Title:These Woods Aren't Safe For Us
Authoress:superhackaninja5
Rating:M
Summary:Sequel to Broken Strings. The destruction of the town known as Mystic Falls was the catalyst for the second war between the children of the light..and the children of the dark. Now Damon and the other Spawn are all going to have to make a choice:the ones they love, or their brethren. When the stakes are higher than ever and the wrong decision could mean death, what will they choose?And what will they have to sacrifice in order to make it out alive?
Warnings:violence, language, slash, character deaths, drinking, mature & dark themes and canon-twisting.
Disclaimer:Don't own anything but the plot and the idea of the Spawn. Also, the title of this chapter is a song by My Chemical Romance. I thought the song fit perfectly for this chapter.
Hey look the sequel!I had some free time and I already had this chapter written, so I decided to post it before I got too busy. Plus I wanna see what people think. So here we go, the first chapter of the sequel to Broken Strings;get ready for the war.
Chapter 1:Welcome to the Black Parade
When you open your eyes
All you'll see
Is the smoke from the fires
You lit last night
They took your brother and his girl
To the center of the raging inferno
They took the sheriff
Whose guns couldn't save her
From the livid blaze
They swallowed whole
All the nameless citizens
Whose lives you once protected
As innocence untouched
And blood unshed
It was the slaughter of your cursed hometown
For all its sins against you
The first domino in the war
Mystic Falls has fallen now
~FLASHBACK~
The town was on fire.
But it wasn't just any ordinary kind of fire, though;the flames were the colour of jet and they rose in billowing columns that extended all the way into the smoke-filled sky.
Every single one of the buildings in the town known as Mystic Falls was currently in the process of burning to the ground-even the trees in the woods surrounding it were on fire;and not a single soul knew what-or who-had started the blaze.
Some of the citizens, in light of the recent killing spree, had opted to stay behind and let the flames take them so they could die in their homes alongside their fallen loved ones;actually,most of them had chosen that course of action, since their families were now gone-as well as their secret protectors.
Screams punctuated the acrid air as the other thirty-five percent of the people who still wanted to make it out of this alive scattered in the streets, running from the fires as fast as they could in order to escape.
But they weren't fast enough.
The black geysers quickly caught up to them and knocked them down as the sickeningly sweet smell of burning flesh filled the air.
And all the while this was happening, there were two men standing atop the cliff at the edge of the woods, watching the carnage from above with blank, insipid expressions.
END FLASHBACK~
(Damon's POV)
That was a week ago.
I had finally succeeded in obliterating my damned hometown and all of the less-than-innocent people that were left in it. But I had no ideawhat I had started by doing so.
Mystic Falls had been a sanctuary, see;an instrument for a tentative truce between two previously battling races;the children of the dark and the children of the light. And by destroying the town, I had effectively shattered that fragile peace and set off a chain of events that would only lead to one thing.
War.
Seems like such an innocent, three-letter word, doesn't it? That single syllable can't even being to describe what war truly means. Or, at least, not this war.
The battle between the two races has begun and as a child of the dark, I must fight or risk being killed in the crossfire.
It was really quite simple, actually.
Fight or die.
I chose to fight.
But little did I know that in making that choice, I would have to face off against one of the few beings left in this world with the power to kill me;
Angels.
(Normal POV)
Damon was alone in the abandoned house three miles away from the blackened wasteland once known as the town of Mystic Falls.
Or at least, he thought he was.
"Hello, Damon."
The lamia whirled on his heel and found himself facing the mysterious male who had brought him back from the dead.
"You,"he stated tensely, "So at what point were you planning on telling me that my destroying Mystic Falls started a freaking war?"
The shadow didn't blink at his ill-concealed fury.
"It was on a need-to-know basis. And, besides, I thought you wanted revenge for your death proteccting that town from those Originals," "I did,"the vampire conceded, crossing his arms over his chest, "but I didn't want it to be at the cost of causing chaos across the rest of the world."
"Well, unfortunately, that was the price for your vengeance-and you have already paid it,"the cloaked figure told him dully.
"But why? Why did the town's destruction cause this to happen?"Damon asked emphatically, an uncharacteristic frown creasing his white forehead.
Obsidian locked with steel-blue and Damon had to suppress a shudder.
"You're a child of the dark-but there are also children of the light. And a thousand years ago, we were at war for control of this planet. Millions of us died and whole countries were torn apart, until finally, a truce was initiated in which your hometown was designated a sanctuary where both species could find refuge. It was the first sanctuary-and the most important."
"And let me guess;now that it's been destroyed, so has the truce,"Damon finished for him, clenching his gloved hands into fists.
