So, that was fast! I wanted to get the next chapter out ASAP. Depending on reviews and demand, I will post the 3rd to last chapter of this tomorrow. :) So if you want it, please review! Thanks so much to everyone who's already reviewed, I'm hoping we can make it over 150 reviews by the end of the series? It would be amazing, and a fabulous end to a story I have loved writing. I don't want it to end – so if the demand for a sequel is high, then I'll start planning! So, please, if you want one, tell me, if you don't, tell me anyway! :) Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, if you don't review, I hope you just enjoy reading it! :)

Everything went black for a moment, but slowly, things started to focus. Nothing had moved – it was as if time had stood still. Tosh was still clutching a broken arm, supported by Owen, Gwen was still curling her lip in fury, flanked by Rhys. And Ianto? Ianto continued to stare at Jack, seeking answers he feared the immortal would never give him. And with such a threat hanging over them, it seemed highly likely that Ianto would never get ask.

Jack took the lead, stalking back towards Rhys' car – it was their only means of transport now.

"Bastard John's taken our SUV." Owen growled, still holding Tosh up.

Ianto was consulting Tosh's blue bleepy box thing studiously. "Looks like he's driven it back to Torchwood."

"I'm getting readings of rift activity all over the city," Oh, so that's what all those squiggly colours and lines were, Ianto thought. Tosh continued, "Major rift flares at St. Helen's Hospital, the Police Headquarters and the Central IT Server Station."

Right on cue, Gwen's mobile started ringing. She sighed, checking the name before she answered it despite having a pretty certain idea of who it could be. "Hey, Andy?"

"Gwen, you've gotta get here right now! I'm serious, we need you!"

How could she refuse that? "Okay, I'm on my way, alright?" She cut the call and turned to Jack. "This is him, isn't it? This Captain John or whatever he likes to call himself."

Jack looked grim as he ignored her question, instead saying, "Rhys, drop Owen at the hospital. Tosh, Ianto, cover the central server building." He had no doubt where he was sending Ianto; the place he thought would be safest. "Gwen, the police station. Then take me to Torchwood."

"You think we're all gunna fit in here?" Rhys asked, incredulously. Ianto almost rolled his eyes in exasperation, but for the first time in his life, he found Rhys' normality amusing rather than irritating.

"Yeah, we're gunna have to." Jack replied, still stony-faced.

"Jack, these are traps." Tosh warned him, unnecessarily. Ianto had a sickening feeling that Jack already knew.

"So be careful," the immortal directed this solely to Ianto, "you know what he's capable of."

"What about you?" Gwen asked, cutting Ianto off as he was about to ask exactly the same question. Well, he was going to demand to go with him, but the principal was the same.

"I'm gunna go reason with him!" Jack said, cheerily, animated for the first time, though Ianto could see through it. He was fucking terrified.

"He just tried to kill us," Owen pointed out, eyes flicking to Jack momentarily before resting on Ianto again.

"I was the only one who could ever control him. That's why the Time Agency partnered us." Jack replied, briskly, uncomfortable at mentioning his past.

"Did you just say Time Agency?" Rhys asked, incredulously. "Don't tell me that's based in Cardiff too?"

Jack did a sort of eye-roll-shrug, and climbed into the car, everyone following suit. Owen wasn't quite sure how Ianto ended up on his lap – but he wasn't complaining. Something had just occurred to him, though. "Why's he doing this, Jack? What does he want?" Owen's hold subconsciously tightened around Ianto – he knew exactly what he wanted, he just wanted Jack to assure him otherwise. He didn't.

"That's what I'm going to ask."

Jack took a deep breath as the cog door rolled back, and as the music rattled through the Hub, he certainly needed that breath, nearly purple with anger.

John was up on the top level, waving a scarf over his head as he stopped singing and settled for just grinning like a maniac. Of course, he would have chosen this song. I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper by Sarah Brightman was blaring in the background; John knew how much that song irritated Jack. "Come on! Sing along! It's our song!"

The look on Jack's face must have been priceless, and worth a whole paragraph on its own. "We don't have a song," he said, sternly. "And if we did, it wouldn't be this song."

The scarf dropped, and John started pouting. "You're no fun," he accused, lifting the cover of his wrist strap. It bleeped once, and the music stopped.

"Thank you." Jack said, relieved he could now think straight.

"I've been here quite a while," John said, smiling jauntily, starting his descent down the spiral steps. "What kept you?" He asked, like this was a date. Which it wasn't.

"We all survived," Jack told him, smiling inwardly at that amazing fact. "You know, if you're going to set an explosion, you need to be more efficient."

"Oh them, they were just prototypes, had to test out a theory. How are they all, the little team?" John asked, his eyes saying that he only cared about one of the team – of course, Jack should have known he'd be set on killing Ianto above anyone else.

"What do you want?" Jack asked, wearily.

"I want you to know I love you." John said, breezily but also strangely honestly.

"Funny way of showing it." The immortal accused, leaving out the fact that he was already taken. He had to keep Ianto out of this. He had a feeling, however, that John wasn't going to let it go that easily.

"No, seriously." John turned away, his face darkening. "I really do love you." He swung around, revealing two machine guns, both rattling as they shot Jack to pieces. The immortal fell off of the walkway, into the dingy water below. It was almost a pitiful sight, John observed, stepping closer. "Because this...is gunna get nasty."

