Supernatural – Heart of Gold
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural. I do own Haley and Dethton.
Author's Note: No internet connection for almost a week has delayed this chapter (I had it finished the day the internet gave out, so I've been hanging on edge since then to post it). Big thankyous to Chase for being the beta reader of this story.
Review Answers: Whoops, forgot the last chapter.
skycandygirl - Well, I'm good at it, lol. Yes, so far as I know, it's the psi-vamp's blood, but I think I have a further explanation in this chapter. I think, I can't be completely sure. Anyway, you'll find out about what Meg's up to in this chapter. Hehe. Exciting. You think so? Thanks. Here's the update.
Ghostwriter: Well, you could look at it like that. Though you'll find out in this chapter whether or not they're actually in league with each other. Glad you liked, here's a new chapter.
Maygin - Wow, long review, lots of answers to give. Glad you thought it was awesome (I worked real hard to get it just right). Yeah, I absolutely loved Meg, had to bring her into it. Well, not much of a fight, actually. (Evil grin) They don't stand a chance. Cleansing comes next chapter (if I ever finish it, lol). Yes, I don't know why I put that there. My beta says I write dark scarily well, I'm inclined to agree with her, lol. That just seemed the kind of thing Haley would do in the state she's in at the moment. Meg's plan and more revealed in this chapter. Glad you loved John hand-cuffing Sam to the chair, I loved writing it. Sad, really, but who cares. Here's what happens to Sam. Hehe, more of what happens revealed in next chapter (another evil grin).
EmSyd: Yes, very bad Haley. So good at torture, but very bad Haley. But don't let her hear you say that. Here's more, you didn't have to wait too long.
puplover77: Hmmm... to kill Dean... or not to kill Dean... I guess you'll just have to read on to find out.
Chapter 35 – There's a Bad Time for Everything
Sam was on his feet, but not getting very far because of the handcuffs. He settled for getting behind the chair, even if it was a little uncomfortable with his arm still held to it.
"How are you even here?" he asked. "Last I recall, you got thrown out a window," he said, remembering watching the invisible devas pulling Meg along the floor of the warehouse and then hurling her out the window to fall two stories to the unforgiving pavement. Or at least, it should've been unforgiving.
"Oh?" Meg said. "Last I recall, you were the reason that happened," she said. "That really hurt my feelings y'know, Sammy." She took a step toward him.
"Yeah, well you'll forgive me if I don't cry, considering you almost had the devas tear Dean and I apart," Sam said.
"Yeah, I was hoping we could put that behind us," she said. Sam picked up a shoe and threw it at her. She caught it before it could hit her face. "Hmmm… guess not," she said, tossing the shoe aside. She took a step towards him, and he pulled against the chair, unable to lift it from where John had bolted it down. She frowned.
"What do you want?" Sam asked, still trying unsuccessfully to break free.
"Well…" she began, cocking her head to one side.
"Besides that," Sam cut across her. She smiled, amused.
"Your little girlfriend," she said.
"You want to have sex with her too?" he asked. Meg looked taken aback by the accusation.
"Sam, you know I'm a one-man-woman," she said. "With an emphasis on man." She smiled again. "No, what I want isn't important. It's what my father wants from little Haley that's important."
"Your father?" Sam asked, apprehension momentarily replaced with curiosity.
Meg opened her mouth, but then closed it again. Sam frowned, and she spoke.
"My father isn't a factor at the moment," she said. "All that matters is what I'm after, and what I'm willing to do to get it." She started walking around him, glancing at random things, stopping here and there to take a longer look. Finally, she stopped almost right behind him to look at a photo that lay on the table. Sam saw the box that had been given to them back in Lawrence by Jenny. The one that had all their photos from before the demon attacks. He struggled to look over her shoulder at the photo she was looking at.
She suddenly turned to him, and Sam saw the photo of his Mum and Dad standing out the front of their old house, Dean on their Dad's shoulders while their Mum held baby Sam.
"Such a happy family," Meg said, still looking at the photo. Then she looked up at Sam with a smile. "It'd be a shame to break it apart even more." Sam stiffened.
