AN: Thanks again to everyone that has been reading this little story. Sorry I've left you guys hanging for so long. RL, School and my trip to the UK left me no time to write – especially when the power supply to my laptop got fried. SO, without further ado – RTD owns everything dealing with TW & DW – I only borrow the characters. The OC's however – all MINE!!!!

~o0o~

Meg grabbed at Jack's arm and stopped him. At his feet, buried underneath the formation, a skeletal hand poked out of the earth. 'I don't know where we are,' Meg breathed out quietly. 'But it sure as Hell ain't Wonderland.'

Torchwood: Doppelgangers

Chapter Four: Sometimes Monsters Do Live in Dark Places

Meg bent down and examined the hand carefully, then pulled a camel hair brush from her rucksack and began brushing the compacted dirt away slowly as she adjusted her head camera and light.

'Oh…Dear God,' she breathed after a few minutes. Jack quickly rushed over as he heard the gasps of everyone above watching the video feed. 'Charlie Team,' she said grimly as she stood up, looking down at the petrified face staring up at her. 'Gavin?' You got your ears on? Come on back.'

'What've you got, Meg?' he asked, his voice crackled on the headsets.

'We've found remains…but they are older, way older,' Meg answered. 'Jack?' said, holding up the dirt to his face. 'Take a whiff, but not too deep. This could have microbes that could really mess with your ability to breathe.'

Ianto, he thought suddenly; the image of Ianto gasping his last breaths rising into his mind almost paralyzing him for a split second. He got it under control and turned back to the task at hand.

'What does this smell like?' Meg asked him. Jack did as she asked – then nodded to her.

'It…it smells like peat,' he answered softly. 'Old peat.'

'And that means?' Gavin asked.

'That we may have Bog People down there,' Ifan's voice said over the comms.

'That's my smart man,' Meg said, beaming. She then frowned, looking at the site. 'But how? I mean…this area wasn't known for its mires, was it?' She stared back at the rock formation. 'What if….what if this caused it?'

'What do you mean?' Jack asked.

'The people known as Bog People were all murdered. Blows to the head, massive cranial damage…not pretty deaths in the least. And yet, no looks of pain, shock or surprise. A few academics have surmised the victims were drugged and that they…were sacrificed,' Ifan answered evenly.

'So…if that rock formation fell from the sky eight hundred years or more ago, the Neolithic people living here would have believed that they angered the gods somehow,' Meg began.

'And then decided human sacrifice would fix things for them?' Gavin asked.

'Wouldn't be the first time humans got it wrong,' Jack answered wryly.

'Could be what started up the locals into eating other people,' Meg said slowly.

'Their leader said it was something they did every ten years,' Jack offered, remembering the "talk" he and Gwen had with the man in the pub seven years before. 'First things first. Gavin, we're going to need a forensic team in here as well. And Gwen?'

'Yeah, Jack?'

'Call in the others. Lois stays behind to babysit UNIT. I'll take care of everything else.'

'Okay,' Gwen answered.

Meg bent down over the partially uncovered body and with her brush, swept more earth away. She stopped as soon as she uncovered the clothing. 'Jack,' she called softly. Instantly he was at her side, not liking the sound of her voice. Following her line of sight, he looked down. 'What the hell is that?' she breathed.

Jack simply shook his head as the clothing covering the corpse appeared to be a spacesuit. The same indecipherable writing on the side of the formation was on a cloth tag woven on the suit the body wore. He then looked up at the formation.

'It's a ship, isn't it?' she asked evenly. Jack nodded. 'And this,' she said, pointing down. 'Is one of the crew?' Again, he nodded. 'But what the hell was he doing out here? And the rock covering the ship? Wait…wait, wait!' She then looked up at Jack – and he noticed a literal flash within her light brown eyes. 'Something else did this to the ship!' she said, pointing to the rock encasing the ship.

'They were too heavy,' Jack murmured.

'They couldn't achieve maximum velocity to escape our atmosphere,' Ifan said, looking at the monitors Martha and Gwen were studying back in the tent. 'You're right, Captain. They were too heavy…they fell back to Earth, back into their hastily made launch pad. The crevasses and caves…they were blow back tunnels…for the exhaust of the engines. Perfect points of the compass.'

Jack nodded, fully understanding. 'They were going to use the smoke signatures at the exact points of the compass to orient themselves for flight out of Earth's atmosphere.' He then looked to the rock formation. 'And then…this stuff either suddenly grew on it, or got lobbed at it from space.'

