Twenty-four: Human Condition
There are only so many things that cause 'seas' of anything to part. For beings that regularly monitor lifeforms on the planet Earth, or even those monitoring 'biblical' lines, Moses did it very well by asking for assistance.
For everyone else, it usually involves a specific look and feel that comes from that person. In the case of the latter, Tesni was currently parting the largest of the sea-worlds in all known existence and even causing a few stars to move aside. Considering that her family were unfavorably compared to lampreys or other annoyances that stuck to anything and stayed stuck until they or the being was dead, it didn't help to know that she was about to grab a rather important member of Chronometrics and have 'a word' with him.
Not that anyone in Chronometrics was about to stop her.
Her brother, Gil, was only along to watch because he had never seen his older sister like this. She was relentless when she was an Enforcer, and he had liked that, but she never did this even on assignments she was very large on solving, stopping, or anything in-between. In fact, he had never seen her so engrossed with her job until she took over the job of bringing back Mextli and then became Caretaker of Torchwood Three over the Rift. She had kept her cool between that Earth and the holding cell, but after the interrogation, she had been ready to kill the kid, even though he was one of the few related to an Elder. Now, after the whole Sontaran VS Earth incident, where she had casually broken up a fight by breaking a table (he had paid good money for THAT footage, and it had been worth it for him, his two older brothers, and half her squad to watch), she was on the way to deal with Puram, her Field Agent's father.
Gil was only following with a camera in case there needed to be evidence...yeah...
Okay, not the best cover, but better he was there to talk her down then a Chronometrics idiot. Well, Cousin Allanzo worked there and he was good, and Gil was faintly sure he had a second cousin who worked there too...what was her name?
Puram stood in front, obviously not conscious that Tesni was named such because when she became bright, a hell of a lot of people burned up for it, especially on this. Seriously, when was the last time Gil had seen her burn this brightly for anyone, much less someone that a hell of a lot of others would gladly ignore?
"YOU," she said in a voice that even an ELDER would listen to, should they be so inclined, "are coming with me. You are going to fix the mess you made or so help me I will destroy everything you are, and you are not going to say anything to the poor being you sired because if you do so help me by the great Elder Brems and all of Enforcement, I will ensure you are never brought back and you ashes are so scattered that even ULAMO will feel sorry!"
Oh, this was going to be going around the offices for a while.
Puram actually looked like he was about to say something when Tesni grabbed him, cuffed him, and disappeared, leaving more then a few Chronometrics blinking while one or two actually went to complain as Gil stopped the footage and smiled, taking out the paperwork and handing it to the nearest high-body in the area. "Oh, and this," he added after a second, giving over the second and third grouping. "You'll find they're all in order, and in case you lose anything we have them filled out in triplicates in our offices. Have a nice day."
Turning to walk off, Gil sent a quick prayer to the two Elders involved, Brems and Seidra, that something would come out of it, and that Tesni wouldn't have a reason to destroy anyone or anything. He really didn't want to have to apprehend her.
--
Ianto was trying to think past the pain in his head when he heard Tesni's voice, far to loud for anyone undergoing a migraine, stating that whoever else she had with her needed to 'fix it, fix it now, or she would let Jack kill him first'.
The voice, or something else, seemed to drive away whatever it was that hurt him as he attempted to stand, two sets of hands holding him and helping him as he looked up and...
"Dad?"
It wasn't Ianto's dad, and he knew it. But the image was too mixed and blurred for him to not say it, and even as he looked down at Ianto with disgust, something Ianto's father had never done to him, before he started to speak. Obviously, Tesni got annoyed enough to whisper something, or say it loudly because Rhys looked like he was more then ready to agree, Gwen didn't at all look scandalized but by the fact she was cracking her knuckles too, Ianto now wondered who was holding him down?
Jack pulled him up, the familiar feeling and smell and everything seeming to clear the air and his mind as Professor Avery stood up, heading over to stand and glare at notDad and speak to him, explaining...what had they been talking about?
