Torchwood: Dragon Age Episode One "The End of Days"

Chapter 4: Things Fall Apart

CONTENT:

Rating: Mature

Flavor: Action/Adventure/Drama

Language: bad

Violence: yes

Nudity: no

Sex: no

Other: none

Number of Gratuitous Jack Deaths: 0/0

Author's Notes:

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

...

from "The Second Coming"
by William Butler Yeats

Special thanks to Ventisquear for continuity checking.

Things Fall Apart

===#===

"You need to call in a tactical nuclear strike-" Jack paced behind his desk, trailing the phone cord. "Yes, I do know how densely populated-! ...Look, unless you want all these people converted into an army that will wipe out everyone on this planet, you will use the tac-nukes. ...If you don't have the balls to do what needs to be done, I suggest you resign and find someone who does!" He threw the handset down so hard, it bounced partway off the cradle.

He leaned on the desk, one hand pressed hard to his forehead. He squeezed his eyes shut, and the muscle of his jaw twitched.

"Jack...?" Gwen approached his half-open door.

At the sound of her voice, he straightened, his face instantly clearing. A relaxed smile played over his lips. "What's up?" He nudged the phone straight.

"You need to hear this." Gwen pushed the door open and beckoned to the elf behind her. "Tell him what you told me, about how you got out of the Vault."

===#===

Tosh got up from her workstation and went to the kitchenette. Ianto looked up from the coffee machine. "Thanks for ordering in sandwiches, Tosh. I could just about murder one."

She smiled. "You would have done the same." He nodded in acknowledgement, then applied his focus to the machine for a minute. Tosh sobered. "Ianto, I need to talk to you about something."

He gave a dial a final adjustment, then turned his full attention to her. "What is it?"

"I had a... vision. I don't know why, or how..." She explained how she'd double-checked the surveillance videos. "I saw my mother. She told me I had to open the Rift, or the storms might tear the world apart."

Ianto pondered her words gravely. Lowering his voice, he said, "I saw Lisa. She told me the same thing."

Toshiko's eyes went wide. If Ianto had seen his deceased fiancee, that had to mean Okasaan was dead, too. Didn't it? She blinked at the stinging sensation she felt in her eyes.

"Tosh, can you calculate the formula for opening the Rift, full bore?"

She nodded. "I have too many things running on my station. Can I use yours?"

"Of course."

===#===

Zevran came into the office and eyed the tall captain while Gwen closed the door. "Tell him how you got out of the Vault."

"The Vault?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "The 'dungeon.'"

"Oh, si! There was a mage. He let us out."

Jack went on alert. "A mage? Who?"

Gwen nodded at the elf. "Tell him the description."

"Some old guy." Zevran shrugged. "Big head, no chin. Actually, it was rather like a turnip. Beady eyes. Wearing clothing like your janitor. Jailer. Whatever you call him."

"Ianto?"

"Si. Like him. Big yellow scarf around his neck."

Jack looked at Gwen. She nodded. "Sound familiar?"

"That guy at the club. In 1941."

"Bilis Manger," she confirmed.

Jack turned to Zevran. "Didn't Ianto see him?"

The elf shook his head. "He was talking to someone else."

"Who?"

Zevran shrugged.

"Okay, what exactly happened? And what did this 'mage' say?"

"He said he used to be the guardian of this Rift you have here, before you drove him out." Gwen quirked a brow at the captain, but he didn't seem to know what that meant, either. "He said we needed the Rift to be opened, that you know how to do that. He said if you open it, we can go home."

"It doesn't work like that," Jack told him precipitously. "How did you get out of the Vault?"

"We said we couldn't do anything stuck in the dungeon," he emphasized the word slightly. "He said there would be an opportunity to leave. We turned around, and there were our weapons. Then the lights went out and the doors opened."

"Bilis wants the Rift opened," Jack said. "He didn't get what he wanted the first time - he's trying again." His eyes lit up like a hunting cat on the scent. Gwen and Zevran got out of his way as he strode towards the door.

===#===

Toshiko logged in at Ianto's workstation and accessed her Rift programs from the network. "Should we ask Jack about this?" she asked hesitantly.

Jack seemed adamant about not opening the Rift. "I don't think-"

Just then, the captain's strident voice rang through the Hub. "Ianto! My office- now!"

They both jumped. Ianto grimaced. "Start the calculations," he told her. "I'll talk to him."

