Another huge gap between updates! Sorry! I got a new part-time job recently, so that's cut my writing time pretty significantly. Plus, this is one heffa part, as I knew exactly where I wanted to end it as soon as I started it :)

Thanks in advance for any reviews you might give, and see you in the next part!

Vincent and the Doctor – Part Two

"Are you okay? You there?" asked a familiar yet fuzzy voice. Alex slowly opened his eyes and Amy's face swam into view above him. Her face was a picture of worry and concern, but as soon as she saw his open eyes, she beamed and hugged him tight, half-strangling him.

"I'm fine," Alex laughed, sitting up. "I'm okay, honestly. Get off!" he smiled as Amy released him and landed a big kiss on him. A pain shot through his head and his hand sprang to the back of it. He winced as his fingers found the large bruise he had sustained from the collision.

"The Doctor checked it out. He said you'll be okay," Amy assured him, helping him to his feet. "It'll just be a bit painful."

"Where is he?" Alex asked, steadying himself with a table nearby.

Amy quickly filled Alex in with what he'd missed whilst unconscious. Vincent, being the only person able to see the creature, had drawn a sketch of the monster and the Doctor had taken it back to the TARDIS to try and identify it.

"That was a couple of hours ago. I was going to try and find him, if you're okay to walk?" she offered.

Alex didn't have to think for long. "Nah. I'll wait here," he grimaced, rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you gonna be okay? I'll stay if you want me to... I'm just sick of his snoring," she growled, rolling her eyes and nodding up the stairs to Vincent's bedroom. A low, harsh, rumbling sound was reverberating from behind the door.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Alex nodded. He winced and stopped quickly. "Find him, make sure he's okay." She hesitated, torn between her desire to hurry the Doctor up and her worry for Alex. "I'm fine, go!"

"Back as soon as I can," she smiled. She bent down and kissed the top of his head and frolicked from the room and down the garden path.

A few mintues passed. Tentatively, Alex rose to his feet and ambled around the room slowly. It wasn't exactly painless to do so, but it wasn't painful. Reasoning that he probably had a while until Amy and/or the Doctor returned, he began to wander the room, taking in each of the paintings hanging on the wall or stacked up on the floor, some in piles of ten or more. As he walked, he tripped on the leg of one of Vincent's chair. He stumbled, pain shooting through his head. He swore loudly, unable to control himself.

"Who's there?" came a weary voice from up the stairs.

"Sorry, Vincent," Alex called back. "It's me. It's Alex."

"Ah," the door at the top of the flight of stairs opened and a pair of feet appeared at the top. "You're awake then. That's good news,"

"Thank you," Alex smiled.

"You know, Amy was worried sick about you all night. Never left your side for a minute. Where is she?" he asked, glancing around and noticing her absence.

"She went to find the Doctor," Alex told him, groaning and sitting down on one of the chairs. "He's been gone for some time, apparently."

"Are you sure she wasn't just sick of me?" Vincent appeared to be joking, but Alex knew that he wasn't. And not only because of what he'd learnt of Vincent's insecurities.

"Tell me, Vincent..." Alex began, slowly. "What have doctors said about your..."

"My insanity?" he asked boldly.

"No!" Alex replied, shocked. "Well... yes, but I wasn't going to call it that."

"Oh, they've diagnosed me with a whole range of things; depression, schizophrenia, social anxiety, inferiority complexes... Lord only knows what half of those words even mean!" he laughed, but his mood changed rapidly. "But they're probably all right. All of them. My mind is so very ill, with no-one able to help."

"Listen... I, erm," Alex began.

"Hello-o!" called a familiar voice. "We're back! Vincent?"

"We're in the dining room," Vincent called.

The Doctor jogged down the stairs from Vincent's room and ushered them both up them. "Well come on then! Ah, Alex, back with us! Good." He clapped Alex on the shoulder as he passed.

They arrived at the top and the Doctor threw open the shutters of the bedroom. "Ah! What a morning!" he said happily as sun streamed in. "Breakfast is served in the courtyard! Amy's got a little surprise for you!"

The Doctor led Alex out of the door and down the exterior steps into the courtyard below. The bright sunlight lit it up well. Amy was sitting in the middle at a table, surrounded totally by sunflowers. Vincent looked down from above and smiled disbelievingly.

