"Alright, I figure we'd hit Tucumcari by lunch, then head south, hit Bisbee by midnight." Dean reported, to the two people in his car who weren't paying him any attention.
Or so he assumed, as I had a headphone in one ear. The other ear was listening for anything said, but there were more important things that earned my attention. The book I was reading, for one example. It was doing a great job of making me forget the nightmare I'd had about Zack and his girlfriend and the shapeshifter.
"Sam wears Raven's underwear." Dean stated.
"Good for him, they're soft and pretty." I remarked dryly, turning a page in the book. "Hold on- was it the blue one, or the pink?" My tone shifted to defensive. Dean's nose scrunched up at the question itself. "It's a good question! The pink one is satin." Which only helped in that in made Dean's nose scrunch up higher.
"I've been listenin', I'm just busy." Sam countered, sounding more like he was trying to shut me up instead Dean.
"Busy doin' what?" Dean asked.
"Reading emails." Sam replied.
Dean climbed out of the car. I sat up in my seat, trying to look over Sam's shoulder. "From?"
"From my friends at Stanford." Sam answered.
"You're kidding." Dean grabbed the nozzle for the gas. "You still keep in touch with your college buddies?" He laughed.
"Why not?" Sam asked.
"Well, what exactly do you tell 'em?" Dean asked back, making me roll my eyes at him. I paused my music for this bullshit? "You know, about where you've been, what you've been doin'?"
"I tell 'em I'm on a road trip with my big brother and his friend." Sam explained. "I tell 'em I needed some time off after Jess."
"Aww. You think we're friends." I teased. "Why're you lying to your friends, Sam? You know for a fact that I'm squatting in the backseat."
Sam rolled his eyes at my teasing. "No I don't lie." He defended. "I just don't tell 'em….everything."
"Yeah, that's called lying." Dean remarked as he walked up to Sam's window. "I mean, hey, man, I get it, tellin' the truth is far worse."
"So, what am I supposed to do, just cut everybody out of my life?" Sam challenged. When Dean didn't answer, I rolled down my window. "You're serious?"
"Look, it sucks, but in a job like this, you can't get close to people, period." I smacked his arm. "Ow!"
"You're kind of anti-social, you know that?" Sam accused.
"She just hit me!" Dean excused.
"It's cause you're antisocial." I informed.
"God..." Sam breathed out.
"What?" Dean asked.
"In this email from this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine." Sam explained.
"Is she hot?"
"Is she alright?" I asked.
"I went to school with her, and her brother, Zack. She says Zack's been charged with murder. He's been arrested for killing his girlfriend." Dean made a face. Sam looked back at him. "Rebecca says he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case."
"Dude, what kind of people are you hangin' out with?" Dean asked.
"No, man, I know Zack. He's no killer." Sam defended.
"Well, maybe you know Zack as well as he knows you." Dean countered.
"They're in St. Louis. We're goin'." Sam decided firmly.
"...well I wouldn't mind a detour." I voted.
"Look, sorry 'bout your buddy, okay? But this does not sound like our kind of problem." Dean argued.
"It is our problem. They're my friends." Sam argued.
"St. Louis is four hundred miles behind us, guys." Dean countered.
"So we should start driving." I grinned widely at Dean.
The elder Winchester sighed in defeat.
==DG==
Hours later, we were at Rebecca's house. The door opened for her. Sam had on a friendly smile at her. "Oh my God, Sam!" She cheered.
"Well, if it isn't little Becky." Sam greeted back.
Holy shit, somewhere out there that Becky is freaking out.
"You know what you can do with that little Becky crap." She snarked. The two met for a hug.
"I got your email." Sam remarked.
"I didn't think that you would come here." Rebecca admitted.
"Dean. Older brother." Dean introduced, reaching his hand out.
"Hi." Rebecca greeted back.
"Hi."
Standing up on my tiptoes, I peered over Sam's shoulder. "Raven Quinzel. The friend." Rebecca waved back at me.
"We're here to help." Sam offered. "Whatever we can do."
His friend smiled thankfully. "Come in." Rebecca invited. She stepped back to make room for our entrance. I shut the door behind me.
"Nice place." Dean complimented, as Rebecca walked us towards the kitchen.
"It's my parents'. I was just crashing here for the long weekend when everything happened. I decided to take the semester off. I'm gonna stay until Zack's free." Rebecca explained.
"Where are your folks?" Sam asked.
"They live in Paris for half the year, so they're on their way home now for the trial." Rebecca explained. She sighed, as if suddenly realizing she was wearing all the weight of the world on her shoulders. "Do you guys want a beer or something?"
"That'd be great-"
"No, thanks." Sam gave me a chastising look, throwing one at Dean too for good measure. "So, tell us what happened."
"Well, um, Zack came home, and he found Emily tied to a chair. And she was beaten up and bloody, and she wasn't breathing." Rebecca explained. She paused, her voice shaking in tears.
I could see the scene in my head, playing over and over like the nightmare loop it was. It was awful- and it reminded me of how I'd killed the man that killed Darcy.
"So, he called 911, and the police-they showed up, and they arrested him. But, the thing is, the only way that Zack could've killed Emily is if he was in two places at the same time. The police-they have a video. It's from the security tape from across the street. And it shows Zack coming home at 10:30. Now, Emily was killed just after that, but I swear, he was here with me, having a few beers until at least after midnight."
"You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack's house." Sam suggested.
"We could." Dean agreed, trying to hide his surprise at the idea.
"Why?" Rebecca asked. "I mean, what could you do?"
"Well, us, not much. But Dean's a cop." Sam lied.
He and I glanced back at Dean, who was surprised by the lie but going along with it easy. "Detective, actually."
"Really?" Rebecca asked. Dean nodded. "Where?" Rebecca prompted.
"Bisbee, Arizona." Dean answered without missing a beat. "But I'm off-duty now."
"You guys, it's so nice to offer, but I just-I don't know." Rebecca admitted.
"Bec, look, I know Zack didn't do this." Sam assured, being sure to look Rebecca in her eyes. "Now, we have to find a way to prove that he's innocent.
