Title:These Woods Aren't Safe For Us

Authoress:superhackaninja5

Rating:M

Summary:see chapter one

Warnings:see chapter one

Disclaimer:don't own.

FINAL CHAPTER. this story is finally over. and thank God because, truth be told, it was becoming a bit of a pain in the butt. but I'm finally done so thank you to everyone who read, reviewed, favourited and followed. I hope you enjoyed it, even though I kind of stopped about five chapters ago.

Chapter 14:Endgame Part 2:Mykrayk

"You sense it, too, don't you?"

Damon didn't even pretend to be surprised when he heard that voice emitting from the corner of his throne room. He'd known the dark ruler would have to show his face soon;he had to be the one to end this war, after all.

"The light are making their final move,"the winter-born observed calmly, sprawled artfully across his throne like a resting predator, "Now that I've taken back what was stolen from me, the children of the dark and I are ready for them. It's time for us to fight back-I assume that that's why you've returned?" Itachi nodded as he stepped out of the shadows, his soul reapers trailing after him like loyal pets. "Raphael doesn't know about your true identity and he knows he doesn't have the numbers to carry on past the solstice. Tomorrow is the moment of truth;only one side will make it out of this war alive this time,"the dark ruler declared with an air of foreboding, black coals hidden beneath his large hood.

-the last nail has been struck-

He advanced closer to his former brethren, the darkness casting shadows onto his ivory features. He stood before the crystal dais, recalling the symmetry of this scene:this was where he'd stood just before entering the war-now he was doing the same just before ending it. He'd come full circle.

"You made the choice to remain with the dark. Why?"he inquired in a deceptively offhand tone that belied the intensity of the stare that he fixed the other male with.For all of his perception powers, he couldn't figure out why the ice child fist simply abandon the war altogether once he'd claimed his throne;this was no longer his fight.

The elder blacknette met his gaze evenly, steel-blue slivers completely insipid. "Why should it matter?"he retorted swiftly, dodging the question-not because he didn't have an answer, but because the shadow didn't need to know his reason. Not yet. "I'm one of the pieces of your Mykrayk machine-you need me to finish this thing. And, since I've let go of my humanity, I don't feel the need to take vengeance on you for forcing that duty onto me without my consent."

Both of Itachi's thin brows arched up at that. "You tore your heart out,"he surmised without emotion;it wasn't a question. He'd figured that out the moment Damon had shown up with the full extent of his powers. "You don't have the ability to care about anyone but yourself anymore. But you're still doing the job that I injected you with my blood for. You must want this over for some other reason,"he paused, then shook his head. "Well, whatever is, you're right. It doesn't matter. All that matters is that it's time for this to end-and, in order for that to happen, you and I are going to have to work together,"

Damon slung one of his legs over the other and leaned back in a relaxed pose. "We have before,"he said with a shrug. He lifted his chin, "I can do it again if you can,"

-making a deal with Death is a lot like making a deal with the Devil-

The cloaked male inclined his hooded head for a second time. He knew what was at stake here-so he didn't really have a choice.

Itachi and Damon came up the staircase leading into the courtyard where Castiel and Dean were waiting in very different positions. The first thing the two eldest powers noticed was that the dark angel was standing rigid next to his boyfriend, which could only mean he'd sensed the same thing the winter-born and dark ruler had:the children of the light were getting closer.

When Castiel caught sight of the two of them, he didn't wait before speaking his thoughts. "This is it, isn't it? The light are on their way to end this once and for all?"he queried in a tense voice, hands balled into fists at his sides.

Seeing no reason to lie to him or to bother any form of pretence, his opposite gave the slightest of nods. "Raphael is leading his brethren here as we speak. He's fed them some fable about today being the day that our powers will be strong enough to overwhelm theirs,"the shadow stated flatly, lifeless tone at odds with the dark gleam in his smoky black voids. He cast a sideways glance at the ice child before continuing, "But we do have one distinct advantage over him:he has no idea that Salvatore is actually the child of ice or that his powers can't even begin to match the winter-born's. Furthermore, if we fail to destroy the rest of the light, he can end Raphael's existence so they will no longer have a corrupt master leading them astray. Which makes him a very dangerous weapon,"

Dean's gaze fell on the aforementioned blacknette, and his brows furrowed when he saw that Damon didn't even seem to be acknowledging the praise. He'd known that Damon no longer had a heart, but he didn't think he'd really realized what that meant before:the former vampire no longer had the slightest bit of humanity left, good or bad. He didn't know whether to be happy or horrified, so he settled on a little bit of both.

