A/N: Thank you everyone for reading! And thanks to everyone who reviews, faves, watches! Kate! You're awesome! Two gold stars for you! This turned out a bit longer than I meant, ah well. That's what happens when I get carried away.
-1490-
-Milan-
"Well? Are we planning on doing anything about it?" Donna stared at the Doctor.
"The paint." He clenched his teeth together, pacing the length of the room. "Why is it the paint?"
"He. Is getting. Away." Donna pointed to the stairs where they had last seen him.
"Yes, thank you Donna." He ran his hands through his hair, looking completely frustrated. "We've got to figure out how to close the rift first. They're incredibly strong and impossible to stop. He'll kill us if we get in the way."
"Well," Donna let her mouth hang open a minute. "That's just swell."
"What about the people?" Calypso asked in a small voice. "Doctor, there's people out there."
The Doctor gave her a long look and sighed. "I don't know what to do. I'm sorry. They should be alright if they stay out of his way."
"Hope no one tries to knick the painting then." Donna gave an unhappy frown.
"The painting," He crossed the room and stared at Donna. "He took the painting. Why did he do that?" He pinched his fingers together as though he were trying to pluck his thoughts from the air. "Ah! The painting!" He announced so loudly they all jumped.
"Yes, we got that part." Donna rolled her eyes.
"It's not just the painting, it's the paint. But…" He ran around, scanning all the paintings with his screwdriver. "It's not the paint either," He said with a grin.
"Are you just talking yourself in circles?" Donna asked, annoyed.
"It's you!" He pointed to Da Vinci, who looked startled. "You're the rift! You grew up next to that tiny hole in the universe, it fed into you. You absorbed it into yourself. And when you paint, you access that same part of your mind. Opening up the rift, giving it a chance to come through!"
"Then why hasn't it gotten out yet? Da Vinci's been painting forever, why ain't there zombies in the Sistine chapel?" Donna had her hands on her hips and looked skeptical.
"Well, one." The Doctor put up his finger. "Hasn't happened yet, and two, that was Michelangelo." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Honestly Donna, read a book." The Doctor chided her.
"Michelangelo, that…that pompous toddler!" Da Vinci scowled and shook his fist in the air.
"I'm sorry, not a time traveler Doctor, have a lot on my plate!" Donna defended herself with a glare. "Still doesn't explain why he didn't escape before. He's still been painting for years!"
"It needed a body." Calypso spoke up then, remembering what the Doctor had told them.
"Yes!" He pointed to her. "The Gelth can't survive in paint; it needs the gases to sustain them. You've been giving it parameters this whole time, you're the key!" He clapped Da Vinci on the shoulder with a grin.
"So what do we do then?" Donna asked.
"The painting that he took, what was it?"
"It is a portrait…" Da Vinci shook his head, trying to remember. "My Liege's mistress."
"Do you think you can paint it again?" The Doctor looked very serious.
"Why would I do that?" Da Vinci frowned.
"It's you, you're the rift. Right now, you're the link that let this thing into the world. It's like it's on a rope, the painting is giving it freedom to walk around. But if you can replicate the original, I can link them together, pulling it back through. I can force it back into the rift. And then we can close it forever."
"How are we going to get ol' Frankenstein back here?" Donna didn't sound like she was too thrilled by the idea.
"Oi, no need for name calling." The Doctor scolded her. "If I can vibrate the atoms in the paint to the right frequency, we won't have to bring him back. The void particles link them. We just have to destroy the original so he's snapped back here. Just a matter of finding the right setting." He frowned, looking at his sonic screwdriver carefully. "Shouldn't be too tricky."
"But, you said the other painting? We've got to destroy it. How are we supposed to do that if he's not here?"
"Guess we'll have to go find him." The Doctor said thoughtfully. None of them looked too eager about that.
"I'll do it." Calypso found the words coming out of her mouth before she had really decided to say them. She immediately regretted it, but the appraising look the Doctor had given her pleased her immensely. And then she understood exactly why she had said it, she was trying to impress him. It had never surprised her quite so much to realize that she was still, very much, an idiot.
"No," He shook his head. "No, I can do it. I'm crafty." He grinned.
"You've got to be here to work that…sonic thing." She wanted him to tell her that it was going to be just fine, and she could stay here safely away from the corpse, but she knew that just wasn't going to happen.
"This thing?" He waved the sonic in his hand. "No…Donna knows how-" But he stopped as he caught Donna's skeptical look.
"No, no. Go on. I want to hear you tell me how that's going to work out." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking smug.
"Honestly, Donna. It's not that hard. I could teach you in just a minute."