===#===

Jack leaned on the rail, looking down at his team. "Tosh," he called a little less loudly. I need you to locate Bilis Manger. Find out where he is, and even who he is, in this decade."

"I'll get on it," the tech said, not looking up from what she was doing.

"Now!" the captain snapped. "We don't have a whole lot of time, and it keeps getting shorter!"

Tosh pushed away from one workstation to turn to another. "I can only do ten things at once," she growled, mostly to herself.

Gwen put a hand on Jack's arm. "It's all right, Tosh," she called down. "I'll do it." She shot the captain a glance. "I'm not doing anything at the moment."

Jack pulled his arm away from her and turned, almost colliding with Zevran. "And take this elf with you. He shouldn't be wandering around unsupervised." He brushed past on his way to his office.

"He seems... rather uptight," Zevran commented when he and Gwen got to the bottom of the stairs.

"He's under a bit of a strain," Gwen told him. Judging by what she'd overheard in his office, that was a severe understatement.

===#===

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Jack looked up. Ianto stood in the doorway, straight and neat as a pin, as usual. Though a little more casually dressed, since he lost his tie and jacket to bloodstains this morning. He'd also done away with his vest and wore only a button-down shirt. "What's the status of the Vault?" Jack asked him, tipping his head to indicate for him to close the door.

Ianto did so. "The wounded appear to be stable. We've refilled the first level, and the new inmates are still sedated."

Jack watched his face as he reported. The young man had always been reserved, his smiles faint, his scowls little more than a tightening of the lips. He guarded his thoughts and feelings carefully, but Jack had been learning to read him. It was all in his eyes. Right now, he was a blank slate, waiting for his boss to tell him what he wanted. "Tell me what happened down there earlier today." Jack hardened his voice. "And the truth, this time."

A brief flare of surprise, perhaps tempered with anxiety, showed in the Welshman's eyes. It was quickly suppressed. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Zevran told me that Bilis was there, that he's the one who let them out." He saw Ianto blink, that was genuine surprise. "And you didn't see anything unusual before the lights cut out?" Jack prodded.

Ianto didn't answer right away. Was he contemplating lying again? Goddammit, had he lost that much faith in Jack in just a few hours? "I didn't see Bilis there," Ianto finally said.

"The elves saw you talking to someone." Jack clenched his fist but kept his voice level. "Who was it?"

Ianto lowered his eyes. "Lisa," he admitted.

Now Jack knew why he'd been reluctant to speak of it. "That's not possible."

"I know. That's... why I didn't mention it earlier. It just seemed..." He shrugged, his eyes still downcast.

Jack knew this must be painful for him, so he asked gently, "What did she say?" When no answer was forthcoming, he said, "Let me guess. She tried to convince you to open the Rift."

Ianto looked up, the answer clear on his face.

"It's a trick, Ianto. Bilis wants the Rift open for his own purposes."

Ianto's expression closed down again. Jack would give him some time to process the information. He trusted the young man would come to the right conclusion. Jack sat at his desk, dug around for his lost pen, then resumed writing out phrases on an index card. "When Owen comes in, I'd like you to take the Judoon to the Vault." He handed the card up to Ianto. "You'll need this."

He took it, looking at it in curiosity. "What's this?"

"Galactic Standard cheat-sheet," Jack told him with a grin.

===#===

Owen's hand's itched with the need to wash them again. Plague. The Black Death. He gripped the steering wheel harder and suppressed the impulse. He'd worn gloves. He'd scrubbed thoroughly before he'd left the hospital. There was no invisible evil miasma clinging to his skin. The Black Death had killed millions across Europe, but that had been back in the days of superstition and ignorance. These days, it was just a disease like any other. It could be treated, quarantined, contained. But the Rift could spit out anything from anywhere in time and space. What if some future, or alien, pathogen came through, something that made modern medicine look like superstition and ignorance? Forget rampaging dinos and rhinos with guns. There were things more insidious, more dangerous.

He pulled into the Torchwood garage and killed the engine. "Everybody out," he said to his alien passengers. He went around to the boot and shoved the bag of cubes aside to get his hands on the rhino's gun. "Grab that bag," he told the elf. Bannon gave him a dirty look, which he ignored. The elf didn't say anything, but shouldered the trash bag and beckoned to the rhino.

===#===

Ianto met them at the cog door. He held out his hand and started to politely ask for the weapon, but Owen just shoved it at him. "Where's Jack?"

"On the phone again, I believe."

