Here's the next chapter! I hope you guys enjoy. It's starting to pick up a little. I might also need to raise the level on the rating for this story soon.
"I don't know what the hell you are," Bobby growled out at her, his face contorting into a mixture of grief and anger, "But you picked the wrong girl to impersonate."
Alex stumbled backwards several steps away from the shotgun, but Bobby followed her out. He was pissed. She knew. She had seen that face on him before. But she had no idea why. He kept following after her until she stopped several feet from the porch steps, staring up at him in confusion. Rain started to fall from the overcast skies, large drops falling sloppily onto Alex as she tried to think of something to say.
"Bobby, it's me. Really. It is. What's wrong with you?" she knew it was the lamest thing she could've said, but she was more surprised she was still able to form complete sentences. She was exhausted. Mentally, physically… it even felt like her soul was worn thin. Maybe it was. It's not like her entire physical form was sent to Hell, was it? It had to have been her soul.
"Yeah, right," Bobby sneered, his shotgun still trained on her. "I saw that rest stop myself. It was barely standing. So cut the crap. Who the hell are you?"
"I-..." Alex stammered, gripping her hands together tightly as too familiar feeling of them burning in Hell reminded her of what had happened to her at a rest stop once; it felt like years ago. "Rest stop?" she looked past his shotgun to his blue-gray eyes, which were filled with vehemence and distrust. Her own eyes were wide, a deep brown shade from the continually darkening sky overhead, and completely portrayed every feeling she was experiencing. Confusion, fear, depression, pain, weariness… "That one near Sioux City, right? With Garth. That new hunter. That was… what, a week ago now? I remember it. There were three wendigos there and I had to catch the building on fire after shoving Garth out of a window. I never got to find out if he found those girls the wendigos had taken. Or that man."
Bobby lowered the shotgun slightly to look her over. For a brief moment it was almost like he was going to believe her… then she was hit in the face by a round of holy water. It rolled off of her with the rain and burned a little, but she tried very hard to not let him see that. If he saw then it would be all over. He'd think she was a demon.
"Uncle Bobby…" she murmured quietly, wrapping her arms around her torso. "It's me. Really. I don't know what I can say to convince you." Maybe if she wasn't so outrageously tired she'd be able to work this situation out.
His eyes softened a little when she called him 'Uncle Bobby'. That combined with how absolutely pathetic she looked standing there in the rain, barefoot and slowly becoming drenched, eyes downcast and her posture hunched over made him put the shotgun down. He took several steps to her before stopping, pulling a small silver knife out of his pocket. "Arm," he ordered her gently, and when she held out her left arm to him he gently pushed her sleeve up. He paused to glance at the underside of her wrist, Beelzebub's mark just as black and pronounced as the first day she received it, and then he carefully slid the blade over her forearm. When nothing but tiny droplets of blood happened Bobby let the knife fall as he tugged Alex to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly.
His beard was scruffy against her cheek and he smelled a little like whiskey, but it didn't matter to Alex. She practically melted into his familiar embrace.
"Dang it, girl," he spoke gruffly as he pulled away from her, holding her by her shoulders at an arm's length away and looking over her again. "I thought you were dead."
She chuckled wryly, shrugging in response. "Sort of. Doesn't matter," she smiled lightly at him, a sudden chill making her shiver. "I'm here now."
"What the hell does that mean?" he asked her, an eyebrow raising and causing the wrinkles on his forehead to stand out more. "You don't even have shoes on, ya idjit," Bobby scolded her, giving her a light shove towards the house. "Get in there. We'll talk about it once you're dry."
She knew Bobby was relieved she was alive and sitting on his couch, one of his old afghans draped around her (the red and yellow zig-zag pattern on it made her cringe), but Alex would've really appreciated it if he would stop looking at her like she had grown a second head.
She had taken a quick shower not long after they went inside. The warm water was was a welcome relief that helped to wake her out of her exhausted and drained state. And when she got back downstairs, dressed in a pair of tight black jeans and a navy blue tee, Bobby had forced a fresh cup of coffee into her hands and sat her on the couch to begin their talk.
It had gone horribly so far. She had been trying her best to avoid actually telling him anything that had happened, but he wasn't falling for her half-truths and lies.
"Will ya just tell me what the hell's going on with you?" he demanded, rubbing a hand over his eyes in his exasperation. "None of this "I've been tracking down a demon" crap. You're being vague on purpose, girl. Cut me some slack here. I've been thinking you were dead for over three months now."
Alex's attention snapped back to him from her hands when he said that, her face scrunching in confusion. "Three months?"
He nodded stiffly, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair. "Yep. I even called your damned dad and told him."
She winced at that, returning to idly examining her hands. "I'm sorry, Bobby," she told him earnestly, still not looking at him. "I uh… lost track of time." And yet another half-truth came spilling out of her lips. She had lost track of time. But only because to her that whole thing with Garth had been thirty years ago. "Jesus," she whispered, shaking her head and closing her hands into fists as they began to feel like they were burning again. "My life is so weird."
