Oh look, part three. It's here and it's going to be finished, it's going to be over and done with and it's never going to bother me ever again... yeah right -_-

I'm glad I've had some responses to this, makes me feel very happy and such, but I just wanted to point out one thing; I know this should technically be a cross-over with Supernatural but honestly... one; I don't there there's an option for that type of cross-over and two; I highly doubt, if it did exist, people would know it was around unless they were specifically looking for it :p

Anyway. Moving on I think xD

I'm neglecting my other fics for the sake of this damned AU and I'm sure there are people sharpening pitch-forks and making Molotov cock-tails for me... so uh, yeah. I'll get this finished with really, really quickly :p

Kasey

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PART THREE

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3rd June 2011:

"It's about time you guys got here. I was starting to worry." Hank's voice filtered down from the porch of his home as Charles and Erik climbed out of the Impala. They both looked over at Hank's form and grinned simultaneously making the other man role his eyes at them. "Get in here."

Still grinning in amusement, Erik and Charles quickly ascended the steps and entered Hank's home, Erik closing the door behind them before following Charles into the study. Hank stood in front of the desk, obscuring their view of something resting on the top, and Erik couldn't help being intrigued. Charles' eyebrows raised slightly in the way that told Erik that Charles himself was intrigued as well.

"What have you got there Hank?" Charles asked curiously as he stood just inside the study and Erik stood beside him, both of them waiting for Hank's response.

Hank smiled at them, a toothy grin that Erik normally associated with a slightly deranged and unhinged Hank, and turned slightly to pick up the box he'd been blocking from view. "Something to kill that God-damn son-of-a-bitch Shaw." Hank answered as he held the box out towards them.

Glancing briefly at Charles, Erik reached out and took the box from Hank's grasp. Charles' gaze was riveted on the box, his eyes wide and Erik could almost feel his amazement, and Erik cautiously opened the lid of the box to reveal...

"My God." Charles breathed out as he stared at the sleek metal of one of the most legendary weapons in the history of hunters around the world. "Is that-"

"The Colt, yep." Hank finished as he waggled his eyebrows in exhilaration. "The one and only thing that can kill a Demon."

Erik stared down at the gun in silence, his mind alight with thoughts, feelings, memories and he felt the world fading away until it was just him and the Colt. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed. Nothing but this gun and his revenge.

"Erik." Charles said quietly, his attention now on his stationary friend. "Erik." He repeated, a bit more forcefully and Erik started out of his focus.

Looking over at the shorter man, Erik smiled slightly and gently lifted the Colt from its box, his long, slender and strong fingers curving around the handle as he raised the gun to point it at the book shelf behind Hank. "How'd you get it?" Erik asked as he looked at Hank.

"Hunter called Daniel Elkins, sent it to me last week; said he didn't want to leave it in his home any longer 'cause of some Vamps in the area." Hank answered, his words veiled with sadness and Erik realised what must have happened to Elkins. "Said to put it to good use on something other than Vamps." He added as he looked pointedly at the two hunters before him.

Erik closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Let's go kill the bastard." He said darkly as he looked down the length of the gun and caught Hank's eye. "Thanks."

Hank nodded his welcome at the hunter, his eyes filled with something that Erik couldn't identify but it looked suspiciously like pride.

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4th June 2011:

"We can handle the bastard ourselves Charles." Erik insisted as he followed the shorter man around the Impala as the Brit continued to throw their bags into the trunk. "We don't need to waste time looking for other hunters."

"Erik, be reasonable. We cannot get to Shaw if we are dead and we definitely won't be able to get to Shaw if the man has a number of Demons waiting for us; which he most certainly will." Charles sighed as he stopped and turned to face the hunter as he pouted glumly. "Stop pouting, it makes you look like a de-toothed Shark." Charles added and Erik blinked. 'Shark?'

"And yes, a shark Erik; I mean, have you seen your smile?" Charles looked pointedly at the hunter and his lips curled slightly as his eyes sparked with mischief. "Though I guess you haven't, what with you breaking all the mirrors in your presence."

"With my rugged handsomeness of course." Erik cut in as he glared at the Brit who laughed lightly. Though he didn't want to, Erik found his lips curling into a smile also because Charles was laughing, and this happy Charles was so different to the one that Erik saw in the dead of night when the Brit would toss and turn throughout the night before starting awake only to smash something in the room. This smiling, happy Charles was the whole-reason that Erik was able to sit by and wait for Charles to calm down in the night before offering comfort.

"Oh, most definitely my friend." Charles smiled warmly up at the hunter, something curling in his gut and flooding his body with a warmth that he hadn't been unaccustomed to. It was... nice. Not repulsive and not sickening like it had been with... that beast. Erik, oh sweet, loving, kind and intense Erik was everything to Charles; even his dear sister couldn't compete with this man and Charles was forever thankful that he would likely never have to choose between the two because he doubted his heart could take the choice. It would quite literally kill him because... oh let the saints forgive him, he knew he'd chose Erik over Raven. And he hated himself a little for it because family is supposed to come first. But Erik was so much more to him than family.

Impulsively he reached out to grasp Erik's hand in a tight grip, as though to reaffirm for himself that the hunter was real and there and alive. A part of Charles wondered how he must look to Erik right now, with all these thoughts and feelings rolling around in his head and heart, but he wasn't even the slightest bit tempted to look through Erik's eyes to find out. There was something sacred between them now, something that Charles wasn't going to jeopardise for the sake of anything. And if that meant going looking for hunters, wasting a couple of days to cobble together some sort of team, then he'd be damned if he let Erik make him feel guilty about because damnit, he was doing this for Erik.

