A/N: new chappie! enjoy!

Chapter 10: Ten Years

Olivia watched as the Doctor disappeared and her path was lit by candlelight as she felt control of her body return to her, the presence in her mind disappearing. She stumbled back into the wall behind her as she regained her own feet and shoved off it to launch up the stairs and toward the wall that had appeared at the top.

"Doctor!" she called, pounding on the wall. "Doctor, it's me! Come back!"

She fumbled into her bodice for her Sonic to try using it on the wall.

"Bloody hell! Of all the times for a wall to be deadlocked!"

She kicked the wall in frustration before pounding her fists on it. She squealed in surprise when a hand was suddenly over her mouth and pulling her backwards. She moved to struggle but another hand wrapped around her waist to hold her to the firm body behind her as she screamed into the leather clad hand. She was lifted off her feet and thrown over a shoulder, her gut hitting it and winding her slightly.

"Put me down!" she screamed, hitting his back with her fists as he walked on, unfazed. "My husband is not a man to mess with! He'll serve your head on a silver platter if you hurt me!"

She kicked and flailed and punched his back trying to get away, but it was no use, his arm around her legs held her fast. She shouted in surprise when his hands went to her waist and she was shoved up and onto a saddle, making her frown down at the white horse she sat on in the dim light before looking forward to see who had kidnapped her. Her eyes shot wide as her breath caught in her throat when she was met with a tall man in period formal dress, a cape over his shoulders and a white, full-face mask covering his face.

"He's skittish," he reported of the horse in a raspy tone of voice. "If you struggle, or scream, or yell for help, he'll bolt, and you'll be lost down here forever. Understand?"

Olivia swallowed before nodding and he nodded in return, grabbing the reins of the horse to lead him through the candlelight around them. She held onto the horn of the sidesaddle, adjusting herself in the seat. She glanced around, weighing her options of crying out and making the horse bolt. Even if she did get lost, she knew the Doctor would find her. Taking a chance she gripped the horn as tightly as she could, swung one leg over the saddle to straddle it and kicked its sides, sending it into a gallop and out of the masked man's hand.

The horse seemed to know where it was going as she leaned forward, trying to grasp onto the reins while the animal still galloped through the catacombs, its hoof beats echoing off the stone walls. The horse whinnied, loudly and Olivia cried out when she and the horse were suddenly falling forward, and she was immersed in lake water, trying to swim away from the horse's hooves to avoid being kicked. She struggled to get herself above water as her dress and undergarments weighing her down. She grabbed hold of the horse's neck as it surfaced, pulling her head above water to get in a deep breath as it kicked toward the platform it had jumped off of. She let go of it to hang onto the wall as the animal pulled itself up and she heard him trot off as she caught her breath.

She glanced around the surface, seeing if she could swim through the water and reach a destination quickly. She frowned when her ear caught the sound of wood thudding against stone, making her turn toward it. A boat floated behind her, roped up to the platform and she made her way over to it, pushing herself onto it somehow without capsizing it. She unknotted the rope from its mooring and pulled it into the boat before finding the oars to begin rowing it.

"Arms, don't fail me now," she strained under the effort she made to move the boat through the water.

She didn't know where she was going, or where she might even end up, but at least she was rowing there and not swimming, risking drowning to death from her dress weighing her down. She couldn't help but see the similarities between The Phantom of the Opera and this new adventure, although the Sherlock Holmes was a surprise. Olivia had a feeling she'd be coming across a hidden lair soon, almost hoping she would, her arms becoming tired, shaking as they pushed the oars through the water.

She grunted when she was suddenly pushed forward, the boat halted by a barrier and making her look up with a frown. A large, iron gate sat in her way, and as she sat forward to get a closer look through it she could see a scene that didn't look at all like the Phantom's lair in the movie of the play. Everything was advanced centuries beyond the current present technology.

"I see you've found my hiding place."

The voice made her gasp and jump as she looked to her right to see a staircase near the gate, and the masked man was stepping down the stairs, making her swallow.

"And I didn't even have to force you here. You found your own way here," he observed, lifting a hand and pressing it into a stone on the wall, making it sink further in and the gate started rising. "How convenient. You may row forward, now."

