"Hey, who turned out the lights?" Not-Dave chased her.
Almost too far ahead, River aimed her gun at the wall. A new square appeared.
"This way, quickly. Move!" River ordered.
They entered a room with a giant sunlight above them. The sky was orange. Tea hadn't noticed that before.
"Okay, we've got a clear spot. In, in, in! Right in the center. In the middle of the light, quickly. Don't let your shadows cross, Doctor," River said.
The Doctor pointed his sonic at the shadows, "I'm doing it."
"There's no lights here. Sunset's coming. We can't stay long. Have you found a live one?" River asked.
"Maybe. It's getting harder to tell. What's wrong with you?" the Doctor asked.
Tea didn't know if he was talking to her, River, or the shadows. By the looks of it, probably the shadows.
"Tea," the Doctor said.
Tea crouched beside the man.
"I need you to tell me what you saw."
Tea remained quiet.
"Teanna."
"I think it was a computer, Doctor. Some kind of hologram. It's like I was downloaded into a computer," Tea said.
"Is that all you're going to say?" The Doctor asked.
Tea looked at the man, her expression hard. "There's nothing more to say."
"What happened?"
"Nothing bad. I was safe."
"Tell me."
"Don't make me."
They watched as River threw a chicken leg into the shadows. It didn't even hit the ground before it was pearly bone.
"Okay. Okay, we've got a hot one. Watch your feet," River said.
That military training really showed.
"They won't attack until there's enough of them. But they've got our scent now. They're coming," the Doctor said.
"Oh, yeah, who is he? You haven't even told us. You expect us to trust him?" Other Dave asked.
"He's the Doctor," River said.
"And who is the Doctor?" Mr. Lux asked.
"The only story you'll ever tell if you survive him," River said.
The Doctor continued to mess with his sonic, attempting to scan the shadows. His mind wasn't on the task at hand.
Tea gently took the device from him.
The group of archaeologist astronauts murmured to each other on the far end of the light.
A moment later, River wandered over.
"What's wrong with it?" She asked as she saw it in Tea's hand.
"There's a signal coming from somewhere, interfering with it," the Doctor said.
"Then use the red settings," River said.
"It doesn't have a red setting," the Doctor said.
"Well, use the dampers."
"It doesn't have dampers."
"It will do one day."
The Doctor took River's sonic from her. "So, some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver."
"Yeah," River said.
"Why would I do that?" The Doctor asked.
"I didn't pluck it from your cold, dead hands if that's what you're worried about."
"And I know that because?"
Tea felt as though she were listening to a private conversation... There wasn't exactly any place she could go to avoid being a part of it, though.
"Listen to me. You've lost your friend. You're angry. I understand, but you need to be less emotional, Doctor. Right now."
River really just said that? Tea loved this woman.
"Less emotional? I'm not emotional," the Doctor said.
"There are six people in this room still alive. Focus on that," River ordered. "Dear God, you're hard work young."
"Young? Who are you?" The Doctor asked.
"Oh, for heaven's sake! Look at the pair of you. We're all going to die right here, and you're just squabbling like an old married couple," Mr. Lux complained.
Tea looked between the two...
Married couple?
Nah.
"Doctor, one day I'm going to be someone that you trust completely, but I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. And I'm sorry. I'm really very sorry," River said.
River leaned over to whisper in the Doctor's ear.
The Doctor gaped at the woman.
"Are we good? Doctor, are we good?" River asked sternly.
"Yeah," the Doctor said, glancing at Tea and pulling at his necktie. "We're good."
"Good."
River took her screwdriver back.
The Doctor took his sonic from Tea. "Know what's interesting about my screwdriver? Very hard to interfere with. Practically nothing's strong enough. Well, some hairdryers, but I'm working on that. So there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before. So what's new? What's changed? Come on! What's new? What's different?"
"I don't know. Nothing. It's getting dark?" Other Dave offered.
"It's a screwdriver," the Doctor judged. "It works in the dark. Moon rise. Tell me about the moon. What's there?"
