What It Takes, Chapter 1: The Road So Far... (Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter)
No, still not abandoning my other stories, blame my beta with her bribes of pretty banners for making me get this posted :)
I don't own either Twilight, or Supernatural. I'm just having some fun
Every child at some point is scared of something, whether it be a monster under the bed or some creature in the closet, or perhaps some other faceless horror. Usually a parent tells them that monsters aren't real, but not Bella's. No, her dad, Charlie, had told her the truth. Monsters were very real, indeed.
In fact she had learned from a very early age that there were monsters out there, and some of them were worse than anything a child could dream up, but she had also learned how to protect herself…
Then…
Bella was running. Every breath was like a dagger to her chest, and her legs were screaming in pain, but she kept pushing, desperately heading towards the edge of the woods.
She wasn't fast enough.
A pale hand reached out and snatched at Bella's arm, throwing her off balance and sending her hurtling into a tree. She gasped for breath as she heaved herself onto her back, staring up at the vampire in front of her.
A ray of sunlight reflected off Victoria's distinctive bright red hair and made her hard skin sparkle. Bella might have considered her beautiful if not for the fact she was here to kill her. Though the venomous sneer on her face couldn't be considered all that attractive really.
"Alone at last," Victoria smirked nastily at her. "I'm surprised you know, you put up much more of a fight than dear old Dad."
Bella willed herself not to show any outward reaction, even though felt like her heart was breaking. It had been a matter of weeks since her Dad had been murdered, courtesy the vampire standing in front of her. 'No reaction', she told herself, not wanting to give Victoria the satisfaction. She is a hunter, raised and trained to be one from an early age, and she wasn't going to give a vampire the pleasure of seeing her break. She was better than that.
Bella could hear howls in the distance, but they were going to be too late. The wolf pack, her friends for the most part, they weren't close enough to stop Victoria as she laughed cruelly and lunged forward…
The sudden blackness cleared and Bella found herself watching two men, Sam and Dean. Images flashed before her eyes; the boys in danger, crawling bugs, something in a mirror, a creepy scarecrow. She saw Dean in a hospital bed…
Now…
~*~I~*~
Honey it's getting close to midnight
And all the myths are still in town
True love and lipstick on your linen
Bite the pillow make no sound
If there's some living to be done
Before your life becomes your tomb
You'd better know that I'm the one
So unchain your back door invite me around
Bella bolted upright and looked around as she gasped for breath. She was in a bed and the familiar room was lit by the dim early morning light. It was just a dream… again.
She sighed and rubbed her face, the last image of her dream flashing in front of her eyes. These dreams were becoming an issue. She wasn't surprised by the dreams of Victoria, they had come and gone ever since Charlie's death, but the fact that she kept seeing the Winchester brothers… she wasn't sure what to make of it.
She had considered calling Sam, who she still spoke to occasionally, but he and Dean had realbig evils to deal with. He had more important things to do than hear about her strange nightmares.
Swinging her legs out of bed, Bella hopped she hadn't woken anyone padding quietly across the room as she headed towards the kitchen to get a drink, it was unlikely she hadn't though. After all, the house she was currently staying in belonged to Sam Uley, alpha of the La Push wolf pack, he of the 'oh so sensitive' hearing.
The chances are he already knew she was awake, and if by some miracle she hadn't been talking in her sleep like usual, he would have known as soon as she had got out of bed. It was a wonder that he got any sleep at all, being able to hear that much.
It had taken her weeks to feel comfortable even peeing here, knowing that the wolves, orSkinwalkers as they should be called, could hear every single thing, even though closed doors.
Bella had been living in La Push for over a year and a half now. Ever since Victoria had destroyed half of her home in a fatal attack on her dad Charlie, leaving little choice but to burn down the rest to cover it up.
She had managed to salvage her Dad's journals, her weapons and a few clothes but not much else.
Staying with her Dad's old friend Billy Black had worked for a little while, but there wasn't much space and Jacob had started being an asshole, so Sam and Emily had been kind enough to offer her their spare room.
Living with a shape-shifting pack had taken some getting used to, but Bella was no stranger to the supernatural.
It had all begun when Bella was just six months old and a demon had murdered her mother, Renee. Everyone had said it was a house fire, a tragic accident, but Charlie, her dad, had known there was more to it.
He had seen the strange figure leaning over the crib, had seen Renee screaming and bleeding as she was pinned to the ceiling, had seen the way the room had then caught fire. So, while he agreed with the general opinion that they were both lucky to be alive, he knew it was no accident that took Renee away from them.
Not being able to let it rest, Charlie searched for the truth, and he and Bella had eventually met John Winchester and his sons, whose family story was eerily similar.
Working together, they kept looking for the truth about what had happened to their families and the more they searched, the more they realised the world was full of supernatural creatures, and living myths and legends.
Their very natures meant they were unable to stand by and do nothing with their knowledge, so John became a full-time hunter, tracking down and killing ghosts, demons and other creatures that sought to harm innocent people. All the while keeping his eyes and ears open for anything new on the demon that had taken so much from them.
