Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is a Supernatural fic, with elements from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am neither Eric Kripke nor Joss Whedon.
A New Way Home
Chapter One: Meet and Greet
It all started with a body. Well, what used to be a body. It was more a pile of flesh, blood, and organs now. No bones, whatsoever. Which was strange. Stranger than they were used to. Which was saying something.
"This is the third body like this," Sam said, cringing as he looked at what remained of the person.
"Third human body," Dean corrected. They had found many smaller animals in much of the same state. "What the hell could be doing this?"
"A bone-eater," a soft, feminie voice said. The brothers turned to face the new person. She was pretty tiny, with long dark hair. "They're a type of demon."
"There aren't types of demons," Dean argued, turning to face her completely. "Demons are human souls that are corrupted and stripped of humanity."
"That's one type of demon," the girl argued. "But really, they're more like spirits, with the whole, 'no-physical-body' and having to possess humans to come into this plane. Most demons have bodies of their own. Like bone-eaters."
"Who are you?"
"Someone who knows more about this than you." She walked around them, crouching down to look at the pile of remains. "By the looks of it, this kill was no more than twelve hours ago. You said there were other bodies?" She turned to look at the pair of stunned males.
"Uh, yeah," Sam said, glancing at his brother. "And a good many animals like this. Started showing up a few weeks ago."
"Bone-eaters have two subspecies, large and small. Small prefer things with small bones, like little animals. Large, however..."
"Like large boned things, so go find an elephant," Dean spat sarcastically.
"I'm trying to help," the girl said defensively. "I've seen this before."
"How?"
"My parents were Watchers. And my sister was a potential slayer..."
"A what?"
"Y'know, a vampire slayer? In every generation a slayer is born, one girl in all the world, the chosen one. She alone will have the skill and strength to fight the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness, to stop the spread of their evil and swell of their number. She is the Slayer."
"Sounds like a myth."
"It isn't a myth. Up until recently, only one slayer was called at a time. One dies, the next is called, but a really powerful witch used this scythe, that embodied the mystical essence of the slayer, to make it so every potential was a Slayer. With the full strength, endurance, accelerated healing... But it was too late for my sister. She was killed by the Bringers. She was real, and so are the other Slayers. As real as both of you, and the demon that you're looking for. Good luck killing it without my help." She started walking away.
"Wait," Dean called, making her pause. "I'm sorry. But it sounds far fetched. If this 'slayer' is supposed to fight all the evil, why are there so many hunters?"
"What part of 'one girl in all the world' makes you think she can do it alone?"
"Santa does it!"
"Santa actually goes around disembowling children!"
"Wow, didn't see that one coming..." Sam stepped forward, offering his hand.
"I'm Sam Winchester, and that's my brother, Dean," he said. The girl shook his hand.
"Keegan Harler," she replied. "Good luck with the bone-eater."
"You aren't going to help?" Dean asked angrily.
"You don't believe half of what I say anyhow. Why bother?"
"Was your sister older or younger?"
"Younger. Brielle was sweet and innocent. My parents were way too hard on her. And then she died and they realized they screwed up. They forgot I existed, then started pretending I was Brielle. They trained me like a Slayer. Hated me for not being her..."
"But you still do it," Sam said, drawing her focus out of her thoughts. "Play the part of the Slayer. You still do it."
"I used everything they taught me to escape them. But doing this, playing the role Brielle might've had..."
"It makes you feel closer to her," Dean finished, understanding. Keegan nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. "So, tell us about bone-eaters."
"They're interdimensional demons that can possess ressurected humans, mostly. The Small are just pests, really. But the Large want something with bigger bones, but small enough that they can still take it down."
"So how do we get rid of it?" Sam asked.
"First, we gotta find it."
"A cow? Really?" Keegan rolled her eyes, looking over at Sam.
"Is he always such a cynic?" she asked.
"Yeah, pretty much," he replied, shrugging. "But he grows on you... Eventually."
"Yeah, prob'ly like a fungus."
"Hey!" The other two laughed at Dean's outburst.
