tell me."

"On the floor by my bag," Dave answered while trying to remain calm.

"I'll get it," Rose quickly volunteered. She did her best to retrieve it quickly as possible without crossing any shadow, and while trying her best to not think about Miss Evengelista. She really hoped they could save him. She passed the helmet to the Doctor without saying a word. He smiled briefly and took out his sonic, scanning the helmet before nodding.

"Now, the rest of you, helmets back on and sealed up," he said while putting the helmet that he held in his hand onto Dave's head. "We'll need everything we've got."

"And us?" Donna asked as there has been no plan discussed for them so far.

"We are safe," he replied with a firm voice, clearly trying to convey something he was not feeling.

"How can we be safe without a helmet?" Rose asked dubiously.

The Doctor looked at her for a few seconds, opening and shutting his mouth a few times before sighing. "We're not. I just wanted you to believe that in order to protect you."

Rose bristled at the implication. The Doctor was a very kind man, and she loved him with all her heart, but he tended to forget they were confident and capable women. "Doctor…"

"I know I know, you're not children," he turned his head, already moving on from the discussion. "Professor, anything I can do with the suit?" he asked River, who was looking at them with a slight smile.

"We can increase the mesh density. Dial it up to four hundred percent. Make it a tougher meal," she suggested while searching for something in her suit.

The Doctor nodded and used his screwdriver on Dave's suit. After a few seconds he nodded again in satisfaction. "Eight hundred percent. Pass it on," he said while extending the sonic to her.

River pulled an object from one of her numerous pockets with a triumphant shout. Hers looked more sleek and shiny, but seemed really similar to the one the Doctor had in his hand. "I haven't lost it." She turned to Rose. "Pretty sure everyone would have killed me otherwise," she said with a snort. "Thanks, Doctor, but I got it covered."

The Doctor's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline in surprise. Even Rose and Donna were a bit taken aback by the fact that the woman had one of her own. "That's a sonic," he said with a flat voice.

River looked surprised for a second and then a bit guilty. "I tend to forget we don't know each other technically, so… Spoiler I guess?" Not saying anything else, she turned around and started sonicing all the other spacesuits. It was rather clear where she learned the art of evasion from...

The Doctor looked at her for a second before grabbing Donna and Rose. "With me. Come on."

But Rose resisted and untangled herself from his strong grip. "I will not leave Dave alone."

His visage became somber before becoming flat again. "He is not alone, come on."

"Doctor, she will join us when she is ready. Right Rose?" Donna said with kindness. She had realized that Rose was taking it badly that the Doctor was over protective. She totally understood where the Doctor was coming from, but he had the manner of a neandertal at the moment, and she needed to separate them before an explosion could take place.

Rose smiled. "Yes, I just need a few minutes. I want just to make sure everything is ok here."

The Doctor rolled his eyes and turned around, extremely unhappy with her decision. "Fine. Let's go Donna." And then he took off, almost dragging poor Donna behind him as he started to power walk his way to another room. Rose couldn't help but chuckle at his childishness.

"How are you doing, Dave?" she asked while River was busy helping the others with their spacesuits.

"I have the sudden urge to go running, but except for that… just peachy," Dave answered, his voice betraying his fear.

Rose wanted to pat him on the shoulder but she was afraid to cross something she shouldn't. "Look it's only for a few minutes, ok? I'm sure the Doctor has an idea on how to help you. Do you have a family?"

"A son and wife yeah. We've been married 16 years in three months. My son is 14 now, almost a man." You could hear pride in his voice and sadness, and that broke Rose's heart. She really hoped they could save his life, and she desperately wanted to tell him anything - even if it were to merely give him faith. But she said too many empty words in her life, and she was not ready to say another one.

"I'm finished," River said as she walked beside her. "How are you hanging there, Dave?"

"Would be better with a beer," he responded with humor.

River smiled brightly. "The next one is on me, promise. And you Rose?"

But her attention was on the sonic in River hand. The Doctor's sonic, or at least something remarkably alike. "How did you have a sonic? Does the Doctor give it to you?"

"Well…" River began before her eyes widened as she happened to glance at Dave. "Doctor!" she screamed. "Look, the shadow is gone!" she said in a somewhat normal voice, walking around Dave to be sure.

The Doctor came running, but he was alone and Rose could not see Donna anywhere. She had a sudden suspicion on what the Doctor had done. What he probably wanted to do to her too. She felt her anger start to boil at the realisation.

"What?" he exclaimed as Dave turned around to see for himself, relieved to move again. "Where did it go?" he asked looking around with incredulity.

"It's just gone. I looked round. One shadow… See?" Dave said, his voice brimming with happiness.

"Does that mean we can go?" started River. "Because…"

"Where is Donna, Doctor?" Rose cut in with a sharp voice. Her whole demeanor was now stiff and cold.

