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Somehow, Robyn realised, she was floating, high above a house in Provence, France, in the year eighteen-ninety... above a very familiar house. But there was no way she could be back there again, could there? She was asleep, tucked up safely in her bed on the TARDIS, wasn't she? Robyn shook her head, trying to clear it from all the conflicting ideas, and then felt a light hand touch her shoulder, and she suddenly became aware of the fact that she was not alone. She looked up, into the face of her companion, and gasped. She'd only seen the face in front of her once before, and that was in a photograph her father had shown her.
It was Rose Tyler...
But at the same time, it wasn't Rose Tyler.
"Hello Robyn," greeted the being who was both Rose Tyler, and not Rose Tyler.
"Um, hello," the little girl returned, still confused by what was going on.
The being who was both Rose Tyler, and not Rose Tyler, laughed, and smiled even brighter. "You don't need to fear, Robyn," she (for that was the only pronoun Robyn could think of that worked in context) said. "I'm a friend, a very dear friend, of your father's, and I need your help."
Robyn cocked her head to the side. "Why do you need my help?" she asked. "What can I do, that someone else can't?"
"You can dream, and help those who stopped believing in fairytales to believe again."
"I can?"
The being who was both Rose Tyler, and not Rose Tyler nodded. "You can," she echoed. "But you must also give your father a warning."
"A warning?" Robyn replied, beginning to feel confused again. "From who?"
"From me... the Bad Wolf."
Robyn's eyes widened. The Bad Wolf, as her father had told her, only appeared when things were at their darkest. When the universe was in the greatest, gravest, danger. "What do I need to do?"
The Bad Wolf took her by the hand. "There are things you need to see first," she said sadly. "Beginning with that house down there."
Before she knew what was happening, Robyn felt herself disappear, then reappear in the main room of the home belonging to Vincent Van Gogh. The man in question was lying on a couch, crying and screaming, as something tormented his mind. His only companions were a man, and a woman, and to Robyn's horror, she recognised them both.
"That's Dr. Gachet," she murmured, recalling the man from his likeness in the Musee d'Orsay. "And that's the mother of the poor girl who got killed by the Krafayis." Robyn frowned. "What's she doing here?"
"That's Madame Vernet," the Bad Wolf replied. "Vincent's landlady. She assists the good doctor whenever she can, but she's at her wit's end." The Bad Wolf shook her head sadly. "Vincent doesn't have much time left, I'm afraid."
Tears formed in the corners of the little girl's eyes. "Uncle Vincent..." she said sadly, reaching out to the distraught man. But he didn't hear her, nor did he see her, continuing to fight against all Dr. Gachet's efforts to calm him down. She looked up at the Bad Wolf. "What are they saying?"
"Madame Vernet is exasperated that the entire village have to listen to his screaming," the Bad Wolf explained. "But Dr. Gachet knows that Vincent can't help it, because he's very ill."
Robyn nodded. She knew the artist was due to die quite soon after she, Amy, and the Doctor, had left him, but to see him in this way... when she could almost feel when he was about to die, was the most heartbreaking thing she'd been through in her relatively short life. She wiped the tears from her face, then realised that Dr. Gachet, and Madame Vernet were now looking something that was resting on a nearby easel. "What are they saying now?" she asked.
"Vincent's painted another painting," the Bad Wolf told her. "But the subject is nothing that the good doctor and landlady have seen before. Madame Vernet believes it's worse than his other paintings, but we know better, don't we?"
Robyn smiled slightly, then nodded.
"But now it's time to leave this place, and move to our next destination," the Bad Wolf announced, taking her by the hand.
"But... can't I see Uncle Vincent's painting?"
The Bad Wolf shook her head. "Not yet, little one, you'll see it at the same time as your father, and not a moment sooner. But you do need to see how it gets to him."
But before Robyn could protest any further, everything around her went dark, and then almost immediately became light again, as they two of them left Vincent's house, and reappeared in a place that she did not recognise. She looked around in alarm. "Where are we now?" She paused. "When are we now?"
"Nineteen-forty, in the Cabinet War Rooms of Winston Churchill himself."
"But I've never been here before." said Robyn, looking around in confusion. "Why have you brought me here?"
Wordlessly, the Bad Wolf led her into an office, where two men were standing before a painting, which had been propped up on a chair, while they studied it. To Robyn's annoyance, she still couldn't see the subject of the painting, even though it was right there in front of her. She wanted to walk around the other side and catch a glimpse, but she knew the Bad Wolf wouldn't allow it. "What are they saying?" she asked.
"The man with the gloved hand," the Bad Wolf began, "is not really a man. Well, not a man of flesh and blood, at least. That is Edwin Bracewell, and he's brought Van Gogh's painting to Prime Minister Churchill because he believes the painting is a message, as you already know, and he believes that they are meant to deliver it to your father."
Robyn frowned. "But how are they meant to do that?"
The Bad Wolf smiled cryptically. "You'll see in a moment..."
