A/N: Sorry this taken so long….a bit of writer's block – and after having to say good-bye to Death's Memoirs, I've been a bit down. So…onwards to Chapter 5 – and so, without further ado, RTD owns everything dealing with TW & DW – I only borrow the characters. The OC's however – all MINE!!!!

Torchwood: Doppelgangers

Chapter 5: Do Not Ignore Bottles That Say 'Drink Me', Cakes That Say 'Eat Me' and White Rabbits In Waistcoats

'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.

~~o0o~~

The chanting suddenly stopped and the glow vanished as the three fell from their standing positions to the floor. Gavin caught Meg as he was closest to her.

Martha was on them in an instant, Berakan scanner out and checking their vitals. Jack picked Ifan up from the floor and rested his head in his lap. Meg's eyes suddenly flew open and, turning from Gavin, she reached out to Ifan.

'He's okay,' Jack said softly. 'He's just unconscious.'

'I…know,' Meg gasped out. 'Have…to touch them.' She then caught Ifan's hand and his eyes flew open as he gasped loudly. She then reached out for Ambrose and the same happened to him once she touched his hand.

'How…how did you do that?' Jack asked slightly shaken. Their gasping breaths reminded him too much of how he used to draw in a resurrection breath before the 456 killed him. After that…he hardly made a sound when he came back.

'They told me,' she said softly gripping Ifan's hand. He squeezed hers in return.

'How were you able to talk to us?' Jack asked.

'Training,' Meg replied evasively, her eyes flicking back to Gavin. Jack understood: Ambrose and Ifan knew of her past, but Gavin did not.

It was then that Ifan sat up and turned to Jack. 'Thanks,' her muttered, hand going up to his head. 'I think.'

'You'd already hit the floor,' Jack explained. 'Sorry.'

Ifan nodded, then took Meg into his arms from Gavin. The three of them then turned to Ambrose, who was being helped into a chair by Gwen and Martha.

'Why just us?' Ifan asked.

'We've been here the longest. We're pretty much the only ones left in the village,' Meg answered, then looked at Ifan closely. 'You okay, E?' she asked, putting a hand up to his cheek. He nodded his head distractedly.

'They agreed with several of my theories,' he said after a moment. 'And they solved two of my Unsolvables.'

Meg gasped and gripped his hand. 'And the third?'

'I'll get it soon enough,' Ifan answered, kissing her cheek softly in return.

'And for those of us not in the loop?' Jack asked, a little bewildered.

'Ifan's Doctoral Thesis was based on several theories, but its application hinged on three equations. Einstein proved them – but only in theory,' Meg began.

'But the Chameloid have working proof of two of my Unsolvable equations,' Ifan continued. 'And the third…they said I could solve myself. They said it would be some time before humans can put my theories to working practice,' he then looked to Meg and smiled. 'But it will happen, one day.'

'What? Like warp drives and stuff like that?' Ambrose asked, a small chuckle escaping him.

'Yes,' Meg said, looking into Ifan's eyes. 'And portable vortex manipulators, time locks, Time Agencies,' she let her voice trail off as she looked over Ifan's shoulder to Jack's face. 'Any of this sound familiar, Captain?'

'Like somewhere around the fifty-first century?' Ifan continued, turning around to look at the Captain.

'Ifan Jeffries,' Jack murmured. 'I thought I knew that name.' He then looked to Ifan and Meg. 'They…the Chameloid. They travelled in time?'

Ifan nodded. 'Their ship's proton drive does have a temporal drive attached. They just followed the signal to its source. On whatever planet, in whatever time. If it needed to be destroyed…they were going to kill it.'

Ifan then turned back to Meg and hugged her to his chest, a smile on his face as he held her head between his two hands.

'Only if you want to, Ifan,' she whispered softly.

'I do,' he answered just as softly. She closed her eyes then and, with his help, they both stood up from the floor.

'Okay,' she breathed out, putting her head on his shoulder. She then looked to Jack. 'We have to help them,' she began, answering the questioning look on Jack's face. 'The 456 are not dead. They are still out there…waiting.'

