Tracker Light

by Loricorn Myr

Sam's brother, Dean, goes missing, and Sam finds help in an unexpected and potentially dangerous place; the almost-mythical and mysterious Tracker, who can find anyone, anywhere. On the trail to find Dean, the new team runs into more trouble, with difficult challenges close behind. Secrets, friends, foes, and powers are found along the way. Rated M later because reasons. Mostly AU.

13. Chapter 13: The Storm

AN: Dear God, friends, I am so sorry.

I've had a wild time with rehearsals for a Les Mis production that I'm in (opening night was Friday, it went well) and I haven't had time to keep up with this like I should be. Sorry that this was posted so late, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!

I will try to post bi-weekly, if not then tri-weekly (as in, whenever I can. I said I'd try, so I will, I promise, with pinkies and everything). I love you all for staying with me.

Thanks for putting up with me.

Loricorn out.

The Storm

Sacrifice is one of the purest and most selfless ways to love someone. - Unknown

Sam woke up to the smell of something wonderful. There were banging sounds coming from the kitchen, along with the sounds of something frying and the pop of a toaster. Remembering what Delta had said the night before about not going into the kitchen until Bogey was done, Sam propped himself up on his elbow quietly. Before he could look around, or even stretch, Cas's voice rumbled through the silence, pitched low as the angel tried to keep his tone quiet.

"She came down while you were sleeping, and I tried to make her go back upstairs, but she wouldn't listen." Cas said, sounding a little embarrassed and apologetic. "I went upstairs to watch over Dean when she wouldn't leave."

Sam looked at Cas, who was still sitting on the couch, though now off-center, then looked to where the angel glanced.

Delta was half-curled up next to him on her stomach, under a corner of one of his blankets and laying on top of an absurd number of pillows. One of her arms was lying flush against the edge of his mattress from her shoulder to her wrist, and her face was turned towards him. Her hair was everywhere, her soft breaths moving a wisp of it every time she exhaled.

Careful not to disturb her, Sam sat up and asked quietly, "Did she say why she came down here?"

"Bad dreams." Cas said, going back to examining a book that Sam hadn't noticed the angel was holding. "She didn't tell me about what, but she was clearly unsettled, so I didn't press her."

Sam nodded, then carefully pulled the rest of the blanket Delta was under over her, trying not to wake her up. He reached for a book, just to pass the time until breakfast was ready.

The banging in the kitchen continued for a while, then suddenly stopped and was replaced by a deep, rumbling growl. Dean edged backward into the room from the hallway, holding his hands up in surrender, his clothes and hair still askew slightly from sleeping. As soon as he crossed the threshold, the banging and other noises started up again slowly, like the bogart had become wary of intruders walking in on it.

"Smells great." Dean said placatingly, then walked into the room more quickly, slowing as he rounded the armchair nearest the door and caught sight of Delta asleep on the floor. He gave Sam a questioning look.

"Nightmares." Sam explained softly. "She couldn't sleep and came down here in the middle of the night, according to Cas. Did you see her get up last night, or anything?"

"I didn't hear a thing." Dean said, keeping his voice low as he sank into the nearest armchair. "Though, based on last time, she should have woken up the entire house with screaming if the nightmare was really bad."

"Yeah." Sam glanced at Delta, then shook his head and went back to reading his book. It detailed some of the wards and other protections used in clan territories against angels, humans, and other outsiders to keep them out.

"So why didn't she?" Cas asked, still pursuing the topic.

"Maybe it wasn't as bad this time." Dean said, then glanced at Delta. "But it scared her enough to come down here." Dean looked at his brother. "Exactly how strong is this thing between you and her, anyway?"

"Our emotions are sort of linked." Sam said, looking up from his book again. "We can feel what the other is feeling, depending on how strong the emotion is. We can block each other out a little, but that doesn't really work long-term."

"So you'd know if she had a nightmare, or if something wasn't right." Cas said, looked intrigued. This was probably the most he'd ever heard about clan connections.

"Yeah." Sam said, half-shrugging. "I don't think I'm very good at it yet, though. Reading her emotions."

"You just need practice." Dean said, with the same casual voice that Sam remembered him using when Dean told him to practice shooting a gun. "She's been at it longer than you." Something seemed to occur to Dean, and he sat forward and asked, "How old is she, anyway?"

"Why does that matter?" Sam said, starting to pull on a small bitch-face.

"It doesn't!" Dean said quickly, then added, "But she has to be at least a few centuries older than us."

"Dean, what-" Sam cut himself off, shaking his head. "Why do you need to know that?"

"I don't need to know." Dean said. "I just think it's a little weird, knowing that she's basically prehistoric."

"Dude, so what? Cas isn't exactly new to this world either, but his age doesn't bother you." Sam said, the look he gave his brother full of attitude.

"I've existed since before humans evolved enough to walk the earth." Cas said simply, either ignoring Sam's current state of being or not picking up on it. "The clans came into being a few hundred years before humans evolved into the Neanderthals. They came from a similar species to your own at the time. Very few strays have been influencing you throughout the centuries, though."

"What?" Dean asked, turning to look at the angel.

"Strays?" Sam asked. "What, like loners?"

"Yes." Castiel's eyes were far away as he remembered. "The clans were hunted by your kind long ago, in fact. Ancient peoples throughout the ages thought of them as gods, sometimes. The Romans especially took to bringing captured ones back, to fight in the coliseums in their games."

"That's… twisted." Sam looked slightly sick.

"That must be why the clans stay out of everyone's business but their own." Dean said, leaning back. "Good old self-preservation."

The banging in the kitchen stopped suddenly, and the toaster gave one more sullen kachink before everything was quiet. In place of the noise, a single, clear note, like the whistle had made the night before when Delta blew into it, sounded throughout the cabin. Even though the tone was soft, Sam felt as though he could have been dead and still have heard it.

There was a thump from upstairs, and the muffled sound of cursing, as the noise surprised Ryan and Faz out of their beds.

Next to Sam, Delta jerked awake, then sat bolt upright and slapped her hands over her ears, wincing.

"Bogey! Rude!" Delta shouted, surprising Sam, Dean, and Cas.

There was a mischievous chuckling sound from the kitchen, then the sound of whooshing air and a window banging open as Bogey left, heading outside. Feet hit the stairs rapidly, and Sadi, Ryan, and Faz ran into the room, all three of them hunched slightly.

"What the heck was that noise?" Sadi asked, for once the vocal one of the group as she rubbed her ears.

"Bogey's 'good morning, rise and shine' to us." Delta said dryly, wincing as she rolled her shoulders to work out the kinks from sleeping awkwardly the night before. "It likes to joke around and poke me with metaphorical sticks."

"A comedian." Faz said, rolling her eyes as Ryan walked back past her and Sadi towards the kitchen as Dean and Cas stood up. "Great."

"Gotta say, I like her style." Dean said as he walked past Faz after Ryan, too surprised at the comradery of Sadi's playful punch to dodge the blow. Cas followed after him, waiting politely for Faz to go ahead of him through the door. Faz got over her surprise quickly, huffing as she followed Sadi out with Cas behind her.

"Let's go, or they'll eat everything before we get any." Sam said, tossing the book he had been reading onto a pile at the foot of his mattress.

"I doubt it." Delta said in an amused voice, throwing the blanket she'd had over Sam as he tried to get up. "Bogey likes to impress, even if it's just me she's cooking for."

Delta, when she wasn't keeping secrets, was no liar. Bogey was also quite a cook.

"This is really good." Dean said, for the umpteenth time, around a mouthful of ham, eggs and grits from his third helping of food. All of them were sitting in various spots around the living room with plates at varying amounts of fullness. Sadi had stopped at one plate, but the others were apparently determined to out-eat each other. With a wide range of foods from southern-style grits and biscuits with gravy, to pancakes and waffles that would put the old hometown Vermont vibe to shame, the bogart had spared absolutely nothing.

"Bogey likes to cook." Delta said around her own mouthful of pancakes and chocolate. Sam had watched in queasy amazement as Delta had drizzled hot fudge and powdered sugar on top of her already chocolate loaded pancakes. He had made up for her sugary, unhealthy decision by getting enough fruit to put fifty or so fruit bats in a food coma, along with his own classic diner breakfast choices of bacon and eggs. Her leg was already bouncing as she continued, "And you'd probably get bogart bonus points if you said that in her range of hearing."

"Well, this was nice." Faz said as she set her mostly empty plate on the table between the two armchairs with a few bites of spiced potatoes still on it. Ryan reached over with his fork and ate them. Faz rolled her eyes at him, then continued, "But if you want to get into the clans, then we need to go."

