A few hours later, the Ponds found themselves standing in a throne room in the Calvierri House. The walls were made of stone and the lighting was dim, just a few candles along the walls.
In front of them sat a very regal looking woman on a throne. The woman, Signora Rosanna Calvierri, had brown hair and wore a long purple and gold dress.
But Evy's mind immediately bypassed it and she bit her lip to keep from staring as she saw the fish-looking alien in front of her.
Standing a little ways away from the throne was a man with short black hair whom Evy recognized from the plaza, wearing a traditional Italian nobleman outfit.
Next to him was the steward, a black-robed man named Carlo, who had led her, Amy, and Rory into the throne room. Evy watched as the Italian nobleman disappeared, revealing the same horrifying aquatic creature that was sitting on the throne.
Next to her, Rory was nervously blabbering about why the Calvierri's should admit his two 'sisters'. All three of them were dressed in peasant clothing borrowed from Guido's house, Rory actually in the attire that Guido had been wearing. It had amused Amy to no end to see Guido wearing Rory's stag party shirt.
"So, basically, both of our parents are dead from getting the plague. I'm a gondola….driver, so money's a bit tight. Having my sisters go to your school for special people would be brilliant." Rory tugged at his collar nervously. "Cheers."
Evy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Brilliant job big brother, she thought sarcastically. It'd be a miracle if they got accepted after that.
It was then that she noticed the 'nobleman' staring at Amy carefully. "Have we met?" he asked her.
Rory, knowing that this was the guy that Amy had chased through the alleyway, spoke up. "I've just got one of those faces. She got the same face. 'Cause... 'cause she's my sister!"
"And who..." the man came up to Evy, gently grabbing her hand to kiss it. "Is this lovely creature?"
"I-I told you," Rory continued, hoping to distract him. "She's my sister!"
"I was not addressing you!" The man snapped before turning back to Evy with a flirtatious smile.
"I... Um..." She swallowed thickly at the amphibian flirting with her. "I am, er… Evelia. But I go by the name, Evy. F-from Paris."
Evy had to bite back a shudder as the nobleman raised a brow before standing up and beginning to circle Amy, licking his lips like a shark waiting for it's next meal.
"Carlo, explain yourself!" Rosanna demanded the steward as the man began to approach Amy and Evy. "Why have you brought me this imbecile?"
"Signora, they have references from His Majesty the King of Sweden," Carlo replied.
Evy kept a steady eye on the man still eyeing them. She didn't like the way he was looking at her not her sister. It was almost as though he was deciding whether or not to devour her.
"What?" Rosanna cried, clearly startled. She stared wide-eyed at the three and held out her hand. "Let me see!" she demanded.
Rory fumbled for a moment with the psychic paper before stepping forward and handing it to her. Evy knew that he was concentrating his hardest on thinking of what he wanted Rosanna to see.
The Doctor had spent twenty minutes beforehand drilling him on it so that he wouldn't mess up.
Meanwhile, the man finished circling Amy and moved onto Evy. She raised her chin high, trying to give off vibes that she didn't appreciate being examined like she was the last steak on Earth.
Rosanna looked up from the psychic paper. "Well, now I see what got my steward so excited," she smiled, but Evy didn't like the way it looked on her, not because that she was seeing it on a fish creature, but because it appeared malevolent and evil.
She was sure Rosanna hadn't been fooled by the psychic paper. Her thoughts were derailed however as she heard Rosanna ask,
"What do you say, Francesco? Do you like them?"
The man now identified as Francesco circled Evy carefully.
"Oh, I do, Mother," he breathed. Evy watched him stumble back slightly before creeping closer and looking right into her eyes. She knew then that her eyes had changed color again, attracting unwelcome attention.
He picked a red lock of her hair, eyeing the flowers on them before taking a whiff. "I very much do," he answered.
Evy could only imagine the Doctor's reaction to this. And she knew Rory didn't like the way Francesco was looking at her or how he had looked at Amy just a few minutes ago.
"Then we'd be delighted to accept them," Rosanna smiled smoothly. "Say good-bye to your sisters."
Evy squeezed Rory's hand in reassurance and smiled. She knew that for as much as Rory worried about Amy, he worried about her as well. On his other side, Amy was about to hug him when he was quickly maneuvered towards the door by Carlo, left next to two guards.
