Title:These Woods Aren't Safe For Us
Authoress:superhackaninja5
Rating:M
Summary:see chapter one
Warnings:see chapter one
Disclaimer:don't own anything. You know the drill.
Omg I finally finished this chapter. So I got really pissed at the last couple episodes of Vampire Diaries and Supernatural cuz people are making me so fucking mad. Fucking scriptwriters of Vampire Diaries, bringing Elena and Damon together for like 2 episodes and then forcing them to break up again. I really wanted to just get a crowbar and beat the hell out of everyone. As a remedy to that, I am posting this chapter because I am still pushing for the fact that Damon and Jeremy are SO totally a couple. They make sense in the show.
Ignore my rant. Here is the chapter.
Chapter 2:Love or Light?
He watched the phantasmist sleep in their bed from the far corner of the room they shared, doing his best not to wake him.
It seemed incredible that only a month ago this boy had been nothing more than a means to an end. Now not only was Jeremy a child of the dark like him, but he was also the one person who loved him for what he was and had never tried to change him.
Unbelievable how quickly feelings changed. He thought with a rueful grin.
Moving from the side of the door, Damon silently laid down on the bed next to Jeremy, removing his gloves so he could use his bare hand to brush the boy's dark hair off of his cheek.
The same moment his fingers touched the younger's face, Jeremy stirred and his eyelids slowly fluttered open.
"Are you just getting home?"he asked in a hushed tone, ebony eyes still slightly hazy with sleep as he inched closer to the vampire.
Damon exhaled slowly. "Yeah, unfortunately. Sorry I woke you,"the lamia apologized softly, his hands still resting against the side of Jeremy's face and thumb now gently tracing his left cheekbone.
"You didn't entirely,"his lover shrugged, moving to pillow his head on top of Damon's chest. "So what kept you?"
"The shadow telling me the consequences of destroying Mystic Falls,"Damon told him, absently carding his fingers through the phantasmist's hair. "And finally being told what his actual name is."
"And just what is that?"the former human wondered curiously, tucking his head underneath Damon's chin.
"Itachi Uchiha,"Damon stated after a moment's pause.
Jeremy pushed himself up abruptly, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. "Itachi Uchiha,"he repeated slowly, "as in the Raven?"
"And the ruler of the dark,"the vampire added baldly without preamble, inclining his inky black head in an affirmative.
The phantasmist gradually lowered himself back down, shaking his head ruefully as he did so. "Death,"he supplied flatly, his mind reeling from that revelation.
"Mm-hm,"Damon confirmed lowly.
Jeremy sighed."That's wonderful, that is."
Damon chuckled quietly, though it was without very much humour. "We started a war, Jeremy-a war between us children of the dark and freakin' angels,"he said soberly.
"Great,"the latter commented dryly, "I bet they'll be just as much fun to deal with as Klaus and the Orginals were;maybe even more so,"He let out a second sigh. "Well, at least we're not completely defenseless like we were against them."
"True,"Damon ceded pensively, wrapping his arms around the phantasmist and pulling him closer. "But somehow, I think this battle might be even more difficult to give a happy ending to,"
"Well, we don't have to deal with that right this second. We have at least one night of peace before the shit hits the fan,"the younger said consolingly. "Try and enjoy it for me?"
Damon grasped Jeremy's chin and lifted it so he could press their lips together. "All right, Jer. I won't say another word,"he whispered against his boyfriend's lips before kissing him a second time.
(Castiel's POV)
The darkness slowly clawed its way into my subconscious as I gradually awoke;it was a thick, impenetrable, all-consuming fog that filled my brain, making it impossible to think about anything. My mind had gone utterly blank;I was speechless and helpless.
And then the archangel's sibilant, gravelly baritone came, unbidden, through the fog, reverberating within my ears and commanding my undivided attention.
"You are no longer our ruler, Castiel,"Raphael, my brother and most devoted subordinate, intoned with an awful sort of finality in his tone, "And as such, I have no problem doing this to you,"
"You should,"I retorted in as composed a voice as I could muster, stubbornly keeping my head held high above the dark, metal shock collar the archangel had clamped tightly around my neck.
