The Best of all Possible Worlds (Torchwood/Firefly)
Title: The best of all possible worlds
Author: Netgirl_y2k
Recipient: enterincolor
Fandom: Torchwood/Firefly
Characters: Jack, Gwen, Ianto, Rhys, River
Rating: PG
Spoliers: Through Exit Wounds
Summary: Did Sir enjoy his stay at the zombie apocalypse?
Jack’s limp was nearly gone by the time he got back to the hub; his skin itched where his flesh had recently been bitten and torn. His coat was missing the right arm, and that pissed him off.
The underground door rolled back and as soon as Jack entered Ianto stepped smartly up behind him and helped him out of his ruined coat. “Did Sir enjoy his stay at the zombie apocalypse?”
“Not especially. The weather was awful and the other guests kept trying to eat me.”
“I thought that would have been exactly your kind of holiday, Jack.” Gwen’s comment would have been more light-hearted if she wasn’t in the process of lowering the machine gun she’d been pointing at Jack in case he’d shown any signs of wanting to kill and eat them. Behind her Rhys followed his wife’s example and lowered the crowbar he was holding. That’s good; if Gwen will insist on having him in the hub then at least he’s house-trained.
“I want to talk to our guest,” Jack said.
*
“River,” Gwen called gently. The girl in the cell was curled in a corner, arms around her legs and cheek resting on her knee. “River?”
Jack, who’d been killed seventeen times getting the girl down to the cells, didn’t agree with Gwen’s softly, softly approach. “River!” he barked.
“Oh. Hello, Death.”
“Tell me about the zombies.”
“Not zombies,” the girl said, uncurling and drawing her upright. “Reavers.”
“Reavers?” Rhys interrupted.
River broke eye contact with Jack and started babbling in Chinese. Jack sighed, centuries of life and he’d never learned Chinese.
*
“Is there anyone alive up there?” Gwen asked, the next time Jack returned from the surface.
“No,” said Jack. And soon enough it wouldn’t be a lie, there was nobody up there who wouldn’t be better off dead. “I’m going to talk to River.”
“Maybe she’s nothing to do with this,” Gwen said, “Maybe we’re wasting our time.”
“Oh, yeah,” Ianto chimed in. “Total coincidence, Day One: Crazy girl falls through the rift, Day Two: Zombie Apocalypse.”
“She has a name for them,” Jack said, ending the argument. “She knows something.”
*
“They used to be men,” was the first thing River said about the Reavers aside from their name.
“That doesn’t matter to me,” said Jack.
“It mattered to the man in the blue box.”
*
“I don’t think you should be going up there again,” Rhys said as Jack made sure his gun was fully loaded in preparation for another trip to the surface.
“You don’t want to ever eat again, then?”
“What if you get infected?”
“We’ve been taking precautions,” Ianto pointed out.
“Stopping Jack in the doorway and asking him of feels an overwhelming urge to eat any of our brains isn’t exactly a reliable precaution,” said Gwen.
“Yes, because how would you define an overwhelming urge,” joked Ianto.
“Enough! They’re not zombies and they don’t have a virus. They used to be people.”
*
River was lying on her back, counting aloud the cracks in the ceiling of her cell; she stopped and said, “I’m sorry about your brother.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Simon’s dead.”
Jack didn’t have to ask who Simon was. “Gray’s not.”
“I know, that’s why I’m sorry.”
“Tell me about the Doctor.”
“Pretty man in a magic box.”
Jack thought about that for a moment. “Yes, he is. Did you travel with him?”
“Oh, all sorts of places. I flew the magic box.”
“Did he bring you here?”
“I fell, remember?”
“What about the Reavers?”
“They were pushed.”
“Who pushed them?”
River went back to counting ceiling cracks and wouldn’t look at Jack no matter how much he shouted.
*
When Jack got back up the stairs Ianto, Gwen and Rhys were drinking coffee and playing poker. Torchwood Three at the end of the world.
“Deal me in,” said Jack.
*
“The alliance,” said River, apropos of nothing.
“What?” asked Jack.
River looked at him as though he was an idiot for being unable to pick up the thread of a conversation they’d been having almost a week earlier. “That pushed the Reavers, silly.”
*
There isn’t really anything to be done but they had a briefing anyway and Jack told them what he’d managed to piece together from the rare occasions River deigned to be co-operative.
“River and the Reavers originate in the same universe; they both came through the rift. River fell through the normal way, but the Reavers were sent through by the Alliance.”
