TITLE: To Separate The Lies From Truth
PART THREE OF SERIES: The Five Elements (AU Verse)
SUMMARY: AU VERSE! Follows on from The Power of New Beginnings. Jack struggles with a reminder of his past, while the team also learn the truth of the glove.
Disclaimer: I don't own Torchwood or Doctor Who which is unlucky because Jack and Ianto deserve much better!
Words: 3300
Notes: Here I am as promised, back with part 3 of my AU series. This will aim to cover from the start of 2006 to the start of 2008 (when the Doctor arrives in Cardiff with Martha). Because of that, and that I only written the first 10 chapters I might split posting in half again. I don't like posting when I haven't written at least the next few chapters so you don't have to wait to long if I suddenly have a few days I can't write.
It's looking to be very long again with probably 20+ chapters, but also this time I seem to have randomly scrapped by average of 2000 words per chapter. It's suddenly started being almost an average of 3000.
Anyway, enjoy! Title of story a lyric from Song Warrior by Beth Crowley again.
Also: Shout out to SciFiGirl88 for an idea later in this chapter.
Chapter 1: Remembrance and Realisation (2006)
20th January 2006
Jack sat at his desk surrounded by circuits, wires, containers, and several puddles of preservation liquid. It was only the third week of the year, but it had been one of the busiest yet. Christmas had not even brought a relief beforehand, the unpredicted Sycorax Invasion in London resulting in a third of the world standing on the nearest rooftop poised to jump, Toshiko included.
Busy conferring with and assisting the rescue teams with setting up precautions in-case people fell, the conflict was over before Jack had even left Wales. The trip to London had therefore been rather unnecessary, but despite the broken ties with Torchwood One, it was still procedure to go. It had just been another punch in the gut, however, to find out that he'd missed the Doctor once again. How much longer would it take?
Nevertheless, the journey hadn't been a complete waste of time, with the enhanced technology in the SUV picking up a single signal radiating from a severed hand in a nearby street. The excess regeneration energy pouring from it, meant it was unmistakeable who it belonged to, and for once Jack had thought some luck might be on his side having found it before Yvonne's cronies. In fact, the hand was what he was currently working on.
"Are those budget reports finalised yet?" Ianto's voice reached his ears as the younger man entered his office. Jack didn't respond, letting the current state of his desk answer for him. Sure enough, he sensed the latter pause at the mess, shortly followed by a loud, slightly exaggerated huff of annoyance. "Okay, unlike the others I wasn't going to ask, but now…"
"It's the Doctor's." Jack explained casually, not looking up as he fiddled with the connections. "Found it in the middle of a street - he probably just regrew another hand knowing the Time Lords, but if I can just…" His words slipped into a short curse as two wires shorted out as he tried to connect them. "…connect these correctly, it should tell us exactly when the Doctor next decides to visit Cardiff."
"And the large blue Police Box isn't warning enough?"
This time it was Jack's turn to huff. "Not if we're not looking at the CCTV, and this way I'll get an alert before he's even finished materialising." Jack ran his free hand through his hair. "I just…I need answers. I've been waiting for decades and I missed him by minutes."
"You'll find each other sooner or later, Jack." Ianto reassured. "At least you know it was the right regeneration this time."
"Yeah, I know." Jack sighed, but then his expression turned playful. "I just hope he's improved his driving skills since last time. He's not exactly one to be stationary and it might be difficult to explain to the others if we suddenly vanish and don't return for years. Myfanwy would certainly be miffed."
"Wait, you want me to come?" Ianto interpreted, incredulously. "But…"
"He can't exactly give you some answers yourself if you're not there." Jack explained, concentrating once again on the jar. "Plus, he would like you. In fact, he probably already does, if my memory of you two talking that time is correct."
Ianto didn't respond and Jack could tell the Welshman was more than a little surprised, even if he wasn't entirely certain why. However, he saved Ianto from more questioning, his brain finally figuring out the issue with his circuit.
"And…" Jack declared with his usual grand flare as he slotted a final wire into place at the top of the container. "It's finished!"
"Excellent, you should be able to get those reports in by the end of the morning then." Ianto expressed with a hint of sarcasm, more relaxed now he'd changed the subject. "There might even be an award."
Jack's eyes darkened in lust as his mind wandered slightly at Ianto's suggestion. "Maybe I should send the others home early so we can avoid doing work completely?"
