Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
Scarred Vision
"Sammy? Where are you?" Dean called as he walked through the bunker, on yet another quest to find his little brother.
"Down here!" came the vague cry of response, and Dean rolled his eyes.
"Sammy I'm good but I'm not that good. Where's down here? Which aisle?" he called again.
"No idea, the aisle where these books I'm reading is." Sam said unhelpfully, and Dean sighed in bemusement. He knew he should have gotten the kid a lead.
"Marco!" Dean called irritably.
"Polo!" Sam yelled and Dean continued the game until he finally found his brother down yet another aisle of books, which was marked with the number 5C.
"How difficult would it have been to come down to the end and tell me which aisle I was looking for?" Dean asked grumpily and Sam grinned.
"That would have been no fun!" he said cheerfully, and Dean shook his head.
"You're such a child." Dean scolded, and Sam grinned widely.
"You weren't saying that yesterday when you were beating me at hide and seek." He reminded him, and Dean grinned.
"Yeah good point. This place is so awesome! We can act our age here!" he said excitedly, making Sam grin more.
"Yeah, your mental age but I do get it, it means we can relax." He said, and Dean nodded.
"Yep, and best of all, no demons, angels, or bald scratched out eyes dudes trying to kill us. Anyway, what you doing down here geek boy?" he asked, peering at the book that Sam was reading and was apparently to engrossing to assist his brother in finding him.
"It's a bestiary the Men of Letters were writing of everything they'd encountered. There's entries of all sorts of stuff, even golems like the one we just dealt with, Gorgons, Rakashasas, werewolves, all sorts of things."
"And what, you were hoping you'd find the bald dudes in there?" Dean asked and Sam shrugged, looking sheepish.
"Well, I was at first but then I got distracted reading about everything in here, there's things in here we've never encountered. But there's stuff we've encountered that isn't here, so..." Sam said leadingly, and Dean smirked.
"So what, you're giving yourself a project to bring this book up to date? For future generations of Men of Letters, for future hunters?" he asked and he could tell by the hesitant expression on Sam's face that that was exactly what he wanted to do.
"You're such a nerd. But no, seriously, it's a good idea. I mean we can't go running around getting killed for the rest of our lives, one day we're going to have to bite the bullet and do what Bobby used to do. I can answer the phones and you can do all the research and running around!" he said brightly, clapping Sam's shoulder, and Sam grinned.
"And that's different from now how?" he asked, making Dean poke him in the head.
"Smart ass. So what isn't in there?" he asked, and Sam pressed the book into his hands, like a kid showing off a homework project he was proud of, which he guessed he kind of was.
"Look, no angels, no Leviathans, no Jefferson Starships obviously, no Khan worms, couple of other things we've met that need to go in it, and there's plenty of pages for it to go in." He said excitedly, making Dean grin.
It was nice seeing Sam get so excited by all this. For so long, both of them had been so unenthused by hunting, fed up of the constant fighting, losses and arguments between the two of them. But, after finding this awesome bunker from their paternal grandfather when he had come through time (albeit with a pissed off Knight of Hell hot on his heels) the two of them had found a way for themselves to relax. They finally had a permanent home, and it was still just theirs. And upon finding that the place was fully stocked with weapons and modern amenities, Dean had been delighted by their new home, and Sam, returning to his schoolboy nerd roots, had had a massive geek out and now seemed determined to read the entire library by Christmas. And Dean had to admit, it was nice seeing his brother actually enjoying the work for a change. Sam, unlike him, had never truly enjoyed hunting, that had always been Dean's thing and why he had been so determined to escape to Stanford. But now, with a massive library at his disposal (and a weight off his back as he no longer had to carry their books around on a hunt since they now had a place to put them), Sam had gone into full out geek mode and was relaxing, enjoying himself and being so enthusiastic about the bunker that Dean wasn't quite convinced that he wasn't on drugs and permanently high.
It was their home now. They (and by they he meant him, Sam had refused to come to any as he had found a book on past hunters that the Men of Letters had written and refused to come as he was busy delving into the past again) had now emptied all of theirs and their dad's old lockups and stores, moved everything out of the cabin and of Bobby's boltholes, and even stuff that they had collected from people like Ellen and Rufus that had been dotted around the country, and all of it was now here in their new home. They had their own wardrobes for their clothes, book shelves for their own books and store rooms for their own weapons, including Dean's bazooka, Sam's archangel blade, Dean's Purgatory axe and Mjolnir, which Sam had claimed for his own and refused to let Dean play with. And the best part was, they were still nowhere near finished exploring the bunker, there were two entire wings of rooms that they hadn't been to yet, still weapons rooms to be discovered and other sorts of things.
"Come on Hermione, come out into the wider world of the rest of the bunker." Dean said in amusement, guiding Sam, whose nose was once more stuck in the book, towards the central room of the library which was where they researched, ate and relaxed.
Resisting the urge to direct his brother to crash into something (because Sam certainly wasn't watching where he was going), Dean guided him out to the main room and sat him down before getting a couple of beers from the fridge they had installed.
"We need to get a TV or something in here too, either in our rooms or here in the loungey bit." Dean commented, Sam absently agreeing as he scribbled away furiously about angels into his bestiary.
"And we could get films and things, like Game of Thrones, James Bond, Star Wars...Beauty and the Beast?" Dean asked, noticing Sam wasn't paying attention, but he must have heard the end of it because he looked at his brother in confusion.
"Huh?" he asked and Dean shook his head.
"I was checking you were with me and not on geek cloud nine but obviously you were. A TV, in here, in the rooms, films and stuff for us to watch, yes or no?" he asked, and Sam nodded.
"Yeah, but not in here, you would get distracted. In the rooms is fine though." He said, going back to his bestiary, looking thoughtful.
"What's up?" Dean asked, and Sam frowned.
"This rates creatures on the level of danger from one to five, five being the worst. What would you say an angel is, four or five?" he asked, and Dean frowned, thinking about it.
"Five I reckon, they get extra points for being dickheads." He said, and Sam nodded, filling it in, and Dean grinned, it was good to see his brother enjoying himself again.
