Been to Hell
Chapter 3: "Mz. Hyde"
THEN
Dalia was close enough. She pulled her gun, cocking it and aimed it in the middle of Dean's back. He spun, his reflexes sharp and quick. He drew his own gun and aimed it at her before recognition slipped into his features. "Dalia…" He looked confused, hurt, relived… His gun fell, his arm dropping to his side and he took a step back.
"Hello Dean."
…
"The next time we run into Dean Winchester, you kill him. Do you understand me?"
"Yes sir."
"Good. You'll be under guard while you're here and you'll be here until I call for you again." He disappeared.
Dalia went to the window and looked outside. Two demons were posted at each side of the door. She carefully walked into the bathroom. Another two were posted outside of the bathroom window. She swore and kicked the cupboard under the sink. Whoever Dean Winchester was, Dalia knew two things for certain; he knew her, and he was her soulmate.
xXx
He'd never seen one in real life before, but it didn't take him long to figure out what it was. His eyes blew out of his head as he stared at it. "I'm pregnant," Elena whispered.
…
They got their gear together and met Dean in the library. He was pacing while Cas watched. Sam knew his brother was a nervous wreck. "You two ready?" he asked.
Sam nodded. "Let's go bring our girl home."
NOW
Dalia tossed a cold, half eaten piece of pizza back into the box, rolling her head on her neck. She'd been staring at her computer too damn long. She pushed up from the table and stretched her arms over her head, stretching her legs as she paced around the room. Crowley hadn't put her under room arrest that long ago, but she was already going stir crazy.
She'd been doing some research, looking for ways to kill a demon. So far the only thing she'd managed to find was an exorcism. It was a temporary fix, but she wasn't sure how well it was going to work with four demons.
She'd tried to find some information on Dean Winchester too. That had come up empty. She couldn't even find a damn parking ticket. She huffed out a breath and laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. She needed to know who Dean was and how he knew her. And why he was her soulmate. That had rocked her pretty deep.
"Contemplating life's mysteries?"
She looked over at the door as Crowley closed it, walking towards her. "What do you want?" she asked.
"Dean is on his way here with the rest of the Scooby gang." Crowley sat on the bed beside her as she sat up. "I don't want any foul-ups this time, do you understand me?" Dalia rolled her eyes, preparing to come back with something witty, but he grabbed her face and forced her to look at him. "I own you," he hissed. "And I've brought a little insurance to make sure you don't mess up this time."
Dalia frowned and looked at him. "What kind of insurance?"
Crowley smirked and held up a small bottle of some kind of deep blue liquid. "This potion will give you back your memories. As soon as Dean is dead, it's yours."
Dalia watched him slide the bottle back into his pocket and resolved herself. Crowley was literally holding the key to who she was. She needed to get her life back. Soulmates be damned. She didn't need a soulmate. She didn't want a soulmate. She needed to know who she was, where she came from. Besides, after doing this for Crowley, it was unlikely that she was going to have a normal life.
"Understood." She got up and walked into the bathroom. She wanted to prepare herself for the fight. She pulled a pocket knife from her pocket and hid it under a towel on the counter. She put an extra clip for her gun in the drawer under the sink. She grabbed her hairbrush and separated the top portion of her hair in a Mohawk section and pinned it up. Then, she pulled her sides back and secured them with a small clear hair tie before teasing and braiding the part she'd clipped back. She wanted her hair out of the way for this. She didn't want to give him something to grab a hold of.
She walked back out of the room and grabbed the boots she'd kicked off and pulled them back on, lacing them back up. She took another clip and taped it under the table and took another knife and looked around the room.
"Under the mattress," Crowley suggested.
Dalia nodded and walked over to the bed, slipping the knife under it. She pulled the clip out of her gun, double checking to make sure it was loaded before sliding it back in. She replaced the knife on her person and looked around the room. She was as ready as she was going to get. She kicked the chair out from under the table and sat down, planting her boots on the table and crossing her legs as the ankles, her gun resting on her lap.
