Indescribable

Part 1 of The Edge of the World

A/N: This is an AU series that picks up after Perfect Match Book 1, in which Damien’s switch occurred at the Louvre. I imagined so many ways it could go and somehow landed up with this because I’m craving some drama.

Summary: Maya reels in shock from what just happened with Damien and tries to process it. But is he who he really says he is? Is he Damien at all?

Disclaimer: I don’t own anything. Characters/canon belong to Pixelberry.

“I can’t!” His voice was small, terrified. Completely unlike him.

Maya’s blood ran cold; her head was spinning as she continued to stare at Damien, open-mouthed. “D?” she whispered softly. Hesitantly. Oh god, don’t tell me-!

Damien’s breathing became more erratic as the terror in his features increased two-fold. His hands shook violently as they clutched hers more tightly. “I … I … What’s happening to me?” he swallowed hard.

Thousands of questions were racing through her mind as Maya tried to backtrack the harrowing events on that island. She combed through every detail, wondering what could have possibly happened between now and then. They’d been there the whole time! Everyone had filled each other in on what had happened. What could have-

The experiments. Nadia and Steve’s imprisonment. Hayden had been restrained and prepared for repurposing and Sloane had been locked up briefly before escaping. All she knew of Damien was that he’d been interrogated in his cell. Had something else happened he hadn’t told them about? Maya’s brows furrowed in thought as she recalled her brief encounter with Cecile and Harley.

Harley. Hayden’s look-alike. If Hayden could have a clone then what if Damien- She bit her lip, feeling her stomach doing flip-turns as her mind explored numerous horrifying possibilities.

Damien seemed to notice the various expressions on her face flit back and forth between suspicion and worry. He shook his head frantically, as if trying to deny whatever he thought was going through her mind; anything to reassure her. “Maya,” he begged. “Please don’t- I’m not-”

That brought her back to the present and she removed a hand from his, placing it on his dampened cheek. She shushed him gently as he began to stammer. “Damien. Breathe,” she whispered shakily. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“No,” He stopped listening to her at some point. “It’s not possible, this can’t be, I-”

“Damien-”

“Tell me it’s not true, Maya!” He said heatedly. “It’s me! You know it’s me! They couldn’t have- it’s not true!” Curious glances came their way as Damien raised his voice amidst his rambling.

Suddenly, he stopped and took a deep breath, stepping back for a moment and scrubbing the tears from his eyes. Maya had to swallow the lump in her throat from having to see the always-in-control Damien Nazario nearly reduced to an emotional wreck. She’d seen him shed tears before when he’d confided in her about Beitan, but not like this. She pressed her hand over her mouth to muffle the sob that threatened to escape her.

This wasn’t the man she knew. What had Eros done to him? Could he remember anything?

Can he remember at all? Was he brainwashed?

Is he even my Damien? If not, where is he? Was he taken before we got to the museum? After we reached Paris? Did he even make it to Paris?

Maya felt a wave of nausea that nearly brought her to her knees. No, it’s not possible. I saw him; we escaped together. She’d certainly noticed changes in his behavior since their escape. Damien had been far more relaxed during their time together in Paris. Part of it could’ve been that they’d already been through a lot and he didn’t want to add to the stress for once.

But she’d still noticed that something was off. Like there was something he was trying to avoid telling her. She recalled their ‘not-date’ at the Eiffel Tower; that one time, he’d admitted that he was worried about what was coming next. Maya had merely joked about his worrywart tendencies then, but now she found herself wondering if she should’ve pressed him further on that.

Steadying herself against the railing in front of the paintings, she tried to process this whirlpool of thoughts that kept going in unknown directions and never seemed to reach any solutions. Maya’s mind was in such a jumble that she was hardly aware of her surroundings until Damien was shaking her back to attention.

“Maya we have to go.” There was a newfound determination in his eyes as he took her hands in his again.

“Wha …?”

“Away from here. We need to figure this out.”

“I- okay, let me just text the others-” Maya reached toward her pocket for her phone, but yelped in surprise when Damien yanked her hand away. “Damien we have to tell Nadia, Sloane and-”

“Do it later,” he said firmly. “We’ve gotta get out of here first.”

