Hunter's Moon
By: Sandreline
Hello again, everyone! I am so glad that all of you are enjoying this story – it makes me so happy to read your reviews and the private messages that are flooding my inbox. I hope that I can continue to keep you all entertained!
To celebrate May 1st: I am dedicated this chapter to all of our troops (and not just because I love and support my amazing Marine). We are celebrating from Sea to shining Sea the dangers that our wonderful military puts themselves in to keep us safe at home. We can only hope that they know how proud we are of them, and know that each and every day we shower them with thanks. Oo Rah!
Enjoy, and don't be shy to review or flame!
Chapter 4: Going Berserk
The warm rays of the sun filtered through the window of the small house to land on the face of the younger Winchester, and causing him to scrunch up his eyes in protest of being awoken.
He wasn't the only one. The room was filled with groans of his older brother that had no problem being much louder in his protestations. "What the hell is the annoying sun trying to do to me? Let me sleep!"
A bell-like laughter caused both young men to jump up with a start, confused as to why a female was in the room with them. This, of course, only caused the feminine laughter to grow.
"I am not sure why you are laughing," Another feminine voice chided. "It was not that long ago that it would take nothing short of an earthquake to wake you up."
The two Winchesters slowly recalled the events that happened last night as they relaxed, though they were still off-set by the talking feline that was before them. "I don't think I'm ever going to get use to that." Dean mumbled.
"Good morning." Spoke the male cat, who was smiling smugly as his tail swirled around his front paws.
"Morning, Artemis." Sam replied. Dean looked over at his brother, wondering if maybe it was because of all his psychic weirdness that allowed him to be more accepting of the situation.
"I trust that the two of you slept well." Serenity smiled warmly from her seat on her coffee table, her chin resting on the palm of one of her hands as she smiled innocently. Her hair was once more back to its golden color and the crescent mark on her forehead was gone. She had changed into jeans and a jean halter-top, and she was smiling like she had just discovered a humorous secret.
"What's with the look?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What look?" Serenity answered innocently with a sweet tone.
Sam pointed. "That one, I know that one. What embarrassing thing did we do?"
Serenity's smile grew wider. "Not you, but your brother." She turned her attention to Dean, and her smile grew wicked. "I didn't take you for a drooler."
Dean cursed as he wiped the side of his mouth with his jacket sleeve as Sam laughed at him, leaving Serenity to all but purr in contentment. Dean, however, what wondering what the hell happened to his usual mojo. "Har, har." He replied, forcing himself not to blush. "So what's the plan? Do you officially tag along with us now or what?"
Serenity raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I was going to have the two of you tag along with us," She corrected. "…unless you wish to continue running from the law and using identity theft to buy food and weapons." She gave a playful wink.
"We did a little research last night." Luna purred.
"Nothing is hidden from our source." Artemis added.
"And how do you do it, O Superior One?" Dean countered back.
Serenity smirked, rising to stand as she placed a hand on her hip. "I am a Queen, after all. We have a common goal, so like I said last night, we should team up." Her face turned serious for a moment now that they were talking business. "If you help us, we will pay for everything from gas to weapons and clothing."
Sam immediately opened his mouth to protest. "You don't have to do-" He was silenced by Serenity's glare, which actually caused him to take a step back.
"You do not have a say in the matter." She told them.
The white feline's ears lowered. "Trust me; you don't want to argue with her."
"It seems like it was be fun." Dean smirked. "You must be a tiger in the bedroom."
Serenity blushed red, taking a step forward and punching him in the arm. Unfortunately for Dean, she was a lot stronger than she looked. "Ow…" Dean grumbled as he rubbed his shoulder.
"I don't exactly like taking advantage of you like that, but I also don't like identity theft option, either…" The younger Winchester added.
"So what is the game plan from here on out?" Dean asked, rubbing his arm a second longer before stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "Sammy and I usually just do things our way: drive from town to town and take care of business."
"We do something similar." Luna pointed out, moving to leap onto the coffee table so as to better look at everyone.
