Fic: Souls of the Forgotten Chapter 5/10
Title: Souls of the Forgotten
Fandoms: Supernatural/Torchwood/The Avengers/Doctor Who
Pairings/Characters: Tony/Sam, Jack/Ianto, Castiel/Dean, Clint/Coulson, Natasha/Pepper, Thor/Jane, Bruce/Steve, Kevin Tran, Nick Fury, Linda Tran, Kevin Tran, Benny/Darcy, the Doctor, Rory/Amy and Balthazar/Tosh
Summary: Sam watched Dean and Castiel disappear right before his eyes; with the loss of Bobby he wasn't sure how he would survive or even how to begin to find a way to rescue them. Help comes in the most unlikely fashion when SHIELD suddenly offers to try and help Sam find the mysterious Doctor. Knowing they have their own agenda, Sam is desperate and accepts their offer any way.
Meanwhile, Dean and Castiel find themselves struggling to survive in a living nightmare. For them, aid comes from a most unlikely pair of people: a fellow trapped soul, Ianto Jones and the vampire, Benny. Together the four of them must find a way to survive in their hellish prison but also find a way home.
One year later they are rescued but during that time much has changed for the brothers; is for better or worse? And how will they handle the biggest changes in their lives?
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, Torchwood or the Avengers
Beta: RoyalLadyEmma
Art by: Viviantanner
Chapter 5
Six months later
Dean was really getting tired of running for his life every bloody time he dared to venture out of the cave he and Castiel have been calling home for the last six months. Every day he spent in hell the more in awe he was of Ianto for having survived three years trapped here. Ianto was completely unaware of Dean’s growing hero-worship; as far as he was concerned, it was just life as usual.
"You must know that Sam is doing everything in his power to find us." Castiel's voice broke the brooding silence that was beginning to fill Dean's mind.
"Yeah, but that’s if Sammy even knows where to look for us. Or if he's even alive! Damn, Cas, we left him alone with Crowley! He has all of hell at his command and you know how high we are on his shit list." Dean wasn't sure how Sam would or could handle Crowley on his own; there was no telling what else was out there hunting him that week.
Knowing how worried his friend was, Castiel rested his hand on Dean's shoulder. "We will find a way out of this place; it was no accident that we were found by Ianto Jones. Please believe me when I tell you that it all ties in to how he has managed to stay alive all this time."
Dean blinked in surprise. "I have been wondering about that, how has Ianto managed to stay one step ahead of our pleasant and charming neighbours?"
"Cardiff was once home to a Rift of time and space, and Ianto Jones was the man who closed it. Unfortunately, something like as powerful as the Rift does not just fade away into nothingness; it needed somewhere to go and it has made its new home in Ianto. I don't think Ianto knows yet the full power that lies within him or about his connection to the Lady of Time. Like you and Sam, Ianto has his own destiny and I know that it ties into the destiny of the only true immortal that exists, Jack Harkness," Castiel explained to Dean.
A low growl escaped Dean's lips as a scowl made its way onto his face. "The same Jack who broke Ianto's heart by denying him the words he needed to hear on his would-be deathbed? That bastard? Because I have to tell you I am not his biggest fan." Dean crossed his arms over his chest and glared at a poor innocent tree. 'For all the pain he put Ianto through I’ll probably punch him right in his smug face.'
"You're thinking of hurting someone, aren't you?" Castiel had become quite adept at reading Dean's expressions, especially when Dean was up to no good, and the look in his eyes clearly promised pain to someone. Castiel didn't need to ask who Dean was thinking about; during their time trapped together Dean had taken on the big brother role where Ianto was concerned. 'I wonder if this is why Balthazar has yet to rescue Ianto; too many people are plotting Jack's death.'
******
"Why is Ianto still in Purgatory? Didn't you promise me that you were going to get him out and soon?"
Balthazar fought the urge not to wince as the carefully controlled voice of his lover washed over him. Plastering what he hoped was a reassuring smile on his face, he turned around and looked at his scowling girlfriend. "I did and I'm working on it. Please trust me, Toshiko; the players are all in position and ready for action."
