Fragments of a Shattered Life 34
Title: Fragments of a Shattered Life
Part: 34/35
Rating: 18+
Warnings: Explicit violence, non-con
Genre: Angst, AU
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, The Master (Simm), 10th Doctor
Summary: After POTW Jack's life takes a turn for the worse and he desperately needs help. A Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover (AU). Note that this is a very dark fic.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: I am posting this chapter and the epilogue tonight.
Previous chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/9944.html
Chapter 34: A Second Parting
They landed on floor 499 of Satellite 5. Jack was shocked to see the scene of such horrible memories. The TARDIS calmed him gently and showed him exactly what had happened before and what must be done.
As a Time Agent Jack had been trained never to interfere or cross his own timeline. And, although that training was now in his distant past, he hesitated. But the TARDIS pushed him onwards, assuring him that the timelines would remain intact, and he capitulated. He would risk anything to save himself from the life he had lived. Gathering his courage he stepped out onto Satellite 5.
He found his younger self looking at the TARDIS in disbelief. “Are you mad,” his younger self cried out to him, “what are you doing here, you're going to bring the Reaper's down on us.”
Older Jack spoke with sadness, summarising quickly. “In three minutes you will die. Your death will buy the Doctor 30 seconds. He will not use it. He will not activate the delta wave. Rose will come. She will destroy the Daleks and resurrect you forever, and you will disgust the Doctor because you are wrong. He will betray you and abandon you here deliberately, leaving you to suffer an endless cursed life.”
Young Jack was understandably stunned by these statements. Even though it was himself telling him this, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “No, you can't be right,” he argued. “He would never do that. You must have got it wrong.”
Immortal Jack had been expecting disbelief and was prepared for it. His telepathic skills were limited, but since this was his own mind he was going to touch, they should be sufficient. He laid his fingertips against mortal Jack's temple. He pushed gently at the younger Jack's mental shields and was allowed entry. He concentrated for a moment and the major events of the past 140 years flooded into the younger Jack's mind. The effect was immediate. Young Jack fell to his knees in horror. The combination of betrayal, loss of love and the memory of long years of pain and terror were overwhelming.
Young Jack wanted to deny it, to argue that the Doctor loved him, that he would not betray or abandon him, But he had seen the memories in his older self's mind. He knew it was all true and it broke his heart.
“You have one chance to avoid that fate,” older Jack added quickly. There are two minutes left. Leave now. If you stay, your death will mean nothing. It will make no difference to what happens to the Daleks. And the Doctor does not deserve your sacrifice.”
Still hesitating young Jack asked “But what about the timelines? Won't this bring the Reapers ?”
“The TARDIS tells me that it will not,” replied his older self, “she brought me here to make up for helping make me immortal and letting the Doctor abandon me all those years ago.”
With tears in his eyes, young Jack programmed his vortex manipulator with the coordinates of a planet well away from Earth and Satellite 5. He looked for a final time at his immortal self and
vanished.
Immortal Jack stood for a moment. The burgeoning hope that the younger Jack would have a new and happy life was overwhelming him. “Good bye Doctor, good bye Ianto,” he whispered. Then he felt only bliss and love as the TARDIS spiralled their minds together, rushing outwards into the universe, as he and the TARDIS faded away.
* * * * *
One minute later the Daleks rolled unimpeded into the control room where the Doctor was working.
He had not quite finished the delta wave, but the Daleks were not aware of that fact.
The Emperor Dalek's voice echoed around the room. “Finish that thing and kill mankind.”
“You really wanna think about this, because if I activate this signal every living creature dies,” the Doctor bluffed.
“I am immortal,” replied the Emperor Dalek.
“Do you wanna put that to the test?” queried the Doctor.
“I want to see you become like me. Hail the Doctor the great exterminator.”
“I'll do it,” threatened the Doctor, “unless you withdraw from Earth right now.”
The Emperor Dalek made no move to withdraw merely saying, “then move yourself Doctor, what are you coward or killer?”
The Doctor let go of the machine in defeat. “A coward any day. And it doesn't even work.”
“Mankind will be harvested because of your failure,” gloated the Emperor.
