Chapter Three

Sam

“Okay, so let me get this straight.” Sam stood in the middle of a large stone courtyard in front of The Library. Well, one of the libraries, apparently the entire planet was full of them. Which of course he found beyond awesome, but The Doctor not so much.

“Libraries….eat people?” he said. The Doctor rolled his eyes, crossing his lean arms over his chest.

“I’m fairly certain that in my detailed and precise explanation of the situation, that I did not at anytime utter the words Libraries eat people.”

Sam’s broad shoulders rose and he glanced around the large space, surrounded by sweepingly tall buildings.

“Well okay, books eat people. The pages, because they’re made of trees. And now they have monsters in them?”

The Doctor stared at him for a second, before giving a quick shake of his head.

“Good enough, the important thing is that we don’t linger, I just need to know why she brought us here.”

“She?”

“The TARDIS.”

“Oh, right. That thing. Yeah, why is it a blue box? It’s weird, when I stepped outside, I thought it would be….I don’t know, a silver orb, or a Galactica or something.”

The Doctor’s brow furrowed and he started back at the TARDIS.

“It camouflages itself to fit in with its surroundings. Well, she use to anyway, got stuck like that a while back, haven’t been able to fix it quite yet. I think its brilliant actually, nice shade of blue, don’t you think?”

“You really can’t fix that?”

“She’ll fix herself when she’s ready, and we have more pressing concerns to consider at the moment.” The Doctor looked around anxiously again, his hand firmly planted on his chin. “ One of which is…why are we here?”

“And we can’t go inside?”

“Absolutely not.” The Doctor said. “I lost quite a bit of people the first go round, and the last thing I need is one of those things latching onto you. Which means that while we’re here, you will not leave my side, not once. And stay out of the shadows.”

“Do what?”

“Stay out…why must I repeat everything I say, you seem like a bright young man. Keep up.”

Sam threw up his arms in frustration.

“Well it’s a little hard to follow, since you can’t be bothered to actually explain anything. I know I’m not Megan...”

“Martha.” The Doctor corrected sharply. “And no, you’re not her.”

“Sorry. But I’m stuck here, and from what you’ve said, I can’t go back until you figure this thing out. So instead of pushing me aside, or making me sit in the corner like a fucking kid, maybe I could actually help you with something.”

The Doctor stared at him.

“You want to help?” he said.

“Yes.” Sam said, relived.

“Alright then.” The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, and gave him a pointed stare. “But I have to warn you, this could be very dangerous. Lives at stake and all that.”

Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Don’t worry; I think I can handle it.”

“Back to your demons then?”

“They’re not my demons; I don’t have the fucking copyright. Do we have a deal?”

The Doctor rocked on his feet, before giving him a large smile.

“Sure, why not. Come on then, off we go!.” The Doctor put out his hand, and Sam looked down at it, confused.

“Uh…that’s okay. I’m good on my own I think. With the walking and everything.”

The Doctor glanced at his outstretched hand, then pulled back, sucking in a breath between his teeth.

‘Right, sorry. Old habits.”




 Dean

“We should go back.”

Dean’s eyes slid sideways to briefly glance at Martha, before returning to the road. His only response was to reach forward, and switch on the CD player on the dashboard. Black Sabbath filled the interior of the car with wailing guitar riffs, and he saw her recoil slightly from the sound.

“I’m serious.” She continued, raising her voice above the music. “We go back and…”

Dean shook his head, a small smirk forming on his lips.

Martha glared at him for a second, then quickly flipped the stereo off, silencing the music. The smile instantly vanished.

“Did you just touch my radio?” he said.

“We should go back and try to figure out what those things are, what they want. Running isn’t going to solve anything, not in the long run...”

“Did you just turn off my damn radio?” Dean repeated. Martha blew out a frustrated breath.

“Yes, Dean. I touched your penis—I mean stereo.”

The muscle in his jaw twitched, and he was torn between anger and amusement. She was cute when she was mad, a small line formed right between those big dark eyes of hers.

“Don’t mess with the tunes.” He said in the sternest voice he could manage.

“The tunes? Funny, this doesn’t look like a time machine. Do American’s still say that?”

“You know, I liked you better when you were scared. You talked less.”

“I wasn’t scared.” She retorted, and sat back in her seat. Her bottom lip gave the barest hint of a pout. “Just a bit…taken aback.”

“By the not demons?”

“They’re not. They can’t be.” She said. “They must be some alien life form, one UNIT hasn’t catalogued yet. They look like humans though, so they could be sort of hybrid…”

Her voice trailed off at the sound of his laughter, a loud booming noise that filled the car.

