Fragments of a Shattered Life 33
Title: Fragments of a Shattered Life
Part: 33/35
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:
Previous chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/9658.html
Chapter 33: Escaping the Master
Tosh smoothed down her uniform, picked up her mop and proceeded to clean the kitchen floor. The Torchwood team had tracked the van that they thought Jack had been inside. It had led them to the Kensington mansion of the Minister of Defence. That had been a shock to say the least. And, with no actual proof that Jack was in there, they had decided to adopt a subtle approach. Tosh had infiltrated the staff of the cleaning firm that looked after the house. She had been inside the mansion several times now and was gradually searching the place, but it was huge and so far she had not seen any sign of Jack. The Minister had walked right past her a few times but hadn't even spared her a glance.
Picking up some polish and a cloth, Tosh set off towards a wing of the house that she had not searched before. As she walked along a corridor she saw some people approaching from the staircase at the end. She quickly busied herself polishing the furniture and checked them out surreptitiously. Her heart leapt. One of the four men was Jack, and he was clearly being escorted by the three burly men. He did not see her, and when the men had gone out of view she quickly returned to the kitchen. She finished her shift impatiently. Once safely away she hurried to tell Ianto and Owen that she'd found Jack, he seemed to be under guard, and that they needed to formulate a plan to rescue him.
* * * * * * * *
Over the days following their encounter the Doctor and Jack had no more chances to talk; much to Jack's relief. The Master, however, took great delight in showing the Doctor many of Jack's memories of the past 140 years. The Doctor had fast come to the conclusion that immortality was an awful curse. The Master was especially gleeful when showing the Doctor his own sexual encounters with Jack, and the Doctor truly regretted what he had said to Jack about the Master. It was uncalled for and he had pushed Jack over the edge by saying it. The Doctor was also deeply ashamed that he had become aroused while watching what he now acknowledged was a rape.
The guilt that the Doctor felt over his abandonment and subsequent behaviour towards Jack was escalating with every memory the Master showed him. And, although he had found Jack's flirtatious nature annoying, he now mourned the loss of that innocence. He knew he was very much to blame for turning Jack from a confident man happy with his sexuality to this person who wrongly believed they were worthless and shop soiled.
* * * * * * *
The Master and four guards were in the TARDIS, supervising the Doctor as he fixed the circuits
he had fused to prevent the Master having free reign of the universe. Jack was also present, and the Doctor was well aware that if he put a foot wrong in his repairs Jack would suffer. The Master had taken great pleasure in showing him some of Jack's worst memories and emphasised how much he could be hurt, suggesting several ideas of his own. It was not an easy repair, and wasn't something he actually wanted to do for the Master, but for Jack's sake he was doing his best. It was slow going though; he had been working on it for several days now and was only half way through the repair.
The Doctor had been amazed to discover that the TARDIS liked Jack despite his wrongness. He was having to admit that his assumptions about her reaction had been totally wrong, and that, in fact, liked was perhaps too inadequate a word for her feelings.
Things were not so harmonious between the Doctor and Jack. In fact things were very strained between them, a situation for which the Doctor knew he was totally responsible. He had tried to apologise but Jack was unwilling to listen.
* * * * * * * *
(One week later)
Ianto and Owen waited in a van, parked down the street from the Minister's mansion. Tosh was inside in her persona as a cleaner. She was going to knock out the surveillance cameras so they could approach unobserved and enter through the tradesman's entrance, which she had left unlocked for them. Their comms beeped once and grabbing their guns and stun guns they set off.
Everything went well initially. They had entered the house and reached Tosh, but by bad luck had been spotted by a group of guards. They had stunned two of them, but the other two had raised the alarm, calling for reinforcements.
The Doctor and Jack were again being escorted by the Master and four guards to work on the TARDIS. The Doctor had finished the repair of the fused circuits a couple of days before, but there were still several more minor repairs that needed to be carried out before the TARDIS was in perfect shape.
The Master had just unlocked and opened the TARDIS door when one of his guards ran into the basement room. “Sir,” he cried, “we have three intruders in the house. They are armed and have taken down two of our men.”
The Master paused as he was about to enter the TARDIS, then ordered three of his guards to accompany the man back to help deal with the intruders. This left one man to guard the Doctor. Jack, of course, was no threat.
