A/N: And here we are the confrontation between Natalie and Elais, hope you guys are excited for this and I HOPE that I deliver! I decided to just make it one long chapter, so I hope you all don't mind. We also get to see Natalie being kind of a badass in this chapter (which I love to write). Also flashbacks will be italicized. I'm also having this chapter replace episode 14, just to clear that up.
On another note, WHAT DID YOU ALL THINK OF THE 200TH EPISODE?! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT! Dare I say that I felt it was perfect. A shout out to all us fans.
Anyways, lets get on with the chapter shall we!
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
Sam washed a hand down his face, taking in a few deep breaths, trying to reorient himself from the sleep he had just woken up from. Sam pulled his hand away and stowed both of them into his jacket pockets, before sitting down on the front hood of the Impala.
The past week had been spent on making sure that Sam was well. Natalie and Dean had been watching him closely, making sure to look out for signs that his wall might have actually collapsed, which was the one thing that terrified them the most. Luckily, Sam was able to draw back from the event and spent most of his time sleeping it off. From what they both saw, Sam's wall was still up and running...for now at least.
Though, the last couple of days had been oddly quiet. Natalie was gone. She had received a call from Clara, telling her that they managed to track down the demon Elais. Sam at first, was a little caught off guard when he heard this, ultimately, having to remind himself of that whole situation.
Upon hearing the news, Natalie wanted nothing more than to return to Clara and begin their search. But, to go and leave Sam when he was in a vulnerable state, Natalie wanted to stay and help him. It was either stay or go. Natalie didn't want to even acknowledge the possibility of Dean and Sam going with her. This was something that she had to do on her own, though that wasn't the only reason why she wanted them to stay behind.
Now, Dean and Sam were in Akron, Ohio. Sam had heard about a possible case and ultimately convinced Dean to take it.
Dean picked up the two cups of coffee and the burgers he had purchased. Burgers and coffee, not really the most popular combination, but it would do for both of them. Besides, Sam could use the energy that caffeine offered. Turning away from the food truck, Dean casted his gaze up for a brief second, long enough to see that Sam had woken up from his slumber.
"Nice to see you up and slightly running." Dean commented, setting down the bag on the car near Sam. "Here. This should give you some energy." Dean said, handing one of the cups to Sam, who took it gratefully.
"How long was I out for this time?" Sam asked, taking a quick sip from his drink.
"A couple of hours."
Sam gave a small wince and exhaled sharply. "Have you heard from Nad?"
Dean pulled out a burger and handed it to Sam then took one out for himself. "Yeah. She called me once I pulled into town."
"Why didn't you let me talk to her?"
"You were sleeping. And she didn't want to wake you up. Neither did I. That was a serious episode you had back there in Bristol."
"Yeah, I know Dean." Sam lazily unwrapped the burger. "But, I'm fine now."
"Right." Dean replied skeptically, taking a bite out of his burger.
"What did Nad say?" Sam asked, hoping to switch the conversation.
"Not much. They were headed out to Columbia, Missouri. That's where they know he's at."
"I wonder why she didn't let us go with her." Sam commented, not really directing it towards Dean, who in return, raised his brows at this.
…..
"You sure you don't want us to go with you?" Dean asked, knowing that there was a part of him that felt she shouldn't go without him and Sam.
Natalie pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. I really don't want you two to see me when..." Her voice trailed off, hoping she didn't have to go further with it.
Dean only nodded.
"Plus, you and Sam were here when I...tortured that demon." She went on to say, making sure to keep her voice quiet towards the end. "I don't want Sam to start remembering that. Also, he's still recovering from his episode."
"I get that." Dean replied. "Well, if you're hunting this demon...you're gonna need this." Dean pulled out Ruby's knife.
"No...Dean."
"Nad you're gonna need it." Dean handed the knife over to Natalie, though she was still hesitant on taking it. It was only one knife like this and Dean was handing it over to her to use. "Come on Nad."
Natalie sighed and reluctantly took the knife from Dean.
"You get that son of a bitch, Nad."
Natalie lips twitched into a faint smile that was met with a small laugh. "You two try not to get into to much trouble, until I get back."
"Can't make any guarantees."
Natalie stepped forward and slowly wrapped her arms around Dean's neck and then felt a slight sense of urgency. "Please. Don't tell Sam anything. No matter how much he asks. I'll tell him if I have to. But, promise me you won't say anything."
Dean secured his arms around Natalie and gave a few gentle rubs on her back. "I promise Nad."
…..
"Dean?"
Dean blinked a couple of times and shook his head, taking himself out of his little trance. "Sorry." He quickly apologized then remembered Sam's words. "Nad just thought it would be best if we didn't go. With the whole situation with you. Plus, it's something she needs to see through by herself."
Sam studied his brother for a moment, eyes narrowing in thought. The way Dean looked, the way his shoulders seemed to tense, it told Sam that something was up. He just couldn't really put his finger on it. For now, he decided to just leave his questioning to the side.
"I just hope everything goes well for them." Sam finally admitted.
"Me too."
Sam gave a small jump when he remembered something he wanted to discuss. "Hey, Dean. There's something I wanna ask...I've been thinking about it since we dropped her off."
Dean raised his brows at Sam, taking a bite out of his burger. "What's that?"
Sam's brows furrowed in his concentration at the memories that had been poking at him. They were coming in quick successions. He wasn't able to determine much from them, other than little details.
