Supernatural: Dream Warriors
A/N: Greetings! I hope you all are enjoying this story so far, and soon some of the team will have an encounter with Freddy Kruger and Sam is going to develop a new ability that'll come in handy.
Read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural or Criminal Minds; I just own the characters that I happen to create.
CHAPTER THREE: GRAB YOUR CRUSIFIX
"Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
Mathew 16:24
The team spent several more hours on the profiling until Gideon suggested that they all get some rest and pick it up in the morning with fresh eyes.
"Good idea," Morgan agreed, setting down a printout that had additional info about Amanda Krueger, who'd committed suicide after Krueger had been released from jail. "'cause my mind is going around in circles."
It wasn't long before they were checked into the local hotel and had worked out the sleeping arrangements: there were four bedrooms connected to a setting area and kitchenette, and it was decided that Hotch and Gideon would share a room, Morgan and Dean the second room, Sam and Reid the third room, and the last room would go to the ladies, which had three beds in it.
"We'll be getting up at 7 AM, people," Hotch told them, ignoring the protests from Liz and Dean, "so get plenty of rest."
"Yes, sir."
"I have both good news and two items of bad news."
"What's the good news?" Azazel asked.
"I finally located the Devil's Gate," Chester confirmed. "Samuel Colt has it protected, but I'm sure that the defenses will fall easily once we have a winner from the games."
Azazel nodded. "Good, good." The games were progressing well with a possible champion, but that was the only good thing since the last report he'd received from the pit was that John Winchester was still refusing to break, and time was running out. "What's the bad news?"
Chester sighed. "Meg's out of the pit and she's determined to go after the Winchesters and get her revenge, even though I reminded her about your promise, and she is on her way to Springwood, Ohio, where something is currently invading the dreams of the potential special children and killing them."
"What?! Why that ungrateful brat!" Azazel raged, stomping around the room; he'd been furious when Meg had been sent back down into the pit, but it'd also made a fitting punishment since she'd gotten caught in the first place. 'I can't let her near the Winchesters…it isn't time yet!' "Where are the Winchesters?"
"They're currently in Springwood, Ohio with the BAU team," Chester answered. "According to Franklin, it seems like Sam had two visions connected to the teens that are being attacked, and the theory is that they're dealing with an vengeful spirit."
"A spirit that can invade dreams?"
"Franklin's looking into it and hopes to have an answer soon…unless the Winchesters eliminate the spirit first," Chester responded, "and he's also keeping an eye out for Meg, too."
Azazel began pacing and pondering what to do based on Chester's info; after a few minutes he made his decision. "Chester, let Franklin know that I will be joining him in Springwood, and put in a call to Richard to join me there."
"Yes, father."
Liz was confused for a few seconds when she found herself in a corridor lined with pipes and filled with warm steam, but quickly realized that she was dreaming.
"Huh, I guess we got Krueger's attention," she remarked dryly; deciding to test a theory, she concentrated for a moment, and then grinned when a rifle appeared in her hands. "Cool."
Checking that it was filled with rock salt rounds, Liz began walking along the corridor to see whether anyone else was in this dream world or maybe track down Krueger himself.
"You've got to be kidding me," Morgan muttered, looking around a massive room filled with boilers.
"Morgan?"
Morgan turned and found both Dean, who was looking annoyed, and Reid, who was looking bewildered, walking toward him. "I guess this is that share dreamin' gig?"
"It's possible," Reid agreed, "but highly unlikely."
Dean snorted. "Reid, after everything I've seen and dealt with, unlikely is very likely."
"I'm with Dean," Morgan agreed, eying the area, "and I'm bettin' that Krueger's probably behind all of this."
"Same here."
Sam looked over the railing and examined the maze of boilers below; the fact that he was dreaming was both interesting and troubling since he recognized the area from his first vision.
'So, am I the only brought here or are there others out there?' he wondered and then started when he heard a scream in the distance. "Someone's in trouble." And he ran for the nearest stairwell.
Having also heard the scream, Liz was now running to find the source and, hopefully, save a life; she turned a corner and found herself in a wide open space, and she also saw who was screaming, too.
A slightly overweight girl with long blonde hair, blue eyes, was wearing a pale blue nightgown, and was struggling in the grip of Freddy Krueger, who was dragging her toward a large flat screen TV, and was cackling loudly with delight at the girl's screams.
"Time for you to go into show biz, Jenny," he sneered, giggling and smiling, which did nothing for his scarred complexion. "Be sure to smile for the camera!"
"Let her go, Krueger!" Liz shouted, cocking her rifle and aiming it. "Now!"
Krueger stopped laughing and turned to face her, revealing his full face, which was badly scarred and he had no eyebrows. "Wait your turn, Lizzy, I'm busy right now." And started toward the TV again.