"Jack, what's wrong?" he heard himself mutter.
"It's starting. Avery said you and Marius don't have a lot of time."
The name triggered some memory, the rest seemingly buried in an attempt at self-preservation. They had being trying to figure out how to get Ianto and Marius separate when the headache started. Ianto didn't know how far they got to the medical area before he couldn't stand or even think properly. All he wanted to know at this moment was that Jack was holding him, and Tesni would make it right.
NotDad walked up, something on his wrist—ianto flinched as his mind tried to remember something and not remember it—and knelt down, looking at him in the eyes and--
--
Jack held Ianto as he struggled, the whimpers only serving to enforce the fact that he was going to hurt this man when he could, and if he couldn't he was comfortable in the knowledge that Tesni wore the same look on her face.
Avery stood nearby, monitoring Marius' body as it twitched randomly, a few glimpses of light appearing and disappearing just as quickly within the vacant blue eyes. She would cast glances when Ianto's eyes seemed to take on the shade of blue that Marius had, sometimes brimming so much with knowledge it hurt, while other times they seemed almost as vacant as Marius' own currently.
"What's going on?" Gwen asked.
Avery looked up briefly before saying, "Puram is pushing the memories back to where they're supposed to be. After that, it's up to Ianto and Marius to separate by themselves. We can't interfere in it, or it might cause a mix up with someone else, or even back with each other again. I'd rather that not happen."
Puram sat back, Ianto going limp in Jack's hold as Marius' eyes closed, the two seeming to be in a coma as Avery checked the two over, Puram waiting as Avery told Jack to get Ianto into the other observation table, though it was more a gurney then a table.
"Is that all you need me for?" Puram asked.
Tesni looked more then a little annoyed at him as she grabbed his wrist. Jack glared at him as the duo disappeared, Avery stating after a second, "He'll get what's coming to him, Jack. Elders know Lilith has enough problems when they say she did something wrong, and he has enough witnesses to ensure he gets punished. Plus, Tesni's family likes Marius, and their tight knit. Odd, but tight-knit."
Jack let out a breath, looking down at the two. "I just want to know he'll be okay."
Avery was silent, heading up to talk to Gwen and Rhys as Jack stayed next to Ianto.
"I'll take care of things here. Go home, Gwen, and you," she smiled at Rhys, "take care of her. The last prescription I gave you should work still."
Rhys blushed, heading off and telling Gwen it wasn't anything to worry about thinking over as Avery headed over to Jack's room, pulling out a few spare blankets before going back to the medical area and putting them over Marius and Ianto before handing the extra one to Jack. "Here. Call me in three days if there's no change, okay?"
Jack nodded, Avery disappearing as he sat and waited for the two to wake up.
--
He sat in the space, the Hub, looking upward as next to him, chained or something else, the other looked up as well.
"This isn't going to work," one of them stated.
"If it doesn't, we'll die," the other pointed out.
"Like Owen died," the name triggered memories, the two looking over at the burned-out area. "Like Toshiko died."
"But they're remembered, and their bodies are here. We're going to be nowhere."
"Not even the Void?"
"Not even the Void, or the Rift, or..." a pause, "why are we here?"
"We need to be apart. We need to be separate."
A sigh as he looked back up at the ceiling. "But I like being part of this. I like...having a brother like you. I never had one, and now..."
The other looked over at him. "It'll change, but that doesn't mean we won't still be like brothers, or friends or...what were we?"
"I dunno," the first one confessed, "it's jumbled. Which one am I?"
"I dunno," the other told him, his voice not sounding worried but tired. "But one of us had brothers. I remember, there were two brothers..."
"I don't remember brothers, only you, and...and others. Someone who loved me."
"Was it really love?"
"Yes. No. I can't tell. There was love that wasn't returned, and love that was. I think mine was returned."