Erik stared deeply into Charles' eyes, looking, searching, for something and Charles knew what his friend was looking for. He'd known since that day in April and he'd also known that eventually he'd be able to give his friend what he was so patiently waiting for. 'Fuck it', Charles thought, uncharacteristically brash and impulsive, 'We might die soon and I am not going to Heaven or Hell with getting a kiss from this man!'

Perhaps something in his face gave away his thoughts or perhaps it was Erik who had suddenly developed telepathic abilities because the hunter smiled lustfully and dipped his head down as Charles stretched his entire body to reach for those delicious looking lips.

And it was exquisite when they touched, a million sparks of pure wanton electricity exploding between them as Charles moaned deeply and wrapped an arm around Erik's broad, muscled back. Their lips were locked in the throes of desire and wanton passion that had been denied between them since they'd first met, though neither had been aware of the atmosphere between them back then. Erik growled in the back of his throat, the sound reverberating through his chest and his mouth making Charles gasp into the kiss, and he slid one of his muscled arms around the Brit's waist, holding him close, stopping him from running away again, protecting him, keeping him there where Erik would always protect him to his death. And it was all so heady, so erotic that Charles let go of the tenuous grip on the wall between his thoughts and everyone else and flooded Erik's mind with his own words, dreams, ideas, wishes and nightmares.

'Oh God, I love him so much it hurts...'

'I don't ever want this to end, I want this to go on forever...'

'He'll leave me one day but please God don't let it be today...'

'God, I've wanted this for months!'

'More Erik... please, God give me more...'

'Take the reminders of him away from me Erik, replace them with memories of you please...'

Erik's chest rumbled deeply as he literally lifted Charles up with the arm around the Brit's waist and placed him on the hood of the Impala. His other hand ran along the length of Charles' chest, under the button-down shirt the Brit wore, gliding over the pale, lean flesh so tauntingly that Charles gasped as he broke the kiss and arched his back. Erik nuzzled his neck with his nose, his breath ghosting over the overly-sensitive skin of Charles' neck and he murmured something into the smooth skin too quietly for Charles to hear, but the feelings that accompanied the words... those feelings hit Charles like a tonne weight and he forgot how to breath for a minute as his mind shuddered to a halt and his breathing hitched painfully for a long, long moment.

'This is what it's like to be loved', Charles found himself thinking when his mind started up again. 'This is what it feels like to be loved by someone with every fibre of their being...' It was so much, too much, but not enough, never enough because Charles wanted more. He wanted more than just love, he wanted the passion, the lust, the anger, the hate that Erik had inside him. To be truly loved, Charles wanted everything Erik had to offer him, not only the good in the hunter but also the dark poison at the centre of Erik's core. A dark poison that was at the heart of Charles too.

Erik's movements slowed as he slid his hand out from beneath Charles' shirt and loosened the tight grip he had on the Brit's waist. Lifting his head slowly, Erik looked into the blue eyes staring at him with so much feeling that it made something in Erik shatter. A wall around his heart. A wall that had been built around his living soul for most of his life, only ever cracked and tarnished by a half-dozen people, and now it was shattered. Shattered into a billion pieces and scattered to the winds as Charles reached up with a steady hand and gently stroked his cheek. And Erik finally understood why his father had been so broken by his mother's death, why the man had survived through-out the years with only the need for revenge to keep him afloat. Erik finally understood that, when you loved someone so much, with every single part of your heart and soul, every ounce of good in you, that when you lost them... you lost yourself too, and he swore to himself that he would never lose Charles. 'I will never lose you', he thought forcefully, intensely as he stared back into those burning blue eyes and he knew his own were alight with passion and fire and need. 'I won't let you go.'

Charles smiled, love pouring out of every pour of his body, permeating the air and Erik absorbed the love like a sponge starved of water for too long. He took every piece that Charles chipped away from himself and handed to Erik without an ounce of shame and he felt a tear roll down his cheek as he heard Charles' response. 'I wouldn't have it any other way Erik... I wouldn't have it any other way.'

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"So..." Erik drawled as he tapped the steering wheel impatiently, Charles had made him turn the stereo off after he started playing Iron Maiden. Looking over at the Brit he raised his eyebrows and asked, his voice innocent. "When's this going to be sorted?" He suppressed a smile as Charles slowly raised his head to give him what might have been the mother of all death-glares.

"I don't know Erik, I am not a fortune teller." Charles said slowly, breathing deeply as though he were only just restraining himself from giving Erik a psychic-headslap. The younger man looked away from Erik and back down at the map he was currently studying, well, trying to study.

"No. You're a telepath, much more respectable." Erik said sarcastically, enjoying the way Charles gave him a side-long look of I-am-going-to-turn-your-brain-to-goop-in-the-most-painful-way-I-can-possibly-conjure-up-if-you-don't-shut-up! It was a lot less threatening that Charles probably realised because, to Erik, it just made the Brit look like a pouting six year old.

'Oh hush', Charles thought in exasperation as the hunter who chuckled as he turned away to look back out the window, satisfied that he'd riled Charles up; it was a good pastime for him, and revenge for all the times that Charles drove him silently loopy. It was boring though now because Charles had quickly caught onto the fact that, if he ignored Erik for long enough, then the hunter would eventually stop; though, more often than not, Charles couldn't hold out long enough and Erik had his entertainment.

