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Ianto Jones (notjusta_teaboy) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2011-09-24 02:09:00

Entry tags:

ianto jones, jack harkness, rose tyler

Backdated prior to September 24th.

Who: Ianto Jones, Jack Harkness, Rose Tyler
What: Arrival in the library
Where: In the library and outside it, then Rose's house
When: Prior to September 24th
Status: In progress

Ianto woke up lying on a cold marble floor. He could feel the stiffness in his muscles as he pushed himself into a sitting position; he must have been here awhile. He got to his feet, patting his pockets. Wallet, cell phone, keys...He pulled out his phone. No reception. Well, that wasn't surprising, he could be anywhere, in any time. The Rift wasn't picky. It did seem to have an unnatural attraction to him, though. At least he had his memory this time, as far as he could tell.

The room he was in was cool and silent, with shelves built into the walls. Shelves full of books. A library, then, and a very nice one from the looks of it. He spied a door on the other side of the room and started towards it, and something skittered across the floor as his foot connected with it. He bent down to pick it up. Some kind of PDA, apparently, although the design was slightly unfamiliar. It appeared to have power, which was more than his phone did at the moment. He briefly considered that it might be a bomb or a tracking device or something else he didn't want to pick up and carry around. But it wasn't like he had been kidnapped; the Rift acted at random. No one was trying to hurt him. He slipped it into his pocket.

He walked through the library, every sense alert for a sign of danger. Or even another person. Libraries were supposed to be quiet, he knew, but this was bordering on eerie. There were no signs that he could see, either, in any language. He went over to one of the shelves and pulled down one of the books, flipping through the pages. Blank. He pulled down the next one to find it the exact same way. And the next. The next. As many as he cared to check. Now this was really starting to worry him.

He made his way to what appeared to be some kind of central rotunda, decorated with suits of armour on plinths. Even here, the place seemed deserted. Suddenly, a soft scraping sound broke the silence. He turned, his heart leaping into his throat as two of the suits of armour stepped down from their plinths and made their way toward him. Not menacingly, and they didn't have weapons, but they were deliberate and looked heavy. “Hello?” he tried. Nothing.

He took a few steps backwards, then to the side. They followed him, not changing their pace. He was sure he could outrun them, but what purpose would that serve? He could tell the place was huge, and he could just end up wandering aimlessly. The things stopped a few feet from him. One pointed towards the door he had entered the rotunda through, and both started walking again. After a few steps, they stopped, and turned to look at him. He took a step closer. They continued.

Well, they certainly weren't threatening, although they were disturbing. Still, he followed, even more on edge than before, if possible. The clank of metal armour on the marble floor echoed loudly in the stillness.

After walking for what seemed like miles, because, he knew, it probably was, they arrived at a huge set of double doors, easily four times his height, although they opened without a whisper at his slightest touch. He could see the sunlight beyond, eager to be out of this place. It could be more dangerous out there, but a person trying to hurt him might also be a person not trying to hurt him and there were clearly no people inside. He made his way through the door and down the steps, on to the street. The doors shut behind him as silently as they had opened.

He found himself in what appeared to be a fairly sizable city. Unfortunately, he didn't know nearly enough about architecture to try and learn anything from the buildings around him. The air was warm and definitely breathable, and the sky was blue, which was reassuring if not significant.

There was no one in the street, at least not as far as he could see, but the city did not feel empty in the way the library had. Information was what he needed, though, and he had just left one of the most likely places to find it. That meant people.

