Chapter Four

Half an hour later, the Doctor, Amy, Robyn, and Vincent, were on the road, beginning their journey to the church. The majority of Vincent's equipment was carried by Amy and Vincent, while Robyn carried a few smaller things in her pockets. She clutched the Doctor's hand tightly, so she could keep up easier, but also she didn't lose sight of Vincent.

"I'm sorry you're so sad," said Amy, trying to make conversation.

Vincent smiled. "But I'm not," he replied, taking her by the hand. "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 countered, smiling back at him, then giggling nervously.

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

Amy looked at him in confusion. "I'm not sad," she insisted.

"Then why are you crying?"

And she was. For reasons she couldn't fathom, tears were slipping down Amy's face. She raised her hand and quickly brushed them away, but the fact that it had happened still remained. Why had she suddenly started crying? And whatever gave Vincent the idea that she'd lost someone? She had everything she needed - The Doctor, the TARDIS, and Robyn. She hadn't lost any of them, so why did Vincent think she was missing someone?

"It's all right," Vincent continued. "I understand."

Amy frowned. "I'm not sure I do," she said, feeling slightly shaken by what had just happened.

But while this was happening, Robyn looked up at the Doctor, and realised when Vincent was telling Amy how he thought she'd lost someone, he had looked quite sad, and more than a little guilty, as if he knew exactly what Vincent was talking about. "Dad, what's wrong?" she asked. "Why do you look sad?"

The Doctor shook his head. "It's nothing," he replied. "Don't worry about it."

"Can't be nothing, if it's making you feel sad."

"Look, it's not important... well... it is important, actually, just not important right now." He sighed. "I'll tell you later."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

Robyn smiled, pleased that she managed to get that much out of him, with the hope of knowing more later on. There were many things the Doctor still needed to explain to her, but she had all the time in the world, so she would be patient, at least for a little while, until he was ready to talk. He knew something, something that Vincent must have correctly guessed, something Amy should have known, yet didn't. Something fishy was going on, she thought, something that was much bigger than she could ever imagine. She couldn't describe it, but she couldn't help feeling a sense of dread, not just for herself, but for Amy, and for her father as well. She leaned against the Doctor, holding his hand tightly. The one thing that scared her most was losing him, and getting stuck somewhere she could never escape, but losing the Doctor scared her more. Something about the world without him in it terrified her. Who would be there to protect her, or to protect the Earth, if he didn't, or couldn't? Who would fight the monsters and lock them away where they couldn't get to them?

"Okay," the Doctor said suddenly, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Okay. So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns -"

"Then we shall fight him again," Vincent interrupted, looking at the Doctor with determination.

"Well... yes... tick... but last night we were lucky. Amy could've been killed, so, this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him too."

Amy frowned, momentarily forgetting about the Doctor's device. "And how are we meant to do that suddenly?"

The Doctor briefly let go of Robyn's hand, then patted the suitcase he carried in the other. "The answer is in this box," he replied, quickly adding, "I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother." He took Robyn's hand again, then the two of them walked ahead, then he frowned, and then squinted, noticing a procession of people heading towards them, all dressed in black.

It was a funeral procession.

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

The quartet bowed their heads in respect, Vincent removing his hat as well; and Robyn couldn't help shedding a few tears when she noticed that the lid of the girl's casket had been adorned with a bouquet of sunflowers. She remembered what Vincent said about the sunflowers over breakfast, now understanding, at least partially, what he meant. She let the Doctor pull her towards him, and put his arms around her, hugging her tightly.

"You do have a plan, don't you?" asked Amy, looking at him sadly.

The Doctor shook his head. "No," he admitted. "It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greatness."

Robyn looked up at him. "Will it work?"

"I don't know yet. We'll just have to wait and see."

A few hours later, they arrived at the church, and then quickly set to work. Robyn kept out of the way as much as she could, watching carefully as Vincent drove the spikes of his easel into the ground. The Doctor hovered around, trying to keep himself amused while Amy helped the artist set out his equipment, but he failed miserably. He was anxious, after all. The Krafayis could show up at any time, and they needed to be on their guard.

