AN: A time jump in this chapter, it's set two weeks after the previous. This is the penultimate chapter, which obviously means…that the next will be the final chapter. There will also be a two week time jump between this one and the last one; meaning the brothers and Jack have been with The Doctor for what would be the equivalent of a month. However, the TARDIS is amazing, as is The Doctor so when they return to Torchwood in the final chapter, they won't have been gone for ages, and I'll leave it ambiguous, how long it's been since Jack disappeared, and then how long it's been since the other two did. Btw…in case you didn't gather, the name of the planet and the race is made up. I was sitting in the sun whilst writing this, and I couldn't find a legit planet that worked for me, so there you go…
/
Two weeks later…
Jack ducked, a curse slipping from his lip as an energy beam shot over his head, colliding with a near by tree and leaving a considerably, charred hole. Yes, as it always was with The Doctor –and apparently his sons too- they were running, and being chased by some angry creatures. "Is that really all you've got?" the youngest brother yelled over his shoulder.
"Well, it's rubbish!" the elder sibling pitched in loudly, both of them mocking the aliens.
"Don't antagonize them!" Jack hissed, he then shared a slightly amused glance with The Doctor.
"If I remember correctly, Captain, you're hardly one to talk. You loved antagonizing people, and weird crocodile people," The eldest Timelord pointed out with a smirk.
"Yeah, well, you know…" the immortal replied breezily, as the two youngest Timelord's snickered. He paused, upon hearing the creatures shout in what could only be described as rage. Yes…it seemed they certainly had been antagonized.
"Speed up!" The Doctor suggested, increasing his speed.
"Good idea, Doc," the Captain agreed following the eldest Timelord's actions. The two brothers shared a glance and rolled their eyes. "No worries, guys…the TARDIS probably isn't that far," the eldest brother remarked.
"Exactly…we'll get there before death has the chance to get to us. Like we're gonna be killed by weird crocodile aliens, anyway," the youngest Timelord stated. Despite their words, they sped up, joining the immortal and their father in running faster.
"Well if we do…it's your fault, the pair of you." Jack told them, with a smirk; because it was true.
Earlier today they'd landed on a planet called Croxatosin; the planet was unusual…on the surface, it was colonized and pretty advanced, but there was another part of it below ground, apparently, that was sort of like a whole other world, a completely water based habitat; which kind of made sense, considering the inhabitants. The planet and the inhabitants had first begun in the section below the ground. However, as the inhabitants evolved, increasing in intelligence and technology, they found a way for them to live, continuelessly (more or less) above the surface. That change, so long ago, had set the planet up to become what it was today. The inhabitants were strange humanoid crocodile creatures; they walked on their back legs, they were intelligent, and they spoke…They were also easily offended.
Long story short; the four men had just cruising around the surface, exploring the planet, and not doing any harm. Everything had been fine…until they ran into the Croxatosin equivalent of law enforcement. Who, of course, had some strange weapons which fired energy beams. Yes…it'd had been going swimmingly…until the two brothers had got quite excited, about how the creatures looked like Earthen crocodiles; and started asking to see the alien's tails- which like most parts of the crocodile aliens bodies were covered in protective armour. And naturally… it had ended up, that to ask a Croxatosin inhabitant to reveal their tail –unless you were of the same species and wanted to mate with them- was a great offence. The four men didn't get a chance to find out why it was such an offence, as the Croxatosin crocodile guys had soon started shooting at them. So here they were…
"You had to ask inappropriate questions, didn't you?" The Doctor chastised his sons good naturedly; his tone held no malice or anger, if anything he sounded amused.
"Well…" the elder son ducked to avoid another energy beam. "Hey! We're trying to have a conversation here!" He complained.
"How were we supposed to know?" the youngest sibling agreed, pulling a face "Besides…if we hadn't, you probably would've done."
"That's true," Jack agreed with a snicker. The four of them quickly rounded a corner, each of them having to make deft moves, and ridiculous twists and ducks to avoid the oncoming energy beams. They tried to ignore the sounds of the creatures shouting abuse after them –which unfortunately the TARDIS did translate- and focused on paying attention in avoiding the bursts of energy, looking back to do so every now and again.
"Bitches- I see the TARDIS!" Owen commented suddenly, as he caught sight of the old blue box, and gestured to the ship which probably about fifteen metres away. They could make it…right?
"Amazing observational skills," the younger brother mocked.