'For what?!' Jack asked, suddenly enraged. They took Ianto; they took Steven! What else could they take…could they kill?

'Everything, Jack,' Meg answered. 'They still want the children. They could kill everything on this planet to get them. They are afraid because they know we know how to get at them. The Chameloid feel responsible; it was their technology that created those things. They…they grafted themselves into one another. When they had the genetic code completed and attempted to take themselves apart…they couldn't. They had been like that for too long. They had begun to breed…but the offspring died off within months. The entire endeavor was a complete failure. The Chameloid were hunting them – still are. But this ship is the only one that can complete the journey – that can hunt The Abomination through time and space – and obliterate them.'

'Why?' asked Martha.

'Because they should never have existed,' Ambrose said from behind everyone. 'They are Frankenstein's Monster on crack! Only the crack is our children! They'll be back…they haven't found another substitute.'

Jack stood silent absorbing all that was being said. Gwen studied his face for any sign of what he was thinking. She knew he still hurt, God! Everyone present except for Gavin knew how much he still yearned for Ianto. What lengths would he have gone to, to save his Ianto? Or his grandson and by proxy, his daughter? She thought of her own son safe at home with Rhys. He was five now – and how not so subconsciously she had kept Jack and Edward Ianto apart.

'Fuck it,' Jack growled, turning to Gwen and Martha. 'Get UNIT on the horn. Tell them I want a battalion here with winches and heavy moving equipment. We're pulling that ship out of that hole -.'

'NO,' Ifan, Ambrose and Meg said as one. The Chameloid were speaking through them again, only this time the three did not glow as before. 'THE SHIP… MUST REMAIN WHERE … IT IS.'

'Why?' Jack asked. 'Wouldn't it be easier to launch above ground?'

'WE HAVE TRANSMAT CAPABILITIES. TO PULL THE SHIP OUT OF THE GROUND WOULD CAUSE ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE,' the three said.

Jack smirked at that, though there was no warmth on his face. 'Ecologically minded aliens,' he said softly. 'Now you know you're dealing with the good guys.' He then dropped his smirk. 'What other help do you need? The 456 cost this planet much – and me personally more than you can imagine. I…I want to repay them in kind.' Gwen put her hand on Jack's arm then. His whole body was trembling as Martha put her hand on his other arm.

'For Ianto,' Jack said, his voice breaking slightly. He then cleared his throat and continued. 'For Steven. For Alice and everyone else that died or suffered for no damn reason because of the 456.'

'AGREED,' the Chameloid answered through Ifan, Meg and Ambrose. When they left them this time though, the three remained standing. They nodded to the others.

'Let's get this party started,' Meg murmured.

~~TWTWTW~~

The next day UNIT Commander Elspeth Courtney was standing outside of a command tent with Mickey Smith and Jackson Devereaux awaiting the rest of Torchwood. Next to the crevasse an entire battalion of soldiers were erecting another tent and manning heavy duty winches and lifting equipment. Mickey and Devereaux looked up when they heard the engine of the SUV roaring down the road towards them. A Range Rover bus was tearing down the same road right behind it.

'What the hell?' Mickey asked. Devereaux simply shook his head. 'New friends?' Mickey continued. 'Whoever is driving the bus is as mad a driver as Jack.'

The SUV and bus stopped side by side within feet of the UNIT commander. Jack, Martha and Gwen hopped out of the SUV while Gavin, Meg, Ambrose and Ifan stepped out of the bus. Mickey and Devereaux both started when he saw Ifan. Neither had met Ianto Jones, but they had heard enough of him from Gwen and Martha and had seen a few pics of him up at Gwen's desk at the Hub.

'Director,' Commander Courtney said, saluting Jack. He immediately returned the salute.

'Status report, Commander,' he said in return.

'All is set and ready for your go, Director. Monitoring equipment has been set up and the mechanical winches are ready for deployment. We await your orders, sir.'