“And what about me, am I becoming one of your angels?” asked the Doctor.
“You are the heathen, you will be exterminated,” was the reply.
“Maybe it's time,” agreed the Doctor sadly. His people were gone, it was fitting that he join them.
“Exterminate,” they chorused and started shooting. The Doctor fell dead, the Dalek blasts leaving him unable to regenerate.
“We have annihilated the last of the Time Lords, we are the masters of the universe,” the Emperor Dalek crowed.
As he celebrated the sound of a TARDIS materialising echoed through the control room. The doors opened and a woman stepped out in a glowing cloud of light.
“What have you done?” asked the Emperor.
“I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me,” replied Rose.
“You are an abomination,” the Emperor declared, as simultaneously the Daleks raised their guns and chanted “exterminate.”
Rose merely held up a hand to stop the blasts. “I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space, a message to lead myself here.”
“You cannot hurt me. I am immortal,” the Emperor sneered.
“You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence and I divide them ,” Rose said gesturing with her palm towards the Daleks.
In response the Daleks glowed and turned to dust.
“Everything must come to dust. All things, everything, dies. The time war ends,” Rose continued.
“I will not die, I cannot die,” shouted the Emperor as all the Dalek saucers began to turn to dust.
With the Daleks wiped from existence Rose turned her attention to the Doctor who lay dead in the centre of the control room. “I want you safe, my Doctor,” she said sadly. “I bring life.”
As Rose said this the Doctor lurched back into life, still in his 9th form. He saw the piles of dust
lying everywhere and gasped to Rose, “What have you done?”
He staggered to his feet, felt the awful wrongness in his own body and started to scream.
AN: Large chunks of dialogue in this chapter were adapted from the episode POTW. I have read in so many stories that being exterminated by a Dalek would permanently kill a Time Lord (i.e. there would be no regeneration) that I have lost track of whether this is canon or not. In this AU I am assuming that this is the case. I guess it makes sense that the Daleks would have developed their guns to prevent regeneration.
Next chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/10419.html
Part: 34/35
Rating: 18+
Warnings: Explicit violence, non-con
Genre: Angst, AU
Characters: Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, The Master (Simm), 10th Doctor
Summary: After POTW Jack's life takes a turn for the worse and he desperately needs help. A Doctor Who/Torchwood crossover (AU). Note that this is a very dark fic.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
A/N: I am posting this chapter and the epilogue tonight.
Previous chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/9944.html
Chapter 34: A Second Parting
They landed on floor 499 of Satellite 5. Jack was shocked to see the scene of such horrible memories. The TARDIS calmed him gently and showed him exactly what had happened before and what must be done.
As a Time Agent Jack had been trained never to interfere or cross his own timeline. And, although that training was now in his distant past, he hesitated. But the TARDIS pushed him onwards, assuring him that the timelines would remain intact, and he capitulated. He would risk anything to save himself from the life he had lived. Gathering his courage he stepped out onto Satellite 5.
He found his younger self looking at the TARDIS in disbelief. “Are you mad,” his younger self cried out to him, “what are you doing here, you're going to bring the Reaper's down on us.”
Older Jack spoke with sadness, summarising quickly. “In three minutes you will die. Your death will buy the Doctor 30 seconds. He will not use it. He will not activate the delta wave. Rose will come. She will destroy the Daleks and resurrect you forever, and you will disgust the Doctor because you are wrong. He will betray you and abandon you here deliberately, leaving you to suffer an endless cursed life.”
Young Jack was understandably stunned by these statements. Even though it was himself telling him this, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. “No, you can't be right,” he argued. “He would never do that. You must have got it wrong.”
Immortal Jack had been expecting disbelief and was prepared for it. His telepathic skills were limited, but since this was his own mind he was going to touch, they should be sufficient. He laid his fingertips against mortal Jack's temple. He pushed gently at the younger Jack's mental shields and was allowed entry. He concentrated for a moment and the major events of the past 140 years flooded into the younger Jack's mind. The effect was immediate. Young Jack fell to his knees in horror. The combination of betrayal, loss of love and the memory of long years of pain and terror were overwhelming.
