Chapter Eleven – River Deep, Mountain High
She was right, he was cranky. How could someone sleep that much and be cranky about it? Why couldn't he just be grateful for the sleep? Thankfully he wasn't upset enough to make them move in silence, she didn't think she could handle going back to silence after they had been conversing the last while. They traversed the terrain carefully, trying to avoid drawing attention to themselves, always keeping the river within sight. Or at very least within earshot. There was no way they were losing it now. Buffy's slayer senses began to set alarms off in her head as they moved, signaling that they were getting close to something, and something more than just the creatures they had been fighting.
The louder the alarms got, the closer they got to the exit, the more creatures began to show up. They managed to avoid most of them, but there were still several battles per day. Each battle seemed tougher than the last, but they weren't willing to slow down. Her wound slowed her down immensely, but the determination the two of them shared more than compensated for that. They dispatched anything and everything all while barely breaking a sweat. They were so close, there was no way they were losing the war now.
"Is it just me, or is it just getting darker, and not in the night kinda way?" Buffy asked, looking up to the sky.
Dean nodded, "must mean we're getting close. How's those slayer senses?"
"They're wigging out big time."
"I still can't believe the vamps were right."
"You'd be surprised how honest they actually can be, for undead morons," Buffy shrugged. "Some are actually helpful sometimes."
"I find that hard to believe."
"No, it's true." Explaining Spike, or even Angel for that matter, was hard, she knew a hunter would never understand, but she figured it could do no harm. "I had a couple I worked with back home. One protected my sister with his life. Or unlife, I guess."
Dean was astounded, and he didn't know by what part of that story more. Buffy hadn't heard the ticking of the bomb below Dean's surface before, and she didn't now, but she was about to hear it blow. Meeting Ford had put Dean on edge, but he figured that one vampire she didn't kill was one thing. Finding out that not only was there more than one, but that she put her little sister in danger? That was too much. He was already unhappy that she didn't get any rest the night before, but now he was livid.
"You left your sister with a bloodsucker? Okay what the fuck? I thought you were the slayer? Did you misunderstand your job description or something?"
"Excuse me?" She was astounded by the tone of voice he was taking with her.
"Last I checked the lion doesn't make friends with the gazelle it's hunting."
"It's different with them!" She would defend Angel and Spike to the ends of the Earth. It was hard to explain to someone who had never met them, but she wouldn't let them be bashed either.
"Vampires are vampires. They're evil. Evil must die. Black and white. 'Different' doesn't exist."
"How dare you pass judgement on someone you never met? Who are you to say what they were, what they are?" Buffy was furious now, "black and white doesn't exist ever, especially not in the supernatural world. There are so many shades of grey, and thank god for that. Do you have any idea how much good those "evil vampires" did?"
"Oh what, they didn't snap your neck first chance they got so they should get a fuckin' medal? I'll ignore the fact that you seem to think that those fanged bastards can be anything but vermin that need to be put down, but what I can't ignore is your sister. You left your sister, the one you're meant to protect, with a fucking vampire. How could you do that? You signed her death certificate with that stupid ass move!"
Anger poured out of Dean like air. He had never met her little sister, and chances are he never would, but he took this personally. The vampire slayer left her with a vampire. That idea was overwhelming, and he couldn't help but want to protect this poor girl. Dean felt like he was starting to understand why this slayer had ended up in a hell like this. Maybe she deserved it.
"He saved her! Again and again he saved her." Buffy practically screamed at him. She didn't care if they drew attention to themselves right now, she had heard enough from him. "Don't you dare pass judgement on him."
Buffy thought back. Spike had long ignored the monster in him, not by his own choice granted, but he did. She had trusted Spike long before the incident with Glory, but that moment had cemented her trust. He could have sacrificed Dawn and all of her friends to save his own skin, and he hadn't. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He had been ready to die that day, taking Dawn's secret to his death. She could never repay him for what he had done, and she sure as hell wasn't going to let some stupid, pig-headed hunter talk about him like a monster. Spike had been a monster for centuries, but as far as she was concerned, she left him behind a hero.