"Like you taught me how to work that coffee percolator?" She asked, her head tilted to the side.
"You couldn't have known how…I mean, it shouldn't…explode like that." He finished lamely.
"That's what I thought, spaceman."
"It's fine." Calypso forced herself to smile. "I can do it, just," She swallowed, her false bravado starting to slip. "Tell me what I need to do."
The Doctor pulled his hand across his face, looking as though he wanted to argue. But he ultimately decided against it, perhaps because they didn't really have the time to argue.
"You have to find him first, but stay out of sight." He warned her very seriously. "You don't need to confront him. Just…follow him. And destroy the painting when we say so. Here," He felt around his pockets before finally producing a small metal box. "Light it with this, the oil should ignite easy." He pressed the box into her hand and she stared at it blankly. "Alright?"
"Um…" She hesitated, looking at the box. Its sides were smooth except where a single line separated it in half. "What do you mean, light?"
He opened his mouth to speak and then frowned. "Oh. Sorry. I forget you're…" He grinned sheepishly. "It's a lighter, like a match." He opened the two halves and she saw there was more to the insides. "Well…fire. It starts a fire." She was relieved when his words started to make sense again. "Here." He said, putting his thumb against the small dial and flicking it quickly. Immediately a spark shot out and a single flame danced within the box. She watched it in awe and couldn't help it when her fingers were drawn to the light. She gasped as they burned and she stuck them into her mouth.
"Sorry," She mumbled, feeling her cheeks flush. "That was stupid."
"No," He said with a grin. "Time travel, walking dead, fire in a box. You're entitled to a few mistakes, but you're certainly not stupid. Go on, you try it." She took the precious object in her hands and tried to repeat the motion she had seen the Doctor do. She was too slow the first time, but the second time she got it with a satisfying snick, setting the flame dancing in her hands. "Excellent." He smiled, snapping the lid shut to extinguish the fire. "Now," He sighed thoughtfully. "Where do we think it would go? They were…aquatic creatures, maybe the ocean?"
"Yeah, I'm sure he's gone looking for the ocean in the middle of bleeding Italy," Donna rolled her eyes.
"There is little water to be found in the city, I'm afraid." Leonardo shook his head.
"He'll go to the castle." Calypso suggested and she saw Da Vinci's eyes light up.
"Ah, yes. The great fountains. I believe you may be right."
"Brilliant." The Doctor grinned at her and pulled her tight for a hug. "Stay safe." He said with the same smile on his face. But his eyes looked terribly old, and afraid.
"I will." She promised him.
It was more than a little unsettling hearing the Doctor in her head, and Donna when she was loud enough. Especially when they were nowhere to be seen. He had tucked a small pebble in her ear before she left; he had called it a 'com' but she hadn't bothered trying to understand. What it was, was voices in her head. She made her way toward the fountain, picking her way through the main streets. Though they needn't have worried, the man had left a trail of destruction as he went; people were shouting and pointing, overturned carts and scattered goods had spilled into the road. She was grateful to see that only a few looked to have been attacked, all looking bewildered, but alive.
"Almost there, he's been causing a fuss." She said, trying to speak behind her hand and hoping that no one would see her talking to herself.
"Excellent." His calm voice spoke again, louder than the noises around her. "Remember, stay out of sight. You can't burn the painting until we're ready here."
"Won't that take a while?" She frowned, she didn't know much about the artist Da Vinci, but she didn't imagine he regularly churned out work in an hour.
"Naw, doesn't need to be finished. Just needs to have the right shapes. You just sit tight; he'll have it ready in no time."
"Great." She said without enthusiasm.
"No, Donna. Donna you have to hold your arm like that." She could hear him clearly but he didn't seem to be talking to her. "It was an animal, she was holding an animal. I know it's just a towel, but try not to…you know. Strangle it so much."
"Listen you…martian." Donna's voice was full of threat. "I don't know if you've noticed, but a zombie just up and wandered off, and oh yeah. It still smells like death in here. I'm a bit on edge."
"This would be easier if you wouldn't antagonize my model." Da Vinci sounded just as irritated as Donna.
"Thank you," She replied.
"Right, sorry. As you were Donna." The Doctor did his best to sound apologetic.
"Although, the Doctor is correct." Da Vinci added.
"Oh, I bet Mona Lisa just loved you." Donna muttered murderously.
"Blimey, no respect for the classics," The Doctor sighed. Calypso gave a laugh, but her heart wasn't really in it.
"Oh," She said, coming into view of the castle, it was enormous. And sitting before it lay the grand fountain, spraying its water up into the air to splash down to the pool below.
