TW/DW Fic: The God from the Machine (1/1)
Title: The God from the Machine (1/1)
Pairing: gen
Characters: Ten, some minor characters from TW: CoE, Ianto, mentions of Jack, Rose.
Author: kalichan
Rating/Warning: all ages
Summary: A deus ex machina (pronounced /ˈdeɪ.əs ɛks ˈmɑːkinə/ or /ˈdiː.əs ɛks ˈmækɨnə/) is a plot device in which a person or thing appears "out of the blue" to help a character to overcome a seemingly insolvable difficulty.
Spoilers Written after Children of Earth: Days 1 & 2; a small amount of unspoiled speculation for the rest of CoE
Wordcount: 818 words
Author's Notes: Have we learned nothing from cannibals, Ianto?
"Oi! Get out of that!"
The boys paused, spray cans in hand, as the slightly daffy looking man in a pinstriped brown suit seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"What's it to you, mate?" Llew shouted. "Go on, bugger off, if you know what's good for you. You don't want to mess with us."
"Oh, it's a lot to me. That happens to be my police box. And if I were you, I wouldn't, I really wouldn't... hold on a tick. What's that you're writing, then? That's a 'b' and an 'a', oh no! Not really! Brilliant!" The man looked at them fondly, and Archie found himself grinning back helplessly though he couldn't have said why, except usually people didn't look on them with any affection at all, or keep going on so recklessly with Llew glaring at them, and outnumbered five to one.
"Bad Wolf," Archie found himself saying. "It's the name of our gang, see."
"Shut it, you tosser!" Llew sputtered.
"You know, when I was a boy, I managed to entertain myself with just a piece of string and stick. Well, all right, strongly interactive hadrons and unimodular lattices, but same idea. Still, nothing wrong with a bit of riot and rumpus. Especially if channeled in the right direction. Jack was here then, and he's here now, so this is all... fixed. But, even so...," the man looked off in the distance in the direction of Cardiff Bay, as he continued rambling inconsequentially, while the gang stared at each other in confusion. "No harm in a bit of a... nudge. Try to save something for you, after it's all over. Cos who even knows if you lot'll take advantage of it? At least, I suppose that's what you must've thought, Rose. "
"Who're you calling Rose, you daft sod?"
"Oh, I wasn't talking to you. Listen, which one of you lads saw the police box?"
"What d'you mean?"
"Well, you shouldn't have been able to see it really. Most people don't. I mean, I was just minding my own business, plotting out the next course after a bit of refueling - I've got it so I only need to be near the rift, not on it, and a good thing too -- and anyway, was just thinking about visiting the last even day in this millennium, that's August 28, 2888, boys, if you were wondering, and then there you were, about to redecorate the outside, which, by the way, I'm quite attached to. So, which one of you saw it?"
"I did," Archie said.
"Good lad," the man said. "Observant. Talented. Open. Listen, I've got a job for you and your friends. Menace to the neighborhood, you lot, am I right? And all over twelve, are you? None of this stopping dead in your tracks at odd hours of the morning? Brilliant."
"What's in it for us?"
"The joy of saving the world? No? How about a tenner each?"
"What's the job?"
"Follow me," the man said, sticking his hands in his pockets and leading them back the estate, he walked purposefully inwards, making a series of purposeful turns as if he knew exactly where he was going. Then he stopped abruptly in front of a black van parked on the street. "See that?" he said, nodding towards the SUV. "I want you to nick it. Only rule is, don't break any of what's in the back, okay? It's important. Really important. And don't drive it near Cardiff Bay, once you've got it."
"What d'you mean 'important'?
"Just trust me, all right? I promise it is. All you have to do is take it. Right now."
"How?" Archie asked incredulously. "We nick cars sometimes, but that looks like serious business there. Even if we smashed a window---"
The man pulled something blue and buzzing out of his breast pocket. Then he grinned. "Just try opening it," he suggested.
"What did you do?!"
"Have a go and see."
Whooping, they did, and in fact, it opened like a charm, even if the alarm did go off as they leaped over each other, cramming themselves into the front seats.
As they did their lap of honor, trousers down, and young Ianto Jones came out onto the street, sputtering as his brother-in-law threw bricks, the man slipped away, casually and inconspicuously.
If the gang had been able to hear, they would have heard him speak into the air, as he looked towards Cardiff Bay. "I know you think I don't care," he whispered, under his breath, "but I do. I tell them all, everyone who tries to come and take it. Careful what you do, I say. This planet, the earth - it is defended. And I don't just mean me when I say it. She'll be all right with you now. I know it."
As he opened the door to the blue police box, he looked back once more in the direction of Mermaid Quay. "It has to be this way. Our past never lets us go. I'm sorry, Jack," he added softly. "I'm so sorry."