Dean didn't say a word, the anger still etched on his face. He crossed his arms tightly, and she took it as a challenge to what she had said. Her mind was racing a million miles an hour, and her fury was burning hot inside of her.
"He could have told Glory the truth about her. He could have told her everything, and he didn't. He nearly died because he wouldn't tell," her heart ached while she talked about home, and tears threatened to well in her eyes but she willed them away. "I told you I faced down a Hell-God, and I told you she wanted my sister. Before she knew that it was Dawn she was looking for she nabbed Spike. Spike knew the truth, and she did everything she could to get it out of him. He suffered unimaginable horrors at her hands, and he refused to give Dawn up. He was ready to die to keep her safe. He nearly did."
Buffy took a deep breath, trying to slow her breathing. Her voice had started to shake, but she was far from finished.
"When it came time to fight, he went into battle with me knowing that there would be casualties. He was sure that he wouldn't survive, but he didn't back down. Didn't falter. When Spike swore to me that nothing would happen to Dawn, I believed him. I believed him because his heart was in it. He was ready to die to save the world. Spike was of the good, in his annoying Billy Idol-wannabe way, so don't you dare tell me that leaving her with him was a bad judgement call." She paused to take a deep breath, "Spike is the only one that could keep her safe now that I'm gone. Even without that, I would trust her with him again and again."
She hadn't told Dean why Glory had wanted her sister only that Dawn was important to Glory's plan. As she told him about Spike she felt like Dean was beginning to realize that there was something off about Dawn. What would a Hell-God want with a bratty pre-teen anyways? If he did suspect something was up, he didn't push it, and she was grateful for that. Dawn may not be the key anymore, but that didn't mean that anyone needed to know what she had been. No one knew what she was now, and Buffy didn't want her to be in anymore danger. Dawn had seen enough pain and peril for a lifetime.
Dean was at a loss for words, and it wasn't often that happened. His anger was dwindling as she spoke. In Dean's world, vamps were bad news. They were monsters that needed to be put down. After meeting Lenore he had started to believe that some vampires could be different, so maybe the ones she knew weren't so bad. Even if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, a bloodsucker had protected those the blonde cared about. If the Slayer was willing to trust them, then he would take her word on it. At least for now.
"You damn hunters and your black and white bullshit. That's why I booted your asses out of my town," she scuffed her foot through the soil.
Dean was about to protest her appraisal of hunters on principle alone. He knew full-well that some hunters did believe in the shades of grey she spoke of. Sam always wanted to believe that there were good monsters, that there were some that didn't need to be killed. There had been times when Sam begged to spare someone. To Dean, the idea of a 'good monster' was an oxymoron and a fools dream. It was her second statement is what caught him off-guard and required a response, however.
"Wait, you banned us from the hellmouth?"
They had discussed the weird occurrences that she had dealt with, and how it was almost completely attributed to being on the hellmouth. The entire time they spoke he had always wondered how it was possible that a town like that had never been on their radar, how it had never shown up in Dad's journal. Not even Bobby had sent them to Sunnydale. The town's name was completely absent from the hunter community.
"Yup. We had a hunter show up while I was in high school. Cain. Chauvinistic pig. He tried to hunt a friend of mine. I wouldn't let the hunter kill him and he took it as a girl couldn't handle the job. So I bent his shotgun in half and sent him on his way. Told him I better not see him or any of his hunter buddies in my town ever again," Buffy shrugged like it was a daily occurrence to ban a hunter from anywhere.
"Cain, huh?"
Buffy nodded, "You know the name?"
"Nah, but I'll keep it in mind for when I get home."
That was a lie, he did know Cain. He was a damn good hunter, and he specialized in werewolves. Her friend must have been one, revealing that she had protected yet another monster. Dean was really beginning to question her judgement, and again he wondered if she had done something to deserve to be in Purgatory. Worked with the wrong evil thing or something. Maybe she made a deal even? Whatever it was, it was probably what landed her here. Dean didn't want to think that a sweet thing like her had brought herself here, nor did he want to believe that a slayer could be corrupt, but the evidence was starting to become overwhelming.