"Yeah, right." Delta shovelled the last, almost frighteningly large bite of pancakes and chocolate into her mouth, then got up to get Faz's plate to take to the kitchen with hers. Faz met her halfway and took her plate from her, taking Sadi's as well. Ryan tried to slide his plate onto the stack, but Faz nimbly avoided him and walked to the kitchen while he grumbled.

Delta turned back to the others, who were on a higher alert now that their next move had been mentioned; their small respite and the easygoing calm that it had brought with it was gone. "Okay, guys, take ten to twenty minutes to get your stuff together, then meet me outside. I'm gonna go run and check on the other shapeshifters, dish out keys and send them home, then I'll be back to talk through the plan and take you in. Got it?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good." Delta unhooked the keys that she'd put on the peg next to the bookcase last night, then walked to the door and let herself out as everyone else sprang into action. Sam hooked up his bag from the foot of his mattress, then followed Delta outside, nodding to Dean as he left.

"We'll see how awake they are." Delta said as she strode up the path to the sleeping house with Sam keeping pace easily a few steps behind her, pulling a relatively new, clean shirt on over the undershirt he'd slept in. He'd already pulled worn out jeans on with difficulty, since Delta showed no interest in stopping to wait for him. She had his bag over one shoulder, and had tossed him the shirt he had just pulled on after pulling an old flannel over her tank top. He suspected the pancakes had had something else in them besides chocolate. Maybe steroids, or energy mix.

"Hey, Delta." Sam said, catching up to her and pulling his bag off of her shoulder. She let him take it, then fell in step next to him as he continued, "Cas said you came down in the middle of the night, and that you said you'd had a nightmare. Want to tell me what that was about?"

Delta sighed, then said, "It was nothing new, just more flashes of them. Mostly distorted vision, confusion, and pain." Her mismatched eyes were misted slightly as she looked up at him, and for the third time since he'd met her, she looked scared. "Only this time, there was something different about them, something unsettling. It was like… It was like they were losing themselves, like they almost couldn't remember who they were. And they were so angry, Sam. They're so angry, and scared, and…" Her hands had started shaking, and they trembled more violently as she finished, "And I don't know what's happening to them. I don't know, and that's the worst part, because I can't help them if I don't know what's going wrong."

"Hey." Sam said gently, realizing that they'd come to a stop as he reached out to put his hand on her shoulder bracingly. He continued, "We'll find out what's going on, okay? We're going to get them today. We can fix this."

"Yeah, okay." Delta took a deep breath, and the tremors in her hands calmed a little. Suddenly, she chuckled. "I need to lay off on the sugar."

"Yeah, you do." Sam said, letting his hand drop. Suddenly, a feeling hit him. For the first time in his life, he felt like an older brother looking after a younger sibling.

"Please, out of the two of us, I'm the older brother." Delta said, picking up on his emotions and quirking her mouth up into a teasing smile as she continued down the path. Sam felt her trying to snuff out her unease.

"Um, I don't think so." Sam said, following her as he finished, "And you can't take this from me."

"Why not?" Delta asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I said so."

"The argument of a delinquent. I expected no less from you."

A hectic and confusing fifteen minutes later, Delta had managed to give four people keys to various vehicles to go home. Sam was surprised that they all didn't want to get out of there.

"Some people need time to adjust." Delta explained to him in a low voice as the shapeshifters walked to their various cars. They got into their driver's sides and peered suspiciously through the windshields. Delta nodded to them, then unstrung the black silk bag that she'd grabbed from the shed where she'd gotten the keys for the vehicles. She walked to the front of the cars and carefully laid down a line of light brown powder connecting every car. When she was finished, she closed the bag and took a step back, tossing it to Sam. She took a breath and closed her eyes, then raised her hand up toward the first car in the row and snapped her fingers at the line of dust. Immediately, all of the vehicles vanished with the powder, and Delta staggered back as she fought to stay standing while her legs tried to collapse. Sam had been standing just off of her left shoulder, and he caught her arm to keep her upright while she tried to breathe again. The semi-panic that accompanied this never really went away.

"You good?" Sam asked after a few seconds.

Delta nodded. "Yeah. Let's go meet up with the others."

They walked up to the cabin to see Ryan, Faz, Cas, and Dean parked on the steps. There was no obvious hostility between them, and Dean even got Faz to smile at a joke before they noticed them walking up.

"Where's Sadi?" Sam asked.

"Bathroom." Ryan said, then turned to look as the door opened behind him. Sadi walked out and tossed Delta a backpack, which Delta caught easily.

"I got your stuff. We're set." Sadi said, and Delta nodded.

"Okay, here's the deal." Delta took out a map of a stretch of wilderness that looked like one Sam had found last night, wedged in between the pages of one of her father's books. She unfolded it and placed it on the topmost porch step, the others gathering around to look. The land depicted on the map was the wild, northwestern territory near the border of the U.S. and Canada. The land was dominated by a large, jagged circle, divided into four rough sections all outlined in red. Several different kinds of things were marked on the map in different colors, with a key in the corner. Delta pointed to a dark blue dot, close to the border of the two southernmost sections. "The Center is here. The quadrant border there shouldn't be a problem, since it's far enough from the outside border to avoid the patrols. There's aren't any of those between quadrants, since the inside borders are just there for jurisdiction purposes. The wards-" She nodded at Cas "- are just inside the borders, at each of the points where the inside borders meet the outer one. Just one down, and you'll be able to get in. Once you're in, you'll be able to stay in, even when the wards are functional again. We can only buy you a small window of time, because as much as I would like to have you in there with us, I won't leave the wards open for every angel's Heavenly wrath to rain down on innocents just because they happen to be in clan territory. Now, once we're in, you three-" She looked at Sam, Dean, and Cas "- will have to ride. You can't fly inside the territory, Castiel, unless you want your wings ripped off by the wards. And you two can't shape-shift, or run fast enough to keep up."

"Wait, ride? On one of you?" Dean asked, glancing at Ryan, Faz, and Sadi before looking back at Delta.

"Yep." Ryan said, then bit back a smirk as he continued, "If I were you, I'd pick Sadi. At least she's part horse."

"Shut up." Dean said, glaring at Ryan.

"Ladies, please." Delta said, earning her looks from both the blonde and the red-headed men, which she ignored as she continued, "You will also have to keep those bracelets on, at least until we're in. But if I were you, I'd keep them on the entire time, since I'm planning on coming out the way we came in. When we get to the Center, there's two different entrances that we're going to use." Delta unrolled another map, this one of a building like a warehouse, only bigger, and instead of storage, it looked like crossing isles had been set up like a grid inside, with a long main floor in the center with courtroom-like seating. She pointed to an entrance on the south side of the building, and one on the west side. "These are the least used, since almost no one comes from the south or west. The west quadrant's base camp is more to the north of this location, and no one is really to the south, at least, not when I was there. There's no set rotation, but if these four other shifters are being kept here, then there's going to be guards or sentries, or at least somebody to keep them in line." Her eyes flickered with shadows before she continued, "The guards shouldn't be a problem. It's getting them out that'll be the struggle. They're… not themselves. There's stuff that should help sedate them in the truck. But…" She glanced at Cas, then continued, "If something goes wrong, whether we're spotted and can't catch the spotter before they get away or one of us gets captured, then we need to try to get back to the truck, with or without the prisoners."

"What about the captured person?" Sam asked, looking at Delta.

"If it's not me, leave it to me." Delta's eyes were burning with hateful fire. "And if it is me, then I'll deal with it. Just get out." She stared hard at Sam. "Do not come after me, got it?" She turned her look on Dean and Cas, demanding and stubborn. "Don't let him, under any circumstances. Do you hear me?"

"Yes." Cas said gravely, with Dean nodding assent beside him. Sam pulled on a bitch-face, far from pleased. Unseen by Delta, Sadi had a similar, but more mild, reaction.

"Okay. That's about it." Delta folded the maps back up, then stuck them into her bag. "We'll figure out the teams when we get there. The truck's parked back by the shed." She glanced at Dean, a small smile flickering across her face as she rolled the maps back up. "I teleported your car back there last night. You know, in case you wanted to visit her before we went in."

They all followed her to a grey truck, the silver of the grille, bumpers, and tire hubs coated in mud, with more sprayed up the sides like it was driven off road a lot. It was jacked up, with the bed cover on to keep passengers and weapons from flying out when Delta teleported. The Impala was parked next to it, far cleaner. Dean went over to his car immediately, apologizing about leaving her behind.

"It's an extended cab, so we all should fit if we pack in there." Delta glanced over her shoulder at the others, not missing their skeptical expressions. She kept her expression neutral as she continued, "Unless you want to sit in the back, with nothing to hold onto."

"I'll take my chances." Faz said, turning to walk back to the tailgate as Dean finished saying goodbye. "I'm not that comfortable with you guys yet." Ryan looked at them and shrugged, then followed his partner.