Amy felt her stomach twist in a knot and she told herself to calm down. She had twisted the Doctor's arm so that she and Evy could get here, after all. Backing out now was not an option.
She looked over and saw that Evy barely seemed affected by all of this. But deep down, she knew she was terrified as well.
At that moment, Evy called out, "Tell Uncle…Doctor we'll see you both really soon, okay?"
"We'll be fine," Amy added, smiling slightly while her stomach twirled in knots on the inside.
The two were led through the house, both of their heads bowed in submission like Guido had told them to do before they left. It bothered Evy quite a bit that she was supposed to act subservient towards the males in this society, even though some of them could be utter idiots.
As she and Amy were led up a stone staircase, they passed several of the girls she'd seen earlier. All of them had high Jersey-style hair, sunken eyes and pale, translucent skin, each of them wearing only white nightdresses that served to accentuate their pale skin even more.
As they passed them, Evy bent her head even lower and made sure that her hair covered the sides of her face. Even though she was sure the girls from before hadn't noticed her, she wasn't about to take any chances.
Well, also because she didn't want to see their fish-forms again.
A minute later, they stepped into a large rotunda styled room filled with beds. Evy gawked at the high ceiling and silk-covered walls. She could feel her shoes sinking into the rich carpet. Beside her, Amy also gaped.
"There are clothes on the bed," Carlo told them, interrupting their staring. "Get changed and wait here."
He and several of the girls walked out of the room, leaving Amy and Evy alone in the room along with a young, dark-skinned girl sitting on one of the beds.
Amy looked around the room again. "Blimey. This is private education, then?"
"Tell me about it," Evy sighed as she went over to the girl. "I wish my high school had looked this good."
She smiled and bent down next to the girl. "Hi. I'm Evelyn, but everyone calls me Evy. What's your name?"
"Isabella," the girl replied, staring off into the distance. Evy's hearts jumped as she recognized the name of Guido's daughter. She quickly examined her.
Despite the fact that Isabella was a little dazed at the moment, she wasn't as far gone as the other girls. There was still hope for her.
Evy heard a door bang in the distance and the next thing she knew, Amy was seated on the other side of Isabella.
"Listen, we're going to get you out of here," Amy told her, her voice low in case anyone was listening through the door. "But we need you to tell us what's going on."
"What is this place?" Evy jumped in, keeping her voice calm and reassuring. She rubbed Isabella's arm as she continued. "What are they doing?"
Isabella looked at her in shock and her breath rate rapidly increased. She hesitated a moment, gathering her thoughts, before revealing,
"They…they come at night. They gather around my bed and they…they take me to a room with this green light and a chair with…with straps, as if for a surgeon."
Evy saw the terror and fear on Isabella's face and mentally cursed the monsters for causing this young girl such horror. She took one of Isabella's hands into her lap as Amy whispered,
"What happens in there?"
Isabella shook her head, indicating that she didn't know. "I wake up here and the sunlight burns my skin like candlewax."
"Isabella, we're going to get out of here," Evy assured her. Above them, a gong sounded.
"I promise you, we will. A friend of ours is helping and he's brilliant. I've seen him do things I'd never thought possible before."
She was relieved to see Isabella nod and smile slightly. This girl needed some hope and good news after all she'd been through.
Amy glanced around. "Evy, the others will be traveling through the tunnels right now. We have to go."
Evy nodded and told Isabella they'd be back soon. After changing into the white dresses, the girls hurried out of the room, armed with only a single lit candle.
It was a good thing Evy had memorized the map's route in her head, otherwise they'd have gotten lost very quickly in the huge palace. The two eventually came out to a courtyard, the trapdoor in the center. Without speaking, the girls hastily undid the bolts before turning to head back into the house.
Evy's hearts leapt into her throat when she saw Carlo standing behind them. Amy was shocked too, for she dropped the candle with a crash, plunging the girls into blackness.
~x~
As all of this was occurring, in the waterway below, Guido was rowing the gondola while the Doctor and Rory sat in it, both of them nervous for the two headstrong, stubborn girls who had walked right into danger, their opinions be damned.
"They'll be fine," the Doctor said to Rory, though also to himself.
"You can promise me that, can you?" Rory asked coldly.
