Prayers to Broken Stone ((The Meddler VI/Allison Castiel))

[Allison Castiel]

"Nah," Rob laughed. "I didn't miss nuffin. Jes' didn't care fer the messenger boy. He was a bit lackin' in manners." The laughter grew darker as he met Jem's eyes. "Among other things. But don't take me word for it. Mebbe you can find him in th' old Gunnersbury Tunnel." He grinned at that. "Mebbe."

Framed in the open doors of the ATV, Jem stiffened at that, her eyes as narrow as a cat. In an explosion of sudden movement, she reached forward and, in a powerful blow, slapped Rob hard across the face.

“You're a liar.” Her tone was cold and even, completely at odds with the violence of her action. “I know what lives in that tunnel. And if Zanniga died in there, there's no way that you and Castiel could have escaped with your lives.”

"Cineres cineribus, Jem!" Rob jeered. "Pulverem pulveri!”

Allie didn't speak Latin, but she'd heard those words before. They'd been spoken at her aunt's funeral, such a long time ago, it seemed now. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. And in Zanniga's case, there wasn't even that much left.

“We're not the liars!” she spoke up, anger throbbing in her voice. “We'll leave that to you. Lies and betrayal. You're the one who sent Zanniga after us, to kill us for no good reason, right after you pretended you wanted to help. Is that what you are, Jem? A traitor to your own kind?” She flung the words at the other woman like stones, wanting to hurt. “Did you lie to the Undying Man too? I've heard the rumours, how he disappeared, how that device on your arm used to belong to him. Did you betray him the way you betrayed Rob?”

Jem's eyes blazed in her stark white face. Somehow, all unknowing, Allie had scored a direct hit.

“Jack!” she hissed. “You want to know about Jack Harkness?”

Visibly, the woman fought to control herself, her jaw clenching hard, the first sign of any true emotion she had displayed since Allie had met her. “Maybe you should,” she snarled at last. Her forefinger extended to point savagely at Rob. “Maybe he should. Especially him. Maybe... when we get back to the settlement... I'll show you.”

And with that, she slammed the doors, the sound almost deafening, echoing inside the windowless rear of the vehicle. In moments, the engine started, and the ATV started to move, the huge wheels bumping over the torn road and the scattered piles of debris, heading back to the Chiswick Park Station.

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

Rob settled back, watching the interplay between Jem and Alley with interest. The title 'the Undying Man' and the name 'Jack Harkness' rang a distant, muffled bell somewhere in the back of his mind. He dug deep, thinking hard, and the image of a leather-bound book swam before his eyes...

"Here we go," he heard that alien, familiar memory-voice narrate as he remembered opening the book. "Ye Nice & Accurate Historie Of Olde Tellus, Being A Faithful & Complete Rendering Of The Past Life Of Ye Homeworlde, And Of The Circumstances That Bringeth Manne To Ye Stars. I quote: 'Ye Captain, who be also known to historie as Jacke Harkness, & also Ye Once And Ye Future Director, & also He That Liveth And Yet Never Dieth, is known to have once walked ye soil of olde Tellus. Let those with wisdom knoweth that, in ye First Century Anno Atomicus, it was he who restored the glory of ye Torchwoode Archives, who saved the Children of Men, & who turned back the nightmares of the Miracle Day. It is he who taught all Humans that there is no shame in love and that we must love all, & it is said that even now he walketh among the stars and watcheth his children for the day that he shall be needed, for he sitteth at the right hand of the Evergreen Man.'"

Well, that was a load of drivel he decided. But his dislodged memory refused to let go, and he heard the sudden memory-voice of the mystery woman from the black box. "Right hand of the evergreen man.." She whispered. "Evergreen man, they don't mean Finvarrah do they? I think the King has other things on his mind.. yet a man that cannot die, I'm afraid what they'd do to him for entertainment."

"No, not Finvarrah," he said, still laughing. "Evergreen Man is one of the names the Neo-Anglican Papacy had for the Doctor, sort of for the same reasons the Sidhe were called the Good Neighbors. They were terrified of him."

Voices raised, jerking him from the near-trance of recovered memories. “Jack!” Jem hissed. “You want to know about Jack Harkness?”

Visibly, the woman fought to control herself, her jaw clenching hard, the first sign of any true emotion she had displayed since Allie had met her. “Maybe you should,” she snarled at last. Her forefinger extended to point savagely at Rob. “Maybe he should. Especially him. Maybe... when we get back to the settlement... I'll show you.”

"You do that," Rob said with an evil grin, watching for signs of recognition as he spoke. "Show me what you've done to the Companion of the Evergreen Man." The doors slammed, and Rob raised his voiceso he could be heard through the metal. "We never closed the tunnel door, Jem!" He pounded a booted foot against the door, demanding attention. "We never closed it again, and yet we walked back out! Think about that, you crazy clove!"

The engine rumbled to life, and the ATV kicked into motion. Rob squirmed a little and managed to pass his manacled arms under his rear and over his feet, bringing his hands around to the front of his body. "There, that's better," he sighed with relief, scratching his nose. Then he looked from Danny to Alley and back as he settled against the wall of the vehicle. "So... I spy, with my little eye, something that begins with fascist bitch. First guess, anyone?"

[Allison Castiel]

Then he looked from Danny to Alley and back as he settled against the wall of the vehicle. "So... I spy, with my little eye, something that begins with fascist bitch. First guess, anyone?"

Slumped against the wall with his eyes shut, Danny gave an appreciative snicker, which abruptly turned into a hoarse coughing fit.

“Piss off, Goodfellow,” he rasped, with some of his old acerbic humour. He was clutching at his ribs, some of which had apparently been broken during the beating he'd received. “It only hurts when I laugh.”

