Fic: Night Of The Harvester - Part 8
Title: Night Of The Harvester - Part 8
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, OCs.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2328
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: If at first you don’t succeed… With Harvester proving harder to defeat than they would have liked, Jack and Ianto have to come up with a new plan of action.
Written For: spook_me 2024, using Torchwood, Pumpkinhead / Jack O' Lantern.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my Through Time and Space ‘verse.
Previous Part
Why WOULD Harvester retreat, unfed? That was a good question. Obviously, he wouldn’t, he knew what he wanted, and he went after it, so maybe this wasn’t a strategic withdrawal at all. Maybe he had some other reason for needing to reach what they assumed was a fragment of the meteor he’d arrived in, but what could that be?
For the second time that night, something clicked in Ianto’s mind. “Transportation! If Harvester can’t physically cross the boundaries between farms, perhaps because their energy disrupts his own, tearing apart the body he’s created for himself, then how does he move from farm to farm? And why does he never target farms that are next door to each other? Perhaps he…”
‘…jumps from one piece of meteor to another!” Jack finished his husband’s thought. “If we’re right, then if Harvester connects with that one, he’ll be transported to another field, possibly miles away, and we won’t know where he’s gone until one of the sentries spots him.”
“But we can’t stop him,” Ianto said. “We already know shooting him won’t do any good. We tried that, and it didn’t even slow him down.”
Jack considered their options. “Maybe if we use the laser pistols, cut his legs out from under him, slice his arms and his head off, that might buy us time. It’s gotta be worth a try. How far is he from the meteor fragment?”
‘Perhaps thirty metres,’ the TARDIS replied.
“Then whatever we’re going to do, we’d better do it quickly.” Jack was already moving, drawing his laser pistol.
“Keep on this side of the fence!” Ianto shouted, scrambling after his husband.
“I can’t, Harvester’s out of range from here!” Jack shouted back. “I need to get closer!”
“And if he drains the life out of you before you can use your laser, what good will that do? Maybe it would be better to let him reach his goal, see exactly what happens when he does.”
“And if he reappears at the other end of the valley?”
“If our theory is correct, isn’t it more likely that he’d jump to the nearest fragment instead of the one furthest away?”
“Maybe, but what if the nearest fragment is on one of the occupied farms?” Jack demanded, unable to conceal his agitation.
“Then we’d better be ready to move fast. We know there’s a gathering of energy before he appears. If we can get there while he’s still in the process…” Ianto paused, gnawing on his bottom lip. “I’m only guessing, but isn’t it likely that he’d be at his most vulnerable when he’s taking physical form? If we could disrupt his energy in that moment, at the very least it might weaken him.”
‘Your reasoning is sound,’ the TARDIS agreed. ‘Harvester is now approximately fifteen metres from the meteor fragment.’
“Dammit!” Jack cursed. “Fine, it’s a bigger risk than I’m comfortable with, but I don’t see that we have much choice at this point. We either risk our lives on something that might not even work, with the possibility we’ll be put out of action for longer than we can afford, or we stand back, see whether or not your theory about the fragments functioning as a kind of transmat is right, and hope Harvester doesn’t pop back up too far away.”
‘Five metres.’
“It’s probably too late now for option one anyway,” Ianto pointed out.
Harvester lumbered forward a few more strides, then the air around him started to crackle, and he seemed to shrink, at the same time sinking into the ground. Both men had half expected the pumpkins and gourds that made up Harvester’s physical form to be left behind, perhaps rotting away to nothing once the energy that held them together was gone, but they weren’t. By some unguessable means, the energy being’s body disappeared with him.
A stillness settled over the farmland and several minutes passed. “What’s happening?” Jack stood poised on the balls of his feet, radiating tension, ready to take off running the moment he knew which direction to go.
‘Disturbance detected, due south from your current position, one point three miles.’
Before the TARDIS could finish, both men were away, running as fast as they dared. On level ground they could probably cover that distance in eight or nine minutes, but over cultivated farmland it would likely take them closer to fifteen, barring any mishaps.