With his brother otherwise occupied, he felt it was a good opportunity to broach something that had been bothering him.
"Hey, Sammy?" he asked, as Sam began putting Leviathans into the bestiary.
"Yeah?"
"Know when you first started Stanford? Was it hard, you know, to adapt to the fact that you weren't sharing a room anymore?" Dean asked, hoping his brother would answer and move on.
No such luck.
Sam smirked as he put down his pen, grinning evilly at his brother.
"Wait a minute, you, the person who was so excited to be getting a room of their own after all this time, is now having second thoughts?" he teased and Dean shot him a sour look.
"Did I say I was having second thoughts? No, I asked if it was hard for you to adjust to the fact that I wasn't in the same room at first." He said tartly, and Sam cocked his head curiously.
"But are you? It's ok if you're having trouble adjusting Dean. After all, we've basically lived in each other's pockets for eight years straight, the only time you got off was when you shacked up with Lisa and even then you were still living with someone else. It's ok to be a bit intimidated now you have your own room." Sam said kindly.
"I am not intimidated, sheesh, all I did was ask a simple question, I didn't need a lecture along with it!" Dean said defensively, not looking at Sam and about to flounce off in a huff.
"Dean! Yes, it was weird at first." He said, and that seemed to stop Dean in his tracks.
"It was?" he asked, and Sam nodded.
"Of course it was, I was suddenly all alone in a room of my own, without you there, without dad, it was weird at first, disconcerting. You just need to get used to it that's all." He said, going back to his bestiary, and Dean relaxed a little.
It wasn't that he missed Sam being in the same room as him, far from it. It was just strange, not having Sam in the same room as he was after all these years. The last time they hadn't slept in the same room through their own choice had been after the attack by the Vetalas, Dean had been mad Sam had gone off without him and nearly got himself killed, and Sam was mad at him because he told him in no uncertain terms that if Dean had been doing his job properly, he wouldn't have had to go off on his own and nearly die. Both of them mad at each other, Dean mad at Sam basically for being right and Sam mad at Dean for being so obsessed with revenge and as usual not dealing with his emotions and hence venting his crap onto Sam, Sam had booked two separate rooms. That had led to a furious Dean stewing in his own room all night, regretfully looking over at the other bed where Sam should be. In the morning however, he did realise his brother was right, and if he had been with him and paying attention, Sam's mistake (which he couldn't really blame Sam for making since it hadn't been in the journal, he only knew vetalas hunted in twos from experience) could have easily been avoided.
Going to Sam's door and receiving no answer, Dean had bypassed anger and gone straight to fear and had burst down the door to find his brother sweating like a pig, through the roof with a fever. Dean had then spent the next two days nursing his brother back to health, bitterly blaming himself for getting his brother into that mess. Still hadn't stopped Sam apologising to him as soon as he was able even though it was his own fault which had only wound Dean up all the more as he knew full well his brother shouldn't be apologising to him, it should have been the other way around.
"And if you don't get over it, I'm sure you could always knock down the wall between our rooms if it'll make you feel better." Sam said teasingly, earning him a kick in the shin from Dean, who hated himself for considering how a through door to Sam would look. Ah well, if he did get it, there was nothing to stop him having fun and terrorising his brother at night. Suppressing a chuckle he sat there sipping his beer, watching his brother write entries into the bestiary until the phone abruptly rang, making Sam grin.
"See, told you, I do all the work and you answer the phones!" he said brightly, making Dean grin as he answered it.
"Hello?" he asked as Sam continued to scribble away.
"Dean! How are you?" Marion, their sheriff friend from Brandon, greeted heartily and Dean grinned at hearing their friend's voice.
"We're good Marion, hang on, I'll put you on speaker phone." He said, doing so, distracting Sam from his note taking as he looked up at the phone.
"Hi Marion, it's good to hear from you." He greeted, and they could hear Marion sigh in relief as he did so.
"Oh it is good to hear from you boys. I don't mind telling you, we were worried sick when you disappeared. And I know you had your reasons, Jody told me, but a heads up once you were back in the game would have been nice." He scolded, and the two brothers looked at each other sheepishly.
"Yeah, sorry, that was a dick move. We should have told all of you we were back, or at least visited after we got attacked." Sam admitted and he heard Marion chuckle.
"Yes, Missouri most of all, she has two heavy spoons with your names on them just for you when you pluck up the courage to visit her." He told them, chortling, and Dean gulped worriedly, an incensed Missouri was not something he wanted to encounter any time soon.
"So what can we do for you Marion? Charlie hasn't come back from the dead has he?" Sam growled, referring to Marion's former deputy.
Charlie had been convinced that when Sam had been killed by a resurrected Zachariah the year before, that Dean had been the culprit who had killed him (though in his defence Zachariah was making Dean think he had too which didn't help). He had flagged up the case for the FBI, which had brought the Leviathan FBI agent, Valente, down to Brandon, and when the boys had escaped he had killed everyone in the station bar Charlie. Charlie had then joined him, the actual FBI team and the group of hunters tracking the Winchesters and their allies across America, allying freely with their enemies all because they helped him get revenge on Dean, who had killed Charlie's brother due to him being a werewolf. After a final showdown in St Mary's convent where it appeared that he was dead, he had killed Dean in a cowardly attack when Dean had been mourning Sam's death and had fled. After Death had resurrected the boys, they had returned and made one of their rare human murders and had killed him allowing Marion to return to work and life in Brandon to move on.
"No, I could deal with that, I've got stuff to tell you about that anyway. But no, you see I've got a string of very nasty murders in the town, and I'm thinking they might have something to do with you lads. Obviously I've looked through the books you gave me, and a couple I got from Garth and Missouri when you boys were MIA but I can't find anything that might explain it. So, you fancy coming up here and lending an old friend a hand? Free accommodation, free beer and I've just put a pot of chilli on the stove, and I'm not one to brag, but I make a mean chilli." He said, and Sam looked at Dean for the answer.