"I wasn't the first to break the truce, but I was the last. Our enemies can't hide anymore;they have to face their fate, just like the rest of us,"the black-eyed male declared coldly.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"the taller blacknette retorted sharply, ice slivers flashing in the lack of light.
Pale lips curved into a slight smile.
"Do you want to make it out of this alive?"
The vampire nodded. "Of course,"he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
His companion's dark coals bored holes into him. "Then you're going to have to have to throw everything you ever knew out the window, except for one single mandate:kill...or be killed. Because this is where things truly become life or death,"the elder told him bluntly.
Damon shook his head.
"Who are you?"he burst out furiously, trying-and failing-to contain his frustration and confusion at all these horrible revelations he was being hit with.
"Hn,"the shadow chuckled icily as he turned to leave with a whirl of his black cloak, "You can call me Itachi. Itachi...Uchiha."
And he vanished, leaving Damon gaping at his vacated spot.
~FLASHBACK~
It burned, blistered and tore him apart form the inside out;he was betraying everything he ever believed in for this-and yet, the ultimate irony was it felt right. After nearly three years of denying it , he had to face the truth.
He was in love with a human.
And not just any human, either;he was in love with Dean Winchester, the number one target on the other angels' hitlist. If that wasn't enough to make him fall...
Standing there, watching the hunter without his knowing, he couldn't help but admit it. He was an angel, he wasn't supposed to feel human emotions-but, whether he liked it or not, he had fallen head over heels in love with Dean and the hunter didn't even know it.
"Cas?"
But, apparently, he did know that the angel was there.
Closing his eyes briefly, the dark-haired angel materialized fully to stand visibly before the hunter he called his friend.
"Hello, Dean."
The human looked back at him carefully, his light eyebrows slightly raised at his sudden appearance. "What are you doing here?"he asked curiously, expression guarded, but not hostile.
Castiel shrugged.
"Checking up on me?"Dean suggested offhandedly, trying to be flip. For lack of a better explanation, the angel nodded, "You could say that."
Dean let out an ill-concealed chuckle. "Come on. It's late and Sam isn't here. I know that that's not all there is to it. What's up?"he said, a worried frown creasing his tan forehead.
The angel sighed.
"There is something I wanted to talk to you about, but I'm not sure how you are going to react,"he stated hesitantly, fidgeting under the hunter's hazel eyes. Dean swallowed. "Try me,"he said in a hoarse tone.
The shorter male inhaled deeply, clearly attempting to to compose himself before speaking again.
"I do not really know how to build up to it, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Dean, I,"he paused, preparing himself for the worst. "I love you,"he whispered, doing his best to meet Dean's eyes.
''Stunned'' didn't even begin to describe how the hunter felt when he heard those words coming out of the angel's mouth. He didn't know what to say to that;he was speechless.
"What?"he said finally after a long silence, his voice low as he looked into Castiel's guileless rocket-blue orbs looking, like he couldn't believe his ears.
There was another tense silence for a few moments following that question. "I-I love you,"the angel repeated, still in that quiet, tentative voice as he blinked rapidly, trying to hold back his emotions.
Dean inclined his head grimly.
"Yeah, that's what I thought you said,"he mumbled, scratching the back of his neck uncomfortably as he looked back at the angel who had done so much for him.
"It's okay if you don't feel the same, Dean. I just...thought you should know,"Castiel told him with another sigh. He turned away, unfurling his wings, "I'll just...go now,"
"No, Cas, wait!"Dean all but bellowed, grabbing his wrist to stop him from leaving. He forced Castiel to turn around and look at him. "Look, I-"the hunter took a deep, slow breath to try and calm himself, "I'm just surprised, is all. I mean, why-why me? And why now?"
"You taught me how to be human, Dean-you taught me how to feel. We stopped the Apocalypse together and saved the world. Why wouldn't it be you?"Castiel explained flatly, shrugging his broad shoulders. "But I think I was in love with you before all that. I just couldn't admit it until now."
The hunter released his wrist then, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, making the dark-hair frown. "Do you...love me back?"he questioned softly, not looking at Dean's face for fear of seeing rejection there.
He suddenly felt his chin being gripped tightly and a pair of soft lips covering his own and his mind just short-circuited. Dean...was kissing him? When he slowly began to kiss back and the kiss deepened, any doubts that Dean felt the same way were erased.
They eventually had to break apart for air, but Dean didn't move away, opting instead to lean his forehead against Castiel's and press another kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I love you, too, Cas,"Dean said against his lips.
Castiel smiled and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He bit his lower lip. "I'm going to face Hell for this,"he mumbled regretfully.
