A/N: Whoop! My computer is back up and running, thankfully! Hopefully I'll be able to get back into the swing of things quickly and uphold my uploading schedule.
Disclaimer: This is completely AU. I own nothing from Torchwood or Doctor Who. This is unbeta'd, so any and all mistakes are mine.
The walk back to their room was quite and contemplative. The meeting hadn't included a lot more after the punch line; the king seemed to know the two men were in no real state to discuss anything about the Prophecy in depth. King Alistair simply told Ianto he was to report to the training grounds at eight tomorrow morning to begin his training. When Jack learned Captain Hart was to train Ianto, he insisted on also being present for the lessons. The king was hesitant, but knew two captains working on the same person would be faster and more efficient than just one. Ianto was still uneasy; he didn't like the thought of having to fight another person, but knew in this situation it was necessary. The whole idea he had to go through training in the first place was mind boggling, especially considering the state of his natural strength. That was never something that Ianto ever thought he'd have to do.
He rubbed his bracelet, his brows furrowed as he walked. Jack watched him with concern. He, of course, was just as surprised as Ianto, but at least he didn't have to cram years worth of military training into a few months. He couldn't imagine what the man was going through mentally. He had a feeling it would only go down hill from here; Ianto hadn't even completely gotten over the deaths of his family yet.
They reached the rooms all too quickly for Jack's taste. He turned to Ianto, watching as the young man continued to rub the bracelet in thought. He sighed gently and placed a hand on his shoulder, finally catching his attention.
"You should catch up on your rest. Tomorrow's a big day for you. You probably won't get another chance to rest properly like this for a little while, so make the most of it." Jack nodded at him and smiled slightly, before he turned and entered his own room. He wanted to give Ianto a little space to think by himself. Besides, he had a few things to mull over himself; he too was part of the Prophecy, after all.
Ianto watched the other man leave for a moment, before he himself turned and went to his room. Almost immediately, he approached the scroll that was laying on the table next to his bed. He had yet to open it since he had got it, and now he was afraid of what he would find. If what the king said really was the truth, then the map would hold the key to the tokens. To be honest, Ianto didn't want to look; he didn't want it to be true.
Despite the urges to put the scroll down and turn away, Ianto knew he couldn't shirk his responsibilities, if he had any. Taking a deep breath, he slowly unrolled the scroll. His eyes took in the map as his heart sank to his shoes.
It was there. All of the Realms. In each Realm except the Gem Realm, there was a shining dot. In the Dragon Realm, there were two shining dots and an 'x.' One of the dots and the 'x' were overlapping each other; the other shining dot was a good distance away from the 'x' and it's twin. Ianto didn't need a key to know what the symbols meant.
Each dot had to be the tokens, and the 'x'... well, that had to be the Hero. It had to be him. If the Prophecy was true, than he was the only one that could see the map, technically. It really was a good thing too. If anyone else could read it, they would know both the locations of the tokens and the location of the Hero.
Ianto rolled the scroll back up and sat down heavily on his bed. It was real. All of it was real. He ran both of his hands through his hair and huffed out a strained breath. He had been holding onto one last sliver of hope that this might be fake, some elaborate prank, but the map had squashed out that light. Oh gods it really was real.
He lifted his face out of his hands and stared at the wall opposite of him. This was never going to work. His mind was whirling in his head at a thousand miles per second and he was never going to get any rest if he was left to brood. He rubbed his face tiredly, before rising to his feet. He sincerely hoped Jack didn't mind him busting into his room not even fifteen minutes after he had told him to rest.
He crossed the hallway to Jack's door and paused, before knocking three times and standing back. It was only a few moments before Jack answer the door, a small smirk on his face.
"This is really staring to become a habit, Mr. Jones," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Two times in as many days. You're going to give me the wrong impression." Ianto rolled his eyes at him.
"Shove off. I just can't get my mind to settle. It's barely gone ten and I need a distraction," Ianto scoffed, before immediately regretting his choice of words as Jack's face lit up with a leer.