"There are still a few matters here to look after." Artemis concluded. "The fact that there was no activity last night means that they are aware of the presence of either Serenity or the two of you, or both." The white cat added. "But hopefully it will only be another day or two before we can move on."
"Like you said, this is now a war." Luna nodded in agreement. "If you boys really where there when the Hell Gate was opened, then we soon will be facing worse than the Seven Deadly Sins."
"How do you figure?" Sam asked.
"Another perk of being me." Serenity spoke up, her voice taking a sad tone. "I am a goddess, the daughter of Selene. That makes Hades my Uncle."
"The mythological god of the Underworld." Sam added.
"This sounds like I'm not going to like what your about to say." Dean crossed his arms over his chest.
"Not really." Serenity added. "There are devils and demons, as you know. Christianity had one thing right, but that was only because they adapted many Pagan beliefs to make their own religion easier to switch to." Sam nodded in understanding to the woman's words. "Uncle Hades is what the Christians call 'the Devil', or Lucifer. He is in charge of the entire underworld."
"Yup, I definitely do not like where this is going." Dean sighed.
"When the Hell Gate opened," Luna spoke, shooting Dean a glare for his interruptions, "more than the Seven Deadly Sins escaped from Tartarus."
"I know that one!" Dean smirked. "It's like the prison of Hell, a place where the baddest of the bad go." Dean paused. "It's official, I don't like this."
Artemis's blue eyes gave them a piercing look. "We have reason to believe, from the reports of Hades, that Medusa and others have escaped; but we will not know until we continue to fight."
Sam's eyes bugged out of his head as he flopped back down onto the couch. "You know what is still lurking around here, don't you?" He asked. "What you need to find that is terrorizing this town before we can move on to another?"
"What you saw the other night wasn't a werewolf." Serenity told them.
Dean snapped his fingers. "That's right." Dean turned to Sam. "Remember Madison in San Francisco?"
Sam looked away, and Serenity was all but drowning in his sadness. Dean continued quickly. "Focus man, don't think about that. Think about how she was a werewolf, and that she didn't turn into a wolf, just grew painful claws and ugly teeth."
Sam's head snapped up, eyes wide. "You're right." He turned to Serenity. "So what the hell attacked us the other night?"
"A Berserker." She told them.
"Shut the fuck up." Dean stated in disbelief as he followed Sam's example and fell down into the couch.
Serenity nodded. "When get into their blind furies, they are able to take on an animal form. Some change into bears, others bulls; but this one was a wolf." She crossed her arms over her chest as she turned to lean against her wall. "I was able to heal it and turn it back into a human, taking its power and wiping its memory." She looked at them with dark eyes. "However, there is still one more out there."
"So just do the same thing you did before and we are good to go." Dean stated.
"It's not that easy, Dean." Sam spoke up, his eyes still wide.
"Sure it is, she hardly bat an eye last time!" He countered.
"The one that remains is no ordinary Berserker." Luna spoke slowly. "It's the First."
Silence filled the small house. Sam felt as if it would suffocate them any moment, and he dropped his head into his hands, letting out a sigh.
Dean spoke up. "Alright, all of you need to get out of this funk." He said. Turning to Sam, he smacked his brother upside the head.
"Ow, what the hell was that for?" Sam shouted.
"For loosing focus. And you say I'm the bad one…" Dean grumbled. "I don't care how deadly this thing is, we are going to treat it like we do every other case that we have."
"Start with information." Sam caught on. "We need to find its weakness."
Artemis' ears perked up. "They are human, until their rage consumes them. The best way to defeat it would be to wait until after its rage is over; it will be left in a weakened, enfeebled human state."
Dean clapped his hands once. "This is good, this is good." He said. "What else?"
Luna spoke up this time, standing as her maroon eyes sparkled. "They cannot be killed by normal weapons like guns and grenades." She looked at the Winchesters. "Trying to will only make them kill you faster."
"Why are you so excited about that?" Dean mumbled as he looked at the black feline.