"Okay then." Delta climbed into the driver's seat. Cas, once again, beat Sam and Dean for shotgun, leaving them to climb into the back with Sadi.

"Y'all know the drill." Delta said as they buckled themselves in. "Oh, hey, can someone open the back window?"

"Yeah, sure. Why?" Sam reached behind Sadi, who leaned forward as he slid the glass aside.

"I wanna hear every word Faz yells when we're landing." Delta said, sounding like her old, joking self. Sam's face broke into a smile at her tone.

It was a matter of a few seconds of dear-God-I'm-never-going-to-get-used-to-this feeling before they landed with a thud in an unfamiliar forest, with rolling hills that interrupted the view through the trees and harsh outcroppings of mossy rock. Through the trees to the south, less than fifty yards away, the wasteland of the battlegrounds could be seen. Unlike at Delta's cabin, the sky was overcast with the smokey mist from the war zone and thick clouds, creating a kind of almost-night. Delta hopped out of the truck as the tailgate dropped down and Sam and Dean opened the back cab doors.

"You'll have to hang on to our bags while we're travelling." Delta said as she shut the tailgate. Riley was strung over one shoulder, and she had only one backpack, along with several odd black lengths of rope. "If we run into trouble, it'd be better if our mouths were free to defend ourselves. Oh, and you'll need these." She handed one long rope to each person that couldn't shape-shift, then explained, "To help you hang on." She nodded to Cas as Faz paced impatiently towards the unseen border. "It'll take us a few minutes to open up the barrier. Wing in and land, then we'll seal it back up and move on."

Cas nodded. When Dean glanced back at him as they were walking away, Ryan clapped a hand on the hunter's shoulder to keep him moving and said, "C'mon. He's an angel, he can take care of himself for a few minutes."

Sam felt when they crossed the border. His bracelet stopped itching, for one. Another reason he knew they were in was because everything seemed to grow louder. The no-man's land had been eerily silent, disturbing. On this side of the border, it was still quiet, but now there was at least the rustling of foliage and the creak of tree branches high up in the now-dense canopy.

They crept through the forest for about fifty more yards before a huge, looming shape came into view. Sam's bracelet started to prickle again, and even the other shapeshifters looked uneasy.

"That's a ward tower." Delta whispered, like the huge pillar of sandstone could hear her. "The main ones are on the connecting border points, like this one, which is why it's so big. The lesser ones are only a few feet tall, and are for the smaller stuff. The cornerstone wards are for angels and other high-level intruders." She studied the tower for a second, then continued, "If I'm remembering right, the angel wards are near the top?"

"Yep." Ryan nodded, then said, "I'll do it. Wait here."

Faz's hand shot out to grab his arm, but he was already moving across the ground to the column so fast that Sam almost lost him in the shadows. He shifted halfway there, and he reared up on his hind legs to rake his black claws across the top edge of the tower. He just managed to touch it.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the air above the tower bent like a mirage, and solidified into another, transparent column above the sandstone that reached up so far it disappeared. Then the second column vanished, and a second later wing beats announced Cas's arrival. As soon as he landed next to Dean, Ryan reared up again, stretching up farther, and traced his muzzle in the opposite direction. The second column appeared again, then vanished. Cas's hand twitched as his bracelet re-activated when the wards fell back in place.

"Won't they notice that the wards spazzed?" Dean asked, glancing at Ryan as the redhead shifted back to human.

"They 'spazz' out all the time." Faz said, seeming nonchalant instead of uptight for once. "If one of the towers even gets hit by a bird, the whole dome shudders. They only send out a patrol to check if it's down for more than 30 seconds, so I don't think it's a problem."

"But only clan members can turn the wards off completely." Sadi added. "And the towers can't be toppled or taken down, only turned off."

"Well, that's annoying." Dean muttered as Delta reminded Sam, Cas and him of their ropes.

"When we change, just climb on and let one end of the rope down over our right shoulders." Delta said. Sam stuck by her, while Dean glanced at Ryan. The redhead nodded in response.

"You're with me." Sadi said to Cas. "Since you've never ridden one of us before."

"Alright." Cas didn't look enthusiastic, but since he had no other choice but angel-hating Faz, he seemed okay with Sadi carrying him.

"Here." Delta tossed Riley to Dean, who's eyes lit up as soon as he saw what she was doing. Ryan hadn't brought anything, and neither had Faz, both of them planning on a quick in-and-out job. Sadi gave her bag of medicines hesitantly to Cas, who took them from her gravely, making her lips crack into a small smile. Sam took Delta's bag, as well as keeping his own.

"Wait here." Faz said then, with the other shapeshifters, jogged a short distance away to shift. Faz stayed standing apart from them while Ryan, Sadi, and Delta came back and crouched next to their riders.

Sam had done this once before, so climbing up wasn't a problem. He had to help Cas get on, but Dean managed on his own. Once they were up and situated, Sam climbed up and lowered one end of his black rope over Delta's huge shoulder.

Without making a sound, the rope slid magically by itself around Delta's chest. Sam dropped the part he was holding in surprise as it unravelled. The end he dropped snaked around Delta as well, fusing to itself when it connected, leaving Delta wearing a black harness.

"That never gets old." Ryan commented, rolling his shoulders and causing Dean to grab onto the rope quickly to avoid sliding off.

"You done?" Faz asked, irritable all over again as she walked back, impatient to get going as she came to a stop next to Ryan. When he nodded in false enthusiasm, she said, "Then let's go."

Delta's ears twitched, and she turned like she was going to walk to Sadi's side. Faz glanced at her with piercing yellow eyes, a shade darker than her sister's, flicking her tawny tail as she said, "You should lead. It's your mission, after all."

Delta paused for a second, then turned back around, putting herself at the front of their group. She turned her head to glance at Sam over her shoulder. "Ready?"

Sam nodded, clipping the chest strap of Delta's backpack into place. He'd already strung his bag's strap around her bag, keeping their stuff secure for the ride.

Delta flicked her tail in some sort of signal, and the next moment they were flying through the forest. The shapeshifters had not been kidding about how fast they were going to move.

Besides the wind caused by their speed, the sound of trees going by, and an occasional loud animal noise, the ride was quiet. Sadi had somehow managed to dull her hoof beats until they sounded like the other's strides; near silent.

Delta slowed down after travelling at a swift lope for several minutes, the others slowing with her into a fast trot.

"Are we close?" Sam leaned forward and kept his voice low, knowing that Delta could hear him. He was feeling the same unease that he'd felt at the plot when Dean disappeared, and he could feel that Delta was also on edge.

"Yeah." Delta breathed back. "We're about a mile and a half out. We'll get there in a minute, give or take."

"Really?" Sam couldn't contain his surprise. "How far have we traveled already?"

Delta chuckled darkly, the sound low in her throat. "A couple dozen miles. Some clan members could easily outstrip racecars if they really tried."

"Huh." Sam straightened slightly to look back at the others. Faz was bringing up the rear, with Dean on Ryan's back just ahead of her, Sam's brother looking a little tense. Sadi was right behind Delta, and if Dean looked a little awkward, Cas was the picture of discomfort. He was sitting stiffly, and had a concentrated, slightly queasy expression plastered across his face, though his posture had improved a bit from earlier when he'd first mounted up. One of Sadi's feathered ears was laid back a bit, listening for any distress Cas might voice, and she had her wings slightly raised on either side of Cas to catch him if he started to slide off. The angel held onto the harness Sadi was wearing like his life depended on it.

From the look on Ryan's face behind them, Sam was pretty sure that the giant fox was trying not to laugh.

Delta slowed to a walk, then stopped entirely as the trees parted in some places to reveal the squat building that housed the stolen shifters.

"Here's as good as anywhere." Delta crouched, and Sam slid off as Sadi did the same thing next to them. Cas uneasily let go of the rope, then slid carefully to the ground, landing with a wobble. Dean practically leapt from Ryan's back, like he'd like to be nowhere less, and the clan shapeshifters shifted to human again.

"That was… uncomfortable." Cas said to Dean and Sam after Sadi had taken her bag from him.

"Yeah, well, join the club." Dean said, then winced and glanced at Sam. "Where the heck did you learn to ride like that?"

"I don't know." Sam glanced at Delta as she took her bag from him, shaking her head as Dean tried to give her Riley.

"You can keep that for now." She told Dean, then explained to Sam, "It's probably a partner thing."

"Oh, right." Dean said with quiet sarcasm as Faz came over, having picked up the last of the ropes and dumping them in Ryan's arms.

"Okay, we're on the south side now." Delta said, taking the ropes from Ryan and stowing them in her backpack. "We'll split into teams here, one for each entrance. Sam, you're with me, Dean and Cas as well. My team, my responsibilities," She added when Faz gave her an eyebrow-raised look. Delta returned it, then asked, "Unless you want the angel?"

