Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the boys (good thing too considering how much i torture them)
Past Sins
"He's not there, the place is shut up tight." Sam reported the next morning, and Dean growled furiously.
The two of them had only awoken about ten minutes ago, both of them cramped and sore, their heads pounding and feeling as if they both wanted to throw up. While he had managed to keep his last meal down, Sam hadn't been quite as fortunate and had thrown up on the pavement as soon as he was outside of the Impala. Furious, as it was clear that the blasted alchemist had been the one who had done this to them, they had immediately proceeded to try and find him, only to find he'd already hopped it the prick.
"Rare species or not, if I see that beaked son of a bitch again..." Dean growled, and then his eyes were drawn to Sam, who was leaning all too heavily on the front of the Impala.
"Hey, you ok?" he asked and Sam nodded slightly, but he still looked very pale and not at all like himself.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He said softly, and Dean looked at him sceptically.
"Sam, you got the worst of it. Come on, let's get to a motel." He said and Sam shook his head stubbornly.
"We can go to the cabin, it's not far." He insisted but Dean shook his head.
"No. For a start, I'm still not right and I'm not up to a three hour drive. And considering I've got a stalker after me I'd rather they didn't find where we actually live. So come on." He said, pointing Sam into the car, and it was a mark of how drained the encounter with the alchemist had left them as Sam only rolled his eyes and went into the car without argument.
Dean glared at the alchemist's shop. There was a reason that breed had almost died out, it was because they tended to piss hunters off, just like that guy had.
Getting into the car, and smirking slightly as he saw that his shaky brother was already asleep, Dean went just over the speed limit as he looked for a motel close by.
XX
"What have you seen Oracle?" Lexii asked coldly, and the seer frowned as she tried to perceive events.
"Something is setting itself against us, but whatever it is it is hiding itself from my sight." She reported and the leader of the Reaper faction hissed in annoyance.
"Setting itself against us? Someone who knows about us, or someone who is just interfering with our plans?" one of the other Reapers, Zain, asked.
"I cannot say, it is hard to see when I don't know what to look for." Niandra replied, and the council exchanged irritated, dark looks.
"Naomi? She seems to have taken over heaven, and she is the head of intelligence, she could easily be aware of us." Ophanim reasoned, but Seraphim shook his head.
"She is only the de facto leader of heaven at present, she doesn't have the forces to exert full control over the masses of angels up there. She rules through deceit and cunning, manipulation. She only uses force and torture when she has no choice." He explained.
"Besides, according to our information, she recently authorised a mission to Purgatory, which will lose her a good many of her forces as it is." Veltas growled in slight approval and Kerubiel cursed under his breath.
"She intends to free the traitor Castiel. How she thinks that will help her control heaven I've no idea." He said in disdain, but before they got any further, Ember raised her hand, her red hair shimmering as she turned to face Niandra.
"We can rule out both of the major factions, Naomi has her own mission and Crowley is too busy trying to keep the Winchesters from shutting hell and removing the last relics of Lilith's coup to truly bother with anything that might be seen as a getting in our way. However, what of the Winchesters themselves?" she asked, and Delphus turned his sightless eyes towards her.
"My soldier is already on his way to deal with them. They will be crushed, and seek to be a threat to us, never fear my lady." He assured her, and she favoured him with an evil smile.
"I don't doubt you General. However I don't doubt them either. My slimeball cousin did and got himself shot by them for his trouble. Many of our angel's friends kindred have also underestimated the Winchesters, and hence lost. I will not allow the Perpurigo to make the same mistake." She purred, and Seraphim looked at Niandra, who was busy trying to see into the future.
"Could it be the Winchesters?" he asked, and she bowed her head in defeat.
"I cannot tell my lord, there are far too many divergent paths following the Winchesters." She admitted, and Macey, the final Reaper, growled in annoyance.
"The Winchesters are a problem we could seriously do without. After all, we are finally catching up with everything that needs repaired following the events of the last four years. And now, just when we are about to achieve our final victory, they return and throw the entire process into the air. Perhaps we should send a legion after them and be done." She hissed, and Delphus then turned to face her.
"My soldier will not fail my lady."
"Be sure that he doesn't General. Let's be frank about this. The Winchesters are the only beings in existence that could conceivably threaten our aims due to the preoccupation of both sides of the eternal conflict. So, once they are gone, we will be in the clear." Akpach said smugly, and Seraphim nodded.
"Quite so. However General, we must be cautious. If there is indeed a plot against us, precautions must be taken. So, these are your new orders. Increase all training by five percent, from all ranks. Human, angel, demon and reaper. Also, being running drills, we are too close now to allow ourselves to fall here. Ember, increase the activities of all of our agents, we need to know who is setting themselves against us and we need to know sooner rather than later. Niandra, continue your attempts to divine this threat. Ophanim, you have investigated Purgatory before, I want to know the instant Naomi frees Castiel, he could be useful to us. Akpach, accelerate our timetable, we need to finish cleaning up this mess now before a greater one comes along. Is that all understood?" Seraphim asked and as one, they bowed their heads and vanished to carry out their business.
XX
"I need more potion." His customer said, barging into the alchemist's private residence.
The hybrid hushed him impatiently, and the teenager waited irritably as the alchemist finished his deal on the phone.
"So that's a thousand dollars for a vial of Dean Winchester's saliva? Excellent! And a further two thousand for the hairs from the head of Sam Winchester? Then it is a done deal, I will dispatch them in the morning." He said cheerfully, hanging up the phone and the teenager looked at him incredulously.
"People actually buy that stuff?" he asked in disgust, and the alchemist nodded.
"Know your market lad. I've already got a couple of ghouls lined up who want Sam's arms, the Alpha vampire is willing to offer half a million dollars each for a vial of blood from each Winchester. A goddess friend of mine is willing to pay three million for all of Sam's hair and a succubus wants to buy Dean's libido for two million dollars. A very good price, especially considering how irritating it is to actually drain the damn stuff. Speaking of the Winchesters, they're on to you. They don't know who and what you are but they know what you bought." He said, sitting down and looking through his customer book to try and find another prospective buyer, a witch preferably, for the skin he had taken from Dean, it would allow them to make a very potent hex bag.
