Chapter 6: Vampires of Venice
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did, then my fanfiction would be canon.
It was Rory's stag night and he was trying to talk to Amy above the all the noise. The call went straight to answer phone. Rory said, "Hey...! It's me! Hello! How are you? The reason for this call is because I haven't told you for seven hours that I love you, which is a scandal, and even if we weren't getting married tomorrow, I'd ask you to marry me anyway. Yes, I would, because you are smashing." Behind Rory, a large cake was being wheeled in and "The Stripper" began playing. His mates poked him and he turned, still on the phone. "Oh... Oh. Oh, blimey. I've... I've... I-I-I... I'll see you tomorrow."
Everyone chanted, "Out! Out! Out!"
The Vixen popped her head through the top of the cake. The chanting stopped but the music continued. Rory shook his head in disbelief and the Vixen looked around confused. She stood up and turned. She caught sight of Rory and grinned. "Rory! That's a relief. I thought I'd burst out of the wrong cake. Again. That reminds me, there's a girl outside in a bikini. Could someone let her in, give her a jumper? Lucy. Lovely girl." She mouthed 'diabetic'. "Now, then. Rory. We need to talk about your fiancée." Rory blushed and glanced at his shirt. The Vixen said, "She tried to seduce me." Everyone gasped. "Tell you what, though. You're a lucky man - she's a great kisser. I would've given in, too, soon enough." Someone dropped his glass and they all stared at the Vixen, who muttered, "Funny how you can say something in your head and it sounds fine..."
The Doctor was in a harness seat in the space underneath the TARDIS console doing some welding work. Amy was pacing nervously above. Rory stood by the door. And the Vixen paced around with Amy, just for the heck of it. The Doctor spoke like he was reciting from a lecture he gave everyone who came on the TARDIS, "Oh! The life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans..." Rory looked down nervously and the TARDIS experienced a small spark. "Ow! It's meant to do that."
The Vixen snapped, "It is not!"
The Doctor ignored her and resumed his monologue. "...because for one person to have seen all that, to taste the glory and then go back, it will tear you apart."
The Vixen said, "So...we're sending you somewhere. Together."
Amy asked, "Whoa! What, like a date?"
The Vixen replied, "Well, the Doctor and I can make the most of it as well. Like a double date. Only the four of us won't be together."
The Doctor said, "Anywhere you want, any time you want." He walked up the steps to join them at the console.
The Vixen smirked, "One condition - it has to be amazing."
The Doctor offered, "The Moulin Rouge in 1890! The first Olympic Games!"
The Vixen said, "Think of it as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or arcade tokens." She took in Rory's stunned expression as the Doctor ranted off his suggestions, which would either get them into trouble or would get them killed. "It's a lot to take in, isn't it?" She headed up a set of stairs. "Tiny box, huge room inside. What's that about?" She hissed, "Seeing as the only other being in the universe who can do this is in a world of his own." The Doctor either ignored her or didn't hear her. Or both. "Let me explain from the beginning."
Rory said, "It's another dimension." That caught the Doctor's attention.
The Vixen headed back down stairs. "It's basically another dimen... What?"
Rory explained, "After Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories: FTL travel, parallel universes."
The Doctor said, "I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside!' I always look forward to that." He glared at Rory.
The Doctor suddenly ran through a door and came back a few moments later. "Anyway, where do you want to go? Barcelona? The planet, not the city. They've got dogs with no noses." He laughed. "Never gets old. A romantic trip in Paris?" He sneakily pulled out something from his pocket. The Vixen didn't notice, Amy did though. "Or how about the planet Zankron?" The Vixen turned to face him but got a face full of sprayed on whipped cream instead. The Doctor put a cherry on the Vixen's nose and said, "They've got the biggest circus in the universe. What do you think, Chuckles?"
Amy snorted and Rory and the Doctor laughed. The Vixen grabbed a towel and wiped her face. As soon as there wasn't a trace of the whipped cream left, she scowled at all three of them. The Doctor immediately regretted his decision and ducked behind the console while Amy backed away. Right into a wall. Rory, on the other hand tried to back off as quickly as possible and stumbled over some tools and crashed into Amy. They both tumbled in a heap on the floor.
The Vixen walked over and helped them all up, her eyes perfectly normal. Well as normal electric blue eyes can be. She explained, "Come on, I'm not gonna kill you. They're my eyes. And them glowing when I'm angry is just a reflex. I can't help it. Bad Wolf can get inside whoever I'm angry at's mind if I want her to. Shows them their worst fears. But I can still control the glowing."
The Doctor said, dusting himself off, "So half of the time, you're pretending."
"No. If it's with someone who hurts my friends, I want to kill them."
The Doctor asked, "But with me or Amy or Mickey or Jack, you're pretending?"
The Vixen shrugged, "Pretty much, yeah." Everyone fell silent. "Well, I try to simmer it down a bit, I don't want to hurt you myself."
Amy asked, breaking the tension, "So, this date. I'm kind of done with running down corridors. What do you think, Rory?"
The Doctor said, "How about somewhere... romantic?" He set the TARDIS in motion.