Anxiously, Allie shuffled over to kneel next to him. Unlike the two men, her hands weren't handcuffed behind her back. She wasn't sure if that was an oversight, or whether Jem simply didn't consider her a risk.

“Rob,” she murmured, placing her hand on Danny's sweat-damp forehead. “He's burning up. Do you still have that canteen of water?”

Danny coughed weakly again. “So, you two gonna tell me what the hell's going on? What happened to that asshole, Zanniga? You didn't really kill him, did you? And what in God's name were you doing anywhere near the Gunnersbury tunnels?”

“Zanniga's dead,” Allie answered, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. “But we didn't kill him. Jem sent Rob and I up into the Turnham Green tunnel, supposedly so that I could show him the wasp-monster corpse up there. Then she sent Zanniga after us, to kill us. We ran into the Gunnersbury tunnels, to get away from him. But he followed us in, and...” - she swallowed hard, knowing how crazy this was going to sound - “and the shadows ate him. One second he was there and alive, the next... nothing but a skeleton.”

“The shadows?” Danny echoed incredulously. “The shadows ate him, but you two got away.”

Allie nodded vigorously. “I have no idea why they didn't just eat us too. Just lucky, I guess.  I think the shadows - whatever they are - must be the reason that tunnel got closed in the first place, years ago.”

Nonplussed, Danny shifted his gaze to Rob's face, unsure what to make of this story. Allie would never lie to him, he knew that much. But it was all so improbable. Maybe in the fright of it all, the girl had gotten confused.

“And the Evergreen Man? Who's he, when he's at home?” This time, his question was directed towards Rob.

“It... it sounds like a name that might be given to a Time Lord. The Doctor had a whole host of titles, just like that,” Allie said. Then, a bit shyly, she asked, “Does it belong to you, Rob? Did you know the Undying Man?”

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

“Piss off, Goodfellow,” Danny rasped without heat, doing his best to hold his ribs with his hands cuffed behind his back. “It only hurts when I laugh.”

"Gone too fast," Rob sing-songed as Alley shifted over to check on the man. "California rest in peace. Simultaneous release. California show your teeth. She’s my priestess; I'm your priest."

“Rob,” she murmured, placing her hand on Danny's sweat-damp forehead. “He's burning up. Do you still have that canteen of water?”

"Yeah, hang on." He checked himself over. "Still got the knife, too. Lazy? Or just overconfident?"

It was awkward getting to it with his hands cuffed, but not too awkward. Carefully, he unscrewed the cap and held it to Danny's lips. The man sipped, coughed, and sipped again. “So, you two gonna tell me what the hell's going on? What happened to that asshole, Zanniga? You didn't really kill him, did you? And what in God's name were you doing anywhere near the Gunnersbury tunnels?”

"Uhm..." Rob temporized, trying to figure out how to answer.

“Zanniga's dead,” Allie answered, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. “But we didn't kill him. Jem sent Rob and I up into the Turnham Green tunnel, supposedly so that I could show him the wasp-monster corpse up there. Then she sent Zanniga after us, to kill us. We ran into the Gunnersbury tunnels, to get away from him. But he followed us in, and...” - she swallowed hard, knowing how crazy this was going to sound - “and the shadows ate him. One second he was there and alive, the next... nothing but a skeleton.”

“The shadows?” Danny echoed incredulously. “The shadows ate him, but you two got away.”

Allie nodded vigorously. “I have no idea why they didn't just eat us too. Just lucky, I guess. I think the shadows - whatever they are - must be the reason that tunnel got closed in the first place, years ago.”

Carefully, Rob screwed the cap back on. "Brings a whole new meaning to 'mind the gap', don't it?"

Danny stared at him for a moment, obviously uncertain. “And the Evergreen Man? Who's he, when he's at home?”

“It... it sounds like a name that might be given to a Time Lord. The Doctor had a whole host of titles, just like that,” Allie said. Then, a bit shyly, she asked, “Does it belong to you, Rob? Did you know the Undying Man?”

"It... don't sound right," Rob said, wracking his brain and cursing his patchwork memory. "I mean, I still ain't convinced I'm yer Doctor. But then, I ain't convinced I ain't, either." Meddler, his mind interjected. "But... I remember tellin someone that 'Evergreen Man' was a title fer this Doctor, an' I wonder if'n I'd be talking about meownself in th' third person like that? Did yer Doctor ever do that, Alley? An'..."

He hesitated, a pensive look on his face as he struggled with the next question.

"An'... did he ever get called a meddler?"

[Allison Castiel]

"It... don't sound right," Rob said, wracking his brain and cursing his patchwork memory. "I mean, I still ain't convinced I'm yer Doctor. But then, I ain't convinced I ain't, either."

“You could be, though,” Allie insisted stubbornly. “There are a lot of things about you that remind me of him.”

And a lot of things that didn't, a tiny voice prodded at the back of her mind. A lot of things that made him uniquely Rob. And oddly, despite all the time she had spent longing for the Doctor's arrival, she found she had no desire to change that. If he was the Doctor, then that was wonderful, because – quite apart from needing his help - she loved her friend and wanted to see him again. But if he was Rob, just Rob, then she was happy with that too, because he was special in his own right.

"But... I remember tellin someone that 'Evergreen Man' was a title fer this Doctor, an' I wonder if'n I'd be talking about meownself in th' third person like that? Did yer Doctor ever do that, Alley?"

She shook her head slowly. “He always said he was brilliant and a genius. But that was in the first person, never in the third.”

“An'..." He hesitated, a pensive look on his face as he struggled with the next question. "An'... did he ever get called a meddler?"

“Well... yes,” she admitted, with a rueful grimace. “He isn't the sort of bloke to leave well enough alone. Meddling is sort of what he does, I gather... all over the universe. I... I used to call him my Travellin' Man.”

