Twenty-Six: Altered Realities
There had been a small ceremony that the Jack had gone to, but besides that, Marius felt something odd about the funeral for the Doctor. While Jack had returned looking heart-broken over the news, Marius still felt odd. He was the Field Agent of Earth, assigned to Torchwood Three and Cardiff, and he'd joined the group easily, manufacturing a name and alibi for joining. He and Ianto Jones were good friends, as it was, and some mild pushing, both mentally and otherwise, had allowed him to get Toshiko to admit her love for Owen.
Being a prat, Owen had not really noticed.
But something bothered him all the same. Like some part of the whole play was off and the lines had been moved around. He didn't think that the Doctor should be dead, and he had contacted Tesni to find out the fate of Lilith, but hadn't gotten anything back yet, which was even odder.
He had kept up a Human schedule, and odd dreams, dreams where he met the Doctor and didn't just hear about him, dreams where he'd been the regular Caretaker and not Field Agent, kept bothering him. A few dreams of...unpleasant things...came up as well, and despite the nightmares and odd dreams he found himself wishing to be there as well.
A name and face also appeared, a woman with ginger hair who seemed to want nothing more then to figure out why it was both familiar but not.
There was also the feeling that Tyr was around, as if traveling after someone or following someone who was looking for someone else.
Of course, Marius thought as he listened to the report about the hospital with a feeling of wrongness working into him, I could just need a checkup. Maybe Avery will come down.
Ianto looked over at him before saying, "What's wrong?"
"I...just an odd feeling is all," Marius told him, frowning as he looked between Ianto and the television. "Like this is all wrong. And Tesni never called back."
"Maybe she's got something better to do then listen to your calls, mate," Owen said as he walked up, frowning at the news. "That's horrible. Do you know any rhino-aliens?"
Marius shook his head, though he knew about twenty of them and only one fit the idea of kidnapping an entire hospital and leaving only one person alive to tell the tale. Intergalactic peace-keepers my ass. They're common thugs, and only took it upon themselves to come up because the people who normally did it died. Stupid Shadow Proclamation...
--
Marius didn't come out of his room for two days after London was destroyed. Jack tried all he could, and even with Ianto Jones, someone that he seemed to be connected to without knowing why, just an odd nagging feeling of how wrong this world was, he didn't leave until two days later.
That year was the worst for them, when Owen died and was reborn, then when Gray appeared. Something about the whole thing seemed like deja vu to Marius, and Ianto shared glances with him, telling him that it was the same feeling.
That year was the worst, as refugees poured in and with them, refugee aliens. Torchwood Three, losing two people, did what they could for everyone, trying to find ways home for them. John, despite wanting to travel, was kept around for the simple fact that he could help, and half the time he did. The rest was Marius, Ianto or Jack finding him in pubs trying to drown his sorrows away. He'd seen a lot, he muttered as they pulled him out once, but this was different. It was WRONG.
Marius didn't know how to agree with him.
--
ATMOS was something that screamed unnatural the minute it appeared, and with UNIT attempting to help both America and Britain after joint alien attacks, one of them involving the Adipose invading and harvesting the fat of millions of people, Marius wondered why he had such a feeling of dread in place.
John had disappeared, and while Gwen was a little happy about it, Ianto and Marius weren't. Ianto was Marius' best friend, almost a blood brother, and both seemed to feel the wrongness that wrapped around the world, twisting it. One bout of Christmas glee to try and bring up spirits had been Gwen's renting and the group's watching of It's A Wonderful Life.
When Marius tried to look at the feelings he had, at the whole of what there was, that was what it felt like. But there was no angel showing someone a lesson in humility, a lesson in realizing how important they were. This was just...
"Trickster..."
And suddenly Marius remembered, for a brief second, why this world was WRONG, and he looked over at Jack as they sat in the conference room. Jack, who didn't know he was an alien. Ianto, who was his accidental hub and carried a piece of his memories in him, dormant until someone released them. Gwen, who had always been kind and let him sleep on her couch after he'd been tortured by Ulamo and who always was there for the team.
"There's a lot to tell you," Marius said as they all looked at him, "and we have to hurry."