"Okay. I'm gonna go get the keys." Rebecca walked away.
Dean laughed, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Oh, yeah, man, you're a real straight shooter with your friends." Dean snarked.
"Look, Zack and Becky need our help." Sam stated.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble we'll be in if we get caught?" I asked Sam. "Not just from the cops, but from your friends?"
"I'm not worried about that. I just don't think this is our kind of problem." Dean argued.
"Two places at once? We've looked into less." Sam pulled the trump card.
==DG==
Dean pulled up to Zack's house. I climbed out of the car, walking around so I stood beside Rebecca.
"You're sure this is okay?" She asked Dean.
"Yeah. I am an officer of the law." Dean replied. He smiled wide for Rebecca, making her smile shakily in return.
Once inside the house, I went up to the living room. Images of my nightmare flashed in my eyes- crossing up with the way I killed Dominic Chamberlin. Emily's screams and Dominic's swirled in my mind.
"Bec, you wanna wait outside?"
"No. I wanna help."
I tied him down in his office chair, so there were some differences. He hadn't been tied down...I held him with a nerve paralyzer. He couldn't move the entire time I butchered him. Could barely scream, just groan.
"Tell us what else the police said."
"Well, there's no sign of a break-in. They say that Emily let her attacker in."
"Zack! Weren't you going out with Becky?"
"The Lawyers-they're already talking about plea bargain. Oh, God..."
"God please stop!"
"No God here, Dommy, just me and this knife. Now shut up!"
"Look, Bec, if Zack didn't do this, it means someone else did. Any idea who?"
"Um, there was something, about a week before. Somebody broke in here and stole some clothes- Zack's clothes. The police-they don't think it's anything. I mean, we're not that far from downtown. Sometimes people get robbed."
Something touched my shoulder.
I jumped, surprised to see Sam standing at my side. He looked more like himself in that moment, concern and worry etched on his face. "Raven, are you alright?"
"No." Sam's eyes focused on me, widened a bit in concern. "Sorry- Sorry. It's the lack of sleep. I'm just...I'm just tired, ya know? I'll be fine."
"If you're not up for this-" Sam tried.
"I am. I can handle it." I stated firmly.
Not wanting to be in this space anymore, I walked over to the kitchen space. At least here was far enough from the blood splatter. On the other hand, I could see the photo of the Warrens and Sam, all buddy-buddy.
'...you know, in poor light, Dominic Chamberlin looks like an older Zack Warren.
And I saw him beat his girlfriend bloody...before bringing knives in.
Different than when I did it.
I didn't beat him.'
Sam walked up to my side. I held back from snapping at him, keeping my morose thoughts to myself. He saw the picture too, staring at it over my shoulder.
Dean decided to come join our pity party. "So, the neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time Zack's girlfriend was killed."
"Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal." Sam pointed out.
"Yeah, maybe Fido saw somethin'." Dean remarked, not agreeing that this was our kind of case but more on the principle at this point.
"Starting to believe this is our problem?" I prompted him.
"No." I gave him a look. "Probably not." That made Sam snort from behind me. "But we should look at the security tape, you know, just to make sure."
"Yeah." Sam and I agreed.
"Yeah." Dean let out a breath. He was caving, anyone that knew he could see it. Rebecca was the last to join our group. "So, the tape. The security footage- you think maybe your lawyers could get their hands on it, 'cause I just don't have that kind of jurisdiction."
"I've already got it. I didn't wanna say something in front of the fed." Rebecca admitted. That made Dean laugh. "I stole it off the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."
"All right." Dean agreed. Rebecca made her way to the door, the Winchesters following.
I paused at the spot again, looking at the blood stained carpet.
"Please..."
"Morgana Please? Ugh. Just for that I giving you three. Fifty-six, fifty-seven, fifty-eight. Now, try again and this time with feeling!"
"Just...stop." He plead, groaning at the pain.
"Raven?" Sam prompted, getting me out of my headspace again.
Once out, I rushed past the three of them to get to the car. There were things to do before the day was out. Another woman was dying later, and I needed some good way to avoid thinking about that.
==DG==
Rebecca set up the tapes to play in her living room. "Here he comes." She warned.
The shapeshifter wearing Zack's face walked into the frame. It walked into their house. I could see the reflective eyes as it walked by.
"22:04, that's just after ten." Dean pointed out. "You said time of death was about 10:30."
"Our lawyers hired some kind of video expert. He says the tape's authentic." Rebecca added. "It wasn't tampered with."
I walked up to Sam's side. He glanced at me. We exchanged a look of agreement.
"Hey, Bec, can we take those beers now?" Sam requested.
My grateful smile came up, thanking her for doing the action she hadn't done yet.
"Oh, sure." She got up, making towards the kitchen.
"Hey." Sam called out. Rebecca turned back. "Maybe some sandwiches, too?"
I whacked his arm. Sam made the appropriate noise of pain, while Rebecca laughed. "Shut up and starve."
Rebecca laughed in agreement. "What do you think this is, Hooters?" She walked out.
"I wish."
"I can hit you too." I cautioned.
Dean grinned, no doubt believing I wouldn't dare with witnesses around. Then he remembered I most certainly would, had, and will. "What is it?"
"Check this out." Sam stated. He rewound the tape, to show of the shapeshifter's eyes.
"Well, maybe it's just a camera flare." Dean argued weakly.
"That's what I'd see if a cat looked at a camera." I countered. "Not a freakin' lense flare."
Dean made a small scoffing noise. "Right."
"You know, a lot of cultures believe that a photograph can catch a glimpse of the soul." Sam added.
"Right..."
"Remember that dog that was freakin' out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe this is some kind of dark double of Zack's, something that looks like him but isn't him." Sam reasoned.
Dean grinned at me. "Like a Doppelganger."
'As a twin, having a doppelganger is a lot less magical.' "Or a shapeshifter. Which is the perfect excuse for two places at once." I agreed.
==DG==
The next morning, Sam made sure the three of us were outside Zack's house. Once again I was working on exactly zero point two hours of sleep.
I was trying to avoid seeing that woman being beaten, whenever my eyes close.
"Alright, so what are we doin' here at 5:30 in the morning?" Dean complained.
