Chapter 7 Can't get out

Hello again! Here's another chapter. For those of you who missed Dean in the previous one, you'll be glad to hear he's playing a more proeminent role in this one. As for Lena keeping a copy of the map for whatever purposes as one review speculated, I admit that hasn't crossed my mind, before. But it would sure as hell make a good idea for a sequel at some point ;)

Babylon 5 is not mine. Supernatural is not mine.

Purgatory

Dean, Castiel and Benny were at the end of another weary day in Purgatory. They had spent most of the day trying to avoid a group of particularly angry Leviathan. The reason for their anger was Dean, of course. They hated the fact that he had banished them from the comfort of Earth and back into Purgatory. They had wanted to get their revenge in any way possible. Avoiding them had been a pain. Finally fighting them, since there was no other way to escape them was even more so.

The rest of the day, they spent looking for a particular hill. Benny told them that it was marked by a bent tree right on top of it. He said he was pretty sure that was where the portal was.

"This is it," Benny announced, as they stopped in front of the tree. "With luck, we'll be out of this damn place in no time."

"Right," Dean said without too much conviction. "So what do I have to do? Just say the spell and the door will open?"

Benny nodded.

"That's right," he said. "Just say the words and wait for the portal to open. When it does, you'll have two or three minutes to make the other spell and get the two of us under your skin, so we can get out too."

Dean cringed at the last bit.

"Dude, that sounds wrong in so many ways that I don't even want to think about it," he muttered.

He straightened and started reciting the spell in Latin. The spell was long and complicated, but Dean had been saying Latin spells almost since before he had known what Latin was. He remembered the words that Benny had taught him well enough. Or at least he thought he did. Because he had finished saying the spell, but the portal was not opening. Shaking his head irritated Dean began again. But nothing happened this time, either. Baffled, he looked from Benny to Castiel. The two looked as contrite as he felt.

"Must have been my accent," Dean declared. "Cas, would you like to try?"

Castiel huffed.

"I cannot try, Dean," he explained. "The door would not open for me. The door opens only for non-Supernatural beings. Otherwise, anything could get out of here."

"Besides, I somehow doubt the door isn't opening due to bad pronunciation," Benny added.

Dean rounded on him.

"Then why the hell won't it open?" he demanded. "What else does it need?"

Benny shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, brother, I was sure it would open, remember?" he pointed out. "That's why I said I'd take you here. But perhaps I had my facts all wrong. Perhaps this isn't the right portal. Maybe we should keep looking."

Dean took a deep breath, barely containing his anger. Sure, they could keep looking. They could keep looking blindly for something they were not even sure they would find until they were dead – well, as dead as they could get there. But Dean did not want to go out like this. He needed a strategy.

"Right," he declared briskly. "Change of plans. We're gonna do things a little differently from now on."

"How do you want to do things, Dean?" Castiel wanted to know.

"There are folks here who actually know more about these portals than we do, right?" Dean began. "The alien monsters Benny's been talking about. We should ask them to share with us what they know."

Benny snorted.

"Because they're so keen on sharing with a Hunter," he said.

There was a dangerous light now in Dean's eyes. Castiel was familiar with it and he did not like it. Every time it had been there, Dean was about to do something reckless.

"I never said ask them nicely," he pointed out. "I'm actually going to be a little firm with them."

Benny still looked sceptical.

"They're stuck in Purgatory, brother," he pointed out. "What could you possibly do to them that's worse than that?"

Dean smiled mirthlessly.

"I spent forty years in Hell," he informed Benny. "Trust me when I say I can get really imaginative when it comes to the torture thing."

Mars, Jody Mills' place

Sam sat in the guest room of Jody's house looking at the notes Lena had made for him. His first task was to find out which planets had a portal to Purgatory that could be opened from the outside. Now that Lena had given him the coordinates to them, it was not too hard for him to discover them.