"You told them?" his customer demanded and the alchemist shrugged.
"They offered a good price, do you have any idea how difficult it is to get your hands on genuine goofer dust this far from the south? And holy oil is all but dried up in this area of the world. I'm a businessman you know." He said, and his angry customer slammed his hand onto the table, making the vials he had assembled, filled with various bits and bobs from each Winchester, wobble dangerously, and the alchemist got to his feet, eyes narrowed dangerously.
"You would not want to break any of these vials boy." He spat and the teenager snarled.
"Then help me! I need better control over my body, otherwise I'll never kill Dean!" he snapped, and the alchemist sighed irritably before passing the worked up customer a further bottle of ageing potion.
"Using it can lead to potential side effects I'm sure you knew that." He commented idly as his customer drained the bottle.
"Thank you." His customer said, and he turned to leave, but with a flap of his hand, the alchemist shut the door before his customer went through it.
"You're quite welcome. However...you and I are in the same boat, are we not? After all, you want Dean dead. Which inevitably means you will need to kill Sam as you cannot kill one without the other. Better and more powerful creatures than we have tried, and every time they have always come back. Now, while I had them at my mercy last night, it will be incredibly difficult to do so again. Well, to do so alone would be difficult. You want Dean dead. That entails Sam will also die. I have a very lucrative market, a sorceress in Washington wants all of Dean's teeth to make herself a necklace and an ammit that wants Sam's heart for a dinner party. Now, as both boys are among the living, getting the heart without getting my feathers ruffled may be rather a tall order. While I am powerful in my own right, as soon as they woke up this morning, I can assure you that they would be away finding out exactly how to kill me. Which makes collecting the items I need from them all the more difficult. I am not a fighter. But you my lad, are." He said significantly, and his customer looked at him curiously.
"So what, I kill Dean and you get his body?" he asked, and the alchemist nodded.
"Near enough. You heard the vast sums we were dealing in on the phone, and I'm convinced that I could easily get millions for a specific item from a specific buyer of each Winchester." He said, and his customer looked at him curiously.
"Who would that be?" he asked, morbid curiosity getting the better of him and the alchemist smiled greedily.
"The king of Hell would pay vast sums for the heads of each Winchester. And I'm talking the literal head here. We're talking at least tens of millions." He said, and he could see he was winning his customer over.
"So what? I deal with Dean, you cut him up into pieces, then I help you deal with Sam, you chop him up then we sell the excess?" he asked and the alchemist smiled.
"Quite so. And I am an old man, I am looking to retire. However, being a hybrid and without a mate, I cannot lay an egg of my own, so I have no child to take over my business when I take the final roost. You boy have travelled one end of the country to the other, with no set home, no means of supporting yourself, no friends or family, no one to turn too. Basically, my dear sweet child, I am offering you a future. A home, a job, well you would return to your normal age so would only be an apprentice, a legacy and a fortune. What do you say?" the alchemist asked and his customer grinned.
"I reckon you've got a deal. Have you got a plan?" he asked, and the alchemist nodded.
"Indeed I do. Take a seat, and fetch the brand out of the cupboard in the corner. You are technically of age, so let us toast our new partnership." He said, offering a feathery hand to his customer, who shook it eagerly.
XX
Dean sighed in frustration as he ruled out another creature with long claws. He would think he was making progress if he didn't still have hundreds left to check for their possible attacker. Stretching, he turned to check on his brother.
Sam had tried to help at first, but, still weak and shivery, even after the shower Dean had made him have, Dean had eventually ordered him to bed, wrapped up tightly and warm inside the bathrobe they had found in the room. However, while he was feeling slightly better because he knew when his brother awoke he would be better than he had been, it also meant he was now studying alone, and he had always readily admitted that Sam was the brains of the operation while Dean was the brawn and the beauty.
"Ugh, who wants me dead?" he asked himself, getting back to the books.
The question, while it was important to find who wanted him dead, was really who wanted him dead enough that they were willing to take out Sam and even worse in the biased part of his mind, the Impala, in their mission? It didn't make sense. True it wouldn't be the first time an enemy had targeted the brother in order to get the one they really wanted, but none of this seemed to add up. And from what that blasted alchemist had said, whoever was after him had aged considerably to allow them to fight the Winchesters.
He cursed his luck, wishing they had a source of information they could call upon. Bobby would have plenty of solutions, Pamela might be able to foretell who they were looking for, even Cas might have some idea of how to find who was after them, but as all of them were dead, they were basically flailing blind in the wind.
"You getting anywhere?" Sam asked tiredly from the bed and Dean turned to look at his brother as he sat up, brushing his hair with his fingers.
"No, there's loads of beasties with claws, all of whom could want me dead, but it doesn't help me narrow it down to whoever actually is after me." He said, glaring at Sam until his brother, rolling his eyes, acquiesced and pulled the robe shut over his bare chest to keep in the heat.
He was clearly feeling better.
"Alright, this is getting us nowhere. The alchemist knows who we're looking for, so I say we pack up the books and try and find him." Dean said, and Sam nodded musingly.
"Yeah that could work. He only got us last time because we weren't expecting us. So what, we find him and you rough him up?" he asked, and Dean grinned slightly.
"Why don't you ever rough anyone up?" he asked and Sam grinned slightly.
"Because you're the nastier scarier one, I'm the kind and sweet one." He said innocently and Dean snorted in derision.
He would admit Sam was kinder and sweeter than he was (which is probably why all the women in their lives who mothered them, such as Jody and Missouri, preferred him over Dean) but he was by no means a complete innocent.
"Sure you are. Alright, you good to go or do you want another shower?" he asked and Sam shook his head.
"No I don't need another shower, it's not a fever I've got it was a nasty alchemist attack. Give me a minute." He said, getting to his feet and Dean frowned.