They had been waiting for over an hour for Hank to drag his arse out of the lonely cabin in the woods and if he was honest, Erik was one step off going into the damned cabin himself and dragging the no-good, reclusive son-of-a-bitch that was Armando Muñoz, AKA Darwin. The only reason he hadn't done so already was due to the fact that one; Charles had telekinetic locked the doors of the Impala so, unless Erik wanted to damage his beloved car, he'd have to wait for Charles to willingly unlock it and two; Charles had steadfastly refused to step foot out of the Impala and Erik wasn't going to go anywhere without the Brit. Still, he was awfully tempted to try and con Charles into letting him get out the car to stretch his legs.

Just as he was thinking, plotting, about doing so the sound of a door opening and raised voices drew his attention and he looked at the cabin to see the front door open. Leaning forward in his seat slightly, Erik's sharp eyes picked out the tall outline of Hank and another man arguing on the threshold of the cabin. Not even consciously being aware of doing so, Erik reached out and pulled the handle on the door, only for it to catch and not open. 'What the- Damn it', Erik looked at Charles pointedly and the telepath sighed as he unlocked the doors and climbed out of the Impala as Erik did so also. Together they set off for the cabin, listening to both the conversation, argument really, and the surrounding area as they did so.

"I don't care if you were going after the Devil himself Hank! I'm not helping." Darwin shouted as he tried to slam the door in Hank's face but the other hunter stuck his foot in the door frame and jammed it. Darwin glared at Hank who stared coolly back at him though Charles could clearly hear Hank's thoughts and he was actually surprised at how many curses the other man actually knew.

"Please Armando." Charles said as he stepped onto the porch of the cabin and drew the attention of the reclusive hunter. "I understand that you're reluctant to leave your home after the many things you've experienced in your life, but we're going after Shaw." Charles continued as he stepped up next to Hank, well aware that Erik was standing only a step or so behind him. He looked side-ways at Hank and nodded slightly. Hank slowly removed his foot from the door frame and stepped back so he was beside Erik, leaving the recruiting to Charles.

"Good for you kid." Darwin said as he held the door but he didn't shut it in Charles' face. "But it's not any of my business." He added as he leaned on the door frame and looked down sadly at Brit.

"It will be though." Charles countered softly, he ignored the way Erik and Hank looked questioningly at him. "Shaw is a Demon, Armando, and a despicable one at that. Granted, he is one of many, but the other Demons are not planning on starting a war unlike Shaw." Charles continued as he thought back over what the Demon had told him during that night... the words fleeting and had little meaning at the time, but Charles had done the research, ran the numbers and looked at the signs across the world. Shaw was gearing up for a war. "Shaw is planning on starting a war against humans, a war that, if we don't stop now, we will most certainly lose."

Darwin stared in shocked silence at the Brit, his tongue stuck to his throat and Charles could feel the disbelief, the shock, the confusion from each of the three men. Taking a breath and tilting his head to the side, Charles spoke, a challenging tone to his voice that sounded almost dangerous. "So, do you think it's your problem now Armando?"

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5th June 2011:

It was quiet as they drove down the road, a small convoy of cars, and Erik cast a side-ways glance at the dozing Brit in the passenger seat beside him. Charles looked relaxed and comfortable, such a contrast to how he'd looked less than two days ago that Erik often found himself looking at the younger man as if to reassure himself that it was really Charles and he was really resting. It seemed that, after their little impromptu make-out session - which had ended rather abruptly courtesy of a mentally-scared Hank - something in Charles had loosened, reconciled even, and he trusted Erik so completely that it was only in the hunter's presence that the Brit was able to sleep freely of his nightmares.

It made something swell in Erik's chest as he realised this and he tentatively reached out with a hand and gently stroked Charles' brow, smoothing away the slight frowns on the innocent and youthful face. Sometimes, when Erik knew Charles wasn't listening in on his thoughts – intentionally or otherwise – Erik thought back to the words that Charles had spoken those weeks ago, after Erik had awoke to find a day's worth of his life missing from his memory. "Shaw injured me in ways I am not unused too." What did that mean exactly? Erik knew that Shaw had r-raped his friend using Erik's own body, and how that had fucked up Erik's mind – still fucked up his mind – but Erik was curious as to what it meant for Charles that his friend – lover? – was familiar with it... rape... or sex with a man? Erik wasn't sure and it made him feel uncertain, nervous and down-right murderous all at once to think about it for too long.

Charles murmured something and shifted in his seat, batting Erik's hand away as he did so, and Erik's sharp hearing picked out a couple of words. "Raven... not going... bald..." He smiled sadly as he returned his attention to the road, glancing briefly in the rear-view mirror to see the headlights of Hank and Darwin's respective trucks. They were a little convoy of hunters going in search of others of their kind to go up against the big-bad soon and Erik was secretly terrified for Charles' safety. The Brit could hardly handle a shotgun, though he did have a cracking shot amusingly, and in hand-to-hand Erik was sure a three year could best him. And he was meant to go up against Shaw with Erik? No. If Erik had to tie Charles up and leave him in the trunk of the damned Impala just to keep him safe, then he would. Though, if he survived his meeting with Shaw, he doubted Charles would be happy with him.

The small walkie-talkie resting in the alcove of the door crackled to life and Erik quickly grabbed it. "What Hank?" He muttered into it as he glanced in the rear-view mirror again, his voice was low and deep, dark and frustrated because he didn't want to wake Charles yet.

"Darwin says he's managed to get in contact with two more hunters." Hank answered and Erik suppressed a growl as Charles shifted in his seat and curled up slightly. "Take the next right you come to and you'll come to the Hunter's Cavern at the end." Hank ordered before shutting of the walkie-talkie leaving Erik with a slumbering Brit and the insatiable urge to curse in a dozen different languages.

