The Doctor and Jack came through the TARDIS door to find Cara staring at the control console in consternation.
"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked.
Cara frowned, "The TARDIS won't go."
The Doctor sighed and moved to see what she'd been doing. Then he, too, frowned, "You're right, she won't."
"I guess I didn't tell you why I needed rescuing," Jack said from behind them. He lounged comfortably on the bench, "as far as I can tell, we're all stuck here."
"We're stuck in the caves?" Cara groaned.
"Didn't like them, huh?" Jack asked tauntingly, "that's okay, they'll change soon. Probably to something even less pleasant."
"Change?" the Doctor stopped fiddling with the TARDIS to give Jack an arm-crossed glare, "I think we'd better hear it all, Jack. If you know what's going on…"
"I don't know much," Jack admitted, "I've been here for a few weeks and all I've been able to figure out is that everything out there can change at any moment. It seems to pick particularly nice vacation spots like caves, dungeons, demon worlds. Anyway. I can't find a way out, and neither can anyone else I've met here."
"There's other people stuck here?" Cara asked.
"Yeah, I've run into a lot, actually," Jack scratched at his head thoughtfully, "all kinds of people and creatures. Most of the ones I met when I found myself here are gone now. People are always vanishing and being replaced with new ones. I was beginning to think they were all part of this illusion until you got here."
Cara was quiet. The Doctor looked baffled, "How did you get here?"
"Uh," Jack looked away, "well, we found this device of unknown origin…"
"Typical Torchwood," the Doctor growled, "messing with things you don't know enough about."
"Where is this device?" Cara asked
"Back at HQ," Jack shrugged, not meeting the Doctor's eyes, "as far as I can tell, it only sent me. I tried sending a distress beacon, but so far, no one's found me. I don't even know what planet we're on."
"The TARDIS said it was 1960s Earth when we landed," Cara replied.
"It probably was," the Doctor muttered.
"Yeah, actually," Jack smiled deliberately at Cara, "that was what it looked like, anyway, just before the caves. Seemed kind of strange coming on the heels of the apocalypse."
The Doctor had turned back to the console, "the TARDIS must have picked up that beacon you sent. That must be a strong signal, what've you got powering that thing? Never mind that, what did this 'unknown device' look like?"
Cara scrutinized the TARDIS controls, "I think that we need to focus on the unknown device that's keeping the TARDIS here. We might need to do some exploring."
"Bad idea," Jack exclaimed quickly, "in the weeks I've been here, I've been killed at least a dozen times, maybe more. And while it's not permanent for me, you guys might run out of second chances pretty quick."
Cara blinked, "one moment, I'm an ancient being with multiple lifetimes ahead, the next, I'm a mere mortal again."
"How many lifetimes?" Jack asked curiously.
Cara sniffed, "a lady never reveals her age."
"Well," the Doctor winced at the TARDIS controls, "I can't find any clues from in here. Looks like we'll just have to take our chances."
Jack's brow furrowed, "don't say I didn't warn you."
Cara grinned and was out the door before anyone else could speak.
"Yep," Jack nodded to the Doctor, "she's definitely a Time Lord."