'Ambrose and Ifan Jeffries, Meg Gabriel,' Jack said, introducing Mickey, Devereaux and the Commander to the civilians. 'The aliens down there have established contact with these people. We're gonna keep it that way. These aliens are called Chameloid. Unfortunately, there is no record of them in the Torchwood or UNIT databases so all information now is being collected and recorded in case we come in contact with them again.'

Meg went back into the bus and came back with harnesses from herself, Ifan and Ambrose. 'Have you guys got a bucket or platform to get us down? Or are we doing this the old fashioned way?'

Jack smiled. 'No,' he said, taking the harnesses out of her hands as she was going to hand them to Ifan and Ambrose. 'We have to clear away the rock fall and set the ship back onto its platform.'

'No,' said Ifan, snatching the harnesses back. 'So long as the spacial/temporal drive is operational, they can engage its drive and zap the ship into a geostationary orbit before they leave Earth's orbit.

'Why didn't they do that before?' asked Martha.

'Nothing in space nine hundred years or so ago for them to orient themselves to,' Jack answered. 'Once communications are established with them in space, we can give them coordinates to get them out of our solar system – and hopefully back to their own people.'

'NO,' the three answered as one. 'WE MUST CONTINUE THE HUNT. THE ABOMINATION HAVE COST MANY ON THIS PLANET MUCH. FOR SOME, A LOSS OF FACE.' Their gaze fell on the men and women of UNIT. 'FOR OTHERS, THEIR ENTIRE WORLD.' They then turned to Jack.

He nodded and cleared his throat gruffly. 'What do you need?' Jack asked, his Captain persona firmly in place.

'ACCESS TO OUR SHIP.' Jack nodded and turned to Commander Courtney.

'Get four winches here double quick. We're going down.'

~~TWTWTW~~

The ship's side entry was now visible since the collapse. They all stopped their descent and Ifan punched a code into the keypad panel on the side that slid the door open. He punched in a second code and lighting within the ship blinked on. A motor's hum could be heard as well as felt.

'Artificial gravity and power has been established within the ship,' Ifan said, turning back to the others and smiling.

Jack smiled sadly in return. Ianto… he thought. He always had that look when he solved something that no one else could; when he understood something that no one else did.

They immediately uncoupled their harnesses as they climbed into the airlock. Once the airlock established equal gravity and pressure, they were then able to walk up to the ship's command center at the top.

The three stopped at the door and shuddered as The Chameloid took over.

'What are your names?' Jack asked as Ifan opened the door.

'I am Maiek,' Ifan answered. 'Captain. This is my ship, The War Bird.'

'I am Sanshu,' Meg answered. 'Second in command and navigator.'

'I am Kansho,' Ambrose answered. 'Onboard systems and Maintenance.'

'So,' Jack began, smiling. 'Were you the one that came up with the tunnel idea?'

Ambrose returned the smile. 'No…that was Maiek. I came up with the catalyst to give us the plumes of smoke. But now…it is no longer necessary. Your technology has almost caught up with ours…we are proud to say the least.'

'Do you know what happened? Why couldn't you take off the first time?' Jack asked.

'You were correct about a substance corrupting our systems,' Sanshu answered through Meg. 'We were about one hundred feet from the platform when the resin appeared. It was partially sentient – it knew that if we achieved escape velocity the friction and speed would burn it off of our hull, so it made itself heavy and hard enough to make us fall. We were able to make it about another 400 feet before alarms began going off. We attempted to warp jump to space, but the drive had been compromised by the resin. So, the ship fell onto our platform…and we fell into stasis. The indigenous people tried to help by pulling the resin off of the ship – but the organism was quite alive by that point and began fighting back.' She sighed. 'The body you found was the chief of the tribe that helped us. His name was Calen.'

'He was killed by a rival named Man of Shur,' Maiek said through Ifan. 'He believed that to preserve the people of the Earth from the Demons of the Air, every ten years sacrifices had to be made. Towards the end of his life, those sacrifices became human.'

'Jack!' Gwen cried out over the comm unit. 'The leader of the cannibals! His name was Evan Sherman.'

