Alyssa jumped to a Tardis she knew to belong ot the the Eleventh Doctor she looked around and saw the Doctor and Amy about to leave "Why do I always seem to jump when you are about to leave?" Alyssa called out, and the Doctor smiled as he ran over to her, and hugged her before taking her hand " Just bad timing but always welcomed timing, Im taking Amy to see the Musee d'Orsay do you want to come?"
"of course." Alyssa said before she walked over to Amy and gave her a hug before the three left the Tardis.
"So this is one of the last paintings Van Gogh ever painted. Those final months of his life were probably the most astonishing artistic outpouring in history. It was like Shakespeare knocking off Othello, Macbeth and King Lear over the summer hols. And especially astonishing because Van Gogh did it with no hope of praise or reward." a tour guide said as they entered the Vincent Van Gogh section of the Museum,
"Thanks for bringing me." Amy said,
"Yeah this is great." Alyssa said, looking around at all the paintings,
"You're welcome." The Doctor said,
"You're being so nice to me. Why are you being so nice to me?" Amy said,
"I'm always nice to you." The Doctor said,
"Not like this. These places you're taking me. Arcadia, the Trojan Gardens, now this. I think it's suspicious." Amy said,
"What? It's not. There's nothing to be suspicious about."
"Okay, I was joking. Why aren't you?" Amy said, before the Doctor walked off and started listening to the Tour guide,
"Each of these pictures now is worth tens of millions of pounds, yet in his lifetime he was a commercial disaster. Sold only one painting, and that to the sister of a friend. We have here possibly the greatest artist of all time, but when he died you could sold his entire body of work and got about enough money to buy a sofa and a couple of chairs. If you follow me now" the tour guide said,
"Who is it?" A child ask,
"it's the doctor." another child said, causing the Doctor to turn only to two kids looking at the portrait of a man "He was the doctor who took care of Van Gogh when he started to go mad."
"I knew that." the other child said, and the Doctor and Alyssa were pulled to a differnt painting
"Look. There it is. The actual one." Amy said, holding her guide book up which was on the page of the painting they were looking at,
"Yes. You can almost feel his hand painting it right in front of you, carving the colours into shapes. Wait a minute." The Doctor said, as he looked closer at the painting, Alyssa doing the same some sort of creature was in one of the windows of the church.
"What?" Amy said,
"Well, just look at that." The Doctor said,
"What?" Amy said,
"Something very not good indeed." The Doctor said,
"What thing very not good?" Amy asked, and the Doctor pointed at the window,
"Look there, in the window of the church." The Doctor said and Amy investigated the painting closer,
"Is it a face?" Amy asked,
"Yes. And not a nice face at all. I know evil when I see it and I see it in that window." the Doctor said, before he walked off and to the tour guide who was in front of the 'Still Life with Twelve Sunflowers'
"It has changed hands for something in the region of twenty" The tourguide said, before the Doctor interuppted
"Excuse me. If I can just interrupt for one second. Sorry, everyone. Routine inspection, Ministry of Art and Artiness. So, er" The Doctor said, holding his psychic paper up to the group,
"Doctor Black." Doctor Black said,
"Yes, that's right. Do you know when that picture of the church was painted?"
"Ah, well, ah, well, what an interesting question. Most people imagine" Doctor Black
"Unfortunately we're in a bit of a hurry when was it?" Alyssa said,
"Exactly?" Doctor Black
"As exactly as you can. Without a long speech, if poss." The Doctor said
"Well, in that case, probably somewhere between the first and third of June." Doctor Black said, making Alyssa roll her eyes,
"What year" Alyssa said,
"1890. Less than a year before, before he killed himself." Doctor Black said,
"Thank you, sir. Very helpful indeed. Nice bow-tie. Bow-ties are cool." The Doctor said,
"Yours is very" Doctor Black said,
"Oh, thank you. Keep telling them stuff." The Doctor said,before he walked away pulling Alyssa and Amy with him, "We need to go."
"What about the other pictures?" Amy said,
"Art can wait. This is life and death. We need to talk to Vincent Van Gogh." The Doctor said, pushing Amy forward,
They piloted the Tardis to 1890 sometime before June, they exited the Tardis into an Alleyway, "Right, so, here's the plan. We find Vincent and he leads us straight to the church and our nasty friend." The Doctor said,
"Easy peasy."
