Written by twtl and Z.

DISCLAIMER: We don't own Torchwood. We don't own Doctor Who. We wish we could own them both, but we can't. Hell, we'd settle for the K9 spin-off pilot that failed many years ago... but sadly, we can't have that either. All of that is owned by the BBC.

TORCHWOOD: RESURRECTION
CHAPTERS 29-31

CHAPTER 29

Her mother had left her alone. It was two hours of excruciating solitude. Two hours left in her childhood home to examine knick knacks and photographs. She listened closely to the sounds of cars outside. She hoped her ride would come before Gwen's return.

She froze in the sitting room when she heard her mother's footsteps in the house. The purposeful steps on the hardwood floors alerted her to the woman's direction.

"Matilda!"

"In here," she replied, tuning from the mantle where she had been inspecting a chipped vase. As she turned, she saw her mother enter the room with a rusted metal box under her arm. Keen brown eyes spotted the dirt that had caked itself on the latches and hinges. The smudges on her clothes told her the woman had been the one to dig it out of the ground.

"Come here." Gwen sat in a plush, floral print chair. She set the box on the low coffee table that served as the room's centerpiece. Mattie did as she was told. Her resolve faltering for just a moment as she sat close by on one of the two couches. Her eyes went from the box to her mother's face.

"How long ago?" Gwen asked.

"What?"

"How long ago did you-"

"Four years. From the start."

"And your brother?"

"Two, avoiding a prison sentence." Mattie sat with her hands pressed between her knees. Under her mother's intimidating stare she felt 13 again and compelled to speak. "He's actually responsible for the implants I have now. I used to have to wear god awful leg gear He's so good with tech mum. And the languages-"

"How many times did you drug me?"

"What? I'd never-"

"Don't lie to me. I know you've done it. I may not remember, but there's a pattern that follows you girl. Your visits are usually... hazy. I know you've been by, but not anything you've done."

Mattie was silent, staring at her knees.

"How many times?"

"I... I don't remember. Ten? Maybe twelve? But you have to understand, mum. You were in my position once."

"And the last time I saw you?"

"I had it with me," she said guiltily. "But I never used it. I... didn't need to."

Gwen nodded. That at least wasn't a lie. She remembered quite clearly her daughter's last visit. Leaning forward, she brushed some of the dir from the box. As she opened it, the hinges creaked.

Mattie looked up, eyeing the box as it was opened. Inside she saw an earpiece. Similar to the ones she used a work, but bulkier. Ancient compared to modern standards. This was taken out and put aside as her mother dug deeper. She found an envelope beneath various gadgets. She held this out to her daughter.

"Take them."

"What... what are they?"

"You'll see," she replied, sitting back.

Mattie opened the envelope and pulled out a sheaf of papers and photographs. The photos were old, brittle. And in them all she saw the same face. The same man.

Gwen saw her daughter's reaction. "You recognize that man?"

Slowly, her daughter nodded. "It's him. The man we pulled out of a weevil den after a rift spike."

"This box, and a few other items, was all I could take from the crater. I couldn't bear to destroy them. Some of these things I wouldn't even know how to. So I buried it in hopes I'd never have to look at it again."

"Mum..."

"Torchwood consumes and corrupts everything it touches. It was a great, wonderful thing once. But no more. Not since that time. It takes everything and leaves you a hollow shell. From it, there's only one true escape."

"Death," Mattie said. "I know." She slid the papers and pictures back into the envelope. Leaning forward she put it back in the box.

"Rhys says I'm the lucky one. I survived. But at times I wish I'd been the one in the building when it was gassed." She shook her head. "You have a choice to make. You're young; you still have time to get out alive before it destroys your soul. Your family, your life, or... them."

"My life for the sake of billions is a risk I'm willing to take every day."

Gwen nodded, rising from her chair. "You'll never live long enough to understand what you're fighting for... And you'll never understand why I'm going to do what I'm about to do. But it's from a mother's love for her child." She drew a deep breath, and then looked her daughter square in the eye. "My children are dead."

"But mum!"

"Never darken my door again. Take the box and leave."

Storming out, she slammed the door to the hallway behind her. Mattie listened to the footfalls as Gwen went upstairs. Running through the house. They stopped in the master bedroom. Swallowing hard, Mattie looked at the box of secrets. "You're wrong," she whispered. "I do understand..." She put a hand to he stomach briefly. "More than you'll ever know."