"It's not real. It was built as part of the Library. It's just a Doctor Moon," Mr. Lux said.
"Dr. Moon?" Tea asked.
"What's a Doctor Moon?" The Doctor repeated.
"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet," Mr. Lux explained.
"Well, still active," the Doctor said. "It's signalling. Look. Someone somewhere in this library is alive and communicating with the moon. Or, possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal is definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through."
Donna appeared on the screen.
"Donna!" The Doctor yelled.
"That was her. That was your friend! Can you get her back? What was that?" River asked.
"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength. Argh, I'm being blocked," the Doctor said.
"Professor?" Anita asked.
Tea looked over at the woman. Her gaze trailed to Anita's feet. Two shadows.
"Just a moment," River said.
"It's important. I have two shadows," Anita said.
"Okay. Helmets on, everyone. Anita, I'll get yours," River said.
Tea suddenly felt bare with only her jacket and jeans on. She moved closer to the Doctor.
"It didn't do Proper Dave any good," Anita said.
She was scared.
Tea couldn't blame her.
"Just keep it together, okay?" River said.
"Keeping it together. I'm only crying. I'm about to die. It's not an overreaction," Anita said.
Tea wanted to soothe her but knew the cost.
River put Anita's helmet on her.
"Hang on," the Doctor said. He ran his sonic over the visor and the visor surface turned black.
"Oh God, they've got inside," River breathed.
"No, no, no. I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already in there, leave her alone," the Doctor said.
Tea watched Anita's feet.
Why were these tiny creatures so hellbent on killing all of them?
"Do you think they can be fooled like that?" River asked.
"Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm. It's not like we chat," the Doctor said.
"Can you still see in there?" Other Dave asked Anita.
"Just about," Anita said.
"Just, just, just stay back. Professor, a quick word, please," the Doctor said.
He pulled on Tea's sleeve, tugging her along.
"What?" River asked.
"Down here," the Doctor said.
The trio crouched down away from the other three.
"What is it?" River asked.
"Look, you said there are six people still alive in this room," the Doctor said.
"Yeah, so?" River said.
"So, why are there seven?" The Doctor asked.
Not-Dave had caught up.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Run!" The Doctor said.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
They ran, and they just kept running.
It was when they were running over a walkway that the Doctor finally stopped.
"Professor, Tea, go ahead. Find a safe spot," the Doctor said.
"It's a carnivorous swarm in a suit. You can't reason with it," River said.
"I'm not going," Tea said.
"Five minutes," the Doctor looked to River.
"Other Dave, stay with him. Pull him out when he's too stupid to live. Two minutes, Doctor," River said.
"Tea, go with River," the Doctor said.
"I'm not leaving you," Tea said.
"You don't have a suit. You're no good dead," the Doctor said.
"You're wasting time," Tea said.
"Tea. Go. Please," he said.
Maybe it was the way his eyes softened or how he took her hand and squeezed it, but she wasn't going to argue.
River pushed Tea in front of her, and they rushed off down the walkway.
Night had fallen by the time they made it to yet another round room. River scanned the shadows with her sonic.
"You know, it's funny, I keep wishing the Doctor was here," River said.
Tea didn't know who she was talking to. Something told Tea that River just needed to say the words.
"The Doctor is here, isn't he? He is coming back, right?" Anita said.
"You know when you see a photograph of someone you know, but it's from years before you knew them. and it's like they're not quite finished. They're not done yet. Well, yes, the Doctor's here. He came when I called, just like he always does. But not my Doctor. Now my Doctor, I've seen whole armies turn and run away. And he'd just swagger off back to his Tardis and open the doors with a snap of his fingers. The Doctor in the Tardis. Next stop, everywhere," River said, a wistful look on her face.
"Spoilers. Nobody can open a Tardis by snapping their fingers. It doesn't work like that," the Doctor stormed in.
"It does for the Doctor," River said.
"I am the Doctor," he said.
"Yeah. Some day," River replied.
Tea thought on River's words and turned to her. "He wears his heart on his sleeve."
