The Spirits Within 10/21 + epilogue

[madbottoms]

The Spirits Within

Chapter: 10/21 + epilogue

Characters: Jack, Ianto Owen, Tosh, Rhys, John Hart, the Doctor

Rating: PG

Warnings: Character death

Spoilers: Only if you’ve never seen Torchwood of Final Fantasy

Notes: See chapter 1 for notes and disclaimer.

Chapter 10

 

The standoff, as far as Jack could see, wasn't going to end well. General Hart's two remaining men were trained soldiers, willing to shoot him for their mission. And Toshiko and Rhys were willing to die for Jack.

 

"Hard left!" Toshiko shouted. "Hole opening between two of the Metas near the line of wreckage."

 

"I see it," Owen said from the cockpit. His focus was completely on getting them out of the aliens and home. Jack knew Owen had no idea what was happening behind him, and it was much better that way.

 

Jack braced himself against the chair as the transport banked. General Hart's two men were both still seated and leaned easily into the motion.

 

Then, right in the middle of the turn, Ianto sat up, directly facing one of Hart's men, and screamed.

 

To Jack it was a scream that sounded like death coming. Never had he heard such terror.

 

"What was that?" Owen shouted from the cockpit.

 

Then things happened fast.

 

The soldier directly facing Ianto was so startled by his sudden movement and scream that he came out of his chair and fired point blank at him. The impact of the shot knocked Ianto backwards hard, his head pounding against the deck.

 

"Ianto!" Jack shouted.

 

Toshiko swung out of the tactical chair like an acrobat, her outstretched legs kicking the gun of the second soldier out of his hand before he could even move. Then, in the same motion, she spun and smashed a fist directly into his face, sending him up and over the back of his chair.

 

Rhys smashed into the soldier who had fired at the same moment Jack moved. The guy fired again, the bullet hitting Rhys' helmet on the floor beside Ianto.

 

"Hold on!" Owen shouted from the cockpit.

 

At that moment Owen twisted the transport up almost on its side, trying to squeeze through an opening between two giant Meta Phantoms.

 

Jack grabbed a chair as both of General Hart's men were smashed against the left wall.

 

Toshiko was braced against her station, and Rhys stayed beside Jack, also still on his feet in the wildly tilted room.

 

The guy Toshiko had kicked was still out cold, but the other one rolled and came up with his back against the wall and his gun pointed at Jack and Toshiko and Rhys.

 

"That's enough," he said, his back pressed against the wall holding him up as Owen kept the transport in a tight bank. "Hands where I can see them! Now!"

 

"Shit!" Owen shouted from the cockpit. "Everyone to my right!"

 

Jack wanted to turn to see the problem, but at the same time he didn't want to take his eyes off the gun the soldier in front of him was holding. Everyone but the guy with the gun was to the right side of the transport.

 

Suddenly part of a Meta Phantom came through the wall, swept down the side of the ship, and disappeared out the back. It happened so fast, like a weird green and red light flashing on and then off.

 

It barely missed Jack, Toshiko, and Rhys, but passed right through the soldier holding the gun.

 

The blue of the man's spirit seemed to jump from the armour, then be sucked out through the wall of the ship.

 

"Yeah!" Owen shouted from the cockpit. "We're clear! Everyone all right back there?"

 

No one answered as the man holding the gun stood, braced against the wall for a moment. Jack knew he was dead. The guy's spirit was gone, taken by the Meta.

 

Slowly, as Owen brought the transport back around level, the soldier crumpled to the ground, his helmet banging hard against the floor, the pistol still frozen in his grip.

 

"Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy," Rhys said, moving to check to make sure he was dead.

 

Jack spun and knelt beside Ianto. He was still breathing, but his heartbeat felt weak. The chest plate still showed the alien particles, still seemingly agitated. On the upper corner, right over his heart, a bullet was imbedded in the metal of the plate, as if it had hit a bullet-proof vest. As far as Jack could tell, he wasn't bleeding underneath at all.

 

"Owen, get us back to London," Jack said. "Fast!"

 

"He all right?" Toshiko asked, dropping back into her tactical chair.

 

"I have no idea," Jack said. And he didn't.

 

He looked down at the holographic image on Ianto's chest plate. The alien particles inside him were twisting and fighting to kill the man he loved. And there wasn't a damned thing he could do about it.

 

*~*

 

The view of the city under the barrier was spectacular from General Hart's office. It was one of the perks he enjoyed, and never got tired of it. He even had his desk turned to face the massive window, so that the orange glow from the barrier would always shine on him. It was a constant reminder that humans lived inside and with constant fear. And if he had his way, he was going to see the day when that barrier no longer existed. Then his office would truly have a great view of the open countryside.

 

And if he could just fire the Hub weapon, he knew for a fact that day would be soon.

 

He watched as, on the top of a building just below his window, three men worked on the escape pods based there. The pods were ten-person ships that covered most of the tops of the tall buildings in the city. Each pod needed a basically trained pilot and could hold ten adults. They were designed to reach low orbit and stay there until ships came to rescue the inhabitants.

 

The pods were the only way anyone could come up with to evacuate the city in case the barrier fell or was breached. Everyone had an assigned escape pod they were supposed to report to, and drills were held, sector by sector, around the city every week.

 

A knock on the door broke into his thoughts.

 

"Come in," he said, glancing back at the paperwork in front of him. It was nothing important.

 

Major Smith stepped through the door and saluted.

 

General Hart returned the salute and stared at the man. "Well?"