"I realized something. The videotape shows the killer goin' in, but not comin' out." Sam began.
"Good for him." I leaned against Baby, resting against her. "He walked out the back door. Give him a medal."
"Right." Sam carried on, without my insulting nature. "So, there should be a trail to follow. A trail the police would never pursue."
"'Cause they think the killer never left. And they caught your friend Zack inside." Dean reasoned. "I still don't know what we're doin' here at 5:30 in the morning."
"Dude...you got coffee?"
"Yeah." Dean sipped his coffee.
"Why didn't I get anything?" I complained.
"Shoulda asked."
I groaned in complaint.
"Blood." Sam pointed out to us. "Somebody came this way."
"Yeah, but the trail ends. I don't see anything over here." Dean remarked.
"Neither do I." I agreed. The ambulance came by. My heart went out. "But I heard that."
So we followed the path it came from. There was a big fancy looking house a few blocks away, surrounding by police cars and a small crowd.
"What happened?" Dean asked a jogger.
"He tried to kill his wife." The woman sighed, shaking her house. "Tied her up and beat her."
"Oh god, really?" I asked.
The jogger nodded. "I used to see him going to work in the morning. He'd wave, say hello. He seemed like such a nice guy."
The innocent man was guided to a police car, being pushed in the back while seemingly still in shock.
==DG==
The three of us split up. I spoke to a few other witnesses, getting the same story from a lot of them. That the man who lived in the house was nicer than this scandal said.
I met up with Sam in the alleyway. "Everyone says the same thing. The dude was too nice, he'd never do this, blah blah blah."
Dean came up next. "Hey." He began, getting our attention. "Remember when I said this wasn't our kind of problem?"
"Yeah." We nodded.
"Definitely our kind of problem." Dean corrected.
"What happened?" I asked.
"What'd you find out?"
"Well, I just talked to the patrolman who was first on the scene, heard this guy, Alex's story." Dean explained. "Apparently the dude was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked."
"So, he was two places at once." Sam reasoned.
"Exactly. Then he sees himself in the house, police think he's a nutjob." Dean revealed.
"Two dark doubles attacking loved ones in exactly the same way."
"It's fair to say it's the same creature in both cases." I suggested.
Sam glanced at me. "Earlier, you said shapeshifter?" I nodded. "Something that can make itself look like anyone?"
"Every culture in the world has a shapeshifter lore." Dean added in agreement. "You know, legends of creatures who can transform themselves into animals or other men."
"Right, skinwalkers, werewolves." Sam listed.
"Or people, apparently."
"We've got two attacks within blocks of each other. I'm guessin' we've got a shapeshifter prowlin' the neighborhood." Dean stared.
Sam glanced around the alley. "Let me ask you this-in all this shapeshifter lore, can any of them fly?"
"Not that I know of." Dean answered.
"I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way." Sam explained.
"Just like your friend's house." Dean nodded.
"Yeah. And, just like at Zack's house, the trail suddenly ends. I mean, whatever it is just disappeared."
I glanced at Dean, making a meaningful look down to where I was standing.
He nodded in understanding, on the same line of thought. "Well, there's another way to go- down." Dean reminded Sam.
==DG==
"I still don't know why I couldn't put them on-"
"You don't need a hazmat suit for this." Dean argued.
"Why do you even have one of those?" Sam asked, hopping off the ladder.
"In case of stuff like this!" I excused. "And it's not a full suit, just shoe covers! This place is disgusting!"
"We needed to check it out." Sam argued.
I scrunched up my face, touching down on the sewer. "This, is literally the worst thing that has ever happened to me. Ever." Dean snorted.
Sam, however, stayed the serious one. "I bet this runs right by Zack's house, too." He remarked, over Dean's snicker and my death glare. "The shapeshifter could be using the sewer system to get around."
I followed behind them, making large careful steps over the darkened walkway. These weren't my best shoes, but that didn't mean I wanted to replace them so soon.
"I think you're right. Look at this." Dean called over.
Walking up behind the brothers, I saw the pile of shapeshifter skin. The smell, mixed in with the sight of the flesh made me gag.
"Oh that is properly disgusting." Covering my mouth with my sleeve, I struggled to inhale without taking note of the smell.
"Is this from his victims?" Sam asked, just as disgusted.
"No. None of them lost this much skin at once." I argued. The words were slightly muffled by my sleeve.
Dean picked up a stretch of the skin with a pocket knife. "You know, I just had a sick thought. When the shapeshifter changes shape- maybe it sheds."
"That is sick."
"Can I put on the shoe covers now? Or do we get to leave?" I asked, already making my way back to the sewer grate.
==DG==
Dean opened up the trunk, while I was switching out my shoes. They would be cleaned later, but for now I'm wearing not-sewer-smelling-sneakers.
"Well, one thing I learned from Dad, is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there's one sure way to kill it." Dean remarked.
"Silver bullet to the heart." Sam recalled.
"That's right." Dean complimented. Sam's phone rang, so he walked off to answer ti. Dean turned to me, his proud smile changing to a scolding frown. "Hey, do you mind?"
"Mind what?" I asked, tying off the sneaker.
"You're scuffing up the paint."
"I am not." I argued. Sitting up off his car, I stared down at the car. There wasn't a scratch or scuff on Baby. "See? She's fine."
Dean huffed. He went back to backing silver bullets away in the magazines. "Still. Don't mess up my car."
So I stuck my tongue out at him. Dean ignored me.
"What are you talkin' about?" Sam's voice carried over to us. I winced at the one-sided argument. "...Why would you do that?...Beck-...We're tryin' to help...Beck, I'm sorry, but-" The phone call ended. Sam sighed, resting against the side of the Impala.
For the record, I tried to stop Dean from saying what he said next. My arm was out and everything, and I had just said "Dean wait-" when he was walking over to his brother.
"I hate to say it, but that's exactly what I'm talkin' about." Dean stated. "You lie to your friends because if they knew the real you, they'd be freaked. It's just- it'd be easier if-"
"If I was like you."