Looking back at the two men, Robyn noticed that the man with the cigar, Prime Minister Churchill, as the Bad Wolf had called him, was now sitting at his desk, dialling a number into his telephone. "He's trying to call my father, isn't he?" she asked, glancing up at the Bad Wolf hopefully.
"Yes, he's trying to call your father," she confirmed. "But the call won't reach him, because the TARDIS will divert the call to someone else." She looked down at Robyn, and smiled again. "Would you like to see who receives the call?"
"You're probably going to show me anyway," Robyn replied, as the world around her dissolved once again.
When the world came back, the light around Robyn was no longer candlelight, or the warm electric light of the Cabinet War Rooms. This light was green, and dark, and Robyn could hear rain outside, not unlike when she was floating above Vincent's house. She wondered who could possibly be in this strange place that Prime Minister Churchill would call, when he really wished to speak to her father.
"This is Stormcage," the Bad Wolf told her. "The TARDIS has diverted the call here, because she believes one of the prisoners here will be able to help your father."
Robyn looked up at her in confusion. "Prisoners?" she asked incredulously. "This is a prison?"
The Bad Wolf nodded. "There's one prisoner here that knows your father quite well," she replied. "Although their time streams haven't hit the middle ground yet. Your father knows how she is going to die, but doesn't know anything about her beyond that."
Just then, the telephone on the wall started to ring, and a guard, who was making his rounds, moved to answer it. There seemed to be a little confusion on the guard's part, until a woman in the opposite cell, who was reading a blue book, stood and wrapped her hands around the bars.
By now, Robyn was getting frustrated that she couldn't hear what was being said. "What are they saying?" she asked again.
"That is Doctor River Song," the Bad Wolf explained. "She was imprisoned here in Stormcage for killing a man, but she works regularly to obtain a pardon. One of your father's recent adventures was one of her missions. The TARDIS has diverted Prime Minister Churchill's call here, to her, and once she's learnt about the painting, she will escape and attempt to contact your father." She took Robyn's hand again. "There's not much time left," she said, "and we still have a few more places to go."
And before Robyn could stop her, the Bad Wolf made the world go dark once again, but this time, the world did not become light again. Through the darkness, Robyn could make out lots, and lots, of picture frames, frames that still had the paintings in them, even though quite a few looked worse for wear. She could also see River Song, prowling between the paintings as if she were looking for one of them in particular. She approached one of the paintings, running her torch over it to get a better look... then ripped it straight for the frame and rolled it up.
Robyn shook her head in disbelief. "What's going on?" she asked, as the world suddenly brightened. "Why is River stealing that painting?"
"Because it's the painting your father needs to see," the Bad Wolf explained. "And the woman who turned on the lights is Queen Elizabeth the Tenth."
"But why is she pointing a gun at River?"
"Simply protecting her property." The Bad Wolf went on to explain that the Doctor had helped the Queen a very long time ago, according to her personal time line, and that by helping River, she believed she was fulfilling her debt to the Time Lord. "And now, we move on," she continued. "To the next stop on our, and River's, journey."
The transition was much faster this time, as the world changed as soon as the Bad Wolf snapped her fingers. There were suddenly aliens of all shapes and size all around her, all of whom were customers of the bar the Bad Wolf had brought her to.
"There," said the Bad Wolf, pointing to the booth opposite the bar. "River again, this time acquiring a vortex manipulator, which your father will find very handy later on."
Suddenly Robyn grew very afraid. Something about the Bad Wolf's stance, the cold hard look she was giving River, even though River herself couldn't see either of them, terrified her. Why did it seem like something bad was going to happen when her father used this 'vortex manipulator' and why it did it feel like it had something to do with that vision she had on Aickman Road? She turned to the Bad Wolf, intending to ask her what was going on, why she had shown her this journey, both River's, and the painting's, but stopped when she realised that everything had gone dark. The bar was gone, and now she, and the Bad Wolf, were standing in complete and total darkness.
And they were completely alone.
"It's amazing the things that can happen in the course of one night, isn't it?" said the Bad Wolf, sitting down on the floor... if there was a floor. "All of that, in one night, and yet across hundreds of years."
"Why did you show me those things?" Robyn asked at last, sitting down opposite her. "Because I'm not sure I'm meant to tell my Dad exactly what I saw, but you still want me to warn him." She frowned. "Warn him about what?"
The Bad Wolf reached out, touching her face delicately, and tucking her hair behind her ears. "Things have been set in motion, and your father must be ready to face them. The Silence is coming, and I know how it will come about, but I can't help him this time... I can't save him this time." A look of anguish came over the Bad Wolf's features, and Robyn knew this was the part of her that was Rose shining through.
"And you want me to act in your place."
"As much as you're able."
Robyn was quite for a few moments, then nodded. "I'll do it."
The Bad Wolf's smile was radiant, and she gathered the little girl into a warm hug. "Thank you," she said softly. "You won't regret a thing, and once you've played your part, your reward will be waiting for you."
But before Robyn could ask her what she meant, or ask her what her reward might be... the Bad Wolf vanished...
And she woke up.
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