Kathryn continued in vain to free herself of the shackles around her wrists. She had examined them, as well as the ones around her ankles, and found small keyholes on each. The actual shackles were so rusty and beaten up, she still had hope that the more she struggled against them, the sooner they would loosen and she'd be able to free herself eventually.

She tried once more, but they still held fast. She cried out in frustration and lowered her head. It was near hopeless. Both she and Sarah were being wrongly accused of stealing these 'Stones of Life' from the Grom and it didn't seem they were willing to believe them. If only she hadn't left the cottage in Cornwall. Hell, if only she hadn't been so unreasonable with Jamie in the first place. She certainly had her share of the blame in this whole thing.

An idea hit her and she straightened up. Perhaps if she got more information from them, she and Sarah could somehow negotiate with the Grom into letting them go. She realized it was a long shot, but at the moment it was all she could think of.

Standing, she approached the front of the cell and grabbed hold of the bars. Out of the corner of her eye she found Sarah regarding her curiously.

"Hey! We wish to speak to you!" she called.

"Save your breath," Sarah told her bleakly. "I've tried that already. They won't listen. The only time they come here is to dig information I don't have out of me, or to give me what passes for food down here." She shook her head. "I'm sorry I ever touched that wretched thing."

Kathryn uttered a humorless chuckle. "You're sorry you touched it? I'm sorry I ever fancied it in the first place. If only Jamie had just ignored it."

"If only we'd known about it's true identity."

Kathryn nodded. "Right. Then we wouldn't be stuck awaiting our doom in this … whatever this place is." A realization suddenly dawned on her. "Have you any idea where we might be? I mean, in terms of what's on the surface?"

Sarah shook her head. "Not a clue. I've no idea how far they dragged me after they knocked me out. We might not even be anywhere in the vicinity of England anymore."

Kathryn frowned. "I assume someone had grabbed you as they did me. What were you doing leading up to that?"

"I'd stayed later than usual at HQ and was driving home. I must have been less than one-quarter of a mile away when my car got a flat. I went out to examine it when somebody grabbed me."

Kathryn's mouth fell open in surprise. "I was in Cornwall, on my honeymoon with Jamie. We'd ..." She stopped abruptly and shook her head. She really didn't wish to go into sordid detail about what had transpired. "I'd taken a walk near our cottage when someone had grabbed me from behind. I felt something hit my head and I …" She paused, looking around. "... Woke up here. Wherever 'here' is."

Sarah gazed at her sympathetically. "Jamie must be so worried." Another thought seemed to dawn on her. "I wonder how long I've been down here. It has to be at least a day or two." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh goodness, the Doctor and UNIT must be worried sick. And Harry, what must he be thinking?"

Kathryn regarded her curiously. "Harry?"

Sarah chuckled weakly. "Yes, Harry. He's been acting as though he's quite taken to me. A lot of flirting and all that. I found it quite annoying at first, especially the way he calls me 'Old Girl' or 'Old Thing.'"

Kathryn couldn't help but laugh. What an odd couple of pet names.

Sarah had soon joined her. "I know, he's got a funny way of showing it." Her laughter faded and her expression became wistful. "But I admit it's endearing. He's got his own way about him and I can tell he cares for me. I've grown to like him as well."

Kathryn suddenly felt a pang of guilt eating away at her. She had no reason to be jealous of Sarah at all. She clearly liked Harry, and it seemed she was quite aware of Kathryn and Jamie's love for one another.

With a renewed focus, she was determined to defend Sarah to the Grom. "When do you suppose these … Grom … will be back?"

"I don't know. I would expect it wouldn't take much time for them to decide our fate," Sarah replied grimly.

Kathryn nodded. "Well, whenever they get back, we'll be ready for them. They are not going to have us put to death." She turned back around, her eyes steely with resolve. "Not if I have anything to say about it."


"So, you see? My speculation was right all along," the Doctor declared at last, mouth widened in a triumphant grin. "The samples obtained in Cornwall and in the area from which Sarah disappeared are a perfect match."

Jamie nodded as the Doctor related his findings to him and the UNIT personnel. The traces of the 'enriched carbon compound' found on the underside of the stone had also been found in both groups of the samples. Jamie wasn't exactly sure how good a thing this was, but the Doctor seemed quite excited, so it had to be at least a start.

"So, there's an obvious connection between both areas," the Brigadier said.

"Very good, Brigadier," the Doctor smiled. "Yes, and that leads me to deduce that the disappearances of both Sarah and Kathryn are linked together."

