Who would go home, and who would stay here with you forever?
Viola Baughan's words echoed in Jack's head.
His gaze shifted between Gwen and Ianto. It was an impossible choice to make.
Don't you dare, Ianto's glare was unmistakable.
No one knew Jack's heart better than the young Welshman. Though both were incredibly important to him, he knew that his heart would choose Ianto to go home, even though his brain knew he couldn't. Ianto would despise him for choosing him over her, and there was Rhys to consider. How could he deny this man the love of his life, the wedding, and the happily ever after? A life that Jack himself longed for more than anything else in his impossibly endless existence.
Gwen was the logical choice - the rational decision.
But Jack was rarely rational or logical, and he was unwilling to let Ianto sacrifice himself.
Jack's heart was pounding so hard he thought it would explode. Or implode, he wasn't sure which.
"Jack, stick to the plan," Owen growled behind him, snapping him out of his reverie.
"Your blood needs to fill the hexagram, or the spell won't work," Emma whispered urgently. "We can do this!"
He slowly nodded and stepped back.
"You're not going to make me choose, Viola," he said, frustrated.
Ianto gave him a satisfied nod.
Viola looked disappointed for a moment before quickly shaking it off.
"Don't waste my time then," she said curtly, waving him off before turning back to Gwen and Ianto.
"Let's continue. Embrace each other and wait for the ceremony to begin. Hold her tight, Ianto. I'm going to break her trance now, and she'll be disoriented."
When Ianto hesitated again, Viola rebuked him with stern words. "I gave you the spell to wake up your friend. That is the price you must pay; remember that."
Ianto glared at her angrily. It had been a trade, his life for Tosh's. Gwen had not been part of the deal. Every cell in his body wanted to grab her and run. Of course, he knew they wouldn't get far; Viola's hold on their minds was too strong. He could only hope Emma's spell would work.
He just nodded and embraced Gwen, hugging her tightly. A moment later, he felt the veil of trance lift from her mind as she became aware of her surroundings and began to struggle.
"Shhh, Gwen, don't fight," Ianto said quietly into her ear. "Stay calm and hold on to me."
"Ianto?" She asked, confused but instinctively wrapping her arms around him. "Where are we?"
"The dolls manipulated us. Lady Baughan is about to resurrect an ancient evil, and we're her pawns," Ianto whispered quickly, feeling Gwen push him back again. "Jack's here, Owen too. Please don't struggle and let them do their thing. It's the only chance we've got."
Ianto felt her resistance weaken and fade until she stood still again. He could feel her arms tighten around him, confirming that she would do as he said. He held her close, but his eyes were fixed on Jack.
Viola smiled as she looked at the pair in front of her. Their pose almost matched that of the stone statue. This was perfect.
With a wave of her hand, the torches on the old walls ignited. The newly lit fires bathed the courtyard in an unearthly light, pushing back the shadows of the night.
Viola raised her arms, and the wide sleeves of her cloak opened like wings. Slowly, she began to sing a song in an ancient voice. Ianto didn't understand the words, but it sounded strikingly beautiful.
The Circle moved closer until their bare feet touched every apex and kink of the hexagram engraved on the stone floor. Their humming became increasingly louder, weaving a tapestry of sound that lifted Viola's voice higher and higher until it filled the entire courtyard.
Jack had not taken his eyes off Ianto since the beginning of the ritual, but now his gaze shifted to Emma.
"Not yet," she whispered. "As long as the demons are imprisoned in their stone cage, we won't be able to make a difference. We must find the right moment after they are freed while the empathic circle remains intact. Take your positions."
Jack and Owen nodded and exchanged glances. This was going to be a close call.
As they heard Viola's voice chanting inside the circle, Emma moved to the left of the statue while Owen stood to the right, holding the printout of the spell.
Jack stood in front of the narrow trench that led to the hexagram. He took off his coat and tossed it carelessly to the ground. A shadow of doubt flickered across his face. Then he bent down again and picked it up. He folded it carefully before laying it on one of the hedges. Ianto would be happy if he could avoid getting blood stains or dirt on it.