Despite whatever mess the slayer may have gotten herself into, Cain was also a grade 'A' prick. He had heard Cain tell the story of the bent shotgun at the roadhouse before, but he had said it was some sort of crazy demon chick. Dean had to laugh to himself to learn that it was this little bitty thing, slayer or not. He would have to remember to tell literally every hunter he knew when he got home. Not that there were many left…
Dean had fought with Cain throughout his life, a residual effect of being John's kid he supposed. Cain may be a hell of a hunter, but given the opportunity, Dean would knock his ass out. Anyone who had a show down with Cain and won was okay in his books. His previous doubt in the slayer was still present, but he was willing to put it behind them at this point. The slayer may have made some poor calls, but there was something in her eyes that told him that she didn't see them that way. There was love as she spoke about these things that made him think that what she was saying was true, that they had saved the world with her. He would cede his point for now. He was still uneasy about the idea of her trusting vampires though, something was definitely off here.
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When night fell, the two were caught off guard.
"Damnit. Been a while since we got caught off guard," Dean grumbled.
"Doesn't look like anywhere nearby to take shelter in. Guess we're roughing it. Again."
The path towards the exit was distinctly lacking in caves or anything of the sort. Buffy figured that meant they were on the right path. Wouldn't be worth it if it were easy.
"Have I told you about the time we all lost our voices?" Buffy asked Dean as they settled in between a set of trees.
"No, that's a new one. What happened?"
They had taken to sharing stories of different hunts and monsters. It was surprisingly nice to be able to talk about this kind of stuff. Sharing experiences, telling the stories to someone who hadn't already lived through them. Some of the stories sounded eerily similar, and some completely blew the other away. Buffy couldn't believe that angels were real, and Dean was in awe that she had faced down Dracula. She loved the story about Bloody Mary, and his eyes lit up when she told him about the sword fight she had on top of a bus. Dean promised to teach her how to do an exorcism, and Buffy bragged about the rocket launcher she got for her birthday. No matter how unbelievable the stories were, they both knew they were true. It was crazy the things they had seen. Somehow two heroes ended up here, and that was hardly fair, but at least they had found each other.
Buffy couldn't help but once again admire the work Dean did. He was thrown into it, but he could have walked away. He did it because he wanted to save people. His whole life had been dedicated to trying to prevent the same tragedies from befalling other people. That kind of honor was irreproachable.
Dean took a real interest in the shades of grey that the Slayer seemed to live in. Friends with werewolves and vampires. His hunter alarms went off, and the stories she shared told him that there were others. One had dabbled in wiccan lore, but of course all he heard was "witchcraft." Witches were bad news and he was about to pick another fight over it, but the way she spoke about them told him to back down. The pride and love in her voice told him that they were good people, all of them, using their darkness to combat the real evil in the world. Even the Slayer was like that, using unearthly power to beat back wicked things. It was a world he couldn't imagine, but if they were fightin' the good fight, then they were alright by him. It took a trip to Purgatory, but maybe Dean was finally able to see from his brother's point of view.
There were common themes in each of their stories, too. Buffy talked about how she felt isolated from everyone else, but still how much she loved her friends. How she looked after Dawn. Dean echoed that isolation, that loneliness. And Sam. Buffy could tell how much Dean loved his brother, how much he looked out for him. He felt like it was his job to take care of Sammy. She understood that feeling, better than she would ever let on. It had been a job assigned to her to take care of Dawn, literally a job. Her love for Dawn was real, regardless of what the monks created, and nothing would change that. They had both sacrificed themselves for their sibling. Who would have guessed it would take going to Purgatory for the two of them to find a kindred spirit?