There were six planets with a portal that could be opened from the outside. Or, at least, there had been six when the map had been written. Sam discovered quickly that he had to eliminate one of them. The infamous Z'ha'dum about which Sam had heard so many rumours was no more. Apparently, someone had set off its automatic defence system and the planet had been blown to pieces. If there had been a portal there, it was long gone. After some research, Sam discovered that he would have to eliminate another planet. It had been located in the Dilgar system and had probably been destroyed when its sun went Nova. Biting his lips, Sam crossed it off his list.

There was another planet in the Markab system. From what Sam knew, the Markab jump gate had been blown up – some people said it was Sheridan, and if rumours were true, he seemed to enjoy blowing stuff up as much as Dean did. It would be difficult to get there, then. There was also the fact that the place was deserted after the Markabs were killed by a deadly plague. Ii was risky to go there. With Sam's luck, if he went there, he would probably bring the plague back, only this time mutated and ten times more dangerous and probably wipe out the entire galaxy.

Sam made to cross out the Markab planet. Then, he changed his mind and put a question mark next to it. He would leave it as a last resort.

The fourth planet proved to be in Vorlon space. No one entered Vorlon space. It was closed to humans. Cursing the self-importance of so-called superior races that guarded their knowledge from everyone they felt as inferior, Sam put a question mark next to that planet as well. He was desperate enough. If there was a way to get inside Vorlon space, he would find it.

The next two planets proved to be more hopeful. One was a small colony in Centauri space. The last one was Minbar.

Sam's first thought was to go to Minbar. After all, he would have no trouble finding a White Star that went in that direction. But then he thought of what Delenn would say, if she found out Sam intended to open a door to Monsterland on her Homeworld. No, he told himself. He would try the Centauri colony first. If that did not work, he would go to Minbar.

Sam next started to read the translation of the annotations that had come with the map. He discovered that Lena had written her own comments in an attempt to be more helpful. Sam shook his head, grinning. If he ever saw Llewellyn again, he had to remember to ask him what kind of things his mother liked. After that much help, Lena deserved a gift from Sam.

The annotations contained instructions on how to open the portal. Sam proceeded to read them:

"Find a place with trees – such doorways are usually to be found in forests. Do not open it when it is fully dark outside. The doorway would be harder to control in the darkness. But do not try it at midday, either. The veil between our world and that of the Dark Ones is thicker in the daylight. Try it at evening. It is the safest time.

"You will need something from the one you lost. Place it on the ground. It will draw him to you.

"You will also need your own blood. Spill some drops on the ground next to the object.

"Next, say the unknown words found in the Doorways Book" Here, Lena had written a message of her own: "We actually found something called the Doorway Book, or, at least, fragments of it. I think I know what the so-called unknown words are. They aren't in any language I've come across, though. Still, I've copied them here exactly as I found them."

Sam looked over the next lines and discover the spell to open Purgatory was actually in Enochian. He supposed that made sense – although, how the Enphili or whoever it was that had left the map and the instructions even knew about the Enochian language was beyond him. He felt a little uncomfortable having to be in contact with that language again, but that did not matter. He would learn the spell and use it when he got to the portal.

The next part of the notes belonged also to Lena. She had copied what she said were warnings, regarding the spell written underneath the map. "I don't really understand what you want to do (or why," she wrote, "But I think you should have these too. Something tells me you don't give a damn about consequences. Still, one can hope, I suppose. Good luck."

Just as Lena predicted, Sam cast only a cursory glance over the warnings. The one that bothered him the most stated that such doorways could be locked. If they were locked, there was no spell that could open them again. Sam supposed he would have to take the risk. He had four choices, after all. They could not all be locked.

There were other warnings, though. There was the distinct possibility that, once opened, the doorways could not be closed back again. If so, anything could get out through them. Then, there was the idea that the one that opened the doorway to get someone out of there would be required to pay a price. It could be even that he would have to change places with the one lost in Purgatory.

Sam looked away from the notes. Now all that remained was to find transport to the Centauri colony. He hoped there would be a White Star available to take him there.

Purgatory

"Now listen, creep-o, you either tell us everything we need to know, or I and my pals here are gonna be playing the guitar with your guts while you're watching us."

