S T O R M E Y E

Swarmed

Ianto and Jack pulled over the SUV, the sewer grate was wide open, Khaz must have left it open. Typical.

"Stay here Ianto." Said Jack climbing out of the SUV. Ianto never released Jack's gaze, by doing this Jack wasn't looking anywhere but at Ianto and it resolved in Jack whacking his head on the car roof as he got out. Ianto stifled a laugh. Jack pretended as if nothing happened. Making his way to the grate ignoring the throbbing sensation in his head. Once Jack had left earshot Ianto chuckled softly. Ianto heard a cry of pain as Jack stubbed his foot on the grate.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Asked Ianto, taking full control of the situation. Grumbling, Jack didn't reply and went down the ladder.

Larka already knew they were nearing the main pod, as much as she knew Jack and Ianto were out side, well Ianto anyway, Jack was already down here.

"Khaz, you will be careful wont you?" Asked Larka looking straight ahead. Gwen knew how Khaz was all she had connecting her to the human world. She looked at Khaz, Gwen gave him that glare that only a girl could give, Khaz shrunk back.

"Uh y-yeah, yeah of corse!" He replied after he realized how long it had been since the question was asked. Gwen knew the tension between the two was growing, and fast.

Larka, are you Ok?

Fine.

Khaz, do you love him? Asked Gwen but there was no reply.

Larka?

Its complicated.

Im sure I can keep up Larks.

On Lescu, I have already been assigned a mate.

And Khaz is getting in the way?

Something like that. Kuski... Is a pure white Lycan, and I am pure black. We are both top warriors of the pack. Speed, strength, all are important, and our pups, would be treasured. Gwen, almost completely baffled that Larka was sharing all this, then it occurred to her how much information Ianto must know. The man she told everything. Then there's Jack, one of her ridders, how much he would know! Gwen's proudness that she had been feeling (Because she felt lucky to be told these things) suddenly disappeared and she felt very small. Larka's life was a turmoil of events and she realized she only knew the start. No wonder Ianto and Jack kept such a thick wall around their minds.

Is Kuski nice?

He is the best. He would do absolutely anything for me and he is beyond kind & sweet.

Don't hate me but, am I becoming one of those people who you tell everything to?

I guess, ha, I tell everyone something I suppose. Then I guess I just let them piece together my life. Its hard though since I, time travelled. Gwen's breath hitched, she didn't know she meant it when she told her before. Khaz grabbed Gwen's shoulder.

"Careful!" He said, Gwen realized she had half slipped off the saddle. Gwen of corse could only nod. Larka's head spun round to the right, and caught Khaz's gaze, she flinched her head away a little to quickly which made Gwen let out a little 'eep' since she was trying to rebalance herself during that exact moment. Khaz laughed at this.

If Gwen didn't have Rhys, Khaz would be so perfect for her.

Thought Larka. maybe when she permanently leaves for Lescu with Jack, she could hook them up, it was just the question of how.

Jack followed Larka's mind through the seemingly never ending tunnels. He knew there would be casualties, it was just the question of who. Him and Larka were out of the question, Gwen would want to have a peaceful answer to the situation, Khaz would go straight in there guns blazing, then Ianto, he was up at the surface but he knew that if the rest of the team took long enough Ianto would come down. This is what scared Jack most, the classic Stormeye motto is, you die young. And he feared that it would come true for one of the team members. No, he already knew it would. Jack made his way through the sewers, the water was shallow only millimeters deep, but somehow managed to still completely soak Jack's boots. Thats Harkness for you, always managing the impossible. He held his torch level with his chin, and his gun poised directly in front of him, his arm was getting tired but he didn't even realize, because his mind was a million miles away tracking Larka's mind, he would have done Gwen's or Khaz's but since he was one of Larka's ridders he could connect with her better and find her mind easier. Jack was quickly getting bored of walking aimlessly, he heard voices up ahead.

Larka? Jack got a sort of grumble growl thing in return.

Jack, what do you want?

I want to know why you are doing this without my say.

Calm down pup.

Oh please, can we NOT bring 'pup' back again.

Why? You jealous?

No.

Kuski calls you pup. So what?

Its embarrassing.

Aw, pup.

Shut up. Said Jack, annoyed now. Kuski calls Jack 'pup' because he is a pup to them, stupid, careless, and annoying, like a child. Kuski always said it with a smile, the name caught on, now almost everyone calls him 'pup'. Lescu has the same atmospheric shell as Earth, so Jack comes often with Larka. Stormeye came into her life and now its been 12 years since they have been and Lescu has been trying to contact them, well, mostly Larka. Larka well remembers the amount of pain Jack was in when Lescu tried to contact him. He wasn't ready for long distance communication. He had to leave Stormeye and any other living person but Larka, because he would just transmit that pain into them. He had to crash on Larka's couch at her place, Khaz had to live in Stormeye for a while, in one of the spare bunks.

