For Vincent, it was the next morning. While the Doctor went to get the man, Amy, and I stood outside in the courtyard surrounded by potted sunflowers. I stood more to the side rather than sitting next to Amy on the bench. When the two came outside, Amy called to Vincent from down below. "I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving me last night."

"Ah," exclaimed Vincent.

I joined in on the conversation, leaving my spot by the tree and went to stand to the left of Amy. "We thought you would like to, you know, possibly paint them sometime? Just a thought." I told him.

Vincent inspected a flower we placed on the balcony. "Yes, well, they're not my favorite flower."

Amy was absolutely shocked. "you don't like sunflowers?"

"No, it's not that I don't like them. I find them complex." As Vincent continued, the Doctor came down from the balcony and poured orange juice into cups in front of Amy and me. "Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge."

"And one I'm pretty sure you'll rise to," the Doctor responded. "But moving on, there's something I need to show you."

We all went back inside Vincent's home, and the Doctor showed the artist the picture from the machine. To which Vincent responded with...

"That's him! And the eyes, without mercy."

"This is a creature called the Krafayis." The Doctor informed him. "They travel in space. They travel as a pack, scavenging across the universe. And sometimes one of them gets left behind. And because they are a brutal race, the others never come back. So, dotted all around the universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis." The Doctor sat down beside Vincent. "And what they do is, well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them. "

Vincent looked to the mad man next to him. "But I can."

"Yes. And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror." He paused. "So, feeling like painting the church today?"

"What about the monster?"

"Take my word for it," I responded. "If you paint the Krafayis, he'll come."

"Okay. I'll get my things." Agreed Vincent, starting to go to the other room.

"In your own time. And I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow." The painter seemed to pause at the doorframe, before leaving to get his things.

"This is risky," the Doctor stated when we knew he was out of hearing range.

"Riskier than normal?" Amy wondered.

The Doctor got up from his spot on the chair. "Well, think about it. This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the net result of our pleasant little trip will be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musee D'Orsay will disappear. And it will be our fault." The Doctor left to go check on Vincent.

As Amy and I waited for them to come, we heard yelling coming from another room. I jumped to my feet at the same time as her, looking to each other, then we both rushed out to see what happened. We went to the Courtyard and saw the Doctor coming out of Vincent's room.

"What's happening?" Asked Amy.

"We're leaving." He stated. "Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll- he'll take his own life." I felt him take my hand, it felt a tad different from his last regeneration's- but I'm not sure how to pinpoint how.

"Don't say that," Amy pleaded. "Please."

For once, the Doctor was silent. Pulling me with him, we went back to the part of the home we were in previously in- it relieved me when I heard Amy's feet following farther behind us. On our way out, we admired the paintings- starting with the picture of the prisoners exercising. As time went on, and Vincent never appeared, I started to get worried he won't show.

"Come on." The Doctor says. "We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding in when I saw Vincent walking into the room.

"I'm ready," he said. "Let's go."

It was when we were halfway up the trail to the church when I wrapped my head around how long I've been holding his hand. In a split second, I detached my hand from his and tucked it deep into my jacket's pocket. The other hand held the suitcase with the gizmo. I followed the Doctor as he went up to the two redheads in front of us. "Okay. Okay. So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns-"

Vincent turned to him and interrupted by saying, "then we shall fight him again."

"Well yes, tick. But last night we were lucky. They-" meaning Amy and me- "could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him too."

"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Questioned Amy.

I held up the case that held the thing that identified the Krafayis. "The answer is in this case," I clarified, but she still looked confused. "You'll see, you'll see."

We look to see a funeral coming down the other way. "Oh no, it's the poor girl from the village," Vincent says.

We all went to stand to the side of the road as they carried the coffin past, with a bouquet of sunflowers placed on top of it. Vincent put his hat back on once they passed us.

"You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy asked the Doctor.

"No," he admitted. "It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greatness."

My eyebrows knit together, and I once again let out a breath. "So, Amy. We don't have a plan and we're doomed."

Later, we all stood in the church's churchyard. Vincent sat down in front of the blank easel, and the three of us stood beside him. The Doctor put his hands on Vincent's shoulders, as if he were to give him a massage, and told him, "and you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters."

The artist turned to look at him. "Yes. While I may be mad, I'm not stupid."

The Doctor left the spot where he was standing and crouched down beside him. "No. Quite. And, to be honest, I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex-"

Vincent shushed him. "I'm working," he said.

"Well, yes." He exclaimed. "Paint. Do painting! I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Wow! What a whinger. I kept saying to him, 'Look if you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job then.'"

"Shush," ordered Amy.

"And Picasso." He continued later in the day. "What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye, either side of the face."