Raphael let out a mirthless chuckle.
"I know your dirty little secret, Castiel-I've known for quite some time now;you are still consorting with that hunter, Dean Winchester, the one you have always been fond of,"he hissed in a frigid voice that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
"He is the reason that your allegiances have been wavering-and why you are becoming so weak. So now you have a choice to make:either you kill him-or you renounce the children of the light and surrender your powers. For good."
"And if I refuse to make that choice?"I quipped with a hint of steel, raising my chin in defiance.
The archangel's lips curved in an unbecoming smirk.
"Then perhaps I should just make the decision for you,"he replied maliciously, pressing his hand to my forehead and forcefully holding me down.
I screamed out in pain as he ripped my angelic powers from me brutally, leaving nothing but my most mundane abilities.
"You're nothing but a disgrace now, brother,"Raphael whispered cruelly, speaking directly into my ear as I continued to writhe under his touch, trying in vain to suppress my agony.
When he finally halted his onslaught and pulled away, I was left convulsing in the chair he had bound me to, desperately attempting to get my breath back.
"You are no longer one of us, Castiel-so leave now, before I kill you. You are finished here,"he declared firmly, his eyes flashing as if he were daring me to contradict him.
I stumbled forward unsteadily when he freed me from my chains and fell to the floor in a graceless heap.
He was right-as much I hated to admit it, he was right about everything. I could see it in the other angel's faces;I no longer had their loyalty or their respect.
I was truly finished as the ruler of the light.
Without another word, I closed my eyes and willed myself away.
Two black-clad figures stood-no, leaned against the whitewashed wall, side-by-side but in differing positions.
The taller between the two had his slack-clad legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles and his hands stuffed casually in the pockets of his leather jacket.
His partner had one hand in the front pocket of his grey jeans with the other hanging almost carelessly by his hip and his right leg bent slightly at the knee with the left slanted across the wall behind it.
A third man literally stood in front of them in worn out, faded blue jeans, a black t-shirt and a brown leather jacket and chinos, staring at the two.
They had appeared out of thin air, and though they looked human, he knew that they most likely weren't.
"So I'm dealing with vampires again, huh?Is that it?"he surmised in a deceptively lackluster tone, tan face empty of emotion.
"Well, at present, only one vampire, actually,"the tall blacknette corrected glibly, "And another creature of the dark I'm sure you've never encountered before,"
The hazel-eyed man nodded slowly.
"And is there a particular reason why you're here?Or did you just come for an ass-whupping?"he questioned offhandedly, as if he truly didn't care about the answer.
The vampire gave him a bland smile.
"This is Jeremy-and I'm Damon. And we are here, Dean Winchester, because you are one of us."
Dean blinked.
"One of what, exactly?"he quipped suspiciously, arching a thin, golden eyebrow with obvious scepticism.
The vampire gave a tiny sigh before clarifying.
"You are a child of the dark,"he announced slowly, enunciating carefully so the other would hopefully get the message.
But apparently, Dean was a lot slower than he appeared.
"Which means...?"he prompted pointedly, uncomprehending as his other eyebrow rose to join the first in an expression of palpable confusion.
Damon rolled his frigid blue eyes expressively, looking over at Jeremy for help. His partner took the hint and elaborated patiently, "To be precise, you are an okhotnik-a Hunter with the power to kill anything, supernatural and otherwise."
The light-haired male frowned, brow furrowing.
"Does that mean there are children of the light or something?What the hell are you talking about?"he said harshly, baffled.
Suddenly, the vampire blurred and then he was pinning Dean to the wall by his throat, eyes blazing cold fire.
"Look, I don't have time for this. This war is going to be lost in seconds if we don't assemble all the other children of the dark we can. So whatever you don't understand takes a backseat to whether or not you're willing to fight;I know you have a score to settle with the angels, just as their leader has a score to settle with you."
Dean's eyes went wide.
"Why am I not surprised that the angels are a part of this?"he muttered in exasperation. He looked back at the blacknette. "Fine,"he surrendered, "You have my attention. Tell me what's going on."
The dark-haired lamia didn't release him, but he did loosen his grip marginally.