‘Is it a pumpkin field again?’ Ianto wanted to know, switching once more to telepathic communication. He and Jack needed all their breath for running.
‘A field of onions, I believe,’ the TARDIS replied helpfully.
‘If we have to fight a giant onion monster, there’s gonna be tears.’
Ianto spared his husband the briefest of glances. ‘We don’t have time for lame jokes, Jack; we should be planning what we’ll do when we get there!’
‘Who’s joking? That much onion sliced and diced with our lasers…’
‘Not helping!’
‘If you reach the field before Harvester emerges, might I suggest using your pulse pistols?’ the TARDIS cut in. ‘Aimed towards the meteor fragment and fired directly into the ground, they may serve to disrupt whatever energy exists within it.’
‘Won’t that just make Harvester jump again? Not to mention risking electrocuting ourselves.’
‘I do not believe so. If you target the meteor fragment as Harvester is emerging, it should cut off his retreat, leaving him nowhere to go. As to your own safety, I would suggest firing from a distance of no less than twenty metres. That will allow any backwash from the electric pulses to dissipate to harmless levels before they reach you.’
‘I hope you’re right about that. I’m starting to wish I’d worn rubber boots.’ Mild regret coloured Jack’s thought.
‘Wouldn’t exactly be suitable for running though,’ Ianto replied. ‘Do any of the sentries have Harvester in view?’ he asked the TARDIS.
‘Not as yet, but the disturbance is increasing. I estimate you have approximately three and a half minutes.’
Already just over ten minutes had passed.
‘How much further?’
‘Point four of a mile.’
Gritting his teeth, knowing the risk he was taking, Ianto dialled it up a notch. They had to reach the field before Harvester could fully emerge, otherwise he could drain the life out of them both before they could put their new plan into action. Jack picked up speed too; both men were already breathing hard, which wasn’t ideal since it was highly unlikely they’d have the chance to catch their breath when they got there, but they had little choice. There was too much at stake.
OoOoOoO
They reached the onion field with only moments to spare. Already they could see Harvester, in all his pumpkin glory, taking shape with a faint crackling of energy and a blueish shimmer in the air above where the meteor fragment must be. He looked a bit insubstantial, but no less menacing for that.
This time, Jack and Ianto weren’t able to remain in the relative safety of a neighbouring farmer’s land since the field where Harvester was emerging was near the centre of the farm rather than at the edge. For all they knew, Harvester might already be aware of their presence, and having been denied access to any source of life energy so far, aside from the few native rodents he had stumbled across, he would no doubt be eager to drain anyone who crossed his path. There was little point thinking about that, however; they’d just have to hope he was too busy reintegrating himself to focus on them.
Panting for breath. They raced across the onion field, splitting up to hit the monster, or at least its potential escape route, from two different directions, being careful not to put themselves in each other’s line of fire.
With the straps of the Big Gun and the plasma rifle looped around their shoulders, keeping the weapons readily accessible in case they were needed, they drew their pulse guns and laser pistols, not entirely sure which were going to prove the most useful. Facing away from them, in the direction he’d been travelling when he reached the first meteor fragment, Harvester looked like he was growing right out of the ground. Already he was almost ten feet tall, writhing and squirming, still expanding towards his full size, all the while fighting his way to the surface in a way that he hadn’t needed to when he’d first awoken, before he’d donned his pumpkin body. Now it seemed to be hampering more than helping him, although that probably wouldn’t be the case for much longer.
‘Aim at the ground two point seven metres from Harvester’s body,’ the TARDIS instructed.
“And how exactly are we supposed to measure the distance?” Ianto protested.
“Guess,” Jack suggested, taking aim.
“I should’ve included some sort of rangefinder in the night-sight goggles,” Ianto grumbled. He really hated finding he’d overlooked a useful feature when designing or modifying a piece of technology.
“Should’ve thought of that earlier; it’s a bit late now.”
“Don’t rub it in.” Ianto huffed annoyance. “Shooting at a visible target would be way easier.”
“Are you volunteering to go digging for part of a meteor?”
“Of course not, I don’t have a death wish!”
