The Blonde Girl
By Lumendea
Chapter Eleven: Mona Lisa's Revenge: Dark Rider
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, Torchwood or the Sarah Jane Adventures because if I did this would probably be canon.
….
"Alien, Rose!?" Sharon shouted as she followed Rose through the museum, "Alien?"
"Not now," Rose shouted back. She quickly turned a corner into another room. Rose let her friends run past her and glanced out into the hallway. "She isn't following us."
"Rose," Shareen questioned as she tried to catch her breath. "What is going on?"
"The Mona Lisa has come to life, is armed and very upset with the world in general," Rose told her in a rush. "And we are trapped in the same building as her."
"But, the police are here," Sharon said. Her voice wavered and was nearly frantic. "We just have to find them."
"Shots have been fired, Sharon, she shot at us, and they would have heard it," Rose reminded her. She sighed and shook her head, giving her friends a worried look. "No one is coming."
"You don't know that," Shareen argued in a desperate tone. "You can't know that."
"I tried to get us out of here for a reason," Rose said gently. Then Rose pointed to a landscape next to them, one that had the strange modern figures in the foreground. "Look around at the paintings."
"Oh my god!" Sharon gasped as she saw what Rose had seen. "That- that isn't possible. This whole thing is impossible." Sharon stumbled backwards and gave Rose a pleading look that made Rose flinch and feel guilty.
"And yet here we are," Rose said. She shook her head, grabbed their hands and pulled them along after her. "Since we can't leave let's check out the Mona Lisa room. Maybe there is something more in there."
"Rose?" Shareen called out, "What are we looking for?"
"I haven't a clue," Rose admitted as they came to a halt. She turned back to her friends. "I've only done this once before."
"Spellman was an alien wasn't he," Sharon asked. Her expression turned to one of terrified realisation. "We were abducted by him, weren't we? That's why we've never been able to remember what happened?"
"Yeah," Rose said softly with a nod. "A man called the Doctor saved us. I helped a bit, but I don't know enough to understand what she is or how to stop her. We have to find something."
Rose was grateful that her friends followed her through the museum and only spoke quietly to each other, having gotten the hint that Rose was not open to questions at the moment. Rose sighed; when this was all over, she'd have to tell them the whole truth about what had happened three years ago. A part of her enjoyed the secret adventure she'd had, but another part of her was happy that someone was finally going to know.
They stopped after a few rooms to check the map that Shareen was carrying. The exhibit room had only one entrance, and they were still several rooms away. Rose paused and listened; there was a strange metal sound echoing through the halls.
"What is that?" Sharon asked softly, trying to peek around the corner.
Listening, Rose stayed still and worked to understand the sound. It took her a moment, but she realised that it was blending of a heavy footstep teamed with a metal rattle. The three girls looked at each other with fearful expressions.
"What is that?" Sharon asked again.
"Something not good," Rose whispered as nervous energy began to fill her chest.
They heard the metallic footsteps getting closer and moved into the next room which was under construction. Glancing around, Rose took stock of the plastic covered walls and the workbenches set up throughout the large space. Scaffolding and lumber created small hiding places all over.
"Hide," Rose hissed.
Rose pulled Sharon back behind a scaffold with her, gesturing for her friends to be quiet. Grabbing the mirror from Sharon's hand, Rose used it to look around the scaffolding as a tall male figure dressed all in black walked into the room. His mouth and nose were covered by a black bandana, and he wore a tri-point black hat. A long black coat covered his dark shirt and pants, and he wore a spur on each of his boots.
"That's the Dark Rider painting," Shareen whispered, exchanging a worried look with Sharon.
"He's got guns," Sharon added as the rider looked around the room.
Nodding, Rose slowly began to move towards the door, staying in the shadows of the construction materials. She handed the mirror back over her shoulder to Sharon who started to tuck it back into her pocket, but then it fell out of her hand with a soft crash. The rider spun sharply towards them and pulled out both of the flintlock pistols.