Faz hesitated, then shrugged. "Either way, he's in it until he's out."

Delta glanced at Cas, silently asking his opinion.

"I'll stay with Delta." Cas said, fidgeting with his bracelet while looking at Faz, his eyes squinted slightly.

"Alright. You guys okay with taking the west side?" Delta asked the shapeshifters. They nodded. "Good. Let's go."

The two teams crept to the edge of the trees, less than twenty feet from the south side of the building. There they split, Dean and Ryan nodding to each other as the shapeshifters crept towards the west entrance.

Delta looked up at the roof, her eyes misting as she searched for lights. Apparently, she found none, because she glanced at the boys before all four of them ran, still in a crouch, to the southern set of doors.

The doors were eight feet tall, and each door was wider than two people. They were made of reddish chocolate colored wood, and were carved with vines and creatures from all around the world. There were no handles.

Delta looked at the doors for a second, then pressed her ear against the crack where the doors met. Taking a step back, she motioned for Dean to help her as she put her shoulder against one of the doors. When he mirrored her on the other door, she started to push on the wood. Sam moved to help her as Cas did the same for Dean, the hunter explaining in a hushed voice what they were trying to do. With a groan that sounded like a tree bending, the doors swung slowly inward to stand partially open, with Dean, Cas, Sam and Delta standing between them on the threshold. Almost instinctively, Sam and Delta crept around a door to one side while Cas followed Dean into the shadows on the other. All four of them stayed still as Delta checked for lights and lifted her nose a little, scenting out potential targets. Apparently, none were near enough to alarm her, since she gestured for Cas and Dean to cover her and Sam as they went into one of the aisles. The Dean and Cas mirrored Sam and Delta, only took the aisle next to them, barely hearing them moving on the other side as both teams of two moved toward the middle of the building.

Delta and Dean reached the ends of their aisles first, pressing their shoulders to the corner and looking both ways carefully. Delta nodded to Dean, giving the 'all-clear' to move ahead, and both teams started across to the next aisle.

"Who's there?" A voice called, causing the four of them to sprint in a crouch to the next aisle for cover, crouching side by side as two pairs of footsteps approached unhurriedly. The steps were confident, creatures in their own territory. Delta quickly turned on her heels while still in a crouch, fumbling at the cloth hanging behind them. She suddenly yanked up a corner of the huge cloth, gesturing for her companions to hurry and hide. Dean dragged Cas after him, with Sam and Delta diving after close behind. The older hunter ended up smashed into a back corner of the surprisingly small space, the angel crushed up against him when Sam practically fell in on Cas. Delta landed on top of Sam in an awkward half-crouch, her forearm landing on his shoulder, her right knee narrowly missing Sam's stomach while her left ended up wedged under his right. She was basically sitting on his left leg. She huffed and tried to sit back a little as Sam awkwardly tried to prop himself up on his left elbow, succeeding in nothing but pushing Cas farther up against his brother.

"Shh." Delta breathed when Dean grunted softly in protest. The footsteps were getting unbearably close as Delta hitched her bag around in front of herself, setting it on Sam's chest (earning her an incredulous look) as she fumbled in the front pocket quickly, pulling out a spray bottle of what looked like water. She spritzed it all over the cloth, herself, and the boys as the steps stopped at the end of their aisle.

"Are you sure you saw something?" That voice was male, deep and patient-sounding. The tone suggested that the owner was used to placating an antsy wife.

"I told you, there was somebody down here." That voice was also male, only slightly higher and more demanding. It was the voice from earlier, the one that had sent them running for cover. It instantly set Sam's teeth on edge. The speaker continued, "I definitely heard something."

"Well, I can't hear anything off, and nothing smells unusual. You're probably used up after a few straight shifts." The first speaker said calmly. "Besides, I thought we were going on a break. You promised me one today."

There was a small, unbearable silence that felt like it lasted years to Sam. He mildly realized that his arm was starting to lose feeling in it when the second speaker finally said, "Okay, fine. Let's go. I can't smell anything, either."

The entire group held their breath until the footsteps had faded to nothing, then let out a collective sigh of relief. Delta climbed carefully off Sam and scooted backwards, out from behind the cloth after checking that the two guards were really gone. The others quickly followed.

"That was close." Dean said, wincing as he straightened up. "What was that stuff you sprayed?"

"It cancels out scents." Delta said as she stowed the bottle back in its pocket. "It's saved my life before."

"You need to give us some of this stuff you have." Dean said, hitching Riley's strap up higher on his shoulder, glancing at Sam, who nodded. "It'd be useful on our hunts."

"Tell you what, you make a Christmas list of what you want, and I'll see what I can do." Delta replied, throwing her arms through the straps of her backpack with a Dean-esque smirk on her face.

"I'll get right on that." Dean said, not missing a beat as he smiled back at her.

They set off again, Delta taking the point position with Cas right behind her, then Sam, then Dean bringing up the rear. It only took them a couple more careful minutes to reach their destination.

"Hold up." Delta whispered, stopping to crouch low and peek around the last corner that led into the aisle they were looking for, just off of the long main room. From here, they could hear a few people moving around, shifting their weight on tired feet or talking quietly. Delta pulled back almost immediately, looking grave. She motioned for them to backtrack, then checked behind another cloth hanging. They squeezed back into a thankfully bigger space than the first niche, and Delta told them what she'd seen.

"There are almost as many guards as there are us, counting Faz, Ryan, and Sadi." Delta reported. The boys made faces that matched hers from earlier. She nodded. "I know, it's more heavily protected than we thought. The only bonus to this is that it's against all protocol to shift when you're inside the Center, so you guys can help out this time."

"Good." Dean said, letting a predatory smile slide onto his face. "I hate sitting back and letting other people have all the fun."

"Now we just have to wait." Delta said, carefully peeking around the corner again.

"Wait for what, a signal?" Dean asked, pulling Riley's strap off of his shoulder.

A note, the clear sound similar to the noise Delta's bogart whistle made, vibrated through the air. The guards went quiet, the quiet stillness of an alerted group of animals.

"Yep, that." Delta said, checking the holster still on her leg for knives and standing up. Sam pulled out his handgun while Dean hoisted Riley into position. Cas's angel blade slid down into his hand as the sound of a caterwaul ripped the still silence. Faz had wasted no time in waiting to attack.

The four of them raced around the side, blocking the only clear exit left. The first of the clan guards to see them only saw them because Delta let out a loud, guttural snarl to answer the caterwaul Faz had sounded after the signal.

Ryan, Faz, and Sadi were in a line, standing menacingly across the opposite end of the aisle. For all of the caracal's doubts about being in this before, she kept her word to be there. Three of the six clan guards whirled to look at Delta, Dean, Sam and Cas as they blocked their end of the aisle off as well.

"What is this?" One of the two women there, brown hair in a straight braid down her back, asked angrily, her narrowed eyes stopping on Delta before they widened. "You- We- They told us that you were dead."

"I felt that way at first." Delta said evenly, her voice pitched low as it came out half growl. "But I'm alive."

The guards glanced at each other swiftly, not taking their eyes off of the two groups of intruders for more than a heartbeat.

"What…" The same female guard shook off her confusion, trading her shocked expression for a flat, almost angry mask. "What are you doing here? Even if you're not dead, you're still in exile."

"Thanks for the reminder." Delta's voice matched the guard's confrontational tone. "I'm- we're-" She gestured to the hunters, Cas, and Faz, Ryan and Sadi to include them, "-here because this clan took something that doesn't belong to them."

"Oh, like it belongs to you." One of the bigger men spoke up, taking a step towards Delta. One of the other men, probably his partner, touched his arm to stop him as Delta glanced at Sam when his posture stiffened.

"Oh, no, what you took doesn't belong to anyone." Ryan spoke up casually from the other end of the aisle, only his eyes betraying any hint of anger.

"They belong to themselves." Sadi said, her quiet voice turned hard with certainty and loud enough to be heard by everyone there.

All of the guards tensed, eyes flicking between their various options of targets among the outclanner allies. They froze when Delta spoke.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Her voice was a deadly casual tone. "We didn't come here to fight, but we will." She didn't need to confirm this with any of the other's nods or eye contact; they all knew they were all in it till they weren't. "We just came to take them back to their families."

"You can't." The other woman guard spoke up, silencing her male partner with a look as she turned to face Delta, looking away from Sadi, Ryan, and Faz. She studied Delta, then said more than asked, "You know what's happened to them."

"No." Delta shook her head, meeting the clan member's eyes. "I just know that it's wrong."

"It's done." The first female guard said, cutting off the other before she could say anything else. She turned back to Delta. "You can't take them, or change them back. It's over. Even if you tried, we'd have to stop you."

Delta looked at her for a heartbeat, then shook her head again and shrugged. "That's too bad. I didn't want to fight."

