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Fandomweekly Challenge 228 - Forgive, not punish
Title: Forgive, not punish
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto, Gwen, Tosh, Owen
Author: m_findlow
Rating: M
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: Spoilers for audiobook “In the shadows”
Author notes: Written for Challenge 228 - Deity at![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomweekly
Characters: Ianto, Gwen, Tosh, Owen
Author: m_findlow
Rating: M
Length: 1,000 words
Content notes: Spoilers for audiobook “In the shadows”
Author notes: Written for Challenge 228 - Deity at
fandomweeklySummary: Ianto is the only one who believes there’s a way Jack can be saved.
Jack was gone. The reality of it all began to finally sink in as the four of them sat around the boardroom table, silent and uncertain what to do next.
It had all happened so fast. One second Jack had been there, alive and whole and his usual undeterred self. Then the taxi driver, Jefferson, had pulled the small box of matches from his coat pocket, slowly pushed his finger against the side, forcing the little box to reveal its inner contents, picked out a single match and then his eyes had risen again to meet Jack’s. A venomous smile lit up the tax driver’s face as he held the match against the side of the box. He struck the match and quietly – as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear the words – said “go to hell”. A thick black shadow emerged from the tiny matchbox, surged forward and enveloped Jack in a writhing, screaming agony. And then Jack was gone. Sent to hell just like the victims had done before him. He simply ceased to exist.
The taxi driver was down in the cells, locked up and just sitting there doing nothing and saying nothing. All he did was sit there with a beatific smile on his face. That smile made Ianto’s skin crawl. He wanted to know where Jack was and what Jefferson had done with him. He didn't realise he’d spoken the words aloud until the man looked back at him, staring through into his soul. The last words from him before Gwen had slammed the cell door shut were “I’ve cleansed the world of sin.”
‘He said he’d sent Jack to hell,’ Gwen said.
Owen sighed. ‘Okay, but that’s not helpful. Where is this hell place? It is a place, right? Not just some figurative crap about death’. Of course death was part of it. The other two victims had turned up exactly where they’d been taken, only there was nothing left of them but emaciated skeletons. Wherever they'd been, it was long enough to survive to old age before perishing down to nothing but bones.
‘Jack can’t die,’ Ianto muttered, unable to touch his coffee lest he throw it straight back up. ‘Nothing can kill him. He’s going to spend the rest of eternity in hell.’
Nobody said anything. Nobody even so much as moved a muscle, let alone would meet his eye and admit the truth of what he’d said. He was going to be trapped in that place forever.
Hell. It conjured up all kinds of images that frightened Ianto. Darkness and fire, heat and black smog. Hell was the place beyond forgiveness where one could be tormented by their sins. That was the place Jefferson had sent Jack, not just until he died of old age like the others, but forever.
He accompanied Gwen to talk to the man, to understand what he’d done. In the end, it hadn’t brought him any comfort. Jefferson believed he was a servant of God, punishing the wicked. Jefferson didn’t believe in forgiveness. He told Jefferson God said sinners should be forgiven, not punished. That’s when the thought occurred to him. There was a way to get Jack back. It had nothing to do with Tosh’s science or Huon particles or temporal travel. All he had to do was go to the same place where Jefferson had sent Jack and then forgive Jack his sins. The forgiven couldn't exist in hell; they’d have to send Jack back.
He was up and out of his chair before Gwen even realised what he was thinking. He could hear her begin shouting at him but it was no use. He knew what he had to do.
He’d given up on God for a long while and he knew he’d been punished for it. He hadn’t prayed when his dad was sick and he’d died; he hadn’t prayed hard enough when his mum had become sick either and she was gone now too. If he’d been a better believer and done the things he should have, then none of it might have happened. Instead he’d been wrapped up in his own little world, too busy worrying about himself.
He’d sinned so much in his short life — taken God’s name in vain more times than he could count, never attended service let alone spared a day in his week for worship or prayer, hadn't done enough to honour his parents and the sacrifices they’d made for him. He’d been adulterous, coveted and stolen. Worst of all, he’d killed; more than once. He was the most shameful of sinners and rightly deserved his place in hell because of it.
He knew that as soon as he pushed open that box of matches, the darkness within would come for him. He didn’t need anyone else to direct them to his wickedness. It was there for anyone to see. There was no coming back from this, no matter how much the team tried to stop him or talk him out of it. Hell was real and he knew that if he could find his way there, using the matches, he’d be able to find Jack and forgive him. He could save Jack by giving him the one thing no one else could.
Of course, Ianto also knew that this was a one way trip for him. Once he forgave Jack and sent him back to where he was needed, Ianto would be there alone. No one was coming to forgive him because he didn’t deserve forgiveness, but he could do this one thing for Jack and save his soul. It was a price worth paying to know that Jack wouldn't have to suffer for an eternity. Ianto might have to endure decades of torment before he finally died, but it was a brief candle compared to Jack's long life. He belonged in God’s hell for the things he’d done.