Charlie on the other hand had stayed with Forks PD working his way up to Sheriff; he hunted part time, but also helped provide cover for fellow hunters when needed.
As for Bella… for a start she knew how to shoot by the time she could tie her own shoelaces. While girls her age were playing with fashion dolls she was being drilled in self-defence, weapons skills, and tactics.
They didn't see that much of the Winchesters, though John and Charlie spoke regularly, but every summer they would meet up at fellow hunter Bobby Singer's place for a few weeks.
It was chance for the three men to exchange knowledge and also to give the 'kids' extra training. Though Charlie didn't really want Bella to grow up to be a hunter, unlike like John who already took his boys all over the country with him, he had wanted Bella to be able to take care of myself whatever she decided.
As far as Bella was concerned, those weeks in the summer were easily her best times as a child. No matter how hard the training got, she loved being there, and enjoyed every minute that she got to spend with Sam and Dean Winchester.
Sammy was her best friend and she adored him, he was only a year or so older and they'd spend most of their time together each summer just hanging out.
Dean was the protector, always keeping watch over the both of them. He was older and while Bella always thought Sammy was cute, it was Dean she'd had an embarrassing crush on since the moment she was old enough to notice boys.
The rest of the year Bella spent in Forks with Charlie, going to school by day, studying demons and dead languages by night, while Charlie hunted whenever he could.
Forks should have been relatively safe, but by some weird twist of fate Bella had ended up at school with a group of what hunters called 'type two' vampires.
Bella had known there was something up with them right away, and Billy Black had filled her and Charlie in about the legends of the 'Cold ones'. After Charlie met the leader, Carlisle Cullen several times an agreement was reached, and he'd leave them alone as long as they stuck to their 'vegetarian' diet.
Unfortunately for Bella though, she'd earned her very own vampire stalker in the form of one Edward Cullen after she was sat next to him for Biology in junior year.
Apparently he was a mind reader and was intrigued by the fact her mind was silent to him. At least that's the excuse his 'family' gave for him. Bella just thought he was creepy and obsessive, especially once she found out that her blood smelt like a 'nummy treat' for him.
It was his fixation on Bella that had drawn the attention of a group of three nomads; Victoria, James, her mate, and their coven member Laurent.
Edward had been spending so much time creeping around in the woods next to the Swans' house that they had followed the obvious trail he had left right to Bella. James had evidently agreed with the opinion of her tasty smell and had returned to Forks repeatedly to pursue her.
Most of the Cullens had outright refused to get involved, despite the mess being the fault of one of their own, but the La Push pack had begun phasing and eventually they had all managed to set James up and kill him.
It had only been a matter of months before Victoria resurfaced along with Laurent, swearing revenge on Bella who she blamed for the death of her mate. Laurent had followed James' fate quickly, but Victoria had been much harder to take down. Managing to escape each time she returned to try and get to Bella.
After a game of cat and mouse lasting well over a year, somehow Victoria had eventually gotten the jump on Charlie, leaving him in the wreckage of their home for Bella to find. It was November 2004 and she had recently turned 20.
Taking the Quileute pack up on their offer of protection, Bella had moved to La Push and started training harder than ever. Working closely with the pack to create some weapons that would work on a 'type two's' granite skin.
The red-headed bitch was tough, and a master at escaping, but they had finally got to her down a couple of weeks previously, after setting up a ruse with Bella as the bait, heading off to Seattle alone as if she'd had a falling out with the pack, and then ambushing Victoria as she attacked.
It had been a bittersweet victory, finally taking down the monster that had ended Charlie, her father. It had also stirred up the nightmares that had plagued her on and off since Charlie's death.
Bella scratched absently at the brace on her right hand as she walked into the kitchen. The brace was a souvenir, not from the fight with Victoria, but from the celebration bonfire afterwards.
Jacob Black decided not to take no for answer and had pulled a dick move, trying to forcibly kiss her. She had punched him of course, giving him a bloody nose and herself a broken hand thanks to his damn 'Skinwalker physiology'.
No more than five minutes later she was being checked over by Sue Clearwater, resident La Push nurse, and Jacob had a freshly broken jaw courtesy of Paul Lahote, resident La Push bad boy and unlikely friend of Bella's.
Not many people bothered to see what she saw in Paul, that underneath the temper and bad guy act he was actually pretty decent.
When she had first started training with the pack it had just been the three of them, him Sam and Jared, and when Sam and Jared had both imprinted Paul had taken it hard, so Bella had kept him company.
They had gone on to become good friends, and although he had ended up being her first after she'd drunkenly confessed to not wanting to die a virgin, there were never any romantic notions between them. They were just comrades… who very occasionally fell into bed together.
Deep in thought as she stood at the sink, Bella filled a glass and sipped the cool water. She felt on edge, the dreams she kept having were unsettling her.
Though she was used to nightmares about Victoria, her recent dreams about the Winchester boys were troubling and the haunting image of Dean in that bed looking so pale and weak made her feel downright nauseous.
It didn't matter that it had been years since she'd seen them; she had never stopped loving either of the boys.
