It was four years later that the harmony was disrupted among the little group, codenamed by Torchwood Five the Five Young Lords. They had grown much further than the babies they had been – although they had been much harder to take care of when they were younger.
Jack, named after the Captain, was still as blond as when he had been a baby, although now he had shown he had a happy personality, forever leaving things where they shouldn't be as a sort of joke. His eyes were still a lovely indigo that sparkled when he was laughing.
Sam, a rather silent child, often could be found mucking about with technology, resulting in him being easy to care for – just give him some old parts and a screwdriver and he would be entertained for ages. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes, but his complexion was vaguely eerie.
Nikolai was still being dressed in female clothing and could sometimes be found going through Fi and Hannah's clothes – a trait Hannah encouraged and admitted as her fault entirely. He did look like a girl, as his black hair had been allowed to grow out long, and his sea-green eyes were surrounded by long, curling lashes – he made a beautiful picture however he was dressed.
Vida, the girl, had deep grey eyes that seemed too old and wise for the four-year-old face, which was framed by dark, straight hair that fell to her shoulders. She was reading much quicker than the others.
Cadfan, the last, had good reflexes brought on by Spike training him in a few martial arts. His curly dark hair and blue eyes fitted well with his somewhat tan complexion.
A large space had been cleared to act as a room for the five children, who always were looking for something to interest them. This morning, Vida and Sam were sorting through a box of Lego, taking the black bricks and then building what looked like some sort of large house with them, picking out little themed Lego bits to make it look better, talking in a quiet tone. Nikolai was trying to do some sort of sewing to create something – it looked like a rabbit. He was stuffing it with wool, and his curls were tied into two bunches. Jack was reading a book and turning it sideways to look at the pictures. Cadfan was clicking at a computer, playing a game of some sort, before Nikolai looked up with a smile, walking over to offer him something – a ladybird-shaped button.
"Can I have a go?" he asked, and Cadfan made a little face.
"I got to a good level, Nikky! Why don't you play with Vee and Sam?" he asked, and Vida looked up.
"Because he obviously wants to play with you…We could use both of you to look for things for the Black Castle!" She smiled widely, showing baby teeth, whereas Jack had lost his first baby tooth last week, opting to keep it in a box rather than let any 'stupid girly fairy' have it. Cadfan smiled, pausing the game and reaching out to take Nikolai's hand and pull him over.
"Me and Nikky are gonna build the Grey Castle!" he said adamantly, and Nikolai gave him a big smile. The Black and Grey Castles were something they had made up in a small world of theirs, and would often talk about the journeying knights (themselves, of course). Hannah came walking through with a smile, picking up Cadfan and holding him close. "Hello, my darlings!" she cooed, and Nikolai immediately rushed to hug her, while Cadfan muttered about not being a baby. She put him down gently and ruffled Nikolai's hair.
"Spike wants to go through more training today, but Fi and I thought you might want to have a snack afterwards, so what do you want?" she asked. Vida scrunched her nose up, and grinned suddenly. "Can I have gingerbread?"
"I want jam sandwiches!" Jack said loudly, and Sam bit his lip. He tugged on Hannah's sleeve, and whispered in her ear.
"Of course you can have banana, Sam…Cadfan? Nikolai? What do you want?"
Cadfan fiddled with his braid – his hair was quite long, and he refused to have it cut – and he made a stubborn face. "I want fruit skewers."
Nikolai hugged Cadfan and smiled. "Pear wheels, please!"
Hannah smiled gently, and Cadfan seized Nikolai and Sam's hands, pulling them through the sets of shelving towards the room where Spike would be waiting, while Vida and Jack ran after them.
…
After training, the children were led by Spike to the table, where there were several plates so that there was enough of each food for all the children to have some. Gingerbread men were on one small plate, sliced banana on another, jam sandwiches on yet another, pinwheel sandwiches filled with chopped pear on another, and fruit kebab-style things were on the last. As they were eating, Joseph walked in and gave Cadfan a grin. "So, how is training going?"
Cadfan grinned back and gave him a somewhat sticky thumbs up, while Sam sighed. He was good at defensive arts for his age, but the least capable of the group, whereas he excelled in their lessons that were not as practical. Vida was smart in each, and Nikolai was good at reading, but showed promise with their training – he did not get distracted as he normally would do when they were being taught. Jack was also good at their lessons, but did not pay enough attention.
Spike cleared his throat. "Everyone is doing well, Joseph. By the time they are grown, they will be better, probably, than me." He smiled quickly at Sam, who felt his spirits lift. If Spike didn't mind, it was okay.
After lunch, Nikolai was taken to a corner of the play area by Vida, who wanted to swop beads. These would often be given by Hannah or Fi if they behaved or might be bought especially. Sam was drawing ghosts, while Jack was attempting to learn what he had been told was another language on Earth – French. It was going quite well, but he could only say 'hello', 'thank you', 'good-bye' and 'dinosaur' and remember it. Cadfan had opted to go back to the computer and complete his level.
Vida looked up suddenly, frowning at Sam. "Did you want to sort out the tech again?" she asked, and Nikolai looked as well, before packing his beads away into the box he had been given for them. Sam shrugged but Vida pulled out a box from under the little wooden shelving, in which was several bits of metal and various screws. They began to sort through them and cobbled together some odd things, before undoing them and resorting. Nikolai gave a little huff and went to the wall hanger that he had been bought last Christmas, a My Melody themed one, and starting to sew the rabbit thing he had been making earlier.
…
It was night, and all the children were tucked up, various toys and bits of tech scattered around their play-space. Vida held tightly on to her favourite toy, a bunny with a little ribbon tied around its neck and a tutu – typically the type of thing a child might like. The unknown man let his face soften as he looked at the children. Sam had a toy which looked like a cuddly Ood, and Jack was clinging to a dinosaur. Nikolai was holding a bear in a pink jumper. He could remember a time when his son looked just as peaceful, looked just as calm and happy – although the last time he had seen him like that it had been too peaceful. The man caught his breath as his gaze rested on Cadfan.
He looks just like my son.
Quietly, he tugged the boy's stuffed bear from his arms, scooping him into his arms. It was Ranma, back from the dead! No need for anyone to worry – he would train his son all over again, no one needed to know that Ranma Saotome lay buried in a grave. This, for all anyone knew, was Ranma Saotome.
…
When it was discovered that Cadfan was missing the next morning, the children began to howl and cry, Hannah and Fi sobbing. They would try everything to track him down, but it would all be for naught.
Slowly, without anyone noticing, they accepted that he was as good as dead, and the children grieved until they knew, if anyone asked, that Cadfan was gone. Not dead, they would never say dead, but gone forever.