He snatched the box of matches from Owen and opened them.
Forgive, not punish.
Jack was gone. The reality of it all began to finally sink in as the four of them sat around the boardroom table, silent and uncertain what to do next.
It had all happened so fast. One second Jack had been there, alive and whole and his usual undeterred self. Then the taxi driver, Jefferson, had pulled the small box of matches from his coat pocket, slowly pushed his finger against the side, forcing the little box to reveal its inner contents, picked out a single match and then his eyes had risen again to meet Jack’s. A venomous smile lit up the tax driver’s face as he held the match against the side of the box. He struck the match and quietly – as if he didn’t want anyone else to hear the words – said “go to hell”. A thick black shadow emerged from the tiny matchbox, surged forward and enveloped Jack in a writhing, screaming agony. And then Jack was gone. Sent to hell just like the victims had done before him. He simply ceased to exist.
The taxi driver was down in the cells, locked up and just sitting there doing nothing and saying nothing. All he did was sit there with a beatific smile on his face. That smile made Ianto’s skin crawl. He wanted to know where Jack was and what Jefferson had done with him. He didn't realise he’d spoken the words aloud until the man looked back at him, staring through into his soul. The last words from him before Gwen had slammed the cell door shut were “I’ve cleansed the world of sin.”
‘He said he’d sent Jack to hell,’ Gwen said.
Owen sighed. ‘Okay, but that’s not helpful. Where is this hell place? It is a place, right? Not just some figurative crap about death’. Of course death was part of it. The other two victims had turned up exactly where they’d been taken, only there was nothing left of them but emaciated skeletons. Wherever they'd been, it was long enough to survive to old age before perishing down to nothing but bones.
‘Jack can’t die,’ Ianto muttered, unable to touch his coffee lest he throw it straight back up. ‘Nothing can kill him. He’s going to spend the rest of eternity in hell.’
Nobody said anything. Nobody even so much as moved a muscle, let alone would meet his eye and admit the truth of what he’d said. He was going to be trapped in that place forever.
Hell. It conjured up all kinds of images that frightened Ianto. Darkness and fire, heat and black smog. Hell was the place beyond forgiveness where one could be tormented by their sins. That was the place Jefferson had sent Jack, not just until he died of old age like the others, but forever.
He accompanied Gwen to talk to the man, to understand what he’d done. In the end, it hadn’t brought him any comfort. Jefferson believed he was a servant of God, punishing the wicked. Jefferson didn’t believe in forgiveness. He told Jefferson God said sinners should be forgiven, not punished. That’s when the thought occurred to him. There was a way to get Jack back. It had nothing to do with Tosh’s science or Huon particles or temporal travel. All he had to do was go to the same place where Jefferson had sent Jack and then forgive Jack his sins. The forgiven couldn't exist in hell; they’d have to send Jack back.
He was up and out of his chair before Gwen even realised what he was thinking. He could hear her begin shouting at him but it was no use. He knew what he had to do.
He’d given up on God for a long while and he knew he’d been punished for it. He hadn’t prayed when his dad was sick and he’d died; he hadn’t prayed hard enough when his mum had become sick either and she was gone now too. If he’d been a better believer and done the things he should have, then none of it might have happened. Instead he’d been wrapped up in his own little world, too busy worrying about himself.
He’d sinned so much in his short life — taken God’s name in vain more times than he could count, never attended service let alone spared a day in his week for worship or prayer, hadn't done enough to honour his parents and the sacrifices they’d made for him. He’d been adulterous, coveted and stolen. Worst of all, he’d killed; more than once. He was the most shameful of sinners and rightly deserved his place in hell because of it.
He knew that as soon as he pushed open that box of matches, the darkness within would come for him. He didn’t need anyone else to direct them to his wickedness. It was there for anyone to see. There was no coming back from this, no matter how much the team tried to stop him or talk him out of it. Hell was real and he knew that if he could find his way there, using the matches, he’d be able to find Jack and forgive him. He could save Jack by giving him the one thing no one else could.
Of course, Ianto also knew that this was a one way trip for him. Once he forgave Jack and sent him back to where he was needed, Ianto would be there alone. No one was coming to forgive him because he didn’t deserve forgiveness, but he could do this one thing for Jack and save his soul. It was a price worth paying to know that Jack wouldn't have to suffer for an eternity. Ianto might have to endure decades of torment before he finally died, but it was a brief candle compared to Jack's long life. He belonged in God’s hell for the things he’d done.
He snatched the box of matches from Owen and opened them.
Forgive, not punish.