The next moment, clan members and the outclanners were tangled up in a loud, violent struggle. Sam barely had time to register that one of the two biggest guys there was heading straight for him before he was grappling for the upper hand. Delta pounced onto the guy's back, digging her black, sharp nails into one side of his neck and his shoulder, snarling. Dean was trading blows with another guy while Cas took on the other largest guard, his angel strength making it an even fight. Faz went straight for the female guard that had been facing Sam, dragging her across the floor, while Ryan and the last male guard rolled around, a knot of snarling, tangled limbs as each gave it their all. Sadi took on the second female guard, attacking with surprising ferocity and almost immediately pinning her. When the guard's partner, the one fighting Ryan, tried to help her, Ryan yanked him back and knocked him into next week. The female pinned by Sadi jerked as her head twisted from an invisible blow, her eyes clouding in response to her partner's sudden unconsciousness. Sadi took that opportunity to slam her head on the floor, knocking her out cold.

With Ryan and Sadi free to help, they had the rest of the guards subdued in under twenty seconds.

"You won't get away with this." The talkative male guard from before snarled, barely showing a wince as Dean dug the point of the silver-coated knife Delta had given him into his neck. "Bringing hunters and that here." The guard spat at Castiel. The angel showed no emotion at all as the guard continued, "If you weren't dead before, you've guaranteed it now."

"Eh, I was told even if it was just me that managed to crawl back, I'd be dead. I'm used to threats." Delta said, shrugging, then nodded at the others. "So are they. But now that there aren't any Trackers left but me, how will you find them?" The guard's jaw tightened, and Delta pretended to reel back in revelation. "Oh, right! You won't be able to! That sucks, man. I mean, I would be sorry, except-" Suddenly, she was crouching in front of him, and she grabbed his chin tightly so that he couldn't look away while the two other conscious guards struggled, growling, as she continued in an almost scarily cheerful voice, "- that I honestly don't give a damn. So try me, asshat. If you want to end up with nothing left between your legs." She tossed his head away, saying one last thing. "You're basically a child, which is why I'm letting those petty, oh-I'm-so-intimidating words slide. Someone else can teach you humility. I don't have the time." In one swift move, she punched him out.

The guy's partner, the smaller guy left, lunged against Faz and Sadi's hold, breaking free and flying at Delta, snarling so loud it passed for a roar. Sam knocked him flat with a backhand swing of his right fist, slamming the now-unconscious guard off course, into one of the covered sides of the aisle. He hit the cloth and smacked into the obviously solid barrier behind it, falling down to the floor. When he hit the wall, there was a metallic thud, then silence as he slid to the ground.

At first, nothing happened. Then, from behind the covered wall came the sound of something huge moving, claws scraping a metal floor and the whoosh of massive lungs letting out a breath as whatever it was got up. Everything got quiet again, then the entire wall shuddered as whatever was behind the cloth threw itself against the barrier. Another, smaller thud as it struck the wall again with a paw. Long, curved claws ripping into and tangling with the cloth proved that it wasn't a solid wall, but giant, thick bars separating them from what was inside the cage. Long tears showed darkness behind the cloth as the larger-than-life claws ripped down and started to drag the cloth off of the cage. With a huge gust of air, the cloth fell away, and even emotionally-secretive Faz's eyes widened in horror.

A huge, deformed wolf stood behind the massive, eighteen-inch-thick bars on shaky legs. One of its shoulders was misshapen, its hips were crooked, its paws were turned like they'd been broken too many times to grow straight anymore, and most of its fur had fallen out to leave a patchy, sickly grey pelt and unhealthy sallow bare skin behind. The worst part was its eyes; they were cloudy and barely focused, though it seemed to see them just fine. Its lips peeled back to show fangs as crooked as its posture, and a growl that was more roar rumbled out of its chest. It was almost as large as Marsh had been, but with no reason to keep it in check.

None of them moved, but something set it off, because it threw itself at the bars again, barking viciously and howling like a category one hurricane.

"What the hell did you do to them?!" Delta shouted to be heard, directing her words at the nearest guard still conscious.

"We just had orders to keep them in check!" He shouted back, no longer fighting against Ryan's hold on his arms as he stared at the insane creature behind the bars. "We didn't do anything!"

With one move, Dean punched him out. When the others looked at him, he shouted, "Makes me feel better!"

"C'mon, we have to get out of here!" Faz shouted. Just then, the crazed wolf rammed particularly hard against the bars, and with a groan, they started to bend.

Almost in answer, another snarl erupted from the cage opposite the one with the going-nuts creature, with an echoing noise coming from the one next to it. Both sounded like they came from bigger animals.

"Great, now they're all waking up!" Dean shouted, not loosing his sass even now. The cage next to the first one trembled violently, the bars squealing, a roar shaking the very floor as its occupant voiced its displeasure at the noise.

"Good idea, Faz!" Sam shouted, grabbing Sadi and Dean and shoving them the way that he, Delta, Cas, and his brother had come. "Let's leave! Now!"

"The westward way is shorter!" Ryan said, pulling on Cas's trench coat without seeming to think about him being an angel. "We'll get out faster!"

Suddenly, Delta's eyes glazed over, and the four creatures -altered werewolves- went nuts as one, ripping off their covers as they sensed that the Tracker was close. It seemed like they were desperately trying to get her attention all at once. All of them were ugly and deformed, but that wasn't what Delta was seeing as her knees gave out. Sadi grabbed Sam's arm as he winced and ducked his head, gasping from the unexpected, piercing migraine that was a shadow of Delta's pain.

Dean caught Delta, since he was closest to her, and when she didn't try to stand right away, he simply scooped her up to carry her. He nodded to Ryan. "Let's go, take the lead!"

The redhead obliged, Faz bringing up the rear as they all started moving away from the cages. The giant wolves started throwing themselves against the bars again, turning desperate as Delta was taken away from them. They roared, shrieked, made noises Sam didn't ever want to hear again, as they rounded a corner and vanished from their sight.

"Oh my God." Sadi had tears in her eyes as she covered her ears. Just because they couldn't see them anymore didn't mean that they couldn't hear them screaming wildly for help. Sam nodded absently, the migraine ebbing to a dull headache as Delta's flash subsided.

"Sam." Dean said after the headache had been gone for a good thirty seconds. Instantly, Sam fell back to walk quickly by his brother's side. Dean glanced at him, saying quietly, "She won't stop shaking."

"I-I d-don't th-think-k I c-can." It took Sam a second to recognize Delta's voice, it was trembling so bad, and sounded so small.

"Hey, you're okay." Sam said, leaning in as best he could over Dean's shoulder so that Delta could see him as they speed-walked around another corner. "It wasn't your feelings back there, okay?"

"Th-that's w-why it's s-so b-bad-d." Delta managed to grind out, the edge of a sob in her voice. Dean looked down at her swiftly, worried. "It's th-them, and I c-can't st-stop it. I c-can't, S-sam, I c-can't he-help them anym-more."

"We could…" Faz's words died in her throat as she glanced back and saw how destroyed Delta was.

"We could what?" Sadi asked, an unexpected edge in her voice as she looked intently at Faz.

"We could put them out of their misery." Cas said unexpectedly. Everyone looked at him. A guarded expression appeared on his face. "It… it doesn't seem fair to me to just leave them when it wasn't their fault they were changed."

"Well, it's either go back and get caught, or continue and get out." Ryan said, overhearing them as he circled back, since they'd all stopped.

Suddenly, seeming to make the decision for them, there was a horrible succession of rending, tearing metal, coupled with some sort of loud alarm going off briefly and thick doors slamming shut.

"Actually, let's find somewhere to hide while we figure out how to leave." Ryan amended his statement, with an amused snort buried deep in his tone. "Or what to do in the first place."

Faz led them to another aisle, then lifted up the corner of the cloth to let them under. Sadi and Dean went first to settle Delta on the floor, still shaking, then Sam, Cas, and Ryan, with Faz following last, letting the flap fall back into place behind her. Delta fumbled clumsily with her bag, her hands unable to stay still. Sam, understanding, nudged her hands away gently and got the bottle of scent-cancelling spray out. He handed it to Ryan, who sprayed the cloth and a bit on every one of them after Dean explained what it was.

"We should leave while we can." Dean said, slicing the small silence as Sam took the bottle back from Ryan. "It's not safe to try to go back, not with clan members about to be crawling all over the place."

"I agree." Cas said, glancing at Sadi as she made an unhappy noise. "I regret the things that happened to those werewolves, but there is nothing we can do for them anymore, besides ending their lives."

"It's wrong to just-" Sadi was cut off by Delta.

