Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural, nor any of the characters, Eric Kripke does and if you think i did own them would i have to post this on . I do however own Felix, Seth, Shiori, Jessica, and Jacob, and anyone else my mind can come up with. The song and lyrics are done and owned by an awesome band named Etro Anime, if you haven't heard of them before go google them.
Proofed by mousefiction, who does awesome stories check her out.
Ch. 1 Revisited
Faster and faster, breath catching in her throat. Heart threatening to beat out of her chest, beating quickly and unsteadily.
"Leave me alone!" she screamed, voice hoarse by now. Running as fast as her lithe legs could carry her, she recalled the events that had taken place up to this event, but thinking of such things made her mind race, instilling confusion; it made her erratic, causing her to stumble over a root in the park.
She had thought she could save some time by cutting through the park back to her apartment. Fresh coffee and the smiling faces of her room-mates awaited her in the warm and humble abode. No one, not even herself, was able to foretell such an occurrence: being chased by this man-this thing-wanting to rape her --or worse!
She shook such thoughts from her head, turning back to look at her would-be pursuer. She froze when she saw nothing, not even a shadow. She took the time to catch her breath, heart steadily recovering. She sighed, relieved. A breath in her ear startled her, she jumped, causing her heart to leap into her throat. Shivers ran down her spine like scuttling spiders. She was trembling visibly now, turning around slowly.
She opened her mouth to scream --nothing-- no sound escaped from her lips. Sucking in greedy gasps of air, she felt faint. The thing's hands grabbed her waist and thrust her to the ground.
The pursuer on top of her, her mind started racing again. What was going on, everything was moving too fast. "W-What do you want!" she sputtered. The shadows danced around her, it might have only been a play on her mind; a trick of her eyes. This was getting insane, too much for her to handle. Lips parted to scream, again nothing. How is it, she thought, that I can sputter but not scream? The shadow split into a jagged, wicked grin; it horrified her and shook her to the very core of her being.
Her vision was getting hazy, slipping in and out of consciousness. The azure-haired woman couldn't tell what was real anymore. Shadows dancing macabre waltzes in and out of view, fangs in place of teeth on the horrifying figure toppling over her, terrifying images playing tricks on her mind. She thought she heard the man mumble to himself when her grip on reality finally left her alone with her darkness.
Her eyes peeled open welcoming a new day. She laid there, still as stone, limbs stiff. She slowly sat up as her bones creaked. Every nerve in her body was screaming and she wasn't sure why. Her painted fingers reached for the back of her neck, her hair falling over her shoulders. She worked out the kinks and aches in her neck, rolling her shoulders to work out the stiffness. ". . .Fuck. . ." her high-pitched voice squeaked. She was shocked at the fatigue in her own voice. "Did I just run a marathon?" She rubbed the sand from her eyes and slowly rose from the comfort of her bed. As she turned her head to stare, the sea of blankets beckoned her back to the comfort of her bed, but she refused the welcomed invitation.
She shook her head as she gazed upon the blinking red lights of her alarm clock, the lines somehow changing into numbers, then letters, and then finally bizarre shapes that would look weird even on a crop circle. She blinked hard, the numbers assaulting her vision with each ferocious blink. The woman slugged her way to the bathroom, tripping over her carpet and cursing under her breath. Looking at the mirror with mild interest, she tried to weave her fingers through her tangled blue bird's nest; her fingers getting stuck. She managed to yank them out taking a few lighter strands of blue with her retreating hand. Deciding it was too much of a hassle, she let the matter drop. Maybe a shower would help, not only with her hair but with herself as well.
Cold water rushing over my face, through my hair. Frigid water running over me, as I stand there, letting the icy sensations wash away my fatigue.
Yeah, a shower sounded really nice after such a thought.
She stepped from the chilled temperatures and into a warmer atmosphere, causing her to shiver as chills ran down her spine. She quickly covered herself in a towel, tucking it between her modestly sized breasts. Her fingers traced over her figure and she smiled, pleased that the image in the mirror wasn't as ghastly as when she had awoke.
Drip…drip…drip…
What the hell? The woman stepped out into her bedroom to investigate, to no avail. Nothing in her room could be capable of such a sound…besides her spigot on the bathroom sink. She turned her head quickly causing wet tendrils of blue to splash her cheek. She laughed at how easily she had frightened herself and turned the water off.
Walking from her bathroom into the larger part of her dwelling, she heard dripping again. Blaming it on a leaky faucet she headed for her large dresser. She picked out a pair of dark form-fitting blue jeans and an over-sized black and purple striped hoody that fell to her knees. She had to do something about the hair though. Grabbing a brush, she quickly rectified the situation, her azure hair falling down past the nape of her neck. She smiled, she was told blue would look good on her, though she never realized just how much until she turned to examine herself in the mirror.
Drip…drip…drip…
What the freaking hell? She mentally cursed as she raced towards the faucet stupid friggan piece of sh- Reaching the faucet she saw no dripping, but heard it. "What the hell?" she muttered. She took a few confused steps into her bedroom looking at the walls. She could tell by staring out the window it wasn't raining; and there was definitely no way there could be dripping inside the walls.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted red flowing freely in sickening gobs from the electrical outlet. Hesitantly she kneeled down and dabbed a finger in it. Sniffing softly, an overwhelming smell knocked her to her ass. She blinked hard, wishing it would go away. When her lashes fluttered open, the red was still flowing.