"With the Doctor No." Alyssa said,
"Well, no. I suspect nothing will be easy with Mister Van Gogh. Now, he'll probably be in the local cafe. Sort of orangey light, chairs and tables outside." the Doctor said, and Amy looked through the her exhibition guide book,
"Like this?" Amy said, holding up the book showing a painting of the cafe,
"That's the one." the Doctor said, and Alyssa looked down in front of them
"Or like that?" Alyssa said looking at the cafe
"Yeah, exactly like that." The Doctor said, and the three rushed over, "Good evening. Does the name Vincent Van Gogh ring a bell?" The Doctor asked, one of the workers of the Cafe,
"Don't mention that man to me." one of the men said, before heading back inside
"Excuse me. Do you know Vincent Van Gogh?" The Doctor asked one of the other workers,
"Unfortunately." The waitress said,
"Unfortunately?" Amy asked,
"He's drunk, he's mad and he never pays his bills." the waitress said,
"Good painter, though, eh?" the Doctor said, which caused the others to laugh, the Doctor sat down at the table in front of the waitress, Alyssa sitting next to him
"Come on! Come on! One painting for one drink. That's not a bad deal." A male voice said as the man they asked earlier came out
"It wouldn't be a bad deal if the painting were any good. I can't hang that up on my walls." The man said, a red-haried man following and the Doctor pointed at him fanning over the fact that it was Vincent Van Gogh, Amy doing the same, as she walked over to the door. "It'd scare the customers half to death. It's bad enough having you in here in person, let alone looming over the customers day and night in a stupid hat. You pay money or you get out."
"I'll pay, if you like." The Doctor said,
"What?" The man said,
"Well, if you like, I'll pay for the drink. Or I'll pay for the painting and you can use the money to pay for the drink." the Doctor said,
"Exactly who are you?" Vincent aksed,
"Oh, I'm new in town." The Doctor said,
"Well, in that case, you don't know three things. One, I pay for my own drinks, thank you." Vincent said, which caused people to laugh, "Two, no one ever buys any of my paintings or they would be laughed out of town. So if you want to stay in town, I suggest you keep your cash to yourself. And three, your friends are cute, but you should keep your big nose out of other people's business. Come on, just one more drink. I'll pay tomorrow." turning back to the man
"No." The man said as he tried to head back into the cafe,
"Or, on the other hand, slightly more compassionately, yes?" Vincent tried,
"Or, on the other hand, to protect my business from madmen, no." the man just said, again
"Or?"
"Oh Just shut up both of you," Alyssa said getting up before muttering to the Doctor "men's stubborness." and the Doctor made a silent 'oi' as she walked up to vincent "I would like a bottle of wine, please, which I will then share with whomever I choose." looking at Vincent and smiled at him,
"That could be good." Vincent said,
"That's good by me." the man said,
"Good." Alyssa said, before heading into the cafe, the man following after he gave the self-portrait to Vincent, and the three started talking, before Vincent noticed soemthing,
"That accent of yours. You from Holland like me?" Vincent asked Amy,
"Yes." The Doctor said, the same time Amy said "No"
"She means yes. So, start again. Hello, I'm the Doctor." The Doctor said, holding out a hand to Vincent,
"I knew it!" Vincent said
"Sorry?" The Doctor said,
"My brother's always sending doctors, but you won't be able to help." Vincent said,
"Oh, no, not that kind of doctor. That's incredible, don't you think, Amy?" the Doctor said, gesturing to a painting by Vincent,
"Absolutely. One of my favourites." Amy said, as she took a sip of wine,
"One of my favourite whats? You've never seen my work before." Vincent said,
"Ah yes. One of my favourite paintings that I've ever seen, generally." Amy said,
"Then you can't have seen many paintings, then. I know it's terrible. It's the best I can do. Your hair's orange." Vincent said, looking between Amy and Alyssa,
"yes." Alyssa said, but Amy leaned forward
"Yes. So's yours." Amy said,
"Yes. It was more orange, but now is, of course, less." Vincent said,
"So. Er, Vincent, painted any churches recently? Any churchy plans? Are churches, chapels, religiousy stuff like that, something you'd like to get into? You know, fairly soon?" the Doctor said, causing them both to lean away from each other,
"Well, there is one church I'm thinking of painting when the weather is right."
"That is very good news." The Doctor said, before a woman came in screaming,
"She's been murdered! Help me!" the lady said,
"That, on the other hand, isn't quite such good news. Come on, Alyssa Amy, Vincent!" the Doctor said, before he and Alyssa got up and rushed out of the cafe and into the street, and followed to the where a crowd was forming,
"She's been ripped to shreds!" a man yelled before the Doctor pushed through the crowd,
"Please, let me look. I'm a doctor." he said, before he looked down at the body
"Who is it?" A female asked,
"Oh no, no, no." the Doctor said,
"Is she dead?" another man said, before a female pushed her way through the crowd and kneeled down next to the body,
"Away, all of you vultures. This is my daughter. Giselle. What monster could have done this? Get away from her!" the woman said, moving to push the Doctor away,
"Okay, okay." The Doctor said, backing away,
"Get that madman out of here!" The mother said, before the crowd started throwing stones at Vincent. "You bring this on us. Your madness! You!"