--
"They're trying right now, this little band of fighters, on board the Sontaran ship. Any second now..."
Tyr watched from the shadows, feeling like smacking his Client. Really, she could figure something else out to say. At the same time he realize she couldn't: this world was trying to reverse itself and working hard. One had already broken the cycle, but now two others were attempting to as well.
And Donna Noble wasn't ready to hear this yet, but she also was listening to try and figure things out.
The sky lit up, and Tyr suddenly stiffened with one quick move before looking up at the fire scorching through the atmosphere and the system.
"Marius--."
--
Marius looked at the band on his wrist that hadn't been there before, and up at the Sontaran's pointing their weapons at him. On the floor nearby was Gwen and Ianto, Ianto in Jack's arms as he rocked back and forth, lost to the world. He'd already been shot but came back, and it was obvious the Sontarans were going to take him back, as dead in the mind as he was.
The band would keep him on Earth, had been even through the altered reality that Donna Noble had somehow created, or that had been created through Donna to satisfy the Trickster and to feed it's lust for chaos.
He slowly sat back on his feet and smiled at the Sontarans. Maybe he could summon up the energy needed.
In the very least, he could do what he must to ensure Jack didn't have to continue to live.
Marius closed his eyes, pushed against the restraint as a piece, almost a small chunk of the smooth surface, fell to the floor with all the sound of a pin dropping.
The world exploded in light around him, and briefly, for only a moment, he thought he saw a blinding golden light and outline of Tesni, standing in radiant sunlight colors and with a large claymore at her side. She screamed, and then nothing.
--
Above them and to the right, the remaining Sontaran ships, so intent on leaving, had one implode on itself. Just as quickly, more and more began to fall in, like a grouping of black holes had been created in that spot for them.
With no ceremony like the one shot out through the sky on Earth, the Sontaran ships cracked like eggs, and a wail could be heard throughout the universe pleased the Trickster more then anyone could know, for it was the sound of horrible sorrow and loss.
--
"I don't care what you do, or say, but you'd better bloody fix this, Rose Tyler," Tyr muttered as Rose came back.
"What's wrong?"
Tyr glared at her and then she straightened before saying, "Oh Tyr. He was..."
"He'd just broken free, too," Tyr said, "and got out enough to destroy himself and Harkness from that reality. I don't know what repercussions it'll have in the real universe, or any other. Now, stop playing around and DO something!"
Rose started to protest but Tyr cut her off. "The fabric of Time and Reality is not that fragile. Believe me, I work outside of it, I know." He paused and said, "I'm coming with you this time."
"But—then..."
"He won't. Your time as Bad Wolf is enough to know this all. The TARDIS and you worked together. If you want, I'll tap into that and show you. For a brief minute, we'll work it all out."
Rose looked a little uncertain about that, but Tyr held up his hand. "You trusted him in everything, you can't trust someone with more power then a Time Lord?"
--
Donna Noble seemed more interested in Rose, leaving Tyr as a background and where to go. Tyr and Rose both moved, and when Donna disappeared, Tyr used his own power to drag Rose along, stopping as they got to the point of Donna's decision and the return to time and reality.
"Tell him this. Two words," Rose told Donna, bending down to whisper as Tyr once more touched her.
The world spun, stopped, and disappeared in a rush of energy as Tyr touched one and said the words as well.
"Bad Wolf."
Scattered throughout the universe as a guide, for me to enter this place, to take me back to you, and you back to me, for all eternity. I will move the sun, the stars, the whole of creation for you, Our Doctor.
--
Marius blinked and shook his head clear. Saturday was a nice day, and nothing had been happening at least, but that didn't stop the odd feeling that something had happened, or the odd dream he had of dying while fighting the Sontarans.
"What's wrong?" Jack asked him as he walked past and to his office.
"I had a very strange dream," Marius said, "I think it involved us dying."
"And?"
Ianto looked at Marius from his area near Gwen, and then both of them whispered something that froze Jack in place.
"Bad Wolf..."
The whole world suddenly rocked violently and everyone fell to the ground, sparks and loose equipment flying from it's normal locations and onto them.