Half an hour later Mattie's ride arrived. She took the box with her.

Gwen watched on in silence from her bedroom window, heartbroken as only a mother could be.

Jack reached out and grabbed Jesse by the waist. He swung her around to face him with a cheesy smile on his face. "Where's the fire missy?"

"Quin. He's with Eddie. We must get him out."

"He's a big boy. Can take care of himself."

She pulled away, shaking her head furiously. "You don't understand! He and the beast! They're linked! And the beast is linked to the others! When he's awake, it can use him!"

"Use him how?" Jack asked, taking her by the arm. He pulled her to the nearest elevator.

"I... I can't be sure. But... Morloki are telepathic. Eddie's infected, the same way my mother was."

"Whatever Eddie knows, it knows?"

She nodded. "And he knows everything about this place. And it can make him kill."

It had taken quite a bit of sedative, but Quin had been able to calm him down enough to talk. He had both video and sound recording as he attempted to pry information out of him.

"Just a few more," Quin said. "Ho long have you been having the nightmares?"

Eddie groaned. He was somewhere between waking and dreaming. His mind filled with Her song. His brain feeling as if someone were sifting through it. Commanding him to rise, to kill, to eat. "I..." he managed."She won't stop..."

"Concentrate Edward. Focus only on my voice. I know you can do it."

"I... The parasite. You took it... Every time I close my eyes. She's there." His voice was strained, his tone becoming more and more child like in nature. Wide, tear rimmed eyes stared straight at Quincy. "She knows you," he said, fear overcoming him. "You're dead! You can't be here!"

Quin grabbed up a syringe. Quickly he hooked it into the IV. As he administered the different medications, the young man continued shouting as he fought against his bonds.

"You! You'll ruin everything!" Then, as Quin snapped the last of his syringes onto the tubing, Eddie's eyes narrowed as he watched him from the corner of his eye. His voice became that of the beast, that of the Morloki. "We will rise and we will devour. Lilith will take the immortals and she will make them like US."

As Quin injected the last syringe into the IV, he prayed it would work. The hunger, the evil left Eddie's face, and once more he was the wide eyed, fearful human. "Won't... Won't let you..." He started to drift off into slumber as the door opened to the cell. "Have them."

Jesse ran to the bedside, grabbing Quin by the arm. "Are you alright?" she asked in a panic.

Quin nodded, removing himself from her grip to clean up his supplied. "Didn't get quite what I wanted, but I learned a great deal near the end."

Jesse waited for him to face her before raising her hand in rage. She slapped him across the face hard enough that Jack heard it from the door. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"It was necessary," Quin said nonchalantly.

Jack frowned, stepping aside to let them pass. "Necessary or not, you put us all in danger. Jess was just telling me how when the kid's awake the monster-"

"Has access to his memories. I guessed as much when it took him over," Quin said. "Inform he commander that I've had a breakthrough in the case. Boardroom meeting is needed." He left them behind outside the cell. They followed, but Quin was able to cut them off by hitting the door close button in the elevator.

Jesse and Jack were waiting in the break room, enjoying a dinner of whatever they could pull out from the fridge when Harborne's voice boomed over the PA system. He instructed them to congregate in the boardroom.

"Every damn time," Jack said.

Jesse sighed. "Someday we'll get to have a proper sit down meal without him squawking at us."

"If only," Jack replied. He helped her quickly tidy up before escorting her to the oversized office. "After you," he said, holding the door open for her.

Just as before, Harborne sat at the head of the table. Each member took their place, with one change. Jesse sat in Eddie's seat rather than Quin's. Already, cups were set out.

Harborne was looking over a datapad while absently sipping his hot tea.

"Glad to have you back Matilda," he said, setting the pad down.

The woman nodded, noting her brother's absence. One hand lay on the dirt crusted box on the table. "Where's Eds?"

Quin drew a sharp breath. Jack broke in first. "Locked up."

"What?"

"He's in a coma. Has been since last night. I was forced to chemically induce one after Jesse found him in a catatonic state on the floor. It was around the time you two jumped," Quin explained before Jack could answer her. "But that's not all."

He tapped the table, activating a built in touch screen at his seat. He typed in a few nodes to bring up the video feeds of the Morloki and Eddie. "This is streaming right now. It appears docile, just standing there doing nothing," he said, and then called up the footage from his time with Eddie. For Mattie's sake, he left the audio on mute. She didn't need to hear he strangled screams of her brother before he had been calmed by sedatives.