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Pulling up outside the Hunter's Cavern, Erik killed the engine and smiled as he looked over at Charles as the younger man slowly began to wake now the Impala was stationary. "Hey." Erik said softly, reaching out carefully with a hand and gently laying it on Charles' upper-arm, the touch light and easy to shake off should Charles choose to do so. "Wake up Charles."

Charles blinked slowly, his blue eyes blurred and dazed, as he looked over at Erik and then out the windscreen. "We there yet?" He slurred as he dragged himself upright in his seat and rubbed his eyes. The fact that Charles' hair was an absolute mess, his cheeks flushed and his body looked even smaller than usual made something in Erik twist and he smiled softly as he took in his friends apparel.

"Yeah, and I think Hank's coming over so you might want to reach def-con 3 pronto." Erik laughed quietly as Charles suddenly jerked forward in his seat and cursed. "Charming." He added as Charles threw a sharp glare at him before dragging his sluggish body out of the Impala before Hank could shout at him to.

"Come on you two." Hank called as he and Darwin stomped over towards the Hunter's Cavern. "We haven't got time to stand around waiting." He added and, when Charles was sure he wasn't looking, Charles childishly stuck his tongue out at the hunter and Erik suppressed a laugh. "And stop that, you ain't a five year old!"

"He's got eyes in the back of his head Charles, I told you." Erik laughed as Charles started in surprise. The hunter clapped Charles lightly on the shoulder before adding. "Come on, don't want to keep him waiting."

"Of course not." Charles muttered, sounding for all the world like a reprimanded child and Erik grinned as they set off for the Hunter's Cavern.

"So, Hank." Erik said as they caught up with the other two hunters. "These other hunters. What are they like?" He asked as Hank looked shiftily at Darwin who was suddenly busy with wiping his boots on the little mat on the porch. Erik frowned and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Hank?"

"You'll see." Hank answered tactfully before slipping inside the bar before Erik could demand an explanation. Darwin looked briefly at Charles and Erik before following after the other hunter. Erik huffed as he grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open, pausing in surprise as he peered into the near darkness of the bar.

Charles suppressed a smile because Darwin really should try to think quieter, and he glided past Erik into the semi-dark bar, knowing that Erik wouldn't hesitate to follow after him. Taking a look around the inside of the bar, Charles was surprised to note that it was empty save for seven people, including their little convoy.

"Where are these other hunters exactly?" Erik asked as he stepped up beside Charles and surveyed the furniture of the place. The lights were on low, the blinds on all the windows closed and there was a layer of smoke floating around the place; smoke that suspiciously reminded Erik of the jocks behind the bike sheds with their spliff's.

"You looking for hunters?" A voice echoed around the bar and Erik's gaze locked onto one of the three other people in the place. A tall, gangly person ambled towards them, crazed ginger hair blazing like a warning beacon and Erik raised an eyebrow in disbelief as his sharp eyes made out the person's features. He was a boy, a kid.

"Yeah, you know any?" Erik answered as he stared impassively at the teen who stopped just shy of Erik's reach. 'Not that dumb then', he thought as he watched as the teen casually leant on the bar and he caught Charles' eye as he tilted his head to the side. 'Please tell me he's not-'

"I'm a hunter." The teen said, staring at the four of them who raised their eyebrows in surprise. "Seriously. I'm a hunter, so's Alex." He added as he jerked his head to indicate the slowly approaching other boy, child, teen. "I'm Sean Cassidy, pleased to meet you."

"Charles Xavier." Charles said, smiling as he stepped forward and held out a hand for the teen to shake. Sean stared at the Brit in surprise before smiling and clasping the outstretched hand lightly. "Nice to meet you Sean."

"And the same to you." Sean replied as he grinned and leant back against the bar and turned his head to look at the other teen, Alex. "Don't expect him to shake your hand; he's antisocial with a capital A."

"Oh, he'll get on splendidly with Erik then." Charles said lightly, ignoring the way Erik glared at him. "Well, I suppose we might as well get down to business and explain why we're here and all." He continued as he moved to sit on one of the bar stools, Erik following behind him like some sort of personal bodyguard.

"You're hunting?" Alex said quietly, his voice rough and raw – 'dangerous', Charles' mind supplied for him – and Charles looked over that the blonde teen, well he was over twenty-on but for Charles he still looked like a teen, even with that God awful scowl.

"Yes." Charles answered as Hank and Darwin sat down at the bar themselves. "We were wondering if you'd like to join us?" He added as he stared calmly at Alex, and he noticed how Sean quietly deferred to the blonde but it was interesting to note that Alex wasn't the one who had the ultimate say; he was just stubborn and suspicious.

"What are you hunting that needs six hunters?" Alex asked as he stood beside Sean and stared hard at the Brit who smiled grimly. Erik shifted on his feet and he couldn't help but cut-off Charles' answer before it had even began.

"A Demon that's planning on ending the world." Erik said shortly, his words clipped and strained. Alex and Sean both looked at him, Sean's face showing his surprise more clearly than Alex's, before looking at each other and sharing a silent conversation. Well, it would have been silent had it not been for the fact that Charles could hear the thoughts behind the looks.

'Ending the world – like apocalypse style?'

'Is it worth our lives?'

'Should we?'

'Yeah'

'Sure'

'Yes! – God, it's like talking to my kid brother.'

"Alright. We're in." Sean answered as he looked back at the Brit and smiled. "But if all goes to hell, I am so lighting a spliff while everything burns." Simultaneously Alex and Erik rolled their eyes as Sean's comment as Charles' smile widened and he inclined his head in acquiesce to the teens plan.

