Four: Search for Reasons
"The Rift? You mean Compline?"
"I would suppose so. You realize it's changed since you left," Avery told her relation over the phone.
Cameron sighed, looking around the office. "So has a lot of things, I've seen. You didn't tell me my daughter was only half-Sidra now."
"Oh? Well, slipped my mind when you decided to head out and give her a 'surprise'. Some surprise, I take it."
"Avery..."
"The new Caretaker was asking because he's afraid something bad is going to happen because of the old one. The Elders know the boy's uncovered enough plots and gotten himself on more people's bad-list then almost the Doctor himself, and that was before he became the Caretaker of the Rift."
Cameron frowned. "Who is he?"
"His name's Marius. He's a descendant of Seidra and has a connection to all of the members in Torchwood Three...all of his Clients."
Cameron felt a headache as he leaned forward. "Isn't that dangerous for them?"
"You have a file on one...Jack Harkness? The man who won't die and the one the Doctor is avoiding quite avidly."
Cameron looked down and sighed. "Ah, that one. So he's using him to keep sane?"
"Partly, but we're getting off subject. Recently one of their past friends decided to try and bring herself to life via another, one that Marius was connected to. Something she said or knew carried over and made him all but demand who the old Caretaker was. He wasn't caring before, just complaining about the lack of filing going on. Now, he's going as far back as he can looking for information. I told him I'd ask you, in case you knew anything."
Cameron sighed. "I don't. I didn't know Compline very well, other then he was in charge of the Rift and he spoke just briefly with Lilith. This was during that instance with the Gelph and the Doctor."
"And?"
"And he seemed...odd. Like he didn't care too much about what was going on, just that the Rift was active and now known about by some Humans. He obviously was annoyed when that Human died a little while later and didn't speak about it."
He heard a sigh over the phone. "Cameron, is there anything useful that we could use?"
A thought came to him. "Why are you so interested?"
"I took care of your lovely half-breed of a daughter and now this boy Marius is getting in more trouble then he should. He used to deal with Krop Tor, you know, and now he has the Rift. He mentioned something about his first assignment now dealing with this one."
The name sparked a quick memory as Cameron searched the files and found it. "The Beast?"
"That one. He said the 'son of the Beast', and he was trying to get loose. Any ideas?"
Cameron sighed. "Compline took care of the Rift since it's creation. He would know who or what that was, but why he would unleash it..."
"What if he didn't. What if he used an avatar as the one who released it?"
Cameron blinked. "What?"
"I'm saying what if he didn't keep notes on the Rift because he didn't want anyone to find out what was going on, or what he wanted to do. So when he disappeared, Marius took over. But Marius is on the side of Torchwood...and his disappearance coincides with the Torchwood group, or at least that group, coming into power!"
"Then...but that's a direct violation of...I can't count how many rules!"
"Neither can I, but it's a hunch, and the way poor Marius' luck has been going, it's the only one I can go on."
--
He sighed as he observed the group come in, giving the younger girl a smile as she passed before returning to the room. He needed to find the answer, and thus he had come to Cardiff as himself, gotten a small room, and began his search, happily hidden from the view of his Clients.
The return of the Sky Gypsy, an old plane thought lost in the Rift, told him something about it as he lay down on the bed. Could he find the one he was searching for? Could he do this?
You should've asked yourself this before coming to Cardiff.
With a sigh, Marius turned over and went to bed.
--
Owen Harper had found love.
Well, in the least, someone who--
Marius sighed as he leaned against the wall, going to Gwen instead for something a little more substantial. No, this was love. A consuming, odd, and controlling type of love, one that Owen hadn't felt before.
But maybe it wasn't love?
Marius didn't know, having never fully been in love. The ones who were his Clients were just that: his connection to them giving him a private view of their lives or not. Miss Lilith was...inspiration. He did enjoy her company, he had had those dreams about her earlier, and he had even been sad to learn she had married. But she married the Doctor, and as such would keep and eye on him, ensuring his safety.
Gwen, for all of her running around with Owen, did love Rhys and wanted to stay with him, though she was unsure as to how to handle Torchwood, the very alien thing she did, and Rhys, who didn't believe in aliens.
Marius sighed again, wincing at the angst that came from Jack and his trials at helping the man from the 1950's adjust. The two were both out of their time, and Jack was doing what he could to help out. He also knew the other man wasn't adjusting to the new atmosphere like the girls were, both enjoying their time and the new things they found.
You're going to lose him.
Marius knew a lost cause when he saw one. His family tended to have a lot of those, and this one would be no exception. He had lost everything, like all the others, and now all that was left was him.
He wouldn't try to go on, and Jack would have to deal with the new loss.
--
"Compline?"
"Thank Cameron for the name," Avery said, "but before that, where have you been?"
"I went to look around on Earth, make another report," Marius told her before coughing.
"You okay?"
"Yes, one of them is just sitting in carbon monoxide fumes while someone he feels responsible for dies, and I got a little from it. Oh, and Owen Harper is now officially more angst-ridden then Ianto was, which is a good cause for a headache in and of itself."
