Chapter Forty-three

Outside The House

As Brendan returned to himself, the fur, shape, and attitude of the wolf melting away, he became aware of quiet sobbing. The voices caught at his heart for he recognized them as those of his beloved and her sister, a woman who possessed one of the biggest hearts he'd ever come across. He looked at their grief-stricken faces, and his heart caught. Who had they lost? Who had died? He walked up to Prue on silent feet, placed a timid hand on her shoulder, and rubbed her gently, wishing he could erase her pain.

Prue gave Brendan a tremulous smile even as tears trailed down her face. She moved instinctively into his arms, extremely glad that, for once, Brendan seemed to forget his rules about not touching her. Despite her heavy heart, it felt wonderful to be held close in his arms.

Cole would have liked to have jumped back into the battle that he knew was happening inside but had not dared to leave the remaining Halliwells. With one sister lost forever and the other one headless, there was no way he was going to leave the other two alone now that the Werewolves were dealt with. He pulled Piper into his arms and shook his head sadly, his eyes intent on Brendan's face, hoping that the boy would not ask who died.

Piper let her sister turn into Brendan's embrace, for once taking no notice that the man was yet again naked. She turned to her own beloved and cried on his shoulder, forcing her tears to ebb only when Cole softly told newcomers that no safety awaited them at the ocean's edge.

Katrina mewed pitiously for although she could not answer Cole in the human tongue, she still understood it. She had tried every spell she could possibly think of, and yet none of them had changed her or her sister back into two-legged form. She clung to Tom now, knowing that he was trapped in his Puss in Boots form. He had fought bravely to gain their exit. She told him now in cat language how much she loved him, how proud she was of him, and how afraid she was for their people.

"If there is no safety at the water, we have nowhere to go. The island is coming apart. She knew he already knew that, but it felt better saying it aloud to him. Always before, she seemed to have answers that she could reach from within. This time, she had none. She looked at her brave husband with tears trembling in her eyes. Did Tom have an answer? She prayed that he did. "I'll follow you anywhere, beloved," she told him. "What do we do now?"

Tom reassuringly stroked his beloved wife's fur, knowing all the while what he must do. He had already swept off his feathered cap in respect to Cole and his lady, and now his green eyes raised to Cole. He reached out to him with his mind. Whatever lays in wait there, we must take them, my friend, and we must do away with them. We can not let our family down.

Piper knew Cole felt he needed to be fighting. She wiped the tears from her eyes, placed a gentle hand on his muscular chest, and looked up into his eyes. She told him, with her gaze, that she loved, trusted, and understood him; that he could go but must return to her in one piece; and that she would be waiting for him, being strong in his absence.

Zora looked up at Cole and growled, her tail cutting through the air. She did not know what Tom was telling him but knew, from the look on his face and in his eyes, that he must assuredly be up to something. She sniffed the air, waiting to tell when it would be disturbed and preparing to dump Connor.

Vang looked at his daughter and shook his head. He did not want her leaving him, but though she also did not want to leave him, Connor, or the others, she knew what had to be done. She looked up as Andrew entered the scene, pulling Autolycus along with him, and her striped tail swished again through the air. Why couldn't some one else, some one stronger, have come through that door? Perhaps, Bast willing, with Vang, Connor, and Brendan there to protect them, those they were about to leave behind would be all right, but if they did not go and take care of whatever enemies lined the harbor, they would be lost no matter what else was done. There was, she realized with a sinking heart, no real choice. Some one had to rid the harbor of what was there, and she had never been one to rely on men to do her fighting.

Katrina could tell that Tom was talking to Cole, but she didn't know what he was telling him. For the first time, Tom had his mind blocked to her. "It's not fair -- " she started to wail and then realized that it was too late. Cole was shimmering, Tom had actually thrown her back to her sister, and Cole was taking Tom with him! She tried to holler, "WAIT!", but it only came out as "MWORR!!!!"

Connor yelled in surprise as his butt hit the ground. "ZORA?!" he screeched, but no sooner did he get her name out than he realized that she was gone. He knew where she'd gone and that she didn't think very highly of his fighting abilities. He nodded his head in shame for a moment and then looked around him at the "helpless females" that he had been left to guard. He vowed that nothing would hurt them. They'd have to get through him first! No sooner had he made that vow than something came crashing through what was left of the doorway. He looked up in alarm only to find Hank carrying Spike and running on all fours. The breath of relief that whooshed from his lungs surprised even him.