And the way Sam said that, hit me in the gut. That voice was the voice of a boy who had that thought before, or had heard it. He'd no doubt been held, or held himself, to the standard of perfect son, Dean. This sentence right here, made me want to find John Winchester and Alastair and fucking kick their asses.
"Hey, man, like it or not, we are not like other people." Dean assured. "But I'll tell you one thing. This whole gig- it ain't without perks." He held out a gun to his brother.
Sam took it.
As we walked back to the manhole, I walked in step with Sam.
"You know-" I began.
Sam matchedanead, ignoring me.
Which...yeah.
Didn't feel great.
==DG==
We stalked the sewers for twenties minutes before finding the lair. I stayed behind the boys for most of it, for both planning ahead for the shapeshifter's attack and letting them test the disgusting sewer walkways first.
"I think we're close to its lair." Dean remarked, shining a light on the pipe by Sam's head.
"Why do you say that?" Sam asked, completely unaware.
"Cause of the gunk he's shining by your face." I pointed out, shiny my own flashlight beside their heads.
Sam turned to it. He jerked back at the pile of weeks old shed skin. "Oh, God!" He is face scrunched up in disgust.
The smell was getting to me too. I covered it with my jacket sleeve. This would take ages of washing to get the smell out.
"Looks like it's lived here for a while." Dean pointed out.
"Who knows how many murders he's gotten away with?" Sam wondered.
"Gah!" I yelped, after elbowing the shapeshifter in the face. "Boys!" I snapped at them.
Sam and Dean came to attention.
The shapeshifter made to punch me. I dodged it, punching it's side. It recovered fast to punch my shoulder.
I fell back against the wall. Gunshots started going off. None of them hit the target.
Sam knelt to my side. "Raven?"
"Go!" I yelled.
"Let's get the son of a bitch!" Dean agreed, chasing down after the shapeshifter. Sam joined in.
After a small pause to get balance I joined the chase.
==DG==
When I climbed out of the sewer, the Winchester's were standing around.
"We gotta plan?" I prompted.
"Split up." Sam stated automatically. He looked at Dean to check.
His older brother agreed. "All right, I'll meet you guys around the other side."
"All right." Sam nodded.
"Deal." I held my thumb-up.
The three of us went separate ways.
==DG==
On a corner sometime, the Winchester's met back up.
"Hey." Dean called out. Sam turned to him. "Anything?"
"No. He's gone." Sam answered.
"Any sign of Raven?" Dean asked.
"Here!" Raven yelled, running up from across the street. She came to a stop, shaking her head. "Couldn't find him." She panted.
Dean huffed. "All right, let's get back to the car."
Sam let out a breath. The brothers went down the way Raven came.
When she followed, a car light revealed her silver eyes.
==DG==
They made it to the car without any hassle.
"You think he found another way underground?" Sam asked.
"Nah. We would've caught him at a sewer grate." Dean argued.
"Unless he doubled back." 'Raven' shrugged, sliding 'her' hands in 'her' jean pockets. "Gave us the slip that way?"
"Yeah, probably." Dean sighed. "You got the keys?" He asked Sam.
Sam reached for the keys. He tossed them over to Dean, glancing at 'Raven'. Dean was too.
"Hey, Raven." Dean began. The hunter turned to him, making an effort not to be staring at the trunk. "Your shoulder okay?"
"Fine." 'Raven' rolled it to show off. "Why?"
"No reason." Dean stared at 'her' for a long moment. "Hey. What was your sister's name again?"
'Raven' paused. "D-" 'She' hesitated, a look of confusion on 'her' face. "Huh. We changed our names so often, it's hard to remember our real names. Last one I remember for her was...Ivy."
"Yeah. Ivy." Dean nodded. He popped open the trunk.
'Raven' stared down, looking at all the weapons in the trunk.
"Don't move!"
'Raven' jumped back. Sam and Dean were aiming guns at her.
"What have you done with her?" Dean demanded.
"Uh...boys it's me." 'Raven' told them.
"No, I don't think so." Sam scoffed.
"Where's our friend?" Dean demanded.
"You're about to shoot her." 'She' laughed nervously. "Sam, Dean, calm down."
"Your shoulder was hurt." Sam accused.
"Yeah, it's better. What do you want me to do, lug it around?" 'Raven' countered.
"You're not our friend." Dean accused.
"Why aren't either of you pulling the trigger, then? Hm? 'Cause you're not sure." 'Raven' pointed out. 'She' laughed, smug. "Boys, you know me."
"Don't." Sam warned. He raised the gun to fire at 'her'.
'Raven' stood still a moment.
'She' lashed out at that, pulling a crowbar out of the trunk before hitting both Sam and Dean.
When they were down, 'Raven' sighed. "Her sister's name? How the hell is she doing this? She's fucked up."
==DG==
Sam woke up, tied up in a dirty room. Hid head was pounding. He was pretty sure he was sitting in a puddle. His neck was bound to the same wooden post as his hands.
Is it bad that this wasn't the weirdest way he's woken up?
The shapeshifter walked up, holding a long string of rope. Sam jumped back. For a moment, he thought it was Raven.
'She' stared at him with a blank expression. 'She' walked up to him, backhanding him across the face.
Sam groaned.
The shapeshifter walked away.
"Where are they?" Sam groaned out, trying to push down the pain in his head. "Where are Raven and Dean?"
The shapeshifter snorted. "I wouldn't worry about them. I'd worry about you."
"Where are they?" Sam pressed.
"You really don't wanna know." Sam swallowed, nervous for his brother and friend. 'She' chuckled in Raven's voice. "I'm not usually a girl, ya know. The more I learn about this chick- the more I like her. She's vicious. You know, I thought I tortured people. Your friend- she's got the gift."
"What do you mean, learn?" Sam questioned.
"She's got issues." The shapeshifter stated, as though 'she' was getting all the information downloaded in 'her' brain. "You know, she had dreams about what I did to those women. Apparently it was making her relapse, thinking about the guy who killed her sister." 'She' glanced at Sam, seeing confusion there.
'She' let out a content sigh, smiling fondly. It sent chills down Sam's spine.