"It's b-b-b-blood!" she screamed as she backed away from the electrical outlet and made her way quickly out the door, slamming it shut behind her. She slid down the length of her door. Muttering under her breath as partially sleeve-covered hands clutched the sides of her head. "It's not real, it's not real, it's not real." was repeated in mantra.
A blond-haired man was at her side in a heartbeat. A soothing hand running up and down her back. The man in a clam and collected tone was asking what was wrong. Over and over again, nothing but 'it's not real' reached his ears.
"Felix!" The blond yelled. Confused and panicked eyes darted to his pale blue eyes and locked there, tears forming in her bright green eyes. The man shook her, trying to get a straight answer out of her, one that made sense.
"In my room --blood; electrical outlets!" Felix shrieked to him. She pushed away and moved to the side. "G-Go look if you don't believe me!" she shivered and hid herself in her security blanket --the hoody. The man opened the door and asked which of the outlets she was yelling about. A shaky finger from Felix pointed to the outlet by the entrance to her room. He inspected it and found nothing out of the ordinary.
"Are you sure? Outlets just don't bleed, Felix." he sighed and rubbed his temples. A black gloved hand ran through his blond cropped hair. "Just…go get a cup of coffee. Get some caffeine in your blood. You were probably just imagining things, you did just wakeup, after all. I'll inspect it further if you want me too?" Felix nodded her head and rose on shaky legs. Walking to the living room she made her way into the kitchen, using the wall as a railing when she stumbled. Walking was not easy when your mind was racing too fast for your body to keep up.
"Thank you, Seth." She moaned softly; the man only nodded in response. He leaned closer and inspected the outlet a little more closely. There was nothing he could find, but that did not mean that something was not in the walls. Perhaps a rat had got stuck and roasted by the plug. He fetched a screwdriver and undid the cover for the outlet. A caked red substance was attached to the top of one of the outlets. As he was bracing himself with one hand he had to remove his left glove with his teeth. He placed a finger to the foreign substance and sniffed it, then licked it hesitantly. His eyes widened at the notice of it.
". . It really is blood . . ."
Cold.
Emptiness, nothing in the vast darkness. Not a sound, not a light, black everywhere, vision going hazy. Memories fading, retreating back into the easier times of elementary and middle school. She'd close herself off from the recent memories of her angsty high school life. But every so often something from that time in her life would break through her psychological walls, only to be clamped down harder than before.
Still nothingness; days have past-months, years, decades, centuries--or has it really only been seconds? Time seems to be a thing of the past, no way to tell, only to walk in the vast nothingness; no sense of destination or direction.
She would walk for hours, sitting down when she tired. Getting up to walk again, walking in circles sometimes to change the pace.
A huge flapping sound--wait sound?--overhead. Head craned around, neck tilted back looking for a source of the sound. A large scaly serpent overhead, enormous leathery wings keeping the creature aloft. Light glinting off of the scales of the underbelly of the beast.
Light?
Are her senses starting to return to her? Maybe things are actually coming through. Maybe she was never in the darkness to begin with. The azure haired beauty shook her head of such thoughts. Fearfully amazed with the ancient creature of myth: a dragon!
The dragon swooped down in an arcing nosedive-- right towards her! She backed up, and as she turned to run she tripped over her feet. As the diving mass of scaly mythical might headed straight for her, she held up her arms defensively and clenched her eyes shut. Felix wished she was anywhere but here. Her high school life would have been more acceptable than this!
Nothing-again with the nothing! She unclenched her eyes and unfurled her arms from her mediocre defensive position. Her bright emeralds flashed over the dragon. It sported a rusty red to golden brown underbelly and the tops of his scales were a glistening green in the overhead light.
Felix took a deep breath of fresh air and looked around her. She was dressed in her normal clothing: oversized hoody and tattered, faded black jeans. Taking her eyes off of herself, she discovered that the view couldn't be more breath-taking: flowing green hills as far as the eye can see, and she was standing on a hill just on the edge of a swaying valley with a lake in the middle, more of a glorified pond; but gorgeous none the less. The cool breeze swept her blue hair around her freckled face. It was so comforting.
The fact that a dragon hovered over her a few tens of yards in the air had eluded her.
With a sharp jerk to her neck, her eyes fell once again on the dragon. There was something more, something that made her shiver. Not a shiver from the breeze or a lover's touch: something wicked and evil, a feeling that horrified her to no end. Like that one night! Her hands went straight to her neck.
Blood started trickling down her neck, oozing over her shaking, pale fingers. The sky overhead suddenly grew dark with malice and hate; the once dancing grass died at an alarming rate. The sky grew red and lightning flashed devilishly across the sky. Her eyes grew wide and she shook harder.
On top of the dragon was a figure, cloaked in shadows that seemed to beckon to his every call. A shadow spread over his lips. Gnashing sharp teeth spread down over the shadow's mouth; eyes--bloodshot and dark-red. The Shadow rubbed the dragon's neck, soothing the beast down to land on the disheveled corpse of the ground. She got a good look at the dragon now, about 8 feet tall with a long slender neck. Two shorter arms in the front of the gargantuan with larger limbs in the back. Four sharp talons extended from each finger, longer then her forearm.
The blood flowed freely now, in larger quantities down her right side. No matter how much blood she lost, she never got dizzy or woozy; and it never stopped flowing. The shadow's smile spread further. The dragon's beady yellow eyes fixated on her, and she felt calm for a second. This horrifyingly amazing awe-inspiring--her thoughts were cut short as the dragon's chest puffed up as the stagnant air was sucked in through it's nostrils. For the minutes that passed as she was staring, her mind didn't connect with what dragons were infamous for--breathing fire!
