Here's the next one. I'm bouncing around on all sorts of things so if there's a fanfic you'd like an update to, please let me know! I can't make any promises but I'll try :) Hope you all enjoy this!
Also, I'm tacking on a mild gore warning for this chapter. I tried to keep it mild but mild to me might not be mild to others.
There was a soft knock on the door to my room and I called out for the Doctor to enter. He poked his head in with a grin as I frowned and eyed the device I was working on at my desk, brows furrowed in complete focus. He wandered over and peered over my shoulder, expression softening at the sight of the pocket watch I was replacing the glass on.
"That's the problem with people getting my things," I complained idly, putting the screws I needed back in to finish it off. "The only ones who take decent care of them are the private collectors and museums. Everyone else lets them fall apart."
I leaned back away from the magnifying glass lamp I'd been using and lifted the watch, twisting it to make sure it was alright before turning to the Doctor who hummed.
"Didn't know you wore glasses," he commented, lightly tapping the side of the wireframes near my temple.
"Fine work still strains my eyes," I admitted, closing the watch and tipping my head back to glance up at him. "Immortality doesn't fix that apparently."
"Well, everyone has flaws, right?" He chirped with a smile. "I've got a pair myself and I went and regenerated."
I smiled a little back, glancing back at my desk where that old photo of Benjamin now sat even though my room was back to modern. He caught me looking and his smile faltered.
"I didn't know you brought it here," he mused, picking it up and looking the photo over himself. "Thought it would've stayed in the other room."
I shrugged as he set it back down gently. "I'm sure it will go back when the memory isn't as fresh. Sorry, for still being a bit…"
"No, no. I get it. Mourning takes time and you take as long as you need, Fallon." He gave my shoulder a squeeze and offered another small smile. "Donna and I will be here for you if you ever want to talk about it or anything else that's bothering you."
I removed my glasses, setting them on the desk. "Might take some time for that, unfortunately… I don't remember the last time I had someone I could share things with. I shared a bit with Jack but… it's… different, I suppose." I glanced back up at him with a hesitant smile. "Having people close again, I mean. Much less those who know what I am and aren't bothered by it."
"So long as you don't go getting yourself killed every adventure, that is," he commented teasingly as I rolled my eyes and got up.
"Pot calling kettle," I hummed, shooting him a look as we started down the hall. "Last I checked, you're the one running head-first into trouble. I am far more willing to let people figure things out while I go tanning on a beach."
"Yeah, but there's no fun in that. Just sitting somewhere baking like a pie. Bah," he complained, nudging me with a grin again. "Seeing something new? Come on, I know you'd be more interested in that."
"Perhaps," I said with a roll of my eyes, nudging him back. "So long as it's still a vacation at the end of the day and not me running for my life."
"Well, I suppose we can try for something like that. We're sure to land on something good sooner or later, right?"
"If you can drive straight," I countered with a snort as he complained.
"Oi! I drive perfectly fine, thank you," he huffed as we entered the console room where Donna was already waiting.
"Is he saying his driving is good again?"
"Yup," I replied, making her scoff and the Doctor pout.
"You know I don't like it when you two team up against me."
I shrugged and moved to the jump seat as the Doctor started getting the Tardis going.
"Anyplace in particular?" I asked idly and he hummed.
"Well, we just met Agatha Christie so why don't we stay with the theme? Books! People never really stop loving books." He landed the Tardis, then bounded over and scooped up his coat as Donna and I followed.
We stepped out onto wood floors in a large, echoing lobby of some kind, myself eyeing the few rolling carts near the Tardis full of books. I closed the door behind me as the Doctor led the way, rambling on as we moved into the next room.
"Fifty-first century. By now you've got holovids, direct-to-brain downloads, fiction mist, but you need the smell. The smell of books, Donna, Fallon. Deep breath."
"So, we're in a library?" I asked.
"Not just a library, The Library! So big it doesn't need a name. Just a great big The." He grinned, hands tucked in his pockets as we walked down the hall into a staircase.
"It's like a city!" Donna exclaimed.
"It's a world. Literally, a world. The whole core of the planet is the index computer. 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," he explained, bringing us to a balcony and leaning over it to look at the city in front of us before lifting a finger. "We're near the equator, so this must be…biographies! I love biographies."
I raised a brow at him as Donna voiced my thoughts.
"Yeah, very you. Always a death at the end."
