Torchwood: Divergence
Book One: Dychwelyd
Chapter 25
There was no denying they were approaching a Weevil stronghold; the foul odour was unmistakable. Luckily the creatures preferred to forage at night and sleep by day. So, St. Mary's looked deserted in the early morning light... until the team rounded the run-down church to enter the back lot. Whatever the Rift had deposited there had stirred a large number of Weevils from their slumber, and the weed filled patch of land was crawling with them.
"Lovely," Gwen hissed, peering around the crumbling wall they were all now pressed against. "Well at least we know where the gizmo is... they've made a nice, slavering, sharp-toothed circle around it."
"I'm really not liking the feel of whatever it is," Harkness commented with a frown. "It's making me want to twitch all over, and the fact that it's attracted that lot isn't helping."
"What's the plan?" Turlough enquired with an arched brow.
"Ianto and I will try to clear a path," Jack stated firmly after a moment, attempting to shake the sudden unease he was feeling. "Lots of spray with bullets for back up. We'll grab the Rift Gift and head back. You and Gwen be ready to help deter any landsharks that follow us."
"Um... Jack..." Cooper called softly, noticing more and more of the Weevils turning to look their way. "They know we're here."
Harkness took a peek past her and swore under his breath.
"Now or never," he pronounced, getting a good grip on his Webley and the small spray cannister he held in the other hand as he met his partner's obviously troubled gaze. "I'll break first, you come behind me."
Ianto nodded, handing his jacket and waistcoat to Gwen before taking up his own weapons, whatever they were here to retrieve making his guts knot up with nameless dread. Jack sprinted from cover, gun and spray at the ready, several of the Weevils snarling and starting toward him. But that changed abruptly when Ianto rounded the building. The gathered aliens began to moan in distress, every single one of them scattering away from the Scieron Changeling and retreating back into the church in obvious fear. Both men stopped and stared, then Harkness turned to meet the younger brunette's uncertain gaze.
"They used to clear out for Owen after the Glove from here resurrected him," he stated with a slight frown. "It was almost like respect for an alpha male or ruler. But what just happened had nothing to do with worship or pecking order. That was terror. And I'm betting it's because they can somehow sense the Shadows in you."
Ianto simply nodded; his expression neutral but his eyes haunted.
"Kind of an unnerving reaction to a supposedly benign species," the Captain remarked, his voice flat and cold. "Don't you think?"
"What do you want me to say, Jack?" Ianto breathed, obviously disturbed by the incident as well as the question. "I'm not Scieron; I just share some of their cells. I was trained to defend and protect... I don't know why that would panic Weevils."
"Too bad Owen's not around anymore or we could ask him," Harkness shrugged stiffly, his companion going pale. "Maybe he'd be scared of you too."
Without another word, the younger man strode over to where the Weevils had been gathered, crouched down to cover a small metallic item with his handkerchief before retrieving it from the weeds and rising to return to the rest of the team. He held the object out to Turlough, who took it with a nod of thanks.
"So, it appears Weevils and the Scieron don't play well together," Gwen surmised, returning her friend's articles of clothing to him. "Handy thing to remember next time one runs amok. Did you know that would happen?"
"No," Ianto murmured, his voice quiet and slightly strained as he put his waistcoat and jacket back on. "Though I did wonder why the two in the Vaults moaned and cowered whenever I fed them. I thought it was just residual trauma from their captures considering what you said you and the others had to do. I didn't realise I was scaring them to death just by being around them."
"Being Weevil proof actually isn't a bad thing," Jack pointed out, though his eyes didn't reflect the smile he wore. "And Gwen's right that it could be useful in the future. Though that level of panic gets me curious."
"We need to get this to the Hub and contain it immediately," Turlough interrupted, busily wrapping his handkerchief then a Weevil hood around the already cloth buffered artefact they'd come for. "I hope we have the supplies to do it."
"What is it?" Harkness prodded as they all hurried back to the SUV.
"I'll explain when we get it locked down," the redhead insisted, blue eyes dark with worry. "For now, just trust me when I say it's not something we want out in the world... ever."
The team was soon on its way back to the Millennium Centre, Turlough talking to Martha over the comms and giving her a list of what he needed waiting when they arrived. Gwen was pressed close behind the seat in front of her, asking Jack if they should plan to come back and clear some of the alarmingly massive Weevil colony from St. Mary's or at least find a way to keep them from multiplying. She noticed that as they talked, he kept casting uneasy glances at Ianto where the young Welshman sat staring blindly out the front passenger window; his head leaned back against the seat in apparent exhaustion. He was unconsciously toying with the cufflink on his left sleeve, his face somewhat pale and drawn, blue-grey eyes unusually dark and distant. The cheerful mood he'd been in at breakfast seemed to have evaporated completely the instant the Weevils had run from him... or perhaps it had been when he and Jack had exchanged quiet words just after that.
"Ianto?" Cooper called, briefly interrupting her conversation with the American in the driver's seat. "You okay, sweetheart?"
The twenty-six-year-old jumped slightly as though startled, quickly turning his head to look at the woman.
"Fine," Jones reassured a shade too fast, flashing a smile that couldn't completely veil the misery burning in his eyes. "Just listenin', sorry."
"You look a little pale," the former PC pointed out, also having noticed that his accent had intensified the way it only did when he was extremely tired or upset. "Jack keeping you up too late again?"
The young Welshman's gaze briefly shifted to his partner, but instead of smiling and blushing the way he sometimes did, he actually started looking decidedly green and immediately dropped his eyes.
"I don't think a massive dose of Weevil stench so soon after breakfast is agreeing with me," Ianto stated tightly. "Can you pull over?"
"We're almost there," Harkness stated sharply, casting the twenty-six-year-old a brooding look that quickly turned to concern.
"I'll walk in," the Changeling insisted with a hard swallow and slight gag. "Please, I need to get out... now."
Jack quickly pulled over to the kerb and stopped the SUV, Ianto stripping off his headset, shucking his safety belt, and bolting from the vehicle to disappear down the nearest alley way between buildings. Gwen had her door open as well, quickly patting their leader on the shoulder.
"You get Turlough and the alien bit to base, I'll check on Ianto and walk in with him," she reassured, secretly wanting a word alone with the younger man. "If he's too sick to make it on foot, I'll call you."
The Captain looked reluctant, but he nodded nonetheless, getting the big black SUV moving again as soon as Cooper was safely on the pavement. Already unsettled from the retrieval, Jack couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on with Ianto. The Welshman had been fine until the Weevils had run from him and his Shadows had been called into question. Was this sudden illness just coincidence... or was he hiding something about the Scieron after all?
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AN: Remember that rough road I warned that Ianto would have to face as an immortal Guardian? Yeah… this would be part of that.
Thank you to those reading the story. And thank you to those who have followed, favourited, and reviewed. NM