"That house we dropped Nad off at..."
"David and Jake's house." Dean finished.
"Yeah." Sam took in a breath. "Have we been there before?"
Dean's expression when blank, though in his mind he swore to himself.
"It's just...I don't know. It looked really familiar."
"Well, you have to remember. You're mind is still jumbled up with the whole situation with that wall in your head."
Sam nodded, not exactly buying Dean's explanation, but by the way he said it, Sam felt that it was something not to really be discussed. At least not right now.
"Yeah, I guess."
Dean looked over at his brother, seeing that he was still focused on the fact that he seemed to recognize that place. To snap him out of his, Dean gave a quick pat on Sam's shoulder.
"Come on, eat up. Then we'll go check out this case you were nagging me to take."
"Columbia, Missouri. And you're sure that's where Elais is at?" Natalie asked, looking over at Clara, who was currently driving.
"Elais is back in that town, after his little 'vacation'. He's staying there for good. So, this is our chance to go and get him."
Natalie nodded and pursed her lips to the side. "You know it's kind of surreal."
"What is?"
"For the longest time, this search for him was endless...and now, you and I are on the road, trying to go and find him."
Clara tightened her hands on the steering wheel and nodded solemnly. "Yeah. It's been a long haul. I'm just glad that we were able to finally track him down. I mean no more dead ends or wrong turns."
Natalie remained silent, still trying to grasp the fact that they were on their way to him. She just wanted to get to him and end it. Once this was all over, they wouldn't have to worry about trying to find him. It would be done and over with.
"So, how is Sam and Dean?" Clara finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Natalie breathed out a sigh and pressed her hand up to her forehead. "So much...has happened Aunt Clara. Sam is Sam. He's back to his normal self, which I am very happy about. But, this wall in his head is just...he's testing it. Testing it a little to much and...I just hope when I get back to them, he won't be a mess."
"Well, you still have Dean with him. And I know, he won't let Sam do anything to jeopardize the walls job."
"Aunt Clara there's something I need to talk to you about." Natalie suddenly said, seeming to steer the topic in a whole new direction.
Clara raised her brows at Natalie's words and answered with a few nods. "What is it?"
Biting down on her lip, Natalie sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. The whole thing with Death and his warning to her had been increasingly nagging at her. She hasn't told Sam or Dean. She just needed to tell someone.
"You remember how I went to Dr. Robert." Natalie waited for Clara to nod before continuing. "Well, when I was 'dead' and I was talking with Death, he...he said something to me. And I just don't know what to make of it."
Clara settled more into her seat and casted Natalie a quick look to tell her she was listening.
"He told me that, something drastic was coming my way...and that it would be good if I kept an eye out."
Clara kept her eyes on the road, though Natalie could see her brows furrow in confusion. Much like how Natalie felt when she first heard the warning.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is that supposed to be a warning?"
Natalie shrugged and shook her head.
"Something coming your way." Clara repeated. "So, something is gonna happen to you? Did he say anything else?"
"N-no. That's all he said."
"Well, what are you supposed to make of that?" Clara quickly questioned and Natalie could hear what sounded like a small panic in her voice. Clara felt like that warning was towards a threat that was directed at Natalie. Of course she would be worried.
"I don't know, Aunt Clara! That's why I'm telling you." Natalie fought back, but there was no harshness in her voice. "I've been on edge the past week because something went wrong during a hunt and I..." Natalie pursed her lips upon thinking about the event. "I messed up and it just got me thinking...is something gonna happen to me on a hunt?"
Natalie looked over at Clara, seeing her shake her head in denial at Natalie's words. "I mean, this hunt right now...going after Elais...am I gonna-"
"Nad. Don't." Clara interrupted, not wanting to hear Natalie say the whole thing.
"Aunt Clara I'm being serious. What if Death was trying to point out to me that, I could seriously mess up and get myself-"
"Natalie that's enough!" Clara's voice boomed out as her hand banged against the steering wheel. "I know exactly what you're thinking and I want you to stop right now. That's not what he was talking about."
Natalie kept her eyes focused on Clara, searching for any sign that she might not actually believe what she was saying. "What am I supposed to do Aunt Clara? Going around, doing hunts, always being paranoid that something is going to happen to me?" She quietly asked.
Clara pursed her lips together and swallowed. "Natalie. Death never actually told you what was coming. For all we know, it might not even be something to be to concerned about. Yes, I know, something drastic...but, maybe he, himself, doesn't know the full extent of it. You just need to try and not think about it."
"How can I not?" Natalie quickly asked. "I mean when Death tells you to watch your back, sorry, I'm gonna be a little paranoid."
Clara sighed heavily and brushed her hand across her forehead. "Does Sam and Dean know about this?"
The immediate silenced that followed Clara's question, already told her the answer. "Are you going to tell them?" Clara went onto ask.
Natalie blew out a breath and looked down at her lap. "I don't know. They've both noticed that I've been off the past week. But, I never told them."
"You think that it might be best if you do?" Clara casted a quick glance over to Natalie. "I mean, Sam and Dean-hell even Bobby, might be able to help you with this."
"There's nothing that can be done. Death said that I was gonna have to see through it myself. So, I basically have to sit...and wait for, whatever it is he is talking about, to come to me."
