Hi guys, here's the next part as promised. One of our favorites is missing and it's up to the team to save them. I'm getting a bit worried about continuing though guys. The reviews are very minimal and I'd like to know what you guys are thinking. Anyway, hope you do enjoy this next part of the story.

Anja

Forgotten 1

As morning rose over Cardiff, Astra Lifrey's alarm went off at six am. Turning over she hit the snooze button and snuggled back down into the blankets. Ten minutes later the alarm went off again. She groaned and tried to hit the snooze button again, she missed. Groaning louder she sat up and rubbed her eyes. She was so tired but her alarm persisted with the annoying beeping she'd set it to. She could sleep through music so having an alarm that played music was useless. Looking at the alarm more closely she found the off button. The alarm ceased making noise. She lay back down but couldn't get comfortable. She got up and went to shower. She had to get into work. She'd missed a few hours the day before because there had been a class at the university that she wanted to attend. Thinking back now, she couldn't remember what the class had been about. In fact, she couldn't remember anything from the day before. She put it down to a night at the pub with the girls.

After showering, she felt more awake, she proceeded to dress, dark blue jeans, yellow blouse and a matching denim jacket. She pulled her hair back into a messy pony tail. It was never any use doing anything fancy with her hair, she just wound up getting helmet hair anyway. She made her way to the kitchen in the apartment she shared with the other girls from the university, careful not to wake them. She popped some bread in the toaster and made herself a hot mug of coffee to wake her up fully. It was nothing compared to Ianto's. He probably would have been horrified to find her using instant coffee, but what he didn't know couldn't hurt anyone. The toast popped and she quickly spread some jam over the slices of bread and stuffed one in her mouth as she walked around getting her bag together. Laptop, PDA, phone, keys, a few personal things she liked to keep with her. She never brought alien devices home. One, they weren't allowed from Jack and two, it was too risky that her friends found it. Walking back through the kitchen she grabbed the second piece of toast in one hand, coffee mug in the other, she drained the coffee, walked back to the living room while eating the toast, picked up her bag and helmet and was out the door.

While riding through the streets of Cardiff towards the Millennium Center she tried desperately to remember the events of the day before, but nothing came to mind just yet. She pulled up in the car park and made her way to the water tower. Going through the Information Center at six-thirty in the morning was just wrong. She stepped onto the stone slab while getting her PDA out, she activated the internal controls and stood still as the slab descended into the hub. She wasn't so keen on the height that it descended from but it was there, so she used it. The first thing she noticed was how quiet it was. The computers were off. They were never off. Myfawny cried from nearby. Not her usual call of greeting, a cry of loneliness and hunger. Astra looked around, Jack was usually pacing around the hub at this time of morning, but everything was still.
She stepped off the slab as it reached to ground level of the hub. It was darker than usual, the lights weren't on. There wasn't any power anywhere in the hub. Besides for Myfawny above her, the only sound was that of the water, coming down the water tower. She dropped her bag beside her work station and switched on the computers. They came to life. The power hadn't been cut, someone had actively walked around and switched everything off. She didn't like it, not one bit. She got the rift detection systems back on line. If anything had happened during the night, they wouldn't know until there was a disaster. After half an hour, she still hadn't seen Jack. Ianto hadn't arrived either. She got up from her seat and went to Jack's office. His desk was the way it usually was, messy. She looked at the hatch that went down to his sleeping quarters. It was still closed. She knelt beside the hatch and knocked, no response.

"Jack?" She called while knocking again. Still no response. She didn't like invading on anyones privacy, but something strange was going on. She looked around once more. Jack's great coat hung from the coat rack in his office. He should be there. She looked back at the hatch and opened it, "Jack?" She called again. There was no response. Again. She climbed down the ladder. The bed lay still made, as if no one had used it. Sighing Astra climbed back up into Jack's office. She closed the hatch and stood up. Her eyes fell upon the retcon box, sitting amidst the paperwork that littered Jack's desk. She made her way over. She opened the box and pulled out the sign out sheet. There hadn't been anything listed since Ianto, the week before when Ianto had needed to clean up after and alien ship had crashed in one of the local schools. So why would it be out? She put the sheet down on the desk and counted through the pills. Four heavy level six retcon pills were missing. The type, Jack had explained, that was used on Torchwood officers.