"Dean's with Haley… You wouldn't be able to get to him," he said, sounding more confident than he felt. "And Dad's… Dad's with them too," he said.
"Are you sure?" Meg asked menacingly, taking a step toward him. "You could be wrong… we could have them both." He glared at her. "One word from me and they're dead."
"You're lying," Sam said, refusing to look at her now. He was staring purposefully at the floor.
"Are you sure?" Meg asked. "Are you willing to gamble your brother's life on it?" Sam looked up. That was all-too-much like what his Dad had said. "Could you live with all that guilt." She gave an amused laugh and smiled. "Oh no, wait, you already do," she said with another short laugh. Sam glared at her, and without even stopping to think, he threw his foot out landing a direct kick to her chest. With shock on her face, she staggered back and crashed into the table, which tipped over and deposited her unceremoniously on the floor.
Sam staggered back as he reached his limit on the hand cuffs, and crashed into the chair. He glared daggers at the demon as she climbed to her feet, steadying herself on the upturned table. She looked at him for a long moment, clutching her chest. Then she smiled.
"I've gotta say, I didn't expect that," she said. "You never struck me as the kind of guy who'd strike me," she said.
"I kicked you, there's a difference," Sam spat.
"Splitting hairs if you ask me, but then again, you didn't," Meg said. She looked around for a second, and then smiled. "Since threatening your brother didn't work, let's try a different approach." She held up a small metallic object; a paper clip. "If you're not at that warehouse when Haley expects you to be, she's going to kill Dean, and then she's going to kill Daddy and the old psychic. Now, I'm taking you there with me whether you like it or not; but if you'd rather me wait until after she's killed big brother, that's up to you." Sam glared at her. "So, are we going now, or are we going later?"
Sam sighed in resignation, bowed his head, and held his hand out for the paper clip. Meg smiled, and threw it over to him. He snatched it out of the air and hastily set about picking the lock of the hand cuffs. When he was done, he looked up at her, a mirthless smile on his face.
"You do realize you're standing right in front of the window, don't you?" he asked. "I could push you out; that's a two story drop. Are you sure you could live with the pain." He gave a short laugh. "Oh no, wait, I forgot. You already do," he said, the smile never leaving his face, though it now held a hint of mock-pity. Meg smiled.
"That's really funny Sam," she said, and pulled a gun from the back of her belt, pointing it at the young man. "Try anything and I'll shoot you in the gut, then I'll reach down your throat and rip out your heart." She gave him a small smile; she could've been telling him she was going down the road to buy milk, the way she spoke. "Now turn around, hands behind your back," she said. Sam opened his mouth to argue, but then thought better of it when she took the safety off the gun. "Now," she said calmly. With a sigh of resignation, Sam turned around, putting his hands behind him.
"We can never go somewhere where we can get a nice, clean win, can we?" he muttered. "No, something always has to go wrong," he answered himself. He heard a chuckle from Meg as she began tying his hands with a length of thick rope. He winced as she pulled the knot tighter than he thought was necessary. He glanced over his shoulder. "Out of curiosity, how're you planning on getting me past the front desk?" he asked.
"You're assuming there's anyone alive at the front desk to see you," Meg said, and Sam felt the barrel of the small hand gun pressed against the back of his head. "Now move," she said.
"Ten minutes, Dean," Haley's voice reached his ears. "Think he'll make it?" He looked up at her where she sat on the hood of his car while he was tied up on the front seat.
He didn't respond to her, though that had more to do with the piece of foul-tasting cloth she'd gagged him with than anything else. He was awfully weak due to the almost-constant tortures she'd inflicted upon him, but still he forced himself to keep eye contact with her, staring at her. He saw the frustration on her face, and couldn't help but grin. Or try to anyway. As much pain as he was in, he was long past being afraid of anything she could dish out; one could only be tortured so much before it just became… well, it still hurt, but it became something expected rather than feared. Which he knew was far from good, but right at that moment, he didn't care. Not that he had completely given up on Sam saving him.