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6th June 2011:

"Why do we need another hunter exactly?" Sean piped up as he, Alex, Charles and Erik strode into the bar that was home to some leather-wearing, 'tough-guys' that even Charles could take out – though he might not play fair unlike Erik.

"The more of us there are the better chance we have at succeeding." Charles answered lightly as he almost flowed like liquid around a number of the punk-rocker style patrons of the bar. One of them looked him up and down speculatively but a quiet growl from Erik soon made them find great interest in other things. Though, Charles supposed, their sudden interest in their drinks could have had something to do with the fact that Erik's eyes held a dangerous and deadly edge to them, but Charles wasn't all that concerned with that.

They quietly made their way over to the bar, Alex and Sean wisely hanging back as Erik and Charles approached a lone man drinking hard liquor like it was water. They both leaned on the countertop, causally, on either side of the hunter and Charles smiled as he introduced himself. "My name's Charles Xavier."

"And I'm Erik Lensherr." Erik added as he looked briefly at Charles before focusing his attention on the hunter between them.

"Go fuck yourselves." The hunter said gruffly as he threw back another shot.

Charles looked up at Erik with a raised eyebrow and he smiled slightly as he thought at his friend. 'I don't think he'll be willing to help us', and he blushed slightly as Erik mentally smirked at him.

'I think I'm more concerned with his idea of "fucking ourselves"', the hunter thought as he moved away from the bar and Charles fell into step with him. They walked back over towards Sean and Alex who obviously understood what had happened. In silence they left the bar and climbed back into the Impala.

As Erik pulled the car out of the parking lot and set off along the main road towards their motel he glanced sideways at Charles and purposefully thought. 'Maybe we should "go fuck each other" Charles?'

Charles choked on the breath he had been in the process of taking and he stared at Erik who turned to look at the road, a smirk on his face as Charles blushed. 'Perhaps when the children are resting', Charles thought back, and he added a couple of mental images along with the thought. Erik's eyelid shuttered rapidly as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

'You are a cruel tease do you know that?' Erik thought back at Charles as the Brit smiled and laughed silently before settling back in his set.

'You wouldn't have me any other way Erik and you know it', Charles thought back and Erik found that he couldn't argue with him.

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9th June 2011:

"Listen up and pay attention." Erik said harshly, catching everyone's attention as he stood in front of his team, their team. The hunters all paused in their actions to look over at the tall hunter who stared at them with flint in his eyes.

Charles was stood beside him, looking quiet and solemn but no less determined, and if any of them looked in his eyes then they'd see that they were burning with emotion. Power. Alex and Sean were sat next to each other loading salt shells into a dozen shotguns, silently certain in their abilities but hyped up on nervous energy because they were going into battle. They were about to go out onto the front line of a war they'd only ever played a small part in, now they were going to fight for the entire planet. Charles could see the fear, the worry, the pain, the determination in their minds and their hearts, he could see how they were reassuring each other with small smiles, gentle looks, reaffirming words. Hank and Darwin were sitting separately, away from each other on opposite sides of the motel room they were gearing up in. Charles could sense how they were silently determined, their fear firmly capped and their anger, their passion and for Darwin his love, were burning brightly as they readied themselves for the battle that they realistically knew they might not survive.

"We are going to go into a battle, a fight, that none of you have to join us with." Charles said softly, but his words burned. "Erik and I are after Shaw who is leading this attack. Our intention to kill him and we may well die doing so."

There was silence in the motel room as five faces stared at him, Erik's openly showing his surprise and his conflicting emotions. Charles took a breath and continued, ignoring the way Erik's eyes bored into him. "You have a choice right now, and whatever you decide do know that you will not be judged for it. You can leave now and we will not stop you. Or you can stay and fight for, not only yourselves, but for everyone on the planet."

Charles paused and looked at Alex. "For your family."

He looked over at Sean. "For your friends."

He looked at Hank. "For your memories."

Darwin stared levelly at him. "For your freedom."

And slowly, Charles turned to look at Erik and he said, softly. "For your beliefs."

Erik gasped quietly, but the sound was so loud in the quiet of the room that it echoed in Charles' ears as he turned to look at the others again. "It is very likely that none of us will survive this battle. It's very likely that we may well fail and the world will fall. But, we owe it to ourselves and those we love, to try."

Staring at each of them in turn, bar Erik, Charles waited with baited breath as he heard their thoughts rolling around in their minds. He could clearly hear the doubt in Sean's mind, could clearly hear the fear. 'I'm just a kid. What would happen to Alex if I died in this? What would happen to me if Alex died?' Charles swallowed thickly as he switched his attention to Alex's thoughts. 'Sean's a kid. He's like my brother dude... I can't let him do this, but I can't stop him either... fuck! I'll never forgive myself if I don't protect him.'

Hank was silent, his thoughts boxed away and not openly broadcasting and Charles had no urge to pry into the man's mind, not when he already knew that Hank wouldn't back-out now. The man had lost a lot to the supernatural and Erik was like a cousin, a relative that he hadn't seen a lot of when he'd been younger but now was impossibly close to. He knew that Hank would follow Erik to Hell and back again because Erik was all he had to cling onto in this world. And Charles as well thanks to Erik.

Darwin was staring at the floor, his mind thinking back over darker times; times he'd rather forget but realised that he couldn't because they drove him to be who he was now. Memories of nameless faces, unknown places and dripping blood as he watched his own hands crush and rip and tear and break people. Memories of the Demon that had possessed him and used his body as one would operate a crane in a dock. 'I've already agreed to this knowing exactly what I was getting into... I'm not backing out now.'