"You've definitely come to the right place, then," the captain said confidently, stepping back and letting Ianto into the room. The other man rolled his eyes and shoved him with his shoulder as he stepped inside, throwing a half-hearted glare at the other man. Jack just laughed and shut the door.
"So, how exactly do you want me to distract you. I can think of a few ideas," Jack said nonchalantly as he approached Ianto, who had seated himself on his bed. The absolutely filthy look on his face made Ianto blush and faint pink and shake his head.
"You're awful," he said, a small smile creeping onto his face. He could already feel his headache and worries fading away. That seemed to happen often around Jack. The other man looked affronted.
"You're the one that asked for a distraction! How else did you think I was going to react?"
"Tell me a story, then." Jack was very good at telling stories, and Ianto knew that would definitely take his mind off of what was happening to his world. Plus, it would be nice to see Jack's face light up like it used to whenever he told his stories to Ianto.
Jack paused and the look on his face changed to confusion.
"A story? You want me to tell you a story?" the other man asked with disbelief. He hadn't told Ianto any stories since... since his father died. He wondered if Ianto really had missed his tales. Ianto flushed a little with embarrassment before he lifted his chin and nodded.
"Yeah, I do. I haven't heard a good one in a while. And you were rather good at telling them," Ianto said, smiling slightly. He chuckled as Jack physically puffed his chest out a little.
"I am, aren't I? Well Yan, I can't promise it won't be one you haven't heard before, but I'll see what I can do," Jack preened, causing Ianto to laugh louder.
"I've really inflated you're ego now, haven't I. Bugger. You probably won't be able to fit that fat head of yours through the doorway anymore."
Jack glared at him. "Do you want to here one or not?" Ianto held his hands up in surrender and settled back into the pillows on Jack's bed. Jack thought for a brief moment how much he liked that image, before he shook his head and grinned. "That's what I thought."
He walked around to the other side and flopped down onto the bed, grinning as Ianto turned onto his side and rested his head on his hand.
'It really is just like when we were kids," Jack thought, smiling at the ceiling wistfully. 'Back before my father died and all hell broke loose.' He turned his eyes to his friend, who was watching him expectantly. Ianto smiled at him fondly and Jack was certain his heart skipped a beat, as cheesy as that sounds. 'And despite all that, we're still here together. That must count for something, yeah?' He smiled back at Ianto and took a deep breath.
"Have I ever told you about the time..."
...
"Again!"
Ianto contemplated just laying on the ground and refusing to get up. Perhaps if he pretended he had gotten knocked out, they would back off. Surely they would back off...
"Get up, Eye Candy. I know you're still conscious; I can see you flexing your right hand."
Or not.
Ianto shut his eyes, his teeth gritted as he rubbed some of the dirt off of the side of his face with one of his hands. This training was not going well at all. He had been late for the training because of Jack and his damn warmth and luring bed. He hadn't slept that hard in a while.
Needless to say, Captain Hart was both amused and displeased at their tardiness. Judging by the leer on his face, he definitely thought they had been up to something, and Ianto didn't really know how he felt about that. Embarrassed, yes, but not entirely displeased John Hart thought they were shagging. Ianto had wondered briefly where that possessive streak had come from.
Then the actual training started, and that was a whole new kind of humiliation. Not only had he never fought with anyone in his life, but Jack had insisted he learned how to fight without the token on his wrist. He felt mildly betrayed by that, even thought Jack had good, solid reason as to why that was a good idea. Despite the logic, however, he was still extremely displeased; he couldn't even pick up a twenty pound bag of sugar, how did Jack think he was going to hold back a trained soldier?
Ianto pushed himself to his feet, his arms trembling. Jack watched the man struggle to right himself. He knew Ianto wouldn't appreciate any sympathy or pity about his weakness, so he ordered John to treat him like nay other trainee. He was now wondering if that was the right move.
He wanted to look away when Ianto had finally stood, fuming and swaying on his feet. Perhaps they were being too hard on him. He honestly looked like he was going to collapse. John, however, was as merciless as usual, and treated Ianto the same as any Dragon Realm warrior was treated.
