Chapter three

Gwen was still staring at the screens showing the empty streets of her home town. To see 'her people' lie spread out across the snow filled her heart with sadness. No one had stood a chance against the light beam. No one was given a choice whether to surrender or flee. Instead every innocent person had succumbed to a virus she did not understand. Of all the things they expected to happen this was the worst case scenario.

Her mind turned to her husband Rhys. Where had he been when the scan hit the planet? Had he still been in his pyjamas, watching morning telly? Or had he dressed and gone out to work already? His hauling firm was doing well, even after the rocky start he had. Worry grabbed a hold of her heart. "Rhys! I must go and see him. I need to know if he is alright… I…"

Her voice faltered when Jack shook his head in a firm no. "Gwen, it's not safe out there. We need to focus on the matter at hand first."

With an equally as firm shake of her head Gwen interrupted him, "We can't just leave him to die, I need to know where he is, Jack. I need him to be safe."

A hand on her arm made her turn around. Merlin smiled at her before he locked eyes with Jack, "It's alright, I will go with Gwen, maybe I can heal Rhys. At the very least we will find out what happened to the people up there. They may not even suffer the same fate as Ianto and I did. I will take a blood sample and bring it back to the Hub, so we can examine it."

"But there is no doctor here to do so", Jack objected. "Unless…" Gwen noticed a glimmer of hope and prayer in his voice as he grabbed his phone again to call someone. While he waited several tense moments for an answer his smile faded again. "Damn, there's no answer from UNIT. They must have fallen too".

Gwen immediately understood his curse showed his fear for Martha. "Martha was there? I am so sorry, Jack." Her heart dropped once more, now that there was no reason for Jack to let her go home to Rhys… or so she thought for a moment until she learned what Merlin was up to.

The warlock had rummaged around in the medical bay for a while, searching for something and making a mess of Owen's old desk. No one realised what it was he wanted until Merlin returned with a handful of injection needless. "Well, it's a good thing you still have me around then."

Jack looked at him in a serious manner; the leader in him had stepped up once more. "You are a doctor?"

Gwen smiled at the way Merlin rolled his eyes and met the firm stare with one of his own. With a sudden smile he nodded and said, "I've been a healer for as long as I live. You do the maths."

The answer was enough for Gwen. She grabbed her coat from the cloak stand and while putting it on she walked over to the round door. Turning around she waited for Merlin to join her.

"You two mind if I tag along? Someone needs to keep you both out of trouble", Gwaine said with a wink and a nod to Arthur.

"Be back before supper", Arthur joked in turn, but there was a look on his face which told Gwen that he was really saying, "Be careful". One more nod and Merlin stepped through the now opened door. Gwen followed quickly, and as she half ran towards the exit followed by the two men she started praying Rhys was going to be alright.

The three had barely left when Arthur turned to look at Jack. "I may have only been around for two months in this place, but I have a feeling that we are not going to sit and wait. What do you have in mind?"

He wasn't surprised when Jack grinned. "Glad to know at least one of you can keep up with me." Arthur rolled his eyes at the flirting wink the captain gave him, but he remained silent for he was eager to know what they were about to do and he definitely didn't want to risk more innuendo coming from the man.

When Jack opened his mouth to set out his plan Ianto interrupted them. "Something is happening out there. There's a strange vertical light in the air."

Arthur turned towards the screens and saw several small beams pierce through the sky and touch the ground. From out of nowhere five women, each one dressed in a smart, white uniform appeared. They landed in different parts of the city and each woman was joined by a man, who held a far too familiar looking cube. What were the Zoganians up to now? Arthur couldn't help but fear what it meant for his three friends if these people learned that they were walking around Cardiff.

"Transporter beams", Jack groaned before he started to smirk and said, "We need to get outside to see if we can steal the technology from them. Maybe then we can pay them a visit and tell them where to go."

Ianto rolled his eyes in reaction to the turn Jack's mind had taken while Arthur stared at the captain as if he was crazy. Taking risks was a thing he'd quickly come to associate with Jack, but this seemed like taking it one step too far, even for him. Then again, there was no other way Arthur could think of either and so he nodded his agreement.