"I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving us last night," Amy called up to him. She had spent the night well, pots of sunflowers dotted all around the courtyard wherever you looked, with one or two hens waddling in between them. "I thought you might like, y'know, possibly to perhaps paint them... or something? Might be a thought."

"Yes," Vincent considered, fingering the pot closest to him thoughtfully. "Well, they're not my favourite flower."

Alex looked up at Vincent on the balcony with an eyebrow raised. He shifted Amy along the seat and sat down himself. "You don't like sunflowers?" she asked in disbelief.

"No. It's not that I don't like them; I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting! But you know... they are a challenge..."

The Doctor chuckled. "And one I'm pretty sure you'll rise to. But! Moving on. There's something I need to show you."

He beckoned for Alex and Amy to get up and follow him. He led the way as the four of them walked to Vincent's front room. Everyone but the Doctor took a seat, who paced the floor for a few seconds, before taking a small slip of paper out of his pocket.

"Now then, this creature. The creature no-one can see but you," the Doctor began as he handed Vincent the piece of paper. "Look familiar?"

Vincent looked at the picture intensely. "That's him!" he concluded. "The eyes... without mercy."

"This is a creature called the Krafayis," he explained, resuming his pacing. "They travel in space. They travel as a pack, scavenging across the universe. 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. And what they do is, well, kill. Until they're killed. Which they usually aren't, because other creatures can't see them."

"But I can?" Vincent asked.

"Yes. And that's why we're in a unique position today, my friend. To end this reign of terror. So! Feel like painting the church today?"

Vincent looked taken-aback. "Well... what about the monster?"

"Take my word for it. If you paint it, he will come."

Vincent grinned and got to his feet. "Okay. I'll get my things," he told them as he hurried from the room excitedly.

"In your own time. And then, I promise we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow," the Doctor replied, smiling.

Vincent stopped at the door and looked slowly back at the Doctor. He then continued on his way in a much less animated fashion. Alex watched him go, intrigued. He thought he recognised the look Vincent had just given.

When he had gone, the Doctor shook his head slowly and looked between Alex and Amy. "This is risky," he admitted.

"Riskier than normal?" Amy asked.

"Riskier than letting an invisible monster roam nineteenth century France?"

"Well think about it." The Doctor jumped to his feet and checked at the door to be sure Vincent had gone. "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 Musée d'Orsay will disappear... and it'll be our fault," he finished resignedly, settling down on a chair, head in hands. He shook it again and stood up. "I'll see what's taking him so long."

He left the room less up-beat than normal. That was becoming a trend, Alex mused. Amy pulled him down onto the chair she was on and nested her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply. They stayed sat cuddled up together in silence for a few minutes, until some muffled shouting brought them from their trances.

"Sounded like Vincent," Amy pondered. Alex agreed. They got up and went to investigate.

"Everything okay?" Alex asked as he and Amy arrived outside Vincent's bedroom. The Doctor was leaning on the balcony with a stony, defeated look on his face.

"We're leaving," he told the pair as quiet sobbing sounds came from behind the bedroom door. "Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll... he'll take his own life. What are you doing?"

Alex had gone towards the door and reached for the handle. "Let me talk to him," Alex pleaded.

"I said we're going; he doesn't want us."

"He doesn't understand us," Alex corrected. "But I think I understand him. Wait downstairs. We'll be there in a bit."

Amy smiled at him and pulled the Doctor away. Alex took a deep breath and slowly pushed the door open.

"I told you to leave!" Vincent shouted as he entered. He was pitifully curled up in a ball on the bed. His hair was a mess and he spoke through great sobs.

"Vincent," Alex began timidly, slowly approaching the bed. "It's me. It's Alex."

"GO! Leave, run, just like everyone else!" he shouted, sitting up, more aggressive than pitiful now."

"I'm not going to run, Vincent!" Alex assured him, shaking his head. "I'm not going to run! I'm not going to run from someone I can help."

"No-one can help me! Least of all you!"

"No, Vincent, I can! I have experience with this, I can help-"

"NO-ONE HAS EXPERIENCE OF THIS BUT ME! Don't tell me you know what this is like! Every day I am plagued by these thoughts! And they are made worse by people like YOU! Coming and going, never returning, leaving me with nothing more than an empty heart and a hopeless existence!"