"Sure, give us an hour and we'll be on the road. See you in a bit." He said, and they could practically hear Marion's smile on the other end of the phone.
"Excellent. See you in a bit then lads, I'll get the guest room ready, one of you will need to take the sofa bed though, is that fine, you boys sharing a room?" he asked, and Sam grinned.
"Bags the bed! Yeah that's fine, Dean might welcome the chance to share a room with me again anyway, he's having separation anxiety." He said, grinning maddeningly, sniggering at the look of outrage he had just brought to his brother's face.
"That's good then. I'll get some beers in. Since Dean is having separation anxiety, would he like me to get him a cuddly toy?" Marion asked to wind Dean up, and Dean balled up his fists while Sam disappeared from view, sniggering out of sight beneath the table.
"A cuddly toy, no, a coffin so I can dispose of my brother would be handy though. See you soon." He said, and Marion laughed.
"See you when you get here just come to the house, you remember the one, call me if you get lost. Bye for now!" he said, hanging up, and Sam came up from beneath the table to look at his brother, his face mostly deadpan, trying to stop a grin.
"I'll give you a one second head start." Dean growled and with an annoying grin, Sam vanished into the stacks before Dean thundered after him.
It was good to relax and just be brothers again, relax and have fun for a change. Even if they did have a case to go to.
"Of course you realise, this means war." Dean vowed and he chased after his brother.
Sam had cast the first stone. It was time for the prank war to begin again.
XX
"Sam and Dean will walk willingly into your trap lady Ember." Niandra reported to the council at large, and the leader of the demon faction smiled.
"Excellent. Am I to take it then that your abilities have returned my dear?" she asked the girl fondly, and Niandra, the oracle of the Perpurigo, frowned nervously.
"No, they haven't. Some things I can divine, but whatever this threat is that is facing the Perpurigo, I cannot make it out, it sets itself against me, blocks my vision. I can't see what this threat is, all I know is that it is getting more powerful." She said fearfully, and Ophanim looked at Seraphim worriedly.
"Naomi? She's the only one on our side who could conceivably challenge us." She said worriedly, but Seraphim shook his head.
"Doubtful, she's too busy trying to take control over heaven, and track down the angel tablet which she was foolish enough to let Crowley find out about." He said ponderingly, and Kerubiel turned to Ember.
"Could Crowley be the threat against us?" he asked and she snarled in contempt.
"He wouldn't dare, he knows I would pluck out his heart and cast it from the tallest tower. Besides, like Naomi, he is busy trying to track down his respective tablet, which the Winchester's pet prophet now has." She dismissed, and Zain looked at the rest, his brow furrowed.
"Leviathans? Some remain after all." He pointed out, but Delphus shook his head.
"The ones that remain are only out for themselves, they don't have the skills or capabilities to organise themselves without their leader. And besides, even if it is them, intelligence has located several more Leviathans across the country, the Elite are moving in now to kill those and send them back to Purgatory where they belong, so even if they are a threat they won't be so for much longer." He explained, and Macey hissed between her teeth in annoyance.
"Isn't it obvious who are foe is? It's the Winchesters! Once they are dead, this will end." She vowed, but Akpach shook his head, his dour face looking even less impressed than usual
"If the threat against us was truly the Winchesters, Niandra would be able to divine it, especially since they seem to be walking into Ember's trap. The fact that she can't points to another player who is setting themselves against us." He explained darkly, to the general discomfort of the entire group.
"Fear not. I have summoned all of the oracles from within our ranks. Veronica and I are going to use them to augment our powers, so that we can try and divine this threat to us before it is too late. However, regardless this threat is some time away and we have a job to do. Several seals have yet to be rebuilt after all, and that's just for a start." Niandra said, to the nod of Veltas.
"The seer is right, we're too busy focusing on the Winchesters and this unseen threat of ours to focus on our actual jobs. As the threat seems to be far off, we ought to focus on the things that we can impact." He said, to the various nods of the other council members.
"As you know, the angel Apronia was Raphael's most dangerous supporter in his attempts to restart the Apocalypse, and she has caused all sorts of problems. The families of those she killed in order to contact Lucifer and Michael must be eliminated. I think it best if we use Wendy for that task." He said, turning his attention to Ember, who nodded in agreement.
"I agree my friend. I shall have her send those Apronia killed against the remaining family members, that will clear up that mess. She caused another problem though didn't she?" she asked, and Ophanim nodded.
"Indeed she did, she also blinded several fisherman off of Alaska to break another seal." She reminded, and Veltas tapped his chin with his long index finger.
"Then as you are no doubt aware, action must be taken to clear up that mess as well. I suggest Brogan for the task, heh, his poor defenceless victims wouldn't be able to see his hellhounds even if they did have eyes." He said coldly, to laughter from the Reapers and demons, though the three angels faces were marred with distaste.
"The Ancilla are also hunting down all those who were in the hospital that Lilith blew up in Seattle, along with the survivors of her motorway carnage to help tidy up that loose end as well." Lexii, the leader of the Reaper faction, reported in unconcern, knowing that the group the Ancilla were hunting had no chance against their forces.
"And Ember's plan continues apace, meaning we can hit two birds with one stone and deal with the last loose end in Brandon. Which means my friends it is now time to turn our attention to those in heaven and hell who were touched by these events." Seraphim decreed, to general consensus.
Kerubiel smiled maliciously.
"I want to deal with the angels. I will take Quasi and his brothers and go and annihilate the last of those angels who were foolish enough to support Raphael in his attempt to end the world. And any of the remaining hierarchy that supported Michael." He said, to the cautious nod of Seraphim.
"I concur my friend, however, do not take out Naomi, out of all the factions that remain up there, she is the one who would be most advantageous to having in charge of heaven. Perhaps we ought to do her a favour. An angel by the name of Zophiel, who once was personally appointed by Michael to find Gabriel after he abandoned heaven and his brothers, is the largest competitor to her claim to power. Obviously, as a personal supporter of Michael and someone whose failure to complete his mission allowed for the mass murder of so many pagan gods, is someone who ought to be rectified." He said, and Kerubiel nodded.