Dean, Castiel and Benny had managed to capture a Brakiri shape-shifter. Following Dean's plan, they started to interrogate him about potential portals out of Purgatory known to aliens and how these could be used to get out. The Shifter clearly knew what the three wanted to know. He did not seem to be too inclined to answer. That is, not until Dean started to work on him.

In truth, Dean was definitely not enjoying himself. He might have been raised a Hunter, with the idea that he had to kill monsters drummed into his head, but he did not enjoy inflicting pain, especially not after Hell and all that had happened there. He would not have tortured anyone with pleasure – well, except someone who had done Sam harm, maybe. But this was necessary. He had to get the Shifter to tell them what he knew, otherwise they were going to be stuck there forever.

"All right!" the Shifter cried. "You'll find it hard to get to a portal that opens from the inside. There aren't any anymore. Something happened when you lot broke Purgatory open and freed the Leviathan. Something to make sure no one who remained behind down here would be able to get topside. So no, you can't get out that way. And you've brought this upon yourself."

"Save the self-righteous preaching," Dean snapped. "What do you mean we can't get out that way? Can we get out another way?"

The Shifter looked like he was thinking of not answering. Dean's eyes flashed dangerously at that, and he decided his best bet was to keep cooperating.

"Purgatory can always be open from the outside," he declared. "And I'm not talking about the portals you Earthers have. Those are amateur stuff. Very unstable. You want to get out a few souls and you take out the oldest creatures of the universe while you're at it," He paused and glanced at Castiel knowingly. "I don't have to tell you that, though."

"If you are so knowledgeable, I suggest you tell us something useful," Castiel advised.

The Shifter scoffed.

"The only reason I'm telling you this is because you three are a menace," he said. "You've been wreaking havoc in this place since you landed here. Frankly, most of us want to see the back of you in any way possible. So, that's why I'm gonna help you."

"That and the knife I have at your throat," Dean pointed out conversationally.

The Shifter ignored Dean's jibe.

"The truth is, something went wrong a while ago with Purgatory," he began. "That was thousands of years ago. Some people said it was because one of the wars of the First Ones. They broke something, made the veil that separates Purgatory from the real world thinner. A lot of people got locked here – real live people, I mean, who shouldn't be here. And, well, they needed a way out. One was that human portal that would have taken you to Earth. But others were made too."

"Others that open from the outside," Benny completed. "Yeah, I've heard about those. But how did those that got lost here know how to contact those topside?"

In response, the Shifter pointed his head to one of the trees near them. At the foot of the tree, there were some small, reddish plants. They were the only speck of colour in Purgatory. Until then, Dean, Castiel and Benny hadn't paid too much attention to them.

"Don't ask me how these got here," the Shifter said. "But apparently, if you chew one, you'll be able to contact those up there. Your consciousness or whatever briefly leaves this place, enough to have a little chat"

"And can we contact a specific person?" Castiel wanted to know.

The Shifter looked at Castiel pointedly.

"You can't contact anyone, fly-boy," he said. "And neither can your vampire pal. These were made for non-supernatural creatures only. Alien non-supernatural creatures. Don't even know what they'd do to humans, or if they even work on them. In answer to your question, though, yes, you can contact a specific person, if you focus hard enough. Not on the person you want to speak to, though. You should focus on something that is bound to be near that person at all times."

Dean, Castiel and Benny exchanged questioning looks. It all sounded too far-fetched for their liking. And the fact that he would actually have to put some unknown plant in his mouth only on the word of a Shifter did not please Dean too much.

"Hey," the Shifter said, drawing their attention back to him. "I've told you all I know. Care to let me go?"

Castiel was about to smite him. Dean, however, was quicker. He lifted his fist and hit the Brakiri over the head, knocking him out.

"I want him still alive in case something goes wrong with what he told us," Dean explained grimly.

"He's gonna bolt when he wakes up, though," Benny pointed out. "How do you think we're going to find him again?"

"Trust me, Benny," Dean told him, "I'm quite motivated when I'm pissed."

Castiel looked at Dean searchingly.

"You are not thinking of actually doing what the Shifter suggested, are you?" he inquired worriedly. "Things could become very unpleasant for you, if he was lying."