"Okay," Alex agreed, deciding it was best to try and agree with him. "You're right. I don't know how you feel. But I know how I felt."

Vincent's face softened slightly. When he spoke, it was in a calmer tone. "How you felt when?"

Seeing that Vincent had calmed, Alex bent down to take a seat on the famed chair. He delved into his experience, not stopping for fear of Vincent firing up again.

"When I was younger... from when I was about fourteen, really, I had problems much the same as you do now. I was... terrified of being rejected by others. And when people came and went, it felt like the world crashing down around me. That no-one would ever like me. My parents sent me to three different schools... I never felt properly comfortable at any of them, no matter where I was, or who I was with. Even at home, I'd feel like some sort of invader, even when I was with people who I was meant to trust more than anyone. Maybe it was all in my head, maybe it wasn't. But you need to trust the Doctor. I don't feel like that anymore; I haven't for years. He helped me, without even knowing it. Maybe he can help you..."

As Alex had spoken, Vincent's expression had softened more and more. Whether becuase he had found comfort in Alex's words or simply because his incident was coming to an end, Alex wasn't sure.

"You don't need to do this alone," Alex told him, getting up. "We can help you. Listen, we'll stick around for a few more minutes and if you still want us to go, we'll go."

As Alex closed the door behind him and leant on the balcony edge, he thought he heard some bed-springs creak. Was he curling back up in a ball on the bed, or getting up from it? Alex didn't have long to wait to find out. Less than a minute later, the door to Vincent's bedroom opened and out stepped the man himself, wearing a long coat and his signature straw hat. "Let's go," he said sincerely.

V I N C E N T A N D T H E D O C T O R

Vincent seemed surprisingly upbeat, easel in hand, as they walked towards the Church in a neighbouring village. Alex had surprised himself in his willingness to open up to Vincent. He'd only ever told a handful of people. The Doctor didn't know. Did Amy? Had he told her in this new world in which they lived? Alex didn't have a clue how the mechanics of the new Rory-less world worked...

"I'm sorry you're so sad," Amy said to Vincent, their arms interlinked.

"But I'm not. Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks; for months. But I'm good now. If Amy Pond can soldier on, then so can Vincent van Gogh."

"I'm not soldiering on, I'm fine," Amy chuckled, glancing back at Alex, walking next to the Doctor, and beaming.

"Oh Amy. I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost someone, I think."

"I'm not sad," she assured him.

"Then why are you crying?" Vincent asked. Amy's hand slowly rose to her face and she wiped a few teardrops from her cheeks. Alex pretended not to hear and gazed determinedly out at the landscape beside the path as he felt Amy look back at him again. "It's alright; I understand."

"I'm not sure I do," Amy replied quietly.

"Okay!" the Doctor interrupted. He was getting good at doing that. "So, we must have a plan. When the creature at-"

"Then we shall fight him again!" Vincent said, stopping in his tracks and rounding on the Doctor almost aggresively.

"Well... yes. Tick. But last night, we were lucky. Amy could've been killed. A tiny bit harder and Alex probably would have been. 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?"

The Doctor held up the leather attache-case in his hands and patted it. "The answer is in this box. I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother."

"And what is in the box?" Alex asked shrewdly.

"A present. From an embarrassing, excellent, smelly godmother. Twice."

The Doctor resumed walking again. He hadn't got more than a few steps when he stopped again, his eyes locked on the precession coming towards them. Six men dressed in black suits were carrying a small, wooden coffin on their shoulders, walking slowly along the path, followed by a number of mourners.

"Oh no. It's that poor girl from the village..."

The four of them stood to the side of the path respectfully as the precession passed. The girl's mother shot a look of hatred at Vincent and the others; presumably, they were all hated by association.

"You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy asked the Doctor as they continued on to the church.

"No," the Doctor admitted. "It's a thing. It's like a plan but with more greyness."

"It's not too much further," Vincent told them a few minutes later. "It's about two hundred metres into those trees up ahead."

