The dull ache where her neck and upper back met beginning to intensify, Kathryn groaned. She and Sarah had each been tied to tall, narrow columns in what appeared to be a courtroom of sorts. A reasonable facsimile of a judge's bench was situated some twenty feet before them. Her current distress involved a large hole mere feet in front of them both. It was about five feet in diameter and was covered over with thick netting of some sort.

She couldn't believe they were now here, awaiting some cruel punishment. Given the hole in front of them, she assumed they'd both be thrown into what was most likely a deep pit with spikes at the bottom. Could the Grom really be that sadistic? The cynic in her would not be surprised, although she had not been expecting them to be lenient enough to give them a trial instead of executing them outright. Still, they had seemed so convinced that she and Sarah were guilty, she assumed the 'defense attorney' position was purely ceremonial.

She gazed around the dimly lit room as far as the confines of her rope bonds would allow. To each side there were groups of Grom spectators, a mix of male and female humanoid figures of different ages and sizes. Their expressions ranged from curiosity – perhaps bordering on nosiness – to hostility. Some uttered cries of 'Thief!' and had tried to spit on the women, something which made Kathryn grateful for the distance between them and the crowd. She and Sarah had tried to defend themselves, but there was no point. Based on their decrepit appearance and seemingly weakened physical state, it was no wonder they were desperate to get this stone back in their possession. Kathryn might have had more than an ounce sympathy had they not been so convinced of her and Sarah's guilt. If only they would free them and allow them to try and find the stone.

Right. As if the Grom trusted them enough to begin with – let alone at all!

Before she could fret on it further, a chant had gone up among the crowd. She couldn't make out the words, but it sounded like some ceremonial something-or-other. It grew steadily and she watched as several Grom whom she assumed to be court officials had entered the room, followed by Alizodon wearing a dignified expression on her face despite her outward frailty as she clutched her staff.

As she approached the bench, she took her position as judge and made a sweeping gesture with her arms, an apparent signal for silence. The chanting having ceased, she lowered herself onto her seat and nodded to the two officials who stood on either side of the bench. The one on Kathryn's right was assumed to be the prosecutor. Impressive in stature, he appeared to be a rather dour-looking individual who did not suffer fools gladly. At one point he had turned to regard her and Sarah in an almost scornful manner.

"We shall now begin the trial," Alizodon announced.

Another Grom stepped forward whom Kathryn hadn't noticed before. From his ramrod posture and strict demeanor, she guessed his position was similar to a bailiff. "Calling the first witness, Chief Scientist Nathar to testify!"

Kathryn turned and found Nathar approaching the bench. The 'bailiff' had recited some sort of official-sounding gibberish, to which Nathar simply nodded. He turned to address Alizodon.

"My Lady," he began with a slight bow. He then turned to address the spectators. "Fellow Grom. I am here to present testimony as a witness regarding the most distressing disappearance of one of our two Life Stones."

"Chief Scientist Nathar," the prosecutor began rather grudgingly. "It was you who had discovered the second Life Stone missing. Is this correct?"

"Yes."

"When was it that you first noticed it missing?"

Nathar seemed to take a moment to think. "Several cycles ago," he finally replied.

A frown knitted Kathryn's brow as she listened to him. Several cycles? Perhaps 'cycles' was their measure of weeks? It would certainly fit in with the time frame of when Jamie had first found it in their garden.

"Please detail for us – to the best of your ability – the circumstances upon which you noticed it missing."

Nathar nodded. "Once I had woken, I noticed how uncharacteristically dark the lair had grown. I was quite concerned there was a problem with the Stones, and so I had approached the platforms in the Resource Chamber."

"And you found the second Stone missing. Correct?"

"Of course." He then turned to face Kathryn and Sarah, his expression unreadable. "It took some time to activate the homing beacon inside the first Stone but once it was achieved, it led me to discover the whereabouts of the second."

"And where was it located?"

"In some facility on the surface much like a laboratory." He pointed to Sarah. "Female Alpha was seen possessing the stone."

Kathryn did not miss the indignant expression on Sarah's face in reaction to her new moniker.

"What did you witness her doing with it in her possession?"

"She appeared to be holding it and studying it."

