Illusion Anxiety series - Premise
Title: Premise
Summary: The members of the Torchwood team are forced to face some of their deepest fears when an alien takes up residence in the Cardiff sewers.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None
Author’s Notes: This is partially inspired by watching Markiplier’s playthroughs of the horror game Vanish, which fed into a headcanon I had a little while ago. Each team member will have a one-shot.
To: Capt. Jack Harkness
From: Detective Kathy Swanson
Subject: New Case
Harkness,
The last thing I want to do is ask you for anything. Or really, associate with you in any way whatsoever. But we’ve had a bunch of weird reports lately from sewer workers that claimed they were seeing things while on duty. Looks like your division.
Files are attached.
-Swanson
---
To: Detective Kathy Swanson
From: Capt. Jack Harkness
Subject: Re>New Case
Kathy! Lovely chatting with you, as always.
We’ll check it out.
-CJH
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview Transcript - 11/06/08, 14:10
Witness: Bethan Lewis, Maintenance Worker
Interviewer: Det. Katherine J. Swanson
Swanson: Before you make your statement, can you confirm your identity for me, please?
Lewis: Yes, of course. I’m Bethan Lewis. I work for Cardiff Restoration Services.
Swanson: And what exactly does your job entail?
Lewis: We’re a government funded agency. My department is in charge of keeping the sewer systems functional and clean.
Swanson: As clean as a sewer can be, anyway.
Lewis: Yes.
Swanson: You were working last night, on the tenth?
Lewis: I was.
Swanson: And you say you saw something you couldn’t explain.
Lewis: Yes.
Swanson: What happened?
Lewis: Me and Ellen were doing a monthly check, out under Fairfax Road. Nothing major. It’s just something they have us do so that we can catch any major problems, like structural failures, before they get too bad.
Swanson: And Ellen is…?
Lewis: Oh, Ellen Clark. My co-worker. She’s waiting to talk to you as well.
Swanson: Right. Continue.
Lewis: So we were down there. And we reached a place where the pipe splits off, so I went one way and she went the other. And… and after a little while I heard her scream. Scared me to death, of course. So I ran over to see what was wrong and she was just lying on the ground, crying. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she just kept saying ‘sorry’ a bunch of times.
Swanson: Why was she apologizing?
Lewis: I don’t know. She said ‘she never meant it’, but nothing else.
Swanson: What did you do?
Lewis: Tried to make her get up, so that we could go back to the surface and get some help. Eventually she calmed down enough to let me carry her.
Swanson: So you started taking her back.
Lewis: Yes. But… when we got into the main line…
Swanson: Take your time.
Lewis: I saw something really horrible. My-my mother… I’m sorry, I can’t say it.
Swanson: Okay.
Lewis: I know it couldn’t have been real, but at the time I was just too frightened to do anything. I kind of froze up. And Ellen started screaming again.
Swanson: And then you called rescue services?
Lewis: I did.
Swanson: Are you aware that you and Ellen are not the only two people to experience something like this recently?
Lewis: I heard some things from a couple of the guys who went to other parts of the city. It was just whispers, though.
Swanson: There have, in fact, been twelve other incidents reported so far.
Lewis: Wow. Any idea what’s going on, then?
Swanson: No. But I know people who might.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I’ve told you guys, I’ve seen one of these things before,” Jack said, making a hard left on Fairfax. “We shouldn’t have any problem dealing with it.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to go wandering around the Cardiff sewers all by ourselves,” Owen replied.
“Not completely by ourselves,” Ianto added. “We’ll have the hallucinogen-producing, possibly hostile alien for company.”
“See? You know I’ve got a point when even Teaboy agrees with me.”
“It’s a bit of a foreign experience.”
“I just want to get this thing on the first try, okay?” Jack said exasperatedly. “And the best way to do that is to cover more ground.”
After reading through the case files Swanson had sent, the team had identified five main locations where the incidents had been reported. Jack had suggested, to the skepticism of the rest of the team, that each one of them would enter at one of those points and search until they converged in the center, under Fairfax road. Tosh and Gwen had already been dropped off at their respective access points.
The car pulled to a stop, and Jack looked back at Ianto and Owen with a determined expression.
“This will work. Just trust me.”
Ianto sighed, and pushed the car door open. “Fine.”
Owen stared after him in indignation. “You’re such a bloody pushover, Jones!”
“Just go, Owen.”
Grumbling, Owen exited the car and walked off in the opposite direction from Ianto. He slammed the door behind him, and Jack sped off down the road.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Everyone in position? Tosh?”
“Yes, Jack.”
“Owen?”
“Yeah.”
“Gwen?”
“Ready.”
“Ianto?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Their comms went static as each of them dropped down into the acrid, murky darkness below.
Masterlist
Summary: The members of the Torchwood team are forced to face some of their deepest fears when an alien takes up residence in the Cardiff sewers.
Characters/Pairings: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Toshiko Sato
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: None
Author’s Notes: This is partially inspired by watching Markiplier’s playthroughs of the horror game Vanish, which fed into a headcanon I had a little while ago. Each team member will have a one-shot.
To: Capt. Jack Harkness
From: Detective Kathy Swanson
Subject: New Case
Harkness,
The last thing I want to do is ask you for anything. Or really, associate with you in any way whatsoever. But we’ve had a bunch of weird reports lately from sewer workers that claimed they were seeing things while on duty. Looks like your division.
Files are attached.
-Swanson
---
To: Detective Kathy Swanson
From: Capt. Jack Harkness
Subject: Re>New Case
Kathy! Lovely chatting with you, as always.
We’ll check it out.
-CJH
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interview Transcript - 11/06/08, 14:10
Witness: Bethan Lewis, Maintenance Worker
Interviewer: Det. Katherine J. Swanson
Swanson: Before you make your statement, can you confirm your identity for me, please?
Lewis: Yes, of course. I’m Bethan Lewis. I work for Cardiff Restoration Services.
Swanson: And what exactly does your job entail?
Lewis: We’re a government funded agency. My department is in charge of keeping the sewer systems functional and clean.
Swanson: As clean as a sewer can be, anyway.
Lewis: Yes.
Swanson: You were working last night, on the tenth?
Lewis: I was.
Swanson: And you say you saw something you couldn’t explain.
Lewis: Yes.
Swanson: What happened?
Lewis: Me and Ellen were doing a monthly check, out under Fairfax Road. Nothing major. It’s just something they have us do so that we can catch any major problems, like structural failures, before they get too bad.
Swanson: And Ellen is…?
Lewis: Oh, Ellen Clark. My co-worker. She’s waiting to talk to you as well.
Swanson: Right. Continue.
Lewis: So we were down there. And we reached a place where the pipe splits off, so I went one way and she went the other. And… and after a little while I heard her scream. Scared me to death, of course. So I ran over to see what was wrong and she was just lying on the ground, crying. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she just kept saying ‘sorry’ a bunch of times.
Swanson: Why was she apologizing?
Lewis: I don’t know. She said ‘she never meant it’, but nothing else.
Swanson: What did you do?
Lewis: Tried to make her get up, so that we could go back to the surface and get some help. Eventually she calmed down enough to let me carry her.
Swanson: So you started taking her back.
Lewis: Yes. But… when we got into the main line…
Swanson: Take your time.
Lewis: I saw something really horrible. My-my mother… I’m sorry, I can’t say it.
Swanson: Okay.
Lewis: I know it couldn’t have been real, but at the time I was just too frightened to do anything. I kind of froze up. And Ellen started screaming again.
Swanson: And then you called rescue services?
Lewis: I did.
Swanson: Are you aware that you and Ellen are not the only two people to experience something like this recently?
Lewis: I heard some things from a couple of the guys who went to other parts of the city. It was just whispers, though.
Swanson: There have, in fact, been twelve other incidents reported so far.
Lewis: Wow. Any idea what’s going on, then?
Swanson: No. But I know people who might.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“I’ve told you guys, I’ve seen one of these things before,” Jack said, making a hard left on Fairfax. “We shouldn’t have any problem dealing with it.”
“Doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to go wandering around the Cardiff sewers all by ourselves,” Owen replied.
“Not completely by ourselves,” Ianto added. “We’ll have the hallucinogen-producing, possibly hostile alien for company.”
“See? You know I’ve got a point when even Teaboy agrees with me.”
“It’s a bit of a foreign experience.”
“I just want to get this thing on the first try, okay?” Jack said exasperatedly. “And the best way to do that is to cover more ground.”
After reading through the case files Swanson had sent, the team had identified five main locations where the incidents had been reported. Jack had suggested, to the skepticism of the rest of the team, that each one of them would enter at one of those points and search until they converged in the center, under Fairfax road. Tosh and Gwen had already been dropped off at their respective access points.
The car pulled to a stop, and Jack looked back at Ianto and Owen with a determined expression.
“This will work. Just trust me.”
Ianto sighed, and pushed the car door open. “Fine.”
Owen stared after him in indignation. “You’re such a bloody pushover, Jones!”
“Just go, Owen.”
Grumbling, Owen exited the car and walked off in the opposite direction from Ianto. He slammed the door behind him, and Jack sped off down the road.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Everyone in position? Tosh?”
“Yes, Jack.”
“Owen?”
“Yeah.”
“Gwen?”
“Ready.”
“Ianto?”
“Yep.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
Their comms went static as each of them dropped down into the acrid, murky darkness below.
Masterlist