A/N: new chappie! enjoy!


Chapter 29: The Treasure of Enuria

Olivia leaned on the Doctor's arm as they stood in front of the TARDIS at the edge of the lake, waiting for Lara. He looked down at her with a warm smile but frowned when she didn't look back at him. He lowered his head to catch her gaze, making her look up at him with wide eyes.

"What?" she blurted.

"Are you alright, Liv?" he murmured, lifting a hand to lift her chin and examine her face, still bruised. "How's your cheek?"

"I'm fine," she smiled, taking his hand in hers and her smile fell as their eyes locked and he frowned in worry. "Theta, there's something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you a while ago but I…I didn't know how to tell you. I still don't."

"You were never one to mince words, Liv," he couldn't help but chuckle. "Just do as you usually do and come out with it."

"This is different," she objected. "It's hard to explain."

He was about to reply when their attention was drawn to the edge of the frozen lake, Lara slipping up from between two blocks of ice to look up at them.

You must be quick, she spoke to them telepathically. Some of the Cathulians escaped. Follow me closely.

She dove down into the water again and the Doctor looked to Olivia, gripping her hand to ask, "How are your legs?"

"Well enough to run," she smirked, making him grin back before he turned and they shot across the ice, following Lara's silhouette under the ice.

It seemed ages of running before they saw Lara slip out from under the ice again, both skidding to a stop next to her. The Doctor's eyes widened when he looked ahead as Olivia doubled over to catch her breath.

"Oh…" he breathed as Olivia stood tall to look at the snow and ice covered forest. "Oh…bloody hell."

"What?" Olivia panted, looking at him with wide eyes. "What is it?"

The Enurian Forest, Lara replied. The treasure is in the heart of it.

"Alright," Olivia nodded to her before looking to the forest again. "So what's the problem?"

Those who venture in, never return.

"Oh," Olivia blurted, nodding, "Yeah. That could be a problem."

"Just a bit," the Doctor retorted, making her glare at him, comically but her look fell when he gripped her hand tightly, his gaze still on the forest. "Let's go."

"But—"

"I know," he nodded, looking down at her. "But we have to get that treasure."

"Why?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Because it doesn't belong here," he replied without hesitation. "The longer it stays here, the more people will come looking for it."

Olivia looked deep into his eyes and nodded, seeing how serious he was about this. He smirked as he leaned closer to whisper into her ear.

"Did you think I wanted the treasure for meself?" he smirked, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"Of course not," she smiled.

"Right," he nodded. "Now that we're on the same page…allons-y!"

He ran into the forest, dragging Olivia with him as she couldn't help but giggle at hearing him say her favorite word. Her giggles faded as she looked around the icy forest in awe, the Doctor's pace slowing as their steps made crunching noises in the snow below them.

"Right," he sighed. "Now…have you ever seen the Princess Bride?"

"Of course," she scoffed, still looking around the forest.

"Think of this place as the Fire Swamp."

Olivia's eyes shot to the back of his head as he led her through the forest and she blurted, "Serious?"

"Well…maybe no Fire Spirts, but certainly Lightening…Snow," he replied.

"Please don't tell me there are Rodents of Unusual Size," she begged.

"No, no. Just…cats?"

"Oh, that's great."

Olivia screamed when she suddenly felt herself being sucked into the ground, her hand gripping the Doctor's in a death grip and yanking him backwards when she was sucked halfway into the ground. He spun around and instantly braced himself, quickly gripping her other hand to keep her from being sucked completely into the ground.

"Don't you dare let me go!" she snarled as he tried pulling her from the ground. "Oh, my God! It's cold! Get me out of here!"

"Trying!" he strained before finally mustering enough strength to pull her slowly from the ground.

When she was released, the lack of resistance made the Doctor fall back, pulling Olivia with him and she landed with a grunt on top of him, pinning him to the ground.

"Alright?" he groaned from the impact on his back and her landing on top of him.

"Yeah," she groaned back, struggling to stand. "You broke my fall perfectly."

"Glad to be of help, love," he grumbled as she stood and helped him up, both being careful not to step near the hole in the snow. They dusted each other off and he took her hand to lead her through the forest again. "Come on. No time to lose."

"You said something about Cats of Unusual Size," she recalled. "Is their unusual size, by any chance, tiny?"

"Never said they were of an unusual size, Liv," he pointed out, making her sneer. "No time for discussion now. Keep your eyes open. We're nearing the center of the forest. We're lookin' for—"

"A very large tree with a concave at the roots," she finished. "'Therein lie the Enurian Treasure of Captain Calia.' Jack told me all about it."