After a brief pause, Castiel spoke up again. "They also don't know that Dean and I have discovered the truth about our bond,"he pointed out matter-of-factly, trying to be positive to help calm his nerves, "We know it makes all of us stronger, not weaker. If it comes to it, we'll be able to wipe out any of the children of the light who don't surrender if Raphael is killed,"

"Sam isn't getting a chance to surrender,"Dean interrupted suddenly, a hard look in his hazel eyes. He didn't flinch when everyone else's eyes fell on him-he elaborated without being prompted. "My traitor brother didn't do this because of Raphael and, after all the breaks I've given him over the years, I don't want to give him the chance to disappoint me again. I'm done dealing with his sorry ass:today, I put him out of both our miseries,"he declared with a clenched jaw.

A concerned frown wrinkled Castiel's forehead and he reached over to grasp his boyfriend's hand. "Whatever you want to do about Sam, Dean, I'll go along with. It's your brother, so it's your decision,"he said supportively, squeezing Dean's fingers in a gesture of solidarity. They were in this together, just as they'd been from the beginning.

The sound of a throat clearing cut into their conversation and they turned to see Alaric entering the courtyard from the door that lead back to the outside. There was a grim look on his light-skinned features as he stated what Itachi, Damon and Castiel already knew to be true:"The light are here. This fight is happening now."

Dean inhaled deeply, cracking his neck. "Well, it looks like it's finally time to give Raphael and all those other sons-of -bitches what's been coming to them ever since they first started screwing with my life,"he said with a bravado that belied the mixed anxiety and anger written on his face. He gave Castiel's hand a light squeeze, "Let's get this party started,"

He and the dark angel vanished with the sound of flapping wings, presumably to go and greet their opponents before the fight began. Next to their vacant spots, Alaric closed his eyes for a beat before opening them again. "I don't know what the angels did to Winchester, but I'm ready for this to be over and done with. Maybe if we survive this, I'll actually be able to regain some semblance of a normal life,"he quipped hopefully, turning on his heel to walk back out the way he'd come in.

Damon and Itachi exchanged brief looks. "You know we can't finish this without Gilbert,"the dark ruler stated out of the corner of his mouth. Damon waved away his words carelessly, "Don't worry. Jeremy will do what needs to be done. I can guarantee it,"

The shadow scrutinized him carefully for a moment before they both mimicked their companions and vanished from the courtyard, reappearing at the gates of Myrkur, where the children of the light were assembled, clearly ready for a battle. "So this is what's left of the great children of the dark,"Raphael observed coldly, raking a condescending look over the five men with a slight sneer beginning to curl his upper lip, "I can't say I'm very impressed,"

"We're more than enough to take you on your army of assholes on, Raphael,"Dean retorted confidently, crossing his arms over his chest. His eyes flashed with something akin to amusement, "You don't really think we'd let things get this far without having a few tricks up our sleeves?"

The dark-skinned Archangel fixed him with a withering glare. "Whatever tricks you have, they won't be enough to save you,"he hissed scathingly, scowling when Dean didn't appear the least bit unnerved by the obvious threat.

"I don't believe you came here to trade barbs,"Itachi interjected coolly, drawing Raphael's attention onto him. Twin black gazes locked, engaged in a silent battle of wills. "If you want a fight, then let's put an end to this. No smokescreens, no subterfuge:whichever side survives is the victor."

Raphael gave a high, humourless laugh. "Deal,"he accepted;he waved his hand to his subjects-and the final fight began.

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean could see Sam watching him while Raphael spoke. It had been over a week since the last time they'd seen each other and now here they were, about to fight on opposite sides of a battle. About to fight each other.

As soon as Raphael signalled for the children of the light to attack, Sam made a beeline straight for him, but Dean didn't move. He simply tucked his hands into his pockets, waiting for Sam to come to him.

"Is this really what it's come down to, Dean?"the younger Winchester said by way of a greeting, jaw clenched as he took in Dean's deceptively relaxed stance and the darkness in his olive-coloured eyes. He knew what he was supposed to be doing here, but he was stalling because a part of him was still looking for any other way out.

Dean, on the other hand, didn't appear at all conflicted or concerned. "Don't look at me, Sam. This was your choice-now you have to suffer the consequences,"the hybrid stated coldly with an expression completely void of remorse or regret. He lifted his chin, giving the psychic a cool, disapproving look;he didn't see a family member in him anymore. He just saw someone who had betrayed him one time too many.

A chill crept over Sam's skin when he saw the utter lack of emotion in his brother's stare;it was like he was looking at a stranger. A stranger who would like nothing more than to end his life.

