Hi guys, I'm so sorry I haven't updated for a very long time. I've been suffering with severe depression, work overload and consistant stress about my current situation. I've wanted to write and I have ideas on what to do but the words are simply not going onto the page. I really want to write the best I can at this current point in time and so I've had to split up Venvilia into parts so that I can actually update and show you guys what I have so far.

I really hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think. Your messages/reviews really make my day. Thank you for sticking with this story too.

Cold.

That was the first thought that came into Willow's mind as she stirred awake.

A shiver went down her spine as she lifted herself off the wet floor. The sound of a large mass of water hit her ears as she looked around in the darkness. She was outside. She wondered if the Doctor had managed to get them out.

"Doctor?" She was met with silence besides the occasional splash of water.

In the distance, small fireflies were unmoving. They surrounded her and she squinted her eyes. They were not what she thought they were. It had been the city's light at a distance.

Remembering that the city had a lake in the middle with a tree in the center, Willow turned on her heel and walked until she could feel the familiar sensation of bark on her fingertips. Not noticing the spark of gold flicker where her fingertips touched. Why, they had decided to put her on the small island, she had no idea.

Willow could barely see whilst squinting her eyes into the darkness around her but from the silence, she unconsciously knew that she had been left alone with no one around.

The first thoughts flooded her mind asking where the Doctor was. He was supposed to be with her. Would she meet up with him again? Was she left here to rot for spectators to see at a distance? Would she never be able to see her grandmother or father again?!

A sob escaped her as she felt her legs give way. Her back slid down the tree and she felt the base of the tree under her hands.

She wanted to go home. She wanted Theta safe as a child. She wanted Koschei to not be angry with her. Would she ever be able to go back to normality at some point? Or was this the end of the line for her. Was it time for her to see her mum again?

Warmth flooded her wrist where the vortex manipulator rested. As she turned to look at it, the device cooled. No sooner had the thought of disappearing from this planet entered her mind, did she let it fade. She couldn't leave. She had no idea where the Doctor was and he may need her. She leaned back into the tree, feeling it's warm bark press against her shoulder blades as she thought about the best way of escaping this island she was on.

Try.

An unfamiliar feminine voice encouraged.

"Try what?" Willow heard herself ask but the voice didn't return. She repeated her question.

Willow was met with more silence and she slapped her hand on the grass by her side.

"I can't believe I've already gotten to the stage of talking to thin air! Why isn't this device even working?! Hello!" She yelled into the distance. "I thought I was going to be with Theta! Shouldn't I be sent off now?! How can I get back to him?!"

After a minute of being met by silence, she let out an exasperated huff and jumped to her feet.

"Well, I guess the only way I can get off is to try and swim." She took a few steps to the bank and squinted her eyes to observe the waters ripples further out. It looked like it was going to be a rough swim. "I best say my prayer now." She added before taking off her socks and shoes.

As soon as she had slipped into the water, the lake seemed to grow more animated and the ripples became stronger. Thoughts of her years as a child joining swimming school filled her thoughts. She had never been good at swimming. Even after her mum had taken her to the school twice a week for a year. Willow was the strongest at swimming doggy style. She was never been cut out for the sport.

As though the lake had heard her thoughts, the ripples became strong enough to make Willow struggle to stay afloat. It was as though the lake was trying to push her down, however there was no rain nor any extreme weather that could be affecting the lake.

It was only until she was a fifth into her journey did the lake retaliate further. Something long, and slippery wrapped itself around both her ankles and Willow could feel the strength of whatever it was trying to pull her down. She let out an audible gasp before being pulled into the depths of the lake below.

oOo

Barring one singular window in his room, the Doctor was left isolated with only the thoughts of Willow in his mind. How could he have easily allowed them to be separated like that? He knew she was young. He shouldn't have been so caught up in Rayford's activities and disregarded her. After the events of the forgotten year on Earth, he had made a promise to himself that he would never put her in harms way again. Not after what had happened to her.