A silence soon filled the void between them. It was so heavy that they could almost actually physically feel it around them. It was like an enormous amount of pressure was pushing down on them.
Natalie began to immediately regret even bringing this up. She should have waited for a more suitable moment, not when they were going to hunt down their demon. But, Clara was right. Natalie was going to have to tell Sam and Dean. Keeping this from them had only proved to be a big hindrance to her.
Clara tapped her fingers against the wheel and pursed her lips together. This silence was very unbearable for both of them, yet neither of them tried to make a conversation. Clara knew, that Natalie was still thinking about it. She can't keep doing this. Clara thought to herself. Natalie needed to clear her mind from this, if she doesn't, then it would only create a distraction for her. And now, Clara needed Natalie to be more focused than ever.
Reaching over, Clara grasped hold of Natalie's arm, allowing Natalie to look over at her. "Natalie. Stop thinking about it for just this time, all right? The more you think about, your paranoia is going to get worst. You need to have a clear mind right now. You can't afford to have your thoughts elsewhere. All right?"
"Yeah. All right." Natalie folded her arms over her chest, which signaled for Clara to let go of her arm, which she did. "So, tell me, what's our plan? I mean we left their house so fast we never actually got to talk about it."
"Right." Clara cleared her throat. "Well, we know that Elais is most likely going to be at the business that Aaron owns and also he's got guards on the grounds. So we'll need to take them out."
"That should be easy enough." Natalie pulled out Ruby's knife and eyed it for a brief moment. "No doubt they're demons as well. So, we take out the watchers outside and then we make our way inside."
"That's why we are waiting until the business sends everyone else home. Then we'll sneak our way in. Elais is going to be staying late from a message we managed to gain him hacking into his phone. David and Jake will stay out in their car, keeping surveillance in the building."
Natalie looked over at Clara, her brows raised up. "Jake and David found out how to hack into the security surveillance?" She asked amused.
Clara let out a small laugh and nodded. "It was actually very entertaining to watch. You would think, they helped track down Elais, hacking into security surveillance should be easy."
"Wish I could've been there to see that." Natalie replied with a smirk.
"Are you ready for this Nad?" Clara asked.
They both knew that this was something they had been waiting for, for the past year. All of their searching, hunting, torturing demons and meeting several frustrated dead ends...it was all now coming to a close. Natalie didn't know whether to feel happy or nervous. Anything could go wrong during this. Clara could get seriously hurt and so could Natalie.
When Natalie was dropped off, she really didn't get a chance to really discuss this with Clara or Jake or even David. They immediately got everything together, packed up the cars and headed out. Not enough time for Natalie to really grasp the situation until now. They were about three hours away from Columbia and the full reality is now starting to sink in.
"Aunt Clara, we've been waiting for this for a while now. I think I'm ready. In all honesty, I just want to get it done and over with. Get rid of him so we don't have to worry about it. He'll be one less thing we need to worry about."
The building looked like any other kind of business building, though it was bigger than usual size and there were guards near the front entrance. Therefore, two cars were parked behind the building, a little bit away from the location. With night already fallen, they were now fully prepared to go with the plan.
Inside the van, David and Jake had the security surveillance up and running on their laptops. They had been watching the live footage for the past thirty minutes, figuring that there was a pattern that was going on between the three guards near the front entrance.
Natalie opened the van door and stepped in. "So, what have you two been able to figure out?" She asked, taking a seat next to Jake.
"Well, this guy." Jake pointed to the one on the right. "About every two minutes, he and the one on the far right, will break away from their post and start patrolling towards the opposite sides. Then they'll round the corner and walk halfway down, which means you'll have to take this one out, then the one still remaining at the door. You'll only have about five seconds before the other comes back around." He finished gesturing towards the guy on the left. "Also, I was able to replace the live footage with pre-recorded footage, so you should be good with that."
Natalie pursed her lips and nodded. "Awesome. This shouldn't be to hard. How long has it been since they last broke?"
Jake took a quick glance at his watch. "You got about three minutes before they start their next patrol."
"Right then."
Natalie hopped out of the open door and turned to Clara, who was leaning towards the opening. "I'm gonna go and take out those guys, then we're gonna make our way in."
"David and Jake will be watching through the camera feed. They'll let me know when I should head over."
Natalie nodded and looked back at David and Jake, who were both still to preoccupied with the footage. "Right. Well, here I go."
"You sure that you'll be able to do this?"
Natalie pursed her lips to the side. "Well, I did learn a little bit more from you during the past year. Think it's time for me to flex those teachings a little bit." Tracing over the outline of the knife that was resting in her belt line, Natalie gave the three of them one last nod before walking away from the car.
The van was parked on an unpaved, abandoned road that led to god only knows where. It was the most secluded place they could find, which provided Natalie enough cover to quickly jog towards the back of the building.
Reaching the back left corner of the building, Natalie immediately pressed her body up against the brick wall. I got about less than a minute. Her right hand extended out and pressed her palm against the cool and rough brick then began to slowly walk along down the siding.
As the end of the wall came nearer, Natalie reached for the knife with her left hand and pulled it out, grasping onto the handle. Once she came to the end, Natalie took in a quiet breath and slowly peeked her head out from behind the wall, long enough to see that the two men were just beginning to turn and start their patrol and one of them was coming right towards her.
Right on schedule.