"Do I have a choice?" she shot back, and a chuckle bounced off the stone walls.

"Not really, no," he replied, and she could hear the smirk under the mask in his voice before he turned to head into the lair on the stone platform.

She pushed the boat forward until it came to the small shore where its bow scraped and it came to a stop again, and the masked man stood, waiting for her. He held a hand out to her to help her out of the boat, but once she gathered her skirts up so she wouldn't step on them, she climbed out of the boat herself, brushing past him, and making him give another chuckle.

"Where's Christine?" she questioned, cutting to the chase as she turned back to him, letting her skirts fall as he turned to her, pulling off his cape.

"Safe," he replied, vaguely, stepping toward a seat sitting in front of a computer panel to rest it over the back, then face her with his hands held behind his back. "She's none of your concern."

"I'll decide what concerns me, thank you," Olivia retorted, holding her head high, even though she was sure she looked a mess. Her hair was soaked and coming undone, her hat lost in the lake, her dress sopping, but she didn't care.

"You must give your husband hell," the masked man smirked again, then noticed, "You must not live here, judging by the fact that you haven't even reacted to my equipment here…and your accent, or lack there of."

"I know alien technology when I see it," she replied. "And my husband's the one with the accent. Now, I'll ask again: Where is Christine?"

"As I told you before, it doesn't concern you," he shot back, his voice a bit lower and a bit more menacing as he stepped toward her, but she stood her ground, refusing to be afraid. "What should concern you is what I will do to you."

Olivia laughed, fully at that, acting more confident than she really felt as she smirked, "You won't hurt me. You need me…alive."

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yes, it is so."

"Why?" he questioned, his tone slightly irritable.

"Because if you so much as look at me with malicious intent, my husband will bring down all your plans," she snapped back. "Whatever they are, it doesn't matter, because he won't care. And trust me, he's not a man to be reckoned with. But, if you explain the situation to me, when he gets here, maybe we can help you. But you also have to let me see Christine, just so I know she's alright. If you've let her go of your mind control, as you did me, she's probably frightened to death. She'll need consoling."

"How do you know I put her under my control?" he frowned.

"The mirror took hold of me, or didn't you notice?" she shot back, and she could feel him glaring at her through the mask. "You did the same to her, perfecting it over time every time she looked into that mirror until it was refined enough that you could control her just by using that nine note signal. And when she heard it while she was on stage, when the lights went down, she met you, and you brought her here."

"You're clever," he nodded, then shrugged, "For a human."

"You have no idea," she smirked. "And I haven't even gotten to the part where you're an alien. It's why you wear the mask, isn't it?"

"It is," he replied, warily.

"You can take it off, then," she nodded with a wave of her hand. "I've seen plenty of aliens, your face won't scare me."

He was hesitant before lifting his hands and removing the gloves on them to reveal green skin, making her give a slight frown as she searched her memory for every alien species she'd encountered with green skin. Her eyes moved to the mask as he lifted a hand to pull it off, the wig of black hair coming off with it to reveal more green skin and glowing red eyes.

"You're Cathulian," she murmured, making him frown in wonder. "Last time I met your kind, they were a group of marauders."

"We're just like any other species," he replied, setting the mask and wig down on a panel. "Some of us are marauders, some of us are decent people, others are marooned on a planet falsely charged for crimes committed against their race."

"And you're that last one, I'm guessing."

"Yes," he nodded, looking back at her.

"What was the crime?" she asked in full, honest interest.

"Loving too deeply," he replied, making her frown before he explained, "I fell in love with the wrong female on my planet. A general's daughter. I was just a lowly cadet in the academy, waiting to be transferred into military action. She was betrothed to someone else. Naturally the affair caused quite a stir. I was pulled from my quarters one night, charged falsely with a crime I didn't commit, sentenced to exile, stuffed into a pod and sent through the time vortex until I landed here. That was ten cycles ago. You would call them years. I've been down here, hiding, ever since."

Olivia nodded in understanding before asking, "What's your name?"

"My name back home was Talik," he replied, a melancholy lilt to his tone. "My name here is Tobias."