Her arms immediately raised in front of her face again as the dragon screeched at an ear-shattering high-pitch. A wave of crimson rolled over her and she screamed, loud and bloody. No one for miles to hear, but her, the dragon (which she wasn't quite sure was capable of understanding her) and the laughing shadow. The flames licked at her face, but she felt odd-something was missing: the flames weren't hot. Her eyes peeled open, the crackling flames had only assaulted her vision, making the shadow and his demonic mount that much more intense and bone-chilling.
The ground shook--earthquake?--black mist started to seep through the cracks that split in the rotted earth. Was she going insane? This was just a dream wasn't it? Even experts say that you can change anything you want to in a dream as long you know you're dreaming. Her eyes clenched shut, nothing. Anything. Anything was better then this! Cracks became trenches and trenches became canyons. Seven figures appeared, each were equally cloaked in shadow as the Shadow was. She screamed once more, eyes clenched shut.
The shadow grinned deviously, for the first time the shadow spoke. Long talon-like teeth barely moving as a green slithering tongue slid in between the narrow gap. "You can't change what you are." Speaking in what seemed to be a mechanical voice, reminiscent of talking piggy banks and voice operators she had dealt with so much in the past. "You cannot run away from the path that has been chosen. There are no forks, no secret paths, a straight dark road." the voice slowly regurgitated the same words over and over again.
Bracing herself, eyes wide in horror, she risked a look behind her. The shadows that had seemingly sprung from the ground, as if causing the earthquake themselves, were looming upon her.
"I-I…just wanna go home. Let me…go home…" she whimpered, voice barely a whisper.
The shadows engulfed her, pulling her back down in the madness that started this. She stiffened at the blackness, struggled as she was pulled further and further underground. She arched her neck once more to catch a glimpse of this shadow. Nothing in the world could explain why she had. The instant she gazed upon green orbs twisted with greed and hate, she screamed.
The frightening figure, filled with so much hate, so much malice and envy, greed enough to fill an ocean…
…was her…
Light peeked through the windows, threatening the looming shadows. A small moan escaped a sea of blankets and sheets, adrift on a feather-light mattress nestled in the corner of a dark red room. The slumbering figure rose, clutching the feathered comforter to her bare breast. A high-pitched, squeaky yawn and a stretch of her sore limbs limbered up her body. She reached a hand to her bright blue hair, only after the realization of how tangled her hair really was, did she drop her hand back down to her bed. A lazy, lingering gaze fell upon the alarm clock, blinking at her harshly. Thundering steps and booming voices invaded her pounding head. With more grace than a football player on a jackhammer, she rose from the feathery confines of her delightful slumber, only to teeter and correct herself.
'The only bad part about a night out with friends was the hang-over you have to deal with in the morning.' Her thoughts screamed at her for making bad choices last night. Right before the day of her concert at the Lounge too. Felix avidly remembered all of the hang-over recipes that she and her friends had looked up over the past few days. A few of them sounding strangely appetizing, while others left her agonizing over whether or not it was such a good idea to begin with. She vividly remembered reading one such concoction: a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray; this one she believed to be a joke; she'd try anything, however.
A sluggish walk to her adjoining bathroom had already made her exhausted. A haggard woman stared back at her from the reflective surface. She pulled down her lower eyelids, revealing bloodshot tissue. She swore soundly under her breath and started a shower. A waterfall rung in her ears and she cringed, almost to the point of grinding teeth. Felix accustomed herself to the noise and to the water and stepped in.
"Could you please, for the love of God, turn that down." An irate voice piqued for the third time.
"Turn what down?" A nonchalant scratch of the cheek, "You don't mean slow down do you?"
"You know exactly what I mean." Now agitated to the point of being furious. Sam's hand reached for the radio to turn it down. Dean, knowing he was being an ass, took it a step further and slapped his brother's hand away from the radio.
"Don't touch her, she's sensitive." Dean smirked.
"I'll give you sensitive." Sam muttered darkly. Dean countered with a subtly well timed turn of the radio knob, tuning Sam out.
Dean smirked once more in his half-cocked grin. "So, you never did tell me, why are we heading East?"
Sam hesitated, and spoke in too soft a voice to hear.
"Sammy?" Dean turned his head.
"I said, Lawrence." Sam brought up again.
Dean's face paled, 'Lawrence, as in Lawrence KANSAS?' "You don't mean like Lawrence, Tennessee or something do you?" Dean knew the answer but couldn't help asking the question.
Sam let out an exasperated sigh, "No Dean…Lawrence, Kansas." Sam turned the page on the book he was studying and sighed, closing it.
"So why Kansas?" Dean barked.
"Castiel said he would meet us there. Tell us what's going on. He told me over the phone that he thinks he might of found God finally." Sam retorted, still playing over the conversation in his head, nit-picking at the smaller less subtle details.
Dean turned up the radio higher. This was weird for both of them, going back to their home town. Going back to where everything started. Sam ran a hand over his weary face and looked over to his brother driving his baby. Dean looked at Sam, and for a moment, exchanged glances, until Dean turned the radio even higher and revved the Impala faster. Sam gave a sigh, but didn't even complain about the ear-splitting AC/DC blaring over the radio.
Another squeaky yawn, who knew that Bourbon drunk the night before could be so taxing the next day. Felix, having exited her shower and dressed for the day, poured herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen. The azurite blinked, as the hairs on the back of her neck and arms stood up. "This coffee is bloody freezing!" She twitched. A chuckle came from behind a newspaper at the kitchen table. "Shut up Seth!" Felix made the microwave beep in sequencing patterns, and warmed the coffee up. She leaned against the counter and glared icy daggers at Seth through the newspaper.