"They are highly sexually active." Artemis added. "They often tried to steal away females of beauty to marry them."
Sam turned to Serenity. "That's why you posed as a waitress, isn't it?" Sam asked as Serenity nodded. "You were trying to find out who it was in their human form."
"Yup!" Serenity stated with a nod. "I thought it might have been Dean when I first met you, since you were the only one so open about hitting on me."
"You've got to be kidding me." Dean stated. "There is no way that a Berserker could look half as good as me!"
"They are reputed to be mistaken for trolls." Artemis joked.
"I can see it." Sam grinned before he was slapped upside the head again.
"So what is the plan?" Dean changed the topic with a sour pout on his lips.
"I go to work." Serenity stated, moving to grab a jacket. "I have a feeling that since nothing happened last night, our 'friend' will be most anxious today. I am hoping to get a lead."
"You shouldn't go alone." Sam pointed out.
The Cosmic warrior gave a wink. "You guys don't worry, and see if between the four of you, a plan can be made that will allow us to live through the Berserker's rage." She blew a kiss before closing the door behind her, soft laughter barely floating through the door as she walked away.
"Is she always like that?" Dean asked.
Luna looked proudly at the door where her charge had disappeared. "She has come a long way." She turned to look at the boys. "You told us about your history. While Artemis is looking up information, perhaps I should tell you about the crybaby that turned into the most powerful warrior for Light."
"Story time!" Dean cheered, wishing there was popcorn.
"Why do I get stuck with all the work?" Artemis grumbled as he leapt on the desk to use the computer.
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Dean was admiring the few paintings that colored the walls of the small house. "You know, these are pretty impressive." He stated.
"Sailor Neptune made them." Luna told the oldest Hunter.
Dean's eyes remained on the painting he had been studying, but his mind was elsewhere. "She really just let them all go? She let them abandon her so that they can be happy and place the entire weight of the burden on her?"
Luna nodded, which Dean barely caught with the corner of his eye. "She has always been a very selfless person. She wants nothing more than for those that she loves to be happy, and if that meant sacrificing her own chance at a normal life, then she was only too eager to do it."
"That's stupid." Dean spat. He would give anything to have the life that the Jynn showed him: a normal life where his mother was alive and Sam was able to marry Jessica and go off to law school. Where he could settle down with a woman and be happy, not worrying about battling creatures thought to be nothing but campfire stories to scare people. "She could have had the same," Dean said. "…but she chooses to keep fighting." He turned to look at Luna. "Why?"
The cat's voice was warm with fondness and pride as she spoke. "She feels driven to protect." Luna smiled as best as a cat could. "When she was living on the Moon, the Princess would spend her time staring at the blue and green planet. She loved the planet so much, that she even fell in love with its Prince." Luna looked up at Dean. "You know that story now, so I shall jump ahead." Dean nodded for her to continue. "Serenity still holds a deep love for this planet and its people, and because it is now home to those she loves more than anything, she will stop at nothing to make it a safe place for them."
Dean shook his head as he looked at the painting once more. "You know, she almost makes me believe that Guardian Angels really do exist."
"Got something." Sam said from the desk chair, looking over Artemis' shoulder as the two of them worked on a plan. Dean and Luna went to join them, all four gathering to look at the screen.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
"Nothing." Sam answered.
"As the first created, this Berserker will be far stronger than any other we have or will encounter." Artemis informed the others. "He was created by Odin himself, and as such only divine powers will halt him."
"Basically, you are telling us that Sammy and I are useless." Dean countered with a scowl.
"Not quite." Artemis turned to look to his left, and he and Luna had a conversation with their eyes. A few moments later, she reluctantly nodded. The white cat turned to look at them. "We may have weapons that you can use, even if it is not to the capacity that someone of divine heritage could."
Sam's voice snapped them off of their brooding. "Shouldn't Serenity have been home twenty minutes ago?"
Tension filled the air as they realized that the youngest Hunter was right.