The House, or rather, What Remains of It

Lockheed was still perched on Kurt's shoulder when they arrived back in the house. There were far too many battles still being raged. Above them all was Jareth fighting with the manticore. "Ve mustn't let Katzchen see us! She zinks ve are safe at ze shore, and she has her hands full!" As Jareth ended up disposing of the manticore, Kurt could not help clapping his hands together in joy. His yellow eyes roamed the room, seeking where best he could help.

Urian struggled desperately to ignore the pain that raged through his all-too human body and cursed his meager existence yet again as he tried to make heads or tails out of the mass assortment of beings that swarmed what had once been the house. Pirates and animals were fleeing, some carrying others, and most of their people seemed to either be running away, pulling themselves back together after Jareth's defeat of the manticore, or simply . . . gone.

Their number had dwindled from at least a good hundred to only a hand full of survivors. Where were the others? he wondered. Had they already abandoned their kinship? Had they been captured, or were they . . . dead? Where were Salem and the others of their group, James, Smee, Sean, Emma? Had they survived so long after being cursed only to have their lives taken now? Janeesa, sweet, beatiful Janeesa . . . She had been so concerned over her sister, Tessa. Where was Tessa? Had she made it? Was it already too late?

Movement in the air above their heads caught Urian's attention, and his gaze lifted to look upon a couple in the air. As the bodies moved against each other, he came to realize that it was two women. The blonde shook his head, marvelling at how close they had been to Jareth's battle with the manticore and yet were continuing their coupling as though they were the only two in all the world. Then his jaw slackened as he realized that one of the two women was none other than Tessa. Well, she certainly had made it thus far!

He watched for a longer moment, taking no notice of when Kurt and Lockheed darted away from his side to help others, and took note that Tessa's flesh, scales, and very hair seemed lighter and frailer than usual. Something white blurred his vision, and as Rian wiped the damp substance from his eyes, he realized that it was still snowing and that, therefore, Tessa was still weak. The other woman was most likely trying to ignite energy back into her weakened form, but though that would delay her becoming too cold, it would never save her life. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted upwards, "TAKE HER TO THE WATER! BEWARE OF -- " His words shattered in a grunt of pain as a massive fist plowed into his back from behind.


"TAKE HER TO THE WATER!" The yell slapped Rachel with reality as sharply and chillingly as though some one had dumped a torrent of cold water upon her. Her green eyes flew open. She sighed as she gazed into Tessa's face, made even more beautiful by the pleasure she had given her. Ray's sigh was silenced by Tessa's mouth, but the redhead fought to keep from giving in to her emotions. Though every inch of her body was screaming at her to take her, her brain told her that she was being a fool and that, if she did not act fast, she would soon lose Tessa forever.

It took a great deal of effort, but Rachel managed to remove her mouth from Tessa's. Though Tessa's lips instinctively sought to reconnect with Rachel's, the redhead managed to keep clear. Her arms wrapped around her, and she pulled her as close as she could with their clothes still somewhat on. Nestling Tessa's head protectively against her shoulder, Rachel flew swiftly toward the ocean.


Anger blazed from Jareth's eyes as he saw the new threat that held his family captive. He looked from them back to the manticore. First, he had to deal with him, and then all Hell was going to break lose upon his enemies. He racked his brain for a solution. His eyes went around the room, looking for a weapon of some kind. Should he call the lightning back?

Then he saw the hole, and he felt the wind caress him once more. "WIND, I CALL UPON ALL THE POWER THAT LAYS WITHIN YOUR MIGHTY EMBRACE! PUT THE BASTARD IN THE HOLE!" The wind drew up as though it was a mighty warrior and blew into the manticore. Such was the blow that the manticore skidded across the floor and into the hole.

Jareth immediately turned back to where his family was and tried to come up with a plan. Why did the bitch look so familiar? He couldn't see her front, only her back, and then it dawned on him: Melinda, the bitch, had returned! At one time, he'd thought his life would never be complete without her until she had betrayed him and almost cost him his life. Now, he not only had to sneak up on her, but he had to take her and the Troll out simultaneously. He had not the foggiest idea how to do it.

The Troll held Didymus by the throat and could very easily snap the dog Knight's neck. Where was Worm? The little fellow had an uncanny ability to hide himself. He was so good that, at times, Jareth could not even find him.

Jareth walked forward. He knew it would do no good to try to hide himself. He'd never get close enough through that! "MELINDA!" he called to her. "STOP WASTING YOUR TIME WITH HER! GIVE YOUR ATTENTION TO ME! SHE IS NOT A WORTHY OPPONENT FOR YOU; I AM!"

