Fic: The Oncoming Storm (Slash, AU, Janto 37/40 Conclusion 1/2)
Author: d8rkmessngr
Pairing: Jack/OMC, Jack/?, Jack/Ianto eventually, het and slash
Rating: NC-17 (betaed)
Summary: He left Jack on the game station. Abandoned. But then…he came back…different. An AU look on what happens if things happened differently. Doctor Who 'verse with Torchwood later on. Be sure to read the warnings.
Warnings: Please read each chapter's individual warnings. Some parts down the road may briefly mention non-con, abuse, and/or violence. Dark in the beginning. Please note there are some dark thoughts as my boys are broken…for now. Each chapter will be labeled for your convenience.
Author's Notes: Please note this is an AU that will cross over DW to TW season one. I'm probably spoiling my own story, but it will eventually be Janto. There's a bit of a journey first. I hope you enjoy. I'm working on this and intend to post regularly every other day. And again, I always believe in happy endings. So without further ado…
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Warning For This Chapter: strong language, dark, angsty, VIOLENCE
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to DW's "The Sound of Drums"
Prologue + Ch , Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18. Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 34, Ch 35, Ch 36, Ch 37 Act 1/9, Ch 37 Act 2/9, Ch 37 Act 3/9, Ch 37 Act 4/9, Ch 37 Act 5/9, Ch 37 Act 6/9 1/2, Ch 37 Act 6/9 2/2, Ch 37 Act 7/9, Ch 37 Act 8/9
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 37 "The Sound of Drums"
Conclusion 1/2
Valiant
Somewhere above London
Present day…
"Ow."
The spark was sudden. It was only a tiny spark, but it still must have hurt. She fanned her hand wildly in the air.
Owen gritted his teeth. Who knew a little thing like Tosh could be so heavy?
Stuck in yet another cell with no one else around, Tosh had one of her clever ideas again. Something about crossing voltage and hard wiring the power, blow out the controls, blah, blah, blah. All Owen cared about was getting out. He'd zoned out after Tosh said she could get them out and missed the part when Gwen volunteered his services to give Tosh a lift.
"Hurry up, Tosh," Owen grated. Her knees on his shoulders, her skirt hitched up to places Gwen warned he'd better not look at; she was gripping too hard with her thighs over his ears. "I think the blood stopped flowing to my brain."
"Hang on a tick," Tosh muttered.
"This is stupid. It won't work. I feel like I'm in a circus," Owen complained.
"I'll be damned if some overzealous faction of UNIT imprisons me again," Tosh muttered, her voice tight.
"Hate to break it to you," Owen panted. Christ, she was getting heavier. "We're not being imprisoned by UNIT. We're being executed."
"Same thing," Tosh grumbled. "Will you stop moving?"
"Will you stop trying to crush my head?" Owen snapped. He locked his knees and tried to think of a tree, a rock, anything immovable. "Or are you trying to give me an aneurysm before I meet the firing squad? Hurry the fuck up!"
"Just one more…"
Crossing the other wire didn't help Tosh either. The blue electrical zap made her flinch violently and her knees automatically squeezed until Owen thought his head would pop.
Owen staggered.
Toshiko, currently meters off the ground, one hand on the ceiling by the light grating, one hand grabbing at his right ear-like that would bloody help-yelped.
"Hold her steady, Owen!" Gwen hissed from behind. She kept watch by the bars. "I swear if you drop her, so help me, I will kick your ass!"
"She's heavy," Owen complained but he stilled. "Tosh, did you have to wear such pointy shoes? They're digging into me chest!"
Toshiko scoffed. "Did you have to be such a skinny bloke?"
He ought to deposit her cheeky ass on the floor right now.
Toshiko wiggled to reach the one wire left and Owen stared straight ahead and tried not think about how she smelled like peach blossoms. "I need the third wire to short-circuit the locking mechanism. Hold still!"
"I hold still? You hold still!"
"Will you two both be quiet?" Gwen snapped, barely keeping her voice down. "We don't want the guards to-"
Someone…coughed.
