Hi everyone! Here's the chapter in the future! This is for you SamuraiJack!

And welcome to Greekgirrl who's my new beta! Thanks again to my first two betas, we did a good collaboration. Greekgirrl, I hope we'll do the same!


Back to the future

The portal opened in Hope Plaza the moment Lucas had opened it in the jungle. The building had been rebuilt according to Charles' instructions. Fortunately for Lucas, Alexandra had drawn him a map before her condition worsened. When he arrived, he landed just where he had predicted: a room in the basement, away from the world, isolated, ideal for opening a gate without being noticed.

He took a deep breath in reflexively and the dusty air burnt his throat. Even here, in the dome, the air was toxic to him. Nothing compared to Terra Nova. He coughed many times before his lungs accepted the transition. Lucas looked around him and found the closet Alexandra had told him about. He broke the padlock and opened the door on the piece of furniture. Inside, he grabbed a uniform and disguised himself in a guard.

Lucas quietly opened the door that led to a narrow corridor and took the staircase that was at the end. At the top of it, he found himself at a large dock where a lot of people were pacing from place to place. It was crowded with soldiers and scientists. Through the glass of the dome, Lucas could see how dark and dirty the outside was. This world seemed worse than he remembered. Even the scientists had not predicted that the Earth would die so quickly. Alexandra had been right when she had told them that soon it would be the end.

Lucas lowered the visor of his cap to further hide his face and walked into the arena, ready for his mission. First of all, he had to find Sean. His lab was on the fifth floor, number 455. He headed to the elevator at the end of the dock and entered in as many people did the same. Once he was at the right floor, he tried to blend in with the group of people that walked out of the elevator and went unnoticed to the lab.

He entered the room silently and locked the door behind him. The room was very simple. A desk, a computer and some files. Lucas reached the desk, reading the papers that were at the top of a pile.

"Hey, what are you doing here? It's a restricted area!" A male voice warned him.

"Sean Harris?" Lucas asked, without looking at the man standing behind him, his fingers still lingering on the files on the desk.

"Yeah. And you are?"

Lucas turned his face to look at him, his gaze hard.

"Do I really need to answer?"

Sean froze at the sight of the man in front of him. And also at the gun that was aimed in his direction.

"You're Lucas Taylor," he gulped.

"Well, that's something I won't have to persuade you about," Lucas smirked.

"What do you want?"

"Straight to the point! I like that," Lucas mocked.

"It's why I've been hired. I always get straight to the point."

"It's what I've heard," Lucas chuckled.

"I've heard a lot about you too," Sean started, his hands still in the air.

"I bet you have."

"Charles described you perfectly," Sean chuckled.

"Meaning?"

"A selfish boaster."

Lucas' lips made a thin line on his face, his eyes narrowing on the man in front of him. Sean was probably thirty something. He was taller than Lucas and had a beard like him. However, he was as blond as wheat and his skin was really white. His blue eyes were challenging Lucas, daring him to try anything stupid enough that he would have time to escape.

"You seem very sure of yourself here. Don't be too arrogant, I'm sure you know what I'm capable of."

His menacing words silenced Sean immediately.

"Better," Lucas stated. "Sit," he ordered him. As Sean didn't seem ready to move, Lucas added in a drawling voice, "Please?"

Sean stepped warily to the seat next to his desk.

"Are you here for the portal? Because I can give it to you."

Lucas burst into laughter.

"The portal? You mean, the portals."

Sean tried to not show Lucas how surprised he was to learn that someone else knew about the seven portals he was working on.

"Never underestimate a genius."

"What do you want?" Sean asked again, frowning.

"Are you okay on that chair? 'Cause I've got a story to tell you. And you might not want to believe it, but trust me, you will."

"I'm listening," Sean replied through gritted teeth.

"Grand revelation: I know about your alliance with Alex."

His statement was followed by a heavy silence. Then it was Sean's turn to burst into laughter.

"What?"

"This is not a game. I'm not looking for secrets. I already know everything. She told me everything."

"She? Alexandra Dubois? Don't be ridiculous. I don't know what kind of tricky game Charles is playing at, but I'm not a traitor. And I don't have any alliance with Alex."

Lucas swallowed hard at this discovery. Had she lied to him about Sean's help in her riot against her father? No, surely she wouldn't have lied about something that important. Lucas glanced away, thinking quickly about every reason why Sean would lie or why he would actually tell the truth. He looked back at Sean and tried a new approach.