BANG!
"Argh!" Krueger howled as the rock salt blasted him into smoke.
The girl, Jennifer, collapsed to the cold floor in a trembling heap and Liz ran over to her while keeping an wary eye out for Krueger.
"Are you all right?"
"No…I don't know," Jennifer wept, her eyes wide with fear. "Is – is he gone?"
"For now," Liz responded, helping her up. "What's your name?"
"J-Jennifer."
"Ok, Jennifer, I'm Liz Winchester, and I'm gonna get you out of here," Liz promised.
"Oh you shouldn't keep promises that you can't keep!"
Realizing that Krueger was already reformed, Liz dodged the razors, pushed Jennifer behind her, and fired from the hip, sending Krueger away once again. "Eat rock salt!"
"Why is this happening?" Jennifer moaned. "Why does he want to kill me?"
"I'm not real sure," Liz admitted, "but I need you to stay calm, Jennifer, 'cause this guy is feeding on your fear, and he's only goin' to get stronger if you don't calm down."
At any other time, Jennifer would probably talk the advice and use it, but after two weeks of nightmares and the deaths of her friends, she was at her breaking point, and she tried to run for it instead.
"No!"
Liz turned to stop her, but it was too late!
"Grh-!" Jennifer choked and stared at the razors that'd just impaled her shoulder, and then moaned as Krueger formed out of thin air and merging with the glove and the razors. "He – He – Help!"
"Let her go!" Liz took a step forward, and then let out a surprised yelp when a rope wrapped itself around her legs and suddenly found herself dangling upside-down in the air; the rifle clattering to the floor. "Hey!"
"I control this world, Lizzy," Krueger scolded, waging a finger and then returned his attention to Jennifer, who was severely bleeding and was crying. "Now for you to go into show biz, Jenny!"
He then lifted Jennifer into the air and threw her toward the TV screen; she screamed as she flew backwards through the air-
KA-BOOM!
"No!" Liz was forced to cover her eyes when there was an massive explosion of light, heat, and sound; after a few seconds, she lowered her arms and stared in horrified shock at the upside-down sight. "Oh god…"
The TV screen was ruined, the glass was in pieces with sparks flying everywhere, and the bloodied and battered form of Jennifer was lying in a heap on the ground and it was obvious that she was dead.
Krueger cackled and clicked his fingers, causing the rope to disappear, and Liz yelped as she dropped to the ground, conking her head.
"Ow!"
Groaning and blinking away the stars, Liz sat up and reached for her rifle – which disappeared. "Hey!"
Krueger sneered and then went over to Jennifer; cackling again, he drew an symbol in her blood, and then stepped back with an eager expression. "Here it comes!"
Liz stared in shock when Jennifer's body began to glow! "What the-?!"
A bluish light covered the body completely for several seconds, and then it shifted into a sitting position, turning into Jennifer; her soul blinked a few times and then stood up.
`"Wh – What happen?"` she asked, taking a few steps forward, turned slightly, and then saw her body on the ground. `"Oh God!"`
Krueger laughed cruelly as she screamed. "Shocking, isn't it? Now come to papa!" and he grabbed her.
"No! Don't!" Liz watched helplessly as Krueger pulled Jennifer's soul into a bear hug, and it slumped into unconsciousness. "Jennifer!"
"She's mine, hunter," Krueger told her, absorbing Jennifer's soul into his body, "and you're next."
"Like hell I am," Liz growled, getting to her feet, and summoned an iron sword to her hand. "Now give Jennifer back."
Krueger laughed and began advancing on Liz, who stood her ground. "Once again you think that you can control this world." And he snapped his fingers, turning the sword into a rubber version of itself.
Liz glared at him and tossed aside the useless sword. "Ok, that's gettin' annoying. I don't know how you're doin' all of this, but I'm gonna end it!" and she charged directly toward him.
Krueger actually grunted when her fist connected with his face, having been caught off guard for the first time in eighteen years; Liz kept up the attack, peppering him repeatedly with punching and kicking.
After several hour-long seconds of this, Krueger finally had enough and was able to land a punch of his own, slugging her in the stomach.
Wheezing, Liz staggered backward and then screamed in pain when he slashed her left bicep with his razors. "Agh!"
Snarling, Krueger then gripped her throat and lifted her off her feet, choking her. "I was gonna take my time with you, Lizzy, but you're too freakin' annoying. So, I'm just gonna kill you instead."
"Freeze! FBI!"
Krueger turned slightly, spotting Dean, Morgan, and Reid charging toward the area, and Liz took the chance to kick him in the groin; his eyes went wide and he dropped like a rock.
Liz almost collapsed, too, landing on her feet, and was dizzy from both the lack of oxygen and blood loss. "Bastard."