The TARDIS materialized in the middle of a busy market and no one took any notice. The Doctor was the first to exit. He opened his arms out wide. "Venice! Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city!" Rory and Amy looked about in amazement. "Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding... constantly... Just beautiful! Oh, you gotta love Venice. And so many people did. Byron, Napoleon."
The Vixen said dreamily, "Casanova."
The Doctor said jealously, "We are not meeting him."
The Vixen sighed, "Take a look at your watch, love."
The Doctor checked his watch. "1580. That's all right then. Casanova doesn't get born for 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."
Rory asked, "You owe Casanova a chicken?"
The Vixen replied, "Long story. They had a bet."
An official dressed in black stepped out in front of the Doctor. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please. Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."
The Doctor searched his pockets in frustration. The Vixen held up the Doctor's psychic paper, which she had slyly pocketed from him, and smirked, "There you go, fella." The Doctor just stared at her as the official took the paper. "All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."
The official bowed deeply. "I am so sorry, Milady. I didn't realise."
The Vixen took back the paper and handed it to the Doctor. "No worries. You were just doing your job. Sorry, what exactly is your job?"
The official replied, "Checking for aliens, visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."
Amy scoffed, "Oh, that's nice. See where you bring me?" She slapped the Doctor's arm. "The plague!"
"Don't worry, Viscountess." The official bowed. "No, we're under quarantine here, no-one comes in, no-one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri." He pointed to the crest on the box he was carrying.
The Doctor said, "How interesting. I heard the plague died out years ago."
The official insisted, "Not out there. No, Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes. Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."
The Vixen asked, sharing a look with the Doctor, "Did she, now?"
Rory reached for the psychic paper as the official went off to question someone else. The Vixen, the Doctor and Amy continued on. Rory called, "According to this, I am your eunuch!"
Amy called back at him, "Oh, yeah, I'll explain later."
The Doctor, the Vixen, Amy and Rory got a spot across the canal and watched as a procession of girls with veils on their faces walked by. A man ran up to the procession. A woman asked, "What do you want?"
Guido began to lift the girls' veils. "Where's my Isabella?"
The woman shouted, "What are you doing? Get away from there."
The man kept searching. "Isabella! Isabella!" He apparently found who he was looking for but she backed away. "It's me!"
One of the other girls came forward and the man fell to the ground. The girls continued their procession. Another man put his booted foot on the man's chest, keeping him down. He said something then left with a swirl of cloak.
The man shouted after them as two guards lifted him from the ground. "Isabella! It's me!"
Amy asked, "What was that about?" She turned around and noticed the Vixen and the Doctor weren't there. Amy growled. "I hate it when they do that!"
The man walked along the passageway. The Doctor and the Vixen crossed behind him and leapt onto the bottom step of a stairway. The Doctor asked, "Who were those girls?"
The man stopped and looked at the Doctor. "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."
The Vixen said, "Our first day here. Guido is it?"
Guido nodded, stunned. "How did you know?"
The Doctor asked, "Yes. How did you know?"
The Vixen shrugged, "I have my ways. Either that or, lucky guess. Thing is, parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion. So, why are you trying to get her out?"
Guido said quietly, "Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognise me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face... like an animal."
The Doctor put his arm around Guido's shoulder. "I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri."
Amy and Rory walked through a narrow passage. Rory asked, "And what have you been doing?"
Amy replied, "Well... running. And fighting. I've been scared. More scared than I thought was..."
Rory asked, "Did you miss me?"
Amy hesitated, "I... I knew I'd be coming back."
Rory scoffed, "He was right. It blots out everything else."
Amy groaned, "Rory... this is our date. Let's not do this, not now."
There was a fluttering of wings overhead and Rory looked up. "Ha! We are in Venice and it's 1580!"
Amy laughed. "I know!" They both laughed as they walked off, arm-in-arm.
Amy posed in front of a doorway and Rory knelt to take her photo with his phone. There was a piercing scream. Amy ran towards the sound.
Rory asked, "What was that?" He ran after Amy and they arrived in the passage to see the cloaked man over the girl.
He lifted his head and Amy and Rory saw blood on the girl's neck. The cloaked man's mouth was open, showing fangs. He walked past them with a hiss, holding his cape in front of his face. Rory went to the girl and examined her. "She'll be OK. Where are you... Amy! Come back!"
Amy ran off after the cloaked man. Her chase came to an abrupt end at one of the canals.
Guido approached the guards of the school. "You have my daughter. Isabella!"
One of the guards barked, "You're not coming in, stop there! We've told you..." While Guido had the guards distracted, the Doctor and the Vixen sneaked along the side. The Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on the canal gate. "Isabella! It's me! It's your father."
The guard warned, "I'll arrest you..."
"Isabella!" After the Doctor and the Vixen had made it inside, Guido left.
The Doctor and the Vixen made their way down some stone steps and into a chamber. On one wall, they spied a mirror. The Doctor said, "Hello, handsome."
The Vixen teased, "Hello, narcissist."
The Doctor whispered, "Hello, beautiful." The Vixen raised her eyebrows as she straightened his bow tie. Neither of them noticed five girls dressed in white standing behind them who they didn't appear in the mirror for whatever reason.
Some voices asked, "Who are you?"