"And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters," he said, leaning over Vincent's shoulder.

He nodded. "Yes, well, I maybe mad," he replied. "I'm not stupid."

"Of course you're not," Robyn said quietly. "And don't you dare let anyone think you are."

The Doctor looked at her and smiled. "That's my girl." He crouched by Vincent's side. "To be honest, I'm not sure about mad, either. It seems to me, depression is a... a... very complex..."

"Shh," said Vincent, raising a finger to his lips. He pointed at the empty canvas. "I'm working."

"Well, yes." He stood. "Paint," he prompted. "Do painting."

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Vincent dipped his brush into the blue paint coating his palette, then spread it liberally around the outside of the sketch of the church. With each brush-stroke, the painting that Amy and Robyn had seen both two days ago, and one hundred and twenty years into the future, came to life before their very eyes. There were no words to describe how it felt, watching the artist work, especially when, from his perspective, the painting they knew had not existed in any way, shape, or form, until he had started to paint it. Their past was his future, and yet, they were occurring simultaneously. Seeing history happen in front of their eyes was one of the best things that Robyn had ever known since the Doctor had adopted her.

But on the other hand, the Doctor was bored. He was never one to stand still, because he was so used to being on the move. He wasn't used to spending time cooped up in one place, even when it was necessary. As great as he thought Vincent was, the Doctor wasn't so enamoured with the time it took for the artist to go about his work. When he didn't sit down, he stood, when he didn't stand, he sat down, when he thought he was going to burst from boredom, he stood and started to walk in circles, just so he had something to do, because, in his mind, standing around and doing absolutely nothing at all was the worst possible thing he could imagine. "I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel," he said, when the silence become too much for him to bear. "Wow, what a whinger!" He clapped his hands together. "I kept saying to him, 'Look, if you're scared of heights, you shouldn't've taken the job, mate,'."

Amy shushed him, annoyed that he was being so disruptive.

This worked for while, but soon the Doctor was off and running again. "And Picasso, what a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him 'Concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye... either side of the face,'."

"Quiet," Amy hissed at him, scowling and whacking him on the shoulder.

Robyn laughed. "You all right?" she asked. "We could go for a walk, or something?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No, we need to stay here. Can't go wandering off. This is too important."

"Keeping you from going stir crazy is important too, Dad," Robyn replied. She hugged him. "You're important too."

Another hour passed, and then another, and then another... until night started to fall. Robyn shivered as a cool breeze descended, wrapping her arms around herself and rubbing to keep herself warm against the night air. Somewhere off in the distance, an owl began to hoot. The sound would've normally been comforting to the little girl, but with the Krafayis potentially going to show up at a moments notice, she couldn't let her guard down at all. For all they knew, it could be already in the church, just not where Vincent could see it.

"Is this how time normally passes?" the Doctor complained. "Really slowly... in the right order." He stood, and started to move around, trying to fulfil the need to stretch his legs. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack!"

"Are you okay?" asked Amy, following him. "You seem a bit... if I didn't know you better, I'd say nervous."

"Yes," the Doctor replied. "There's something not right, and I can't quite put my finger on it."

Vincent looked up to check the windows before he painted them. He looked down, then looked up again almost immediately, realising that there was something showing its face through the window.

It was the Krafayis.

"There," he cried, pointing at the church as he gained the Doctor and Amy's attention. "He's at the window!"

"Where?" the Doctor replied, his eyes darting between the two windows on the front of the church.

"There, on the right."

"As I thought. Come on!" The Doctor quickly collected his briefcase. "I'm going in!"

Vincent started gathering his things together. "Well, I'm coming too!"

The Doctor whirled around. "No," he said, shaking his head. "You're Vincent Van Gogh. No."

"But you're not armed!" Vincent countered, as if that would be enough to convince him to not go inside alone.

"I am."

"What with?"

"Overconfidence," the Doctor patted the briefcase, "this, and a small screwdriver, I'm absolutely sorted. I just have to find the crosactic setting and stun him with it, the sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, only one thought, one simple instruction... don't follow me under any circumstances."