By his failure to find Gabriel before his death, he had allowed for the death of one of the four Archangels, which despite the protestations of his two heaven bound older brothers, did affect the overall power of heaven and the angels themselves. And Lucifer's mass murder of the pagan gods had thrown the world into havoc. Not only had the human authorities discovered a scene of mass murder, which was bad enough, everyone who had been worshipping those gods and everyone connected to those gods had been affected, which had only increased the hysteria around the Apocalypse and led to many more deaths and destruction across the globe, leaving the Perpurigo an even bigger pile of excrement to deal with when they had finally broke through the barriers Michael had placed around their realm.
"So, I am to take care of this Zophiel?" Kerubiel asked, and Ophanim nodded.
"Yes, that will allow our natural ally Naomi to help bring further order to heaven, it won't end the civil war but it will go a long way to ending it, which also fits in with our mandate. And with the largest warlord aside from Naomi removed, it will further break apart the smaller factions as they all vie for power, which keeps heaven out of the way as we continue to repair the damage that has been done over the last several years." She said, and Kerubiel nodded, allowing a bloodthirsty Lexii to lean forward in her chair excitedly.
"And as Ember is playing with the Winchesters, that allows me to go to hell and deal with the last of Lilith's supporters and any who remain of Azazel and she's inner circle, and any of Lucifer's remaining advisors. I shall take my daevas, they won't know what hit them." She said with cold excitement, and Zain rolled his eyes in amusement.
"It's inspiring but amusing at how excited you get at the prospect of mass slaughter mother." He said, and she winked at her son.
"Of course darling." She said, ignoring the dirty look Akpach was giving her.
"I believe I am Ember's second in command Lexii." He reminded her tightly, and Ember was the one who answered.
"Exactly, which is why while I am dealing with the Winchesters you must attend to my affairs here at Arce Purgatus. Veltas will also be on hand to help my should I require it. Let Lexii have her fun Akpach, you know how grumpy she gets when she hasn't killed at least three people before lunch time, a slaughter will keep her out of everyone's hair." She assured him, making Lexii grin.
"Exactly. What about Crowley?" she asked curiously, and Ember seethed.
"Much though I would like to eradicate that glorified little bureaucrat, he does keep hell in line and out of our way. One day we may deal with him permanently, but for now he is the lesser of the many evils in hell. However he is having problems with one of the factions that formed to help him topple Lilith. Ziminiar wants more power, and is risking a rebellion in order to get it as Crowley will not bow to his wishes. Remove Ziminiar, that will keep Crowley happy and cooperative for the time being and keep at least one realm from falling into another civil war." she ordered, and Lexii nodded.
"As you wish. Then, unless I miss my guess, we are done here are we not?" she asked, and Seraphim nodded.
"Indeed we are." He said, rising and with a rustle, the angels vanished, followed a second later by the demons, leaving the Reapers, Delphus and Niandra to use the door as usual.
"Show offs." Niandra grumbled to Delphus who chuckled slightly as they too left the council chamber.
XX
This wasn't good. Thus far, great care had been taken to block Niandra's view to prevent her from discovering what was going on within the Perpurigo and so far it had worked, but now she was going to use all of the considerable talents of the other seers, including her own handmaiden Veronica who's own talents were quite considerable, to try and divine the source of the threat against the order.
That simply wouldn't do.
Action would need to be taken. Perhaps their little puppet could be used, but failing that...
The seers only became truly effective when they achieved their full powers, which they didn't do until they were approved by a senior oracle, which was Niandra. The others, while proficient, were basically looking at threats through binoculars if indeed they did manage to find out anything. They needed the ceremony, the ritual that Niandra and Veronica carried out to become true oracles like Niandra. And Veronica was closest to Niandra in level, the next one after her would take years before she was able to see like Veronica could, and decades before she reached Niandra's level. Yes, that was a possibility, but there was still Niandra to deal with.
But if any move was made against her, she would divine that, it was the nature of her powers, self preservation above all things. Which if need be, could be used to their advantage. Yes...it certainly could be used to their advantage.
XX
Discovery was now more than a fear, it could easily become a reality. His plans, everything he was working towards, could easily be undone. Niandra, Veronica, all of the seers on their own weren't a threat. But together, they may be able to divine the true nature of the threat from within the Perpurigo. That couldn't be allowed to happen, he was far from ready, he hadn't even consulted any of the Perpurigo's various allies yet in order to sound them out about the coming change in regime. No, Niandra could not be allowed to get close enough to figure out just what was going on. But moving against her was foolhardy. It could easily lead to everything he had been working towards collapsing around his ears. No, he had to think about this.
But...
The threat wasn't Niandra, they already knew she couldn't divine the future like she used to. Her power was beginning to ebb, which may be a way in. After all, there were so many ways to defeat one's enemy.
XX
Interesting that Niandra was putting her heart and soul into discovering just what was threatening the Perpurigo. Obviously, she could not be allowed to truly discover what was going on behind the scenes, of the dark threats, plans and alliances shaping up hidden from view in order to bring about a new order. Plans long formulated and goals long desired were too close to fruition to be abandoned now just because Niandra was getting curious. But what course of action to take? If Niandra caught wind of what was going on, she would undo everything they had been planning for all these years. No, the oracle, the oracle was becoming a problem. However, not individually, it was the potential threat caused by her joining with all the others seers within the group that threatened all the schemes that were taking place behind the scenes.
Perhaps it was time to twist one of the Perpurigo's views against itself. Rather than the over the many, perhaps it needed to be the many for the one? After all, other than being blocked, Niandra was still a powerful seer, and the Perpurigo needed her help in order to do their job. All that could be hoped for was that the other factions would realise that too.
And if not, they themselves would have to take action.
XX
"Starting without me Veronica?" Niandra chided slightly, finding her handmaiden sitting on the bed as she entered her quarters in the central tower of Arce Purgatus.
"Sorry mistress, I couldn't wait." She said, and then relaxed as Niandra shut the door.