Jack could now see shadows searching around on the walls, but he didn't panic, he knew it was them.

Larka was the first to hear the footsteps and like Jack, didn't panic, Larka slowed her pace slightly, a smile began to form on her black wolf lips.

Gwen felt Larka's body slow underneath her, she felt Larka's shoulders rumble with a hidden emotion that a Lycan feels when his/her ridder comes close.

Ianto was randomly fiddling on the computer in the SUV, e-mail, trackers, coms. The usual. Ianto knew he wasn't 'action-boy' no in fact he was 'coffee-boy' or to Owen a lower status of 'tea-boy' and Larka was the only one to see him for real, even Jack didn't see the true him, Myfanawy was no better.

Khaz heard the footsteps and ran around the corner guns blazing. Jack was shot down, Larka bucked Gwen off and ran in front of Jack, who was already lying on the wet floor, her lips had curled up over her snout and her snarl echoed through the tunnels. Her eyes were tinted red, this meant rage, like purple was hypnosis.

Larka felt the hand on her shoulder, Ianto was right behind her, her eyes died down.

Khaz was the one who felt like he had just been shot. Larka flung her heavy head from Khaz to Jack, her body followed. Ianto had crouched next to Jack's shoulders, Larka padded towards them, she sniffed the corpse checking for life. Her nose ruffled at the familiar scent of the TARDIS rushing through Jack, Jack's body lurched forward as he gasped for air, Ianto's hands tightly gripping Jack's chest. Jack then flung his body back, Larka flew her head down catching him on her neck, Then, with Ianto's help, she rose her head pushing him to his feet.

Gwen stood up, she had hit her head rather hard and her whole back was drenched, she gave Larka a 'look' but her heart gave out to her and it turned into an apologetic 'look'. Her hand reached out and felt down her silky fur, but then stopped when her hand hit the hard leather of the saddle. Gwen tightened the rope binding the Blowfish to the saddle.

Larka didn't move until she was for certain that Jack was capable of holding his own weight, when she was sure her head and neck moved slowly away, Jack kept eye contact with Khaz the whole time. Ianto began brushing down Jack's coat, but stopped when Larka's eyes burned into his, as if to say 'Stop Ianto, just stop' and Ianto understood that look, its the one she gives Jack on a daily bases.

"Is someone gunna say something?" Asked Gwen, Ianto shut his eyes and muttered a curse before opening his eyes to watch the next scene. Everyone was begging for the other to speak but was interrupted by Larka.

"C'mon lets go." She said beginning to walk away. Jack ran quickly after her and jumped onto her back. The three others looked expectantly incase any thing would happen when a Lycan and ridder joined, nothing. But wait, they realized that Jack wasn't moving.

"Looking through a Lycan's eyes." Muttered Gwen. Ianto nodded. Khaz pretended not to hear, even though he did, he still hadn't moved. Larka grunted a scoffed growl and wondered down the tunnel. The others followed and leaving the blood stained stones behind them and eventually caught up with Jack and Larka

"Are we still gunna do this?" Asked Ianto.

"Do we really a choice." Said Jack, snapping out of it.

"No, not really." Said Gwen.

"We're here now, might as well embrace the moment." Said Ianto. Ianto was by Larka's head, his hand resting on her.

"Right." Murmured Khaz, Gwen shot him look, after that no one talked for a while, typically though, Jack broke the silence.

"How much longer?"

"Do you really need to ask that? After all you are ridder her." Said Gwen smiling like a cat at Jack who immediately realized that Gwen must have seen through Larka too. Jack smiled softly at this.

"Not long now." Said Larka, who was staring straight ahead. She could just make out the smell and sound of the Blowfish which meant that Jack could too. Hence the record breaking half an hour of silence from Jack. Then it was time, Larka and Jack began to count. 30...29...28.

"We haven't much time." Said Larka. 23...22. Khaz hid behind a oddly placed crate. 18..17...16. Gwen & Ianto hid too, behind the crate. 12...11...10.

"You ready?" Asked Jack. He was only too exited, its been to long since he last rode. Larka rumbled in return.

"Il let you take full control?" 7...6...5.

"Hell yeah." Said Jack grinning. 3...2...

"You ready?" Asked Larka this time...1...