"The angels are the strongest of the children of the light. Our kind have been at war with them for millenia and the fragile peace between us has just been shattered. So now all bets are off- and, according to a very reliable source, you are at the top of their hitlist for derailing their apocalypse,"he explained bluntly, not bothering to sugarcoat it.
Dean scoffed. "Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Tell me something I don't know,"he stated almost lazily waving a dismissive hand.
"Things are different this time;your powers hadn't manifested the last time you went up against them. Now that they have, the angels' powers are your only weakness,"Damon contradicted.
"So what does that mean?"
Ice met jade without blinking.
"It means you have to get stronger if you want to have a chance of surviving this-because this time, your angel friend won't be enough to pull you out of trouble."
Dean's frown deepened. "How do you know about him?"
His accompaniment grinned mischievously. "Oh, I know lots of things now, Winchester. That's one of the perks of being not as new to this as you."
The hunter scowled. "Don't screw with me, vampire. Tell me everything,"he demanded sharply, gritting his teeth.
"Come with me now and I'll do you one better-I'll show you exactly what's going down,"Damon beckoned, holding out his hand for Dean to take.
"How do I know I can trust you?"he questioned guardedly, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly, disbelief etched in every inch of his light-skinned features.
Damon let out a somewhat exaggerated sigh, rolling his steel-blue orbs. "Very well. I'll tell you something that you'll have to believe;you know those psychic powers your brother has?Well, he has them because he is a child of the light."
The hunter's jaw dropped. Whatever he had been expecting to hear, it hadn't been that-and yet, he couldn't say that it wasn't true because how else would this unfamiliar vampire know anything about his younger brother?
"Well-played, vampire,"he conceded grudgingly, reluctantly uncrossing his arms.
As Dean reached out to take the lamia's hand, he paused for a moment, thinking this felt a bit like making a deal with the Devil. But he had to do it-he had to know.
Without any further hesitation, he grasped the vampire's hand-and all three males disappeared.
There was the sound of flapping wings, followed by a bright flash of light and then the very angel he had been thinking of appeared in front of him, trenchcoat ragged and slightly dark features looking drawn and almost ill.
"What the hell happened to you?"Dean asked him worriedly, eyes darkening with concern.
Castiel inhaled shakily.
"Raphael knows about me and you,"he declared soberly, "And he gave me an ultimatum:I either had to join you-or kill you."
The hunter's hazel eyes flashed warily.
"And?"he quipped tensely, feeling rather uneasy as he looked back into the angel's unreadable cerulean orbs.
Blue eyes locked with green.
"I made the choice that I thought was right,"Castiel responded almost mechanically, bracing a vaguely trembling hand on the wall as if to keep himself from losing his balance.
"Cas?"Dean said hesitantly, advancing tentatively toward his companion, unsure if Castiel was here because he needed shelter-or because he was going to kill him.
The angel fell forward haphazardly into Dean's arms and when he caught him, the former human heard him let out a rueful laugh.
"It seems once again I must give up everything, including my family, for you, Dean,"he whispered bitterly, his lips next to the hunter's ear. "Only this time, I won't be getting it all back."
Dean instinctively tightened his grip on his angel's shoulders as the full impact of those words hit him like a punch in the gut:Castiel had had to up his brethren for him. Again.
"I'm so sorry, Cas,"he apologized softly, knowing that it was a woefully inadequate thing to say, given the circumstances; "If you want to kill me, I'll understand."
Castiel gave an ironic chuckle.
"You don't have to worry about that, Dean,"he replied darkly, resting his chin on Dean's shoulder. "I couldn't kill you now, even if I wanted to;Raphael took away all of my powers except for the most mundane ones."
"I'll help you get them back,"his boyfriend promised firmly, kissing his stubbled cheek and repositioning his arms so he was hugging Castiel instead of merely trying to keep him upright. "Whatever it takes, I'll do it."
The angel heaved a reluctant breath.
"The only thing I can think of that is even a possibility of getting the full extent of my powers back is...well, I can't exactly describe it, but I sense something, in a church just outside of Atlanta."