"Quiet!" I hissed at him.

And, of course, he didn't stop talking. The painting is almost finished, and an owl's hoot could be heard from inside the trees. "Is this how time normally passes? Really slowly. In the right order." He left his spot, sitting on the ground and walked over to a spot behind Vincent. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack."

Amy and I quit watching the artist paint (which was getting boring to watch, I won't lie. How do they do it?) and went to the Doctor. "Are you okay?" Amy asked him. "You seem a bit, if I didn't know you better, I'd say nervous."

"Yes. There's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it."

"There," hollered Vincent. "He's at the window."

We all turned to him, "where?" The Doctor asked.

"There, on the right." As Vincent answered, the Doctor ran to the case.

"As I thought," he says. "Come on. I'm going in."

"Well, I'm coming too," replied Vincent.

"Me too!" I announced.

"No! You're Vincent Van Gogh. No." The Doctor pleaded, then turned to me. "And you are too early, can't risk you getting hurt." I gave him a look, but he waved it off.

"But you're not armed," noted Vincent to the Doctor.

"I am."

"What with?"

"Overconfidence, this," he patted the briefcase, "and a small screwdriver. I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, Charlotte, only one thought, one simple instruction. Don't follow me under any circumstances."

"I won't," she said to him. I said nothing, but he still left with the case.

When he was out of earshot Vincent asked Amy, "will you follow him?"

"Of course."

"I love you," he responded.

A few minutes later, as Amy paced back and forth, I asked Vincent, "did he move yet?"

"No. Just shifted to the next window." He paused. "But, wait! He's turning now."

It wasn't long after when we heard a loud crash of something (like a mirror or glass) being smashed from inside the church. Surprised from the crash, I screamed in terror. The three of us looked to each other frantically. Amy yelled out the Doctor's name and started running to the entrance. I followed closely behind her.

Once Amy and I burst through the door, we immediately ran into the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Exclaimed Amy.

"Argh! I thought I told you two- never mind. We'll talk about it later. Quick, in here." He pulled me in with him into one side of the confessional. As the Doctor spoke to Amy, I pushed myself against the back wall. "Absolutely quiet." He told her. "Can you breathe a little quieter, please?"

"No." She denied. "He's gone past."

After he shushed her, the beast smashed Amy's side of the confessional- causing her to scream.

"I think he heard us," commented the Doctor.

"No kidding!" I whisper-yelled, and just in time, the Krafayis burst a hole into the door, right by my head.

"That is impressive hearing he's got," the Doctor reported. "What's less impressive are our chances of survival."

"Hey!" Vincent hollered in the main area. "Are you looking for me, sonny? Come on, over here. Because I'm right here waiting for you." I don't think I've ever been happier to hear someone's voice. We watch as Vincent fends off the invisible creature with a chair. "Come on. Quickly. Get behind me." Vincent called to us.

All at once, the three of us left the confessional and moved over to the artist. The Doctor attempted to do something (what it was; I don't know) with the sonic. "Doing anything?"

"Uh uh," Vincent told him. We moved out of that area to the outside area, with the beast in front of us.

The Doctor looked back and forth. "Where is he?"

"Where do you think he is, you idiot?" remarked Vincent. "Use your head." You could see and hear the creature create large footprints into the dirt as it stalked towards us.

He pointed the sonic toward the Krafayis. "Anything?"

"Nothing," Vincent answered. "In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it."

"Ooo." The Doctor moved farther behind Vincent, Amy and I.

"Duck!" Vincent called to him. The Doctor ducked from the animal. "Left!" He commanded again, only for the Doctor to get thrown like a rag doll by the beast once more. "Right, sorry. Your right, my left."

"This is no good at all," he remarked, getting up from being thrown. "Run like crazy and regroup."

"Oh, come on," Amy groaned. "In here." She showed us up some stairs and into a crypt. When we tried to close the door, the Krafayis jammed its foot in the door, trying to stop us from closing it. It worked for him until Vincent stomped his foot on top of his helping us close the door with ease.

"Right. Okay." The Doctor said, breathing fast after the trouble closing the door. "Charlotte, Amy, Rory-" like how Vincent stomped on the beast's foot, I did with the Doctor's- only much nicer.

"Who?" Wondered Amy.

Noticing his slip up, the Doctor responded with "sorry. Er, Vincent."

"What's our plan?" I queried.

"I don't know, actually. My only definite plan is that in the future I'm definitely just using this screwdriver for screwing in screws." He turned to me expectingly.

"What? Gross, no." I hope he wasn't thinking of getting eaten by him.

"Give me a second. I'll be back." Vincent told us before running away.

"I suppose we could try talking to him." He proposed.