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"Hey blondie!" Spoke a frequent customer as he sat at the counter. Thomas was a burly man, covered in black hair from head to toe. He was not the most attractive man, especially being in his late forties, and he was very quiet when he came in, rather keeping to himself then mingling with the rest of the town. "You weren't here last night, I actually had to order."
Serenity set a cup of black, steaming coffee in front of Thomas. "Sorry about that." She said. "It was my night off and I forgot to tell Jessica."
"Just don't let it happen again." He took a sip, his eyes keeping to the view of the inside of his cup. "You need to be careful; I was worried that someone had taken for some private enjoyment."
A chill ran down Serenity's spine at his words. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Hey!" John called from back in the kitchen. "Take these boxes out to the dumpster, and then you can go home."
Serenity smiled, a little disappointed that she had no leads today. "Thanks John!" She said, moving to take off her apron and put her jacket on. She went into the kitchen, grabbing a bunch of the now-folded cardboard boxes and walking out the back after calling good night to the other workers there.
The moon shined down on its daughter, and Serenity took the time to send a loving smile up at it. The silver rays filled her with the energy that she had lost while taking care of a diner and lack of sleep from the night before. Some of her stress was lifted off her shoulders as she walked towards the dumpster, preparing to lift the cardboard in and head back to her current residence.
"I told you that you should be careful." Spoke a cold, deep voice from behind her.
Serenity spun around, dropping the cardboard boxes as she turned to face Thomas. "You scared me!" She smiled slightly, even though that hair on the back of her neck was standing up due to nerves. Something wasn't right – it was almost like the air around them was being charged by electricity. "What are you doing out here?"
"Getting some personal enjoyment," He answered with a growl. "It will be fulfilling to have my way with you, and then kill you as easily as you killed the others."
Serenity took a step back, her blue eyes widening but it was too late. Thomas stepped forward, his eyes glowing as he picked her up by her neck and through her into the forest with all his power.
She didn't have time to scream as her back impacted with a large tree trunk, before flying through the bark and hitting another. Spots clouded her vision as she tried to force her body up, the moonlight seeking out her form to give her support. "Well," She started, her voice sounding strong despite the painful protests it made at moving. "I should thank you for making this easier for me." She said. "I was planning on waiting for you to show yourself, but you were taking so long…" She replied.
"Cheeky for a human Hunter." Thomas replied as the hair on his body grew, and his teeth elongated into fangs. "You don't seem like you have the power to take the lives that you have."
"Funny, I think I've heard that before." She stated, finally able to stand tall now. She slowly walked towards Thomas, her form changing back to its true image. The gold seemed to drain out of her hair as the crescent moon on her head glowed, and her blue orbs took on silver flecks as if the galaxy itself was in her eyes.
Thomas growled. "You're not human after all, are you?" He stated with no short amount of angry surprise.
She smirked. "No, I'm not." Holding up a glowing hand, a compact appeared before it let out a blinding light. Not even an eye blink later and Thomas let out a feral roar as the rumored Angel he had heard about was standing before him.
"You want me, big boy?" She told it, hoping to ignite its anger. All she had to do was let its rage run its course and she could take care of it. "Come and get me." She challenged.
Thomas changed further, dark fur rippling up along his now bulging arms as he charged at her with full speed. Sailor Cosmos did not have time to brace as it took her to the ground, forcing her down while one hand squeezed her slim neck as they slid along the forest floor. Glowing eyes of malice stared down at her, his nostrils flaring as his grip tightened.
"I was created by Odin!" He roared, spit landing on her cheek. "You cannot stop me!"
Cosmos felt her face turning purple, her hands wrapped around the wrist that clenched her neck. A powerful blast of defense from the Silver Crystal shot the Berserker off of her, and the winged woman rolled on to her knees with a starvation for oxygen as her lungs heaved in survival instincts.