"You don't know how I did it? I tied him to a chair, then stabbed him a hundred times. Finished it him with a go at the heart. Man, that's exhausting. Most days I can barely get past thirty. But him? Nah. He had to pay. In blood and pain for what he did to D-"
Her expression went blank.
"Hey. Hey!" Sam shouted.
'Raven' blinked back to life.
"I think she's dealt with this sorta shit before. None of the others could keep their heads locked up." She clicked her tongue at Sam. "That question about the sister, hope word doesn't get out about that. I got a rep, yeah? Well. That's enough out of this spinster. Maybe I should try on the other one?"
Sam watched in disgust as the shapeshifter changed, shedding its skin from Raven into Dean. Everything fell away with gross plops, with the occasional hiss.
'Dean' stood there, not a drop of blood or goo on him. Sam was horrified. If he slept tonight, it would be about that shitshow. 'Dean' shook his head after a moment, grinning at Sam.
"I swear, the more I learn about you and your family- I thought I came from a bad background." 'Dean' laughed. "He's sure got issues with you. You got to go to college. He had to stay home. I mean, I had to stay home. With Dad. You don't think I had dreams of my own? But Dad needed me. Where the hell were you?"
Sam put away the bile that wanted up his throat. "Where are my brother and my friend?" Sam growled.
"Well Raven is gone. Just...like a light." 'Dean' answered. Sam has to hope it wasn't true. "I am your brother. See, deep down, I'm just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I'm a freak. And sooner or later, everybody's gonna leave me. I mean, look at the one friend I managed while you were gone. Now she's dead too."
"What are you talkin' about?" Sam questioned.
"You left." 'Dean' answered, pointedly ignoring that the question was definitely about Raven. "Hell, I did everything Dad asked me to, and he ditched me, too. No explanation, nothin', just poof. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this life? It's not without its perks." The shapeshifter laughed. "I meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance." 'Dean' winked. Sam had to fight the urge to yell at him. "Let's see what happens."
The shapeshifter covered Sam up with a sheet.
==DG==
"Hey idiots. Are you out yet?" Raven called out.
Sam let out a breath, laughing. Even though she had startled him, throwing him off from his escape. "Working on it!"
"That better be you, Raven and Sam, and not that freak of nature." Dean spoke up from somewhere behind Sam.
"Yeah, it's me." Sam laughed in pure relief.
"Same...last I checked." Raven remarked. She grunted. Sam could barely see her out of the corner of his eyes. "Bastard got me in an alley. Damn it. I wanna punch him again."
"He went to Rebecca's, lookin' like Dean." Sam warned.
"Well, he's not stupid. He picked the handsome one." Dean commented.
Raven chuckled. "Sure he did...that's why he picked me first."
Sam laughed at that. He heard Dean scoff.
"Please tell me y'all knew he wasn't me. Otherwise I'm embarrassed to be around you." Raven asked.
"Course we knew." Dean scoffed. "What, you think we're idiots?- don't answer that." Raven snorted.
"Yeah, that's the thing." Sam began. "He didn't just look like you, or you, Dean, he was you. Or he was becoming you."
"That's not creepy." Raven commented. She pulled off the ropes from her body, grabbing her jacket and Bag from a nearby pile of shed human skin. "How'd he do that?"
"I don't know." Sam replied. "It was like he was downloading your thoughts and memories."
"You mean, like the Vulcan mind meld?" Dean guessed. He pushed off his ropes.
"Yeah, somethin' like that. I mean, maybe that's why he doesn't just kill us." Sam reasoned.
Raven made her way to Sam. "So he needs us alive, to keep up the psychic connection. No wonder my head hurts."
"He said you were able to block him out." Sam recalled.
Raven paused, before glancing away. "I don't like people looking at my stuff."
Dean came to untie Sam's hands.
"Hands. Yeah." Raven helped lift Sam to his feet. "Come on, we gotta go. He's probably at Rebecca's already."
==DG==
My head was pounding like a bitch.
Being taken by the shapeshifter, while a good plus to my plan, fucked up my head a lot.
Not many monsters had tried to break into my mind in recent years, so I was a bit rusty. I could feel where in my mind that thing had gone, the same way most people could see muddy footprints in their house. The shapeshifter hadn't been able to see much, only the most recent nightmares and...he tried to find Darcy's name, that bastard.
"Come on." Sam stated as he cleared out from the sewer. "We gotta find a phone, call the police."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You're gonna put an APB out on me." Dean pointed out to him.
"Sorry." Sam shrugged.
Dean helped me out of the sewer. "Thanks."
"No worries." Dean brushed off. "This way." He nodded his head up the road.
==DG==
Unfortunately, we were too late.
A news reporter was speaking about the attack on Rebecca. We heard it halfway towards Rebecca's house. "An anonymous tip led police to a home in the Central West End, where a SWAT team discovered a local woman bound and gagged. Her attacker, a white male, approximately twenty-four to thirty years of age, was discovered hiding in her home."
The sketch of Dean appeared.
Dean immediately deflated.
"At least it looks like you." I tried to assure.
Dean grimaced. "It's not even that good."
"It's good enough." Sam pointed out. He walked further ahead the sidewalk.
"Man!" Dean whined.
I lightly smacked my elbow against his back. No words of comment to this. Not when I knew the ripple effects that this single event would cause. All the references to it in the seasons that followed, all the jokes online about it. What could I even say about this?
None of us had gone far into the alleyway before Dean stepped in a puddle.
"Aw man!" Dean complained.
"Come on." Sam tried to assure his brother. "They said attempted murder. At least we know-"
"I didn't kill her." Dean huffed.
"Has Rebecca called yet?" I asked Sam. "She would've called you if it was your brother going on a murder rampage, or something."
He shook his head. "Not a word. We'll check with Rebecca in the morning, see if she's alright." Sam said more to himself than to us.
"All right, but first I wanna find that handsome devil and kick the holy crap out of him." Dean snapped.
I stepped in front of the Winchesters, making them stop in their steps. "No. Not good enough. We need a real plan this time- a better one."
"I gotta plan. Find this son of a bitch, and kill it." Dean stated.
"With what gun?" I countered. Dean's lips curled. "What silver bullets? Sorry to burst your bubble, but that thing took 'em!"