"Do I really have a choice?" Said Jack smiling. Larka's mind went blank as her eyes hit a black colour. Jack's breath hitched as he saw through her eyes and the new colour almost blinded him at first, a true sign that it had been to long since he last ride. He moved Larka, he felt like a live wire. He saw the horde of Blowfish all wearing tattered old rags. Their growls and screeches echoed through the sewers. Larka's powerful jaws were breaking through necks and ribcages. Larka felt useless and limp. When ever she was bitten or scratched she couldn't feel a thing, but Jack could. And Ianto had to clench his fist and hold his breath to prevent himself from running to Jack, Jack was in pain, you could see, Jack had no control over his body. Ianto felt so useless.

"Its happening again..." He whispered. Ianto winced when he saw the blood from the shot seep through Jack's shirt, though Ianto knew not a scratch would be underneath it still made him feel uncomfortable. A comforting had touched Ianto's shoulder, but it wasn't Gwen's hand that made him freeze, it was Larka creeping into his mind, though she stopped right at the border, as if to wait for permission. Ianto nodded. Gwen already knew what was happening, and she retracted her hand to her side. She was well aware of Khaz's gaze stabbing into the back of her neck, and she didn't care, she blocked him out, but her plan faltered when she heard his question in her mind.

Does Larka still love me?

Gwen turned to face him and then immediately regretted the movement, as Khaz read her face. Tears were welling up in his eyes. Gwen couldn't stand it, watching this brave, forward going boy crumple before her, she pulled him into an embrace and as she did so Khaz burst into tears.

Ianto was showing Larka what Jack was making her body do, Larka laughed at how violent it was. Ianto made sure that Larka didn't see the scene behind him. Larka made him feel better about Jacks well being, that when it is all over it would be her that felt the pain and not Jack, but that made it even worse for Ianto. He knew he could always do something but then he would fail in his task and then Larka or Jack would step in and get themselves hurt, then say it was 'Ok', and 'No harm done', but Ianto would feel horrible that he caused that pain. Sometimes he felt better when Khaz or Owen yelled at him or told him off for doing something like that. And now his two crutches, his love and his forever friend, were getting torn to shreds.

Ianto saw it before anyone else, a Blowfish of considerable size was coming up behind Jack and Larka, and fast. With out thinking Ianto idiotically jumped out, giving away their hiding place and ran towards them, with out thinking that it was the Blowfish tied to Larka's back that the other Blowfish wanted, but once again Ianto's hands were covered in someone else's blood, Khaz ran right ahead of Ianto and dove straight in front of the attacker.

"Shit, Ianto!" Cried Gwen and she dove out and tackled the man to the ground avoiding more offenders. But Ianto was more focused on Khaz. The corpse lay only feet away, but under Gwen's firm grip there was no way of getting out of this. Ianto replayed the moment in his head. He remembered the Blowfish's hand practically reaching into Khaz's throat and ripping out all vocal cords along with his windpipe and many other vitals such as veins and arteries. But it wasn't like a movie, the battle didn't stop at that point, Larka didn't notice the ripped body and there were still millions of them.

That was it for Ianto, he decided, he was gunna lay here till he died. But when Gwen was standing and shooting. Ianto couldn't let more blood befall on him, and as Gwen was standing right above him, he meant that both metaphorically and literally. He reached for his gun. The brief thought of shooting himself came to mind, but he dropped the thought quick enough to realize that Larka was still in his mind, and therefore knew that Khaz had been killed. Explains the silence in his head.

Then he felt it, like being injected with adrenaline Larka urged him to fight, and he did.

Ten left now, Gwen was in a corner, gun poised. Three of them surrounded her. Gwen didn't even care to look, how, in a sewer you could be in a corner, she shot the first through the head, the rebound of the gun rippled through her like a crumpled feather on the breeze. She shot the second through the chest, its body sprawling out in a sickening unnatural mess of a position, she pulled the trigger and the third braced itself for the impact, but when no shot came, it looked up, Gwen was screaming in her head as she fumbled around herself for more cartridges, which was hard because her eyes never left the Blowfish and her gun never left its position. She gulped looking up innocently at the creature. It didn't move but then instead, fell to the ground.

Larka, now human, retracted the purple from her eyes, and pulled out her staff, evolving it to full length and stabbing the creature. Gwen looked around for the other seven but couldn't find them. Larka's eyes were slightly pink from crying, maybe from Khaz or maybe from the huge amount of pain suddenly thrown at her as soon as Jack recalled himself from her. And Gwen saw Jack's arm protectively wrapped around Larka's waist. Gwen looked around, now, for Ianto, and she found him based by Khaz's side. The Blowfish that was previously bound to Larka, now lay dead on the damp floor, crumpled up in the rope with a large gash through its chest, it seemed a diplomatic solution was now out of the question. Larka said not a word, as she put her now, pre-evolved, staff back into its holster. She didn't move from Jack until Ianto came and took Larka from him so Jack could go and finish up with Khaz. It seemed to Gwen that, at the moment Larka had to be with at least one of the two men at one time right now. Ianto, being more subtle, put his arm around her back, and pulled her to his chest. He too, was protective, he would look over every Blowfish, it had to be dead. He would watch every moment made by Gwen. Gwen knew the bonds she had with them, Larka and Ianto needed each other to get through everything, anything, and she also knew that Larka and Jack went back to way back when. She tried to reach out to Larka but Ianto turned them away from Gwen and walked to the exit that seemed hours away.

