Four sets of footprints embedded into the sand led away from the TARDIS, which was standing alone along the coastline of Aquaria's only landmass, to a rocky shoal, where the Doctor, Rose, Jack, and Solaris were all gathered, deciding on where to begin the search for the third artifact. Jack, clad only in a pair of black swim trunks, took a seat on one of the rocks next to Rose, who was wearing a hot pink bikini top with a red floral sarong, and had to fight back a laugh at how only he and Rose had really bothered to change. The Doctor, of course, was still in his trademark leather jacket and jumper, while Solaris had only shed her waistcoat, leaving her in a cutoff shirt and the patched trousers.
"Hey, Solaris," Jack called over to her as she began walking down to the very end of the shoal. "We all know Doc here can't show much fashion sense in the places where a change of wardrobe is necessary, but that doesn't mean you have to copy him."
"Well, maybe I like the way I dress," Solaris snapped without even bothering to face him. "Or do you have a problem with me being myself, too? What else about me do you have a problem with?"
"Whoa!" Jack gaped, taken aback by the outburst. "What brought that on?"
"Actually," the Doctor looked over at Solaris in sympathy, "I think she's still upset about her people placing exile on her for the second time."
"Oh, yeah," Rose and Jack shared a glance, indicating they were both feeling bad for the alien thief.
"Well, then," Jack's devious grin returned. "Maybe she needs a bit of cheering up." Before anyone could say anything to stop him, Jack slipped off into the ocean, diving down beneath the waves. For a few moments, he completely disappeared from sight, but then without any warning, he burst up again, right where Solaris had been sitting, and pulled her down into the water. As Solaris fell under the ocean's surface with a startled shout, Jack broke out laughing, followed by Rose. The laughter died, however, when Solaris didn't resurface again.
"Solaris?" Jack called out, suddenly growing nervous, glancing over at Rose and the Doctor, who both looked equally fearful for the exiled N'renyan's safety. This wasn't good. What if she'd hit her head on the rocks when he pulled her in? Being unconscious and being underwater was not a good combination. Right when Jack was about to dive back down to see if he could find her, something latched onto his leg and dragged him under the ocean surface.
"Jack!" Rose cried as the former time agent disappeared as well. She started to hurry forward, but as her feet came into contact with the ocean's surf, the Doctor leapt forward and pulled her back, keeping a protective hold on her, in spite of her struggle to help their friends. If there was something in the water that had gotten hold of Jack and Solaris, he couldn't risk Rose's life as well. Loosing the others would be a terrible loss, but to loose Rose as well?
Just when the Doctor was about to start reasoning with Rose, or at least trying to, Jack burst up out of the water, gasping for breath. Seconds later, Solaris also appeared, but unlike Jack, she kept herself mostly submerged, with only the top of her head visible, and everything from the tip of her nose downward remaining underwater.
"Solaris, what was that about?" Jack scolded after he regained his breath. "We thought you were…." Before Jack could continue, Solaris brought the rest of her face up out of the water, squirting Jack's face with the water she had been holding in her mouth and started laughing in enjoyment. It wasn't long before Jack was laughing along, and the two instantly broke out in a splash fight.
"Oi, come on then," the Doctor stepped in, breaking up the playful battle between Jack and Solaris while fighting a grin of his own. "Enough of that. You can play around later. Don't forget, we have an artifact to find."
"Well, from the looks of the size of this island," Jack spoke confidently, as he and Solaris rejoined Rose and the Doctor on the beach," this should be the easiest one to find. There probably aren't many places where it could be hidden."
"Unless it's somewhere out there," Solaris commented, gesturing out to the vast reaches of Aquaria's massive ocean before wringing out her neon blue hair. "Not sure about the rest of you, but I can only hold my breath for about a minute."
"We just have to hope it's not," the Doctor replied, his voice light. "After all, we've come too far now. There's only the amulet and the coronet left to find."
"It's still strange, though," Rose spoke up, a distant look on her face.
"Something up, Rose?" Jack asked as he, Solaris, and the Doctor all turned to her.
"Well, I just couldn't help noticing," she continued. "Usually, when you've got a set of items, they're identical. But these artifacts we've been collecting…. Has anyone noticed that the identifying arrangement of stones is always slightly different on each artifact? The center stone is always a different color. On Karnack's ring, the stone was this orange-red color, but on the knife, it was milky white, and the belt's stone was green. Why aren't the center stones the same color?" The four companions fell into silence, thinking about Rose's observation, and if it was of any significance. However, their thoughts were interrupted when they heard an Aquarian native approaching, obviously in the middle of a conversation with another native.