The Vixen turned to face them then quickly looked back at the mirror. The Doctor followed her gaze behind them and whipped around to look at the mirror. The girls were still not visible. They kept looking back and forth.
The Doctor asked, "How are you doing that? I... am... loving it. You're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. WILL BE shorter."
The Vixen said fondly, "Love, you're rambling."
The girls said in unison, "I'll ask you again. Who are you?"
The Doctor said, "Why don't you check THIS out?" He held out his wallet that showed an ID with a photo of his first incarnation.
The Vixen cleared her throat. "Honey, that's the library card."
The Doctor took a look at it and put it away. "Of course, it's with... He's... I need the spare."
The Vixen muttered, "Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in..." She and the Doctor looked into the mirror. "Doctor, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
The Doctor asked, "Are you? But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless..."
The girls threatened, "Leave now, or we shall call for the steward... if you are lucky."
"Ooh!"
The girls hissed and bared their fangs as they advanced on the Vixen and the Doctor, who ran to the doorway. The Doctor ordered, "Tell me the whole plan."
The Vixen asked, "When has that ever worked?"
The Doctor replied, "It will one day. Listen, we would love to stay here. This whole thing... I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!" They ran up the stairs as the girls hissed after them.
The Vixen and the Doctor and Amy met up across the canal from the school. Amy called, "Vixen! Doctor!"
The Vixen reported, panting, "We just met some vampires!"
Amy said at the same time, "We just saw a vampire!" The girls both talked at once, voices overlapping.
"And creepy girls and everything."
"Vampires!"
They jumped up and down together excitedly while the Doctor stood aside as Rory joined them. "We think we just saw a vampire."
The Vixen replied, "Yeah, yeah, we know. Amy was just telling me."
Amy said, "Yeah! The Doctor and Vixen actually went to their house."
Rory said awkwardly, "Oh. Right. Well..."
The Doctor said, "OK, so..." He slapped his hands on Rory's cheeks. "-first we need to get back in there somehow."
"What?!"
Amy asked, "How do we do that?"
Rory asked, "Back in where?!"
The Vixen grinned, "Come and meet our new friend."
Guido brought out a map of Venice. The Doctor, the Vixen and Amy were at the table looking it over with him as Rory sat back among some barrels. Guido explained, "As you saw, there's no clear way in. The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house. I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."
Amy said, "You need someone on the inside."
The Vixen replied firmly, "No."
Amy said, "You don't even know what I was going to say!"
The Vixen said wryly, "We pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."
"Oh. So you know what I was going to say."
Rory asked, "Are you insane?"
Amy said, "We don't have another option."
Rory insisted, "She said no, Amy. Listen to her."
Guido said, "There is another option." He pointed in Rory's direction. "I work at the Arsenale. We build the warships for the navy."
The Doctor sniffed the barrels. "Gunpowder." He put a hand on Rory's shoulder. "Most people just nick stationery from where they work." Rory slid slowly off the barrel and backed away into a dead rabbit hanging by the fireplace. The Doctor said, "Look, I have a thing about guns and huge quantities of explosive.
Guido asked, "What do you suggest, then? We wait until they turn her into an animal?" He turned away and poked the fire.
Amy said, "I'll be there three, four hours tops."
The Doctor gave a small smile at her persistence and seemed to consider the idea. The Vixen saw the look on his face and snarled, "No, no, no, no, no, no. It can't keep happening like this. This is how they go, Doctor. And you know it." She sat on the bed, head in hands. The Doctor sat down beside her, an arm over her shoulders.
The Vixen stayed quiet for a moment then took a breath and sat back. She said to Amy, "The Doctor might not care, but I have to know. I've lost one friend too many because they got themselves into things like this. You and I go together. Just us. Say you're my daughter."
Rory exclaimed, "What?! Don't listen to her!"
Amy asked, "Your daughter? You look about nine."
The Vixen replied, "Sister, then."
Amy said, "Might work. But it might be too weird."
Rory said, "I'm not having her run around telling people she's your sister."
Amy agreed, "No. No, you're right."
Rory nodded, "Thank you."
Amy said, "I mean, they've already seen the Doctor and the Vixen. Neither of them would work. You should do it."
"Me?"
Amy replied, "Yeah! You can be my brother." She rubbed his head playfully.
Over on the bed, the Doctor and the Vixen smiled at their interaction. The Doctor gave her a small peck on the lips.
Rory asked, "Why is her being your sibling weird, but with me, it's OK?"
Guido said to the Vixen, "Actually, I thought you were her sister."
The Vixen said dryly, "Yeah, that's not helping."
Rory said, frustrated, "This whole thing is mental! They're vampires, for God's sake."
The Doctor muttered, "We hope."
Amy asked, "So if they're not vampires...?"
The Vixen whispered, "Makes you wonder what could be so bad it doesn't actually mind us thinking it's a vampire?"
Amy and Rory stood as petitioners in from of Signora Calvierri, who looked very bored. Rory was wearing Guido's clothes and Amy was wearing a simple skirt and blouse that once belonged to Isabella. Rory explained, "So, basically, both of our parents are dead from getting the plague. I'm a gondola... driver... so... money's a bit tight... so having my sister go to your school for special people would be brilliant. Cheers."