Alex looked up at Charles and slowly nodded, Sean joining him in his silent agreement and Charles felt a flare of pride rising in his stomach as he saw how these boys, men, were ready to go to war, to die because Charles had asked them to. It both amazed and sickened him knowing he had that level of power, he was the leader but sometimes even the leader needed to be lead.

Darwin looked at Hank who glanced at the other hunter. Something passed between them and Charles knew better than to pry as they both turned to look at him and nodded in agreement. Erik, Charles knew, had never even considered leaving to be a possibility. Erik's entire life had been building up to this point and Charles knew that nothing would dissuade the man from killing Shaw and if Charles were a better man, he might have tried to argue with Erik because Erik was a better man than that. But Charles wasn't a better man, he was what he was and Shaw had taken from him the one piece of humanity that he held in him that might have saved the Demon from Erik's wrath. Now, Charles wasn't sure if Erik would fire the killing shot of if it would be Charles himself.

And it should probably scare him, the knowledge that he could shoot a man, a victim just as much as he, who couldn't defend himself against Charles or Shaw possessing him. But it didn't scare him, because a part of Charles realised that the peace he'd known before hunting wasn't peace so much as the calm before the storm. There was no such thing as peace for hunters.

So there was no such thing as peace for Charles either.

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10th June 2011:

The bright shining sun was such a contrast to the pure evil that permeated the air around them that it made Charles want to wretch only he had nothing in his stomach to throw up. Standing next to Erik, the others a little way behind them, he stared into the distance, contemplating the iron tracks beneath their feet. It was strange to find the tracks out in the middle of nowhere, especially since Charles knew that no trains had ever really travelled along this route when they'd first been lain down. No, these tracks weren't for travel, they were to keep something in. Only a few feet to their right there was a metre long gap in the tracks, like someone had purposefully ripped them apart, and Charles knew that whatever the tracks were keeping locked up would be able to get out without any contest now.

"The Gate's still closed." Erik's voice filtered through the light breeze and Charles turned to look at the taller hunter, raising an eyebrow as he waited for more from his friend. "If it weren't we wouldn't have got this far. We're a main target for Shaw because he knows we're coming to kill him."

"He fears us." Charles said slowly as he returned his gaze to the open space before them, squinting slightly his eyes managed to pick out the clearing about two miles away from them. The clearing they were going to be heading for when Hank finished calling any hunters in the surrounding area and warning them that some baddies might be active in the area soon. They had a right to know what was coming in Charles' opinion but Erik had been right when he'd pointed out that the other hunters would panic knowing that Shaw was trying to kick-start the apocalypse. So Hank was feeding the nearby hunters some spiel about a witch's spell potentially going wrong and releasing a couple of Demons and such in the area.

"So he should." Erik commented as he slid his hand along his side to grip the handle of the Colt tightly. "We're going to kill him and he knows we'll do it." He added as he turned to look down at the Brit who continued to stare off into the distance. "I'm surprised you haven't tried to argue with me about this Charles."

"I don't think I could fight this even if I wanted to my friend." Charles sighed, refusing to look at Erik and see the questioning look on his friends face. "Perhaps when we first met I could have found it in me to argue against your plan, but now... now I don't want to argue with you." Slowly Charles turned to pierce Erik with a heated stare. "Shaw is a Demon. A monstrous creation that was once a human soul but has been twisted and warped into something barely recognisable. There is nothing remotely human in him except hate, anger and darkness. Killing him is more of an act of kindness than anything else."

"An act of kindness for all the people whose lives he has yet to ruin." Erik intoned darkly and finally, finally, Charles turned to look at his friend. He took in the dark shadows beneath Erik's eyes. He took in how his friends entire frame was wrought with tension to the point where it looked like he might snap if he moved too suddenly. Reaching out Charles gently grasped Erik's hand in his own, lightly squeezing the appendage, and he smiled at the hunter with love in his eyes.

He didn't need to say anything because they didn't need words anymore. Not now. Words would only complicate things and Charles was so very tired of complications. So he smiled and held Erik's hand in his own, sending pulse after pulse of warmth, love and care to his friend until Erik's body relaxed and the darkness in his eyes faded and the light took its place.

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The Impala and Hank's truck slowly pulled to a halt just outside the graveyard, their engines dying as Erik and Hank cut them. Slowly the team climbed out of the cars, Alex and Sean darting about to secure a salt line around the vehicles to protect them from any supernatural attack, as Hank and Darwin gave them cover. Erik covered Charles' back at the Brit cast his mind out for any living souls, finding only an impenetrable wall of ice blocking his mind, and he drew in a quiet breath as he realised they were waiting for them.

Looking to Erik and nodding silently, the pair of them carefully set off in the direction of the gateway, Alex, Sean, Hank and Darwin bringing up the rear; all of them were armed with Shotguns, holy water and hole load of shells. It wasn't too long before they'd be needing them and they were all acutely aware of the fact that, eventually, they'd run out if they were unlucky. But it wouldn't do to be thinking about such things right now.

A few tense minutes later and they entered the clearing where the gateway was situated only to find it empty save for themselves. Frowning they all moved so they were covering each other's back against an attack from all sides and Charles found his attention focused entirely on the gateway. It was magnificent. Wrought iron worked into the building itself and Charles knew that Samuel Colt was the reason it was there in the first place, the creator of the Colt and the man who had set-up the train tracks in the beginning.