Danny gave a sceptical grunt, the same way he always did, whenever she talked about the Doctor. Allie blushed and looked down at her hands. She knew that it all sounded like one big fairy tale. But even if Danny didn't believe her, Rob did, and that made all the difference.

At that moment, the ATV drew to an abrupt halt, and there came the sound of the front doors slamming. Allie braced herself, trying to prepare for anything Jem might throw at them. Then, the back doors were wrenched open, and Captain Langley was standing there.

“Out!” he ordered gruffly.

Despite Danny's larger size, Allie did her best to help him shuffle awkwardly across to the opening, careful not to jar any of his injuries. The embittered expression on his face showed that he was longing to tell her to leave off, that he could manage by himself. However, the fact that he didn't only served to prove how much he needed her help.

It turned out the ATV had pulled up in a gloomy underground parking garage. Allie assumed it was part of the Chiswick Park station complex, but she had never seen it before. Clearly, it was an area that Jem had reserved for her own use.

The woman herself was striding ahead of them, without looking back, making for a stairwell door across the other side of the expanse of concrete. The small group of soldiers formed a secure knot around their trio of prisoners, herding them forward with their guns, propelling them in Jem's wake.

“Move,” Langley snapped, giving Allie a shove in the back. “She doesn't like to be kept waiting.”

Danny glared at him with bloodshot eyes, his lips drawn back from his teeth like a dog snarling. “Don't touch her, you f**king Nazi bastard!”

“Or you'll what?  You looking for more of what you already got, Beckett?” Langley retorted coldly. “Because there's plenty more where that came from. And some left over for him, too, if he causes Jem any more trouble.” He gestured towards Rob with his gun.

“Let's just get it over with, Danny,” Allie said dully, putting her head down and allowing herself to be marched in the direction of the door. “Whatever it is that she's planning.”

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

"Travellin' Man, hey?" Something about that struck Rob as being funny. "Yeah, well, I may not remember much but I remember travellin'." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder where we're travellin' to right now? We ain't been in here that long..."

Even as he said it, the ATV rumbled to a halt. Doors opened and slammed, and then the back door was torn open. Some bloke he recognized - one of Jem's bully-boys - stood there, another bloke with a leveled rifle covering him. "out!" he snapped.

With a shrug, Rob made his way to his feet and hopped from the ATV, followed by Alley who was helping a limping Danny. He ignored them for the moment, peering around the dimly-lit interior of what he took to be a public garage of some sort. Jem strode across the tarmac towards some stairs, and her enforcers gathered around the three of them, herding them forward. “Move,” Langley snapped, giving Allie a shove in the back. “She doesn't like to be kept waiting.”

Danny glared at him with bloodshot eyes, his lips drawn back from his teeth like a dog snarling. “Don't touch her, you f**king Nazi bastard!”

“Or you'll what? You looking for more of what you already got, Beckett?” Langley retorted coldly. “Because there's plenty more where that came from. And some left over for him, too, if he causes Jem any more trouble.”

"It ain't about what he's gonna do," Rob said in a bored, matter-of-fact tone of voice. "You should worry about what I'm gonna do." He glanced around the circle of armed men, then looked back at Langley. "You didn't bring eight gunmen fer Danny or Alley, after all." His statement was casual, delivered with all the menace of a tour guide pointing out a location of minor interest, but Langely still flinched back and half-raised his weapon. The rest of the squad tensed, hands shifting nervously on rifle stocks and pistol grips.

“Let's just get it over with, Danny,” Allie said dully, putting her head down and allowing herself to be marched in the direction of the door. “Whatever it is that she's planning.”

"Yeah, let's do that," Rob agreed, still looking around with interest as they walked. "I mean, it ain't like she wants us dead. She'd 'ave just gunned us down at the library, if'n that was the case."

"Shaddup," Langley snapped.

"She strikes me as the talkin' schemer type," Rob continued, ignoring him. "If you lot hadn't wiped out yer ecosystem, she'd probably have a fluffy white cat she strokes."

"I said, shaddup," Langley snarled.

"So, we're probably in fer a rousin' round o' 'Before I kill you, Mister Bond', an' then she'll..."

"Are you deaf?" Langley shouted. "I said..!"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you," Rob interrupted. "I jes' don't bleedin' care, do I? Cause yer whipped, boyo." Ameythist lightnings crackled in his pupils for an instant. "Seen yer type before, thousands o' times, I have. You'll bluster, and you'll remember everythin' I say, an' you'll store it up in yer memory an' savor your revenge fantasies." He grinned, teeth white in the gloom. "But you won't dare cross Jem, an' as long as she wants me intact you'll stew like the impotent little troll you are."

[Allison Castiel]

This time, it was Rob who scored the direct psychological hit. Allie could see it in the way Langley's breath hissed through his teeth and his jowly face turned an odd sort of puce colour. From his reaction, it was apparent to her – and probably now to everybody else – that the man's feelings for Jem were the chink in his armour. Was the idiot actually in love with her? Allie couldn't tell, but there was something there. And Rob had seen it and exposed it with the unerring instinct of a predator.

For one panicked instant, she thought that Langley intended to shoot her new friend dead, there and then. He wanted to. It was there in his eyes, fury and humiliation mingled in his gaze, as it dawned on him he had given himself away in front of his men. Viciously, the barrel of his gun twitched upwards in the direction of Rob's forehead, as though it had a mind of its own, the narrow muzzle a cold, blank eye. Tension bound the room like a noose. The blonde girl could barely breathe as Rob stood motionless and stared at him, stared him down, with those uncanny eyes of his.

The moment when Langley broke was almost tangible. Without warning, the rage seeped from his expression, to be replaced by a look of abject fear. He lowered his weapon and stepped back, shaking his head, as though trying to rid himself of whatever it was he had seen. His hands, still clutching his gun, were white-knuckled and trembling. Instead of a capable military captain, Allie thought he suddenly looked like an old man.