Owen brushed past him.

Unperturbed, Ianto turned to the rhino cop. "Migelekk bripp koo," he said in a clipped tone.

"Sorcha phoo." The rhino crossed its forearms over its chest and bowed.

Bannon slung his burden to the floor inside the doorway.

Ianto said, "Bring that along."

"Hey, just because I'm an elf doesn't make me your servant!"

"Please," Ianto added smoothly. "Thank you."

The elf huffed in annoyance, but picked up the bag again. Ianto consulted the card and said to the rhino, "Morg taag." Then he led the alien entourage off towards the Vault.

===#===

Owen crossed to the workstations, hoping Tosh had figured something out, but he was disappointed. There was a newsfeed up on one of the monitors. The Minister of Defense had declared a state of emergency.

"Oh, that's going to help," Owen griped. "What are you doing? Are we any closer to finding a solution?"

"We're trying to track down that manager from the club," Gwen supplied. "He seems to have something to do with all this."

"Club manager, great. We've got bigger problems."

"Like what?"

"When Jack gets here, we can discuss it." Owen couldn't help it; his eyes were drawn to the newscaster.

"...are reassuring people that this is not the so-called End of Days."

Owen snorted. "We can only hope."

Jack came down the spiral stairs. "I told you, the world is not about to end."

"Well, I'd like to hear your brilliant plan for saving it," Owen growled. "Because right now, the world is on a trip to Hell in a handbasket."

"We do our jobs," Jack said firmly. "We contain the threats."

"What containment? Fill up the Vault again? And then what will we do? Fire up the incinerators and nerve gas them this time?"

Jack's eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms defensively. "I don't think it will come to that. The Rift activity will settle down."

"You think? You can't know that." Owen ground his teeth, jutting his jaw forward. "We can't sit around here with our thumbs up our arses, waiting to play catch with whatever the Rift throws at us. I just came from the hospital, where there's an outbreak of the plague."

"The Black Death?" Gwen asked, fear tingeing her voice.

"The Black Death, bubonic plague. Anthrax, ebola..." Owen paced in agitation, wincing as his shoulder twinged. "The only reason it's contained - if you can call one ward of a hospital contained - is because the woman carrying it blundered into the emergency room. What happens if next time, Typhoid Mary pops into downtown London and takes a stroll down Oxford street?"

"Did you advise the hospital to prepare for these outbreaks?" Jack asked him.

"Of course I did. I put it on the wire - world-wide alert."

Jack shrugged. "Then what else is it you want to do about it?"

"I want to stop it before it happens! What if some disease from the future lands here? Something we've never seen before and have no way to counteract?"

"The hospitals will have to deal with it the best they can."

Owen ran one hand over his hair in frustration. Didn't Jack know how many people could suffer and die while the hospitals tried to 'deal with it'? "That's it? That's your plan?"

"What is it you want me to do?" Jack's voice grew hard.

"You're our leader! I expect you to lead us!"

"Then you need to follow my orders."

"Follow your orders? To keep playing this alien-roundup game for as long as these Rift storms last? That's like putting a plaster on a gaping wound!" Owen glanced around at the others. Toshiko hunched in her computer chair. Gwen had moved up closer to Owen, watching the discussion between the doctor and captain, a thoughtful frown on her face. Ianto had come up from the Vaults, though he could probably have heard the yelling from down there. That elf trailed him, but slipped around to join his blond companion. "You all believe this is a good plan?" Owen gave them all another look. "Seriously, this is the best we can do?"

"What if we open the Rift?" Toshiko asked quietly. "Ju-

Jack cut her off sharply. "No!"

"But-"

"No."

Ianto said, "What if the Rift didn't close properly when Owen opened it? Maybe opening the Rift, with the right equation, could-"

"You don't know a thing about it," the captain snarled at him.

Gwen stepped forward, attempting to quell the seething tension in the room. "It's only speculation. Isn't that what we're here for? To try to find a solution?"

Jack wasn't listening, not even to her. "You know all about it, don't you?" Owen said, facing him squarely. "Captain Jack Harkness, or whatever the hell your real name is, mister future spaceman - we don't know why you're here or what you're really up to."

"If you don't have faith in me, then you don't belong on this team." His eyes, like his tone, were ice.

"Jack-," Gwen tried, but he didn't even blink.

"Is that why you're really here?" Owen snapped. "Maybe this humanitarian bit is all an act. Maybe it's been your plan all along to let this happen. We don't even know if you're really human!"