"…hear," Gwen finished with a defeated sigh.
Shit.
Toshiko jumped off Owen's shoulders in a flash, landing nimbly on her feet. She frowned at Owen and he twisted around. His brow rose. There was no one standing in front of the cell.
Gwen frowned and carefully peered out between the bars with Tosh. The hallway and the cells across from them were unoccupied. Gwen curled a hand around a bar and tried to angle her head closer to the bars…
And came nose-to-nose with a face that popped up out of nowhere on the other side of the bars.
A squint and the face cleared into a cheerful smile. "Oh, hello!"
Gwen shrieked. She backpedaled into Owen, who tried to catch her but they both ended up on the floor.
That hurt.
Toshiko gaped at the miffed looking Doctor as he straightened up from his crouch. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"That wasn't the reception I was expecting," the alien complained, his face pained. "I think that shattered my inner ear. Good thing these cells are soundproof." He stuck a finger in his ear as he held up a pendant that looked too much like the crystal Saxon held up in MOD.
In a wink, Martha appeared next to him. "Serves you right," she scolded the Doctor, her hands on her hips. "Told you not to do that."
"How you'd-you were just…" Gwen stammered, still in a sprawl next to Owen on the floor. Owen was too busy gawping at the two to tell her to get off his legs. "You just…out of nowhere!"
Tosh pursed her lips.
"Tosh. Psst."
Owen turned sharply towards Tosh's direction; he blinked and found Jack grinning broadly in front of Tosh.
What the-
Jack winked at Tosh as he held the bars with both hands. "Hi!" he whispered brightly.
"You used perception filters!" Toshiko burst out. "Brilliant!"
Jack pouted. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."
Gwen and Owen were by the bars in an instant. Owen scanned Jack up and down. He didn't like how pale their captain looked. Was there still blood loss even if Jack can't die-no, more like can't stay dead. Wait. Was that a new shirt? When the hell did Jack find the time to change?
"Where's Ianto?" Gwen demanded.
"Doesn't anyone say hello anymore?" Jack complained but he made a show of sweeping his hands towards his left in a 'ta-da' fashion. Ianto stepped out from behind Jack, a little rumpled, a little dirt-smudged-that probably upset Jonesy-but intact.
"Done!" the Doctor announced as he pocketed away his strange glowing screwdriver thing. There was a beep and a dull click as locks turned.
As soon as the barred door glided open, Tosh and Gwen flew out and barreled into Ianto. Tosh looked like she didn't care if she squished the stuffing out of Jonesy. Ianto stammered-or squeaked, he looked like a squeaking sort of bloke-before wrapping his arms around them both. Tosh wrapped her arms around Ianto's middle, Gwen around his neck.
Owen spared Jack another glance. He thought the smile was a little too forced. Owen's frown deepened. He wondered how hard it would be to get their captain to subject to a medical checkup later.
"Oh right, they give you hugs," Jack griped but resentment was absent in his voice.
"I make very good coffee," Ianto deadpanned over the girls' heads.
"Oh, come here, you!" Gwen wiggled free and now threw herself around Jack. Tosh joined her. Jack chuckled, although he did look surprised. "You two had us worried sick!"
Toshiko reluctantly pulled away. She nodded hesitantly towards the Doctor and Martha. They all looked ragged but whole; they had all the right amount of arms and legs.
At the sight of the odd keys and crystal tied with string in their hands, Tosh's eyes lit up and her reservations was gone. She was already turning the key around in her hand, chatting with the Doctor like they were old friends.
Owen rolled his eyes. He gave up trying to listen when their conversation grew into words with too many long syllables. He slid his gaze over to Ianto. Owen was close enough now to note a bruise on his forehead. Pupils look even though and there was no slurring. He grunted at Ianto.
"Oi."
"Owen." Ianto gave Owen a curt bob of his head.
Owen nodded towards Gwen who was now giving Martha a hug. Christ, Cooper was certainly affectionate today.
