They sat in the car just outside of the tourist center.

The early morning skies of Cardiff were unseasonably bright. Usually at this hour, it was hard to tell where the gray skies ended and the waters of the Bay began. But despite the optimistic light, Ianto knew that by tonight it would most likely be frigid and possibly storming.

It was a strange experience having Jack come to pick him up at his apartment to take him to the Hub. Ianto had planned on driving in on his own as usual until he'd noticed the mammoth black SUV sitting patiently outside his flat at 6am. He supposed maybe Jack wanted to talk since that hadn't happened yesterday when the captain had driven him home. The last thing Ianto recalled with clarity was buckling his seatbelt. After that, he'd woken up to find it was the next day and he was in his flat, alone. Apparently, Harry's estimation that he'd fall asleep the minute he hit his bed had been overly generous.

But apart from a brief, "Morning" from Jack, the car ride over this morning had been quiet. And now they were sitting in silence, staring at the Bay. Ianto glanced at the SUV's clock. It was only half past six. It'd be another 30 minutes before everyone else arrived. He cleared his throat.

"If we're going to just sit around, we could always do it inside with some coffee," Ianto suggested.

"Let's just wait a minute," said Jack, keeping his gaze on the waters. "We have some time."

"Okay." Now that he was aware they were just idling time, Ianto started to fidget. "I'm sorry about yesterday," he said, breaking the silence. "If you wanted to talk, I mean." Despite what anyone else thought, he knew however today might end, Jack most definitely would not have wanted a last shag before facing the music. Because it would be just that: a last shag. And it was tempting fate way too much.

"You know," began Jack, brushing aside Ianto's apology. "We never really talked much about what happened last year with Tanizaki. And with Lisa. I mean, really go over it."

Ianto blinked. He wasn't positive, but this might have been the first time Jack referred to Lisa by name. The older man had always proclaimed he'd never met the real woman. Just the thing she'd become and that didn't count. "Did we need to?" he asked. They had talked a little. Mainly it had been a lot of broken apologies from him and a lot of stern orders from Jack. But what really was there to discuss? He'd done something worthy of an execution and Jack had seen fit not to kill him.

"I feel like I should have," Jack sighed. "It was my responsibility to."

"Jack, you could have just given me the termination package, but you gave me a choice instead. You didn't owe me anything more than that. Not even that, really."

A grim look settled on the older man's face as he continued to stare out. "I was glad when you decided not to be retconned. But not because I was being generous. Or at least, that wasn't the main reason." He sat back in his seat, turning to finally look over at Ianto. "I was angry with you. You'd lied your way around for months and endangered the team. When you decided to stay, a part of me was glad because I knew how much it would hurt you having to serve and clean up after the people you nearly got killed."

Swallowing, Ianto looked away, adopting the position Jack had a minute ago. "I chose to stay for Lisa," he confessed. "I couldn't just erase her from my memories…even if that would have been easier."

Jack nodded. "I'd figured. I'm not sorry for what had to happen. But…you made your decisions because you loved her. And I'm sorry that I made it seem like that didn't count for anything."

If there was one thing Ianto remembered with great clarity during that awful month's suspension, it was the sense of urgency to recover. Now that Jack had extended to him a second chance, he couldn't waste it by remaining immersed in his own misery, as tempting as that was. He'd owed it to Jack to pull himself out and the feeling of obligation had been somewhat relieving. He was always very good when it came to rote obedience.

"You let me stay," Ianto pointed out, quietly as if that exempted Jack from everything else.

"Because I kind of hated you at the time and I wanted to see you suffer a little," Jack replied, straightforwardly. "Thing is, it's different now. However any of it all started with you lying or me being cruel about it, I don't feel the same way as I did before."

Despite his earlier candidness, now Jack looked a little awkward as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his greatcoat and stared contemplatively at the steering wheel. "When I look back over everything and I think of you, trying to protect her…save her…I want to help you," he said, slowly. "Because I don't want to see you going through it alone or being alone." Abruptly breaking off his stare of the steering wheel, he looked up and met Ianto's gaze. "I guess my point is…I don't hate you."

A wry expression slowly shifted its way across Ianto's face. "I'd figured," he replied, repeating Jack's earlier words.

"I just wanted you to know that."

"Thank you."

They sat a little longer. When the digital clock on the SUV shifted to 6:55am, Jack popped the locks. Pausing a moment in opening his door, Ianto turned back around. "Jack." He gave the other man a soft smile. "I don't hate you too."


Breaking with tradition, Harry arrived on time.