Gwen went to Jack and the body, Jack had already called the 'Clean-Up-Squad' AKA Tosh and Owen.

Larka sold her flat, she moved into one of the rooms at the Hub, it was on the same floor as the Archives, and next to a bathroom, though it was at the other end of the Hub, so the kitchen area and her desk were far away. Larka stood in her room, it wasn't that bad. She had a double bed, a desk and office chair, a wardrobe and a little window in a circular shape on her door, allowing her to look out into the Archives, with a cover for privacy. At that very moment Jack came through the metal door to her room, making Larka jump.

"Where do you want this?" Asked Jack coming in with a big box.

"What is it?" Came Larka's voice. Hoarse from crying.

"Clothes, mostly." Larka's brow furrowed.

"But I haven't any clothes but the ones you gave me, and there all accounted for." Said Larka, Jack sighed and gave her a 'look'.

"They aren't exactly your clothes..." He said, kicking himself for bringing up the topic.

"Oh...Ok, just put them with the rest of his stuff-I mean things..." Jack nodded, why did he even ask? He left the room. Ianto was at his desk, Jack looked at him for a while and then went to his office. Ianto immediately stood up and went to Larka's new room. He opened the door, knocking first, Larka was standing in the middle of the room.

"Larks?" Tried Ianto, since no other words came to mind, not even her full name. She turned to face him, it was all to clear that she had been crying, recently.

Note to self: Kill Jack later. Thought Ianto. He stepped forward and when Larka didn't do anything he took another and another until he was right in-front of her.

Gwen arrived home at 10:30pm that night. Rhys was sitting on the sofa.

"Hay, your home late? Anything to do with work?" Gwen held back the tears. She fiddled with the small Retcon pill.

"Rhys, I need to tell you something."

Ianto held Larka there for a minute, he felt good to be the comforter rather than the comfortee for a change.

"It's Ok Cariad." He whispered. Hearing the Welsh Larka felt better yet worse, as it reminded her of Khaz too much.

"Im not crying because of Khaz." Stammered Larka.

"Im crying cause I feel like I betrayed him, with Kuski, and he died before I could tell him about Kuski!" Ianto felt like he belonged here, he loved Jack, and no one could take that away from him, but not in the way he loved Larka, Larka was a person he couldn't just get over.

Gwen dried her tears, Rhys was asleep on the sofa with his drink in hand, she felt like she had just betrayed him, stolen all the knowledge she just told him away from him. but this whole thing was good for one thing. Gwen Cooper, realized that she truly was in love with Rhys Williams.

Jack felt like he was alone, but he never truly was, Lescu was beating down on him and it was never going to stop. He knew the permanent 'move' was coming, and he also knew that since now there was nothing tying Larka to Earth, the 'move' would be soon. He was going to go with Larka to live on Lescu, with monthly-no, weekly visits from the Doctor! It sounded like a dream, and it always was, but now his dream was becoming a reality, he was scared, he didn't want to leave anytime soon.

Owen worked over the corpse.

"Im sorry mate..." He muttered out of Tosh's hearing, though she was at her desk, with Toshiko Sato, you gotta be careful.

"Hope you put up a good fight..."

Owen poised the scalpel in the middle of Khaz's collar bones, he began the decent slowly at first but then Owen's characteristic impatience came in, and he sped up the process.

"All's good!" He called out to Tosh.

"Ok, Iv finished logging out Khaz's profile." She called back.

"Pizza?" Called Owen.

"Sure, from the usual?"

"Yeah, under who's name?" He replied.

"Stormeye?"

"Are you stupid?"

"Well thats the name you Ianto uses to order from the same place." "What? Ugh Ianto, what's he good for anyway? Cleaning? Coffee?"

"You gotta admit his coffee is good." Said Tosh, checking a cup of coffee that was on her desk, disappointment crossed her face when she found it half empty and stone cold.

"True, But still, at least Jack puts him to good use..." "Owen!"

"What?"

"Il just order the pizza." Tosh said it in her usual hushed tone that, strangely, everyone could always hear.