"Come on, Eye Candy! Surely you're more than a pretty face. Just one little punch; you can at least do that, can't you?" John taunted, standing in a seemingly relaxed position a few feet away from the beaten Welshman. Jack saw Ianto's nostrils flare slightly and Jack couldn't help but admire him for his fiery attitude; Jack always knew he was a stubborn bugger, but his was something else entirely.
Suddenly, Ianto leapt for the cocky captain, but he was much too slow. The throw downs into the dirt paired with the exertion of trying to block John all day had made him sluggish, so it was no surprise to anyone present when Ianto was slammed back to the ground. He grunted a little, shaking his head.
Jack watched John look down at Ianto for a moment before he turned and looked up at the sun that was beginning to set. He sighed tiredly and came around to squat in front of the beaten man.
"We have a lot to work on here. You're slow, weak, and predictable, and to be perfectly honest, I don't think I can train you in four months," John said as he pat Ianto's head in a patronizing way. He suddenly gripped Ianto's hair and tilted his head back. He grinned as the other man grimaced. "But lucky for you, I'd do anything to lay my hands on you again. Better luck tomorrow, I guess."
He turned to Jack, who was watching the scene with a stony expression. He easily brushed it off on fatigue. "Sorry, I'm leaving you to clean up this mess today on your own, Harkness. After you're done cleaning him up and tucking him into bed, you know where to find me." He winked at him, before turning and strutting confidently away from the training field.
Jack rolled his eyes at John's retreating back before turning to face Ianto, who had yet to move from his place on the ground. Jack had been a very different man when he had had that fling with John and he honestly would be content to never see the man's face again. This, however, had been paired up against his desire to never allow John anywhere near Ianto alone, and after weighing the pros and cons, he knew he couldn't let the cunning bastard near his Ianto, especially when he didn't have his bracelet.
He walked over and sat down in the dirt next to the prone man. He heard Ianto sigh, before turning on his back with a pained groan. Jack looked over at him and smiled gently.
"You did good today," he reassured him, gently patting his shoulder. Ianto arched an eyebrow at him, a skeptical look on his face.
"That was good? Gods help the Realms; we're doomed," he said dryly. Jack chuckled and shook his head.
"For someone whose as weak as you whose also never had an ounce of training, yeah, it was pretty good. You didn't complain or cry, not once. That's a lot better than some of the soldiers I've trained, and I'm no where near has hard as John," Jack said, grinning as Ianto flung an arm over his eyes and huffed a sigh.
"I really wish I could wear my bracelet though. At least then the balance wouldn't be so off," the other man said, his hand ghosting absentmindedly over the spot his bracelet would normally be. Jack grimaced.
"It's only a precaution. Someone could steal it from you just so that they'll have the upper hand. Plus, it is a token, it will probably be sought after, and if someone takes it, you have to be prepared to fight without it," Jack reminded him. Ianto groaned in response.
"I know, I know, I just don't like it, is all," the Welshman grumbled. Jack chuckled fondly.
"I take it back about the complaining."
Ianto glared at Jack as he rose to his feet. Jack grinned in response, holding his hand out to Ianto.
"Well, come on then; let's get you in a bath and then into bed. You're going to have to be up bright and early tomorrow for the next round," he said. Ianto pulled himself up with a groan, his body aching in places he didn't think it could.
"I forgot, this is an everyday sort of thing," Ianto sighed, cursing slightly under his breath. Jack laughed.
"It'll get easier with time, trust me," Jack said soothingly, placing a steadying hand on Ianto's lower back as they made their way back to the castle.
They were half-way there when Ianto finally spoke up. "So, um, are you going to go see John tonight?" he tried very hard to come off as uninterested, but he couldn't help but feel some irritation and unease had slipped into his voice. Which, he might point out, was unfair, since he was doing the rejecting in the first place. Again, he wondered where the possessive streak had come from.