"Raven, the guy's walkin' around with my face, okay, it's a little personal, I wanna find him."
"Where? In the sewers?" I pressed. Dean looked away. "Cause that worked out so well last time." I argued. "The smartest thing to do would be to get the Impala back."
Dean grunted, tightening his fist. "I'm bettin' he drove over to Rebecca's."
"The news said he fled on foot. I bet it's still parked there." Sam reasoned, joining in with me in support of Dean not doing something stupid.
"The thought of him drivin' my car." Dean added in disgust.
"We'll give you first shot." I assured, putting a hand on his shoulder to push him along.
"All right, come on." Sam prompted.
"It's killin' me."
"Let it go." Sam brushed off.
==DG==
Dean led the charge towards the car. He only seemed to calm when he saw the car waiting there. "Oh, there she is! Finally, something went right tonight." Which was a sentiment shared by his brother, but not by me. The cop car pulled up just behind the Impala. "Oh, crap."
I huffed in defeat, knowing the other car was pulling up. Even though the Winchesters ran back the way we came. When they came back not even a second later, they saw me running towards the fence.
"This way!" I called back to them. Dean ran up. Sam lagged behind.
"You go." Sam told Dean. Sam glanced at me, I nodded in agreement. "We'll hold 'em off."
"What are you talking about? They'll catch you both." Dean argued.
"Look, they can't hold us." Sam assured. "Just go, keep out of sight. Meet us at Rebecca's."
Dean hopped the fence, hesitating before jumping all the way over.
"Dean." Sam called. Dean paused. "Stay out of the sewers alone." Dean said nothing. "I mean it!"
Dean hopped over. Just in time, as the police decided to move in.
"Don't move!" One officer warned. He and his squad walked up towards us. "Keep your hands where I can see 'em."
I raised them up.
==DG==
Sam was right. The police didn't hold us, they had nothing besides Sam's obvious connection to his brother.
The police dropped us off at Rebecca's house. It was a stretch at first. I watched from the sidelines, stunned at Sam that he was able to spin such a tale that the cops led us back to a recent torture victim's house. Where we were the last people to see the perp!
Goddamn.
What the fuck.
HOW the FUCK?!
I will always be in this state of shock over it.
Nobody will convince me that this isn't fucked up.
Yes the 'Rebecca' at Rebecca's house was the shapeshifter. Yes Sam had made it sound perfectly reasonable to be taken to a friend in her time of need. How the fuck does that change the fact that our connection to Dean made us kinda suspectful?!
My head was spinning, all the way into Rebecca's front lawn.
"Raven?" Sam asked.
"Huh?" I turned to him. "Oh. Uh...right." Adjusting the Bag strap on my shoulder, I tried to grin reassuringly. Still that whole thing was fucking nuts, so no dice. "What's up?"
Sam glanced around, as though making sure nobody was around to hear what he was about to say. "That thing...he told me what you did to the human who killed your sister." Sam revealed.
Any attempt at a relaxed expression was gone. Now it was a well fitting expression of defeat. I paused, wringing my hand. "Yeah?"
Sam nodded. "He- he said you'd been having nightmares about what happened, and that it brought up the bad memories."
"You killed the wrong one." I hissed at Dominic. "Didn't she warn you about me?"
"...it did." A long shaky breath came out. Disgusted overwhelming chills came over me, giving me goosebumps all along my arms.
"How...long have you been having those dreams?" Sam asked.
"Does Dean know?" I asked, my stomach whirling. Oh Author, if Dean knew...it's fucking me up that Sam knew. Oh fuck somebody knows...somebody knows oh author I'm spirling.
"I haven't told him." Sam admitted.
"Months." I took a deep breath. While it didn't make me feel better, it didn't make me feel worse. "...I've been having them for months..."
Sam braced himself.
"Since before Jess." I glanced up to see Sam's expression. It wasn't furious, just a sad acceptance. "Sam if I'd known-" If I known I could change it...if I'd known they'd keep coming no matter what I did...if I'd known a way to keep you from going back...if only...
"No...no I get it." Sam took a breath, looking away from me. "I- I had dreams too."
Now he looks like a sad puppy...I wanna hug him or something. Winchesters can't cry, they make people weak!
"...so what now?" I asked. "We both had dreams about Jess dying. Mine are about our cases now. And- and you know what I did. What now? Are you going to tell Dean?"
Sam watched my face, indecision on his own face. "He should know...if anything because you're his friend." He turned to Rebecca's house. "Look what happens when I hide things from my friends." Sam sighed. "But...I don't know how Dean will react."
"That I had dreams about the shapeshifter killing these people, or about the guy that-? Ya know?"
"The guy." Sam supplied. "Did you really...?"
I nodded, recalling in perfectly detail everything I did to Dominic. "He hurt my sister...and it should've been me. My sister died and she wasn't supposed to. That man, he wanted me dead. She- she didn't have to do that, the dumbass." I sucked in a pained, mourning breath. "I...I lost it, Sam. Really, really lost it. I don't like who I was when I killed him. It- I'm scared I'll do it again."
"Hey, hey." Sam walked up, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "That won't happen. Okay? It won't."
"How do you know? You barely know me. Neither of you do." I argued, spiralling again.
"Because I've seen the kind of person you are." Sam promised. "And that person is good."
I let out a shaking sob of a breath, pushing myself in for a hug. Sam hugged me back.
Sometimes, chick flick moments are what we need.
...even if the idea of this is making me feel weaker.
Damn you Winchesters for making me feel emotions.
You bastards.
==DG==
Not long after we were in Rebecca's house, being treated to beers by a shapeshifter wearing Rebecca's face. Despite being a face-borrower, the shapeshifter was an amazing host.
"So, say this shapeshifter is real. By the way, you know you're crazy?" The shapeshifter accused, amused. "But, um, say it is real. How do you stop it?"
"First, I'd punch it in the face. We were fighting. It backed out too early." I replied easily, taking the beer. "Then it's just a silver bullet...right...to...the heart." I took off the top of the beer. "Thanks for the beer, by the way."