Jack fired his pulse gun, wondering if it would even have any effect through several metres of cultivated ground and subsoil, then quickly hopped backwards. He was probably imagining it, but he thought he’d felt a faint tingling in his feet.
‘Your shot fell short by ten centimetres,’ the TARDIS’s voice spoke calmly in Jack’s head. Taking a step forward and raising his arm a fraction, Jack fired again. At the same time, Ianto started firing from several metres to his left. ‘Closer,’ the voice in Jack’s head murmured. ‘Try again.’ How the TARDIS could remain so unruffled was a mystery to him.
“I’m not sure this should even work,” Ianto said. “We’re firing electrical pulses into the ground, hoping to hit something of indeterminate size, several metres down, without accidentally frying ourselves. Scientifically, that’s…”
“Forget the science!” Jack snapped back. “We’re not on earth, so the same rules don’t necessarily apply; you should know that by now!”
“I do!”
“Well then. Alien planet, alien tech, alien monster… just because it sounds crazy doesn’t mean it won’t work.”
“Doesn’t mean it will either!”
“Don’t be such a defeatist! Besides, it’s not like we’ve got any better ideas, and is this really any weirder than some of the things we had to do when we were with Torchwood? Keep shooting; you can complain about implausible alien science later! If we survive this.”
Jack could hear Ianto muttering swearwords in a bizarre mixture of Welsh, Galactic Standard, and Japanese, of which he’d picked up a few colourful phrases from Tosh, back in their Torchwood Three days. Then Jack’s next shot hit its target, and he forgot about everything else as he fired off pulse after pulse, the damp earth and countless small fissures caused by Harvester’s arrival channelling the energy pulses in the desired direction.
Adjusting his aim yet again, Ianto fired. “Yes!” Finally, he was on target.
Harvester roared. Fifteen feet tall now, the eyes in all his pumpkin faces flashing blue fire, but his legs still sunk to the knees in the ground, he lashed out with his clawed hand, but Jack and Ianto were behind him and too far away for him to reach. Nevertheless, Jack took the opportunity to fire the laser pistol in his left hand, partially severing the arm, blue fire spilling from the gaping wound. Following his husband’s example, Ianto fired his own laser, slicing the pumpkin hand from the end of Harvester’s left arm. It dropped to the ground, gnashing its teeth in impotent rage, before another laser burst cut it in half, and it dissolved into a gloopy orange sludge.
The towering monster screeched with a sound like a dozen cats simultaneously getting their tails caught in a door. Ianto winced, wishing he’d though to include ear defenders in their equipment. Who knew something with no lungs or vocal cords could be so loud? Harvester struggled harder, wrenching one heavy-footed pumpkin leg from the ground, using it to push against the surface as it fought to get its other leg free. Any second now, it would turn on them…
“Retreat!” Jack shouted. “Make for the next farm!”
“Not without you I’m not!”
“Idiot! I’ll be right behind you, but if you don’t go now, neither of us is getting away!”
Snarling, Ianto fired his laser pistol, sweeping it in an arc, slicing through Harvester’s free leg just above the foot, making the monster lurch sideways. “That should slow him down a bit!”
Jack fired his pulse gun one final time, electricity crackling through the churned-up ground, then turned to follow his husband, racing back across the onion field, then across a field of turnips, leaping an irrigation ditch to land on a dirt track, where Ianto was standing, bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
“Did… we do… any good?” Jack asked between gasps.
‘I believe the meteor fragment is burned out. It will be of no further use to Harvester.’
Ianto straightened up, staring back across the fields, twisting a small dial on the side of his goggles to magnify the view. “Looks like he’s on the move again, but…”
“What?” Jack sank onto a boulder at the side of the track, pulling a bottle of water from his bag and downing half of it in a couple of gulps.
“I can’t be completely sure from this angle, but the way he’s walking, it looks like one leg is shorter than the other, and he’s still missing his left hand, it hasn’t grown back.”
“Hah! Not so invulnerable after all, is he?”
“Apparently not.” Wandering over, Ianto snatched the water bottle from Jack’s hand and drained it before shoving the empty into his own bag. “What now?”