"He's to blame!" Another member of the crowd yelled as the Doctor and Alyssa gestured for Amy and Vincent to run which they did to a different alley,
"Are you all right?" The Doctor asked, looking at Vincent,
"Yes, I'm used to it." Vincent said,
"Has anything like this murder happened here before?" Alyssa asked,
"Only a week ago. It's a terrible time." Vincent said,
"As I thought. As I thought. Come on, we'd better get you home." The Doctor said,
"Where are you staying tonight?" Vincent asked,
"Oh, you're very kind." the Doctor said before he walked off,
"Don't mind him, do you mind if we stay with you? Just for a night?" Alyssa asked, as the Doctor and Amy walked off,
"I think that would be fine," Vincent said
"Thank you." Alyssa said, before following after the Doctor, before Vincent started leading them to where he lived,
"Dark night. Very starry." The Doctor said,
"It's not much. I live on my own. But you should be okay for one night. One night." Vincent said, as he walked forward to light a lantern,
"We're going to stay with him?" Amy said,
"Until he paints that church." the Doctor said,
"Watch out. That one's wet." Vincent said gesturing to a painting, 'The Bedroom in Arles.'
"What?" Amy said, before she looked at the painting, before following the others inside,
"Sorry about all the clutter." Vincent said, about all the paintings he in his main area,
"Some clutter." Alyssa said,
"I've come to accept the only person who's going to love my paintings is me." Vincent said,
"I think that's all that matters, the love of the person who painted it." Alyssa said, making Vincent smile a little bit,
"Wow. I mean, really. Wow."
"Yeah, I know it's a mess. I'll have a proper clear out. I must, I really must." Vincent said, as the three looked out the paintings around the room,
"Coffee, anyone?" Vincent said, before he headed into a different room,
"Not for me, actually." The Doctor said, before poking his head into the room where Vincent was "You know, you should be careful with these. They're precious." he said just as Vincent put the pot of coffee on one of the paintings,
"Precious to me. Not precious to anyone else." Vincent said,
"They're precious to me." Amy said, poking her head into the room, before walking in,
"Well, you're very kind. And kindness is most welcome." Vincent siad,
"Right, so, this church, then. Near here, is it?" The Doctor said,
"What is it with you and the church?" Vincent said,
"Oh, just casually interested in it, you know." The Doctor said,
"Far from casual. It seems to me you never talk about anything else. He's a strange one."
"Okay, so, let's talk about you, then. What are you interested in?" The Doctor said,
"Well, look around. Art. It seems to me there's so much more to the world than the average eye is allowed to see. I believe, if you look hard, there are more wonders in this universe than you could ever have dreamed of." Vincent said,
"You don't have to tell us." Alyssa said, as the two walked further into the room and sat down,
"It's colour. Colour that holds the key. I can hear the colours. Listen to them. Every time I step outside, I feel nature is shouting at me. Come on. Come and get me. Come on. Come on! Capture my mystery!" Vincent said,
"Maybe you've had enough coffee now. How about some nice calming tea? Let's get you a cup of chamomile or something, shall we? Amy. Where's Amy?" The Doctor said as he stood up, before there was a scream outside,
"No, no, no!" The Doctor said, as the three rushed outside, to see Amy on the ground,
"Amy? Amy? What happened?" the Doctor said,
"I don't know. I didn't see it. I was having a look at the paintings out here when something hit me from behind." Amy said, and Alyssa started looking around the courtyard for whatever attacked her,
"It's okay. He's gone now and we're here." The Doctor said, as he helped her up,
"No! No!" Vincent said, as he looked in a direction,
"Take it easy. Take it easy!" The Doctor said, as Vincent backed away, from something that only he could see,
"What's happening? What's he doing?" Amy said, as
"I don't know." The Doctor said, as Vincenbt picked up a pitchfork and rushed towards the three,
"Oh, dear." The Doctor said,
"Run. Run!" Vincent said,
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's not a bad idea. Amy, get back. He's having some kind of fit. I'll try to calm him down." the Doctor said, and Amy rushed over to hiding spot,
"Easy, Vincent, easy. Look. Look, look, look. It's me, it's me, it's me. It's the Doctor, look. No-one else is here. So, Vincent" The Doctor said, when Vincent faced him,
"Look out!" Vincent said, right before the Doctor was hit by something and fell over, "Doctor!" Alyssa yelled, before a painting by Amy was scratched, which caused her to scream,
"I can't see anything. What is it?" Amy said,
"That is a good question. Let me help you." The Doctor said, before he grabbed a pole,
"Can you even see it?" Alyssa said, but he ignored her,
"You can see him, too?" Vincent said,
"Yes. Ish. Well, no. Not really." The Doctor said, before he gets sent flying
"Doctor!" Alyssa yelled, "you stupid man you're going to get yourself killed!"