Thomas let out a howl as he made the full transformation as his rage continued to grow, turning to let out a vicious growl while he leapt towards her once more. It was only a beat of her wings that saved her from the sharp claws of the giant wolf as she shot into the air, thin scratches lining her arms from the branches of a few trees. The Berserker let out another growl as his prey evaded his attack, but quickly moved to leapt up a tree trunk in an attempt to force her back to the ground.
The Cosmic Guardian threw a sphere of sparkling lightening at the creature that so much desired her blood. It may be immune to iron weapons, but perhaps not her magical powers.
To her relief, it howled out in pain and it fell mid-air from its leap, landing on the ground with a loud howl of rage that promised revenge. However, the effect did not last longer than a few seconds before it was up once more, large amounts of salvation dripping from its mouth as the thought of sinking its teeth into the woman's flesh.
"That is so gross." She muttered. This thing was fast, and if she didn't act equally as fast or faster, the next time that thing just might get her. Cosmos's swirled around, summoning the power of Mercury around her in hopes of freezing that thing in place. Only when she turned in a complete circle did she loose sight of the thing.
"Shit." She cursed, maintaining the ring of icy water around her. Her dark blue eyes scanned the ground, before moving to look at the branches. She couldn't see anything, and felt nothing but a sudden sense of dread. She spread her wings, intent on flying higher to avoid a sudden attack, but it was too late.
Sailor Cosmos screamed as she plummeted to the ground, the whole length of her arm clutched in large sharp teeth as her nose got a full whiff of the scent of decaying meat on its breath. She continued to scream as they fell, though the Berserker was not fazed as they bounced on the ground.
The Lunarian monarch's head hit the ground; her neck muscles pulled as her head then snapped up from the force before hitting the ground once again. The Berserker was still on top of her, his eyes dancing at the taste of her blood. On instinct, she summoned the fire of Mars. Thankfully it startled the beast enough to leap off of her and away, but it tore at her arm muscles, leaving her right arm completely useless as it dripped silvery blood to the dirt below.
"Don't you know, Thomas?" Serenity called out. Her voice was raspy as the pain in her body dominated her vocal functions. "You may have been created by a God, but I am one!" Lifting her left hand, she summoned her staff and sent out Pluto's power.
The Berserker howled, sent backwards and taking out several trees as the power sent his form flying.
Cosmos fell to her knees, her right arm limp as she dropped her staff, her left hand moving to hold her right shoulder as she began to feel lightheaded. The Crystal was ever so slowly beginning to heal the wounds on her arms, and the Lunarian could only hope that his fangs had no poison in them that would effect her healing.
A heart-stopping growl sounded from before, and when Sailor Cosmos looked up, Thomas was standing before her. His own blood covered his fur, a line dripping between his eyes from his forehead and down his right cheek. Slowly, he took on his more human form, one hand reaching out to wrap around her neck once more. "I had no idea it was so easy to kill your kind." He whispered to her, his eyes glowing with rage. "I'm going to enjoy this."
A glowing sword slicing clear through Thomas' neck filled her vision, before his head rolled off his neck and both his body and hers fell to the ground. Dean stood there, eyes blazing with their own anger as he still held a very familiar glowing sword in his hands.
Sam had caught her from falling all the way, not caring at all that her blood now covered his clothes. Luna and Artemis were beside them, both in their large forms.
"Not so bad…" Sailor Cosmos said before she went limp in unconsciousness.
"What do we do?" Sam asked as his voice grew louder in his panic.
(We need to get her back to the house, and quickly.) Luna ordered.
(Climb on.) Artemis told Sam, who was being as gentle as he could. A silver glow engulfed the woman as her transformation faded away, making it easier to move her without her wings but also for the blood to flow faster from her wound.
"Move it!" Dean ordered as he jumped on top of Luna and the two beasts raced the half mile to the house, worry for the bleeding monarch consuming all of them.
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So, what do you all think? Nice and long, with a battle and victory for our heroes.
Please feel free to let me know what you think! I hope that you all enjoyed it! Don't be afraid to review, flame, or offer input or suggestions. Much love!
~Sandreline