"These are from earlier. Taken at the exact same time. Watch as the monster becomes agitated as Eddie comes around."

The monster in the cell became agitated, violent as it clawed at the walls in abandon.

"It became calmer here when I began administering the sedatives. It found the place in the wall where the door is hidden. It even felt around for the secret control panel. Thankfully it needs both body heat and the correct DNA to reveal itself. Otherwise..."

"Enough," Mattie said, looking away in disgust. Quin obliged, removing the video holograms and replacing them with he written data he had compiled.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Harborne, who had been silent until now snapped. "Quarantine means QUARANTINE! You take a risk like that you better be ready to die for it!"

"Without that risk, I wouldn't have proven Jesse's story and my theory. We wouldn't know the extent of his infection, nor how he got that way. And we wouldn't know that they not only want Jack, but you as well, Sir." Quin's last remark was spoken like a backhanded slap in the face.

"Boys calm down," Jack said. "Unless someone starts handing out options the little lady's going to start shooting." He nodded to Mattie.

Silence hovered in the boardroom for what felt to Jack an eternity before Harborne spoke up. "While they've infested the whole city, my contact in the slums verified the existence of not just a nest, but the main hive in the Bay. We know they thrive in complete darkness, and like he morlocks of H.G. Wells they consume human flesh, are insanely fast and are more powerful than any weevil."

Mattie nodded. "When Eds and me... There was a fight over territory. But when I went back with Jack there were only those things. And they're smart. Laid traps. Pinned us down."

"They knew you were coming. Though at the time the telepathic link was still weak, Eddie was still connected. Our plans were taken from his mind without him ever knowing it."

Jack grunted in agreement. "From what I could see there were three types. Pawns; drones like at the Opera. Cannon fodder for the girl's heavy fire. Then something like a berserker. The real wild ones. Nothing could take those things down."

"And the third?" Harborne pressed.

"They hung back. Looked a bit like the one in the cell. I'd say they were controlling the others."

Mattie agreed. "Sounds about right. I'll look in the databases. See who's missing and fit the criteria. Quin, you'll get me up to speed?"

"Of course. They'll have had the parasite removed somehow. We'll start with the NHS and work out from there."

Harborne looked from them to Jesse and subtly shook his head before speaking. "According to my contact, the hive is buried deep in the old Torchwood tunnels. Most likely the ones directly beneath the water. That's why you couldn't sense them when we were there before. Jack, I need you to map out everything you know about the old base. Every last tunnel. We'll use those to plan our next move."

"Got it," he said. Jack had seen the silent signals between the leader and the Sardosi. Though in Harborne's personal server he saw bits and pieces of her, something still didn't sit right with him about those two.

"I've got a theory I need to test. We may need to bring him back around," Harborne said. "Mattie, as your brother's proxy, I need you permission."

"You don't need it," she said.

He nodded. "You're right. But I want your consent. It's... the humane thing in this situation."

"I don't think it's wise to wake him again. He's on the brink. It nearly took him over. It did, briefly." Quin said.

Mattie was silent. He was all she had left in the world now. If she lost Eds, she didn't know what she would do. Her mother was right. Slowly she nodded. "He knew the risks when he signed on, as we all did. Do what you must."

Harborne nodded, and then turned his attention to Jesse again. "How's your voice?"

"Well rested. Why?"

"Sapas discovered a Queen Bee. She was singing to Sardosi drones. I want to see if you can reproduce the same results. If so, you'll be the ticket in the door. If all goes well Cardiff will be Morloki free." He sipped his tea, pulling a face when he found it cold. "Dismissed."

Each went their way. When Jack rose, Harborne looked right at him. Jack froze on the spot under that young but ancient gaze. In that one brown eye Jack saw the same commanding presence he always felt in the Tardis.

"Sit," Harborne said as he took off his eye patch.

Closing his eye, he rubbed the one that had been covered as if it still hurt. He opened them again, and Jack saw only one brown... the new one was blue. The same striking, brilliant blue as his own.

"You know something else."

He nodded, setting the eye patch on the table next to his tea. "I can't go into specifics. But because of who you are, who we are, I can bend the Laws of Time a little. You were brought back here for two reasons. But there's only one I can elaborate on because it pertains to our current predicament."

"Explain."