 

"The Deep Eyes are returning from the wasteland, sir," Major Smith said. "Apparently there was an incident."

 

General Hart forced himself to keep a smile from making it to his face. This was what he had planned and hoped would happen. "What kind of incident?"

 

"It would seem," Major Smith said, "that the Phantoms were attracted to Dr. Jones."

 

"Attracted to him?" General Hart asked. This was even better than he had hoped it would be. The Council would never allow him to roam free now. And the Doctor's work would be condemned to failure.

 

The Major nodded. "Yes, sir. The crew barely escaped with their lives. But it seems that Captain Harkness is still in command."

 

"How?" General Hart asked. He'd sent three of his best men with that mission. He knew the Deep Eyes were good, but his men should have had the drop on them.

 

"I don't know," Major Smith said.

 

"I want an order issued," he said. "I want Captain Harkness and Dr. Jones placed under arrest."

 

"Understood," Major Smith said.

 

"And all research materials pertaining to the Doctor's wave theory are to be confiscated immediately. Arrest him as well."

 

Major Smith stared at him for a moment, clearly not understanding what he had just said.

 

"Do you have a problem with my orders, Major?"

 

"Sir," Major Smith said, "the Council might not be too happy with that action."

 

General Hart got to his feet and moved over to stare out the window, his back to the major. "Ah, what a tragedy that would be. This kind of thing is exactly what I've been waiting for. The good captain and Dr. Jones have opened the door for us."

 

He turned to stare at Major Smith.

 

"I still don't understand, sir," Smith said.

 

Hart shook his head at the stupidity of some of the people around him. "Major, by tomorrow morning, the Council will be at our feet, thanking us for exposing the traitors in our midst. The Doctor's work attracts Phantoms instead of destroying them. The Council will implore us to use the Hub Cannon and save them from the Phantoms. Now, follow my orders. Dismissed."

 

The major snapped off a salute, turned, and left.

 

General Hart looked back out over the city and the barrier covering it. In a beautiful house on the hill of his hometown, his wife and daughter should be getting ready for dinner. But, instead, they were lying dead outside, their life drained from them by Phantoms.

 

He pushed the images away, turned, and headed for the door. Maybe he would help Major Smith with the task at hand. The sooner every Phantom was wiped from the planet, the better.

 

And that day would be a wonderful day. On that day he would return home and give his family the proper burial they deserved.

 

*~*

 

Ianto was unmoving in his arms as Jack hauled him into the treatment centre at a dead run. Owen had made record time getting the transport back to New London, and Jack had called ahead to the Doctor so he would be ready and waiting.

 

Around him Deep Eyes ran guard, making sure that none of General Hart's men stopped them. They were lucky so far. Clearly the general hadn't expected them back this soon.

 

The Doctor and Martha were waiting when Jack burst through the treatment room with Ianto in his arms. The Doctor pointed to an operating table, already prepped and waiting.

 

As Jack laid him gently down on his back, the Doctor moved over him. "Did you get the seventh spirit?"

 

"Right here, doc," Rhys said, holding up the old ovo-pack.

 

"Good," the Doctor said.

 

Jack stayed over Ianto, watching the Doctor work. Clearly Ianto was in bad shape. His breathing was shallow and his face and skin were the white of the dead.

 

"How is he?" he finally asked, not being able to stand the silence in the room.

 

The Doctor looked up at him. Jack could tell at once that the news was not good.

 

"He is dying."

 

"But there must be something you can do," Jack said.

 

The Doctor pointed at his chest shield and the holo-images of the phantom particles inside him. "Ianto is fighting with only six of the eight spirits. We'll have to implant the seventh directly into his chest plate."

 

"It took a bullet," Jack said, pointing to the spot above his heart. "I think it might be damaged."

 

The Doctor studied the bullet impact area, then looked at Jack. "I’ll have to repair that first."

 

"What can I do to help?" Jack asked.

 

The Doctor looked up at him again, then nodded. "Actually, there is something you can do."

 

"Name it," Jack said.

 

"You may not be so fast to act when you hear what it is," the doctor said.

 

Jack couldn't imagine anything he wouldn't do for Ianto, including giving his life. "Just tell me what to do."

 

The Doctor nodded. "Ianto's vital signs are dropping. He is slipping away from us."

 

"Not the words I want to hear," Jack said.

 

"I know that," the Doctor said. "What he needs right now is a sympathetic spirit to help hold him in this world." He smiled at Jack and then went on. "I can think of no spirit better suited for that task than yours, Captain."

 

"I don't understand," Jack said. And he didn't. How could his spirit hold Ianto in this world? He had no idea what the Doctor was talking about.

 

The Doctor moved him around the operating table and had him lay down next to Ianto. "You don't need to understand, Captain. You just go be with him now. And you keep him with us. That is your job."

 

Jack looked into the Doctor's eyes and nodded. "I'll do it."

 

"Good," the Doctor said.

 

Jack turned to Rhys. "Make sure the Doctor is not disturbed, no matter what it takes. Understand?"

 

"Understood," Rhys said. "Good luck, Captain." He stepped through the door to tell Toshiko and Owen.

 

"Ready," Jack said to the Doctor's assistant. He reached out and took Ianto's limp hand as Martha put a mask over his face.

 

"Keep him with us," the Doctor said.

 

"You can count on it," Jack said.

 

He had no idea what the doctor meant, or how he was going to do what he had just promised, but he would do whatever they wanted him to do for Ianto.

 

A moment later he closed his eyes and the operating room sounds vanished as he fell asleep, the feeling of Ianto's skin against him the last thing he thought about.