"Tosh, report on where you are." Gwen's voice crackled over the comms, startling both Tosh and Ianto.

"Just entering the Central Server. No sign of rift activity yet." There were stacks of computers everywhere, the office lighting illuminating them like any other day at work – but it was just Tosh and Ianto here now.

It was more than a little creepy – the tension rolled off of them in great waves, they were waiting for something to go wrong, for the building to blow up or go into shut down.

"This building houses servers the military, police, NHS, even looks after the server systems for the nuclear station at Turnmill." Tosh informed Ianto, still holding her, now partially bandaged, arm.

"What problem did they report?" Ianto asked; he could see nothing wrong here.

"Ghosts in these server stacks."

Ianto couldn't really argue with that one, so instead he asked, "How's the arm?"

"Owen gave me some industrial strength pain killers." She smiled, bravely. "Seems to be doing the trick." Suddenly, Tosh heard a ghostly howl ring out. "Ianto," she warned.

He turned to look, frowning slightly at the sight that met him. Three things in monks outfits and carrying scythes. "Huh." It was almost amusing.

A voice erupted from one of them – which, Ianto had no idea. "Devils! Blasphemers! Pray to your heathen God." Ianto didn't waste time explaining his atheism, instead listened with interested amusement as they continued to threaten them. "While in the Lord's name, we cast you out!"

Tosh and Ianto exchanged a glance, turning to look at the advancing reapers, not having to say anything to know what to do. They pulled out their guns, fired them expertly and watched the "reapers" fall, dead.

"There we are then." Ianto said, matter-of-factly.

"Sorted."

John dragged Jack up onto the roof, explaining shortly that it was a "good view" when Jack asked where the hell they were going.

He tapped his wristband, calling each of the Torchwood members in their separate locations. "Attention...Torchwood employees! Evening all," he continued, quite pleasantly. "Now, stop what you're doing."

Gwen spoke first, daring to. "Jack, what's going on, are you okay?"

Ianto silently cursed her for getting there first once again.

"Jack can't come to the comms right now. But if you leave a message, I'll be sure to pass it along." John replied, tauntingly.

"What've you done to him?" Gwen asked, angrily.

"No, no, wrong question," John told her, grinning. "You should be asking, what am I about to do to you?" He replied, smugly.

Ianto couldn't stand it anymore. "Put Jack on right now." He sounded sufficiently powerful, he decided, and Tosh gave him a look of amused approval. Owen blinked, he'd rarely heard Ianto sound so...so commanding. It would have turned him on, had it not been used in the current situation.

Jack, whilst being impressed, cursed Ianto under his breath. Now John was getting interested. "Eye Candy!" The ex-time agent exclaimed, pleased to finally have caught his attention. He, like Owen, had found his 'powerful' voice sufficiently hot, and was now grinning as he continued, "That was so masterful, so bossy, so basically powerless."

Ianto rolled his eyes, wishing he'd never said anything.

"Get up onto the roofs of your buildings. Quickly now, spit spot."

Ianto ran, immediately. He didn't even think before moving. Owen, however gave it a bit more consideration. "Why?" He asked, concerned that this could be yet another trap.

"'Cos if you don't, you'll miss all the fun!" John said, patronizingly. "Hold on a minute," he stopped, clearly reconsidering. "Do I mean fun or do I mean carnage? I get them confused. Are you running yet? No dawdling now!"

Gwen started moving, ignoring Rhys and Andy's pained shouts behind her.

Back on the roof, John pulled a box out of his pocket. It was blinking wildly. Jack didn't have to ask to know what it was. "What are you doing?" He exclaimed, still thrashing, his heart sinking. Ianto.

"I'm sorry." John said, simply. Everyone was watching, he could tell. No need to wait. "Now...Cardiff. Isn't it pretty? Doesn't it twinkle so? Take a good look. Remember this...because it all goes so quick."

Multiple bombs exploded all over the city, some simultaneously, some long moments apart. The Central Server building rocked from the explosions, taking Ianto down.

"Oh my God..." Gwen whispered.

"Gwen?" Andy. Completely lost and devastated.

"Oh, God..."

Sirens started wailing, alarms breaking into the flames. The whole city, ruined. Finished. Ianto flailed to his feet, nearly falling back over with shock when he saw the state that the city was in. It was devastating.

"You've destroyed the city." Jack whispered, watching the destruction site with tears threatening his eyes.

"Jack, hold me." John asked, throwing himself into Jack's arms, which the immortal pretty much ignored.

Gwen and Andy were still on the roof, both searching of the right thing to say. "Oh my God, oh my God..."

"Oh shit. Oh my God. What do we do, what do we do?" Andy asked, utterly ruined inside.

"Okay. Keep everyone calm," Gwen instructed, struggling to comply to these rules herself. "Tell them to get every officer in. Run!"

Back on the roof, John still in Jack's arms, the immortal murmured, "What have you done?"

"It's okay. It'll all going to be okay." John assured him, still clinging to the immortal. A gold light erupted behind them, unmistakably a rift glow.

Jack started to struggle, near-yelling, "Stop! Get off me!" But the light engulfed them, and then...nothing.