Title: Memory and Time (13/14)

Author: Emma

Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, 10th Doctor, Torchwood Three, others

Rating: Starts PG, but hey, it’s got Jack and Ianto in it!

Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I owned them, would I let some of those idiots write the scripts? And if I were making any money off them, would I be where they could find me?

Spoilers: None. This takes place in my Homecoming AU, twelve years after Invincible Summer

Summary: Something is trying to mess with Jack’s time line…

Author’s Note: From now on, it’s all Toshi’s POV.

            The testing ground was a bowl-shaped depression between two hills, too small to be called a valley. A simple amphitheater had been carved out of the black rock. The entrance was guarded by two roughly-hewn pillars. In the center of what would have been the stage, a large black stone torus rested atop an orange-red faceted pillar.

            Toshi watched as the Doctor lit the four torches that flanked the bowl. Behind him, the suns of Gallifrey were setting, and long shadows had started to creep across the valley floor.  A soft hum filled the air as the torches caught and burst into flame.

            “I expected something grander,” she whispered to her uncles. “More Time-Lordish, I guess.”

            “And attract attention to it?” Uncle Ianto shook his head. “Most Gallifreyans never knew its location. They were brought here in the dark and left in the dark. Even members of the government weren’t told. Besides, what could you do to it that was more impressive than what it is?”

            “I guess so.”

            Uncles Jack put his arm around her shoulders. “You sound grumpy, limpet.”

            The unexpected childhood nickname made Toshi want to bawl. She wanted to find a way to protect him. She remembered something  Aunt Martha had told her once: the Vortex had driven the Time Lord who called himself the Master insane. And there was nothing she could do. She contented herself with putting her arms around him and burrowing in, resting her head against his chest and sighing as she felt him wrap the coat around her.

                        “Silly limpet. Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”

            She nodded. He had said something much like it to her mother back in the Hub, and to Aunt Martha when she had called from London. The two women had forcefully expressed their displeasure at being told to stay home, as had Uncle John, but the Captain had pointed out that if something went wrong and he and Ianto did not return, Torchwood would need leadership to keep it from sliding back into what it had been before Canary Wharf.

            “Gwen, Martha, you two are the only ones with the moral authority, not to mention the allies, to keep the militarists and the xenophobes under control. On the other hand, John has the ruthlessness to get things done when the gentle arts of persuasion and blackmail fail.” The two men exchanged a grin that gave everyone a glimpse of the hell raisers they must have been once. “Trust me on this, guys. Torchwood has to get things right. Besides, with a dashing hero like me on the case, how can we fail?”

            They had given in with much grumbling. Then the Captain turned his attention to Toshi.

            “The one thing Torchwood cannot afford is to have its leader so distracted by grief that she’s not effective. You will stay here and wait. I will make you a promise. Either all of us come back or he will. By himself.”

            “Jack!” the Doctor protested gently.

            “It’s not sentiment, Doc. Or at least, nor much. If Ianto and I don’t come back that will leave just you and your TARDIS,” he looked around, “and a few possibilities. They’re going to need all the help they can get, and that’s your job. It always has been.”

            Much to her chagrin, Toshi couldn’t find a single flaw in his argument. She resigned herself to staying behind.

            “Ah… Jack…” Doctor Harper had that familiar I-have-to-tell-the-Captain-something-he-won’t-want-to-hear look. “My boss says you need to rethink that assumption.”

            “Which one?” 

            “The one about leaving Toshi behind.”

            The Captain did not even attempt to hide his displeasure. “Why?”

            “Whoah. Don't shoot the messenger.” Doctor Harper made warding off gestures. “I've been arguing with It about this, but... no joy. Order requires symmetry. There were four of you at the Game Station; there have to be four on the testing ground. The Time Lord, the TARDIS, the Companion, and you.”

            “Does that mean Ianto has to stay behind?”

            “Don't even think about it,” his partner growled.

            “No, he has to go, and so do I.”

            “Owen,” the Captain said with exaggerated patience, “are all the dead this cryptic or is this part of the new job?”

            “Nasty, Jack. No. I'm trying to very hard to keep from generating any paradoxes, so I have to be very careful.” He took a deep breath. “I have to be there because I am an avatar of Order. Ianto has to be there because he is an avatar of Time.”

            “I am what?”

            “Wake up and smell the coffee, Tea-Boy. That's what a TARDIS is. A manifestation of the Vortex. A creature of Time.”

            The Doctor looked up from the monitor he had been scrutinizing. “So if the avatars of Order and Time have to be there, an avatar of Chaos must also be present. Do you know who it is?”

            “Up to a couple of hours ago, I would have said Manger, but after the way he screwed up, I don't know. Chaos is extremely harsh with failure.”