"You need a good death. Without death, there'd only be comedies. Dying gives us size, right Fallon?" He teased.
"Oh, haha," I drawled, grabbing the book Donna picked up. "Yeah, don't read that."
"What? Why not?"
"Fallon's right," the Doctor hummed, taking the book from Fallon and putting it back. "These books are from your future. You don't want to read ahead. Spoil all the surprises. Like peeking at the end."
"Isn't traveling with you one big spoiler?" Donna challenged.
"I try to keep you away from major plot developments."
"Which he's terrible at, just like how he's terrible at picking places to go," I tacked on before I gave him a look. "This might be a library but it's absolutely silent and I haven't seen or heard a person since we got here."
He hummed, not really looking surprised at the development. "Yeah, you're right. This is the biggest library in the universe. So where is everyone? It's silent." He hurried over to a nearby information screen, sonicking it to life.
"It's not just here either," I commented, looking out at the rails and towering buildings just outside. "There's no hum of transport, no chattering, no anything. This might be a library but it's also a planet. There should be some noise."
"Maybe it's a Sunday," Donna offered, making the Doctor wrinkle his nose.
"No, I never land on Sundays. Sundays are boring."
"Well, maybe everyone's really, really quiet," Donna whispered.
"Yeah, maybe. But they'd still show up on the system."
"Doctor?" I questioned, eyeing him. "Why are we here? We were just talking about seeing something new and beaches on the way over but instead, you picked a library when you have a library on your ship. One that I can navigate far faster than a library planet."
"Now that's interesting," he murmured, ignoring my question as I shifted toward the screen he was looking at. "If I do a scan looking for your basic humanoids. You know, your book readers, few limbs and a face, apart from us, I get nothing. Zippo, nada. See? Nobody home. But if I widen the parameters to any kind of life…"
An error appeared on the screen, making me frown.
"A million, million?" I questioned. "Not even that, it's maxed out, but there's no one here. Not physically, anyway."
"A million. million life forms, and silence in The Library," he hummed as even Donna frowned.
"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."
We all exchanged glances before stepping toward a stack of books on the balcony hesitantly. I myself couldn't argue against Donna's logic since I wasn't familiar with alien life other than those I'd seen while I was on Earth. The Doctor reacting similarly to us though, had me worried that Donna was right but it still brought up the question of where were the people.
"Welcome!" An automated voice chirped from another room and we all flinched.
I took a steadying breath as the Doctor and Donna brushed off their own flicker of fear and we moved back into the lobby where a white statue slowly turned its head. I grimaced at the face that appeared on it as it greeted us.
"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 commented, feeling just as uneasy as I was about it.
"Yeah, don't worry about it," the Doctor muttered, his tone informing me that it very probably was a real face.
"A statue with a real face, though? It's a hologram or something, isn't it?"
"No, but really, it's fine," the Doctor shushed her, undoubtedly hoping she wouldn't be bothered to pursue the answers I'd already figured out.
"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," the Node informed us. "Message follows. Run. For God's sake, run. No way is safe. The Library has sealed itself, we can't—Oh, they're here. Argh. Slarg. Snick. Message ends. Please switch off your mobile comm. units for the comfort of other readers."
"That bodes well," I muttered, shooting the Doctor a look. "And it explains why we're here and not at a beach."
He cracked a slightly sheepish smile before speaking to the Node. "Any other messages, same date stamp?"
"One additional message. This message carries a Felman Lux coherency warning of five zero eleven—"
"Yeah, yeah, fine, fine, fine. Just play it."
"Message follows. Count the shadows. For God's sake, remember, if you want to live, count the shadows. Message ends."
"Donna? Fallon?" The Doctor said calmly, but eerily.
"Yeah?"
"Stay out of the shadows."
"Why?" Donna asked, worried as we followed after him once more. "What's in the shadows?"
"Better yet," I cut in as we entered a part of the actual library—halls stacked high with books. "Care to explain why we're here now that we know we weren't just in the neighborhood?"
The Doctor winced. "Yeah, I kind of, sort of lied a bit. I got a message on the psychic paper before I went to get you, Fallon." He showed us the paper, making me raise a brow.
" 'The Library come as soon as you can' signed with a kiss?" I questioned him, earning a shrug.
"Cry for help?"
"Cry for help with a kiss?" Donna challenged.
