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Chapter Twenty-four

"Count yourselves lucky that we didn't call the police!" Jack and Seto were both warned as they found themselves physically thrown out of the quaint pub where the brawl had taken place. The two Welshmen they had been fighting with had been favoured by the staff and allowed to remain inside the building.

The captain swayed slightly where he stood, after having been thrown forcefully by the barmen, before his knees buckled and sank down to the ground. Adrenaline continued to rush through his body as he focused on calming himself from the sudden and unexpected brawl outbreak. "Looks like we won't be welcomed back here anymore." Jack panted as he laughed, feeling his jaw whole once more as his body had already began to re-heal itself. Glancing to his right, he saw Seto also slumped down on the ground, though he had landed on his backside and was quickly scrambling to his feet. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Seto assured as two pairs of blue eyes stared at each other; both men showing signs of concern for the other's wellbeing though neither of them bore signs of anything more than minor scuff marks. "There was no need for you to jump in and defend me like that."

"Excuse me!" Jack exclaimed disbelievingly, smile still present on his face. "I was merely assisting, it was you who jumped in and defended me in that fight."

The smug look staring back at him still managed to irritate Seto, who then turned and speedily strode away, as he sought deep within himself for the reasons as to why he had come to the older man's aid in the first place when the glass had been thrown. It's got to be those pheromones of his that he talked about! That's why I find him likeable! That's why I'd do anything for him!…

"Hey, wait up!" Jack shouted after the younger man. He quickly pushed himself up, stumbling on the long flowing greatcoat as he did so, and followed in his companion's wake.

Just admit it; it's not his futuristic-enhanced makeup that's caused you to feel like this! Seto's mind growled angrily at himself. Stop searching for excuses in order to make it easier to push people away from you; you've done enough of that over the years already and look where it's gotten you!

Orange and purple filled the sky above Cardiff Bay as dusk gave way to the darkness of the summer night. Jack managed to catch up to the brisk walking Seto as they began to cross the small pedestrian bridge over the entrance of Roald Dahl Plass. Reaching out he grabbed the other by the arm and twist him around to be met with a dazed and baffled look. For a moment he studied the confused looking stare and a smile crept onto his face. "You feel it too don't you?"

"There's nothing to feel." Seto shook his head as he spoke out loud the lie that he was trying to convince himself was true.

"Yeah right!" Jack snorted and the smile on his face grew even wider. "Come on Seto, quit being so stubborn."

Ianto was right. Seto swallowed and fought back the uneasiness he felt building up inside him as he continued to stare petrified at the other man. It was almost like his heart would escape from his chest any moment now. That was if it didn't explode first. When Jack's happy he really does outshine everything.

Without warning, the ground quaked. Both men lost their sense of balance only to fall into each other's arms as they then supported one and other from having become entwined together. "That was a big one!" Jack gasped as he looked up at the rippling aurora-like effect of the rift which was visible, and slowly fading in the darkened sky.

Silently Seto gaped, open mouthed as he witnessed the rupture in the rift. It was a beautiful sight to behold as the spectrum of colours span out as far as his eyes could see, but at the same time the thought of the flotsam and jetsam that could emerge as a result was somewhat scary when thinking back to previous cases he'd read about. Any moment now they could find themselves faced with a hoard of blood thirsty murderous beings, fatal diseases that could wipe out all life on the planet, advantaged technology and weaponry that would surely fuel - if not cause - yet more wars, or…… Seto was unable to think anymore as his ears caught the faintest sound he'd been longing to hear. "Do you hear that?" He asked, still tightly held in the captain's arms.

"I do." Jack confirmed as the pulsing, whining and whirling noise of the TARDIS became clearer as the time machine itself materialized just a few metres away from the water tower at the far side of the Oval Basin. "Run!" He gently eased the younger man from himself and pushed him further alone the bridge. "Quickly, the Doctor won't stay around for very long."

Mokuba! It was the only thought that occupied Seto's mind as he sprinted towards the old fashioned call box. At last the Doctor had shown up and things would finally be corrected. He would be seeing his brother again soon and this nightmare world without him would end.

The conflict of happy and sad emotions caused the smile on the captain's face to disappear as he watched the other man dash away from him. He was happy for Seto and the fact that his wait for the timelord hadn't been as long as his own, but at the same time sad as he knew that the younger man would soon be leaving him to return back to the life he had once known; the life that didn't include him. Jack's cell phone rang, the personalised ringtone informing him of the caller's ID, and swiftly he answered it. "Yantie?"

"I'm sure you're already aware that there's just been major rift activity?" Ianto's placid voice came down the line.

"What have we got?" Jack asked, aware that the call from his lover was nothing more than a workload update relating to the quake's output.

"Despite the scale of it, there's only been one foreign body detected so far and that's situated right next to the water tower."

"It's okay; don't worry about it, that's the Doctor in the TARDIS." Jack explained and then sensed the eerie stillness that always cropped up between the two of them at the very mention of the timelord. "He'll be on his way shortly."

"Are you planning on going with him?"

"Maybe." More eeriness followed the captain's reply. "I'm not sure yet, but if I did it would purely be for Seto's sake."

"Don't drag Seto into this!" The Welshman's voice contained a slight trace of anger. "I've remained here for you twice now whilst you've just waltzed off with 'him' Jack."

"I know."

"Don't assume I'll still be here after a third time." The hint of emotion had now morphed to hurt.

For a second time that day there was a pang within Jack's heart at hearing the saddened tone in his lover's voice. He hated to hear the Welshman upset and knowing that it was because of his flirtatious attitude that had caused it made him feel twice as bad. Perhaps Seto was right in his argument earlier and Ianto would be better off without me? The captain looked across the Oval Basin to see that the younger man had almost reached the TARDIS. I'll put this right so that he doesn't have to suffer any longer.

"Jack? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here." He broke out of his thoughts at the sound of Ianto's concerned stricken voice. There was a loud heavy, heart-aching sigh as Jack knew what he had to do. "Ianto, I'm sorry…. for everything." The cell phone was snapped shut and the captain followed the path that he had just watched Seto take.

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A/N: Very short chapter this one, but this part didn't really seem to fit well on the end of the last one, or on the begining of the next. I promise though that the next chapter will more than make up for it ;)

I'm trying to fill up holes in the plot for the third instalment of this series and thought I'd open up suggestions to you guys. So if there's an episode/event from Yugioh/Doctor Who/Torchwood that you'd like to see in the next fic then just leave me a review or send a message with your request and I'll see what I can do. (Anicent Egypt and 51st century Time Agency are already set to feature)

Thanks for reading, hope you have a great Christmas/Holiday season and I wish you all the best :)

KG