“What?! Why?!” His fingers tightened their hold on her wrist as he suddenly pulled her into an empty hallway near them. “Hey! Damien, what are you-!”

“We never know who could be listening,” he muttered. “We have to keep moving.” He kept walking at a brisk pace down the path until they reached the exit; a door that read ‘Sortie’.

“I get that, but would you just wait-”

Damien shoved the door open with such strength that it banged into the wall on the other side; he ignored the surprised stares from the few people nearby and continued walking in large, rapid strides into the parking lot – a very deserted parking lot. Maya almost tripped several times as she struggled to keep up with him. She could only watch him in bewilderment as a familiarly sick feeling began to creep into her gut. “Damien,” she tried to reason with him again. “Nadia and the others are still inside-”

He whirled around, using his other hand to cup her chin, tilting it up towards him. “You still trust me, don’t you Maya?”

“Well yes, but-”

“Then listen to me.” Damien’s grip on her firmed. His eyes had darkened and were lacking in the softness she was used to seeing in them. His fingers were digging painfully into her skin as he brought his face closer to hers.

Maya winced and began to squirm away. “Damien stop, you’re hurting me.” Alarms were going off in her head at this point. Every instinct was screaming at her to run, though it would mean accepting that the Damien in front of her was a fake … and that the real one was missing somewhere.

She didn’t want to believe this was happening again. Not after everything they’d been through. But some part of her had already registered the ugly truth. First Harley, now this? Maya wished with all her heart that her Damien was safe and sound and that this was just some big mistake. But this behavior he was showing was unraveling her hopes one at a time.

“What’s going on here?”

Both of them turned to find Alana standing there. She looked between the two of them, taking in their tear-stained faces – Damien looked increasingly perturbed and avoided eye contact with her, while Maya was shrinking away from him ever so slightly. Alana’s gaze settled on Damien’s tight hold on Maya and her eyes narrowed. She angled her head towards Damien while addressing her. “Maya?” her expression was unreadable but there was a barely detectable hint of something in her voice. Was that … concern? Dare she think it? God why is everyone acting so weird today?

Damien scowled at her. “Wouldn’t you like to know,” he snapped. “I thought you were going to the airport.”

Maya gaped at him. “Damien!” She felt his hold loosen a bit and took the opportunity to step back from him.

“Didn’t realize you missed me that much, Nazario,” Alana quipped. “And for your information I was waiting to call a cab when I caught wind of a certain detective and his little girlfriend creating a scene in the parking lot.” She crossed her arms, smirking. “Naturally I thought I’d offer my assistance.”

“Yeah?” Damien challenged. “Well your assistance got us all captured last time, so if you’ll excuse us-” He reached for Maya again, obviously intending to take her somewhere else.

“W-wait,” Before he could move again, Maya clutched his jacket to keep him in place and she took a deep breath before speaking. “Look I know we just had a huge bombshell dropped on us and how hard this is on you now,” she said as she rubbed his shoulder in small, gentle circles. She chose her words carefully as she gazed into his eyes, searching. “But the last thing we should do is split up. You know that better than anyone, D.” He was looking more agitated by the second and Maya clenched her fists against his jacket, watching him imploringly. “Please be rational! There are enough doubts in my mind as it is!”

His eyes narrowed. “There’s no time,” he growled.

“All right that’s it, will one of you just tell me what the hell is going on?” Alana demanded.

Maya’s voice wavered as she started to explain what had happened at the exhibit. Alana’s expression flickered between confusion and shock into that of a calculative one as she was trying to process this new revelation. They had just gotten to the part where he had decided to go back to the hotel when the doors to the museum burst open again and Nadia, Steve, Hayden and Sloane were rushing out with uneasy looks on their faces; as though they were searching for something. They were all led by-

Damien?!

Maya froze and her voice trailed off. He was scanning the parking lot frantically as he ran out, his clothes and hair disheveled. He was too far away for her to hear what he was saying but she knew he was calling her name. He was Damien. The real Damien. He had to be!

“I- what in the-” Alana followed where she was looking, then whirled around to face the other Damien who was glancing at a van that had just parked next to the curb they were at.

