Silver Moonlight: Part I

Chapter 5 of The Edge of the World

Perma-note: Dames’ name is Dexter in this series. I’d already named him before Book 2 came out so I’m keeping it that way here 😀

A/N: Damn this chapter was exhausting to write. Yeah, so if you thought the last chapter was action-packed, brace yourselves my friends.

I got inspiration for this chapter from the song Silver Moonlight by Within Temptation.

Summary: As the gang makes their way into the forest, they encounter Dexter while Maya fights to escape Harley’s clutches.

Disclaimer: Characters/canon belong to Pixelberry

I’m hellbound in this life
Keep fighting this endless war
It’s always been like this, I don’t know why
Enslavement of your mind
Your fear, it ties me down
Going down, I won’t bow …

———————-

The sky was pitch black with haloed clouds of twisted shapes, reflecting the silver, eerie glow of the moon barely illuminating the area. The totaled van faded out of sight as Alana tumbled down the hill with Dexter’s arms around her; rolling through grass, leaves and dried mud.

Once they hit the surface, Alana slammed her elbow into his gut and jumped to her feet. They circled around each other, their hands up in a ready stance as each waited for the other to make the first move.

“Well played, Alana.” Dexter quipped. “Too bad I was already a step ahead of you.”

“Yes, yes of course,” She scoffed, never taking her eyes off of him. “Eros and their little gadgets saved your ass this time. ‘Else I’d be half way to my well-earned vacation by now.”

“I’m sure Maya would love to hear that.”

“She will. Once I find her and get the hell outta here.”

A chuckle escaped him as he took in her mussed up state. “Don’t be so sure.”

“You know, this reminds me of the old days in combat practice on the force.”

Dexter raised an eyebrow, then smirked knowingly. “Why, old feelings coming up?”

Alana shot him a catty grin. “No, because the real Damien was an actual challenge.”

And with that, he charged at her. She blocked his punch and twisted his arm, flipping him over her shoulder, but he easily regained his footing. Dexter crossed his arms over his head to block her incoming kick. Then he swiped his leg under Alana’s feet, knocking her onto her back. She rolled to the side, just as he moved to pounce on her and managed to grab her ankle, yanking her towards him and then pinning her down.

He pulled on the handcuff still hanging off her wrist and reached for her other hand. “Hold still, goddammit!”

——————————–

The dark figures of trees and bushes zipped by as Damien rushed past them. The group had been running through the woods for a few minutes now, following the distant sounds of fighting and knowing they would definitely find Alana and the Match there. And once they found her, it would be easier to find Maya.

“I hear them! This way!” Nadia called, pointing in a certain direction. Hayden and Steve jogged ahead of her to take a look, while Sloane stayed close by. Dipper followed alongside them, panting and growling as she sensed the danger.

Soon they approached a clearing where they saw both Alana and the Match exchanging blows and wrestling each other. The Match had trapped her in a headlock and was reaching for a pair of handcuffs that were attached to one of her wrists.

Damien rushed him from behind and tackled him to the ground. Both of them were rolling on the forest floor; one on top of the other, elbowing and punching at each other until one had the other pinned down

“I got this!” Sloane grabbed a taser and aimed, only to falter when she noticed a different problem. “Uhh … guys? Do you happen to remember which one is him?”

Nadia turned to Hayden and Steve who were exchanging worried looks. “Uh hello?!” she shrieked. “Robots with super strength, remember?!”

“I can’t! What if I hit Damien?” Everyone else was regarding the two of them now, confused.

That was when Damien looked down and remembered that he and his copy were dressed exactly the same. Crap. Maybe me rushing him first wasn’t the best idea. Both of them looked and sounded alike and were now covered in leaves and dirt from their scuffling.

Hayden eventually came forward and pulled one off of the other, locking his arms behind his back.

“What the hell, Hayden?!”

His eyes widened and he immediately let go. “Sorry!”

“Not so fun when you’re the one getting impersonated, is it?” The other Damien stood up and brushed himself off.

Damien’s eyes narrowed. Oh I see what you’re doing here. “Nice try, asshole.”

“Whoa, hold on let’s just calm down for a second!” Steve interjected and grabbed the copy. “We can figure this out! We have control panels on our shoulders, don’t we?” He turned to Sloane. “Sloane, check them.”

As Sloane started to approach, the copy threw his head back, ramming into Steve’s face. Hayden lunged forward, his eyes trained on the copy as he exchanged blows with him. For his part, the Match seemed to hold his own pretty well against Hayden and a now-recovered Steve.

Then Alana jumped into the fray and kicked him in the chest, watching with a satisfied grin as he stumbled back into a tree. Hayden caught him by the throat and shoved him against it again. “All right buddy, start talking!”

Damien was hanging back this time, shielding Nadia and Sloane while checking his surroundings for anyone else that could be lurking nearby.

“His name is Dexter, by the way.” Alana informed them as she smoothed down her dress.