"My mind was more along the lines of coffee, but even so you can't send the team home when they've only just arrived." Ianto replied, however it didn't escape Jack's notice that he'd hadn't objected to the actual activity. Unfortunately, before he could try any convincing, the rift alarm sounded.
"Raincheck?" Ianto asked and Jack nodded eagerly, sneaking a quick kiss as he stood, before running from the room and over to Tosh who was clicking away on her computer.
"Time to work, kids. What have we got?" He asked as he ran, switching into boss mode, before he peered over her shoulder at her monitor.
"I'd say a craft, by the size of it." Tosh said. "Southeast of Caerphilly in … um … Park Sefen On?"
"I believe it's pronounced more like Parc Cefn [Kern] Onn" Jack said, "but Ianto would have more of an idea." He added, sensing the other appearing from his office behind him, but the rest of the Hub was empty. "Where the hell are Suzie and Owen?"
Ianto exchanged a look with Tosh as he walked up before shrugging. They both winced as Jack bellowed deafeningly over the open comm line for his other team members to get their butts into work.
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
By the time they got there, emergency responders had already set up a cordon surrounding a large section of the forest, but due to their orders, they thankfully hadn't gone any closer. At least that would limit the amount of retcon that would have been needed otherwise.
The craft had collided hard against the ground and even from their far distance they could see the metal had buckled in places with the entrance hatch flung open. A figure was sprawled between two sheets of metal.
"God," Jack gaped. "I haven't seen one of those in …" He ducked under the cordon as he spoke, then stopped himself before he could reveal one of his closely guarded secrets. Ianto wondered whether it was before or during his time with Torchwood. Jack cleared his throat and straightened his face before he continued. "There's one down. Stay back until I can check this out." He looked around again at the police milling about with intrigue. "And get the police out of here!"
He hurried forward towards the craft but Ianto didn't move from his position knowing Tosh could deal with the onlookers. Jack squatted before the figure, reaching out hesitantly. Ianto view was mostly obstructed, but he saw as Jack's head bowed in sorrow.
"It's okay," Jack eventually called out behind him. "Come on."
They pushed through the undergrowth of the forest, approaching the craft and the figure until they could see it more clearly. Its head was lying at an awkward angle, tilted backwards towards the sky. The body shimmered in a way that was luminescent in the dim lighting of the forest, the colour a slight hue of silver.
"It's dead" Jack confirmed Ianto's thoughts regretfully. "Even if the crash didn't kill him, they're allergic to the nitrogen in our air. He didn't have a chance."
"It's a guy then." Owen supplied crouching opposite Jack, his hands hovering over the still form as if he wanted to check himself for any life signs but didn't know where to start.
"It's a Ah'ru". Jack said in wonder. "The males of the species shine a silver hue whereas females are almost a shade of gold."
"It definitely appears to have been swallowed up by the Rift." Tosh supplied. "The activity reads as around 1800 feet up and within half a mile's radius."
"If the bloody craft came through at that height, why the bloody hell couldn't it not just fly back out of our atmosphere again?" Owen grouched, standing again.
"We have no idea what it's like to travel through the Rift, though. He wouldn't have had a clue where he was." Tosh argued. "Plus, if what Jack says is true, they probably don't have any nitrogen in their home atmosphere. Maybe the engine couldn't manage in our air. Right Jack?"
"Maybe… Jack started distractedly. Ianto looked over to spot Jack staring into the forest, but he didn't have time to question before Jack suddenly shouted into the trees. "What do you think!?"
Ianto's head whipped around to follow the direction of Jack's stare. A young policewoman was half hidden behind a tree in the distance, but she vanished at Jack's words, spooked at being caught. Ianto sighed, already mentally calculating the amount of retcon he'd need.
"Hey!" Owen shouted, starting to chase after her, but Jack next words drew him to a halt.
"Let her go." Jack ordered, not looking up from where he had returned to staring at the body. "She didn't see anything anyone would believe. This isn't the place to start anything." Jack paused for a few seconds, before he eventually looked up again. Ianto saw his mask slip back down as he stood, regaining his composure as leader. "Right. We need to get him back to the Hub. Owen and Suzie, seeing as you were late you can lead the clean-up here."
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
It was early afternoon by the time Jack allowed himself to pause once back at the Hub. He leant over the rails above the autopsy bay, lost in memories. The rest of the Hub was empty, the team busy with the cover up, allowing him to take the few minutes to relax his guard. However, it wasn't long before he sensed a presence behind him, but recognising his company, for once his mask remained down.