She put the sheet back into the box and took it with her to the board room. She needed something to jog her memory. Now. Looking around the board room, she could see everyone sitting around the table, as they had been. Yesterday. This was a start. Taye wasn't there, he was visiting family in Liverpool. Ianto had served coffee to everyone as usual. It had all been so normal, except Jack. He was quiet. Much quieter than usual. She hadn't thought anything of it at the time, Jack was often the quiet brooding type. Her mind fogged up as the headache grew. It was going to be one of those days. The cog door started to open below and she ran down the spiral staircase and into the startled arms of Taye Rikes.

"Whoa there kiddo!" He said, helping her stand properly, "What's going on?"

"I... I don't know. Something strange happened yesterday and I can't find Jack now," She said.

"He could be out on a Weevil hunt," Taye said, encouragingly.

She shook her head, "His coat is in his office."

Taye lead her over to the couch and they both sat, "Ok, start from the beginning."

She nodded, "I came in this morning and everything was off. The rift monitors were off Taye... But that's not all, Myfawny hasn't been fed. Ianto always feeds her before he leaves. Which reminds me, I need to go feed her. Then there's no Jack pacing around here like he always does. His coat in his office and," She held up the retcon box, "Some one didn't sign out four level six retcon pills."

"Four?" She nodded, "There's five of us."

"Well, you weren't here... but I don't think...Oh I don't know. I'm having problems remembering yesterday, but it's coming back slowly..."

"You think you were retconed?" Taye asked.

She shrugged, "Retcon doesn't work on me as it should. Level six retcon should make people forget everything. I forgot a day and it's already coming back. It's one of the reasons Jack agreed to hire me. So he could keep an eye on me."

Taye laughed, "Come on, let's get some coffee and see if Ianto comes in." They made their way up to the kitchenette and Taye went over to the coffee machine, "Just so you know, I have no idea how Ianto does it."

She smiled and nodded, "That's Ok. We use instant at home," She paused, "And if you tell Ianto that... I'll be forced to kill you."

He nodded and then saluted, "Your secret is safe with me." He turned back to the coffee machine, grabbed two mugs from the cupboard above and continued making the coffee. After a few minutes he came over to the table and set one mug in front of Astra and sipped at the other one himself. He sat down across from her and for a few minutes they sipped at their coffee in silence. He watched as Astra glanced towards the clock. It was eight am. Ianto wasn't in yet. He usually arrived within minutes of Astra or was already here with Jack.

"I'm going to call Gwen and Ianto," She finally said.

He shook his head, "I'll call them, you go feed Myfawny. I don't think she likes me."

"She likes you just fine, but we'll do it that way."

"I'll call Jack too, just to be sure," He took his coffee and headed down to his desk, while Astra left her coffee sitting on the table while she went to find Myfawny's food.

Taye sat at his desk and put his coffee down in front of him. He'd probably forget about it in a while. It was really awful. He picked up his phone and dialed Gwen's cell.

"Gwen Williams," Came the voice on the other side. He instantly recognised her welsh accent, but Gwen never called herself Williams, it was always Cooper. Her maiden name.

"Gwen, it's Taye. You're late for work."

There was a long pause on the other side of the line, "I'm afraid you must have the wrong person. It's my day off and I don't know anyone called Taye. Good bye." The line was cut as she hung up.

Taye sat back in his chair, confused. He gathered his thoughts before leaning forward again. This time he dialed Ianto's cell, "Ianto Jones."

"Ianto, it's Taye!"

"Uh, Taye who?"

"Taye Rikes, from work."

"Sorry, you have the wrong person. I haven't ha a job since my girlfriend died at my last job!"

Taye was confused, "Ok... I'm sorry I disturbed you..." He hung up the phone and looked up to see Astra returning from feeding Myfawny. Something strange was going on, that was for sure. Sighing he tuned back to the phone and dialed Jack's number. The sound of his ring tone emanated from his office. Where ever he was, he'd left his phone here.

Astra leaned against his desk, "And?"

"Well, Jack's phone is in his office, Ianto claims he hasn't had a job since his girlfriend died at his last job and Gwen didn't even want to talk to me and said something about it being her day off."

Astra frowned, "Ianto mentioned Lisa?"

"Not by name. Who was she?"

"Ianto used to work for Torchwood One, in London. Lisa, his girlfriend died during the battle of Canary Wharf. Well, no, not exactly. She was half converted into a Cyberman and Ianto hid her in the basement, hopeful that Torchwood could save her. She died here. Long before I ever met them, but I've read the files on the computer. It was after Canary Wharf that Jack broke all ties with the other Torchwood branches."

Taye nodded, "Ok, so something is seriously wrong here."

"Seriously."

Taye frowned at her, "We need to find Jack."