Amy nodded. "I won't."

He looked at Robyn pointedly. "And that goes for you too, young lady, we're not going to have a repeat of last night."

"But Dad..."

"No, no buts, Robyn. Stay here."

"Be careful, please?" she asked, walking over and standing in front of him. "For me?"

The Doctor reached out and tucked the little girl's hair behind her ear, caressing her cheek. "I will." And on that note, he turned and walked away, heading into the church.

"Will you follow him?" Vincent murmured, when he was out of earshot.

Amy grinned. "Of course!"

Vincent smiled. "I love you."

Once the Doctor was safely inside the church, he opened the briefcase, taking out the scanning device and using the harness to strap it to his chest once again. He turned it on, and the device flared into life, ready to be put into use. Walking through the church carefully, the Doctor adjusted the mirror every so often, making sure that he didn't accidentally run into the beast before he was in a position that he could scan it with the sonic screwdriver.

Outside, Amy and Robyn paced anxiously, worried about the monster, and whether or not the Doctor was all right. "Has he moved?" asked Amy, turning to Vincent.

"It's still there, isn't it?" Robyn added.

Vincent shook his head. "No, it's just shifted to the other window," he replied. A look of horror flashed across the artist's face. "But wait, he's turning now!"

Inside, the Doctor continued his search, still scanning the area around him with the sonic screwdriver. He adjusted the mirror again, and then again. "Damn, he's moved," he said to himself, just as the image of a large paw came crashing down, shattering the mirror into a million pieces.

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"DAD!" Robyn cried, at the same time that Amy yelled out "DOCTOR!", the pair of them racing into the church. They heard Vincent call out to them, but didn't stop to wait for him. The possibility that the Doctor had been hurt, or worse, killed by the Krafayis was too much to bear. Thankfully, the Doctor was all right, but they didn't know that yet, although they would, and soon.

Ducking out of the way, the Doctor pointed the sonic in the space he'd just vacated and switched it on. The tool whirred as he waved it at the monster, but there was nothing to indicate that it had actually done anything... except make it angry. The Krafayis gave chase, and the Doctor turned and ran towards the entrance of the church, quickly discarding the useless scanning device to help him pick up a little speed. He looked back to see what the monster was doing, hearing some more glass breaking behind him, then turned to leave... running straight into Robyn and Amy!

"Doctor!"

The Doctor cried out, his eyes wild with fright. "I thought I told you two... Never mind, we'll talk about it later..." He took Robyn by the hand, leading her to the confessional. "Quick, in here."

The three of them quickly climbed into both sides of the confessional. Robyn clutched the Doctor tightly, keeping herself as close to him as she could. She whimpered, trying her best not to cry. It was a comfort to know that the Doctor was still alive, but it was a hollow victory, one she knew could be changed at any moment if the Krafayis worked out where they were. She could hear her heart pounding, and, as she rest her head against his chest, she realised her father's hearts were pounding just as fast as her's was.

"Absolutely quiet," the Doctor whispered, pulling back the curtain with one hand, and opening the shutter between the two compartments with the other. Through the open windows, moonlight streamed through the confessional, giving the trio at least some light to see by. "Can you breathe a little quieter please?"

"No!" Amy hissed. As she drew back the curtain in her side of the confessional, everything went quiet, as if they'd finally managed to evade the monster. "He's gone past," she whispered.

The Doctor shushed her, and the three of them waited for a few moments longer, just so they could be completely sure they were safe, at least temporarily. It was like the calm before the storm, the brief respite before something big happened. There was little time to waste, Robyn knew that much, but she hoped they'd get the chance to escape soon. She was worried that the Krafayis might find its way outside, and if Vincent was still out there... Robyn shook her head, she couldn't think about that now, she needed to keep her cool, and not panic. Panicking was not the thing to be doing at that time; it'd give them away far too easily.

But, standing there in the confessional, it was clear that the quiet was much too unsettling, and there should have been some sign of the Krafayis making some kind of noise... except there was nothing. The only sounds Robyn could hear were her own heart, the Doctor's hearts, and their shallow breathing.