"Never could resist a story about treasure, could he?" he scoffed, never breaking his stride. "Once a conman, always a conman, eh?"

"Leave him alone, Theta," she scolded. She shot her gaze to her left when she heard rustling of some kind and her gaze darted around the forest. "So these cats…what do they look like?"

"Like…white panthers, I would say," he replied.

"White," she sighed, looking ahead again when she saw nothing. "Great."

"Ah, here we are!" he grinned, drawing her attention to what they were approaching as he stopped a few yards away from the tree at the center of the clearing they came to, a chest made of ice sitting in the gap of the tree, all its riches inside in clear view through the clear chest of ice. "Now, my question is: What's protecting it?"

"The legend says that anyone who got too close to it would be burning by…what was it?" Olivia trailed off in thought as the Doctor knelt down to gather snow into his hands.

"Blue stardust," he recalled, standing to hurl a snowball at the tree.

A static-like noise sounded through the cold air as the snowball hit something invisible until blue specs filled the air where it had hit.

"Force field," Olivia nodded as the Doctor reached into the inside pocket of his jacket for his sonic screwdriver. "Something we can manage, right?"

"Right," he nodded with a smirk, patting her head as he walked around her to her left, strolling around wide of the tree as he called, "Stay there."

"And do what?" she frowned in wonder, unmoving as she watched him.

"Tell me when the field comes down," he replied, heading behind the tree. "I'll only be a moment, Liv. Just stay there."

She said nothing as she began chewing nervously on her lower lip, glancing around to be sure they were alone. She looked back at the force field just in time to see the barrier become visible in a shade of blue, then disappear again.

"It's down!" she called, and stepped forward when she saw the Doctor come out from behind the tree.

He glanced up at her but made a double take with wide eyes, making her frown but her heart raced when he ordered, "Olivia, stop right there."

She did as she was told, stopping in her tracks and she noticed his gaze was darting between her and something behind her, making her heart thud in her ears.

"Don't move," he ordered, slowly taking a step toward the tree. "Don't look 'round. Breathe normally, and when I tell you, run toward me."

"What is it, Doctor?" she shuddered, watching him step closer and closer to the opening in the tree but he kept his gaze on her and whatever was behind her. "It's one of those panthers, isn't it?"

"Yup," he replied, backing into the opening. "Get ready to run."

She braced herself as he aimed the Sonic at the side of the opening inside the tree. It seemed like ages as she kept her gaze on him and he kept his eyes on the thing behind her.

"Run!"

She bolted toward him, hearing a growl behind her and when she ducked into the opening, he caught her with one arm as the Sonic sounded next to her. She turned and screamed when she finally saw a huge, white cat leaping toward them, teeth and claws bared with ice blue eyes on her and the Doctor. The cat yowled in pain when it hit the force field the Doctor had managed to get up again in only the opening on the tree, and the cat jumped back, landing on its feet to pace in front of the tree, snarling at them.

"There we are," he grinned before looking to Olivia, still holding her with one arm. "Alright?"

"Fine," she nodded, looking up at him. "Except how do we get out of here now?"

He opened his mouth to reply but found he had no answer and nodded, "Ah. I hadn't come up with that bit just yet."

"As usual," she sighed with a smirk, glancing up at him and he smiled back.

"Well," he sighed sharply, looking at the panther pacing in front of them. "That force field'll hold till Kitty Cat's gone." He looked back at her with a smile. "We've got time to talk about that thing you wanted to tell me."

Her smile fell and she looked away from him to swallow, her heart starting to race again. The Doctor frowned in wonder before shifting to sit in a corner of the gap, pulling Olivia with him to let her sit across his lap.

"I've been…having strange dreams," she murmured, looking to her hands in her lap as she came straight to the point. "Since I went to work for Torchwood I've been having the same dreams, over an over again. It's just two of them, and they alternate, but it's always the same."

"Tell me," he murmured, lifting a hand to hold both of hers as they still sat in her lap. She still didn't look at him, but she could feel his eyes on her, and his concern in his touch as his thumb stroked over her fingers.

"They're always a jumble," she began. "I see faces and hear voices, but it's not clear until a few moments before I wake up. They both scare me, but the one that scares me the most is the one I've been seeing the most. I see your face…and then your image fades and all I see is a blue light. That's when I hear the voice, and it only says one word before I wake up."

"What does it say, Liv," he whispered when she said nothing else. She turned to throw an arm around his neck and hug him close as she shuddered, making him hug her closer in turn. "Liv? What's the word?"

It took her a moment before she breathed, "Exterminate."