"Girls thought you dissolved in that ruddy police box, mate."
"Hardly," Ianto sniffed as he brushed his palms across his jacket. He made a face. One of his pockets was hanging off its threads halfway. "Time traveled, actually."
Owen shrugged, tried to look bored. Wouldn't do to get silly like the girls. "Where you go?"
"To the future, actually."
Owen's right eye twitched. "Future, eh?" Owen regarded Ianto. He didn't look different. "What's it like?"
Something odd flitted across Ianto's face. "Cannibals."
"Cannibals?" Owen pursed his lips and stared. Ianto stared back.
Owen blinked.
"Bugger."
Ianto nodded gravely.
"Trust me, time travel isn't usually like that," Jack said. He approached from behind. He dropped an arm around Owen's shoulders. "Okay?"
Owen glowered up at Jack from under the captain's arm. "You better not try that mushy huggy stuff with me," Owen growled. Jack dropped his arm with a grin. "You still look like shit, by the way," Owen added. "How did you two come here together?"
"Long story," Jack said, his mouth flattened. "Too long to tell you now."
"Do you have your TARDIS with you?" Tosh asked the Doctor hopefully.
For some reason, Jack, Jonesy, the Doctor and Martha fell silent.
"What?" Gwen directed her question to Jack. "What happened to it?"
"Saxon has it," Ianto said. His face grew dark.
"What?" Wonderful. Now the psycho could pop in and out whenever he pleases.
Gwen stared. "So how did you get up here?"
Ianto pulled back a sleeve revealing Jack's leather strap.
Owen rolled his eyes. Of course. Another one of those things Jack neglected to tell them about.
Owen watched Jack's face carefully. "So I take it that means you know Saxon's-"
"Yeah," Jack said in clipped tones.
"And that he's not really-"
"Jack knows, Owen," Ianto interrupted hoarsely. "He knows."
At Jack's blank face, Owen clamped his mouth shut and just shrugged but he observed how somber Jack was as he gestured towards Ianto to come closer.
"Need to put an escape route into the thing," Jack explained and Owen smirked when their Teaboy pinked and extended his arm out for Jack to hold. How sweet.
Owen wanted to gag.
Tosh peered around Owen to watch. "Teleport?"
"Among other things," Ianto muttered. "It's not fun, though."
"Maybe we can find the TARDIS and use that to get off this ship?" Gwen suggested.
"I’d rather find this Saxon bastard and thrash him first," Owen grumbled.
"No argument from me," Martha agreed, her face grim.
"And who is this Saxon person and why is he doing all this?" Gwen demanded.
Ianto fidgeted. He looked over to Jack with a worried expression, but Jack acted really interested in fiddling with that wrist strap. "Gwen-" he began.
"It's like he has a personal vendetta against us, against Jack-"
"Time Lord," the Doctor said all of the sudden, serious and a little angry.
Gwen and Tosh started. Owen gave the alien a look.
"So much for being the last of your kind," Owen bit out.
"Owen," Jack warned.
"What? Should we be happy for him then?" Owen snapped at Jack. "We have a fucking psychopath screwing around in our century! What do you want to do?"
Jack and Martha glanced back at the Doctor. Owen gritted his teeth. He felt Tosh's hand on his shoulder. He sucked in his breath.
"Doctor?" Martha asked tentatively.
The Doctor looked over to Ianto.
Ianto checked his stopwatch. "Ten minutes."
"We've got to get to the Master," Martha declared, her mouth set. "He has my family."
"But how do we stop him?" Gwen pointed out.
The Doctor fiddled with the homemade necklace gathered in his hand. "Oh," the Doctor muttered, "I’ve got a way."
Everyone stared.
The Doctor looked up. He blinked.
"Sorry, didn't I mention it?"
Gwen was back to tapping her foot again. It was bad enough waiting in the cell, watching Owen and Tosh bicker, but lurking in the far corner when Saxon was only down the corridor was unbearable.
She peered around the corner at the black assault garb of a UNIT soldier pacing in front of the entrance to the bridge.