"Oh, we've all done that," he drawled, turning away from me and my raised brow, knowing damn well we don't.
"Who's it from?" Donna asked.
"No idea."
"So why did we come here?"
"Because he's curious, as al…" I cut myself short, seeing the lights behind us starting to turn off. "...ways. Uh, Doctor?"
He turned and grew uneasy as well.
"What's happening?" Donna questioned.
"Run!" The Doctor shouted, knowing that if the lights were going out and we were to stay out of the shadows, then this couldn't be good.
We hurried to the nearest door that the Doctor struggled with.
"What, is it locked?" Donna questioned.
"Jammed! The wood's warped!"
"Well, sonic it. Use the thingy!" Donna argued.
"I can't! It's wood!"
"What, it doesn't do wood?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, my God. Move."
His eyes widened and he stepped aside as I slammed my heel into the door right near the latch. They burst open and we hurried in, closing them behind us as the Doctor stuffed a book between the handles. I stared at that for a moment before looking at him.
"I'm sorry, how is a book going to stop the lights turning out? We weren't exactly being chased by anything."
"Well, you don't know that," he argued poorly, turning only for us to stare in surprise at the floating metallic orb in the room. "Oh, hello. Sorry to burst on you like this. Okay if we stop here for a bit?"
The orb clicked its screen shut and fell to the ground as we approached it.
"Were you talking to a flying orb just now?" I questioned.
"Security camera," he clarified, lightly kicking it. "Switched itself off."
He picked it up and started to sonic it, glancing over at me as I hesitantly eyed the doors nearby and kept an eye on the lights and shadows just in case.
"Nice door skills, Fallon."
"Used to be a cop," I reminded him, glancing at him from over my shoulder. "Among other things."
"What was that though, Doctor?" Donna asked. "What was after us? I mean, did we just run away from a power cut?"
"Possibly."
"Are we safe here?"
"Of course we're safe. There's a little shop."
I glanced at Donna. "Meaning no, not really, given we're running from shadows. Actual shadows."
"Gotcha!" The Doctor chirped before wincing. "Ooh, I'm sorry. I really am. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It's alive."
"You said it was a security camera," Donna scolded him as he put it down.
"It is. It's an alive one."
"Yeah, I'm not even going to question that," I scoffed. "Bit out of my field of understanding."
Words passed over the security camera's screen though, making Donna frown as it announced others breaching the library.
"Others? What's it mean, others?"
The Doctor didn't respond and I wasn't entirely sure either, so Donna went over to a nearby Node and asked.
"Excuse me. What does it mean, others?"
"That's barely more than a speak-your-weight machine, it can't help you," the Doctor replied, frowning down at the camera.
"So why's it got a face?"
The Node answered that, though. "This flesh aspect was donated by Mark Chambers on the occasion of his death."
Donna looked sick. "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," the Node replied.
"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 fifty-first century. That's basically like donating a park bench," the Doctor drawled, not bothered by it as I wrinkled my nose.
"Yeah, bit weird though. I mean, humans were always strange and liked odd things but that's a bit much, I would think."
"It's donating a face!" Donna screeched, backing up and nearly walking into a shadow if the Doctor hadn't grabbed her.
"No, wait, no!"
"Oi, hands!" She complained, smacking his hands off her waist.
"Shadow, look," the Doctor said, pointing out the darkness on the floor.
"That wasn't there before," I muttered, checking our surroundings. "There's nothing here that can cast it either. Not in that shape."
"I thought we were just supposed to count them," Donna murmured, uneasy herself before we both jumped when the Doctor shouted.
"Oh! I'm thick! Look at me, I'm old and thick. Head's too full of stuff. I need a bigger head!"
I shot him a nasty look, annoyed at his little jumpscare. "As much as I totally agree with that statement, would you mind sharing with the class?" I threw a hand out toward the corridor I'd been watching. "The lights are going out again."
"This place runs on fission cells. They'll outburn the sun," he explained, though it hardly helped me or Donna understand what was happening.
"Then, why is it dark?" She asked.
"It's not dark," the Doctor answered eerily before I gave the room another look and pointed at the ground.
"The shadow is gone."
"We need to get back to the Tardis," the Doctor suddenly said, sending a tendril of worry through me.
"Okay, I'm all for it usually but why do I get the feeling that you never say that unless it's serious?"
He gave me a look. "Because I never say that unless it is serious. The shadow isn't gone… it's moved."