Everyone in the ship's bridge froze. 'So,' said Maiek softly. 'The bastard's seed survived.'

'Don't worry,' Gwen continued over the comm link. 'He won't be getting out of prison to have children anytime soon.'

'So…like the monsters we hunt,' said Sanshu as she sat in the navigator's chair and began running system and diagnostic checks. Kansho sat at his chair and began running diagnostic programs of his own.

'Navigation is up and online. It recorded the landing and exit of The Abomination. We will be able to track their location from these readings. I have sent an automated signal to Control. If we receive a response, we know we have a home to go to. If not,' she left the rest unsaid.

'We continue our mission no matter what,' Maiek answered, completing her sentence. Kansho and Sanshu nodded in agreement.

'Cryo-stasis units are still viable,' Kansho said, looking to the other two and smiling. 'I have begun the reversal process.'

Maiek turned to Jack. 'Come,' he said as he and the others rose from their chairs. 'Meet us properly, Captain.'

Jack smiled as he followed the three to the lower portion of the ship. 'Wait a second,' he said suddenly. 'How did you make it to your stasis units after the jump back?'

Maiek smiled bitterly. 'Painfully,' he said softly. 'Why was it your people did not contact The Shadow Proclamation? They knew of the lawless attitude of The Abomination. We were working quite closely with them; the Judoon were most helpful in our initial tracking of them.'

'We have no way of contacting them,' Jack answered.

'Torchwood may not,' Kansho began, cutting Jack off. 'But UNIT has. The Lord of Time assured us of this.'

Jack was taken aback. 'The Doctor?! You mean The Doctor knew this was going to happen?!'

'No,' Maiek answered. 'There was a possibility simply because you were a populated planet on the periphery of the Proclamation's jurisdiction. The TimeLord knew of our quest and assured us he would devise a way for Earth to call for help. I take it he was not present for this?'

'No,' Jack growled. 'He…never showed.'

'Even if he had made his presence known, it does not mean that events would have been changed,' Sanshu said diplomatically as they stopped in front of another set of doors that Maiek/Ifan needed to open.

'We are here, Captain Harkness,' Maiek said softly. 'When the doors close, communications will be severed with those above. Please let your colleagues know.'

'You heard the man, boys and girls. Be back in a bit,' Jack answered good naturedly.

'We'll be waiting, Jack,' Gwen said as the comm went off-line.

Jack tapped his earpiece off. 'So why did you guys want me off-line?'

'Some in UNIT are still not happy with the shift of power to you, Captain,' Kansho answered. 'Our machinery is important to us – so important, in fact, that the TimeLord suggested we leave it with you.'

Jack's eyebrows rose at that. 'Why?'

'Because these are not just stasis chambers. They are cloning tanks. We knew that this endeavor could take centuries to complete – and our lifetimes are finite. So, we made sure that we would be able to continue the good fight and hunt these creatures down – for however long it would take. These tanks, once fed the proper information concerning the species that is to be cloned, can be used to clone anything. If they fell into the wrong hands, the end results could be catastrophic,' Kansho answered. 'You have friends in UNIT – but they are few and need your help so that they can offer help to you rather then your enemies.'

'You are as close to an immortal being as there ever will be, Captain,' Maiek said. 'It is time you use your knowledge and temporal power to your advantage, Sir.'

It was the 'Sir' said with Ifan/Ianto's accent and a touch of something alien that stirred Jack to dare…to hope.

'Can…can I?' He couldn't finish the sentence. He didn't dare…

'YES,' the three intoned. 'KEEP IT FOR US FOR WHEN WE WILL NEED IT. BUT YOU MAY USE IT…FOR HIM.'

'But will it be him?' Jack asked. 'Or will he be like Ifan? Looks like him, sounds like him, but is someone completely different?'

'We do not know, Captain,' Kansho said regretfully. 'Only you can answer that.'

'Could I bring Steven back?' Jack asked, tears suddenly welling in his eyes.