"You couldn't see him?" Vincent said,
"No. No. Oi!" The Doctor said, before he got up and started swinging wildly, before Vincent jabbed into the enemy, which caused a creature whining to be sounded but it caused whatever was attacking the group to flee, but the Doctor continued swinging around
"He's gone." Vincent said,
"Oh, right. Yes. Of course." The Doctor said, before three went back inside the house, "Right. So he's invisible. What did he look like?"
"I'll show you." Vincent said, before he painted over a vase of violets
"No no!" Alyssa yelled in protest,
"What?" Vincent said,
"Its just that was quite a good. Oh, no. On you go." Alyssa said, and Vincent drew with a piece of Charcoal and drew a birdlike creature, and gave it to the Doctor,
"Okay. Okay. Right. Amy, make Mister Van Gogh comfortable. Don't let any invisible monsters in through the front door." The Doctor said, grabbing Alyssa's hand and turned to leave,
"But it could be outside, waiting." Amy said,
"Well, don't worry. I'll risk it. What's the worst that can happen?"
"We can get torn to pieces by a creature we can't see," Alyssa said,
"Oh right, yes, that. Don't worry. We'll be back before you can say where's he got to now?" the Doctor said, before the two left before rushed back and yelled "Not that fast! But pretty fast. See you around." before leaving agian
"Was that really necessary" Alyssa said, "you being a jerk?"
"That was me being a jerk?"
"You scared them!" Alyssa said, and the Doctor made an 'oh' expression with his mouth,
"so was this an episode?" the Doctor asked,as they started walking towards the Tardis, and Alyssa started racking her brain for the answer,
"yes, it was." She said, as the answer finally came to her,
"On a scale from 1 to ten how bad is it?" The Doctor said,
"3 maybe? I am so bad at those Doctor."
"3 okay I can work with that," the Doctor said, before they got to the Tardis, the Doctor looked behind them quickly before entering the Tardis and the Doctor immediately started looking for something in a chest by the entrance
"Right. You in here somewhere? I can't apologise enough. I thought you were just a useless gadget. I thought you were just an embarrassing present from a dull godmother with two heads and bad breath. Twice. How wrong can a man be?" The Doctor said, before he found some sort of mirror and ran back to the Console, and turned it on before sticking a tongue out an the first doctor appeared on the screen he smiled as he pressed the space bar and pictures of the Doctor started printing out,
"Good. Okay, you're working. Now, see what you make of this. Who is that?" The Doctor said, holding the picture Vincent drew up, and the device dinged and showed a Macaw,
"No, I know it's not that. There are thousands of them and you can see them plain as day." The doctor said, and then the device showed a picture of a Polar bear,
"Did you seriously wear a piece of Celery?" Alyssa asked, as she looked at the pictures of the doctor,
"yes that was so long ago," He said, before looking back at the picture of the polar bear "No. Definitely not. This is the problem with the impressionists. Not accurate enough. This would never happen with Gainsborough or one of those proper painters."
"Vincent is a proper painter Doctor, maybe the machine needs to actually see the creature? Instead of a drawing," Alyssa said, and the Doctor nodded
"Maybe Sorry, Vincent. You will just have to draw something better." he said, he threw the painting behind him and started unhooking the device and put it on his chest before the two exited the Tardis, the Doctor adjusted some of the settings and the device beeped as a new result popped up, "That's better, old girl. Time delay, but you always get it right in the end. Good. Let's find out who this is, then. Well, well, there you are." and Alyssa looked over the Doctor shoulder to get a look at it, the creature was a Krafayis, "Oh, you poor thing. You brutal, murderous, abandoned thing. I hope we meet again soon so I can take you home."he said before he looked down
"Doctor," Alyssa said as she continued looking in the mirror and the Krafayis was right behind the two,
"Maybe not that soon." The Doctor said, before the two took off running the creature following them, and Alyssa and the Doctor started pushing things over to block thee way of creature, before they ducked behind a corner,and watched the creature, as it left, they turned the corner to see Amy jump out at them, scaring all three of them, "Amy never do that! You scared the living daylights out of me."