"Liz!" Dean ran over and tore one of the sleeves off his shirt and began wrapping his twin sister's arm with Reid's help, while Morgan kept his gun trained on the scarred man. "Liz, talk to me."
Liz opened her mouth-
"I've had it!"
There was an explosion of wind that knocked the quartet off their feet, and Krueger stood up, breathing hard with anger. "I'm gonna tear you all into tiny pieces!"
"Don't count on it," Sam said calmly, stepping into view with a bemused expression.
"What're you-?" Krueger began when a loud whistling noise caught his attention, and he looked up just in time to have a giant anvil of doom landed on top of him in a very cartoon manner.
Dean, Liz, Morgan, and Reid all got up with eyes wide, and Sam snapped his fingers; the anvil disappeared, revealing a Krueger-shaped hole in the ground.
"How-?"
"Later," said Sam as he held out his hand. "Grab on, it's time to leave." And when they all had a hand on his arm or wrist, he snapped his fingers again, and they all disappeared.
Liz woke up with a gasp and found herself lying on a hospital bed with a oxygen mask covering her nose and mouth. `"What-?"`
"Doctor Thomas, she's awake," said a nurse and she put a restraining hand on Liz's shoulder when she tried to sit up. "Easy, honey, stay put."
Liz nodded and focused on her breathing while trying to decide whether she was just having a vivid dream or if it really did happen, and became aware that her throat was sore, her head was pounding, and her left arm was throbbing with pain. 'I guess it was real after all.'
A man in his mid-forties and wearing the standard white doctor coat walked over to the bedside, and leaned over slightly.
"Elizabeth Winchester?" he asked and she nodded. "Good, that means your long-term memory is working; I'm going to remove the oxygen mask and ask you some questions."
Liz nodded again and lifted her head slightly, allowing Dr. Thomas to remove the mask, and then lay back on the pillow, wincing at the pain. "W-where am I?"
"You're in the Springwood Hospital," Dr. Thomas answered. "Now, Elizabeth, what's the last thing that you remember?"
"I – I remember going to the hotel with my brothers and our teammates," Liz replied, concentrating. "We decided on who would sleep where, getting ready for bed, and going to sleep…and then I had the strangest dream, but I can't recall it." Which was a out-right lie.
"That's perfectly all right," Dr. Thomas said reassuringly, "and your short-term memory seems to be working fine despite the trauma."
"Trauma?"
"According to Agent Hotchner, you, your brothers, and two of your teammates apparently suffered a severe nightmare that caused some physical harm…"
A few hours later, Liz was discharged from the hospital after having the cuts on her arm stitched up, bandaged, and had been given painkillers and a medication to help her sleep.
"Is the wheelchair really necessary?" Liz asked with mild annoyance when Gideon began pushing her toward the exit. "I can walk."
"Hospital rules," Gideon reminded her, and chuckled when she pouted. "You'll get to walk once we're outside, Liz."
Liz rolled her eyes, but she curbed any other protests as he pushed her toward the exit, where the others were waiting.
"Liz!"
Liz stood on shaky legs and hugged her brothers. "Boy, am I glad to see you both."
"Same here."
"I suggest we go back to the hotel and figure out what happen exactly," Hotch suggested, and they all quickly left.
After Liz, Dean, Sam, Morgan, and Reid all explained about their encounter with Freddy Krueger, Jennifer's death, how Sam managed to get them out of there, and they learn about his new ability.
"Since when can you influence a dream?" Emily asked, nursing a cup of coffee.
Sam shrugged, sipping his coffee. "Only just recently; while I was trying to find the others and I was gettin' frustrated, so I wished that I would be in the right place when I turned the next corner, and it worked," he explained. "So, after that…it became obvious that I can control the dream world."
"Well, you did a lot better then I did," Liz remarked, drawing on a paper pad. "Krueger kept comin' back a lot faster then usual for a vengeful spirit, and I think it has something to do with this symbol."
Gideon took the paper and examined the symbol, which looked like seven arrow-like shapes with extended points. "Do you know what it means?"
Liz shook her head. "No," she admitted. "But Krueger drew that symbol in Jennifer's blood and used it to summon her soul, and then he absorbed it, makin' him stronger."
"So, Krueger gets his strength from the teens by feeding on both their fears and their souls," said Hotch thoughtfully and then his phone rang. "Hotchner…really? We'll be right there."
"What is it?" Morgan asked as Hotch closed his phone.
Hotch sighed. "Jennifer Caulfiled's body was just found by her parents, and we're needed at the crime scene."
Grim looks were exchanged; this wasn't a good sign.
A/N: And that ends this chapter, which I hope you all will enjoy, and please let me know what you think of what I just did to Freddy Kruger. R&R everyone!