            “I can bear Manger's discomfort just fine.” Andy Davidson appeared seemingly out of nowhere, carrying several large stainless steel flasks. “Coffee? No offense, Doctor, but I've tasted the sludge TARDIS makes. I've made you some strong tea.”

            “Thank you, Andy.”

            The trip had been short, but the Doctor had been incredibly fussy about the landing. He had muttered about occlusions, and vectorless landings, and hyperdimensional stabilization until the Captain threatened to lock him in the cloister and take over. Toshi had caught a few rebellious comments from TARDIS, too, but the Doctor would not relent until it was all to his satisfaction.

            Now it was all in place.  Toshi watched the Doctor coming towards them, holding  a torch, looking very much like what he was, one of the most powerful members of one of the most powerful races in the Universe. It wasn't a side of himself he showed often, and she had learned that when he did, wonderful and terrible things could happen. She just didn't know which one it would be this time. She wondered if he did himself.

            “It's ready.”

            Toshi dropped her arms. Uncle Jack kissed the top of her head and pushed her gently towards his partner. “Doc, why were you so fussy about this landing?”

            The Time Lord looked a bit sheepish. “Superstition.” He smiled at all the gobsmacked faces around him. “What? You didn't think I would try a little leverage? Time, Order, and Chaos are all very important, but give me Chance every time. And she needs to be propitiated.”

            “How?”

            “Last night, two schoolboys, best friends, looked into the Untempered Schism. Neither one of them was strong enough. One ran away, and one went mad. I lost the best friend of my childhood last night.”  He smiled at Jack. “I'm giving Chance some symmetry of her own. I'm hoping the best friend of my adulthood is inspired.”

            The Captain's face lit up. “Let's go, then.  In my experience, Chance hates to be kept waiting.”

            They followed him into the auditorium. As she reached the pillar, Toshi realized that the torus floated above it. A soft glow spilled out across the black stone and washed down the pillar. What she had thought was orange-red stone was actually faceted crystal that reflected the light. At the base of the pillar was a small metal tablet with some High Gallifreyan writing on it.

            “So where do I stand? Is there any sort of special ceremony?”

            “You stand right in front of it. And no, there's no ceremony. Just... look.”

            The Captain looked over at Uncle Ianto. Some communication passed between them – Toshi had gotten used to that intense look that excluded everyone else – then he stepped up to the pillar.

            “Don't.” A middle-aged man came out of the shadows. “Please.”

            “Dad?”

            “Don't do this, son.” Tears ran down the man's cheeks. “If you stop now, your brother has a chance. There'll be a cure someday and he'll be fine and you can be together.”

            “Dad...”

            “You've failed Gray twice, son. But you can still make it better. Don't do this. Please.”

            The man tried to touch the Captain. Uncle Ianto and Doctor Harper stepped in front of the Captain and blocked his way. The man lunged, trying to reach past them. Doctor Harper grabbed his wrist. The touch seemed to send an electric charge through him, and he twisted away. As he did the disguise fell away. In place of a middle-aged man with the tanned, rough skin of a desert dweller there was an old man with craggy features and spiky black hair wearing a black robe with a fur collar.

            “The Black Guardian.” The Doctor came as close to snarling as Toshi had ever heard. “Nothing much changes, does it? Even that rat fur around your neck is still the same.”

            “Be silent!”

            “You’ve overreached again, old boy. And so stupidly. Jack? It’s time.”

            “No! Wait! Listen to me for a moment.” The old man reached an entreating hand towards the Captain. “You don’t need to do this. What scares you the most, Captain Harkness? What do you hate and fear the most? I can make it go away. Loneliness, death… This pretty little girl here, she will grow old and die and her children and grandchildren will grow old and die. I can make her live forever Captain. I can make all your loved ones live forever. You can have them with you, all of them.”

            The Captain smiled at Toshi. “So, limpet, want to live forever?”

            “Does it include a young and beautiful clause?”

            The Black Guardian nodded. “If you want it to.”

            “Then thanks but no thanks. Boring.” She took the Captain’s hand and pulled him towards the torus. “Come on, Uncle Jack. Let’s do this and go home.”

            “It’s not going to be that easy.” The Black Guardian said. “The Vortex will still make you choose, and you won’t know which choice leads to what future. You could make a terrible mistake. You could wipe out your whole little family back in Cardiff. Can you live with that, Captain Harkness? So many have died because of you, can you live with killing more?”

            The Captain seemed to falter, then Uncle Ianto was there, taking him by the shoulders. “Cariad. I trust you.”

            “What if…”

            “No. No doubts. Even at your worst, you never wanted power for yourself. You always believed you were working to protect something worth protecting. And you have come such a long way since then. You will make the right choice because you’re you.”