Melinda whirled around, a hand in the air signaling him to halt. "STOP!" she commanded. "COME NO CLOSER OR YOUR LITTLE DOG KNIGHT SHALL BREATHE HIS LAST AND THEN YOUR WIFE WILL JOIN HIM!" Her eyes moved from his gaze to the amulet that encircled his neck. "GIVE ME YOUR POWER," she told him, "AND THEY WILL LIVE."

"WHAT POWER?" Jareth asked, moving even closer to her. "I TRIED TO GIVE YOU POWER BEFORE. YOU DIDN'T WANT IT! I WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU! SO WHAT POWER ARE YOU ASKING ME FOR NOW?"

As Jareth moved to take another step, Melinda's left eye cut toward the Troll. "KILL HIM."

Jareth stopped immediately. "IF YOU KILL HIM, YOU WILL NEVER GET THE POWER." He reversed his walk, acting as though she was just trivial. "Why would you think he matters to me?" he asked her flippiantly.

"Then this shouldn't bother you in the least." She drew a knife from the sash that encircled her waist and threw it. Didymus bit down on his tongue to keep from howling as the knife sliced cleanly through his skin and embedded into his leg.

Jareth's hands balled into fists. He felt extremely helpless, but he could not let on that he was hurting because of Didymus' pain. "When have you ever known any of my subjects to matter to me?" he asked as he threw his emotion, with his hand, into the air. "At one time, you mattered to me. Then you tried to betray me! You got greedy, bitch! You've got to find something else!" One thing he had wanted to do was to draw her attention away from Delvira. Now her attention was completely upon him. He hoped Delvira had something up her sleeve.

"Very well," she snapped. "He's useless," she told the Troll. "Kill the dog, and you can eat the worm. It's in the mutt's pocket." The Troll's grip on Didymus' neck tightened until the dog man's eyes began to bulge.

"NO!" Delvira hurled a fireball at the Troll's head.

Melinda made a tisking sound in the back of her throat. She passed her hand through the air, and the fireball reversed itself. Delvira vanished the ball of fire a mere heartbeat before it could explode into her. Melinda grabbed a handful of the Vampiress' hair and snatched it backwards. She placed a sharp fingernail against Delvira's throat and cut into her pale skin until a small trickle of blood appeared. Her wicked gaze returned to Jareth. "The clock's ticking."

"YOU STILL HAVEN'T TOLD ME WHAT POWER YOU WANT, AND IF YOU KILL ANY ONE OF THEM, I WON'T GIVE YOU THE POWER, BITCH! I DON'T KNOW WHAT POWER YOU WANT. I DIDN'T SAY I WOULDN'T GIVE IT TO YOU! RELEASE MY PEOPLE! I WILL GIVE YOU ANY POWER YOU TELL ME YOU WANT!"

"Aha, so they do matter to you!" The blonde threw her head back in wicked laughter that sounded like shattering glass and breaking bones before stilling herself and cutting a cold look back at Jareth. "I did not say I wanted a power," she reprimended him. "I want your power, Jareth, all of it."

"I DON'T THINK YOU COULD HANDLE IT! RELEASE MY PEOPLE, AND I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU."

Cold laughter barked from her throat. "I'M NOT A FOOL, JARETH! GIVE ME THE POWER, AND THEN YOU'LL GET YOUR PRECIOUS WIFE AND YOUR PATHETIC SUBJECTS!"

"AND YOU THINK I BELIEVE YOU BECAUSE . . . ?" He let his voice trail off as he gazed down into her face. "YOU'RE LYING, BITCH! LET MY PEOPLE GO FIRST! YOU BETRAYED ME ONCE; YOU'D ONLY DO IT AGAIN!" Jareth knew there'd be no rescue from any of the Pirates. They were all busily trying to get their own selves to freedom. There'd be no rescue for them this day, but he'd make her pay! The bitch did not know where his power lay, and that was the one thing that might save him. It had to be taken from Jareth, and he'd never revealed it to any one but Delvira.

"Let me put it this way, Goldilocks. What choice do you have? If you give them to me, I release your people. If you don't, they die."