Francesco showed an interest in Amy and stood in front of her. "Have we met?"
Rory chuckled nervously, "I've just got one of those faces."
Francesco said, "I wasn't talking to you."
Rory replied, "She's got the same face... which is because she's my sister!"
Signora turned to the servant. "Carlo, explain yourself. Why have you brought me this imbecile?"
Carlo replied, "Signora, they have references from the King of Sweden."
Signora asked, "What?! Let me see." She held out her hand and Rory walked to the throne and handed her the psychic paper. "Well, now I can see what got my steward so excited." She handed it back to Rory. "What say you, Francesco? Do you like her?"
Francesco replied, circling Amy, "Oh, I do, Mother. I do."
Signora said, "Then we would be delighted to accept her. Say goodbye to your sister."
Rory and Amy gripped each other's hands just before Carlo led a stuttering Rory away. Amy called after him, "Tell Uncle Doctor and Aunt Vixen...I'll see you all pretty soon, OK?" At the doorway Rory nodded. "I'll be fine."
Behind Amy, Francesco bared his teeth and Rory saw as the door closed. "A- Amy!"
Carlo led Amy through the school. The girls watched as Carlo led her upstairs. He took her to a room she would share with some other girls. He instructed, "There are clothes on the bed. Get changed and wait here."
Amy looked about the lavish, domed room. "Blimey. This is private education, then?" All the other girls left but one. Amy looked at her. "Hey. Hello. I'm Amy. What's your name?"
The girl replied, "Isabella."
Amy hissed, "Listen, we're going to get you out of here, but I need you to tell me what's going on. What is this place? What are they doing?"
Isabella said, "They, um... they come at night. They gather around my bed and they take me to a room... with this green light and a chair with... with straps, as if for a surgeon."
"What happens in there?"
Isabella replied, "I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax." A bell tolled and Amy looked around warily.
Dressed in a white gown and carrying a lamp, Amy made her way downstairs to try and find the room Isabella mentioned. She heard moans and cries and followed them. As she passed through one of the chambers, she didn't notice the skeletal hand sticking out from a wooden chest.
Amy went to the well in the center of the courtyard, set down the lamp, and released the bar locking the grate. Done, she picked up the lamp to head back inside and nearly walked into Carlo. She shrieked and dropped the lamp.
Amy gasped as Carlo forced her down the stairs. He snapped, "Control yourself, child!"
The Signora, Francesco and some of the girls were waiting in the chamber. Amy growled, "Get your hands off me." She really wished she had the Vixen's scary glowing eyes right then.
Signora scoffed, "Psychic paper. Did you really think that would work on me?" There was a hum of power as the chamber was bathed in a green light. Amy looked about her nervously.
The Vixen, the Doctor and Rory sat back in a gondola as Guido, dressed in Rory's clothes guided them along the canal. The Vixen told Rory reassuringly, "She'll be fine."
Rory asked, "You can promise me that, can you?"
The gondola arrived at its destination. Guido reported, "We're here." Carrying a lit torch, the Doctor opened the creaking gate and the Vixen and Rory followed. Guido stayed with the gondola.
The Vixen said, "Right. OK, I'll go first." The Doctor didn't say anything so she assumed he agreed. "If anything happens to me, go back..."
Rory asked, "What happened? Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you."
The Vixen stopped as they were just outside a wooden door. The Doctor pushed past Rory and the Vixen handed him the torch. He went up wooden steps towards the door.
The Vixen hissed, "Now?! You want to do this now?!" She followed the Doctor up the stairs.
Rory replied, "I have a right to know." He followed them. "I'm getting married in 430 years."
They continued through a narrow passage, the only light coming from the Doctor's torch. The Vixen explained, "She was frightened, I was frightened, but we survived, and the relief of it... and so she kissed me. Jack's aphrodisiac enhanced the kiss and she tried to seduce me. But really, she just kissed me."
Rory asked, "Just kissed you? That's all?"
The Vixen cleared her throat. "Actually she kind of shoved her tongue down my throat. And I guess the aphrodisiac passed into me because maybe I didn't stop her and instead I may have…"
Rory asked, "Kissed her back?"
The Vixen scoffed, "No. I kissed her mouth."
"Funny."
The Vixen stopped. "Rory... Rory, she started kissing me because I was there. It would have been you," She tapped him on the chest. "-it should have been you."
Rory sighed, "Yeah."
The Doctor turned back and said, "Exactly. That's why Vixen suggested bringing you and Amy here. Now don't hang behind, come on." A strong gust of wind blew out the torch leaving them in the dark. The Doctor whimpered, "Can we go and see the vampires now, please?"
The Vixen replied, making her eyes glow and giving them a bit of light, "As soon as you stop crushing my hand."
The Doctor pushed the grate open and climbed out, using Rory as a ladder. "Push..." He got out and then reached in to pull Rory out. "Come on. There we are." In their haste and Vixen's silence and black clothing, they didn't notice her not come out.
Rory asked, "Where's the Vixen?"
The Doctor just looked at him then looked into the well. "You idiot! Why didn't you send her up first?"
The Vixen called, "It's fine. I'll come up on my own." The Doctor and Rory looked at each other in confusion. The Vixen grinned, "You might want to move back a bit."