The prosecutor nodded. "And it is your belief that she had stolen it?"

Nathar turned to face the women once again. "Yes." There were murmurs of discontent from the spectators which grew louder until Alizodon tapped her staff on the ground, quieting the din.

Nathar then gazed pointedly at Kathryn. "However, I was later informed by Female Beta that she and her mate had found the stone previously. I now believe the beacon suffered a malfunction of some sort and had not found Female Beta earlier. She did however become imprinted with the energy signature, as demonstrated in our ability to locate and capture her."

Kathryn's eyes narrowed and she angrily set her jaw as she met his gaze.

"Erm, excuse me, my Lady," a meek voice which sounded as dry as dust interrupted, addressing Alizodon. Kathryn's gaze shifted to a short, rotund man wearing a small set of spectacles who wheezed as he hurriedly approached the bench. From his position she assumed he was the 'defense attorney.'

Alizodon and the rest of the court turned to him curiously. The sheepish smile he gave them seemed to indicate he wasn't very prepared and Kathryn felt a seed of dread begin to germinate deep within her. This Grom had been assigned to defend them and her first impression of him didn't instill much confidence.

"You say you witnessed Female Alpha with the second Stone in her possession, holding it and studying it. From what you observed, would you believe she had done any harm to it?"

All eyes, including Kathryn's, were now on Nathar. He hesitated for a brief moment and then shook his head. "No, I do not."

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kathryn breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you believe she had any intention to do harm to it?" the defense attorney continued.

Kathryn reopened her eyes, gazing almost pleadingly at Nathar. He didn't seem to notice, however.

"What does that matter?" Nathar returned, his tone incredulous. "They were both involved in stealing it. They have done great harm to us, the Grom!" He approached Alizodon. "Look at us, my Lady! Look at yourself! We are dried husks of what we once were! Each fraction of a cycle I feel my life force draining! Do you not feel the same?"

Alizodon stared wordlessly at him. He turned to face Kathryn and Sarah once again, his expression dark and vengeful. "Because of these, we all shall soon be dead! It is my firm belief they have taken the second Stone with the intention of keeping it from us!"

Kathryn's mouth dropped open in shock and she shared a look with Sarah.

"We object!" Sarah shouted, turning back to the others. "We've told you over and over, we had no intention whatsoever of stealing this Life Stone! We had no idea what it was when we first saw it! And what's this 'Female Alpha and Beta' business? We've got names, you know!"

"Silence!" Alizodon shouted. "You shall speak only when you are directed to do so!" She nodded to the defense attorney. "Please continue.

The law officer appeared to have been caught off-guard and nodded awkwardly. He turned to address the remainder of the room. "Erm, I …" He suddenly coughed. "Excuse me."

Kathryn eyed him expectantly, waiting for him to make some statement of brilliant jurisprudence that could turn the tables in their favor.

If she were waiting for such a statement to come, she was fooling herself. Instead, he merely stared at them all, looking much like he'd been stricken with a bad case of stage fright.

Lowering her head, Kathryn groaned. If they were going to be freed, it would be nothing short of a miracle./p

Jamie, I'm sorry for everything I said to you. I'm sorry my actions caused me to end up here. How I wish you knew where to find me.


The Doctor blinked as he looked around, trying to adjust his eyes to the bleak, dark conditions of this new underground setting. It had taken quite a bit of time for them to finally break through to the bottom, but they'd still done so sooner than he had expected. He was also glad they had come armed with torches. Switching his on, he gazed at their surroundings and was surprised to see what appeared to be a rather elaborate network of corridors. Upon further examination, it seemed they had been sculpted out of a sort of finely-packed dirt. His brow furrowed as he drew closer to a support column and ran his hand over it, studying the material.

"Hmm," he muttered. "They must have developed some sort of binding agent to make it sturdier."

"Doctor, it appears to be a series of … dwellings," Harry mused. "Like some crude underground city."

The Time Lord looked up in the direction of his voice. The young man was right. The area to which he was gesturing was comprised of something akin to a row of crude houses. Their architecture consisted of a mix of this sturdy material, bits of wood and even glass. "Yes, Harry. I wonder what sort of civilization we're dealing with here."