"Reminder. The Library has been breached. Others are coming," the Node announced then, repeating itself as we eyed the shadows and our small circle of light uneasily.
Then, a bright light flared from a door, blinding us briefly as we jerked away from where six suited people stepped in. I stood beside the Doctor in uncertainty, moving slightly in front of Donna in case they were a threat as the first one approached us. They reached to the back of their helmet and flicked on the internal light so we could see the face of a grinning woman.
"Hello, sweetie."
"Get out," the Doctor said bluntly.
"Doctor," Donna hissed, scolding him as Fallon frowned, still eyeing the room uneasily.
"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," the Doctor demanded, moving to the center of the group and pointing firmly at the door.
He went ignored though as the woman spoke to the others in suits.
"Pop your helmets, everyone. We've got breathers."
"How do you know they're not androids?" One asked as the rest removed their helmets.
"Because I've dated androids. They're rubbish," the woman hummed, shaking out a set of bushy curls.
"Who is this?" Another man grumbled. "You said we were the only expedition. I paid for exclusives."
"I thought this was a library, not a carnival attraction," Fallon muttered, slowly moving to the edge of the group and subtly herding them closer to the center of the room where there was light.
"You came through the north door, yeah? How was that, much damage?" The bushy-haired woman asked the Doctor who put his hands on his hips and faced her.
"Please, just leave. I'm asking you seriously and properly, just leave," he paused then, frowning. "Hang on. Did you say expedition?"
"My expedition. I funded it," the man complained as he waited for the contracts another woman was getting out.
"Oh, you're not, are you? Tell me you're not archaeologists," the Doctor grumbled, making Fallon raise a brow.
"What do you have against archaeologists?"
The Doctor glanced at her as she lightly nudged one of the women further into the room, despite their scowl. "I'm a time traveler. I point and laugh at archaeologists."
"Ah," the bushy-haired woman hummed, offering a hand. "Professor River Song, archaeologist."
The Doctor took the hand, shaking it and moving her back toward the door slightly. "River Song, lovely name. 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."
The other woman started to wander off but Fallon grabbed her before the Doctor could.
"Don't."
"I'm sorry?" She questioned with a scowl, jerking her arm out of Fallon's grip.
"There's something in the shadows," Fallon said calmly as she grabbed the woman again and moved her back toward the light. "So do me a favor and stay in the light."
"What's your name?" The Doctor asked the disgruntled woman.
"Anita."
"Anita, Fallon's right, stay out of the shadows. Not a foot, not a finger in the shadows till you're safely back in your ship. Goes for all of you. Stay in the light. Find a nice, bright spot and just stand. If you understand me, look very, very scared."
The group just kind of eyed him like he was mad and Fallon rolled her eyes.
"Sorry, he's dramatic but do, in fact, listen to him. He's too curious and pig-headed for his own good so when he wants to leave somewhere this desperately, I'm inclined to believe it's for a good reason. Can we get some introductions though? There's quite a lot of you." She pointed at someone random, a man who looked rather lost. "You. Name?"
"Uh, Dave. Oh, well, Other Dave because that's Proper Dave the pilot, he was the first Dave, so when we—"
"Yeah, I don't need your life story," Fallon drawled, eyeing the corridor outside the room they were in. "Does that hallway look the same to you as before?"
"Yeah. Oh, it's a bit darker," he corrected himself, making the Doctor eye it as well.
"How much darker?"
"Oh, like I could see where we came through just like a moment ago. I can't now."
"Seal up that door. We'll find another way out," the Doctor ordered, giving him no time to rebuttal as the other, crankier man spoke up again.
"We're not looking for a way out. Miss Evangelista?"
A skittish woman held out some papers to the Doctor, Donna, and Fallon. "I'm Mister Lux's personal everything. You need to sign these contracts agreeing that your individual experience inside the library is the intellectual property of the Felman Lux Corporation."
"Right, give it here."
"Yeah, lovely. Thanks."
The Doctor and Donna both tore their sheets apart as Fallon sighed, not bothering to take a paper at all.
"My family built this library. I have rights!" Lux demanded as Fallon scoffed.
"Like I haven't heard that before. Look, buddy. We're not here to steal anything or whatever but if you want to go off and die because of some property rights, be my guest."
"Fallon," the Doctor chided lightly.