TBC in Part 9
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Ianto, Jack, OCs.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2328
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: If at first you don’t succeed… With Harvester proving harder to defeat than they would have liked, Jack and Ianto have to come up with a new plan of action.
Written For: spook_me 2024, using Torchwood, Pumpkinhead / Jack O' Lantern.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters.
A/N: Set in my Through Time and Space ‘verse.
Previous Part
Why WOULD Harvester retreat, unfed? That was a good question. Obviously, he wouldn’t, he knew what he wanted, and he went after it, so maybe this wasn’t a strategic withdrawal at all. Maybe he had some other reason for needing to reach what they assumed was a fragment of the meteor he’d arrived in, but what could that be?
For the second time that night, something clicked in Ianto’s mind. “Transportation! If Harvester can’t physically cross the boundaries between farms, perhaps because their energy disrupts his own, tearing apart the body he’s created for himself, then how does he move from farm to farm? And why does he never target farms that are next door to each other? Perhaps he…”
‘…jumps from one piece of meteor to another!” Jack finished his husband’s thought. “If we’re right, then if Harvester connects with that one, he’ll be transported to another field, possibly miles away, and we won’t know where he’s gone until one of the sentries spots him.”
“But we can’t stop him,” Ianto said. “We already know shooting him won’t do any good. We tried that, and it didn’t even slow him down.”
Jack considered their options. “Maybe if we use the laser pistols, cut his legs out from under him, slice his arms and his head off, that might buy us time. It’s gotta be worth a try. How far is he from the meteor fragment?”
‘Perhaps thirty metres,’ the TARDIS replied.
“Then whatever we’re going to do, we’d better do it quickly.” Jack was already moving, drawing his laser pistol.
“Keep on this side of the fence!” Ianto shouted, scrambling after his husband.
“I can’t, Harvester’s out of range from here!” Jack shouted back. “I need to get closer!”
“And if he drains the life out of you before you can use your laser, what good will that do? Maybe it would be better to let him reach his goal, see exactly what happens when he does.”
“And if he reappears at the other end of the valley?”
“If our theory is correct, isn’t it more likely that he’d jump to the nearest fragment instead of the one furthest away?”
“Maybe, but what if the nearest fragment is on one of the occupied farms?” Jack demanded, unable to conceal his agitation.
“Then we’d better be ready to move fast. We know there’s a gathering of energy before he appears. If we can get there while he’s still in the process…” Ianto paused, gnawing on his bottom lip. “I’m only guessing, but isn’t it likely that he’d be at his most vulnerable when he’s taking physical form? If we could disrupt his energy in that moment, at the very least it might weaken him.”
‘Your reasoning is sound,’ the TARDIS agreed. ‘Harvester is now approximately fifteen metres from the meteor fragment.’
“Dammit!” Jack cursed. “Fine, it’s a bigger risk than I’m comfortable with, but I don’t see that we have much choice at this point. We either risk our lives on something that might not even work, with the possibility we’ll be put out of action for longer than we can afford, or we stand back, see whether or not your theory about the fragments functioning as a kind of transmat is right, and hope Harvester doesn’t pop back up too far away.”
‘Five metres.’
“It’s probably too late now for option one anyway,” Ianto pointed out.
Harvester lumbered forward a few more strides, then the air around him started to crackle, and he seemed to shrink, at the same time sinking into the ground. Both men had half expected the pumpkins and gourds that made up Harvester’s physical form to be left behind, perhaps rotting away to nothing once the energy that held them together was gone, but they weren’t. By some unguessable means, the energy being’s body disappeared with him.
A stillness settled over the farmland and several minutes passed. “What’s happening?” Jack stood poised on the balls of his feet, radiating tension, ready to take off running the moment he knew which direction to go.
‘Disturbance detected, due south from your current position, one point three miles.’
Before the TARDIS could finish, both men were away, running as fast as they dared. On level ground they could probably cover that distance in eight or nine minutes, but over cultivated farmland it would likely take them closer to fifteen, barring any mishaps.
‘Is it a pumpkin field again?’ Ianto wanted to know, switching once more to telepathic communication. He and Jack needed all their breath for running.