The Doctor and Rory moved back as the Vixen backed up into the tunnel. She ran towards the entrance and leapt, finding the crooks and niches for her hands and feet as if she'd been doing it her whole life. The Vixen then clambered up the well wall and handsprung out of the well from a ledge on the side. The Doctor and Rory just stared at her in awe.
The Vixen stood up, dusting off her hands. She looked around in confusion. "Amy! Where's Amy?" The Doctor and Rory looked around sheepishly. "You idiots both came up and failed to notice Amy wasn't here?" She slapped them both upside their heads.
The Doctor said, "She may be hiding somewhere. I can't see a thing."
Rory said, "Just as well I brought this, then." He pulled out a small pencil torch.
The Doctor pulled out a long large torch from under his jacket. "Ultraviolet. Portable sunlight."
Rory noted, "Yours is bigger than mine."
The Doctor hissed, "Let's not go there."
Rory asked, "What if we meet one of those vampire things? Or even worse, a whole bunch?"
The Vixen pulled out a sword from her belt. "They'll have to answer to this first."
The Doctor asked, "Where did you get that?"
The Vixen replied, "When you were checking yourself out in the mirror, I nicked it from one of the displays. I'm not called Vixen for nothing."
The Signora circled Amy as Carlo held her. Signora asked, "Where are you from? Did you fall through the chasm?"
Francesco said impatiently, "Mother this is pointless. Let's just start the process."
Signora snapped, "Hold your tongue, Francesco! I need to know what this girl is doing in a world of savages with psychic paper." Two of the girls brought forward a wooden chair with wrist straps. "Who are you with? I scarcely believe your idiot brother sent you." Francesco set a hook into an eye socket above the chair. "What are you doing in my school?"
One of the girls attached an IV bag to the hook. Amy said, "OK, I'll tell you. I'm from Ofsted."
Signora laughed, "Put her in the chair." Carlo pushed Amy into the chair and the girls fastened the straps as she struggled. Francesco held her head from behind.
Amy shrieked, "No! Get your hands off me!"
Signora snapped, "Oh, make sport of me, will you? Tease me as if I were your dog? Well, this dog has a bite, girl." She turned to show her fangs.
Amy screamed, "Vixen! Doctor!" The Signora leant in and bit her neck.
After a few moments, the Signora pulled away from Amy and stood, licking her lips. The girls left. Amy's eyes were glazed, the trauma having been too much for her. Francesco leant down and ran a finger along Amy's neck by the puncture wounds. "Mother... where you drink from her, may we share? I'm so thirsty."
Signora replied, "Of course, darling." She turned to Amy. "This is how it works. First, we drink you until 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."
Francesco said, chuckling as he moved a strand of hair away from Amy's neck, "Or you die. That can happen."
Amy asked, "And if I survive?"
Signora replied, "Then there are 10,000 husbands waiting for you in the water."
Amy said, "Yeah, sorry. I'm kind of engaged." She kicked Signora and Francesco restrained her.
The Signora was stunned. There was a slight electric hum of technology and she flipped back part of her clothing to reveal a device clipped to her dress. Her image flickered to show an insectoid creature with a fish head. Her human image returned. The group heard running footsteps and voices from above and ran upstairs leaving Amy alone, struggling to escape the chair.
A few moments later, a hand reached out to undo her straps and Amy gasped in surprise before seeing that it was Isabella. Amy exclaimed, "She bit me!"
Rory sighed, "If we cancel now, we lose the deposit on the village hall, the salsa band..." The Doctor opened a chest on the ground to reveal skeletal remains. "What happened to them?"
The Vixen said, "They've had all the moisture taken out of them."
Rory asked, "That's what vampires do, right? They drink your blood and replace it with their own."
The Doctor replied, "Yeah, except they haven't just had their blood taken, but all the water in their bodies."
Rory asked, "Why did they die? Why aren't they like the girls in the school?"
The Vixen muttered, "Maybe not everyone survives the process."
Rory walked away in frustration then stopped and pointed at the Vixen and 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."
"Who are you?" The girls asked in unison, stepping out, each from her own archway.
The Doctor held the ultraviolet light up to them and the Vixen held her sword at the ready as the girls got closer. The Doctor said, "We should run. Run!" He, the Vixen and Rory ran from the courtyard followed by the girls.
The Vixen, the Doctor and Rory ran along to corridor and stopped when they came across the Signora, Francesco and Carlo. The Doctor asked, "Cab for Amy Pond?"
The girls approached from the other end of the corridor, blocking their escape. Signor asked, "This rescue plan, not exactly watertight, is it?"
The Doctor brandished the light to hold back the girls. "Ha-ha!"
Amy, followed by Isabella, ran into the corridor from an intersecting hall. "Rory!"
Rory looked over the moon with relief. "Amy!"
Isabella hissed, "Quickly, through here!" She ran back the way they came followed by the Vixen, Amy, Rory and the Doctor. The girls followed.
Signora ordered, "Seal the house.
On the stairs, Amy reported, "They're not vampires!"
The Doctor asked, using his sonic on the door, "What?!"
Amy replied, "I saw them, I saw her. They're not vampires. They're aliens!"