"So you should be my dear, after all, venturing into the future without me, very risky business. I might get jealous." Niandra said teasingly, sitting down on her bed beside her handmaiden and kissing her gently.
"Sorry my love, but we are in danger, and it is my duty to help protect you. I am your handmaiden after all." She chided seductively, kissing Niandra's cheek coyly, and Niandra smiled.
"You are much more than that beloved. Did you have any luck?" she asked, and Veronica shook her head.
As she explained what had happened when she had tried to see the future, Niandra took in the small, slight form of her handmaiden, her olive skin, her sleek black hair, the smears of red shadow that covered her eyes and marked her cheeks and forehead, her body draped in the same sort of silk scarves that Niandra's was.
"So, you weren't able to divine anything?" Niandra asked worriedly.
Because, having fun with Veronica aside, this was becoming a truly dangerous and intimidating threat, an unknown power was moving against the Perpurigo and was blocking its vision, which could only mean it had something insidious planned, and they could find nothing to help them, a fact that was putting them all on edge. The reason for this was simple, how were you meant to defend against a threat if you didn't know what it was?
"Nothing of interest to us. We could try together though." She said, extending her hands, palm upwards to her lover and mistress and Niandra sat opposite her, crossing her legs as she clasped Veronica's hands in her own.
"Let's. Then, if we still fail, then we shall summon the corps." She decided, and Veronica nodded, smiling alluringly.
"I did divine one thing though mistress, someone within the council is going to have sex tonight, and it isn't Zain." She said with a grin, and Niandra chuckled as she and lover got to work.
XX
"Agent Tyers, the lack of progress on this is frankly unacceptable." Mueller said sternly as she sat before him in his office.
"I'm sorry sir, but ever since they escaped us in Stockbridge we have always arrived too late to do anything to stop them. We nearly had them in their last town, but when we got there we decided that Nazi war criminals who according to the old Allied files are meant to be long dead walking around required our attention." She said, and he had to admit, it was a fairly good reason for abandoning her required job if nothing else.
"Yes, but the true problem remains the Winchesters. They are both alive, I know it. I have need of them Agent Tyers, and I appointed you so you could bring them before me and you have yet to do so. Tell me why I shouldn't reassign you?" Mueller asked, glaring at her and she looked back at him stonily.
"Because sir, respectfully, if you do that, you would have to start all over again with someone else. My team is good enough to find the Winchesters, I can promise you that." She assured, and Mueller looked at her sceptically, and she could feel the patronisation before it even began.
"If your team is good enough, then why do I not have the Winchesters?" he challenged, and noticed as she clenched her fist to try and keep her temper under control.
"Because they are good at this director, and respectfully, they've managed to elude you for at least eight years, whereas I have been doing this for only one, so if you can't catch them, it might be a little difficult for me to catch them." She said venomously, and Mueller recoiled in shock, sitting back in his seat as he surveyed his seething agent.
He then let out a low chuckle.
"You have spunk Agent Tyers, and I appreciate that. And you do raise a good point. My apologies. You see, the Winchesters are linked with an issue of national, if not international, security. And I want them, before this issue gets any worse. You see, events have been set in motion that cannot be undone, and I need the Winchesters to help settle what is going on and save the country. I trust you understand that Agent Tyers. As a result, you understand why I am so determined to find the Winchesters, something very big is going on behind the scenes in our country, and I intend to deal with it, and the Winchesters are essential for that purpose. So, I expect two hundred percent effort from now on Agent Tyers. Do you have any leads on where they might be?" he asked, and she nodded.
"Not a lead per se, more a suspicion. There has been a series of strange murders in Brandon South Dakota, and it seems like wherever such things are, there's usually a Winchester not far behind. And we were about to head there when we were summoned halfway across the country, so by your leave sir, we will get back on the road." Tyers said curtly, and he nodded, beckoning her out of his office.
She was bordering on insubordination, but he supposed that was justifiable. They had left Pennsylvania and had been going through Illinois when he had summoned them all the way back here so that Tyers could give him a report.
Mueller frowned. This situation was getting out of hand. Other FBI directors had known of this situation, but he would be the first to do something about. The pestilence that was poisoning America would come to an end, and he would be the one who would do it. And the Winchesters were the key to that. And, if rumours were to be believed in some of the circles that Mueller listened in to, then they had recently become all the more useful in ending this pestilence than before.
And that was why he needed them. With them at his disposal, he could end the silent war going on in America, bring an end to the silent struggle. America would be free of its taint.
And he would be the visionary FBI director who brought it about.
XX
Dean, trying hard not to grin, banged on Marion's door, watching as Sam gave edgy looks at the garden gnomes he had flanking the front step (the kid had always been scared of gnomes, no idea why, apparently they freaked him out). The door opened and they were greeted by the grinning face of Marion, a twinkle in his eye and a slight limp as he pulled open the door.
"Oh it's damn good to see you boys." He said fondly, shaking Dean's hand and giving him a brief hug, before looking curiously at Sam.
"Sam my boy, why do you have a moustache drawn on your face?" he asked, and Dean burst out into laughter as he watched his brother figure it out. Coolly and calmly, Sam turned to Dean, giving him a cold look and an evil smile.
"Alright, fine, if that's how you want to play it, you're on." He said before allowing himself to be greeted by Marion.
"Good to see you Marion. Can I use your bathroom? I live with a child." He said scathingly, while Dean affected a look of innocence.
"Just at the top of the stairs, you pair's room is the one next to it. Come in come in." Marion said, leading them in to the house, and Sam pointedly left Dean's bag in his hand, sticking his tongue out at Dean as he did so, though his brother only winked maddeningly.
"Have I gotten myself in the middle of one of your sibling wars?" Marion asked in amusement, and Dean nodded.
"Yeah, don't blame me, he started it. And he always did zonk in the car, serves him right." He said with a grin and Marion shook his head as he led Dean into the well appointed kitchen, where the smell of cooking chilli immediately attracted Dean's attention.
"That smells awesome." He said, his mouth watering, and Marion inclined his head in acknowledgement.
