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laliginFandom: Torchwood (shock horror!)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 800
Summary: Owen's lost something - but he's not the only one...
Prompt: For the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
writerinadrawer Challenge 1.03 - Under The Influence
A/N: This fic is continued. In Ianto's Shield, which is also subtitled Five Ways the Fotsali Shield Saved The Day (And One Way...).
Lost
“Where the hell is it?” Owen snaps, sweeping everything off his desk in one frustrated move.
“Where’s what?” Tosh asks, without looking away from her computer.
“That thing I was working on,” Owen says helpfully, picking up two devices from the pile of mess and then throwing them to one side in irritation, earning a sharp hiss of disapproval as one hits the wall by the couch and Tosh spins round to glare at him pointedly.
And then Ianto walks past to Jack’s office, without pausing to pass comment.
Tosh and Owen both stare after him as the door swings shut. In unison, they look down at the mess spreading across the floor from Owen’s desk, and then back up as Ianto walks out of Jack’s office again, this time carrying one of the boxes from the safe. He doesn’t even glance at them, merely strides on down the stairs and vanishes around the corner, heading for the archives.
After a moment, Tosh gets up and goes into Jack’s office. Jack’s not in his chair.
“Ow,” he says from the floor behind the desk, then sits up and rubs the back of his head. “Ianto just came in here and decked me. Did I say something wrong?”
“Something’s wrong with him,” Tosh says. “He was heading for the archives last time I saw him. I think Owen followed him.”
Rubbing his thumb over his chin, apparently trying to work out if he’s got bruises already, Jack drags himself to his feet by hanging onto his desk and says, “Then let’s get after him.”
~*~
Down in the archives, Ianto has taken over one of the smaller rooms and is constructing a machine from some of the other devices he’s acquired. Owen and Gwen are both there, ferreting around in the piles of discarded papers, bits and pieces around the edges of the room, while Ianto kneels in the centre and ignores them, far too busy attaching half of the ghost machine to a certain point in his creation.
“Well?” Jack asks, loosening his gun in his holster.
“Can’t even work out what he’s doing,” Owen says in annoyance, throwing a wad of paper at Ianto. It hits his back and bounces onto the floor, and Ianto ignores it.
“There must be something in here,” Gwen says, still going through the accumulated pile of machine parts. “We’ve tried talking to him but he just won’t listen to us.”
Jack strides forward and tries to pull Ianto away from the machine, which is starting to hum worryingly now. Ianto shakes him off, and then, when Jack persists, lands a few well-aimed blows that leave their esteemed leader winded and stumbling back to the edges of the room.
“Recent Rift activity?” he gasps out when he gets back to Tosh, and she says, “I was just analysing an unusual anomaly before this all kicked off, actually. There was some sort of opening out over the Bay, and an energy spike I haven’t had time to deal with properly yet, but nothing physical showed up on any of the sensors.”
“How long ago was that?” Jack asks.
Tosh checks her watch and says, “Maybe two hours.”
“Ianto,” Jack says loudly, “I’d like to assume whatever’s going on isn’t gonna cause the end of the world, but if you don’t confirm that for me, I’m gonna have to try and stop you.”
Ianto’s hands still for a moment, then he raises his head and looks around. He twists to look at Jack, then says quickly, “I don’t have time. It’s harmless, but it’ll die if I don’t finish in time. Just trust me.”
“That’s not good enough,” Jack starts, but Ianto’s eyes have gone distant again, and he turns back to his work without another word.
Jack hesitates for a second, then says quietly, “Stop him.”
Even as the four of them move forward, Ianto slots another old device into place and he and the machine are encased in a red-tinged force field. No matter how much Jack hammers on it, it won’t give way.
“Ianto, it’s just using you!” he shouts. “You know where things are in here and how to get them to work – it doesn’t care if you live or die! Fight if off!”
Ianto patches in the other half of the ghost machine, and then reaches around the machine he’s constructed to press the button on each half at the same time.
The machine’s hum rises to a roar, then there’s a flash of light, turned red by the shield. When they blink the spots from their eyes they find the machine is sparking as its power dies away, and Ianto is flat on the floor beside it, eyes closed.
Jack yells, but there’s no response.
And the shield won’t come down.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 800
Summary: Owen's lost something - but he's not the only one...
Prompt: For the
writerinadrawer Challenge 1.03 - Under The InfluenceA/N: This fic is continued. In Ianto's Shield, which is also subtitled Five Ways the Fotsali Shield Saved The Day (And One Way...).