The Vixen chuckled, "Classic!"
Rory asked in horror, "That's good news?! What is wrong with you people?!"
The Doctor heard the aliens as they began to break through the door and urged Rory forward into a passage. "Come on, move!"
Francesco led the way with a torch. The Doctor once again brandished the ultraviolet torch as a weapon, causing Francesco to hesitate. The Doctor called, "Keep moving! Come on, guys." Francesco sent the girls forward.
Isabella opened the doorway and ushered the others forward down the stairs to the canal where Guido was waiting. Isabella said, "Quickly. Get out. Quick!" She stopped in the sunlight and put up her hands to block her eyes.
The Vixen noticed her not moving. "Oh..." She ran to help Isabella. "Come on, run!"
Isabella cried, "I can't!" She was dragged back inside.
The Vixen pounded on the door and shuddered once the door was electrified. She fell to the ground.
The Doctor, Rory and Amy ran to check on her. Amy asked, "Is she dead?"
Rory replied, "No, she's breathing." Amy looked back at Guido who looked down at the ground, knowing he would never see his daughter again.
The Signora walked into the room to find the Doctor on her throne, the Vixen standing beside him, her sword attached to her belt. The Doctor gave Signora a wolf whistle. "Long way from Saturnyne, aren't you... Sister of the Water?"
Signora asked, "No, let me guess. The owners of the psychic paper. Then I take it you're refugees, like me?"
The Vixen said, "We'll make you a deal. An answer for an answer. 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 leaves it blank... hence no reflection."
Signora asked, "Your question?"
The Vixen asked, "Why can we see your big teeth?"
Signora laughed. "Self-preservation over-rides the mirage. The subconscious perceives the threat and tries to alert the conscious brain."
The Vixen asked, "Where's Isabella?"
Signora hissed, "My turn. Where are the two of you from?"
The Doctor replied, "Gallifrey."
Signora sneered, "You should be in a museum. Or in a mausoleum."
The Doctor asked, "Why are you here?"
Signora replied, "We ran from the silence. Why are you here?"
The Vixen replied, "Wedding present. The silence?"
Signora explained, "There were cracks. 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 crack snapped shut behind us... and Saturnyne was lost."
The Doctor said, "So Earth is to become Saturnyne Mark II?"
Signora replied, "And you can help me. We can build a new society here, as others have. What do you say?"
The Vixen walked to face her and scowled, her eyes glowing. The Signora flinched as the Vixen hissed icily, "Where's Isabella?"
Signora asked, "Isabella?"
The Doctor walked over and said, "The girl who saved my friend."
Signora replied, "Oh, deserters must be executed. Any general will tell you that. I need an answer, Doctor. A partnership. Any which way you choose."
The Doctor growled, "I don't think that's such a good idea, do you? I'm a Time Lord. Much like Vixen here. You're a big fish. Think of the children. I'll stick with the Vixen."
Signora called, "Carlo!" Carlo approached. "You're right. We're nothing alike. I will bend the heavens to save my race, while you philosophise."
The Vixen hissed, "This ends today. We will tear down the House of Calvierri, stone by stone." Carlo put a hand on her and the Doctor's arms to get them to move. "Take your hands off me, Carlo." They walked to door.
The Doctor stopped. "And you know why? You didn't know Isabella's name." Carlo opened the door. "You didn't know Isabella's name." They left and the door slammed.
Carlo ordered, "Open the gates." One of the guards opened the gate and the Vixen and the Doctor strode out, storms in their eyes.
The Vixen sat across from Amy at the table and examined the bites on Amy's neck with her sonic screwdriver while the Doctor paced in frustration. The Vixen said gently, "You're fine. Open wide." Amy opened her mouth and the Vixen slipped a candy in.
The Doctor shouted in frustration. "I need to think. Come on brain, think, think. Think!" He sat at the table. "Think!"
Amy talked around the candy, "If they're fish people, it explains why they hate the sun."
The Doctor put a hand over her mouth. "Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush."
The Vixen said, "Why are they on Earth? If they're from Saturnyne, it would take way more water than Venice has for them to survive."
The Doctor put his other hand over her mouth. "Stop talking, brain thinking. Hush." The Vixen nipped his hand gently.
Rory said, "It's the school thing I don't understand." The Doctor nodded to Rory and the Vixen rolled her eyes, putting her hand over Rory's mouth.
Guido suggested, "I say we take the fight to them."
"Ah-ah-ah!"
Guido asked, "What?"
The Doctor said again, "Ah!" He nodded at Amy who placed her hand over Guido's mouth. "Her planet dies, so they flee through a crack in space and time, and end up here." The Vixen flicked her tongue on his hand, already knowing what the Signora wanted. The Doctor resisted and tried to focus. "Then she closes off the city and, one by one, changes people into creatures like her to start a new gene pool. Got it. Then what? They come from the sea, they can't survive forever on land, so what's she going to do?"
The Vixen nipped his hand again, hard. The Doctor let out a yelp and removed his hand. The Vixen snarled, "You idiot. She's going to do something to the environment to make the city habitable... She said, 'I shall bend the heavens to save my race.' Bend the heavens..."