As the church gradually came into view through the branches, they could finally fully appreciate the beauty of it. Vincent's painting really was very good, now that Alex had a point of reference. Vincent set about preparing himself, placing his easel in the perfect position and sitting down in front of it, taking in the picture in front of him and breathing deep breaths.

"And, you'll be sure to tell me if you see any monsters?" the Doctor asked as Vincent prepared his paints.

"Yes! I may be mad... I'm not stupid."

"No... quite." He knelt down beside him. "And, to be honest... I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me, depression is a-a very complex-"

"Shhh," Vincent interrupted him, holding up a finger and gesturing towards the church. "I'm working."

Alex meanwhile had been reassured by the Doctor's words, smiling comfortingly to himself, despite not having felt depressed for a few years.

"Well, yes," the Doctor replied to him sheepishly. "Paint. Do painting!"

Vincent set to work, beginning with the sky background. Amy watched on with interest. Alex attempted to, but soon got bored and took a seat leaning on a nearby rock.

"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 mate'!"

Amy shushed him. Alex chuckled from his rock and settled back on it, preparing for the long-haul. After about half an hour of very little happening, an uncomfortable feeling arose in his lower stomach. He staggered to his feet and wandered towards the treeline.

"Where are you going?" Amy called over to him.

"When nature calls, you reply," Alex called over his shoulder.

"And Picasso! What a ghastly old goat."The Doctor's voice faded away as Alex wandered past the first of the trees.

He walked through the forest for a minute or two, before coming to a tree he deemed suitable. He unzipped his trousers and relieved himself. He glanced up through the trees at the sky. Night was drawing in. If he recalled correctly, the painting hanging on the wall back at the Musée d'Orsay had a night sky in the background. Surely that meant the Krafayis would be appearing soon? Alex finished up and stretched his arms, groaning.

Crunch.

Alex spun on the spot, looking for the source of the noise. It hadn't been very loud, but loud enough in the silence of the woods.

"Anyone there?" Alex called out nervously. He picked up a fairly thick branch from the floor and held it aloft in readiness.

Crash.

The undergrowth about twenty metres in front of him got blown apart as an invisible monster forced its way through it, charging. Fast, clumping footsteps told Alex all he needed to know and he fled for his life. He hadn't got far before realising that he'd never be able to outrun the Krafayis. He glanced back and, judging by the devastated bushes and low-hanging branches, it was gaining on him, fast. Alex skidded to a halt, turned and swung the branch in his hand as hard as he could.

Though it seemed to Alex's eyes as though the branch had come to a direct stop in mid air, the vibrations that travelled all the way up the stick and into his arms, coupled with the pained screech told Alex that he had made true and firm contact. Not waiting to find out if he'd stopped the creature, Alex turned and ran once more. As far as he could tell, the Krafayis wasn't following him.

He burst into the clearing that housed the church, surprising Amy and the Doctor, who were having a whispered conversation nearby.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked worriedly.

Alex took deep breaths. He leant on his branch and gestured over his shoulder. "It... chased me," was all he could manage between gasps for air. "Ran back as fast" – another gasp – "as I could."

"Oh my g-" Amy began.

"There!" Vincent called over. "He's at the window!"

They all turned to look at the church. "Where?" the Doctor asked.

"There. On the right."

"It beat me back?" Alex asked in disbelief.

"As I thought. I'm going in!" the Doctor announced, running towards the church.

"Well I'm coming too!" Vincent dropped his brush on the ground and made to follow the Doctor.

"No! You're Vincent... van Gogh. No."

"But you're not armed!"

"I am!"

"What with?"

He held up the attache case again. "Overconfidence, this, and a small screwdriver. I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right prozactic setting and stun him with it – Sonic never fails." He turned to Alex and Amy. "Right then. Amy. One thought – one simple instruction. Don't follow me under any circumstances."

"I won't," she promised.

"Alex, I'm trusting you. Do not let them follow me."

Alex saluted to show his understanding. The Doctor smiled at them and ran towards the door of the church.

"Will you follow him?" Vincent asked, sidling up to Amy.

"Of course!"

"I love you."

Alex turned to them, grinning, to be met with a confused look from Amy. "Nah, you won't follow him. I promised him I wouldn't let you follow him."

"Oh come on!"