"Sorry, I got bored. As much as you admire his command of colour and shape, it is hard to get fond of Vincent Van Gogh's snoring." Amy said, before the three walked back to Vincent's home.
Amy set up sunflowers around the courtyard, before the Doctor went and woke him up, "I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving me last night." Amy said, about all the sunflowers around them,
"Ah. Vincent said,
"I thought you might like, you know, possibly to perhaps paint them or something? Might be a thought." Amy said, as the Doctor joined her and Alyssa, and started pouring glasses of the juice he brought,
"Yes, well, they're not my favourite flower."
"You don't like sunflowers?" Amy said,
"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."
"And one I'm pretty sure you'll rise to. But, moving on, there's something I need to show you." the Doctor said, before the three walked into the house and the Doctor gave Vincent a picture of the Krafayis,
"That's him. And the eyes, without mercy." Vincent said,
"This is a creature called the Krafayis. 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. And what they do is, well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them." the Doctor explained,
"But I can." Vincent said,
"Yes. And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So, feeling like painting the church today?" The Doctor said,
"What about the monster?" Vincent asked,
"Take our word for it. If you paint it, he will come," Alyssa said,
"Okay. I'll get my things." Vincent said, "In your own time. And I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow." The Doctor said, before Vincent got up and walked out of the room, "This is risky."
"Riskier than normal?" Amy said,
"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 said, before he sat down by Amy, the three waited a while before the Doctor went to get Vincent but came out of the room, disgruntled,
"What's happening?" Amy said, as she and Alyssa joined him,
"We're leaving. Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll, he'll take his own life." The Doctor said,
"Don't say that. Please." Amy said, before the Doctor turned and went inside the house,
"Come on. We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up." the Doctor said, before Vincent entered the room,
"I'm ready. Let's go." Vincent said,
They started walking towards the church, " I'm sorry you're so sad." Amy said, walking by Vincent,
"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." Vincent said, making the Doctor and Alyssa glance at each other.
"I'm not soldiering on. I'm fine." Amy said,
"Oh, Amy. I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost someone, I think." Vincent said,
"I'm not sad." Amy said,
"Then why are you crying? It's all right. I understand." Vincent said, and Amy reached up and found that she was indeed crying,
"I'm not sure I do." Amy said,
"Okay. Okay. So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns." The Doctor said,
"Then we shall fight him again." Vincent siad,
"Well, yes, tick. But last night we were lucky. Amy could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him too." The Doctor said,
"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Amy said,
"The answer's in this box. I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother." The Doctor said,
"Oh no, it's that poor girl from the village." Vincent said, as they saw a group of people carring a Coffin, and they stopped and let the coffin be carried past,
"You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy asked
"No he does not have a plan." Alyssa said,
"It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greatness." The Doctor said,
They soon got to the church and Vincent started to set up to paint, "And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters." The Doctor said,
"Yes. While I may be mad, I'm not stupid." Vincent said,
"No. Quite. And, to be honest, I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex" The Doctor said, and Vincent put up a finger,
"Shush. I'm working." Vincent said,
"Well, yes. Paint. Do painting!" The Doctor said, and Vincent started doing exactly what he said, "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." Amy said,
"And Picasso. What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye, either side of the face." The Doctor said,
"Doctor dear you need to be quiet," Alyssa said, and the Doctor finally sat down and was quiet into darkness fell over them
"Is this how time normally passes? Really slowly. In the right order. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack." the Doctor said getting up and walking a little bit.
"Doctor dear, are you okay? You seem a bit nervous." Alyssa said, as She and Amy walked over to him,
"Yes, there's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it." The Doctor said, as Vincent looked back up at the church, before his eyes fell on the window, where the Krafayis was,
"There. He's at the window." Vincent said,
"Where?" the Doctor said,
"There, on the right." Vincent said, pointing up at the window, the same window the Krafyris was in the future,
"As I thought. Come on. I'm going in." The Doctor said, and started heading into the church,
"Well I'm coming too." Vincent said,
"No! You're Vincent Van Gogh. No." The Doctor said, stopping before he turned to him
"But you're not armed." Vincent said,
"I am." The Doctor said,
"What with?" Vincent said,
"Overconfidence." Alyssa muttered,
"this," The Doctor said, before he held up the case "and a small screwdriver. I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Alyssa come on, Anyway, Amy, only one thought, one simple instruction. Don't follow me under any circumstances."
