CHAPTER 31

"Where there's a Will, there's a way"

Oz. Fairy World.

"Dean? Dean?!" Dean took a small rattled breath. And then another and another. His brothers voice sounded muffled and far off in the distance at first as he slowly came to. He opened his eyes feeling, again, sick and groaned heavily when he felt a wave of nausea hit.

"Dean?" Sam said worriedly.

Dean stared back up to his brother who had knelt down beside him. He was back. His gaze went immediately from Sam to where he last saw Charlie. He got up rather clumsily, still experiencing the effects of whirlwind ride back, and headed straight towards her.

"Charlie?" Dean asked apprehensively. "Charlie?"

Sam slowly rose up from his crunched position. Dean looked grief stricken and it scared the shit out of Sam.

"Dean, what the hell happened?" Sam asked of his brother, but Dean didn't respond at first.

"Dean..?" Sam said in a softer tone. "What happened?" He asked again. "Did it work?"

Dean looked back to his brother and held his gaze for a terrifying moment before letting out a deep troubled sigh.

"I don't know. I really don't know." Dean answered hauntingly.

"You don't know? Well...did..did... you see Charlie?" Sam asked.

"I saw them both." Dean responded. "They were stuck inside this...white space."

It was then that Dean noted Gilda standing directly behind his brother. He pointed to her accusingly.

"That was one messed up ride Lady. It didn't happen anything like you made it sound like it was gonna happen. Charlie is still in there."

"Dean?" Sam asked shakimg his head in confusion.

"Sam refocused his attention on Sam again. "It's Charlie's Will that's keeping her there."

"A being's Will is a powerful thing. But...Charlie's will seemed broken when I went into her soul." Gilda spoke gingerly. "I sent you in to convince her otherwise."

"Yeah...well..she figured it out.. don't know what happened exactly, but somewhere along the way she decided what needed to be done." Dean's voice was rough and unsettled.

"What does that even mean, Dean?" Sam asked his brother. "What is she gonna do?"

Dean shook his head. "I tried to change her mind. Convince her we'd find another way." Deep creases formed on his forehead as he recalled the events that had happened only moments before. "She said she didn't want to give up." Dean rememebered. "There was rain. It started to fall and everything around us began to change." Dean continued.

Sam tried to listen patiently.

"She's recreating that night at the Blackbird." Dean said quietly. "She's going to face Styne.. one last time."

"She's facing what happened to her directly." Gilda said surprised. "The stories of Charlie in Oz have been filled with great bravery and sacrafice and this is no different." Gilda said sounding proud.

Sam was at first speechless; a reaction quite different from Gilda's. "That's insane!" He finally sputtered out. "Why would she put herself through that? Dean we got to go back in there and stop her."

"No." Gilda's voice now commanded authority. "She is coming to terms in her own way. We must not intercede."

"She's alone in there. What happens if it doesn't work?" Sam began.

"She's not alone. She's got darkCharlie." Dean said.

"So now we trusting darkCharlie ?" Sam responded now rather upset.

"We both saw her try to stop Crowely back at the warehouse." Dean retorted.

Sam stared back at his brother and gave several disapproving shakes of his head.

Dean gave his brother a sympathic expression. "I don't want to lose her either Sammy."

Sam ran his fingers through the short waves of his long brown hair trying to accept himself what Dean had already seemed to come to terms with.

Dean turned to Gilda. "How long before we know it worked?"

Gilda looked back down to her dear friend sadly. "I do not know. If it works her Will will counter the spells effects. And she should be alright."

"And if it doesn't?" Dean asked so scared he thought for sure he'd throw up.

"She'll be trapped and eventually die." Gilda said with a deep melancholy sigh.

"No. That's when we'll destroy the Key and take our chances." Sam warned as he glanced to his brother. Dean nodded in agreement. As far as they were both concerned; last resorts were better than nothing.

Gilda raised an eyebrow to that but remained silent. Instead, she walked over to Charlie and bent down over her and pressed her fingertips against the young woman's forehead.

Gilda frowned and pulled away uncomfortably. She glanced back to the Winchesters silently and shook her head. "It is not yet time."

To Be Continued