"Surely it isn't that bad, darling." In the doorway to the kitchen stood one of the banes of her life, Astaroth. His vessel looked slightly worse for wear, the once unblemished marble skin was beginning to peel randomly across his body and his eyes were sunken in. Even his hair was greasier than she remembered. Bobby had stood and reached for his pistol when Astaroth spoke, but when Astaroth turned his blue eyes to gaze at him Bobby froze. "I'm not here to talk to you. Sit back down."
Bobby was forced back down into his chair by an invisible force, casting a worried glance to Alex. She just sat in place, examining Astaroth closely. He was different, sure, but why? She needed to figure it out. So she stood, taking a couple of steps forward to place herself between Astaroth and Bobby. "So nice to see you again, Astaroth," she smiled sweetly, putting her hands in her pockets. "You're certainly looking like shit today."
He sneered at her, the expression making his normally attractive face ugly. "You kept your spunk. Good for you."
"What's this? We're having a party and no one thought to invite me?" the Australian accent that Beelzebub's vessel had made his already odd question sound even more sinister than it did. He had appeared off to Alex's left, ten feet separating him and Astaroth.
Astaroth regarded him with derision, rolling his eyes at his appearance. "Leave. She's mine."
Beelzebub turned his blue eyes to Astaroth, standing straighter and puffing his chest out. It looked pretty weird with the gut that his vessel had, but somehow it made him seem even more imposing than Astaroth. "I thought we discussed this, brother. In fact, I can still see the toll our discussion had on you."
Alex cleared her throat when she realized they were no longer paying attention to her. They had been fighting, if the way they were acting meant anything. And if they were fighting… she could use that to her advantage. Maybe. She could at least redirect their attention to each other instead of her while she figured out a way to take them out. She spared a quick glance to Bobby, whose face was full of both confusion and alarm as he locked eyes with her-rightfully so, she assumed, considering it was his first time meeting these two; she remembered her first time was just as strange feeling. The fact that now it was almost normal to her made her grimace.
When the attention of both Beelzebub and Astaroth turned to her she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. These two had sent her to Hell. They had killed her friends. Killed her. And she had a feeling they would kill Bobby if they felt it necessary… or if they were bored. With a swallow she began talking, standing herself straight and rigid in an attempt to look like someone who was confident and still completely there. "So, last time I saw you two you were up each other's asses," she looked from Astaroth to Beelzebub, noting the annoyance in both of their eyes. "And now you're what? Having a lovers quarrel? What happened in paradise while I was vacationing in Hell?" Bobby made a slight noise behind her, still unable to talk, but she had a feeling it was about her admission to being sent to Hell. She sort of was hoping he wouldn't ever find out about that. But her words paid off. Each of them took a more defensive stance, regarding her curiously.
"So, cuppycake, looks like you did some real… soul searching in your time off," Beelzebub cracked a grin at his own joke, causing Astaroth to grumble something under his breath across the room. "Did you enjoy your trip? Nothing quite like getting something for free, right?"
"Oh, sure, it was delightful," Alex crossed her arms and leaned her torso back slightly, deciding to try and keep as nonchalant of a posture as possible. If they even so much as smelled that she had been affected at all by her trip to Hell she had a feeling they would pounce her. They had sent her to Hell to learn a lesson, according to them. And she had a feeling the lesson she had learned, in Heaven, wasn't the one they had in mind. "The room service was terrible, but I suppose one could look past that after seeing the local attractions."
Astaroth was smirking at her, his pose mimicking hers as he listened. "Would you look at that, Beelzy? Seems like she lost that fear you liked so much."
Beelzebub glared at him. The tension in the air between the two of them was palpable as they locked eyes. It was almost like they were talking to each other without any words, because their facial expressions kept changing the longer they stared at each other. And then their internal dialogue must have taken a drastic turn to shouting because Alex became acutely aware of a high pitched whining sound growing in the room, and when it took an even more drastic turn to an extremely loud whining bottles in the room began to bust. So in hopes of sparing Bobby's already dirty house an even bigger mess she spoke up. "Hey! Whatever it is you two are doing, stop!" For the most part she was ignored, but the tone was turned down slightly. It was still a loud droning in her ears, but… wait a second, did she just hear her name? "Hey, I heard my name. If you two are talking about me the least you could do is say it to my face."
The noise abruptly stopped as their attention turned back to her. Their curiosity had apparently been piqued by her words.
"You understood a part of that?" Astaroth asked first, taking a slight step towards her which she mimicked by taking one backwards.
"That's unexpected," Beelzebub added, also taking a step to her. They were officially making her nervous. "But it's good. Very good. You're even better at this than that Jesus kid. And that's saying something."
"Yeah," she nodded quickly, glancing back at Bobby again and hoping he wasn't reconsidering ever letting her into his home. Because they had followed her there. And she was… what, treating them like old friends? Maybe her time spent in Hell did change her more than she wanted to admit. "I heard about that. You two are a part of Heaven's rejects, right?"