"YOU LIE, BITCH! YOU WILL NOT RELEASE MY PEOPLE! YOU CAN'T TAKE MY POWERS! I CAN ONLY GIVE THEM WILLINGLY! RELEASE MY PEOPLE! LET THEM GET AWAY TO SAFETY, AND I WILL GIVE YOU MY POWERS! I'M NOT TRYING TO LEAVE YOU! IF ALL ELSE FAILS, YOU'LL STILL HAVE ME HOSTAGE, AND I DIDN'T SAY I WOULDN'T GIVE THEM TO YOU! I SAID I WOULD GIVE THEM TO YOU ONCE THEY'RE SAFE!" He gazed into her face, as though he was studying her appearance. "What happened to you, Melinda? You used to be beautiful!"

"Your opinion ceased mattering to me a long time ago, Jareth. I'll grant you ten minutes to make your decision. On the eleventh, the dog dies. On the twelth, your worm will be eaten. On the thirteenth, your wife dies. Tick, tock." She grinned wickedly.

"IT MATTERS NOT IF I GIVE YOU MY POWERS NOW, BUT ONLY A FOOL WOULD FOR YOU WILL NOT KEEP YOUR WORD! YOU WILL NOT LET THEM GO FREE, AND YOU CAN NOT TAKE MY POWERS FROM ME! YOU PLAN TO KILL THEM ANY WAY! YOU MIGHT TORTURE ME, BUT I WILL STILL NOT GIVE UP MY POWERS TO YOU! THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU CAN GET THEM IS IF I GIVE THEM WILLINGLY, AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, IF YOU KILL MY PEOPLE, I WILL NEVER DO!" He glared defiantly at her.

After a long moment with Jareth and Melinda glaring at each other, the Sorceress finally relented with a careless shrug of her slender shoulders. "You're right," she admitted. "They're dead either way, so what are we waiting for?" She looked at the Troll who held Didymus. "Kill them."


Trina watched with tears flowing from her eyes as one rock after another rolled over Carlos and Theodora. She'd seen no sign of either since Theo had went down to try to protect Carlos, and the rocks seemed to be never-ending. She'd tried to get in past them, but they were too many and too fast. She could not let the boulders make contact with her for, if they did, she'd be no use to Carlos or any one. She had no choice but to wait. She'd only ever felt this helpless once before. She'd been prepared to sell her soul to bring Andrew back, but she now knew that Andrew, Carlos, and Trent would never forgive her if she were to ever consider doing something that foolish again.

A flash of movement out of the corner of her eye caused the blonde to turn. She expected enemies, but what she saw instead were two young brunette men desperately trying to break in between the rocks.

"THEY'RE TOO FAST!" Sam yelled over the rumbling. He looked hopefully at Dean and once more ached for his poor baby's nose. He had just barely gotten him back on his feet when they'd noticed the woman's predicament and realized that some one she loved must be underneath the rocks. Though Sam had wanted to just get the heck out of there, Dean had wasted no time in coming to the woman's rescue. "ANY IDEAS?"

Dean shook his head sadly. "WE CAN'T GET UNDER THERE, AND WE HAVE NOTHING TO BLAST THEM WITH! IF WE GET ON THE FLOOR WITH THEM, WE'RE GOING TO GET POUNDED!" It was at that moment that a flash of black caught his eyes, causing them to grow large in amazement. "THERE'S A DEMON UNDER THERE!" he informed Sam. "TELL ME I'M NOT SEEING WHAT I'M SEEING!" He could have sworn the Demon was trying to grab hold of the beings underneath the teeming mass of rocks. "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, LOVE?" He looked hopefully at Sam. He hoped whatever Sam came up with didn't involve going under the rocks, too, because he knew they'd never stand a chance.

"WE HAVE TO SAVE THEM BEFORE HE GETS THEM!" Sam started forward again only to once more have to fall back. He was barely missed by one of the seemingly countless bouncing boulders. "WE'VE GOT TO STOP THAT DEMON!"

"NO!" Trina yelled, whirling on the two who meant to rescue Carlos. Though her blue eyes were still fearful, her anger burned the tears away. "THAT DEMON IS A FRIEND! HE'S SAVING THEM!" She prayed Kurt could get them out of there safely.

Lockheed roared his disapproval from above the rocks as he, too, glared at the Winchesters.

Dean shook his head in disbelief. "YOU'RE SURE HE'S A FRIEND AND NOT JUST TAKING THEM TO HELL? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS? WHAT CAUSED THE ROCKS TO COME IN THE FIRST PLACE?" Dean hoped some logical explanation might give him a clue as to what to do.