It was bad enough that Evy was in there, but so was his fiancé Amy. If anything happened to them, he wouldn't be hesitant in striking the Doctor.
"We're here," Guido announced as they pulled up to the beginning of the tunnel, the little light around them growing darker. The Doctor lit a torch and climbed out of the boat, Rory right behind him.
As they started to go up the stairs to the door, the Doctor stopped and turned to Rory. "Right. Okay, I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back."
Like hell, Rory thought, but he knew arguing against the Doctor wouldn't lead to anything productive.
"What happened?" he asked, the two pausing halfway up the stairs. "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you?"
"Now?" the Doctor whispered harshly, vocalizing his thoughts. "You wanna do this now?!"
"I have a right to know!" Rory protested as they continued up the stairs, reaching the door. "I'm getting married in four hundred and thirty years!"
The Doctor opened the door and headed down the hall. "Look, Rory, she was frightened. I was frightened. Hell, even Evy was frightened, but she won't admit it. But we survived, you know, and the relief of it and so…she kissed me."
"And you kissed her back?" Rory guessed, a twinge of jealousy creeping into his voice.
"No, I kissed her mouth," the Doctor argued.
And if one of those girls had to kiss me, Amy wouldn't have been the one I'd have preferred. The Doctor shook his head, shoving these thoughts to the back of his mind.
"And, if it helps, Evy gave one hell of a scolding."
"And so I've seen," Rory snickered in spite of himself. He remembered Evy knocking the Doctor out cold.
"Good to know she's on my side," he remarked.
The Doctor chuckled a little as well and stopped to look at Rory. "Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you. It should have been you."
"Yeah, it should've been me," Rory agreed as they continued down the tunnel.
"Exactly. That's why I brought you here." At that moment, a gust of wind blew the Doctor's torch out, leaving them in darkness.
"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" he whispered, causing Rory to roll his eyes.
At the moment though, the girls were not in a good situation.
~x~
"Control yourself, child!" Carlo snapped at Evy and then at Amy.
Carlo was holding each in an arm and neither girl was happy about it. Both were kicking and shouting, and in Evy's case, bruised him in any way possible, but it just wasn't enough.
"Take your hands off me!" Evy growled, kicking and thrashing.
"Let us go you god-damned bastard!" Amy screeched, her Scottish accent flaring up a bit more.
"Psychic paper," a voice rang out as the girls were pulled into a room, several of the girls from before around them. In the front of the room were Rosanna and Francesco.
The light in the room suddenly went bright green, a color that only served to accentuate the green skin on Rosanna's natural form. The girls looked over to see Rosanna glaring at them.
"Did you really think that would work on me?"
Well, we were hoping, Evy thought, but she knew better than to say that out loud. After all the times she had berated the Doctor for baiting monsters, she didn't want to start doing that as well.
"Where are you from?" Rosanna questioned, stalking around them in a circle as Evy was passed off to two other guards and Carlo continued to hold Amy.
"Did you fall through the chasm?"
"Mother, this is pointless," Francesco protested irritably, stepping up beside Amy and Carlo. "Let's just start the process."
"Hold your tongue, Francesco!" Rosanna snapped at him. "I need to know what these girls are doing in the world of savages with psychic paper!"
Satisfied that Francesco was not going to challenge her anymore, Rosanna turned back to the girls.
"Who are you with?" she demanded. "Because I scarcely believe your idiot brother sent you."
As she spoke, Evy watched as two of the girls from before brought the chair Isabella had described into the center of the room.
It was only when Amy spoke that they realized Rosanna had asked them another question.
"Okay, I'll tell you," Amy spoke as a drip bag was hung from the chair. "I'm from Ofsted."
Everyone looked over at Evy expectantly. She swallowed thickly, not even knowing herself where she was born. So, she slowly shook her head, not sparing them a gaze.
Quickly understanding her gestures, Rosanna laughed heartily in a very evil way before turning back to Amy.
"Put her in the chair," she ordered Carlo.
"Please, let me go! Get your hands off me!" Amy screamed as they brought her closer to the chair.
"No!" Evy demanded, struggling against the guards. "Don't you dare touch her! Amy!"
"Evy!"
Evy turned and spat in the guard's face. "Let go of me!" she screeched in an almost bloodcurdling shriek.