"It's fine," River hummed, winking at Fallon and turning to the Doctor. "He has a mouth that won't stop. You think there's danger here?"
"Something came to this library and killed everything in it. Killed a whole world. Danger? Could be."
"That was a hundred years ago," River challenged. "The Library's been silent for a hundred years. Whatever came here's long dead."
"Bet your life?"
"Always," she said with a smirk, earning an odd glance from the Doctor as Fallon spoke up.
"If whatever it is that was here is long dead, then why did our scans for life come up with a million, million lifeforms?" She glanced at River, equally as curious and suspicious about her as the Doctor was. "Just because it's quiet doesn't mean the threat is gone."
"Mm, point taken," River purred as Lux complained about Other Dave sealing the door.
"What are you doing?"
"He said seal the door."
"Torch," the Doctor called out, getting one handed to him by Lux himself as he complained.
"You're taking orders from him?"
"Spooky isn't it," the Doctor mused, using the torch to eye some shadowed corners of the room.
Donna and Fallon moved up beside him, Fallon frowning at how the shadows shifted in a strange manner that was almost impossible to see.
"As someone who would make a great archaeologist if we were on Earth but a terrible one anywhere else, what exactly are we dealing with here, Doctor?" She asked, giving him a look. "I'm not exactly knowledgeable about anything alien."
"Almost every species in the universe has an irrational fear of the dark. But they're wrong because it's not irrational. It's Vashta Nerada," the Doctor explained.
"What's the Vashta Nerada?" Donna questioned.
"It's what's in the dark. It's what's always in the dark."
"Because that's not foreboding at all," Fallon muttered, wincing when he whipped around with a shout.
"Lights! That's what we need, lights. You got lights?"
River raised a brow. "What for?"
"Form a circle. Safe area. Big as you can, lights pointing out."
River told the others to do as he said while he stripped himself of his coat and knelt down to eye the ground. "Anita, unpack the lights. Other Dave, make sure the door's secure, then help Anita. Mister 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—Fallon, sweetie—you're with me. Step into my office."
Fallon raised a brow, gesturing to herself in confusion as Lux complained.
"Professor Song, why am I the only one wearing my helmet?"
"I don't fancy you," River replied sickly sweet, earning a snort of amusement from Fallon as she grabbed the back of the Doctor's suit.
"Oi!"
"Don't 'oi' me. She called for you too."
The Doctor was confused, standing up. "Oh, I'm pretty boy?"
Fallon went to answer only to understand what she was about to say and flushed in embarrassment. The Doctor caught sight and smirked, bumping her with his hip and making her scowl and smack his arm in annoyance.
"Shut up. Not like anyone else here would fit the bill."
"Yeah, but pretty?"
Donna, who was nearby, shrugged. "Meh. Like she said, who else would fit the bill here?"
The Doctor grinned as Fallon rolled her eyes and headed for River, leaving him to give some final instructions. "Don't let your shadows cross. Seriously, don't even let them touch. Any of them could be infected."
"How can a shadow be infected?" Other Dave asked, getting ignored again.
Fallon and the Doctor stood over where River was as she started going through her pack, pulling things out in search of something. The Doctor leaned against the desk they were at, folding his arms over his chest in wait, eager to do something and figure out what it was she wanted with him and Fallon. Fallon was very much the same, from what he could tell. She eyed River curiously, intrigued more than suspicious like he was. It made something in him stir uneasily but he pushed the feeling back and cleared his throat, making River glance at him as she flipped through a blue book.
"Thanks."
"For what?" He asked, confused.
"The usual. For coming when I call."
Fallon's brows furrowed while the Doctor's brows raised.
"Oh, that was you."
"You're doing a very good job, acting like you don't know me. I'm assuming there's a reason."
"A fairly good one, actually," the Doctor mused, a bit confused and Fallon was the one who spoke up.
"Are we supposed to know you?"
River paused, eyeing her for a moment with a flicker of hurt flashing across her face before she tucked it away and forced a smile on her face, lifting the book in her hands. "Shall we do diaries then? Where are we this time?"
Fallon and the Doctor exchanged looks as she rambled for a minute, in denial.
"Going by your face, I'd say it's early days for you, yeah? So, uh, crash of the Byzantium. Have we done that yet…? Obviously ringing no bells. Right. Oh, picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet…? Obviously not. Blimey, very early days, then. Whoo, life with a time traveler. Never knew it could be such hard work…" She finally trailed off, seeing the full lack of recognition on their faces, voice softening as she eyed the Doctor. "Look at you. Oh, you're young."