Dean Winchester would die.
xXx
Dean carefully pulled off to the side of the road and killed the engine. He sighed and climbed out of the car going around to the back and opening the trunk. Sam and Elena joined him. They loaded up on guns and holy water. Sam and Elena each took an angel blade, Dean preferring to take the knife they'd gotten from Ruby all those years ago. He doubled checked to make sure his gun was loaded and closed the trunk. "What's the plan?" Sam asked.
"We go in, kill every single one of those evil sons of bitches and bring her home. Even if he have to drag her. Dean pumped the shotgun and started walking towards the motel Dalia was being kept in. He'd parked a block away so the demons wouldn't have time to poof. He wasn't stupid. He knew they were probably walking right into a trap. At this point, he didn't give a rat's ass.
He walked up to the driveway of the motel and peeked around the edge, looking over to the room. Two demons were standing guard. He looked at Sam. "You and Elena go around the back, take care of the ones at the window. I'll handle those two."
"Are you sure?" Sam asked.
Dean nodded his head. He was pissed off enough that two demons would be child's play. He waited until Sam and Dalia were sneaking around the building before he started forward. She weaved his way through the cars until he was close enough and didn't have a choice but to let the demons know he was there. He walked out, knife ready. One of the demons rushed him. Dean ducked his arm and drove the knife into his chest, pulling it out, letting him die on the ground.
The second demon stood his ground as Dean approached. "You really don't want to go in there," it said.
"No, I really do." Dean swung out with the knife but the demon dodged and threw Dean's back into the door. He growled and kicked him off, following him as he stumbled, burying the knife into his chest. Dean pushed to his feet and turned, looking at the door. Dalia was on the other side. He walked up and kicked the door in.
Dalia was sitting at a table, a gun in her hand, pointing directly at his chest. Crowley was sitting on the bed, watching. Dean glared at him before training his eyes back on Dalia. "Listen to me. I don't care what he told you, he's ly—" He swore, his shoulder jerking back as Dalia put a bullet in it. "Dalia, don't make me hurt you."
"I'd like to see you try." She smirked a little, tilting her head to the side. "You might have known me once, but I don't remember you. I'm not the same girl you're looking for." She pulled the trigger again but Dean was ready, at the same time he rushed forward, barely missing the bullet. He tackled Dalia to the ground, grabbing the wrist holding the gun and slammed it into the carpet until she let go.
She growled and wrapped her legs around his waist and grabbed his wounded shoulder, digging her thumb into the wound. He grunted, as pain shot through him. She rolled them, pulling a knife from her hip. "Son of a bitch," he growled. He reached up, grabbing her wrist. He'd forgotten how strong she was. He was having trouble keeping the knife away from his skin. He was fighting her hard.
Dean took a leap of faith and sat up. The knife went into his shoulder at an angle as he slammed his head into hers. She fell back off of him and he ripped the knife out of his chest. "Kicking and screaming it is," he muttered, getting up. Dalia stood slowly, wiping a trail of blood from her lip. She looked at it and glared up at him, her sapphire eyes cold as ice.
Dalia ran at him, and jumped, tackling him to the ground. She punched him, knocking his head to the side and wrapped her hands around his throat, her thumbs pressing down on his throat. Dean gasped and punched her, knocking her off of him. She managed to grab her gun and rolled between the beds. She held the gun on him and stood up slowly, keeping it trained on him.
She was ready to pull the trigger, to put a bullet deep in his heart. Her head started tingling as the deep sky blue color of their love started to illuminate the room again. Memories started to flash into her head. She saw herself cradled in Dean's arms, wrought iron gates behind them in a desolate landscape. She was dying and Dean was crying. "Shh, don't talk, we're going to get you fixed." She shook her head, pushing it away. But it just kept coming. She grabbed her head with her free hand, pulling on her hair, trying to relieve the pain gathering. It bit and tore its way through her.
She heard Crowley get off the bed and walk over to her. He grabbed her hips and leaned in behind her. "Kill him," he whispered, "and you'll get your memories back."
