Chapter Five

~World Between Worlds~

Leaving Dark to suffer through whatever hell was in his head, Celine stepped out of the room. She roamed around the house for a few minutes, ending up in the tower. The view before her could be anything she wanted it to be, so it was no surprise that it was showing Mark's life.

Ever since he left, she had kept an eye on him. She was a little jealous, watching Mark and Amy grow back together over the months, but she had let him go because he couldn't have been happy here with her. He might have eventually, but he had had a life to get back to. And Amy was the most important thing.

Amy had almost been out of the picture, thanks to Dark, but also thanks to Dark, Mark and Amy had been reunited.

Celine broke out of her thoughts when she saw Mark and Amy on the phone, looking at each other worriedly. It didn't take her long to find out who they had been talking to. From their worried expressions, the answer should have been obvious:

Sam Winchester.

The Winchesters were hunters who had caused a lot of trouble for Dark. The two brothers were also a reason why Celine had been unable to woo Mark to her side completely. They had gotten to Mark by bringing up the possibility of Amy being in danger. Celine hadn't been able to get Mark to trust her after that.

But why were Mark and Amy talking to Sam now?

With little effort, her view changed to where Sam was now. She didn't really care where he was, but the papers on the table in front o him caught her attention. She stepped forward, the view zooming in. The symbols didn't mean anything to her, but what was written as the obvious translation did.

Get me out of the mirror.

The mirror? In Markiplier Manor? The mirror had been a doorway to another layer of this world, the World Between Worlds. And it was where she had Dark trapped now.

Celine turned and hurried down the stairs. She hadn't wanted a confrontation with Dark this early, but if he had sent that message to Sam, she was out of time. Why he would send a cry for help to Sam didn't make sense to her, but maybe he was tricking them into believing he was someone else.

But then her thoughts strayed to another someone who had been trapped in the mirror. But that was impossible. As far as she knew, they were long gone from this world, having found another way out of the mirror.

Celine sat down on the floor in front of Dark's unconscious form. She slowed her breathing and closed her eyes, focusing on that other layer. Her body relaxed and soon she was standing in the empty void.

She had expected to see both Dark and Damien as two separate entities like she had planned, but only one man stood before her now. And the look in his eyes told her this was Dark.

"Or Damien, whichever you prefer," he said, hearing her thoughts. Here, in this world, they were more in tune with each other. Like they had been when they had tricked the district attorney into handing over their body, essentially.

"You were tricked too, Celine," Dark said. "Are you finally tired of reminding me of that?"

The reason she was here was now the furthest thing from her mind. "Where's Damien?" she asked.

"Are you not listening?" Dark said. "I AM Damien. And I'm Dark. One and the same. You can't mess with my head here."

"I did for a time," Celine said. "I've already accepted the fact that the Damien I knew is gone."

"So you want something."

"If your vendetta against Mark is over, then yes."

"Then get what you want elsewhere."

"Then have fun in this hell of your making," Celine said then got back to why she was here. "What are you hoping to accomplish by sending messages to Sam Winchester?"

There was a flicker of something in his eyes that said this was his first time hearing this. He was about to use it against her. Which meant...

"I'm here alone," Dark said. "But thank you for letting me know there's another way out."

"You'll never find the mirror."

"Good thing I'm in no hurry."

Things were quickly slipping out of her control. "I'll let you out," she said, surprising herself for giving in so easily. "If you do something for me."

"What?"

"Give me my life back." If she left this World Between Worlds, she would be cursed to walk the earth as a ghost or be forced to cross over. She had been dead for quite a few years. Her body was gone.

"Why do you think I have the power to do that?"

"It's practically the same thing you did to Mark."

Dark pieced together where this was going. "You want to take over Amy's life," he said. "Are you really that pathetic? Doing anything just to get him?"

"You'd be free to leave here," Celine said. "And promise we'll never see each other again."

"Easy promise," Dark said. She could feel how ready he was to get rid of her. "After all, you've proven that he's not the Mark I'm looking for." He knew she thought differently, but hopefully he would still keep his promise.

"One other thing," Celine added. "Amy takes my place here, in the World Between Worlds. You can do what you want with her." She was a bit worried he would change his mind after that, but then he nodded.

"We have a deal," he said.


~Kansas~

"Any ideas on what the hell it means?" Dean asked. He glanced at Sam, but his full attention was on Castiel. He had been the one to translate it.

"Uh...someone is trapped...in a mirror," Castiel said. Dean rolled his eyes. He should have expected that answer.

"But is it Dark?" Dean asked. "Why would he ask for help? Especially from us?"

"Maybe it's not Dark," Sam said.

"Those symbols were the same ones Dark used at the hospital," Dean said. "The only other person it can possibly be is that psychobitch Dr. Bates."

"Dark killed her."

"No one stays dead, Sammy," Dean said. "The only time they stay dead is if we want them alive."

"Okay, then maybe it's Dr. Bates," Sam said. "She's the one who tattooed the symbols on the patients. But even as a ghost, would it be possible for her to find out who we are? We didn't have that much contact with her and we used fake names."

"You did steal all of her research on Dark," Dean said. "Maybe she just followed that."

"We'll keep it under consideration," Castiel said. He looked at Sam. "If it is Dr. Bates, she might have something in her research about a mirror."

"There's a lot of lore about people getting trapped in mirrors or using mirrors," Sam said. "We might end up chasing dead ends and if Dark really is back, we don't have time for that."

"You mentioned that Mark started having dreams," Dean said. Sam nodded his head. "If this is all connected, and there's nothing that proves it's not, his dreams could explain the mirror."

"Are you suggesting we run a sleep test on Mark?"

"Essentially, yeah," Dean said, nodding. "If Dark's back, Mark will be his ultimate target so we can be there when and if he shows." He got to his feet.

"But what about the plan to get mom and Jack?"

Dean hesitated for a moment, but this was happening now. "If Dark's back, he might be a way to open the rift to the apocalypse world," he said. It had been the reason Asmodeus had been after Dark. It hadn't been confirmed whether or not Dark could open a rift, but he was able to open portals to other worlds through the World Between Worlds. "Mark and Amy could be in danger. It just makes sense to go."

Neither Sam nor Cas said anything. Dean gestured for them to follow then left.