Glancing at Erik, Charles jerked his head towards the gateway, and Erik nodded to him before silently signalling to the other hunters to stay there. Carefully and silently, the two of them cautiously made their way over to the gateway and Charles ran a hand over the lock to it all, surprised at the design of it. Well, it almost looked as if...

"Yep Charlie-boy. The Colt's the key." A voice rang out in the clearing, dark and menacing, and with an undercurrent to it that Charles recognised. Spinning around, pressing his back against the gateway, and bringing his shotgun up Charles looked out into the clearing. Searching as Erik tightened his grip on his shotgun and stepped slightly so that he was in front of Charles.

Risking a glance over at the others Charles noticed how they were still grouped together, covering every angle like born professionals, and Charles felt a little calmer right up until the point that his eyes noticed a figure standing in the tree-line. A figure that Hank noticed too. Suddenly the clearing was filled with the sound of shotgun's firing and Erik's attention snapped onto the group, leaving him temporarily open to an attack. Before Charles could shout out a warning, Erik was thrown to the side, his head cracking against a tombstone hard enough to slice the skin of his forehead.

"Erik!" Charles cried out as he started to move towards his friend only to find himself thrown backwards onto the damp ground. The shotgun was snatched from his grasp and he watched as it was flung across the clearing leaving him completely unarmed save for the Holy Water in his back pocket. Scrambling backwards, Charles' back hit a tree and he used it to drag himself up to his feet.

Staring around him in fear Charles tried to find the owner of the voice that had haunted his dreams and nightmares for weeks. Distantly he noted that the others were battling against three Demons, firing shell after shell at them, but his focus was more on getting Erik to safety and killing Shaw. Though surviving this whole encounter was pretty high on his list of things-to-do.

Deciding to take a chance, one that he was sure Erik would murder him for at some point, Charles darted towards his friends still dazed form, reaching desperately for him, but before he could reach him something threw him backwards and his body collided painfully with the tree. He let out a little cry of pain as he felt himself pushed back impossibly hard against the tree, and the tips of his boots touched the ground. Charles knew that he was alone right now. Erik was still dazed, nearing unconsciousness, and the others were dealing with the other Demons. With a jolt that sent his heart off on a million-mile per second beat, Charles realised that this is what Shaw wanted.

"Smart boy Charlie-boy." The voice chuckled in his ear and, if he hadn't been pinned to the tree, Charles would have flinched. "I wanted to have another chat with you. No hands this time I promise." He added as Charles' eyes flashed with panic.

"I doubt we have much to discuss Shaw." Charles bit out, trying to ignore how he wanted to stutter and stammer out the name, he would not give this cowardly being the satisfaction. Not anymore.

"Well... maybe not what you think we want to discuss but I think it's only fair for you boys to know just how important you both are. Especially you Charlie-boy, though Erik's pretty special too." Shaw drawled as he smiled enthusiastically at Charles who tried to flinch away again. "Come on..." Shaw said softly, leaning close to Charles' face. "Don't tell me you're not curious." His eyes flickered over Charles' face, taking in the taught and tense features and how Charles' eyes were alight with emotions that contradicted each other at every turn.

"I'm not curious." Charles muttered, sarcasm and hatred dripping over every word as he glared at Shaw who tutted like a parent would with a child.

"Oh well... I'll be charitable to you Charlie-boy." Shaw said as he stepped back and turned to give Erik a brief go over with his gaze. "I guess you'll have to listen for Erik too since he seems a bit out of sorts." He commented as he returned his attention to Charles, smiling again.

Charles didn't respond, but he did watch Shaw's movements sharply and he noticed that Erik wasn't as 'out of sorts' as Shaw assumed. Immediately casting his mind out, as subtly as possible, Charles constructed a net around Erik, one that mislead whatever Shaw saw with his friend. It wasn't much and it wasn't powerful but as long as Shaw's attention was focused on Charles for the majority of the time, then Erik would be free to recover without being made into Demon-chow.

"First off, I suppose I could just show you – and whilst that would be fantastic just to see your face – I don't feel like being so dramatic." Shaw said as he idly picked at the nails on one of his hands. Looking up at Charles' face he smiled again and clapped his hands together. "Okay. The year is 1985, November 2nd and baby Erik is asleep in his crib when mommy comes in to close the window, only it's already closed. She's a bit suspicious, but pretty calm until she notices some sulphur on the window ledge – I do hate that particular trait of Demons, the sulphur's always the biggest give away in the game."

"Oh you have my empathy." Charles bit out and he squeezed his eyes shut as the invisible restraints on him tightened to the point where his chest felt like it was being crushed. As quickly as it began, it stopped and Charles was left taking in ragged breaths as Shaw tutted at him like a disappointed parent.

"Cheek isn't tolerated Charlie-boy. Didn't you mommy ever teach you manners?" Shaw said, his voice stern, before he smiled darkly and added. "Oh wait. Mommy hated you didn't she Charlie-boy? The boy who could hear her thoughts. The boy who was responsible for daddy's death."

"Shut up!" Charles shouted, pain and anger in his voice, as he tried to pull against the invisible restraints but Shaw chuckled darkly as they just wouldn't give. "Shut up you bastard!" Suddenly Charles' head was being pulled backwards until his skull hit the tree hard enough to shake the teeth in his mouth and he slumped, his body going completely limp but it didn't move as the force keeping him stuck to the tree refused to let him fall.

"Such language Charlie-boy. I should wash your mouth out with soap." Shaw tutted as he observed how Charles' eyes glittered with tears of pain, anger and frustration. "Anyway, back to the story!"