"I won't." Amy said, and the two started again towards the church, the Doctor stopping to put on the mirror device and the two started moving through the church, the two, using the Mirror to find the creature, before The Doctor used the Sonic to scan for the Krafayis, before walking forward and looked at the mirror once again,
"Damn, he's moved." The Doctor said, before the Krafayis hit the two and sent them flying, they quickly got up and ran right into Amy,
"You've really got to stop doing that." Alyssa said,
"I thought I told you. Never mind. We'll talk about it later. Quick, in here." The Doctor said, before the three got into a confessional Alyssa cramped with the Doctor, and Amy on the other side, "Absolutely quiet." The Doctor said, and the only sound to be heard was Amy's breathing, he opened the window "Can you breath a little quieter, please?"
"No." Amy said, and they listened to the creature again and the noise got quieter, "He's gone past." Causing both Alyssa and the Doctor to shush her, before the creature smashed into Amy's side of the confessional and caused her to scream,
"I think he heard us." The Doctor said,
"Obviously he heard us!" Alyssa said,
"That is impressive hearing he's got. What's less impressive are our chances of survival." the Doctor said,
"Hey! Are you looking for me, sonny? Come on, over here. Because I'm right here waiting for you." Vincent's voice said, before he started attacking the creature, before he looked over at the three, "Come on. Quickly. Get behind me." and the three ran forward and behind him, and the Doctor tried the Sonic Screwdriver,
"Doing anything?" The Doctor said, and Vincent made a sound telling them no, before the four rushed out of the church,
"Where is he?" The Doctor said,
"Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head." Vincent said,
"Anything?" The Doctor said,
"Nothing. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it." Vincent said, as Alyssa backed up and grabbed her gun looking down at her gun, seeing if there was a stun setting on it before Vincent yelled to her,
"Duck!" Vincent said which she did, "Left." He said again causing Alyssa to jump left and be flung into a wall,
"Alyssa!" the Doctor called before he and Amy rushed over to her,
"Right, sorry. Your right, my left." Vincent said,
"you can have all the knowledge about this and still can't avoid a invisible creature," Alyssa said, rubbing her head before she looked back at her gun, and she had a brilliant idea, as she fished out her sonic.
"This is no good at all. Run like crazy and regroup." The Doctor said,
"Oh, come on, in here." Amy said, before they rushed through a door before they struggled to get the door closed, before Vincent stomped on the Krayafris's foot which allowed them to close the door,
"Right. Okay. Here's the , Amy, Rory." The Doctor said,
"Who?" Amy said,
"Sorry. Er, Vincent." the Doctor said,
"What is the plan?" Amy said, as Alyssa started sonicking the gun
"I have a plan, I just need a few moments." Alyssa said, as she started trying to adjust the power of the blast of the gun to only stun.
"Give me a second. I'll be back." Vincent said,
"I suppose we could try talking to him." The Doctor said,
"Just give me a few moments!" Alyssa said, and the Doctor nodded at her, realizing
"Talking to him?" Amy said,
"Well, yes. Might be interesting to know his side of the story. Yes, though maybe he's not really in the mood for conversation right at this precise moment." the Doctor said before the Krayafris started hammering on the door. "Well, no harm trying. 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. 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 said, before the window glass was broken into and the creature came in, and Vincent ran in with his easel
"Keep it distracted, I almost got it," Alyssa yelled, as she was almost successful,
"Over here, mate!" Vincent said, as they all ran into hiding spots, Vincent watching the creature make its way around the room,
"What's it up to now?" The Doctor said,
"It's moving round the room. Feeling its way around." Vincent said,
"What?" The Doctor said,
"It's like it's trapped. It's moving round the edges of the room." Vincent said,
"I can't see a thing." Amy said,
"I am really stupid." The Doctor said,
"Oh, get a grip! This is not a moment to re-evaluate your self-esteem." Amy said,
"No, I am really stupid, and I'm growing old. 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. Yes, and that explains why it has such perfect hearing!" the Doctor said, before he rushed over to Amy and Vincent and kneeled down next to them,
"Which unfortunately also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us." Vincent said, and the three all stood, up,
