A/N: explainin Jack's view

Beta-ed: TattoedLibrarian


Jack was edgy when he approached the Hive, he hated all the multi voiced conversations he had with the not-so-human-anymore Flesh versions that abandoned desire to look human. But then Mark 2 appeared and the Iantos did all his work for him. It was annoying to watch them talk, so many layers of wrong. Two versions of Ianto, none of them real, but still Mark 2 kept his appearance. It must have been the streak of Ianto in him, to have pride in his looks. But it surely wasn't Ianto-like to try to turn Mark 7 against him, he should be able to choose a life without obsessing about Jack and his choices; that did make him closer to the monster that Mark 2 saw in him than was comfortable.

"Don't be rude" he warned him off to change his focus.

"You should know I'm not the boss of anything" he declared his helplessness before the Hive but Jack took it as a slap, at least three of them should know that Ianto was the boss of him.

Jack kept focus on his task, he couldn't do anything about the emotions Mark 2 submitted himself to.

He reminded Mark 2 that he could access the information needed, surely some part of him wanted to help, but he took it as an insult and advanced at Jack. Jack made an effort to stay put. With any Ianto-version he had the inclination to go at them, to touch them, examine if they were real, but that was not an option. Both of them knew that.

"I'm one of them now" Mark 2 reaffirmed his position against Jack, he was so close Jack could see the familiar face with an unfamiliar expression, what drove him so mad? "I was created that way" he insisted to see himself without power.

"By whom and why?" Jack kept himself on the mark, surely there was some information Mark 2 could give; none of them wanted more Iantos popping up randomly.

Mark 2 stared him with all the hate he could gather, but as they looked at each other Jack could see his anger faltering, sadness coming out and he knew this place wasn't his home, not really. When Ianto lifted his hand Jack almost hoped he'd touch him but he just slumped down drained from his stride. Jack was sad to see that, he had hoped for a moment that his attitude was real, that he gained arrogance that could bring him out of the memories that weren't his.

Without a shield of arrogance, Mark 2 was ready to talk. It shouldn't surprise Jack that Ianto wasn't made by Flesh itself but by unknown enemy, but it did. He forgot what it was like to have enemies like that, ones that would shoot Iantos at him for some unknown purpose. He always assumed that it was part of the Flesh war, some strange way for the Flesh to understand him, to communicate, or to fight him. It was unsettling to have a player outside of that war, someone with his own agenda.

If he could choose, he would avoid that kind of an enemy for as long as he could. Being tortured in all kind of ways and buried under all sorts of material, killed the desire to charge in when you didn't know the odds. He long forgot the naïve belief that they couldn't think of harsher ways of killing him.

But it was a condition for the truce. And the truce was of vital importance to him.

Thinking of his odds, he offered Mark 2 to come along, he would rather have an angry and hostile version of Ianto by his side than many other allies, because he knew that at the core of Ianto he would stand by him in real danger. But of course he wouldn't come and face the evidence that he was second. That made him mellow down a bit. Which with no surprise was a mistake.

"I hate you, you monster" Mark 2 shouted at him after barely a smile and grabbed his face.

Although his touch didn't hurt Jack in the way it did Mark 2, it pained him to see any version of Ianto so desperate.

Finally he did the kind thing, he removed Ianto's hands from his face to spare Mark 2 the pain he was in.

Mark 2 fell to the ground, deprived of his power to even act as a whole man. No matter what that someone, who made the Iantos for him, had in mind, if Iantos were only an interlude there was a bigger picture, he would free that Hive just to spare Ianto any further grief.

With that promise he left leaving Mark 2 to recuperate and find some meaning for himself. If there was any Ianto in him, he would do it.

"Mark 7 didn't return" said Trianca removing her suit and rubbing her limbs to remove the shivers she get anytime she would get near a Flesh pond. "Will we leave him here?"

"Some version has to come with us" Vren complained. "A Wild goose chase is an understatement, with a Flesh version of that pond we can spare ourselves the trouble of wandering forever."

"Give him some time" said Jack with a heavy voice "there's a version of him crying on the floor, he won't just leave it at that."

"That boy surely cries a lot in any version" said Trianca finally getting her shivers under control. "I don't understand that fluid that you release through your eyes, there is enough liquid in this universe."

"That reminds me" Vren said cheerfully "this place is so damp that our water supplies surely got refilled. I'll go and wash myself."

"Yuck, is that all you can think about, rinsing yourself in liquid after seeing them all liquefied?" Trianca growled, she didn't liked to be reminded of bathing of any kind.

"Well I'm not lucky like you to be able just to scale down my dirt, or like the Captain here to die away my dust, I have to rub myself clean" with that he exited.

"What?" Trianca asked with calmer voice. "No quick remarks, or reminiscence of times when you actually went on a goose chase?"

"No. When he comes aboard, fly us out and wait for instructions" he said evenly.

"Who? Mark 7?" Trianca insisted. "Why are you so bothered by all this? It's just some young boys crying and making havoc, nothing serious really."

"Silly human things" he sighed. "I'll be in my quarters."

When his door closed behind him he sat on his bed and cried some. He was surprised that he was still human enough to do that.


I wonder why is this war so important for Jack.