Ianto didn't say a word as he stormed up to the main part of the hub from the cells. Tosh and Owen were standing just outside the conference room looking down but Ianto didn't pay them any attention. Why the hell had Jason made his move now? How long had he been watching them? And why the hell hadn't he been able to sense him. Unless the Jason he fought all those weeks ago had changed but he couldn't have. It takes years for someone's powers to develop, so unless Jason had kept quiet for years then Ianto should have been able to sense him.
"Ianto what's wrong? Who's Jason?" Jack asked following after the fae.
"Jason is that rogue fae I told you about. The one who attacked Estelle" Ianto said walking over to the nearest computer and started typing away, fae didn't really use technology, they never had the need to but the queen had demanded when some of her operatives entered the human world undercover, she wanted some technological line to her just in case of emergencies. Ianto had never need to use it before.
"If Jason's back now, should one of us make sure Estelle safe?" Jack asked but Ianto shook his head. Jason wouldn't go after the same person a second time, he had a plan and he knew that the fae were personally protecting Estelle, Jason wouldn't risk going after her now.
"Estelle's safe. She's meeting the fae queen, Jason knows he would be captured if he came into the fae's world" Ianto replied pressing the last buttons on the keyboard as the torchwood mainframe connected to the fae's world. Ianto saw the surprised look briefly appear on the queen's face as she turned from Estelle and looked down at the iPad which suddenly turned itself on. She knew who it was, none of her other operatives knew much about how to use technology – only the basics except for Ianto Jones. Ianto heard Jack, Tosh and Owen shuffle behind him as he bowed his head out of respect for his queen.
"… Ianto. Well this is certainly a different way to get my attention. What's wrong?" the queen asked.
"Your majesty, Jason has taken Gwen Cooper from Torchwood" Ianto said, a conflicted emotion passed quickly in the queen's eyes before disappearing and her calm and collective persona was back.
"Ianto, I want you to bring the remaining torchwood members who are loyal to you here including the immortal one. Yes, I know it will cause uproar, but we have no choice, I will deal with any backlash of his presence, just get them here when you can. I'm activating phase omega 59" The queen ordered before turning the iPad off. Ianto let out a shaky breath before standing up and straighten his suit.
"What phase omega 59?" Tosh asked, it had to be some sort of procedure or protocol but for what Tosh wasn't sure.
"Recall all fae operatives back to our world then we get sealed in" Ianto replied.
"And your Queen wants us there, isn't there some law against it" Jack asked, from what the queen had said, he was the last person any of the fae would want to welcome to their world let alone some humans.
"Not really as long as the queen has welcomed them to our world we can bring humans in, we just don't. Actually, aside from Estelle, you'll be the first humans to step foot in our world for over thousands of years" Ianto said.
"So, teaboy, how do we get there? Do we need to run at a wall between platform 9 and 10 or dance around some flowers singing an ancient song" Owen teased, Ianto just rolled his eyes of course, Owen would think that faes were just like hippies, not that Ianto had anything against them it was just the faes had control of the elements and lived with nature didn't mean everything they did was completely encompass it but still Ianto decided to play along.
"Yes, Owen you're exactly right and please go first. You need to do a little dance before running into the wall. Oh, and do remember to project your voice so people on the bay can hear you" Ianto laughed slightly hoping Owen would fall for it and they would have video evidence of the hub CCTV.
"Oi, you trying to make me look daft" Owen said glaring at Ianto and tried to look mildly threatening. Key word tried.
"Well I'm not really trying" Ianto retaliated but continued talking before Owen could say anything else, "I can bring us to the fae world, I'm just warning you now. Shift travel is very uncomfortable the first time you experience it".
"So, how do we do this. Hold hands or something" Jack asked and Ianto nodded before reaching out and taking Jack's hand in his and Tosh's with his other. Owen seemed to glare at Jack's outstretched hand like it was diseased.
"Don't worry Owen, I don't bite" Jack said grabbing hold of Owen's hand before adding "well not much".
"Do we have to hold hands" Owen complained.
"Well that's definitely the easiest way, prevents any of you disappearing or having your body reconstructed with your arms and legs doing a swap" Ianto said shrugging like what he said wasn't a big deal.
"Wait what" Owen said, he opened his mouth to start complaining again when he felt his insides tighten like something was compressing them into tiny pieces, then Owen swore he felt something move like his internal organs were trying to find any type of escape route that Owen had to clench his butt cheeks to stop them from crawling out his ass then he felt nothing.
Owen couldn't tell what was worse the feeling of being suddenly forced from one physical space to another or that he fell onto hard concrete when he reappeared. Tosh was lying next to him looking a little green whilst Harkness stood proudly next to Ianto looking like the smug bastard he always was.
"How the hell didn't that effect you?" Owen demanded, no one should have the right to look completely and utterly fine after that.
"I experience something similar when I used this for the first time" Jack said holding up his wrist with his weird leather wrist-strap which he always wore.
"And that is?" Tosh asked looking a little better, although she didn't risk standing up just yet.
"Vortex manipulator, it's a crude way to time travel. Kind of like a space bouncy hopper" Ianto said causing Jack to glare at him.