"So. Mommy figures out something's wrong and she's already interfered too much, and she owes a debt to pay. I can't have mommy skipping out on deals afterall, it'd be bad for business, so Erik's mommy finally pays her debt in full and as an extra bonus, her little baby grows up to be one of the best hunters in the business. All useful for me actually." Shaw said as he cast a brief glance behind him, noticing that Erik had hardly moved but he found Charles suddenly bursting back to life as the Brit began to pull on the restraints holding him place.

Returning his attention to the young man, Shaw smiled and he continued. "Now, that's Erik's story; or most of it. But you've got a story too Charlie-boy. And your old man was a resourceful fellow. He made a deal with me, just like Erik's mommy did but he wanted a son whilst Erik's mommy wanted a normal life. My price was their first born, six months after they were born, meaning both you and little old Erik over there." Shaw jerked his head to indicate Erik and Charles stared in disbelief at Shaw.

"You're lying." The Brit said, his words laced with anger and pain but there was doubt shining there because from what Charles knew of Demons and how they operated, they told the truth just to cause you pain; especially when the truth would be more painful than a lie. And by God was this painful.

"Believe what you like but haven't you ever wondered why you can do the things you can do Charlie-boy?" Shaw shrugged as he stepped close to the Brit. "You can read minds, manipulate thoughts, move things without touching them. And it all stems from one thing." Shaw paused dramatically and gently ran a sharp nail along Charles' face, cutting the skin and leaving a small trail of blood on his cheek. "Blood."

"You've got a little bit of me in your veins Charlie-boy, just like Erik." Shaw smiled softly, the most human look Charles had ever seen on the Demon's face, and he touched the nail with Charles' blood on it to his lips. "All part-and-parcel of the deal's made, and you're both so special because of them. Two of kind."

"Why are we so important to you?" Charles asked as stared at Shaw, his mind numbing slightly as it absorbed everything the Demon had said. He didn't want to understand it, but he had no choice as his the logical part of his brain analysed everything Shaw was saying and finding that he couldn't argue with it. It explained so bloody much. Everything even. And Charles hated it.

"Because I'm going to need a leader for my army. Someone special. Except I've realised that you two come together as a pair." Shaw answered as he smiled and waved a hand. "But you Charlie-boy. You're the really important one. You're going to be the leader of my army." He stepped up close to Charles again and smiled. "But Erik's going to help you 'cause you obviously need each other."

"But we don't need you, you son-of-a-bitch." A rough voice sounded behind Shaw and the Demon turned around, surprised as he took in the sight of Erik holding the Colt and pulling the trigger. Shaw could see the bullet racing towards him at faster than the speed of sound and he could see that he couldn't stop it as it ploughed into his scalp.

Charles stared in surprise as the Demon formally known as Shaw collapsed to the ground, dead, as his body was wrought with flashes of supernatural energy shorting out like electricity jumping a gap in the wiring. The sounds of the battle being fought by his team faded away into the background as Charles stared down at the body at his feet. He found himself free of the force pinning him to the tree but he ended up having to use the tree to support himself as he heard Erik stagger to his feet and he looked up just in time to see his friend aiming the Colt at one of the other Demons.

The trigger was pulled again and another bullet shot out of the chamber, zooming across the clearing and impacting against the chest of a suited Demon that had Hank on the floor. It shuddered to a stop, it's entire body jerking about like a marionette's puppet and then it fell. The two remaining Demons looked at their fallen comrade before looking over at Erik and they finally noticed that their leader had fallen. Before Erik could re-aim the weapon both of the Demon's suddenly spurted from the mouths of their possessed humans, twin torrents of black smoke billowing from the two meat suits and disappearing into the ground. Running away. Running back to Hell again.

Erik slowly staggers over to Charles, his movements uncoordinated and sluggish, and seeing his friend looking so vulnerable but being so stubbornly determined made Charles move forward to grasp Erik's arms and manoeuvre him until he was the one resting against the tree. Staring at Erik in wide-eyed disbelief and relief Charles couldn't help but smile widely at the hunter.

"My God Erik..." Charles breathed out, his words wavering as his voice hitched painfully, a well of emotions rising up and making his eyes water. He gripped Erik's forearm tightly as he pressed his head against the hunter's chest. "I was so scared for you..."

'Charles', Erik thought quietly and Charles slowly raised his head. Looking up into Erik's still dazed and pained eyes Charles reached up and caressed his cheek with a hand. Erik leant into the touch for a moment before he leaned down slightly and captured Charles' mouth in a soft, gentle and loving kiss. A promise of a future. A promise of tomorrow. A promise of everything for him and it made Charles go weak at the knees as he finally realised. It was over. It was over. The battle was over and they'd won. They'd survived.

Erik was alive and so was he.

And for Charles, it felt about as close to peace as Charles expected himself to ever achieve. Amusingly enough, he found that he was perfectly alright with it as well.

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THE END

(At last!)

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Right. That is IT! I refuse to write anymore for this DAMNED AU!

This was meant to be a short, twenty-minute little universe. Instead it's ended up being twenty THOUSAND plus words. Twenty PAGES (on MWord) and a week's worth of CHAOS for me! *facepalm*

I AM DONE WITH THIS. PERIOD!

Or at least... I will be so long as my brain doesn't see fit to add to this at some point soon... urggh... just kill me please.

Please tell me what you think of this because God damnit this was hard to write for me. There's only so much of Charles and Erik you can handle when you're adding in Sam, Dean, Bobby, and all sorts of other shit from an entirely different UNIVERSE!

This has actually killed me X_X