"I know for your dear Hannah…"

Sean didn't let Lucas finish his sentence and pushed him violently against the wall, both his hand tightly gripped on his shirt.

"How do you know about Hannah?"

"I told you, she told me everything! I came from Terra Nova where Alex is."

"Alex is here, not there. You're a fool!"

"In six months, she will escape from here and go back to Terra Nova with your help."

"Impossible! No way!"

"It is the truth," Lucas affirmed. "Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm a liar."

"If you're on the Terra Nova side, you should know that she's with the enemy."

"You and her, you're friends," Lucas insisted, pushing Sean away. "You became friends, and you told her about Hannah."

"That's impossible... No one knows," Sean mumbled, shocked.

"She knows."

Lucas didn't know what Alexandra knew and had no clue at all who Hannah was, but she was obviously the key to accessing Sean's trust. Lucas was certain now that he had arrived too early in the future. Alexandra and Sean were obviously not friends. The moment when Sean had stopped Alexandra from her suicide attempt had not happened yet.

"I… If…"

"Think a moment. You know it's possible, right?"

"It can't be…"

"Alex said you were a kind of genius. Don't make me regret believing her."

Sean was going to answer when a red light started to flash.

"Someone's coming!"

Lucas looked around him, looking for a shelter, but Sean was quicker than him and pushed him in a cupboard. Lucas fought to get inside, not sure if he could trust Sean not to betray his presence.

"Trust me," he stated. "I'm a genius, remember?"

On that sentence, he closed the cupboard's doors and ran to his desk. The lab's door opened and an arrogant and smug Alexandra entered the room, alone. Through tiny holes in the door, Lucas could see the scene that was playing.

"Harris," she greeted.

"Miss Dubois," he nodded.

Alexandra glanced around the room, her eyes darting everywhere. It was like she knew something was up, making Sean uncomfortable. Lucas stopped breathing, afraid she would hear him.

"Are you alright? You look frantic."

"No. I mean, yes, I… I was just tidying a bit."

She stared at him suspiciously for what seemed like an eternity to Sean and Lucas before speaking again.

"I wrote this for you. It should answer the questions you had last week," she explained, holding out a folded piece of paper to him.

"Thanks," Sean mumbled.

At the sight of Alexandra's grimace in response to his gratitude, Lucas knew it was not Sean's normal attitude with her. She stared at him, perplexed. She opened her mouth slightly, and Lucas was almost certain she was fighting with herself not to welcome him. Instead, she tightened her lips and walked away with no word.

Lucas waited to be sure she was gone before emerging from his hiding spot.

"She doesn't look like she wants to be my friend."

"You'll have to do one thing first. You're the one who made the first move," Lucas said, heading to the door.

"Hey! You can't go out with her!"

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Lucas opened the door and oversaw Alexandra walking to her father. Charles was exactly how he remembered: disgusting. He looked older though. Maybe it was what happened when you lost someone you love. It was exactly what had happened to Lucas and his father. And to Skye and her mother.

Once he was sure they were far enough away and that they would not spot him, he went out. He followed them discreetly to a small deck where a man was obviously waiting for them, another man tied up tightly in front of him. The man was standing straight, proudly. He was enormous. Charles had always loved guards who looked like ogres.

"Travis," Charles sighed. "What is it?"

"Sir, I surprised this man selling information to some civilians."

"And?"

Charles couldn't care less about what Travis was saying. It was evident he found it annoying. Lucas wondered what the aim of this man was. He surely knew that Charles didn't want to intervene in that kind of problem. That was exactly why he had a second man like this Travis.

"And I think your daughter knew about it and did nothing."

There it was. Travis wanted to prove Alexandra's treachery. Lucas gritted his teeth in frustration. He knew fair well that he couldn't move from his spot and it was killing him.

Charles' eyebrows rose in surprise, and he looked at her daughter with a questioning gaze, waiting for her to explain.

"Father, you know I would have not allowed something like that. Travis has no proof," Alexandra said calmly.

"You're not on our side. I can see through your little game," Travis groaned.

"I couldn't care less what you think," she replied immediately.

"Remember who you're talking to," he warned her in a menacing tone.

"You're a pain in the ass Travis," she replied with a sly smile. "And don't forget who you're working for either."

"Stop it," Charles intervened with a sigh. "I have no time for this. What's wrong, Travis?"

"Travis thinks you shouldn't trust me," Alexandra said, disdain evident in her voice. She knew she was bad in Travis' book since the beginning.