"I don't understand why we can't go in there with them," Gwen fretted as they watched the Doctor, Ianto, Jack and Martha slip into the bridge. Now that they were aware of them, it was strange to see them slip between the guards and into the door.
"…ambassador for humanity…"
Winters' voice filtered out when the door opened, then shut.
"Perception filters," Tosh whispered as she peeked as well before yanking her head back. "There's only four of them, seven of us."
"Well, one of them could have stayed behind," Owen griped.
Gwen silently agreed with Owen. At least Ianto and Martha should remain out of harm's way. Her mouth crinkled downwards. Ianto was a sight. Poor love. And she hadn't seen him this upset since Lisa. Gwen wondered what must have happened.
"We don't know what will happen in there. At least Jack can't…well, you know, but Ianto and Martha are vulnerable," Gwen murmured. Torchwood at least gave them some field experience. The shadowy alcove they crouched in, waiting for their signal was far enough away to talk. "Jack should have told Ianto to stay behind."
"I have a funny feeling our captain tried," Owen grunted.
Gwen nodded to herself, remembering how Jack and Ianto were talking in the cells, sharing glares until the Doctor said something. She remembered what Ianto said during her vigil after Abbadon and Gwen smiled sadly to herself.
Gwen thought of Rhys, probably still in their flat, wondering where his bloody girlfriend was. Had he tried to call her? Her parents? She touched the cellphone she found among their confiscated things when they escaped their cell. She wanted to call Rhys, just to hear his voice, but at least he was safe down on Earth.
"So," Gwen sighed. "We wait then."
Gwen hated to wait.
"…for as long as man has looked to the stars…"
There he is.
Ianto resisted the urge to charge, held back by Jack's restraining grip of his sleeve. The key hanging around his neck weighed heavy against him. It was still hard to believe that no one could see them as they circled the table to draw closer.
Saxon sat with his wife in front of the swarm of journalists who were listening enthralled to President-elect Winters. Harold and Lucy Saxon, however, looked bored.
Lucy smiled at her husband as he shook a sack of jelly babies towards her. She dipped her fingers in the bag and took a nut as daintily as if it was a truffle. The sneer Saxon bestowed her made Ianto ill.
Jack stared at Saxon with little emotion, his face revealing nothing, but his eyes never strayed from the pair as they circumvented the table of the elite press and crowds of Secret Service agents and UNIT members.
A tiny tug at Jack's sleeve drew his attention away and Ianto gave him a questioning eyebrow. Jack smiled wanly, but Ianto could see the lines of pain at the corners of his mouth.
Ianto curled a hand around Jack's wrist. Jack nodded and mouthed he was okay but he didn't protest when Ianto didn't let go.
"This plan," Jack said as low as he could manage to the Doctor, "are you going to tell us?"
"If I can get this around the Master's neck, cancel out his perception field, they'll see him for real." The Doctor pulled at the shoelace to show the crystal. The time traveler grimaced as he took in the room. "It's just hard to go unnoticed when everyone is on red alert." The Doctor looked at them all very seriously.
"If they stop me, you've got a key."
Jack nodded.
"Yes, sir," Ianto said.
"I'll get him," Martha vowed.
"…give you the Toclafane."
Even though the Doctor had warned them that the Toclafane were not real, Ianto couldn't help looking over to the front of the bridge, to the top of the stairs leading up to the flight deck where Winters stood.
Without a sound, only a twinkle of light to announce their arrival, dark, glittering globes larger than Winters' head winked into presence. They hovered, unperturbed at the flashing cameras and the excited murmuring. Perfectly round, lights spinning around their gun-metal chrome surface, they looked like black pearls.
Black pearls.
"Oh my God," Ianto murmured.
Alex Hopkins' predictions were coming true.
Conclusion 2/2
Additional Notes: Many thanks to soullessminion for betaing this chapter. And trtmx for her magic trick that saved my sanity! LOL.
