Hope this chapter is ok. Still ill with the flu so bare with me. Angel.
Finishing One Job At A Time.
Javain walked into the hub, later than everyone else did, everyone already hard at work. Javain walked slowly into the hub, seeing Gwen straight away and then seeing Ianto. He suddenly had the over whelming urge to leave again. He felt cornered and trapped, knowing what happened between him and Gwen, her oblivious to it and then there was the one person he did actually want, Ianto. He took at deep breath and moved through the main hub area.
"Morning Javain. Sleep ok?" Toshiko asked him, barely looking up at him from the computer screen but just managing a quick look.
"Yes thanks Toshiko," he replied, walking behind her on the way to Jack's office.
"He's not in. He was called out this morning and said he probably won't be back for the rest of the day," Owen tells him, throwing Javain a typical Owen smile.
"I just need to get a few things from the vault and then I won't be here for most of the day either," Javain tells Owen as he passes him on the way to the office.
"What are you doing today then?" Gwen asks him, moving from around her desk towards him as he disappeared into the office.
"I have to return the armour and destroy the weapons where they were created. There are other things that I have to do as well so it is going to be a busy day," Javain tells her going over to the vault, putting his hand on the code panel.
"About last night," Gwen started but Javain jumped in, he didn't want to talk about it in any way, shape or form.
"It's fine Gwen. Nothing needs to be said," Javain tells her, closing his eyes so that he could concentrate on what he was doing.
Javain read through the boxes, what was in each until he found the right box, entering the code into the vault panel, not moving his hand, it glowing as he worked. He didn't move his hand until the box was in position behind the door of the vault. He opened his eyes, allowing a second for them to adjust, the file numbers disappearing from his view, melting into the surroundings of the office. He opened the door of the vault, sliding the box out, nudging the door shut with his elbow, taking the box across the office and laying it on the floor.
As instructed, a dead lock had been added to the box, like his mother had asked knowing that if she did in fact die, only the Doctor and Jack would be able to access the box. It was nothing for Javain though and his mother knew it. Javain knelt down in front of the box, putting his hand over the lock and after a few seconds, the lock popping open. He lifted the lid carefully, finding something wrapped up in some kind of material. He put his hands in and gently lifted the first of four things out of the box, carefully unwrapping it.
Laying the material on the ground, he studied the sword that he was now holding in his hand, noticing that it had a strange sheen to the blade, feeling that it wasn't any normal kind of metal that the blade was made of as he ran his fingers down the blade. He looked at the hilt of the sword, the most beautiful tribal design spiralling up the hilt. He thought that it was a shame that he had to destroy the others but his mother had told him he had to, they couldn't be left behind not matter how beautiful they were. His mothers instructions on the weapons had been somewhat cryptic as he was only to destroy three of the four swords, leaving one behind but making sure that no-one knew that it had been left behind. Javain had never questioned her on that but now he was starting too.
"What is it about this one sword? Why is this one so special that it isn't to be destroyed with the others?" Javain thought to himself as he held the Samurai style sword in his hand. Then came the niggling feeling in the back of his mind, the answer to his questions trying to force it's way forward to the front of his mind. He closed his eyes, holding the sword tightly in his hand, the blade in one hand and the hilt in the other, Javain feeling the blade cutting slightly into his fingers. A memory worked it's way to the front of his mind, a memory long forgotten but brought back by the apparition of his mother. He had seen that sword somewhere before. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a clear picture of where and he stopped trying to force it, the blade of the sword cutting deeper into his hand.
"What are you doing Javain? Your hand is bleeding," Ianto asks him standing at the office door with a cup of coffee in his hand.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it," Javain tells him putting the sword down in the box and getting up, moving away from Ianto.
"I brought you a coffee. I thought you could do with one. Why were you looking at the sword your mother gave me?" Ianto asks him, Javain's eyes opening wide as it hit him, that's where he knew it from.
"Your sword?" Javain asked him, the memory finally forcing it's way forward, he had seen Ianto with it in one of his mothers memories.
"Yes. Your mum gave Tosh the broad sword, Gwen the normal sword, Owen the smaller sword and me the Samurai style sword," Ianto tells him coming further into the office with the coffee in his hand, holding it out for Javain, Javain taking it.
"I will be going in a minute so if you would excuse me, I have things to take care of and we shouldn't be alone together," Javain tells him, seeing the hurt in Ianto's eyes from his words, his heart breaking knowing that all he wanted was to be alone with Ianto.
"Ok. I will leave you to it Javain," Ianto tell him, turning from him, the hurt that he was feeling ripe in his voice as he headed for the door.
"Sorry Ianto but this is just the way it has to be. There are reasons," Javain tells him trying to make him feel better but it wasn't working and he knew it.
After Ianto had left, Javain drank the hot coffee, burning the back of his throat as he drank but not really feeling it. He then quickly went back to the swords, taking the other three out of the box, unwrapping them and putting them to the side, wrapping Ianto's sword back up and putting it back in the box, taking the box back to the vault and securing it into the vault. He went back to the three swords sat on the ground, wrapping them up so that no-one could see that they weren't all there. Picking them up, Javain leaves Jack's office, past Owen and down the gap between his and Toshiko's work stations and past Gwen.
He stood where he had stood before and putting the swords under his arm, programming his Vortex Manipulator, a Vortex soon following. Javain quickly looked around before he left, Gwen looking at him with puzzled eyes, Ianto looking at him with hurt in his eyes, Owen being nosey and Toshiko busy as usual. He faced the Vortex again, knowing what awaited him on the other side and stepped in.
