Donna couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"Are they?"
"No, they're not alive...well as far as we can tell."
"But they look like," she said and stopped at one of the tanks, and put her hand on the glass.
"We found them abandoned in a destroyed warehouse and we've kept them safe for two hundred years now. But now White Coat and the Doctor's presence puts all of this in danger."
Donna couldn't take her eyes of the floating figure. It wasn't natural...it wasn't right.
"Does he know?" She hoped not, even as she said the words.
"We don't know, the records from that time were destroyed when...well that's not important."
Donna's ears pricked up then; she'd learnt one thing from the Doctor, that unsaid things were usually the important things.
"It'll be important, if I tell him. The way he is now, there won't be anything for Torchwood Five to pick up."
Alison looked undecided and then pulled her away from the tanks.
"Torchwood Three was run by a legend. He changed the Doctor from an enemy of the state to a friend. Then there was that thing with the children and after that he disappeared and Torchwood stopped. Then that not dying thing happened and he reappeared, then when it was all over he disappeared again. Then one day he came back and ran Torchwood Three but the Doctor was always a priority and one day the call came for Torchwood Four to be activated and that was when we found these but no sign of Torchwood Three."
"And you think the Doctor knows what happened?" Donna said.
Alison shrugged her shoulders. "All I know is something catastrophic happened...and we should go, this is a restricted area."
Donna knew she wasn't going to get any more, but it was enough for now.
Jack let out another curse as he pushed the armoured truck into a turn it was never designed to do.
His luck and time had run out and their captors had caught up with them.
The sand to his right exploded in fiery violence and the vehicle rocked with the force of it.
Beside him Seska seemed to be taking it well.
"Hold on kid" he yelled and he wrenched the wheel again...but he was too slow and the vehicle was hit by one of the mortars.
The inside of the vehicle lit up and then the truck was rolling and finally ended up on its side.
Jack knew he was hurt, but his only concern was Seska. He couldn't turn to see if he was injured, he was trapped by the steering wheel.
He heard a vehicle pull up and the sound of people approaching.
Then he was dragged out of the vehicle and could do nothing as the truck was set alight. Then he felt cold steel against his temple, and as he died he begged the Doctor's forgiveness for the death of his son.
Ash was following the bio-signal but treading very carefully.
He'd heard the roar of engines in the distance, but had no intention of being caught. He'd only stopped when he'd heard an explosion, but whatever it was, it wasn't his business.
He was only concerned about the Doctor and finding him and then taking him away from whoever had him.
He stopped when he heard the gun shot and that he couldn't ignore.
He scrambled up a dune and dropped to his stomach.
An armoured vehicle was on its side and on fire, and lying beside was a body.
He frowned, the body looked familiar, but he couldn't move, as there was a group of men near the burning vehicle.
They were talking animatedly and then three of the men did something that made his stomach lurched. They began to change shape and in their place were what looked like giant rats, but ones with teeth as big as lions and claws that belonged to a bear.
They scurried off into the dark and the remaining men got back into their vehicles and followed.
It was only when he felt it was safe that he moved and half ran and half slid down the dune. As he got closer, he did recognise the body...it was Captain Harkness.
There was a messy hole in the captain's head; but there were broken bones and lacerations as well.
He wasn't a Time Agent, but even he knew that this could screw up the time lines.
Captain Harkness must have escaped, but in a more spectacular way than himself and had paid the price.
He sighed and went to grab the body to move it away from the flames...and dropped it when it tool in a huge breath.
"What the?!" Ash yelped.
What had been the body of Captain Harkness got to his feet and turned to Ash.
Ash moved back. "You stay away!" and aimed his hand gun at the captain.
Captain Harkness put up bloody hands in a placating gesture.
"You shoot me and I'll just come back again."
Ash lowered his gun. "Then it's true, you can't die...they're not just stories."
Captain Harkness smiled. "Nothing fictional about me."
Then he turned away from Ash and saw the burning truck and fell to his knees.
"Seska," he groaned.
"Who's Seska?"
"He was the Doctor's last surviving child."
Ash blinked...another dead child; perhaps it was better the Doctor was already insane and seemed to have no memory; this would have finished the job.
"Now I'll never find him." Captain Harkness said.
"Actually, you still can," Ash said.
He finally fought off the effects of the sedative; he immediately reached out and tried to find that faint but miraculous presence.
But it was gone, and in its place was something he didn't like...something dark...something...then the presence he wanted to feel flooded his mind and he forgot about anything else.
"Ni'ala," he sighed.
"Eresh'ala," the reply came, along with the silver that was his colour.
He couldn't stop the flood of emotions that poured from him when the silver touched his own colour.
The silver withdrew and the voice said. "Soon, Inari," and faded as did the silver.
He let out a whimper and suddenly felt bereft; that fleeting touch had felt so good...he had to get away.
He blinked away the rest of the drug and tried to set up, but found he was restrained.
"Don't think so," he muttered and finally used the strength he usually reined in and the restraints snapped like they were straw.
He sat up and discovered he was in yet another medical room; well this was going to be the last time...in a human one anyway.
He was still a little shaky from the sedative but he made to the door and oh how remiss of them, they had left the doors unlocked at unguarded; overconfidence was a killer.
He made his way along a deserted corridor and found a desk with a computer.
"Oh look...something to cause a little mayhem with."
He touched the screen and it lit up and when a symbol appeared his amusement at causing some chaos evaporated in a cloud of anger. He let out a snarl...never mind a little chaos, there was going to mass destruction.
.Torchwood Four was about to come to a violent and bloody end.