Despite the complexity of the spell he'd be doing, Harry brought along nothing other than Bob and his hockey stick.

"I suppose this would be pointless?" Tosh ventured, holding out a small ear piece toward Harry.

The wizard eyed the tiny piece of technology that was about the size of a thumbtack and probably cost more than his apartment. "Only in the sense that I'll probably break it the instant it makes contact with me," he replied.

"Right then." Tosh re-pocketed the ear piece. "I used the Rift readings I took yesterday from Harry's tests and did a probability sweep with a magnification of 5 miles in all directions," she informed Jack, tracing a circle on her screen where a map of the area around the Hub was up. "Gwen and Owen are stationed in the appropriate target areas should the Rift act up and throw out anything…or try and take anything," she added, indicating their positions.

Jack gave a nod and hit the call button by Tosh's station. "Gwen, Owen. You ready?"

"Yeah," Owen's voice filtered through the speakers.

"Yes," Gwen responded. "See you all in a bit," she stated with optimism. It was a bit strained, but she'd tried.

Harry set Bob's skull next to Tosh's workstation. As they'd discussed, to ensure the spell's maximum success, they had to weed out as many unnecessary presences as possible. Only Harry and Ianto would be making their way down to the basement. "Bob designed the spell so if you get any odd readings, let him know and he'll be able to tell you what stage we're at," he said to Tosh and Jack. Seeing their nods, Harry took a firmer grip of his staff and turned to Ianto. "Ready?"


The room where Tanizaki had died was now partially decorated in chalk-drawn sigils. About an inch in all around the perimeter was a drawn circle, intermittently broken up by a symbol. Inside that circle, was a much smaller one made of nothing but sigils, about seven feet in diameter. Wordlessly, Harry gestured toward it. Taking a deep breath, Ianto walked inside.

The atmosphere in the room was strangely dry. Usually, everywhere in the basement felt damp and moist, thanks to the water tower pipes running through the walls that leaked and dripped. But everything now felt desiccate and silent as the grave. Ianto couldn't help the violent flinch when a hand landed on his shoulder from behind.

"Just relax," he heard Harry instruct. "Shield part is done, now's the Lure. It'll take me a few minutes to get to the Clarity so Tanizaki might be more disoriented. But just try to hold on. The Clarity part will work and he'll be more lucid."

Ianto gave a stiff nod and tried to loosen his shoulders as he closed his eyes. His hands, however, remained in bunched fists and his fingers nearly ached with the pressure. Slowly, he ordered his fingers to uncurl when he realized that there was something in his left one.

Eyes flying open, Ianto nearly stumbled backwards when he realized he was holding a hand. Lisa's hand.

"My god! It's not possible! One of them survived!"

Across from where Lisa lay was Dr. Tanizaki. The scientist's face was animated, interest and wonder seeped into his features as he studied the prone woman. Ianto abruptly released Lisa's hand and took a step back. This wasn't real. This was Tanizaki's memory.

"She's the only one left. Across the world."

The room surrounding them now was just as Ianto remembered it with the ventilator set up and the small side table where he'd put a framed photo of him and Lisa.

"I never thought I'd get my chance to study, to work with anything like this!"

Listening to Tanizaki ramble next to him, Ianto felt a phantom urge to correct him sharply that it was 'anyone' not 'anything' like before. But instead he leaned forward, wanting to touch the scientist's arm, trying to ignore Lisa below him because he knew she couldn't be real.

"Doctor?" he said.

"You found her?"

"Doctor, can you hear me?"

"Do you know the percentages?"

"Doctor, this isn't real," Ianto stated.

"Some elements have been augmented."

Ianto felt a large surge to look down at Lisa. To really see her and calculate with his own eyes how much of her was human and how much of her was not. But that wasn't him that was Tanizaki who continued to speak, seemingly ignoring the fact that Ianto wasn't replying as before.

"What is your name?"

"Ianto Jones," Ianto shouted over Lisa's answer.

Reaching out this time, he moved to grab Tanizaki's shoulder and was surprised when his hand actually made contact. His fingers scraped wool that felt so real as he shook Tanizaki to look up at him. The scientist jolted as Ianto pushed and pulled, his bespectacled confused as he finally looked up at the younger man.

"W…what is your name?" he asked, uncertainly.

"Ianto Jones," Ianto repeated, quietly.

Tanizaki frowned, blinking sluggishly.

"What is your name?" he asked again.

"Ianto Jones."