"The Ah'rus were an avowed peaceful race. A trait that was both their saviour and their downfall." Jack started quietly, as Ianto approached. "When the battle for the stars began, they settled and waited quietly for the bloodshed to end, but as the years passed, many yearned to go in aid of their allies. The elders refused and sparked the start of a rebellion that had almost wiped out their entire species by the 51st Century."
"When did you come across them, then?" Ianto asked. Though they had almost been extinct by Jack's time, it was clear that Jack was familiar with and respected the species, and not in a way that just suggested they'd bumped paths briefly or them being a simple rumour.
"The 43rd Century." Jack acknowledged. "I got shipwrecked on one of their colony planets and their quick-thinking and kind-heartedness saved my life. Spent the equivalent of a month upon their planet before the Time Agency tracked me down." Jack stared down at the prone form on the autopsy table, anger flaring. "And I couldn't even return the favour." He added sharply, turning away to storm back to his office. He sensed Ianto following, but he was actually quite glad of the company.
"What was it like?" Ianto asked, perching on the corner of his desk. "On their world I mean?"
"Rudimentary. That would be one of the first words that comes to mind, but then again, most colony always were. I helped out with a bit of manual labour in the plantations once I'd recovered, in repayment for the shelter and supplies they found for me. It was before my memories were stolen, but I was already on the outs with some of the agency's principles, so part of me didn't want to leave. The Agency had other ideas, clearly." Jack thought for a while, reminiscing on his short stint on the planet. "Traditional as well. Followed something similar to what we'd class as religion now-a-days. Each death of an inhabitant was considered a significant moment. Every other member participated in important ritual to support the spirit of the dead on their journey to the afterlife.
"Sounds incredible." Ianto replied, then frowned as if the start of an idea had come to him. "Do you believe the Rift made him fall through time as well as space?"
"Impossible to tell." Jack sighed, slouching in his chair once again.
"I can work with Tosh. Develop a full schematic of the craft." Jack looked up, not yet catching where Ianto was going, but stayed silent letting the latter continue. "If he did fall through space only, there might be a way to get a signal out to his people. If the species is as diplomatic as they were when you met them, then there wouldn't be any harm in letting them know."
Jack remained silent for a while, contemplating what Ianto had just suggested, before grinning wildly.
"Have I ever told you how smart you are?" Ianto shrugged, causing Jack to frown. "Ianto, you're clever, cleverer than most considering your past. You learn quickly."
Ianto felt his face turn red. Smirking, Jack leant forward, propping his head up with his hand. "I love it when you blush."
"I'd better work on controlling myself more then, don't want you getting distracted."
Jack snapped upright in his chair, growling playfully as Ianto laughed. He laughed in return, smiling widely, when a knock at the door disturbed them and Suzie entered.
The smile dropped from Jack's face. Suzie rarely ever knocked and only ever entered at all when she was either angry or wanted something, and from her expression it was the second. "Suzie! What do we owe this pleasure?"
~ * o ~ * o ~ T ~ o * ~ o * ~
Since it'd been found a few months back, the glove had always bothered him. The feelings his empathic abilities caught from it every time he was around it was disconcerting, but he'd been assured by the fact that Suzie had never been able to figure out its function, but now, standing around the fallen Ah'ru in the autopsy/medical bay with the rest of the team, that disconcertion had returned.
Suzie stood at the head of the table, with the glove enclosed around her right hand. She'd been tight lipped in Jack's office on what she had in plan to show them, simply declaring that it wasn't something she could explain, only show. That however, despite agreeing, hadn't stopped Jack from trying to find out when he'd seen it involved the fallen Ah'ru.
"Suzie…" Jack started from beside him, a slight warning tone to his voice as Suzie reached out with her glove hand to touch its head, but Suzie was quick to interrupt.
"Wait for it. I need to concentrate."
Ianto watched along with Tosh and Owen who'd both remained silent so far since they'd gathered in the bay. Ianto wasn't sure what Suzie was expecting to happen, but his answer came after only a few more seconds of silence as fear slammed forcefully into his mind as the Ah'ru reared upwards on the table. Ianto reinforced his shields reflexively but still the sensations only intensified with pain as the alien struggled to breathe.