"Vincent. Vincent, what's happening?" The Doctor said,
"It's charging now. Get back. Get back!" Vincent said,
"I got it!" Alyssa yelled, as she moved from her hiding place and pointed in front of the group only to yell "NO!" when they heard the krafayis shriek in pain as it skewered itself on the Easel Vincent was holding, lifing him up before it fell down,
"He wasn't without mercy at all. He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen. I only meant to wound it, I never meant to" Vincent said, as Alyssa walked over and leaned down next to it, and put her hands on it and started stroking it,
"He's trying to say something." Alyssa said,
"What is it?" Vincent said,
"Im having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying, I'm afraid. I'm afraid. There, there. Shush, shush. It's okay, it's okay. You'll be fine. Shush." Alyssa said, as she continued stroking the Krayafis, not noticing when her hands started glowing gold, reversing time enough to pull the easel out and start healing the creature,
"Alyssa…" the Doctor said, and she looked at her hands in shock "What are you doing?" the Doctor asked,
"I don't know," she responded,
"Get back!" Vincent before the creature jumped up causing Alyssa jumping back and into the Doctor who pulled her away, but the creature didn't do anything as it whipped it's head around,
"What's it doing?" Alyssa whispered and the head turned straight to her,
"it's looking at you," Vincent said, and Alyssa let out a shaky sigh as the gold around her hands disapperated, and she stepped forward in spite of the Doctor pulling her arm, but she only pulled her arm away,, she put her hand out towards the creature,
"It's okay, you were frightened, I can understand that, I can take you somewhere, somewhere you'll be safe. nothing to hurt you," Alyssa said, before the krafayis pushed it's head into her hand. she looked back at the Doctor, "Ill be right back," she said, as she moved forward using her hand to find the rest of the body and wrapped an arm around it, the arm with her Vortex manipulator, the Doctor finally realizing what she was doing,
"Alyssa, No." The Doctor said,
"Trust me." Alyssa said, looking back at him, as she looked down at her vortex manipulator and racked through her brain for an earth like planet a planet that had no civilization, and she jotted in the coordinates, and disappeared to the planet, the Krayafis roared as it whipped it's head around,
"It's okay, it's okay," Alyssa said, and the creature calmed a little bit "Go on," and she could tell by the grass parting, that the creature had ran, she let out a sigh before she looked back down at her hands confused, before Idris's words came back to her head 'you have powers over time Alyssa and soon you will learn what exactly those powers are.' she let out a sigh before looking at her vortex manipulator and typed in the coordinates for Earth, a few moments after she had left, she appeared in a flash and was immediately enveloped in a hug, she instantly knew who it was, the Doctor
"don't ever do that again." the Doctor said,
"No promises," Alyssa said, before she wrapped her arms around the Doctor and smiled,
"What happened?" Amy asked
"I took the creature somewhere, somewhere he will be okay," Alyssa said, breaking away from the Doctor
"you saved it." Vincent said, and Alyssa could only nod. they left the church and laid down on the ground "Hold my hand, Doctor." Vincent said, before the Doctor took his hand and took Alyssa's, who took Amy's " 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." Vincent said gesturing to the sky, and slowly was they could imagine what he was seeing,
"I've seen many things, my friend. But you're right. Nothing quite as wonderful as the things you see." The Doctor said,
"I will miss you terribly." Vincent said, before the four went back to his home, where the next day he tried to give them the 'Self Portrait in a Straw Hat' "I only wish I had something of real value to give you." He said,
"Oh, no, no, no. I could never accept such an extraordinary gift." The Doctor said, before handing the painting back,
"Very well. You're not the first to decline the offer. Amy, the blessed, the wonderful." Vincent said, before Amy walked forward and Vincent kissed both her cheeks before hugging her,
"Be good to yourself, and be kind to yourself." Amy said, when they pulled away,
"I'll try my best." Vincent said,
"And maybe give the beard a little trim before you next kiss someone." Amy said,
"I will, I will. And if you tire of this Doctor of yours, return, and we will have children by the dozen." Vincent said,
"Eek." Amy said,
"Alyssa, you burn brightly like a golden angel." Vincent said, making Alyssa and the Doctor share a glance, "And I am so happy you saved that creature."