"I do make a mean chilli if I do say so myself. A beer I think. I took the day off so I could make sure you boys got here in one piece. With Charlie gone no one should recognise you since Valente killed everyone who might have done but we can't be too sure. Just shove those books to the side, I meant to move them but I forgot." He said lamely, as Sam, now clean, entered and accepted the beer Marion passed him.
"So what's up Marion, how've you been?" he asked, sitting down and Dean could tell that his little brother's devious mind was plotting ways to get back at him, if he hadn't already.
"I've been grand, doing away. You'll be pleased to know life here went back to normal virtually overnight once you disposed of Charlie. Ah, hang on, my legs giving my gyp." He said, sitting down and removing his false leg, with a bottle of whiskey stowed inside, scratching the stump of the leg which he had lost in the final battle of their war with Raphael and Lilith.
"I still want one of them." Dean complained, pointing to the built in whiskey bottle, and Sam rolled his eyes.
"I told you before, to get one of them you need to lose a leg, which means I have to drive and you wouldn't let me drive the Impala all the time so you can't." He told him patiently, while Dean sagged slightly, making Marion chuckle.
"Anyway, I've not been up to much in the past year, it's you boys I want to hear about, all I've done is my job and a few hunts." He said, and Dean looked at him in surprise.
"Wait, you've started hunting?" he asked in shock, and Marion grinned.
"Yep. The book Bobby gave me was quite handy, and then Garth and Missouri gave me a couple more when you pair disappeared. See, when we learned what happened in the showdown between you lot and Roman, we panicked. Missouri knew first of course, she sensed that something bad had happened, but by the time Garth got there, you'd all vanished. All the Leviathans were dead, there was a field of burned corpses without heads on, and it looked like a few demons might have bought it too, but there was no sign of any of you. Missouri, when she arrived, couldn't get a read on anything, she said she felt you boys had been there but you weren't there now. She couldn't even sense the echoes that mark where the prophet lad has been, apparently he gives off some sort of signal she can trace or something, but there was nothing. All she knew was, you had both vanished, and along with you the boy, the angel and Meg. And believe me, Garth was more affected by her vanishing than he was willing to admit. Anyway, by this time we were all losing it, we hadn't heard from any of you, we had tried to summon Bobby, call Meg, call the hospital Castiel was apparently at, Missouri tried séances and all sorts of things, we put out searches for you, nothing. Obviously we couldn't search for you outright because Mueller was still looking for you so we were basically stuck. So, with no sign of you boys, we started to step up. Missouri went back into the occasional bit of hunting, Garth always was, and when we could, Jody and I did our bits too. I mean we're not full time like you boys, but we do alright, part time hunters, part time cops, all round good eggs." He said brightly, and Sam looked at him sheepishly.
"Marion...I'm sorry. Dean, he was stuck in Purgatory, so he couldn't help you. I could have at least called you guys to let you know I was alright at least." He said, and Marion waved it off.
"Don't worry about it son, Jody told me what happened to you, I can't really blame you. You were a mess, I saw Dean when you died, several times I might add, I know how you two depend on each other, it was alright to be a bit lost without him." He said, noting that Dean was looking anywhere but his brother and vice versa. Must be to do with the issues Garth told him about.
"Yeah, I still should have said." Sam said, but Marion waved it off.
"Let it go Sam? You screwed up, it happens. You're human, you're allowed to make mistakes. I happen to recall a certain other person in this room making a choice few last year." He said mildly, shooting Dean a look that brought a slight grin to Sam's face as Dean determinedly looked the other way.
"So what have you hunted?" Dean asked curiously, deciding to re-enter the conversation.
Marion shrugged.
"Nothing that much, did a couple of ghosts a few months back, I did a demon that was getting a bit too big for its britches, a werewolf and a black dog." He recounted and Sam had to admit he was impressed.
Unlike he and Dean, Marion hadn't been trained to become a hunter, he had just kind of fallen in with a group of them trying to prevent the end of the world last year. For him, especially since he only had one leg which was potentially dangerous, he'd made a pretty good job of it.
"Impressive. So, you guys decided to pick up some of the slack since Sam wasn't doing his job?" Dean asked, earning a glare from Sam, and then, a kick in the shin for good measure that made his eyes water, guess he'd kind of deserved that one.
Marion shot him a scolding look and nodded.
"Not enough to win any awards, but enough that we did a good job at the end of the day. But now, what's been happening with you boys? After the shinding with Raphael and company, we barely heard from you until you told us you were going after Roman, and after that you vanished, come on, I want details." He wheedled, making the boys grin.
"Well I was stuck in Purgatory for the better part of a year. Not a nice vacation spot, trust me."
"And that's the place where all that lot, Raphael, Lilith, Gordon etc all came from right?" Marion asked, reattaching his leg and hobbling over to the stove to stir the chilli.
"Exactly." Dean said, and was about to continue when Sam looked at him curiously.
"I never actually thought to ask, but did you see anyone we knew down there?" he asked, and Dean shook his head.
"Other than Cas when I found him, no. Which now I come to think of it is kind of strange. The amount of nasties we've put away you'd have expected me to find someone we knew." He mused, and Marion frowned thoughtfully.
"One of the things I read online reckons that there are multiple levels of Purgatory, just like hell, which I suppose would make sense."
"Well, once I got out, I hooked up with Sam, who'd kind of lost it a bit and we just got back into it." He said, and Sam looked at Marion with a small smile.
"Yeah, we've been royally screwing Crowley over too." He informed him, making the sheriff chuckle.
"Oh I am glad to hear that. We summoned him you know, all he told was that you were both away for the good of your health and laughed at us, even though we scooshed him with holy water. Just tickled him apparently." He said in distaste, and Dean gave him a sharp look.
"Are you trying to get yourselves killed? He's the freaking king of hell, you don't just piss him off like that...that's our job." He said defensively and Marion raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, and it was rather hard for you to do it when you had both disappeared. Besides, I think he knew full well we weren't really a threat, he just sneered and went on his way." He said with a sigh, sitting back down at the table again.