"Great, just another day at Torchwood then. I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning". Ianto's dry remark made Arthur grin. The younger man's actions however spoke against his words, because he put on his coat before he grabbed a couple of guns from a desk drawer. Arthur accepted his and put it in one of his coat pockets. He did not know whether he would use it yet. The lessons Gwaine and he had gotten from Jack on how to use the modern weapon had only covered the basics. Arthur did not believe that his aim was as accurate yet as it was with a bow and arrow.

While he secured the gun his eyes fell on Excalibur, lying wrapped up in a cloth on a nearby desk. Could he? In a flash Arthur decided to take it along. He ignored Jack's frown while he grabbed it and put on the leather belt so that he could sheath his sword on it. "Best weapon there is in this world, trust me".

Jack seemed sceptic, but Arthur didn't care. He knew his words were more than an excuse. Ever since Merlin admitted it was forged in the Dragon's breath Arthur was convinced that magic was connected to his sword. It was why the cube hiding in Camelot had been no match for Excalibur, but the Torchwood three didn't know this. Merlin had insisted that they keep the magical part to themselves out of fear of the sword falling into the wrong hands. It was only Arthur's to wield… or so Merlin had claimed.

In a flash Arthur walked passed Jack and he headed for the round door. He smiled to Jack who followed him, and soon they, along with Ianto, stepped out into the freezing cold. Adrenaline rushed through Arthur's veins while the three of them crept further into the city, tracing the footprints in the snow made by a couple of Zoganians. They stayed some hundred yards behind the pair who had arrived in the middle of the Roald Dahl Plass to observe what they were up to. A few times when the couple looked their way the three friends hid behind the huge pillars for cover.

Every now and then the female stopped walking. In a strange sounding language she ordered the obedient man around. Four times now he had set the cube, which he carried in his arms, down in the snow next to an unconscious citizen. Each time she'd chosen a light haired woman as their subject, Arthur noticed. Was it a coincidence? He had a feeling that there was something more to it, but what?

For a fifth time now the man put down the cube and he touched a few panels on it. After a while it let out a sharp beep. Once more the Zoganian woman frowned and looked displeased with the result. Her companion cowered when she shouted another order at him. Arthur frowned at his meek obedience when she hit him in the face, as if the man was personally to blame for whatever the cube told them.

"They must be searching for something, or rather someone special", Jack whispered with a frown. His words were followed by signals of his hand, which told Arthur that they should spread out and surround the couple in stealth mode. It was time to make their move on them…

Finally they'd reached Gwen's house. Merlin breathed a sigh of relief when he realised that they were safe. Just a few blocks back they'd almost run into a couple of Zoganians, who suddenly beamed down from the skies and carried a cube. The dreaded thing made Merlin's magic cringe and his heart drop. What were these aliens doing with their awful devices now? He shook off his fear and stepped inside the warm home of his teammate.

Gwen was running passed him to get inside and into her living room. "Rhys…", his name fell from her lips with a smile. "He's right here on the couch, just where I left him." All too quickly though Merlin saw her smile drop, for she could not wake him.

Merlin kneeled down at her side and he put his hand on her shoulder. "Let me try." He waited until Gwaine pulled Gwen away a little, to offer him more room to work.

After a breath to steady himself Merlin rested his hand on Rhys' chest. Underneath his palm he sensed the beating of a heart, letting his magic find it. Glad to find out that Rhys was alive Merlin pulled out the injection needles from the pocket of his coat. Not before long he had taken a couple of blood samples of the infected blood cells. Maybe it could help him with creating a cure for everyone else.

When he was done Merlin tucked the vials filled with blood away before he once more rested his hand on Rhys' chest. He let his other hand join too and concentrated on the steady heartbeat for a few seconds before he let his magic search for the tiny killers he knew were spreading out in Rhys' veins. There they were! An eerie shiver travelled up his spine. Merlin hated the metallic, empty feeling of them. It seemed his magic did too, for it lashed out in bright golden swirls against it and Merlin was happy to let it.

Sadly for every bit of healing his magic offered Rhys the tiny killers seemed to fight back against it. Merlin's heart sank at the realisation that this was a different virus he was dealing with. Where the cells within Ianto seemed to attack every part of his blood the ones within Rhys were only after his red blood cells. Merlin wondered if there was a different purpose this time around. It didn't matter though, because one way or another he had to heal Rhys. Pulling every bit of his concentration together Merlin called upon his magic with a healing spell, "Ic þe þurhhæle þin licsare."