"Your name…here?" Olivia frowned. "Why did you change it?"

"Only one knows I am here," he explained. "Mrs. Gallagher."

"She wouldn't happen to have a daughter, would she?" Olivia smirked, making Talik frown in wonder before nodding.

"Yes, Meg," he replied. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," she scoffed. "I'm clever, remember? So what was the plan? Why bring Christine here?"

He sighed and lifted his mask and wig to step around her toward a faceless mannequin's head, sitting on the surface of another panel, then reported, "It would seem my heart strays toward the impossible romances."

Olivia understood instantly and guessed, "You brought her here to live with you?"

"To take her away from here," he corrected, looking up at her as realization dawned on her. "It took me some time to repair the pod I was sent here in. I've even fixed the guidance system on it. All I need do is punch in the coordinates and let it fly itself. We could go anywhere, and be happy."

"You really think she'll be happy, Talik?" Olivia asked. "You'll be taking her away from everything she knows. Her home, the people who love her; family and friends. You really think she'll love you for that? You know what that feels like…to be all alone in an alien world."

"It would be different," he insisted. "We would be together."

"You can't use your control over her to make her complacent all the time. Would you have her miserable all the time? Wouldn't you want her to be happy?"

"She will be happy," he growled, marching toward her to loom over her with a menacing stare, but she only glared right back at him.

"Does she even know who you are?" she growled back, unafraid. His red eyes glared down at her before he looked away with a sneer of defeat, making Olivia sigh through her nose and nod. "As I thought. Talik, I can help you. My husband can help you get back home if you want to, or go anywhere you'd like, but you can't take Christine with you. These people can't even handle their own problems, and you're gonna take her with you to space? She'll be completely lost."

"I'll be there with her," he growled again, meeting her gaze as she sighed in defeat, realizing his heart was doing all the thinking. "I can help her, protect her if needs be. I love her."

"And what do you think's gonna happen?" Olivia snapped back. "You take her with you and you two live happily ever after? She'll cry and whine and feel like a prisoner. Stockholm Syndrome doesn't happen to everybody!"

"What syndrome?" he frowned, making her sigh and roll her eyes.

"My point is, taking her against her will is no way to win her love."

"She'll grow to love me."

"Oh, for the love of—! As romantic as this entire thing is, she doesn't even know you! You gotta face the facts! It's going to end badly!"

"I've had about enough of you!" Talik growled, grabbing a hold of her loose hair and pulling her with him as she cried out and struggled to be free, stumbling after him when he pulled her deeper into the lair.

She shouted as she was shoved forward into a room and heard some beeping from the opening of the archway, making her turn and look to Talik as he operated the panel next to the room. She surged forward, but was thrown back as a familiar blue static flared out from where she'd made contact with the forcefield. She pulled her Sonic Screwdriver out of her bodice again and aimed it at the field to shut it down. But it didn't work, making her growl in anger.

"Talik, this won't work!" she shouted as he walked away. "Talik! This isn't the answer! Let me out of here! Let me see Christine! Talik! Talik!"

Meanwhile...

The Doctor, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson followed Meg Gallagher, each with gas lamps lighting their way through the catacombs. Meg took the lead with Holmes behind her, Watson behind him and the Doctor bringing up the rear, his eyes darting around the tunnels, his mind reeling at what Olivia might be going through.

"Stop, Miss Gallagher," Holmes called, making all of them stop and he took a step ahead of her as they stared wide eyes at him and he held the lamp up to see what was ahead. "This is the end of this platform. The stairs lead over this tunnel to the right and to the gate ahead."

"The Phantom's lair," the Doctor murmured, making Watson frown at him.

"Lair?" Watson asked as he carefully made his way around the two.

"Olivia!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the tunnel.

"Doctor, might I remind you that the element of surprise is on our side!" Holmes snarled at him, but the Doctor raced up the stairs to the right Holmes had pointed out.

He hurried after him, Meg and Watson heading up as well and they made their way through the cramped walkway to another set of stairs heading down and the Doctor stared through the gate's gaps, seeing all manner of alien technology on the other side and a small boat shoved up against the shore on the other side.

