Chapter 1
Coming Home

Demons run when a good man goes to war. Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war. Friendship dies and true love lies. Night will fall and dark will rise when a good man runs to war. Demons run but count the cost; the battle's won but the child is lost.

"But who is that which howls the moon; the wolf will change all of the rules."

She walked through the corridors quickly but with a grace unknown to humans. No one so much as looked her way – most of the staff at Torchwood was intimidated by her. She had tried to change that in the beginning – hadn't thought she was really that terrifying – but really, she supposed, there was a reason she was known throughout the universe. Only in whispers.

"Director," she greeted, walking into his office. "I doubt I'll be coming back this time."

The man behind the desk continued typing away on his computer for a few more moments, not looking up as he replied, "And I don't suppose you're planning on telling what's going on?" When he received no response, he turned to look at her. "Is this something we should be concerned about?"

She shook her head in the negative. "It is nothing this world will need to be concerned about."

This really seemed to catch his attention. "This world as in this planet? Or this world as in…"

"As in this world," she confirmed.

"When did you solve the problem?" he questioned, truly curious that she was suddenly will to break all the rules. "You're breaking your own rules now. It's supposed to be impossible."

"I've always known." Her voice became quiet, almost wistful. "But it wasn't time. Now is the time."

"The time for what?" he asked impatiently, although at the same time, knowing she was being intentionally cryptic.

"Night will fall and drown the sun when a good man goes to war." And then she quite literally vanished.

…

Jack Harkness sat at the bar, cringing at this horrible thing called "karaoke night" that Ianto and Gwen had forced him into. Whoever was currently on stage should never be allowed behind a microphone ever again. He'd hoped to drown out the sound if he could just throw back the drinks quickly enough.

I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Tell the world I'm coming home
Let the rain wash away
All the pain of yesterday
I know my kingdom awaits
And they've forgiven my mistakes
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Tell the world that I'm coming

Jack looked up from his drink. The voice was beautiful. He looked towards the stage. The woman was even more beautiful. It was like she was surrounded in a golden light. He'd never seen anything like that. As he stood from his seat, Ianto and Gwen both looked up at him. Ianto grabbed his arm and gave him a questioning glance, but Jack didn't see it. He shrugged his hand off, and continued on towards the stage in a trance.

As the song came to an end, the woman finally lifted her head and her eyes locked with Jack. Her eyes were golden! She gave him a small smile and lifted her hand above her head, palm outward, and made almost a sweeping motion across the room. The lights went out for a moment, and when they returned to normal, the girl was gone. Shaking his head to clear it, he turned and went back to the bar.

"I need a strong one," he muttered to himself. He glanced behind the bartender at the bottles of liquor, attempting to pick his poison. There was one problem with this though. All the words were the same. On every label – everything said the same thing. He looked from side to side – it was everywhere.

Bad Wolf

"We need to go," Jack said frantically to his two companions, and then ran out of the bar without checking to see if they were behind him. Exchanging bewildered glances, Gwen and Ianto rushed after him.

Jack threw open the door and started looking everywhere. "Come on, I know you're out here!" he shouted. Muttering to himself, "I don't know how you're out here. It's supposed to be impossible."

"Jack, what are you on about?" Gwen asked him, frustrated at the knowledge that he was apparently not sharing.

"Captain Jack," a woman's voice said quietly in the alleyway behind the bar. Jack turned, eyes trying to penetrate the darkness. "You are living proof that I do the impossible."

"You're not supposed to exist anymore," he replied, trying to keep his voice even. "You were supposed to be gone."

She laughed, a beautiful and terrible sound, and walked out of the shadows. "The silly doctor, thinking he could be rid of the core of time itself."

Jack gasped at the sight. It was her, but it wasn't. Different, but the same. He couldn't really explain it. "You're not her," he observed.

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "No, I am. I am Rose Tyler. Rose Tyler is Bad Wolf. She's not entirely here right now," she admitted, tapping her temple. "But she can be. She will be, as a matter of fact. I can share. But not yet."

"Are you hurting her?" he demanded.

"Sometimes, I suppose it does hurt," Bad Wolf said slowly. "It's not exactly something that can be helped. And it passes. But there is nothing that can be done about it. Rose knows this. She can see what I can see, which is everything. She knows this is how it's supposed to be."

"Why… Why are you here?"

"So he didn't call upon you then?" she looked almost surprised. "The Doctor."

"Haven't heard from him" was Jack's flippant response.

"Yes," she nodded in understanding, "This doctor runs from his past. Very different from my doctor. So angry. But nonetheless, I heard the call, although I doubt it was mean to reach me. Jack, you and I are going to break the rules."

And with that, the golden light disappeared, and she crumpled to the ground.