"I agree with Dean and Cas." Sam shot her a worried look at that uncharacteristic statement, but Delta wasn't finished. Her mismatched eyes were burning with anger, pity, and the special kind of agony that comes with knowing there's nothing you can really do anymore. "But we've come this far, and if we don't do something about them… Then there's no telling what this clan would use them for. Having powerful fighters with no remorse doesn't sound good to me." She swallowed, then continued, "And if we don't do anything, besides them causing irreversible damage to who knows what, I might still get flashes."

"Then there really is no choice, is there?" Sam asked, an edge in his voice. "We can't leave them like that, it's inhumane, and to let you still have flashes…"

"Can't have that." Faz said, as unexpected as Delta's earlier statement. She leveled a glare at them all when they looked at her in various states of surprise. "What? I have a partner who has visions, too. Granted, only when he's dreaming or concentrates hard enough, but you get them whenever. To get these kinds of flashes at random points in time that you can't control…" She shook her head. "It's just wrong to force things on you that you don't want to see."

Delta nodded to Faz, her eyes flitting to Ryan as the redhead added, "I wouldn't have felt better just going, either, though staying is a huge risk, for all of us now."

"Yes." Cas said, surprising the ginger by agreeing.

"Damn." Faz said, breaking an invisible wall of tension as she continued, "Never thought I'd see and angel agreeing with clan members."

They all let out small chuckles or smiled. "Now you know why we wouldn't give him up." Delta said, her hands shaking considerably less as she reached across Dean to pat Cas's knee, surprising him. "Teams stick together."

"Then let's get out there, team." Dean said, climbing past the others to reach the flap. "We got runaway werewolves to track."

"They'll want me." Delta said once they all were out of their hiding spot and standing. "We can set a trap for them."

"With you as bait." Sam said flatly, getting ready to say no.

"I prefer the term enticement." Delta quipped, making Dean chuckle at his younger brother's raised eyebrows. Delta continued, "Besides, it might as well be me in there with them. I brought you guys in, it should be me ending it. It's my responsibility."

"It's our responsibility, too." Sadi said. When Delta looked at her, she leveled a hard, teasing stare at Delta. "Yeah, you dragged us in, but we came to help finish this. There's more than just you and Es fighting now, and if you think I'm just going to sit in the wings and maybe close the trap with you in it, you're dumber than you look."

"I second that motion." Ryan said, quirking one eyebrow and smiling when Delta looked at him.

"You're going to kill us both." Faz said, throwing a half-hearted glare at her partner. Then she sighed. "I'm in."

"I'm in it until I'm out." Cas said, not flubbing up the modern slang in the slightest. Ryan lightly punched his arm, grinning.

"You already know what we think." Sam told Delta, looking down at her and half-smiling encouragingly. "We're in."

"Great! Can you guys tone down the sappiness now? Let's go!" Dean was already jumping the gun, ready to go and get away from this chick-flick moment, which seemed to make him more antsy.

"Yeah, tiger, let's go." Delta said, shooting one more look around at them all in gratitude. She looked at Sam last as they fell into step behind his brother, the other shapeshifters leading the way with Cas cautiously bringing up the rear. Ryan fell back to talk to the angel, apparently deciding that they had become good friends. Cas seemed okay with that rational thought, and listened to the redhead with his normal focused attention.

A little less than fifteen minutes later, Dean, Sam, Cas, Ryan, Sadi, and Faz crouched on top of two of the massive walls of the aisle that led into the main hall, three on each side, ready to drop a barrier when the changed werewolves stumbled past.

"So, what are these columns?" Sam asked, touching the covered scaffolding beneath his knees. He couldn't stand waiting in silence anymore.

"You're going to hate this answer, but probably parts of old cages." Ryan answered. He shrugged almost tiredly at Sam's somewhat disgusted expression. "That or leftover shelves and scaffolding from when resources were stored here. I don't know if there's still stuff here anymore, but there used to be huge caches of supplies in case the clan came under siege or was attacked. Once upon a time, the caches were for refugees fleeing from destroyed clans."

"Really?" Sam asked, shooting a surprised look at Faz, across Ryan from him.

"Yeah. There used to be more clans than the ones that are still around today." Faz ran her sharp black thumbnail along the edge of the cloth next to her, cutting a jagged line in the fabric. "There's only seven clans left. Well, eight, counting this one." She watched Sam's face as he absorbed that information, then said, "I thought you'd be less surprised."

"The clans… I don't think I'll be surprised about anything else you'll tell me." Sam said, running a hand through his hair. "It's just… because Delta said that some of you had helped her before, I guess I thought that not all of them were bad."

"Not every one of us is." Ryan said, nodding in understanding. "It's that tentative case where the ones in control cause the entire race to be blamed, hated even, by everyone else, even each other. Like the Germans in the world wars."

"Or North Korea." Sam said, remembering Delta's severe opinion of her former life from before.

"A little harsh, but yeah, kind of." Ryan said, looking at Sam in a way that told him that Ryan knew that those weren't his words. Faz gave him a similar look, then glanced at the space between the walls of the aisle, waiting for Delta to show up. Sam did the same, also glancing across at his brother, Cas, and Sadi on the opposite side.

"Okay, she left five minutes ago." Faz said, impatience getting the best of her. Waiting was not her forte. "Where the hell is she?"

Howls drowned out Faz's voice, howls that made the hair on the back of Sam's neck stand up. He had to force himself to stay crouched as both Faz and Ryan, as well as those in their group across from them, tensed.

Loud, ugly snarling, barking, and yelping made the building shake slightly as two or more of the turned werewolves either full-on fought each other or struggled against each other to follow Delta closely.

"Found her." Ryan said, letting a quick grin out. The expression on the shapeshifter's face reminded Sam of his brother, and he understood how they got along so well.

Less than a minute later, Delta raced around the corner and between the two teams on top of the columns, not quite running full out. A few seconds later, the werewolves skidded around the corner, dashing after her madly. They didn't even snap at each other, too focused on Delta to fight.

In the swiftness of a second, Delta turned and shifted, snarling as the other wolves came to a scrabbling halt, deciding with their confused minds that maybe they didn't want to be the first to reach her anymore. She was just as large as they were, way more muscled, and clearly now had the upper hand.

Faz slid over the edge of their column with Ryan and Sam right behind her, yanking the ropes they'd set up out of their ties as the others opposite them did the same. Sam landed on Ryan's russet shoulders, then slid to the ground, breaking his fall as Sadi did the same for Dean and Cas. She blocked one of the changed werewolves from leaving before the ends of the aisle walls fell into place, blocking the only exit the werewolves had.

Ryan's fangs closed around the throat of the werewolf nearest him, one of the two grey ones. Dark, gooey blood spouted from its severed artery, and it screamed a sound that a wolf shouldn't have been able to make. Ryan released its neck quickly, retching from the apparent taste of the blood as the werewolf he'd injured staggered away from him, collapsing as its head thrashed weakly from side to side. Dean ran over to it, killing it with two sharp rifle shots to the head while dodging around the other fighting beasts.

Faz, instead of biting like her partner, opted for deft slashes of her long claws, raking them down the next werewolf's face and neck, driving it back and unbalancing it.

Sadi, in two moves, knocked the front legs out from under her opponent, causing it to crash onto its side. She then stabbed down with her sharp beak, puncturing its neck swiftly. It howled, its paws thrashing and raking Sadi's forelegs and right shoulder. Her response was to dig her long talons into its neck, twisting to kill it quickly.

Delta, being the same size as her opponent, was rolling around with it in a tangled, snarling mass of patchy grey and reddish-brown fur, each fighting to sink its teeth in first. Sam couldn't get a clear shot like his brother had, and was forced to holding his gun down, but ready, frustrated.

Cas turned from Faz's werewolf, now dead, and was almost sideswiped as the struggling duo rolled dangerously close to him. Faz, the one closest to him that was paying attention, swiftly snatched him up by his trench coat and backed away from the howling ball of fighting wolves, placing him between her paws as Delta and the biggest werewolf rolled away again. Cas looked startled for a moment, then looked up at her, accusing her of moving him without his consent.

"Get over it, angel." Faz's voice was a soft rumble. "I don't think you want to be caught in that."

Delta flipped the werewolf off of herself, and Sam, without really thinking, fired off two shots, hitting the werewolf in the shoulder and back as it floundered, trying to get back up.

Howling in rage more than in pain, it flipped faster than he expected it to, and it whirled to face him, staggering as it glared with its unfocused eyes. A heartbeat later, it was bounding toward him, Delta completely forgotten for the moment as it focused its addled brain on a new target.

Before it even got a few steps, Delta was back with renewed violent intent, letting out a roar that shook the foundations and said more than words ever could. Sam understood just fine as she re-materialized, standing with one massive fore-paw on either side of him and all of her long fangs showing; You will have to go through me.