“Move!” he said again, doing his best to reassert his leadership role. But his voice cracked a little, and he wouldn't look at Rob. “Jem wants them escorted to her quarters immediately.”

The other men looked at each other, then moved to obey his orders, once again shepherding the prisoners forward. However, their movements were slightly reluctant, and there were a few assessing glances being tossed Langley's way, as well as some that were verging on openly contemptuous. Rob had publicly undermined the man's authority, made him appear weak and ineffectual, and it wouldn't be forgotten.

Jem was waiting for them in her office. This time, instead of being seated behind her desk, she was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. As soon as they arrived, she dismissed most of the men, except for Langley and another man named Richter.

Then she stepped back and gestured imperiously towards her desk. Langley and Richter put their shoulders to it, shoving the heavy piece of furniture across the room. Allie could see marks in the floor that showed it was far from the first time it had been moved like this. And once it was completely pushed aside, she realised why. Cut into the floor, right where Jem would usually put her feet, was the neat outline of a trapdoor.

Richter reached down and grabbed the metal ring that was inset into the covering hatch, swinging it aside with a grunt. The opening yawned dimly, cement stairs stretching away down into the depths below.

Jem's glacial blue gaze passed over Allie and Danny, then flickered across to Rob.

“After you,” she said, with a sweeping gesture, her voice heavy with mock courtesy.

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

“Move!” he said again, doing his best to reassert his leadership role. But his voice cracked a little, and he wouldn't look at Rob. “Jem wants them escorted to her quarters immediately.”

Rob started walking again, acting for all the world as if nothing had happened. He appeared to ignore the furious, frightened expression on Langley's face, and the glances his men gave him, and everything else. "Anyway, none o' that matters. See, we've got a divergence point, we have - Roraima, Brazil. Not all that far back either, just 2011. Although we might want to work our way back to 2010 to do that."

Danny peered at Rob, uncertain now how concerned he should be about the man's rambling. "Right. Just a simple little trip six years back in time. Should be easy, right?"

"Yep," Rob replied, taking the statement at face value. "Well, not too easy, what with Jem's wrist strap being all shot to church. But - assuming that the University o' Surrey's intact - we might be able to lash together some repairs on one o' th' Temple Anomaly Generators. Once we figure out a power source, that is."

Everyone was staring at him now, giving him the sort of reaction reserved for men who juggle grenades or who stand on street corners and scream about aliens. Rob ignored them. "Course, depending on what happened at the Tower, we might not need to go that far. UNIT had a huge collection o' xenoartifacts that they thought we didn't know about..."

He chuckled at that, privately wondering who we were and how he knew all of this.

"But that's neither here nor there, is it? Seems we've arrived." With that he casually strolled into Jem's office, watching her pace back and forth and glare at the door. He waved a cheery little goodbye to most of the soldiers, all of whom seemed quite glad to be away from him, then watched as Langley and some other bloke shoved her desk out of the way to reveal a trap door. "Brilliant!" he declared, clearly enjoying the show. "Laser sharks downstairs?"

Richter reached down and grabbed the metal ring that was inset into the covering hatch, swinging it aside with a grunt. The opening yawned dimly, cement stairs stretching away down into the depths below.

Jem's glacial blue gaze passed over Allie and Danny, then flickered across to Rob.

“After you,” she said, with a sweeping gesture, her voice heavy with mock courtesy.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly," Rob replied with the same mock courtesy. "Me aunts an' uncle raised me to be a proper gentleman, they did. An' a gentleman..."

"Langley," Jem interrupted. "Shoot Allie if he refuses again."

"A gentleman," Rob continued without missing a beat, "would never refuse a lady her request." He paused a beat. "Nor yours, either. Down, you say?" Flashing Alley a quick grin, he began to sing as he sauntered down the steps.

"No one can blame you
"For walking away.
"Too much rejection.
"No love injection."

Danny stared down after Rob. "He's gonna get us killed, ain't he?"

"Life can't be easy.
"It's not always swell.
"Don't tell me truth hurts, little girl,
"'Cause it hurts like hell."

Jem shook her head, and waved Danny and Alley down as well. Rob's voice drifted up the stairwell.

"But down in the underground
"You'll find someone true..."

[Allison Castiel]

Allie had no idea what Rob was talking about, all those places and things, none of which meant anything to her. But he'd told her he had a plan and, as crazy as it might seem, she trusted him. And unlike Danny, she'd been inside a TARDIS, and she knew that time could be rewritten.

"Langley," Jem interrupted. "Shoot Allie if he refuses again."

As always, Langley complied immediately. The gun swung around to point at Allie, and she couldn't help flinching. She didn't doubt for a second that he would pull the trigger, if Jem told him to.

"A gentleman," Rob continued without missing a beat, "would never refuse a lady her request." He paused a beat. "Nor yours, either. Down, you say?" Flashing Alley a quick grin, he began to sing as he sauntered down the steps.

She could hear him singing jauntily as he went, apparently unperturbed by Jem or any of her threats. Allie wished she felt the same way. She eyed the narrow stairwell, descending into the darkness, and her mouth went dry. She couldn't help being afraid that once she went down there, she'd never come out again.

Danny stared down after Rob. "He's gonna get us killed, ain't he?"

"Maybe,” Allie conceded, searching inside herself for that little kernel of strength that seemed to keep her going, even when things seemed beyond hope. “But maybe he'll save us all instead.”

Her face tight and unreadable, Jem gestured abruptly for them to follow Rob. Allie tilted her chin in the air proudly, determined not to let the woman see her fear. Still supporting Danny, she helped him limp his way down the stairs. The treads creaked alarmingly under their feet. The steps were roughly constructed from timber, and they didn't look particularly old. This impression was confirmed shortly thereafter, as Jem spoke from behind them, her voice trickling down around them like cool, clear water.