“What?” she snapped, which only made him laugh harder. “What’s so funny?” she repeated, very obviously pissed off.

He wiped the tears from his eyes as his laughter subsided.

“You’re killing me, you know that? You really think that alien shit makes more sense than hell being real? That there really are demons and witches, and ghost flying around, stirring shit up?”

“Witches?” she said.

“Yeah, witches. And I’d stay away from them if I were you, those bitches are crazy.”

He could see her dark eyes processing the information; trying to work out some logical answer he knew didn’t exist. He had to admit, she impressed him. The way she handled herself back there, and now, not even a hint of panic crossing her face.

She didn’t take things at face value, just because he said they were true. Which was frustrating as hell, but he couldn’t blame her. He was still having doubts about all that time machine shit.

“Aright, then.” She said finally. “So let’s just agree that whatever those things were, they wanted something, yeah?”

“Oh, yeah.” Dean agreed as he made a left turn onto a narrow bridge. “They wanted something alright. Like a warm, sexy, body to crawl into.”

Martha gave a small grin, and tilted her head a bit.

“Sexy? Really?” she said. Dean turned his head and gave her that crooked smile.

“Sure.” He said. “I’m pretty damn hot. You didn’t notice?”

A small shout of laughter burst forth, which she quickly smothered with her hand, looking out of her window instead. He grinned in earnest, strangely pleased that he’d made her laugh.

“You really think a lot of yourself, don’t you?” she said when she’d turned around. The little line was back, the smile only a memory.

Dean shrugged.

“Someone has to—shit!”

The car suddenly braked, wheels squealing in protest as they slid forward. Martha’s hand braced against the dashboard, their bodies where tensely ridged until the Impala came to an abrupt stop.

Dean stared out the front windshield, the lights from the car illuminating the narrow bridge. There was a slight fog in the air, but he made out her small form easily enough. He’d know that bitch anywhere.

He swung the car door open, and jumped out, before slamming it closed again. Their eyes met as he stalked toward her, and he reached for his gun, before realizing that he’d left it back in the car. Again.

“What the fuck did you do to my car!” he shouted.

Ruby eyed him carefully before responding, her body never moving an inch.

“Where’s Sam?”

The Doctor

He didn’t want to be here. Too many memories. Of dying, of fear.

Of River.

It had crossed his mind that Dr. River Song had once again drawn him to The Library, as she had before. The woman had known him, known everything really. She’d talked of their time together, the intimacy and trust between them. And that it hadn’t happened yet. Their adventures lie ahead somewhere, stuck between his future and her past.

And then she died. And he had grieved her, this woman who he had yet to meet. Left her behind, in this world of books and shadows.

Deadly shadows.

“Doctor?”

He snapped out his reverie to focus on Sam’s face.

“Yes, what is it?”

“Maybe…” Sam cleared his throat and started again. “I was thinking that maybe whatever happened the first time you were here, that it might have something to do with the ship coming back.”

“That’s a reasonable assumption yes.” The Doctor said. He’d already made that connection, but he didn’t bother to tell Sam that. The boy was bright, and he could see his mind working, trying to figure out the puzzle.

Just like Martha would do.

“Okay.” Sam went on. “So, I’m thinking we should retrace your steps, go to each place you went last time to see if there were any clues.”

The Doctor rocked back a bit, frowning.

“That could work. Only one problem though.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re not going inside those buildings under any circumstances, is that clear? There’s an agreement in place, and if I break that in any way...”

“You’ll get eaten by the tree monsters?”

“Yes—no, would you stop calling them that? They’re called Vashta Nerada, and there are millions of millions of them in those buildings.” The pointed toward the skyline, where scores of buildings reached high into the sky.

“They swarm in shadows of forests, live among trees. They’re the smallest of creature, almost harmless on their own. But together….” The Doctor’s eyes darkened. “Together they’ll eat you alive.”

He could see Sam’s hands twitch a bit.

“Thinking about those books you carried?” The Doctor said.

“No.” Sam replied as he reached up to scratch his neck.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I just… Dammit, I get it okay, it’s dangerous. I was just thinking…you know, retrace your steps. Like when you lose your keys...”

The Doctor’s eyes widened.

“Hold on.” He said. “Keys…keys…I lost my…ha! That’s it!”

“What?” Sam said, but The Doctor was already running around the stone courtyard, careful to stay in the bright sunlight.

“Yes, yes…that must be it.” The Doctor said out loud. He could hear Sam trailing behind, his feet heavy on the flat surface.