The guard glowered at her, hands clenched into fists, and suddenly struck her in her abdomen. Evy staggered backwards from the force, her ears ringing. Her lungs felt like it was on fire and she knew it would cause a serious bruise.
Amy looked over from where she was struggling not to be placed in the chair just in time to see the blow.
"Evy!" she cried fearfully. She was relieved a moment later though when Evy rose back up, her face absolutely furious, though Amy knew it'd be nothing compared to the reaction the Doctor would have when he saw the blood trickling down from her mouth.
Evy spat the mixture of blood and saliva next to the guard before turning back to Amy. She watched as Amy was finally forced into the chair, the others strapping her arms down to the armrests.
"You'll be very sorry you hurt my sister," she growled at Rosanna.
Rosanna ignored her though. All of her attention was currently focused on Amy.
"Oh, make sport of me, will you?" she called as Amy continued to struggle. "Tease me as if I were your dog? Well, this dog has a bite, girl!"
With that, Francesco yanked Amy's head back so that her neck was on display. And right before Rosanna sunk her fangs into her neck, Amy screamed,
"Doctor!"
~x~
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Rory were ignorant of the girls' plight, as they were still working on actually getting into the fortress.
The Doctor sighed as he looked up at the grate, moonlight streaming down on him and Rory. He cracked his neck and turned to Rory.
"Well, go on then. Give me a boost."
Rory groaned and reluctantly hoisted the Doctor onto his shoulders. The Doctor struggled for a moment to push the heavy metal grate back while Rory struggled with keeping his balance.
"Hold still!" he called down.
Rory glowered at him, even though he knew he couldn't see him. "I'm trying!"
"Well, try harder!"
Finally, a few moments later, the grate fell back with a CLANK! The Doctor quickly set to work on climbing out, with Rory's assistance.
"Push!"
"I'm pushing!"
The Doctor was finally able to climb out and reached into the hole to help Rory out.
"Push. Come on. There we are."
Once Rory was out enough to pull himself out, the Doctor left him and began looking around the dark, open courtyard.
"Amy? Where are they? Amy! Evy!"
"I can't see a thing," Rory said as he climbed out onto the stone wall surrounding the grate. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small penlight.
"Just as well I brought this then," he panted. Cocking an eyebrow, the Doctor reached into his bigger-on-the-inside pockets and pulled out a longer, brighter light.
"Ultraviolet," he explained to an astonished Rory, "Portable sunlight."
Rory blinked at him. "Yours is bigger than mine."
"Let's not go there."
While the Doctor searched the courtyard for any sign of the red-heads, Rory began to get nervous and started fidgeting.
"If we cancel now, we'll lose the deposit on the village hall!" he bemoaned, "The salsa band!"
The Doctor turned to give him a questioning look. Rory shrugged. "Amy's idea. She loves dancing."
Satisfied with this answer, the Doctor went over to one of the trunks lining the wall of the courtyard. As Rory approached him, he opened it.
The contents were enough to make the Doctor yelp in fright and take a step back. Inside the trunk was a corpse, its skin blackened and its open mouth revealing a set of fangs.
"What happened to them?" Rory shakily asked.
The Doctor glanced back at him briefly before returning his attention to the corpse.
"They've had all the moisture taken out of them," he answered gravely.
"That's what vampires do, right?" Rory reasoned. "They drink your blood and replace it with their own."
"Yeah," the Doctor agreed, kneeling down and gingerly picking up a hand that had been tossed over the lid of the trunk.
"Except these people haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their entire bodies."
Rory stared at him, confused. "Why did they die? Why aren't they like the girls in the school?"
The Doctor thought for a moment, lost in thought, before he looked back up and answered,
"Maybe not everyone survives the process."
Rory stormed off a little ways, not at all pleased with this hypothesis. Suddenly, he spun around and pointed at the Doctor.
"You know what's dangerous about you? It's not that you make people take risks. It's that you make them want to impress you. You make it so they don't want to let you down. You have no idea how dangerous you make people to themselves when you're around!"
The Doctor marched towards him, glaring at him all the while. "You think I want them to be in danger all the time?" he snapped, "Because I don't! I don't want anything happening to both of them. And if anything ever did happen to them, I'd never forgive myself for it."
Rory was about to reply when a chorus of voices rang out.
"Who are you?"