"Ah! Let me finish. Fortunately, he neglected to tell me not to follow him. So! Amy, Vincent, stay here, I'll be back with him before you know it."

"Hey! You..." Amy started.

"Yes dear?" Alex asked patronisingly, picking up the branch he'd used earlier. Amy rolled her eyes and turned her back.

Alex followed suit, rolling his eyes. He started to waltz towards the church, branch over his shoulder. "Just trying to keep you safe," he called to her. "Look after her, Vincent."

After taking a minute or two to locate a door to the church – the main door was locked – Alex pushed it open, the loud creaking filling the silent night. It was some sort of storage cupboard. He found a further door into the church (also unlocked) and walked down the corridor as quietly as he could. He came to a staircase and ascended, not really sure where he was going.

After another minute, he came to the conclusion that he was Doctor shouting out on the floor below told him that he probably shouldn't have climbed the stairs. He turned and ran back the way he had come, attempting to follow the Doctor's cry.

He arrived at the bottom of the staircase and located a new corridor, the direction he probably should have gone in the first place. He ran down it and came out into what he assumed was the main hall of the church. Familiar footsteps and snarling noises told him that the Krafayis was here, though he couldn't see the Doctor anywhere. He held the branch out directly in front of him and walked slowly forward, praying that he didn't walk into the invisible beast.

The branch met an undetectable object. Alex swore and backed up quickly. A roaring noise and a great rush of bad breath informed him that the Krafayis had felt him and was readying itself for an attack, beginning with the obligatory roar. A rush of air went past as the Krafayis swiped at him with a claw. Alex held out the branch in front of him again, trying to get an idea of how far away the creature was. Another swipe of a claw snapped the branch clean in two. Alex held the useless scrap of wood up for a moment or two, looking at it despairingly, before throwing it over his shoulder and walking backwards again.

The footsteps grew quieter as it apparently left him alone. Alex walked backwards to the wall and sidled along it, looking for where the Doctor could have conveivably disappeared to. The Krafayis roared again and a cracking noise sounded nearby. A great shrill – and familiar – scream erupted. Amy. Another scream.

"Amy!" Alex shouted out. Another scream. A stream of air as a claw rushed past his face. Alex fell over backwards as Amy screamed again.

"Hey! Are you looking for me sonny?" shouted a new voice. It was Vincent. Alex looked around the room to see him standing in the middle of the room, holding a chair. And looked almost directly at Alex. Evidently, he had been seconds away from being eaten, or worse. "Come on! Over here!" He watched the Krafayis pace around the room to face him head on. "Because I'm right here waiting for you!" Vincent ducked and grunted, swinging the chair at nothing. The Krafayis roared.

The Doctor and Amy emerged from the nearby confessions booth. Alex got to his feet as they joined him, looking at what was happening in front of them in wonder.

"Come on! Get behind me!" Vincent orderered. They obliged and ran forward as Vincent swung again with the stool.

The Doctor Soniced where Vincent was attacking. "Doing anything?"

"No," Vincent replied, shaking his head.

The four of them backed away towards another door, all looking round for clues as to the whereabouts of the Krafayis.

"Where is he?" the Doctor called to Vincent.

"Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head!" he responded, lunging again with the chair.

The Doctor soniced again. "Anything?"

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

"Are you sure you've got the right setting?" Alex asked as the monster moved around the room.

"I think so-"

"Duck!" Vincent instructed as the Krafayis roared again. The Doctor did as he was told. "Left!" the Doctor jumped to the right to be smacked full-on by an invisible talon. "Right, sorry. My right, your left."

"This is no good at all," the Doctor decided, catching his breath on the floor. "Run like crazy and regroup!"

He got to his feet and ran towards the nearby door. The four of them piled through it and pushed against it, fighting the strength of the Krafayis. Eventually they overcame its power.

"Right. Okay. Here's the plan. Alex, Amy, Rory-"

"Who?" Amy interrupted.

"Sorry, erm-"

"Vincent," Alex corrected, digging his feet in as the Krafayis attempted to break the door down.

"What's the plan?"

"I don't know actually. My only definite plan is that in future, I'm definitely only using this Screwdriver for screwing in screws."

"Give me a second," Vincent told them, replacing his straw hat on his head. "I'll be back." He ran away from the group and disappeared.