He took a deep, resigned breath before lifting a hand, levitating the knives he had tucked into his brown boots. "I made the right choice, Dean,"he said lowly, trying to convince himself as much as Dean-the little voice inside his head that kept telling him he was lying just would not shut up. "You had a choice, too. You're the Hybrid-you have both light and dark inside of you. You chose the dark-you chose to become my enemy."

The Hybrid gave a derisive snort, withdrawing his hands from his pockets and summoning balls of blackness in both of them. "Well, the light didn't make it all that appealing to join them, what with them trying to kill me and Cas and nearly destroying everyone I care about and all,"he retorted dryly, advancing toward his opponent with deceptive lethargy as if he had all the time in the world, "They tried to kill you more than once, too, if I recall correctly, but of course, you don't care about that,do you?"

He was ready when Sam sent the volley of daggers hurtling furiously towards him, weaving out of the way without much conscious effort. His Hunter instincts flared up, allowing him to dodge every single one and get closer to Sam without his younger brother noticing.

"You don't care that they wanted Lucifer to use you as his vessel and that, when he did, he killed Bobby and Cas and nearly made you kill me, too,"Dean continued his train of thought next to Sam's ear, the flat, lifeless tone belying his words. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly, "No, you don't care about that, do you? You only care about yourself, just like you always have,"

He didn't need his preternatural senses to see that Sam was fighting to keep from yelling out. He ducked another wave of floating knives that was aimed right for his head, bending his body at the waist and grabbing the psychic around the middle.

They both went tumbling across the snow when Dean tackled Sam, keeping a chokehold on him until they rolled to a stop. He scrambled to get Sam between him and the ground, straddling the brunette's stomach and wrapping his hands around the psychic's throat.

His eyes darkened as Sam began to struggle. He wasn't going to pretend the two of them were evenly matched;he was built to kill both children of the light and the dark, which meant he had to have access to the weaknesses of both.

Avoiding Sam's flailing limbs with remarkable ease, he drew one of his guns from a holster at his hip and jammed the muzzle underneath the psychic's chin. "I died, I went to Hell to save you and you betrayed me for a demon,"Dean hissed scathingly, undoing the revolver's safety catch and cocking the hammer. This was it:he was really going to kill his brother. Not just incapacitate him, but really, truly kill him.

He got the sense that he should probably feel more fear, or hesitation, but all he felt was vindication. This had been a long time coming;ever since Sam had started the Apocalypse because he'd turned his back on Dean for Ruby, Dean had the faith he usually had in his brother starting to slip away. Now it was gone;Sam had taken away the last bit of it when he'd left to join the children of the light.

"Dean,"Sam choked out through his steadily whitening lips, scrabbling to pull Dean's hand away from his throat but Dean only increased the pressure on his windpipe, raising the gun to his temple. "I gave you every chance to prove my instincts wrong, to convince me that I could still trust you-that I still had a brother. But the truth is, my brother was gone the minute you shacked up with that demon bitch, Ruby,"Dean stated coldly, gaze hardening into granite as he poised his finger to finish this. He narrowed his eyes, "Goodbye, Sam. I hope you enjoy your return trip to the cage,"

He pulled the trigger;there was a deafening bang, Sam's body jerked and then went still as blood trickled out of the side of his head when the bullet had gone in.

Dean got to his feet, just as he caught sight of Castiel breaking through the ranks to stand in front of him. "Cas-"he started to speak, but the dark angel cut him off. "Come on, you have one more thing to do,"his boyfriend grabbed his hand and started to lead him back to the ice castle. "The Mykrayk machine is about to be activated-and then this will finally be over."

"You know how this has to end, Jeremy."

The Anti-Light's lips curved in the barest trace of a smile. "I know exactly what we have to do,"he whispered, resting his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder.

Damon leaned back against the fence that separated his throne from the battlefield, observing the fighting with a coolly indifferent expression. He knew this was only a distraction, after all-a way of stalling for time while the dark ruler assembled all of the pieces he needed in order to activate the machine buried beneath the kingdom of Myrkur's haunted grounds. And one of those pieces happened to be Jeremy, the Phantasmist who all of Damon's attention was currently focused on.

His frigid blue eyes lasered in on Jeremy as, while Raphael was distracted by Itachi, the brunette snuck away from the battle to join Damon at the other side of the snowdrift. He had a determined look in his eyes, but he was also repeatedly glancing over his shoulder to make sure the Archangel didn't see him with Damon.