"Owen!" Tosh gasped.

"Turn in your sidearm and keycard," Jack snarled.

Owen flinched back, blinking in shock. "That's it? The world is going to Hell, and you're going to fire me?"

"If you can't follow my orders, you are finished here."

"Jack, please reconsider," Gwen said.

He turned on her. "Anyone else who feels the same can also leave."

Gwen dropped her eyes. Owen glanced at Toshiko, but no, she wouldn't look at him either. Ianto was loyal to the captain, of that there was no doubt.

"Son of a bitch," Owen swore.

"Sidearm. Keycard. Now."

He yanked his holster free and slapped it into the captain's waiting hand. The keycard followed.

"Dr. Owen Harper," Jack pronounced, the hardassed commander in charge; "you are relieved of duty at the Torchwood Institute. Ianto, escort him out."

"Yes, sir." Ianto stepped forward. At least he had the decency to look at Owen. He didn't push, but waited for the doctor to go ahead of him.

He looked around one last time, exhaled. "Well, it was nice knowing ya's," he sneered bitterly. "For as long as that lasts."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked quietly.

He turned to her. "Oh, didn't they tell you about your severance package?" She shook her head, not sure if he was joking or not. Oh, no. He was not. "No one leaves Torchwood," he explained. "If you die in service, your body gets filed away in a drawer downstairs. Might come in handy later, you know. Want to quit? Or you get fired? They just take your life away." He shot an evil look at Jack, who stood impassive. "Oh, he's a bit busy now, but someday soon he'll get me. Retcon. Erase the last four years of my life."

Owen ran his hands back through his hair. "Christ! One day I'll wake up thinking I still work at Mercy. I'll have no idea what kind of bender I went on to end up in fucking Wales! I'll drive back to London and make a total arse of myself, probably yell at the poor sod who I think took my parking space, then bitch at all the nurses about why the hell I'm not on the duty roster, until they call the psych ward. I'll end up in soft restraints until they can somehow convince me that I've blocked out four years of my life. Then some twat of a therapist will try to talk to me about it, try to unlock these lost memories - fat load of good that will do! I'll probably be in therapy the rest of my fucking life. Christ! I'll have to mourn Katie all over again!"

"Are you finished?" Jack said, his voice hard.

"Yeah." Owen's eyes flicked over his former comrades. "Yeah, I guess I am. Fuck!" He turned his back on them and walked out, Ianto his silent escort.

===#===

Jack watched him go, churning inside with anger and regret. This is how it went. At first, you were different, interesting, funny. A little eccentric. The more they realized, the worse it got, good old human xenophobia. Until 'different' turned into 'inhuman.' Curiosity turned into mistrust, into hatred. He kept his expression neutral, his body stilled, not giving away anything of what he thought or felt inside.

He sensed Gwen wanted to talk to him, to argue. She was professional enough not to do it in front of the others. But he would hear about it. Before she could draw him away, he took a breath and asked for an update on the search for Bilis. He set Owen's keycard and gun on the doctor's desk, shoving aside some of the rest of the clutter.

Tosh brought up the search program. "There are several Mangers, but no Bilis listed with the DMV, or the Office for National Statistics."

"We'll have to start with what we know," Jack decided. "We'll go back to the old theater."

Toshiko looked up swiftly from her monitor. "Is that safe? What if you get caught in the past again?"

"It'll be fine." He flashed his wrist strap. "I'll be able to monitor the Rift energy. We'll keep away from it." He looked at Gwen; she was ready to go. He nodded and turned for the door. Then he stopped suddenly. "Wait a minute!" He looked around. "Where'd those elves go?"

===#===

Zevran took Bannon into an out-of-the-way nook, where there was a sink and some cabinets. The Antivan gestured to a paper-wrapped package on a plate. "They got a sandwich for everyone."

Bannon tore into it. "What, just this one little one?"

"Well, I suppose it is quite lucky that fellow go thrown out. He won't be missing this..." Zevran reached into his leather cuirass and fished out another packet that had been flattened and squashed into a concave shape.

Bannon quirked a brow. "You stole food for me?"

"I was taught by the best, no?" He grinned lopsidedly. "Besides, you would do the same for me."