‘A field of onions, I believe,’ the TARDIS replied helpfully.
‘If we have to fight a giant onion monster, there’s gonna be tears.’
Ianto spared his husband the briefest of glances. ‘We don’t have time for lame jokes, Jack; we should be planning what we’ll do when we get there!’
‘Who’s joking? That much onion sliced and diced with our lasers…’
‘Not helping!’
‘If you reach the field before Harvester emerges, might I suggest using your pulse pistols?’ the TARDIS cut in. ‘Aimed towards the meteor fragment and fired directly into the ground, they may serve to disrupt whatever energy exists within it.’
‘Won’t that just make Harvester jump again? Not to mention risking electrocuting ourselves.’
‘I do not believe so. If you target the meteor fragment as Harvester is emerging, it should cut off his retreat, leaving him nowhere to go. As to your own safety, I would suggest firing from a distance of no less than twenty metres. That will allow any backwash from the electric pulses to dissipate to harmless levels before they reach you.’
‘I hope you’re right about that. I’m starting to wish I’d worn rubber boots.’ Mild regret coloured Jack’s thought.
‘Wouldn’t exactly be suitable for running though,’ Ianto replied. ‘Do any of the sentries have Harvester in view?’ he asked the TARDIS.
‘Not as yet, but the disturbance is increasing. I estimate you have approximately three and a half minutes.’
Already just over ten minutes had passed.
‘How much further?’
‘Point four of a mile.’
Gritting his teeth, knowing the risk he was taking, Ianto dialled it up a notch. They had to reach the field before Harvester could fully emerge, otherwise he could drain the life out of them both before they could put their new plan into action. Jack picked up speed too; both men were already breathing hard, which wasn’t ideal since it was highly unlikely they’d have the chance to catch their breath when they got there, but they had little choice. There was too much at stake.
OoOoOoO
They reached the onion field with only moments to spare. Already they could see Harvester, in all his pumpkin glory, taking shape with a faint crackling of energy and a blueish shimmer in the air above where the meteor fragment must be. He looked a bit insubstantial, but no less menacing for that.
This time, Jack and Ianto weren’t able to remain in the relative safety of a neighbouring farmer’s land since the field where Harvester was emerging was near the centre of the farm rather than at the edge. For all they knew, Harvester might already be aware of their presence, and having been denied access to any source of life energy so far, aside from the few native rodents he had stumbled across, he would no doubt be eager to drain anyone who crossed his path. There was little point thinking about that, however; they’d just have to hope he was too busy reintegrating himself to focus on them.
Panting for breath. They raced across the onion field, splitting up to hit the monster, or at least its potential escape route, from two different directions, being careful not to put themselves in each other’s line of fire.
With the straps of the Big Gun and the plasma rifle looped around their shoulders, keeping the weapons readily accessible in case they were needed, they drew their pulse guns and laser pistols, not entirely sure which were going to prove the most useful. Facing away from them, in the direction he’d been travelling when he reached the first meteor fragment, Harvester looked like he was growing right out of the ground. Already he was almost ten feet tall, writhing and squirming, still expanding towards his full size, all the while fighting his way to the surface in a way that he hadn’t needed to when he’d first awoken, before he’d donned his pumpkin body. Now it seemed to be hampering more than helping him, although that probably wouldn’t be the case for much longer.
‘Aim at the ground two point seven metres from Harvester’s body,’ the TARDIS instructed.
“And how exactly are we supposed to measure the distance?” Ianto protested.
“Guess,” Jack suggested, taking aim.
“I should’ve included some sort of rangefinder in the night-sight goggles,” Ianto grumbled. He really hated finding he’d overlooked a useful feature when designing or modifying a piece of technology.
“Should’ve thought of that earlier; it’s a bit late now.”
“Don’t rub it in.” Ianto huffed annoyance. “Shooting at a visible target would be way easier.”
“Are you volunteering to go digging for part of a meteor?”
“Of course not, I don’t have a death wish!”