“Watch the…”

“Shadows.” Sam finished, panting slightly. “I got it, you don’t have to, whoa…”

The Doctor stopped at the sound of his voice, spinning around. Sam was frozen staring at his feet, his face slightly pale. The Doctor followed his line of sight to the shadows below, two dark reflections of Sam’s body reaching in opposite directions.

Sam looked back up at him, his face grim.

“That’s bad right?”

Martha

“Who’s she?”

Dean glanced at Martha briefly before returning his gaze to the pretty blond standing in front of the car. Martha hung back slightly, noting the violent hostility between them.

Old girlfriend perhaps?

“Martha, get back in the car.” Dean said, his voice sharp with tension. Martha’s response was cut off by the blond, whose blue eyes quickly swung towards her.

“Yes, Martha.” The blond said with derision. “Get back in the car and let the grownups talk.”

“The bloody fuck...” Martha started for her, dark eyes filled with anger. Dean reached out a hand, stopping her from going further. He gave a small shake of his head, his eyes never letting the girl out his sight.

“Don’t.” he said. “Don’t let that bitch come near you.”

“That’s right sweetie.” The girl said, her head tilting to the side ever so slightly. “Listen to your dumbass boyfriend. You’re out of your depth.”

Martha bristled at the taunt, her body warm with anger. She turned to Dean, raising her eyebrow.

“She’s a demon.’ Dean said, before the question left her lips. “And a shitty one at that ain’t that right Ruby?”

The smile on Ruby’s lips faltered a bit.

“Fuck you.” she said. Dean smiled, and turned to Martha.

“Hey, did you know they kicked her out of hell?” he said. “Apparently, her hell buddies didn’t like it when she was rubbing her tits all over my brother, trying to snare him with her moldy snatch. So they won’t let poor Ruby play in any reindeer games. Right bitch?”

Ruby’s eyes briefly turned pitch black as she fumed, before switching back to a clear icy blue.

“I don’t have time for this shit, where’s Sam?”

“Where your nasty ass can’t find him.” Dean said. Ruby rolled her eyes, before focusing back on Martha.

“Whatever you’ve done, you need to fix it. And fast.” She said. Martha shook her head in confusion.

“What I’ve…I haven’t done anything—and why are you speaking to me as if you know who I am? First the pointing, and now the bitchy asides, do I know you? Have we met before?”

Ruby sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Everybody knows about you sweetheart. You’re big game.”

“Game?” Her brow furrowed. “Game, like bloody cattle or something?”

“Cattle?” Dean said. She shrugged.

“It was the first thing…sod it, what do you mean, game? Like I’m being hunted?”

“You got it cutie.” Ruby said, a cool smile on her face. “There’s a price on your head, one that every demon, vamp, and furry is dying to collect on.”

“Well that….that…” Martha shook her head, smiling tiredly. “That’s not even a possibility, I just got here. Not even…” she looked at her watch.

“Around…oh hell, this is all messed up. The TARDIS, it does this thing with watches…”

She stopped at Dean’s warning stare. Right, no Doctor talk in front of Bitchy Demon Lady.

“Well, you’ve made an impression on somebody.” Ruby said. “Wish I had more info, but as your dickish companion so eloquently put it, I’m officially out of the hellfire loop. Heard about you over some drunken bar talk.”

“And you just had to come and what?” Dean said. “Throw a bit of sunshine our way?”

“I came to warn Sam.” She said. “But I couldn’t feel him, not even a little. What have you…”

“Alright, powwow’s over.” Dean lifted his arm, shooing her away. “Fly away home wicked bitch from down under. We’re finished here.”

Martha watched her eyes, saw her consider attacking him, before backing down.

“For your sake, Sam better be okay.” Ruby said, slowly backing away. “Otherwise, I’m just a hop, skip and a jump away from killing your ass.”

“I’ll be waiting skank.” Dean called out. Ruby stopped for a second and smiled.

“Too bad about your car though.” She said. Dean’s face became stone.

“What the fuck did you do…”

“I guess you’re gonna have to run then.” Ruby called out. “Better hop to it.”

“Run?’ Why the hell would I…..oh…”

Martha felt a hard shove and she was thrown face down into the street. She looked up to see a large, burly form tackle Dean head on and send him flying though the air, landing next to the railing of the bridge.

The thing spun around and faced her, and Martha’s body jumped slightly before sliding frantically away from the grotesquely twisted face.

“Dark One….” It groaned, its mouth filled with something black and disgusting.

Martha let out a nervous breath.

