More Than One Mark?

Chapter 13

"What?" Mark stares, the name sounds familiar. Dark laughs. "Oh, come on, Mark. Don't you remember Celine? How about the Colonel? Abe? Benjamin the Butler? Chef?" Dark stands staring at Mark, determined that he must remember. "I don't know what you're talking about, Dark!" Mark yells, confusion overcoming him. Dark takes a step back, glancing at Celine. "What do you mean 'you don't know'?" She asks angrily, "You're the reason we're stuck in the void. What do you mean?!" She walks towards Mark, raising a hand to hit him. Dark grabs her wrist, "Now, Celine, we have to remind him before we beat him. Somewhere in his mind there must be a block or maybe... Maybe he's so convinced that he's the hero that he's just written the story differently in his mind." Dark states plainly, letting go of Celine's wrist. She scoffs and storms to the back of the office. Mark looks on, defeated, confused and afraid. Suddenly, a thought comes to him. "Wait, are you... Damien?" Mark asks, Damien and Celine perk up at his question. "Yes! So, you do remember." Damien responds, a smile creeping onto his face. "Well, yeah but I should say that I'm not the Mark you're looking for." Mark says, somewhat begging for them to believe him. "Of course you'd say that," Celine says, sauntering her way over to Mark and Damien, "You don't want us to hurt you. It truly makes sense." Mark's eyes widen and he stands, his ankles still bound to the chair. He loses his balance for a moment when Damien snaps his fingers and the rope falls. "If what you say is true... Then where is the Mark we're looking for?" Damien asks, brushing a stray hair back from his face. Mark thinks for a moment, searching for any place his characters would've liked. "I'm not sure, Damien. It's been a while since I've thought about any of this." Damien raises an eyebrow at Mark and turns to look at Celine, "Where would Mark like to go, Celine?" He asks, "How would I know, Damien?!" She yells, looking frustratedly at Damien, "You were the one that married him, Celine." He retorts, rolling his eyes at his sister. Mark sits back down in the chair. He runs both hands through his hair, his fingers catching lightly at the ends. Mark shakes his head, "You know, Mark is dead.. Maybe he's in the void." Mark states, hoping that the answer lands. Damien nods, "You're right but you're not free yet. I still don't trust that you're not the Mark we're looking for so you'll come with us to find him." He responds, raising his brows as if to make sure that Mark agrees. Mark lets out a breath, "Okay, I'll help to the best of my ability. I only have one favor to ask." He starts, "Let me guess, you want Amy to come with us?" Damien chuckles lightly, "I guess I could do that for you."

~

"Amy?!"

Amy squints her eyes, blinded by the rush of light. "...Mark?" She starts, struggling to sit up. She's pulled from the darkness of the chest. Her eyelids flutter for a moment before her eyes adjust. "Bob? Wade? Where's Mark?" She asks, searching the room excitedly. "Well-" Wade starts, "Mark ended up going with Dark." Bob finishes hurriedly, glancing between Wade and Amy. "What? Why?" She asks, tears beginning to sting her eyes. So close and yet, so far. "To save you, Amy." Bob and Wade say in unison. Amy stands up shakily. She rips a small piece of cloth from the comforter on the floor, she pulls her hair up and ties it loosely. "We need to find a way to him." She states, "I'll call him, hopefully he answers.." 'Damien... Please hear me..' Whoosh. "Amy?" Damien says cautiously. "Hi, Damien... Is Mark with you?" Amy asks. She smiles gently, a tear escaping her eye. "Yes he is... Would you like to see him?" Damien offers, returning her smile and extending a hand to her. She looks at Bob and Wade, then back to Damien. "Will you bring Bob and Wade too? Please?" She requests, slowly moving her hand to his. "Of course."

~

Whoosh. The three of them appear in an office, Mark sits with his back to them. The other Amy several feet in front of him. She smiles gently at the group. "Woah, is that... me?" Amy asks in awe. Mark perks up and turns around quickly. "Amy!" He jumps up and runs towards her. The two embrace, happy tears trailing down their cheeks. "Hey, Mark." She says gently, cupping his face and kissing his cheek. Damien chuckles warmly and puts a hand on Amy's shoulder as well as Mark's shoulder. "We need to go now if we're gonna find him." He says, nodding at Mark. Mark nods back and looks at Amy, "We're going into the void to find Mark." He tells her, he glances at Bob and Wade. Although they're confused, they nod in agreement. Anything for their best friend. "Damien, can I offer some more assistance?" Mark turns to Damien, his face gentle and honest. "Assistance? What do you mean?" Damien asks, confusion riddling his voice. "Well, we've been in this situation before but it was... handled very differently.. I think we can actually figure this out this time but we need more hands." Mark starts to explain, "I can call Seàn, Tyler and Ethan. The more help, the better." Damien ponders for a moment before disappearing with Mark. "What's going on- um- other me?" Amy asks her doppelgänger, staring in slight confusion. Celine laughs, "Well, to start, I'm Celine, Damien's sister. I'm... borrowing your body for the moment. I know this is probably a lot for you and I understand if you need a moment to gather your thoughts." She starts, eyeing Amy for a moment and letting her get her bearings. "Okay.. Can you tell me the full story?" Amy questions curiously. "Of course! Take a seat."