He needed to know who the hell was targeting him. Then he could put them down and get the car fixed and everything would be back to normal. But until then, they were both in the sights of an alchemist and their mysterious stalker, neither of whom particularly filled Dean with confidence for their chances.
"Sam, you know how to kill a Garuda/Aquila hybrid?" he asked as Sam dumped the robe on his bed and collected his shirt and jeans from the chair where Dean had left them.
"A Garuda was usually killed by an Aquila's powers, their limited ability to channel a current, and an Aquila was killed by fire, which came from the Garuda. As the alchemist is both, we kind of need both at once." He reasoned, collecting his gun as he finished dressing.
"So what, we need an electrical fire of some sort to counteract both parts?" he asked and Sam shrugged.
"Would seem that way. Problem is, I don't reckon getting him with electric fire of any sort would work. He's an old guy and not to sound ageist, but he probably doesn't have many appliances we could tamper with and we would probably need to fight him anyway to make sure he was in the right place when we set the place alight. And if we do that, that means we can't interrogate him about what he knows about whoever's after you." He reasoned and Dean hummed thoughtfully to himself.
"What about a flamethrower? Could we adapt one so it creates an electrical fire?" he asked, and Sam seriously considered it.
"Yeah, but it would be difficult and dangerous, we would need to use a spark and adapt it and all sorts. Uh oh, I know that look," he said, quickly growing to dread the eager expression on Dean's face, "it's the look you get when you have some harebrained scheme planned." He said, and Dean affected a hurt look and looked reproachfully at his brother.
"Sam, it's like you don't trust me." He said, and Sam grinned.
"You I trust, what goes on in that twisted mind of yours I don't. Alright, tell me the worst of it." He said, and Dean grinned.
"I'll tell you on the way. Get your suit on. As the saying goes, I have a cunning plan." He said in excitement and Sam groaned, anything that made his brother grin like that couldn't be good for anyone.
XX
"You sure that's the room?" his new partner asked and the alchemist nodded.
"Yes. Now, just like we discussed." He ordered and his partner nodded, vaulting out of the car and then using his long claws to open the door to the Winchester's motel room.
This was it. His chance of a new life. He would never forgive Dean for what he had done, and ruining his life. But now he had the chance to do something about it.
Succeeding in his task, he shoved open the door, creeping in just in case Sam hadn't recovered from the alchemist's attack and was still in here. But the coast was clear.
He smiled. This is what he had been waiting for. For the last year, he had wanted nothing but revenge, and had crossed America, trying to get the means and power he needed in order to get back at the one who had ruined his life. However, being a orphan in America wasn't a good idea, especially when you couldn't relate to social services that you were actually the son of a monster, the son of a woman who had been murdered simply for trying to feed her ill son.
For his name was Jacob, and he was the son of Amy Pond. And ever since that day, when he had seen Dean Winchester, despite her pleas not to and apparently his brother's wishes murder his mother and leave her dead body lying on the bed while he watched.
He had talked to Dean that day. Dean hadn't even shown remorse for killing his mother right in front of him. All the cold, callous murdering son of a bitch had done was threaten to kill him too should he ever kill anyone. And it was then that Jacob had made the vow, that he wouldn't kill anyone other than the one who had taken his mother from him.
So, for the last year, he had struggled, and it had seemed that Dean had escaped his retribution, after all there was no sign or word from him anywhere. And that was the case until Jacob had heard about an auction of magical artefacts, which was where he had first heard the Winchesters were in attendance. Ever since then, he had tried to pursue Dean, so he could exact revenge for his mother, but after all, Dean was an adult, and could drive, and despite the way the two acted, he also had a brother who would look out for him. He was only an eight year old orphan, what chance did he have against the best hunters in the world? And that was when he had found the alchemist.
He had got the items he needed to trade, and now, other than his revenge he had everything he needed. And now, he would begin to bring that about too.
Withdrawing the syringe the alchemist had given him, he made his way to the fridge within the Winchester's fridge and smirking, used his claws to scratch a small hole and then used the needle to inject a powerful paralysing agent into the bottle. He did this with the rest of the beers in their fridge. This was it. His goal was in sight, as soon as Dean drank that, he would be totally immobilised, and then, he would kill him. But firstly they had to make sure Sam didn't interrupt them while he got his revenge.
To that end, two plans were in place. What the alchemist called a mortal trick, albeit a good one, was to use chloroform, and they were fully prepared to use that should the boys separate. However, in case they didn't, he had another plan up his sleeve. Witches used hex bags to curse their victims. Alchemists were much more refined, creating specific elixirs targeted at the one they wanted to harm. The alchemist, using one of the hairs he was selling, had created an elixir to use on Sam. Pulling the small vial of golden coloured liquid from his pocket, Jacob used the dropper to drop the entire contents of the little vial onto the pillow of the bed furthest from the door. He'd met a few hunters during his time, and had made a point of appearing to be a young fan of the two brothers, and several friends of theirs, and a few enemies, had all recounted either fondly or derisively how Dean always took the bed closest to the door in order to protect his little brother. Fools.
The elixir, tailored as it was to Sam's chemistry, would act as a poison as soon as Sam inhaled the vapours. His body would go rigid, also rendering him completely paralysed. The elixir would then attack him, rendering him unconscious and unaware no matter what anyone, namely Dean, tried to do. He would be in a coma like state for up to twelve hours, trapped within his own mind, and by the time he was free, all would be said and done.
Nothing would get in the way of his revenge now. Dean would pay for murdering his mother. And then, nothing would stop him beginning his new life, without the shadow that Dean had cast by murdering his mother before his very eyes.
XX
"I'm really not comfortable with this Dean." Sam said nervously, watching as his brother modified their flamethrower.
The idea was fairly simple. By taking out the gas chamber and replacing it with a taser, which would be activated the same way as the gas cylinder, the sparks would ignite the stream of fuel coming down the funnel and light the flamethrower up. However, unlike the gas cylinder, it carried the risk of blowing the user up if a spark got too boisterous, and hence Sam was now watching with trepidation as his brother tinkered.