'The body,' Sanshu answered. 'As to the soul, again, only you would know. The reason The Abomination failed so miserably was once they left their failing bodies to emerge in new ones, they could not find their way back. They were lost…to the Dark.'

Jack's eyes lit up at that. 'But I could find them…find my missing people…and bring them back home.' He then looked to the three. 'What about Ifan and Meg?'

'Ifan wants to build the first functioning time traveling device created by humans. Meg wants to bear a child for him. We agreed to help…especially when we realized how important Ifan is to all of our futures,' Sanshu continued.

'And Ambrose?'

'He just wanted a little understanding between himself and his wife, and a better relationship with his children,' Kansho answered. 'We helped with that.'

The white room they found themselves in had three hibernation units bolted to the floor with humanoid figures within each. Ifan, Ambrose and Meg arranged themselves in front of the prospective unit and waited. At an unseen signal, the three extended their hands to the units and a glowing light leapt from them into the cylinders. The three humans collapsed slightly, then took hold of the units to steady themselves.

Ifan then started checking the readouts of each unit. 'Looks like transfer was successful,' he breathed out. 'They should wake up any minute.' Meg took hold of Ifan's hand. He smiled and squeezed her hand in his. They and Ambrose stepped back; Ambrose took hold of Jack and pulled him back from the units as well.

The lids to the three containers opened and they depressurized, hissing as the compressed air escaped them. Ifan, Ambrose and Meg began removing leads from the bodies within and lastly touched each alien in the center of their foreheads.

The three aliens took their first breaths of life – and Maiek and Kansho coughed a little. Ifan and Ambrose immediately pulled oxygen masks down from within the containers' lids and put them on their faces.

'Our atmosphere is a bit thin for them,' Meg said to Jack in explanation.

Jack, in turn, examined the bodies within the containers. They were trim, almost willowy in build, and very fit. The female had bright red hair and jade green eyes. The males' eyes were a deeper, almost emerald green and their hair was black. The three were at least a foot taller than the average human and their skin tone was a deep rosewood red. Meg helped the female – Sanshu – out of the capsule.

'Welcome to your ship,' Meg said softly.

'Thank you,' said the alien. Her voice was soft, deep and melodious, almost like a quiet church bell. Jack wondered at where he came up with that comparison.

Maiek was helped out by Ifan and Kansho by Ambrose and Jack. Kansho was the largest of the three, Like Ambrose, Jack thought.

Kansho smiled at that. Jack smirked. Telepathic? He asked. The three nodded. Jack's smirk grew wider. 'Are you ready to take over your ship?' Jack asked aloud. The three nodded. 'And you are leaving the cloning units with me?' Again they nodded. Jack thought for a moment. 'Can they be transmatted into the Torchwood Hub?'

'Yes,' Kansho answered, smiling. 'Very good idea, Captain.'

'So those topside won't know about them,' Meg continued, cottoning on to Jack's plan. 'Can you trust your people not to say anything?'

At that, Jack nodded. 'When I explain how dangerous these things can be in the wrong hands, they'll be totally onboard with me in this.'

Maiek, Sanshu and Kansho then stood to their full heights, dressed in the same uniform of the dead man outside in the original dig. 'We are honored to make your acquaintance, Captain Jack Harkness, Director of Torchwood,' said Maiek, extending a red four fingered hand to Jack. Jack smiled, taking the hand in his.

'As am I,' he answered. 'How? How will I know how to use these?' he asked, pointing to the units. Maiek smiled again.

'There are instruction manuals,' he began, then outstretched his hand to the Captain.

'Or we can show you,' Sanshu said, finishing the sentence.

'Either way, you are quite capable of understanding,' Kansho concluded, joining with his crew mates.

Jack nodded, held his hand out to them, and then pulled it back. He turned to Ifan and Meg. 'You want in on this?' he asked. Meg turned to Ifan, he nodded, and taking Meg's hand put his other in the Captain's. Jack smiled, then turned to the Chameloid. 'We're ready now.'