The Master turned towards the TARDIS, intending to lock the door prior to returning the Doctor and Jack to their rooms. There they would be out of the way while the intruders were at large. As he did so the TARDIS spoke urgently in the Doctor's mind. “Get Jack inside without the Master and I will take him to safety.”
The Doctor didn't hesitate. He threw himself at the Master knocking him away from the open door of the TARDIS. The Master was taken completely by surprise and crashed to the floor. The Doctor yelled at Jack to get into the TARDIS, but initially he didn't move. Only when the TARDIS ordered him to enter as well did he obey. The moment Jack passed through the doors the Doctor mentally screamed “Go!” to the TARDIS. The guard, meanwhile, had moved in to strike the Doctor viciously over and over with his baton.
As Jack ran through the doors they slammed just behind him. The central column began to move.
Once in the vortex the TARDIS paused in its flight and trilled to Jack, speaking to him in his mind. He finally understood that she felt responsible for his immortality and the suffering it had brought him. She was infinitely sad that the Doctor had rejected him because of it and had betrayed him. She had felt his despair over the months she had been in the Master's house with him, and before, for brief times on Nirvana and the research station.
The deciding factor in the TARDIS's decision to help Jack when the opportunity arose had been the encounter on Theta Aurigae IV. The human mind was not designed to cope with a billion years of memory. Total insanity was the almost inevitable result, even if the human had been treated well during this time. And this human had been treated very badly, right from the start of his immortal life. The TARDIS had recognised the being that ran towards her on that planet and had, in her guilt and horror at what he had become, fled from him all the way to the end of the universe. Helped by Rose, she had created him and she could not leave him to that fate.
The TARDIS had, for a long time, searched the timelines looking for the best place and time to help Jack without causing severe damage to time itself. She had considered many possible places and times to intervene, and followed the effects of her actions on future events. She had found that there was only one place where events could be changed, and Jack could be saved, without the Reapers moving in. It was against the most sacred laws of the Time Lords, and her pilot would not approve of her actions. But the Doctor had caused, directly and indirectly, a lot of Jack's misery and she was determined to make up for that despite him. And so the TARDIS materialised at the nexus point where events could and would be changed.
Next chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/10116.html
Part: 33/35
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:
Previous chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/9658.html
Chapter 33: Escaping the Master
Tosh smoothed down her uniform, picked up her mop and proceeded to clean the kitchen floor. The Torchwood team had tracked the van that they thought Jack had been inside. It had led them to the Kensington mansion of the Minister of Defence. That had been a shock to say the least. And, with no actual proof that Jack was in there, they had decided to adopt a subtle approach. Tosh had infiltrated the staff of the cleaning firm that looked after the house. She had been inside the mansion several times now and was gradually searching the place, but it was huge and so far she had not seen any sign of Jack. The Minister had walked right past her a few times but hadn't even spared her a glance.
Picking up some polish and a cloth, Tosh set off towards a wing of the house that she had not searched before. As she walked along a corridor she saw some people approaching from the staircase at the end. She quickly busied herself polishing the furniture and checked them out surreptitiously. Her heart leapt. One of the four men was Jack, and he was clearly being escorted by the three burly men. He did not see her, and when the men had gone out of view she quickly returned to the kitchen. She finished her shift impatiently. Once safely away she hurried to tell Ianto and Owen that she'd found Jack, he seemed to be under guard, and that they needed to formulate a plan to rescue him.
* * * * * * * *
Over the days following their encounter the Doctor and Jack had no more chances to talk; much to Jack's relief. The Master, however, took great delight in showing the Doctor many of Jack's memories of the past 140 years. The Doctor had fast come to the conclusion that immortality was an awful curse. The Master was especially gleeful when showing the Doctor his own sexual encounters with Jack, and the Doctor truly regretted what he had said to Jack about the Master. It was uncalled for and he had pushed Jack over the edge by saying it. The Doctor was also deeply ashamed that he had become aroused while watching what he now acknowledged was a rape.
The guilt that the Doctor felt over his abandonment and subsequent behaviour towards Jack was escalating with every memory the Master showed him. And, although he had found Jack's flirtatious nature annoying, he now mourned the loss of that innocence. He knew he was very much to blame for turning Jack from a confident man happy with his sexuality to this person who wrongly believed they were worthless and shop soiled.