"Olivia!" the Doctor called again, holding up his lamp to see if she was there. "Don't make it sing it out! This is serious, and I'm not Raoul!"

"Doctor!" her faint call came from within and his eyes darted around until he found her standing under an archway leading to a small room. "Doctor! I'm here!"

"Well, ladies, it seems we have guests."

All eyes shot to the direction of the voice to see Talik, unmasked and holding a panicking brunette, Christine, by the arm as she struggled to get away from him.

"This is indeed an unparalleled delight!"

"Good lord, the lines," the Doctor grumbled. "Liv's probably giddy right now."

"I had rather hoped you'd come, Dr. Felton!" Talik called, and Christine squealed when his hand moved from her arm to pull her close and grab her waist. "And now, my wish has come true. You've truly made my night, sir."

"Free them, you monster!" Watson shouted as the Doctor ushered Meg back up the steps to hide her.

"Doctor, what—?"

"I need you to stay out of sight," he explained in a hushed tone.

"We are only here for the ladies," Holmes called to Talik across the lake, buying the Doctor time. "Hand them over to us, and we will leave you in peace."

"But you won't, will you?" Talik shot back.

"Meg, I need you to be brave and do everything I say, when I say it, and stay here," the Doctor whispered to her. "Do you think you can do that?"

"I can try," she nodded, nervously, making him grin and gently touch her cheeks.

"Good girl," he whispered.

"You'll take Christine from me and lead the police to me," Talik continued as Meg gave a small, shy smile and the Doctor stepped back out into view to look past the gate at Olivia.

"I'm only here for my wife," he called, stepping ahead of Holmes. "Release her to me, and I'll do what I can to help you."

"Ah, the famous Doctor Felton," Talik mocked. "The man not to be reckoned with. Not really the sort of man I expected from her description of you."

"Nothing is ever as it seems," the Doctor retorted. "For instance, I'm a Time Lord from Gallifrey, my wife is a human from the future, and that huge boulder over there is actually an escape pod which you plan to use to, well…escape in, yes?"

"Your husband is clever, Olivia," Talik smirked, still holding onto the struggling Christine. "You were right. But he hasn't found the mechanism to raise the gate yet."

"Oh, you mean…this mechanism?" the Doctor smirked, holding out an arm and leaning forward onto the stone that lifted the gate.

Talik's face fell as the gate rose and the three men ducked under it to race across the stone platform against the wall of the cave. Talik gripped Christine tighter and made his way toward the boulder the Doctor had revealed as his escape pod while she kicked and flailed, trying to escape him.

"Liv! Stop lolly-gagging!" the Doctor scolded as he ran past her.

"There's a bit of a forcefield in my way, dear," she shot back, making him skid to a stop as Holmes and Watson ran past him and he pointed his Sonic toward her. "Tried that. Deadlocked."

"I don't have time for this!" he snarled as he turned to the other two as they reached Talik and Christine leaning on the pod. Holmes and Watson stopped when Holmes spotted the edge of a huge trap door where Talik stood on the other side of it. The Doctor aimed his Sonic at the gate, lowering it, making Talik panic and growl in anger. "Meg! Don't let him out!"

"Yes, Doctor!" she called back, revealing herself on the platform and leaning on the gate to look in on them.

"Nowhere to run, Phantom!" Holmes nearly snarled, holding a hand toward them. "Hand over Miss Davenport, release Mrs. Felton, and you will not hear from us again."

"No!" Talik shouted, making Christine scream in fright as the Doctor made his way to the two, ready to put himself between them and the Cathulian if needed. "Can I not have one thing – one! – that is mine?! I loved Leosi, and I was taken away from her! Now you wish to take Christine from me! I won't let you!"

"Talik!"

All eyes shot to Olivia as she still stood, trapped in the room, staring at them through the archway.

"Let her go…and take me."

"What?" Talik breathed.

"What?" Holmes and Watson chirped together with frowns each.

"What?!" the Doctor snapped.

"This isn't about Christine," Olivia explained. "Talik, you're lonely. You've been here, on your own, for ten years, pining over your lost love. That would drive anyone insane. I've been there. I know what you're feeling. But kidnapping her is not the answer. So take me instead, and I promise…I'll be the best companion you could've ever had."