Natalie retracted and braced her back fully against the wall, her eyes closing and her breathing had become quiet and labored, despite the fact that her heart was pounding against her chest.
Footsteps scraped against the concrete as they came closer and closer to the edge of the building. Natalie opened her eyes and turned her head to look, knowing that at any second he would start to turn. On the ground in front of her, Natalie could see his shadow slowly grow bigger as he made his way closer to his destination.
At least there's some sort of light source. Natalie thought to herself.
Finally, the footsteps resonated nearly right next to Natalie and moving her gaze up, she could see his body just beginning to creep out from the corner. Stepping out from behind the wall, Natalie caught him off guard, but he wasn't able to react quick enough.
Bringing her left hand up, she stabbed the knife into the demon's throat and quickly braced her other hand over his mouth, to muffle any kind of cries he might yell out. His eyes erupted in a fast, blinking white light and soon the light diminished and she allowed his body to fall to the ground.
In the process of him falling, Natalie yanked the knife from the demon's throat and saw that she had caught the attention of the demon that was remaining near the front door. Taking the knife, she tossed it up and caught the handle and began to walk towards him. After marking her aim, Natalie threw the knife at the demon, snagging him in the chest with a sickening thud.
Picking up her pace, knowing that her time was almost up, reaching the demon, she pulled the knife out of his chest before he could fall, and right as she reached the far left end, the last demon just began to round the corner and Natalie quickly stabbed him in the stomach.
When the light from his eyes dimmed out, Natalie pushed the limp body away from her, allowing the knife to slide out from the wound. Taking a look down at the body in front of her, then turning around to look at the others, Natalie hummed to herself.
"That actually wasn't that bad."
Looking up at the security camera that was pointing at her, Natalie gave it a thumbs up, knowing that David and Jake were watching her. Fixing her eyes back on the door, Natalie breathed out a sigh. "Now here comes the fun part."
….
The inside of the building was very quiet. Everyone was gone. All of the employees had gone home for the day. From the main floors, the echoing footsteps coming up the stairwells would have been easily heard if anyone was in the building. Although, that wasn't necessarily the case, which was something Natalie noticed right from the start.
Pushing through the stairwell door, Natalie and Clara found themselves on the third floor, which was the information level. Looking around Natalie furrowed her brows. "Okay, I know that this place is closed and everyone has gone home but...doesn't it seem to quiet to you? Where are the guards inside?
"I'm not sure." Clara answered as she walked over to the main receptionist desk and began to rummage through, looking for which level Elais would be on.
Natalie ventured off down one of the small hallways that was located near the receptionist desk. A door on the left side read the words 'security' and it was only just slightly opened. Natalie braced her hand against the door and pushed it opened, to find that the surveillance room was empty. No sign that anyone might have been there for the past few hours at least.
Seeing this, Natalie's brows immediately creased and she quietly closed the door. Walking out of the small hallway, she pointed back at the door. "There is no security here. This place is empty."
"I got it. Elais will be on the seventh floor." Clara said, seeming to not have heard what Natalie said.
"Aunt Clara." Natalie spoke up again and waited for Clara to look at her. "The surveillance room is empty. No one is in there."
Clara's brows furrowed as she looked down at the door where Natalie was still pointing at. Unfortunately, Clara didn't know what to say about it. That didn't seem like something Elais would let happen.
"You think maybe he knows we were gonna be here?" Natalie asked.
Clara pressed her tongue against the side of her cheek and slowly shook her head. "I don't know Nad."
"Well, whether he's expecting us or not, let's go get this son of a bitch."
Natalie turned away from the desk, with Clara following closely behind, and the two of them made their way out into the stairwell and began to ascend to the seventh floor. The whole time, Natalie's mind was buzzing with her small discovery and it was bothering her. Why were there no security?
Elais isn't stupid, Natalie knows this, so why would he allow there to be no one watching the building, aside from a few lousy demons. He knows better than that. He had to know that they were going to be here. Three demons guarding were to easy to take down. Natalie was honestly expecting something more vast. She didn't know what exactly was waiting for them on the seventh floor. A whole group of demons they would need to take down or Elais. Maybe both. She had no idea what to expect and it was making her nerves start to go on end.
Finally reaching the stop of the seventh floor, Natalie pulled out her knife and quietly opened the stairway door. Leaning out, she looked down the hall one way and then the other, not seeing anyone, she stepped out and held the door open long enough for Clara to get out. The seventh floor wasn't much, not like the other floor they had seen.
This one was a lot smaller, a small lounge area greeted them right as they stepped out, a few couches and a decent sized table in the middle. Down to the right, there were three doors, one of them leading to a kitchen and the other two, Natalie couldn't make out.
Then towards the left was the only door on that side and they both could see the name 'Aaron Whitfield' on the door tag.
Natalie looked over at Clara, and gestured towards the door before slowly making her way over to it. Keeping her knife close to her, Natalie reached her hand out towards the door knob and grabbed onto it. Clara leaned up against the door, facing Natalie, both of them looking at each other, their eyes locking. Both of them silently asking the other whether they were ready.
They were finally here. No turning back. Get in and get the job done.
Taking in a deep breath, Natalie gave Clara a nod and mouthed "On three. One. Two. Three."
Natalie turned the handle and pushed her body against the door, shoving it open. Her hand raised, ready to mark her aim on Elais. But, as her eyes began scanning throughout the office, Natalie could feel her demeanor slowly being crushed.