"What…" Tanizaki faltered, as if trying to recall something he'd forgotten. "What…"

"Ianto Jones," Ianto pressed.

For a moment, Tanizaki stared, his dark eyes blank. And then something flickered from behind his glasses, a memory clicking in.

"Your friend, Mr. Jones," Tanizaki half-whispered before he vanished from beneath Ianto's fingers.

"Wait!" Ianto called, unconsciously taking a step forward before his shins connected with the conversion unit. Instinctively, he put out his arms to steady himself and his hands fell on the now empty bed. "What?"

"Ianto Jones," a voice rasped from behind him.

Turning, Ianto saw the mangled face of Dr. Tanizaki as he'd seen him last. His one good eye glittered maliciously, the remains of his lips pulled back in a hateful sneer. Despite being smaller than the Welshman, Tanizaki lashed out with an impossible strong hand, gripping Ianto's neck in a choke hold that was all to reminiscent of Lisa.

Ianto's mind shouted at him that it wasn't real. The hand on his neck, the force that was pushing him backwards to fall against the conversion unit…the conversion unit itself. None of them were real. But logic started to buckle under the waves of utter hatred and rage that slammed into him.

"Ianto Jones," Tanizaki repeated, his voice half-electronic, but somehow brimming with rage nonetheless. "You must be prepared not to survive."

Gasping, Ianto struggled to loosen to the hold on his neck. "Wait…"

"Ianto Jones. Let you go? Let you go?" Tanizaki demanded, squeezing and pushing.

The anger pouring into Ianto jostled the guilt and regret from a year ago, reopening the wounds. Tanizaki's rage mixed with his own self-hatred for what he had done. For the deaths he'd caused. Suddenly, he wanted to stop his struggling and let Tanizaki just kill him. Because he didn't deserve any better.

"I'm sorry," Ianto choked out as the doctor pushed him harder onto the conversion bed. The steel restraints clamped across Ianto's ankles. "I'm sorry."

Tanizaki's twisted face split into a cruel smile. "Take it slowly. This way."

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Ianto repeated, struggling to get the words out as the hand that supposedly wasn't real cut off his air supply. Above him he could hear the whirls of the conversion tools, scissoring and sharpening in preparation. "Please…"

The grip on his throat loosened a fraction, but the destroyed face of the doctor remained grinning horribly as he gazed down at Ianto. "Save what you love?" he asked, twisting his words from a year ago. "I can save what you love," he hissed. "The emotion inhibitor chip. That is the key. I will remove it in degrees and save what you love."

Despite the overwhelming fear, Ianto ceased his struggles for a split moment, hearing the words.

Seeing the shocked, horrified look spread across the younger man's face, Tanizaki's lips pulled back into a grotesque grin as he laughed. "Take it slowly, Ianto Jones. This way! This way!" he shouted, gleefully.


A shrill screech sounded from Tosh's computer. "Jack!" she shouted. "There's a massive build up in the basement."

Both Jack and Bob crowded next to her, their eyes tracing the large green spikes snaking across Tosh's monitor. "The Rift's fluctuating."

"Harry must have begun the Clarity by now," Bob calculated by the time. "The spell is fully activated."

"Tosh, how large is the energy surge?" Jack demanded, keeping his eyes glued to the screen. "Is anything coming through?"

Toshiko's fingers flew across the board, calling up the readings as above them, the lights of the Hub flashed and flickered dangerously. "Oh god," she whispered. "Nothing's coming through. It's a negative Rift spike. It's coming down on the room."

Beside her, Jack didn't move. His eyes remaining on the screen, his body frozen. Then suddenly, as if jolted into action, he turned to take off down to the basement. "Keep watching," he ordered. "If that spike gets any larger, you take Bob and get out of the Hub. Tell Gwen and Owen to stay clear."

"But Jack!"

"Just do it!" he shouted behind him as he sprinted for the stairs.


Harry gritted his teeth as the shockwaves of the Rift's energy surged through his staff and around the room. He kept his gaze focused on the sigils that glowed on his hockey stick, beaming so brightly it should have been burning his hands off. From the corner of his eye, he saw the sprawled form of Ianto Jones that had remained motionless for the past several minutes. But Harry knew the man wasn't dead or else the spell would have broken by now.

Another surge shuddered its way through Harry's entire body and he slid his right leg behind him to try and keep his balance. Something was going wrong. The Rift energy that he'd been able to channel before was rushing around him now, saturating the spell, but also getting out of control as it snapped through the air.

The door behind him suddenly banged open and for a terrifying moment, Harry nearly dropped his staff.
"Dresden!"