They had been to the police station and had used their records to find out where the alchemist lived. It was also there that they had appropriated the taser for their own use. And now, Dean was almost done and ready to test out their new weapon.
"You worry too much." Dean said simply and Sam scowled.
"Well excuse me for not wanting my brother to be barbecued. You might annoy the hell out of me, but I thought we had at least ascertained that I pretty much always screw up whenever you aren't around." He said bitterly and Dean smiled slightly at his brother.
"Yeah you do. And then I come along and help clean it up. I might bitch and moan and never let you hear the end of it, but I do help you clear it up." He said and Sam relaxed slightly, but not much he was still half convinced he was going to see his brother immolated in a massive ball of flame any second.
"Here goes." Dean said, and squeezing his eyes shut, he squeezed the trigger, and to both of their surprise there was a shuddering noise from the taser mechanism and then a jet of fire belted out and dissipated into the air.
"Hey, I really am awesome!" Dean said excitedly, and Sam grinned.
"Not to mention modest. Now can we put it away, just in case?" he asked and Dean pouted mockingly.
"Aww, don't you trust my engineering skills Sam?" he asked, affecting a tone of sadness and he grinned when Sam shook his head.
"No I don't. Now let's go. If the thing blows up in our faces, I'd rather we took out the alchemist while it did it." He said and with that Dean followed his brother to the car.
To Sam's great surprise (and admittedly, there was some on Dean's part too) the flamethrower didn't blow them up as they headed to the house where the alchemist lived. Covering the flamethrower under a blanket they entered the small housing block and climbed to the only flat on the top floor. Then, with Dean readying the flamethrower, Sam bent down and picked the lock. Nodding at each other, the boys entered, Sam going first, his gun raised. They entered the darkened flat, and not hearing anything, they began to gingerly make their way forward, Dean's flamethrower (which along with bazookas fell under the category of weapons Dean should never get to play with) raised and poised to act.
Problem was there was no way for his new weapon to block what happened next. Entering what seemed to be a study, there was a flash of light, Sam stumbled, clutched his head slightly and with a weak moan, he collapsed to the ground, unmoving, his mouth slightly open.
"Sam!" Dean yelped in shock, and after looking around for traps, he bent down to check out his brother.
Checking his brother's pulse, Dean looked around and saw what had caused Sam to collapse. A small sort of music box had been set up on a shelf right next to the door, and eyeing it carefully, Dean figured out what it was. Set up in the doorway, as soon as someone crossed the threshold and tripped the wire that powered it, it would then play a very quiet but very accurate recording of the alchemist's voice, more specifically at the frequency he reached in order to knock someone out. Not up to much, but at that range and pitch, as soon as it played, the sound wave of the whistle would travel and hit the intruder with ease, and with a quick burst, the intruder would be rendered unconscious. Sitting Sam up against the door and patting his shoulder fondly, Dean then used a walking stick from the corridor to knock the small music box to the floor, smashing it. Then, wary of anymore such traps he explored the room, leaving his unconscious brother against the door out of harm's way.
Confident that the alchemist wasn't in a few minutes later, he set down the flamethrower and his gaze was drawn to the table, where numerous vials were sat along with various forms and notes. About to pick one up, he leapt about a foot in the air when he heard Sam stir, cursing and holding his head.
"Ow, what got me this time?" he demanded as Dean tried to get his heart rate back to normal.
"Basically, he recorded a whistle, that was at the right pitch and frequency to knock out anyone coming through the door who he didn't want here. Like us for example." Dean said and Sam pouted.
"Why am I the one who keeps getting zapped?" he whined, and Dean grinned.
"You just have that sort of face Sam, it says 'zap me, hurt me, strangle me, just cause me pain, I can take it'." He teased and Sam scowled.
"You know you aren't helping. What's all this stuff?" he asked curiously, and Dean shrugged.
"No idea, I was just about to look at it when you woke up." He said, and frowned as he picked up a vial of clear and slightly thick fluid.
"What do you reckon this is?" Dean asked curiously, and Sam, who had picked up one of the receipts that were lying down on the table, screwed up his nose in disgust.
"Um Dean? It's your saliva." He said in distaste, and Dean almost dropped the bottle.
"What? How the hell did he get his hands on an entire bottle of my saliva?" he demanded indignantly and Sam shrugged.
"You said you drooled a bit when he knocked us out, that's probably out. Don't worry, it isn't all of the stuff he's got. He's got flakes of skin, hair, sweat samples...people actually buy this stuff? Hey!" he said in realisation, and Dean, who was screwing his nose up at a small vial half filled with what was apparently his sweat, looked around.
"Hey what? You haven't found something else icky have you? What the hell does he want with this stuff, what could people do with it?" he asked incredulously.
"This stuff doesn't make much sense, but his pre-order form does. Look at this. A vial of blood from each of us will fetch the alchemist a million dollars." Sam exclaimed incredulously and Dean looked over his brother's shoulder.
"That's crazy, who would buy a small vial of blood for that?" he asked and Sam smiled grimly.
"Who else would like a vial of our blood?" he asked pointedly and Dean shook his head.
"Sam, I've told you, Benny..."
"I wasn't meaning Benny dummy. There's a much bigger and nastier vampire around than him that we still haven't dealt with." He reminded him and Dean cursed.
"You mean the Alpha? You reckon he's sticking his nose out from under his rock again?" he asked, and Sam shrugged.
"He's the most obvious buyer of our blood. Our organs are already to be sold as well, as are our heads, he reckons he can flog them to Crowley. Somehow, eternity on Crowley's wall doesn't appeal to me." Sam said, throwing the list away in revulsion.
"So what, he's basically ebaying off parts of us when we're still using them?" Dean demanded, and Sam nodded.
"Seems to be. But hey, if we ever get bored of hunting we could just steal his contacts and sell bits of us at a time, look at this one, two thousand dollars just for about five of my hairs, we'd be loaded." Sam said, and Dean looked outraged as he looked at another receipt.