“I don’t suppose you’d like to chat about this first?” she said. The thick dark spittle dripped from its mouth, onto its chin.

“Right.” She said, slightly mesmerized by the sight. “I guess that’s a no.”

Sam

He wasn’t really scared until he saw the look on The Doctor’s face. It wasn’t there long, just a quick flash before going pensive and thoughtful. But he knew what he saw, and had a pretty good idea what a look like that meant.

And none of it was good.

“Don’t move.” The Doctor said, reaching out a hand in warning. “Just don’t….just stay completely still.”

“Don’t move, stay still. Got it.” Sam looked down at the shadows, each veering out diagonally from each other. It was such an odd feeling, a small thing that everyone took for granted. But when it changed, when you suddenly have two shadows instead of one, it can feel…odd. Disjointed.

Terrifying.

“Okay, so now what?” Sam said. The Doctor’s eyes wouldn’t meet his, but stayed firmly on the ground. “Hello? Suggestions, comments?”

“I’m thinking.” The Doctor said, and he began to slowly circle around Sam, never getting close enough to touch the shadow of course.

“This is what happened isn’t it?” Sam said. The Doctor stopped walking.

“To those people, the first time. Is this how they died, staring at the fucking ground?”

The Doctor walked closer, not bother to look at his feet this time. He placed a firm hand on Sam’s shoulder, his gaze direct and steady.

“Listen to me; you are not going to die. I told you I wouldn’t lose anyone else on this planet and I meant it. Understand?”

Sam’s gaze drifted down, but The Doctor dipped his head, catching his gaze once more.

“Sam.” The Doctor said. “Do you understand? Do you believe me?”

“Yeah.” Sam nodded, because strangely, he did. “Yeah, I do.”

“Good.” The Doctor let go of his shoulder, and looked at the shadow with newfound intensity. “Now we just have to….wait, hold on...”

He knelt to the ground, his eyes riveted at Sam’s feet. Sam refused to look down now, sure the little Vasta Whatevers were slowly eating away at his feet, swarming over his body like little vampire gnats.

“What is it?” Sam said, relived his voice was still a normal pitch.

“It’s gone.”

Sam’s eyes widened and he looked down. Only one shadow remained, and as he moved his arm, it moved with him. All normal looking and non lethal.

His face erupted in a huge smile of relief as the Doctor stood once more.

“Oh, that’s great.” Sam said, meaning every word. “That’s just so damn awesome.”

“Yes...” The Doctor said thoughtfully, his brows still narrowed. “Only the Vashta Nerada aren’t really the sort to just…scamper off like that, are they?”

“I have no idea.” Sam said smiling, but he didn’t think the man was really listening.

“No, no…they’re relentless these things. They hunt you until…well, until they eat you. But they just left you alone…”

The curious gaze fell on Sam this time, and he took an involuntary step backwards, smile slowly fading.

“I didn’t do anything.” Sam said. The Doctor’s head dropped, and he felt the weight of that hard gaze.

“You sure about that?” The Doctor said. “Is there something you’re not telling me Sam? Something about you I’m not aware of?”

Sam smiled nervously and scratched his head.

“That’s kinda rich coming from you Mr. Doctor, no last name, just The Doctor.”

The head lifted and the eyes softened just slightly.

“Bit of a sore spot? Alright then.” The Doctor said. “But that won’t stop me from finding out the truth, I tend to do that. Just so happens that we have more pressing matters to attend to.”

Sam resisted the urge to sigh in relief as The Doctor took off again. He trailed behind him, keeping his eyes to the ground the entire time. But there were no more shadows; it was as if they’d all just vanished at once.

Like they ran away or something.

“Here we are!” The Doctor said as they reached a long descending stair case. He made quick work of the steps, and stopped at a long railing overlooking The Library buildings.

Sam looked down at the railing to see a well worn blue book, a journal by the look of it. Some kind of pen looking thing sat on top. Well, it wasn’t really a pen, it was a bit longer, and thicker, with a bunch of…stuff on it. More like a tool really.

“What’s that?” Sam said, unable to keep the curiosity out of his voice. The Doctor stared at it for several seconds, before slowly lifting it off the book.

“That, young Sam.” The Doctor said. “Is my lost set of keys.”

Dean

He’d lost count of how many times some fucking demon had tossed him around like a beanbag. They were strong, too damn strong. And the landing hurt a little bit more every time.

And it pissed him off. Every fucking time.

Dean slowly got to his feet, watching the asshole advance on Martha, who was scrambling for the other side of the bridge. He could run for his gun, but it would probably get to her before the car door was even open. So he opted for plan B.

