A/N: FYI This story has 35 chapters and this is the 34th. Sam and Dean are about to enter the secret tunnel complex under Boristown. What will they find there?

The Pompatus Box (Chapter 34: Down the Rabbit Hole) by frostygossamer

They enter the tunnel mouth one by one, Dean going first and Sam watching their rear. It's dark down there so they get out their flashlights. After they walk a hundred yards or so, Dean looks over his shoulder to find Sam examining the walls of the tunnel with his light.

"Dude?!" he hisses.

"Dean, these tunnels are OLD," whispers Sam. "No way Boris and his guys dug 'em. See here? These are some kinda glyphs or runes or whatever."

Dean doesn't have time for this right now.

"Shut up. Unless you find a glyph of a chunky guy with a beard, and an arrow saying 'This Way'."

After a couple minutes walking, the tunnel splits in three ways. Dean shines his flashlight to the left. Nothing special there.

"Keep going forward?"

It's a suggestion, but it sounds more like an order. Sam follows dutifully. He shines his light up the right-hand turn and- What was that? He imagines he glimpsed a tiny figure disappearing into the darkness. It looked a little like some kind of an albino monkey.

"Jeez, wha- what the hell was that?"

"What?!" snaps Dean.

"Something. An animal? I dunno. Something on two legs. It was maybe a couple feet tall and kinda, uh, gray or maybe silver-coloured."

Dean grumbles under his breath.

"Then it's not Benny. Ignore it. It's a gopher or some crap."

"Dude, a gopher? On the freakin' MOON?"

Dean isn't buying it, so they move on forward, following the direct tunnel. A couple steps later Sam has an idea.

"Hey, maybe it was a Selenite. I mean a REAL honest-to-God Selenite."

Dean doesn't even turn around.

"Yeah sure, or maybe it was the freakin' ass fairy."

They walk on a little farther until they spot a faint light ahead. Creeping up to the next corner, they both peek around and see Pirate Benny sitting on an ammunition crate with his back to them. He's hunched over what looks like some sort of a campaign map spread out on the top of a larger crate.

He hasn't noticed them yet.

=O=

Dean emerges into the oil-lamp lit space, pistol drawn, and addresses the pirate with humour in his voice, sounding out his adversary's name like it's a funny joke.

"Captain. Benny. Lafitte."

Benny looks up from perusing his chart with a toothy grin on his face.

"So it's you they sent, Captain Dean. You're gonna be my nemesis, huh?"

Dean shrugs. "You shoulda killed me when you had the chance. Now I got the ball."

Benny exhales sadly and sits up straighter, with his hands on his thighs.

"Guess you win, friend. Tomorrow's headlines can shout about yet another so-called terrorist leader taken down by a photogenic hero."

"There's nothing so-called about you, Benny. You're the real deal crazy-guy-in-a-bunker."

Benny smirks. "You ever think how HISTORY is gonna look at this? There's a fine line between what you'd call a terrorist and what we'd call a freedom-fighter. It depends entirely on who's writing the history books."

Dean growls back. "Dude, you're not worth a footnote in the history books. You're just another delusional nutjob."

He gestures with his pistol. Benny puts his hands behind his head in an attitude of surrender.

"So what now? You gonna make me walk the proverbial plank? Do you actually care if what you're doing is stamping out a freak radical cell or stifling a righteous movement for progress? Ten years on, are you still gonna look like the good guy?"

Dean scoffs. "This is never gonna make the headlines either way."

Benny grins grimly. "Ever wonder why YOU wound up being the guy to take me out? Deniability. You're a non-person, Dean. You let them make a pawn outta you."

"I'm no pawn," snaps Dean. "I make my own destiny."

But Benny has cast a shadow of doubt over Dean's determination. Maybe he SHOULD be taking this douchebag into custody and turning him over to the proper authorities for public trial. Then again, does a scumbag like him deserve the chance to spout his monstrous hawkish rant for the courtroom press?

Dean doesn't notice Benny lower one hand and slide it under the map, pulling out an automatic machine pistol, until a bullet dings off of the wall behind his shoulder. He ducks behind a crate and they exchange shot after shot that echoes around the enclosed space, and comes perilously close to hitting something explosive.