Pairing: Jack/OMC, Jack/?, Jack/Ianto eventually, het and slash
Rating: NC-17 (betaed)
Summary: He left Jack on the game station. Abandoned. But then…he came back…different. An AU look on what happens if things happened differently. Doctor Who 'verse with Torchwood later on. Be sure to read the warnings.
Warnings: Please read each chapter's individual warnings. Some parts down the road may briefly mention non-con, abuse, and/or violence. Dark in the beginning. Please note there are some dark thoughts as my boys are broken…for now. Each chapter will be labeled for your convenience.
Author's Notes: Please note this is an AU that will cross over DW to TW season one. I'm probably spoiling my own story, but it will eventually be Janto. There's a bit of a journey first. I hope you enjoy. I'm working on this and intend to post regularly every other day. And again, I always believe in happy endings. So without further ado…
Disclaimer: RTD and BBC owns them. I'm just borrowing them for a while.
Warning For This Chapter: strong language, dark, angsty, VIOLENCE
Notes For This Chapter: Note there are parallels to DW's "The Sound of Drums"
Prologue + Ch , Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6, Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17, Ch 18. Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 34, Ch 35, Ch 36, Ch 37 Act 1/9, Ch 37 Act 2/9, Ch 37 Act 3/9, Ch 37 Act 4/9, Ch 37 Act 5/9, Ch 37 Act 6/9 1/2, Ch 37 Act 6/9 2/2, Ch 37 Act 7/9, Ch 37 Act 8/9
Master Fic List: here
Chapter 37 "The Sound of Drums"
Conclusion 1/2
Valiant
Somewhere above London
Present day…
"Ow."
The spark was sudden. It was only a tiny spark, but it still must have hurt. She fanned her hand wildly in the air.
Owen gritted his teeth. Who knew a little thing like Tosh could be so heavy?
Stuck in yet another cell with no one else around, Tosh had one of her clever ideas again. Something about crossing voltage and hard wiring the power, blow out the controls, blah, blah, blah. All Owen cared about was getting out. He'd zoned out after Tosh said she could get them out and missed the part when Gwen volunteered his services to give Tosh a lift.
"Hurry up, Tosh," Owen grated. Her knees on his shoulders, her skirt hitched up to places Gwen warned he'd better not look at; she was gripping too hard with her thighs over his ears. "I think the blood stopped flowing to my brain."
"Hang on a tick," Tosh muttered.
"This is stupid. It won't work. I feel like I'm in a circus," Owen complained.
"I'll be damned if some overzealous faction of UNIT imprisons me again," Tosh muttered, her voice tight.
"Hate to break it to you," Owen panted. Christ, she was getting heavier. "We're not being imprisoned by UNIT. We're being executed."
"Same thing," Tosh grumbled. "Will you stop moving?"
"Will you stop trying to crush my head?" Owen snapped. He locked his knees and tried to think of a tree, a rock, anything immovable. "Or are you trying to give me an aneurysm before I meet the firing squad? Hurry the fuck up!"
"Just one more…"
Crossing the other wire didn't help Tosh either. The blue electrical zap made her flinch violently and her knees automatically squeezed until Owen thought his head would pop.
Owen staggered.
Toshiko, currently meters off the ground, one hand on the ceiling by the light grating, one hand grabbing at his right ear-like that would bloody help-yelped.
"Hold her steady, Owen!" Gwen hissed from behind. She kept watch by the bars. "I swear if you drop her, so help me, I will kick your ass!"
"She's heavy," Owen complained but he stilled. "Tosh, did you have to wear such pointy shoes? They're digging into me chest!"
Toshiko scoffed. "Did you have to be such a skinny bloke?"
He ought to deposit her cheeky ass on the floor right now.
Toshiko wiggled to reach the one wire left and Owen stared straight ahead and tried not think about how she smelled like peach blossoms. "I need the third wire to short-circuit the locking mechanism. Hold still!"
"I hold still? You hold still!"
"Will you two both be quiet?" Gwen snapped, barely keeping her voice down. "We don't want the guards to-"
Someone…coughed.