'I'm gonna go with Door Number Two, Monty,' Meg answered. 'Alpha Team,' she called over the comms. 'Sound off.' Four voices responded. 'Guys, double time it back here, we're bugging out.' She then turned to Jack. 'Hate using an over said movie line here, but I got a bad feeling about this. This is so beyond what any of us know – correction – any of us plain folk. I'm not risking anyone down here, you included, Captain. When your full crew gets here, when you call the Royal Marines in with UNIT, good luck to ya. 'Cause me, Ifan and Ambrose are going to be at least fifty clicks away from this mess. Gavin?' she called out.

'I heard you, Meg. And I concur. We'll keep going on these sites. These have to do with our people eaters. If you're giving jurisdiction for that location to Torchwood, I leave it to your discretion.'

Meg let go the breath she didn't know she was holding. 'Thanks,' she said as the four climbers returned and began strapping themselves into their harnesses and began their ascents.

As she began harnessing herself up, Jack took a sample bottle and small rock hammer from Meg's rucksack and looked back at her. 'After seeing "The Shawshank Redemption", I've never looked at these things quite the same,' he said, holding up the hammer. Meg chuckled. 'So,' he said, motioning to the formation. 'You think it's safe?'

'Dude,' she said, readying Jack's harness. 'Last time I checked, you were the resident alien expert here.' Jack laughed out loud then, remembering Gwen's first day. 'The Alien Sex Gas Creature Incident', Ianto called it, he thought. 'Gwen – you want to answer that?'

She harrumphed over the comms. 'Just chip delicately on the outside of it,' came the terse reply. Meg looked to Jack's apoplectic face.

'Do I want to know?' she asked. Jack nodded his head and simply mouthed 'later'. He then raised the hammer to the formation's edge and hit it lightly. A few pieces fell into the sample bottle obediently – then a twelve hundred foot sheath slid down off the side of the formation; exposing the ship's fuselage. Jack jumped out of the way towards Meg, tucking her down under his body protecting her from the falling debris as he pressed them into the opposite rockface.

All Meg felt was the pressure of the rock slide and Jack's body against hers; it was as if someone had turned off all the sound in the crevasse and all that was left was the roar of shifting stones and earth. Ifan! was all she thought as she tried to make herself as small as possible.

'MEG!' Ifan screamed over the comms as the earth shook under their feet and a massive dust plume shot up the crevasse towards his location. He was already in his emergency climb harness and quickly hooking it up to another winch line. He began yelling the names of the others, who were just appearing at the mouth of the crevasse, coughing the dust could dissipated around them. He, with Gwen and Martha's help, began hauling the four over the edge and away from the drop so as to clear the area. 'MEG!' he screamed again. 'Miriam Estrella Gabriel, if you do not answer by the time I am finished this sentence, I am coming-.'

'Ifan,' she answered out of breath. She then coughed loudly. 'We had a monster rock fall, but Jack and I are okay here. Everyone get up okay? This wasn't the only collapse, though.' She began coughing again. 'Ifan,' she wheezed. 'Vibrations. Look to the North and South for dust plumes. Check North – that was where Gavin's group was. That cave really wasn't safe,' Meg continued.

Martha's voice broke over the comms. 'I have video for Gavin's location. There was a collapse. I am also picking up life signs, but there are some injuries. I'm coordinating with Rescue Services now.'

'How about Gavin? Gavin! Can you hear me? Are his life signs reading okay, Martha? Oh, please be okay. His mom would never forgive me,' Meg said worriedly.

A cough sounded over the comms. 'We're all here, Meg,' Gavin's voice answered. 'A few nasty ones, though. How long until Emergency Services get to us?' he asked.

'Two minutes,' Martha answered as the wail of ambulances could be heard in the distance. 'Maybe less,' she continued. Gavin breathed a sigh of relief.

'Oh, Meg? Keep my Mam out of this.' Meg then turned to Jack, relief evident on her face.

Jack looked thoughtfully at the now fully exposed ship. Meg sidled up next to him and stared at the ship in wonder.

'Does it look familiar?' she asked Jack. The immortal smirked.

'Not really. Still don't recognize the hieroglyphs,' Jack mused aloud. Ianto would have known, he thought suddenly. Ianto… 'Martha?'

'Yes Jack?'

'Did Devereaux send you that UNIT list of ships?'

'Yes,' she answered. 'Got it in an email this morning.'