"Zev, I'm touched." He took the packet and unwrapped it. Something damp and oily got on his fingers, so he licked them off, then tore the damp bread, meat, and lettuce in half. He offered one piece to the assassin. As Zevran reached for it, Bannon leaned in and captured his lips in a gentle kiss. Zevran started to reciprocate with a little more vigor, but Bannon heard the big shem's loud footsteps approaching, and he jerked back.

"Hey!" The captain leaned around the corner. He glanced speculatively at each of them. "What are you doing?"

"Eating!" Bannon said. He shoved a big chunk of sandwich in his mouth before the sham tried to get any. Zevran wolfed his down, too.

"Fine. Stay here." He turned and stomped off again, yelling across the underground hall. "Ianto! You're on elf-sitting duty."

"What's with him?" Bannon asked after he finished swallowing.

"Bad day." Zevran shrugged. "What I want to know is, why is it everywhere I go, there are 'elf-sitters'?"

"What I want to know is, how come I never needed an 'elf-sitter' until I met you?"

"What? You blame this on me?"

"Well, it doesn't have anything to do with me."

"Why you-!"

===#===

When their 'elf-sitter' arrived, Bannon had Zevran's head shoved into the sink. The Denerim elf couldn't find the jug of water to pour on him, which was very lucky - for Bannon! Zevran flailed and cursed in rapid-fire Antivan. If that little bicho didn't let him up, Zevran was going to punch him in the nuts!

"What are you doing?" Ianto demanded.

Bannon released his prisoner, and Zevran shot upright. They both looked at the Welshman. "Um," said Zevran. He pushed his hair back over his shoulder.

"Never mind that," Bannon said. "Do you guys have anything so advanced as indoor plumbing?"

"Yes, in fact we do. Please follow me, gentlemen. I will show you."

"Why's he have to show us?" Bannon muttered. "Like we don't know how to use one?"

"Perhaps it is a magic garderobe!" Zevran said, grinning with excitement. That would be something to see! He caught up to the human.

"We don't call them garderobes," Ianto explained. "They are commonly known as the loo. Or water closet, or WC for short, or bathroom, or lavatory. Torchwood actually has a large lavatory facility downstairs. This," he said, leading them to a dark wooden door on the upper level; "is the upstairs loo."

Beyond the door was an oblong room. By the left wall was an elongated tub that stood on four paws. Zevran stared at them a moment. While it was clear they were decorative and not actually alive, it seemed odd.

The opposite wall had a thick stone basin affixed to it, below a mirror. There was no pitcher here either, but the basin had a hole in the bottom anyway. And on the back wall-

"This is called a toilet," Ianto said. He demonstrated the use of the lid and the hinged seat.

"There's water in it," Bannon said in surprise. Zevran scooted around to look.

"Yes," said Ianto. "We use water in our sewage systems."

"But doesn't it pour down?" Zevran asked. "How can-?"

"Please allow me to explain." The elves watched as Ianto went over how to position the lid and seat for various needs. Zevran suppressed an impatient sigh. How difficult was it to perform basic bodily functions?

"When you're finished," Ianto said; "you will put the lid down and pull the chain. However, for demonstration purposes, we'll leave it up so you can see." The human pulled a handle on a chain dangling from a boxy fixture over the toilet. There was a deep thrum, and a rushing of water that made the elves jump back. A miniature vortex whirled in the water, then it went down and out with a thick gurgle. The emptied bowl started filling up again.

"Hah!" Zevran crowed. "A magic garderobe!"

"It's not magic," Ianto insisted.

"How does it not all leak out, then?"

"It's a U-bend. It uses the principles of gravity and fluid physics."

"Where does it go?" Bannon asked.

"It goes into the sewer system and on to the sewage treatment plant. Now," he added before the elves could launch more questions, "the fixtures up here are antique. Down in the lavatory, and on most modern toilets, there will be a lever instead of a chain. And afterwards..." He turned to the basin. "Always wash your hands." He turned a knob on the back of the basin, and water flowed out of the spout. "Dry here, on the towel. And please remember that others use these facilities, so leave it as clean and neat as you would like to find it. I'll leave you to it, now. We can go over the brush and the plunger a bit later."

Ianto smiled politely at them and turned to go. Bannon asked Zevran if he needed to use the facilities first.

"Nah," the Antivan replied. "I used the little indoor stream, earlier."

"Argh!" Zevran looked over at Ianto, who was now slapping a palm to his face. He didn't know the very prim and proper servant was capable of yelling. "That's not what that is for!"

"Oh, to be sure, I will use the magic garderobe from now on," Zevran assured him.

===X===