Dalia swallowed thickly and looked at Dean again. She'd seen that broken look in his face before. But she couldn't place it. She tried to steady her hand when another memory shot through her. They were sitting on a motel bed. "When I broke out of the spell or whatever that was, and I saw you bleeding, I swear I thought you were dying. I thought I was going to lose you. I can't fight it anymore. I love you, Dean." She screamed, the gun falling from her hand as she grabbed both sides of her head, falling to her knees. Something was tearing its way through her brain.
"Dalia!" Dean ran forward but Crowley caught him, throwing him into the wall and holding him there.
He crouched and looked at Dalia. "You're remembering, aren't you?" he asked, smoothing hair away from her face. She was sweating and shaking. "You're useless to me now." With a flick of the wrist she was thrown across the room, hitting her head hard against the wall. She groaned and pushed up slowly, trying to fight through the pain searing her head. She stood on shaky legs and pointed her gun at Crowley. Knowing it really wouldn't do anything, she emptied the rest of her clip into his chest. It was enough for him to release the hold he had on Dean. "You little bitch," he hissed.
She was going to pass out the pain was so bad. She swallowed hard and smirked at Crowley. "I may be a bitch, but I'm not yours." She picked up the knife Dean had dropped when she'd shot him. She didn't know why she was so damn sure, but it could kill Crowley. She balanced the blade in her hand and threw it across the room. It stuck deep in the wall when he disappeared just before it could hit him. "Damn." She hit her knees again, rocking her body as another wave of hot pain shot through her head. She whimpered, pulling at her hair.
"Dalia." Dean ran over and put his hands over hers, forcing her look up at him through the tears streaming down her face from the pain. "It's going to be okay, I promise." There it was. Everything flooded back in a rush. From the first time she'd met him at a bar, until she was dying in front of the gates of Tartarus. She shook her head, her eyes squeezing tight, she screamed. "Cas!" Dean screamed.
Castiel had been waiting for Dean's call. He appeared beside them as Sam and Elena ran into the room. Cas knelt beside them and pressed his fingers against her temple. Dalia passed out, falling limply into Dean's arms. "The good news is she has her memories back," Cas said standing up. "That's why she was in so much pain. Looking at you forced them."
"What's the bad news?" Dean asked, holding her close and kissing her head. It felt so damn good to just hold her again.
"There's something…different about her. It's nearly angelic."
Dean looked at Sam. They'd dealt with that before when Sam had been possessed by an angel. But at far as they knew, Dalia hadn't been. "What does that mean?" Elena asked.
Cas shook his head. "I don't know."
Dean kissed her head again and slowly stood, holding her against him. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it at home." He turned slightly. "Sammy, keys." Sam walked over and pulled the keys to the car out of his pocket and led them out of the room. Elena quickly gathered up Dalia's things before following them back to the car. She opened the back door for Dean and ran around to the other side. She helped him get Dalia into the car while Sam put their gear back in the trunk.
Dean climbed in the back seat with her and held her head on his lap. He smoothed pieces of hair from her face that had detached from the braid during the fight. He smiled a little. It was the same way she'd worn her hair when they'd gone on their first hunt together. He was worried about what Cas had said, but he wasn't going to think about it. Not when he had her back, finally, after six months.
xXx
Dalia shot up in bed, grabbing the gun under her pillow. When it wasn't there she looked around and groaned, grabbing her head. There was still a dull ache throbbing behind her eyes. She remembered being in the motel room with Dean when her memories had come back to her. After that she couldn't remember what happened. She was back at the bunker, in her and Dean's room. She slowly got out of bed and grabbed some clean clothes before going to the bathroom. She locked the door and cranked the hot water. She turned and looked at herself in the mirror while the water heated and steam billowed around the room.
She looked like shit. Disgusted with herself she pulled the braid out of her hair and pulled her shirt over her head, dropping it on the floor, quickly followed by her bra. She shimmied out of her jeans and panties and kicked her boots off to the side. She started to turn to the shower when something caught her eye in the mirror. She frowned, turning her back and pulling her hair over her shoulder, looking at the tattoo in the mirror. It was a huge black swan, its wings spread over her shoulders and ribs. She remembered it showing up after Aphrodite had saved her from the Underworld.