'Good,' he said, looking at the ship more closely. 'Take pics from my feed and get the computers to Pos ID this ship and its writing.' He then looked to Meg. 'Ready to go up?' he asked cheekily.

Meg returned an equally cheeky grin. 'And we were having so much fun down here,' she said mock pouting.

'I'm on my way down, Meg. ETA twenty minutes,' Ifan's voice said on the comms.

'We're strapped in,' Meg answered. 'We'll meet you halfway. If you can have someone start up our lizard lines?' The engine winches began to pull them up and away from the wreckage of the ship towards the opening above. After a few moments of silence, Meg looked up and saw the familiar shape of her favorite Welshman coming down towards them. 'Worry wart,' she mumbled over the comm.

'Thanks to you, I'll look older than my age soon enough,' Ifan answered drily.

'Want me to prove you're still alive and kicking later?' she asked, her voice dropping just a tad. Ifan groaned over the comm. Jack smiled, remembering his own playful banter time and again with Ianto.

'So do not need to hear this over an open channel,' Gavin's voice said over the comms. Meg and Ifan laughed.

'He's just jealous,' Ifan said as he stopped his winch with a handheld controller and began his ascent with Jack and Meg. He grabbed onto Meg, and, making sure their lines didn't tangle, looked her over. Apart from a few bruises and dirt, she looked okay. He then turned to look at Jack, noticing he was absolutely filthy. His and Jack's eyes met and he bowed his head to the other man in silent thanks as they made their way topside.

~~TWTWTW~~

Below the ship, now exposed to the open air after millennia of being cocooned, began to softly glow.

~~TWTWTW~~

'Rewind it again?' Meg asked, pointing to a particular video feed of Gavin's cave in. Gwen did as she asked. Operations had been shut down hours before and everyone was reviewing the videos at The Inn. Ambrose had supplied everyone with drinks and food while Jack, Meg and Ifan cleaned up after their eventful day.

Gavin returned after cleaning up at the station and receiving word of the wounded. Of the five climbers and eight forensic collectors, seven were injured. Broken bones and crushed vertebrae was the worst. Two, however, were in a coma and one looked like she wouldn't survive the night.

Jack had already made arrangements with Martha to visit the hospital with a few pieces of alien tech that he knew would help. The trick was getting her in; but once she flashed her Torchwood ID, she explained later it was like Moses parting The Red Sea.

'And there was no warning?' Gavin asked Meg and Jack for a fourth time. She was about to answer when Ifan put a steadying hand on her thigh and looked to Gavin.

'Gav,' he said evenly. 'You heard Meg on the comm. She called everyone up and out before anything happened. Captain Harkness tapped the thing with a damn rock hammer, for Christ's Sake! No one saw this coming – we thought it was just at our location until Meg told us to look for dust plumes. If anything, the spelunkers with you kept commenting on how bad the condition of the cave ceiling was.'

Gavin nodded as he ran a bruised hand through his hair and heaved a great sigh. Meg looked up from the screens and, with a nod to Gwen, had the video paused. She then retrieved a first-aid kit and motioned to Gavin to sit in front of her. For a second it appeared as if he was going to fight her, but in the end he dragged his chair over and Meg began to silently check him over for injuries. Once she was satisfied he was just bruised and dirty, she began binding his hand and cleaning a particular nasty gash on his cheek. Jack started as he watched Meg clean it out and apply antibiotic…

Ianto, he thought. And this time, he let this precious memory take him away…

They were in the Hub2, Rhys was cooking beans for tea and Jack hauled Ianto away to an abandoned room so they could both change and he could tend to Ianto's face. It led to more pleasurable explorations… They both needed to let the other know that they were well and alive. Ianto needed to know Jack was okay after being buried alive in cement. Jack needed the affirmation that Ianto survived the explosion of the Hub. And yet…less then twenty-four hours later…Ianto was dead…gone.

Jack turned away suddenly, shaking himself out of the memory. Martha, Gwen and Gavin all missed the look on his face, but Ambrose, Ifan and Meg all hissed in pain suddenly. Jack would have missed their reaction had it not been for Gavin's sudden yelp; Meg put too much antiseptic on the cotton swab she was using to clean out his wound.

After she had patched him up and tucked away the med kit, Gavin ran his now bandaged hand through his hair and sighed deeply. 'How did this get so…?' he asked, looking to the others to complete his sentence. Meg, Ifan and Ambrose all looked to each other and smiled grimly.