"The Morloki want to infect you, that much is obvious. They'll try again but not for a very long time from your perspective. This time, they had a little help. It wasn't random chance the rift picked you up. They have control of the rift manipulator. I was one of the few artifacts never recovered. They think if they infect you, you'll be the perfect host."

"How do you know?"

"I can't tell you that. If you knew, it would change the pasts of everyone here. Myself most of all. But you needed to know."

He nodded reluctantly. "Understood," Jack said. "So... the perfect host. Can't die. Endless supply and all that."

"Exactly. They infect you now, and the Earth is doomed. Humanity is doomed. Not just because of the present, but what you're meant to do in the future. Don't know about you, but I quite like Earth. It's the birthplace of Starbucks and soft-core porn in the form of historical dramas."

"You didn't have many friends as a child did you?"

Harborne smirked. "My best friends are a vicious beast from Barcelona and an alien singer that wants to sleep with every male she meets."

"Remind me to sign you up for some after school sport."

"I was captain of the Math Team, and president of the Astronomy Society."

"Not an improvement," Jack said.

CHAPTER 30

Jesse stepped into the office with a groan. Dawn had come and gone. She had been singing through a microphone to the monster all night with no success. I just stood there, staring at the camera as if it could see her. Once she thought she'd gotten through to it, but it was really the creature moving to sit down like a person.

She threw herself into one of the chairs in front of the desk. "I'm beat," she croaked, rubbing her throat. It hurt to even speak.

"I've been going over the video from Quin's interrogation. It's... frightening. But I think they key is the period when Edward was sedated. As you saw, when he first woke it was wild. But when he was in the twilight state it functioned like it was clear headed. Through him the thing knew where the door was, and the panel to open it."

She nodded and croaked out, "Linked minds. Telepathic."

Harborne agreed, having already known that. "He has to be conscious for it to function normally. Maybe we're going about this the wrong way. I'd hoped he could stay asleep... But you should be singing to Eddie. Modern science claims people in comas can hear those around them"

"Interesting theory, but unproven. Too many variables."

Jesse jumped in her seat at Quin's sudden arrival. But her surprise was quickly overcome as she took the warm cup he offered her. She sniffed it before drinking it down greedily.

"Peppermint," he said. "To soothe your throat."

"Any news?" Harborne questioned him.

"Some. None of it good sir." He set down the tray he had brought in for the singer and closed the door. "Secure the room."

Harborne quickly checked for cameras and audio. "Clean," he said.

"I feel I've been compromised."

"How so?"

"Eddie... claimed the one controlling the beasts knows me."

"I saw the video. It could be delirium."

"You know better than that." Quin shook his head. "Near the end he was trying to fight it. But it would be best if I kept a distance from the case. Remain on research only."

"No."

"But James," he said. "We can't risk exposure. It can change everything. Aside from Eddie, Jack's already found me once."

"No jump coordinates. Not his fault you were out looking for dinner."

Quin frowned. "I'm serious. He suspects. I can see it in his face. If Eddie's ravings reached him-"

"And I said no. We're a man down and I need all hands on deck. You'll just have to get creative. I don't care how. Just do your damn job."

"Of course." I'll do what I can to suppress information." He cut his eyes to Jesse. "All information."

It had been a long night. All nights sine this had begun were long. Her apartment was silent. No annoying typing to keep her awake. No one getting Hot Pocket crumbs all over her couch. No spilled coffee on the counter left to dry and stain the tea towels near it.

For the first time in her life, Matilda felt completely alone. Her brother was in a coma. Her mother had disowned her. Because of this she'd been cut off from her father. No even her friends on the force knew she was still alive. Even if they did, she couldn't tell them anything without wiping their memories of it.

Sighing in hopelessness, Matilda made her way to the kitchen, dropping the messenger bag full of files on the couch as she passed. There was a fresh bottle of rum in the fridge calling her name just as strongly as her bed.

Mattie spent the morning drinking and reading until her eyes hurt. File after file of NHS reports. Only a handful more were added to those she had found with Quin during the night. The criteria, while a short list, was very specific. It would be easy to miss if she didn't' know what to look for.

He found Jack at a terminal, digging in the computer archives. From the body language, Quin could tell the man was itching for action. Sitting around the hub was getting to him.

"Wouldn't do to go in uninformed," Quin said.

Jack glanced over his shoulder. "I'll have the maps done soon. There's tunnels not even I knew about."