"What are you even doing here?" Alex asked Amy breathlessly. "You were told not to follow us,"

"Actually, I was told not to follow the Doctor. You 'neglected to tell me' not to follow you,"

"Oh shut up you two. I suppose we could try talking to him," the Doctor reasoned.

"Talking to him?"

"I don't think he's much of a conversationalist," Alex braced himself as it smashed into the door again.

"It might be interesting to know his side of the story! Yes... although maybe he's not quite in the mood for conversation at this precise moment." A renewed onslaught against the door began, rattling its hinges. "Well, no harm trying! Listen," he called through the door. "Listen!" The banging stopped. "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." The ambient growling from the Krafayis slowly stopped. "I also don't belong on this planet. If you trust me, I'm sure we can come to some kind of... y'know... understanding. And then. Who knows?"

Silence from the other side of the door. Amy and Alex didn't dare say a thing. And for good reason. Seconds later, the window on the opposite side of the room exploded inwards and a great gust of air joined the shards of glass blowing into the room as well as a very large, very deadly Krafayis.

"Over here, mate!" Vincent called, running back into the room carrying his easel and holding it up in front of him, its pointed base aimed at the Krafayis.

"What's it up to now?" the Doctor asked Vincent, running to stand behind him.

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

"What?" the Doctor asked, confused.

Alex, Amy and Vincent had knelt down behind an alter of sorts. "Yeah, so maybe the middle of the room isn't the best place to stand," Alex whispered to the Doctor, harshly, who was still stood in the middle of the room.

"It's acting like it's trapped," Vincent went on. "Moving around the edges of the room."

"I can't see a thing," Amy moaned. "How do you know where to look?" she asked Alex who she realised was looking in the same direction as Vincent.

"Just look for the effects of its movements," Alex said absentmindedly. "The footprints in the dust, the nudging of the barrels. Doctor! Will you get down here?"

"I am stupid..." the Doctor muttered.

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

"No, I really am, I'm stupid! And getting old... Why does it attack but never eat its victims? And why was it abandoned by its pack and left here to die?" The Doctor finally joined them behind the alter. "And why is it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room?" A hatstand was knocked to the floor as the Doctor spoke. "It can't see; it's blind. And that of course explains why it has such perfect HEARING!"

"Which unfortunately also explains why it is now turning round and heading straight for us!" Vincent cried. He ran out from their hiding place and held out the easel again, the razor-sharp spikes on the end of the stumps glinting in the moonlight.

"Vincent, what's it doing?"

"It's charging! Get back!"

"Yeah, not a bad idea!" the Doctor said, holding back Amy and Alex, all three of them bracing themselves. Less than a second later, an unearthly wailing filled the room. Vincent was lifted into the air and shook around as the howling intensified. Amy shrieked out in surprise. Vincent fell to the floor as the ends of the easel, seemingly floating in mid air, became darkened with what seemed to be the blood of the Krafayis. The wailing became pitiful, degenerating into almost silent weeping. It was horrible. The Doctor, Alex and Amy slowly approached.

"He wasn't without mercy at all," Vincent said, removing his hat and holding it at his waist respectfully. "He was without sight."

The Doctor and Alex both knelt down beside it. Alex placed his hands around the entry wound and pressed slightly, gauging its depth. As gently as he could, he pulled it from the Krafayis and dropped it.

"I didn't mean that to happen!" Vincent went on, tearfully. "I only meant to wound it. I never meant to..."

"He's trying to say something," the Doctor shushed them. He extended his hand and met the beast's head.

"What is it?"

"I'm having trouble making it out. I think he's saying..." The Doctor closed his eyes in concentration. "'I'm... I'm afraid. I'm afraid.' There, there. It's okay, it's okay," the Doctor whispered kindly, gently patting the head. "You're almost there..."

The lament came to a slow end as the Krafayis finally passed.

"He was frightened," Vincent said after a short silence. "And he lashed out. Like humans who lash out when they're frightened. Like the villagers who scream at me. Like the children who throw stones at me..."

Amy put an arm around Vincent, comforting him as Alex took a seat on a nearby stool, head in his hands.

"Y'know, sometimes winning... Winning is no fun at all."