He knelt down and rolled up his shirt sleeves. The gravel bit into his knees as he struggled to find a comfortable position. Finally, he reached over to his coat and pulled out the knife he had taken from Emma's kitchen table, as well as a small vial containing a colourless liquid.
"There's water in the hexagram," Jack noticed, looking at Emma questioningly.
She considered the information for a moment.
"Maybe we can use that to our advantage. Just add the holy water; it will be a good carrier for your blood and help to fill the trench completely," she advised.
Jack opened the vial and poured the holy water into the carved tracks of the hexagram.
As Viola's voice grew shrill, a gust of wind rose from an invisible source and swirled across the courtyard. Emma and Owen struggled to stay upright as they watched Viola's incantation with growing dread. The Circle seemed unfazed by the wind, and a glow of light began to rise and surround the statue. Slowly but steadily, the stone of the statue began to shimmer and change.
Jack watched in horror as the greyish colour faded and the hard stone softened.
The statue was coming to life.
He let out a painful sob as he watched Gwen and Ianto transform as well. Their fear was almost palpable, radiating from their eyes as a grey mist crept up their legs and solidified around them. Higher and higher until their entire bodies turned into a stone statue that would last forever.
"Jack!"
Only slowly did he realise that Emma was speaking to him. He looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Now!"
Jack nodded and tightened his grip on the knife. He cut deep into both his arms, trying to hit the arteries exactly as Owen had shown him.
The cuts stung for a moment, but then he felt the blood gush out and run down his arms into the ditch. Gritting his teeth to cope with the pain, he placed his hands on either side of the trench, bending closer to the ground to ensure no drop was lost.
He stared, transfixed, at the blood pulsing from the cuts, the pressure in his arteries moving it at incredible speed. Despite the cool breeze, he soon felt dizzy and started to sweat.
Jack tried to stay conscious as long as possible as he watched the dark red liquid flow through the trench and into the hexagram. He could hear Emma and Owen's muffled voices as if through a filter, reciting their spell over and over again as the demons before them were completely freed from their stone prison.
The air was filled with chanting voices and ghoulish screams.
The loss of blood quickly made it difficult for him to focus as a raging headache burned through his mind.
Eventually, his vision darkened, and Jack lost consciousness.
This is bloody madness, Owen thought as he forced himself to continue reading Emma's spell and not stopping until she told him to. Horrified, he stared at Jack kneeling next to him, blood gushing from the cuts in his arms into the hexagram. It took less than a minute for him to collapse and pass out. Then Owen's attention snapped back to the circle, which had descended into complete chaos.
The demons had been released, and they were furious.
As they turned from stone to life, they stretched their bodies into the air like snakes. Their shapes were mostly humanoid but twisted in ways Owen had not imagined possible.
Their enraged voices echoed throughout the courtyard.
He wondered what Viola had thought they would be like after resurrection, but it was apparent they weren't grateful.
"Where is the Order of Cysgod?" hissed Carafren in a shrill voice, whirling around his sister.
"Who is responsible for the impertinence of cursing us and turning us into stone," growled Lorasys as she slid across the platform and looked into the faces of the circle. Then her face fell on Viola and the new stone statue behind her.
"You!"
Viola smiled at her and stepped forward, her arms spread in greeting.
"Yes, o' mighty Lorasys. It was I who freed you from your predicament." She knelt before the demons. "I am your humble servant."
"You belong to the Order of Cysgod. I can smell it!" Carafren screeched and sniffed her in disgust.
"Yes, but I am here to right the wrongs of my ancestors," Viola began to explain, but the angry screams of the demons cut her off. Their faces contorted, and they bared their teeth as they fell upon her with a merciless hunger for vengeance.
Owen tore himself away from the bizarre sight before him as he realised they were running out of time. Was there enough of Jack's blood in the hexagram? Jack had collapsed a while ago and was probably dead by now. As far as he could tell, no fresh blood was flowing into the trench.