"What? What's wrong?" He asked very seriously. She had seen him, the man; he stood at the edge of the pool, staring down into it, unmoving.
"It's nothing." She finally forced herself to speak. "I've found him. But it's fine. He's just, waiting."
"Alright." He was quiet for a moment. "We're almost through here; you stay out of sight until I let you know, got it?"
"Okay." She said, she had no desire to confront the man, and seeing him up close again made her want to flee in the other direction. But then her heart stopped in her chest, a woman was approaching him. A nun from the look of her plain garb, she was the only one in the busy street who had noticed the man. And she was walking toward him, a loaf of bread in her hands. "Oh," She said again, her feet marching her forward before she could stop herself. She had to stall the woman, she couldn't stand by and watch her get hurt, especially not when she looked only as though she wanted to help. "Doctor, I'm sorry." She said absently as she quickened her pace.
"Sorry? Calypso, sorry for what?"
But she didn't respond, the nun had reached him now, and extended her hand to his shoulder. She broke into a full run when she saw his arm snatch back at her, crushing her wrist in his grip and letting the bread fall to the ground. "Calypso! Stay PUT I said!" He shouted into her ear, but she didn't hear him. The nun screamed as he twisted her arm painfully to the side, the blue fog glowing about his face and he growled menacingly.
"He's sick!" She shouted as she approached. "Get away from him!" She reached the woman just in time to help her pull away; her sleeve tore in his fingers. "Run!" She shouted at her and the nun didn't hesitate to flee from the scene before Calypso felt cold fingers close over her shoulder. She screamed as they dug deep into her muscle, turning her to face the man. Without releasing the painting, he grabbed her throat and started to lift her from the ground. She had to clutch the rotting flesh of his arm to keep from choking on her own weight. But she was still struggling to breathe properly, even more so as he pulled her toward him and the stench of decay smacked her in the face.
"Doctor-" She gasped, hoping against hopes that they were ready.
"Faster man! I needed this done yesterday!" She heard him shout in her ear.
"Don't rush a genius." Da Vinci chided him.
"Oi! Don't delay a time lord!" She heard Donna shout back.
"Calypso, get out of there! It's not ready!" The Doctor's voice was beyond urgent.
"Too late," She whispered.
"From before." The man opened his mouth to speak, expelling more foul air into her lungs. She thought she might vomit if he hadn't such a firm grip on her throat. "You are from before." She realized that he was asking her so she nodded as best she could. His white eyes left her face and stared at the water in the fountain, then he returned his attention to her. "This water is dead."
"Keep him talking! Anything will do!" The Doctor urged her.
"I don't know what you mean," She shook her head.
"This water has no life. Where are my people?"
"This is just a pond. It's a fake thing. You want the ocean, or the river. There's life there." She promised him, wishing she could get a breath of fresh air. But then she recognized something in his eyes, hope. She felt her heart break for him, this dead creature, because she knew there was no hope to be had.
"My people? They live in ocean?"
She opened her mouth to lie to him, but found that she couldn't. She knew they were dead, the Doctor had said as much. The Gelth were just as much a victim of the war as her own people had been. "No." She finally whispered. "I'm sorry, they're gone."
"It's a hand!" She heard the Doctor shouting. "It's just a hand! Five fingers. Palm. Draw a hand!"
"Gone?" It spoke the word slowly, not understanding.
"They're dead." She answered.
"I am lost." The thing spoke the words slowly and the hope that had been in its eyes died, it was now just the corpse staring at her.
"I'm lost. I'm alone too." She said, feeling a great sorrow for the creature. But something had changed, something had broken in it and it gnashed its teeth together, glaring at the fountain.
"You. You did this." It decided, its cold eyes snapping back to her face. She felt its grip tighten around her neck and she took a last startled gasp of air before her throat closed completely.
"No!" He voice came out as a croak. She shook her head, trying to apologize, trying to explain, but it just came out as feeble choked noises. There was nothing else she could do, the blood in her head pounded like a drum against her ears. The creature just wanted to watch her die.
"Calypso!" The voice in her ear sounded distant compared to the rushing blood. "Do it now! Burn the painting!" Stars started to dance in her eyes as she reluctantly let go of the creatures arm, letting him hold her aloft. It didn't matter anymore; she was already choking to death. She fumbled in her pocket until she felt the cool metal of the box press reassuringly in her hand. She flipped it open and slid her thumb against the dial over and over, unable to see if the flame ignited, unable to see if she was even drawing it against the painting. Her vision went fuzzy and then darkened, the last thing she heard was the Doctor's voice calling her name.