The Doctor said in realization, "She's going to sink Venice."
Guido asked, "She's... she's going to sink Venice?"
The Vixen replied, "And repopulate it with the girls she's transformed."
Rory said, "You can't repopulate somewhere with just women. You need... blokes."
Amy said, "She's got blokes."
The Doctor asked, "Where?"
Amy replied, "In the canal. She said to me, 'There are 10,000 husbands waiting in the water.'"
The Vixen said, "Only the male offspring survived the journey here. She's got 10,000 children swimming in the canals, waiting for Mummy to make them some compatible girlfriends. Ew. I mean, I've been around a bit, but, really, that's... that's... Ew."
There was a loud clattering from the floor above. They all looked up at the ceiling. The Doctor remarked, "The people upstairs are very noisy."
Guido replied, "There aren't any people upstairs."
The Doctor said, "I knew you were going to say that. Did anyone else know he was going to say that?"
The wood creaked as if someone was walking across the floor. Rory asked, looking up, "Is it the vampires?"
The Vixen said, "Like we said, they're not vampires. Fish from space."
There was a loud thump and breaking glass as the converted girls entered the room. There were more outside the window. The group stood quickly, startled. The Doctor brandished the ultraviolet light and the Vixen pulled out her sword.
Rory asked, "Aren't we on the second floor?"
The girls at the window broke the glass and the Vixen stabbed at them with the sword. "Back off! Back!"
The Doctor handed the light to Guido and used his sonic screwdriver on them, which showed their true selves. Guido asked, "What's happened to them?"
The Doctor replied, "There's nothing left of them. They've been fully converted. Blimey, fish from space have never been so... buxom. OK..." He switched off the screwdriver. "Move. Come on."
They ran downstairs, Amy, Rory, the Doctor, Guido, then the Vixen. She swung her sword and the girls backed away.
The door opened and the Doctor, Amy and Rory ran out, disturbing the chickens. The Vixen said, following, "Go, guys! Keep moving, go, go, go!"
Guido stopped at the door before closing it, locking them out. "Stay away from the door, Doctor."
The Doctor pounded on the door. "No! Guido! What are you doing?! We're not leaving you! What are you doing?!" The Vixen and the Doctor both used their sonics on the door but the door didn't open. "Guido!"
The Vixen and the Doctor looked at each other, realizing what Guido was planning and turned. They ran and were thrown to the ground as the house exploded.
Smoke and vapour poured out from the bell tower of the school, blocking out the sky. Lightening streaked across the sky as a storm began. The Doctor, the Vixen, Amy and Rory looked at the damage. They heard the people clamouring in the streets.
The Doctor said, "Rosanna's initiating the final phase."
Amy stated, "We need to stop her. Come on!"
The Vixen replied, "No. Get back to the TARDIS."
Amy said, "You can't stop her on your own."
The Vixen snarled, her eyes glowing of their own accord, "We don't discuss this! The Doctor or I tell you to do something, Amy, and you do it. Got it?"
Amy stormed off. Rory nodded, "Thank you." He went after Amy.
The Vixen muttered, "Yeah... You're welcome." She and the Doctor heard screaming and they ran off.
Amy and Rory looked out at the sky from one side of the canal. Amy gasped, "Oh, my God! What is going on?"
Rory said, "The sky, it's like it's boiling." They continued on.
The Vixen and the Doctor entered the room, determined. They walked directly to the throne and began to examine it. The Doctor opened the back to reveal alien circuitry and he took out the sonic screwdriver.
Signora said, "You're too late. Such determination... just to save one city. Hard to believe it's the same pair that let an entire race turn to cinders and ash. Now you can watch as my people take their new kingdom."
The Vixen growled, "The girls have gone, Rosanna."
Signora said, "You're lying."
The Doctor asked, "Shouldn't we be dead? Hmm?" Signora walked away. "Rosanna, please, help us. There are 200,000 people in this city."
Signora replied before leaving, "So save them."
The Doctor and the Vixen looked at each other before looking at the throne. They knew they couldn't stop it from there and ran out of the room.
Amy and Rory made their way through the streets and soon were blocked by a wet Francesco. Rory picked up some candlesticks and held them up in the form of a cross. He said, "Amy, run!" Francesco swiped the candlesticks away and moved towards Amy. Rory taunted, "This way, you freak! Don't! This...this... this way, you big, stupid, great... SpongeBob! The only thing I've seen uglier than you is... your mum! No..."
Francesco turned to confront Rory. He asked, "Did you just say something about Mummy?"
Rory picked up a broom and brandished it like a sword. Francesco pulled out a real sword, making Rory question his bravado. Francesco attacked Rory who blocked with the broom handle.
Amy shouted, "Careful! Hit him! This way, bring him this way! Rory!"
Francesco sliced the broom handle, leaving Rory defenseless. Francesco thrusted his sword through a hanging drape and Rory dodged out of the way. He then wrapped Francesco in the drape then backed away. "Ew! You stink of fish." Rory backed away into the next courtyard.
Francesco replied, following, "Well, I'm hardly going to smell of cheese and biscuits."Rory tripped and fell backwards onto the ground, hitting his head. Francesco leapt, changing form in midair, and landed on top of Rory.