She nodded, "Yeah... But... When Jack doesn't want to be found, you won't find him."

"True..."

"Ok, so, we need to make the others remember," Her eyes brightened, "I know!"

"What?"

"There were only four retcon pills missing. For us. But Rhys knows!"

"He does?" Taye asked.

Astra nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah," She jumped up and went over to Gwen's desk. She picked up the phone there and pressed the speed dial button that was labeled, 'Rhys.'

"Rhys Williams."

"Rhys, it's Astra."

"Oh hey there, everything Ok?"

"Umm, no, not exactly. Have you spoken to Gwen today?"

"Yeah, this morning. She said it was her day off. Which was weird, Jack never gives days off."

"Rhys, you now how to get into the hub right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I need to talk to you and something isn't right. Can you come?"

"Ok. I'll be there in a few."

She hung up, "Rhys remembers."

"Ok, so he wasn't retconned. But Jack knows he knows, right?" She nodded, "Jack wouldn't have forgotten something like that."

"Good point..." She said. She leaned back in Gwen's chair. Confusion etched her young face. She got up and walked over to her work station. The numerous screens that surrounded it changed as she tapped away at her keyboard. One had the CCTV from outside, so she could keep an eye out for when Rhys showed up. On another, she attempted to pull up the security footage from the day before, "Someone wiped the security footage from yesterday..." She said to no one in particular.

"Can you retrieve it?" Taye asked.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard, "I'm trying."

Taye watched, not quite sure what to do. He really wasn't any good with computers, especially supped up alien computers, though, he was learning. He stood slightly behind the young woman and watched her work. He'd always been impressed with the army techs who solved impossible problems that he didn't understand. Astra was no different. What he didn't know though, was how impressed she was of him and his expertise in medicine. He spotted someone on the CCTV footage from outside, "Is that Rhys?"

She looked up, "Uh huh."

Rhys made his way to the stone and when Taye was sure he was on it, he pressed the button which opened the secret entrance. Taye left Astra and made his way over to where the stone was coming to land.

"What's going on?" Rhys asked as he stepped off. He looked at Taye, they hadn't met before, "Who's he?"

"Got it!" Astra cried happily. She looked up at Rhys, "Oh, hey. Sorry, didn't catch that.

"I asked who he was."

Astra came round to where Rhys and Taye were standing. She motioned towards Taye, "Taye Rikes, Torchwood medic, Taye, Rhys Williams, Gwen's husband."

Taye held out his hand and Rhys accepted it. They shook, "Nice to meet you," Rhys said.

"Likewise."

"So, why am I here Astra?" Rhys asked.

She motioned for them to follow. They settled in the board room, "Rhys, what do you know about Retcon?"

Rhys thought, "Jack said they used Retcon on everyone at our wedding. You use it to make people forget."

Taye nodded, "Right. Thing is, we think someone gave it to all the Torchwood members."

"What about you two?" Rhys asked.

"Retcon doesn't work on me, at least not the way it should," Astra explained, "We don't know why. Owen checked me out back when I first met the team, but found no reason why. And Taye was away with family."

Rhys nodded, "So..."

"I called Gwen, she didn't know who I was and insisted it was her day off, then hung up on me," Taye said, "I called Ianto and got pretty much the same response."

"Where's Jack Harkness in all this?" Rhys asked.

They shrugged, "I haven't seen him. His coat and phone are in his office. Beside for that, nothing, since yesterday," Astra said.

Rhys watched them, he didn't know Taye at all and Astra he'd only met a few times. She seemed awfully young to be working this job, "What did you need me for?"

"We need you to talk to Gwen. If we can trigger her memory..." Taye started.

Rhys stopped him, "You know, it's like a dream come true that Gwen doesn't remember this job... But... I know how much she loves it..."

"Rhys... I'm begging you. Gwen lead this team last time Jack disappeared. If they knew nothing then, Taye and I know even less. We need her and then we can get Ianto... He'll be harder if he's still grieving over Lisa..." Astra said.

Rhys nodded, "What do you want me to do?" He asked.

Astra frowned and looked at Taye. He shrugged, "Ok, umm, start simple I guess. Take her for a walk around the pass... Maybe come into the Tourist Center... I can be up there."

He nodded, "Ok, then what?"

"Why don't we work from there, see if she says anything to you," Taye suggested.

-T-O-R-C-H-W-O-O-D-

Rhys held Gwen's hand as they walked around Roald Dahl Pass. It was early evening by the time he'd been able to meet up with her. Astra had promised the Tourist Office would be open. They came to a stop by the railing and looked out over the bay. The water crashed gently against the walkway. The evening light cast an orange glow over the bay.