"Maybe you shoulda been out here earlier, hmm?" Seth piqued up, voice muffled by the newspaper. He tucked a loose strand of his sandy blonde hair behind his ear and took another sip of his warm coffee with milk.
"Maybe, you shoulda been the gentleman I thought you were and warmed up the coffee for me." Felix retorted rather vehemently.
"I would have but that involves me putting the paper down and exerting effort I would rather save. Besides, this is too interesting an article to stop halfway." Seth closed his newspaper and placed it down on the table. Staring, from across the room, into Felix's green eyes with his pale blue ones. He smiled, and Felix turned immediately around and grabbed her coffee, muttering something about a creeper under her breath as she walked to the table.
"And what does the famous lead singer doing today?" Seth almost purred.
"Whatever the hell I feel like. I'm not famous either, far from it." Felix flushed from the attention from Seth. She would never admit it, but he was quite attractive. The sandy blonde hair and deep blue eyes. An athlete's build to die for and always the perfect gentleman to anyone he meets. Always knows when to make jokes to make her laugh and to be there when she needs a shoulder to lean on.
"Felix?" Seth was snapping at her now. "Helllll-ooooo" Seth sat back when Felix snapped to.
"Sorry, I spaced out there for a minute." She averted her gaze and blushed a little. 'Why am I getting so worked up over him? It's weird, not natural; we've known each other for way too long!' "So what are you doing today then, Seth?" Felix asked taking a sip of her now-warm coffee.
"I'm going to stock this place with food using your hard earned money from your concert and then come to see you at your concert."
Felix's lips pulled up slightly at the corner's of her lips. The one person she would sing her heart out for would be in the audience, thereby, making her want to do her best; at least to impress him. 'No bad Felix! Stop thinking about him like that.' She screamed at herself.
"Well, I am so glad a total smarmasaur like yourself will be at my concert." Felix smiled and bit her lip, swirling her lip ring with her tongue.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Seth grinned and picked back up his newspaper.
"Dick." Felix muttered and crossed her arms over her chest.
"So, did you have any ideas of what you want for you birthday?" Seth musingly asked.
"Some freaking peace and quiet in my busy life for one." Felix sighed.
Dean slammed on the breaks, the Impala screeching to a halt before a weathered road sign. The driver's side door to the Impala slammed shut, an already aggravated Dean stepped up to the road sign. "Think your all that huh?" A small kick to the sign. "I'll show you wheat state." Dean muttered. Sam stepped out of the car and stared at his brother.
"Why the stop? I would rather get there as soon as possible. It's going to be dark 'fore we get there anyway." Sam pointed back to the car. Tilting his head towards the inclination of getting back into it.
Dean sucked in the air around him. "Then what's ten more minutes?" Sam rolled his eyes, calling Dean an egomaniac, but not pushing it any further. If it was up to Sam he wouldn't be here either. Sam cracked open a beer and tossed it to Dean, a sarcastic thank you showing on Dean's face.
"Drink up, if I know Castiel, we'll be risking our lives again." Sam popped the tab on his and took a long swig.
"And that's different from any other day how?" Dean looked annoyed.
"Okay Dean, what's wrong?" Sam looked down at his older brother.
"We have to find God why? We're two people out of what, 6 billion people, and you're telling me they couldn't find anyone else? I'm tired and I don't think I can do this anymore."
"Dean,we've lost too much to give up now. Jo, Jessica, Ash, Mom, Dad…you."
Dean scoffed. "I didn't say it was a good idea."
"Dean…we really don't have a choice in the matter. We're both vessels, the vessels" Sam countered.
"And why is that? All these angels spouting free will bullshit and we end up getting the short end of the stick."
"Dean? How is that any different from any other day?"
"Shut up and get in the car." Dan threw his can on the ground and walked around the car to the driver's side.
"Just because it's the Apocalypse, doesn't mean you have to take it out on the Earth." Sam, annoyed, bent down to pick up the discarded beer can.
"What's one more can among the thousands of them when the world is going to explode tomorrow."
"If we fail."
"If one of us says yes." Dean blurted ominously. He changed the subject. "So what do we do when we get to Lawrence?"
"We find God." Sam admitted nonchalantly, as if it was the easiest thing to do in the world.
"And if we fail?" Dean questioned as he started the Impala.
"Then we think of something else. We've succeeded with nothing but gut feelings before," Sam shrugged.
"Yeah, you died and I went to hell." Dean paused, "…Awesome choices there Sammy." Dirt skidded back from the wheels as Dean floored it on the engine.
Felix laughed as she tuned her guitar. The events of her girl's night out had been a complete success. Awarding the girls, her friends, with rather rewarding stories from the night. "Or when Jessica asked that total stranger to bang her. Oh. My. God. That was hilarious!" Felix's friend and confidant; as well as lead guitarist recounted the events of the past night.
"It's not like you were totally chilled either Shiori!" Felix laughed poking the smaller Indian girl in the arm.
Shiori shrugged, letting her long chestnut hair fall over one of her shoulders. "Like you were any better?" Shiori poked Felix back in the arm. "I saw you flirting with Seth, you were throwing yourself at him!"
Felix flushed, eyes wide. "I was not!"
Shiori giggled. "Oh please. I'm surprised you two didn't screw on the bar!"
Felix Shrieked. "Shiori! Shush!" Felix added in an even smaller voice, "I don't even know how I feel about him yet."