Amy looked at him, shocked. "Talking to him?"

"Well, it would be interesting to get his perspective." I agreed. The beast's roar started to crescendo. "Doesn't seem like he's in the mood to talk at this exact moment." He hammered against the door.

"Well, no harm trying." He started speaking to the creature. "Listen. Listen! I know you can understand me, even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me. I also know that no one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please, listen. I also don't belong on this planet." He hesitated, before continuing. "I also am alone. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of, you know, understanding. And then- and then, who knows?" The Doctor was cut off by a window being broken in caused by the invisible Krafayis entering.

"Over here, mate!" Vincent called. We went over to him and crouched down behind a stone monument. In his hands, he held the easel he fetched- with its three-pointed legs facing forwards.

"What's it up to now?" The Doctor asked him.

"It's moving around the room." He replied. "Feeling its way around."

"What?"

"It's like it's trapped. It's moving around the edges of the room."

"I can't see a thing," remarked Amy.

"I am really stupid," the Doctor said to himself.

"Oh, get a grip!" Amy whisper-yelled to him. "This is not a moment to re-evaluate your self-esteem."

"No, I am really stupid, and I'm growing old." He stated. "Why does it attack but never eat its victims? And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die? And why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room? It can't see. It's blind." He started speaking much louder, "yes, and that explains why it has such perfect hearing!"

Vincent turned to him, "which unfortunately also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us."

"Vincent, what's happening?" I asked.

"It's charging now. Get back. Get back!" The three of us backed up, just as the beast stuck itself on the easel. Lifting Vincent in the air easily, before dropping to the ground wounded. We could see the floor getting wet from the blood. The Doctor crouched down next to him, trying to calm him.

"He wasn't without mercy at all." Vincent realized. "He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen. I only meant to wound it, I never meant to-"

"He's trying to say something."

"What is it?" The artist asked him.

"I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying, I'm afraid. I'm afraid." At that, I let out a shaky breath. "There, there. Shush, shush. It's okay, it's okay. You'll be fine. Shush." The Doctor comforted him.

"He was frightened, and he lashed out," Vincent stated. "Like humans who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me."

The easel stuck inside the beast stopped moving up and down.

"Sometimes winning- winning is no fun at all." The Doctor told us, and I couldn't agree more.

Out in the field, after that, we all lay on the ground in a circle with our heads in the middle and held hands. I was in between Amy and the Doctor. Above us was the night sky, with the stars shining and creating constellations I could never point out by memory. It's still such a crazy thought- if I continue traveling with him, I'll see them from different planets, or right up close.

"Hold my hand, Doctor," Vincent suggested. "Try to see what I see. We are so lucky we are still alive to see this beautiful world. Look at the sky. It's not dark and black and without character. The black is in fact deep blue. And over there, lighter blue. And blowing through the blueness and the blackness, the wind swirling through the air and then, shining, burning, bursting through, the stars. Can you see how they roar their light? Everywhere we look the complex magic of nature blazes before our eyes."

"I've seen many things, my friend." The Doctor told him. "But you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see."

"I will miss you terribly."

"And we will miss you too, Vincent," I told him. I felt the hand the Doctor held he hugged just a bit tighter

We all went back to Vincent's home, where he handed us the self-portrait of him in a straw hat. "I only wish I had something of real value to give you." He apologized.

"Oh, no, no, no. I could never accept such an extraordinary gift." The Doctor told him.

"Very well. You're not the first to decline the offer. Charlotte, how long have you been doing this?"

"Doing what?" I asked, before realizing what he meant. "Just about a day now. Why?"

"It's just, he looks at you like you've known each other for a thousand years- but you look at him like your surprised he exists." He told me.

My mouth dropped. "How did you catch that?"

"I am an artist. Amy," he turned to Amy. "The blessed, the wonderful."

"Be good to yourself, and be kind to yourself."

"I'll try my best."

"And maybe give the beard a little trim before you next kiss someone," she advised.

"I will, I will. And if you tire of this Doctor of yours, return, and we will have children by the dozen."

I laughed as Amy made an "eek" sound.

"Doctor, my friend." He said to him. "We have fought monsters together, and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well."

Not too long after, the three of us were out in the courtyard. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The Doctor asked.

"I was thinking I may need some food or something before we leave," Amy told him.

"Well, no, you're not thinking what I'm thinking. This will be fine, right?" He asked me.

I smiled. "Oh, everything will be fine."

"All right, good." He replied before calling to Vincent, "Vincent! I've got something I'd like to show you. Maybe just tidy yourself up a bit first."

When we go back to the Tardis, it was covered head to toe in advertising posters. "Now, you know we've had quite a few chats about the possibility there might be more to life than normal people imagine?" The Doctor asked him.