"The bovine bones are large. They'll appeal to the bone-eater. Especially if we cast this little spell I know to draw it to the secluded area where the poor dead cow will be," Keegan explained. "Thankfully, I've got connections. So, this cow was killed to put it out of it's misery, not just killed for the hell of it."
"You don't eat meat, do you?"
"I do, sometimes. But, no, not often."
"So, we get this cow to the secluded area, then what?" Sam asked.
"Then we set the trap. It involves some magic, so I'm not sure how comfortable with it you'll be."
"Magic? You're a witch?" Dean asked.
"I know a lot about wicca and witchcraft and the like. It's essential."
"So what's the trap?" Sam asked, guiding the conversation back to the point.
"It'll basically be like an invisible force-field cage. It consists of five crystals being placed in a circle. You place four, then when the target is in place, you place the fifth, locking them in. It'll be trapped there as long as none of the crystals are moved."
"And then we kill it," Dean said, nodding.
"Not so much..." Keegan said, trailing off. The brothers just looked at her. "Bone-eaters are nearly impossible for humans to kill. At least the Large are. So, we send it to another dimension. Say, one with dragons."
"Dragons can kill them?"
"Dragons can do whatever they want and no one argues with them." Dean rolled his eyes at her, while Sam bit back a laugh and hid his smile from his brother. "Yes, dragons can kill them."
"So, how are we going to get the cow to this secluded area you seem to have in mind?"
"I know a guy."
"And he has a truck?"
"And some roses."
"What?" both brothers asked.
"She's referring to a song, that is sung from a man's point of view. He says he's got three things, which include a truck, a dozen roses, and a foot long part of his anatomy," a new voice said.
"Dorian!" Keegan shouted happily, jumping at him in a hug. He laughed and caught her, hugging her back. "I missed you."
"Yeah, I'm sure. You gonna introduce me to your friends?"
"Sure, once I find some."
"Ouch," Sam said.
"Oh, right, I kinda like you," she said, glancing at Sam. "This is Sam. Sam, this Dorian."
"Nice to meet you," Dorian said. He leaned around Keegan to look at Dean. "And you, person she doesn't quite like."
"Dean," Dean said, raising one hand in a brief wave. "You put up with her nonsense often?"
"Yeah, I do. Willingly, even."
"Why?" Keegan huffed, turning to punch Dean in the shoulder, which made him chuckle.
"Jerkface!" she exclaimed. "You've been putting up with me."
"Out of necessity!"
"Whatever!"
"Anyway!" Dorian and Sam both interjected, trying to get back on track.
"What am I driving, and where?" Dorian asked.
"Dead cow, secluded area," Keegan answered.
"Tell you what," Sam said, clapping Dorian on the shoulder. "I'll ride with you and fill you in on what's going on."
"And what about them?" Dorian asked.
"They can lead the way in Dean's car."
"Those two are so into each other!" Dorian exclaimed once they were on their way.
"I know," Sam said, nodding. "So, how do you two know each other?"
"Well, Keeg and I used to chill all the time. Brielle, her sister, would hang with us sometimes... And uh... We were there, Keeg and I, when the Harbingers of Death killed her... We tried to stop them... Keegan hated me, and herself, because we couldn't save her... Hell, I hated us, too. Keeg and Elle are like the sisters I never even knew I wanted... It hurt, seeing Brielle die. And it hurt seeing Keegan in so much pain. But knowing that a part of her died that night with her baby sister... It's this burning, stabbing ache that still hasn't gone away completely."
"I'm sorry about that, man. I know it's hard."
"She's doing good, carrying on. I'm proud of her."
"She really seems to take this seriously, and she's good at it."
"She always was. She trained even before they found out Brielle was a potential."
"They're talking about us, y'know," Keegan said flatly. Dean glanced at her.
"Yeah, Sammy seems to think we're into each other."
"Dorian, too, I'm sure... Idiots." Dean actually laughed at this. He had to admit, though, Keegan was gorgeous. And the way she handled herself was impressive.
"So do you ever wonder how your parents are doing?" Keegan turned to look out the passanger side window. She stayed quiet, making Dean think he had screwed up.