'FUBAR?' they offered. Jack laughed out loud while Gavin shook his head and Gwen and Martha simply smiled. Gwen then nodded in agreement.

'Definitely FUBAR,' she said softly.

'Oh!' Meg breathed suddenly. 'Gwen? The video. Rewind it to one minute before the North Cave collapse.' She then turned to the others. 'You're all gonna want to see this.' Everyone gathered around the monitor and watched as a flash of light precipitated the collapse.

'What the hell was that?' Ifan asked, his hand slipping to Meg's thigh and giving it a squeeze. She put her hand over it.

'I don't know,' she answered softly. Ifan then turned to Gavin.

'Gav,' he began. 'You were in the cave. Didn't you see the flash?'

'No,' Gavin said, looking at his hands. 'We were all looking down at the earth. I remember it looking like it got bright for a split second…and then the ceiling was on top of us.'

Jack studied the images intently. 'It almost looks like a gunpowder flash,' he said after a few minutes.

'More like sulfur. Only a mineral like phosphorous would be able to ignite after being trapped in rock for a few centuries,' Meg offered.

'But what gunpowder do you know of that still ignites after being exposed to water? The North Cave's main problem was weakening due to water seepage,' Gavin asked. He then held his hand up. 'I mean gunpowder of this planet,' he said, clarifying himself.

Everyone smirked at that.

'It wasn't of this planet,' Ambrose said suddenly. 'But the catalyst was.'

'Another element added later?' Jack asked. Ambrose, Ifan and Meg all nodded their heads.

'That ship isn't from Earth. But maybe the humans here were trying to help their space friends to get back home,' Meg began.

'And something stopped them,' Jack finished. 'Yeah, we already came up with that. So what was the big thing with the collapse?'

Ambrose, Ifan and Meg shifted in their seats. 'What if it…' Ifan began, then stopped and turned to Martha. 'Were there collapses in all of the tunnels?'

'Yes,' Martha answered. 'The North Cave was the worst because everyone was still inside. They were wrapped up at the others and only experienced minor damage.'

'Fuel,' Meg said suddenly. Jack, Ifan and Ambrose looked to her and nodded in understanding.

'For what?' Gavin asked.

'Their marks on the compass,' Meg answered. 'They needed big plumes of rock and smoke to see these points of the compass from space to orient themselves from our orbit to a trajectory that would get them back to space. These blow back tunnels are lined with this…catalyst.'

'But,' Ambrose began. 'How long have these things been around? Are they still alive? You found that one outside of the ship, Meg. How do we know…anything?'

'But you three know enough,' Jack said softly.

Ifan immediately looked to Jack, his hackles raised. He didn't like the glances the strange American had been throwing at all three of them since their return to the inn. They may have all come to an understanding of sorts – but the stranger wasn't family. He was different; something dangerous.

'How long have you three been agreeing on things without even thinking about it?' Jack asked.

Ambrose, Ifan and Meg simply stared at the Captain.

'We,' began Ambrose. 'We've had our disagreements, but we've always found ways of working together. Out here you really don't have much of a choice. This place for the most part is Ifan's and Meg's baby; I'm just here because of the added excitement - .'

'He's here to watch over me with Meg,' Ifan said, cutting his brother off. 'I was a mess when this happened back in '07. Thank God your lot had already left by the time we showed up – or else I really would have gone round the bend after seeing your Ianto,' he continued. 'Meg had a hard time dealing with me…dealing with all of it. They were afraid I'd have another relapse.'

'I was worried,' Meg said suddenly, taking Ifan's hand in hers. 'I had to deal with the memorial services, your parents' final wishes, their finances, solicitors, the media and then you were there and yet not. I…I wasn't strong enough to help you the first time. I was afraid I would be strong enough to deal with you if…anything went wrong this time.'

'What happened before?' Martha asked yet feeling she already knew the answer.

'I tried to commit suicide,' Ifan said softly, grasping Meg's hand around his. He then turned to Meg. 'That was then, Meg. This is now. I…I would never try anything like that now. I have this place, this life…and most of all, you,' he said softly.

Meg leaned over and kissed Ifan tenderly on his lips. She then turned to Jack. 'This weirdness is kind of a normal thing for me. But I know what you mean. We've been anticipating each other's moods for some time now. I thought it was just that weird 3rd sense you develop when you're in close quarters with people. But…well, these boys – men – and their extended family - mean a great deal to me.'

