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.
It all started out innocently enough, or as innocently as Torchwood can be. It was Tuesday morning, 11am, when the rift alarm went off.
By the time Ianto arrived from the kitchen he just managed to catch the sight of Owen and Gwen's backs as they ran out.
"I'm guessing Jack's gone as well?" He called out to Tosh but she was too busy typing something into the computer. He finished making her coffee and then left it on the table. She was too focussed on whatever she was searching to pay attention, Ianto hovered around for a while before decided he wasn't needed and making his way down to the archives.
An hour or so later they were back, soaking wet, alien in tow. Once Jack, Owen and Gwen were showered, dressed in warm clean clothes and supping one of Ianto's fine brews (even if he did say so himself) and after Jack had made many a comment about sharing a shower with Gwen, they all stood around Tosh's computer listening to the results of her search.
"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, Ianto found it funny that Jack always seemed to know when people on his team were feeling down and needed a boost, all apart from the one member of the team he slept with.
Tosh gave a small smile before telling them the horrible truth.
"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 it's succeeded" Jack said looking straight at Gwen, Ianto felt decidedly ill.
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, Owen on Jack's right side, Ianto thought they looked like the devil and the angel hanging over Jack's shoulders but he didn't know which was which. Tosh stood in the doorway probably ready to flit to her computer if she needed to. This left Ianto no room so he stood outside the doorway, peering over Tosh's shoulder, but keeping far enough away from her so he didn't disturb her.
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. Ianto looked at his watch, which half an hour ago was a normal watch but now was indeed ticking down to something.
"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 pushed past Ianto as she raced to her, 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, and Jack was looking around helplessly. Ianto looked up; the creature was staring right at him.
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. Ianto stood next to Tosh, holding his hand which had gotten burnt when Gwen had knocked the tea he had been trying to give her to calm her down, flying out of his hand.
"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,
Ianto saw Tosh and Owen look at each other, Jack looked even angrier, if that was possible. Ianto watched them, he needed comfort, couldn't Jack see that? No, he was being selfish, he was a man, and he'd survived Torchwood One and everything that happened there. He got through that without a hug or a smile, he could get through this. He wanted to be as strong as everyone thought he was.
"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, his arm tightening around Gwen.
Their watched beeped; an hour and a half left. And that's the moment, when even a psychopathic alien doesn't acknowledge him. That was the moment Ianto knew it would be him.
Their watches beeped again. An hour. Jack had taken everyone's weapons to stop them killing one another before taking his gun and killing himself, 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. It hadn't and now everyone was avoiding each others gaze. Owen picked up Jack's gun 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. Owen looked shocked for a moment before shoving past Ianto.
"Out of my way Tea boy, some of us have got important things to attend to."
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. Ianto knew what everyone was thinking; Gwen had Rhys, Tosh and Owen were the most important to Torchwood out of the four of them, what did Ianto have? He made excellent coffee but was that enough to keep him alive? His fiancé was dead so he had nothing to live for in that sense and because of said fiancé he had nearly got them all killed. It was just a matter of time before someone grabbed the gun and shot him. He hoped it wasn't Tosh, she wouldn't be able to live with herself afterwards, he really hoped it wasn't Gwen, who would probably come up with an excuse and plead with him to forgive her, Ianto didn't know if he could deal with a crying Gwen the moments before his death. He hoped for Owen who would do it quickly and without fuss and would make sure he died straight away.
Suddenly, Jack gasped alive and the creature started laughing, they all ran over to Jack, Ianto held out his hand to help Jack up, who accepted it gratefully before pulling a sniffling Gwen into a hug.
"Thank god you didn't do anything stupid" he declared seeing them all alive and well.
The creature was still laughing as everyone headed towards the room.
"What's so funny?" Ianto heard Owen demand as Ianto made his way over to the table, to where they'd all left the gun in their haste to make it to Jack.
"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..." Ianto heard the creature speaking gleefully as he made his way downstairs. But they did turn on him, or they just never accepted him. It had to be him, anyone else would leave too big a void, Ianto was surplus. An added extra. He made his way to the archives where he spent most of his time. He didn't really want to leave a mess but under the circumstances he was sure they'd understand why he couldn't perform his duties to the best of his abilities.
He put the gun in his mouth tilting it upwards; he'd wished he'd had time to find out the best way to kill himself; he wanted it to instantaneous but then again he had nearly got everyone killed so he supposed he was due a bit of suffering. He closed his eyes and that's when he realised tears were steadily falling down. He thought of Lisa who he'd loved so much, he thought of Jack who he also loved so much. He supposed he'd been lucky in that sense. At least he knew what it was to be in love, he'd known it twice, while some people never found love. He wished he could have told Jack he loved him and with that thought, before he wimped out, he pulled the trigger.
Upstairs, the creature disappeared with a satisfied sigh.