"…hear," Gwen finished with a defeated sigh.
Shit.
Toshiko jumped off Owen's shoulders in a flash, landing nimbly on her feet. She frowned at Owen and he twisted around. His brow rose. There was no one standing in front of the cell.
Gwen frowned and carefully peered out between the bars with Tosh. The hallway and the cells across from them were unoccupied. Gwen curled a hand around a bar and tried to angle her head closer to the bars…
And came nose-to-nose with a face that popped up out of nowhere on the other side of the bars.
A squint and the face cleared into a cheerful smile. "Oh, hello!"
Gwen shrieked. She backpedaled into Owen, who tried to catch her but they both ended up on the floor.
That hurt.
Toshiko gaped at the miffed looking Doctor as he straightened up from his crouch. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"That wasn't the reception I was expecting," the alien complained, his face pained. "I think that shattered my inner ear. Good thing these cells are soundproof." He stuck a finger in his ear as he held up a pendant that looked too much like the crystal Saxon held up in MOD.
In a wink, Martha appeared next to him. "Serves you right," she scolded the Doctor, her hands on her hips. "Told you not to do that."
"How you'd-you were just…" Gwen stammered, still in a sprawl next to Owen on the floor. Owen was too busy gawping at the two to tell her to get off his legs. "You just…out of nowhere!"
Tosh pursed her lips.
"Tosh. Psst."
Owen turned sharply towards Tosh's direction; he blinked and found Jack grinning broadly in front of Tosh.
What the-
Jack winked at Tosh as he held the bars with both hands. "Hi!" he whispered brightly.
"You used perception filters!" Toshiko burst out. "Brilliant!"
Jack pouted. "I'm fine, thanks for asking."
Gwen and Owen were by the bars in an instant. Owen scanned Jack up and down. He didn't like how pale their captain looked. Was there still blood loss even if Jack can't die-no, more like can't stay dead. Wait. Was that a new shirt? When the hell did Jack find the time to change?
"Where's Ianto?" Gwen demanded.
"Doesn't anyone say hello anymore?" Jack complained but he made a show of sweeping his hands towards his left in a 'ta-da' fashion. Ianto stepped out from behind Jack, a little rumpled, a little dirt-smudged-that probably upset Jonesy-but intact.
"Done!" the Doctor announced as he pocketed away his strange glowing screwdriver thing. There was a beep and a dull click as locks turned.
As soon as the barred door glided open, Tosh and Gwen flew out and barreled into Ianto. Tosh looked like she didn't care if she squished the stuffing out of Jonesy. Ianto stammered-or squeaked, he looked like a squeaking sort of bloke-before wrapping his arms around them both. Tosh wrapped her arms around Ianto's middle, Gwen around his neck.
Owen spared Jack another glance. He thought the smile was a little too forced. Owen's frown deepened. He wondered how hard it would be to get their captain to subject to a medical checkup later.
"Oh right, they give you hugs," Jack griped but resentment was absent in his voice.
"I make very good coffee," Ianto deadpanned over the girls' heads.
"Oh, come here, you!" Gwen wiggled free and now threw herself around Jack. Tosh joined her. Jack chuckled, although he did look surprised. "You two had us worried sick!"
Toshiko reluctantly pulled away. She nodded hesitantly towards the Doctor and Martha. They all looked ragged but whole; they had all the right amount of arms and legs.
At the sight of the odd keys and crystal tied with string in their hands, Tosh's eyes lit up and her reservations was gone. She was already turning the key around in her hand, chatting with the Doctor like they were old friends.
Owen rolled his eyes. He gave up trying to listen when their conversation grew into words with too many long syllables. He slid his gaze over to Ianto. Owen was close enough now to note a bruise on his forehead. Pupils look even though and there was no slurring. He grunted at Ianto.
"Oi."
"Owen." Ianto gave Owen a curt bob of his head.
Owen nodded towards Gwen who was now giving Martha a hug. Christ, Cooper was certainly affectionate today.