"Hey, my hair's half the price of yours, what's the big idea?" he demanded, feeling insulted and Sam grinned.
"Isn't it obvious? One it isn't as long as mine, two it has gel in it and three, my hair's nicer anyway. But it does make you wonder though, what the hell do they all plan to do with this stuff? Look, flakes of skin, what do they want with that?" he asked in revulsion, and Dean shook his head, looking at the pre-order form again.
"At least this makes sense, our organs and stuff but hair and skin, he's got an order here for nails, options available..."
"Well guess that means he's definitely working with our mystery stalker. So what do we do, destroy this stuff?" Sam asked, and Dean frowned thoughtfully, before shaking his head.
"No, not yet. He's working with our stalker, right? And he needs us in one relative piece to harvest everything he needs from us. But he also has to know that we'll be after him, if for nothing else than him knocking us out and stealing bits of us. So, what will he be doing?" he asked and Sam nodded.
"Waiting for us, and so will the stalker. Divide and conquer?" he asked, and Sam nodded.
"Yeah, seems the best bet. But before we go, let's copy down a list of his contacts, so we can find out who the hell is in the market to buy bits of us." He said, picking up the list with the addresses for those the alchemist had already sold items too.
"You sure we shouldn't destroy it?" Sam asked, and Dean nodded.
"Not much point, if he's lucky enough to get the drop on us again he'll just replace them. The son of a bitch was fondling us when we were out, he took the bits and was going to sell them, and we didn't even get a finder's fee. I'm insulted. So, we leave the stuff for now, and after all this is over, then we take the bustard's supply out. Come on, this place is giving me a major case of the creeps." Dean said, and eyeing the room with the various vials of them in them one last time, the two boys left the flat, flamethrower in hand, resisting the urge to torch the place as they went.
XX
So, armed with the knowledge that the blasted alchemist was indeed working with the stalker, after weighing their options, the boys decided to split up. While Dean would go back to the motel to try and lure the stalker into attacking, Sam would take the car and head to the alchemist's shop. Upon arrival there however, Sam realised he'd had a wasted journey. The shop was still sealed up tight, the alchemist clearly knew that the boys would figure out his game eventually anyway so had gone to ground, most likely with the stalker.
The entire thing still bothered Sam. Who would want Dean dead? Well of course there were plenty of options but this just didn't make sense, and where had the alchemist come from? Why had he gotten involved? As he had said, their ilk usually kept out of such things but this one had elected to attack the boys and sell on bits of them. Was he just in it for the money, or was there more to his relationship with the stalker?
And yet again, it came back to whoever the hell the stalker was? How long had they been after Dean? An unpleasant thought then struck Sam, what if something had escaped Purgatory with Dean? They'd had enough experience with old enemies coming back to bite them in the ass the year before, but that didn't mean someone hadn't slipped out when Dean had returned. Or had they wanted revenge on Dean for longer, and had been waylaid by Dean disappearing for a year?
As Sam climbed back into the car, deciding to fiddle with the radio station so it was some local country channel to annoy Dean (an added benefit that a song he liked, Queen of Hearts, was on) he drove off from the shop, his mind mulling all these things over, not noticing a custom Rolls-Royce glide out from an alley and begin to follow the Impala home.
XX
Dean had dressed out of his FBI garb and had gotten himself a beer. His gun was right beside him, trained on the door (he would have to make sure to look before he shot, somehow he didn't think Sam would appreciate it if he shot him) and he had just switched on the tv as he began to consider who might be trying to kill him, and was willing to work with the alchemist to do it.
From the looks of the order forms, it looked as though the alchemist would be getting all of the Winchesters, which meant that whoever was after him wasn't anything too unsavoury, they were just trying to kill him, pure and simple. That of course didn't narrow it down. He could think of plenty people who would want to kill him: Meg, Azazel, Alastair, Lilith, Lucifer, Michael, Zachariah, Gordon, Eve, Roman, Becky, Walt and Roy...the list was never ending. The problem was, all of them were taken care of (aside from Meg, but Crowley had her stashed somewhere and for all they knew she might be dead), all of them were dead so unless one of them had somehow managed to escape Purgatory, or Hell in the case of Lucifer, Michael and Becky, that ruled them out. And then of course there was Crowley and whoever was in charge in heaven now too, they most likely wanted him dead too, but that didn't explain the dude with the claws.
As he thought about things, he suddenly started to feel very strange. A burning sensation was spreading through his body, he couldn't move all of a sudden. He tried to move his feet and his hands, but nothing happened. He tried to open his mouth, but that too refused his commands. He even tried to move, just to prove he could, but that didn't work at all either.
He was trapped. He had somehow become completely paralysed, and he was going nowhere. All he could move were his eyes, and that wouldn't do him much good. His gun was sitting on the bed beside him mockingly and his beer flopped lifelessly out of his hand, spilling onto the floor. Dean made a small panicked noise in the back of his throat. He was completely immobile, turned rigid. His heart began to beat faster, this must have been what it was like when he had been turned to stone the year before but he hadn't actually been aware, not really, then. Now he was completely aware and he was also completely aware that he couldn't move anywhere.
He was beginning to panic. Somehow his stalker had paralysed him, and now Dean felt just as helpless as Sam had the year before in their numerous encounters with his insane ex-wife Becky. He was completely trapped.
Where was Sam? He needed Sam...
The door then opened and he made as loud a noise as he could in his throat to get his brother's attention. But as he tracked the newcomer with his eyes, he saw it wasn't his brother. A tall teenager, now able to walk more or less normally, strolled round leisurely to the foot of the bed, grinning triumphantly. He had curly brown hair, he was fairly lanky but well built along with it, and Dean realised that he was finally seeing his stalker.
There was something about him, but he couldn't quite figure it out, something that seemed awfully familiar.
"I told you I would kill you." He gloated, revealing his long claws, and then his eyes turned an icy blue, easily mistaken for silver, and it finally dawned on him who he was looking at.
His stalker was a kitsune.
His stalker was an orphan.