“I had this room specially constructed, just after I joined this settlement. Back when such resources were still available.”

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Allie looked around. She'd arrived in a narrow, low-ceilinged chamber, which appeared to be part of a sealed off tunnel. It wasn't large – probably around twenty feet in length and half that in width. The room was divided by a transparent wall, about two inches thick. The part Allie was standing in was a walkway of sorts, or an observation area. The part on the other side was unmistakably a cell. If the girl had only known it, she was looking at a perfect replica of one of the Weevil containment chambers that had once existed beneath the Torchwood Hub in Roald Dahl Plass.

At the present moment, however, none of that interested her. Instead, her attention was caught and held by the lone prisoner. A dark-haired man, seated on the ground and hunched pitifully against the wall. He was emaciated, his skeleton-like body clothed in rags. Real rags. Not just the threadbare clothing often worn by the other survivors, but garments that had been shredded time and time again, until there was nothing left, and he was nearly naked. An old coat, it looked like, grey in colour, made of what had once been heavy fabric, now stained with blood.

When they all entered, his head shot up, and he stared at them blankly, uncomprehendingly. His eyes were brilliant ocean-blue in his gaunt white face. Allie could see that he had once been a very handsome man; the sad vestiges of it were still there, despite his hollow cheeks and his sallow, filthy skin; his long, matted hair and his scruffy beard.

“What is this, Jem?” Allie whispered, moving across to the wall and leaning her forehead against the thick, cold glass, utterly appalled. “What have you done?”

The words had no sooner left her mouth, when the man moved. Suddenly, and without warning, he hurled himself across the room and flung himself at the glass. Allie squeaked in shock and jumped backwards, nearly landing on top of Rob. Over and over, the man threw himself at the barrier, uncaring of the damage he did to himself. Cuts opened up on his face, scarlet blood dripping, only to close over in moments, as though they had never been. Bones shattered, only to straighten and reform.

Allie stared in speechless horror. Beside her, she could hear Danny muttering, “Holy Hell!”, his tone awed.

“You wanted to know about Captain Jack Harkness, Castiel?” Jem said bitterly. “Well, here he is. Meet your Undying Man.”

As if alerted by the sound of his name, the prisoner halted in his wild rush, pressing his palms against the glass instead, fingers curled into savage claws. His face twisted, contorting into an insane grin that gave Allie the shudders, making her retreat even further from the glass. He wasn't looking at her, however. Much to her relief, his gaze had moved right past her, and had settled on Rob, his eyes like burning blue coals.

His mouth twitched and then moved, but it didn't look right, as if something alien was speaking through him, controlling his lips independent of whatever will he had left.

“Render,” came a hoarse, monotonal hiss, echoing over whatever microphone system Jem had set up inside the cell. “Traitor.” To Allie, it sounded like more than one voice speaking; a multitude, spitting hatred and accusation through one single mouth. “MEDDLER!”

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

"It's only forever," Rob was singing as he reached the bottom of the stairs, "not long at all.
"Lost and lonely.
"That's underground.
"Underground..."

And it certainly was. He stood on a walkway in a narrow, low-ceilinged chamber, divided by a transparent wall. An emaciated figure huddled on the other side of the wall, wearing rags that had clearly seen far, far worse days than his own tattered suit. The figure looked up, showing emaciated features and wild blue eyes.

“What is this, Jem?” Allie whispered, moving across to the wall and leaning her forehead against the thick, cold glass, utterly appalled. “What have you done?”

"I believe," Rob answered, placing his hand on the plexiglass, "that the technical term is abduction. Maybe torture, as well."

“You wanted to know about Captain Jack Harkness, Castiel?” Jem said bitterly. “Well, here he is. Meet your Undying Man.”

"This how you get your jollies, Jem?" Rob asked, still watching Jack the Undying. "You use him to work off-WOAH!" He flinched back as Jack slammed into the plexiglass in front of him, blood smearing the walls as he scrabbled at them, mouth working. “Render,” came a hoarse, monotonal hiss, echoing over whatever microphone system Jem had set up inside the cell. “Traitor.” To Allie, it sounded like more than one voice speaking; a multitude, spitting hatred and accusation through one single mouth. “MEDDLER!”

"Well," Rob answered, "I did not see that coming." He knocked on the plexiglass right in front of Jack's nose. "You still in there, Jacky-boy? An' who else is in there with you, hey? Sounds a bit crowded in yer head, it does." Leaning against the clear wall, he watched Jack scrabble and screech, then turned back to look at Jem. "Glyphophantes, innit? Riddled with them, unable to fight them off and unable to die?"

[Allison Castiel]

“As you see, Mr Goodfellow,” Jem answered, her voice as cool as ever, but laced with an undercurrent of grief. “You don't know as much about me as you think you do.”

She walked over to stand beside the plexiglass wall, staring in at Jack, her back to the rest of them. Jack didn't even seem to notice she was there. He kept prowling back and forth like an animal, his glittering blue eyes fixed on Rob, every now and then making odd, ferocious little lunges at the barrier.

“Yes, he's riddled with Glyptapanteles,” she confirmed with a pained nod. “During the War, Jack led the resistance against the wasps. His second-in-command was a man named Fitz Kreiner. And I was his third.”

“Fitz!” Allie's head raised at the familiar name. She'd known him as Fitz Fortune, not Fitz Kreiner. But deep down, she knew it had to be the same guy. “So it was him.”

“We discovered the wasps were vulnerable to electricity, so Jack designed taser cannons for us all, capable of immense voltages, enough to take the monsters out. But by then, there were millions of them, and they had already decimated the Earth's population. We were reduced to a kind of guerilla warfare, hit and run where we could. The wasps attacked a small settlement living in a subterranean cave system on the moors just outside Cardiff. There were too many of them – all we could do was to evacuate the survivors through the caves to the sea. In the confusion, a child was left behind, a little girl. Each parent thought that she was with the other. Fitz went back for her. That was what he was like – children, old people, anyone helpless, he'd rush to defend them.”