"Yeah. Thanks Bec." Sam smiled at his 'friend'.
'She' chuckled, shaking 'her' head. "You are both crazy."
"Why, you know I'd win?" I accused.
At that exact moment, the shapeshifter hit Sam over the head. It made a move for me so I ducked out of the way.
I got in a punch on her face. It was already changing back to Dean, which disgusted me more than I'd thought. Because it was kinda cool to punch a guy and knock out a tooth. Less cool when you actually punch out multiple teeth oh and half his face.
"You're fugly." I accused the stupid Half-Faced Man.
He sneered at me. "Look who's talking. You're no better."
"Never said I was. Well, except at fighting. Then I'm a beast."
I lashed out for another attack.
The shapeshifter held up the shattered beer bottle. He moved it towards Sam.
I stopped.
The shapeshifter grinned. "Yeah...not so sure now, are you?" He laughed. "Now listen here, sweetheart, you're gonna do everything I say or else the big guy here gets it. Yeah?"
That made me growl.
"Deal?"
"...asshole. Fine."
==DG==
He tied me down to a chair.
A motherfucking chair.
Course, he made me tie up Sam first. Properly, he added, because if Sam wasn't properly tied then he'd kill us both.
As I tied up Sam, the shapeshifter changed the rest of the way into Dean. Which was as disgusting as it was on the show.
Sam was tied up.
With him done, 'Dean' tied me down in one of Rebecca's dining room chairs.
To my eternal disgust, it leered at me. It's eyes were flashing silver all the while. 'He' went over to the kitchen, milling about.
Sam was starting to wake up. "Raven. Raven!" He called out, coming to alertness.
"Hey!" I called back. "Sam, stay calm!"
"Yeah Sammy. Everything's great." 'Dean' grinned Sam's way. "Raven and I are just having some fun."
"What are you doing to her?" Sam snapped.
"Oh, I'm not doing anything. Dean is, though." The shapeshifter mused.
"They'll never catch him." Sam accused, laughing in pride for the real Dean.
"Oh, she doesn't matter." 'Dean' brushed off. "Murder in the first of his own brother? He'll be hunted the rest of his life."
'He' held up one of Rebecca's knives.
"But that doesn't mean I don't get to have fun first."
==DG==
Sam listened as the shapeshifter tortured Raven. She hadn't screamed, not even once. That only pissed this thing off more. Sam heard it rant at her, ordering screams, for her to beg, for noise.
But Raven stayed quiet.
Raven made no noise to prove she was in pain.
No sign that she was even alive.
In fact, the closest Sam got to seeing she was alive was when the shapeshifter came over to Sam himself. His front wasn't soaked in blood, rather just...splattered. All over. Sam knew that wasn't enough blood splatter to end somebody...but it troubled him all the same.
"You know, she's a real bitch." The shapeshifter huffed in irritation to Sam. "Won't be sorry when I'm rid of her skin." It stabbed the knife down on the nearby pool table. Sam glared while 'Dean' went to pour himself a drink. "I must say, I will be sorry to lose this skin. Your brother's got a lot of good qualities. You should appreciate him more than you do." The shapeshifter toasted himself to his own brilliance. "Cheers."
Sam kicked the shapeshifter's legs. It dropped to the ground. Sam took that time to hop up, pushing his ropes against the knife. The ropes were quickly cut, and loose. Just in time for the shapeshifter to lunge. Sam pulled the knife out, swinging it towards 'Dean'.
He could see Raven now- from behind it's shoulders. Sam couldn't get too good a look before the shapeshifter started fighting him. Sam gave a few good hits, but the shapeshifter kept dodging. All with the skills he was no doubt taking from Dean's head.
"Oh, you son of a bitch." It spat at Sam.
Sam spat right back- using all the moves he was certain the shapeshifter couldn't know. The ones too ingrained to know on just memory. Sam was almost able to pin 'Dean' to the ground.
"Not bad, little brother."
"You're not him." 'He wouldn't do that to his friend!'
'Dean' was able to get out of the hold, pushing Sam to the ground. "Even when we were kids, I always kicked your ass-"
"Hey asswipe!"
'Dean' turned.
Sam too.
Raven was standing there, blood leaking from her nose and the corners of her mouth. Sam could see her clothes had been torn in a lot of places, all of them bleeding. None of them were close to anything big. Naw, these were wounds meant to make pain, not death.
But her eyes had murder in them.
And her fists, which were holding a red pocket knife.
Raven slashed at the shapeshifter, getting him on the shoulder. If it hadn't dodged, that would've been a killing blow.
'Dean' grabbed a pool cue from the wall. Raven did too, grinning with murderous delight.
"Wanna know something about me that Dean doesn't?" Raven taunted. She twirled the pool cue in her hand, around her back, and finished with a strong pose. "I'm specially trained in bo staff."
She began to strike at 'Dean', making impressive hits on it's arms and legs. 'Dean' never made a hit once. Soon enough she stuck the shapeshifter on the knee, sending him to the ground.
When he fell, Raven had a knife at his neck.
"I don't like bastards in my head." Raven warned. She slashed at his neck.
'Dean' choked. The neck wound should've slowed him down, but apparently dying gave him one last kick of adrenaline. He tried to lash out again, leaping up at Raven.
"Hey!"
The shapeshifter turned.
Dean stood there, gun raised.
The shapeshifter ran.
Dean fired.
Raven let out a relieved breath when it fell to the ground. The two bullet wounds giving her relief. Sam too.
"Sam!" Rebecca gasped, after she ran in the room. She ignored the destruction to her home in favor of a friend.
Sam watched as Raven went to the shapeshifter's corpse, Dean already beside it. He plucked off his necklace that it stole, like it was the only thing that he wanted back.
Then Dean stood up, looking at Raven's body. Her lip had split in the fight- or maybe Sam just hadn't noticed it from the torture. Her clothes dripped from blood in random places.
"You good?" Dean asked.
Raven spat on the corpse. "Am now...could use some bandages though."
"We got 'em in the car."
"Cool...also like...so much pie...bloodloss gives me a sweet tooth." Raven admitted.
Dean grinned. He reached out for his friend.
To her credit, she avoided flinching.