"I'm really not, you know," the Doctor countered quietly, mind spinning with questions.
"No, but you are. Your eyes…" She brought a hand up to his face but he leaned back slightly. "You're younger than I've ever seen you."
"You've seen me before, then?"
Hurt reappeared on her face. "Doctor, please tell me you know who I am…"
"Who are you?" He asked and she pulled away, looking over at Fallon instead as the woman frowned lightly, confused as well.
"Fallon?"
Fallon shook her head only to stiffen when River lightly touched her face as well. Again, the Doctor's emotions stirred and he took a step toward them, reaching a hand out only for a buzzing to echo through the room.
"Sorry, that was me," Proper Dave called out from the terminal he was working on. "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 out, coming over as Fallon finished her thought for her.
"That sounds like a phone," she pointed out as the Doctor hummed and hopped over the desk to help Proper Dave.
"I'm trying to call up the data core, but it's not responding. Just that noise."
"But it's a phone," Donna repeated as the Doctor stepped in to try something.
Fallon was still leaning against the desk though, eyeing the back of River's head as the Doctor worked. Her fingers lightly touched her cheek where River had brushed her face, frowning in confusion as she struggled to work out some of the things River had said. She knew us, the Doctor and I… but it's like… like we're meeting in the wrong order. So, has she met future us? The Doctor bounces around time and space it's a wonder anyone meets him more than once. Unless… Could she be a companion? The Doctor bounded back over after demanding the light get put up, but he went right for a terminal, leaving her to think as he eyed River's book. He reached over and picked it up curiously, only for River to stop him and take it.
"Sorry, you're not allowed to see inside the book. It's against the rules."
"What rules?" He grumbled.
"Your rules and Fallon's of course, but I can trust her to leave things be." River nodded to the woman who was still deep in thought up until something slammed into the back of her skull.
"Ow! Son of a—"
More books started flying off the shelves, making the Doctor turn to Proper Dave at the other terminal.
"What's that? I didn't do that. Did you do that?"
"Not me!" He called back as Fallon bit out a curse as another book jabbed at her shoulder and she moved away from where the Doctor was and took cover.
After a moment the books finally stopped flying and Donna went over to comfort the frazzled Evangelista while the others of her group worked the lights and Fallon poked her head up from behind a desk cautiously.
"Are the books done trying to attack us?" Fallon complained, only for more to start flying out and she groaned, ducking back down. "Guess not."
Bickering started up between the Doctor and Lux when the man refused to explain what was going on. They had, after all, seen a young girl on the terminal screen when trying to access the Library's interface which didn't make any logical sense to anyone. Or, well, anyone except Lux who was refusing to answer them.
"What does it matter when we could die here?" Fallon grumbled, lowering the binder she'd been using to shield her head now that books stopped flying around.
She sighed and tipped her head back against the desk in annoyance.
"Honestly," she muttered. "We should be leaving. I get the Doctor wants to go and keep everyone safe and all but then why are we just sitting here bickering? Could've left by now if we just focused on booking it. Leave the crazy stubborn people here and—"
There was a shifting sound near her and she tipped her head back down, blinking at the panel that had slid open to reveal another room.
"Um, excuse me?" Evangelista questioned, getting brushed off without a thought. "Uh, this might be important, actually," she pressed but was still written off by Lux.
Fallon though, caught her nearing the door and got up, giving the others a glance before turning away to go after her. They entered the next room and Evangelista jumped when Fallon grabbed her hand.
"Ah!"
"Sorry," Fallon apologized, eyeing the room uneasily. "Didn't mean to scare you. I just don't think we should be in here."
"O-Oh, um… I-I just thought it might be important."
"I mean, it is a secret room that only opened a minute ago, so you're not wrong," she mused cautious of the large room and letting go of Evangelista's hand. "But I don't like this. There are too many shadows. Do you have a torch?"
Evangelista shook her head. "I gave it to Mr. Lux."
Fallon winced, whipping to the right when she swore she heard something shift and taking a small step back the way they came. "We should go."
"I guess so," Evangelista murmured, hesitant but knowing that following the lead of others was usually in her best interest.
They both moved around a chair settled in the center of the room, carefully picking their way through the lighted areas on the ground when Evangelista tripped over a stack of books.
"Watch it!" Fallon called out, reaching for her as she tumbled into the shadows onto the chair, only for Fallon to jerk her hand back.
Her eyes went wide as a scream tore from Evangelista's throat before her face seemed to dissolve and skin tear off her bones. Evangelista's suit fell back into the chair, her picked-clean skull bouncing off the back of her suit as Fallon faltered back and collapsed on the ground. Her breath caught in her throat as the sound of the others rushing her way echoed in the halls. Fallon lifted her hand, stretching it out toward Evangelista as her mind tried to catch up to what happened only for a very different realization to dawn on her.
She hadn't noticed in her shock. Everything had happened so fast that there was no time for her body to realize what happened. The hand she'd used to reach for Evangelista was shredded. The appendage looked as though it had been put through a blender and Fallon could only stare at it in mute disbelief. The pain hadn't settled in with her heart pounding so fast and the afterimage of Evangelista turning to bone still painfully fresh in her mind.
"Fallon!"
She turned, face pale and incapable of speaking to the Doctor as he and the others hurried up. "I-I… S-She was…"
He hurried to her side and then spotted her hand, eyes going wide at what was left of it as he whipped to River; fear, and panic making him shout.
"I need a med kit! Now!" He bellowed reaching up and removing his tie, wrapping it around her arm and tightening it to prevent her from bleeding out. "Fallon, Fallon, I need you to look at me, okay?"
Fallon wasn't paying attention though, in shock and dazed as she stared at Evangelista. River dropped down beside him, catching sight of Fallon's hand and growing pale herself at the damage.
"My god… What… What happened?"
"She's in shock," the Doctor said, working quickly to stop the bleeding and get some sort of treatment started.
He only had the basics with him and even with River's med kit, there wasn't much he could do other than disinfect and bandage it. The pain would return soon enough and with the amount of damage done, it wouldn't be kind. He dug through his own pockets, wondering if there was a numbing solution or painkillers or anything that would help when the shock wore off, but there was nothing. He cursed under his breath, in a panic himself as he tried to think of what he could do, what had happened, and how they were going to get out of this. There was the option of using his regeneration energy again but he hesitated. He'd used it so recently and with how Fallon had reacted—he shook his head, pushing the option aside for now and reaching up to take Fallon's face in his hands. He needed to help her.
"Fallon, I need you to focus," he said, lightly brushing his mind across hers to try and clear some of the haze that had been caused by her shock.
She blinked hard, grimacing and turning away from the chair she'd been looking at. She started to bring her hand to her head, but the Doctor grabbed her arm, stopping her from using the damaged appendage.
"Fallon, please," he breathed, lightly patting her face. "I'm going to need you to focus on me. Tell me what happened. How did you—" He pursed his lips, eyeing the already reddening bandages on what had once been her hand.
"I-I… This door opened," Fallon finally said, her gaze on the ground as she dropped her hands onto her lap. "That girl, Evangelista, she tried to say something and I followed after her when she walked in here." Fallon looked up at him. "I stopped her. I should've stopped her."
"No. No, you did stop her, Fallon. You went after her, right?"
Fallon nodded but looked confused, glancing back toward the chair. "I told her there were too many shadows. We were leaving but then… she tripped. I tried to grab her but… Her face just…"
She looked ill for a moment and the Doctor turned to look at the suit and skeleton sitting in the chair nearby. Understanding dawned on him and he swallowed thickly, the feeling of fear twisting in his stomach and making him want to leave this place that much faster.
"I thought I grabbed her," Fallon said then, snapping his gaze back to her as she lifted her heavily bandaged hand and stared at it in slight confusion. "I thought…"
"You reached into the shadows," the Doctor understood, body tense with unease as Fallon finally started to pull through the shock.
"W-What happened to my hand?" She asked, voice a breathy whisper before getting louder. "Doctor, w-what happened? What's going on? My… My hand is—"
"I know," he cut her off, reaching up to her temple again and trying to calm her now that the shock was wearing off. "Fallon, you need to listen, okay? I'll explain in a moment but right now, you need to stay calm. You're in shock."
She looked at him like he was mad. "No shit, I'm in shock," she half-yelled. "I-I just walked in here, saw Evangelista turn to, to that a-a-and my hand is…" She looked at her hand again before waving it at him. "...is this! How did it get shredded? There's nothing there!"