Maya’s eyes widened. I knew it. That right there confirmed everything she’d feared and everything she’d wished for. She didn’t think; didn’t say anything more. She started toward the other direction, dimly hoping Alana would catch on. “Damien!” Her heart swelled with longing as she called to him again. Damien – her Damien – was here. He was alive, he was-

Strong fingers curled around her shoulder and she felt herself being jerked back by the one she now knew was a fake. Angry tears welled up in her eyes as she began to resist his- the match’s hold. “Get off me!” She slapped his hand away from her and twisted from him to make a run for the group again. But he caught her arm in a vice grip and began to drag her towards the van. “No!” She shouted, throwing her weight back to get away. “Let me go!”

Suddenly, she heard the van’s door open and there was a click! as a gun was pressed to Alana’s head. “Get in the car,” another eerily familiar voice came out. “Both of you.”

What the actual hell?! Her stomach dropped as she recognized his blonde hair and blue eyes; a face she knew all too well. “Harley,” she whispered, shuddering as she remembered that creepy smile from when she was holed up with him back at Eros’ facility.

Harley grabbed Alana’s arms and nudged her towards the van. She threw her head back slamming him in the face before moving to knock the gun out of his hands. But he recovered quickly and managed to lock one of her arms behind her back with impressive strength, pressing the gun against her throat. “Let me make one thing clear,” he snarled in her ear. “Our father wants all of you; but you’re the only one he didn’t specify to bring back alive. I’d be careful if I were you.”

Alana’s eyes darted from him to the other side of the parking lot where the rest of the gang was. Steve was pointing in their direction and shouting something to the rest of the group. Before she could say anything though, she was shoved into the front seat of the van.

“Damien!” Maya was screaming, craning her body in the direction of the one she wanted; she planted her feet on the ground, trying to slow down her captor, only for them to give out from under her. She threw her weight forward and slammed her elbow back, aiming for the match’s gut, but he caught her around her waist and she felt herself being lifted off the ground. “No!” Maya thrashed as wildly as she could and called for her other friends as well, her voice going uncharacteristically shrill in her desperation.

Then she saw Damien bolting in their direction, Nadia and Hayden hot on his heels. His face twisted in pure rage and horror as he took in the scene in front of him.

She felt herself land face-first on the soft cushion of the van’s backseat, the match following after her and shutting the door.

“Floor it, Alana!” Harley demanded, still pointing his gun at her from where he was sitting in the passenger’s seat.

Maya lunged for the door, reaching for the handle, but she didn’t get far. The match’s hand clamped roughly over her mouth as he hauled her back onto the seat, pinning her down. Maya beat her fists furiously against him, not caring whether she was hitting his shoulders or his face. The match pulled back for one second to reach into his jacket before pressing her down into the seat once again. His entire body weight was against her, his inhuman strength completely restricting her movement.

“I- I-” Alana’s composure wavered briefly. She was looking out the window, her sight fixated on Damien. She could hear him shouting furiously as the others were rapidly approaching the van. There was a brief flicker of pain on her face before she glanced up at the rearview mirror and locked eyes with Maya, who was watching her pleadingly with tears streaming down her face.

Damien was yanking at the already-locked door as he pounded on the van’s tinted windows, cursing voraciously.

“Now!”

Alana took a quick breath and her expression was once again replaced by her cool, emotionless mask. “Sorry,” she whispered to no one in particular before slamming her foot on the accelerator. Everyone was briefly thrown back as their vehicle took off with a loud screech.

Maya tossed her head from side to side in a panic as she continued to fight the match’s hold. How were they able to do this? Matches can’t harm humans! They can’t-

She gasped when a thick cloth was pressed over her nose and mouth. A chemical smell filled her nostrils and her body began to feel heavier by the second. Her eyes widened and she looked up at the match as he sneered at her; wearing Damien’s face. Her stomach lurched as she noted the uncanny resemblance, the reality of it all tearing through her like a bullet. Maya’s vision started blurring and she fought to stay awake as she struggled weakly, her feeble protests muffled by the cloth. As her eyelids began drooping, she heard him laugh – Damien’s laugh, copied into a robot along with all the other things she loved about him.

It’s not him. It’s not him.

“Relax Maya, you’ll see him again soon,” he whispered.

Maya was still gripping the match’s collar as she tried and failed to push him away. As her strength faded, her arms flopped weakly to her sides. She felt him release her as her head slumped to the side and darkness swallowed her up.