"Trust you pair to come back and piss off Crowley. What's his deal anyway?" he asked, making himself comfortable.
"Garth's been watching after Kevin, the prophet. He's been deciphering the demon tablet, which in theory means, that when the kid cracks it, we'll be able to get rid of all the demons for good." Dean explained and Marion's eyes widened.
"All of them? That's brilliant, can it be done?" he asked excitedly, and Sam shrugged.
"We don't know, it depends on Kevin deciphering the tablet, but we think so, which is why Crowley's so pissed off recently. Anyway, why did you call us here Marion?" he asked curiously, and Marion got to his feet.
"Yes, I suppose you do want to know. Well, partly it was to shut Jody up, you boys really ought to call her or Missouri more. It will stop them, and by extension us, worrying about you so much. I know you boys are skittish about letting people in but we do care about you boys, and we know we aren't the only ones. So just the occasional heads up, yes?" he asked and Sam smiled.
"Sure thing Marion. And yeah, old habits die hard I guess. Dad never really trusted anyone and by extension we couldn't either. The people we do trust had to earn it, and don't get me wrong, you guys have, it's just..." Sam began, and Dean finished for him.
"It's just the people we do trust have a habit of getting killed." He finished grimly, and Marion shot him a pitying look.
"Dean my boy, we survived angels, demons, Leviathans, vampires, FBI and insane hunters, all during a cheap rerun of the Apocalypse. Haven't we more than earned our stripes?" he asked pointedly and Dean grinned.
"Good point I suppose. So, you only called us here to see if we were still alive?" he asked with a grin and Marion laughed.
"Certainly not. Though that is an added benefit and it means I can keep them quiet for ten minutes, they drive me to drink I swear, nagging at me." He said with a shake of his head, stomping through to the study.
"Then why don't they call themselves?" Sam asked as Marion returned, a large envelope in his hand, and Marion rolled his eyes.
"Why else? They're too damn proud and stubborn, so muggins here got given the marching orders to check you're alright. Oh and I should warn you now, I'm under oath that I'll take you to Sioux Falls for dinner at Jody's one night while you're here, so for all our sakes and mine in particular, don't let me forget, she'll skin me alive. So, you call them you hear me, if only so I can go a week without being nagged at? Be a gentlemen and take one for the team." He begged and Dean grinned.
It was nice, having people to care about them again. It had been so long and they'd virtually only had each other and Bobby, that with Bobby gone it just didn't seem right that they should keep putting people in danger by getting close to them. But Jody, Marion, Missouri and Garth, the four of them together, they all clearly cared about them, and if that was the case, the least they could do was the same in return.
"Sure thing Marion. But there is a case here right?" he asked, and Marion nodded, sitting himself down once again.
"That there is. Now, contrary to Valente last year, Brandon is a fairly quiet town, we're lucky if we have five murders a year. The most serious thing we get is either burglaries, or some old dear going through the menopause not paying for her messages. That was until last week." He said grimly, opening the envelope.
Dean moved closer to Sam (all the while alert for any sign of revenge skulduggery on his brother's part) to read the case files over his shoulder.
"We've had three murders in the last week, all of them killed in the exact same way. Now, because we're usually such a quiet town, it spread like wildfire of course which is only bringing all the crazies out of the woodwork, but that's not the point. As far as we can tell, all of them have the same wounds, and were all killed in the exact same manner, and all of them killed round about midnight. Why is it always midnight?" he pondered aloud, and Dean mused on it too. However Sam was more focused on reading the case files.
"All of them were tied up?" he asked, and Marion nodded.
"Yes, and that's what makes it all so strange. I can't see anything that relates the three victims, nothing at all, yet they were all killed at about midnight, and if this is a supernatural thing it most likely was midnight they were killed, all in a specific way. They were all tied to something, their hands bound and then their bodies tied to whatever they were against at the time. Each of them has a blow to the head, potentially lethal. But that isn't all. After they've been clobbered, which we assume is to have their way with them, they get tied up, and their necks are then tied up with a garrotte. The garrotte is then slowly tightened, and to finish killing the poor saps, their throats are cut. Now, at first I was stumped until I read one of the books Garth gave me, and I reckon it's a..."
"Threefold death." Sam said in obvious distaste and Dean looked at him in shock.
"No kidding?" he asked, taking the case notes and reading them for himself.
"I take it you've heard of it then?" Marion asked, feeling a small sense of relief, he'd known the boys would come through.
"It's very rare, seriously dark stuff. Dark priests and priestesses, occasionally nasty witches, pagan worshippers, they're really the only people who've ever used it, them and the druids, they offer them up as a sacrifice. The last time we even heard about one was from Ellen, she and Jo encountered some pagan god trying to get enough souls to let him survive the Apocalypse and he had a bunch of people sacrificing people in the exact same way to him, well, at least until Ellen sliced his head off." He mused, and Dean grinned.
"The asshat should never have pissed off Ellen, better people than he have done it and lost, me included." He said sardonically, going back to the report.
"So I was right, this is a supernatural thing, way above both my paygrades?" Marion asked, and Sam nodded.
"Yeah, you did the right thing Marion. This is seriously nasty stuff you're dealing with here. Any sign of an altar?" he asked curiously, but Marion held up a hand.
"Hold your horses I've not filled the background yet. Well, these murders started about a week ago, I considered calling you after the first one just because it seemed so bizarre, but then I got another one, then another two days ago." He explained, and Dean scowled in distaste.
"Well if we're right and this is a threefold death kill, you'll have another tomorrow, that's how they work, everything in threes, three deaths, three days off and then back to the three deaths again." He explained, wrinkling his nose as if he smelled something horrible.
Marion lost a little bit of colour from his face.
"Great, that's just what I needed to hear. Anyway, all of them are the same way. All of them clobbered on the head, their hands bound to a post or a tree or something similar, then their bodies, then their necks. They then get garrotted and then to finish the job their throats are cut. Hell of a way to go, and it's happening in my town. But here's the rub. We never found anyone outside, even though one of the victims definitely had bark embedded in their scarred wrists. The killer, whoever it is, does the job, then takes them back into the house and puts them on the bed, just leaves them there." He explained, and Sam frowned musingly.