Jamie furrowed his brow in confusion for a brief moment until a realization dawned on him. His gaze flew over to the stone sitting amid all the Doctor's equipment on the bench. Could the stone be what was connecting them?

"Y'know, when Kathryn an' I had that fight in Cornwall, she asked if I'd given the stone tae Sarah."

This seemed to get the Doctor's attention. "Well, did you?"

"No, I didnae," Jamie insisted. "Sarah had seen it an' kept talkin' aboot it. She liked it so much an' so I let her look at it for a while. She kept holdin' it up to the window an' sayin' how pretty it was."

The Doctor frowned. "Well, she should not have done that. As beautiful as it is, I had half a notion there was something wrong with it when you'd first brought it here."

Jamie quirked an eyebrow at him. "Aye, but Doctor, how could any of us have known what it was then? I thought it a wee simple stone when I found it in the garden."

The Doctor sighed. "I know, Jamie." He gazed at the stone for a moment. "This energy signature is quite interesting. The fact it was found where both Sarah and Kathryn were makes me wonder if it had been imprinted on both of them somehow."

Jamie's eyes widened upon another thought suddenly occurring to him. "When we were in Cornwall, Kathryn an' I had visited the ruins of Tintagel Castle. We met a lass who said somethin' aboot Kathryn having some unique energy." He then shrugged. "At the time we thought she was jus' daft."

The Doctor got a faraway look in his eyes for a moment and then met Jamie's gaze. "And in any other circumstance I might be inclined to agree. But it's quite possible this energy signature was imprinted on her and this woman picked it up."

Jamie nodded thoughtfully. "So where does that leave us now, Doctor?"

The Doctor sighed. "Well … We've got further confirmation on this energy signature and that this little stone is more than just that. It's something powerful and it could mean a lot to someone, somewhere."

"But it doesnae gets us any closer tae figurin' out where Kathryn an' Sarah are," Jamie finished in frustration. "Doctor, we'll never find them."

The Doctor looked at him in shock, as if he were surprised to hear Jamie speak that way. "Since when are you the eternal pessimist?"

Deep down, Jamie knew the Doctor's reaction wasn't a surprise. The Jamie who was hell-bent on helping them escape the Time Lords, the one who had faith they would succeed at whatever impossible task before them … Obviously the Doctor would be shocked to hear him speaking this way. But given the desperate situation with his good friend and the love of his life being missing, Jamie couldn't help it.

He sighed and his gaze dropped to his hands. "It's my fault Kathryn is gone. An' it's my fault Sarah Jane is gone. If only I hadnae paid that stone any mind in the first place, this wouldnae have happened an' they'd both be safe an' sound."

"You don't know that, Jamie," the Doctor replied. "Perhaps Kathryn herself could have found it and taken it. She might have disappeared anyway."

Jamie looked up at the Doctor blankly. Perhaps he was right, but he didn't want to deal with hypothetical situations. The fact was that both lasses were gone, and it was his fault. There was no changing that.

Jamie returned his gaze to the table and his jaw set in anger as he looked upon the stone. "Ye wee troublemaker!" he suddenly exclaimed. In a flourish he grabbed the stone and threw it onto the floor.

"Jamie, no!" the Doctor cried.

In an instant, a bright, multicolored beam that lit up the room emanated from the stone, followed by a steady beeping sound. Jumping back, Jamie gazed at it, slack-jawed. The display resembled the way the colors had lit up the stone whenever they held it up to the light, but to an even greater extent.

"What the devil is that?!" the Brigadier exclaimed. He quickly approached it when the Doctor held his hand out to stop him.

"Wait, wait," he said, crouching on the ground and studying the stone. After a moment a grin spread across his face, as if he had discovered something. "Well, I'll be."

"What is it?" Jamie asked.

"I believe it's a homing beacon," the Doctor replied, never taking his gaze off the object. "And I believe it may be the very thing we need to help locate Sarah and Kathryn."


Kathryn looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. She and Sarah had tried to craft a diplomatic strategy to ensure their release, but the obstinate nature the Grom had presented thus far didn't give them much hope it would succeed. How she would give anything to see Jamie again. The chances of that happening were nearly nil, however.

The expression on Nathar's face – what little she could discern from it given its shriveled state – helped instill within her a drop of hope. Perhaps he would hear them out.

She blinked as she found a female beside him. Tall and thin, she had high cheekbones and dull green eyes. Her long, straight, gray hair resembling straw tumbled down her back. She wore a dark green floor-length gown that was quite elegant along with several pieces of attractive jewelry. Her right hand gripped what appeared to be a ceremonial staff of some kind made from a silver-colored metal with a dull, bluish-gray stone set in the top. She seemed to command some sort of authority, given her dress, demeanor and expression.