He was Amy Pond's son, and now he was making good on his promise, the promise to kill Dean for the death of his mother.
XX
Sam got out of the car, his eyes immediately drawn to their room door. It was wide open. Dean wasn't stupid, he knew they were being hunted. Which meant, if the door was wide open, Dean was already in trouble.
The stalker was inside, and his brother needed his help. He withdrew his gun, ready to run into the room when suddenly a cloth clamped to his mouth. Sam made a cry of surprise beneath the cloth, and he began struggling against the strong but brittle grip, trying to break free. But as the first scents of it got up his nose, it belatedly dawned on Sam that the cloth was soaked in chloroform. And as the first desperate breath for air was finished, the chloroform was in his system.
Sam could feel himself slowing down. His gun clattered to the floor, and though he pulled weakly at the grip, there was nothing he could do. His body was relaxing, going limp, his grip and struggling coming to an end, and with a final sigh, his bulging eyes rolled back in his head and he succumbed to darkness.
The alchemist chuckled as he opened the door to the Impala and threw Sam's unconscious suit clad body into the back seat, his hair falling about his face and his mouth slightly open. And then, he headed inside.
After all, it was his duty as a partner to support his new comrade in times such as these.
XX
"You murdered her. She was innocent, harmless, and you killed her right in front of me." Jacob bit out, his claws clicking together as he flexed them as he walked round to Dean's side.
Dean would have said something then, but paralysed as he was, all he could do was make desperate grunting noises in his throat. He then felt a shadow pass over him and if they could have his eyes would have widened in shock as the alchemist strolled in, chuckling darkly.
"Your brother didn't put up much of a fight." He taunted and Dean made a grunting noise of anger, which was then cut short as Jacob slapped him, his claws cutting into Dean's cheek, making him growl in pain.
"I had nightmares about you, ever since it happened. This horrible, evil man who took my mother from me. You gutted her like a fish simply because she was a monster. Well guess what little man? You're the real monster. She wasn't harming anyone, she wasn't attacking innocents, she was attacking scum, all to make me feel better!" he yelled, stabbing his claws down into Dean's stomach and Dean made another growl of exasperated pain, still unable to move.
Blood welled from the four claw marks on his stomach, just as it was trickling down his cheek. Dean grunted in pain as Jacob's eyes narrowed angrily.
"Who do you think you are huh? I did some checking, heard some things. Even your brother thought she was harmless. And you, mr high and mighty, because you're arrogant, you killed her! Murderer!" Jacob screeched, ripping up Dean's chest, making Dean's eyes water with the pain.
"Not to be insensitive to your grief young man, but there are a few shapeshifters who would happily pay for intact skin too." The alchemist said brightly, sitting at the table as if he were watching a movie, but Jacob ignored him and ripped his claws down Dean's leg, and he knew that if he could he would be thrashing and howling in pain.
"What gives you the right?" Jacob stormed, rolling Dean over and sticking his claws into the middle of his back before ripping them down, tearing through flesh and spreading blood all over the bed and walls, making it geyser from him and splatter all over Jacob's face.
Jacob then shoved him over and brought back his claws, clearly aiming for Dean's neck.
"Maybe I should wait a while, let your brother come to the door and watch as I murder his beloved brother, just like you let me watch you gut my mom! What do you say Dean? Or should I kill you now?" Jacob hissed.
Dean's eyes were wide in terror as there was a steely flash and Jacob brought his claws down to end the life of the one who'd ended his mother's.
XX
Sam awoke suddenly, and remarkably didn't even have a headache from the chloroform. Deciding to file that away to worry about later, he clambered out of the car, and pulled out the flamethrower and another gun from the boot before running towards the door.
Skidding to a stop, he got there just in time to see a kitsune slash his claws down towards his brother's neck, so on reflex, he fired a bullet into the kitsune, catching him in the shoulder and sending him staggering from the bed. The alchemist got to his feet, looking at Sam in alarm and was raising his hands to attack when Sam gestured threateningly with the flamethrower.
"Don't try it." He growled, keeping the kitsune covered with his gun.
Dean, covered in blood, made an urgent noise but Sam wasn't paying much attention, he was too busy running a critical eye over his brother's wounds to assure himself they weren't life threatening. Convinced, Sam narrowed his eyes as he looked at the kitsune, and then it suddenly all clicked into place.
"You're Amy's son." He said in realisation and Jacob hissed.
"Yeah. And I want him dead! He murdered my mother!" he spat, and the alchemist looked at Sam smugly.
"Your saintly brother here gutted her right in front of her son." He filled in and Sam sent a look at Dean, who's wide, pain and tear filled eyes conveyed the truth to Sam's disbelieving look of outrage, and Sam felt his heart sink.
It was true.
Sam forced himself to look at Jacob.
"Look, Dean made a mistake. He shouldn't have killed your mom. But, despite everything he is, Dean isn't cruel, or sadistic. If he killed her right in front of you, he didn't mean to. I know he wouldn't have meant to." Sam said stoutly, and Jacob hissed.
"He's the monster, she wasn't! She was picking off scum!" he insisted and Sam nodded.
"I know. Which is why I wanted him to leave her alone. But he was right, and she was a monster who was killing people. I'm not saying he killed her for the right reasons, he didn't. He killed her because he didn't trust her word, or mine when I gave it to him. But she had killed people, and scum or not, she had to be stopped. If I hadn't known her, I'd probably have done it myself." He admitted and Jacob hissed, as if preparing to pounce.
"She wasn't a threat to either of you, we were happy being left alone! She killed to save my life, I was dying and I needed the glands, no other reason! And you blasted hunters came along and tore her from me!" he raged and as one he and the alchemist attacked.
Jacob pounced and the alchemist flapped a hand, sending a charge at Sam but he was already on the move. Praying the flamethrower wouldn't blow up in his face, he cast an arc of fire at the hybrid, who screamed in pain as the combined attack burnt up his extended hand. The flames also forced Jacob into retreat, sending him back to his side of the room, and Sam looked at the kitsune directly.