"It's not a bouncy hopper, it is a legitimate way to time travel and teleport" Jack argued. Ianto just rolled his eyes.
"One, yours is broken and two they got outlawed in the 52nd century. So, yes they are totally reliable" Ianto retaliated.
"Mine isn't broken just… the teleportation and time travel features have been disabled" Jack defended.
"Yeah and I wonder why" Ianto said.
"Okay, you two can stop arguing like an old married couple, we get it. Harkness is an idiot. Where are we anyway teaboy?" Owen asked, ignoring the faint blushes which appeared on Ianto and Jack's cheeks.
"We're just outside the royal palace, this street is fully of the homes of the royal guards" Ianto explained and Owen finally took his time to look at his surroundings. He was sat on smooth concrete path with small houses littering each side, he couldn't tell what the houses were made off, looked wooden but for all he knew it was a reflection of some sort. The palace was huge, it seem to stretch in every possible direct both in length and height, with stain glass windows which seemed to depict some type of battle, but Owen couldn't tell of what.
"I always thought this place was a forest" Jack said his jaw was hanging wide open. Ianto smiled leaning over to Jack and whispered in his ear.
"Look up".
Jack's head shot up and his eyes widened even further. Above them were the tops of trees, their leaves intricate with different colours, red, oranges, purples and blues which glistened and seemingly danced underneath the moon light. Jack let his eyes trail back down and noticed that the buildings were all carved and grown out of the tress. The forest which Jack had always heard had been lost had now grow into a city to house and protect its people, and right in the centre perhaps moulded out of the largest tree of them all was the palace.
"Ianto this place is beautiful" Tosh said, and Jack couldn't help himself but agree. No wonder all these children decide to become fae when they had something like this as a home. Jack's eyes trailed over to Ianto who looked peaceful. It was the first time Jack had ever seen the young man look relaxed instead of tensed like he had the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. Ianto's eyes flickered over and met Jack's and the corner of his lips curled upwards in a small smile, the moon light reflected in his eyes made the deep pools of blue shine brightly, it made Ianto look otherworldly and untouchable yet humble and beautiful. Ianto was beautiful. Jack felt his heart freeze like it always did whenever he was around Ianto Jones, he wanted to reach out and hold Ianto close yet he was scared that if he did the illusion would break and Jack would wake up in his bunk underneath his office at the hub to find Ianto Jones was a figment of his imagination.
"Commander Ianto" an unfamiliar voice said. Ianto broke their eye contact and turned to see the Captain of the Chosen One Response Squad approaching, he was warily eyeing up Jack obviously uncomfortable that the Immortal One was in their home.
"Captain" Ianto replied, he hated using official titles but in times like these when the fae could potentially be at war with a rogue member of torchwood and a rogue fae. Which meant Ianto became the commander again, someone he didn't want to be. That dark part of his life was in the past and being forced to take up the mantle again it felt like he had reliving some dark times.
"The queen will see you now" The captain said as Ianto fell into step with him before whispering underneath his breath "does he have to be here?".
"The Queen asked for him to be here" Ianto replied, if the queen's plan went a head then his fellow fae would have to get use to Jack being around whether they wanted it or not.
"Of course, the queen knows best after all" The captain said although Ianto could still tell he was unsure.
"You still have the right to feel uncomfortable around him Reiner, hell when I first joined torchwood three, I spent the best part of six months avoiding him because I just couldn't stand being in the same room as him" Ianto confessed, he understood his friend's unwillingness, it was like forcing someone to stand next to someone they hate and ask them to act like they were the best of friends.
"You're right as always Ianto. I will focus on my duty as a captain and my role to protect my queen and my people" Reiner said and Ianto had to stop himself from laughing, that was Reiner for you. Someone who would put his duty to his people first.
"Talking about duty. Where's Bertholdt? You two are normally joined at the hip" Ianto asked, Bertholdt was Reiner's mate. Ever since they met a thousand years ago, they would hardly leave each other side, whenever Reiner had a meeting with the queen Bertholdt would join him as the vice-captain. Where one went the other was sure to follow, hell their mateship was the reason fae had a bonding ceremony, not that anyone had used it since Reiner and Bertholdt.
"He's protecting the queen, while we know Jason won't attack we can't be too sure he won't try something. The queen will be guarded until Jason has been caught or is dead" Reiner said pushing the courtroom doors wide opening revealing the Queen sat in her throne at the head of the meeting table with Estelle sat to her right. A tall fae with short brown hair stood behind the queen, he instantly tensed when he heard the doors open but slowly relaxed when he saw Reiner, Ianto and the members of Torchwood three enter although he too wore a nervous look when he saw Jack.
"Your majesty" Ianto greeted before turning his attention to the guard, "Hey Bertholdt".
"Jack" Estelle said looking over at her former lover. After all this time she knew that the Jack she lost during the war, was the same man who had returned to her all those years later. She had never said anything out of fear of losing him again.
"Estelle are you alright?" Jack said darting over to the elderly woman and quickly checking her over for any injuries before letting out a sigh of relief when he found none.