"Huh, could be a druid then, but druids are Celtic, there aren't very many over here, and technically it isn't a druid anyway if it's killing, if it's killing it becomes a darach. Either way, there's some serious mojo going on here Marion, threefold deaths are nasty stuff, involved in invoking all sorts of creepy shit, monsters, shadow creatures, plagues, death to all enemies, that kind of stuff." He explained grimly, making Marion frown grimly.
"And it's happening in my town, will my joy ever cease? Well, it was when we found the second body, the one who was moved indoors, that I started considering calling you in earnest. And then we found the third body. Looks to me like someone must have interrupted the killer. They were found in their house, don't get me wrong, but I reckon they were disturbed. In each case, there was nothing except a strange smell in the air when we found the body, until we got to the third one. White candles, sage, cedar, sweetgrass, incense, holy water, all of it was left out in the room of the victim, on the floor in a half moon shape." He explained, and Dean looked up again.
"Wait, that isn't threefold death, that's a cleansing ritual." He pointed out, and Sam nodded.
"Yeah he's right, that is a cleansing ritual. So, someone murders these people, takes them back to bed, then cleanses himself?" he asked, bewildered, and Marion nodded.
"Certainly seems to be that way. So, threefold death, which is then purified by the killer. Makes no sense does it?" he asked, and they had to admit, he had a point there.
"I can see why you wanted us." Dean said idly, frowning, and then Marion shot him an odd look.
"I'm not done. Because after they clean themselves, there's still another part that they do. Look at the pictures at the back." He told them, and Sam pulled them from the back and both he and Dean gave a start as they looked at them, then they looked at Marion in shock.
"It was Jody who told me about what happened to you in Montana. When she described the guy who attacked, and the marks on the first victim's face I started to wonder, and when the other two were found, with the exact same markings, I figured it was high time I called you." He explained, as Sam and Dean exchanged significant glances with one another.
They were looking at the crime scene photos, at the close-ups of the victim's faces. Gory as they were, it wasn't the slit garrotted throat that drew their attention. It was their eyes. Their eyes were marred with freshly cut scars. Pentagrams had been cut into their skin, surrounding their eyes.
This wasn't the first time they had seen these markings
Because these markings were the same as those on the troops of a group of people trying their hardest to kill them.
XX
Ember and Veltas appeared in the centre of the cemetery which they had made their home, in the middle of a large stone mausoleum large enough to accommodate the ten troops. Her appearance made the ten members of the Ancilla, eight of the usual rank and file, one of the elite and one commander, this one's eyes gouged out with the shape of a devil's fork in place of their eyes, all stand to attention.
Ember gestured for them to stand down and get back to work, as Wendy came out of the shadows, shuffling up to her mistress as Veltas went to inspect the troops preparations.
"It has begun, and I can confirm that the Winchesters have arrived in town. It looks like your plan will work mistress." She said, and Ember smiled as she sank into a stone chair that looked like a throne, crossing her long, booted legs with a smirk on her face.
"Excellent. You've done all you can Wendy, go back to the castle." She dismissed, and Wendy frowned.
"But mistress..." she protested, and Ember glared, eyes flashing yellow.
"Do not try my patience Wendy, you are still in disgrace for your illegal action in joining Delphus' attack on the Winchesters. Get out of my sight. If I need you, I will summon you, but I shouldn't do, I have no need for zombies." She said, and Wendy bowed low.
"Apologies once again mistress." She said, and was about to go when Ember touched her shoulder, her gaze softened.
"Do not humiliate me before the others ever again handmaiden, or else, you won't be allowed to apologise, as I will have no choice but to kill you. Clear?" she asked, and Wendy nodded.
"Perfectly my lady." She said with a slight gulp, and Veltas approached, a dark grin on his face.
"The troops preparations are coming apace, are you sure we don't need her?" he asked, and Ember nodded.
"Yes Veltas, I am, my plan requires patience, secrecy and cunning, and zombies, despite Wendy's considerable talents, do not offer that. The Ancilla we have will suffice I assure you, relax." She soothed, and he did so, sitting down on top of a tomb.
She then turned to Wendy, a slight grin.
"I need a woman's opinion my friend. Sam or Dean?" she asked, and Wendy looked at her sceptically.
"Even forced, neither of those two would ever go near me with a ten foot barge pole unless it was to kill me." She pointed out and Ember chuckled.
"I know that. But, if the world was your oyster, which one would you want?" she asked curiously, and Wendy frowned thoughtfully before answering.
"Sam I suspect, why?" she asked, and Ember grinned.
"Because I have plans for both of them, and I needed to see which one I was going to play with. I happen to agree by the way. So, I will play with Sam...by playing with Dean. Veltas, as I make my moves, you will keep Sam and their sheriff friend occupied while I deal with Dean, understood?" she asked, and Veltas nodded.
"Of course, but what do you have planned?" he asked, and she grinned maliciously.
"You will see in time. Continue with our preparations, while I head to the hotel. Wendy, if I need you, I will send for you. And mark this day well. Because this is the beginning of the Winchester's last hunt." She said darkly, her yellow eyes flashing evilly in the dark mausoleum.
And here we go with the third of our arc!
Marion is back and will be back for the story, but hes not the only thing thats going on. Plots are afoot within the Perpurigo, Tyers is closing in on Sam and Dean and what's more, Ember has a plan to crush the boys once and for all. Threefold deaths (thank you Teen Wolf for the idea), cleaning rituals and scarring, just what is going on here?
And I must confess, I didnt have any idea what Mueller originally wanted the boys for other than to be his dogsbodies, but that story changed but I now know why he wants them in this new line, and he will continue to feature throughout the stories.
But, here we are with a brand new story, so, you know the drill, I'm at work tomorrow, so I need to get up early and I like to wake up to reviews, so do a guy a favour and leave lots of reviews, they make my day. So, as always, please read and review!