Uncrossing her arms Toshiko Sato's glare grew icier as she moved to stand in front of her fellow angel. "Don't try to smooth talk me, buddy," and she poked him in the chest with her finger as her dark eyes flashed with barely suppressed anger. "You've left my best friend trapped in that horrid place for three years! If you don't want to be sleeping on the couch with only your hand as your company for the next few thousand years then you will get moving faster."
Before her death Tosh would never have dreamt of making such a threat but being dead and a fledging angel changes a girl. She’d discovered that such drastic threats were occasionally necessary when dealing with the angel standing uncomfortably before her. Tosh rolled her eyes at the pout that briefly appeared on his lips. 'Why do I always fall for the childish ones? Well, except for Tommy, he was a prince.'
When she’d first arrived in the afterlife Tosh had been given the choice to either enter her own personal heaven or take up the role of guardian angel watching over her friends and family. After the war in heaven the powers that be up there were recruiting all the souls who had shown the most potential when they were alive. Tosh didn't even hesitate for an instant; she said yes the moment they asked.
She happily and diligently watched over her friends and family and she’d been quite surprised to learn that Ianto actually had his very own angel. She was confused as to why she was assigned to watch over Ianto as well, at least she was until the day she met Balthazar. Then she simply wondered how on Earth… uh… Heaven Ianto had survived everything he had gone through.
Then the 456 happened and Tosh felt her heart break for Ianto and Jack; they were so much in love and so happy together. At the same time she wanted to smack Jack right upside his head for denying them both the one chance he had to verbally reassure Ianto that he was loved.
Balthazar blanched; he knew his little fire-breathing dragon didn't make empty promises and from the fuming look in her eyes he could see that she was already not in a good mood. ‘I don’t pity Jack Harkness when my dragon gets a hold of him.’ “Trust me, watashi no saiai no tenshi.” Hoping to sooth Tosh, he addressed her in Japanese, calling her his beloved angel. “I have a plan and it involves my dear brother Castiel and his favourite human, Dean. Hopefully it will stir jealousy in our dear immortal once he sees how close Ianto is to them.”
“Good!” Tosh huffed out grouchily, crossing her arms over her chest. “He deserves everything he’s got coming.”
Balthazar glanced at his lover raising his eyebrow at her answer in stun disbelief, "Shouldn't you be more worried that Jack might have moved on or that Ianto might fall in love with one of his new companions? I thought you are the original Jack-and-Ianto fangirl?"
Tosh shook her head. "I would be, but I know how much Jack still loves Ianto even if he didn’t know it or say it out loud back then. I have seen firsthand how deeply Ianto loves Jack and I guarantee that kind of love does not fade away. I know in my heart that they’ll find their way back to one another no matter how long it takes. But there is a lot of hurt between them that they’ll need to work out, and the biggest factors causing it are the Gwen and Doctor.”
Jack had never made any attempt to hide how strongly he felt about the Time Lord and Ianto had born the pain of not being first in Jack’s heart silently and stoically. She and Ianto had gotten quite close and he’d confided his fears and insecurities to her, so she knew he often wondered how he would ever compete against someone Jack had loved for so long and so deeply. But Jack had changed, that love had changed when Jack came back from his journey with the Doctor and he actually began looking at Ianto like he was finally seeing the young Welshman for the first time.
Then there was Gwen. Former police constable Gwen Cooper Williams, a married woman who refused to be satisfied with the man she had, a man who loved her with all his heart; ‘Poor Rhys,’ Tosh sighed.
Tosh remembered how deeply wounded and distraught Ianto had been when they had stumbled upon the footage of Jack and Gwen talking in the tunnels after Jack's return and the absolutely shattered look that had appeared on Jack's face as he learned Gwen was engaged. 'No wonder Ianto felt second-best!'
But somehow Jack had made it up to Ianto, first by asking him out on a date and treating him like a king for the entire evening. Ianto filled her in on the words Jack had spoken to him and the wonderful kiss they had shared the night before they sent Tommy home. Tosh had hoped Jack finally saw what he had with Ianto and that Ianto was finally assured of his place in Jack’s heart.