The two turned to see the group of girls coming towards them, fangs bared and hissing. The Doctor waved the UV torch in front of them, forcing the girls to back up from the light and shield their faces.
As he did this, he and Rory carefully wound a path heading towards a door, the girls running after them once they had recovered from the UV light.
"We should run!" the Doctor observed, "Run!"
~x~
Back in the cellar, Evy watched, horrified, as Rosanna sucked Amy's blood. What felt like hours - but was probably minutes - passed before Rosanna pulled away from Amy's neck, her mouth covered in a thin layer of blood. Amy appeared dazed but coherent enough to follow Rosanna's movements around the room.
"Mother," Francesco called as he kneeled beside Amy. As he caressed the punctures on Amy's neck, he asked, "When you drink from her, may we share? I'm so thirsty."
"Of course, darling," Rosanna replied breathlessly. Damned if she doesn't sound a little dazed and high herself, Evy observed. She watched as Rosanna smiled down at Amy.
"This is how it works. First, we drink you till you're dry. Then, we fill you with our blood. It rages through you like a fire, changing you, until one morning you awake and your humanity is a dream…now faded."
"Or you die," Francesco chuckled darkly, "That can happen."
"And if I survive?" Amy asked, somehow finding the strength to ask this simple question.
"Then there are ten thousand husbands waiting for you in the water," Rosanna crowed triumphantly.
Amy snorted. "Yeah, sorry," she said, her voice trailing off as she noticed a bulge on Rosanna's right hip.
Catching Evy's eye, who had noticed it at the same time as well, Amy watched as Evy nodded and subtly moved her foot up in a kicking position. Amy looked back at Rosanna.
"I'm kind of engaged," she finished.
Then, summoning up all the strength she had left in her body, Amy raised a leg and kicked as hard as she could at Rosanna.
Her foot hit something hard and an electronic fizzing sound filled the air. Amy gasped as Francesco wrapped an arm around her neck, preventing her from moving.
Evy watched as Rosanna fiddled with something that would've been on her right hip had her perception filter been visible to Evy before her whole image flickered.
Evy knew that the perception filter around Rosanna had dropped and she looked over to see Amy's pupils were the size of dinner plates.
Rosanna's image flickered again, indicating her perception filter was back up. Rosanna turned to glare at Amy in absolute anger and probably would've sucked more of her blood in retaliation if they all hadn't heard noises above them.
"Rory, come on!" the Doctor's voice rang out. As the others fled the room, Evy wrenched herself free and dove over to Amy's side. Outside, she heard the Doctor say,
"Cab for Amy and Evy Pond?" which caused her to roll her eyes.
She fiddled with the straps for a moment before concluding that she had no idea how to get them off of Amy. Therefore, she was relieved and grateful beyond belief when Isabella showed up a second later and began to remove the straps on Amy's wrist.
"She bit me!" Amy cried to no one in particular.
Evy patted her shoulder quickly before copying Isabella's movements in releasing Amy's other wrist.
A few seconds later, Amy was free. She hurled herself out of the chair and grabbed Evy's wrist. Evy only had enough time to grab Isabella's hand before Amy was hurling them out the door just as Rosanna said,
"This rescue plan, not exactly watertight, is it?"
"Doctor!" Amy and Evy called as they rushed into the hallway. In the hallway, the Doctor and Rory were trapped by the freaky vampire girls on one side and Rosanna, Francisco, and Carlo on the other.
The Doctor waved his UV torch at the girls before turning to the sisters.
"Amy! Evy!" His face seemed delighted until he caught sight of the thin line of red gracing Evy's mouth and jawline. Evy saw his eyes darken and she actually felt a little scared of him at that moment.
"Rory!" Amy cried delightedly, seeing her fiancé.
"Amy!" Rory cried in relief.
"Quickly, through here!" Isabella called, leading them through the house to a different exit.
As they ran their way back through where the Doctor and Rory had come in, Evy stated,
"They're not vampires!"
"What?" the Doctor asked.
"I saw them! I saw her!" Amy revealed, "They're not vampires! They're aliens!"
The Doctor laughed, though why, Amy couldn't understand. "Classic!" he chuckled.
"That's good news?" Rory stared at them incredulously. "What is wrong with you people?"
Evy giggled, "Oh, so very much Rory!"
