Chapter 9: Tests of Human Nature

I don't own Doctor Who or Torchwood whatsoever BBC does, and I'm just a fan with an idea. Excuse the language from here on out.

RECAP: "So I guess this is goodbye." Owen said angrily but defeated. He took his gun out and puts it on the nearby table. "Good luck with the end of the world." Owen took a couple of steps to leave, then turned to look at Gwen. "I would say thanks for the memories..."

Gwen burst with emotion and yelled at Jack "Jack, for God's sake!" Owen turned and left. The lights flash and the cog door opens, Owen left the hub. Gwen looked at Jack. Ianto and I looked at each other, I said quietly so only he could hear "The Team is falling apart..."

Avery's POV

After Owen left, Gwen and Jack went to go check out the Clock shop. Ianto and I hung around the hub with Tosh. It was only an hour later, when Gwen called us up for help. She had stunned Rhys. I remembered meeting him once in the future. He was nice. Anyways, we left the hub to Gwen's apartment to pick up Rhys and put him in the vaults. She described the vision of Rhys dying to us "I had come home, and found bloodied handprints on the wall and Rhys on the floor lying in a pool of blood. I think he was dead..." She told us in the van driving back to the hub. I hugged her from the side, trying to be comforting. We arrived back and Jack met up with us in the hub. Jack and Ianto carried Rhys into a cell in the vault. Gwen stayed there watching over him, after we left. She came out in a bit after he woke up. We were grouped together, talking about her vision.

"Did he wake up?" Jack asked Gwen.

"Yeah. Yeah, he did. Tosh, can you bring up the CCTV of the vaults? Er, just leave it on the screen, I know it sounds crazy, but ..." Gwen replied

"Sure, no problem." Tosh answered making adjustments to her palm.

"Thank you ... for helping me bring him here." Gwen said

"I can't understand how Bilis was able to show you that vision." Tosh remarked allowed. On the monitor, Rhys sat down and put his head in his hands.

"It was so real, Tosh. I was in my flat. It smelt like my flat, it had all the sounds of my flat." Gwen started to get more agitated, and I saw Jack walk over to her "I touched the blood. I can still feel it on my hands." Jack grabbed and held Gwen's hand as she continued "Rhys's blood." She stopped, and I put my hand on her arm in reassurance.

"It's not gonna happen." Jack reassured Gwen, who took a breath and calmed down. I looked at both Ianto and Tosh who looked spooked, I was guessing they had their own run in with Bilis, they were quiet. Jack looked at all of us and Gwen nodded.

"Come on, there's still work to be done." Jack said, he started to move when the lights shut off and the klaxon sounded.

"What's going on?" Ianto asked from beside me, I squeezed his hand that I was holding.

"We've got a security breach." Tosh reported, she returned to back to her workstation. Ianto and I went to his workstation.

"All right, nobody panic." Jack said, though Gwen turned and ran back to the vaults screaming for Rhys, and Jack ran after her.

At the workstations, within a few minutes, the alarms stopped blaring and the lights stopped flashing. Tosh, Ianto, and I looked at each other. This was not good, and this was getting downright stranger than what was usual for me. And I was right, those alarms stopping suddenly meant horrible things as Jack and Gwen came back. Rhys was dead, I comforted Gwen with what I knew of her in the future hoping that the methods that worked best when comforting Gwen hadn't changed between now and then. Ianto and Jack moved Rhys's body into cold storage.

A half hour later, after Gwen was a little more calmer, we all went into the cold storage. Gwen sat next to Rhys' body on the table while Jack gently wiped the blood of her hands as Ianto, Tosh and I stood on the steps with our backs to the wall watching them.

"I'll have to tell his family." Gwen said

"We'll deal with it." Ianto replied

"The way you dealt with that porter the first time I met you? No, you won't deal with him, Ianto." Gwen retorted

"Gwen, I'm so sorry." Tosh said sympathetically to Gwen who laughed.

"You never even met him." Gwen said, as Jack stopped wiping her hands and remained quiet "This is what happens here." She looked at us, smiling without humor "We all end up alone." Her smile faded "Not me. No way." She looked at Jack who wouldn't look at her. "You bring him back."

"No." Jack answered as he walked away from her.

"The resurrection gauntlet..." Gwen thought aloud

"Was destroyed." Ianto answered

"Something else." Gwen offered, almost sounding a bit desperate.

"I said no." Jack responded.

"No, there's something wrong with time, so we, we can go back to the moment, to the very moment ..." Gwen said

"Gwen..." Jack said with warning in his tone.

"There's something you can do, other WHAT'S THE FUCKING POINT OF YOU?!" Gwen said harshly to Jack. She ran across the room and attacked him, clawing at his chest with her fingers while she screamed at him. I moved to pull her away from him, but was stopped by Ianto.

"You, you bring him back! Bring him back! You bring him back! Do you understand me, Jack-fucking-Harkness?" Gwen yelled at Jack

"Gwen, I'm sorry." Jack apologized to Gwen.