Then the Space Whale happened and Rhys not only found out about them, he played an integral part in being those butchers to justice. Tosh had a front row seat to the day her best friend heart broken when Jack gave in to Gwen's threat of leaving Torchwood with a broken 'I would'. Ianto had tried valiantly to hide his pain, but Tosh knew him too well; she’d seen the signs that he’d been crying when he’d come up from the Archives several hours later.
After that had come Jack’s over-dramatic entrance to wedding ceremony and the look of shameless hope on Gwen's face as Jack had strode up the aisle toward her. Finally, during the brazen dance that Jack, the interloper, and Gwen, another man’s bride, had shared at the reception, the two of them had looked at each other like it had been their wedding day. They were so caught up in their little moment, they never saw the looks of anger, disgust and pity flying around room nor did they see how upset both Ianto and Rhys were as they watched the people they loved flaunt their feelings.
Tosh knew how much courage and resolve it had taken for Ianto to cut in on them and ask Jack to dance and it would have been a beautiful moment if Jack hadn't decided to gaze after Gwen with longing in his eyes even when he was dancing with his lover. It had taken all of Tosh’s self-control to remain in her seat; she was absolutely itching to kick Captain Jack Harkness right in his ignorant, selfish bollocks.
"Jack has hurt Ianto for the last time,” Tosh declared vehemently, “and I want Ianto to know what it feels like to really be loved by someone with their whole heart. He deserves that so very much, and as much as I wish Ianto could find another to love, his heart belongs to Jack just as Jack’s heart belongs to Ianto. All I can do is hope Jack is finally ready to accept the love that Ianto offers him and that he can return that love without fear." A dangerous glint appeared in Tosh’s eyes; “Because if he can’t then Jack will have to face my wrath.”
Balthazar couldn’t help the shiver that ran up his spine; he found Tosh completely and totally irresistible when she went into protective mode. His beloved angel had become kare no fukushū no tenshi, his avenging angel.
“Besides, Dean and Castiel have eyes for no one but each other and despite their fling, Benny and Ianto will never move beyond being friends.” Tosh knew that Ianto and Jack were destined for one another no matter what obstacles or bumps in the road the Universe put in their way. Besides, she knew that Benny was just as protective of his young Welsh friend as she was, and even though he might not look at Ianto like a full-time lover he was not above using their past to make Jack see that if he didn’t wise up he would lose Ianto to someone else.
‘I just hope Jack has finally gotten his head out of his immortal arse!’ Despite her misgivings, Tosh had seen how devastated Jack was over Ianto’s death and he hadn’t been the same since; she knew that Jack carried deep regrets over how he treated Ianto. ‘I hope for your sake, Jack, that you don’t waste your next chance, I because don’t think Ianto can take being treated as second best any longer. In fact, I'm sure of it.’
Balthazar wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace; he loved the way she barely came up to his chin and how her soft hair tickled his neck. “Trust me, beloved, I think Jack has realised how much he took Ianto for granted and how much truly he loves Ianto. I also think he knows just how much of a fool he was never to let Ianto know how much he truly loved him and just what place he held in his heart.”
“I hope you’re right,” Tosh murmured as she rested her head on his chest.
‘I hope as well, my love; they have more than earned their happy ending.’ Balthazar also knew that there was another being longing for the Jack/Ianto reunion just as much as Tosh was and she was the key to all.
******
Somewhere in space and time
"It is time.” The words came out of the blue. “We must find Jack."
The Doctor jumped in surprise and then blinked rapidly; he was unused to hearing the TARDIS talking and giving him orders and even more astonished that she’d spoken out loud for Rory and Amy to hear.
“Who was that?” Amy asked as she crossed her arms and glared at the Doctor waiting for answers. She didn't like it when the Doctor kept secrets from her.
“And who is Jack? And why do we need to collect him?” Rory voiced his own questions while staring at the Doctor, although he wasn’t upset like his wife, he was simply curious.
Sighing with exasperation for his ship’s lack of discretion, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair making it stick out more wildly than normal. He was unsure how to explain Jack in any way, shape or form or why the TARDIS was talking to them. “It’s a long story but for reasons I do not know that was the TARDIS speaking to us and as for Jack, well… Jack isn’t really explained as much as he’s experienced.”
Amy and Rory shared a look that clearly said, 'Oh crap, I wonder just what we're getting into now.'