God dammit!

"What the hell?" Harry yelled to Harkness over the crackling bolts of the energy waves.

"Dresden, stop the spell!" Jack ordered loudly to be heard. "You're causing a negative Rift spike. The entire room's going to get sucked through!"

Harry almost turned around completely to look at the captain and for a moment the entire spell nearly collapsed again. "Hell…" Harry growled through clenched teeth as he frantically tilted and pushed with his staff to reorient the faltering magic. On his right, he saw Jack move toward Ianto's prone form.

"Harkness, don't!" Harry shouted.

"We have to get out!"

"Move back! You pull him out now and the entire thing's going to break down."

If the spell broke without proper preparation, Tanizaki's essence could flood over them, possibly trapping them in God knows what vision. Harry had to break it down in degrees if the spell had to end now. But…was he supposed to? The spell wasn't done. Tanizaki wasn't done. He hadn't moved on. If anything, based on the strain Harry felt on the Containment, Tanizaki's anger only seemed to be growing in size.

"Dresden, stop!"

"The spell isn't done," Harry ground out.

"The Rift is going to take him!"

Morbidly, Harry wondered if that was maybe better. If Ianto would prefer that over…

"Dresden, please! If he survives, he'll be lost." He heard the plea in Jack's voice, the desperation.

Harry tightened his grip on his staff, reaching out to try and stabilize the Rift energy for just a little longer…to give it a little more time.

"Harry!"

Just a little bit…longer…

"Please…"

"Fuck," Harry muttered. Sliding his staff across the floor, the wizard extended his leg and smudged out one of the four sigils by his feet. Immediately, the brightness of the sigils dimmed fractionally as the Clarity shuddered and ceased. Harry felt the strain on the Containment worsen as he could almost hear Tanizaki's ghost howl in confusion. The wizard rapidly smudged out the Lure as the light faded even more, though the crackling sounds of the Rift energy went on, getting possibly louder.

"Pull him out!" Harry instructed. Jack bolted past him and grabbed Ianto under his arms and dragged the man toward the doors. "Get him out. Run!"

"The Rift's-"

"Will you shut up and get out of here?!" Harry roared.

His own Shield and the Containment were left and he could feel Tanizaki clawing and howling against it, wanting to find something, someone to attack now that Ianto was gone from the spell. Harry heard metal groaning and felt the Rift practically lapping at him from all sides. He didn't have any time.

He had to get out. But he had to get Tanizaki out. If the room went, the ghost would go with it and be forever lost. But he couldn't just drop the Shield and Containment. If Tanizaki lashed out now, as he surely would, Harry doubted he'd be able to keep alert enough to make it out himself.

"God…I'm sorry, you have to go," Harry realized. He had to exorcize him now. Whether or not Tanizaki was ready.

He broke the Containment and poured what he had into his Shield, trying to keep Tanizaki at bay as he muttered the exorcism under his breath. He felt Tanizaki resist, scrambling to stay, to somehow remain gripped to reality just as Christine Graham's ghost had. Grief and anguish that it was happening again, broke into Harry's concentration.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "God, I'm sorry. But you have to go. You'll be trapped otherwise. Please, please you have to go."

The Rift was descending. Harry was out of time. He desperately threw out a hand, summoning whatever he could to try and cast Tanizaki out. "Exhalta!" he cried. The ghost strained, pushed, shuddered, and continued to grip.

The ceiling above Harry cracked as brilliant white light filled the room and shook the floor. Harry dropped his staff as a strong hand clamped around his collar and mercilessly yanked.

The wizard flew backwards as it seemed lightening struck the space just in front of him, blinding him. Instinctively, he threw an arm over his face as he landed heavily on his back, knocking the wind out of him.

And everything fell to silence.

The light winked out and soon the silence became filled with the sounds of watering dripping and shoes scraping the floor. Pulling back his arm, Harry blinked his eyes open and saw metal pipes running above him. Despite his back protesting, he pulled himself up to a half sitting position, resting on his elbows. Just in front of him was a carved out, cave-like structure where wires and broken pipes dripping water poked out from its walls.

The Rift had taken the entire room.

Struggling to his feet, Harry faintly heard Jack shouting Ianto's name from somewhere behind him. But he ignored it as he approached the scooped out section of the basement, bleeding water and sparking weakly from hanging cut wires. A sickening realization hit the wizard as he reached out a hand, unable to sense anything.

Tanizaki was gone.

Only Harry didn't know if he'd exorcised him in time or if the Rift had taken him.