Elais wasn't here.
Everything that had been building up to this, all of the planning and the damn determination to get this done, all began to slowly disappear. Natalie dropped her arms to her side as she fully entered the office.
"He's not here." Natalie's voice mixed in with the silence. "He knew that we were gonna be here and now...we lost him."
Clara turned her gaze away from Natalie, not knowing what she could say right now. They were certain that he would be here. Someone must have tipped him about their plans...but who?
"Nad-"
"No." Natalie turned to Clara, her eyes already emanating a hardened determination. "We just need to go back and retrace everything. He has to be somewhere in Columbia, right? So we just have to find any other locations that he might be at."
"Nad. Listen to me-"
A small beeping came out of nowhere and it was continuous. Natalie turned back around to face Aaron's desk, her eyes slowly looking around her. Until they came upon a cell phone that was resting on the desk, though Natalie wondered why she didn't see it before.
Natalie picked up the phone, cautiously, and saw that there was a message notification. Her brows furrowed as she opened up the text and her expression immediately went blank.
Did you really think it was going to be that easy? This was all just a little fun. I'll be at Parks & James.
….
"Okay, Parks & James is an old abandoned workplace that is near the outskirts of town. It's been abandoned for several years." Jake informed Natalie once he had found a reliable resource.
"So, he sent a message to a phone that he left...just so you could find it. All of this was nothing more than to just mess with you?" David was the next to ask.
"Apparently." Natalie quietly replied, mulling over the events that had already taken place.
The four of them fell into a silence, thinking about how all of their work they had done this past year, it brought them here. And now, Elais knows that they were coming after him. Who knows what he has in store for Natalie once she actually gets to the location he sent her.
As she continued mulling over this, Natalie could start to hear Death's warning swirling around in her mind again. Now that they were just standing around, trying to figure out what to do next, she allowed herself to get lost in those words. This could be it. Natalie thought. Whatever Death was warning me about, this could possibly be it.
Natalie bit down on her bottom lip and pulled out her phone from her pocket. She just realized that it had been hours since she last spoke with Dean and she didn't get to talk with Sam, since he was sleeping when she called. Natalie quickly dialed out the number and pressed the phone up to her ear before taking a few steps away from the van.
After a few rings, Natalie was only met with Dean's voicemail.
"Hey, Dean. Um, you're probably doing a case right now so I'm gonna make this quick. Just wanted to check in see how...you and Sam are doing. This hunt kind of took a different turn...but, don't worry, everything's fine. Just need to come up with a new plan is all. So that's really it. I guess I'll call you when it's all done with."
Natalie remained on the phone, thinking about whether there was more for her to say. Feeling that this was enough, Natalie pulled her phone away and ended the call.
"I have to go there." Natalie spoke up as she turned to walk back over to David, Jake and Clara. "I have to go and see him. Finish this once and for all."
"Nad, you have no idea what's gonna happen if you do though." Jake commented.
"I don't care. I got Aunt Clara on the search for him and then I dragged you both into two have done enough with this. You should stay here while I go and take care of it."
"Well you're not going to go alone." Clara spoke up. "I would be stupid if I just let you go off without me."
Natalie tried to suppress a small smile. "Guess there's no use to try and get you to stay here."
"Not a chance." Clara said, motioning over towards the car, which was answered by Natalie walking over to it. "You two stay here. I'll call once it's all finished." Clara said, turning back to David and Jake.
"Good luck." David offered which Clara accepted with a small smile.
Natalie pushed open the door, which caused an eerie creak to echo throughout the building. Clara and Natalie poked their heads in, seeing nothing but darkness. Though towards the back of the building, where a staircase was, light was cascading down the steps, signaling that Elais was indeed here. Unless he lied in the text and this was just another attempt to piss Natalie off.
Stepping fully into the building, they both allowed the door to close behind them, which made Natalie jump at the sudden noise. They made their way over to the staircase and began to ascend them. Reaching the top, Clara and Natalie were met with the entryway to a huge room that was being illuminated.
As a precaution, Natalie slowly reached for the knife, keeping her hand close to the handle as she and Clara stepped into the room. Although, looking around, Natalie found that there was no one here and her lips pursed in the sudden annoyance that was bubbling within her.
He's messing with me again.
Turning back to her Aunt, Clara could see that Natalie was only just barely holding onto this heated annoyance about this whole situation. She wasn't going to lie, this was getting ridiculous.
Just as this thought crept into Clara's mind, the lights in the room began to flicker. Natalie's eyes immediately casted up, her gaze fixing on the flickering bulbs as her hand gently took hold of the knife's handle, ready to pull it out. The flickering ceased abruptly, causing Natalie to blinked a couple of times due to the quick change in lighting.
"Well, hello there." A voice suddenly appeared and Natalie turned around and found a young man standing in front of her. Aaron, if you could still call him that, was someone that Natalie had to admit, wasn't that bad looking. Deep chestnut brown hair and his eyes were dark, almost to the point of being black, which was ironic since he was now possessed by a demon.
"I have to say that this meeting is long overdue." Elais went onto say, stuffing his hands into his suit pockets.
Natalie eyed him and finally let out a breathy laugh. "Nice package." She said, gesturing at Aaron's body.
Elais gave her a smirk and he looked down at his vessel. "You think so? I thought he would be a great fit. And I was right."