Jack grinned to himself and tried not to chuckle at his friend's jealousy. He really was a daft sod. "Nah, that burnt out a long time ago. Great shag, sure, but his sadistic streak was a rather large turn off," Jack said, almost laughing out loud when Ianto's shoulders relaxed slightly.
"Oh. Okay," he said, his tone obviously relieved. He allowed the subject to drop, hoping he didn't make a complete fool of himself.
The rest of the walk was quite and comfortable, mostly because Ianto was too tired to try and talk about anything else. He just wanted to take a bath and hop into bed. He really hoped Jack was right about it getting easier because he didn't know what he'd do if every training session ended with him as sore as he was right then.
King John looked up through carefully shielded eyes as the door to his cell swung open. The Master stood in the doorway, his face lit up with glee. It was very different from the last time John had seen him. John realized he preferred the Master's angry expression over his elated one.
They had taken Rose away when they discovered he wouldn't talk no matter how much they tortured his beautiful wife. John didn't know if she was dead or alive, and to be honest with himself, he wasn't sure which was worse. No, that grin meant he had something new, something better, something that would surely make him talk.
The Master glided inside, shutting the door with his foot behind him. "Oh, John! You will not believe this great, splendid, magnificent news!" he cried happily, throwing his arms up into the air. The king didn't react, but for once, that didn't deter the king of the Eighth Realm.
"My other creatures just did a sweep of your castle and they found several survivors! Isn't that just brilliant news?" he asked, squatting down to peer into John's eyes. The king didn't allow his hope to grow an inch; if the Master was excited, it couldn't mean a good thing. The Master was once again unaffected by the king's unresponsive nature.
"They will work perfectly for these new creatures I'm making in addition to the others. Oh so much building, but it will pay off, especially since I'll have a steady stream of your people to help with my machines. That's right; without an army to protect the rest of your Realm, I'll soon have all of your people staying at my castle! Oh it'll be so nice having so many guests!" he cried with delight, taking the king's face between his hands and squeezing so his lips puckered out. "Like a slumber party between our Realms. Only with more blood and terror." He laughed and patted John's cheeks with one of his hands.
"How does it feel, knowing your people are going to die because you wont give up where the Hero is. Such a shame your Realm has to suffer because of your oh so noble heart." He suddenly gripped the king's chin and tightly and tilted his face up. Fiery eyes bore into unresponsive ones. "Hopefully all of the sound they'll make as they are cut into pieces will motivate you to cooperate. But then again, tearing them apart limb by limb is quite satisfying as well. Ah, well, it's your choice. I'm happy either way."
He suddenly dropped his chin and stood, grinning wildly. "Oh, would you look at the time! I've got places to go, people to torture! Lucy will also need a tad bit of help tidying up for our guests; it's been so filthy as of late. Fermented blood can really dampen the spirits after a while. Until next time, Doctor!"
The door slammed shut with a resounding bang. The king hung his head with shame.
Amy lunged at the bars as the doors were shut. "Oi! You! Come back! Don't think you can get away with this!" she shouted, rattling the bars wildly. After a few minutes, she sighed with defeat and backed away, turning to face the others.
She squatted down beside Owen. "How is she?" she asked quietly as the servant continued to dab the bleeding cut on Toshiko's head.
"She should be alright, all things considering. There isn't much I could do for her anyways, but she's strong. She'll pull through... she has to pull through," Owen said quietly, for once subdued by the situation. Amy sighed softly, gently touching the side of Tosh's face.
"Do you think Ianto's alright?" Amy asked after a moment, and the man snorted, a strained grin on his face.
"Oh yeah. He's a stubborn git. Teaboy will be alright without us, that I'm sure of," Owen said, resting his head back on one of the prison walls and shutting his eyes. Amy watched him for a second, before turning her gaze back to Tosh and sighing.
"I hope you're right about that. Gods, I really hope you're right."
A/N: I honestly don't feel too great about this chapter, so I'd love to hear from anyone how they thought it was. Thanks for reading!
