As he stepped out of the TARDIS, he felt his limbs shaking, however he knew he had nothing to fear of. Thronocrays were not the best species of all, but neither very agressive – just and simply deadly. They didn't want to kill, but they needed to keep their body together, and the best way for it was – well, to steal something else living's binding force. The inorganic material were much less complicated, they contained much less energy. A rat was enough for a month for them, but if they got a bigger body... It could keep them alive for several years. A humanoid's body could last for a hundred.
If the story was faithful, then he shouldn't have been afraid either. If the girl was still partly human, then she wouldn't attack him – except if her molecular density was on a very low level. If it wasn't, she could still feed on constant food, so it was nothing to fear of. At least, the Doctor hoped so.
It was difficult to find the way into the cave: the perception filter was still alive, and the scanner he left by River, so he only got the sonic, which surprisingly was still functional in the middle of the strong magnetic field of the planet, but not so reliable as ever.
'I should make an own isolation field for it...' he murmured for himself, and went on towards the cliff. 'If there's a Thronocray alive in there, it could be wise to be cautious.' he said half-aloud, and then realized he was alone. It was only yesterday he left Amy and Rory at home – just to give them space – and came to visit his wife, and now he was alone. "You shouldn't travel alone." he heard Amy's voice in his mind, and knew she was right.
'Maybe I should go and ask Sarah Jane to give me back K-9.' he thought aloud, and then realized he was talking to himself again. He slapped himself on the face and then shook his head.
'Focus, Doctor, there's a girl in need inside there.' he said aloud, and took a deep breath, and stepped inside the cave. As the world went dark around him, his vision got unfocused, he could not see the door again.
'Interesting, how my mind got used to perception filters... It can identify them just by the absence of the space.' he told, and took out the sonic and scanned the place again. 'But this one is strong, very strong.' he continued talking to himself, but he didn't mind now. He soniced the wall and his vision got clearer once more, and he stepped inside the chamber. It was quite big for an ordinary room in a cliff, and far more clear-cut. There was a bed hollowed in the rock, and something like a table, and a panel in the wall. He decided to make it alive first of all – maybe it could give him answers before being eaten by a half-stable energy-being. It remembered him to something what happened so long ago...
'Fourhundred years ago?...' he wondered, and for a moment he thought he found the memory, but then it slipped away. He shrugged: after so many places, faces and adventures it was no surprise he couldn't remember.
'So many people...' he whispered, and shook his head. It was so many people he met, every single of them a brilliant person, and now he couldn't remember what they did or experienced next to him.
'I hope they remember at least. And hold those times dear.' he whispered again, when a terrifying shriek came from the direction of the other corner of the room. the Doctor jumped and soniced the darkness in the direction of the scream.
'Oh come on, not now!' he shouted at the device, when it didn't give him a data. 'Not now, the magnetic field is on far lower level inside here!' he shouted, and then spinned around searching his environment with his own sensitory. He heard the sound of the wind, or something which made the similar noise – and then he got glimps those red spots he expected when he stepped inside the chamber. However he knew what he faced, it didn't make him feel more comfortable.
'Okay, alright.' he gasped, and his hearts beat with incredible pace. He swallowed and tried to get back his contiousness while the red spots neared him slowly.
'Right. Right then.' he breathed deep and straightened. 'Princess Marcella, if I'm not wrong.' he called out in a loud voice, but the spots neared him without slowing.
'I'm the Doctor, and I'm here to help.' he tried again, but the spots got nearer and nearer, and he began to back slowly.
'Princess, please, listen to me. You can sip my internal energy, or you can let me help and gain back your ordinary form. Would you please stay in a place and stop frightening me to death?' he said then desperately, and the spots stopped. They levitated in a place for a moment, but then a blood-curdling cry was heard, and the spots got brighter.
'Okay, maybe the words weren't the best...' the Doctor whispered and swallowed. But then the lights went up in his mind, and he hurriedly took out the sonic.
'Please stay still, Princess, I will give you back your original voice.' he set on the sonic, and hold out. 'I hope it will work...' he murmured half desperately, half determined, and then pushed the button squeezing his eyes. When he opened them, he saw the spots floating in the spot they were when he last saw them, and shining confused.