Jem sounded as if she didn't agree with this approach. Allie guessed she was probably more a proponent of a “If you fall behind, you get left behind” philosophy. Nevertheless, the description matched the Fitz she had known so perfectly that it brought a painful lump to her throat.

“Jack ordered me to get the others to safety,” Jem went on woodenly. “And then he went after them. He said he'd be back. He never came. It was five days before my team could fight our way back through the dead bodies and the cave-ins to find them. Fitz and the child were dead. Jack... it was too late for him too.”

She swung back to face them, and to Allie's surprise, her eyes were suspiciously bright.

“He'd been stung, hundreds and hundred of times, countless eggs injected into his body, all at different stages of dormancy. Medically, there was nothing we could do. One batch of eggs will hatch inside him, the larvae mature and then... they eat their way out. As soon as it happens, we fill the chamber with concentrated GK-50, killing both the larvae... and Jack. He has perhaps twelve hours of peace, before he heals and reawakens, only for the same thing to happen all over again.”

Allie sucked in her breath, trying and failing to get her head around the horror of what Jem was saying.  That one man could be subjected to such terrible, eternal suffering was beyond her mind to comprehend.  All at once, her legs failed her and she sank to her knees on the floor, her hands covering her mouth in mingled abhorrence and pity, as she stared at the warped and ruined creature trapped inside the cell.

Jem's hand moved in an involuntary, helpless gesture that seemed wrong coming from her. “His body rejects any form of pain relief. He has... a few, small moments of clarity, whenever he reanimates, before the Glyptapanteles reassert their control . Moments when he knows who I am and can say my name. But mostly... he's as you see him now. I have no idea if he's aware of what's happening to him. I hope not.”

Lip curling mirthlessly, her gaze moved past Rob and back to the trembling, distraught Allie. “In answer to your question, Castiel, I didn't betray the Undying Man. The reason I wear his wrist-strap is not because I stole it, but because it reminds me every day of what he fought for. So don't you ever judge me, as if you're the only one who had ever loved and lost. Because, believe me, little girl, you're not.”

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

Rob listened without moving as Jem explained who the man in the cell was, and what happened to him, and what they had done about it. Then he nodded once, and held up his hand and rubbed finger and thumb together. "Know what that is?" he asked, rhetorically. "That's th' sound o' th' world's smallest violin, that is, a-playin' sad, sad music fer your sob story."

With that he rose, cutting off Jem's rejoinder even as she opened her mouth. "Because I really do know everything about you, Jem. You told me everything you needed to, when you threatened to murder Danny there to flush me out o' the library. An' then when you were willin' to kill Alley to flush me out."

Jem's features hardened with rage. "I've had to..."

"You've had to do nothing!" Rob roared, making Jem flinch back. "You chose!" His finger jabbed into her chest. "You made a decision!" Voice cold, he leaned in close. "You don't get to hide from the consequences."

Then, suddenly, he grinned. "But I like you lot anyway. So I'm gonna save your Jack, an' then save your world."

"Big talk," Jem snapped back, still visibly rattled. "How are you going to do that? You said it yourself!" She held up her wrist. "The strap is broken!"

Rob shrugged, glancing around. "Well, much as I hate this, I'm gonna do it jazz style. Lots o' improvisation on a theme. For instance..." He pointed at several tanks against one wall. "That stuff GK-50?"

"Uhm... yes." Jem sounded confused, now. "Pressurized and liquified, and heavily concentrated. Why?"

"Jes' an idea," Rob replied, strolling over and examining the tanks. "See, you said it yourself. You wait until the wasps hatch, then fill the chamber. Right?"

"Yes."

"Bad plan." Without warning he hefted two of the tanks and dashed to the door. "This'll work better. Or kill me. Take bets!" Throwing it open, he stepped inside.

Within, the parastized Jack snarled and spun. "Traitor!" a thousand voices hissed as the tortured immortal charged him. "Rende..." The word cut off with a dull metallic thud as Rob smashed one of the tanks into his skull. Jack staggered backwards and tried to rally, only to have the second tank slam into his gut. Gripping the first tank with both hands now, Rob smashed it into his head again and again until he crashed to the cement.

"See," Rob called, "you don't treat a parasitic infestation topically. Which is what you lot've been doing." Zaninga's knife glittered in his hand as he cut Jack's throat. "You've gotta get it inside." Dodging the arterial spray, he cut the tip from the nozzle of the first tank and coughed as GK-50 spewed into the room, splashing and hissing into gas. Ignoring the fumes, he jammed the hose right into Jack's jugular.

[Allison Castiel]

Jem's features hardened with rage. "I've had to..."

"You've had to do nothing!" Rob roared, making Jem flinch back. "You chose!" His finger jabbed into her chest. "You made a decision!" Voice cold, he leaned in close. "You don't get to hide from the consequences."

"We've all lost people, Jem,” Allie added softly. “Danny lost his wife and children... Rob's lost his family... I bet even Captain Langley lost someone he cared for during the Apocalypse.”

Langley's face twitched, an involuntary reaction that proved the truth of what the blonde girl was saying, even though he gave no verbal confirmation.

“I didn't know Jack Harkness,” she went on. “But I knew Fitz. And if your Jack was a friend of his, he would hate the world you claim you're building in his honour. A dictatorship founded on lies and bullying and murder. Putting the lives he fought to save in the hands of men like Zanniga. Refusing to take the chance to make things better!”