Dean looked around him pointedly.

"It can't suck worse than it already does," he pointed out. "If this really is a way to get to Sam, then I have to try it."

He did not tell Castiel and Benny that he might have already gotten to Sam before. The dream he had a few nights before was on his mind. After waking up, he was ready to dismiss it as only a dream. But he had thought better of it, in the next few days. What if he had actually reached Sam already? Well, another attempt at making contact would not hurt. And maybe this time they would not waste it with pointless arguments.

Mars, Jody Mills' place

Sam left the guest room as soon as he discovered where he was to go next. He went to the living room and was pleased to see Jody had not gone to bed.

"Hey, can I use your communication system?" he asked. "I need to make a call."

Jody nodded quickly.

"Sure," she said. "Who are you calling?"

"Babylon 5," Sam answered distractedly, already placing the call.

Jody whistled, shaking her head.

"Well, there goes this month's pay," she muttered resignedly.

Sam managed to place the call. A disembodied voice asked him who he wished to contact.

"I need to talk to Ambassador Delenn," Sam said quickly.

Jody's interest piqued at that. She moved into the doorway to give Sam a little privacy, but did not leave the room completely.

"Please state your name, Sir," the disembodied voice told him patiently.

"It's Sam Winchester, the Ambassador knows me. Uh….it's urgent."

The voice on the other end told him to wait for a while and see if the Ambassador was available to take the call. He should remember, though, that it was early morning on Babylon 5. After a while, Delenn appeared on the screen in front of Sam. She looked as if she had just woken up.

"Uh, I hope I'm not disturbing you, Ambassador," Sam began, rather sheepishly. "It kind of slipped my mind, that there's a time difference between Mars and Babylon 5."

"I am sure you have other things on your mind," Delenn told him tolerantly. "Why are you calling me?"

"I was wondering if there were any White Stars near Mars. I need to go to a small Centauri colony…It's very important."

Delenn sighed heavily.

"I am afraid that is rather problematic, under the circumstances," she said. "There have been a number of attacks on Alliance shipping lines lately and the White Stars are busy with that. I will have to check, but I might have none available…" Here Delenn paused. An idea seemed to have crossed her mind. She looked at Sam questioningly. "Did you say you were going into Centauri Space?"

Sam nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "Some small planet on the border of Centauri space…very close to Drazi space, too."

He saw Delenn look away for a moment, as if she was pondering the wisdom of whatever idea had come to her. When she looked back to Sam, she appeared completely confident.

"I will send a White Star for you tomorrow," she told Sam. "However, once on the planet, there is something I have for you to do. You will receive further instructions when you board."

Sam hesitated. He wondered what Delenn wanted him to do and why she was not giving him any more details on the spot. He supposed it was not something that could be talked about on an unsecure channel. But it made him suspicious. Still, he thought wryly, remembering his past associations, it could hardly be any worse than drinking demon blood and unknowingly freeing the Devil himself.

"Consider it done," he told Delenn. "And thanks for the lift."

The conversation ended. Sam turned to look at Jody. She was still standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall, looking at Sam with her eyebrows raised.

"You think I should have asked for more details before I said yes?" Sam asked, looking at Jody questioningly.

Jody shrugged her shoulders.

"I suppose you're hardly in a position to make demands, since you're using her ships, not to mention pretending to be one of her Rangers in order to get information no one would give you otherwise. Frankly, I'm surprised she agreed to help you."

Sam remembered the things he told Delenn to enlist her help. He was not proud of himself for wht he had to do.

"I told her a few things," he said, looking uncomfortable. "Frankly, I don't really like how I went about it. I went into stuff I had no business mentioning to her."

Jody did not ask for more figured Sam did not want to give them, otherwise he would not have been so vague. Suddenly, she laughed shaking her head.

"Someone just placed a call in my house to the co-founder of the Interstellar Alliance," she remarked. "Never a dull moment with you boys, is there?"

Sam chuckled. He looked knowingly at Jody.

"Come on," he told her. "You can't deny that's part of the appeal with us. You're not the type to enjoy dull moments, after all, are you?"