"Naturally," he replied. "I need you to do something. We were trying to avoid it, but it turns out we really do need to wake him again. If it works, you'll see action soon enough."

"Why not you? You've done it once."

"It's complicated. My access to the cell was revoked because I broke the quarantine. Sort of his way of teaching me a lesson I suppose."

Jack turned around in his chair. This was the first quiet moment since he arrived which allowed him to be this close to the elusive man standing before him. No aliens, no jumper sickness, no one about to die. Complete peace. "Who are you?"

"Not who you think."

"How would you know?"

Quin's green eyes seemed to smile behind his mask of indifference. "I've studied the files of every Torchwood operative of the past and present extensively. It's my job to know what you're thinking ten steps before you do."

"Sounds familiar," Jack said gravely.

It was then Quin did something Jack hadn't expected. He laughed. A full bodied guffaw of a laugh. "Come on Jack old boy. Aside from time travel, how else could I be the same guy? I mean really? I've studied the records. Do we look like we have the facilities for that sort of work? Even if we did at one time, you and your team destroyed it."

"Your boss has a standard issue Time Agent teleporter strapped to his arm."

Quin puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. "Let's just get back to work." He pointed to the box of supplied he'd left out from his interrogation the night before. "I'll give you instructions over the comms. It's critical you get the dosages exactly right."

Groaning Jack turned back to his screens and cleared them. He was starting to think the entire mystery would remain just that. He got up and went to the bin, then followed Quin to the elevator.

"Next time you do a personnel search, look up Black Archive node RM292. Maybe reviewing the old UNIT files will help clear things up for you."

Harborne was in one of the lesser used areas of his facility. One no one else knew about. He was sitting down, but in his mind he was standing.

Physically he was wearing a headband, wires hanging out the back connecting him to a small green box. The box was called by those who created it a Telecube. On Earth, there were 4 known in existence, though records stated there were at one time 5.

Harborne, in his love of classic 20th century literature, called these boxes the palantiri after the tales of author J.R.R. Tolkien. He named them thus because they served a similar purpose.

The young man was using it because it was the most secure method of meeting with the other Torchwood directors who worked and operated in other parts of the globe. Thus, his mind was in a digital representation of a boardroom resembling King Arthur's court. Specifically the Round Table. His presence was represented by an avatar in the costume of a royal fool. He retained his physical appearance in all but dress.

"You'd better have a good reason for this," said Martha, clad in armor. She seemed as if Joan of Arc, a banner planted in a stand a few feet behind her chair bearing the insignia of the Home Office in Glasgow. She did not appear the aged leader, but rather her youthful self as she had been when she walked the Earth so long ago.

"Who chose the theme this time?" he asked.

"I assumed it was you. You called this get together."

A laugh. A figure emerged from a corridor. "Sorry. That was me," the woman said. She was dressed in a stereotypical High Renaissance gown. The flowing skirts of her dark green dress kissed the floor as she walked. "I've been reading the old Arthurian legends lately. Would have pegged you as a mighty knight, James."

He forced a smile, his tone sarcastic. "Good to see you, too Cassandra."

"So why the secret meeting?" the princess asked as she took her place across from Martha. "My team and I are in the middle of tracking a pack of wild were-dingoes."

"And I'm late for a meeting with the King," Martha said as she crossed her arms.

There was a loud crack of thunder echoed through the great hall. There was a throne gilded in gold beneath a mural of St. George. From behind it emerged a man. Graying in the bead; the top o his head covered in a shining silver skullcap. He wore plain black robes and carried a staff.

Harborne and Martha recognized him immediately. It was Merlin from Harborne's favorite childhood film Excalibur. "Five," the commander said.

The Merlin figure nodded, taking his place opposite the young man. He sat silently, staring at him expectantly yet bored.

"I won't dress it up. Things in my territory aren't going well. Martha, since you left Eddie's condition has worsened. He's now in a coma."

"What?"

"There's more. We've got an infestation worse than any weevils I've ever seen. Streaming what we know now. We're trying to weaponize Jessica O'Mally's voice. So far no success. My men are trying one more option on that front."

Cassandra was looking over a piece of parchment with the streaming data on it. "What do you want us to do?"