Dalia dropped her hair and climbed into the water, letting the water fall over her. She hated herself at that moment. She'd been so ready to kill Dean. The fact that he still brought her home, brought her back to their bed, it broke her heart. She swallowed hard, forcing the tears back down her throat. She showered, quickly and climbed out.
Walking down the hall towards the library she could hear the others talking. "You still don't know what you felt?" Dean asked. She frowned a little, hanging back to listen.
"No, I'm not sure. It's not human, that much I know."
She heard Dean swear and smiled a little. He sounded so pissed off and frustrated, his voice deep and rough. "Maybe it was something Crowley did," Elena said. "She was working for him, he must have been the one who brought her back."
Dalia frowned a little and walked into the room. "Crowley didn't bring me back." They all turned and looked at her. Dean stopped pacing and started towards her but stopped. He looked almost as bad as she felt. And it broke her heart that he didn't go to her. She pushed it away and crossed her arms. "Aphrodite did."
"Aphrodite?" Sam's brows knit together. "No offense, but why would she bring you back?"
Dalia looked at Dean, meeting his forest green eyes with her own. "Because I sacrificed myself for love." He looked away. She watched the muscles in his neck work as he swallowed hard, watched his jaw muscled tick as he clenched them. "That thing that Cas felt, it's…hard to explain."
"Well, try," Dean snapped.
She recoiled. Maybe he wasn't as happy to see her as she thought. She had tried to kill him…twice. "It's no secret that the Greek gods like to…bestow gifts." She sighed and walked over slowly, sitting at the opposite end of the table the others were at. "She gave me the power to tell if people are soulmates." They stared at her like she was crazy. She rolled her eyes and looked away, staring at the mortar between two bricks on the wall. "That's one of the reasons my memories came back…Dean's mine."
Sam, Elena, and Cas looked from Dalia to Dean. "How…how can you tell?" Elena asked.
Dalia sighed. "A light illuminates the people, it starts off white, but slowly changed into a solid color. If the two colors match, soulmates." She turned her head and looked at Dean. "We're a deep sky blue in case you were wondering."
He sighed and rubbed his face. "So, what, you're a demigod now or something?"
"Or something." She pushed up from the chair and ran a hand through her wet hair. "Look, I know you're mad at me. I'm sorry. I didn't remember who I was, let alone anything that had happened before I just appeared on the side of freaking Mount Olympus. I'll pack up my stuff and get out of here."
"You can't go." Elena got up and walked over to her. "We're not mad at you, just worried."
Dalia looked over at Dean. "I'm not so sure about that."
"Guys, can we have a minute?" Dean asked. The others quickly left the room. Dalia watched Sam and Elena go, a worried look on her face before she looked back at Dean. He walked over slowly and cupped her face in his hands, crashing his lips against hers. She moaned, melting into him and fisted his shirt in her hands. He pulled her close, deepening the kiss. Tears prickled at her eyes as she clung to him. How could she ever have tried to kill him? "I'm not mad," he whispered.
"Could have fooled me." She rested her forehead against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. This is what she needed.
"You scared the shit out of me." He kissed her head over and over again. "I thought you were dead. Then I found you with Crowley. You tried to kill me." His voice was getting thick with emotions as they swamped him. "I thought it was bad when Thor had you under his control. Then you at least knew who I was." He shook his head and Dalia pulled away enough to look up at him.
"What?" she asked.
He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his head. "You didn't know me," he whispered. "I looked dead into your eyes and there was nothing there. Nothing's ever hurt that bad." A tear leaked out from her eye and she pressed herself against him, clinging to him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm so fucking sorry, Dean."
He wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands fisted into her shirt. "I love you."
"I love you too." She buried her head in his neck and just held on. She had a lot of time to make up for. And it wasn't just Dean she was worried about. She'd noticed Sam and Elena's colors when they'd left the room. They hadn't matched…
