Ultimate Sacrifice
Please accept my apologies, I am merely borrowing and playing with characters for a little while. I do not own them or know enough about them or the series to even claim to own it. There will probably be many mistakes in this but I've read it through twice now, so any mistakes are staying.
Summary:
A seemingly harmless alien makes everyone fear for their lives, there seems to be no way out, the creature won't accept Jack's death as he knows it won't be his end. It requires the ultimate sacrifice from another.
The creatures laugh seemed to take over everyone's bodies, everyone froze still and the watches kept ticking.
'Why didn't it work?' Screeched Gwen, looking at the others in shock. Their watches beeped in tandem.
'It was a long shot anyway.' Said Owen, stepping over Jack's dead body and bending down to pick up the weapon.
Only 1 hour left, 1 hour before death.
It all started out innocently enough, or as innocently as Torchwood can be. It was Tuesday morning, 11am, when the rift alarm went off.
"Gwen, Owen, your with me, Tosh follow us on the computer." Torchwoods leader had sprung into action before anyone else reacted.
"I hope it's not another bloody Weevil, please let it be something exciting for once." grumbled Owen as he got in the SUV.
Less than 1 hour later they were back at base, thoroughly soaked through courtesy of the lovely Welsh weather, smallish human looking alien tied up in the boot.
"Lets get him to the interrogation room before we shower, let him stew a bit while Tosh looks up details on the creature" Jack decided. Gwen nodded, not sure if the poor creature deserved to be tied up, it hadn't done anything wrong, had come quite peacefully in fact. Owen didn't like the idea of waiting to shower but helped anyway.
Once everyone was dry and ready for round 2 with the creature they all stood around Tosh's computer listening to the results.
"I couldn't find much; their very secretive creatures these Trobalpocs" apologised Tosh, angry at herself for not been able to find out more.
"Anything you've got will be helpful Tosh" reassured Jack knowing how much she would be kicking herself. A small smile graced her face before she divulged the little she knew. It was not good news
"Deadly, very deadly. Of the five known encounters with Trobalpocs, 2 times everyone died, the other three times at least 1 person died in each encounter, one time the surviving people were badly injured and in every encounter the people who survived were too traumatised to talk about it."
"Lovely" declared Owen
"I won't let anything happen to any of you, if needs be I can let it kill me and it will go back thinking its succeeded" Jack always had a solution and as much as Gwen hated the thought of Jack dying, it comforted her that they had that to fall back on.
"Lets get to it then" said Jack, clapping his hands once before jumping up and heading to the interrogation room, everyone else dutifully followed.
The Trobalpoc looked human but had strangely blue eyes and a distinctly fishy smell. So while Jack sat opposite him at the table everyone else hung back, Gwen to Jack's left side, far enough away to be able to breathe but close enough to Jack he could reach her if needed. Owen stood on Jack's right side, he saw himself as the devil to Gwen's angel. Tosh stood in the doorway, ready to flit to her computer if she needed to. Just as Jack leaned forward to start the interrogation the creature smiled, which spread wider as he looked around the group, eyes lingering slightly too long on each of them, making them shift where they stood.
"Foolish, pitiful humans, never learn. Tut tut, one or all of you will die soon, your watches all ticking down to the time, the end of your time on earth. Either one of you kills yourself or is killed or you all die when your watches reach 3pm. Easiest interrogation ever right?" he laughed. Everyone glanced at their watches, all of them steadily counting down, all apart from one.
"Oh no, not you Jack, we know all about you. No, that would be too easy. No, one of your team must die. Or all of them and you could start afresh. Your good at that aren't you? So who's it going to be?
"How about you?" Jack answered pointing his gun at the creature.
"Try it." A shot rang out and the creatures head fell backwards, blue blood splattered the wall. A moment of stillness before the creature sat up straight, the hole in his head mending in front of them.
Tosh raced to her computer to go find a solution which she knew didn't exist, while Gwen seemed to be in shock, looking at her watch which still counted down, Owen was trying to get his watch off with no success.
Half an hour later they were all sat on the couches, Gwen had had a crying fit and now had a blanket around her shoulders and a tea with more brandy in than water, Jack sat next to her trying to comfort her. Tosh stood alone with her arms wrapped around herself while Owen paced back and forth cussing up a storm. The creature sat very still watching them through the window, his smile never changing.
"I'm sorry but someone has got to say it- who's it going to be then?" Tosh's voice had never seemed so small. Owen's pace stuttered before he picked up speed.
"No ones dying," growled Jack.
"I've got Rhys, poor Rhys, I'm getting married, I can't die." pleaded Gwen,
Tosh and Owen looked at each other, Jack looked even angrier, if that was possible.
"I suppose you could look at it that way." Called out the creature "or by who's most useful to Torchwood Jack, Tosh is very good with computers and Owens the resident doctor, so altogether their on even footing really."
"SHUT UP!" shouted Jack, arm tightening around Gwen.
Their watched beeped; an hour and a half left.
Their watches beeped again. An hour. They had killed Jack, just to see if it would work, if the creature would disappear before their eyes like he promised to do when the deed was done. Well Jack had killed himself to stop anyone else from having to do it. It hadn't worked and they all skirted around his body and blood. Owen had picked up Jack's gun (Jack had taken everyone else's gun and locked them all safely away) and declared they'd have to kill one of themselves. Gwen had begged for time to phone Rhys and Tosh made them all agree to sit down in 10 minutes time to talk. Owen had scoffed at the suggestion
"And what a polite, easy conversation that will be."
"You're the one holding the gun so surely your safe." Retorted Tosh before she went off to make the most important phone call of her life. Owen looked shocked by her gumption before going off the find somewhere private- if he was going to die he wanted a good orgasm and a stiff drink beforehand.
Half and hour left and there was dead silence around the table as they all stared at one another, waiting for someone to give in.
Suddenly, Jack gasped alive and the creature started laughing, after collecting Jack and pulling the still weak man up
"Thank god you didn't do anything stupid" he declared seeing them all alive and well.
The creature was still laughing when they made it to the room.
"What's so funny?" demanded Owen, taking the creature by the scruff of the neck
"I don't know if you're the bravest group I've met, or the stupidest. By now all the other groups had fallen apart and turned on each other but you lot, despite a bit of a hysterical moment" the Trobalpoc glanced at Gwen. "You've handled it quite well. Maybe you all want to die? Is working for Jack really that bad?" His grin got wider.
And then he burst out laughing again as they stared at him in horror.
"Why are you doing this?" screamed Gwen.
"Just kill me Jack and make it quick, before I do something I regret" Owen declared. Tosh had backed herself into the corner of the room and was silently crying and shaking. Jack just looked at one to the other in the room, looking lost.
The laughing got louder.
And then he disappeared.