Jack fired his pulse gun, wondering if it would even have any effect through several metres of cultivated ground and subsoil, then quickly hopped backwards. He was probably imagining it, but he thought he’d felt a faint tingling in his feet.
‘Your shot fell short by ten centimetres,’ the TARDIS’s voice spoke calmly in Jack’s head. Taking a step forward and raising his arm a fraction, Jack fired again. At the same time, Ianto started firing from several metres to his left. ‘Closer,’ the voice in Jack’s head murmured. ‘Try again.’ How the TARDIS could remain so unruffled was a mystery to him.
“I’m not sure this should even work,” Ianto said. “We’re firing electrical pulses into the ground, hoping to hit something of indeterminate size, several metres down, without accidentally frying ourselves. Scientifically, that’s…”
“Forget the science!” Jack snapped back. “We’re not on earth, so the same rules don’t necessarily apply; you should know that by now!”
“I do!”
“Well then. Alien planet, alien tech, alien monster… just because it sounds crazy doesn’t mean it won’t work.”
“Doesn’t mean it will either!”
“Don’t be such a defeatist! Besides, it’s not like we’ve got any better ideas, and is this really any weirder than some of the things we had to do when we were with Torchwood? Keep shooting; you can complain about implausible alien science later! If we survive this.”
Jack could hear Ianto muttering swearwords in a bizarre mixture of Welsh, Galactic Standard, and Japanese, of which he’d picked up a few colourful phrases from Tosh, back in their Torchwood Three days. Then Jack’s next shot hit its target, and he forgot about everything else as he fired off pulse after pulse, the damp earth and countless small fissures caused by Harvester’s arrival channelling the energy pulses in the desired direction.
Adjusting his aim yet again, Ianto fired. “Yes!” Finally, he was on target.
Harvester roared. Fifteen feet tall now, the eyes in all his pumpkin faces flashing blue fire, but his legs still sunk to the knees in the ground, he lashed out with his clawed hand, but Jack and Ianto were behind him and too far away for him to reach. Nevertheless, Jack took the opportunity to fire the laser pistol in his left hand, partially severing the arm, blue fire spilling from the gaping wound. Following his husband’s example, Ianto fired his own laser, slicing the pumpkin hand from the end of Harvester’s left arm. It dropped to the ground, gnashing its teeth in impotent rage, before another laser burst cut it in half, and it dissolved into a gloopy orange sludge.
The towering monster screeched with a sound like a dozen cats simultaneously getting their tails caught in a door. Ianto winced, wishing he’d though to include ear defenders in their equipment. Who knew something with no lungs or vocal cords could be so loud? Harvester struggled harder, wrenching one heavy-footed pumpkin leg from the ground, using it to push against the surface as it fought to get its other leg free. Any second now, it would turn on them…
“Retreat!” Jack shouted. “Make for the next farm!”
“Not without you I’m not!”
“Idiot! I’ll be right behind you, but if you don’t go now, neither of us is getting away!”
Snarling, Ianto fired his laser pistol, sweeping it in an arc, slicing through Harvester’s free leg just above the foot, making the monster lurch sideways. “That should slow him down a bit!”
Jack fired his pulse gun one final time, electricity crackling through the churned-up ground, then turned to follow his husband, racing back across the onion field, then across a field of turnips, leaping an irrigation ditch to land on a dirt track, where Ianto was standing, bent over, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
“Did… we do… any good?” Jack asked between gasps.
‘I believe the meteor fragment is burned out. It will be of no further use to Harvester.’
Ianto straightened up, staring back across the fields, twisting a small dial on the side of his goggles to magnify the view. “Looks like he’s on the move again, but…”
“What?” Jack sank onto a boulder at the side of the track, pulling a bottle of water from his bag and downing half of it in a couple of gulps.
“I can’t be completely sure from this angle, but the way he’s walking, it looks like one leg is shorter than the other, and he’s still missing his left hand, it hasn’t grown back.”
“Hah! Not so invulnerable after all, is he?”
“Apparently not.” Wandering over, Ianto snatched the water bottle from Jack’s hand and drained it before shoving the empty into his own bag. “What now?”
TBC in Part 9