This time Dean was having none of her shenanigans. Buffy was sleeping first this night, he insisted. Buffy rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. She had expected this, and so she had put off stopping for the night as long as she could. She would never admit it to him, but it was why they were caught off guard by darkness falling. He suspected it anyways.
It didn't take the slayer long to drop off into sleep, and once he was sure she was asleep he tried something that he hadn't tried yet, and felt silly that he hadn't.
"Cas?" He asked, voice hushed. "I don't know if you can hear me here, but I have to try. We're close to finding the exit, I think." He took a deep breath. "I'm scared, Cas. What's going to happen when we go through it? Are we going to be okay? C'mon Cas. I'm reaching out to you, here. The least you could do is answer…"
He couldn't be sure that Cas could hear him, but he knew it was worth a try. His dreamless sleep later told him that no, Cas could not hear him. They were on their own. He just hoped like hell that the portal didn't pose them any threat.
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When they restarted their trek in the morning, they found that they were closer to the mountains than they had realized. Knowing that they were closing in on their target was such a relief. The sight of the mountains getting closer was enough to keep them motivated. No way were they giving up now.
"The wings are following us," Buffy stated as they walked through the trees. She seemed more annoyed than worried.
Dean looked up and around, but saw nothing, "Are you sure?"
"It's circling, following. I don't know what it's waiting for. The sound is driving me crazy, why doesn't it just attack already?"
"Maybe it can't get through the trees?"
Buffy shook her head, "I don't think that's it. Something's up. Keep your guard up."
If it was enough to spook a slayer, it was enough to spook Dean. His knife came out of the holster and was held strongly in his hand. He looked over to Buffy to confirm that he was ready for anything, but she was still looking straight ahead. He couldn't help but notice that she didn't look like the prey that they actually were. Instead she looked like the predator, as foreboding as the gloomy world around them. Dean could only imagine what it was like to have her senses, her strength.
All this power was contained in this small frame, and he couldn't believe it. After all that, she was still just a girl. A girl thrown into a role that she could never have been prepared to take on. Looking at her form his thoughts quickly shifted to what kind of girl she had been before she had been handed the weight of the world. Under all the grime, all the blood, and the wisdom that was far beyond her years, she was beautiful. He imagined she had been a normal teenaged girl, with friends and a boyfriend, until her world was flipped upside down. Dean couldn't help but think that a beautiful girl like her did not deserve to be stuck in the darkness just like he was.
"You're staring," she said, matter-of-factly.
Dean snapped out of it, a little embarrassed that he was caught, and trained his eyes forward again. "Sorry. Just imagining what it's like to have the slayer power." Which wasn't a complete lie…
"Superpowers are pretty sweet, I won't lie," she smiled.
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Another two days of traveling, and a night of rest in between brought the pair to the base of the mountains.
"I thought that vamp meant we'd find the exit on the way to the mountains," Dean growled, staring up the mountain range.
"I think it's up there," Buffy pointed up to one of the peaks, "it's giving off all kinds of vibes"
"So we're climbing mountains now?"
"We've come this far, go big or go home, right? Or I guess, go big to go home," Buffy laughed at her own joke.
"Cute, Slayer. Well, there's a spot there-ish," Dean pointed, "that we can rest for a night, but I don't think we can reach it before nightfall. Break here and start tomorrow?"
"Gladly. Climbing in the dark sounds like a good way to die stupidly."
Dean took a minute to head to the river for some water, and Buffy insisted that she would be fine on her own. She was looking forward to sitting for a while, and did not need a babysitter. With their backs to the mountain itself Dean and Buffy settled in for a night of rest before embarking on their climb. It was unfortunate that they couldn't have a fire that night, as the night was exceptionally dark this time around. Even Buffy was struggling to see their surroundings. As a precaution the two of them stayed close to one another, trying to remain as safe as they could.
There wasn't much conversation to be had this night; their journey had taken a lot out of them and the silence was comforting this time. Before they could have a discussion about who would sleep first, Dean noticed that the slayer had fallen asleep already.