At Dean's first question, Lockheed flew in closer. Warning puffs of smoke spat out of his purple beak. Trina bravely held a hand up at the dragon who was growing steadily angrier. "DRAGON, NO! THEY MEAN WELL! YES, THEY'RE ON OUR SIDE!" she said, looking at the wide-eyed boys. "NOT THAT I'M NOT GRATEFUL FOR YOUR HELP, BUT I'VE SEEN THEM MANY A TIME AROUND THE HOUSE WHEREAS I'VE NOT SEEN EITHER OF YOU BEFORE THIS DAY! AS FOR WHAT CAUSED THE ROCKS IN THE FIRST PLACE, I DON'T KNOW!"

The rocks seemed to have a pattern. They shifted from one side, then to the other. Timing would help. "Better timing," Dean was trying to think out loud. Even as Dean mused aloud, he realized that the Demon was no longer under there and that no one else was under there to be rescued that could be seen. The rocks did not seem to want to leave; they just kept moving from side to side, pounding the floor and anything else in their pathway. "I THINK YOUR FRIEND HAS TAKEN EVERY ONE WHO WAS UNDER THERE OUT. MAYBE WE SHOULD GET OUT OF HERE TOO? DO YOU KNOW WHICH WAY SAFETY LAYS?"

"THAT WAY!" Trina called to the brothers, pointing where she had last seen Andrew hauling Autolycus to safety. "BUT WHERE DID HE GO?" Where had Kurt gone to? Had he managed to take Carlos and Theodora to safety? Would Carlos be all right?

"THEN WE'D BEST GO THAT WAY TOO!" Dean indicated and started heading in their direction, his keen eyes glancing around in search of any one else who needed help on the way out.

Sam had just started to follow Dean when a woman ran up to them. Her eyes were glued to the rocks, but he took a moment to tell her, "THEY'RE FREED!"

Kitty stopped in true surprise. Some one had beat her to the rescue! Thank Gods some one had taken care of whoever had been trapped beneath the rocks, but . . . . who? She was just about to question as to the identity of their rescuer when a flash of purple darting behind Trina's back drew her attention. Pryde drew herself to her full height and stalked around Trina. "DRAGON! WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK HERE?" she demanded, her hands instantly flying to her hips.

Sam had watched the woman leave, and in so doing, had had his eyes drawn to another scene. The man who had fought the manticore before was now in great peril himself. Although he appeared free, he was facing off against a blonde woman in a flowing dress who held two others captive and had many monsters at her disposal. He could not see Jareth's face, but the snatches of argument he could hear told him that the woman's captives were two of Jareth's people. He did not know if they were friends, family, or simply team members, but they must be something to him for he continued to argue and try to find a way to get the woman to free them.


Urian struggled to rise, but every time he began to push up, something plowed into his back again. His body was screaming. Pain writhed through him so intensely that it felt as though his very muscles were on fire. He tried to turn over, and something kicked him in the ribs. He had no weapons, but if he could only manage to roll over, perhaps he could kick out at the thing that attacked him? He moved as fast as he could manage and at last was able to kick out. His feet swung upward, and he grimaced in pain for it felt as though he was kicking pure stone.

The Troll grunted and grinned down into Urian's bleary vision. "Pretty fellow. Make good snack." Yellowed claws curled around Urian's long, blonde hair and snatched him up.

A yowling, spitting bundle of black fur flew into the Troll's face. Rian only had a glimpse of Salem before the Troll's other hand smacked the cat and sent him flying. It was then that Urian yelled out, cursing the Troll with every derogative word he'd come across throughout his sails on the seven seas. His fists and feet flew, but he was too weakened to make much impact. The Troll laughed and yanked Rian closer to his saliva-dripping mouth.


"CHONG!" Hansel called as Chong finally lowered Wesley's unconscious body to the floor and flipped through the air. Hansel's blue eyes, made wild with panick, followed his lover, and his stomach felt weak as he realized that Chong was flipping straight into an entire group of enemies. He looked at Derek. "Put down the mirror," he told him even as he lowered his own half.

"NO!" Phillip screeched his disapproval. "DON'T PUT DOWN THE MIRROR! SAVE THE MIRROR!"

"We have to," Hansel agreed, "and we'll be back, but we have to help Chong!" His hands freed, he turned and followed Chong as quickly as he could run.

"You never listen do you, China man?" Derek commented, even knowing that the man could not hear him, and shook his head. "Phillip, I promise that I will come back for you. I have to get Hansel and that stupid China man! Why doesn't he ever listen to me?" He sat Phillip down, ignoring the mirror's argument and ran after Hansel.