They both jumped at the sound of a shot and scrambled to their feet to look outside. Olivia gasped when she saw the white panther lying in a growing pool of blood, three Cathulians standing over it before they turned their weapons to the opening. Olivia ducked behind the Doctor when they opened fire, but he stared them down defiantly when their shots hit the force field, protecting the couple, even as Olivia cowered behind him.

"Ooh, a force field," the Cathulian leader grinned, evilly as Olivia and the Doctor remained unmoving. "That should be easy enough to get through. My question is how did you get past it?"

The Doctor only glared back at him, making him scoff before nodding to his men and they ran around the tree, catching the Doctor's attention.

"No matter," the Cathulian smirked. "There's always a way of getting to what you want."

"Liv," the Doctor murmured, making her look up at him over his shoulder as he reached into his overcoat pocket. "Put this on the chest."

She said nothing as she looked to his hand to take the piece of technology from it then slowly turned and leaned down to attach it to the side of the chest. She turned back to remain behind the Doctor who still stared at the Cathulian marauder.

"I dunno what you think we're in here for," the Doctor shot out at him. "We had to escape that beastie! That's why we're in here!"

"Oh, and the fact that the legend of the Enurian Treasure says that the chest is in a tree exactly like the one you're standing in didn't cross your mind?" the Cathulian shot back.

"There's nothin' in here," he shrugged, gripping Olivia's hand to pull her with him as he backed into a corner to reveal the chest. "Look!"

"Doc—!"

He slapped a hand over Olivia's hand before she could try to warn him then watched in wonder and disbelief when the marauder stared right at the chest but seemed not to see it.

"See?" the Doctor smirked, unable to help it as he lowered his hand from Olivia's mouth as she frowned at them in confusion. "Nothing. No chest. No treasure. Nothing here but us chickens."

It suddenly clicked for Olivia and she turned her smile away from the Cathulian who was still confused as to where the treasure was.

"Well, you obviously hid it somewhere," the marauder shot back with a bored stare.

"We wouldn't have had time," Olivia offered with a shrug. "That cat came out of nowhere as soon as we got here."

"Look, if you can get us out of here, we'll help you find it," the Doctor chimed in coming back into view with Olivia by his side. "You can have the treasure and we can all go our separate ways."

"And you think I'll trust you, do you?" the marauder shot back with scoff, shaking his head. "No. I think I'll leave you here. You got yourselves in there somehow, if you get desperate enough, you'll be able to get yourselves back out. Come on, boys. Let's leave the happy couple for a treasure hunt."

"Oi! Ya can't just leave us here!" the Doctor shouted, convincingly as he and Olivia watched the Cathulian marauders stroll away, unfazed.

"Let us out!" Olivia shouted.

They continued shouting until the marauders were far enough away before they silenced. The Doctor knelt down to pull the technology off the chest as Olivia turned to him just in time to catch it as he tossed it over his shoulder.

"Perception filter," she smiled as he stood and aimed the Sonic at the edge of the opening to take down the force field. "Where did you get this beauty?"

"Whipped it up from TARDIS parts," he replied, turning back to her to take it and slip it into his pocket with a wink. "Never leave home without it. Now, come on. Let's get this thing back to the TARDIS."

"Uh, isn't that gonna be a bit heavy?" she frowned in wonder as he turned to face the chest as he reached a hand into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"Not too heavy," he smirked, pulling a huge canvas sack from inside his jacket.

"Your suits are like the TARDIS!" she giggled, making him frown at her as he knelt in front of the chest and she explained, "Bigger on the inside."

"Very funny," he smirked, placing a hand on the lid and shoving it off the chest with some difficulty. "Now get over here and help me fill this sack, yes?"

"We don't need the chest?" she frowned, stepping next to him to help him fill the sack with the diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies in the ice block chest.

"Nope," he replied, with a shake of his head as they grabbed handfuls of the jewels. "Besides, we couldn't lug this thing through the forest with all its perils. It'd be far too bulky and difficult."

Olivia suddenly stopped pouring jewels into the bag and sat back on her feet, looking at him as he stopped and frowned at her in question.

"It just occurred to me," she explained, placing her hands on her hips. "Why didn't we just park the TARDIS here next to the tree? We could've found this place from overhead, then parked, lowered the force field and taken the whole chest without the Lightening Snow and panther attack!"

"That would've been a brilliant idea if this were an ordinary forest," he replied, resuming his task. "And, if those Cathulians had seen it, that would've made more complications. No, this way's just fine, Liv."

"Easy for you to say," she retorted, helping him fill the bag again. "You're not the one that nearly got sucked into the ground!"