~~TWTWTW~~

The comms suddenly screeched as Jack came online for everyone at the crevasse's edge. 'Hey Boys and Girls!' he yelled.

'Did ya miss me?' Gwen, Mickey, Martha and Devereaux called back.

'Grief,' said Jack somberly. 'I have become too predictable.'

'Gwen smiled to Martha as she opened her comm-link. 'Is it done? Is everything okay?' she asked.

'Better than,' Jack answered. Gwen could almost see Jack's grin in his words. 'Engines have completed cycling and auto repairs are almost complete. She'll be ready and able to fly once that's done. We're gonna be down here for a bit longer – but the Chameloid will be on their way within the hour.'

'They have co-ordinates?' Commander Courtney asked, slightly surprised.

'Yeah,' Jack returned. 'They were able to retrace the return signal we sent. They've tracked the enemy to a planet within the Cassiopeia Galaxy. Far away not to be seen, but close enough to get here and do a quick snatch-and-grab if the resources were acquired to do such a thing. They've sent word to their kind – but they've received no word. Their own kind may no longer exist.'

'Might explain why we've never seen or heard of them before,' Mickey said thoughtfully.

'We are hoping against hope,' said a strong male alien voice. 'I am Maiek, Captain of The War Bird.'

'That's…the name of the ship,' Jack added hastily. 'We'll be up in a bit,' Jack added as he signed off. He then turned to the others. Ifan and Meg were pulling off bolts with tools fixed with noise dampeners, but bigger, noisier tools were required to remove the final bolts affixing the units to the plate decking of the ship.

'Couldn't we just transmat them as is?' Sanshu asked. Jack, Ifan and Kansho all shook their heads.

'You need the structural stability the plates give you,' Ifan answered. Maiek and Kansho nodded in agreement.

Sanshu nodded her head in understanding. 'Forgive me. My forte is navigation, not structural integrity.'

'Forgiven and forgotten, Sanshu,' Kansho said, extending a hand out to her. She took it without question and smiled.

Jack smiled as he pulled the final bolt holding sown the first unit. 'Maiek? Is yours a very tactile species?'

Maiek smiled. 'Yes,' he answered evenly. 'But Kansho and Sanshu have an excuse.'

Jack's eyebrows rose at this. 'Oh?' he breathed. 'Do tell.'

'They are a bonded pair.'

Jack laughed at that as Ifan, Meg and Ambrose joined in the mirth.

The final bolt came off the third unit and all present let out a cheer. 'Punch in those coordinates and let's get these bad boys where they belong,' Meg said.

The Chameloid nodded. 'Archive Room 4, Sub-Level 6,' Kansho said. 'Torchwood Cardiff Hub. Coordinates are locked in and TransMat is engaged.'

The three box like structures were bathed in a gold light, then winked away. Three stasis units were then wheeled in from a storage room and bolted into place.

After checking that the newly installed stasis units worked, Maiek gave Jack a thumbs-up sign.

'How do you know what that means?' Jack asked. Ifan smiled.

'When they were in our minds,' he answered. 'They learned a lot about us.' He then looked to his brother and Meg. 'Time we were going,' he said regrettably.

Maiek put his read hand on Ifan's shoulder. 'Your dreams for the human race are powerful, large and daring. But they are not impossible. You may not see them completed – but your children most certainly will.'

Ifan looked to Meg at that and smiled. 'Thank you, Maiek of the Chameloid,' he whispered, gripping the hand on his shoulder.

'You are welcome, Ifan Daffyd Jeffries,' Maiek answered. He then turned to Jack. 'I leave this also with you,' he said, handing Jack two information cylinders. 'Information on our kind,' he continued, answering Jack's questioning gaze. 'It will be a long time until we meet again, if ever, Captain Jack Harkness. Know that The Abomination will never return to this planet, this we swear. May the stars light your way, even in the darkest of nights.'

'And may they do the same for you,' Jack said, clutching the cylinders tighter to his chest. 'That saying…it was an old one among my people,' he said softly.

'As it is amongst mine,' Maiek answered.