They could all hear the group behind them gaining speed, coming after them. They eventually reached the door that led out to the river. Isabella threw it open, sunlight streaming in.
Once everyone was past her, Isabella made a move to follow but as the sunlight touched her skin, she cringed and backed away.
"Come on!" the Doctor yelled, seeing her plight. "Run!"
"I can't!" Isabella cried.
"Isabella!" Evy exclaimed, rushing towards the door, the Doctor right alongside her. They watched helplessly as Francesco and the other girls pulled Isabella back through the door, back to their world of blood-sucking and amphibious creatures.
Evy pounded at the door, desperately trying to get in as the Doctor tried to get it open. She stepped back in defeat when she heard the resounding thud, but the Doctor was still touching the door when an electric current suddenly ran through it.
The current shocked him and caused him to seize up until he released his grip on the door. Evy dove down the steps, watching him fall against the railing, before sliding down the last few remaining steps and falling onto his back, unconscious.
"Doctor!" Evy cried as she knelt down beside him. Rory knelt down on his other side while Amy stood against the wall, leaning against it for support.
She shut her eyes, praying for a different outcome instead of the one that had probably just happened.
"…Is he dead...?" she asked hesitantly.
"No, he's breathing," Rory assured her.
Evy rested her head on each side of the Doctor's chest, listening to his pulse.
"His pulses are steady," she reported, straightening back up.
Amy and Rory gaped at her for a moment but immediately pulled themselves together once Evy said,
"Come on, let's get him into the boat."
Alex and Rory carefully hoisted the Doctor down the stairs and into the bottom of the gondola. As Evy situated him, she happened to look up at Guido. Her heart sank as she saw the distraught and disappointed look on his face.
"Amy, can you take his head for a second?" Evy asked. Amy, noticing Guido's expression, nodded and quietly fussed with the Doctor while Evy stepped forward.
"I'm so sorry we couldn't save her," she said quietly, "You should be proud of her though. She helped us escape and put us before herself. She was very, very brave."
Guido silently nodded and began to push the gondola away from the Calvierri fortress. Evy sank onto a bench next to the Doctor's still body.
She knew that her words wouldn't work long-term for the father's painful grief, but she hoped that they had given him a brief moment of closure and comfort.
~x~
Later, Evy carried the Doctor into a back room while Amy, Rory and Guido changed. She sat on a barrel - she had a suspicion it, like the others, was also filled with gunpowder - while the Doctor's limp body leaned onto two stacked barrels.
The room was dark, with nothing but the fire from the next room providing illumination.
Evy jumped slightly at the feeling of a hand touching her jawline. She looked down to see the Doctor, now conscious and emerald eyes scanning her face with worry.
"What happened?" He asked as his hand traced the dried blood just below her lower lip. "Who did this to you?"
"Just some guard. Gave me a blow," Evy attempted to dismiss.
She knew that her answer hadn't satisfied the Doctor but luckily, he didn't press her. Instead, he reached into his pockets and whipped out his sonic.
Gently, his hands brushed over her bruised stomach, which was still covered by her dress. Evy winced and the Doctor quickly apologized before scanning it with the sonic.
"Well, nothing's broken," he reassured a moment later, "But it's badly bruised."
"Just my luck," Evy joked as she hopped off the barrel and went over to where she had stored her clothes.
She was about to remove the dress when she noticed the Doctor still standing there, watching her.
"Um, you mind?" she asked, cocking her head towards the door.
"Oh, right, yes! Sorry!" the Doctor cried. He nervously backed up towards the door.
"Well, I-I'll just…"
In his haste, he accidentally hit a broom, sending it toppling to the floor. As Evy bit her lip to stifle a laugh, the Doctor hastily picked it up and set it against the wall.
"U-um, yeah," he murmured, before dashing out of the room.
Evy giggled to herself before pulling the nightdress off and stepping back into her long-sleeved polo, jeans, and boots. She raked a hand through her red hair, making it tousled and messy again.
She reached over and picked up the flowers she had discarded when she had changed into the white nightgown several hours ago. Surprisingly, it hadn't wilted in the slightest.
Evy carefully tucked it behind her ear, liking the way it shined against her hair and pale skin. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she stepped back out into the main room.
The Doctor was sitting in one of the chairs by the table, smiling once he saw her. Evy went over, giving him a grin as she glanced over at the doorway.