It didn't take long for him to reach the winter-born and he saw the slight smirk playing across Damon's pale lips when he did so. "Couldn't stay away, could you?"the former vampire quipped by way of a greeting, tucking one of his ankles behind the other in a deceptively casual manner.

Jeremy felt the corners of his mouth quirk in amusement. He'd missed Damon's lackadaisical attitude, but he knew it wasn't really there anymore. Damon wasn't the same-he'd torn out his heart and everything left inside that made him human, leaving him as a block of ice. Yet Jeremy still wanted to be with him;that was the whole reason he had participated in this ruse, pretending to be on the children of the light's side until it was time to finish things. Now that time had come.

"Are you telling me you wanted me to?"he retorted smoothly, cocking both of his eyebrows and crossing his arms over his chest. Damon's eyes flashed, and for a moment, they were like solid ice, frozen and unfeeling. Then the mask was broken by Damon's lips twitching.

"I didn't say that,"the black-haired male commented lowly, straightening up so he could bring his face closer to Jeremy's. He cupped a hand underneath the younger's chin, kissing the corner of his mouth and wrapping an arm around his waist.

"Luckily, things are about to come to a head,"Damon continued speaking softly, "We can put an end to this right here and now-which works out perfectly," He pulled back a bit so he could look Jeremy in the eyes, "I was starting to miss you,"

The Anti-Light coiled his own arms around Damon's middle, pecking him on the lips. "Think Uchiha will be pissed when he finds out that we played him?"he asked, casting another brief glance over his shoulder to see if Raphael had noticed his absence from the fighting yet.

"Most likely, but he'll hide it well,"Damon guessed without much concern, lifting one of his leather-clad shoulders in a shrug, "But he can't complain. We're going to win him this war and together we're stronger than him, anyways, so there's not much he could do about it at this point,"

He shifted their position, waffling his fingers with Jeremy's so he could tug him toward the steel gates. "And speaking of winning this war, I think it's high time we did just that, don't you?"

Knowing what Jeremy's answer would be, Damon lead them inside the gates, tugging the Phantasmist along behind him.

Jeremy stared in amazement as he was pulled through the ivory manor, marvelling inwardly at the intricate structure and at how powerful he felt the second he entered. It was as if every one of his powers had been supercharged;he saw the phantasms of those who had died here, could feel their presences following him while he followed Damon. This was like nothing he'd ever felt before-it felt almost as if he belonged here. Like this was his kingdom, too.

His breath condensed in front of him, trailing out of his mouth as they ventured deeper into the bowels of the frozen building. Then, suddenly it wasn't just ghosts he could hear;he heard a dark, almost ethereal voice calling to him, sounding as if it was coming from beneath his feet.

"Destruction awaits"

He opened his mouth, about to ask Damon if he could hear it, too, but Damon already had the answer. "The Mykrayk machine is calling to us,"the go of the Lamia explained in an undertone, still moving as he spoke, "Since its parts are living beings, it, too, is alive in a sense. We give it a voice, and it wants destruction. It can destroy the light or the dark-fortunately, the former will be the victims for today,"

They descended a gleaming, white marble staircase that spiralled into pure blackness. Both of their night vision abilities kicked in as they climbed further down, and Jeremy was able to identify the lower chamber as Damon's throne room.

He couldn't help but pause when they reached the bottom and he saw the winter-born's throne for the first time. It was more impressive than he could have ever imagined;he swore he was getting chills just from looking at it.

"Whoa,"he breathed in awe, unable to keep his eyes from widening fractionally. That throne, this entire kingdom belonged to Damon;he controlled all of the power ingrained within these walls-and that was a lot.

A tug on his wrist broke his reverie and his attention was drawn away from the throne to where Damon now stood with Dean and Uchiha close by. "I told you I could get him here,"Damon boasted to Itachi, the barest trace of a gloat on his alabaster features.

Unmoved, Itachi inhaled slowly before addressing them all. "Castiel will distract Raphael and, while he does that, we have a job to do,"he announced in a smooth, metronomic baritone, stating what they all already knew.

It was finally time to take care of the children of the light-once and for all.

The three pieces of the Mykrayk machine had assembled in the winter-born's throne room, each of them awaiting instructions on what they needed to do in order to end this. The Anti-Light and the former lamia stood side-by-side, hands entwined and eyes focused straight ahead.

Itachi strode to the center of the chamber, pointing one of his gloved fingers at the white marble floor. "The seal is here,"he declared softly, waving his hand so the blanket of frost cleared enough to reveal what he was talking about. There was a symbol engraved in the alabaster stone, a dual crescent moon with a pentagram in between;the pentagram was hollowed out, creating a small aperture that curved down and in.