'Your people are still out there, Maiek,' Jack said smiling, even as a green light on the room's wall console lit up and an tattoo sounded. Kansho practically flew to the console to find the cause.

'There is an answer, Maiek!' he practically screeched, turning to his commander.

'Sanshu,' Maiek said evenly. 'Please relay our situation to the homeworld and ask them for new orders, if there are any.' Sanshu nodded, then hugged each of the humans and took her leave. With a nod to everyone, Kansho followed her out. Maiek then turned to the humans again.

'So, Captain Harkness,' he said slowly, the word Harkness rolling off of his tongue. 'Time you were returned to your people.' He then paused. 'A few decades, at least,' he finished cryptically.

Jack smiled, nodding. 'Thank you,' he said again as Ifan, Meg and Ambrose moved closer to Jack.

'Thank you,' Meg and Ambrose said together, then laughed. 'Good Journey,' Ambrose said softly.

'Not good-bye,' said Meg. 'But Good Luck until we meet again.'

Maiek smiled at that as he walked over to the wall console and pressed a button. Through a haze of yellow light, Meg heard and felt Maiek's answer.

'Until we meet again.'

~~TWTWTW~~

The four materialized at the mouth of the crevasse in a flash of yellow light. Mickey, Devereaux, Gwen and Martha smiled at seeing their Captain safe. Commander Courtney saluted ass soon as the yellow light disappeared. Meg, Ifan and Ambrose smiled at the others broadly, their eyes wide with wonder.

'Wow,' said Ifan, giggling slightly. 'So that was a transmat. Awesome!'

A beam of light then shot up from the crevasse and coalesced into the images of Maiek, Sanshu and Kansho seated at their perspective stations on the ship's bridge.

'It was them, Captain,' Maiek said with a smile on his face. The four let out a collective sigh of relief. Jack turned and realized they thought the same as he: that the message the travelers received was automated.

'I am glad,' Jack answered. 'Good luck.'

Maiek nodded in understanding. 'As the priests of my world say, Captain: May the Mother of All protect us with her right hand-.'

'And with her left, may she destroy all of our enemies,' Sanshu and Kansho said along with Maiek. The 3D image then winked out as the engines of the ship below opened to full throttle – and then the ship winked out of the crevasse.

Everyone gathered then looked up to a bright streak across the blue sky as the ship's molecules flashed through the atmosphere to materialize in space 100,000 miles above Earth. Its engines then glowed again as the temporal/spacial drive was engaged – and The War Bird winked out of time and space.

~~TWTWTW~~

Ifan and Meg stood looking up into the blue sky, holding hands. The day was cool, but the wind wasn't biting and the sun was out. It was a beautiful day in the Beacons for a change. Ambrose had made sandwiches the night before and Meg had filled a few thermoses with her coffee so the entire Torchwood staff had a rollicking lunch on the Range Rover bus while UNIT packed up the tents and heavy equipment and prepared to move out.

When Commander Courtney reported to the bus to take her leave of the Director, she was treated to a ham and cheese sandwich with honey-dijon mustard on homemade wheat bread with a cup of Meg's brew. After taking a tentative sip, her face relaxed into the first real smile on it all day. Jack saluted her after she had finished and then turned to the others. Meg and Ifan nodded in return. Ambrose had taken an earlier transport back to start tea up back at the Inn.

Gwen saved the day by raising her cup of coffee up to all present on the bus. 'To Coffee Makers, Past and Present, and their ability to save those that save the universe with a single good cup.'

Meg and Ifan drew a little closer to Jack as they all raised their cups. He held his hand out to them – and both Ifan and Meg grabbed it without question.

A/N: Now I know a few may be a bit miffed here at how I left the battle between the Chameloid and the 456 out, but I felt that would just be unnecessary. I think I've got all my ducks in a row…so an epilogue chapter – and this one is another wrap. No worries, kiddies…more stories on the horizon. And once again, thank you all you fanfiction fans from all over the world for reading my stuff and enjoying it. I get a total kick out of it! D.