Smee had his back firmly pressed against his beloved James'. Though the animals had left to help Aslan quite some time ago, James' and Smee's troubles had not decreased but instead only increased. Every step they took they were confronted with another danger. As James' hook swept through another of the smaller Trolls, severing the monster's head smoothly from his neck, Smee jumped up and down and lunged again. His stomach knocked into the oncoming skeleton, sending it sliding back and splattering. The skeleton's bones had barely shattered across the floor before two more came upon them.

A familiar yowl broke through the air a split second before a struggling, black body flew into Smee's side. The cat bounced off of Smee's stomach and fell to the floor. A Goblin leapt for the cat. Smee's fist swung upwards into the Goblin. "James!" he called. "Salem -- !"

James Hook sailed through the air and gutted the Goblin and several others who had been coming to attack Salem. Slime and blood splattered everywhere. Ooze dripped off of James' hook. With the look of a wild man, James snatched Salem from the floor, Smee by his hook grasping his shirt, and fled the scene, taking both out with him. Any one that looked at him would not have dared to stop him. His hair flew in all directions, and spit fumed from his mouth. He had to get these two to safety! The croc, be damned!


Dean's eyes kept flashing between the man who had fought the manticore and the one who was now about to become a Troll snack. He didn't want Sam to get involved with either of them, but he couldn't, in good conscience, just walk away from them. He looked at the two women and realized he didn't want Sam to get involved with them, either. He couldn't handle it all on his own! Maybe the women and Sam should help the man who had killed the manticore? Sam had always been good at talking their way out of messes. "Sam?" His eyes looked meaningfully at his love and then at the group he was hoping Sam could do something about, trying desperately not to look back at the man who was about to be a snack. If he could only get Sam to go that way, he'd help the other guy!

Sam nodded. "I was thinking the same, dear . . . " It felt so good to be able to openly call Dean the words Sam had always wanted to call him by, but his next words froze on the tip of the tongue as the woman barked out. A quietness had settled in the air around them, save for the man and woman's argument, a man running wildly with foam spewing from his mouth as though he himself were about to change, and one other skirmish Sam had caught bits and pieces of ruckus from, and the woman's sneering voice called out, seemingly bringing most attention to her. "Kill them."

Even Kitty had ceased lecturing Lockheed, her attention drawn to Jareth's dilemma. "It's now or never!" she whispered to the others. She ran flat out at the fastest speed she could muster. She raced over the very air itself, so her feet made no sound. Just before she would have reached the cluster of enemies that circled Jareth and held what was left of his family captive, Kitty dropped into the floor and disappeared from sight.

Sam and Trina ran at the group, neither knowing how best to help but both determined to do whatever they could.

Dean's mouth fell open, and it was all he could do to keep him from screaming out loud. Just where the Hell had the woman disappeared to?! He couldn't wait to get out of this damn house that was eating people left and right! If he'd known it was possible to get swallowed going that way, he would never have let Sam go! Poor girl! She never knew what hit her!

Pulling deep within himself, he tore his eyes away from the group and began to search for a weapon. The only thing he could find that could be used for a weapon was a huge stick laying on the ground. He drew swiftly toward it and thanked the Gods when he saw it was a bo staff. He might just stand a chance with it.

Grasping it firmly in his hands, he raced toward the Troll and the man who was frantically swinging and kicking, trying to defend himself. The poor man was soon to be a snack! He looked as though he was almost completely out of it.

He raced around the Troll and then, with an angry yell thundering from his lungs and boosting his self confidence, Dean flew into attacking the Troll. He swung the staff with all the strength he possessed, smacking the Troll in the back of his legs. He prayed the Troll would go down.

The Troll snarled and, with his free hand, went to the back of his legs, searching for what had attacked him. His deep, rumbly voice bellowed forth. "What puny thing attack Bloodwurst?" His beady eyes could not see much, but his hand made contact with a club and he snatched it upward.

One minute Dean had attacked the Troll; the next minute, he was dangling in the air, about to join the half-dead guy as a snack! His heart almost stopped. What would he do now? Thank the Gods Sam would not see this happen! His poor darling would never know what had happened to him! He looked angrily at the Troll. "Why didn't you just go down?!"

"Huh?" Bloodwurst returned. "Not want to. Eat!" He brought Dean closer to his mouth. Then he brought the other guy closer. He wished for a third hand so that he could scratch his head while he determined which he should eat first. Then he hefted his mighty shoulders in a shrug and brought both simultaneously angling for his gigantic mouth.

To Be Continued . . .