“Alliance?” Gwen sounded unconvinced.
“Never trust an Alliance,” said Jack, “the only thing worse than an Alliance is a Federation. Wherever you find a Federation I guarantee you will find a horrible little autocrat who doesn’t have enough sex.”
“If there were sent here on purpose there must be a way to send them back.”
“There isn’t,” Jack lied.
*
“Gwyneth wants to send them back,” River said, she always referred to Gwen as Gwyneth and never explained why.
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“We can control the rift.”
“No, I mean you can’t.”
“I know,” Jack stood to leave.
“The end of one world doesn’t mean the end of every world.”
*
“Gwen, have we heard from UNIT?” Jack asked.
“Not since just after the Reavers came.”
“What about the Ministry of Defence?”
“No.”
“Any signals at all?”
“No. There’s no one else left, is there?”
Talk about a rhetorical question.
*
Jack dragged a chair and a table down to the cells and set chess board up in front of River’s cell. Most of the time she just moved the pieces around in patterns that made no sense to Jack. But when she did decide to play properly she beat him hands down.
*
Jack found Gwen in the armoury assembling machine guns and as much ammunition as she could find. Ianto and Rhys were helping her, Rhys with a despairing look on his face.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Going out fighting.”
“No.”
“Jack, there’s no one else left. There are three of us and thousands of them. How long exactly are we going to hide in the hub?”
“Four,” Jack said. “There are four of us.”
“Jack-“
“Gwen, get a pair of shoes.” he ordered.
*
Jack opened River’s cell and put Gwen’s spare pair of trainers down. “Put these on,” he told River, “you can’t be barefoot where we’re going.
River, who knew exactly where they were going, smiled and complied.
Jack headed back upstairs, River wearing her red dress and Gwen’s green converse. Ianto had activated the rift.
“Everybody hold hands,” Jack ended up holding River’s hand on one side and Ianto’s hand on the other.
The energy from the rift grew more powerful and the static electricity made Jack’s hair stand on end.
“Are we sure this will take us to River’s universe?” asked Gwen.
“No.”
“Is this safe?” asked Ianto.
“Probably not.”
“So what do we do?” That was Rhys.
“We jump.”
And they did.
Author: Netgirl_y2k
Recipient: enterincolor
Fandom: Torchwood/Firefly
Characters: Jack, Gwen, Ianto, Rhys, River
Rating: PG
Spoliers: Through Exit Wounds
Summary: Did Sir enjoy his stay at the zombie apocalypse?
Jack’s limp was nearly gone by the time he got back to the hub; his skin itched where his flesh had recently been bitten and torn. His coat was missing the right arm, and that pissed him off.
The underground door rolled back and as soon as Jack entered Ianto stepped smartly up behind him and helped him out of his ruined coat. “Did Sir enjoy his stay at the zombie apocalypse?”
“Not especially. The weather was awful and the other guests kept trying to eat me.”
“I thought that would have been exactly your kind of holiday, Jack.” Gwen’s comment would have been more light-hearted if she wasn’t in the process of lowering the machine gun she’d been pointing at Jack in case he’d shown any signs of wanting to kill and eat them. Behind her Rhys followed his wife’s example and lowered the crowbar he was holding. That’s good; if Gwen will insist on having him in the hub then at least he’s house-trained.
“I want to talk to our guest,” Jack said.
*
“River,” Gwen called gently. The girl in the cell was curled in a corner, arms around her legs and cheek resting on her knee. “River?”
Jack, who’d been killed seventeen times getting the girl down to the cells, didn’t agree with Gwen’s softly, softly approach. “River!” he barked.
“Oh. Hello, Death.”
“Tell me about the zombies.”
“Not zombies,” the girl said, uncurling and drawing her upright. “Reavers.”
“Reavers?” Rhys interrupted.
River broke eye contact with Jack and started babbling in Chinese. Jack sighed, centuries of life and he’d never learned Chinese.
*
“Is there anyone alive up there?” Gwen asked, the next time Jack returned from the surface.
“No,” said Jack. And soon enough it wouldn’t be a lie, there was nobody up there who wouldn’t be better off dead. “I’m going to talk to River.”
“Maybe she’s nothing to do with this,” Gwen said, “Maybe we’re wasting our time.”
“Oh, yeah,” Ianto chimed in. “Total coincidence, Day One: Crazy girl falls through the rift, Day Two: Zombie Apocalypse.”
