Jack froze. He didn't think he'd ever frozen so still, so completely and so involuntarily in all of his very long life.
There, not eight feet from him, looking very much alive and the picture of health, was none other than-
"Ianto." Jack still couldn't move. He was cautious, and flabbergasted, and yet unequivocally relieved.
Ianto looked a little cautious himself; but not for the same reason. He looked confused by the expression on Jack's face; he looked as if he'd seen….
A ghost.
"Jack? Are you alright?"
Jack finally willed himself to move. He didn't care if this was some trick; some hallucination; a dream; a ghost. Whatever this was, Jack was not going to waste any time. Not again.
He took three long strides and immediately closed the space that kept him and Ianto apart. In a split second he took it all in; his scent; his looks; his posture. This was really Ianto.
Jack wrapped his arms around the man, almost violently, and clung to him like he just might turn to water and become a puddle on the floor.
"Jack…" Ianto sounded a little strained, due to the tightness of Jack's hug. "What are you-"
Jack didn't give him time to finish. His lips collided with Ianto's, pulling him into an intimate, loving kiss. His fingers carded through that perfect dark hair just the way it always did, and he felt his perfect Welshman softening and melting under his touch. It was all just as he remembered.
Jack was just about to completely lose himself in the moment; lose all semblance of logical thinking, when suddenly he heard a different voice, coming from behind him.
"Well you two certainly didn't waste any time…"
Jack pulled away from Ianto, but kept his hands on him, sacred to let him go even for a second.
He turned is head to see that man; the man from his dream.
"What are you doing here?"
"I brought you here." The man put his hands in the air in a supplicant gesture. "You're still dreaming, Jack."
"Wha-?" Jack looked back to Ianto, who was still there, looking as kiss-stunned as ever, seemingly oblivious to the strange man in the room and Jack's conversation with him.
"Seems so real, doesn't it?" The villainous man taunted. "The scents you've been smelling; the touch and feel of him in your hands right now. It feels real. I can make it real."
"How?"
"Just say my name."
"I don't know you're name."
"You do. It's in your memory somewhere. Drowned out by Retcon." He said the name of the chemical as if it were a dirty curse word.
"Why don't you just tell me your name, so I can say it?"
"I can't. You have to actually remember me. On your own."
"So… if I remember you, you'll exist? ...And Ianto?"
"He will exist too."
"What's the catch?"
"As if I'd tell you..." The man said nothing more, simply reached out and touched Ianto on the shoulder.
To Jack's complete and utter horror, Ianto not only disappeared, but he turned to sand, leaving nothing but a big pile of it on the floor.
The look Jack gave that awful, snarky, smug bastard was nothing short of murderous.
"He'll come back." The villain promised. "You've just got to remember me. Oh and… Once you've figured out the plot, don't try giving yourself Retcon to forget this all of this. Because, if you do, you will lose everything you ever knew about your precious Ianto Jones."
"What?"
"That little trip we did, down memory lane? Well that was me, and if you look closely, I am in those memories now too; lurking in the background. If you try to forget this dream, you will lose Ianto. Forever."
Jack didn't have time to respond. He felt himself slipping away from the current reality. He experienced the odd feeling of losing all control of his body while his consciousness slipped into another; his body in the real world, where he was still sleeping on the cot in his office. Talk about déjà vu.
Jack opened his eye reluctantly, still unsure if this was still a dream. He had a gut feeling that this mysterious man was known for antics and schemes like this… now it was no wonder the entire Torchwood team Retconned themselves.
...XoXoXo...
Jack immediately set to work, looking through every piece of security footage before and after the memory wipe. He was grateful that much of the Torchwood security feeds were backed-up onto multiple different hard drives, and even after the destruction of the original headquarters they were able to recover almost everything from the stored servers.
"Come on… You've got to be on here somewhere, you bastard…" Jack mumbled as he skimmed through hours of video. After he exhausted all of his resources on the hub security, Jack checked the Torchwood team's home security tapes for those same two days.
That's when he found it.
Tosh's apartment had a security camera in her front corridor. And on it, was her, and that man. They looked intimate, which Jack found surprising, but he kept watching the tape, grateful that the camera's microphone was sound activated and recorded every word.
"Do you want a drink? Are you hungry at all?" Tosh set her handbag on a little table as she wriggled out of her jacket.
"No, I'm fine, thanks." The man moved in close to Tosh's personal space, and she seemed to not mind.
"You know, Adam, you and I should go out sometime for a movie, or something. We never go out."
"You're right, we should."
Jack stopped listening after the mention of the name: Adam. So that's what the bastards name was. It sounded familiar. But only adding to the puzzle was Toshiko's comfortable and outgoing posture while that Adam person practically felt her up in the corridor of her apartment. Clearly, according to the amnesia timeframe, they would have only known each other for a day. But it sure seemed like they were awfully comfortable with one another. It was almost as if the man had….
Manipulated memories.
That was it. Jack remembered now. Adam was a memory-based entity who could manipulate memories, and even personalities. He couldn't recall much other than some facts; it was like reading a history book rather than living through the experience. But Jack did remember. And that, apparently was going to be all it took to bring Ianto back.
There was just one problem: it would also bring back Adam.
And getting rid of Adam would also mean getting rid of Ianto.
Damn, being in Torchwood was rough.