"So am I." Alyssa said, as she walked forward and hugged him, before taking a step back,
"Doctor, my friend. We have fought monsters together and we have won. On my own, I fear I may not do as well." Vincent said, shaking the Doctor's hand before the two hugged,
the two started leaving and the Doctor turned to Alyssa "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" The Doctor said, and she grinned,
"Of course," She said,
"I was thinking I may need some food or something before we leave." Amy said,
"Well, no, you're not thinking exactly what I'm thinking." The Doctor said, before he turned back "Vincent! We've got something We'd like to show you. Maybe just tidy yourself up a bit first." he yelled, as Vincent popped his head out and was shirtless. Vincent quickly joined them and they started walking towards the Tardis "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 said,
"Yes." Vincent said as they turned the corner and saw the Tardis covered with advertisment posters,
"Well, brace yourself, Vinny." The Doctor said, before he opened the Tardis and let Vincent in, who took a look at the Tardis before stepping out and walked around it, before turning back to the others,
"How come I'm the crazy one, and you two have stayed sane?" he asked, causing Alyssa to laugh, as he stepped back in the others following before the Doctor grabbed the hat he was wearing and but it on a coat and hat rack,
"What do these things all do?" Vincent said, as the Doctor and Alyssa ran to the Tardis console
"Oh, a huge variety of things. This one here, for instance, plays soothing music." The Doctor said, before he pressed a button and made music play, and he grabbed Alyssa's hand and turned her, making her laugh, "While this one makes a huge amount of noise." The Doctor said, looking at Alyssa who nodded and the Doctor pulled a lever starting the Tardis's engine up, "And this one makes everything go absolutely tonto." he said before the Tardis started flying,
"And this one?" Vincent said, pointing at a button
"That's a friction contrafibulator!" the Doctor said, walking over,
"And this?" Vincent said, pointing at other buttons, Alyssa walking over,
"That's ketchup. And that one's mustard." The Doctor said, pointing at a yellow button,
"Mmm, nice. Come on, back to the cafe and you can tell me about all the wonders of the universe." Vincent said
"That's a good idea, but first there is something we'd like to show you first." Alyssa said, before she rushed off and landed the Tardis, and the four exited it,
"Where are we?" Vincent said,
"Paris, 2010 AD. And this is the mighty Musee D'Orsay, home to many of the greatest paintings in history." Alyssa said,
"Oh, that's wonderful." Vincent said, before two people passed them listening to a radio, Vincent looking at it with great interest,
"Ignore that. I've got something more important to show you." the Doctor said, and they started walking into the Museum and Vincent smiling as he looked at the art before they entered Vincent's part, Alyssa stood by Vincent as the Doctor gestured around them at all the art, before the Doctor walked off to Doctor Black "Doctor Black, we met a few days ago. I asked you about the church at Auvers." the Doctor said pulling him closer to Vincent,
"Oh, yes. Glad to be of help. You were nice about my tie." Doctor Black said,
"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?" The Doctor asked,
"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 colour, the most magnificent. 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." Doctor Black said, as Vincent looked around and started crying,
"Vincent. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Is it too much?" The Doctor said,
"No. They are tears of joy. Thank you, sir. Thank you." Vincent said, before taking him into a hug, before walking over to Doctor Black, and kissed both his cheeks and hugged him
"You're welcome. You're welcome." Doctor Black said,
"Sorry about the beard." Vincent said before the four left and went back to Vincent's time,
"This changes everything. 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." Vincent said, as they exited the Tardis,
"It's been a great adventure and a great honour." The Doctor said, before he hugged him once again,
"You've turned out to be the first doctor ever actually to make a difference to my life." Vincent said,
"I'm delighted. I won't ever forget you." the Doctor said, and Vincent turned to Amy
"And you are sure marriage is out of the question?" he asked,
"This time." Amy said, before he hugged him and continued "I'm not really the marrying kind." before she let him go and walked back towards the Tardis. "Come on. Let's go back to the gallery right now." Amy said, which is exactly where they went, "Time can be re-written. I know it can. Come on! Oh, the long life of Vincent Van Gogh. There'll be hundreds of new paintings."
"I'm not sure there will." The Doctor said, as they walked into the exhibit, where only the paintings there were the ones already there,
"Come on!" Amy said, before she looked around in disappointment
"We have here the last work of Vincent Van Gogh, who committed suicide at only thirty seven. He is now acknowledged to be one of the foremost artists of all time. If you follow me now." Doctor Black said,
"So you were right. No new paintings. We didn't make a difference at all." Amy said,
"I wouldn't say that. The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. Hey. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things or make them unimportant. And we definitely added to his pile of good things. And, if you look carefully," the Doctor said hugging Amy before pulling her to the painting of the church "maybe we did indeed make a couple of little changes." The Doctor said, pointing out there was no Krafayis,
"No Krafayis." Amy said,
"No Krafayis." Alyssa said, in confirmation, and Amy turned around and looked at a painting of Sunflowers, Alyssa and the Doctor following, and on the vase it said 'for Amy'
"If we had got married, our kids would have had very, very red hair." Amy said,
"The ultimate ginger." The Doctor said,
"The ultimate ginge. Brighter than sunflowers." Amy said,