Since their separation, no one had given the Doctor any inkling as to where Willow could be. He had been sent to the basement of their building and into a room that could only be classed as the most lavished of cells. This had told the Doctor one crucial thing. It meant he knew that Willow was still safe. Rayford needed him. His theory had been confirmed when the sun had set and moonlight flooded through his window. It was night and the rumblings had increased during his time being held up.

It wasn't long before the President had graced the Doctor with his presence yet again. This time however, he had tried to produce an air of authority around him to try and intimidate the Doctor. Unbeknownest to him, the Doctor remained unthreatened.

"Doctor. Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot."

"Where's Willow?" The Doctor demanded. His voice was stern and sharp, causing Rayford to flinch back slightly. Rayford's confidence diminished.

"She's around." Rayford answered evasively. The Doctor's eyes narrowed slightly as he read Rayford's body posture. Rayford continued uncomfortably. The air around him had changed and voice was on the verge of desperation. The Doctor had noted that Rayford was a desperate man, in way over his head. "As far as I'm concerned, I can consider this as a measly misunderstanding." The Doctor's eyes hardened as he continued to stay silent, allowing Rayford to continue to talk.

"You're right. We're at war with the planet. Everything had been fine up until one of my men decided to try and get rid of that blasted tree in the center of the city-"

"You." The Doctor interrupted. "Until you decided to get rid of the tree."

Rayford flinched again and fumbled slightly which further confirmed the Doctor's deduction. Rayford cleared his throat before continuing. Nerves were starting to get the better of him.

"Y-yes." He confirmed. "Yes, you're right." He fumbled with a pen that he found in his pocket to try and quelch his nerves. "However, the planet decided that enough was enough and started to attack us. We've retaliated to try and get the planet to leave us alone but it has just made things worse."

"Of course it has. To the planet, you are nothing more than fleas. You're an invasive infestation on it." Rayford ignored the Doctor's words and continued to speak.

"We need to stop the planet Doctor. There are so many lives at stake." The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm not going to kill the planet so that you can take over it." The pen dropped from Rayford's hands and frustration filled his face. He was a desperate man that was at the end of his tether. He knew that the Doctor was his last chance and the Doctor's refusal just infuriated him even more.

"Then she can die too!" The Doctor leaned forward, his demeanor darkened and rivaled Rayford's anger.

"Harm even a hair on her head and I will make sure that you regret it." Rayford visibly flinched at his words.

"Unless you help me Doctor-" His words were cut short by the Doctor.

"Don't even think about trying to threaten me Rayford!" Before Rayford could respond, footsteps echoed the hall which caused both men to turn to the sound. A young soldier, no older than his mid-twenties had arrived in a hurry. Panic on his face no matter how much he tried to mask it.

"Sir!" The soldier had greeted. "Permission to speak, sir!"

"What is it Clive?!"

"It's the girl, Sir." The room fell into a sickening silence save for the soldiers deep intake of breaths from rushing over to Rayford. Rayford's hair stood on end and he felt his heart quicken. He hadn't needed to turn his head to feel the Doctor's eyes bore into his skull. The anger radiating his cell could've easily burnt him alive if he had, had that ability to do so.

"Well?! Spit it out, man!" Rayford's voice had turned unnaturally high as he tried to compose himself.

"We went to do our routinely check on her to -to see how she was doing." The soldier faltered, knowing that his career was down the line for being the unwilling volunteer to provide the information. "However, when we used the Nachtsicht Seven goggles to check, she wasn't there."

"Well, where is she then?!" Rayford's voice bellowed. The Doctor had noticed the soldier's body stiffen slightly at the tone of voice but he bowed his head.

"We think…" the soldier paused as he tried to choose his words carefully. "Either she slid into the lake unconscious or she woke up and tried to escape and drowned." His voice quietened as he reached the end. Rayford swung his arms exasperatedly.