"Then we'll go there and check it out,"Dean told him in a tone that left no room for argument. "You know I'd do anything for you, Cas-especially after all the things you've done for me."
"Thank you, Dean,"Castiel mumbled lowly, voice slightly muffled as he buried his face in the crook of the hunter's neck.
"Don't mention it,"the latter dismissed his thanks, bottom lip catching in his teeth as he tugged the angel closer, doing his best to comfort him.
(Dean's POV)
Hours later, when Cas had fallen asleep, which was rather unusual in itself, I left him in my bed and went into the hotel room's kitchenette, pouring myself a drink.
This was turning out to be one hell of a day;the dominoes were all coming tumbling down and there was nothing I could do to stop them. First finding out that I was a child of the dark and that the two people I love the most were meant to be my mortal enemies, and now this? I didn't know how things could possibly get any more disastrous.
As usual, Karma just had to put her two cents in.
The darkness resulting from the room's lack of light began to writhe around me, appearing to gain substance-and then, it coalesced into the shape of a man.
He wasn't like any other man I had ever seen before, though;dressed entirely in black with similarly coloured long, straight hair and conversely snow-white skin, he managed to cut a pretty intimidating figure, even being shorter than me by about three inches.
"Who are you and what do you want?"I shot at the sudden arrival sharply, narrowing my eyes defensively at him.
He lifted his dark head, eyelids lifting to reveal pupilless eyes that were the colour of pitch and reminded me inescapably of dark tunnels.
"You can call me Itachi Uchiha-and I am the ruler of the dark,"the other declared flatly, speaking in a low, almost velvet-like baritone that sent chills running down my spine.
I did my best to retain a calm facade when I recognized that name. "Oh yeah, Damon told me about you. You were also the Raven, right?And you knew all this was going to happen?"I queried in as composed a tone as I could manage,
The shadow inclined his head in an affirmative.
"Mind telling me how it did?Salvatore and his phantasmist boyfriend weren't exactly specific on the finer details."
Itachi stared me straight in the eyes, then, and I had to force myself not to look away while those inhumanly emotionless dark voids bored holes in me.
"Very well,"he consented after what felt like the longest fifteen seconds of my life.
"The destruction of the town known as Mystic Falls was the catalyst for all of this-and the lamia known as Damon Salvatore was the one to destroy it in exchange for his return from the land of the dead and his activating of his powers as a child of the dark."
"And how is you know all of this, Uchiha?"I quipped skeptically, face contorted in an expression of undisguised suspicion.
Itachi continued to meet my hazel eyes without flinching.
"Because I was the one who brought Damon back to life."
I blinked slowly, not mollified in the slightest. "Why the hell would you do that? Did you want to start another war between the Spawn or something?"
"As a matter of face, that was exactly what I wanted,"the blacknette stated in a dull, coldly unemotional tone.
"The so-called peace we've been living in for the last thousand years was a sham. We were dying off and I was the only one doing something to retaliate;becoming the Raven was useful, but it wasn't enough. Mystic Falls was one of the sanctuaries for both Spawn, and now that it has been destroyed, neither of us have anywhere left to hide."
"But now Cas is being considered a traitor to the light for being with me and I might have to lose my brother because he's one of them,"I argued angrily, frustration creasing my tan forehead.
My shorter companion didn't even bat an eyelid.
"I gave up my brother and my cousin millenia ago for this war-and they were the only family I had left,"Itachi said dully, "Sooner or later, we're all going to have to make sacrifices if we want to stay alive,"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"I snapped in an acid tone, crossing my arms over the width of my chest as a muscle in my jaw began to twitch.
"If we want to win this war, we're all going to have to make a decision:our brethren or the people we love."
"And if we can't make that decision?"I challenged fiercely, heart thudding loudly in my ears;I wasn't sure I really wanted to know the answer.
Itachi tossed me a black pistol from inside his cloak, which I caught with a bemused look.
"If you can't choose, then you might as well put a bullet in your head now, because there is no way you're going to survive this fight,"he said baldly without any pretense.
Then, he paused, cocking his head to the side as if listening to something only he could hear.
"As it happens, you're not going to be the one who has to make that choice after all,"he corrected himself, using his powers to take the pistol back from me.