"Where on earth did you learn that?" Astaroth quirked one of his delicate blonde eyebrows, a smile playing across his lips. "My, my. It seems Hell was good to you, darling."
Alex shrugged in response. "I made a friend," she answered vaguely, not willing to tell them that she had actually been in Heaven when she learned about that. "So what's this whole thing going on with you two? I'm gone for three months and suddenly you hate each other."
Her attempt at deflection worked when Beelzebub took the bait. "We've always hated each other, cuppycake," he told her, brushing some of his light brown bangs away from his forehead dramatically. "We just decided to call a truce for a while. All for you. Don't you feel special?"
"If special means annoyed then yes," she smiled at him sarcastically. It was hard to hold up the facade she had going when her hands felt like they were on fire again. How could she keep on acting like Hell hadn't bothered her when the psychological trauma nipped at her through the phantom pains in her hands? It was all she could do to not think about the various tortures she had seen there. "So come on, let's hear it. A birdie told me Jesus only had your mark, Beelzebub. Where do you come into this, Astaroth?"
"Your grandpa seems restless back there." Astaroth didn't bite into her baiting as readily as Beelzebub, making her frown and turn slightly to glance at Bobby. "The way he's fighting my hold is annoying."
"Don't you even think about it," Alex spat quickly, turning her attention back to Astaroth. "You even think about killing him and I'll find a way to kill myself and actually stay dead. And believe me, when I set my mind on something, I see it through. I'll go full on nuclear on this bitch."
Her vehemence and threat made Beelzebub laugh. Astaroth just seemed flustered. He looked uncertain, even. Like he didn't know what all Alex could actually do. And when he looked to Beelzebub for some sort of denial or confirmation he was only given a grin.
"Actually," Alex spoke up again, mustering as much false courage as she could and actually taking a step towards him. "Why don't you just go ahead and get the hell out of my sight? I'm tired of looking at your stupid face."
Astaroth was completely taken by surprise at her sudden approach, watching her warily. His face was smooth and emotionless, but Alex felt like he was… afraid? Nervous? His smug attitude had left him and now he was left alone with Beelzebub, who was watching with a self-satisfied grin at what was happening, and Alex, who was giving him her best menacing stare.
"Run along now, 'Rothy," Beelzebub's laughter quelled slightly to a chuckle as he waved a hand at him. "Looks like my little baby is all grown up now and doesn't like you anymore."
"I don't like you either, assface," Alex snapped at Beelzebub, which he responded to with a charming smile. "And I'd go so far as to say I hate both of you."
"You'll regret this," Astaroth finally spoke, glaring at them both with an unsettling fire in his eyes. "Both of you." And then he was gone.
Bobby was up and out of his chair the second he could move again, grabbing Alex's arm and pulling her to be slightly behind him. "What the hell is going on, Alex?"
Alex grimaced and moved out from his grip, putting him behind her again. She felt better that way. If she died she would come back, she was sure of it. If Bobby died… "Some complicated and annoying stuff," she told him, holding an arm out to her side to keep him behind her when he tried to move up again. "Long story short? This asshole," she motioned at Beelzebub, "And the blonde douchebag put some kind of mark on me. I'm the new Jesus or something. Died twice. Went to Hell. Fun stuff."
Bobby opened and closed his mouth several times as he thought about some sort of a reply to what she had said. But he had nothing. It was the weirdest and most insane thing he had ever heard.
Beelzebub let out a guffaw at Bobby's reaction. "Oh, child, you're even more like me than I realized," he was still chuckling when Alex gave him an extremely confused look.
"So what? Lucifer made you insane or something before you fell?" she asked him, her brows furrowed as she watched him. "Because you certainly seem crazy."
Beelzebub smiled at her, this time a gentle smile that chilled her to her bones. "Lucifer improved me. He made me even more powerful than I already was. All for you, cupcake. Jesus was just a test. You're the real deal."
"I hate it when people talk in riddles," Alex told him, frowning and trying not to let him know he was freaking her out. The look in his eyes as he watched her… it was a strange mixture of pride and insanity. He was… proud of her. And she had no idea why.
"Then allow me to show you what I'm talking about," Beelzebub took three large steps forward and gripped Alex by her upper arm.
Alex tensed in his grip, her eyes shutting tightly. She faintly heard Bobby's gruff voice calling out to her, but she was already enveloped by the too familiar feeling of being transported. She knew it was useless to fight Beelzebub. He was stronger than her.
But he was surprisingly gentle when he let her go and nudged her arm, telling her to open her eyes.
Don't forget to leave me a review to let me know how I'm doing! I try to reply personally to all of them.
Also: I put a poll on my profile page that is related to this story. Go and check it out maybe? It'll help me out.
AND: How many chapters do you guys want me to aim for? I was originally thinking 22 to match the season of SPN, but it might not go on that long. I'm also not sure when we're gonna be jumping back into the life of the Winchesters for the moment.