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	notjusta_teaboy 2011-09-24 07:19 am UTC (link)
	The thought that it might not be his Jack never crossed his mind. It was Jack and he was here and that made life better automatically. He ran towards Jack as well, eager for a familiar face. And a familiar hug. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timeaftertime 2011-09-24 07:22 am UTC (link)
	He had to sort of skid on pavement trying not to just crash into Ianto with his momentum. It definitely wasn't dignified, but as soon as he got to Ianto, he hugged him tightly and breathed in his scent. "Ianto." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2011-09-24 07:38 am UTC (link)
	He made a small sound and threw his arms around Jack, not minding the near collision. "Oh cariad." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timeaftertime 2011-09-24 07:39 am UTC (link)
	"It's been over a month, I didn't know if you'd get here, missed you so much--" He would've rambled more, but seeing as it had been over a month, one of the first things on his agenda was kissing the hell out of Ianto first. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2011-09-24 07:57 am UTC (link)
	A month?! Clearly they had things to discuss. But first...He pressed deeply into the kiss, clinging to Jack. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timeaftertime 2011-09-24 08:00 am UTC (link)
	He spent a good while just kissing Ianto, hands touching Ianto's face and hair, before finally breaking. He didn't let go, though. Definitely be needing lots of physical contact for the duration. "I don't know how you did six months before." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2011-09-24 08:22 am UTC (link)
	Not that it had been as long for him as it had been for Jack, but he still loved the touch, sinking into it. He looked at Jack, expression a bit sad. "Wasn't really given a choice, was I?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timeaftertime 2011-09-24 08:29 am UTC (link)
	"No, neither of us were. At least in this place, people have figured out a little more. Another good ol' kidnapping across realities. How long has it been for you?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notjusta_teaboy 2011-09-24 08:50 am UTC (link)
	"A kidnapping? You mean someone's doing this on purpose? I thought it was just the Rift...And there are more people?" Well, obviously someone had built this entire city. "No time. I woke up here." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

timeaftertime
2011-09-24 04:16 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah." He nodded, and kept an arm around Ianto as he went to reach for his PDA... which, of course, he had left on the library steps with the groceries, whoops. So he gestured that way instead.

"I was going to show you, one of the girls who got kidnapped compiled a bunch of info about this. There are dozens of others-- and I don't know, maybe hundreds over time. People get brought in, other people disappear. I thought it was the Rift, too, but then I started looking online and comparing to what happened with Margate... Maybe we get pulled through the Rift, or it's transmat... I'm not sure how the guy's doing it."

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notjusta_teaboy
2011-09-25 03:37 am UTC (link)

He stayed pressed close to Jack, heading back over to where Jack had left the bags he was carrying.

"Wait, so you think that maybe the Rift does things intentionally? Or that it's a tool of someone doing this intentionally. I guess that makes sense for us, this looks like...an okay place. But what about Flat Holm? Why would anyone take those people where they ended up?"

A thought suddenly occurred to him. Well, perhaps not occurred, but it was one he had set aside. "Jack, are we..." he had to make sure. "Are we sure we're from the same place? That we're the right versions for each other?" There had been other versions, he knew. "We're married, right? And you have a daughter, and a grandson?"

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timeaftertime
2011-09-25 04:09 am UTC (link)

He kept an arm around Ianto, likewise seeking the contact.

"I meant someone manipulating it, not some sort of... Rift consciousness, that's a disturbing thought. Remember the first time John arrived? He rode the Rift. But yeah, it's this guy calling himself 'Asaph'. I haven't encountered him, but just based on what he's done, he's a dick."

When Ianto brought that up, he stopped walking to make it easier. "Right, good to check that. There's been another version of us here before, another timeline. But you knew what I meant when I said Margate, yeah? You've got a younger sister, aaannnd..." He took Ianto's left hand with his own to compare-- matching rings. "Unless we have the same taste in rings across realities..."

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notjusta_teaboy
2011-09-25 04:51 am UTC (link)

He nodded. "That is disturbing. But at least with John, he was doing it to himself. For himself. I mean, he wanted to travel. Just reaching out and using the Rift to grab people, yeah, sounds like a dick to me."

He stopped when Jack did, turning to look at him. "Yes, a sister. And," he looked down at their joined hands. "I like to think that I'll always appreciate classic and understated, but yes. Can't imagine these matching up too often."

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timeaftertime
2011-09-25 04:55 am UTC (link)

"Some kind of kidnapping social experimenter. This is the only city on the planet, and there are people here that are... not quite right. I think he has them brainwashed, because they go about their lives, but they won't answer questions about him or this place."

He smiled, relieved, and leaned in to hold Ianto again. "Yeah, I would think they're pretty unique. The Doctor's here, but he's from another timeline, with another regeneration. And then there's a second one who's half-human, but if he's the same one we know, he's from an earlier point in time. Not sure. And Rose. So they knew the other versions. There's so much to tell you."

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notjusta_teaboy
2011-09-25 05:01 am UTC (link)

"On the planet? Then where does everything come from? The...the food, the raw materials to make things? You don't have farms or mines in a city."