"What?" River asked.
"The Doctor. This Doctor," Tea said. "Your Doctor doesn't... I wonder what happened."
"How are you doing?" The Doctor turned to Anita.
"Where's Other Dave?" Anita searched the space behind the man.
"Not coming. Sorry," the Doctor said.
"Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?" Anita asked.
"I don't know. Maybe tinting your visor's making a difference," the Doctor said.
His eyes flickered down to Anita's feet. She still had two shadows.
"It's making a difference all right. No one's ever going to see my face again," Anita said.
"Can I get you anything?" The Doctor asked.
"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do?" Anita asked.
Fear hung in her voice.
"I'm all over it," the Doctor said.
"Doctor. When we first met you, you didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered a word in your ear, and you did. My life so far. I could do with a word like that. What did she say? Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me," Anita said.
"Safe," the Doctor repeated.
"What?" Anita asked.
"Safe. You don't say saved. Nobody says saved. You say safe. The data fragment! What did it say?" The Doctor asked.
"Four thousand and twenty two people saved. No survivors," Mr. Lux said.
"Doctor?" River asked.
"Nobody says saved. Nutters say saved. You say safe. You see, it didn't mean safe. It meant, it literally meant, saved," the Doctor grabbed Tea's shoulders and guided her toward a computer.
"We need to get back into the Library Archive," he said.
"Can't—" Tea stopped herself.
"See, there it is, right there. A hundred years ago, massive power surge. All the teleports going at once. Soon as the Vashta Nerada hit their hatching cycle, they attack. Someone hits the alarm. The computer tries to teleport everyone out," the Doctor explained.
"It tried to teleport four thousand twenty two people?" River asked.
Tea pulled up the screen and the Doctor hovered over her shoulder, sonic humming over the screen.
"It succeeded. Pulled them all out, but then what? Nowhere to send them. Nowhere safe in the whole library. Vashta Nerada growing in every shadow. Four thousand and twenty two people all beamed up and nowhere to go. They're stuck in the system, waiting to be sent, like emails. So what's a computer to do? What does a computer always do?"
"It saved them," River said.
The Doctor began drawing on one of the tables. "The library. A whole world of books, and right at the core, the biggest hard drive in history. The index to everything ever written, backup copies of every single book. The computer saved four thousand and twenty two people the only way a computer can. It saved them to the hard drive."
An alarm began to sound.
Tea jumped.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Lux looked around.
"Autodestruct enabled in twenty minutes," the computer said.
"What's maximum erasure?" River asked.
"In twenty minutes, this planet's going to crack like an egg," the Doctor said, his sonic hovering over the screen.
"No. No, it's all right. The Doctor Moon will stop it. It's programmed to protect Cal," Mr. Lux said.
The screen went blank.
Tea didn't think Dr. Moon was going to be able to do anything.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor said.
"All library systems are permanently offline. Sorry for any inconvenience," The computer said.
That wasn't helpful.
"We need to stop this. We've got to save Cal," Mr. Lux said.
"What is it? What is Cal?" The Doctor asked.
"We need to get to the main computer. I'll show you," Mr. Lux said.
"It's at the core of the planet," the Doctor said.
"Well, then. Let's go," River said. She pointed her screwdriver at the library logo in the middle of the compass on the floor. The floor began to open. "Gravity platform."
"I bet I like you," the Doctor said.
"Oh, you do," River smiled.
The five of them stepped onto the platform.
"Autodestruct in fifteen minutes," the computer said ominously.
Tea gaped at the room around her. Her gaze trailed upward to see a globe that swirled with energy. She reached her hand out to touch it before she realized it was too far away.
"It's beautiful," she whispered.
"The data core. Over four thousand living minds trapped inside it," the Doctor said.
"Yeah, well, they won't be living much longer. We're running out of time," River said.
The Doctor rushed over to a terminal.
"Help me. Please, help me," a child's voice said.
Tea looked around, "Who's saying that?"
"What's that?" Anita asked.
"Was that a child?" River asked.
