Title: Illusion
Summary: With Audrey not being Audrey anymore, and Duke quickly running out time, his new Trouble growing progressively worse, they need to find a way to make things back the way they were before anyone got hurt. My take of the events of Season 5.
Characters: All characters that made it through Season 4, mentions of the deceased/killed/etc.
Spoilers: Season 4, episodes 1-22.
Timeline: this story starts right where the Season 4 finale ended – at the lighthouse, right after William was sent through the door and after Audrey became Mara again.
Disclaimer: Not mine, never were, never will be – sadly. All characters belong to SyFy and their original creators.
Author's Note: A girls' gotta survive during the hellatus somehow, right? I know that my ideas will most likely have nothing to do with what the show-runners have in mind, but I like playing with them anyway. Fair warning – even though it is supposed to be a general Season 5 story, it'll be primarily Duke-centered with the other characters being a bit on the side lines. Thought I'd let you guys know :) I'm trying to keep the summary as spoiler-free as possible though, so… you'll have to read and see how it ends for all of them.
The title comes from the song "Illusion" by VNV Nation, which inspired the story.
Prologue
It was happening too fast. The energy, whatever it was, rushed out of the door, flooding every cell of Jennifer's body. Voices - hundreds, thousands of them, were screaming in her head, all at once, louder and louder with every moment. So many of them, trying to outshout each other. She couldn't make out a single word but she could feel their fear, and panic, and desperate need to be heard. Everything they were feeling – every single one of them – was coursing through Jennifer's veins, pounding in her temples, fighting to break free.
She couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't… couldn't bear being alive. It was as if her body was falling to atoms, torn apart from the inside by the force and power far beyond her control and comprehension.
As the door closed at last, shutting behind William, her fingers flexed on the book, and Jennifer staggered backwards. It was too much. An overload she knew she couldn't handle.
She felt Duke's arms close around her just as her knees buckled, unable to hold the weight of her body anymore. Through the cacophony in her mind, Jennifer heard his voice calling for her, growing more and more panicky, scared and desperate. The loudest and the clearest sound of them all, and yet somehow muffled nonetheless, distant, surreal. As if he was miles away. As if he was just a dream, a figment of her imagination. And she was scared too. God, she was so horrified she couldn't fathom it.
Jennifer struggled to do something, say something, but the wave of lead-heavy exhaustion rolled over her, sucking her into the depths of something deep and dark and endless. In the back of her mind, she heard herself muttering something, clinging desperately to whatever reality she could hold on to, even though it was slipping way fast.
Something was wrong. Something was terribly, terribly wrong. Jennifer struggled to keep her eyes on Duke's face hovering over her, but her vision blurred and faded. And then the world zoomed in on her, and everything went black.
"Now, who's going to help me get William back?"
Nathan watched the woman – Audrey?... Mara? – circle the room, looking at them in turns, her eyes narrowed, steel-hard and ice-cold. The eyes of predator.
She looked like Audrey, sounded like Audrey, even moved like Audrey in a way, but she was someone else entirely. He could feel it with everything that he was. Whoever she was, whatever she was, she was no Audrey Parker anymore, and it felt like having a limb cut off. Something was missing, and it hurt just as much.
With his heart pounding, Nathan followed her with his gaze, tense and alert, his mind reeling.
It was a mistake. Fools, they made the biggest mistake, and there was no going back now. No undoing.
Of course. God, of course! It wasn't just his trouble backfiring somehow, although that wouldn't surprise Duke in the least. But what William said… it made so much sense. Not that it ever crossed his mind, but an explanation that simple made him feel stupid. It was a curse after all, not a gift or a blessing like Wade so foolishly assumed. Getting it back had to have come with a price. And he, of all people, should've thought about it.
Duke's heart sunk and plummeted down into his stomach as his fingers flexed around Jennifer's cold hand, his mind working a mile per second. It scared him, it scared him so much to even begin to think about what was going on with his body right now. He didn't just feel bad. He could literary feel himself fall to pieces. There was something bad, something really bad growing inside of him. All of the Troubles the Crocker curse killed in God knows how many years. Duke could feel them trying to get out, break free, escape his body which didn't seem to be able to contain them all.
Not that it mattered right now. It would have to wait until later.