He smirked to himself as it reminded him of all the times that Sammy had fallen asleep watching some late night movie. He would always insist he could stay up, just like Dean would, but never seemed to make it. Dean would gather Sammy up in his arms gently, without waking him, and deliver him to his bed. If they hadn't been in Purgatory, Dean may have felt the same compulsion to do so with the small blonde. Instead he just let her sleep, shifting his own position to keep himself awake.
Buffy had been asleep for maybe no more than an hour when she suddenly bolted up wide-eyed, startling Dean.
"What is it, Slayer?"
"Wings. Don't you hear that?"
He was starting to get concerned. She had been talking about these wings for days now, and he had yet to hear a thing. If he had a wound like she did, he'd probably have a killer fever ripping through him. A fever that could cause hallucinations maybe. Dean feared that was the case with the Slayer, and that was something that he really had no idea how to deal with. What could he even do to bring down a fever in a world like this? His panic was building until he heard the wings too.
"Fuck. It must be getting closer if I can hear it."
A hissing sound surrounded them, piercing through the darkness.
"It knows we're here, Dean."
"Sssssssssslayer"
"What the hell was that?" Dean exclaimed.
"Come out and plaaaaay."
"Since when do they have voices?" Buffy asked, voice hushed.
"Oh, I'm nothing like what you've faced here sweet cheeks," the voice taunted from the darkness.
The leaves rustled all around them, it was impossible to tell what direction the foe was hiding in. Buffy strained her eyes, but was unsuccessful in pinpointing it's location.
"Can you see anything?" Dean asked, failing to hide the dread in his voice.
His fear matched her own. "No, I can barely see you. Dean, grab your lighter."
She could feel an overwhelming presence around them, and she had the unmistakable feeling that they were surrounded by evil. Dean handed her his zippo and watched her flip it open, the warm light brightening her face and giving her a ghastly look. She had picked up a small branch at some point while they were standing in the dark, and wasted no time in setting it ablaze. The make-shift torch did very little to light the space around them, but then she did something unexpected. She started to light the ground around them. There was a ring of fire in front of them now, as the flames grabbed onto a circle of leaves and twigs. Buffy had been busy when Dean had gone to the river alone, and again he found himself impressed with her instincts. The space they had stopped in didn't offer much by way of protection, but this line of fire prevented anything from getting to close to them. It was a smart move that he didn't care to admit he would have never thought of. The fire served as protection for now, but it also illuminated the darkness around them.
"Oh my god…" Buffy gaped at the woods around them.
The winged beast stood twenty feet away from them, staring at them with it's tail flicking around. It was accompanied by five other beasts of varying species and breeds. All of them had eyes trained on the Slayer and the hunter, and all of them had a sick grin on their face.
Suddenly the beasts parted down the middle, clearing the way for what they assumed was the creature that had called out to them. Much to Buffy's surprise, a small brunette girl appeared from behind the beasts, floating to the ground gracefully in a white dress, reminiscent of a nightgown.
The brunette smiled in delight, "Ooo, a slayer and a Winchester. Well isn't it just my lucky day."
She was wearing the visage of the first girl she had taken the form of, and for that Dean was grateful. Seeing an evil creature using his mother's form, especially in this world, would be too much for him to handle. He knew that the poor girl she was wearing now had suffered unimaginably, and for that he was sorry, but it was better than it wearing his mother's face.
In his list of possible enemies to find in Purgatory, Dean realized that he had forgotten her. Maybe because she ranked pretty low on his scale of danger, at least compared to the other nightmares they had faced. Now that he was face to face with her again, Dean wasn't sure this battle would be as simple as it had been the last time they had met. There was only one way to kill this bitch, and that option was not exactly available to them here. Unless the slayer came with an apothecary set hidden somewhere, which he greatly doubted, they wouldn't stand a chance. Forgetting about her was definitely a mistake, and one that he was sure that both he and the slayer were going to pay for now.
Dean was staggered. "Eve?"
"Not quite in the flesh, but yes, here I am. Miss me Dean?"