The Doctor didn't answer. "The computer's in sleep mode. I can't wake it up. I'm trying."
He tapped on the computer.
"Doctor, these readings," River said.
Tea didn't know what they were talking about. It seemed as though they were implying the computer could act on its own.
"I know. You'd think it was dreaming," the Doctor said.
"It is dreaming, of a normal life, and a lovely Dad, and of every book ever written," Mr. Lux said.
"Computers don't dream," Anita replied.
"Help me. Please help me," the child's voice continued.
"No, but little girls do," Mr. Lux pulled a breaker and a door opened. They ran in.
A node turned toward them. It had a little girl's face.
"Please help me. Please help me," the child said.
Tea stopped short of the door. Slowly she walked toward the child.
"Oh, my God," River gasped.
"It's the little girl. The girl we saw in the computer," Anita said.
"She's not in the computer. In a way, she is the computer. The main command node. This is Cal," Mr. Lux said.
"She's a kid!" Tea turned on the man.
"Cal is a child? A child hooked up to a mainframe? Why didn't you tell me this? I needed to know this!" The Doctor said.
"Because she's family! Cal. Charlotte Abigail Lux. My grandfather's youngest daughter. She was dying, so he built her a library and put her living mind inside, with a moon to watch over her, and all of human history to pass the time. Any era to live in, any book to read. She loved books more than anything, and he gave her them all. He asked only that she be left in peace. A secret, not a freak show," Mr. Lux said.
"So you weren't protecting a patent, you were protecting her," the Doctor said.
Which was admirable. If it hadn't meant that he had already let three of his crew die to save his family's secret.
"This is only half a life, of course. But it's for ever," Mr. Lux looked lovingly at the girl in the computer.
"And then the shadows came," the Doctor continued.
"The shadows. I have to. I have to save. Have to save," the girl said.
"And she saved them. She saved everyone in the library. Folded them into her dreams and kept them safe," the Doctor said.
"Then why didn't she tell us?" Anita asked.
"Because she's forgotten. She's got over four thousand living minds chatting away inside her head. It must be like being, well, me," the Doctor said.
"So what do we do?" River asked.
"Autodestruct in ten minutes," the computer said.
"Easy! We beam all the people out of the data core. The computer will reset and stop the countdown. Difficult. Charlotte doesn't have enough memory space left to make the transfer. Easy! I'll hook myself up to the computer. She can borrow my memory space," the Doctor said.
"Difficult. It'll kill you stone dead," River corrected.
"Yeah, it's easy to criticise," the Doctor said.
"You'll die?" Tea said softly.
The Doctor didn't look at her.
"All of time and space. You promised. There has to be another way," Tea said.
"It'll burn out both your hearts and don't think you'll regenerate," River said.
"I'll try my hardest not to die. Honestly, it's my main thing," the Doctor said.
"Doctor!" River said.
"Maybe we can hook it up to the TARDIS and share her memory space. There has to be someway that doesn't—"
The Doctor cut her off, "I'm right, this works."
Tea and River opened their mouths to protest.
"Shut up. Now listen. You and River and Luxy boy, back up to the main library. Prime any data cells you can find for maximum download, and before you say anything else, Professor, can I just mention in passing as you're here, shut up."
"Oh! I hate you sometimes," River said.
"I know!" The Doctor said.
"Mister Lux, Tea, with me. Anita, if he dies, I'll kill him!" River said.
River and Mr. Lux left.
Tea stayed stubbornly put.
"What about the Vashta Nerada?" Anita asked.
Why didn't the Doctor ask Anita to leave? Tea thought. River was too mad to see it, but there had to be a reason why—
Tea looked at Anita's feet.
She had one shadow.
"These are their forests. I'm going to seal Charlotte inside her little world, take everybody else away. The shadows can swarm to their hearts' content," the Doctor said.
"So you think they're just going to let us go?" Anita asked.
"Best offer they're going to get," the Doctor said.
"You're going to make 'em an offer?" Anita asked.