"We have heard you," Nathar addressed them. He then turned to the female at his side. "This is our leader, Alizodon."

Kathryn and Sarah smiled awkwardly and bowed their heads.

"You may rise," Alizodon ordered them coldly, her voice like sandpaper. Straightening up, Kathryn offered them an apologetic expression. "Why is it you wish to speak to us?"

Kathryn regarded them incredulously. "Well, for one, to try and prove ourselves innocent," she replied firmly.

Sarah nodded. "We've tried to explain how the stone came into our possession, but you wouldn't even consider our side of the story. You just made up your minds we were guilty!"

The two Grom merely stood, listening.

"My mate had found your stone and we didn't know what it was," Kathryn began. "He showed it to a friend of ours, a very knowledgeable man."

"Yes, you might even call him a wizard," Sarah interjected with a smile.

"Enough of this!" Alizodon's voice boomed. "I do not care about such details."

Kathryn's eyes narrowed angrily until she realized this leader undoubtedly had the final say in their fate. Her face softened into a contrite expression and she mouthed, "Sorry."

Sarah took over. "I had seen the stone in our friend's laboratory and was just curious about it. I picked it up and looked at it, and that was all. I set it back down, went about my business, and left to go home. It was then that I was kidnapped and woke up here." She scowled in their direction.

"You see? She wasn't the one who had stolen it!" Kathryn insisted. "No one had stolen it! We had just found it." Another fact dawned on her. "Wait a minute. You said the beacon had picked up on Sarah. In the lab."

"Yes," Nathar replied, nodding slowly.

"But that's not where it was to start with. Why hadn't you picked up on me earlier when we'd first found it?"

Nathar briefly turned to a curious looking Alizodon before addressing them once again. "I can only conclude the beacon had some sort of malfunction. If this stone was in your possession first, it should have picked up on you. However, it did find you, eventually."

"Well, obviously," Kathryn said under her breath. She had been to HQ to see Jamie at various times in the recent past, so this was no surprise.

"Anyone who comes into contact with the stone is imprinted with its energy signature," Nathar continued. "That is how we were able to locate you so precisely."

"Then why not Jamie –er, my mate? Or the Doctor? Why haven't you taken them?" Kathryn asked accusingly.

"For reasons we cannot comprehend, the homing beacon and imprint of its energy signature achieve more favorable results with females than males."

"Oh, great," Sarah murmured sarcastically.

Alizodon's stern expression seemed to have some desperation lurking within it. "We have an urgent need to retrieve the other stone," she told them. "We require its live-giving force. Without it, we will all soon die. It needs to be returned to us."

"We would like to help you, but how can we return it to you if you've got us held captive here?" Kathryn asked, getting more frustrated by the minute. "Even if you did let us go to bring it back, we can't be sure it's still in the Doctor's laboratory."

"You will tell us where it is," Alizodon demanded. "Or you will die."


Seated next to the Doctor inside Bessie, Jamie stared absentmindedly at the passing scenery. The Brigadier, Benton and Harry were following them in a jeep. The stone with its homing beacon active, they had taken it outside to the area where Sarah had disappeared. The Doctor had proposed studying the strength of the beacon's signal between the area in which they had found Sarah's hair clip and the location of the wooded path in Cornwall. It seemed like quite an undertaking, especially given the distance, but the Doctor seemed sure it would lead them to her and Kathryn.

The Doctor had mounted the stone on top of Bessie's dashboard and throughout their journey it had maintained at least some sort of signal, implying they had to be on the right path.

"D'ye think this'll work, Doctor?" Jamie asked. "I mean, d'ye think we'll find Kathryn an' Sarah?"

The Doctor neglected to answer him. He suddenly noticed the signal coming from the stone growing stronger, the series of beeps becoming louder and steadier. Jamie was just about to gesture towards it when the Doctor suddenly slammed on the brake.

Jamie winced as he heard what sounded like the screeching tires of UNIT's jeep behind them. This was followed by their radio crackling to life. "What do you think you're doing, Doctor?" the voice of the Brigadier barked. "You nearly sent us into a spin!"

"Never mind that, Brigadier," the Doctor told him. "I believe I've found our location."

Jamie watched him climb out of Bessie and followed him. He turned to find the UNIT men joining them by the side of the road.

The Doctor looked around, squinting. "I believe we're roughly halfway in between both locations." Holding up the stone, he inched towards the grassy field bordering the road. The signal seemed to grow even stronger. "This way," he directed them.