"Look, you don't want this. If you kill Dean, you'll become as bad as he is. Then I'll want to hunt you down for killing him. And it will just keep going and going until we're all dead. You don't really want that kid. You're a nine year old kid! You would still be a nine year old kid if it wasn't for this creepy plumed bastard here. You're not a murderer, no matter how much you want to be, you aren't. So, why don't we settle this ok? The alchemist can turn you back to normal, he can even keep you if he wants, and we'll leave you to it and you'll leave us to it. Is this really worth dying for Jacob? See, I really don't want to kill you. I really don't want to kill a kid. But I promise you, no matter what else happens if you kill my big brother I will kill you. And your friend here too. Do you really want that?" Sam asked bitterly, aware of his paralysed brother lying on the bed.
Jacob then hissed angrily, readying his claws and Sam raised his weapons warningly. And it was then that the alchemist struck, flapping his arms. A strong gust of wind then blew Sam into the air, sending him crashing against the wall and slamming him down on his brother, making him drop the flamethrower. Jacob then leapt, his claws going for Sam's neck. Sam rolled onto his back, just in time to crash his feet into Jacob's chest and send the kid crashing back against the wall. Dean made a grunt of displeasure beneath him as the alchemist attacked, flapping a jet of fire at him, but Sam had already cleared the bed and had the flamethrower in hand. Casting a wreath of fire at the hybrid, Sam turned in time to avoid losing an eye as Jacob's claws raked down his face. Gasping in pain, Sam struck upwards, knocking the kitsune off balance before he punched out, taking Jacob off his feet and sending him tumbling off the bed.
The alchemist then began to use his sonic attacks, trying to knock Sam out, but Sam fired several bullets at him, forcing him to the floor and taking his attack away from Sam. Jacob then leapt back over, claws going for Sam's throat, but then another gust of wind hit the two of them, and to Sam's surprise, it seemed to be more directed at Jacob.
The alchemist was then on the move, flapping his arms and covering the room in a single bound, before grabbing Jacob's arm. The kitsune looked at him in betrayed shock, but the alchemist ignored him and flapped again at Sam, knocking him back onto Dean's bed with a gust of wind. Then, ignoring Jacob's yells and desire for revenge, they vaulted over the bed, trampling Dean on the way past. Sam got to his feet and fired several bullets, but the alchemist had already shoved Jacob out of the door. He then made the same scream as the night before, making Sam convulse with the effect and as the spasm came to an end his eyes rolled and he collapsed unconscious onto his brother. Satisfied, the alchemist then fled, hopping into the car with the spitting Jacob and drove off, leaving Sam unconscious on his paralysed brother's chest.
XX
"Why'd you take us away, we could have killed them both!" Jacob raged and the alchemist glared as they drove away from the motel.
"Not without severely damaging the goods or getting ourselves killed we couldn't have." He replied curtly and Jacob glared.
"How did Sam recover so quickly?"
"As to that I have no idea. You will have your vengeance my boy, but we must be patient. An opportunity will present itself I'm sure." He soothed as he drove away, his thoughts on Sam's escape from the chloroform.
XX
By the time Sam awoke, Dean had regained the use of his fingers and toes, and his tongue. Sam groaned as he awoke, shaking his head blearily and he heard his brother sigh in relief.
"Sam!" he exclaimed and Sam got to his feet, cursing and swearing.
"Bloody alchemist, I'm going to turn him into a KFC." He vowed bitterly, rubbing his head to try and alleviate the pain.
He then looked intently at Dean, noting the deep gouges in his body.
"Sam?" Dean asked gently, and his brother grunted in irritation.
"You need the hospital, they're not life threatening but they're too deep for me to fix." He said, and Dean was rapidly getting the feeling that his brother was less than happy with him.
"Sam..."
"You really did kill her in front of him didn't you?" he asked weakly, and Dean gave a sigh, but figured lying about the entire Amy thing was partly what had brought them into this mess in the first place, so he may as well come totally clean.
"I swear Sam, I had no idea he was there. It's like you said, I would never have killed her in front of him, I wouldn't do that to a kid you know that." He said and Sam closed his eyes.
"You don't get it do you?" Sam asked, rubbing his temples to try and dispel the headache before he helped his brother.
Dean glowered.
"I get that I'm getting pissed off of being paralysed and being stuck here. And it isn't all I'm getting pissed off with." He said warningly, and Sam groaned.
"Dean..."
"Look Sam, she was a monster! One of the abominations its our job to kill! She had killed people, they might have been scum but she had killed them. I did what you should have done in the first place, and if you had, we wouldn't be in this mess." He snarled, and Sam glared down at his brother.
"I didn't mean that you jerk. I meant that by killing her in front of him, even if you didn't mean to, you basically convinced him that it's his fault that someone he loved died. And we both know how much that sucks, don't we?" he asked in a falsely sweet voice and Dean recoiled a little bit. He hadn't thought about it like that.
"Sam, I..."
"Dean, you might have killed her for the right reasons. I don't know. I trusted her, and I trusted you, and you went behind my back and killed her anyway. Which is bad enough but you did it right in front of her kid!"
"I didn't mean to Sam! I wouldn't do that! Look how fucked up we were because we lost our mom, look what it did to dad! And to you, when you found out it was basically your fault mom died, I wouldn't wish that on anyone!" he yelled, feeling incredibly stupid as he was basically lying down and yelling at his brother, who could still move.
And then a second later he felt even more stupid as he realised what he had just said.
"Exactly. And if you wanted to or not, you did that to that kid, made him feel responsible for the death of his mom. And believe me, that feeling really sucks ass." Sam bit out, and Dean groaned tiredly.
"Sam, you know I would never kill her right in front of him, to do that I'd have to be even more fucked up than I am already. But the point is, if you had the guts to kill her when you found out she was killing again, you should have been the one to kill Amy, not me, but no, because you cared about her, you let a dangerous monster live!" Dean bellowed, and Sam glared down at him, arms folded.