"Dude, shut up and keep running," the eldest sibling retorted. He glanced back and his eyes widened slightly, before his expression hardened. He then pushed his younger brother in front of him, and took the position that Ianto was previously in. What may have seemed like a playful gesture actually held different intentions, As he'd glanced back, he'd noticed one of the creatures was about to fire an energy beam that would've undoubtedly hit his younger brother. And he couldn't have just stood by and let that happen, could he? So, what did he do? He moved his brother out the way and prepared to take the blow himself. It took a few seconds longer than he'd expected, and even then he still hadn't managed to prepare himself what was coming. Pain flared in his left shoulder as the energy beam impacted, drawing a strangled cry from his throat and sending him crashing forwards. Ianto gasped and steadied him, with difficulty; stopping him from falling the floor. Concern was written deeply in his expression.
"Shit! Atrum, you idiot!"
"What? How did that happen?" Jack demanded, looking worried.
"Atrum, are you all right? Still okay to run?" The eldest Timelord enquired, looking anxious and a bit annoyed at the fact that the creatures had dared to hit one of them.
"Fuck! Fuck! Keep running!" the elder brother hissed, forcing himself to run again, once he was satisfied that the other four were doing the same he growled in pain and then glanced at Ianto. "It would've hit you…and if I can help it, nobody hurts my little brother," his voice was tight, the pain was burning in his left shoulder like a fire, but he had to keep going. He could feel the seared flesh, the blood escaping heavily, and his shirt sticking to the wound. It hurt like a bitch, and his shirt and jacket would be ruined. Thankfully, the TARDIS could replace them.
"You didn't have to do that," the younger brother told him, a grateful and appreciate look on his face nonetheless. "Thank you, though."
"No problem," the elder sibling responded tightly, grimacing in pain. "Guys…stop looking at me like that; I'm not gonna collapse, or die. Nor am I gonna lose my arm. However…dad, I'd appreciate if you'd sort this when we're back in the TARDIS," he stumbled slightly as the pain flared once more, again he was caught by his brother who wrapped an arm around his midsection for support ad half dragged him along.
"Of course," The Doctor acknowledged, looking very concerned.
"Bitch- next time; let me take the hit!" the younger brother half growled. Yeah, he appreciated the gesture, but he didn't like the fact that his brother had been hurt.
"Never. Not if I can take it for you."
Jack had to smile; yeah, he was concerned but the chances were Owen would be fine, and it really was a sweet and noble gesture. The Doctor cursed in Gallifreyan –which meant it wasn't translated- and weaved to the left. "Keep your wits about you. They're still firing and we don't want any more injuries, especially not this close to the TARDIS." Collectively, the group sped up again. Well…Jack, Ianto and The Doctor did, but Owen, half growling/half groaning in pain was forced to by his brother.
Theta-Jack-Atrum-Levis-Theta-Jack-Atrum-Levis-Theta-Jack-Atrum-Levis-Theta-Jack-Atrum-Levis-Theta
Jack quickly closed the TARDIS doors behind them. The creatures could be heard shouting and banging on the door; but the four men ignored them. "Levis, could you-" The Doctor begun, but he was interrupted by his youngest. "On it," Ianto agreed rushing over to the console; immediately he started pressing buttons, flicking switches and pulling levers as he worked on sending the TARDIS into the vortex. Jack watched in interest; he'd never really considered that the brothers would know how to fly the TARDIS, but now, watching Ianto do so, it seemed stupid to think otherwise. Of course, The Doctor probably taught them.
"Ahh, fuck!" The eldest brother hissed, trying to pull his jacket off and stumbling slightly. The Doctor placed a hand on his non injured shoulder and steadied him.
"Easy… Come on, let's get you to the med room," he ordered, gently guiding his eldest towards the place, taking the short cuts supplied in his head by the TARDIS. Ianto grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him after them, before the immortal could even protest.
Mere minutes later, The Doctor pushed Owen down to sit on the medical table –ignoring his half hearted protests- and started pulling the equipment he needed out of a drawer. He walked over to his eldest. "Right…I'm gonna see if I can get your jacket off, okay? And then I'm probably going to have to cut your shirt off. If my suspicions are correct…it's probably sticking to the wound," he explained.