A small growl escaped Haley. "Quit with the hope already; it's making me nauseous." He rolled his eyes. The demonically-possessed woman stood up, and Dean felt the faintest flicker of fear go through him. Fear turned to relief when she looked away from him, up the road He struggled to see past her, and managed to glimpse a figure approaching from the direction they had come. No, two figures.
"What part of 'come alone or I'll kill your brother' does he not-?" She stopped, and then turned back to Dean, a smile on her face. "Looks like we're going to be having some fun," she said. Dean closed his eyes, remembering what her ideas of fun were at the moment. How was it possible for someone to torture someone else for so long without so much as a coffee break, and still manage to enjoy it? "You know, I think I liked you better before your brother rang," she said, breaking into his thoughts. "At least then you were afraid of what was going to happen." He attempted a smile again. At least as long as he wasn't afraid, she couldn't get a proper hold on him again.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. She returned his look whole-heartedly, looked over her shoulder, and then slowly crept away, vanishing into the shadows cast by the faint light of the quarter moon. Dean tried to keep her in his sights, but she quickly vanished into the night like she'd become a shadow herself.
That's when Dean saw that neither of the two figures approaching were his brother; his heart plummeted into his feet when he saw his Dad and Missouri approaching. He laid his head back against the head rest of the seat, realizing for the first time since he'd woken up that maybe he wasn't going to survive this encounter.
As soon as John saw the car, he broke into a run, with Missouri right behind him (or falling behind a little; she hadn't exercised much lately). The oldest Winchester opened the impala door, and took in the sight of his beaten son. Dean was looking at him with a mixture of frustration and fear in his eyes, which he didn't quite understand. He quickly reached down and pulled the gag down from his older son's mouth.
"We have to… get out of here," Dean said. John nodded and reached behind Dean to untie him. "No… forget that… just get in… the car; I think she left the-" Before he could finish, something took hold of him and pushed him back against the seat, pinning him in a very uncomfortable position.
"Dean?" John said, suddenly on edge. He reached out to try and pull his son away from the chair, but he was thrown backwards away from the car.
"Uh uh uh, that's no fun at all." Haley stepped back out of the shadows to stand between John and the car. "My, Sam, you've aged since I saw you last. And gotten shorter; why, you're the spitting image of your father," she said. Then she narrowed her eyes. "I wanted Sam!" she shouted at John, and with barely a twitch of the eye, the older man was lifted off the ground and thrown across the docks into the outer wall of the warehouse. "Instead, I find a rundown, broken hunter and a psychic." At this, she looked over at Missouri, who had been trying to ease behind Haley to get to Dean. "Stop!" she said, and Missouri did. Haley narrowed her eyes, and Missouri was thrown away from the car. Haley smiled when the old woman didn't get back up, and turned back to John. "You see, it wasn't just my empathic abilities that were enhanced by the psi-vamp's blood," she said, walking towards him. "It's opened me to a whole part of my brain I didn't even know existed." She cocked her head to one side, and lifted John into the air, before pinning him against the wall. She looked like she was about to do something she enjoyed when her smile faded. She looked to her left in time to see two bright lights speed towards her. Headlights.
"Oh, sh-" The car slammed into her before she could finished. Dean's eyes went wide from his vantage point in the Impala as Haley was thrown into the air, landing momentarily on the roof of the car before rolling off as it continued speeding down the docks. She landed on her feet, an annoyed look on her face. "That was just rude," she said, turning back to face the car. Then she smiled. "Ah, my knight in shining armor has come to rescue his brother," she said, smiling as the car did a one-eighty and came hurtling towards her again. "Though I don't think he's the one driving," she said, almost as an after-thought. She tilted her head to one side, and the car engine spluttered, before going silent. The car rolled a few more feet, and then came to a standstill.
"What the hell did you do to my car?" came a furious voice. Haley sighed.
"Oh, great. Are all men in this world like Dean?" she muttered. The door on the driver's side flew open and a man stepped out. He didn't seem very interesting until his hazel eyes changed, appearing to become two swirling black holes, devoid of light and life. "Oh, then I guess Sam didn't come willingly."