Pairing: gen
Characters: Ten, some minor characters from TW: CoE, Ianto, mentions of Jack, Rose.
Author: kalichan
Rating/Warning: all ages
Summary: A deus ex machina (pronounced /ˈdeɪ.əs ɛks ˈmɑːkinə/ or /ˈdiː.əs ɛks ˈmækɨnə/) is a plot device in which a person or thing appears "out of the blue" to help a character to overcome a seemingly insolvable difficulty.
Spoilers Written after Children of Earth: Days 1 & 2; a small amount of unspoiled speculation for the rest of CoE
Wordcount: 818 words
Author's Notes: Have we learned nothing from cannibals, Ianto?
"Oi! Get out of that!"
The boys paused, spray cans in hand, as the slightly daffy looking man in a pinstriped brown suit seemed to appear out of nowhere.
"What's it to you, mate?" Llew shouted. "Go on, bugger off, if you know what's good for you. You don't want to mess with us."
"Oh, it's a lot to me. That happens to be my police box. And if I were you, I wouldn't, I really wouldn't... hold on a tick. What's that you're writing, then? That's a 'b' and an 'a', oh no! Not really! Brilliant!" The man looked at them fondly, and Archie found himself grinning back helplessly though he couldn't have said why, except usually people didn't look on them with any affection at all, or keep going on so recklessly with Llew glaring at them, and outnumbered five to one.
"Bad Wolf," Archie found himself saying. "It's the name of our gang, see."
"Shut it, you tosser!" Llew sputtered.
"You know, when I was a boy, I managed to entertain myself with just a piece of string and stick. Well, all right, strongly interactive hadrons and unimodular lattices, but same idea. Still, nothing wrong with a bit of riot and rumpus. Especially if channeled in the right direction. Jack was here then, and he's here now, so this is all... fixed. But, even so...," the man looked off in the distance in the direction of Cardiff Bay, as he continued rambling inconsequentially, while the gang stared at each other in confusion. "No harm in a bit of a... nudge. Try to save something for you, after it's all over. Cos who even knows if you lot'll take advantage of it? At least, I suppose that's what you must've thought, Rose. "
"Who're you calling Rose, you daft sod?"
"Oh, I wasn't talking to you. Listen, which one of you lads saw the police box?"
"What d'you mean?"
"Well, you shouldn't have been able to see it really. Most people don't. I mean, I was just minding my own business, plotting out the next course after a bit of refueling - I've got it so I only need to be near the rift, not on it, and a good thing too -- and anyway, was just thinking about visiting the last even day in this millennium, that's August 28, 2888, boys, if you were wondering, and then there you were, about to redecorate the outside, which, by the way, I'm quite attached to. So, which one of you saw it?"
"I did," Archie said.
"Good lad," the man said. "Observant. Talented. Open. Listen, I've got a job for you and your friends. Menace to the neighborhood, you lot, am I right? And all over twelve, are you? None of this stopping dead in your tracks at odd hours of the morning? Brilliant."
"What's in it for us?"
"The joy of saving the world? No? How about a tenner each?"
"What's the job?"
"Follow me," the man said, sticking his hands in his pockets and leading them back the estate, he walked purposefully inwards, making a series of purposeful turns as if he knew exactly where he was going. Then he stopped abruptly in front of a black van parked on the street. "See that?" he said, nodding towards the SUV. "I want you to nick it. Only rule is, don't break any of what's in the back, okay? It's important. Really important. And don't drive it near Cardiff Bay, once you've got it."
"What d'you mean 'important'?
"Just trust me, all right? I promise it is. All you have to do is take it. Right now."
"How?" Archie asked incredulously. "We nick cars sometimes, but that looks like serious business there. Even if we smashed a window---"
The man pulled something blue and buzzing out of his breast pocket. Then he grinned. "Just try opening it," he suggested.
"What did you do?!"
"Have a go and see."
Whooping, they did, and in fact, it opened like a charm, even if the alarm did go off as they leaped over each other, cramming themselves into the front seats.
As they did their lap of honor, trousers down, and young Ianto Jones came out onto the street, sputtering as his brother-in-law threw bricks, the man slipped away, casually and inconspicuously.
If the gang had been able to hear, they would have heard him speak into the air, as he looked towards Cardiff Bay. "I know you think I don't care," he whispered, under his breath, "but I do. I tell them all, everyone who tries to come and take it. Careful what you do, I say. This planet, the earth - it is defended. And I don't just mean me when I say it. She'll be all right with you now. I know it."
As he opened the door to the blue police box, he looked back once more in the direction of Mermaid Quay. "It has to be this way. Our past never lets us go. I'm sorry, Jack," he added softly. "I'm so sorry."