"Shiori laughed hard, loud and melodic. "How can you not! I see the dreamy look and the drooling goo-goo eyes you give him every time you see him."
"Shut! Up!" Felix tried to close Shiori's mouth to keep her from talking and failed. She tripped over a amplifier cord and landed on top of Shiori, with a squeal. "Shut up shut up shut up!" Felix laughed while she tried to win the argument-turned-wrestling-match. Felix finally got her best friend to be quiet by placing her hand over her mouth. Both of Felix's legs over Shiori's arms. "Hah! I win!"
"And the prize is me." Seth purred.
Felix looked up with wide eyes and a horrified look on her face. "SETH!" she screamed. Felix scrambling to get up from the concert stage were they we were practicing, failing and falling back down to the ground from an amp cord twisted around her ankle. Shiori just laughed harder while Seth stifled a snicker.
"Please, both of you girls shouldn't stop wrestling on my account." Seth smiled. "I was rather enjoying the show."
Felix huffed, "You are such a pig!"
"If there were two hot guys wrestling in front of you, would you stop them?" Seth smiled.
"I-I well I mean…Shut up!" Felix crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm going to get something to drink." Felix in a rush almost ran out of the room, leaving Seth and Shiori by themselves. Shiori grinned at Seth and left in the opposite direction that Felix had. Seth just shivered. "God that woman gives me the creeps." Seth muttered and cringed. He turned to follow Felix back to the bar to apologize.
Dean pulled his Impala up to The Mercury Lounge, a bar down the road from the college campus. A nice blue atmosphere to it all, such as a the planet Mercury would be. Dean smirks. "I never knew we had a bar in this town."
"We didn't, when that college came up, the bar was made about a year afterwards. Of course, when a college comes up a bar goes up down the road. Oh, and a Starbucks." Sam shrugs.
"So have you seen Cas?" Dean grins. "Job in a bar, now he's gettin' the idea."
"Nope." They both walked around to the trunk and grabbed some concealed weapons. A knife and pistol for each of them.
"I cannot see how those, what did you call them, pistols will be of any use." Castiel piqued up from behind both Sam and Dean, causing them both to jump slightly.
"Geez Cas, I'm getting you a bell, and not all of us have fancy Angel powers we can rely on." Dean scoffed.
Sam chuckled, "So we're going to find God in a bar?" Sam asked slightly confused.
"Not…essentially." Sam and Dean both looked at Castiel, expecting more information.
Dean looked both back and forth, as if waiting for something. "Anything else you wanna add Cas?"
"Not especially, is there anything else you need to know?" Castiel walked toward the bar, leaving the two brothers to ponder that. Sam walked after Castiel, Dean followed, scratching the back of his head. Getting that small little inkling of a feeling when you know something is going to go wrong.
Dean opened the door and looked around, the three of them judging surroundings and exit strategies. The place was very crowded, enough to the point that it was hard for Dean, Sam, and Castiel to find their way through the throngs of people and to the bar. "Ah, home sweet home." Dean smiled, and spoke once the music had faded away. The buzzing hum of hundreds of people talking at the same time was almost as loud as the pulse-pounding, rhythmic music from before.
"Are you talking about Lawrence or the bar?" Sam questioned, knowing the answer right off, but feeling he had to ask it anyway.
"Does it really matter?" Dean smiled and ordered for the wayward men. "Three from your tap." Off the bartender went to grab three mugs. Dean turned around and leaned against the bar, Sam and Castiel found stools to perch themselves on next to Dean.
"Hey Cas, do you think we should leave Dean alone in his natural element?" Obviously a ploy at humor to the angel.
"Natural…element?" Castiel questioned. Many things on the Earth were still plenty new to him: objects, intangible or not, catch-phrases and the short-hand or idioms that everyone used.
"Yeah, you know…actually, you know what, never mind." Sam shook his head, as if sorry for the socially inept angel. He grabbed the mug that the bartender had brought to the three of them and took a long, hard swig. As soon as Sam was done with his satisfying pull, Dean was already slamming his mug down from chugging it. Castiel stared at his, wondering what the amber liquid was and how it would be of any use to his current problem of finding God. If the alcohol had been in a corporeal form, Castiel would probably be poking it with a stick.
Dean turned to Castiel and smirked, obviously pleased to be back into his natural element. "So what are we looking for here? An omen, demon, half demon, seal, angel, Lucifer, God even…what?"
Castiel turned from Sam, who was instructing him on the foreign substance, the mug to his mouth. A disgusted look and sour face later, Castiel explained, "It is not God we are looking for per-se. It is the key to finding God."
"But wait a minute, I thought you said you had everything you needed to find God. My pendent, remember?" Dean crossed his arms, and became a little firm, if Castiel didn't need Dean's pendent anymore, he was damn-sure going to get it back.
"You misunderstand me, I never said that I would only need one key, Dean." Castiel scanned the room looking for something. Sam, noticing such, began scanning the room as well, thinking there was a demon in the room that Castiel was sensing and the brothers couldn't find.
"Okay then, so let me rephrase, what are we looking for?" Dean spouted, being a little annoyed, and already finishing his second mug. Sam, finishing his first, and Castiel coming close to cursing his and smiting it.
"That." Castiel pointed and got up to go straight towards "that." Dean pushed him back down, first wanting a good view of what they were up against.