“Better?” Jem screeched, her ice-cold composure shattering at last. “You seriously think he's going to make things better?” Her eyes glared into Rob's, spitting words into his face. “I knew what you were the first moment I saw you, Time Lord. Jack told us, over and over again, that we only had to hold out long enough for the Doctor to reach us. That his precious Time Lord friend was on his way to save us, he had to be, because Jack had never doubted him and he never would. But you came too late, Doctor. Look at him. Look at the world. There's nothing left for you to heal, nothing for you to save. And I will see you dead before you risk the pitiful fragment I've managed to salvage!”

Allie's eyes widened. The Undying Man had known the Doctor. Like her, like Fitz... all of them waiting in vain for their saviour to come. All of them, watching everything they had ever cared about crumbling into ruins around them. Her gaze stole towards Rob, afraid his anger would boil over, afraid that even now Jem would give the order to have them all shot. Was he... could he be... the Doctor?

Then, suddenly, he grinned. "But I like you lot anyway. So I'm gonna save your Jack, an' then save your world."

"Big talk," Jem snapped back, still visibly rattled. "How are you going to do that? You said it yourself!" She held up her wrist. "The strap is broken!"

Rob shrugged, glancing around. "Well, much as I hate this, I'm gonna do it jazz style. Lots o' improvisation on a theme. For instance..." He pointed at several tanks against one wall. "That stuff GK-50?"

Allie turned her head to look where he was pointing. A row of squat silver cylinders, each about the size of a large fire extinguisher, resting against the far wall. With a chill, she realised what Rob had already guessed - that these were probably what Jem's people used to fill Jack's chamber with the poisonous gas, as soon as the parasitic wasp larvae began to emerge from his body.

"Uhm... yes." Jem sounded confused, now. "Pressurized and liquified, and heavily concentrated. Why?"

"Jes' an idea," Rob replied, strolling over and examining the tanks. "See, you said it yourself. You wait until the wasps hatch, then fill the chamber. Right?"

"Yes."

"Bad plan." Without warning he hefted two of the tanks and dashed to the door. "This'll work better. Or kill me. Take bets!" Throwing it open, he stepped inside.

Alarmed, Allie leapt to her feet and flew across to the plexiglass barrier, hammering on it hard with her small fists. “NO! Rob, what are you doing?”

At the same moment, Danny dived for the door, obviously hell-bent on grabbing Rob and trying to stop him. However, before he could pull it open, Langley seized him and hurled him backwards, smashing him against the bottom of the stairwell.

“Don't interfere!” Jem yelled at Danny. “Let him go! Jack waited so long for his Doctor to arrive. He deserves a chance to give him the greeting he deserves!”

“You stupid bitch!” Danny snarled. “You'll get him killed!”

But Jem was too far gone in rage to feel any sort of compassion. “Then let him die! It will save me the trouble of executing him!”

Within, the parastized Jack snarled and spun. "Traitor!" a thousand voices hissed as the tortured immortal charged [at Rob]. "Rende..." The word cut off with a dull metallic thud as Rob smashed one of the tanks into his skull. Jack staggered backwards and tried to rally, only to have the second tank slam into his gut. Gripping the first tank with both hands now, Rob smashed it into his head again and again until he crashed to the cement.

"See," Rob called, "you don't treat a parasitic infestation topically. Which is what you lot've been doing." Zaninga's knife glittered in his hand as he cut Jack's throat. "You've gotta get it inside."

“Oh my God!” Allie breathed, disbelieving, as in the next instant, Rob thrust the nozzle of the cannister directly into Jack's jugular.

The man's back arched, his body shaking and shuddering in a series of violent spasms, his naked skin twitching obscenely. As if on cue, thousands of insect larvae, the size of Allie's thumb,began to burst out of his flesh, eating their way out of his convulsing body. White, slimy maggots, with teeth like tiny razors. They even came out of his eyes, his nose and his ears, swarming across his face in a undulating mass, dropping from his head to the ground with a vile plopping sound.

“He's accelerated the incubation process!” Jem cried frantically, surging forward to join Allie at the glass. “All the dormant eggs are hatching at the same time!”

Allie's gorge rose at the sight. She had never seen or even imagined anything so horrific in her entire life, not even in her worst nightmares. Not even when they had told her how Glenda had died. Turning aside, she clutched at her stomach and began to dry heave.

Yet even as the larvae emerged, they were already in their death throes, the GK-50 suffocating the life out of them. Within minutes, the ground around Jack's shredded body was littered with a carpet of dead embryonic wasps, and everything inside the cell was eerily still.

“Rob?” Allie called weakly, forcing herself to face the glass once more, even though it was the last thing she ever wanted to do. “ROB!”

[Rob "the Meddler" Goodfellow]

“Rob?” Allie called weakly, forcing herself to face the glass once more, even though it was the last thing she ever wanted to do. “ROB!”

Everything was silent in the foggy cell for a moment, and then Rob emerged from the mists of GK-50. He coughed and waved his hand in front of his face, tears streaming from red, irritated eyes. "'Allo, Alley," he grinned. "This stuff don't half stink, does it?"

Coughing more, he staggered towards the door and pushed it open, dragging a cylinder of GK-50 behind him. "See, there's lessons in this for you all. First one, you've got the materials at hand to do things for yourself - so stop waiting around fer someone else to save you." He gestured back at the cell. "Any one o' you could've done what I just did, after all." He gave Jem another hard look. "So don't go an' tell me how I don't know you."

He stared at her, then suddenly spun and heaved the cylinder. It sailed through the air to catch Langely in the chest, smashing him into the wall. Rob sprinted across the room faster than anyone would have expected, catching the man in the head with the toe of his boot as he snatched the man's rifle away. Langely gasped in pain, trying to stand up, and Rob stamped his bootheel down hard on the man's face.