The werewolf skidded, trying to stop, teetering on its paws as it was confronted with a whole new level of rage. It never got the chance to change its direction. In another heartbeat, Delta had teleported again, landing square on its back and severing its spinal cord at the base of its neck with one snap of her jaws. The rest of the tissue just kind of ripped off, almost like an afterthought.

It's headless body hit the ground as Delta half-jumped, half-walked off of it, the head rolling to the side a bit as a wave of oily blood gushed weakly onto the floor out of the neck stump.

The rest of them stood for a second, silent; the humans were mostly in shock at how quickly that all went down, while the clan shapeshifters were mostly shocked at how quickly that escalated. Cas, as usual, was unreadable, but he was looking at Delta with one of his intense stares.

Delta, standing next to the lifeless body of the werewolf, suddenly took in a huge gasp of air, her flanks heaving as she fought to control herself. Ryan was currently in a similar state, though more calm than Delta was. Sam started to cross the floor to her, but then decided that he'd rather not step in the vile, slowly-becoming-a-pond-sized pool of blood. Delta, in the swiftness of a few heartbeats, shifted, walked around the blood, and right into Sam's arms.

An invisible tension broke, and Faz, Ryan and Sadi shifted back, too. Ryan went straight to Faz's side, patiently standing still as she checked that he wasn't injured before wrapping him in a brief, tight hug. Sadi walked to Cas, grabbing Dean's arm on the way to the angel. Sam noticed that all three shapeshifters were throwing almost nervous looks at Delta, with worry buried in their eyes. They glanced away when they noticed he saw them looking. Dean touched Cas's shoulder, and walked over to Sam with the angel following him, Sadi trailing behind.

"You've got some serious moves." Sam said over Delta's head to Sadi, earning a rare, almost embarrassed smile from the Healer.

"l fight for things I can't heal with medicine." Sadi said simply, transferring her gaze to Delta as the Tracker let go of Sam. Sadi's eyes turned guarded. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Absolutely." Delta said, folding her arms and planting her feet. Sam glanced at Dean, smelling trouble.

"What was that?" Sadi got right to the point, clearly not wanting to argue with Delta about her decision to let the hunters and angel hear what she had to say. "I've never seen you get that close before."

"Yeah, you really cut loose." Faz and Ryan had walked over. They stopped beside Sadi as Faz continued, "Heck, if I didn't know better, I'd have thought you were an Untouchable."

"A what?" Dean asked while Cas stiffened, sudden understanding and a new kind of sharpness entering his expression.

"An Untouchable." Ryan said, warily looking at Delta. "They're special clan shapeshifters that loose control for periods of time when they shift."

"Their animal sides take over completely." Delta said, looking at the ground in front of Dean's boots to answer him. "If they get control back, then they are banned from shifting except for certain situations."

"Such as?" Sam asked, feeling a little apprehensive himself.

"Suicide missions." Cas said. They all looked at him. He looked back gravely as he continued, "High profile attacks where the forces are concentrated on destroying as much as they can, and where they don't necessarily need to return."

"You were close to that?" Sam asked, looking down at Delta and willing her to look at him.

"No!" When she saw her immediate answer didn't convince him, her eyes turned hard, and he felt her need for him to understand. "I would never let myself get that far, especially with you as my partner."

"So it's a choice." Dean said, anger simmering in his voice that his brother was being put in a potentially dangerous situation.

"It's not a choice." Sadi said, sounding sad. "Nobody would choose to loose control like that. Nobody sane, anyway."

"You'd never go that far with me as your partner." Sam said, rolling the words off his tongue. "Why not? How does having me as a partner effect that?"

"Sam, I've never had a human partner before." Delta looked right at him, her eyes intense. "I have no idea what would happen to you if I lost control like that. And I won't, I can promise that. I'd break the connection between us first."

"You can do that?" Sam and Dean asked at the same time. Sam looked at his brother as Dean continued, "How?"

"It's kind of like flexing a muscle, only in the brain." Delta said, tapping her head. "Though I've never done it personally, I felt when Es did it." Her eyes shadowed briefly.

"Well, why don't you do it with Sam?" Dean asked, earning a bitch-face from his brother.

"It hurts, that's why." Delta snapped, then explained in a calmer voice, "It breaks the emotional contact, shatters it, leaving it painfully jagged and semi-shutting down the motor and emotional receptors in the brain. For all I know, I could cripple your brother for weeks just by cutting the contact."

"Oh." Dean raised his eyebrows and looked at Sam. "Wow. So that idea's out."

At that moment, an array of alarms went off, blaring sirens that hurt even Cas's ears. They all heard one set of the heavy doors of the building slam open, and shouts as teams of clan members filtered in.

"And we are out of time." Faz said, shoving Ryan and Sadi towards the doors leading into the long main room of the Center. "C'mon, we need to get out of here."

They all ran through the doors, with Dean shutting them behind the group and throwing the plank into place across them. They all ran to the door where Sam assumed that prisoners were brought to be put on trial, with Delta last. Suddenly, her head shot up, like she'd heard something, then she looked at Sam with actual fear in her eyes. The room behind her was growing brighter, like a star was being formed between the bench seats.

"Go!" Delta shouted at him as a high-pitched whining filled the air, and she winced as the pitch soared up and out of his hearing range. She grabbed the edge of the door and slammed it closed between them, pitching Sam into darkness as the light grew to unbearable brightness on the other side.

"No!" Sam ran back to the door, then threw himself against it. "Delta!"

"Sam?" Dean ran back to his brother, took one look at him, and knew. Cas and Sadi were right behind him.

"She's trapped on the other side!" Sam was almost in full-on panic mode. He tipped over the edge when someone on the other side of the door started screaming, and white-hot agony shot through him briefly before ebbing away. He threw himself against the door again, harder, near-screaming, "Delta!"

"Move, Sam!" Dean grabbed his brother, wrestling him back from the door as Cas stepped forward, the angel's jaw set. Another wave of agony shot through Sam, almost sending him to his knees. The screaming on the other side of the door ebbed away, like it was being caught and filtered into a container.

"Damn it, Cas, hurry!" Dean held his brother up with help from Ryan.

Suddenly, the angel was shoved back, into the boys, as Sadi barreled forward and rammed the door with a scream of her own. The wood caved on the first try, and the Healer shot through the opening with Sam close behind. What he saw didn't help in his fight to stay standing.

The two clan shapeshifters from before, when they first entered the building, were standing across from them, just inside the door that they had barreled through not even a minute before, the plank laying splintered on the floor. One had their hands out, controlling what was happening, and what was happening made Sam's knees weak. There was a ball of what looked like pure white energy, hovering a few feet above the floor and giving off enough light to pass for a small supernova. In the middle of that ball, crouched in a crunched form of pure agony, was Delta.

An eagle scream, a screech so shattering that Sam would later swear that the entire world cracked, pierced the air, and Sadi flashed forward fast enough to pass for a beam of dark light. Delta heard it, or saw what Sadi was about to do, and ripped her hands from her vice-like grip on her head to smack against the glass-like walls of the ball, obviously panicking and screaming for Sadi to stop.

Sadi didn't listen. She flew right at the ball, and touched the surface of the white energy.

For a split second, everything slowed down. Seemingly taking forever, Sadi's fingertips brushed against the energy ball, caressing like a mother brushing her child's hair back, like the promise of a lover's fingertips, like the gentle touch of reassurance from a friend.

Then everything exploded.

When Sam could see and hear again, he tried to sit up. When he couldn't make his limbs work the way he wanted them to, he settled for rolling up to prop himself on his elbow. Dean was laying next to him in a similar state, Cas squatting next to him, with Ryan and Faz both hunched in the broken frame of the door that Sadi had body-slammed into oblivion. The two shapeshifters were staring past the brothers, their postures still curled in the aftershock of agony, their eyes wide. Sam twisted to see what they were looking at.

Delta was straightening from hitting the floor in a curled position, next to a sprawling Sadi. Delta slowly raised her head, then saw Sadi laying on the floor feet from her, not moving.

"No, no, no." Delta tried to uncurl farther, winced, then dragged herself to Sadi's side. Her legs weren't cooperating. "No, Sadi, no."

Sam coughed, his body trying to get rid of the feeling that he couldn't breathe, even though that feeling wasn't entirely his. He tried to sit up again, then stopped as he felt two fingers press against his forehead. Instantly, he could move freely, and the ringing in his ears stopped. Sam looked at Cas as the angel stepped back so the younger hunter could get up. "Thanks, Cas."

The angel nodded, his eyes shadowed as Sam walked towards Delta, stopping with Dean just behind him a few feet away. Delta was cradling a limp Sadi in her arms, pushing the Healer's short hair out of her face as Sadi's brown eyes flickered open sluggishly.

"Hey." Sadi's voice came out as a cracked, painful-sounding breath. "Never thought I'd see you again."