"Er, Doctor, don' ye think we should try tae find Kathryn an' Sarah? Can we no' leave this for later?" Jamie asked impatiently.

Turning, the Doctor refocused his eyes on the young Scot. The poor boy was gazing at him, eyes widened in desperation. The Doctor felt like giving himself a good swift kick in the arse. If such a thing were physically possible …

"Yes, of course, Jamie," he replied, eyeing him apologetically.

"How will we even know where to begin searching?" the Brigadier piped up. "These tunnels could go on for miles."

For a moment the Doctor was at a loss for words. That is, until his gaze dropped to the beam of light coming from his jacket pocket and he heard the muffled, steady beep within.

"Well, I doubt we have far to go," he said, shining his torch along the walls. "The homing signal is picking up on their signatures." He grabbed the stone and held it aloft for emphasis. "The fact it's still going strong means they're not far away."

"I hope ye're right," Jamie told him. The tone of his voice was far from optimistic.

The Doctor frowned. "Now, Jamie, what have I told you about -" The sound of a loud, booming voice up ahead stopped him in his tracks. The corridor had veered slightly to the right some thirty feet ahead and the voice was coming from that direction. "Let's see what's going on there."

He placed the stone back in his pocket and took several steps forward. The others followed and soon Jamie was right beside him. He caught the young man gazing curiously at the Doctor's pocket, as the muffled signal from the stone seemed to be getting even stronger. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but the Time Lord thought he saw a spark of hopefulness in Jamie's eyes at one point.

The voice led them to a large sort of chamber. Studying the interior, the Doctor discovered it was set up much like a courtroom and it appeared a trial was taking place. He slowly stopped next to the doorway and peered inside, trying to stay out of view of the interesting-looking inhabitants. They seemed humanoid and their clothing was similar to that worn by humans a thousand years ago or earlier, but their outward appearance made them look like living mummies.

His curiosity grew as his gaze fell upon two women tied to columns before the judge's bench.

"Gentlemen, I believe we may be witnessing some justice being meted out here," he muttered, his gaze never leaving the proceedings. He struggled to make out exactly what was being said. Perhaps if he moved closer ...

"Er, Doctor ..."

The Time Lord recognized a note of dread in the Brigadier's voice and looked over to find he had moved to the far edge of the room. It seemed his vantage afforded a better view of the proceedings. Nodding to Jamie, Benton and Harry, they quickly joined him.

The Doctor finally recognized the accused and felt his jaw drop.

Quickly turning to Jamie, he watched the young man's expression of overwhelming relief quickly morph into one of sheer horror.


Jamie struggled to fight back tears as he laid eyes upon Kathryn and Sarah. He was beyond relieved to have finally found them, but seeing them tied up like this awaiting some sort of punishment made the reality of the situation finally sink in. The notion of their lives being in grave danger was more pain than he could bear.

"I have listened to the charges filed against Female Alpha and Female Beta," the withered old woman – heck, they were all withered – who seemed like a judge began. Jamie scowled in her direction. 'Female Alpha' and 'Female Beta'? What kind of business was this?

"I have listened to the witnesses and to the account presented to me by the defense," she continued. Jamie had zoned out a bit as her speech contained a lot of official gobbledygook that sailed above his head. He tried to pay attention to anything that sounded like charges being leveled against the girls. Despite the judge's raspy voice, he was able to pick out the words 'theft', 'contempt', and 'attempted murder.'

Jamie's eyes widened upon that last charge. "Eh? They're not murderers! Doctor -"

"Jamie, shhhh!" the Time Lord hissed. He signaled to Jamie to wait until the judge had concluded her statement. Jamie regarded him incredulously. If they'd been charged with murder, it didn't look good at all.

"Having considered all of the arguments, I am prepared to offer this sentence to the accused."

Jamie felt his heart pounding in his chest as the judge slowly picked up a scroll and appeared to be reading it. The young Scot wondered why she was taking her sweet time and nearly wanted to rush up to her, grab the scroll and read the sentencing himself.

"I find the accused guilty of all charges: theft, contempt, and, most importantly, attempted murder."

Jamie's stomach performed a somersault as he heard cheers coming from the crowd. Eyeing the huge pit in front of both women, he felt even sicker.