As if to answer her question, both back seat doors flew open. As did the front passenger door, and the boot door flew right off its hinges. Haley watched the car warily, and then smiled a cold smile when Sam was shoved out one of the back doors, his hands tied behind him.
"Sam," she said, her smile warming ever so slightly. Her smile broadened when she felt a wave of fear wash over him. Before either of them could say or do anything else, Meg climbed out of the car. She took one look at what was happening, and pulled a rather long knife from a small sheath on her belt, and pulled Sam onto his knees, putting the knife against his throat. Haley's face had become completely neutral, but inside she was reveling in all the emotions that were coming from the two demons and Sam. It was almost enough to make her high.
After a few long minutes, Haley decided to break the silence. "Weren't you thrown out a window?" she asked Meg, like they were talking over a cup of tea. Meg rolled her eyes.
"Is everybody going to bring that up?" she growled. She tightened her hold on the knife, but all that brought from Haley was a bored look.
"Are you just going to kneel there holding that thing to his throat or are you going to do something with it?" she asked. Meg snarled.
"Maybe you don't know who it is I am?" she asked.
"Oh, no, I know who you are," Haley said with a nod. Then she gave a mocking smile. "I just don't give a shit," she said.
John, who had been dropped from Haley's power when she'd been hit by the car, was now regaining full consciousness, and quickly took in the situation. He saw Dean had managed to get himself out of the car, and somehow had managed to maneuver himself to Missouri. And he saw Sam, held by Meg with a knife to his throat. He blinked, absolutely shocked.
"How is it that both my sons have gotten taken hostage by two different women on the same day?" he said, climbing to his feet. "Did I teach you nothing?"
"Two 'women'?" Haley asked, turning a shocked look in John's direction.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Meg demanded, also turning a withering gaze on John.
"We are just as capable as men, you know," Haley snapped.
"Yeah, as you just kindly pointed out, we've both got one of your sons," Meg said.
"Hey, Dad," Dean said from over by Missouri. "Would you mind saving the lecture for when Sam doesn't have a knife to his throat?" John shot his older son a look, and Dean fell silent.
Haley and Meg were eyeing each other, both unsure about what to do with the fact they'd both just jumped on the same wagon for a few minutes. Finally, Meg broke the silence.
"Okay, here's the deal," she said. "Me and my… friend, over there," she nodded to the driver, "we came here for you." Haley didn't even blink; she acted like she had expected this. "So, either you come with us willingly, or I slit his throat." She nodded towards Sam, and Haley licked her lips, enjoying the fresh fear welling up in Sam. This action seemed to unnerve anyone who hadn't already seen it, which was everyone except Dean. Then she opened her eyes, her mind registering what Meg had said. There was amusement in her eyes.
"Are you serious?" she asked. Meg looked confused by the question. She laughed. "Okay, so, wait; let me see if I have this right," she said, closing her eyes as if to recall something. "I took Dean, to trade for Sam. But John came to save Dean instead, and in doing so, he left Sam behind, so that you could pick him up, so that you could bring him here, to trade for me. Is that right?" Meg was looking at her like she was crazy. The amused laugh that followed seemed to fortify that conclusion. "Well, I'm sorry to say, but there are a few holes in your plan," she said.
"Oh yeah, like what?" Meg asked.
"Well, one is… I don't give a damn if you slit his throat. I was actually planning on doing it myself," she said. "Which brings me to the other hole," she added. Meg had a confused look on her face for all of three seconds before she gave a sudden cry of pain, dropping the knife and leaping back, letting go of Sam. She was clutching her wrist, breathing heavily and glaring in Haley's direction.
"You broke my hand!" she accused.