She felt the Doctor grasp their telepathic bond, but didn't hint at it.

"Olivia Lydia Felton, what in the hell are you doing?!"

"Trust me, my love."

"I will once you tell me what's going on!"

"Let her go," Olivia pleaded, trying to ignore the angry glare from the Doctor.

Talik stared around at them, then at Christine, who kept her gaze away from him as he thought before he looked back to the three men and nodded. Without a word he dragged Christine with him toward the men, pushing past them to get to Olivia, using his free hand to punch the code into the panel to drop the forcefield. He grabbed Olivia's arm and held her close before releasing Christine who bolted for the gate.

"Watson, see to Miss Davenport," Holmes instructed, and Watson nodded, heading around Talik and Olivia to go after Christine.

The Doctor watched Talik pull Olivia back toward them. He knew he was keeping her close for insurance, making sure he got away. His eyes met Olivia's and she grinned with a wink, making him frown incredulously at her. She looked to the floor as she was dragged toward the pod, seeing the crease of the trap door Holmes had noticed…and she had noticed it earlier when she first entered.

"Vatican cameos!" she called, and the Doctor grabbed Holmes to pull him back as Olivia shoved a confused Talik toward the pod, over the crease, and stomped as hard as she could on it.

The crease parted farther, causing Talik to lean on the pod as it sunk down a bit, before dropping completely. Olivia sighed and turned to Holmes and the Doctor with a grin…but the celebration came too early. Talik had been able to grab hold of the edge of the death drop below, and he grabbed her ankle to pull her into the hole with him.

"Olivia!"

The Doctor launched forward before her hand disappeared and grabbed a hold of it to hold onto her as she dangled over the dark hole below them, Talik trying to pull himself up and out. Talik reached down and pulled something from a pocket, holding onto the edge with one hand, the other aiming a blaster right at the Doctor's head as he tried to pull Olivia up. The Doctor stared wide eyes at Talik, meeting his glare before a foot smacked Talik's blaster out of his hand, making Talik look up at Holmes in surprise before he received a shoe to the face. He shouted as he fell down the huge hole, Holmes kneeling to help the Doctor pull Olivia up and out.

"Thank you, Sherlock," the Doctor strained under Olivia's weight until she was completely out and they all sat, panting in exhaustion. The Doctor frowned to Olivia as she leaned back on her hands and she met his gaze with a frown of her own before grinning when he asked, "Vatican cameos?"

"Jack used it once," she shrugged. "Has a nice ring, doesn't it?"

"Do you even know where that phrase came from?" he asked as they all stood and made their way back toward the gate as the Doctor gestured to Meg to open it, Watson consoling Christine as she sobbed against him.

"Jack told me," she nodded with a smirk, wrapping her arms around one of his.

"Where do you suppose that drop leads?" Holmes wondered, his steps slowing as he looked back, and Olivia and the Doctor could tell he was curious enough to head back and examine it.

"Too far to investigate," the Doctor replied as they reached Watson, Christine and Meg. "I say we get back up to the surface and assure the world that Miss Christine Davenport is alive and well."

"I concur, Doctor," Holmes nodded, smirking at Watson as he still consoled Christine, then turned to Meg. "Perhaps there is a way we may block all the entrances to this underground maze and leave all this…marvelous technology to rest?"

"Or," the Doctor drawled, drawing their attention to him, as he smiled, "We could move it all to Baker Street for you to examine?"

"Would this not influence the course of history, Doctor?" Holmes wondered.

"Oh, I trust you and Dr. Watson to keep a secret," the Doctor grinned, giving a wink to Olivia as she shook her head at him with a smile. "We'll sort it upstairs, eh?"

"Yes, I think we could all use some fresh air," Olivia nodded in agreement.

A/N: I couldn't resist using Vatican Cameos! I mean...Sherlock Holmes and Benedict Cumberbatch as the Doctor...it was a perfect storm. I found out what it means: its a military term originating in WW2 for everyone to duck. don't believe me, look it up on urban dictionary, lol. reviews?