At least it was... until the wall on Amy's side of the confessional broke open with a resounding crunch. She screamed. The entire confessional shook as the Krafayis attacked, and Amy screamed again as more of the wood smashed around her.

The Doctor swallowed. "I think he heard us," he said. The confessional shook again, and massive holes began to appear in the wood.

"But how can it hear us?" Robyn asked, looking up at him in confusion, as the confessional shook for a third time. She yelped when another hole appeared, perilously close to the Doctor's head.

"That is impressive hearing he's got," the Doctor murmured, leaving Robyn's question hanging in the air, unanswered. "What's less impressive are our chances of survival."

"Hey!" a familiar voice yelled outside. Amy pulled aside the curtain and peeked through the hole the Krafayis had punched through the wood. It was Vincent, wielding his chair in front of him and goading the monster into attacking him instead. "Are you looking for me, sonny?" he bellowed. "Come on! Over here! Because I'm right here waiting for you!" He ducked, his hat falling to the floor, then lunged forward, seemingly hitting nothing, and yet at the same time, hitting something in front of him. He waved to Amy, Robyn, and the Doctor. "Come on, quickly, get behind me!"

Amy and Robyn wasted no time doing as they were told, but the Doctor held back long enough to scan it with the sonic screwdriver. "Doing anything?" he asked.

Vincent shook his head. "Uh, uh." He waved the Time Lord away, lunged twice more, then snatched up his hat and put it on as he made his escape, quickly joining his friends in the courtyard.

It seemed the safest place was to stay behind the artist, since he was the only one who could see the Krafayis, but that didn't stop the Doctor from running around like a headless chicken. In fact it was driving Robyn quite bonkers, which she didn't need when she was scared out of her wits.

"Where is he?" the Doctor cried, looking around frantically.

"Where do you think he is, you idiot?" Vincent replied, nodding in front of him. "Use your head!"

Following Vincent's lead, the Doctor quickly leapt forward, turning on the sonic and waving it over the artist's shoulder. "Anything?"

"Nothing, in fact seems to rather enjoy it!"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Oo."

Now, it seemed like the Krafayis was on the move, and Vincent made sure he stayed with it, moving as it did to keep it within his sight. The Doctor tried to keep up with them, but without realising it, put himself within the monster's reach.

"Duck!" Vincent cried, and the Doctor hastily complied, a rush of air, which he was certain came from the swipe of a large paw, passing over his head. "Left!" Vincent instructed next, and again, the Doctor complied, but this time, to his friends' horror, the paw caught him, hurling him into the nearby wall.

As Robyn and Amy ran to the Doctor's side to help him up, Vincent cringed apologetically. "Right, sorry," he said, correcting his mistake as he moved to get in front of the trio. "Your right, my left."

The Doctor groaned. "This is not good at all!" he exclaimed, slightly winded. "Run like crazy and regroup!"

Amy rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on," she said, helping him up. "In here!" She led them through the front door of the church, where they would, hopefully, be safe until they could think of a new plan. The quartet quickly tried to close the door behind them, but the Krafayis had one of its front paws blocking it, or it did, until Vincent stepped on it. Now that it was gone, with a great shove, the four of them managed to close the door, but Robyn had a sinking feeling that, even though the monster was trapped inside the building, they were still in very real danger.

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"Right, okay," said the Doctor, taking charge of the situation. "Here's the plan. Amy, Robyn, Rory -"

Amy and Robyn looked at him in confusion. "Who?" they both said at once.

The Doctor winced. "Sorry... um... Vincent," he corrected himself.

"What, what is the plan?" Amy asked quickly, wanting him to get to his point.

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

Robyn snorted. "That's the understatement of the month!"

Meanwhile, Vincent had an idea. "Give me a second," he said, leaving Amy, Robyn, and the Doctor behind to keep the door blocked. "I'll be back."

"I suppose we could try talking to him," the Doctor mused.

Amy looked at him incredulously. "Talking to him?" she repeated, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Worth a shot," said Robyn. "Even if all it does is buy us some time."