"They shall be put to death by being dropped into the pit." She gestured to the large opening. "Remove the nets!"

Jamie turned desperately to the Doctor. "C'mon, Doctor, we've gotta get them out of there!" he cried.

"Indeed, Jamie. Now is the time to put my little plan into place."

Jamie merely stared at him, face contorted in confusion. How could he be so calm given what was happening right in front of them?

The Doctor seemed to pick up on his confusion and a sly smile spread across his face. "For you see, I've got something up my sleeve. Or, rather, inside my pocket." He stepped forward into view of the participants, raising a finger to get their attention. "Excuse me!"

You could hear a pin drop in the room as all eyes turned to them. The Doctor began to take a few steps further into the center of the room and Jamie caught his surreptitious nod, gesturing for him and the Brigadier, Benton and Harry to join him.

Jamie watched him nervously for a moment before taking a step forward. He briefly looked about the room, feeling his skin crawl as he noticed all these strange creatures staring at them. The young Scot felt like kicking himself for overlooking the obvious. Of course, the stone. But would simply returning it be enough for the Grom if they were so convinced it had been stolen? With Kathryn and Sarah's lives at stake, he really hoped the Doctor knew what he was doing.


Kathryn had been struggling against her thick roped bonds when a very familiar voice from the back of the room made her freeze. Hearing the sound of footsteps in their direction, she turned her head and witnessed a tall man approaching. Despite the low light it didn't take long for her to recognize him and her eyes widened in shock.

The Doctor.

No, not just the Doctor. There were several others with him: the Brigadier, Warrant Officer Benton, Harry Sullivan, and … Jamie!

Kathryn felt tears flooding her eyes as she gazed upon him. Oh, Jamie. Her heart overflowed at the sight of him.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Alizodon suddenly shouted. Standing, she pointed accusingly at them. "Who are you?!"

"We are friends of the accused," the Doctor replied evenly. "What may I ask are you doing with them?" His tone was disarming but firm.

"They have stolen one of our precious Life Stones! We cannot live without them!" the dour prosecutor exclaimed, sounding quite offended. "They must be put to death!" Murmurs of assent stirred within the crowd in reply to his assertion.

"Och, look, they didnae steal it!" Jamie interrupted in frustration. "If ye're gannae blame anyone for yer stone bein' missing, blame me!"

Kathryn felt her eyebrows nearly leap off her forehead once she heard this. She also witnessed the Doctor turning to Jamie, regarding him in shock.

Jamie stared down both the prosecutor and Alizdon, his jaw set angrily. "I'm the one who found it. If ye gotta put anyone tae death, let it be me!"

The sounds of exclamation coming through the crowd weren't enough to make Kathryn miss the next exchange between the Doctor and Jamie.

"Jamie, are you certain you want to do this?" the Doctor had asked him incredulously.

Jamie gave him a brief, pointed stare before nodding his head. "Aye. Doctor, ye know as much as I that neither Kathryn nor Sarah Jane deserve tae die. I'm the one who found it. I'm willing tae go in their place."

Kathryn's eyes filled with tears as she watched Jamie turn around and meet her gaze for a split second, the love for her in his eyes unmistakable.

"Jamie, no," she pleaded softly, aware he most likely couldn't hear her but saying it nonetheless. The fact he would suggest sacrificing himself for her and Sarah touched her in ways she couldn't even measure, but the proceedings thus far demonstrated Grom's sense of justice was indeed warped. Heaven forbid they would entertain Jamie's plea.

"No one is going to be put to death!" The Doctor suddenly exclaimed over all the commotion. In a split second, all eyes in the room were on him once again as he shook his head with a smirk. "You see, I'm afraid I can't let you do that," he said.

Kathryn's attention was divided between the Doctor and the challenge of undoing the knots in her ropes. She had been fortunate enough to find some slack in it after the Grom had first tied her and Sarah to the columns. Whomever had done this had no business making knots, and she couldn't be happier for it. She had succeeded in unraveling one knot; now she was left with one stubborn, smaller one.

"And why is that?"

Just a bit more … almost got it ...

"Because ..." the Doctor began. He reached into one of his pockets and held up an object. Kathryn paused to see it was the stone.

There was a collective gasp from the room.