Once he was done admiring the body that he was wearing, Elais looked back up at Natalie and Clara. His eyes staring both of them down, though he seemed to be more interested in Natalie.
"Well, this is quite something. Finally, the Collins were able to catch up to me." Elais lifted his wrist and looked down at his watch with a mocking pout. "Took you long enough."
Natalie's eyes narrowed. "Screw off. You were the one who was running off, hiding your tracks. More like a coward in my eyes."
Elais scoffed and placed a hand to his chest, acting hurt. "Oh, Natalie, I'm hurt but such words like that." He then dropped his hand and leaned forward. "What do you expect? Of course I covered my tracks. Come on, I'm a demon. It's part of the whole job description. You know, evade hunters as much as possible."
"That didn't really last long now did it?"
Elais answered her words with a chuckle. "Well here we are. Finally, I am able to meet you Natalie. Properly, You have always been something I've had my eye on for a while."
"Yeah. That makes me feel special." Natalie bit back. "So, why didn't you just kill me when you had the chance?"
Elais raised his shoulders up in a long and overdrawn shrug. "You weren't exactly my first target to go after. That was saved for your father."
At the mention of her father, Natalie could feel her blood begin to boil. He killed her father and he had the nerve to even mention him. "You could have gotten me that night also. When you...killed my dad."
"Oh no. After seeing your reaction at him being ripped to shreds, I thought to myself, that's something I would love to see again. I mean seriously your face that night." Elais contorted his face into a mocking expression of what Natalie looked like when she saw her father killed.
This did it for Clara. She stepped forward only to be stopped by Natalie bracing her arm in front of her.
Elais finally let down the made up face and let out a laugh. "That was to good. So, I told myself that I would save you for last. After your dad, I was debating who to take next. And then, out of nowhere, I hear that your brother died, in a car accident above anything else. I have to say, what happened to your brother was a fortunate event. One less Collins to worry about."
Natalie's hand tightened around the handle of the knife and she slowly pulled it out from her belt line and held it at her side.
"And then it was just you, your Aunt and sister. I'll tell you one thing though, that one right there." Elais raised a finger towards Clara. "She really knows how to keep people protected."
"Yeah, well, that certainly is a charm isn't it?" Natalie bit back. "So, what was with the whole fake-out back at your place?"
With a rolled of his eyes, Elais gasped out an exaggerated sigh. "Oh, come on. Can't I have just a little fun? I knew that you were on the way here. This past year, I saw a decrease in the number of demons in my inner circle. All of the reports I was given...demons being taken and interrogated...tortured."
Raising his finger in a scolding matter, Elais began to make tsk noises. "You know Natalie...I didn't appreciate that at all. You torturing those demons...my brothers."
Natalie tilted her head to the side and pouted her lips. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings? That's to bad, because I really enjoyed torturing those demons. It made me feel...alive." Natalie finished with a bit to much enthusiasm for Clara's taste and apparently, sparked something in Elais as well.
His face hardened considerably and his jawline clenched. "You know Natalie, this past year you have really been creating trouble for me. You and your whole damn family."
Natalie raised her arms up and smirked. "Well, you couldn't finish us off. So whatever problems we've created for you is all your fault. You aren't able to finish what you started you pathetic piece of shit. And all of this was...what? Just the result of a tantrum you were throwing because my family was able to stop Amdusias."
Elais gave a small twitch on the side of his mouth at her mentioning that name. "Your family destroyed my leader. The only one I was faithful to. Your family took that away from me. Destroyed not only Amdusias, but my fellow brothers. You all took so much away from me."
"Strange. Guess you and I are on the same boat, aren't we? You killed my mother, my father and practically wiped my family off the map. You think that you're better than them...you'll never be. Because my family were able to blast those sons of bitches back to where they belong."
"You really don't know what you have gotten yourself into Natalie." Elais commented, his expression not lighting up one bit.
"Actually, I do. I've been waiting to finish this for a long time."
Elais finally softened his face and tilted his head to the side, giving her a small smile. "Fine. Enough with the pleasant conversation." He raised his hand and Clara was flung out of the room and her body hit against the wall outside, knocking her out. "Let's begin shall we?"
Natalie raised her knife when the lights in the room suddenly went out and Elais disappeared. Standing in the dark, Natalie knew that she was practically screwed. There was no light source, save for the moonlight that was streaming through the dirtied windows, but even that wasn't enough to provide useful light. Clara was out in the hallway, unconscious and Elais could be anywhere in this room. He could be standing right behind her and she wouldn't even know it.
Natalie kept her knife leveled as she began to take small steps, moving away from her position. She couldn't see a damn thing, so she would have to settle with using her hearing. It was better than nothing. Despite the fact she couldn't see, Natalie kept looking left and right, in an attempt to try and keep herself as aware as possible. Natalie had been so caught up in listening for anything that she walked right into one of the wooden beams and she jumped back, then reached her hand out to touch the wood and she silently cursed.
The lights flickered back on and she found herself in the middle of the room, facing one of the many wooden beams. Turning around, Elais suddenly appeared in front of her and raised his fist, swinging a hit towards her face.
Natalie ducked down, avoiding the hit and threw a punch into his stomach and stood fully up, grabbing the arm that he had used to try and hit her, then raised her other arm and elbowed him in the face. He quickly recovered from the hit and yanked her arm away and grabbed hold of her neck. Having a firm grasp, Elais then threw her across the room.