The Doctor was silent for a few seconds, no one dared to move as the air grew colder around them. "In the TARDIS…" he finally said grudgingly.

Rose took a step forward, the coldness moving to anger and indignation. "Did you trick her? Like you tried so many times before? Did you even ask her first, or did you close the door on her like you did to me?" She took another step, making the Doctor, and everyone around him moved back a bit. "Were you hoping we would go together? So we could what… Braid each other's hair while you save the day? That's what you wanted to do?" her voice was ice cold and full of fury.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" Dave suddenly exclaimed, making them all turn at once, breaking the tension that was building fast. He was looking at the wall, who had a bright light right in front of him.

"No one?" said the Doctor finally while exchanging a look with River.

"No seriously, turn them back on. I can't see a ruddy thing," he continued, still having his back to them.

The Doctor already had his sonic in hand, moving around Dave with a puzzled expression. "That's weird… They never give up normally," he muttered, more for himself than anyone else.

The declaration made Rose freeze in place - dreading the sudden implication."Can you turn around Dave?" she asked, still terrified of the possibilities. She was really hoping that she was wrong, but as Dave turned around and finally faced them, his visor was completely dark. "Oh my god!" she yelled, leaping back right into Mister Lux who almost tripped in surprise.

"What's going on? Why can't I see? Is the power gone? Are we safe here?" said Dave as he continued to stand completely still.

"Dave, I want you to keep doing what you're doing and remain completely still," the Doctor said as he moved in front of Rose, taking her hands without looking at her, his attention completely focused on Dave. "Absolutely still, ok?"

But instead Dave started to jerk like a puppet without string. Silently they all took a step back, including the Doctor.

"Talk to me, Dave," the Doctor continued while forcing the others to move back cautiously a step at a time. "Dave, can you hear me?"

Dave jerked once again, making a violent move to the right, crashing into a pile of books. "I'm fine. I'm okay. 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?" he said in an endless panic. The comm unit on his combinaison started to blink as he said it again and again.

"Too late, he's ghosting…" River said sadly.

"Oh..." Rose said, her eyes getting wet at the idea they had lost him so fast, as Dave moved more and more erratically.

"I know it's hard, but at least we tried." explained River as everyone nodded gloomily around them."I promise you, his family will know he didn't go in vain."

"Thank you, River..." Rose said before grabbing the Doctor by the collar as he was almost touching Dave's helmet. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked coldly, forcing him to move back.

The Doctor looked vaguely sheepish. "I wanted to see if he could still hear me."

She rolled her eyes at his lack of self control. "You can do that at a distance, thank you." She turned to the rest of them, and pointed to the illuminated area further from Dave's corpse. "Everyone, move back!" she said in her best commanding officer voice, making the rest of the group move as one. "We needs a plan ASAP! We cannot lose another person. Am I clear?" She turned to her friend who was suspiciously quiet. "Doctor?"

His eyes were still in Dave's direction, squinting behind his glasses. "I think Dave is moving toward us."

As they all turned to Dave, he effectively took a step, his path a bit more assured than before.

"What do we do? Where do we go?" Lux screamed in sheer panic, grabbing Rose and Proper Dave by the sleeve.

"I have an idea!" River exclaimed as she took out a gun from one of her many pockets. "May I?" she asked both the Doctor and Rose, eagerness written all over her face, making her look like a kid on christmas.

They looked at each other, amusement in the Doctor eyes and weariness in Rose's. As she frowned, his smile became more and more prominent. After a few seconds of silence pleading and pouting, Rose sighed and relented begrudgingly. "Fine, do it." The Doctor and River celebrated by high fiving each other, and Rose had the sudden and weird urge to see what the Doctor would be like as a dad. She entertained the idea of River as his daughter for a few seconds, but soon squashed it as she remembered the time he told her he was not compatible with a human. Before she could pounder more on it, River had blown up a wall, making a perfect square hole in it.

"Squareness gun!" the Doctor squealed in a child-like glee.

"Yeah yeah you can talk about it later when we don't have a zombie on our back!" Rose muttered sarcastically. "Can we move now?"

"Go, go, go!" River said to the rest of the group, who started to run like they were on fire. Soon followed by Rose and the Doctor, who had finally stopped being stubborn.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" They could hear echoing around them as they ran, changing direction everytime they were stopped by shadow. After a time, when they could only hear silence they finally stopped. While a few of them were trying to catch their breath, the Doctor was sonicing the light around, trying to make them more bright. "I'm trying to boost the power. Light doesn't stop them, but it slows them down," he explained to River, who was looking intensely at what he was doing.

She nodded and her face illuminated suddenly like a christmas tree. "What setting did you use? If we are both using our sonics, we can go faster!" she suggested while taking out her own sonic.