Ouch! Benny gets in a flukey hit. Dean winds up on his back clutching his side, blood flowing from a gaping hole in his flesh. His weapon has slipped from his hand, out of reach. Benny advances on him chortling wickedly, his automatic pistol trained on his prostrate victim.

"Seems I got Lady Luck on my side."

Swapping his automatic to his other hand, he helps himself to a handy hatchet. Someone has been using it to open one of the crates and left it embedded in the wood. Dean eyes the sharp blade and butt-shuffles backward toward the tunnel wall, struggling to get to his feet. He glances over his shoulder at the way he came in. With Sam.

Benny misunderstands his side-glance. "Oh no, Captain Dean, I don't think you'll be going anyplace."

But where is Sam? Oh, Jeez, don't say the dumb guy took a bullet? Sam! Sam, no!

"SAM!"

Benny raises his axe ready to bring it down on Dean's leg. Dean is so goddamn mad he probably wouldn't even feel it. He got Sam back just for this madman to waste him? HELL NO! Dean steadies himself against the wall and steels himself for the hatchet blow.

The sick bastard won't be wearing that arm much longer.

"It's a real shame," cackles Benny. "Another time, I reckon we coulda been big buddies, me and you."

Dean only growls in response.

Then suddenly there's a noise behind Benny and he wheels around in surprise. He assumed Dean came after him on his own, like last time. He wasn't around when Tornado Sam showed up. But now...

"Hey, Benny," yells Sam. "You wanna be buddies with ME, huh?"

Benny takes a wild dive at Sam, who grabs both the guy's hands by the wrist, and they wrestle back and forth across the small space. But Sam is bigger and younger then the pirate captain and he forces him to drop first the pistol then the hatchet. It tumbles to the tunnel floor and Dean scrabbles forward to grab it. Staggering to his feet braced against the tunnel wall, he holds the axe tight in both hands and swings wide.

WHACK! Benny's head bounces onto the dirt and dust of the floor, splashing Dean with a fresh spurt of hot blood.

The boys stand there panting for a few seconds until they get their breaths back.

"Yahtzee!" gasps Dean, and Sam manages a laugh.

=O=

They walk back up through the tunnels to the Lunar surface. Dean is leaning slightly on Sam for support, wincing with each step and clutching the wound in his side.

"Totally saved your ass," claims Sam, gleefully.

Dean objects. "Did not. Totally had it covered."

Sam snorts derisively. "Oh sure. You were disarmed. What were you gonna do? Talk him to death?"

Dean pulls open his shirt and Sam's eyebrows shoot up in admiration. Taped to Dean's defined chest is Meg's paper-thin Colt.

"Insurance. And, by the way, where the hell were you? Fall down a rabbit hole?"

"Actually, it's a funny story."

*flashback*

Back when they both spot Benny in his hideaway, Sam notices another entrance via a tunnel entering the space from the left. He figures he can double back quickly to where the tunnel splits and cut off Benny's retreat. He takes the left-hand tunnel but the damn thing splits again a few yards farther on.

Right about then Sam trips over his own feet and drops his flashlight, which promptly goes out leaving him in the pitch dark. After a couple seconds fumbling around on the ground, Sam is completely turned around. Sitting on his butt defeated, he gives the flashlight a good shake. It flickers and comes back on, revealing the owlish features of a short, silvery-haired being staring straight at him. Sam jumps to his feet.

"What the...?"

Either that is a Selenite or he's starting to hallucinate about damn teddy bears. The small being scuttles away along the tunnels and seems to pause for a second, like he wants Sam to follow, before disappearing. Sam stumbles after him and winds up exactly where he meant to be, right behind Benny as he makes to attack Dean.

*end of flashback*

They have now gotten to the storm-door and Sam helps Dean slip out onto the surface. Dean looks back into the tunnel.

"Guess we could still blow the whole crap-pile? Do that cool thing where we casually walk away, silhouetted by the fireball exploding behind us?"

He has a flair for the melodramatic. Sam doesn't agree.

"What and wipe out the first actual evidence of real Selenites? Dude, that little moon-guy helped us."

Dean gives him a narrow disbelieving look. "Dude, you hit your head in the dark?"

They leave the tunnels behind and, between unsuspecting guard patrols, slip out of the compound through a hole in the fence.

TBC

A/N: All that's left now is an epilogue. Coming soon.