"Do you?" She said to him, Jack held her as Gwen started crying again.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry." Jack said to her. It was quiet except for Gwen's wails. I moved closer to Ianto for comfort. I didn't know what I would do without Ianto, Jack, Amy, or Rory if any one of them died, they were important to me. Though the Doctor... it was hard to be rid of him in my heart, I had gone 14 years without him and then he showed back up and only two adventures down and I already had feelings of him. Feelings like I wouldn't be truly me, without him.

The sad moment was interrupted by Owen bursting through the plastic covering over the doorway. He stopped and took everything in. "Oh, shit. What happened?" Owen asked. He saw Jack holding Gwen as she cried. He went down the stars, and Tosh seemed like she brightened up when she saw him. I knew, she totally had feelings for him.

"You came back!" Tosh said rather brightly.

Owen grabbed Gwen and said to her "Are you all right? You all right?"

Gwen pushed him away and screamed at him "Don't touch me!"

Owen stopped and Gwen went back to Rhys. "How many other people have got to suffer?" Owen said to Jack who didn't answer him. "I'm gonna fix this. I'm opening the rift." Owen said aloud before turning and running up the stairs. Ianto started up the stairs after him, after letting me go.

"Make sure you stop him." Jack said to Ianto.

Ianto stopped and looked at Jack "No." He said before turning and following Owen out of the room.

Tosh started after them, and I realized what they were doing and moved closer to Jack. This was bad... Opening the rift once caused catastrophic consequences, but a second time? Who knew what would happen this time. "We're gonna help him." Tosh said to Jack as she left. Gwen got up and quickly headed up the stairs after them.

She stopped and looked at Jack. "Bilis was right, he said open the rift and everything goes back to normal. Owen's right. I'm going to get Rhys back."

"Gwen." Jack said

"Gwen!" I said "You can't be sure that he's not lying! Opening up the rift the first time caused all of these problems, what makes you think that opening it a second time will make it any better, because clearly it's going to make it worse than it is. And I don't want to know what's worse than this." Though I was ignored.

Gwen ran up the stairs "No!"

"Gwen!" Jack yelled at her. Clearly he and I were the only ones thinking sensibly at the moment as Gwen ran out of the room. He picked his gun off the floor and headed up the stairs just behind me. We entered the workstation area, and Gwen is typing as the alarm was sounding around us.

"Get away from the computer, Gwen." Jack commanded her. Owen stood in front of us, ready to attack him if necessary. "This is a trap. All these cracks around the world, they are diversions. This is what Bilis wants."

"What are you afraid of, Jack?" Owen asked him, almost taunting. I pushed Owen aside and moved closer to her monitor, though Ianto blocked my way knowing what I had been intending to do. She reached the EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ONE password login.

Ianto told Gwen "Rhea Silva"

I looked at Ianto and muttered, "Huh, obviously, after this someone changes the password. Because that's not the password anymore..." Gwen continued to typing and Jack took out his gun and pointed it at her back. Owen backed away, Ianto moved slightly away from Gwen, thus moving me out of harm's way as well.

"I said, 'Move.'" Jack commanded, everyone turned to look at him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Tosh exclaimed

"Final warning." Jack warned.

Gwen turned and addressed Jack "Come on, Jack."

"You're a united front now? Toshiko, the poor girl who'll screw any passing alien that gives her a pendant? Owen, so strong, he gets in a cage with a Weevil, desperate to be mauled. Or Ianto, hiding his cyber-girlfriend in the basement. Your three comrades here pumped bullets into her, remember? Avery, here is the only one who has any sense. And she isn't even from here!" Jack spoke

"I've got to get Rhys back." Gwen answered

Jack put his gun down and said mocking and serious "Yeah, cos you're so in love with Rhys that you spend half your time in Owen's bed.

Gwen hit Jack in the face shouting "Fuck you!" Jack dropped his gun as he fell. Owen picked it up and pointed it at Jack. I tried to move to help Jack but was restrained by Ianto. Gwen went back to the keyboard. A message appeared on the screen: RETINA PRINTS OF ALL TORCHWOOD PERSONNEL REQUIRED FOR AUTHORISATION ENTER

"Shit!" Gwen swore.

Jack started to get up as Owen shouted "Stay down!"

"You're in charge, Owen? You've gotta have significantly bigger balls." Jack said. He stood up and Owen shot him in the head. Gwen and I screamed as Jack fell backward, his eyes wide open as he hit the floor with a thud. Tears streamed down my cheeks as Owen fired several more times at Jack. I fell to my knees by Jack's side, crying. I knew he could come back to life, but it did not make his death hurt any less. I stared at him waiting for him to breathe once more like I knew he could.

"I'm sick of people doubting me." Owen said. Ianto fell to his knees next to me at Jack's side. Toshiko gasped.

"What have you done?" Ianto said looking at Owen shocked. Gwen slowly took the gun from Owen who was shaking. I slowly got up and punched Owen as hard as I could before collapsing back down at Jack's side sobbing. He had better come back.