Natalie's body crashed through one of the plastered walls and her body fell on top of the pile of ruble that had been creating from the wall she was thrown through. Groaning from the impact, Natalie only just noticed that the knife was no longer in her hand. Rolling to her side, she saw the knife lying just a few feet in front of her. Then both her and Elais were eyeing the knife and Natalie jumped to her feet and bolted after the weapon.
Elais raised his hand up and with a flick of the wrist, he threw Natalie towards the left side of the room, her body smashing against the window, causing the shards to scatter all over the floor. Natalie whimpered weakly as her body fell to the floor and her eyes looked down at her right side, spotting a shard of glass sticking out. Hearing Elais approaching, Natalie quickly took hold of the glass and pulled it out, letting out a painful scream from the action and threw the piece of glass to the other side.
Picking up the knife, Natalie stumbled back up to her feet and side-swept the weapon, creating a cut across his chest, but it wasn't a kill injury. While he was trying to recover from the injury, Natalie brought the knife back up and attempted to stab him in the chest, but since she was now weakened from her injury, her balance was slightly off kilter. This was his advantage.
Elais grabbed Natalie's arm that had the knife and threw a punch across her face, effectively getting her to drop the knife from the impact. He then kicked her legs out from under her, sending Natalie to the ground with a loud thud.
Natalie quickly got onto her hands and knees and began the process of trying to crawl away from him, but only managed to get herself trapped near the wall.
Seeing Natalie crawl, only made Elais laugh at how pathetic she looked, at least in his eyes. Elais knelt down in front of Natalie, grasped the folds of her jacket, and yanked her up until her back was pressed the against the wall.
"Look at you. It's hard to believe that you're actually a Collins. Because you actually look pathetic." Elais brought his fist up and punched Natalie in the face. When she fell to the side, he straightened her back up until she was facing him.
"You know Natalie, looking at you now, I can now understand the most important thing about you." He finished with another punch across her face and once again, straightened her to face him again.
"You act all tough. Like you can take on anything that is thrown at you. But in reality." Another punch swept across her bloodied and now, swollen face. "You're nothing but a scared little girl."
Another punch across the face.
Natalie whimpered from that last punch and weakly reached up and grabbed onto his arm that was still holding onto her jacket folds. She was becoming delirious. Her head was pounding, the injury on her right side was bleeding and the pain was excruciating. Blood was filling her mouth to the point it was streaming out the sides of her mouth and her right eye was just starting to swell to the point that seeing out of it would be impossible.
"You have been such...a pain in my ass!" Elais screamed out as he threw two more punches across her face. "And now I can finish what I started. First with you, then your Aunt...then I'll move onto your sister...and her daughter."
Natalie gave a weak head shake at the mention of her sister and Emy. She needed to try and get him off of her, but what could she do? She was injured and she felt like she was slowly losing consciousness from the punches that he was throwing at her. Natalie had not way to defend herself now.
Elais threw a couple more punches across Natalie's face and judging by how limp her body was becoming, he knew that he was almost finished with her. Until a small whimper from the other side of the room caught his attention. He turned and looked out of the entryway at Clara, who was just starting to regain consciousness. It was then a small smirk played at his lips. Turning back to Natalie, he could see that she was still hanging on, just barely, and her eyes were focused on Clara. But, for a brief second they looked up at him. Elais broaden his smirk into a full on smile as he stood up and turned around, making his way to Clara.
Natalie, even though her vision was hazy and her capability to keep a good balance while standing up, looked to be almost impossible. Instead, Natalie looked to her left and saw the knife lying just a few feet away from her and looking at Elais, she knew that he was going to kill Clara. I need to do something.
Natalie pushed herself onto her right side, which was bleed profusely, and began to scoot her body towards the knife. With her left arm stretched out, her vision was going in and out of focus, making the knife appear as two, confusing her as to which one was the real one. The tips of her fingers finally brushed the handle and Natalie pulled the knife into her grasp.
With the knife in her hand, Natalie, painfully, pushed herself back up into a sitting position and braced her feet on the ground. With as much strength as she could conjure, Natalie braced her back against the wall and pushed down on her feet, sliding her back up the wall enough to where she was in a decent standing position. Knowing that her balance was still off, she was using the wall as a counteract to help keep her up.
Her eyes set deadlocked on Elais and he was getting farther away from Natalie and she had to act quick. If only her damn sight would focus for just a few seconds. Natalie blinked and widened her eyes, trying to coax her sight into aligning for her to get a good aim. Slowly her vision merged within each other, creating a clear picture for Natalie, but she knew it would last for only a few seconds. Raising the knife, Natalie narrowed her eyes, focusing more on Elais and then took in a deep breath.
Conjuring up as much upper strength as she could, Natalie threw the knife and her balance went off and she stumbled forward and fell onto her hands and knees. Looking up, even though her vision was blurry, Natalie could make out the outline of Elais dropping to his knees. She got her target.
Got you. You son of a bitch.
Natalie pushed herself back up to her feet and stumbled over to Elais, still able to hear him choking and groaning from a knife embedded in his back, Natalie had to finish the job. Once she was close, Natalie grabbed the handle and yanked the knife out and then stabbed him again in the back. Elais let out a shrill yell as he turned and fell on his back.