"Run!" Rose yelled, dashing for the exit.
Racing from the room, the three girls ran down the corridor that led them back to the main staircase. They could hear the rider running after them and the metal sound of his spurs adding to the volume of his footsteps. Ducking around a pillar with her friends, Rose just missed the two shots at the Rider fired at them.
"He's a painting," Shareen asked breathlessly. "Shouldn't he be firing paintballs."
"Two flintlocks, two shots," Sharon said. She peered out around the pillar. "He's out now right?"
Another two shots blazed past them, and Rose shouted, "He's a painting come to life, he has as many shots as he wants." Glancing around the pillar, Rose checked the Rider's distance and turned back to her friends. "Split up, he can only follow one target," Rose ordered, pointing towards the nearby corridor before looking another direction.
"Be careful," Sharon hissed to Rose, taking Shareen's hand.
"You too," Rose said.
Then she ran out across the entry floor for one of the halls on the opposite side of the room. A moment later Sharon and Shareen ran the direction Rose had indicated, and the rider followed them. Above them in the outlook gallery, the Mona Lisa frowned down at the display and huffed. Next to her, Mr. Harding wrung his hands and shifted nervously on his feet.
"They are just children," Mr. Harding insisted. "They can't harm you."
"The blonde was far too comfortable with me." Mona Lisa snapped with a glare towards Harding. "But let's see how she does without her friends."
Fear flooded Rose as she realised that the Rider wasn't following her and she started to backtrack to the Mona Lisa display room. As much as it worried her, Rose recognised that this was her best chance to look for a weak point. She wished that the museum had let them keep their phones since they hadn't managed to get anywhere near an actual phone. Reaching the Mona Lisa gallery, Rose cautiously looked inside before stepping into the room. She was alone.
The gallery was mostly unchanged, except for the fact that paintings around the room had new additions in them in the form of police officers and guards. Averting her gaze from the fearful faces of those in the paintings, Rose walked towards the painting where Ms. Trupp was stuck and studied it. After a moment, Rose sighed and shook her head.
"I don't know what I should be looking for," Rose muttered to herself.
Rose paused; she could hear someone moving down the hall and dashed behind one of the large displays at the side of the room. Holding her breath, Rose tried to stay still when she saw the Mona Lisa walk into the room with Harding at her heels.
"This has to be it," Harding said. Rose peeked out to see Harding gesturing towards the right wall. "Not only a contemporary of Leonardo da Vinci, but a neighbour in Florence."
Frowning, Rose leaned forward so she could watch them walk up to a strange portrait on the wall. The Mona Lisa examined the simple painting of a man in period clothing. "Not very attractive," Mona Lisa told Harding a moment later with a frown.
"Giuseppe di Cattivo 1450 to 1518," Harding explained. "His work is often compared to his famous contemporary Hieronymus Bosch. Poor Giuseppe, he died in a lunatic asylum."
Mona Lisa smiled before raising her hand and moving it in front of the painting. Rose stayed very still, watching the pair from behind from around the display
"No, no," Mona Lisa sighed. She dropped her hand to her side with a frown of disappointment. "This isn't him."
Harding started to say something to her, but the door suddenly opened. Turning slowly, Rose had to slap a hand across her mouth to stifle her cry of alarm. The rider marched Sharon and Shareen into the room; a gun pointed at each of them. Giggling, the Mona Lisa strode forward and gazed down at Rose's friends.
"Well look at what we have here," the Mona Lisa chorused with a delighted smile. "Two of the three musketeers."
"There were four musketeers," Sharon told her with a glare before raising her chin. "Shouldn't you know that after being in France long enough to get an accent?"
"Oh you've got spirit," Mona Lisa growled at Sharon with a glint in her eye. "But there were three of you. Where's the blonde one?"
"We don't know," Shareen answered, meeting the Mona Lisa's gaze. "We split up when your rider started shooting. Rose has probably gotten to a phone by now and called for help."