A girl at the beginning of her womanhood, stood on top of the stage, instructing members to do this and that. An Indian girl with chestnut hair was tuning her guitar and playing with the amps. A dark skinned boy sat at the back with the drums, checking to make sure each cymbal was in the right place and each drum gave off the right noise. Another female, with more of an olive complexion strummed on a bass, tuning it to exactly the right frequency to play more melodic tones.
The girl standing on the peek of the stage picked up a guitar; her bright blue hair framing her face, and she tucked it back into place. This girl, obviously the lead singer, tuned the guitar she picked up and tapped on the mic. In a very soft, and what seemed to be fragile voice, spoke "testing" into it. Dean watched this girl for what couldn't be more then a few seconds.
"You don't really think that skinny thing is going to sing do you?" Dean, talking to Sam, pointed.
"It doesn't matter if she sings, what's important is that we need her." Castiel interrupted. "We should go grab her now and leave, before something we can't fight comes for her."
"Whoa whoa whoa, what do you mean something we can't fight?" Sam started in.
"Would you fight demons to come and take this child away with hundreds of mortals dying in the process?" Castiel stared at Sam, long and hard.
"Well, since you put it that way." Dean chided. Castiel stood up and began to walk to the stage. Dean pulled him back. "Whoa, what do you think your doing there, Romeo?"
"Romeo? My name is Castiel." Castiel shrugged Dean off but stayed where he was. "So, I do not understand why we cannot just walk up there and take the girl."
"Cas, that's kidnapping, we can get into a lot of trouble for doing that. We're taking her against her will. Believe me, it would cause more problems for us in the long run," Sam explained.
"Then how do you propose we capture her, or even get into contact with her?" Castiel, getting annoyed at stupid mortal customs, growled.
"We wait, and when they're done we do things the Winchester way." Dean smirked and leaned back against the bar, obviously getting comfortable for the show.
Sam knew that look, he knew it all to well. "Dean, you are not sleeping with the key to God." Sam rolled his eyes.
Dean, hurt, uncrossed his arms in a mocking sentiment, "Me, really? I wasn't even thinking that. I was just trying to think of the best way to talk to her."
"And convince her of the Apocalypse, or convince her of getting into your pants?" Sam snickered at his older brother.
"Convince her of the Apocalypse, duh?" Dean clarified.
"Dean, you slept with an angel, and well many, many, many women."
"Yeah I did," Dean smirked and snickered a little bit. Then his face became hard and serious again, "Wait a minute, you bedded Ruby." Dean stated.
"I did, and you forgave me for that, problem solved." Sam smiled, all the cards laid out on the table. No more secrets between the Winchesters…and Castiel. If they were going to stand against the Apocalypse, they would have to do so united, and not as a broken front.
"Yeah I did, and hey Sammy?" Dean poked the younger brother.
"Yeah Dean?" Sam challenged.
"Shut up."
Felix stood up on stage, all eyes upon her, waiting for her to do something. She took a deep breath. 'It's just like practicing in the garage.' Felix thought in a mantra. She took a deep breath and told the rest of her band the opening song they were going to play. The drummer counted off the beat for the speed and the tempo of the song, and they each played their respective instruments with fervor. No one had called them bad, but then again, no one had called them good. This was the first show that they were having in front of so many people. The first show where she would be watched and excruciatingly judged.
Her voice started as she played back up electric on her '97 Fender Sunburst Stratocaster. She smiled as she thought about the first gift that Seth had ever given her. She shook the thoughts from her head. It was only her and the music now. The fast, pulse-pounding and jazzy sounding guitar rifts, with a powerful yet subtle booming bass reverberated throughout the bar. A hard hit drum beat counted off the tempo and the speed of the song, telling the band when to speed up or slow down.
Felix let her voice out, strong and loud, soft and harmonic. A voice that belied what she showed the public. Her ripped black jeans and black corset she wore gave off the punk rock image. Though her voice, interpreted something far more beautiful than anything anyone would have ever thought.
A soft guitar in the beginning, backed up by high chords. Easy hits on the bass and snare drum.
"Day-by-day." She started, soft and flowing, drawing out the last day.
"It comes and goes away."
"Day-by-day"
"I used to come home and wonder about him," The first verse started and things were going better than they ever had in her imagination, she couldn't help but tap her foot and flow to the sound of her own music.
"I used to be on my knees without him," Getting more powerful and confident, her voice portraying this with her music.
"I couldn't collect my courage," a pause, "around him"
"He was something beyond my reach," Felix drew out the last word, reach, with two syllables
"And I was ready to die for him"
"Nothing gonna take my right away from me"
"If love's the undertow"
And then spoken smile and pause in the medley, "I'll be the first!" A big smile and a wink to a man in a leather jacket and blonde, spiked back hair, leaning against the bar with one in a trench coat and the other tall one in a faded khaki jacket.
Felix began to start the chorus, "Day-by-day"
"It comes and goes away"
"Day-by-day," Shiori, on the lead guitar and Jessica on the bass singing backup for Felix.
"Day-by-day"
"It comes and goes away"
"Day-by-day"
Felix started the second verse, completely immersed in the music at this point.
"I had to find out for certain why I go"
"For the fruit of the tallest tree"
The music died down and became almost too soft to hear.
"That I just have to reach"
"But as time passes by, we all know why why why"
"We go with the undertow"
"And now I know!" Felix flowed the chorus from the second verse.
"I was ready to die for him"
"Nothing going to take my right away from me"
"If love's the undertow"
"Day-by-day," In a much higher voice and backed up by Shiori and Jessica, she sung the chorus and glided into soft, jazzy guitar solos and rifts that harmonized almost too well.
The music died down once more, with only Shiori playing the music. Felix sang fervently.