"It is," Owen acknowledged, grimacing, but nodding his consent; telling his father to do what he needed to do. The Doctor nodded, and slipped Owen's uninjured arm free of the jacket. He moved to his other side and gingerly started to pull the other arm free. "Sorry," he apologized, upon hearing him groan slightly in pain. After a minute or so, he managed to remove the leather jacket entirely. He glanced at Owen's shoulder, and saw that the shirt was clearly sticking to the wound, as he suspected. "Ooh," Ianto winced sympathetically.
"Tell me about it," the elder brother complained, as The Doctor started to slice through the fabric of the shirt; as he, himself, had done many times in the past. The Doctor carefully prised the fabric away from the wound, drawing a cry of pain from his son in the process.
"Pain relief?" he offered brandishing a syringe full of liquid, with a grin.
"Hmmm….er, what do you think?" Owen retorted sarcastically.
The Doctor laughed, he administered the pain relief and started to get to work on the wound. "You were lucky, you know. It just….well, bounced off your shoulder really."
"That is lucky," Jack mused, watching with a smirk.
"Well, I am amazing," the elder brother pointed out. Ianto snickered and shook his head.
"It looks like the pain relief has made him delusional."
"You'll regret that later, man. I would deal with you now…but as you can see, I'm a bit busy at the moment," Owen warned him, with a smirk. The Doctor rolled his eyes, a smile on his face as he continued to patch him up. "I'm only going to say this once, but hopefully, it'll be clear enough. We are never going back to Croxatosin again."
"Sounds like a plan," the captain chuckled.
"Let's not. Ever. The inhabitants are crazy!" the younger brother said, shaking his head.
"Ow!" Owen complained suddenly.
"Aww, don't worry. It'll all be over soon, my brave little soldier," The Doctor cooed mockingly.
"No, dad…just no!" Owen cried, flushing slightly and shaking his head in outrage, as his brother snickered and Jack laughed.
"Hmmm…really? No?" The Doctor questioned. "Used to work well when you were a kid. Both of you, actually…They were like the magic words." Jack glanced between the two brothers and started to laugh. "Seriously?"
"Well yes…but we were, like, I don't know…under ten?" the elder brother pointed out, sounding half irritated and half amused.
"This is an outrage," the youngest Timelord complained.
"Yeah, it's true. You were children at the time, but technically….you're still so young," The Doctor announced with a grin.
"Well then, perhaps we should start acting like children," Owen suggested, chuckling. "Dad! I can't believe you! You don't understand anything!" he said in very convincing whine.
"Don't you know anything?" Ianto joked, laughing too much to make his acting very good.
"Ooh, no, don't do that… It's like going back sixty or seventy so years," The Doctor said, shuddering. Jack laughed and shook his head, shooting him a sympathetic glance.
"I imagine they were quite a handful."
"Were?" The youngest Timelord's repeated in unison.
"Bitch, I've told you not to do that," Owen then complained.
"Ooh, sorry," the younger brother mocked with a smirk.
"Trust me Jack…They were, and they still are. You've only been around their Timelord forms for a few weeks…They get a lot worse," The Doctor warned him, with a grin.
"I'll look forward to it," Jack chuckled.
"Jack…we are so gonna shit you up," the eldest son announced with a mischievous smirk.
"'Shit you up'?" Ianto repeated, raising his eyebrows. "No. Just no!"
"Don't even start, man," Owen retorted, both amusement a warning present in his voice.
"Don't make me bang your hands together," The Doctor threatened, as he finally finished
sorting out his eldest son's wound. Immediately, he started disposing of the medical materials he'd used. "Right, Atrum… You be careful with that shoulder, okay? I know it'll heal quicker than it would if you were a human, but the point still stands. And, also tell me if anything changes, or if you want any more pain relief. I know you were a doctor as a human, but stabbing needles in yourself isn't a good," he paused, his expression suddenly darkening. "Especially if it's drugs. Say no to drugs, boys!"
"Uh…we know, dad. We will," the youngest Timelord agreed, snickering as Owen nodded in agreement, but twirled a finger around his temple. "Especially alien drugs! You too, Jack," The Doctor insisted, giving Jack a pointed look. "Hey! What's with the look?" the immortal complained with a cheeky grin. "Besides…I learn from my mistakes."
"Right. Well, while this is fun…I'm gonna go put on a shirt, before Jack jumps me," the eldest brother deadpanned.
"He wouldn't dare," Ianto stated with a smirk, shooting Jack a look that quite clearly said 'I'll kill you.' The Captain grinned. Yes…it seemed like things we definitely going to be exciting.