"I need fresh eyes. It's not a typical bomb and blast. The presence of Captain Harkness adds problems. There's information of the past, but centuries into his future that we have to suppress. It's making him... difficult. I've given him as much as I could without altering too much. What he's seen so far has already affected my memories. So far, Quincy and Jesse are unaffected. I'm attempting to keep the temporal damage to a minimum."

"You're playing around with your own timeline, James," Martha said. "You saw what it did to the Doctor. We can't lose you, too."

"That's not the problem here," Cassandra said, laying the parchment down. "What we need to focus on is your infestation."

Five, who had been silent, spoke. "There is no time for me to send additional agents," he said, stroking his chin.

Martha nodded. "And my extra men left yesterday for Utah. Locals there claimed to find dragon fossils."

"You've got a seemingly sound plan, but there are two flaws," Cassandra said. "Not even O'Mally's pipes can hold out forever. Even if she manages to subdue he creatures, you'll need to be ready for the backlash when she stops."

"I'm going into the heart of the nest personally."

"The risks for the captain are he same for you young man. More so given your superior genetic code." Five shook his head. "You need someone expendable."

"None of my people are expendable," Harborne snapped.

"Secondly," Cassandra interrupted. "If you destroy the rift manipulator you can't send him back where he belongs. It would be better to salvage it."

"No," Martha said. "Torchwood tried to control the rift once before. It nearly ripped the world apart. It must be destroyed."

"Then you're faced with stranding the captain on Earth and further unraveling a very critical point in Time."

"Better than leaving us open to temptation. The manipulator offers ultimate power. No one, especially us, should ever have power like that."

Five looked at Harborne as the women squabbled. He gave the commander a wicked smile. "The old conundrum of the One Ring. You're the guardian the Tardis chose for the rift. What say you?"

All eyes were on him, and he nodded. "I will destroy it."

"Wit that settled, I want to point out the most dire flaw of all," Five said. "Agent Williams is infected. I have just reviewed the information regarding your past with Agent O'Mally. Her mother was infected. She turned fully into one of these... Morloki. Like Williams her parasite had been removed. There is no cure."

"We will find one," Harborne said boldly.

"Are you prepared to kill him if you don't find one?"

He was silent. Three pairs of digitized eyes were on him. It felt the same as if they were real and in that small dark room with him.

"I thought not. If he becomes one of them you are faced with a second infestation. Worse because then they'll know everything about your operations. The entire defense network of Earth that your technology expert designed, and control of he rift."

"I won't give up on him. I can't. Eddie's..."

"James, you may not have a choice." Martha's voice was as soothing as she could make it. "Send samples to Glasgow. I'll put my best minds on it. If we can't find a cure, we have a chance at developing a vaccine."

He nodded.

Cassandra sighed. "Well... According to your background info, this mess is tied closely to the Sardosian migration. There's a colony in the outback. I'll send a few people out there to canvas the area for information."

Then, she was gone. She had broken the connection, causing her avatar to vanish. Martha rose from her seat and went to him. She put a hand on the commander's arm. It almost felt real. "We'll save him. But right now you need to keep your head on the mission. Let my people do the science."

Soon, it was only the two men. And Harborne couldn't even be sure the other was a man.

"There's something else," Five said. "The attack at the crater. We've been sifting through the data Murdoch brought back with him. It's not directly related to your current situation, but a harbinger of what's to come. The energy readings are identical to those given off by Verta. Radiation of the time vortex, with a strong dose off huon energy and something we cannot trace. What we do know is the exact same energy signatures were last seen in Berlin during WWII."

"What are you saying? Somehow these things are connected to Quin? And that Torchwood Four-"

"We can be sure of only one thing here. Those were scouts. Sent back in time to find something with more power than anything we have ever known. The power to reshape time as it sees fit. Only Torchwood Four knew where it was."

CHAPTER 31

This time Eddie was blindfolded. Jack was instructed not to speak while in the cell as Quin guided him through the procedure. Soon Eddie lay groaning. He could sense someone nearby, and continuously asked for them to speak. But Jack kept his silence.

Quin watched on a screen outside the cell holding the actual beast. The screen was split, showing the beast and Eddie. "Alright Jesse. I've got the system set up. They'll hear you, but you won't hear them. Start when you're ready."

Up in the main offices, Jesse too watched on a split screen. Putting on the headset she adjusted the microphone piece at her mouth. She began the first song that came to mind. An ancient Sardosi lullaby her mother used to sing.