"It comes and goes away."
"Day-by-day"
"And all that he leaves is silence around me"
"And all that he leaves is me," The music started up, harder and slightly quicker then before. "On my knees!"
"Day-by-day"
"It comes and goes away"
"Day-by-day"
"Day-by-day"
"It comes and goes away"
"Day-by-day," The last bits and end of the song were sung by all three of the girls and done rather well, leaving a rather stunned and very appreciative audience.
Felix smiled wide and blew kisses to the audience, the four members of her band leaving the stage. Even though they were only an opening for a much, much larger band, she couldn't help but feel great about herself. She found it immensely hard to come down from her high: she was laughing and sweating from the lights, but it was worth it. She couldn't help but feel that no matter what band came after them, they were still going to be better.
Dean pointed and grinned a little. "That's our key?" A goofy grin plastered itself on Dean's face, causing Sam to shake his head.
"Yes, that is the only person who can activate your pendent to find God." Castiel remarked, eyebrows quirked in question at Dean, who was devouring the angel's untouched beer. After internally questioning the elder Winchester's tolerance for copious amounts of alcohol, the angel added, "I have been informed by a reliable source that this is what is needed. Your pendent acts as a sort of radar, and she is the only one who can operate it."
Dean scoffed, "And why is she the only one that can do such?"
"I do not know, but the source was indeed reliable." Castiel explained.
"And who exactly was this source Cas?" Sam asked, confused.
"If I told you, you would not like it." Castiel looked down, he was not sure why, but he had this feeling of being very small against his two towering companions.
"Just tell us Cas: the more we know, the better this is going to work out for everyone," Sam egged.
"It was Raphael."
"Raphael! Cas, how is that reliable? Last time he saw you he wanted to tear you apart and wear you like a suit to the high school prom." Dean pointed at Castiel, that feeling that the angel had received only moments before, was back with a full vengeance. "What the hell, Cas! You called him your bitch: why the hell would he help us?"
"I told you, you wouldn't like it," Castiel defended. "Raphael was the only one who knew about the key. He offered me information for his freedom."
"You let him go?" Dean scowled. Castiel nodded. "Great, another psychopathic angel on our heels."
"He shouldn't trouble us anymore." Castiel clarified. "I used the blood seal to banish him."
"Whoa Cas, banishing an Archangel takes some guts, sure he's not going to come back?" Sam asked, eyebrows disappearing into his hairline.
"He might, but he won't bother us for quite some time, at least," came the blunt response.
As the night wore on and the band sung there heart out more, Dean and Castiel vied and debated with each other about plans to get her over to their side without scaring her too much.
Sam was absorbed in his thoughts, remembering his college years and the friends that he spent it with, with Brady and with Jessica. All his time and money that he was able to pull from the Winchester coffers spent on trying to earn himself a law degree. All that time and spent with his closest friends, only to turn around and leave them when Dean said so. Dean wasn't the deciding factor, Jessica's death was, but that still didn't change the fact that Dean had egged him on once he'd broken into his and Jess's apartment all those years ago. He knew the apple-pie life wasn't for him anymore; too much had happened that had tore that dream from him and cast him into reality, but he couldn't stop his mind from throwing around the what-ifs: If he hadn't gone with his older brother on that one job, Jessica might still be alive. Jessica might even be his wife at this point.
The bar chock-full of college-aged kids glued his thoughts to his lost lover, casting a shadow over his mood.
Sam sighed loud and heavy, and asked the bartender for another mug from the tap.
Dean clapped Sam on the back. "What do you say to trying to drink your big brother under the table, huh?"
Sam turned his head to him, "You wanna see if I can out-drink you?" Sam asked quizzically.
"Hell yeah I do. Let's see if you have that Winchester spark." Dean jeered.
"Would I want this 'Winchester spark'," Sam chuckled, his brother was getting more and more drunk as the night wore on, it was definitely going to be a long night. Sam ended the rounds and called it a night. Things were going from bad to worse and the Winchesters, plus falling angel, were part of it. Sam had to admit, things got hairy and there were times when they thought they were going down for the count, but it was fun and it was worth it.
Dean smiled, "What do you say we do things the Winchester way now huh?"
"Go get some badges? Are you serious, we haven't done that in--," Sam thought for a minute, it's been so long since they've done things the 'Winchester way.' "Well, in forever." Sam thought about it some more, the Apocalypse is upon them and they can't stop for a breath lest they get killed by: God, Angels, Demons, Lucifer, Michael--everything was after them by now. "Sure. What the hell."
The Mercury Lounge had been generous enough to supply dress rooms for both Felix's band and for the band after hers. Felix hadn't really given much thought to the band that played after hers after she stepped off stage. She could see why the rock-stars do what they do: it wasn't for the money; well, in most cases it is, but more than that, it's the high you get from being on stage. It's the thrill the artist gets while singing to the audience as the fans keep time with their hands. Felix sat in her band's room, her room. She was the founder, the lead singer, the sole purpose the band even started. She can't take all the credit though, there were ups and downs. Ones that she might not have pulled out of if it wasn't for the rest of the band.
Felix sighed and then smiled to the girl in the mirror. Dolled and prettied up for the stage, it wasn't her and it isn't what she liked. Her flashy appearance did sell tickets and attract the audience, but it just wasn't her. She smeared off the lipstick, the glitter, and the blush along with the eye shadow; the star on her left temple and the elongated eyelashes adorning her bright eyes were ripped away quickly with deft fingers. Face bear, she smiled at the recognizable reflection. Tilted her head to the left and to the right to make sure she had gotten everything, she stood up and walked over to a large full body mirror on the wall, pirouetted, and stared at her image. The outfit really did accentuate her curves and raise her bust line; it was, however, uncomfortable as hell.