"Your screwdriver looks exactly like mine," he commented, his demeanor totally unreadable.

"I would say hers look like a better version of yours. No offense, Doctor," Rose chimed in with a smirk.

River shrugged. "Well, you gave it to me so…"

"I don't give my screwdriver to anyone," he cut her off with a harsh and gruff tone.

Rose could see that River had subdued instantaneously as his words, making her wonder once again what was her link with them in the future. How could a few words from them have that much of an impact on her? She seemed so assured and so strong all around. "Doctor," interrupted Rose. "Maybe right now is not the time? We have a swarm hell bent on eating us alive, so maybe we could talk about that later?"

He deflated. "You're right sorry… Settings 126" he said in River's direction as he turned around to continue his work.

"And what is the plan in its entirety?" she asked while setting her own sonic to the same setting he was using.

He mumbled a fews words and turned his back to them, giving the impression he was fully engrossed in his task. The two women exchanged a look before Rose rolled her eyes. Seriously that man was worse than Tony when he was a toddler. "Doctor, what is the plan?" she asked while crossing her arms, showing him she was waiting for a response and would not move until she had it.

"If we don't get back in under five hours, emergency program one will activate and the TARDIS and Donna will be sent back to Earth," he answered, his back still turned to them.

"What?!" Rose yelled louder than she probably intended. "Oh my god, Doctor... Having one companion looking at the heart of the TARDIS was not enough for you? You had to try a second time for the laugh?" She was furious, absolutely furious but also terrified at the same time. Because she knew Donna, she was a strong headed girl who would not let the Doctor, or anyone else risk their life while she was looking from the sidelines and neither would the TARDIS. That was a disaster in the making and the Doctor knew it. He knew it and still sent her away. What a bloody moron.

"I just wanted her safe, ok?" the Doctor yelled back just as loud.

Rose threw her hands up, and was trying her best to not strangle him right there and then. "She's gonna murder you, you know know that right? Just as soon as we get back to the TARDIS. You're a dead Time Lord! And this time, I'm gonna laugh while you regenerate. I might even help Donna if we all manage to get out of here alive."

"I know!" he shot back, the fight leaving him little by little as it was replaced by worry when he suddenly said, "I should have received a signal. The console signals me if there's a teleport breach. Hell, I should have received a message from Donna screaming into my ear right now."

"You risked teleporting her into the TARDIS using old outdated technology?!" Rose shouted as she glared at him. "God, you really are an idiot sometimes."

"I see a Node in that corner, maybe we can ask the Library? The equipment is pretty old, so maybe they slipped through," River suggested diplomatically while placing herself between them, showing without doubt she had experience when it came to calming these two down.

"Yeah, you're right. I mean this planet was under quarantine with no one around for a hundred years, some things have probably stopped working…" He exhaled a long deep breath. He knew he had fucked up big time. But imagining both of them dying on a planet so far away with a death so horrible… It terrified him. Especially after he was finally starting to move forward with Rose. Sure things were moving at a snail's pace, but it was still something. But he had let his hearts make the decisions, and he knew that even if he had to go back in time (oh the irony), he would do the exact same thing. Even convince Rose to come with them first. "Donna Noble. There's a Donna Noble somewhere in this library. Do you have the software to locate her position?" he asked the Node. He would have prefered a screen but beggars can't be choosers like the saying went.

The Node turned its face slowly, facing them with a wide smile, making them all gasp with shock and horror. She had Donna's face. "Donna Noble has left the library. Donna Noble has been saved," the Node responded pleasantly in a voice similar to Donna's.

"Doctor, how can that be Donna?" Rose asked in a raised tone, her eyes wide and terrified.

"Is that even possible?" River added in just as much a horrified voice as Rose. The Node was repeating her phrase in the background again and again.

"I don't know! She is supposed to be in the TARDIS!" the Doctor yelled, his hands on his hair, pacing back and forth. Donna was supposed to be safe, she was supposed to be far from everything. He was supposed to keep her safe.

As the Node continued to repeat herself, they heard another noise in the distance, a shuffling noise.

"What is that?" Anita asked, terrified beyond belief.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?" the dead voice of Dave called out suddenly, the sound coming closer and closer.

"Run!" River yelled. Rose didn't have to be told twice and she took off at full speed. Trying to put enough distance between them and the swarm, with the others following instantly. But they didn't get far, only three corridors down and all parts were surrounded by shadow. Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look, agreeing with a nod that they had to go back and find another way. But when they turned around, the path they came down was engulfed in the dark. They were surrounded by shadows.

"What do we do?" Rose asked desperately while trying to find somewhere that was still even vaguely illuminated. But she could only see darkness. And as they looked at each other helplessly, the sound of the swarm could be heard in the distance.

"Hey, who turned out the lights?"