Looking down at him, Natalie was slightly annoyed that he still wasn't dead yet. Natalie, limply, straddled over him and grasped the knife handle with both hands and brought the knife down in his chest. Though that didn't seem like enough for her. This demon killed her mother and father, destroyed her family and her life. Three stab wounds wasn't enough to suffice the damage he had done to her.
Natalie brought the knife back up and then down again, stabbing another part of his chest. Natalie repeated the act again, and again, and again, each time the viciousness of the stabs would increase. Her she was, bleeding and losing consciousness, yet, Natalie could feel her harboring anger beginning to spill over as she continued her stabbing.
By now, Elais had gone silent, but did this matter to Natalie? Not one bit. She would stop when she lost consciousness. The heat that was being created from her blazing anger soon began to make her lightheaded. That combined with the blood loss and no doubt, an oncoming concussion from his punches, Natalie was worsening her condition by continuing on like this.
Bringing down the knife one last time, Natalie pulled it out of his chest and her arms hung numbly by her side. Nausea soon overtook Natalie and her body went into shock from blood loss, at least it was able to numb her body. Her fingers grip around the knife loosened and it fell out of her hand. Natalie blinked a couple of times, seeing that Clara was finally getting herself back to her feet and it gave Natalie the reassurance that everything was fine now.
With that, Natalie closed her eyes and her body fell to the left as she lost consciousness.
"Have you tried calling her back yet?" Sam asked Dean, who settled himself down on his bed.
"Yeah, Sam, I did and she didn't answer. Look she left a voicemail saying that everything was fine. She's fine." Dean answered, hoping that it would settle Sam's nerves.
"I just don't get why she isn't answering her phone now." Sam commented as he looked down at the phone in his hand.
"They're probably just finishing up with taking care of that demon. You don't need to worry about anything Sam." Dean rubbed his eyes, trying to relieve some of the heaviness in them.
Sam looked over at his brother and sighed. Dean was exhausted and they had only finished up their job a couple of hours ago. They had just returned to their motel room not even an hour ago from having a late dinner and they were both beat. Well, Sam might not seem like it, but just wanted to make sure that Natalie was fine. Even though his brother had assured him that she was all right, according to the last voicemail he got from her.
"I just feel like I should try and call her one more time."
Dean sighed heavily and looked over at Sam. "Dude. If something was wrong, we would have gotten a call from them by now. We haven't. She's fine."
Sam hesitantly placed his phone down on the night table and then shook his head. "I don't know Dean. I just have this...nagging feeling."
"You always seem to have a nagging feeling." Dean retorted, though his tone carried no annoyance or anger.
"Shut up."
Dean ran a hand through his hair and let out a yawn. "Okay, Sam. Just go to sleep, all right? I'm sure that in the morning Nad will call us. Okay?" Dean pulled the covers up to his chest and began to settle down into his bed.
Sam watched his brother silently as he quickly dozed off and Sam knew that he had to get it together. Dean was right. If something bad did happen, they would have known by now. Plus, that message Natalie left them didn't sound to urgent. Only if it was, Natalie was doing a good job at sounding calm.
Letting out a tired groan, Sam washed his hand down his face and ultimately settled underneath his blankets and switched off the lamp. Everything is fine. We'll hear from her in the morning.
….
Dean was lying on his stomach facing the nightstand, his arm hanging off the side of the bed. Both he and Sam were out. The room was dark, barely lit from the motel sign outside and the faint, labored breaths coming from them filled the silence.
That silence was soon interrupted by Dean's ringtone going off at a loud volume. Dean cringed and buried his face against the pillow, hoping that by doing this it would make the noise stop. It didn't. As the phone made the second round with the ringtone, Dean groaned and leaned up and turned on the lamp. He picked up the phone and answered the call, without looking at who it was.
"Hello?"
"Dean?"
Dean, who's eyes were still slightly closed, raised a brow at the voice. "Yeah? Who's this?"
"Dean, it's me, Clara."
At that name, Dean immediately sat up in bed and took in a sharp breath. "Clara, hey. Sorry, I didn't check the caller I.D." Dean explained as he leaned over and hit Sam's arm that was dangling off the side, effectively waking the kid. "So, is everything alright?"
"No, Dean. Nothing is alright."
Dean could feel the rest of his sleep ware off and his face went grim. "What happened?" At this, Sam shot up in his bed, recognizing his brother's tone.
"We found the demon and went to confront it and...it's Nad. She's in...really, really bad shape. I've never seen like this Dean. I'm sorry for calling you so late, but, I knew you and Sam would want to know."
During this time, Dean and Sam had already hopped out of bed and were in the process of trying to get dressed. Even though they were alert, there was no mistaking that there was still some sleep buzz they were recovering from.
"You're in Columbia, right? What hospital?"
"We're at Landmark Hospital."
"Okay, Sam and I will be there soon so just hang tight."
Dean quickly said into the phone and then hung up. Picking up his jacket from the chair, he looked over at Sam, who's face was riddled with worry. "It's going to be fine Sam."
"That's what you said about this before we got this call. Clearly, nothing is fine Dean." Sam retorted and grabbed his jacket. "Let's just hurry up and get there."
So! What did you all think?! How did you like the confrontation between Natalie and Elais? I didn't want it to be a big over the top, showdown and this is really how I always imagine the fight between them would go down.
Don't forget to leave me a review! Until next time! Xx