The Doctor took a calming breath, stopping her from shaking her injured hand more. "It's the Vashta Nerada, Fallon. You're lucky they didn't…" He pursed his lips, unable to think of what sort of torture Fallon would go through if she fell into the shadows.
As someone who was immortal, he wasn't sure how the Vashta Nerada would deal with her or how she would recover if it had been her who'd fallen and not Evangelista.
"Where is Evangelista?" Donna asked, worried and River touched her comm.
"Miss Evangelista, please state your current—" She stopped as her own voice echoed back from the suited skeleton in the chair before them, reaching out and taking its comm. "It's her. It's Miss Evangelista."
"We heard her scream a few seconds ago. What could do that to a person in a few seconds?" Anita questioned.
"It took a lot less than a few seconds," the Doctor muttered seriously, helping Fallon to her feet and holding onto her carefully as the blood loss made her unsteady.
"But I-I tried to grab her," Fallon repeated, looking down at her hand in confusion. "Shouldn't I be…"
"They were preoccupied," the Doctor muttered. "You were lucky, Fallon. I don't even want to think of what would have happened if that had been you."
"Hello?" Evangelista's voice called out, drawing everyone's eyes to the suit as River grimaced.
"Uh, I'm sorry, everyone. Uh, this isn't going to be pleasant. She's ghosting."
"She's what?" Donna asked, voice broken as the group listened to Evangelista.
"Hello? Excuse me. I'm sorry. Hello? Excuse me."
"That's… That's her. That's Miss Evangelista," Donna breathed.
"I don't want to sound horrible, but couldn't we just, you know?" Dave asked but Fallon spoke up, surprisingly.
"This is her last moment and you want to take that away from her?" She bit out, glaring at the man who looked sheepish.
"Sorry, where am I? Excuse me?"
"But that's Miss Evangelista," Donna repeated, not knowing what was happening.
"It's a data ghost. She'll be gone in a moment," River explained, speaking back into the comm. "Miss Evangelista, you're fine. Just relax. We'll be with you presently."
"What's a data ghost?" Donna questioned as the Doctor solemnly explained.
"There's a neural relay in the communicator. Lets you send thought mail. 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 afterimage."
"My grandfather lasted a day," Anita murmured. "Kept talking about his shoelaces."
Donna grew pale at the thought. "She's in there…"
"I can't see. I can't—Where am I?"
"She's just brain waves now. The pattern won't hold for long," Dave explained but Donna was upset.
"But she's conscious. 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 murmured softly, keeping a firm hold on Fallon's waist as she leaned into him in silence. "And the tide's coming in."
"Where's that woman? The nice woman. Is she there?"
"What woman?" Lux asked and Donna spoke up hoarsely.
"She means… I think she means me."
"Is she there? The nice woman?"
"Yes, she's here. Hang on," River replied, turning her comm on for Donna. "Go ahead. She can hear you."
"Hello? Are you there?"
"Help her," the Doctor muttered to Donna encouragingly, but she hesitated.
"She's dead."
"Even the dead could do with a friend," Fallon breathed and Donna braced herself before speaking to Evangelista.
"Yeah. Hello. Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm here. You okay?"
"What I said before, about being stupid. Don't tell the others, they'll only laugh."
Donna glanced at the others in the room but agreed. "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," Donna repeated as the green lights on Evangelista's comm blinked and River explained.
"She's looping now. The pattern's degrading."
"I can't think. I don't know, I, I, I, I scream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream. Ice cream."
"Does anybody mind if I…?"
No one stopped River from turning off the comm this time as Donna shuddered.
"That was, that was horrible. That was the most horrible thing I've ever seen."
"No. It's just a freak of technology. But whatever did this to her, whatever killed her, I'd like a word with that," River bit out, moving toward Fallon. "Especially for hurting you. Are you alright?"
Fallon nodded, still a bit dazed with everything that was going on. "Y-Yeah. Yeah, fine."
River looked at the Doctor who was frowning at Fallon, feeling how tense she was as he kept hold of her. "How is she?"
"I said I'm fine," Fallon complained, earning a crack of a smile from the Doctor.
"Shock is wearing off. Pain will be settling back in. Sorry, I don't have anything for it."
Fallon spared him a small glare but didn't say anything more as the Doctor turned back to River.
"I'll introduce you to what did this but let's go back to the other room where there's more light."