"I believe this is yours," the Doctor said with a grin.

Ah, there it goes!

Kathryn sighed in relief as the ropes' final knot unraveled. Knocking away the ropes, she tested her newly freed arms, wincing slightly as the strain from being wrapped behind the column had taken its toll somewhat. She quickly glanced at the rest of the Grom. They seemed too overcome with shock over the Doctor's revelation to notice she'd freed herself. With that to her advantage, she rushed over to Sarah and quickly untied her as well. The other woman acknowledged her gratefully and they both rushed over to join the Doctor's group.

Not wishing to startle him or make a scene, Kathryn approached Jamie quietly. "Jamie!" she whispered. He appeared to have been studying the Grom but suddenly turned at the sound of her voice. His face was the picture of complete surprise.

"Kathryn," he whispered back.

Before he could say anything else, she grabbed him and hugged him tightly. Goodness, she never thought she would see him again. When she'd first caught sight of him, he appeared so haggard. She couldn't imagine how worried he must have been.

She shifted her gaze just slightly to find Sarah rushing up to the Doctor, hugging him as well. She then suddenly let go and grabbed Harry, hugging him in a flourish. Kathryn felt herself smile at his reaction: a bit taken aback at first but replaced by a beaming smile as he held her close.

"Is it really you?" At the sound of his voice, Kathryn turned back to Jamie. "I mean, how did ye -"

"I was lucky the Grom who tied me up must have done the knots blindfolded," she smirked.

The corner of his mouth briefly twitched into a lopsided grin before a frown knitted his brow. "Eh? The Grom? That's wha' these things are called?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "And the judge is their leader, Alizodon."

Speaking of which, the leader herself finally seemed past her shock and was eyeing the Doctor curiously. "Where did you find it?"

"In our garden," Jamie piped up, pointing to himself and Kathryn. "I'd no idea how it got there or what it was. Ye see, we didnae steal it. We thought it a pretty stone an' nothing more. We didnae know it was so important to ye."

"Yes, and he had brought it to me to study," the Doctor added. "One thing that puzzles me some is why you thought Sarah and then later Kathryn had stolen this Life Stone of yours. Evidently, you had picked up on both of them at different times in the vicinity of my laboratory. Yet that was not where it had been originally found." His tone had turned mildly accusatory.

Kathryn watched as a somewhat chastened looking Nathar approached. "It would appear the beacon experienced some sort of malfunction, and we hadn't picked up on … Sarah and Kathryn … until later."

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully.

"If what you say is true and you did not steal the Stone," Nathar continued, addressing Kathryn and Jamie. "I do not know how it had made its way into your garden. Both stones are usually set into their platforms in the Resource Chamber."

"Resource Chamber?" Harry questioned.

Nathar nodded. "Yes, it is the chamber where all the energy of our lair is concentrated." He appeared to think for a moment and his eyes narrowed. He then turned to Alizodon. "My lady, I am beginning to suspect a thief in our midst."

Cries of shock were heard from the crowd once more until Alizodon loudly tapped her staff on the ground, effectively quieting them.

"Wait a minute," the Brigadier suddenly spoke up, gesturing to the stone in the Doctor's hand. "Why would one of your own wish to steal this? You just said it would mean the death of your people. Surely the thief wouldn't be that suicidal? Or suicidal in his stupidity as the case may be?"

"Perhaps an animal could have stolen it? Grabbed it and scampered away with it?" Harry offered. "That might explain how it made its way to the garden."

"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find an animal large enough to carry something like this," Benton returned with a grin.

"Mebbe a boar?" Jamie said.

Sarah regarded him incredulously. "What? Here?"

"Of course!" Nathar suddenly interrupted.

"Eh? Ye think it was a boar?"

"No! It just occurred to me," the Chief Scientist replied, sounding as if he'd been gifted an epiphany. He turned to Alizodon. "The Crimball. I now believe it was their doing."

Alizodon appeared startled at first by his statement, but her eyes soon widened in apparent realization. "Yes. I am starting to understand now, Nathar," she said.

"Excuse me?" the Doctor asked as he approached them. "Who may I ask are the Crimball?"