"And now you're doing the exact same thing, and what's worse you expect me to be alright with it!" he snapped back and Dean made a noise of exasperation.
"Benny is completely different, he hasn't killed anyone!" he yelled, and Sam scoffed.
"Yeah, so how come he wound up in Purgatory in the first place?" he asked and Dean rolled his eyes.
"You're determined to hate him!"
'Because you taught me to! All this is my fault because I didn't have the guts to kill a monster, and now her kid is trying to kill us both because you cleaned up my mess. And eventually, the exact same thing will happen with Benny, you won't kill him and I'll have to because its how our screwed up lives work Dean! We meet a monster, become friends, they betray us, we have to put them down! I asked you to trust me with Amy, and you didn't. If that was right or not, I don't know. But considering the mess we're in now, I don't think so. If you'd trusted me, we might not be in this situation either. And I'm sorry Dean but I can't trust your new vampire bff simply because he's a bloody vampire!"
Dean growled in annoyance.
"Look Sam, hate Benny all you want. And I'll admit, I brought this down on us by killing Amy, but I didn't know the kid was there! And maybe if I'd trusted you we might not be in this mess either, but that doesn't change anything! The fact is, it happened the way it did and now we have to deal with it." Dean snapped curtly, clearly ending the argument, but Sam wasn't done.
"Why didn't you?" he shot at Dean, and Dean rolled his eyes.
"Sam, save the twenty questions and help me up!" he roared and Sam sat him up quickly, his anger directing his actions and Dean wobbled a bit as he was suddenly upright.
"Why didn't you trust me about Amy?" Sam intoned, and Dean rolled his eyes.
"Because she was a monster Sam! And besides, you were batshit crazy, I thought you'd lost it, so I killed her for you! But you're right...I admit it. I shouldn't have killed her. I should have trusted you, insane or not. But I didn't want her coming back and biting you in the ass so I cleaned house, and it just shows our crappy luck that her dumb kid had to be watching when I did it. Count your blessings I didn't kill him too." He muttered darkly and Sam shook his head, not believing what he had just heard.
"And there it is. Guess we're both more like dad than we thought we were huh?" he asked darkly and Dean growled, and Sam knew full well if he could use his hands, Dean would hit him.
"Yeah, but he was right about monsters. We don't keep them as pets Sam. She was a threat to you, so I killed her. And now we're going to have to kill her son too, because he's now a threat to us as well, all because you and I couldn't do our jobs."
Sam arced an eyebrow.
"And that brings us back to Benny. I won't kill him, because you don't want me to. See I actually do trust you even if you don't trust me. But he will come back and bite us in the ass, because that's what always happens, and when he finally kills someone it will also be because we couldn't do our jobs." He concluded, and collected the weapons, while Dean rolled his eyes furiously.
"You know, I am so sick of your judgemental attitude! Benny was there for me when you weren't because you couldn't cope! I had to struggle to survive on my own, because you failed me again, and Benny is the only reason I'm alive today. What was Amy to you huh? Not even a one night stand and that automatically makes you an adequate judge of her character?"
"And a five minute meeting before you gutted her made you her jury and executioner." Sam retorted cleverly.
"Call me what you want. Do I regret killing Amy? Yes, but only because now its still royally biting us in the ass. I'm fed up of you second guessing the decisions I've made just because they don't match with your precious morals. You didn't have that many yourself a few years ago because you wanted back at Lilith for taking me from you. I lied to you about Amy, yeah that was a cowardly move. And I should have told you about her kid too, maybe we wouldn't be in this mess if I had. But I won't apologise for killing her. Regret it, yeah, but apologise, no. I'm sick of you second guessing me, of sitting back and criticising all the hard choices I've had to make, either because dad, or bobby, or Cas or most of all you forced them on me. Because for someone who complains about the stuff I do a hell of a lot, you still don't get that I'm not perfect. But, whatever you might think of me for it, I won't apologise for killing Amy because I did it to protect you, just like I do everything. So call me a monster if you want Sam, but don't you sit there and judge me for doing my job." Dean fumed, and then he heard Sam's quiet voice.
"I don't think you're a monster." He said, and with that, picked up their weapons, hoisted his brother's arm over his shoulder and virtually carried him to the car.
He then propped Dean against the car and stored the weapons, and then, despite their anger at each other, Sam gently lowered Dean into the car, neither of them looking at one another. After making sure his brother was safely inside, Sam took them to the hospital, the journey passing in silence, as both brothers mulled over what they had said to each other.
Did you really think the boys had stopped arguing?
Not quite yet I'm afraid but they got through most of the chapter without an argument other than their usual bickering but that's allowed their brothers. But unless I miss my guess that's the last argument but of course I could be wrong you never know.
Someone is trying to undo the Perpurigo but who and why? Just what is going on with the shadowy group?
I'd forgotten how much fun it is to torture the boys (sadistic i know), and poor sammy seems to be getting the majority of the bad phyiscal treatment. Knocking him out six times in two chapters does seem kind of extreme doesnt it?
I tell you, the alchemist has some bloody weird customers doesnt he? All offering vast sums for things of the boys, all of them part of their actual bodies...weird. One of the buyers may turn up in some other form later on, possibly two but thats only if i make the other one a buyer and not just a pain in the ass.
So, we have two chapters left! The soldier of the Perpurigo is getting closer to the boys, but first we have Jacob and the alchemist to deal with. Well done to babyreaper, who once again figured out the villain (though its a bit unfair to be calling him that) before id written it. Oh and in case any of you disapprove of Sam just leaving Dean lying there to yell at him, there are a couple of reasons. One I reckon he would be genuinely shaken to learn his brother killed Jacob's mother right in front of him, however accidentally, because no matter what, he always seems to believe the best in him. Secondly, he probavly hoped that by keeping him lying there he might be listened to for a change, and thirdly, he is his little brother and a small part of him would enjoy it after finding out he was in no immediate danger.
Anyway, so next time we have a confrontation, the Perpurigo gets closer to the boys and Sam makes an unexpected request.
But until then, as always, please read and leave lots of review!