"You think?! I didn't hire you to think man!" Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Doctor stand from his chair and straighten out his jacket before standing up and rummaging through his pocket. He flinched as the Doctor pulled his hand out, presuming he had a weapon of some kind but he frowned on when he saw a laser pointer get pulled out. Before Rayford could ask what it was, the Doctor had already approached the door and lasered the hinges. A loud beep echoed the room and Rayford was left stunned when the Doctor opened the door and walked out.

"How did you-" the Doctor cut his words off.

"Plans changed. You wanted my help, well you've got it. I'm not letting Willow die because of your selfish gain." Rayford stuttered in shock before the Soldier directed his attention to him.

"But sir, she's-" The Doctor placed his screwdriver back into his pocket before answering the soldiers unspoken assumption.

"I don't believe for a second that she's dead yet but she will if I don't do anything now." The Doctor turned to Rayford. "I need you to tell me everything about what's happening and I don't want you to miss out any details."

"Y-yes, of course!" Rayford stammered, it was his turn to be nervous in contrast to the soldier. He had an inkling that if anything happened to the Doctor's companion, he would be paying that price. "Please come to my office." Rayford beckoned as he led the Doctor back up to the top floor of the building, the earlier events forgotten.

oOo

"What are these?" The Doctor asked as he was handed files by Rayford as he sat across his desk.

"Plans, Strategies, you name it." Rayford started as he opened a file of his own. The Doctor remained silent as he started the skim the documents. "We've been wanting to expand Doctor. With that lake not allowing us to do anything but swim across it and with our fertility rate increasing, we're running out of space."

"As I told you before. You're just fleas on this planet, and it's allowing you to stay on here. Why not emigrate or grow upwards. Better yet, find another planet. You humans are great at spreading yourself around the universe."

"We wanted to create a new Earth, Doctor." The Doctor sighed and threw the files down on the desk before crossing his arms and placing his feet on the desk.

"Why are you all so obsessed with Earth. It's been gone thousands of years. No matter how many more versions you make of it, it doesn't change the fact that the original Earth is finished. Gone. Ka-boosh! You've probably found the most beautiful planet around and yet it's not good enough for you. You have to try and change it to fit the invasive species. No wonder the Planet is trying to get rid of you now." The Doctor paused and it was as though the gears started to turn in his head. Thoughts filled his mind at his words and faster than Rayford could blink, the Doctor pulled all the documents out of all the files and gave them all a scrutinizing look. No word ignored on the papers. "Now. But why now? What has changed…I doubt you attacked the tree like you said you had. There are no weapons around it, the tree doesn't look like its making any attempt to attack you and it barely looks scathed. It's something else..." Rayford paused at the Doctor's words and he tightened his hands on a file. The Doctor had noticed this and snatched it from him. Within seconds after skimming, the Doctor looked up at Rayford in fury.

"You've been napalming land to extend the city?!" Rayford's face turned a sickly white and the Doctor's voice rose. "You've been killing thousands of lives! No wonder the planet is angry and fighting back! Every tree, every leaf has a microorganism for independent life on this planet and that's what makes this place so special, every strand of grass is alive and you're killing them!"

Before Rayford could speak, a loud siren echoed the room and seconds later, there was a loud bang and the building had started to shake yet again.

"What is that Rayford?! It's not an earthquake!" Rayford grabbed onto his desk and took a deep breath. He was a man way out of his depth, a cowardly leader desperate to improve the lives of his city regardless of the consequences. He shakily pointed at the window that was next to them that overlooked the city.

The Doctor shakily stood regardless of the building's movement and slowly moved to the window to take a look.

Below was something had been dreading to witness.

A part of the wall that had been surrounding the city was crushed by a strong, thick oak tree and vines, grass, leaves, branches along with animals that were inhabiting them were extending into the city. The Doctor had been able to see this amongst the sea of fire from the flamethrowers that all the soldiers hand in their hands. A singular tear fell from the Doctors eyes as he looked on, recalling a similar distinctive war that had had partook in before that had led to his own kind being killed. One thing was certain, this was something that had to be stopped. Today, he was left with no choice. Today this war would end. No more.