I raised an eyebrow. "And just what do you mean by that?"I quipped, but before I could get an answer, he melted back into the darkness, as if he had never been there at all.
I finished off my drink, returning to Cas but still wondering exactly what the shadow had meant by I wasn't the one who was going to have to make the choice after all.
I, unfortunately, was about to find out.
(Sam's POV)
The angels appeared out of nowhere, like wraiths from the shadows of the night , surrounding us instantly.
"What the hell do you want?"Dean snarled predictably, baring his teeth at the newcomers and closing a hand around the angel blade sheathed in his belt.
Their new leader, Raphael, was the one to respond.
"Believe it or not, Winchester, I mean you no harm this night," His cold black eyes fell on me, unblinking. "I wish to speak with your brother."
I stared.
"Yeah?And why is that?"I shot back suspiciously, clenching my shaking fist in the pocket of my jacket. I knew Dean was probably just as wary of the archangel's motives as I was.
He didn't waste any time with stories or floweriness;he just laid it all out in a blunt, heartless tone that just commanded total attention.
"We were wrong about you, Samuel Winchester. The demon blood brought something in you that even our prophets could never have foreseen:you are one of us."
I frowned, completely nonplussed. "Uhhhhh...no. Last time I checked, I wasn't some dickhead angel,"I said.
Raphael shook his balding head like he was a teacher dealing with a particularly slow child. "Not an angel,"he clarified, pausing briefly before uttering five words that I definitely didn't want to hear: "A child of the light."
My jaw literally dropped.
When the lamia, Damon Salvatore had come to Dean and told him about the war of the Spawn and that he was a child of the dark, Dean had explained it all to me almost immediately after. He'd also told me about him and Cas-that part I hadn't been all that surprised to hear. But he had left out that crucial bit of information.
After hearing what Raphael had done to Castiel-who I considered a second brother, I wanted almost no part of this war. So this was the last thing I had expected. Yet, for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to outright deny it.
"What do you mean? I was Lucifer's vessel-how can I be a child of the light?"I enquired sharply, scepticism heavily lacing my words.
The dark-skinned archangel shrugged stiffly.
"We were as stunned as you are. But there is no mistake;you are a child of the light-a psychic, to be precise. And now you have a choice to make:accept it and fight on our side-or be killed alongside your brother and our ruler."
The choice should have been a no-brainer. I mean, these assholes had ruined my life and tried to kill, not only me, but everyone I loved, too. There was absolutely no reason why I should fight on their side. So why didn't I want to refuse?
"Sammy."
Dean's voice broke into my thoughts, uttering my hated nickname and drawing my focus to him. I could see that familiar wounded, tortured look in his hazel eyes-the same one he'd had when he'd told me that our father had said he might have to kill me;that look that said he was terrified I would make the wrong choice again, but he didn't know what to do to stop me.
"Sam, don't do it, please,"he whispered pleadingly, worrying his bottom lip compulsively between his twin rows of teeth. Why the hell aren't you giving these bastards a piece of your mind?Why aren't you saying no?!my mind was silently raging at me.
But, in the darkest part of my heart, I knew why I couldn't just refuse. Because, deep down, there was the selfish side of me that knew there would be no denying this, my destiny. Not this time.
My response to that was one that I knew I would regret for the rest of my life, though, at the time it seemed right.
"You win, Raphael,"I surrendered dully, taking a step towards him.
My brother's hand shot out abruptly, then, closing around my wrist and preventing me from going any further.
"Sam-"he started lowly, but I shook my head, cutting him off. "I'm sorry, Dean, but this is something I have to do."
I wrenched my wrist out of his grip forcefully and crossed the room to stand at the taller, dark-skinned male's side. "Goodbye, brother."
The last thing I saw before we disappeared was Dean's slack, horrified face, and a single tear escaping from the corner of his right eyes.
I had left him.
Again.
And he was probably going to have to put himself between me and the end of the world.
Again.
Talk about history repeating itself, huh?
End of chapter 2. Definitely a way more Supernatural centered one, but don't worry the two will come together more soon. R&R?