Amy called from the stairs, "Hey! Mummy's boy." She held up her compact mirror and Francesco exploded in the reflected sunlight.
Rory wiped off the dust. "Ohhh... Oh..."
Amy heaved a sigh in relief, "That was lucky." Rory stood up. "Why did you make the sign of the cross, you numpty?"
Rory walked to Amy on the stairs. "Oh, oh, right! I'm being reviewed now, am I?"
Amy kissed him passionately. She pulled back and said, "Now we go help the Vixen and the Doctor."
Rory nodded, "Righto."
The Vixen and the Doctor looked out from the balcony down onto the city below. The bell tolled and they headed inside. They entered the throne room from the main door as Amy and Rory entered from the side The Doctor said, "Get out! I need to stabilise the storm." He and the Vixen ran to the throne.
Rory said, "We're not leaving you."
The Vixen snarled, "Right…" She walked back to them while the Doctor got started on the throne. "-so one minute it's, 'You make people a danger to themselves' the next it's, 'We're not leaving you!' But if one of you gets squashed or blown up or eaten, who gets..." The ground shaking and some of the ceiling falling down interrupted her. They all fell to the ground.
Rory asked, "What was that?"
The Doctor stood up and replied, "Nothing. Bit of an earthquake."
Amy asked, "An earthquake?"
The Vixen said, "Manipulate the elements, it can trigger earthquakes. But don't worry about them."
"No?"
The Vixen replied, "No. Worry about the tidal waves caused by the earthquake." She faced the Doctor.
The Doctor said, "Right, Rosanna's throne is the control hub but she's locked the program, so tear out every single wire and circuit in the throne. Go crazy. Hit it with a stick, anything." He began to check the wires. "We need it to shut down and re-route control to the secondary hub, which I'm guessing will also be the generator." He ran out of the room as the Vixen, Amy and Rory pulled all the wires they could, causing sparks.
The Doctor worked on wires that connected the control in the throne room to the device that created the storm. He ran up closer to the tolling bells, holding his hands over his ears. He held the clapper on one of the bells. "Shut up! Shut up." The bell stilled and he jumped down. "That's better!"
The Doctor tugged on one of the cables but it didn't budge. He then climbed up onto the rail, gripping the column as the rain pours down. He slipped, regained his balance, and began to climb. He climbed to the top using the cable and reached the giant sphere at the pinnacle. The Doctor opened the sphere to reveal the device that was creating the storm. He began to examine it to see how to stop it. He found a simple toggle switch and flipped it.
The Vixen, Amy and Rory ran to the courtyard and looked up. Rory spotted the Doctor and pointed. "There he is!"
The Doctor was on the summit of the school's bell tower, trying to figure out how to stop the storm.
The Vixen muttered, "Come on!"
"Come on! Come on!"
The rains stopped, the clouds cleared, and birds began to sing. Amy and Rory looked around before laughing and hugging each other. The Vixen hugged them both.
The Doctor closed the sphere and looked down at the street with a little wave. Rory shouted, "You did it!"
The Signora walked the quay to the water's edge. She tried to turn off the perception filter, but the device died. She pulled off her gloves and stripped down to her chemise. The water began to bubble and she walked along the plank.
The Doctor and the Vixen found her. The Doctor called, "Rosanna!"
Signora said, "One city to save an entire species. Was that so much to ask?"
The Vixen and the Doctor slowly approached her. The Vixen said, "We told you, you can't go back and change time. You mourn but you live. I know, Rosanna, I did it."
Signora turned her head. "Tell me, Doctor... can your conscience carry the weight of another dead race? Remember us. Dream of us." She fell into the water.
"No..."
"No!"
The pair looked down into the water as the bubbling stopped. The Doctor stood up slowly and pulled the Vixen up gently.
The townsfolk were cleaning up after the storm. The Vixen, the Doctor, Amy and Rory headed back to the TARDIS.
The Doctor said, "Now, then, what about you two, eh? Next stop Leadworth Register Office? Maybe I can give you away."
Rory said, "It's fine. Drop me back where you found me. I'll just say you've..."
Amy replied, "Stay…with us. Please. Just for a bit. I want you to stay." She looked to the Doctor and the Vixen pleadingly.
The Doctor said, "Fine with me."
The Vixen grinned, "More the merrier."
Rory asked gleefully, "Yeah? Yes, I would like that."
Amy said, "Nice one." She kissed Rory. "I will pop the kettle on." The Vixen unlocked the TARDIS door. Amy turned to her and grinned, "Hey, look at this. Got our spaceship, got our boys."
The Vixen put an arm around Amy's shoulder. "Our work here is done." The girls giggled and went inside closing the door behind them.
Rory scoffed and looked at the Doctor. "We are not their boys."
The Doctor clapped a hand on Rory's shoulder. "Yeah, we are."
Rory agreed, before going in, "Yeah, we are."
The Doctor stopped in the open doorway and pulled Rory out. "Rory, listen to that."
Rory asked, "What? All I can hear is... silence."
He went inside and the Doctor stood there looking out, the Signora's words playing in his head. "There were cracks. Through some we saw silence and the end of all things." He went inside and closed the TARDIS door.