"Girls thought you dissolved in that ruddy police box, mate."
"Hardly," Ianto sniffed as he brushed his palms across his jacket. He made a face. One of his pockets was hanging off its threads halfway. "Time traveled, actually."
Owen shrugged, tried to look bored. Wouldn't do to get silly like the girls. "Where you go?"
"To the future, actually."
Owen's right eye twitched. "Future, eh?" Owen regarded Ianto. He didn't look different. "What's it like?"
Something odd flitted across Ianto's face. "Cannibals."
"Cannibals?" Owen pursed his lips and stared. Ianto stared back.
Owen blinked.
"Bugger."
Ianto nodded gravely.
"Trust me, time travel isn't usually like that," Jack said. He approached from behind. He dropped an arm around Owen's shoulders. "Okay?"
Owen glowered up at Jack from under the captain's arm. "You better not try that mushy huggy stuff with me," Owen growled. Jack dropped his arm with a grin. "You still look like shit, by the way," Owen added. "How did you two come here together?"
"Long story," Jack said, his mouth flattened. "Too long to tell you now."
"Do you have your TARDIS with you?" Tosh asked the Doctor hopefully.
For some reason, Jack, Jonesy, the Doctor and Martha fell silent.
"What?" Gwen directed her question to Jack. "What happened to it?"
"Saxon has it," Ianto said. His face grew dark.
"What?" Wonderful. Now the psycho could pop in and out whenever he pleases.
Gwen stared. "So how did you get up here?"
Ianto pulled back a sleeve revealing Jack's leather strap.
Owen rolled his eyes. Of course. Another one of those things Jack neglected to tell them about.
Owen watched Jack's face carefully. "So I take it that means you know Saxon's-"
"Yeah," Jack said in clipped tones.
"And that he's not really-"
"Jack knows, Owen," Ianto interrupted hoarsely. "He knows."
At Jack's blank face, Owen clamped his mouth shut and just shrugged but he observed how somber Jack was as he gestured towards Ianto to come closer.
"Need to put an escape route into the thing," Jack explained and Owen smirked when their Teaboy pinked and extended his arm out for Jack to hold. How sweet.
Owen wanted to gag.
Tosh peered around Owen to watch. "Teleport?"
"Among other things," Ianto muttered. "It's not fun, though."
"Maybe we can find the TARDIS and use that to get off this ship?" Gwen suggested.
"I’d rather find this Saxon bastard and thrash him first," Owen grumbled.
"No argument from me," Martha agreed, her face grim.
"And who is this Saxon person and why is he doing all this?" Gwen demanded.
Ianto fidgeted. He looked over to Jack with a worried expression, but Jack acted really interested in fiddling with that wrist strap. "Gwen-" he began.
"It's like he has a personal vendetta against us, against Jack-"
"Time Lord," the Doctor said all of the sudden, serious and a little angry.
Gwen and Tosh started. Owen gave the alien a look.
"So much for being the last of your kind," Owen bit out.
"Owen," Jack warned.
"What? Should we be happy for him then?" Owen snapped at Jack. "We have a fucking psychopath screwing around in our century! What do you want to do?"
Jack and Martha glanced back at the Doctor. Owen gritted his teeth. He felt Tosh's hand on his shoulder. He sucked in his breath.
"Doctor?" Martha asked tentatively.
The Doctor looked over to Ianto.
Ianto checked his stopwatch. "Ten minutes."
"We've got to get to the Master," Martha declared, her mouth set. "He has my family."
"But how do we stop him?" Gwen pointed out.
The Doctor fiddled with the homemade necklace gathered in his hand. "Oh," the Doctor muttered, "I’ve got a way."
Everyone stared.
The Doctor looked up. He blinked.
"Sorry, didn't I mention it?"
Gwen was back to tapping her foot again. It was bad enough waiting in the cell, watching Owen and Tosh bicker, but lurking in the far corner when Saxon was only down the corridor was unbearable.