"Oh, it's only a little crack," Haley said. Her left hand came up and gripped the throat of the second demon as he came charging at her with a large knife, halting him in his tracks. "Don't do that," she said, lifting him off the ground. "You demons think you're so powerful, but you're nothing- nothing- compared to me." As if to emphasize this, she twisted her hand. The demon gave a short gasp that was cut off abruptly as she snapped his neck. He hung limply in her hand, eyes blank. With a satisfied smile, Haley threw him aside. "And you," she said, glaring at Meg. "You go and tell your Daddy that if wants me, he can come and get me himself." Meg's eyes went wide; fear filled her, she'd never seen anyone as powerful as Haley, not even her own father. "Go!" Haley shouted. Meg wasted no time in getting back in the car and speeding away.
"Dean!" She looked to her left as John tossed something in Dean's direction, who caught it, having been untied by Missouri. The older Winchester, raised the gun and pulled the trigger, shooting a chunk of rock salt at Haley. She had just enough time to realize what it was before it collided with her chest and threw her back. Dean was on his feet, salt gun still in his hand, though in truth he looked like he was about to fall over again.
Haley was faster. She leaned back, and then threw all her weight forward, propelling herself back to her feet, right beside Sam. Dean froze as she moved with unnatural speeds, positioning herself behind Sam, one holding his chin, the other on top of his head.
"Never easy," Sam muttered, like the woman who wanted to kill him didn't have him in the perfect position to break his neck.
"One move, and I'll break his neck," Haley warned. She frowned when she realized she couldn't sense any fear from him. She rolled her eyes. "Hey, maybe you didn't hear me; I said I'd break your neck." Sam looked up at her. His face was completely neutral. There was a little annoyance flowing out of him, but that was it. Then she felt something else. "Stop that!" she shouted. He just stared at her with wide-eyed innocence. "No, stop. Stop it!" She threw him. She lifted him off the ground, and she threw him through the air like he was as light as a feather. He crashed onto the hard wood docks a dozen or so feet away.
Pure rage on her face, Haley ran at him, leaping on top of him and grabbing hold of his throat with both her hands without giving him a chance to prepare, applying pressure straight away. He gasped, and she pinned his arms to the dock with her telekinesis as he tried to push her off. He stared up at her, and now there was fear. She smiled, a cruel, menacing smile as the pulse beneath her hands started to slow.
"Get off of him!" She was startled by the sound of Dean's voice, and even more startled when she felt him grab hold of her by the arms and try to pull her off his brother.
She turned her attention away from Sam for a split second, and threw Dean off of her, before turning back to Sam.
"Your brother doesn't give up easy," she muttered. She saw tears in the youngest Winchester's eyes, and glared. "Don't start crying on me, Sam. It's not going to make it any harder for me to do this," she said. He'd stopped struggling. And she no longer felt fear, or anger, or that accursed love he'd been feeling. All there was was weary acceptance. Her grip slackened just slightly, unsure what to make of this turn of events.
Dean charged at her a second time, this time his hands closing around Haley's throat. He had intended to just try and strangle her until she let go of Sam (and if she didn't, then he would strangle her); what he didn't expect was for steam to start rising from beneath his hands and for Haley to cry out in pain, releasing her hold on Sam's throat.
Sam's eyes widened at what he saw. The instant Dean's hands had touched Haley's neck, her hold had slackened completely. As the steam started to rise, her eyes went wide, and flickered pure black for barely a moment before returning to normal. Then she arched her back, her head colliding with Dean's chest and knocking him backwards. Where his hands had been, there were two angry red burns.
Sam took advantage of her momentary shock, and swung his fist, connecting with her head and stunning her.
He saw Missouri behind Haley. The old woman dropped a satchel onto Sam's chest, right in front of Haley.
"What the-" was all Haley managed, before her eyes drooped and she slumped forward onto Sam chest. Sam smiled, loving the warmth of her body against his. And he too closed his eyes, drifting off into an easy sleep with the aid of whatever herbs Missouri had filled the satchel with.
A/N: Lol, I bet you guys are getting sick of the abrupt endings (at least, they seem abrupt to me). Well, get used to it. I've only got a few chapters left to write, and I'm going to make sure I enjoy writing all of them. Dunno what that has to do with abrupt endings, but anyway. Please review, reviews are good. Constructive critcism good too.