Quin watched the monster closely as it continued to examine the cell with a scrutinizing eye. At first there was no effect. But after a few moments he noticed the creature's reaction time had slowed. It was stumbling about, unsure of its movements.

"Try another song," he suggested.

She racked her brain for something, anything she could remember. Then it came to her, and she belted out a traditional war song of the Yngryss tribe.

Instantly the Morloki became enraged. Eddie thrashed against the straps that held him down.

"Back to the first one!" Jack shouted despite knowing she would not hear him.

Seeing the effect it was having, she cut herself off and restarted the lullaby. Once more the monster calmed. It stumbled in confusion before collapsing in a heap on the stone floor. Quin let her finish out the song before breaking the audio to Eddie's cell.

"Jack, he said. "Give him the cocktail and get out. We got what we needed."

Soon the trio were back together at the workstations reviewing the footage. Jesse was in awe at what she had done.

"I don't know how," Quin said. "But I'm glad it worked."

Jack laughed, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "So am I. Thought the kid was going to break his neck trying to get loose."

Quin glanced at his hand from the corner of his eye, but made no move to shrug it off. "You guys get out of here for a while. I'll write up a report and dissect the data."

"Come with us," Jesse said. "We couldn't have done this without you."

"I don't know.. There's still a lot to do. The commander-"

"Can spare you for an hour or three," Jack said. "My treat."

"You're using our credit cards."

"Okay, so technically your treat. But it's the thought that counts. Besides, I'm dying for a real meal."

After more poking and prodding from Jack and Jesse, Quin finally agreed. He insisted on no Chinese, Italian, or Indian food.

Mattie strolled back into work with a horrible hangover and a strange craving for sharp cheddar. What she found was an empty hub and computers whirring along on autopilot. She plopped down at her station and booted up her systems. She wanted nothing more than to crawl under her desk and sleep, but unfortunately the world still needed saving. She started a check of news feeds.

Just because they were working a case already didn't mean Torchwood worthy news didn't stop happening every day. What Mattie wouldn't give for a normal workday.

The young woman was oblivious to her boss as he came through the workroom and slid up to Eddie's complex systems.

"Didn't know you were back," he said. "Any leads?"

His cheerfulness only added to the throbbing in her skull. "A few," she forced out.

"Good. Good. Say... have you ever worked with the theory of intelligence transference?"

"The what huh now?"

"Take that as a no," Harborne replied. "Do me a solid and take Rose out of the kennel. She's been in there patching up for long enough. Needs to exercise."

The fact that he was not only cheerful but also hyperactive annoyed and slightly upset her. She was so angry when she turned on him she didn't even notice he'd taken off his eye patch. "Is there anything about this that gets to you? Are you so inhuman that you ENJOY watching people die?"

He turned on her with venom in his words. "My dad comes to Earth and I can't even rip into him because what he's done to me he won't do for another 200 years. Your brother didn't report his injury until it had festered and now he's the single most dangerous thing in this place. My... I have to constantly keep tabs on Quincy because if I leave him in the same room as Jack for too long they might end up bumpin uglies and my ex-wife is eating everything in sight while trying to encourage them to jump each other! My dog was nearly ripped to shreds! Oh yeah, then there's your fucking feelings!" He was visibly shaking with pen up rage.

"So sorry your royal highness if I seem a little preoccupied with saving the fucking day! AGAIN!"

For a second she thought he may jump and pummel her. She had seen him fall into fits of anger before, but this... She never wanted to see that murderous look of unchecked rage in him again. His hands were so stiff when he went back to work she was afraid he'd break the console on which he typed.

"He's your-"

"Don't," he spat, now focused on his work. "Go there and the last thing you ever see will be my face as I choke the life out of you."

Jesse wore a satisfied smile on her face as she sat back and rubbed her stomach. Jack was thankful they'd landed in a buffet.

The staff on the other hand...

"So," he said. "Outside work, how do you know each other?"

"It's complicated," Quin replied.

Jesse laughed. "No it's not," she said. "He stole my husband." She grunted when Quin elbowed her in the side. "What? He's bound to have figured it out on his own. If not now, then soon."

"Yes, but we were under orders not to discuss certain things with him."

"Come on! He's a smart man. It's so obvious."

"Uh... still here guys," Jack said.

Quin covered his face with a groan. Once the alien girl got started on a subject there was little anyone but Harborne could do to stop her.