"And you don't trust him?" Her father asked, even if his tone made it clear he already knew the answer.

"To tell the truth, I think I'll put a bullet right through his head when I have the occasion," she replied bluntly.

"Very good," Charles laughed, amused.

"Would you allow me?" She asked with a devilish grin.

"Prove to him I'm right to trust you. Kill him," he challenged her instead, his index finger showing the traitor.

Travis had an evil smile on his face, waiting for her to fail this test. Alexandra grabbed her gun so quickly that Lucas barely had time to notice it, and in a second it was directed to the prisoner's head.

"On your knees," Alexandra said coldly to the man in front of her. When the man didn't obey, Travis kicked him in the legs, forcing him to stand on his knees.

"Please, don't kill me. Please, I have a w-"

Alexandra didn't let the man finish his sentence. She shot him right in the head. One deadly shot and the man stopped his pleading.

Lucas was shocked by Alexandra's coldness. Her face was hard as stone, heartless.

"Satisfied?" She asked, her expression unreadable.

"Yes," her father said proudly, beaming at Travis. "See, my daughter is just like me. It's cold blood that runs through her veins. A heart of stone," he smirked, squeezing her shoulder in a fatherly gesture.

"You get rid of the body then," Travis groaned, disappointed she had killed the man so easily.

"Not a problem," she scowled.

"Good," Charles said firmly, ending their evident warpath. "Join me when it's done. Travis, I think they need you at the factory. You better go now."

In his tone, it was obvious it was an order and not a proposition. Charles beamed one last time at his daughter and walked away. Travis glared at her but obeyed and left, heading to the factory.

Alexandra stayed motionless for a moment, staring at the body in front of her. Lucas saw her face falling apart slowly. She sank to the ground beside the man she had just shot. She stared at him for a few minutes, then, with a steady hand, she closed his eyes. Lucas saw her bend down and whisper something in his ear. She looked at the corpse one last time, her eyes full of tears, took a deep breath and wiped her face with the back of her hands. Then, in a second, her mask of coldness returned. She stood up and yelled at two guards to come and take the body away.

Once they were gone, she paced in circle, like a lion in cage. Lucas could see that she was fuming inside. All of a sudden, she violently punched the wall with her fist, hollering an angry and painful shout. She kicked it three more times with her foot before stopping. Her scream had alerted two soldiers, so she recomposed herself quickly.

One of the guards saw her bleeding hand and frowned at her, suspicious. He stepped up to her, staring at her. She didn't give him time to point it out to his colleague and punched him at the bottom of his cheek. Her attack was followed by a horrible crack and the guard felt down in agony, unable to speak with a broken jaw, moaning in pain.

"Don't you ever look at me like that again," she commanded him in a very menacing tone. "You, take him to the infirmary. And spread the word, nobody looks at me like I'm no one. I'm Alexandra Dubois, your chief. Is that right?"

"Yes, Madam," the guard stammered before helping his colleague to walk away.

Lucas could feel how angry she was, but was almost proud of her. She could be a lot like him if she had to. He knew it was an act only, but it was working and that was all that mattered. Just like the killing had been. Lucas was sure she knew that even if she had not shot him, the man would have been murdered for his treason. It would have been her or someone else, and obviously, she needed to stay alive. Now, Lucas better understood the story she had told him about her somber life as his father's second in command. He felt hurt for her. He knew she was only pretending and that it was costing her a lot. The only thing that was helping him to stay away from her was knowing she would eventually leave that bloody place and come back to him.


Feel the music, feel the story.

"Hijacked when you weren't looking. Behind your back people are talking. Using words that cut you down to size. You want to fight back. It's building inside you. Holding you up. Taking you hostage. Yeah, it's worth fighting for. They'll try to take your pride. Try to take your soul. They'll try to take all the control. They'll look you in the eyes. Fill you full of lies. Believe me they're gonna try. So when you're feeling crazy. And things fall apart. Listen to your head. Remember who you are. You're the one. You're the unbreakable heart. […] Hijacked when you weren't looking. Behind your back people are talking. Using words that cut you down to size. You want to fight back. You're out in the open. You're under attack. But your spirit's not broken. You know it's worth fighting for. […] Don't look them in the eyes. Believe me they're gonna try. To fill you up with lies. They'll try to take your pride. Try to take your soul. You're the one. You're the unbreakable heart. You're the one." Unbreakable Heart – Three Days Grace