"Yes," Vincent answered.

"Well, brace yourself, Vinny."

When he looked inside, he immediately walked out and circled the Tardis. Meanwhile, I admired it from the inside. When people compare it to a treehouse, they're correct. I laughed. From the outside, I heard Vincent exclaim, "how come I'm the crazy one, and you two stay sane?"

I wonder how I will stay sane in the time I'll spend here- in the Tardis. Will I grow to become just as mad as him?

Vincent came in and asked about the controls on the console. "What do these things all do?"

"Oh, a huge variety of things. This one here, for instance, plays soothing music. While this one makes a huge amount of noise. And this one makes everything go absolutely tonto." He explained, then the Tardis started to get into flight.

"And this one?"

"That's the friction contrafibulator!"

"And this?"

"That's ketchup. And that one's mustard."

"Because you make burgers mid-flight?" I wondered.

"Why would I do that?" He looked at me as if I just said something way different.

"Mmm, nice," Vincent said. "Come on, back to the cafe and you can tell me about all the wonders of the universe."

"Good idea. Although, actually, there's a little something I'd like to show you first."

The Tardis landed outside of the museum, with the rest of the posters burned from the journey here on the side of the Tardis.

"Where are we?" Vincent asked.

"Paris, 2010 AD." The Doctor informed. "And this is the mighty Musee D'Orsay, home to many of the greatest paintings in history."

"Oh, that's wonderful," Vincent responded.

Two boys listening to the radio passed by. "Don't mind them," I told him. "There's something more important to show you."

We walked up the stairs into the Van Gogh exhibition. People wondered around looking at the paintings we saw only a little while ago, nearly brand new. "Doctor Black," the Doctor walked up to the guy running the exhibition. "We met a few days ago. I asked about the church at Auvers."

"Oh, yes. Glad to be of help. You were nice about my tie."

"Yes. And today is another cracker if I may say so. But I just wondered, between you and me, in a hundred words, where do you think Van Gogh rates in the history of art?"

"Well, big question, but to me, Van Gogh is the finest painter of them all. Certainly, the most popular great painter of all time. The most beloved. His command of color, the most magnificent." I felt the Doctor take my hand in his. "He transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world. No one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again. To my mind, that strange, wild man who roamed the fields of Provence was not only the world's greatest artist but also one of the greatest men who ever lived." I looked over to Vincent, to see him burst into tears.

"Vincent. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it too much?" The Doctor asked him.

"No." He confirmed, "they are tears of joy. Thank you, sir. Thank you." He went up to Doctor Black, kissed him on both cheeks then hugs him.

"You're welcome." He responded. "You're welcome."

Vincent rubbed his beard, "sorry about the beard." He apologized, before walking away. Leaving Doctor Black flabbergasted.

Back in 1890, we started saying our goodbyes to Van Gogh.

"This changes everything," he stated. "I'll step out tomorrow with my easel on my back a different man. I still can't believe that one of the haystacks was in the museum. How embarrassing."

"It's been a great adventure and a great honor," the Doctor told him.

"You've turned out to be the first doctor ever actually to make a difference to my life."

The Doctor smiled, "I'm delighted. I won't ever forget you."

Vincent turned to me, "it's been a pleasure knowing you, Charlotte."

"You as well," I smiled.

Finally, Vincent turned to Amy. "And you are sure marriage is out of the question?"

"This time," she told him. "I'm not really the marrying kind. Come on. Let's go back to the gallery right now." Oh, Amy.

I was about to follow them both back into the Tardis but, in less than a second, I popped back inside a different Tardis with a blown up console hurtling around. Quickly, I grabbed onto a railing before I started getting flung around. Above me, the Tenth Doctor held onto the console.

Suddenly, the Tardis stopped, and gas masks dropped from the ceiling. The power was completely off; I look around and saw Rose and Mickey on the other side of the console.

"Everyone all right? Rose? Mickey?" He looked over and saw me. "Oh Charlotte, you're here, that's good."

"I'm fine. I'm okay. Sorry. Yeah." Mickey answered.

"She's dead." The Doctor hesitated. "The Tardis is dead."

"You can fix it?" Rose wondered.

"There's nothing to fix. She's perished. The last Tardis in the universe. Extinct."

"We can get help, yeah?" Rose guessed.

"Where from?" He asked.

"Well, we landed- we have to be somewhere." I piped up.

The Doctor around to face me, "we fell out of the vortex, through the void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension."

While the Doctor was talking, Mickey opened the door to reveal London. "Otherwise known as London?" He told him.

A / N: This took way longer than I wanted it to take but oh well. Hope you liked it :) the next chapter will be The Rise of the Cybermen, then Age of Steel