"So, it seems the others are still changing. What do we do now?"
"Well, I was thinking," he looked up at her, his smile growing wider. "That you and I go to the Calvierri house."
Evy raised a brow. "You want to go back to the place where I got hit in the chest? And you expect me to go with you?"
"I know you want to go with me."
She pursed her lip. "It's too dangerous."
"You like dangerous," he smirked.
"We could get hurt."
"We could not."
Evy sighed loudly, leaning against the table with her arms crossed. "How are you so sure I want to go with you?"
"Well, that's easy," the Doctor retorted with a brow raised. "You like going on adventures even if it had unnecessary risks that endanger you. But, never when someone else can get hurt. You would outlive God to understand what, where, when, and why."
Evy stared at him, completely dumbfounded. Everything he had said was right. Although, it felt odd hearing it from this Doctor rather than... the previous one. It only proved that no matter the looks or personality, the Doctor's memories with Evy Paris will never change.
"I..." She trailed off, realizing he wasn't wrong. "...A-anyway, I'm not going."
The Doctor's face fell but not sadly, but rather... darkly. "Don't make me have to bribe you."
"I'd like to see you try," she said scathingly, though she was surprised at the Doctor's sudden dark expression.
"I don't need to," he reasoned and Evy gave him a questioning look. "Coz you'll follow me."
A pause. The tension was definitely building up. God, I hate it when he's right.
"Dammit..." Evy muttered under her breath and stood in front of the Doctor, who now had a big, goofy smile on his face.
Sometimes, it scared her how he could just change his expressions so easily. And someone who can do that has gone through a lot. Knowing the Doctor, he probably hides all the sorrow, anger, and the rage from his past behind the smiles and laughs. That's what worried Evy the most.
"Brilliant!" The Doctor's voice chirped, snapping her back to reality. "Now, fancy a walk in the streets of Venice with vampire colonists?"
"Don't you remember, Doctor?" Evy said, opening the door in front of them with a grin.
"Fish from space."
~x~
In front of them, the door opened and Rosanna stepped in. The Doctor felt Evy tense up beside him, knowing that she could see past the perception filter while he was seeing a beautiful woman.
"Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you…Sister of the Water?" The Doctor asked. On the way over, Evy was able to name the alien based off the details she had gathered.
Rosanna stopped in the dead center of the room, staring at the two people lounging on her throne. "No, let me guess," she said, giving a passing look to Evy. "The owner of the psychic paper. Then I take it you're a refugee, like me."
The Doctor smirked at her and Evy grew a bit uncomfortable. He almost seemed to be flirting with the enemy! Her pondering on this was interrupted when she heard the Doctor say, "I'll make you a deal; an answer for an answer."
Rosanna nodded, smirking as well, and began to pace as the Doctor continued.
"You're using a perception filter. It doesn't change your features, but manipulates the brainwaves of the person looking at you. But seeing one of you for the first time in, say a mirror, the brain doesn't know what to fill the gap with, so it leaves it blank, hence no reflection."
"Your question?" Rosanna requested.
"Why can we see your big teeth?" the Doctor blurted, grinning. Evy shook her head.
Rosanna was hardly bothered. Instead, she laughed heartily as she answered "Self-preservation overrides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain."
"For some maybe," Evy murmured quietly.
Apparently not quietly enough, for Rosanna looked up sharply and stared at her in wonder.
"You can see past the perception filter?" she asked breathlessly. She walked closer to Evy, who eyed her cautiously. "I've never heard of anything like it before. How is that possible?"
"Woah, woah. Easy there, mate. Your deal is with him and not me," Evy replied coolly.
Rosanna shrugged and reluctantly paced back to the center of the room. "Where's Isabella?" the Doctor demanded.
"My turn," she reminded him. "Where are you from?"
"Gallifrey," the Doctor replied, his eyes growing dark for a second.
Rosanna stared at him, surprised. "You two should be in a museum," she commented. "Or in a mausoleum."
"Him, perhaps, but... I was born… human," Evy corrected her. The Doctor gave her a concerned look, knowing it must be hard on her to talk about her past. Although, as she spoke, Rosanna licked her lips.
"Ooh, a half-breed. Maybe I shouldn't have drank your sister's blood. Yours would have tasted much more divine," she smirked and the Doctor stepped forward protectively.