"Yes, well, might be interesting to know his side of the story." He frowned. "Yes, and maybe he's not really in the mood for conversation right at this precise moment." The door shook as the Krafayis attacked, fervently trying to claw its way through.

"If you're going to talk to him, you better do it now, Dad," Robyn replied, the door pounding against her back. "Because I don't know how much longer I can stand this!"

The Doctor nodded. "Well, no harm trying," he said. He turned to the door, hoping that what he was about to do would work. "Listen," he said, and the door jolted again. "Listen! I know you can understand me, even though I know you won't understand why you can understand me." He faced the door now, pleading his case with the monster emphatically. "I also know that no one's talked to you for a pretty long stretch, but please... listen."

Robyn smiled. "I think it's working!" she said happily.

But the Doctor wasn't finished yet. "I also don't belong on this planet," he said. "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."

Robyn's smile faded slightly, as she listened to her father try and reason with the Krafayis. She wanted to say that he wasn't alone, that he had her, but something, something in the back of her mind, told her that he didn't mean it the way it sounded. Yes, he was alone, but not in the sense that first came to mind. The longer she stayed with him, and the more she got to know him, the more questions that turned in her head, left unanswered, but with the promise of being answered later.

Never now, always later.

Suddenly, a window shattered on the other side of the room, which was not quite outside, but a kind of antechamber, and a great wind picked up.

The Krafayis was now in the room with them.

"Over here, mate!" Vincent cried, announcing his return. He held his easel now, the latest thing he decided to use as a weapon. As the Doctor, Amy, and Robyn got behind him, he watched the Krafayis carefully, studying its movements from behind a pillar.

"What's it up to now?" the Doctor asked.

"It's moving around the room," Vincent replied, moving to hide behind a crypt with Amy and Robyn. "Feeling its way around."

The Doctor frowned, staying behind the pillar. "What?"

"It's like its trapped. Its moving round the edges of the room."

"I can't see a thing!" Amy complained.

Meanwhile, the Doctor had finally figured out what was wrong, why nothing had made sense from the start. "I am really stupid," he said to himself.

"Oh, get a grip," Amy snapped. "This is not a moment to re-evaluate your self esteem!"

"No!" the Doctor shot back. "I am really stupid!" he insisted. "And I'm growing old. Why does it attack, but never eat its victims?" He ran and crouched behind the crypt with the others. "And why was it abandoned by its pack, and left here to die? And why's it feeling its way helplessly around the walls of the room?"

Robyn's eyes widened, and her mouth fell open, realising what the Doctor was trying to tell them.

"It can't see, it's blind!" the Doctor finished. "Yes, and that, of course, explains why it has such perfect hearing!"

"Which, unfortunately, also explains why it is now turning around and heading straight for us!" Vincent exclaimed, emerging from behind the crypt.

"Vincent... Vincent... what's happening?"

"It's charging now," the artist replied, placing himself, and the easel, between them and the monster. "Get back! Get back!"

True to Vincent's words, the Krafayis was indeed charging, letting out a mighty roar as it ran towards the artist. To the Doctor, Robyn, and Amy's horror, Vincent was lifted into the air as the monster impaled itself on the easel's mooring spikes. It flailed about for a minute or two, then both Vincent and the Krafayis fell to the ground. Vincent stepped away from the monster, looking horrified by what he had done, as his friends emerged from behind the crypt. "He wasn't without mercy at all," he said sadly, removing his hat from his head. "He was without sight. I didn't mean that to happen, I only meant to wound it, I never meant to..."

The Doctor crouched by the Krafayis' side. "He's trying to say something," he told them.

"What is it?"

"I'm having trouble making it out, but I think he's saying 'I'm... I'm afraid,'." The Doctor reached out, patting the air where the Krafayis was. "There, there," he said, trying to comfort it. "It's okay, it's okay, it'll be fine." His hand hovered in the air for a few moments, and then everything went quiet and still.

The Krafayis was dead.

"He was frightened," said Vincent, almost eulogising the monster. "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."

The Doctor shook his head. "Sometimes winning... winning is no fun at all."

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