"They'd better take it, because right now, I'm finding it very hard to make any kind of offer at all. You know what? I really liked Anita. She was brave, even when she was crying. And she never gave in. And you ate her," the Doctor said. He soniced her visor and a skull peered back. "But I'm going to let that pass, just as long as you let them pass."
"How long have you known?" Anita asked.
"I counted the shadows. You only have one now. She's nearly gone. Be kind," the Doctor said.
"These are our forests. We are not kind," Anita said.
"I'm giving you back your forests, but you are giving me them. You are letting them go," the Doctor growled.
"These are our forests. They are our meat," Anita said.
Her shadow multiplied and reached out toward the Doctor. The Doctor wasn't in the mood for scare tactics.
"Don't play games with me. You just killed someone I liked. That is not a safe place to stand. I'm the Doctor, and you're in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up," the Doctor said.
The shadows stopped.
"You have one day."
The suit collapsed.
"I told you to leave," the Doctor said. His eyes didn't leave the suit.
"I'm not going to listen if it means you die," Tea said.
"You've never listened regardless," the Doctor said under his breath.
"Don't do this, Doctor. I'm not going to walk away. There has to be another option. Maybe the TARDIS—" Tea said.
"Tea! You're brilliant! The TARDIS. Log in to the library archive. If we can connect the archive to the TARDIS matrix, we can use the TARDIS's storage capacity as a temporary memory space."
Tea turned to log in to the computer.
"All I have to do is..." Tea didn't notice as he trailed off.
She did see his face in the glass of the computer.
Tea spun around, attempting to push the man away.
The familiar gesture of his hands moving to her head caused her to panic. Her vision blurred as she attempted to shove him away. He couldn't do this.
He couldn't die.
"You can't die at my hands again," he said.
Tea slumped in his arms.
He was going to die. She had let him die.
She woke up on something warm.
Her head was pounding. There was something she needed to do.
The Doctor!
She jolted upward.
Something yanked at her wrist. She disorientedly yanked on it.
Handcuffs?
"You wouldn't have a chance, and neither do I. I'm timing it for the end of the countdown. There'll be a blip in the command flow. That way it should improve our chances of a clean download," River said.
"River, please. No," the Doctor said.
The Doctor!
She turned her head and saw his pinstripe suit.
He was right next to her.
He must've been what she was laying on.
"Funny thing is, this means you've always known how I was going to die. All the time we've been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean, you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Darillium to see the Singing Towers. What a night that was. The Towers sang, and you cried," River said.
Was River going to die?
"Autodestruct in one minute," the computer counted down.
"You wouldn't tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the library. You even gave me your screwdriver. That should have been a clue," River said.
The Doctor seemed to catch sight of something and desperately reached toward it. Tea searched for what he was seeing and saw the two sonic screwdrivers and River's diary just out of reach.
"River," Tea said.
"There's nothing you can do," River said.
"You can let me do this," the Doctor said.
"If you die here, it'll mean I've never met you," River explained.
"Time can be rewritten," the Doctor said.
"Not those times. Not one line. Don't you dare. It's okay. It's okay. It's not over for you. You'll see me again. You've got all of that to come. You and me, time and space. You watch us run," River said.
"River, you know my name," the Doctor said.
"Tea, I can't wait for you to meet me. You tell my mom and dad I love them," River said.
"Who are they?" Tea asked.
"Autodestruct in ten," the computer said.
"You whispered my name in my ear," the Doctor said.
"You'll know. After Demon Run, you'll know," River said.
"Nine, eight, seven..." The computer counted down.
"Don't you dare die, River Song," Tea said.
"There she is." River said. "You keep them safe."
"There's only one reason I would ever tell anyone my name. There's only one time I could," the Doctor looked insane.
He might have been.
"Hush, now," River said.
"Four, three..."
"Spoilers," River smiled.
"Two, one."
River brought two cables together.
A bright light drowned out everything.
Everything except for the realization that River Song was dead.
They were still there when Donna appeared.
"Mr. Lux said you two were down here. He said River had gone back and— Am I interrupting something?" Donna asked.