Ambrose and Ifan nodded in agreement. 'Thought it was just me,' Ifan mumbled.

'Same here,' Ambrose answered.

Gwen then turned to Jack from her laptop. 'So what? You think they're being influenced by the ship?'

'Maybe,' Jack answered softly after a few moments. 'Do we still have live feed from the crevasse containing the ship?'

Gwen concentrated on her laptop and after hitting a few keys brought up a picture of the ship. The ship's hull was glowing brightly.

'Good grief! We didn't put light that good down there,' Meg mused.

'No,' agreed Jack. 'That's the ship.'

'Back up power, maybe?' Ifan asked. 'But the crew…are they…'

At that instant Ifan, Ambrose and Meg rose from their chairs as one, glowing as brightly as the ship with their bodies stiff and their eyes closed. Jack, Martha, Gwen and Gavin pushed themselves away from the three.

'CONTACT,' Ifan said.

'CONTACT HAS,' Ambrose and Ifan both said.

'CONTACT…HAS…BEEN… MADE,' Meg, Ifan and Ambrose said in unison. They then opened their eyes – and they were glowing as brightly as their bodies.

'What the fuck?' Gavin swore vehemently as he reached out to his friends. Jack batted his hand away from the three.

'Don't touch them,' Jack said in a commanding tone. He then turned to the three. 'My name is Captain Jack Harkness and I am Director of Torchwood. Who are you? Can you identify yourselves?'

The three people engulfed in the bright light turned to Jack as one.

'WE,' they began. 'WE…ARE…THE CHAMELOID. WE…WE KNOW…THESE VESSELS. THEY HAVE NOT BEEN HARMED…CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS. WE HAVE TAKEN THEM…OVER. WE…NEEDED TO …SPEAK. THERE IS…NOT MUCH TIME. WE…APOLOGIZE.'

Jack stared at the light – lifeforce? – engulfing his…friends in fear. 'Why does this feel familiar?' Jack asked himself. Suddenly he was flashed into that room with the tank…456. He shook his head violently. Now was NOT the time…

'What do you need?' he asked. Why is time a factor?'

'WE…WE NEED OUR OWN BODIES. WE…WE NEED TO CONTINUE. OUR…ENEMIES HAVE…MADE PLANETFALL…WHILE WE WERE INCAPATICATED.' The three then slumped slightly.

'Jack?' Meg's voice asked, coming through.

'Meg! Are you and Ifan and Ambrose okay?' he asked, aching to grab her and Ifan and protect them.

'We're okay for now,' came the reply. 'But the sooner the hitch-hikers are gone, the better. The ship is theirs. They've been trapped for a very long time – almost a thousand years. They…I don't understand,' she said suddenly, as if she were having another conversation while trying to relay information to the others. 'They…the Chameloid are a race of cloners. Their technology was stolen by a race on the brink of extinction. But the stolen information wasn't complete – and a third race was born…an…amalgamation.'

'ABOMINATION,' the three suddenly hissed.

'Yeah, yeah,' Meg groused. 'War broke out – the dying race became aggressive within their new matrix – they were looking to acquire the missing information to complete proper cloning. But it was too late. The original genetic information was damaged beyond reconstruction. This ship was trying to retrieve the stolen information when it was lost near a Time/Spacial Rift – and ended up here. The dying race followed them here – and made sure they could complete their mission. They have visited this planet before. They have killed in order to get…oh…oh! Jesus Christ!'

'Meg?' Jack called out, shaken to his core. He knew this; but he felt like he was walking through candy floss.

'Jack,' Meg called out. 'Jack,' she repeated. 'You've seen them. We all have! This had better feel damn familiar to you,' her voice trailed off.

'THEY…WERE…HERE!' the three chimed. 'THEY…WERE…HERE!'

Jack, Gwen, Martha and Gavin all froze with the sudden recognition.

'THEY…WERE…HERE!'

Jack's gut suddenly tightened. He had to stop his gag reflex. They all had seen this before…

'THEY…WERE…HERE! THEY…WERE…HERE!'

When the 456 took over the children.

A/N: Yeah…I know…where the hell is she going with this?! Well, this idea popped into my notebook while I was pondering the conundrum that my story had become – and decided…what the hell? It's not a COE Fix-It. But like with Archangel and Death's Memoirs, I think dancing kind of close to the edge makes for a fresh story…and a quickening of a pulse.

Next chapter: The Chameloid need help to get back into space – and they make offers Meg, Ifan and Jack can't refuse….