“She has a name for them,” Jack said, ending the argument. “She knows something.”
*
“They used to be men,” was the first thing River said about the Reavers aside from their name.
“That doesn’t matter to me,” said Jack.
“It mattered to the man in the blue box.”
*
“I don’t think you should be going up there again,” Rhys said as Jack made sure his gun was fully loaded in preparation for another trip to the surface.
“You don’t want to ever eat again, then?”
“What if you get infected?”
“We’ve been taking precautions,” Ianto pointed out.
“Stopping Jack in the doorway and asking him of feels an overwhelming urge to eat any of our brains isn’t exactly a reliable precaution,” said Gwen.
“Yes, because how would you define an overwhelming urge,” joked Ianto.
“Enough! They’re not zombies and they don’t have a virus. They used to be people.”
*
River was lying on her back, counting aloud the cracks in the ceiling of her cell; she stopped and said, “I’m sorry about your brother.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Simon’s dead.”
Jack didn’t have to ask who Simon was. “Gray’s not.”
“I know, that’s why I’m sorry.”
“Tell me about the Doctor.”
“Pretty man in a magic box.”
Jack thought about that for a moment. “Yes, he is. Did you travel with him?”
“Oh, all sorts of places. I flew the magic box.”
“Did he bring you here?”
“I fell, remember?”
“What about the Reavers?”
“They were pushed.”
“Who pushed them?”
River went back to counting ceiling cracks and wouldn’t look at Jack no matter how much he shouted.
*
When Jack got back up the stairs Ianto, Gwen and Rhys were drinking coffee and playing poker. Torchwood Three at the end of the world.
“Deal me in,” said Jack.
*
“The alliance,” said River, apropos of nothing.
“What?” asked Jack.
River looked at him as though he was an idiot for being unable to pick up the thread of a conversation they’d been having almost a week earlier. “That pushed the Reavers, silly.”
*
There isn’t really anything to be done but they had a briefing anyway and Jack told them what he’d managed to piece together from the rare occasions River deigned to be co-operative.
“River and the Reavers originate in the same universe; they both came through the rift. River fell through the normal way, but the Reavers were sent through by the Alliance.”
“Alliance?” Gwen sounded unconvinced.
“Never trust an Alliance,” said Jack, “the only thing worse than an Alliance is a Federation. Wherever you find a Federation I guarantee you will find a horrible little autocrat who doesn’t have enough sex.”
“If there were sent here on purpose there must be a way to send them back.”
“There isn’t,” Jack lied.
*
“Gwyneth wants to send them back,” River said, she always referred to Gwen as Gwyneth and never explained why.
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“We can control the rift.”
“No, I mean you can’t.”
“I know,” Jack stood to leave.
“The end of one world doesn’t mean the end of every world.”
*
“Gwen, have we heard from UNIT?” Jack asked.
“Not since just after the Reavers came.”
“What about the Ministry of Defence?”
“No.”
“Any signals at all?”
“No. There’s no one else left, is there?”
Talk about a rhetorical question.
*
Jack dragged a chair and a table down to the cells and set chess board up in front of River’s cell. Most of the time she just moved the pieces around in patterns that made no sense to Jack. But when she did decide to play properly she beat him hands down.
*
Jack found Gwen in the armoury assembling machine guns and as much ammunition as she could find. Ianto and Rhys were helping her, Rhys with a despairing look on his face.
“What are you doing?” he demanded.
“Going out fighting.”
“No.”
“Jack, there’s no one else left. There are three of us and thousands of them. How long exactly are we going to hide in the hub?”
“Four,” Jack said. “There are four of us.”
“Jack-“
“Gwen, get a pair of shoes.” he ordered.
*
Jack opened River’s cell and put Gwen’s spare pair of trainers down. “Put these on,” he told River, “you can’t be barefoot where we’re going.
River, who knew exactly where they were going, smiled and complied.
Jack headed back upstairs, River wearing her red dress and Gwen’s green converse. Ianto had activated the rift.
“Everybody hold hands,” Jack ended up holding River’s hand on one side and Ianto’s hand on the other.
The energy from the rift grew more powerful and the static electricity made Jack’s hair stand on end.
“Are we sure this will take us to River’s universe?” asked Gwen.
“No.”
“Is this safe?” asked Ianto.
“Probably not.”
“So what do we do?” That was Rhys.
“We jump.”
And they did.