"We'll get through it together,"Dean promised, taking his hand and entwining their fingers. Green met blue steadily. "You're not going to go through anything alone ever again. Okay?"
"Okay, Dean,"the dark-haired angel consented as Dean's arm wrapped loosely around his lanky form and pulled him close, "I trust you."
END FLASHBACK~
(Still Normal POV)
The shadow appeared at the far end of the Resurrection church's congregation room, clad in his customary black leather cloak with the cowl pulled up so it covered everything but his merciless ebony voids.
"I was beginning to think you were not going to show,"his companion said by way of a greeting, taking a step into the light as his sable wings retreated into the back of his tan trenchcoat.
The only response he received was a low, non-committal noise from the back other's throat;
"Hn."
Castiel heaved a slightly resigned sigh at the typical lack of answer;this was definitely not going to be one of his easier duties.
"You know why I called you here, Uchiha-you know that you broke the truce by engineering the fall of the Virginia sanctuary,"he declared in an authoritative tone, "The question is why? Why would you do so, even knowing the repercussions?"
"You and I both know that the truce was merely a placebo, Lux,"the ruler of the dark retorted, tone inhumanly devoid of emotion. "Twenty-three of my brethren were killed in the last month alone and they all say their killer was the same person;Raphael, the archangel-and your first lieutenant,"
His would-be nemesis' brow furrowed darkly.
"But that is impossible,"he muttered lowly, his expression contorting with obvious confusion and shock;though he sounded more as if he were trying to convince himself than the other.
"Obviously not,"Itachi countered coldly, his blank stare a sharp contrast to Castiel's blatant horror; "I do believe you have a usurper on your hands."
Castiel shook his head, clearly aghast, "But that doesn't make any sense. Raphael has always said he only ever wanted peace between the Spawn. Why would he lie about something like that?"
"Evidently, he didn't want you to suspect him when my brethren started turning up dead-but we all know that there is only one thing in the world that could have killed them. And that is a child of the light,"the shadow stated flatly.
The ruler of the light continued to shake his dark head in fierce denial.
"I don't believe that;I can't. He has always been my most loyal subordinate. What could he possibly have to gain by turning against me now?"
"Judging by the time of the deaths, I'd say he's been against you for quite some time now,"Itachi told him bluntly, white features impassive.
"So what would you have me do?"the angel spread his palms in a gesture of helplessness, "I cannot kill him. With the war you started, such a drastic measure would you create anarchy."
"Well, I suggest you think of something, or his next target could very well be that Winchester you're so fond of,"the shadow said, causing Castiel's eyes to go wide.
"What?!But Dean isn't-"
"He is, actually,"Itachi cut him off swiftly, reading his mind, "He is another child of the dark-and I intend to use him to win this war."
"But you can't do that! You'll be putting him directly into the line of fire,"Castiel protested valiantly, sounding scandalized.
Itachi stared him down, unmoved. "If you don't do something about your ''subordinate'', he'll become a target either way. At least my way, he'll actually have a chance at defending himself from Raphael's wrath,"
The angel had to exercise and extreme effort not to lash out against his older companion for saying such a thing.
"Fine,"he surrendered through gritted teeth, "I will take action against Raphael. Just, don't go near Dean until after I do so. If I fail to stop him, then you can do as you wish."
Itachi inclined his dark head.
"You have my word,"he acquiesced without emotion, insipid black coals glinting enigmatically beneath his low hood.
Apparently satisfied, Castiel nodded before vanishing into the night-and Itachi did the same merely seconds later.
(Castiel's POV)
"Raphael."
The dark-skinned archangel didn't even turn when he heard my low, deceptively calm monotone of his supposed superior. He turned around and faced me with a cocky air that I really didn't like.
"Lord Castiel,"the other male greeted me coldly, all but sneering my title, "To what do I owe this, ah, honour?"
My cerulean eyes narrowed at his cool tone.
"We need to talk,"I announced, my tone giving absolutely nothing away, "About the truce and what it being broken is going to mean for our race."
Raphael smiled-and, for some reason, that smile gave me the peculiar sensation of ice sliding down my spine. He blurred and reappeared at my side.
"You mean about my killing all those children of the dark-or about all of your recent indiscretions?"he whispered sinisterly into my ear.
I barely had the time to be stunned at those words before something cold and steely closed around my throat unexpectedly-and then, everything dissolved into blackness.
End of chapter one. Let me know what you think. I'm already almost done chapter two so that should be up soon. I love everyone who's stuck with Broken Strings and is reading this now. Thank you all, my beloved readers.