The other smiled, looking back up. "If that's so, I think you're Human."
The first looked over at him, frowning. "How do you figure that?"
"The Human was in love, and being loved. Sidra had a love but was content without her. Maybe you're Human."
The other sighed. "Maybe. Would that mean that I should look at the Human memories?"
"Can you tell which is which?"
A pause. "Some of them, I can, but the rest...it's all the same. After the Country, it's all the same."
The first frowned. "I remember rules...regulations, colored ink...pain...there was a lot of pain. I'm the Sidra then."
The other, the Human, sat up, turning to look at the first, the Sidra. "But what about the memories? The ones from afterwards. We can't leave them here, it would cause the same problem as before, wouldn't it?"
The Sidra, also sitting up now, frowned and nodded. "Yes, but we have to both go in and pull it apart. Like taffy. I don't think we'll get all of ours, but as long as they're the same, as long as the bulk of it is us, we can work the rest out later."
"Taffy?"
"Don't you like taffy?"
The Human shrugged. "I dunno. It's part of the details we can work out."
The Sidra nodded. "Fine then. On three."
--
Jack didn't know what it was that let him know Ianto was waking. He had always known, in some senses, and usually woke up quick enough, or was able to turn and watch at the younger man slowly came up from his dreams. Before, Jack had watched him wake from nightmares of Torchwood One and the Country and even from the time with Lisa. The dreams faded, turning from nightmares into more pleasant things, and Jack was forever happy about that.
But two days into it, when he was starting to consider calling Avery a day ahead of time, Ianto's body shifted slightly, enough to inform Jack that he was waking up.
Jack waited, patiently hoping that it wasn't anything bad, as Ianto's eyes fluttered slowly open, looking around the area before he muttered, "Infirmary, Torchwood Three..." his eyes locked onto Jack, the inner workings of his head seeming to slowly fall into place as he whispered, "Jack...you're here."
Jack smiled, stroking the side of Ianto's face and happy in the knowledge that he was alive and thinking straight. "I'm always gonna be here, Ianto. I'm not leaving your side."
"Pure sap," Marius' voice cause Jack to look up, smiling as he saw the younger man groan, moving his arms as he slowly sat up, blinking. "I'm glad you found your way back."
Ianto nodded, Jack helping him sit up as he said, "That was too surreal for it's own good."
Gwen raced in, having arrived only a few minutes ago and bringing food, latching onto Ianto with a large hug before doing the same to Marius, who gave only a mild smile before there were about three sudden appearances, one by Marius' brother, who hugged him and began apologizing for 'letting this happen' before going over to do the same thing to Ianto, one from Avery, who checked him over then Ianto before seeming to be happy and leaving, then the final by Tesni, who simply looking him over, though it was obvious she was itching to hug him or more, and finally she stated that he didn't need to write a report on what happened, it was taken care of, and to take the rest of the week off baring a crisis. Marius thanked her for the help, Tesni turning momentarily red before she disappeared again.
Marius looked over at Ianto, who shrugged as he was helped off the bed by Jack.
"Jack, I'm fine."
"Okay."
"Perfectly capable of walking out of here on my own."
"Understood."
"You're not going to let me go until later on tonight, are you?"
"Yep."
Ianto sighed, obviously resigned to his fate as Gwen helped Marius up, offering a good amount of food as Ianto and Jack headed off.
Marius smiled at Gwen. "Thanks for the help. It's...going to be weird for a few days."
Gwen looked at him as Marius said, "We're separate, and our memories are more-or-less in tact, but a few are...jumbled. We're still putting them back together, but we have all of our own."
"What about the connection?" Gwen asked.
"They're all normal connections now. We just...it's two-way now, I guess." He smiled at her. "I'm not going to get depressed again, but if I do, you'll all be able to figure it out sooner. Thanks again."
Gwen nodded, patting him on the shoulder. "It's what friends are for."