But Sam could see her back, how her shoulders tensed up when Dean reached out.
==DG==
"Motherfucker." I hissed, stretching my body into another shirt. It moved the bandages, which stung all on their own. "Wish I could kill him again."
"Hey. I'll think you'll find my silver bullets in his chest." Dean excused, searching the glove box. "Son of a bitch moved my ma-"
"Under the seat, fell there earlier." I recited. Dean paused before checking. Sure enough, there was the map. "And I had that guy on the ropes."
Dean glanced at the bandages visible, and the ones covered by my jacket. "Sure."
Normally, I'd worry my lip. Except that bastard had cut that in our fight, so no go there. It fucking hurts to bite a lip already cut open. So instead I locked my hands together, staring down at them vaguely while I mustered up courage.
"I killed a man like this." At the pause after, I motioned to my own body. "Cut him up like...like what this guy did but worse. So much worse...I killed him, because he killed my sister and...and I loved every second of it. That- that thing saw in my head so he could- so he could make it exact-"
"Hey, it's fine. I get it." Dean tried to assure me, standing an awkward distance away.
"No you don't Dean, you really don't."
One day you will...and I'm so sorry...there's really nothing I can do...not this time.
"Raven. You're nothing like him." Dean promised. I scoffed. "You're not. You wanna know how I knew it wasn't you?"
"...how?"
"It said it forgot your sister's name." Dean answered. I looked up at him, feeling exposed all over again to pain. Yet here was a guy who understood how you could never forget the name of someone who was your everything and who you became everything for. "Raven I know would never have done that."
That made me smile, just a little bit.
"Thanks Dean."
Dean smiled, awkwardly. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Enough with the chick stuff."
"Really? Mister, you had more chick-flick stuff in the past minute than I've had in the past week." I teased.
"Shut up." Dean warned, which only made me laugh. He spread the map out on the hood, so I went over to stand with him.
The front door opened. "So, this is what you do? You and your brother- you hunt down these kinds of things?" Rebecca asked Sam.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"I can't believe it. I mean, I saw it with my own eyes. And, I mean, does everybody at school- nobody knows that you do this?"
"No."
"Did Jessica know?"
"...no, she didn't."
"Must be lonely."
"Oh, no. No, it's not so bad. Anyway, what can I do? It's my family." Sam grinned our way.
I grinned back.
Rebecca laughed. "Well, you know, Zack and me, and everybody at school- we really miss you."
They both hugged. They seemed to have another exchange in that hug, too quiet and personal to be heard by me. Once it was over, Rebecca went inside. She waved us goodbye, we waved back as was only polite. Sam walked towards us. He sighed, beginning to grin.
"So, what about your friend, Zack?" Dean asked.
"Cops are blamin' this Dean Winchester guy for Emily's murder."
"He sounds like a real asshole." I remarked, walking towards the backseat.
"Oh he was. They found the murder weapon in the guy's lair, Zack's clothes stained with her blood." Sam went on, shaking his head.
"No...that rat bastard!" I clicked my tongue, shaking my head.
Dean was looking at us like why he wondered he'd just saved our ungrateful lives.
"Now they're thinking maybe the surveillance tape was tampered with. Yeah, Becca says Zack will be released soon." Sam grinned.
"The shame-"
"Aw shut up." Dean cursed the days we were born, climbing into the driver's seat.
Sam and I laughed, before joining him.
==DG==
Raven popped some painkillers once they passed the city limit. She took advantage of the long road trip to get some sleep.
With no real witnesses to this, Dean decided to brave through a little chick-flick moment.
"Sorry, man." Dean told his brother.
"About what?" Sam asked.
"I really wish things could be different, you know?" Dean apologized. He didn't know what bull the shapeshifter had fed his brother that night. He wanted Sam to know that know matter what, he was proud. "I wish you could just be...Joe College."
"No, that's okay." Sam assured. "You know, the truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in."
Which gave Dean the out to the emotions that he needed. "Well, that's 'cause you're a freak."
Sam grinned. "Yeah, thanks."
"Well, I'm a freak, too. I'm right there with ya, all the way." Dean assured.
"Yeah, I know you are." Sam chuckled.
"You know, I gotta say- I'm sorry I'm gonna miss it." Dean sighed.
"Miss what?" Sam asked.
"How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?" Dean replied.
The brothers smiled.
Raven twitched in her sleep, mumbling before turning over.
Dean glanced over his shoulder at her. "Sure she's alright?" He asked Sam.
Sam looked back. She was using her jacket as a blanket, sleeping under her arm. There were a lot of bandages there.
"He really did a lot of damage." Sam acknowledged.
"Yeah but Raven's tough." Dean reminded him. "She said that thing did that to her because of what she did to the guy who killed her sister." Dean pointed out. "How did he know that?"
"Same way he know stuff about you. He looked in her head." Sam answered.
"So he saw how she tortured a dude to death, but not the name of the sister she killed him over?" Dean questioned.
Sam looked away, unsure. Raven had trusted him with the information about those nightmares- he hadn't wanted to say anything to Dean. He remembered what Dean had said earlier in this whole manhunt for their father, about how you couldn't let the cases get to you. If Dean thought Raven was cracking under the pressure, with the nightmares, then she'd know Sam had told.
"Well I think it's something really personal to Raven. Ask her about when she's up." Sam countered.
Dean glanced over his shoulder towards Raven again. He put his eyes back on the road. At least she was finally getting sleep. Then again, what person would sleep better after being tortured by a monster wearing the face of your friend? Torturing you in the same way you used to kill a guy? It gave Dean pause.
"You trust her, right Dean?" Sam asked, breaking him out of himself.
"Course I do." Dean answered without hesitating. "She's got our back. We got her's. No other way about it."
They kept on driving.
Unaware they while it looked like she was dreaming peaceful, in her mind's eye Raven was killing Dominic Chamberlin all over again. Except she was in the chair, torturing herself.
Yes she would understand the not-so-subtle metaphor when she woke up.
==DG==
AN: When I say I love to torture my characters, apparently I mean it.
Thanks to animegal1357 and grapejuice101 for favoriting and following