He couldn't help but stagger back a touch, but a strong arm caught him from nowhere. Jack's eyes flickered only momentarily towards him – mostly drawn towards the resurrected form on the table - but they showed his concern, clouded however by the raging anger he could only just sense from his lover. The fear and pain from the Ah'ru as it panicked, overpowering any other emotions.
"That's enough!" Jack snapped, snatching the glove from Suzie. He dropped it to the ground as if it burned, but Ianto was too distracted to notice properly, focused more on the sudden silence he felt beyond his shields as the connection broke. "Owen!"
At Jack's order, the medic raced forward to check on the alien, but Ianto didn't need his confirmation to know he was dead once again, but a fresh flood of remorse still rushed over him as Owen shook his head dejectedly.
"What were you thinking!" Jack whirled round to confront Suzie, both not even attempting to hide their rage. "As if one agonising death wasn't enough, you just thought you'd put him through that pain again. Did I or did I not say earlier that our atmosphere was poison to their species."
"It has the power to bring people back from the dead, Jack!" Suzie shouted. "The max is only two minutes at the moment, but it's increasing all the time!"
"Life and Death is not something you can just manipulate, Suzie!" Jack shouted, stepping closer until he was standing intimidatingly in front of her. "Not only that but apparently you've taken it upon yourself to lie to my face during weekly reports."
"I needed to be sure before I showed you!"
Ianto felt Jack try to rein himself in before he lost control. "The glove is going in the archives. That's my final decision." Jack ordered calmly, but his body was tensed. "Now go home. I'll deal with this further tomorrow."
"But…"
"HOME! NOW!" Jack yelled; his anger no longer contained. "All of you! Go!" He added, his order marginally softer as his gaze flickered sideways to Owen, Tosh, and him.
Tosh and Owen vanished up the stairs of the autopsy bay almost instantly at Jack's command. Ianto followed at a slower pace, eyes still focused on Jack and Suzie's continued stare-down. He hoped she would listen rather than make things worse, and fortunately enough she did, grabbing her belongings in a rage as she eventually stormed out of the Hub.
Rather than heading home himself, Ianto detoured down to the cells to feed the residents for the evening. It felt wrong to leave at that moment, and decided to give Jack a while to calm down, before seeing if he needed any company.
The office door was shut when he came up to feed Myfanwy and he could sense Jack's distress from inside, but there were still some jobs to do. He quickly cleared the autopsy bay, courteously storing the still form in the morgue before carefully taking the glove down to the archives. He silently hoped to never see it again as he returned to the main Hub.
"There's nothing but darkness, a sense of nothing just smothering you." Jack whispered eerily when Ianto eventually entered his office. The Captain had poured himself a generous helping of whiskey which he knocked back quickly between sentences. "Nobody should ever know what comes after, or have to fear death because of the dread of falling back into it. It's not right."
"I've filed it away, with a note not to use." Ianto responded. "I didn't mention what it does. Thought it might stop anyone else from knowing, it they ever come across it in the future."
"Thanks." Jack mumbled, around the edge of his glass.
"That's not going to help." Ianto collected the bottle from his desk and returned it to its original place on Jack's shelf. He half expected a protest, but it didn't come.
"You're right. You always are." Jack pushed the glass away as well, pushing himself up in his chair. Ianto caught the wince that Jack tried to hide as he used his right hand. "Sorry."
"Let me see your hand." Ianto replied, a shallow nod the only acknowledgement to Jack's apology. It didn't matter to him. Ianto didn't believe he had anything to apologize for.
"It's fine." Jack argued but complied, nevertheless. His hand was surprisingly not as bad as he'd expected, merely bright red and only a scattering of half healed blisters. He did however get a sudden feeling of déjà vu, of when this situation had been reversed. Only a few months ago for him, but a lifetime ago for Jack. "It'll be fully healed in another ten minutes." Jack added.
"It's still weird." Ianto commented. "Suzie didn't get burned, did she?"
"No, but then again, her hand was inside. But it doesn't matter. I never want to see that thing again." Jack swapped his hand over in order to pull Ianto closer towards him. "I'm glad you stayed. I didn't mean for you to go too. For once I'm thankful you didn't listen."
"I figured you'd want some company tonight."
"Always."
Notes: Hope you enjoyed the start of part three! Please kudo and comment, it makes my day when I see the email that someone has. Next up – The Battle of Canary Wharf.