"You know what? We've lived here for years, but we've never done anything fun here," Rhys finally said.

Gwen turned to look at him, "Fun? Like what?"

"Oooh... I don't know, there has to be a reason tourists come here right?" He pointed towards the tourist office, "Come on, let's go look!"

Gwen let him drag her off in the direction of the office, "Rhys, it'll be closed."

"There's a light on!"

Gwen sighed and continued to let him drag her to the door of the office. He pushed the door open. The chime sounded and Astra looked up from her spot behind the desk. She had her sketch book on her lap. She smiled at them, "Can I help you?"

"We're looking for something interesting to do," Rhys said.

"And fun," Gwen added.

Astra smiled at them, they made a great couple. She put her sketch book down in front of her on the counter where Gwen could see it. Astra had been busy sketching Janet the Weevil. If anything caught the attention of a Torchwood Officer, it was a Weevil. She got up and rounded the counter, "Ok, so, are you local or from out of town?"

"Local actually," Rhys said following Astra to a bunch of pamphlets, "We wanted to explore the city a little more."

"Great idea," Astra said as she plucked some pamphlets from the wall. Both of them were watching Gwen. She was staring at the sketch with curiosity.

"What is this thing?" She asked.

Astra walked over, "Oh, that? I was thinking of calling it a Weevil... It's a sort of alien in the book I'm trying to write."

Rhys raised his eyebrows at her and Astra grinned at him. She wasn't even lying, there were Weevils in her book, but Rhys didn't know that. Gwen did though, "It's... interesting..." Gwen said.

Astra laughed, "I was thinking of calling her Janet, what do you think?"

Gwen looked up at her, as if she'd remembered something, but said nothing. She looked down and focused on the sketch. She saw herself, sitting in a cold dark area, with a handsome man behind her. She'd been looking at a creature just like it. She frowned slightly, "Can I have a look at your other pictures?"

Astra nodded. She'd made a habit of sketching various Torchwood things, like the people. She'd removed any of Gwen prior to them arriving, but there were pictures of Jack, Ianto, Taye, herself, even Myfawny. There was also a picture, she'd done in tribute to Toshiko and Owen. Gwen found that one and stared at it. In Astra's neat hand writing was their date of death and their names.

"Who were they?" Gwen asked. She had a feeling that she knew them from somewhere.

"Friends of mine, they died in the mass of explosions a few months back..." Astra said.

Gwen remembered, running into the medical bay, the handsome man from before calling the name, "Toshiko!" He fell to his knees beside her and cradled her in his arms. Gwen fell to her knees beside her too. Another man, stared up at the projected screen on the wall. The power plant, Turnmill, "Owen's there," He said. Toshiko fell slump in the handsome man's arms and she felt tears come to her eyes.

She looked up at Rhys and Astra, the tears threatened to spill over. Rhys noticed this and was at her side in a flash. He wrapped his arms around her. Astra went back behind the counter and took the sketch book from Gwen, "I'm sorry if I've upset you."

Gwen shook her head, "It's Ok... It's just... It's like I knew them..."

Astra shrugged, "Owen was a doctor, maybe he treated you if you were ever in hospital."

Gwen nodded, then shook her head, "Yeah... Maybe... No... I don't know."

"Would you like a glass of water?" Astra asked. Gwen nodded. Astra disappeared into the back area behind the counter.

Rhys looked at Gwen, genuine concern covered his face, "Do you want to go home?"

Gwen shook her head and pulled Astra's sketch book to her again. She flipped through the pages and ran her fingers over the face of Jack Harkness. She turned the page again and fame face to face with a Pterodactyl, "Myfawny..." She said softly.

Astra returned with the water right as Gwen spoke, "Hey, How'd you know that was her name?"

Gwen looked up at her, "Sorry?" She accepted the water from Astra and sipped at it.

"I asked how you knew her name."

"I... I don't know."

Astra looked at Rhys, "Why don't you take your wife home sir. I'll be here anytime if you still want to explore the city."

Rhys nodded and helped Gwen to her feet, "Ok, thank you."

Gwen put the glass down on the counter and let Rhys lead her out, but she stopped and turned back to Astra, "Where's the guy that usually works here?"

"Ianto? He's away at the moment," Astra replied.

She saw the look of recognition in Gwen's eyes at the mention of Ianto's name. Gwen nodded and turned back to head out the door with Rhys.