"Don't worry immortal one, we have taken good care of Ms Cole. Bertholdt, I have important business to attend with the torchwood team, would you kindly escort Ms Cole to our guest chambers with Captain Reiner. It's too dangerous to take her home" the queen order the fae, before turning to face Estelle "I do hope you can pardon the intrusion, we are currently dealing with a situation, I hope we can continue this conversation at a later date".
"It would be an honour, your majesty" Estelle said standing up from her chair before giving the queen a curtsy and followed Reiner and Bertholdt out of the courtroom.
"What did you want with Estelle?" Jack demanded, the last thing he wanted was for Estelle to suffer any more than she already had. The Queen gestured for her guests to sit. Ianto sat to her right with Jack beside him whilst Tosh sat to the Queen's left and Owen sat beside her.
"I wanted to apologise for what she went through at the hands of Jason also I had something I wished to discuss with her. Estelle can tell you if she desires to" the queen said to the immortal one before turn to her commander "Also, that woman is a saint but Estelle is not why we are here, we need to figure out what we are to do with Jason".
"This Jason fella took Cooper, what would he want with a brain-dead bimbo like her" Owen said and Ianto shot a look at him, he knew Owen usually didn't care how he spoke to people but could he at least try and watch what he said around his queen. To Ianto's surprise Owen did look a little sheepish and mouthed 'sorry' but Ianto couldn't be so sure that it wasn't to do with the elbow to the ribs he got from Tosh.
"Has this Cooper woman done anything which could attract Jason's attention. He must need her for something" the queen asked.
"Well Cooper shot Ianto" Owen said bluntly before receiving another elbow to the ribs from Tosh who decided to continue.
"Miss Cooper has been acting a little different these last few days, she somehow came into possession of an alien telepathic necklace and brought it into work. She tried to read our minds but failed due to Ianto noticing the device and ensuring that Owen and I had bio-dampers to protect our thoughts. We don't know if the alien who gave Gwen the necklace was manipulating her but before we killed the alien, it revealed Ianto had a big secret somehow Cooper was able to deduce that this secret was dangerous and tried to shoot Ianto obviously being unsuccessful. This forced Ianto to reveal that he was indeed a fae. At some point during our conversation, Jason seemed to converse with Gwen and released her from the cells she was being kept and disappeared" Tosh explained, the queen kept quiet for a moment taking in what she had heard before saying.
"Is there any other reason to why Miss Cooper would try and harm Ianto".
"Gwen is infatuated with me, it's my fault really. I flirt with people, it's jut who I am. But even Owen can tell when I'm serious with who I'm flirting with and when I'm not. Gwen I was never serious with but somehow she got it through her head that I wanted to be with her. I believe Gwen got jealous that I was more interested in someone else and was giving them more attention over her" Jack replied his eyes flickered to Ianto. The Queen nodded; she could see who the source of the immortal once affections was even if her dear commander hadn't realised it himself.
"Jason going for Miss Cooper in not accident. I believe from what I've been told that you, Ianto are who Jason and Miss Cooper are after. Jason wanted to eliminate the immortal one or any associates of his to prevent him ever coming after the fae. Obviously we all know that not much can really stop him. You had angered him when you protected Ms Cole from his unlawful attack and defeated him so easier. You also have unknowingly angered Miss Cooper to the point when she wanted to end your life even though she expected that something was different about you. Jason must want to use Miss Cooper to bring either just you Ianto or you and the immortal one down" The Queen explained, and everyone just sat in silence, it made sense. Ianto was the one person who seemed to get in the way of both Jason and Gwen's attempts at Jack, it made sense that they would want to get rid of him before he became even more of a problem for them.
"What will we do to protect Ianto, we can't let Jason or Gwen have the opportunity to come after him" Tosh said visibly worried for the safety of her best friend and she could tell that Jack was as well. He was immortal, Tosh knew that as much, he must have loved and lost so many people throughout his long life and she knew, she could tell just by looking in his eyes that if he lost Ianto, it would utter and truly break him.
"All in good time Miss Sato but first I need to have a word with the immortal one. Will you please come with me. I have something important to discuss with you" the queen said rising from her seat. Jack shot a worried look over to Ianto but the fae just smiled and nodded. Jack would be fine with the fae queen, Ianto was sure of it. Still feeling a little hesitant, Jack stood from his seat and followed the queen out of the courtroom.
Gwen groaned. The last thing she could remember was talking to a disfigured voice then nothing. She was meant to be trapped inside the torchwood cells where Owen and Tosh had thrown her but instead she was in some sort of warehouse full of computers, weapons and some other things which Gwen didn't recognise.
"Good you're finally awake" a voice said, and Gwen pushed herself to her feet, her head turning from side to side to try and find the person the voice belonged to. Gwen felt her heart jump out her chest when a man appeared seemingly out of nowhere. His green eyes seemed to pierce into her as he took a step forward. Gwen stumbled backwards trying to put as much space between her and this mystery man as much as possible.
"What happened? Who are you?" Gwen asked giving the man a warily look.
"I'm Jason and we will be working together. We have a common enemy and you vowed to help me destroy him. We need to kill Ianto Jones" Jason said smirking.