"That won't help you." Mona Lisa told them with a smile. "I took this gun from a painting, and I put all the people I found into paintings. Everything in this building can come under my total control so whatever great rescue you're hoping for won't save you."
"Why are you helping her?" Shareen turned a furious gaze on Harding. "You've seen what she's done!"
"Harders, here is my number one fan," the Mona Lisa informed her with a smirk.
"She set the rider on us!" Shareen insisted. "We're fourteen, how can you be okay with that? She has put people into paintings!"
"Calm down girls," Harding protested quickly. He waved his hands in a calming manner even as he sweated. "I'm sure that Mona Lisa will restore everyone once she finds her brother and the rider did not hurt you."
"Her brother?" Sharon repeated in confusion, glancing at Shareen.
As if on cue, a loud growling filled the room, coming up from the lower levels of the museum. Grinning, the Mona Lisa gave a triumphant laugh and turned to Harding who had paled significantly at the noise.
"That would be my brother," the Mona Lisa announced. She looked at the rider as she pointed her gun at the girls. "Trace the noise, Rider," she ordered.
As the rider left the room, the Mona Lisa focused intently on Shareen and Sharon. Rose gasped softly as red energy sparked around the Mona Lisa, giving her a terrible red glow. Stumbling back from the Mona Lisa, Sharon and Shareen grasped each other's hand.
"What going on?" Shareen asked quietly.
"A moment dear and I'll put you in the picture," the Mona Lisa chuckled, thrusting her hand forward.
Gasping, Rose made a jerky movement forward as the red energy exploded around her friends. It crackled and sparked around them as they screamed. Harding hid his face, and the two girls vanished right before Rose's eyes. Mona Lisa laughed and looked over at a landscape on the wall where Shareen and Sharon now stood trapped within it, still screaming.
"And now Blondie it's your turn." Mona Lisa announced to the large room. "I heard you gasp so come out. No point hiding."
Closing her eyes, Rose took a deep breath before she walked out into Mona Lisa's view. She straightened up and walked as calmly as she could manage towards the Mona Lisa. "I wouldn't have thought that a painting would have such good hearing and while harming children," Rose said. Glaring at the Mona Lisa, she tried not to look at the painting of her friends, afraid that she'd break down.
"They are completely safe," Mona Lisa assured her. "They are alive in the painting; they can hear and see everything we do in front of their painting. They can't move or escape."
"Like you were," Rose said slowly in realisation. Then she risked a look at Sharon and Shareen.
"Exactly," Mona Lisa agreed with a grimace. "I was trapped, unable to live or die."
"You're out now," Rose told her. "You don't need to harm anyone. Let them go."
"I think they look as pretty as a picture. Well, most pictures, I think we can agree that I am in a different league," the Mona Lisa preened with a proud smile, touching her wavy brown hair lovingly.
"Very true," Rose agreed with a look of disgust.
"Thank you, love," Mona Lisa trilled, patting her hair again.
"I didn't mean it as a compliment," Rose answered with a glare.
"Don't worry young lady," Mr. Harding cut in. "They are safe and once Mona Lisa has found her brother she will release them."
"You keep saying that," Rose snapped, "But that doesn't make it true." They all paused as they heard the growling again and Rose shook her head. "I don't think her brother is going to be as nice as you think," she said to Harding. "This is trouble."
"Which is why you should leave it alone," Mona Lisa told her.
"I can't do that," Rose said. She started walking slowly along the side of the gallery, and the Mona Lisa followed her. "I'm the last human in here that sees how dangerous you are so I have to stop you."
"Oh couldn't you just eat her Harders," Mona Lisa cooed as she and Rose came to a stop. "She thinks that she can stop me."
"And do you want to know why?" Rose asked as she stepped closer to Mona Lisa. "Because I can."
Rose shoved the Mona Lisa backwards over the bench she had led her to, sending the woman spinning backwards with a crash. Laughing, Rose dashed out of the gallery and headed for the main hall as fast as she could run.