"Shut up." Delta half-laughed, half choked out. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Yeah. You always did... come back." Sadi's body seized up briefly, and she gasped, squeezing her eyes shut as Delta held her tighter.

"Hey, hey, look at me, okay?" Delta said, putting on a false positive tone as Sadi recovered a little. Delta brushed her hair back again. "You always told me to keep my eyes open when I was hurt, remember?"

"That's not… gonna work this time, Delta." Sadi gasped out, staring up at Delta like she needed to see as much of her as she could. "Magic wounds don't heal right, ever. You know that."

"Why would you do that?" Delta asked her, a tinge of anger entering her increasingly broken and desperate tone. "Why would you just-"

"You know why, you idiot." Sadi said, cutting Delta off gently. "It was always the same reason with you."

"Damn you and your…" Delta didn't finish, just bowed her head down to hide her face as her voice finally broke. She raised her head again and looked Sadi right in the face. "It was always the same with you, too."

Sadi's smile turned to a grimace as her body seized up again, powerful shudders running through her as the breath was pushed through her body. Delta seemed to shudder with her as her mismatched eyes flashed with alarm.

"I… I want to… hear something… one last time." Sadi gasped out, her eyes wide as she tried to breathe.

"Anything." Delta's answer was immediate and firm as she tried to grab onto one last thing that she could do to help before she became powerless.

"That song… that Cansan sang on the ship… can you…" Sadi looked up at Delta almost desperately, trying to keep her eyes open.

"I…" Delta looked down at Sadi, her eyes going soft and misted with grief as she finished, "I remember." Delta shifted so that Sadi was propped more comfortably against her shoulder, held her close, closed her mismatched eyes, and started to sing.

Slumber now my darling one.

Rest, for now, the day is done.

Mother sings a lullaby.

Hush, my darling, do not cry.

May your sleep be as sweet as the wind on the waves,

Blowing gently toward far happier days.

May each breath be a promise to help you believe

We're off to the land of our dreams.

We're off to the land of our dreams.

Sadi's eyes had fluttered shut, and her breaths barely made her chest rise and fall. Sam had sunk to the floor as everything seemed to stand still. Delta's haunting voice filled the silence like no other sound, crying out longing, memory and pain in every syllable and note. Her voice threatened to break as the first tear fell onto Sadi's face. Delta continued singing.

Sail away, sail away, to the arms of America.

Sail away, sail away, to the Land of the Free.

Sail away, sail away, to a home for my children.

Calling to you, calling to me,

Calling to you and to me.

Sadi's body had started to relax as Delta sang the last lines.

Slumber now my darling one.

We're off to the land of our dreams.

We're off to the land of our dreams.

Sadi was completely still in Delta's arms as she finished singing, leaving everything in dead silence.

"Sadi?" Delta asked brokenly, running her fingers through the Healer's hair. No response.

Delta let out a sob, curling over Sadi's body as she gently lay her on the floor, framing the dead girl's face with shaking hands. "No, no, not again. Not you, too." Delta sobbed out, shaking uncontrollably. Sobbing again, Delta sat up and let out the closest thing to a howl that her human throat could manage. It was filled with a special kind of agony, a pain that never really goes away.

Shouts came from the door that led out to where the other shapeshifters had come in and caught Delta. Their bodies lay by the door, killed as Sadi had been, only quicker. Running feet started to register in Sam's hearing, and the rest of them heard the thudding, too.

"Go." Delta was still shaking, and her voice still contained a sob, but now it had a deadly edge to it that made Sam scared for her. She looked up to meet his eyes, including his brother in her glance. "Get out of here."

"We're not leaving without you." Sam said, remaining crouched across Sadi from his partner, determination to stay together overpowering his fear. "What are you-"

"GO!" Delta yelled at him, her hand flying out like lightning to hit his shoulder and push him back, away from her. Dean caught his arm as he stood up in surprise, taking a hurried step back. Her blow hadn't hurt, so she'd held back, but the suddenness of it still got an out-of-character message across to him. Delta's eyes, now starting to burn with rage, flicked to Castiel.

"Get them out of here. Now." Delta near-growled, clearly expecting the angel to refuse her order in the way she set her jaw.

Cas glanced at the boys uncertainly, then nodded as he reached forward to grab Dean's elbow.

Sam jerked his arm away from his brother's grasp as Dean tried to drag him back toward the door. "What are you going to do?"

Delta stayed kneeling, staring down at Sadi's lifeless form. She raised her head up to glare at the door where all the noise was coming from, saying in a deadly quiet voice, "I'll take care of this. Just go."

Sam, for the first time, felt absolutely no emotion from Delta. She was completely blocking him out as Dean managed to get him to follow the others through the door, on their way out. He hated every step he took, feeling like he was betraying her in some way by leaving her there, even though this was what she wanted, and was protecting them by doing it. Ryan and Faz fell in behind the two brothers and the angel, Faz keeping an eye out behind them while Ryan guided them out, almost herding them.

Just as the western door came into view, after about a minute of tense silence, howling erupted somewhere in the building, almost immediately followed by screeching and one loud roar. Dean and Cas both had to grab Sam before he ran back into the aisles, hauling him outside bodily. As soon as he was outside, he wrenched himself out of their hold and stormed away from the building, huffing angrily. He belatedly realized that Delta's backpack was strung over his shoulders, and he ripped it off jerkily and tossed it to Faz. The shapeshifter caught it in surprise.

"The ropes are in there." Sam said shortly, turning away and running his hands through his hair. Dean sidled up to him carefully.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, meaning Delta.

"I don't know. She's blocking me out." Sam said frustratedly. "I'm pretty sure that she's still fighting, though."

"I'll take you two." Faz came up to them, uncoiling a length of rope. She jerked her head slightly over her shoulder. "Ryan's taking the angel. Here." She handed Delta's bag back to Sam, dropping the straps into his hands. "You get to carry that until she catches up with us." She handed the rope to Dean.

After Faz and Ryan had shifted, and the riders had climbed up and dropped the ropes, they started away from the building at a trot.

Suddenly, there was a muffled explosion behind them. Faz and Ryan both half-turned quickly with battle-honed reflexes, causing their riders to hang on tighter.

The building's windows, near the roof, were glowing with what looked like firelight, orange and yellow flickering nervously across the glass before, in another moment, they blew out in another explosion.

Screaming, the kind trapped animals make, started slipping between the roaring of the inferno as a huge cracking sound ripped through the rest of the noise. It sounded like a tree being felled, and Sam immediately recognized it as one of the huge outer doors being smashed. Faz and Ryan apparently recognized the sound, too, since they turned around and started running through the trees as fast as they could without letting their riders fall.

"Wait!" The booming bark was one Sam recognized, and Faz had barely slowed down before he slid off of her left side to hit the ground rolling.

Delta loped through the trees behind them, catching up quickly. "Go, we'll follow." She nodded to Faz as she trotted up, not even stopping as she drew level with Sam as he stood up. She simply plucked him off of the ground by her own backpack as the other shapeshifters turned back around and ran on. Dean glanced back at his brother before they vanished ahead, making eye contact briefly. Delta capered slightly to the side as she deposited Sam on her back, trying to continue moving forward as she twisted her head around.

"What happened back there?" Sam asked, trying to simultaneously get a black rope out of Delta's bag and not fall off as she trotted quickly after the others.

"An explosion. Old wood, cloth, and gasoline left over from the refugee stores." Delta explained, trying to catch her breath. "I barely made it out of there with a singed tail."

"What did you do?" Sam asked, his tone somewhere between disbelieving and shocked. The rope had already snaked its way around her chest and fused, and he clung to it, trying very hard to come up with a plausible explanation to convince himself that his partner didn't just blow up a building with live people inside. They were clan members, but still.

"You think I'd just leave them there to die?" Delta came to an abrupt halt for a split second, turning her head sideways to look at him from the corner of her eyes accusingly. She sped up again, indignation and leftover adrenaline spiking up to cover the jumble of emotions raging through her. "I've seen too much of that to wish it on anyone, even them. I left a clear way for survivors to get out."

"Survivors." Sam said flatly. "How many of those are there?"

"I don't know how many were back there, you want to go count them?" Delta asked testily, a tinge of a growl in her voice. "I couldn't count them myself, since I was busy trying to stay alive."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. It's just… I'm worried about you, alright?" Sam stopped himself from saying Sadi's name, and instead added, "We all are."

"Thanks for that." Delta said quietly, the hostility dying from her voice slightly.

"Yeah, always." Sam answered as Delta sped up, trying to catch up to the others. He let go of the rope with one hand and dug his fingers into the thick fur between Delta's shoulders, wanting to make sure she knew that he was serious. Delta, in response, raised the fur of her ruff ever so slightly, letting him know she returned the favor.