Full running tackle right into the thing’s gut.

It worked of course. It always worked. He threw it off balance, and it let out a loud howl before crashing to the ground. Dean felt a brief moment of satisfaction, before his arm was twisted violently, causing him to scream out in pain.

Plan B always did hurt like a bitch.

He heard the splashing of water below and looked up to see that Martha had vanished, probably ran under the bridge somewhere. Which was good, he didn’t have to worry about keeping her safe while he….got his ass kicked by this particularly funky hell creature.

Dean twisted around, breaking its grip on his arm, and landed a sharp head butt squarely in the middle of its face. While it recovered from the blow, Dean rolled sideways, then sprung to his feet, his hands balled up, his body in a fighting stance.

It was good while it lasted.

It reared at him again, so quickly that he didn’t have time to react and suddenly he was pressed against the railing of the bridge, splintered wood tearing at his back. It was trying to push him over, and as his body shifted further over the side, Dean realized it was winning.

“God…dammit.” Dean grunted, his arms shaking with effort as he pushed back, trying to keep his body planted. As his feel slipped a little bit further, suddenly the demon howled with pain, its death grip loosening, before letting go completely.

Dean stared at the thing, eyes wide as it writhed in agony, wailing at the top of its lungs. It twisted and turned, and as it spun around, he realized that Martha’s arms were firmly planted around its neck, her small body hanging on for dear life.

“Little help!” She called out and he sprung into action, quickly running up behind her.

They pushed the demon to the other side of the bridge, and Dean gave it a solid punch to the face, causing it to fall over the railing and into the water below. They leaned over the railing, and watched as it drifted downstream, still howling along the way. After a few moments, the demon was gone, and the bridge was filled only with the sound of their labored breathing.

Dean slowly turned to Martha, who looked back at him silently. She was soaking wet, her hair plastered to her head, her shirt and pants clinging to her body, dripping huge puddles around her feet.

“Salt water?” he said.

She nodded, then shivered a bit. “I remember reading in a book about salt and…demons once, that they don’t like it. I took a chance that the water wasn’t fresh. Good on me, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Dean said as he stared at her. He was struck by a sudden desire to kiss her, pull that soft little body into his. His hands flexed at his sides as he fought the urge. Instead, he shook off his leather jacket and tossed it around her shoulders.

“Let’s get you dry.” He said, and began to walk back to the car. “The last thing I need is you getting sick on me on top of everything else.”

“You’re welcome.” Martha called out, before slowly trailing behind him. She opened her door, and dropped inside, and he forced himself not to think about what her wet clothes would do to the seat. She had saved his life, which gave her a bit of leeway.

Dean closed his door and hesitated for a moment. He turned the key and the car purred to life, steady and strong.

“That lying bitch.” Dean said.

“Yeah, she’s a real shit. Can we go now?” He nodded, and put the car in gear. His eyes glanced sideways.

“Thanks.” He said, and then quickly turned on the stereo before she could respond.

The Master

His hand ticked on the wooden table impatiently, his other holding his resting chin. Lilith avoided his gaze, choosing to brush the ratted hair of her broken doll.

He didn’t speak, though he wanted to, very much. He wanted to scream, his throat was aching with it, but he stayed calm. The last time he yelled at her, really reamed her out, she’d broken into tears, then ripped his tongue out. He didn’t relish growing that back again.

Finally, when he felt able to speak at a normal level, he addressed her.

“Lilith?”

“Yes, Mr. Master?”

He hated when she called him that.

“Right. Pet, could you explain to me, just one more time how the fuck Martha Jones went from flying though time and space, to land in the godddam arms of a fucking demon hunter?”

Okay, that was a bit harsher than he intended. Luckily, she didn’t seem phased by his words, her hand never straying from the doll.

“I put her there.” She said.

“You did?” The Master nodded tightly. “And it never occurred to you that having her shacked up with a demon hunter might but a damper on the whole….hell minions killing her scenario?”

“Not really. I didn’t think about it.”

“You didn’t…oh, okay. Why not?”

She looked up at him now, her eyes a blinding white.

“Because I don’t want her, I want him.” She said. “And I can find him now that he has the Dark One, because I can find her.”

The Master rubbed his eyes in frustration.

“And you didn’t think this was something I should know? You got me all bloody excited. Jesus, I had a fucking hard on for a moment there.”

She looked down at his crotch and he resisted the urge to turn away.

“Don’t do that.” He said. “I may be a twisted sick bastard, but I draw the line at wee ones staring at my cock. “