He looked at Emma questioningly but let the chanting continue. She seemed as uncertain as he was.
"Viola's power over the empaths is strong, but the connection must have weakened. It's now or never!" She shouted at him and immediately returned to the chant.
As Owen resumed reading from the beginning, he noticed that the blood in the hexagram began to glow. Through the emerging light, he saw how the empaths' bare feet touched the blood in the hexagram, forming a new kind of circle.
"Raise your voice!" Emma called out to him, and they both began to sing louder. One by one, the people in the circle started to join in on their chant.
As the volume of their combined voices increased, a swirl of blood began to rise into the air and wrap itself around the demons.
They noticed the power shift immediately and turned to look for the new threat. Their eyes fell on Emma and Owen, but it was already too late; the ring of blood had tightened, leaving them with little room to move. The demons screamed in frustration, but the circle of empaths held the ring firmly in place. Slowly, very slowly, the stone began to close in around them, petrifying their bodies.
"Is it working?" Jack asked wearily, causing Owen to jump. He had been so engrossed in the spectacle before him that he hadn't even noticed Jack's resurrection.
"I think so," Owen said, raising his voice to be heard, his eyes fixed on the scene in front of them.
"Then why aren't they turning back?" Jack exclaimed with a growing panic in his voice.
"Who?" Owen asked, confused. The demons were now completely covered in stone. They had done it!
"Gwen and Ianto," Jack hissed as he stumbled towards the platform and up the stairs, past the demons to the statue that should no longer be there.
"Why are you not turning back?" he whispered as he gently stroked the faces of his friends, then he shouted louder. "Emma! Why isn't it working?"
"It's Viola," Emma said in a grave voice as she came closer.
Owen rushed over to the mangled body of Viola Baughan, who had been struck down by the demons.
"She's still alive," he growled.
"Oh no," Emma exclaimed as she knelt beside him.
The wrath of the demons had shattered the older woman's bones, but her unbending spirit refused to let go.
Viola smiled through the pain, her determination unbroken.
"I will come back from this. And one day I will try again!" she declared weakly.
Jack stared at her with a wild look in his eyes.
"Oh no, you won't," he growled as he dropped down beside her. His knife appeared out of nowhere, and in one swift motion, he slit her throat, fuelled by a surge of pure hatred.
She stared at him in disbelief, trying in vain to use her voice again as the blood drained from the deep cut until all life had left her eyes.
It had happened so quickly that neither Emma nor Owen had had time to react. They wouldn't have stopped him anyway. There was no other choice; this had to end here and now.
"Is it working?" Jack whispered, exhausted, not daring to look at the statue of his friends.
"Not yet," Emma said, holding her breath as she scanned the courtyard with her eyes.
While he leaned over Viola's dead body, Jack felt all his strength draining from him. He stared listlessly at the deep cut left by his knife. He felt numb, his heart nothing but an empty shell. Why wasn't it working?
Emma was relieved to see that at least something had changed after Viola's death. The trance over the circle of empaths had been broken, and they were now surrounded by confused, disoriented people. She wondered what they would do with them once this was over. Their strategy had not extended beyond preventing the resurrection.
Owen stared intently at his petrified friends as if sheer willpower could work a miracle. And finally, very slowly, this statue began to change as well. The grey stone began to glow and become translucent, eventually dissolving until the living beings beneath reappeared.
"Jack, look! They're turning back," Owen exclaimed, pulling Jack up from where he had crumbled next to the corpse of Lady Baughan.
Jack stood shakily and stumbled over to Gwen to ensure she was okay. She seemed shaken but alert, so he left her in Owen's care while he grabbed Ianto and kissed him desperately. Only then did he ask the young man if he was all right.
The still-dazed Ianto only nodded. When his tension finally subsided, he leaned against Jack, who drew him into a close embrace.
"Don't ever let me do that again," the young man whispered.