"Because of the angst?"
"Because it's Owen," Marius sighed as he finished the report and looked over at the name and small picture of the Sidra who ran the office before him then added, "He thinks it's love, anyway. He didn't want her to leave and she did, now he's angry at himself for letting her leave when he couldn't have stopped her and sad she chose to go on an adventure without him. I personally think she was scared of commitment and didn't feel the same way about Owen, which is why she left, and if it's come into a part of his mind that my idea is a reason, he's not acknowledging it."
Avery gave a small smile before patting him on the shoulder. "I love this even more then those trashy Earth soap-operas I once watched for fun. Tell me what comes up soon, will you?"
Marius nodded as he rubbed a crink out of the back of his neck and frowned. Where would someone like a Sidra hide? And why would they disappear now?
They disappeared right before Suzie died. Then suddenly everything is up and almost exploited, or at least all of them are slowly getting placed in such a way they're emotionally charged. If that's true...but why? Why charge them all?
Marius straightened. The one person who couldn't be charged emotionally into anything, not unless it was the 'right kind of Doctor' who told him it.
He needs them to do something that only Jack can do now. And soon, Jack will be in his way, so he'll need to create a reason for them to join against him.
And I can't warn them...but I can keep it controlled. I will keep it controlled. They will stop you, Compline. Count on it.
--
Owen Harper was still an idiot.
A rather large wanker, a prat, a...a...
Marius glared at the screen and rubbed his head as he tried to block out the enormous amount of angst that was still coming from Owen because of Diane. He was almost tempted to go and find her, drag her back, and make her fix the monumental emotional problem she had left in the form of Owen Harper just so he could get some peace.
The odd events had started off rather mundanely; Weevil racing around when it shouldn't be, and with only Jack on duty. This quickly escalated to Gwen having more problems then she should with Rhys, and started off that small bit of angst on her part that she pushed to the side as they searched for a kidnapped Weevil.
Well, for now, but it was one of the many things that Gwen put in her 'think about later' categories that was closest to his own mind, and thus he knew most of them dealt with Rhys and how to explain any of her job to him, if she could.
And she either couldn't or didn't figure out the right words to say for any of it, which caused Marius, in his spare time, to figure it out for her while Toshiko and Ianto were called in to help and Gwen was sent to try and fix her relationship with Rhys, if she could.
Owen spent his time being full of angst, not answering his calls, and starting bar fights.
Well, helping to ensure they kept between two people and ended quickly.
Marius sighed as he got up to pour himself some tea. One of the many things that was the only good side was the sudden appearance of random items that came from the others and helped him with his job. Jack's inability to rest fully, which made him stay up late and stay awake longer then anyone, and Ianto's tea-making skills.
Probably because they're Hubs do I get this from them...the others I get emotions and thoughts and headaches.
Marius groaned at the thought as he sat back down to watch the goings-on of the group and hope nothing bad came of this.
--
Okay, this changed things.
Now Owen and Gwen were prats.
Marius rubbed his head before taking another sip of tea. He hadn't considered Gwen to take that type of action with Rhys, and now that she had...well, things were going to change for her, that was for sure.
As for Owen...
Owen was a headache and a half, on top of angst-ridden and suicidal. Marius was almost glad he hadn't been too connected to the man, but on top of the sudden clarity on how to end his suffering (death by Weevil), Owen also didn't take into account he was on a mission and how the others would've reacted to him dying.
The only thing that worried Marius was the fact that Owen was now the most unstable, and most likely to be targeted by Compline and whoever he was using as a avatar for his cause, whatever it may be. He had taken the time to ensure he could fight in case it came down to it, and use his own higher telepathic and psychic powers to good use against him.
He was still worried, though. The fact remained that Owen was now the prime one to be used. Through him, the others would be exploited and then...
I don't want to think about what the son of the Beast can do. It was bad enough, dealing with the Beast.
The remembrance of the girl, dying before her time and drifting off into space, along with the collective deaths of the Ood and their screaming as they were used in such a way, caused Marius to shiver. That was the first mission observing, the first time he had met Lilith and learned that a Caseworker or Curator had to be impersonal, but not to the point of complete detachment. He learned the lesson well and was glad he had gotten a chance to work with her.
And now she's married to the Doctor...her father is the Curator and she's a Field Agent. You're here as a Caseworker for a grouping of people who almost make the Doctor look normal, if not for the greater angst he feels. Oh, and you have Jack and Ianto—oh not again.
Blushing furiously upon realizing his random search for something sane had lead to Jack and Ianto being less then appropriate and just as shirts were gone, Marius decided he needed something to get the images out of his head.
Except this time they didn't go away. Hormones, curiosity, or just his own want to look into something sane within the insanity that Torchwood seemed to create caused him actually watch, though it was hard to do from both vantage points and sadly that's all he had. He couldn't go into one or the other's mind without probably being there until the end...which he wasn't planning on doing.
Pulling himself away when a hand (he couldn't, at this point, tell whose it was) went downward, Marius decided that he needed a cold shower and to hope he wouldn't ever have to discuss these things with anyone.