"No, no," The Doctor's eyes didn't leave River. "Can you hand me my sonic?"
"River," Donna breathed as her eyes followed where the Doctor was looking. "I'm sorry, Doctor."
The Doctor said nothing.
Donna walked carefully over to the man and reached down for his sonic, handing it to him.
He sonicked his handcuffs first, then Tea's.
Tea stood numbly.
She was so tired of death.
"Tea," the Doctor said, reaching out to her.
Tea held up a hand.
He dropped his hand.
Tea walked past Donna, touching her elbow and offering a half-hearted smile before she moved toward where she knew the exit was.
Tea leaned against the wall of the little shop.
The four thousand people were leaving, and the trio was watching.
"Please be patient. Only three can teleport at a time. Do not state your intended destination until you arrive in your designated slot," the computer said.
"Any luck?" The Doctor asked as Donna returned.
"There wasn't even anyone called Lee in the library that day. I suppose he could have had a different name out here, but let's be honest, he wasn't real, was he?" Donna asked.
She'd found the love of her life when she was saved.
Tea thought about searching for the man she'd met in the computer, but... She couldn't bring herself to. She didn't even know if she'd actually be in love with him.
"Maybe not," the Doctor replied to Donna.
"I made up the perfect man. Gorgeous, adores me, and hardly able to speak a word. What's that say about me?" Donna asked.
"Everything," the Doctor said and then corrected himself when he saw Donna's dismayed look. "Sorry, did I say everything? I meant to say nothing. I was aiming for nothing. I accidentally said everything."
"Stand right in the middle of the teleport, please. Keep your hands and feet inside at all times," a woman who was helping to get the four thousand back home said.
"What about you?" Donna asked.
"And remember to switch off your mobile comm unit," the woman continued.
"Are you alright?" Donna continued when the Doctor didn't answer.
"I'm always alright," the Doctor said.
Tea huffed.
"If you are pregnant, please go to teleport seven on the floor above," the woman said.
Tea subconsciously placed her hand on her stomach. Would she have made a good mother? The kids wouldn't have been real. They never existed. She'd never been pregnant.
"Is alright special Time Lord code for really not alright at all?" Donna asked.
"Why?" The Doctor glanced at Donna.
"Because I'm alright too," Donna smiled sadly at the man.
"Come on," the Doctor said.
They walked to the balcony where Tea had met the two. The Doctor pulled River's diary out of his suit coat and put it onto the balcony railing next to the book with Tea's name on it.
"Your friend, Professor Song. She knew you in the future, but she didn't know me. What happens to me? Because when she heard my name, the way she looked at me," Donna said.
"Donna, this is her diary. My future. I could look you up. What do you think? Shall we peek to the end?" The Doctor asked.
"Spoilers, right?" Donna smiled.
"Right," the Doctor said.
He put River's sonic on the diary.
"Come on. The next chapter's this way," the Doctor led the two women back toward the TARDIS.
They were half way up the stairs when the Doctor spun back around.
"Why? Why would I give her my screwdriver? Why would I do that? Thing is, future me had years to think about it, all those years to think of a way to save her, and what he did was give her a screwdriver. Why would I do that?" The Doctor said.
He picked up the screwdriver and messed around with it.
Then he unlocked something. A neural relay. Like the ones on the space suits, and this one had two green lights.
"Oh! Oh! Oh, look at that. I'm very good!" The Doctor cheered.
"What have you done?" Donna asked.
"Save her," the Doctor said.
They were running down the corridor not a moment later. They were running faster than Tea ever had in her life. "Stay with me! You can do it. Stay with me! Come on, you and me, one last run!"
They entered the room with the gravity platform.
"Sorry, River, shortcut!" The Doctor yelled.
"Platform disabled," the computer said.
The Doctor continued, heedless. He dove into the empty space where the platform used to be.
Tea waited at the top.
The Doctor climbed back up, a content grin on his face.
He saved her.
The Doctor and Tea walked toward the TARDIS and opened it with a snap of his fingers.
Everything was alright.