Felix worked on undoing the zipper on the back of the corset and tossed the manacle to the ground and worked on the pants. She had the pants shimmied off down to her thighs when a knock came to her door. She smiled, 'ah, the adoring fans.' She chuckled; the inflated ego is what she shared with rock-star masses. "Just a minute."
Dean opened the door completely unbeknownst to what was behind it. Sam and Castiel were up against the wall, Dean with his "badge" out ready to show the unsuspecting victim. It wasn't a badge so much as a business card, but it would work for his purposes, so he wasn't complaining. Either Dean hadn't heard the light voice from the other side or there was a little too much alcohol in his system for him to care. It didn't matter, the result was the same: Dean had opened the door and pulled the trigger. "Hi…"
Dean had stopped mid-sentence, staring at the same girl who was up on stage in her corset and her leather pants. Dean only needed to take a short stroll down memory lane to remember how hot she was. She was hotter in nothing more then a black bra with ruffles on the design and lace on the top, and the black panties with lace on the ends accentuated with a pink bow in the top middle of the panties. The girl turned a bright red out to her ears and sat there like a deer in the headlights, then screamed, throwing a shoe at the closing door as Dean retreated out of the room like a bat out of hell.
Sam chuckled a bit at his tipsy older brother. "I told you to wait until we had a confirmation instead of just barging in."
"Shut up Sammy, It's the alcohol." Dean, if not mistaken, came close to pouting.
"Alcohol, yeah sure, it mighta been your ego that made you open that door. Thinking she would invite you in for coffee or something. Hopefully this teaches you a lesson: don't go around blaming your stupid acts on drunken disorderly conduct." The lawyer in Sam scolded, but the little brother in Sam, just wanted to laugh his ass off.
Felix stood there in the headlights for what seemed like forever, she shrieked when she finally returned to any kind of sense. She felt the familiar heat on her face from her flushing. In one fell swoop, she covered herself with a towel and threw a shoe at the door where the would-be intruder exited. She stood there huffing, regaining her sense of self before yelling at the door. "What part of just a minute didn't you understand!"
Felix finished removing the leather pants. She had never thought she was really all that attractive, but she could have sworn she saw a blush; then again, it might have just been the situation. She grinned slightly as she looked at herself now in the mirror, pale and a little meat on her bones. Not fat, but not athletic, a little out of shape, but by no means unfit. She sighed and dressed in a pair of holey jeans, a tank top, and security blanket. A black and purple striped hoody that was at least 2 or 3 sizes too big for her. She smiled softly to herself at the memories the old hoody held, until another knock, this time softer and less urgent, snapped her from her reverie. She jerked open the door with an urgency that surprised the young man with swept back hair. She stopped, it wasn't the same man. She looked back and forth down the hallway and saw him behind the taller one.
The man spoke in an easy, softer-spoken voice, "My associate told me what happen. I apologize on his behalf. He can be a little…friendly when drinking." The man explained, obviously trying hard to sweep the mishap under the rug. "I'd like to talk to you if you have a minute." Felix raised an eyebrow to the sentiment and crossed her arms leaning against the door-frame.
"Sure, but I won't talk with that pervert around."
"Pervert? Really?" Dean questioned.
"Alright then, Cas, take him back to the car, I'll only be a minute." He referred to the man in a trench coat . The man in the trench coat took the one in a leather jacket away, back to the car like the man said, Felix assumed. The taller man shrugged, "Secretary," he outstretched his hand. "My name is Sam by-the-way, the man who got a little carried away was Dean, my associate, and the other is Castiel, the secretary." Felix reached her hand out to his and shook it.
"Alright then Sam, what can I do for you?" She smiled and tucked her blue hair behind her ears. Sam handed her a business card, a nice green translucent with engraved white letters on it. "The three of us represent Sunset Swish Studios. We heard you and your band play. I must say, we're interested. We want to offer you a 2 year contract."
Felix's eyes lit up at the opportunity being presented to her on a silver platter, she all but squealed and hugged him. She nodded, "Alright, let me talk to the band and see what they wanna do. Your number is the one on here I assume?" Sam nodded and shook her hand once more, before leaving.
Felix dove onto the couch, over the arm and onto the pillows, and grabbed her cell-phone from her satchel. She pressed the speed-dial button to call Shiori, "Hey Felix, what's up?" the voice on the other end said loudly. Shiori had to go outside from the club to hear anything at all.
"We got scouted." Felix admitted nonchalantly, like it was a math test she had passed not 5 minutes ago.
Shiori squealed on the other end of the phone. "Are you kidding me? By who?"
"Sunset Swish Studios," Felix purred, "and all we have to do is play, they're offering us a 2 year contract."
Shiori smiled on the other end of the line, Felix couldn't see her but she knew just from her voice. "Let me call Jacob, and Jessica. This is BIG!" Shiori hung up after they said cheery good byes. Felix rolled over on the couch, onto her back, holding the green translucent card up to the light, passing it through her fingers. It was true: an amazing opportunity just fell into her lap, all of their laps. They would be foolish to pass it up.
Felix picked up the phone after a text message from Shiori, the azurite called the number on the card and a voice she recognized picked up. It was not the man from before whom she had briefly spoken to. It was a woman, and she thought she knew exactly who.
"Hello." The voice said, slightly ominously.