'Alright.' he whispered, and slowly stirred and took away the sonic. The spots were still in the same position. 'Princess?' he called for the creature, and searched the spots cautiously. When there was no answer, he took a step closer to them, and called again. 'Marcella? Say something.' The silence was deep, only his breath was loud. 'Come on, girl, you can do this. Don't be afraid. You won't scare anybody now.' he tried, and a quiet mourn was heard from the direction of the spots.
'I...' he heard the voice of the creature, and his face lapsed in an encouraging smile.
'C'mon, Marcella, that's it. Say something. Say your name. What's your name?' he told merrily, and stepped nearer to the spots.
'I'm...' he heard that female voice again.
'That's it, that's it.' he whispered encouraging, and neared the red eyes.
'I'm... Death.' he heard the words, and the smile on his face froze as the spots began to move towards him again.
'Okay.' his limbs began to shake again. 'Okay, that's not the thing I expected.' he backed from the spots, and bumped into the panel in the wall. As his fingers touched the buttons, his mind switched to panicking mode. He spinned around and began to tipe the keyboard, and call the system alive.
'C'mon, if they wanted to store a human, they had to make lights. So were's the light switch? C'mon, be light!' he hissed, and he pushed the last button, and the room got bright as daylight.
'Hah!' he cried victoriously, but the red spots still neared him, and they got faster.
'Okay.' he swallowed with scared, wide eyes 'That's not what supposed to happen.' he told, and grimaced.
'Plan B. Run!' he told himself, and with a battlecry he cut his way off next to the creature and run towards the door – well, towards the black spot, where his mind could focus the less. And as darkness covered him, he turned towards the only bright spot in the place, and in a moment he was out of the cave: daylight covered him from every side. He stopped to turn and gaze at the hole in the cliff, but nothing happened. The red spots did not follow him. He gave a relieved sigh and took some breaths to calm his racing hearts. When he got his breath, he turned and walked back to the TARDIS.
* * *
River stood at the bar and searched the room: the light was dim, but she could tell from every person its species and origin planet. He studied them for long years at the Academy, but she couldn't find that expanorian. Every person was there whom she left, but not the purple alien. She wondered where he left in that five minuits she spent outside with her husband – well, the five minuits later where she timed the vortex-manipulator. She was still at Angalet 7, but she was here too, but not the purple male.
She sipped her martini wondering what she supposed to do, when she heard a well-known voice next to her.
'Same as the lady, please.' the voice ordered the bartender, and River's lips lapsed in a sly smile.
'How's Gamora?' she asked, not facing the person next to her.
'She's still searching for Nebula's body at Xandar. She won't calm till she finds it or her alive.' the man told, and smiled at River. 'How do you do, Miss Song?'
'Doctor Song to you, Quill.' she turned to the man and smiled.
'Ooh you finished the academy then? Impressing.' he nodded.
'Not as impressing as your knew outfit.' River flirted, and the man laughed up.
'As I recall, you're a married woman, Doctor Song.'
'Oh yes I am. But my husband is below on the planet fighting a deadly princess, so I have a little time to chat.'
'Princess?' the man snorted. 'There are princesses around the galaxy everywhere these days.'
'And you've got one for yourself, too.'
'Gamora's not a princess, she's an assassin.'
'Daughter of Thonos, yes.'
'Adopted.'
'As I recall.'
'Still a good girl.'
'Possibly.'
'Could we step over it?' the man sipped from his martini, and split it out. 'What the hell is that?!'
'Martini.'
'I hate it. Beer, or something close to it!' he shouted at the bartender, and he nodded.
'So, what buisness called you here to the other corner of the galaxy, Peter?' River turned her head away from the embarrassed bartender.
'Just a buisness.' he told, as he took the glass from the man's hand.
'Who is it?' River asked slyly, and watched the man looking around in the room.
'Laurie Hex, an expanorian. He made a dirty buisness with the leader of Angalet's underworld. I give him to the police, they give me fourhundred-thousand credits.' he explained without expressions. River's face went serious.
'I need him too. But I need him first, because I need information from him.'
'What about?'
'The seismical activity at the planet. And/or the thronocrays.'
The man made a mouth and then nodded.
'If you help me to find him, I leave you question him first, and I deliver him just after that.'
'Alright.' she told and stood from the bar. 'Let's go.'
'Where?' the man frowned.
'To Angalet's capo.'