Shouting something, Jem went for her pistol. As it came up, Rob spun and raised the rifle. Two shots thundered out in the basement, and Jem cried out in pain as her pistol shattered and flew from her hand. "Now, I don't think I'm a violent man," he said, kicking Langely hard in the head once more, "but I'm really tired of your attitude, Jem. I weren't doin' nuffin' that called fer you to threaten to kill people, unless maybe me very presence threatens your little power trip here. So here's what we're gonna do."

Casually, he tossed the rifle to Danny. "You're gonna tell the rest o' your bully-boys upstairs to piss off. And we're gonna watch Jack there recover. And then I'm gonna get back to work savin' yer bloody planet."

Langely groaned, and Rob eyed him thoughtfully. "Oh, 'ang on. I'm forgettin' somethin'." He winked at Alley. "'Allo. I'm th' Doctor. Mebbe. An' it's a lovely night fer football, ain't it?" With that, he kicked Langely in the head again. "Tosser."

[Allison Castiel]

She couldn't see properly, the cell was too murky. The mists of GK-50 shifted and swirled, giving her tortured glimpse of the rags of flesh that were all that were left of Jack Harkness, interspersed with splashes of scarlet blood and scattered white larvae corpses. But to her distress, she couldn't see what had happened to Rob.

Then, all of a sudden, he was there on the other side of the door, looking none the worse for wear, apart from his reddened, streaming eyes.

"'Allo, Alley," he grinned. "This stuff don't half stink, does it?"

Coughing more, he staggered towards the door and pushed it open, dragging a cylinder of GK-50 behind him.

"ROB!” Without a second thought, she flung her arms around him and gave him a fierce, admonishing hug. Jem might have eyes only for Jack, but Allie was more concerned about Rob. “I thought you were... how did you even...?”

She didn't bother to finish the question, just hugged him even harder. He was a Time Lord, after all. A human could never have survived the toxic cloud of concentrated GK-50. Quickly, Jem slammed the door shut behind him, once more trapping the chemical gas inside the cell.

"See, there's lessons in this for you all. First one, you've got the materials at hand to do things for yourself - so stop waiting around fer someone else to save you." He gestured back at the cell. "Any one o' you could've done what I just did, after all." He gave Jem another hard look. "So don't go an' tell me how I don't know you."

“What you just did was blatant insubordination,” the woman snarled back, almost trembling with fury. “So here's a lesson from me to you!” She snapped her fingers at Langley. “Kill him!”

He stared at her, then suddenly spun and heaved the cylinder. It sailed through the air to catch Langley in the chest, smashing him into the wall. Rob sprinted across the room faster than anyone would have expected, catching the man in the head with the toe of his boot as he snatched the man's rifle away. Langley gasped in pain, trying to stand up, and Rob stamped his bootheel down hard on the man's face.

Unprepared for Rob to move so quickly, Allie reeled backwards in shock. He was preternaturally fast – Langley hadn't even had a chance to raise his weapon, let alone defend himself. The fight was over before it even began.

Shouting something, Jem went for her pistol. As it came up, Rob spun and raised the rifle. Two shots thundered out in the basement, and Jem cried out in pain as her pistol shattered and flew from her hand. "Now, I don't think I'm a violent man," he said, kicking Langely hard in the head once more, "but I'm really tired of your attitude, Jem. I weren't doin' nuffin' that called fer you to threaten to kill people, unless maybe me very presence threatens your little power trip here. So here's what we're gonna do."

Casually, he tossed the rifle to Danny. "You're gonna tell the rest o' your bully-boys upstairs to piss off. And we're gonna watch Jack there recover. And then I'm gonna get back to work savin' yer bloody planet."

Grinning, Danny caught the gun deftly, swinging it around to cover Richter, who was hurrying down the stairs in response to the gunshots. “Don't even think about it, sunshine. Drop the weapon, and kick it over to Allie. NOW!”

Seeing Langley crumpled and groaning on the floor, and Jem disarmed and impotent, Richter didn't hesitate. He did exactly as he was told, sending his pistol skimming across the ground towards the blonde girl. Bending, she retrieved it and tucked it into her belt. There had once been a time when guns had frightened her. Now, they were an essential tool of survival. Which in her opinion, really said a lot about what the world had become.

Without being told, Richter dropped to his knees beside Langley, his hands on his head, in a gesture of surrender. Jem glared at them both contemptuously.

“You looking for more of what you already got, Langley?” Danny couldn't resist jeering, using the exact words the fallen man had thrown at him earlier. Even if the orders had originally come from Jem, most of his broken ribs were down to Langley, and a bit of revenge went a long way to making them feel a whole lot better. “'Cuz there's plenty more where that came from.”

Langley groaned, and Rob eyed him thoughtfully. "Oh, 'ang on. I'm forgettin' somethin'." He winked at Alley. "'Allo. I'm th' Doctor. Mebbe. An' it's a lovely night fer football, ain't it?" With that, he kicked Langley in the head again. "Tosser."

Allie wished she could feel sorry for Langley, but she didn't. The man had hurt Danny and threatened to kill both her and Rob. He deserved everything he was getting right now. True, she couldn't remember the Doctor ever being this overtly violent in his approach. But in dealing with violent men, in a violent world, she had to admit, Rob's tactics were admirably effective.

At that moment, a siren began to wail from above them in Jem's office, making Allie nearly jump out of her skin.  Flashes of ruby-coloured light strobed down the staircase, illuminating the darkness of the underground room.

“That's a Code Red,” Jem said harshly. “It means there are Raiders attacking the settlement. You're in charge now, Doctor. What do you intend to do about it?”

"Rob," Danny said, catching the other man by the arm, his tone low and urgent.  "If you have somewhere you need to be, now would be a good time to get away, under cover of the fighting.  We can raid Jem's office for all the supplies we need, take the ATV.  Leave her here to defend the settlement.  It's what she does best - killing people."