Still nothing! Swallowing back his frustration at the lack of success Merlin opened his eyes, "I am so sorry Gwen… I can't help him."

A silent "no" fell from her lips when she kneeled at her husband's side. Tears spilled from her eyes while Merlin allowed Gwaine to haul him to his feet. "Merlin?" The concerned voice was accompanied by a worried glance to Rhys' still form.

"My magic, it isn't enough anymore… I…"

His confession fell short when the sound of Gwen's mobile phone filled the room. "Jack? Oh hello, Arthur. What is happening? Where are you?" Merlin stared in shock at the to the point way she answered the call. The mentioning of Arthur's name had him on edge. What was going on? He listened while Gwen continued, "Yes, of course I know where that is. Stay where you are. We are on our way over."

Arthur didn't like where this was going. One moment they were following Jack's orders to spread out and find a way to approach the uniformed woman unseen. The next Ianto was staring down the wrong end of a futuristic weapon, and they hadn't even left the bay area yet. Pale eyes framed by blonde locks stared the Welsh man down, "Surrender, or die". So she did speak English after all, or was it the cube helping her translate? Arthur thought her voice sounded a bit metallic.

"Let him go", Jack confronted her, gun in hand. While Arthur understood Jack's eager to tip the odds in their favour he couldn't help but feel it was the wrong move. Upon Jack's hand signal though he stayed put where he was, hidden behind a car stranded in the middle of the road. Like all other cars it was unable to move on with the driver struck unconscious by the scan. Arthur grabbed his mobile phone from his pocket and called Gwen. While telling her what was going on and where he was in a hushed voice he kept his eyes on the scene unfolding in front of him.

Unfortunately neither Zoganian seemed impressed by Jack's move. In fact the woman sneered, "Your kind are no match for us". Her eyes fell upon the silent form of a family lying unconscious on the ground. Arthur followed her line of sight. Their faces were far too pale for his liking. Minus five degrees Celsius was not a comfortable temperature for them, in spite of their wintercoats, gloves and scarves.

Of course Jack had to answer back with a slight taunt in his voice, "Can't we at least talk before you shoot my boyfriend for no reason?" Her smirk was the only warning they got. In a brisk move she pointed her weapon at Jack and fired it. A huge ball of energy hit Jack full in his chest. The impact sent him flying for several feet and to Arthur's shock the captain landed on his back in the large water basin by the side of the road.

Arthur held his breath, while he waited for Jack to resurface, but to his further shock the only movement was the spray of water coming from the fountains. Seconds passed and Arthur knew he had to act fast, or Jack would drown. Even though he was told Jack would always rise again, he just couldn't accept that he was lost now in this moment. Immortality was a hard thing to grasp… even with Merlin as a close friend.

Sneaking forward through the snow Arthur kept his eyes on both Zoganians. The male companion had hardly moved, but he had no doubt that the man would shout a warning if he passed him. Silence was his best friend and so he raised his sword, ready to attack. When he was close enough he swung it at his unaware target. The man crumpled to the ground without a sound. Satisfied, but still on high alert and as silent as possible Arthur crept on.

Before Arthur could reach their side the woman grabbed Ianto in an overpowering choke hold. In a matter of seconds the Welshman was at the side of the water basin too, even while he struggled to get free. Sadly the Zoganians seemed to be far stronger than humans. Arthur's heart sank when she threatened Ianto, "You should not be awake, and so you will join your friend in death."

A loud splash accompanied the follow up on her promise and Ianto disappeared in the shallow water. Her hand disappeared in a uniform pocket and when she pulled it out again there was small version of a cube, no larger than an inch wide and high, in her hands. By then Arthur reached her side, mercifully still unseen.

Without hesitation he plunged his sword deep into her back, the move enough to kill her on the spot. To his horror though he was but a fraction of a second too late. The small cube fell from her hand and it splashed into the basin. Before Arthur could react the entire body of water was frozen over, with Ianto and Jack lost beneath the ice. His heart dropped when he touched the ice and found it unyielding and cold beneath his hands. How would he ever get them out alive?