"My dear comrade, canceling is simply out of the question," the first native was saying. "The Harvest-time Trials have always preceded the start of our harvest season. It's been that way since the days of our great grandsires' grandfathers."
"And how are we to have the Trials to begin with?" The second native delivered his argument. "With our reprehensive team recovering from caput mortuum fever, they're in no condition to participate.
"The solution is simple. We'll just have to find another group to stand in them this year."
"Where, may I ask, are we to find the correct number of competitors to take part in the Trials as stand-ins?" As this question was asked, the humanoid natives who had been speaking emerged from the island's dense vegetation and stepped out onto the beach. By all appearances, they were identical in every sense, right down to the shoulder length dark brown hair and deeply tanned complexions. The only difference between them was the color of the face paint they were wearing. The first Aquarian had blue face paint in a thick streak over the bridge of his nose, while the other had red stripes painted over his cheeks. Upon noticing the Doctor and his companions, they both froze and stared in amazement for a long moment. Right when the group was starting to grow uncomfortable with being stared at in that manner, the two natives hurried over to them in visible excitement, talking almost at once.
"The Ancients be praised! Your timing could not be better, friends."
"It's as if you were sent here specifically to aid us in our time of need."
"Oh, yes, well…" the Doctor started to attempt an explanation to the two natives, but was interrupted before he could begin.
"Please, follow us both to our village, good visitors," the red-face-painted native spoke. "I am called Shor, and my comrade is my brother Shok." As Shor spoke, he and Shok began to shepherd the quartet back along the way they'd came to the beach. "As we have said, your timing is fortunate.
"This island is home to two different species. We are of the Anaphu, living on the eastern half of the island. On the western half, dwells the Umepha. Our tradition is to have the Harvest-time Trials at the beginning of the harvest season, in which four members from each species are chosen to compete. But this year, the members of our reprehensive team have all unfortunately come down with caput mortuum fever, and are unable to compete."
"That is where you four come in," Shok took over in the explanation. "Each team needs four participants, and since your number is four, you are ideal for the task of standing in."
"Oh, no, I think you've made a mistake," Jack spoke up. "We came here looking for something. So, we really don't have much time to enter in some tournament."
"But you must!" Shok beseeched. "Umepha has won the Harvest-time trials for nearly ten years running! If you don't agree to stand in, the Anaphu will loose by default."
"If that happens," Shor added, "then our people will not be able to regain possession of the sacred Amulet of Nine Stones." The moment they heard this, the four companions stopped in their tracks.
"What did you say?" Rose gaped. "The…Amulet of Nine Stones?"
"Yes, that's right. It's been the tradition for countless years that the sacred Amulet of Nine Stones is awarded to the people of the team who win the Harvest-time trials. For the past nine years, the amulet had remained with the Umephas. That's why it's so important for us to win this year. If the Umephas win the Amulet of Nine Stones again this year, it will become theirs permanently."
"If that happens, we will have to spend the next ten years as the Umepha's personal slaves, as is dictated by the Ancient Rites."
"Shor, Shok," the Doctor began. "About this amulet. Would it happen to have a large central stone, surrounded by eight smaller ones?"
"Yes, it does," Shok confirmed. "A central stone as blue as the ocean. But how did you know?"
"Never mind about that," Jack waved away the question. "Are you saying that, if we stand in and compete in these trials, and we win against the Umephas, then we also win the Amulet of Nine Stones?"
"That is correct." The Doctor was quiet for a moment, thinking.
"Please, excuse us for a moment," he finally replied. "We need to talk about this for a moment." Shok and Shor nodded in understanding, and stepped back to allow the four companions to talk in private.
"Well, it sounds like it's the amulet we're looking for," Solaris mused.
"Problem is," the Doctor frowned, "how long do these trials go on for? They might go on for days. We've already used up almost two weeks searching for the knife and the belt, and we still need the coronet, if this really is the amulet we're looking for. For all we know, the trials could use up all of our remaining time, and we won't make it back in time to trade the artifacts for Rose's antidote."
"But if we don't compete," Jack counter-argued, "Then we wouldn't get the amulet at all, and Karnack won't give us the antidote anyway."
"Don't have much of choice, then, do we?" Rose asked, meeting the Doctor's eyes.
"No," the Doctor agreed softly, reaching out to grasp her hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "I suppose we don't." With a supportive smile, which she returned, the Doctor turned back to Shok and Shor.
"Okay, then. My friends and I will stand-in for your team in the trials," he announced.