He turned and looked at Jennifer, her form frighteningly still on the cold stone floor, her face pale and lifeless. He needed to get her out of there. Hold on. Please hold on, he begged in his mind.
Except he couldn't do it. He couldn't do anything. His heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was trying to break out of his chest. His head throbbed so bad he could see black spot dancing before his eyes, blood drumming in his ears, in his temples. There was a crimson shade to the world around him, his vision blurring and fading in and out of focus.
Instinctively, Duke reached for the rocky wall to steady himself when the room started spinning around him, walls and floor unsteady and swaying, the rush of blood in his ears making it impossible to think. His hand missed the wall and he fumbled awkwardly in order not to fall, squeezing his eyes for a few moments to try and bring the world back into place. It was terrifying. God, he'd never been more scared in his life. Screw the Troubles, screw Mara or whoever she was. Nothing was as horrifying as knowing that he was physically incapable of doing anything, of helping Jennifer… So damn helpless! He couldn't even hear what was going on around him, for Christ's sake!
"I'm going to take this," the voice, both familiar and utterly alien burst into Duke's mind, and a shadow fell over him when Audrey—Mara bent down, reaching for the book clutched in Jennifer's still fingers.
Reaching out with one hand for Jennifer – an instinct to protect her, to make sure she was okay – Duke started turning slowly to Nathan and whoever was wearing Audrey's skin, but then his heartbeat escalated, and his headache grew so strong it felt like his head was about to explode any moment. Mara said something, something he couldn't quite hear, and the world slipped out of Duke's grasp. The last thing he remembered was a wave of chill wash over his body, the kind of sensation one would get after jumping from the dock into the ocean, and he couldn't help but wonder in the back of his mind if he was going to drown…
Mara disregarded him entirely as if Duke wasn't even there. Sensing the movement behind her back, she whipped around pinning Nathan to a spot with a heavy glare. "Don't you dare," she spat almost with resentment before snatching the book from Jennifer's grasp.
And then… and then something weird happen.
Before anyone had time to so much as blink, Mara's fingers brushed against the cover of the book. And the moment she touched it, there was a spark, blindingly bright, something cracked loudly, and then Mara was flying across the room, pushed by some unseen force.
She hit the wall and collapsed to the floor in a heap.
Chapter 1
Without hesitation, Nathan rushed towards her. "Check on Duke," he told Dwight over his shoulder, kneeling beside Audrey. He reached for her neck and heaved a sigh of relief when his fingers found the flutter of her pulse, strong and steady.
Dwight threw an uncertain look at Dave, torn for a moment, but Vince standing on the other side of his brother nodded solemnly and Dwight let go of the older man's arm and hurried over towards Duke and Jennifer.
"He's out cold," he called out after checking Duke's vitals. "But he's alive."
Nathan's hand closed around Audrey's. He looked briefly at Dwight. "Jennifer?"
Dwight shook his head.
No.
Nathan pinched the bridge of his nose. How was it even possible that all this was happening?
"We need to get them out of here," he said, his voice thick, before scooping Audrey – whoever she was – in his arms.
Without a word Dwight draped Duke's arm over his neck, hoisting the other man up to his feet as best he could! He hesitated then, looking down at Jennifer, before Vince stepped forward.
"I'll get her."
Both Nathan and Dwight glanced briefly at each other.
"No," Dwight shook his head. His gaze fixed briefly on Dave before shifting to Vince. "Help Dave. I'll get her in just a moment." He followed Nathan towards the ladder and the trap door leading outside.
"Uncuff me," Dave pleaded in a small miserable voice, his eyes darting between his brother and Dwight in panic. "You've got to uncuff me."
"No," Nathan's voice cut through doubt and tension before Dwight could so much as open his mouth. "Not until we figure out what just happened," he said firmly in a voice that allowed no argument.
For a moment, it looked like Vince would protest but he clammed his mouth shut and pursed his lips, torn but not daring to protest.
"Nathan—" Dwight started once they were all gathered by their cars, the sun inching steadily towards the horizon, plunging everything in indigo shadows.
With Audrey locked in the back of Nathan's car and Duke positioned safely in the back of Dwight's, the two of them started walking towards the Teagues brothers standing quietly by Vince's Cadillac, Dave's hands still held together by the cuffs, both of them visibly edgy and uncertain, obviously reluctant to think of Jennifer's lifeless body lying on the bench seat in the back, among other things.