"Oh, stop complainin'," he muttered as they loaded the last of the jewels into the bag and he grinned as he pulled the drawstring to seal it. They both stood as he lugged the thing onto his shoulder, chirping, "Good! Now we can leave. Come on."

He took Olivia's hand and pulled her from the tree and she instantly began glancing around for danger, hoping she wouldn't step into any Lightening Snow as they made their way out of the Enurian Forest. They were silent for a moment before she looked up at him, letting him lead her for a moment before she broke the silence.

"So…are we going to talk about my dream?" she mumbled, almost not wanting him to hear her and when he only stared ahead, she thought he hadn't.

"I'm thinkin' on it, Liv," he replied, glancing to her with a smile betraying his firm tone. "I've got a few theories already. But I'd rather narrow it down to one before I explain it."

"Alright," she smiled sweetly, hugging his arm before looking around again then asked, "The treasure came from…Gemsyti, didn't it?"

"Yes, it did," he nodded as they still walked.

"You said the Gemsytites were just giving their stuff away because they had so much of it," she recalled, looking up at him as they stopped under a tree and he turned to her with a frown of wonder. "Do you think…they'd really want this back?"

"This may be a bit different," he replied. "These are historical to the Gemsytites now because of this legend. The last time I spoke with Edric he explained it to me. If we return these, they'll not be used for trade or given away. These gems belonged to their very first ruler, Camia."

"Wasn't that the name of the Enurian Captain that stole the jewels in the legend?" Olivia recalled.

"That was Calia, and he wasn't really Enurian," the Doctor explained. "He was Gemsytite. Camia and Calia were twins, but because of Calia's evil disposition, he was banished to Enuria when he was sixteen by Camia, who was ruling at the time. You remember that the legend said they were enemies, yes?"

Olivia only nodded, entranced by his telling of the story.

"That was why," he continued. "On Camia's wedding day, Calia went back to Gemsyti and stole the wedding present intended for Camia's bride…a chest of jewels. Camia's bride was greedy, and once she found the jewels missing, she left him. That was Calia's revenge on his brother. After stealing the jewels he disappeared to Enuria and no one could ever find him, or the jewels since. That's the entire story, but all anyone ever remembers is the bit about the treasure."

"And the moral of the story is don't be greedy or evil," Olivia nodded with a smile, making the Doctor chuckle as he adjusted the bag on his shoulder. "Do you want me to carry that?"

"No, thank you, darling," he smiled, leaning toward her to press a kiss to her cheek. "We'd better get out of here before those marauders show up again."

She nodded and he pulled her through the forest, both realizing they were close to the exit. When they reached the edge of the forest Olivia gasped as they instantly came to a halt when they met a pair of obstacles. Reggie the Enurian Yeti and Lara the Enurian mermaid, the three Cathulian marauders in the snow around their feet. The Doctor's eyes darkened at them as Olivia frowned around at them and the bodies.

"What happened?" she wondered, looking up at the Doctor. "What's going on?"

"I should've known," the Doctor ground out. "You both were far too helpful."

Hand over the bag, Doctor, Lara spoke telepathically, lifting a hand to him as Olivia looked back at them. You've done well. I new you were the only one who could find and retrieve the Enurian Treasure with such ease.

"I knew she was a bad fish," Olivia muttered as the Doctor yanked the sack from his shoulder to toss it at Lara's feet, making Olivia frown at him incredulously. "What are you doing?!"

"Alright, you've got your treasure," the Doctor said, ignoring Olivia and staring at the pair in front of them. "If you don't let me go, at least let my companion go. She's of no use to you."

Neither one of you are of use anymore, Lara shot back as she waved at the Yeti to lift the bag at her feet. Why should we let either one of you live?

"You really don't want more blood on your hands," the Doctor ground out as Olivia shrunk back behind him, holding tightly to his arm as she saw the look in Lara's eyes.

Is that a threat, Doctor?

"Have you ever really met a Cathulian marauder?" he retorted, making both women frown at him in wonder before he continued. "Never really sat down with them? Gotten to know what they're like? Well, I'll tell you. They may be heartless, cruel and selfish beyond belief, but they do have a bit of a code. Part of this code is never leave a man unavenged."

He nodded to the three dead bodies at their feet and Lara glanced down at them as he said, "I'm assuming there's more bodies back in the cave they were using, yes?"

Lara's eyes widened as she looked back at the Doctor as Olivia swallowed, his implications being understood by both of them.

"Now, I could hang around and explain things to the marauders that'll be by here in about…four minutes? Give or take? News travels fast with Cathulians. I could get them to leave you lot alone, or I could be lyin' there with my companion at my side as a dead body and leave you to your own devices. It's your choice."

He stared at the mermaid as Olivia held her breath, waiting for the answer or the death blow from the Yeti. It seemed like ages before Lara responded.

What are your terms, Doctor? Lara finally asked.

"Let us live and go home once I deal with the Cathulians," he replied, firmly. "I didn't save all those blasted Enurians in the cells to watch them die for your stupidity."

Very well, Lara nodded. Your ship is where you left it.

"We'll need the sack," he amended, making her glare at him.

For what purpose?

"To help with the lie I'm concocting," he retorted. "You want my help or not?"

Lara paused for a moment then turned and nodded to Reggie and the Doctor looked to Olivia to nod her toward the bag. She swallowed and cautiously stepped toward him before grabbing the bag he offered and rushing back toward the Doctor, taking shelter under his arm.

"Leave everything to us," he nodded, pulling Olivia around the two. "You just stay right there and don't move, eh?"

He strolled around them and they did as he told them, but turned to watch them walk back the way they'd come.

"Doctor? It took us a long time to get from the TARDIS to the edge of the forest when we were running," Olivia recalled.

"Yes, it did," he replied, still looking ahead.

"Won't the Cathulians be here any minute?"

"No."

"No?" she frowned in absolute confusion. "But…you said—"

"I said I was concocting a lie, didn't I?" he smirked down at her, and her frown soon disappeared to be replaced with a grin.

"Yes," she nodded before looking ahead again. "Yes you did!"

"There's just one more thing to do, and we're home free."

"And what's that?"

"Run-ah!"

The Doctor grabbed her hand and they both bolted across the ice just as they heard something roar behind them. The sound was too close for comfort as the icy ground started shaking rhythmically beneath them.

"They figured it out, didn't they?!" Olivia shouted.

"I'm assuming they did!"

"She's sent your buddy, Reggie after us!"

"Not now, Liv!"

They ran as fast as they could over the ice, wondering how they could outrun the giant until the TARDIS was in view and they were right in front of it, the Doctor digging into his pocket for the key.

"Hurry," Olivia urged through clenched teeth as she looked back at the Yeti several yards away and closing on them. "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry—"

"Not helping," he retorted, unlocking the door to open it and shoving Olivia in before jumping inside himself. He moved to quickly shut the door behind him but shouted in shock when a huge white paw was pinned between the door and the frame. Olivia turned and screamed at the sight as the Doctor struggled to keep the arm pinned, its paw flailing in the air and he strained, "Help!"

Olivia dropped the bag to the floor and hurried back toward him to help him shove the door closed, but the paw grabbed her face, covering it entirely and she gave muffled shouts of protest as she tried hitting it. Her mouth and nose were completely covered, suffocating her as the Doctor still tried shoving the arm out the door.

"Olivia!" he shouted, seeing her starting to slow her struggle, then go limp and that was all it took. He summoned all his strength and shoved the door as hard as he could onto the Yeti's arm. It howled, but didn't withdraw, however it let Olivia's face go and she tumbled to the ramp, unconscious. "Get out of here you smelly…hairy…beastie!"

He lifted his foot high enough to slam it into the Yeti's paw and it gave a pained yowl but finally pulled back, letting the Doctor slam the door shut and lock it before he looked to Olivia with wide eyes.

"Liv!" he called, dropping to his knees in front of her to press his fingers to her pulse and he sighed in relief when he found it. He leaned forward to place his ear next to her nose and mouth and frowned when she wasn't breathing. "Heart's still going, but you need to breathe, Liv."

He took in a breath and pressed his mouth to hers, breathing into her mouth and her eyes shot wide as she arched up, making him pull away as she took in a deep breath then coughed as she settled on the grated floor. The Doctor sighed in relief, pulling her into his arms as she took in shaky breaths then coughed them out again, trying to steady her breathing.

"You get into so much trouble, Liv," he smirked, pulling her close as she wrapped her arms around his neck, still breathing, shakily. "I can hardly keep up with you."

"What…ever," she retorted in a raw voice, making him smile, knowing now that she was really alright.

He stood, easily lifting her in his arms and carried her toward the jump seat to set her down as she nearly breathed normally.

"You stay right here," he murmured, moving her hair from her face to meet her gaze. "I'll get us to our next destination and you can rest up a bit before we head out, yes?"

"Where are we…going?" she wondered as he gently pushed her to lay across the seat, kneeling in front of her with a smile.

"It's a surprise," he smiled, watching her eyes start to slowly close as he stroked her hair, soothingly. "Trust me, Liv. You'll like it."


A/N: because there's always something up with the companions... reviews?