"I was married to James ages ago. We grew up together, sort of. Anyway, I needed a cover during the witch hunts in Dixie so we got married. Convenience more than anything. He saw other people, so did I." She picked at a dinner roll.

Jack leaned forward with interest. "So you two never..."

"Oh, we did. Mostly because there wasn't anything good on tv. I learned a lot about humans that way. But... He left after a while. When I found him again, he'd moved in with this guy here."

Quin's face was red as he tried to hide himself in embarrassment. "What part of classified do you not understand woman?"

"What? It's not like I'm giving out all he details."

Jack smiled to himself. In all the misery and sorrow and drudgery around them these two could still find moments like this. Moments of laughter, of embarrassment. Some of the things that made life worth living.

"Let's go before you spill any more secrets," Quin said as he rose from the table.

She whined as she was pulled to her feet, reaching out for the basket of dinner rolls. "I'm still hungry..."

"You've eaten nearly everything these poor people had stocked. Besides we still have a pile of work to finish before we even think about storming the castle."

Jesse managed to grab the basket, holding it close to her chest with an angry growl.

Jack followed them out, hands deep in his coat pockets as he kicked around a few ideas in his head. The weakest link was obviously the singer, who seemed to get drunk off food the more she ate. Already he was thinking of ways to exploit this.

Harborne was found among print outs and boxes. Files, notebooks, and empty pop cans were strewn about.

Mattie had been careful to approach him after his previous outburst. She couldn't blame him, really. Everyone took their seemingly unshakable leader for granted. It was good, in her opinion, to see that he was human after all.

She inched towards him, afraid he may snap again. Papers littered the floor of he work room, covered in half-mad scribbles. She stopped to pick some up, unable to decipher the strange script and diagrams scrawled across them.

"Ancient high Gallifreyan. It's easier for my mind to process."

"Sir," she said.

"Water under the bridge, Mattie," he said as if he hadn't bitten her head off a short time ago.

"I think I've found something." She offered the datapad under her arm. He took it and scrolled through the pages. "Two men survived he removal of the parasite. However they were held by the psychiatric ward at the hospital."

"How's the headache?"

"I'll live another day," she replied as he continued to study here findings. "The doctors' reports show the two men were given regular transfusions. They believed whatever had infected them was a blood born antigen."

"I thought as much," he said. "Anything else?"

She nodded. "What should we do?"

"I'm designing a program upgrade to the training simulations. With such a short amount of time its the best I can do."

"Is this about that transference thing you were talking about?"

He smiled. "Yes. After I made he upgrades, I can attempt to load your brother's consciousness into the computers using a Telecube."

"Safe?"

"Not at all. But it will hopefully break his connection to the queen. He should survive, this early in the transformation, when we kill her. But if not..."

"Then I'll always have a part of him left, here."

"Yes. If the body survives we'll reverse the process and put him back in it."

"He won't go willingly. You know Eddie. If he actually becomes one with the computer, able to access everything in the known universe, he'll never give that up."

Harborne sighed, sitting back in the chair. "You're right. One day, you'll be in charge here. I was hoping to put off this particular trade secret until then, but we don't have that luxury. When the others leave, meet me in the Crypt."

"Sir, I-"

"That's all," he said, setting the data pad down and picking up his pencil again.

"There's little we can do on that front right now."

"I understand. Once your current situation has been resolved... Speaking of," the digital Merlin said. He waved his hand, an act which created a hologram in the center of the table. "One of my technicians has thought about your problem. While the body may not be saved, young Edward's mind may be salvaged."

Harborne inspected the hologram closely. It was news footage from almost 6 years earlier. "That was an accident."

"But it worked. Donna Noble was saved... In a way."

"I don't even remember how it happened. I don't even know how I did it!"

"Use the Telecube, like before," he suggested, throwing out another projection. "You can create a familiar environment in here. Link him into the systems. Make him a ghost of the machine. Once secure, he will be cut off from the hive mind. Safe from the fury you plan to rain down."

Harborne studied the holograms. They were diagrams of the Telecube's inner workings. The base codes of the programming. "He'll be locked inside. I won't be able to bring him back out."

"What was it the Doctor used to say?... Oh yes. Just try a little jiggery-pokery."

Authors' Notes: So far, this is all that's written. No longer having regular access to a computer, especially the internet, makes it hard. From this point on, updates will be random at best. No matter how much time goes by though, this story will NOT be abandoned. It's too awesome for that.