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The air was hot, it was hard to breath, the air filled with ash, clinging to the back of Javain's throat as he stepped out of the Vortex, closing it behind himself, the swords still under his arm securely. He looked around, knowing instantly that he was in the right place. The sky was the colour of burnt orange, clouds of dark grey and black, the ground sandy and dusty, almost dead, cracked and water starved. No-one was there, no-one should be, the planet was almost inhabitable. Javain looked to his right and there it towered, almost touching the heavens, viewable by the gods.
Javain wasn't scared of anything, he was like his mother in that way but this vision reeked of impending doom, death and destruction. Javain knew that he had to climb all the way to the top, to the very crater and then descend into it to place the swords into the burning, molten lava inside the crater, bubbling away, knowing that at any moment, the simmering away volcano could awaken and irrupt. Javain sighed as he weighed up the task at hand, knowing that he couldn't use his abilities until he reached the inner of the crater, drawing it's energy to fuel his abilities, using them only to escape the crater.
Javain started the walk to the foot of the yet peaceful volcano, knowing that this climb would take a lot out of him, hoping that he had enough in him to reach the crater and scale down the volcano's innards before placing the swords into the lava and levitating out again. He began the climb up the exterior of the volcano, the rock at the base of it still cold to the touch, the swords rest uneasily under his arm but he made good progress up the volcano, stopping every 20 minutes or so, getting good lungs full of air before carrying on, the air getting thinner the higher he went, the air soon filling with soot and ash.
As he got higher and higher on the surface of the volcano, the rock he held onto became hotter and hotter, soon starting to burn his hands, Javain at first not noticing but as he climbed higher, his hands beginning to burn. At first the pain was barely noticeable, his tolerance to pain was higher than those of a normal human but the closer he got to the crater, the more his hands burnt. As Javain neared the top, he growled into the pain, his fingers blistering at the touch of the burning hot rock. He knew he was close so he gritted his teeth together and pushed through the pain soon after reaching the top.
The vast crater lay before him, the air too hot to breath as it billowed out of the crater, burning Javain's face slightly as he stood at the edge of the crater, his body now being starved of oxygen, turning away from the crater, hoping to breathe some colder air, finding it only slightly colder but it would have to do. Javain took a minute to gather himself, recover his strength, allow his fingers and hands recover for a moment, knowing that it was really going to hurt climbing down the inside of the crater but he knew he had to, he couldn't use his abilities yet. The climb to the top had taken more out of him than he had expected, his body aching, every muscle burning, his blistered hands and fingers still burning.
He put his hand out over the crater, feeling the flow of hot air rising from the guts of the volcano, absorbing some of the heat and converting it into energy so that his body could heal it's self a little before the descent. After a few minutes, Javain could feel his hands tingling, pulling his outstretched hand back, he could see the blistering fading. His mind and body was now as ready as it could be, taking the swords from under his arm, sliding them under his tight top, placing the tips just inside the waist band of his trousers.
He knelt down at the edge of the crater, turning around so his back was to the inside of the crater and lowering his leg, finding his first foot hold, feeling the heat of the rock against his leg as he lowered himself into the crater, knowing that he had a lot further to go before he could release the swords into the lava. The instant that he touched the rock with his hands, he could feel the burn on his fingers, the healing blisters coming straight back to the surface. The pain to start with was intense, Javain knowing that it would only get worse the further he climbed down, the rock getting hotter as he descended.
Almost at his final destination, Javain took hold of some jugged rock, cutting deep into his hand, blood pouring from his already burnt and blistered hand, holding on the best he could, feeling the back of his top now burning, knowing that it would soon melt to his back. He had to hurry and he knew it, the pain, the heat, the lack of oxygen was really starting to affect his body and mind. He made the last 10 feet down to the lava, knowing that he would be ok to drop the swords into the lava and close enough for him to absorb the energy he would need to get out again. Hanging onto the rock with his uncut hand and leaning back, Javain removed the swords from his top, dropping then into the lava, splashes of lava lifting through the air but not too high up as they were too heavy.
Javain watched as the swords wrapped in the material slowly sank into the lava, waiting for them to be totally submerged before doing anything else. The pain now too much for him, Javain tilted his head back and let out the most horrific scream, letting his pain out, his eyes blazing white, letting go of the rock and falling back. He didn't fall far, his arms to his side, absorbing the energy and heat from the lava, gently drifting back towards the crater, slowly coming to an upright position, his arms out to the side of him, his legs together. Once he had absorbed enough energy, he rose through the crater and out of the top, clearing the volcano.
He came to rest on the ground, his hands burning and bleeding, his back burning, smoke rising from it as he summoned the Vortex and stepping into it when it appeared. His eyes were slightly blazing brightly as he stumbled into the hub, his mind in peaces, both his hands oozing from the sever burn blisters, one hand also pouring with blood from the cuts. His back burning, the material of his top now fused to the skin on his back, his trousers burnt at the bottom. His body in sever pain, his lungs unable to breath in the oxygen of the hub, the far cooler air hitting his body. He closed the Vortex before slumping down to his knees, his mouth open but too dry to utter any words. Seeing the team running towards him as everything went black and he fell forward, his face hitting the cold metal of the hub's floor.
"What the hell has happened to him?" Gwen asks arriving first as she was the closest to him.
"He looks like he just crawled out of hell," Owen tells her as he sees the mess that was Javain's back.
"Is he still alive?" Ianto asked panicking for the young man that he had fallen for, Owen feeling for his pulse.
"Just. Help me get him into the autopsy room. Someone call Jack and get him back here," Owen ordered.