Torchwood - Dark Stranger
Chapter four : Dilemma
Jack lowered his pistol slowly to his side.
"That's right Jack." Said the Master. "Trust me. I can help you."
Gwen stared at Jack but kept her own gun aimed at the Master's head. "Jack?" she said, her voice trembling.
Jack turned slowly toward her, tears rolling down his cheeks.
"Jack, don't listen to him." she said. "He's lying. He'll say anything you want to hear. He just wants the Doctor."
"No, Gwen." said Jack, raising his weapon again. "Drop the gun."
"Jack, what the hell are you doing?" she snapped at him as he aimed his pistol at her face.
Gwen in turn spun and aimed her gun at Jack. "Jack, stop this."
"Come on, Gwen." Jack laughed. "You know who'll come off worst if we both fire. Drop the gun."
"No Jack. Fight it. He's in your head, like he was in mine. Fight it."
"I can't. I won't." said Jack, shrugging. "He's going to give me what I want."
"No he's not!" Gwen said, he voice becoming agitated. "He's going to get the Doctor and then kill you."
"That's not true." Jack replied, glancing towards the Master. His Master.
"Tell me where the Doctor is." Said the Master in a quiet voice.
Jack opened his mouth to answer but Gwen cut him off. "He's not here!" she said, not taking her eyes off the barrel of Jack's pistol. "He's far away from here."
"You lie!" snapped the Master. "I have detected energy signatures from his TARDIS, and bio traces from him. He is here!"
"He's not here!" shouted Gwen. "Tell him Jack!"
"She's...right." Jack sighed. "He's been here, but he's gone. But..."
"Yes?" demanded the Master.
"I can help you find him."
"Jack, no!" pleaded Gwen.
"Silence!" bellowed the Master, waving his hand in the air. Gwen felt as though an invisible brick wall had rushed across the room and hit her in the face. She tumbled backwards, falling over a coffee table and landing in a heap on the floor.
"Now Jack, let's get down to business, shall we?"
Jack looked down at Gwen's motionless body, and smiled.
"What the hell is going on here?" Asked Owen angrily. "He looks like he's been here months!"
"If Jack is right, then we're inside a time machine. Who knows what this thing is capable of?"
They released the unconscious body of Ianto and half carried, half dragged him to the doorway, then stopped dead. When they had entered the room, the door had been halfway down a corridor. Now the doorway was at the very end of a corridor. About ten metres ahead of them was a junction, where another corridor crossed over. They slowly dragged Ianto towards it.
Stopping in the middle of the junction, they peered down each corridor in turn, not seeing anything that might help. Owen glanced down the way they had just walked. The doorway had vanished. An identical junction to the one they were standing in was in its place.
"How do you navigate a maze that keeps changing?" Owen thought out loud.
"By getting some help." Replied Tosh, tapping her ear piece. After a couple of tries she gave up. There was no signal whatsoever.
They sat down, leaning against the wall, with Ianto between them.
"What now?" Asked Owen. "What are we supposed to do now?"
After a few moments he stood up and walked toward the nearest junction. Turning slowly, he looked down each corridor. The third passage had a very feint light at the end of it.
"Hey Tosh!" He called, "I can see a light along there!"
When there was no reply, he turned back to Tosh. The corridor was empty. Spinning until he got dizzy, Owen turned to face each passageway again. Each one looked liked the previous. Then the floor disappeared and he fell into the darkness below.
Tosh looked up. She was certain that she had heard Owen's voice, but couldn't see him anywhere. She peered down several corridors nearby, being careful not to lose Ianto's position, but could not see anything. The last passageway she looked down had a very feint light at the end of it. Dragging Ianto along the corridor, she headed for the light.
Owen landed heavily on something very hard. Opening his eyes, he was surprised to find himself sat on the pavement with the Master's TARDIS in front of him.
Standing up, he walked around the TARDIS, but the doorway was firmly closed.
"Spit me out, will you?" He shouted, kicking the side of the fountain image. He turned and headed back to Torchwood.
"Tell me where I can find the Doctor." demanded the Master.
"Why do you need to find him?"
"Like you, I have some...unfinished business with him."
"Let the others go first." Said Jack.
"Why?" queried the Master. "Why do you care about them so much? You could be a god to them. You're immortal Jack! You could do anything you want!"
"I care...because I have to." replied Jack slowly. "This time is ancient history to me. If this time falls, then I may cease to be."
"I could guarantee this time's safety." smiled the Master. "All you have to do is help me."
"What will happen to her?" Jack asked, tilting his head towards Gwen.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to kill her. Well, not yet anyway. She may be of use to me."
Jack opened his mouth to speak but was suddenly thrown sideways by the floor lurching violently. He saw the oak paneling rushing towards him just before everything went black.
Outside, Owen stood in front of the TARDIS and aimed the rocket launcher at it, ready to take another shot.
"Open the door!" he shouted, letting another small rocket loose from the launcher, hitting the fountain in the centre of the nearest side. Laughing, he lowered the weapon to reload.
Tosh stumbled into the TARDIS's main control room and fought her way to the console, still dragging Ianto behind her. She sat him down next to what she thought was the entrance and walked back to the console unit. Searching the controls, she looked for one that might be of use. Using what she knew of Ganymede's language, she tried a coupled of switches. She smiled when the sun shone in through the main door, but then quickly dived for cover when she saw the small rocket heading towards her. The rocket hit the console, which exploded in a large shower of multi-coloured sparks.
Tosh looked in horror as the lights in the clear tube began to slowly move.