Legacy

Series: Mosaic Masterlist

Word Count: ~ 49.000

Summary: When a warning from a girl Jack thought was dead reaches Torchwood, it's only the start of a chain of events that proves once again the presence of a darker, more powerful villain hiding in the shadows. Forced to work together with UNIT in the aftermath of the worst series of Rift quakes in history, the team discovers that Torchwood Two is more than just an archive and that Archie McIntyre's dark secrets are coming back to haunt them.

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Toshiko Sato, Gwen Cooper, Owen Harper, Archie McIntyre, Rose Tyler, Rhys Williams, Gwyneth, OCs

Pairing: Jack/Ianto, Gwen/Rhys, Ianto/Lisa Hallett (past), Owen/Diane Holmes (past), Jack/OC (past)

Rating: NC-17

Spoilers: Out Of Time, Combat / Doctor Who: The Unquiet Dead, Doomsday

Setting: after Hidden

Warnings: Character Death, mentions torture, violence

Contains: Empathy, sex, language

Author's Note: Giving credit where credit's due: BitterGrace01 found an error in my UNIT research. Thank you for pointing it out and hopefully, I can at least resolve it a bit in this part. As for the background of this: I have no other explanation but the fact that I love Torchwood Two. It's just such an empty space I could do so much with, as is Archie McIntyre.

This took a really long time to get finished and I can only blame real life getting in the way. Real life is also the reason that the next part will be the final one in this verse. While I still want to write for Torchwood, I don't think I can committ to a series of fanfictions anymore.

Translation: ladycharena, who as always did a great job with the German version of this story. Without you, it would have taken even longer to get done … :)

Beta: tardisjournal beta'ed the English version and I'm more than grateful for any input she could give me, despite real life getting in her way as well. *hugs* pechfeder did the German version and I can say that some of the inspiration for parts of this came out of chats we had over food. :)

Disclaimer: I'm not making money with this fanfic. The tv show Torchwood and the characters appearing within it belong to their producers and creators. Any similarities to living or dead persons are purely coincidental and not intended.

Part of the Mosaic 'verse. Previous parts: Roots, The Enemy Within, This Crying Earth, The Golden Boy, Echoes, The Shadow Cult, The Cursed Ones

Prologue

All she felt these days was pain.

Her life had changed so drastically in the span of just a few hours. She'd gone from a free spirit to this: locked up, broken, her soul violated and scars telling the story of her torture.

She'd been happy once, in the company of the person that mattered to her the most – her lover, her friend, her protector – and now she was alone, defenceless, the fight going out of her just like her life was slowly leaving her.

Nevertheless, she knew she couldn't give in. It meant too much to stay strong, to resist ... but in the end, she also knew her chances were slim. Her torturer was slowly breaking through her barriers and she racked her mind trying to find a way out, because screaming out for the one who'd saved her before wouldn't help. He was gone, far away ... trapped himself.

If she could only warn somebody, if she only could ... a beloved face flashed in front of her inner eye, a bright grin, blue eyes ... her Jack. He was around, she knew.

Her Jack.

She gathered what little strength she had left in her, tried to focus through the pain trying to tear her apart, only one goal in mind now.

Her Jack ... if she reached him, everything would be all right.

xxx

Toshiko slapped the last file closed and dropped it onto the pile on her right. She sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes against the harsh glare of the boardroom's neon lights. "Please tell me we're done," she asked.

From his seat on the opposite side of the table, Jack chuckled. "We're done. That's the budget sorted." He sank into the embrace of his own chair. For a moment, nothing but the silence of the Hub at night permeated the air – the gentle hum of the generators and computers, the trickle of the water flowing down the sculpture in the centre of the main room, the flapping of Myfanwy's leathery wings while she flew her rounds.

"Thank God," Tosh muttered and brushed her dark fringe out of her forehead before she rubbed her tired eyes. "Who would have thought it's that complicated?"

"Says the genius."

"I don't envy Ianto at all," Tosh replied and gave the pile of files a glare.

"Thanks for staying and helping me with this," Jack said with a deep sigh and she could hear how honest he was with that admission. The budget was a horrible, monthly exercise. One Jack usually undertook with Ianto at his side because everything involving paperwork wasn't really Jack's thing. But this time, Ianto wasn't here, he was far away in Glasgow. Jack had spent the last two days prowling the Hub, loudly complaining and it had become a battle of wills between the other three remaining team members not to offer their help. Tosh had lost.

She gifted Jack with a smile. "It was impossible for me not to help. The way you've been pouting."

Jack crossed his arms. "I don't pout."

She winked at him and took a sip from her Coke. "When will Ianto be back?"

"Three more days," Jack answered. "Archie says, he'll have to visit one more time in about two weeks to finalize the training, though." He breathed a sigh of relief. "A good thing, too. We need him here."

It had been a tough month. Ianto had spent most of January in Scotland with Archie, training his empathic abilities and only returning to Cardiff a few days in between sessions to train under real-life circumstances. As far as Tosh could tell, he was doing well. He had stopped projecting emotions uncontrollably and seemed much calmer and happier in general. It was a relief after months of uncertainty and emotional turmoil for him. Tosh couldn't be happier for him.

Instead, she worried about Owen. While he was back at work by now, he still seemed sad and distracted sometimes, keeping himself isolated from the rest of them. He still had trouble getting over losing Diane. It had been a shock when he'd stepped into a cage with a Weevil just two weeks ago, risking his life and seemingly not caring overly much about it. But she also thought that he'd reached a turning point with that event. As if he'd realized after that he'd hit bottom and now was slowly struggling back up.

At least she hoped so.

Pulling herself out of her dark thoughts, she asked, "Ianto will be fully trained then?" She was far too tired to add worry about Owen to her stressful day and she knew that Jack was concerned as well. He looked wrung out and didn't deserve to be reminded of it right now. This moment, right now, was for them to relax, as they so seldom got the chance to. Especially just the two of them together.

Jack shrugged. "He'll need a bit of guidance now and then, but Archie seems very happy with his progress."

Jack had closed his eyes. The muscles in his face had relaxed, which had the effect of smoothing out the lines around his eyes and lips. Tosh liked seeing him like that. It didn't happen very often. Jack carried the weight of the world on his shoulders and he seemed to forget, sometimes, that he was just human too.

A yawn forced its way past her lips and she sighed deeply, checking her watch. It was just gone midnight. "I should get home," she said with a sigh, not feeling like she wanted to move at all.

"I'll drive you," Jack replied, but didn't move either. She chuckled and he looked at her with a wink, then his blue eyes flickered to something behind her and he became deathly pale, immediately tense and alert. He got up abruptly, one hand on his Webley, and Tosh sat up, twisting in her chair.

There, in a corner of the boardroom, stood a girl. Her blonde long hair was hanging over her shoulders, her dark eyes looked at Jack with relief and adoration. "My Jack," she said and smiled, even though it seemed pained and tired.

Jack hadn't pulled his gun, but kept his hand on it. He frowned and his eyes narrowed while he carefully stepped around the table and closer to her. "Rose?" he asked, incredulously. "I thought you … this isn't possible."

"Don't run, Jack," she said and there were tears in her eyes. "Whatever you do, don't run. Or he'll find us. He'll find us all."

Jack shook his head. "Rose-"

"I can't stay." She gasped and was gone.

Tosh stared at the spot she'd just stood in, then at Jack who seemed shell-shocked. "Jack?" she asked. "What happened there? Who was that?"

Jack swallowed thickly. "Someone I thought was dead ...," he answered slowly. He blinked and looked down at her. "And that was a warning."