She opened her eyes slowly, gasping for air. With a rush, she remembered where she had been and jumped up from her position on the floor.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy girl." Donna's voice was reassuring her calmly, she wobbled for a bit but Donna was there to hold her steady. Looking around she recognized the interior of the TARDIS and she felt a wave of relief flood her. "It's alright, we've got you." Donna smiled. "Though the Doctor's going to scold you proper when he gets back."
"My head," Her voice came out as a strangled whisper. She touched her throat gently but flinched when she felt the tender skin.
"Yeah, he got you pretty good." Donna commiserated.
"Is everything okay? Did it work?"
"Yeah," Donna said smiling; she patted her on the back and helped her to fully stand. "Worked like a charm. You were brilliant. Though, you did put a bit of a scare in us."
"Sorry," Calypso felt guilty, but it hadn't exactly been her desire to end up this way. She heard the door open up behind her and she cringed, Donna looked over her shoulder.
"Well, here comes trouble." Donna said with a sympathetic frown.
"The plan," The Doctor's voice had a chilly edge to it. "Was to wait. You were going to wait until we were done. Remember? Remember me telling you that? What would have happened if I couldn't get the paint to resonate? What if we hadn't finished?" He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. She almost quailed then, a storm raged in his eyes and she knew at once he was not a man to be trifled with. But in an instant, it was gone. His eyes softened as he saw her throat and he let his hand drift to her neck, his brown eyes now filled with concern.
"That bad is it?" She tried to smile but blanched when his fingers touched her skin.
"What if I'd lost you?" He asked in a quiet voice. The fire in his eyes had all but extinguished and it was more frightening to face him now than when he had been angry.
"I'm sorry," She started, she didn't want to hurt him, she didn't want him to have to feel that kind of loss. "There was a woman; I couldn't just let him…" She trailed off, afraid of what might have happened if she had just watched.
He let out a slow sigh, a smile trickling across his face again. "I know the feeling."
"So," Donna drawled in the growing silence. "Got the rift all sorted then?"
"Yep." The Doctor seemed to reanimate, turning from Calypso to the controls in the center of the room. "Well," He shrugged. "Mostly."
"Mostly?" Donna looked at him with her mouth hanging open. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing." He shook his head. "It's fine."
"Doctor, what did you do?"
"It's…" He sighed and looked up from the controls, chewing the side of his mouth. "It's so little. When I closed the rift, I had to wipe Leonardo's mind, to erase it completely. And, well…there was a bit of a…" He trailed off.
"Are you telling me, that you bloody broke Leonardo. Da Vinci." Donna enunciated the words with her fingers pinched together.
"No, course not." He reassured her. "He's just a bit. Well…he writes backwards. That's all. It's not a problem, because…it's not."
"Backwards?" Donna asked him with an eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, just, you know. Like normal. But…mirrored."
"You're the one who makes him write in his notebooks all funny?" Donna threw her hands up in the air.
"Yeah," He said, rubbing the back of his head. "A bit." He waved away her concerns and continued to circle the TARDIS, pressing levers as he went. "It'll be fine." The machine started to hum around them and the floor vibrated with power.
"Um, Doctor?" Calypso felt certain they had forgotten she was standing there. "You've forgotten to drop me off."
"No I haven't. You're coming with us." He looked up with a smile and she felt her heart skip. "That is, if you want." He said more seriously, but she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.
"To go traveling with you? In space?" She almost felt like laughing she was so giddy.
"Told ya." Donna said, looking at the Doctor, rather smug with herself.
"Yeah, what do you think? Anywhere in the universe, where do you want to go?"
"I…" She tried to think of all the impossible places she had ever wondered about. The moon, the sun, any number of the glittering stars in the sky. But then her hopes were all dashed away, she felt the tingling rising all over her body. She was going.
"Oh, no." The Doctor said softly, sensing it almost as she did. "Maybe the TARDIS affects…"
"Sorry Doctor," She put on a false smile. "Maybe next time." It was difficult to smother that sense of crushing disappointment with the growing lump in her throat. But the Doctor knew, knew because he felt it too. He crossed the room and gathered her up in his arms while she blinked back the tears that were coming.
"I'm sorry." He whispered, holding her tight. "I'll get this sorted. Just you wait." He gave her a reassuring smile. "You're not alone, Calypso. Not ever." He stared deep into her eyes and she realized he had heard her as she tried to reach out to the creature, trying to comfort it.
"I know." She nodded, though it was hard to believe it as she felt herself slip away from him. Harder to convince herself when she looked up and realized he was gone and she was by herself once again.