Young Jack wanted to deny it, to argue that the Doctor loved him, that he would not betray or abandon him, But he had seen the memories in his older self's mind. He knew it was all true and it broke his heart.
“You have one chance to avoid that fate,” older Jack added quickly. There are two minutes left. Leave now. If you stay, your death will mean nothing. It will make no difference to what happens to the Daleks. And the Doctor does not deserve your sacrifice.”
Still hesitating young Jack asked “But what about the timelines? Won't this bring the Reapers ?”
“The TARDIS tells me that it will not,” replied his older self, “she brought me here to make up for helping make me immortal and letting the Doctor abandon me all those years ago.”
With tears in his eyes, young Jack programmed his vortex manipulator with the coordinates of a planet well away from Earth and Satellite 5. He looked for a final time at his immortal self and
vanished.
Immortal Jack stood for a moment. The burgeoning hope that the younger Jack would have a new and happy life was overwhelming him. “Good bye Doctor, good bye Ianto,” he whispered. Then he felt only bliss and love as the TARDIS spiralled their minds together, rushing outwards into the universe, as he and the TARDIS faded away.
* * * * *
One minute later the Daleks rolled unimpeded into the control room where the Doctor was working.
He had not quite finished the delta wave, but the Daleks were not aware of that fact.
The Emperor Dalek's voice echoed around the room. “Finish that thing and kill mankind.”
“You really wanna think about this, because if I activate this signal every living creature dies,” the Doctor bluffed.
“I am immortal,” replied the Emperor Dalek.
“Do you wanna put that to the test?” queried the Doctor.
“I want to see you become like me. Hail the Doctor the great exterminator.”
“I'll do it,” threatened the Doctor, “unless you withdraw from Earth right now.”
The Emperor Dalek made no move to withdraw merely saying, “then move yourself Doctor, what are you coward or killer?”
The Doctor let go of the machine in defeat. “A coward any day. And it doesn't even work.”
“Mankind will be harvested because of your failure,” gloated the Emperor.
“And what about me, am I becoming one of your angels?” asked the Doctor.
“You are the heathen, you will be exterminated,” was the reply.
“Maybe it's time,” agreed the Doctor sadly. His people were gone, it was fitting that he join them.
“Exterminate,” they chorused and started shooting. The Doctor fell dead, the Dalek blasts leaving him unable to regenerate.
“We have annihilated the last of the Time Lords, we are the masters of the universe,” the Emperor Dalek crowed.
As he celebrated the sound of a TARDIS materialising echoed through the control room. The doors opened and a woman stepped out in a glowing cloud of light.
“What have you done?” asked the Emperor.
“I looked into the TARDIS and the TARDIS looked into me,” replied Rose.
“You are an abomination,” the Emperor declared, as simultaneously the Daleks raised their guns and chanted “exterminate.”
Rose merely held up a hand to stop the blasts. “I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space, a message to lead myself here.”
“You cannot hurt me. I am immortal,” the Emperor sneered.
“You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence and I divide them ,” Rose said gesturing with her palm towards the Daleks.
In response the Daleks glowed and turned to dust.
“Everything must come to dust. All things, everything, dies. The time war ends,” Rose continued.
“I will not die, I cannot die,” shouted the Emperor as all the Dalek saucers began to turn to dust.
With the Daleks wiped from existence Rose turned her attention to the Doctor who lay dead in the centre of the control room. “I want you safe, my Doctor,” she said sadly. “I bring life.”
As Rose said this the Doctor lurched back into life, still in his 9th form. He saw the piles of dust
lying everywhere and gasped to Rose, “What have you done?”
He staggered to his feet, felt the awful wrongness in his own body and started to scream.
AN: Large chunks of dialogue in this chapter were adapted from the episode POTW. I have read in so many stories that being exterminated by a Dalek would permanently kill a Time Lord (i.e. there would be no regeneration) that I have lost track of whether this is canon or not. In this AU I am assuming that this is the case. I guess it makes sense that the Daleks would have developed their guns to prevent regeneration.
Next chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/10419.html