Sam had stayed in touch with her over the years, and last time Bella had heard from him he was back hunting with Dean while they looked for their dad John, who had gone missing less than a year after Charlie was killed.
Bella sighed as she headed back to her room, glass in hand. The restless feeling was still nagging at her. Beside the worry of her disturbing dreams, she couldn't help thinking that she needed to decide what she wanted to do now Victoria was dead. She wasn't a kid anymore; her twenty-second birthday was only a couple of months away, and as nice as most of the pack had been, she couldn't stay here forever.
~*~II~*~
Honey it's getting close to daybreak
The sun is creeping in the sky
No patent remedies for heartache
Just empty words and humble pie
So get down on your knees honey
Assume an attitude
You just pray that I'll be waiting
Cos you know I'm coming soon
Dean Winchester woke with a start, not entirely sure what had disturbed him at first.
Sleep hadn't come easy recently anyway, so he shrugged it off as a dream he fortunately couldn't remember and was just about to turn over and try to go back to sleep when a low, pained cry came from across the room.
"Dammit Sammy," He muttered, sitting up to look at his brother who was sleeping fitfully on the other bed.
His anger drained away though, when he got a good look at him. Sam's face was pale and tense even in his sleep, and as Dean watched, he began to thrash his head from side to side, muttering no, no, no, over and over.
Dean threw off his covers and quickly crossed the room, putting his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Sam…"
"No, no, no, Bells… oh, no, no…"
Dean's gut clenched as he deciphered Sam's frantic mumbling. Surely he couldn't mean… No, there was no way, it couldn't be her.
"Sam… Sammy… SAMMY!" The last shout combined with Dean's hand roughly shaking him did the trick. Sam was fully awake, sweaty and shivering and looking like he'd seen a ghost.
"Jesus Sammy," Dean sighed letting go of his shoulder and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Please tell me that wasn't another one of those dreams."
Sam's eyes snapped to meet his. "Dean, we need to leave… now!"
He jumped up quickly and the room seemed to momentarily tilt on its axis for him, causing Dean to look at him concerned as he closed his eyes for a second hoping it would help. Instead, he just pictured a familiar pair of wide brown eyes, and his stomach rolled unpleasantly.
Eventually he managed to shake it off and headed into the bathroom with fresh jeans and a shirt. A splash of cold water and a few deep breaths later he could focus better. As he came back into the room to pack, he was relieved to see Dean already half-dressed and stuffing clothes into his bag.
"Well, what is it this time?" Dean asked abruptly, trying to force the thought of Bella being in danger from his mind. "It's gotta be big to have you out of bed and all set to go at…" he glanced at his watch then back at Sam, "…Three A.M. and to have you looking this shitty."
Sam swallowed, knowing he was about to stir up a hornets nest of unresolved crap for Dean, and hating himself for it.
"Dean… It's Bella…"
Dean didn't say anything for a moment, his jaw tightening being the only outward sign he'd heard anything. Then he turned to his clothes, quickly pulling out a shirt and throwing it on before haphazardly packing the rest.
"She still in Forks?" His voice was rough, making Sam pause and look at him in concern.
"She was living in La Push the last time I spoke to her, it's the Reservation just up the road from there."
Dean nodded tightly, shouldering his bag and making for the door. "Then that's where we head to first."
Sam picked up his bag, but hesitated. "Look, Dean… I…"
"Don't Sammy." Dean couldn't even look at his brother as he spoke. "She has to be okay… I can't think of her any other way… just… she's fine, she's got to be."
Sam sighed and nodded, though Dean didn't see it. Locking the room as he left, he then headed to the little office to drop off the room keys while Dean pulled the car around, waiting impatiently outside for him.
Neither of them said a word as Sam got in and Dean drove away. Unusually for Dean, there was no music playing either. Instead the silence weighed heavily on them both as the Impala sped along the freeway.
"Dean," Sam started uncertainly a while later, after the quiet had finally become too much, "I'm sure she's okay."
"Yeah," Dean scoffed bitterly glancing briefly at him, "I'm sure you having that nightmare about her means everything's just peachy. That's not how this thing of yours works."
"I don't really know how it works," Sam sighed, "Or what it means."
He looked over at Dean, who was staring straight ahead at the road. His face was impassive, but his hands were gripping the steering wheel just a little too tightly, giving away just how on edge he was.
Sam loved Bella dearly, she had always been somewhere between a little sister and a best friend to him during the summers they had spent together at Bobby's growing up, but he suspected it wasn't the same for Dean. After that last summer they'd spent with her, Sam was convinced she meant something entirely different to his brother.
He hoped that Bella would be okay, for his sake but mainly for Dean's. He didn't want to see what it would do to his brother if she wasn't.
Hold on Bella… we're coming for you…
So pick up your foolish pride, no going back
No where, no way, no place to hide
Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Let her go, let her go, let her go
Chapter title and lyrics are from Bring Your Daughter… to the Slaughter ~ Iron Maiden
Thanks to Mommy4Thomas for being beta and badgering me to get this written and posted. Big blue popsicle for you.