He leaned in and just listened. "It always seems to get a bit confusing where he's involved, doesn't it? But it sounds like haven't been bored. Sorry you've been missing me, though." He looked around, then back at Jack. "So, do you have a....a house, or a flat, or something?"

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timeaftertime
2011-09-25 05:05 am UTC (link)

"I have no idea! I don't know if that dick generates the raw materials or what. There's a warehouse district, but I don't know where it imports from or... basically, how the hell the system works, it's baffling." And naturally, Ianto with his curiosity would want to know exactly how.

"It does, doesn't it?" He grinned; it wasn't a bad kind of confusing, really. It was the Doctor, even with the wibbly-wobbly timeline. "I never actually looked at whatever apartment I was assigned. We get a room assignment when we get here. But the Doctor-- the regenerated one-- invited me to live in his TARDIS, and I was living there, then Rose needed someone to stay with her, so I went over to her place."

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notjusta_teaboy
2011-09-25 05:19 am UTC (link)

"Has anyone tried to find out? Aren't there trucks, or trains, or something?" This was sounding far too much like the human zoo episode of Twilight Zone.

"We're assigned to live somewhere? How do we find out?" He nodded. "That is one of the nice things about the TARDIS, there's always room. Was your stuff still there?" He smiled. "Glad you get to spend more time with her. But...Do you think she'd let me stay, too? Or should we look somewhere else?"

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timeaftertime
2011-09-25 05:45 am UTC (link)

"No idea. Some people have been here years, though, so hopefully one of them thought to look into it. If not... something to do! If this guy wanted to observe people from other realities, couldn't he just make, I don't know, Spacebook?"

He picked up the grocery bags and his PDA from the ground, and showed the PDA to Ianto. "One of these, you got yours? Everyone gets one. Creepily preprogrammed to be owned by us, with network accounts and everything. There's a bit of other data in here already, where we've got a room waiting, bank account, that sort of thing. Oh, the TARDIS is totally different, too! It's like-- he regenerated and redecorated! They both look way different now. Her outsides, even, looks like a fresh paintjob and some more subtle changes. And, get this-- the TARDIS's consciousness got pulled out of the TARDIS and put into a human body, and she's here like that."

He lost track of the Rose question for a moment, going off about the TARDIS. "I'm glad, too. That was like... I even told her, her being here, that was like the one spot of good news, getting to see her and spend time with her right away. First place I went when I got here was out drinking with her, so I could focus on her instead of, y'know..." Moping, wallowing, or otherwise being a dull Jack boy. "She might want us to stay with her, so she won't be by herself. It's so new for her, the thought of living alone. We'll see. Might be a little awkward!"

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notjusta_teaboy
2011-09-25 06:41 pm UTC (link)

He laughed with that. "Spacebook? That's a new one. But yeah, you can study animals in the wild, you don't have to capture them in a zoo."

He took the PDA out of his pocket. "Is that what this is? I found it next to me. I didn't think anyone was trying to hurt me, but at the same time, picking up random alien tech and just starting to button mash usually ends badly." He turned it over in his hands. "So, does it have internet access, or how does it work? What does it do?" He sighed when he heard about the regeneration. "What, again? He's getting almost as careless as you." He blinked at the last sentence. "What? Wouldn't that be like...ripping someone's soul out of their body? How is she still alive?"

He saw the groceries and figured that Jack would be going back to wherever he was staying with Rose. "So there's nothing going on between you two, then?" He knew how Jack felt about Rose. Or at least had felt, at one point. Not that he minded if there was. He laughed. "Yeah, we've gotten past the point of being quiet, haven't we. Just too used to having the house to ourselves." He shifted a bit on his feet, as though almost nervous. "Can I come with you? To her house? If you don't think she'd mind?"

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timeaftertime
2011-09-25 07:14 pm UTC (link)

"It could happen! Probably will happen at some point-- oooo, we should jump on trademarking that early... What is with us and zoos?"