Lost
“Where the hell is it?” Owen snaps, sweeping everything off his desk in one frustrated move.
“Where’s what?” Tosh asks, without looking away from her computer.
“That thing I was working on,” Owen says helpfully, picking up two devices from the pile of mess and then throwing them to one side in irritation, earning a sharp hiss of disapproval as one hits the wall by the couch and Tosh spins round to glare at him pointedly.
And then Ianto walks past to Jack’s office, without pausing to pass comment.
Tosh and Owen both stare after him as the door swings shut. In unison, they look down at the mess spreading across the floor from Owen’s desk, and then back up as Ianto walks out of Jack’s office again, this time carrying one of the boxes from the safe. He doesn’t even glance at them, merely strides on down the stairs and vanishes around the corner, heading for the archives.
After a moment, Tosh gets up and goes into Jack’s office. Jack’s not in his chair.
“Ow,” he says from the floor behind the desk, then sits up and rubs the back of his head. “Ianto just came in here and decked me. Did I say something wrong?”
“Something’s wrong with him,” Tosh says. “He was heading for the archives last time I saw him. I think Owen followed him.”
Rubbing his thumb over his chin, apparently trying to work out if he’s got bruises already, Jack drags himself to his feet by hanging onto his desk and says, “Then let’s get after him.”
Down in the archives, Ianto has taken over one of the smaller rooms and is constructing a machine from some of the other devices he’s acquired. Owen and Gwen are both there, ferreting around in the piles of discarded papers, bits and pieces around the edges of the room, while Ianto kneels in the centre and ignores them, far too busy attaching half of the ghost machine to a certain point in his creation.
“Well?” Jack asks, loosening his gun in his holster.
“Can’t even work out what he’s doing,” Owen says in annoyance, throwing a wad of paper at Ianto. It hits his back and bounces onto the floor, and Ianto ignores it.
“There must be something in here,” Gwen says, still going through the accumulated pile of machine parts. “We’ve tried talking to him but he just won’t listen to us.”
Jack strides forward and tries to pull Ianto away from the machine, which is starting to hum worryingly now. Ianto shakes him off, and then, when Jack persists, lands a few well-aimed blows that leave their esteemed leader winded and stumbling back to the edges of the room.
“Recent Rift activity?” he gasps out when he gets back to Tosh, and she says, “I was just analysing an unusual anomaly before this all kicked off, actually. There was some sort of opening out over the Bay, and an energy spike I haven’t had time to deal with properly yet, but nothing physical showed up on any of the sensors.”
“How long ago was that?” Jack asks.
Tosh checks her watch and says, “Maybe two hours.”
“Ianto,” Jack says loudly, “I’d like to assume whatever’s going on isn’t gonna cause the end of the world, but if you don’t confirm that for me, I’m gonna have to try and stop you.”
Ianto’s hands still for a moment, then he raises his head and looks around. He twists to look at Jack, then says quickly, “I don’t have time. It’s harmless, but it’ll die if I don’t finish in time. Just trust me.”
“That’s not good enough,” Jack starts, but Ianto’s eyes have gone distant again, and he turns back to his work without another word.
Jack hesitates for a second, then says quietly, “Stop him.”
Even as the four of them move forward, Ianto slots another old device into place and he and the machine are encased in a red-tinged force field. No matter how much Jack hammers on it, it won’t give way.
“Ianto, it’s just using you!” he shouts. “You know where things are in here and how to get them to work – it doesn’t care if you live or die! Fight if off!”
Ianto patches in the other half of the ghost machine, and then reaches around the machine he’s constructed to press the button on each half at the same time.
The machine’s hum rises to a roar, then there’s a flash of light, turned red by the shield. When they blink the spots from their eyes they find the machine is sparking as its power dies away, and Ianto is flat on the floor beside it, eyes closed.
Jack yells, but there’s no response.
And the shield won’t come down.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-05 07:24 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-05 03:40 pm (UTC)Every now and again, I love a little cliffhanger.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-05 05:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-16 06:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-03-17 08:23 pm (UTC)Eheh. Glad it got a reaction, though... ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-09 03:28 pm (UTC)iantooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
WHEN IS PART TWO?????????????????
dont leave me hanging! :o
this was great! x
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-11 05:27 pm (UTC)There is a continuation - Ianto's Shield (http://laligin.livejournal.com/61773.html). It's a Five Ways fic and one follows on directly from this...
Eheh. Thanke for such a reaction! ^_^