She peered around the corner at the black assault garb of a UNIT soldier pacing in front of the entrance to the bridge.
"I don't understand why we can't go in there with them," Gwen fretted as they watched the Doctor, Ianto, Jack and Martha slip into the bridge. Now that they were aware of them, it was strange to see them slip between the guards and into the door.
"…ambassador for humanity…"
Winters' voice filtered out when the door opened, then shut.
"Perception filters," Tosh whispered as she peeked as well before yanking her head back. "There's only four of them, seven of us."
"Well, one of them could have stayed behind," Owen griped.
Gwen silently agreed with Owen. At least Ianto and Martha should remain out of harm's way. Her mouth crinkled downwards. Ianto was a sight. Poor love. And she hadn't seen him this upset since Lisa. Gwen wondered what must have happened.
"We don't know what will happen in there. At least Jack can't…well, you know, but Ianto and Martha are vulnerable," Gwen murmured. Torchwood at least gave them some field experience. The shadowy alcove they crouched in, waiting for their signal was far enough away to talk. "Jack should have told Ianto to stay behind."
"I have a funny feeling our captain tried," Owen grunted.
Gwen nodded to herself, remembering how Jack and Ianto were talking in the cells, sharing glares until the Doctor said something. She remembered what Ianto said during her vigil after Abbadon and Gwen smiled sadly to herself.
Gwen thought of Rhys, probably still in their flat, wondering where his bloody girlfriend was. Had he tried to call her? Her parents? She touched the cellphone she found among their confiscated things when they escaped their cell. She wanted to call Rhys, just to hear his voice, but at least he was safe down on Earth.
"So," Gwen sighed. "We wait then."
Gwen hated to wait.
"…for as long as man has looked to the stars…"
There he is.
Ianto resisted the urge to charge, held back by Jack's restraining grip of his sleeve. The key hanging around his neck weighed heavy against him. It was still hard to believe that no one could see them as they circled the table to draw closer.
Saxon sat with his wife in front of the swarm of journalists who were listening enthralled to President-elect Winters. Harold and Lucy Saxon, however, looked bored.
Lucy smiled at her husband as he shook a sack of jelly babies towards her. She dipped her fingers in the bag and took a nut as daintily as if it was a truffle. The sneer Saxon bestowed her made Ianto ill.
Jack stared at Saxon with little emotion, his face revealing nothing, but his eyes never strayed from the pair as they circumvented the table of the elite press and crowds of Secret Service agents and UNIT members.
A tiny tug at Jack's sleeve drew his attention away and Ianto gave him a questioning eyebrow. Jack smiled wanly, but Ianto could see the lines of pain at the corners of his mouth.
Ianto curled a hand around Jack's wrist. Jack nodded and mouthed he was okay but he didn't protest when Ianto didn't let go.
"This plan," Jack said as low as he could manage to the Doctor, "are you going to tell us?"
"If I can get this around the Master's neck, cancel out his perception field, they'll see him for real." The Doctor pulled at the shoelace to show the crystal. The time traveler grimaced as he took in the room. "It's just hard to go unnoticed when everyone is on red alert." The Doctor looked at them all very seriously.
"If they stop me, you've got a key."
Jack nodded.
"Yes, sir," Ianto said.
"I'll get him," Martha vowed.
"…give you the Toclafane."
Even though the Doctor had warned them that the Toclafane were not real, Ianto couldn't help looking over to the front of the bridge, to the top of the stairs leading up to the flight deck where Winters stood.
Without a sound, only a twinkle of light to announce their arrival, dark, glittering globes larger than Winters' head winked into presence. They hovered, unperturbed at the flashing cameras and the excited murmuring. Perfectly round, lights spinning around their gun-metal chrome surface, they looked like black pearls.
Black pearls.
"Oh my God," Ianto murmured.
Alex Hopkins' predictions were coming true.
Conclusion 2/2
Additional Notes: Many thanks to soullessminion for betaing this chapter. And trtmx for her magic trick that saved my sanity! LOL.