Damon let go of Jeremy's hand to inch closer to it and squat down so he could examine it. "I remember putting this here,"he stated more to himself than anyone else, resting his elbows on his knees. He traced the concave of one of the moons, curling his lips inwards. "I created this seal so that your weapon could never be used against me."

"And that is why, even if I hadn't injected you with my blood, you would still be needed in order to unlock it,"the dark ruler added matter-of-factly as Damon straightened back up again. He held the child of ice's piercing gaze without batting an eyelid, adding flatly, "Which I think it's time for you to do. So if you'd be so kind,"

The winter-born levelled a shrewd look at him but consented nevertheless. With his memories all back, he knew exactly what unlocking the seal required.

He blinked once, letting the frost that covered the rest of his body seep into his eyes so they morphed into blocks of steel-blue;no whites, no black, just ice. Then he bent down again, removing one of his gloves and pressing his bare hand to the floor so it covered the five-pointed star between the two half-moons.
Icicles jutted out of his fingertips and he jabbed them into the points of the pentagram before uttering a single word.

"opna."

The sound of clanking suddenly filled everyone's ears and it felt almost as if the floor was moving beneath them as the symbol began to crack. Fissures appeared in it, stemming from where Damon's nails scraped against the white marble and cracking it right through the middle.

Damon backed off just before the floor split in two and then into three, leaving behind a triangular-shaped hole. "It's done,"he announced after a moment's observation, standing back up and replacing the black glove onto his hand.

Itachi inclined his head in satisfaction after he, too, had inspected the break in the seal. "Then there's only one thing left to do,"he turned to Dean and Jeremy and addressed all three of them once again, "Each of you needs to stand on one section of the seal," He pointed at the section where the lower halves of the two moons met, "Winchester, you stand there. Salvatore, Gilbert, the two of you on either side of him,"

The other men hastened to obey his directions, positioning themselves where he'd told them to. Once they'd done so, Itachi reappeared at their nexus, hovering above the hole in the center of the triangle in thin air.

He pushed back the hood of his leather cloak, exposing his black coals which had begun to bleed red.

"The God of Lamia, the Anti-Light and the Hybrid,"he stated in a low voice, meeting eyes with each of the three keys as he spoke their titles before letting his gaze settle on Damon. "The darkest powers assembled to destroy their opposites, the children of the light. And the final nail in their coffins..."

He removed his cloak, exposing his arms and the black veins that criscrossed over them like spiderwebs. "My ultimate weapon,"he whispered reverently, lifting his hands so he could bring his machine to the surface.

It rose up from beneath his feet, materializing into a sharp spike of what looked like pure obsidian. Itachi placed one of his hands on the edge, gloves vanishing so he could prick his finger on the point and blood as black as ink could flow into the crystal. "And with the blood of Death himself, nothing can stop its destruction once it starts," He took a deep breath, then the final incantation slipped from his kohl-lined lips, "Farast alla óvini myrkursins"

A shock wave cascaded out of the dark crystal, phasing out through the walls and washing over the battlefield. They could all see it as it slammed into their enemies, felling them all in a single swoop.

"And the last to die,"Itachi vanished, reappearing on the battlefield at Castiel's side where he was still locked in combat with his former lieutenant. "The Mykrayk machine has been activated,"he told the dark angel and his nemesis, not bothering to hide the triumph in his voice. He tilted his head so he was looking at Raphael, upper lip curling in a sneer, "Which means your time has come, Archangel. Your reign of tyranny is at an end,"

"You lie!"Raphael shouted out emphatically, launching for his two opponents.

Castiel turned to Itachi. "If the Mykrayk machine really is activated, what say you and I kill him together?"he suggested with a slight grin, offering a hand to his new ruler.

Itachi gave a single nod and together, the two of them slammed their palms into Raphael's chest the second he came close enough. The Archangel screamed out in agony as rays of darkness stabbed into his heart, overloading his vessel to the point where it was ready to implode. While he was incapacitated, Itachi's free hand clamped around his throat and nails sunk into his flesh, drawing out his life force with deliberate slowness.

"This is the end for you, Raphael."

White light streamed from the puncture marks and a disjointed jumble of sound exploded as the former light ruler burst apart, leaving behind nothing but ashes and the faint imprint of wings on the snow.

Castiel pulled back, casting a look around at the battlefield. The snow was littered with the bodies of his deceased former brethren and pools of their blood surrounded each one. They really had won.

The light were destroyed. The Spawn war had finally ended-and the dark had won.

LE END. do i need an epilogue?i don't think so.