"That's better, old girl. Time delay, but you always get it right in the end. Good. Let's find out who this is, then. Well, well, there you are." the Doctor said as I closed the tardis door. "Where's it from?" I asked. "Krafayis. Planet of origin uncertain. Nomadic pack animals. Strict dominance hierarchy. Huge territories, several solar systems wide. Preferred habitat: Planets with oxygen and nitrogen based atmospheres." the Doctor relayed the information from his mirror. "Oh, that poor thing. That brutal, murderous, abandoned thing. I hope we meet again soon so we can take it home." I frowned.
"Uh. Juno?" the Doctor called, "Maybe not that soon." I looked in his mirror and saw the beast in the reflection. "Shit!" I yelled. We ran away, but it was chasing us. I tried scattering benches and boxes, anything to slow it down. "Take that, and that." I shouted. Eventually, it left. "Whew." I sighed. The Doctor looked around the corner and screamed. "Never do that! You scared the living daylights out of me." he examined. Amy turned around the corner. "Sorry, I got bored. As much as you admire his command of colour and shape, it is hard to get fond of Vincent Van Gogh's snoring." she shrugged.
<—————>
"Wake, wakey, rise and shine! Breakfast is served in the courtyard. Whoa! What a morning. Come on. And Amy's got a little surprise for you." I woke Vincent up. "I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving me last night." Amy said in the courtyard below. Loads of sunflowers in pots were around her. "Ah." he said. "I thought you might like, you know, possibly to perhaps paint them or something? Might be a thought." Amy shrugged.
"Yes, well, they're not my favourite flower." Vincent admitted. "You don't like sunflowers?" Amy frowned. "No, it's not that I don't like them. I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge." he said. "And one I'm pretty sure you'll rise to. But, moving on, there's something I need to show you." the Doctor brought Vincent inside.
He showed Vincent the print of the monster from the contraption. "That's him. And the eyes, without mercy." Vincent pointed. "This is a creature called the Krafayis. They travel in space. They travel as a pack, scavenging across the universe. And sometimes one of them gets left behind. And because they are a brutal race, the others never come back. So, dotted all around the universe are individual, utterly merciless, utterly abandoned Krafayis. And what they do is, well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't. Because other creatures can't see them." the Doctor explained.
"But I can."
"Yes. And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So, feeling like painting the church today?" I grinned. "
"What about the monster?" Vincent asked me. "Take my word for it. If you paint it, he will come." I said. "Okay. I'll get my things." Vincent nodded. "In your own time. And I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow." I promised as Vincent went to the other side of the room. "This is risky." the Doctor fiddled his hands. "Riskier than normal?" Amy questioned. "Well, think about it. This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the net result of our pleasant little trip will be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musée D'Orsay will disappear. And it will be our fault." Vincent went up to his room.
"I'm going to go check on him." I said. When I knocked and entered the room, I saw Vincent lying face down in his tiny bed crying. "Oh no, Vincent? Vincent! Vincent, can I help?" I rushed over to the bedside. "It's so clear you cannot help. And when you leave, and everyone always leaves, I will be left once more with an empty heart and no hope." he replied. "My experience is that there is, surprisingly, always hope." I said. "Then your experience is incomplete. I know how it will end. And it will not end well." he shook his head. "How about we go out? Come on, let's go outside." I urged. "Get out! You get out. What are you doing here? What are you doing here?" he yelled at me. "Right. I'm sorry. I'll leave you." I nodded and walked out the room.
I shook my head as I walked down to where Amy and the Doctor was. "What's happening?" Amy asked. "He told me to get out." I answered. "We're leaving. Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll...he'll take his own life." the Doctor said. "Don't say that. Please."
The Doctor looked at the picture Prisoners Exercising. "Come on. We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up." the Doctor explained. "I'm ready. Let's go." Vincent walked out the house with his painting tools and a canvas.
Behind me and the Doctor, Amy and Vincent were chatting. "They sure get along well don't they?" I commented. The Doctor hummed in response. "Should we tell Amy?" I asked. "Tell Amy what?" the Doctor questioned. "Well... you know..." I fiddled my fingers together. "Not now." he grabbed my hand, interlocking our fingers. "Okay. Okay. So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns-" the Doctor turned to Amy and Vincent. "Then we shall fight him again." Vincent held his fist in the air. "Well, yes, tick. But last night we were lucky. Amy could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him too."
"And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?" Amy questioned. "The answer's in this box." he pulled out a box from the gizmo. "I had an excellent, but smelly, godmother." the Doctor shrugged. "Oh no, it's that poor girl from the village." Vincent looked behind us. We stood aside as the coffin was carried past with a bouquet of sunflowers atop of it. "You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy asked. "No. It's a thing. It's like a plan, but with more greatness."
"And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters." the Doctor said. We were standing a good distance from the church. "Yes. While I may be mad, I'm not stupid." Vincent held a paint brush in his hand. "No. Quite. And, to be honest, I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex-"
"Shush. I'm working."
"Well, yes. Paint. Do painting! I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Wow! What a whinger. I kept saying to him, look, if you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job then."
"Shush." I hushed him. "And Picasso. What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye, either side of the face."
"Quiet."
It had begun to get dark, the picture was almost finished. "Is this how time normally passes? Really slowly. In the right order. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack." the Doctor crossed his arms. "Are you okay? You seem a bit, if I didn't know you better, I'd say nervous." Amy said. "Extremely antsy." I scoffed. "Yes, there's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it."
"There. He's at the window." Vincent pointed. "Where?" the Doctor questioned. "There, on the right."
"As I thought. Come on. I'm going in." he waved to me. "Well I'm coming too." Vincent sat down his brush. "No! You're Vincent Van Gogh. No." I protested. "But he's not armed." Vincent pointed out. "I am." the Doctor told him. "What with?" Vincent asked. "Overconfidence, this," he pointed to the mirror contraption, "and a small screwdriver. I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, Juno, only one thought, one simple instruction. Don't follow me under any circumstances." he pointed. "We won't." we gave a smile as he walked off.
"Will you follow him?" Vincent asked Amy. "Of course." Amy replied. "I love you."
"Has he moved?" I asked. "No. Just shifted to the next window. But, wait! He's turning now." Vincent informed. "Doctor?" I called, running towards the church. "Juno!" Amy yelled.
I saw the Doctor run for the door. "Doctor!" I exclaimed. "Argh! I thought I told you. Never mind. We'll talk about it later. Quick, in here." he pulled me into a cabinet with him. "Absolutely quiet. Can you breath a little quieter, please?" he whispered. "You expect me to breathe quieter?" I whisper-yelled. "Shush." the Doctor covered my mouth. The beast smashed my side of the cabinet, I let out a scream in response. "I think he heard us." the Doctor said. It attacked the other side of the cabinet as well. "That is impressive hearing he's got. What's less impressive are our chances of survival." the Doctor pointed out.
"Hey! Are you looking for me, sonny? Come on, over here. Because I'm right here waiting for you." we looked out and saw Vincent and Amy. He was fending off the Krafayis with a chair. "Come on. Quickly. Get behind me." Vincent ushered us over to him. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. "Doing anything?" the Doctor asked. "Uh uh..."
"Where is he?" the Doctor questioned. "Where do you think he is, you idiot? Use your head."
"Anything?"
"Nothing. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it."
"Ooo."
"Duck! Left."
The Doctor was thrown against a wall. "Right, sorry. Your right, my left." Vincent shrugged. "This is no good at all. Run like crazy and regroup." the Doctor said. "Oh, come on, in here." Amy pulled us into a crypt.