"Sometimes I do," she said softly, not looking away from the window. "But then I remember all the times I held Brielle as she cried herself to sleep because of them. And I decide that I don't care, because they didn't care about her until it was too late."
"Maybe pushing her so hard-"
"Was their way of caring?" Keegan's tone was hard as diamond. She snapped around to glare at him. "She was their daughter and they treated her like any other potential slayer. They acted like they were just her Watchers, not her parents. They didn't care. Not until she was gone."
"You don't know that."
"The hell I don't!" she shouted. "Brielle almost died a few times because of how hard they pushed her! And as soon as she'd get out of the hospital, they'd be shouting at her again! Move faster, punch harder, jump higher! Be a real slayer! But she wasn't a slayer, and she never will be! She died in front of me! A Harbinger of Death stabbed her at least half a dozen times and I couldn't do anything to stop it! I went home, carrying her lifeless body, and they just shrugged and went to bed! Said it was terribly unfortunate! They didn't care!" Tears were streaming down her face. Dean pulled off to the side of the road, threw the car in park and pulled her across the seat to him. She struggled against him, trying to hit him, to hurt him as much as she was hurting.
Dean simply hugged her tighter. He wasn't that big on tears and feelings, but he knew it was hard to lose someone you loved. Keegan eventually stopped fighting, and curled her hands into fists in his shirt, crying into his neck with her head on his shoulder. Sam and Dorian had gotten out of the truck to see what was going on, only to see Dean comforting Keegan.
"Should we knock on the window or something?" Sam asked quietly. Dorian shook his head, face sullen.
"She hasn't cried for Brielle," he replied, just as quietly. "She needs to get it out. I know the place she's thinking. We'll go ahead and start setting up."
"I'm sorry, about your sister," Dean said, as they got back on the road a while later. Keegan said nothing, feeling drained. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost Sammy..."
"You'd do everything you could to bring him back, after taking out whoever or whatever stole him away," she said softly. Then she turned to look at him. "I researched every possible way to bring Brielle back. But there hasn't been any way to do it, short of selling my soul. And I considered doing it, but I know she'd never forgive me if I did..."
"There could be other ways," Dean said, glancing at her. "Have you gone after the Bringers or Harbingers or whatever?"
"No," Keegan said, sighing. "Y'know that saying... I am Legion; for we are many? That's what the Bringers are like. There's a ton of them. All over. And the odds of finding the one that stabbed her..? It hasn't seemed worth the disappointment."
"What if we could find the exact one?"
"We?" Keegan asked, looking over at him now.
"Yeah, we. So? What if we could?"
"If we could... I'd be torn... I want to destroy the bastard that took Brielle from me, but at the same time... I can hear her telling me that doing so would mean I'm no better than them."
"But these... What are they exactly?"
"Demons, though they were initially humans that were corrupted by the First Evil and transformed through various rituals, including self-mutilation in the form of carving these runes over their eyes. So basically, they're human-turned-demons with self-imposed blindness."
"Ouch."
"Yeah." Silence fell over them. "What do you mean by 'we?'"
"I meant that I think you should stick with Sammy and I, at least until we can avenge your sister," Dean said after a moment. "I'd like to help you avenge her. And of course, you would be a great addition to the team, with all this knowledge you have."
"But I'm not one of you," she said softly. Dean glanced at her, wondering what she meant by that. She had obviously taken out her far share of things that go bump in the night. She practically was a hunter, one of them.
"You are, though," he said, as they approached Dorian's truck. He parked the Impala and killed the engine, turning to look at her again. "You're just as much of a hunter as Sam and I are. More so than a lot of people that call themselves hunters. You may not see yourself as a hunter, but you really are, Keegan."
"Thank you, but I'm really not." She climbed out of the car before he could say anything else. Dorian and Sam had already placed the cow. Keegan arranged the crystals around it, keeping the last one in her bag. Dean listened as she recited the spell from memory. Then this hideous creature, roughly the size of a large human, appeared, followed by a few smaller, hideous creatures. Keegan, staying hidden like she had instructed everyone to, waited until they were right on top of the cow. Then she placed the final crystal and started the second spell that sent the vile things to a dragon-ruled dimension.