Without a word, Jamie followed as the Doctor strode determinedly through the thick grass. The signal had grown stronger still and the Doctor stopped to gaze at their surroundings.

Jamie followed his gaze, squinting in the sunlight. Not finding anything out of the ordinary, his face fell. Could they really have come all this way for nothing?

He was about to say something to the Doctor when something in the grass suddenly caught his eye. It appeared to be a sort of disturbance, as if there were a hole that had been recently covered up.

"Doctor, look!" Jamie cried, pointing in its direction. Not waiting for the Doctor to arrive, he rushed over to the area. He briefly gazed down at it and then looked up to see the Doctor had joined him. The stone was in his hand, and its signal was coming in even louder and stronger than usual.

A sly smile spread across the Doctor's face as he took a small stick and began poking at the area. "Well, well. What have we here?"

"Have you found something, Doctor?" the Brigadier's voice broke into the Doctor's radio.

"Yes, get over here quickly," the Doctor replied briskly.

Jamie turned to find them rushing over. The Brigadier and Benton both stood, looking at the area curiously as Harry sat down on his haunches.

"What is it, Doc?" Benton asked.

Picking up the stick once more, the Doctor resumed poking at the ground with it. A decent amount of the dirt had fallen away, revealing the beginning of a hole just big enough for a person of petite stature to fit.

Jamie felt his jaw drop.

"That, my dear Benton," the Doctor began with a grin, "is our ticket to solving this mystery and finding Sarah and Kathryn." He then stood up and turned to the Brigadier. "Bring the spades, will you?"

The Brigadier nodded to Benton, who rushed back to the jeep to collect the tools.

"What the devil is down there?" Harry asked, his eyes transfixed on the hole. "I can't even see anything."

"We've only broken through the first couple of feet or so," the Doctor replied. "I'm certain we'd have to dig quite a bit more in order to hit the level where they're being held."

Jamie turned to him, brow furrowed. "'Held'? Wha' do ye mean, Doctor?" A sudden thought came to him that made his blood run cold. "Ye think they're bein' held prisoner?"

"Not entirely, Jamie. But as I mentioned earlier, this little stone is so powerful, it must mean a great deal to someone. If it's an object of worship especially, its disappearance would not be taken lightly. They may have assumed Kathryn or Sarah had stolen it."

"Och, great," Jamie uttered dryly. A feeling of dread welled up inside him and threatened to make him ill.

"Really, now, Doctor, that's preposterous," Harry cut in. "All Sarah or Kathryn did was look at the stone. Perhaps picked it up and held it for a short time. How could anyone assume their aim was to steal it?"

"That is quite rational of you to put forth, Harry," the Doctor muttered, gazing down at the hole once again. "Unfortunately, not every species on Earth or otherwise would see it that way."

Jamie nodded grimly. Having traveled with the Doctor for such an extended period of time, he could vouch for that. Still, it didn't make him feel any less uneasy about Kathryn and Sarah's fate. What if they had been hurt? What if they were about to be executed?

His worries getting the better of him, he suddenly looked down and held the back of his hand to his mouth, trying to hold back the urge to vomit.

He felt the gentle touch of a hand on his shoulder and realized the Doctor must have noticed. The feeling of nausea passing, Jamie turned to look at him.

"Have no fear, Jamie," he told him, a calm, reassuring smile on his face. "We will get them back. If you're ever going to have faith in me, let it be over this."

Jamie took a deep breath as he studied the Doctor. He reminded himself he had no reason to doubt him. Recent regeneration aside, the Doctor had made quick work of that nasty robot business and had rescued Sarah. He had always come through for them. Heck, he had saved Jamie's life more times than he could count. True, the young Scot had more to worry about now as both her and Kathryn's lives were in danger, but the Doctor's hunches and deductions had been right thus far.

A faint smile began tugging at his lips and it broadened as he watched the Time Lord return his smile. "Aye. All right, Doctor," he replied softly.

The Doctor's smile widened as he patted Jamie on the shoulder once again. They both straightened up as the Brigadier and Benton rejoined them, carrying four spades. The Brigadier gave them out and they each set to work on digging.

"This dirt is quite fine-grained and soft," the Doctor said as he dug one corner. "If we keep up this pace, I believe we shall hit bottom in no time."

Jamie nodded as he joined them in digging. Perhaps then they would finally rescue Kathryn and Sarah. He didn't want to get his hopes up, of course, but for once he'd felt a spark of optimism that had been long gone.