"They are a species quite like our own," Alizodon explained. "In fact, they emspan style="text-decoration: none;"were/span/em us until – for purely selfish reasons – they decided to break off from us and form their own society. They reside in a lair much like our own, but they are also capable of living above ground. They have not needed to rely on the Stones as we do for our life force, but I would not put it past them to use them as bargaining chips." Her eyes narrowed angrily. "They have been adversaries of ours for generations. It is possible one of their spies could have sneaked inside and stolen the stone."

"Sir, if I may?" Benton suddenly cut in.

"Yes, Benton," the Brigadier replied with a nod.

Benton turned to Alizodon."This Resource Chamber where these Life Stones are kept. Is it well-guarded?"

Alizodon stepped down from the bench and directed the 'bailiff' to keep order. "This way," she said, gesturing for them to follow. Kathryn shared a look with Jamie and Sarah before follow the Doctor and UNIT men out of the room.

Passing the cells where she and Sarah had been kept, Kathryn felt a shudder go up her spine. Jamie seemed to notice and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

They soon stopped in front of a medium-sized room with no door. "This is it?" the Brigadier asked. "Not even a door?"

Nathar nodded. "Yes. I am usually in this vicinity during most times, but there never seemed to be a need to have a guard. If this is the work of the Crimball, It is likely they could have exploited this oversight."

The Doctor gazed at them sternly. "I think perhaps you'd better get more security for these Life Stones if they are so important to you." He handed the stone to a shamefaced Nathar who then approached the empty platform, placing the stone upon it.

At once, the stone emitted a humming sound and a glowing light spread outward. Kathryn regarded it fearfully, unsure of what it would do. She found similar reactions among Jamie and the others.

Alizodon, however, was smiling. "Fear not," she told them.

The light passed over them and Kathryn heaved a sigh in relief. Rather, it had concentrated itself on Alizodon and Nathar. Kathryn watched in amazement as the light washed over them and seemed to be growing within them, transforming them from the hideous, frail looking beings they were ...

… Into something quite beautiful. Their grayish-tan, dried out skin was now smooth, youthful, and a brilliant aquamarine color. Alizodon's eyes were a haunting purple and her royal blue hair resembled silk. She had stunning, high cheekbones and an attractive smile. Nathar himself now resembled a man of thirty, with bright, green eyes and light green hair.

Kathryn merely stared at them, transfixed. She was nearly taken aback at how beautiful the Grom truly were. A brief gaze at the surrounding area revealed it had brightened up much as well, allowing the impressive architecture of their lair to be fully seen. Kathryn took particular interesting in the intricate patterns carved into the hardened soil and clay walls.

"Oh … my," the Doctor uttered, googly-eyed as he took in the sudden changes.

Alizodon appeared amused for a moment. She smiled and inclined her head in a nod. "Yes. You are now witnessing us in our true form," she declared, her once raspy voice as smooth as honey. "Strengthened by the life force from the Stones. For generations upon generations, they have sustained not only us, but our environment as well." She gestured to Nathar, who had begun extinguishing the candles and lanterns all around them.

"Well, your true form is quite lovely," Harry spoke up, some leftover awe in his voice.

"Aye," Jamie agreed. They had begun to head out of the room and Kathryn joined them.

"Our thanks to you for returning the Stone. I must apologize for the way you were treated." She gazed contritely at Kathryn and Sarah. "Being near death, we were desperate. Something of this magnitude has never occurred to us before."

Kathryn turned to Jamie who frowned as his eyes briefly darted over to her. "Perhaps ye should think aboot guarding those things a wee bit more closely in future."

Alizodon nodded. "It shall be done." She smiled again. "As a peace offering, we wish to prepare a banquet for you. Are you sure you cannot stay?"

The Doctor appeared ready to accept the invitation, but Sarah held up a hand to stop him. "Oh, no, we really can't," she spoke up, a bit of forced regret in her tone. "We need to get back."

The Time Lord slapped a quick smile on his face and gave them a slight bow. "Thank you all the same." He then nodded to the others and they began heading back the way they came, their ultimate destination being the surface.

As they left, Kathryn turned back to find the small, mousy defense attorney approaching Alizodon.

"You wished to see me, my Lady?"

"Yes. Defense Officer Waldom, I wish to inform you of a job for which I believe you are most qualified."