* * * * * * *
The Master and four guards were in the TARDIS, supervising the Doctor as he fixed the circuits
he had fused to prevent the Master having free reign of the universe. Jack was also present, and the Doctor was well aware that if he put a foot wrong in his repairs Jack would suffer. The Master had taken great pleasure in showing him some of Jack's worst memories and emphasised how much he could be hurt, suggesting several ideas of his own. It was not an easy repair, and wasn't something he actually wanted to do for the Master, but for Jack's sake he was doing his best. It was slow going though; he had been working on it for several days now and was only half way through the repair.
The Doctor had been amazed to discover that the TARDIS liked Jack despite his wrongness. He was having to admit that his assumptions about her reaction had been totally wrong, and that, in fact, liked was perhaps too inadequate a word for her feelings.
Things were not so harmonious between the Doctor and Jack. In fact things were very strained between them, a situation for which the Doctor knew he was totally responsible. He had tried to apologise but Jack was unwilling to listen.
* * * * * * * *
(One week later)
Ianto and Owen waited in a van, parked down the street from the Minister's mansion. Tosh was inside in her persona as a cleaner. She was going to knock out the surveillance cameras so they could approach unobserved and enter through the tradesman's entrance, which she had left unlocked for them. Their comms beeped once and grabbing their guns and stun guns they set off.
Everything went well initially. They had entered the house and reached Tosh, but by bad luck had been spotted by a group of guards. They had stunned two of them, but the other two had raised the alarm, calling for reinforcements.
The Doctor and Jack were again being escorted by the Master and four guards to work on the TARDIS. The Doctor had finished the repair of the fused circuits a couple of days before, but there were still several more minor repairs that needed to be carried out before the TARDIS was in perfect shape.
The Master had just unlocked and opened the TARDIS door when one of his guards ran into the basement room. “Sir,” he cried, “we have three intruders in the house. They are armed and have taken down two of our men.”
The Master paused as he was about to enter the TARDIS, then ordered three of his guards to accompany the man back to help deal with the intruders. This left one man to guard the Doctor. Jack, of course, was no threat.
The Master turned towards the TARDIS, intending to lock the door prior to returning the Doctor and Jack to their rooms. There they would be out of the way while the intruders were at large. As he did so the TARDIS spoke urgently in the Doctor's mind. “Get Jack inside without the Master and I will take him to safety.”
The Doctor didn't hesitate. He threw himself at the Master knocking him away from the open door of the TARDIS. The Master was taken completely by surprise and crashed to the floor. The Doctor yelled at Jack to get into the TARDIS, but initially he didn't move. Only when the TARDIS ordered him to enter as well did he obey. The moment Jack passed through the doors the Doctor mentally screamed “Go!” to the TARDIS. The guard, meanwhile, had moved in to strike the Doctor viciously over and over with his baton.
As Jack ran through the doors they slammed just behind him. The central column began to move.
Once in the vortex the TARDIS paused in its flight and trilled to Jack, speaking to him in his mind. He finally understood that she felt responsible for his immortality and the suffering it had brought him. She was infinitely sad that the Doctor had rejected him because of it and had betrayed him. She had felt his despair over the months she had been in the Master's house with him, and before, for brief times on Nirvana and the research station.
The deciding factor in the TARDIS's decision to help Jack when the opportunity arose had been the encounter on Theta Aurigae IV. The human mind was not designed to cope with a billion years of memory. Total insanity was the almost inevitable result, even if the human had been treated well during this time. And this human had been treated very badly, right from the start of his immortal life. The TARDIS had recognised the being that ran towards her on that planet and had, in her guilt and horror at what he had become, fled from him all the way to the end of the universe. Helped by Rose, she had created him and she could not leave him to that fate.
The TARDIS had, for a long time, searched the timelines looking for the best place and time to help Jack without causing severe damage to time itself. She had considered many possible places and times to intervene, and followed the effects of her actions on future events. She had found that there was only one place where events could be changed, and Jack could be saved, without the Reapers moving in. It was against the most sacred laws of the Time Lords, and her pilot would not approve of her actions. But the Doctor had caused, directly and indirectly, a lot of Jack's misery and she was determined to make up for that despite him. And so the TARDIS materialised at the nexus point where events could and would be changed.
Next chapter here: ohinyan.livejournal.com/10116.html