“Dexter? Like the serial killer?” Nadia commented. Dexter rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything as she walked up to him.

“Nadia,” Damien reached out and took her arm, gently pulling her back. “Stay back.”

“No, we have to know now!” She insisted, looking directly at Dexter. “First Eros made a clone of Hayden to torture Maya, then they made a Damien double to trick us and kidnap her?! The hell is wrong with these people?!” The words came tumbling out of her  as she yelled at the robot. Her eyes were wide with worry and her fists clenched. “The longer we stand here, the more danger Maya is in! She’s probably alone with that creep Harley, and you better tell us where she is!”

Steve and Damien were too busy talking her down to notice the slight softening in Dexter’s eyes as he watched her. Then he blinked and it disappeared just as quickly.

“He’s not talking,” Hayden muttered. “Sloane, you think you can access his memories?” He lowered his voice as he addressed her.

She nodded. “It’s risky tampering with his mind, but maybe. I’ll have to put him in maintenance mode though,” she whispered. “You’d have to-”

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, followed by several others and everyone else stumbled back, covering their eyes and yelling amidst the smoke that was rising from whatever had triggered it. Dipper’s barking could barely be heard above the chaos.

Damn it! Smoke bombs. If there was ever a time for Damien to be thankful for his police training it was now. He’d trained for and encountered plenty of scenarios like this where he’d had to track and fight someone even if his vision was compromised. Damien coughed and squinted, waving smoke out of his way as everyone followed closely behind.

Then from a distance, he could make out Dexter’s figure retreating deeper into the forest, with Alana in hot pursuit. He followed suit, distantly hearing everyone else’s footsteps behind him.

Once the smoke cleared, Hayden immediately surveyed the area. “Is everyone okay?” He was met with a series of ‘yeahs’ and light coughing. Steve was hugging Nadia tightly to him while Sloane was clutching Dipper in her arms.

Damien, Alana and Dexter were nowhere to be seen.

Hayden cursed under his breath. “They must’ve gone after him. Did anyone see which way they went?”

“I- I don’t know,” Sloane coughed, wiping her glasses of the mist that had collected. “That light was almost blinding and there was just so much smoke everywhere.”

Steve frowned. “Well at least there are no Eros guards anywhere around here, so we know that was Dexter’s work.” As they looked around, the trail they were on seemed to be headed in two different directions, but there was also plenty of room amidst the trees to run elsewhere.

Nadia let out a frustrated sigh. “Great, so we’ve lost track of Damien and Alana, Maya’s still missing and it’s pitch dark out here and we’re in the middle of-!” Steve squeezed her shoulders comfortingly, rubbing her arms reassuringly.

“All right, well we’ve gotta start somewhere,” Hayden told them. “Everyone stay together.” They continued in the direction of the trail, banding closely together as they began their search.

————————-

“Looking for something?”

Before Maya had a chance to gasp, she found herself facedown with Harley on top of her, his palm pressing her cheek into the ground.

“I’ll admit it, Maya,” He whispered in her ear. “You got me this time.”

“Get off me,” her voice strained as she struggled. His grip loosened just a little as she felt him fumbling in his jacket for something.

“What the-?” she heard him murmur. “I could swear I had it …” Maya couldn’t help the smug grin on her face as it occurred to her what he was searching for.

“Looking for something?” She threw his own words back at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Let’s just say your precious syringe has been put to better uses. Where’s that van of yours, by the way?” Harley was silent for a brief moment. His grip on her tightened and she winced, but didn’t let up. “What, you can use a clone of my boyfriend to trick me, but we can’t fight back with a trick of our own?”

He out a low whistle. “Damn Maya, well played. Didn’t know you had it in you.” He leaned close to her and Maya felt a cold metal brushing against her. “I wonder if you’ll still have this much fight when the reinforcements arrive – well, my reinforcements more precisely. And I imagine they’re already well-acquainted with your friends.”

Panic rose in her and she pushed back against him only for him to press his body weight further into her. She began to reach around blindly until her fingers closed over a rock.

“Dammit Maya, stop being so difficult. There’s nowhere else for you to go, now.”

“The hell there isn’t!” She bashed the rock into the side of his head and turned to kick him off of her. Then she jumped to her feet to make a run for it, only for him to grab her arm and whirl them around, shoving her against a tree.

Maya resisted furiously as she gripped Harley’s shoulders and tried to push him back, but he seized both her wrists in one hand. Then he grasped the collar of her shirt into his other hand and slammed her shoulder back into the tree, pinning her there.

“You know,” Harley leaned forward, peering closely at her. “You’re showing an incredibly strong emotional response over someone who isn’t even coming for you”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” She snapped. “He came looking for me when you bastards dragged me off! I saw the real him!”

“Did you really?” At that her struggling faltered a little and he continued. “You saw for yourself just how many matches Eros has at its disposal. How do you know they didn’t send another copy to keep your friends occupied?”

“What?” Now Maya stopped to look at him in confusion. “That makes no sense!”