"You'd be very sorry," he growled, "Touch her or any of my friends and you'll regret ever being born."
"Why are you here?" Evy asked, hoping to get rid of the tension building up.
Almost instantly, Rosanna's playful demeanor towards them disappeared, revealing a scared and mournful person.
"We ran from the Silence," she replied. Evy's eyebrows rose up. The Silence was something Prisoner Zero had mentioned. "Why are you here?"
"Wedding present," the Doctor answered quickly, his interest peaked by Rosanna's response to his question. "The Silence?"
Rosanna slowly paced towards them, silent as she tried to gather her thoughts.
"There were cracks," she recalled. "Some were tiny…some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people and through others we saw Silence…and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours and the cracks snapped shut behind us…and Saturnyne was lost."
"So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark Two?" the Doctor guessed.
Rosanna was now standing before them and she gave the Doctor a desperate, pleading look.
"And you can help me," she offered. "We can build a new society here, as others have. What do you say?"
The Doctor hummed a little before standing. He pulled Evy up and placed himself in front of her. "Where's Isabella?" he demanded.
Rosanna frowned, gazing at him in confusion. "Isabella?" she wondered.
Evy's eyes narrowed and clenched her fingers together in an effort to restrain herself from running over and strangling Rosanna.
"The girl who saved us," she snapped.
"Oh, deserters must be executed. Any general will tell you that," she replied matter-of-factly, not even noticing the identical dark glares on the Time Lords' faces.
"I need an answer, Doctor." She took a step closer to him, ignoring Evy altogether. "A partnership. Any which way you choose." She smiled knowingly at him.
Evy felt faint. Was she seriously flirting with him? Again?!
"I don't think that's such a good idea," the Doctor replied calmly, "I'm a Time Lord…you're a big fish. Think of the children."
Rosanna glared at him and stormed off across the room. "Carlo!" she called. As the steward entered, Rosanna turned back to them and conceded "You're right. We're nothing alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race, while you…philosophize!"
"This ends today," the Doctor warned, looking Rosanna right in the eye as Carlo and the guard that punched Evy approached them. "I will tear down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone."
Carlo moved to push him away from Rosanna but the Doctor roughly shoved him away, his eyes never wavering from Rosanna.
"Take your hands off me…Carlo," he warned, his voice low and threatening.
He glanced over at Evy who was staring at the other guard coming towards her. The Doctor quickly worked out that this was the guard that had hurt Evy. His blood burned with an angry fire. Seeing that red trickle down on Evy's pale frame had angered him to no end.
He marched over to the guard, his mind barely registering what he was about to do. Then, before any of them could react, the Doctor had swung at the guard, knocking him to the ground, his nose oozing blood.
"Doctor!"
He heard Evy call out and a scream from Rosanna as he easily dodged Carlo's attempt to restrain him. He went back over to Evy. Her eyes were slightly widened, mouth agape and a worried expression on her pale face.
"Doctor, please… That's enough," she told him sternly before turning to the guard, who was attempting to stand up.
"You'd stay down," she told him, feeling guilt despite his previous actions, "If you know what's best for you."
The Doctor shook the small amount of blood off his hand and kept it underneath his tweed. The two Time Lords walked towards the side door that led out of the house, Carlo, having recovered from the shock of the Doctor breaking the other guard's nose, now escorting them. Although, Evy stopped once they reached the door, turning to Rosanna.
"And you know why?" She asked her. But Rosanna only gave a questioning look.
"You didn't know Isabella's name," Evy replied scathingly. "You didn't know her name."
With that, the door opened and the two stormed off.
~~~~~CHAPTER 2 END~~~~~
O-kay, that's chapter to of my favorite episode! I hope you like what I did with all of the characters, hehe. Anyways, A LOT is gonna happen in the next chapter so, yes, I'm so sorry but it's gonna take a bit longer. SO SO SORRY ;-;
(But I think with what's gonna happen in the end of the next chapter, the wait will be worth it ;) )
I'm so excited to post the next part! Hopefully you guys are too. But for now, if you liked this new chapter, favorite/ follow and leave reviews. I love to hear you're comments and suggestions. It helps me a lot :) Thanks so much! Love you all, and have a good day!
-Anj :3