He nodded. "Yeah, no model I'm familiar with. Asaphberry? I've-been-kidnapped-Phone?" For a moment, he just remembered the troubles Torchwood'd had with button-mashing like that; the 'ghost machine', for instance, was a perfect example of button-mashing gone wrong. "It does. There's basically a copy of Earth's internet contents on it, and there's a small social network for we kidnappees to communicate, and some others that the local city folks use. But since there's nobody else in the world, there isn't a real world wide web going. So, you'll see LOLcats, but there won't be fresh new trolling comments on them."

Of course, he just had to laugh over the Doctor. "Yeah, it's really careless! He didn't give me many details of what happened to him. From what he said, though, we could already figure he's not from our timeline. Hell of a Christmas. Hmmm... zoos for us, Christmases for the Doctor... Yeah, it's a mystery how she's surviving. It's like the dying is on hold somehow while she's here, because she SHOULD just burn out the human body and leave her real body an empty shell. Yet here she is, call her 'Idris', and the TARDIS still travels around. It just can't LEAVE the planet. He's been exploring the planet itself, though." He smirked. "With a hot friend in tow."

"Between... oh!" He laughed again and gave Ianto a playful shoulder bump. "No, no, nothing going on. Years ago, when we met, ohhh yeah I bet there would've been. But we've-- mellowed, matured, something like that, into best friends without benefits." He grinned widely; Ianto and Jack were very much past that point, indeed. And that was one of the reasons that Jack could easily tell there were divergent timelines. He slung his arm around Ianto's shoulders for a squeeze. "Of course you can, cariad. She'll probably tease at the idea of us making lots of noise."

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notjusta_teaboy
2011-09-25 11:08 pm UTC (link)

"Not necessarily trademarking, but R&D? No one else has the access and technology that we do."

"But it works pretty much like that, though? The model isn't important?" He looked down at the PDA, then back to Jack. "So I'm basically sending a message to everyone in the city, even if I don't know them and they don't know me? That sounds awkward."

"Poor Doctor. He does so much, and gets so little in return." In spite of the seriousness, he couldn't help but laugh. "So she's a Welsh TARDIS, then? With a man's name?"

"Well, with you, I can never tell. Especially how you've talked about her No problem if there is." He sighed happily and snuggled in more. "We're not always noisy."

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timeaftertime
2011-09-25 11:09 pm UTC (link)

"Whatever could make us some money off the idea."

"Yep. And no jealousy over the latest gadgets, because we've all got the same one anyway." He thought about that, then shrugged. "All the other people kidnapped, yeah. Not the 'locals', as they get called. You can do private messaging and stuff, too, though." Ianto's job, out of necessity, made him familiar with various internet communications. He scoured blogs for people talking about genuine alien activity, for instance, and discredited or deleted material when appropriate.

He laughed harder at that; he hadn't even thought about what kind of name 'Idris' was. "Wow, uh, good question!"

"True, I'm me! And the changes in our relationship don't change that she's still hot and hilarious and Rose. But the undercurrent is different now. We flirt and know we aren't actually going to do anything about it, just fun. Okay, not always, but a lot of the time! We'd have to consciously keep it down."

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notjusta_teaboy
2011-09-25 11:25 pm UTC (link)

"Or benefit people. That's good too."

"So no upgrades here, then?" He looked askance at the device. "But I'm still just sending messages to everyone? Why would they care who I am? They don't know me, any more than I know them."

"Apparently."

"Well, you know, if you ever did want to do anything about it..." He nodded. "We would. But it seems like we could manage that, for ahwile at least."

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timeaftertime
2011-09-26 01:36 am UTC (link)

"What, be all altruistic? I guess we could do that!"

"Hrmm, actually, I haven't been here long enough to see if there's ever some city-wide upgrade done, or if there's a store where people do trade-ins or whatever. I just know all of us non-local kidnappees got identical devices." Jack could go on about how sure he is that people do care who Ianto is, because he's so interesting, but Ianto wasn't the type of person to think that of himself. "We're all in it together, so it's good to get to know your fellow inmates?"

"Good to know, even if we never put it in practice. Thank you. Rose is going through a rough patch, so I think she'll be glad for the company. If we can stay close to her after moving out, though, that'd be great, too."

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	notjusta_teaboy 2011-09-26 02:18 am UTC (link)
	"Certainly not a bad thing." "Well, I guess if it was just a software change, they could do it automatically. Since they've got it all programmed already." He nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right." "Yeah, I understand. It helps to have people around." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)