“Sure it does. I mean, it’s worked on you once already. And that’s saying something, considering how quickly you saw through me the first time. Damien however …” he tilted his head to the side, fascinated. “You never doubted him.”

He’s using past tense. “I … what are you trying to say?” Her voice wavered slightly, but she steeled herself almost as quickly.

“The way you hold onto every thought, every memory of him.” Whether he was amazed or was trying to process it, Maya couldn’t tell. “You believe in him so blindly that it never once occurred to you that he could’ve been left behind when you all escaped?” Then his features twisted into a sneer. “And then blew up the place?”

She picked up on the implication and her body went white hot with shock; a prickly sensation creeping onto her face. “No, you’re lying,” she choked out.

Maya had seen Damien leave the museum. If he was just another match, there was no way he would’ve led her friends to the parking lot to search for her. Eros’ minion wouldn’t have chased after her. The sorrow and rage she’d seen in his eyes was too real.

“Oh Maya, don’t you remember what I told you in our last session? I was designed to be sincere.”

Sincere. Maya remembered that exact quote from her imprisonment with him; the language he used, the way he talked, and how he’d tried to manipulate her to get a reaction.

Telling me that my friends were dead.

She glowered at him. “You already tried this sort of thing on me once!” She yelled as she started straining against him again. “When you posed as Hayden and told me you left everyone behind! It’s not going to work!”

“You really should face the facts, Maya. We always intended to capture Damien; but we couldn’t have possibly anticipated you blowing up the facility.” He tsked and shook his head. “It’s such a shame how he went down.”

“Enough!” Maya’s nails dug into her palms as her fists clenched, twisting and squirming in Harley’s grip. “I’m not gonna fall for the same trick twice!”

“You remember Hayden getting replaced with me. Yet despite that experience, you still left with Dexter so easily.” He continued to taunt her with a scornful grin on his face.

This was nothing more than a mind game; another sick experiment to play with her emotions. Maya knew this, yet every barb Harley was throwing at her was invoking a level of anguish she’d never felt before. No matter how untrue his words were, she still couldn’t bear to hear them; even the thought of Damien being-

“How would he have felt?” Harley pressed further in a mock sympathetic tone. “Alone, trapped in a facility crumbling around him and knowing that you left without him.”

“Shut up!” Maya felt her vision mist and she pressed her lips together, willing herself not to fall apart. “I don’t believe you.”

“If you don’t believe me, then why are there tears in your eyes?” He questioned, clearly amused. Then he leaned dangerously close to her ear and she turned her face away. “Maybe it’s because deep down, you’re worried that one bad decision you made put Damien in danger. And for what? Petty vengeance?”

“Stop it. Now.” She said through clenched teeth.

“It’s really fitting if you think about it. You got him killed the way he got that kid killed in Beitan.”

Maya froze. Oh that is it.

An enraged scream tore from her and she hurled her fists forward, shoving Harley back. Then she lashed out with a swift kick, causing him to stumble a little. “Shut … the hell up …!” she seethed, her jaw set so rigid that putting her anger into words was difficult. Everything he had implied and the sequence of events that could’ve followed was playing through her mind, which fueled her temper even more.

But that last jab was the limit to her tolerance. It violated everything in her; more than anything she’d been put through already.

Throwing logic completely out the window, Maya lunged at him again. “You horrible, sleazy son of a-”

Harley caught her fist midair as she attempted to punch him. “All right I believe that’s enough reasoning with you,” he snapped, before twisting her arm painfully to the side.

Maya gasped as she felt an intense jolt all the way to her shoulder and was nearly forced to her knees. Harley twisted her arm further for good measure and she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to hold back the strained groan that escaped her. He released her for a split second, then grabbed her shoulders and threw her roughly to the ground.

He casually circled around her, watching in satisfaction as Maya lay there, cradling herself and breathing deeply through her discomfort. Then she checked her arm, her features relaxing slightly upon realizing that it wasn’t broken.

“Now,” Harley took in her pained face with a cruel grin. “Anything else you wanna say?”

Then she raised her eyes to him in defiance, wiping her tears in one motion. “You’re a creep. And a goddamn liar,” she spat. “You and your robot friends can take your experiment and shove it up your-”

Harley seized a fistful of her hair and hauled her to her feet, yanking her head and tipping her back so she was forced to face him again. “I think it’s time you learned who’s really in charge here,” He raised his hand, ready to backhand her and Maya closed her eyes instinctively.

Distant of shouting and scuffling interrupted him and Harley looked around, frowning. “Dexter?” He muttered, lowering his arm. There was a moment of complete silence before more shouting ensued. His suspicion changed into understanding and he started to head in that direction. “Come on,” he barked as he dragged her along by her hair.

Maya clutched her hair with one hand and pried at his wrist with another to try and loosen his grip. But beyond her pain, the only thing on her mind now was on the real source of the disturbance . . . the voice that made her heart soar, yet clench with a newfound fear for his safety.