"I know," Nathan said in a strained voice.
There were decisions to be made, and he wasn't all that sure he could think clear enough to be responsible for them. Hell, the only thing he needed right now was to not think for a few hours, period. Stop it. Stop the buzz of thoughts and questions without answers and all his fears that were tearing him apart from the inside. He needed his mind to go numb, if only for a little while so that he could stop thinking, stop being for that matter.
Except it wasn't how it worked. Shocker.
Nathan stopped a good ten feet from the Teagues, making Dwight skid to a halt as well.
"I'll lock her up, at the station," he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "At least… at least for the night."
Dwight nodded curtly. "I'm taking Duke to the hospital."
"Yeah, that's—that's a good idea. Whatever it is that's going on with him, they can at least deal with the physical effect of it."
Dwight frowned, considering his words. "You think it's true? What Audrey said. You think Duke's—" he cut himself off, not quite able to finish the sentence.
"I don't know," Nathan looked over his shoulder at Dwight's car. "I hope…" He cleared his throat. "I hope not." He sucked in a breath. "I'm not sure we can trust whatever she says."
Which was, by far, the most painful think to try and absorb. He couldn't remember a single moment of not being able to trust Audrey. Whatever was going on between them, whatever issues they had, he always knew he could trust Audrey with his life. Until now. It felt weird. Almost painful even, like some kind of black hole sucking him in. He felt alien in this world he no longer understood.
They started towards the Teagues again. "And what about…" Dwight winced a little. "What about Jennifer?" His voice dropped a little when her name left his lips.
"There's a back room at the Herald," Vince spoke quietly. "We can… I can…"
Nathan nodded, then fixed his gaze on Dave who shrunk visibly under his scrutiny. "Dave, you're coming with me."
"What?" Vince frowned.
"No," Dave stepped back although he clearly was in no condition to go any kind of escape.
"Nathan," Vince started.
"I need to talk to him," Nathan cut him off, addressing no one in particular. "I need to know everything he knows about the door."
Dave tensed at the mention of the door, as if he'd somehow forgotten all about it at least for a little while. As if he actually thought that they might put it behind them now that it was all over and never mention it again. As if after being closed, the door ceased to exist. And then here they were again, with Nathan smacking it right back in his face, and it was almost too much for him to take. Dave's eyes darted in panic between Nathan and his car parked twenty feet away, and his lips quivered a little.
The gun he'd used earlier – Duke's gun – was safely out of his reach, and all things considered, Dave wasn't stupid enough to assume he'd make a run for it even if he had it in him to try, what with him being so exhausted it was a miracle he could still stand on his feet.
"Is that really necessary? Now?" Vince's question was unsure and hesitant. "He's injured—"
This was one of those rare moments when he was on shaky ground, not knowing what was the right thing to do, his loyalty torn. For the first time ever, he didn't know if he could trust his brother enough to take his side without questioning his motives and reasons.
On the one hand, he knew better than anyone how important it was to learn as much as they possibly could about William and the door and the other worlds. Not just important but pretty much vital for each and every one of them.
On the other… on the other, Dave was his brother, by blood or not. Whatever their issues were, Vince cared about Dave more than anyone else in the world. Anyone or anything, for that matter.
The only problem was, Nathan didn't care about any of that, not by a long shot. What he did care about was that he really needed to figure out what the hell was going on with Audrey and all of them.
"He's right." Dwight spoke. "The bullet went through but he's bleeding pretty bad, and he needs to go to the hospital. You go take Audrey to the Haven PD," he offered as a compromise. "I'll drop Duke at the hospital, and then bring Dave over once he's taken care of."
Torn for a moment, Nathan considered his words, and then nodded reluctantly. Dwight was right after all. Dave was, in fact, in need of medical help, the blood spot on his shoulder spreading fast and not looking good at all. Even if the bullet going through, it didn't mean anything.
His gaze went to Dave and then fixed on Vince. "Don't try to pull anything stupid, you two."
"They won't," Dwight promised before either of the Teagues had a chance to respond. "They won't." He gave each of them a hard look before turning to Nathan. "Go."
To be continued…
Author's note: Hey, you made it this far! Thanks!
I know this chapter was a bit on the short side now, but it's just a start so… Stay tuned!
*Feedback is always appreciated (: