Chapter 40

By this point, Dean was seated with them in fresh clothing and less bloody. "Wait… wait…" He shook his head, downing the water bottle, and couldn't keep the smirk off his face. "You need your son, Undertaker, to help you with a spell...?" Oh, that was HILARIOUS! He began chuckling, clamping a hand over his mouth to muffle the sound, tears beginning to roll down his cheeks because he was really starting to laugh. "We're all fucked!"

"Dean!" Abigail whacked him none too gently in the chest, eyes narrowing to slits, and squeezed Malcolm's hand. "It won't be an easy task, but…Taker thinks magic has destroyed the world because of what's going on in the DOV with the serum. I told him all about it. He thinks this world would be better off without magic…and you need to convince him otherwise. He's your son. I'm hoping he'll listen to you and listen to reason."

"Fat chance of that happening."

"Dean!" He was not helping matters at all and Abigail groaned, sliding her fingers through her hair. "We won't know until we try. And I already know Taker is going to be irate at me for…defying him, but nobody controls me anymore. I did what I thought best for Wonderful and Vesperia and I will do anything – ANYTHING – to destroy the DOV."

The amount of conviction in her voice sent shivers down Malcolm's spine and he nodded, patting her hand. "Like you said, we won't know until we try. Which son is it?" He asked quietly, frowning when she shook her head. "You are sworn to secrecy on his identity?"

"Yes."

"Very well, no need to worry, Abigail."

"Shit, Abs, it's not even going to be about the magic thing anymore. If it means that's the only way to bring down the DOV, he'll do it. Now, it's going to be the fact that you waltzed into Wonderful and openly defied him. He's the one who brought all those people to safety, protected and cared for them over the years, right?" Dean wiped away the tears, lighting up another cigarette, and offered one to Malcolm. He already knew Abigail didn't smoke. "People are going to be shaken up. They'll question him now. And it's going to be…" He took a deep pull. "Interesting."

"So he's another Bray Wyatt, that's what you're saying? Everyone HAS to follow every single thing he says, and nobody can make their own decisions, their own minds up? They just needlessly follow him because he protects the town with his magic?" If that was the case, Abigail was GLAD she had 'defied' the Undertaker because, honestly, she knew this was the right thing to do. "If it means defying the 'boss' in order to destroy the DOV, so be it. I don't care. The only thing I care about is bringing an end to the DOV and Bray." Her personal feelings for Mark didn't matter right now, not when they had a huge advantage over Bray and the DOV now by taking Malcolm away from them, their only source of magic. "And when he finds out Bray is INVULNERABLE, due to a spell, he might change his tune and maybe he'll realize someone besides him was right, for a change."

That was not Taker at all and even he knew it. There were assemblies, checks, and balances because Taker wasn't a dictator. Not that he was telling her that. The more she disliked the Deadman, the best for him; Dean had never claimed to be a 'good guy', and Abigail had known from day one Dean thought the other man was a cocksmoker. Malcolm was definitely wondering which son was alive, because obviously not both of them had made it, and just what sort of man he had become for Abigail to stand up to this way.

That wasn't the type of man and leader Mark was and she knew that, deep down. She also knew Dean didn't like Mark at all, so Abigail had to watch out for that. There wasn't anything she said that wasn't true, though she knew who the real Mark was. He was kind, strong, stubborn, handsome, caring…and half of her was terrified of facing him again once they returned to Wonderful. She hoped they returned before Mark, to give Malcolm a chance to settle in and spend some time with his granddaughter. Dean was a dirty player, but Abigail wouldn't fall for his games and manipulation. She had done this for one reason and that was to cripple the DOV and Bray from within. Not to mention, she also discovered Bray's ultimate secret with the spell that'd been cast on him.

Mark, please don't be angry with me for following my heart and my instincts, she thought, looking up at the stars and hoped he was safe.


"What the hell is that?"

"That is a flat tire."

"Thank you, Hardy." Roman growled, wondering how this idiot was considered a genius as he crouched down by the trailer tire, the blown-out trailer tire. Coming back was taking longer than expected due to the heavy load in the trailer, but all the men were also pretty pleased with the haul. "It'll take me… hopefully, an hour to change it."

"Damn son, how are you going to get it lifted with all that shit in there?"

Taker was wondering that himself.

"Uh, we're going to have to lift when he says to lift. There's enough of us, we'll be able to get this area up enough for it."

If it wasn't one thing… Taker pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded.


"Malcolm, how are you holding up? Do you need a break?"

"No, I'm fine, Abigail. How much farther until we're to Wonderful?"

"If we keep going, another day at the most." Abigail shared a concerned look with Dean, knowing they were close enough to Wonderful to where the car no longer needed to be cloaked with his magic. "Take a breather, Malcolm."

Sighing, Malcolm nodded and took the bottled water he was handed, the car becoming uncloaked as Dean kept speeding down the back gravelly road.

Over the past almost 2 weeks, Abigail hadn't spoken much to Dean, keeping her distance and spending a lot of time with Malcolm strategizing. The spell on Bray was incredibly powerful and would take some dark magic to remove it. Hence why he needed two of his bloodline in order to successfully take the spell off. Bray was under the impression all of Malcolm's family was dead, so this boded well in their favor. She handed him some food, wanting him to keep his strength up, and sipped her own water, staring out the window into the night. Almost there, they were almost done with this trip and she didn't know if she was more scared or relieved to go back to Wonderful.

"Better make it two." Dean corrected, listening as the car made a very odd, weird grinding noise, shifting gears and that made it worse. He pulled over, parked, and got out after popping the hood. "Can magic fix a transmission?" The fact that they had found a car to bring them this far had been a miracle in itself. "Or… we could just walk it, you don't want to bring him through the front gates, do you?"

"Yes, there's no point in taking the waterway. The front of Wonderful is where the common house and Susan are located." Abigail informed him, frowning at the car and sighed heavily, looking back at Malcolm.

What were they going to do? Was walking their only option? Malcolm was spent magically, that much was obvious and he was an old man, but at this point, they really had no other alternative.

"We're gonna have to walk, Malcolm. Hopefully, we come across a town soon and can find another car to get us the rest of the way."

"Trust me, Abigail, I don't mind walking. It's good for these old bones and, besides, it beats being back in that castle." Malcolm would've gladly walked anywhere as long as it was far away from Bray Wyatt and the DOV. "Mr. Ambrose, do you know where we're at?"

"Just Dean, and yep." He must've corrected the old man on the formality at least a hundred times since trekking back to Wonderful. Three or four days… well, maybe five away, on foot." Dean revised, studying the old man thoughtfully. He got the impression Malcolm hadn't been let out of that castle very much. "And Abs, there aren't any towns between here and Wonderful, not in this direction." Now, if they headed southwest, they'd run into a town that had been raided a million times over, but any gasoline left there, in pumps or vehicles, had been taken a long time ago to fuel the vehicles of Wonderful. "We'll be fine, babe." He was already grabbing their belongings out of the car, including his magic pack with everything plus the kitchen sink in it.

"We'll make it, we've made it this far." Abigail agreed, knowing Dean had everything they would need and more in that magic pack he'd smuggled out of Wonderful.

They trekked for several hours, stopped, and took a break, before heading off again. Every 3 hours, they would stop and take a half an hour break to drink or eat, before going again. Malcolm was holding up pretty well, all things considered, and it seemed as though the man had done something similar to this before. Once the sun began to rise over the horizon, they settled down near a riverbank, out of sight and set up camp for the day, deciding traveling at night was the best way to go. They wouldn't be seen nearly as easily.

Dean set up the tent with Abigail and Malcolm's help, all three of them having their own sleeping bags. Abigail knew she had to get some sleep and felt her entire body relax, aching from all the walking, but at least she was free away from Bray and the DOV. The tent wasn't for him since Dean was more than used to sleeping under the stars and during the day, a tent just seemed weird. He figured either she would use it -which would be weird as hell since she had been sleeping outside with him, or Malcolm would take an afternoon nap or something.

"Hey old man, I got a cot in here, one of those collapsible kinds."

"I would really like to study that bag…" He was ignoring the old man jibes, having gotten used to Dean's snark over the trip. "It is… marvelous."

Abigail slept for a few hours and then quietly left the tent, zipping it up to keep the bugs out, and walked down the riverbank to splash water on her face, her legs and feet sore. Every part of her body was sore, actually. They had stopped to bathe anywhere they could find that was deemed clean, though she couldn't wait to have a legitimate shower once they finally made it back. Dean was currently sleeping, his snores filtering through the air and Abigail had to wonder if their friendship would ever be the same again after what happened between them. He wanted her for more than friendship and she couldn't give it to him, not again.

Nighttime arrived as they ate, packed up, and began walking again, stopping every 3 hours. It was a miracle when the sign came up Wonderful 4 miles away and Abigail nearly shouted with joy, feeling the adrenaline pumping through her system. Almost there. She could see the relief on Malcolm and even Dean's faces too.

"I don't think Taker's back yet." Dean said thoughtfully, pointing to watchtowers built out even this far from Wonderful. "If he was, he wouldn't have them out."

He had no idea that Taker had left Wonderful magically protected in his absence. Dean just knew that whenever the Deadman left the city, he tended to go crazy on protection, including putting men out to scout the perimeter. That made him frown suddenly.

"Hope they didn't run into any trouble." Not because of Taker so much as Roman, his brother in arms and best friend.

"Okay."

That was good, Abigail could relax a little and had her arm hooked through Malcolm's, just to give him some support since he was nervous. She didn't blame him. Hell, she had butterflies inside of her stomach, but they had to keep going and could only hope for the best. Abigail was sticking to her beliefs what she and Dean did was right and the best thing to do for not only Wonderful, but Vesperia as a whole. They were two miles out, two miles until they were home, or as close to home as they would get. Malcolm would be reunited with Susan and his son. Abigail was prepared to accept the consequences and snapped her head to the side, seeing several bikes and a truck with a trailer roaring up to the gates…the same time they arrived.

"Well… shit." Dean stopped walking and simply folded his arms over his chest, tapping one foot on the ground, a cigarette dangling from his bottom lip. "Roman, my man!"

Roman dismounted his motorcycle as soon as he was able, walking over to pick his buddy up in a bone-crunching hug. "Where's the welcome home wenches?"

"Just me buddy, just me."

Taker hadn't dismounted, he was taking in the trio from behind his sunglasses, nostrils flaring. "Open the gates!" He roared to the watchtower guard.

Trailer had to be hauled in and he was pretty sure his blood pressure was rising. What the hell was Dean Ambrose and Abigail… and some weird looking old man doing outside? And then it clicked. Before Taker could blow his stack, a voice rang out from the gates and it was Susan, crying and running towards them.

"PAPA!"

Malcolm caught his crying granddaughter in his arms, dropping to a knee and closed his eyes, tears stinging his eyes. She was safe. He had sent her here, ordering her to look for Abigail and the woman had protected Susan, just as he knew she would. Even though she was supposedly undercover for Bray, he had to put his trust in her and hadn't been disappointed.

"P-Papa! Papa, I-I never thought I-I'd s-see you again!" Susan sobbed, clinging to him for dear life and didn't care about anything else at the moment, feeling as though a piece of her had slid back into place with her grandfather here.

"Malcolm, you need water. Susan, please take him inside and get him some water and food." Abigail smiled at the girl, blinking when she was hugged next, and nudged her toward her grandfather again. "Go on." Then she turned to face Dean and Roman, beyond exhausted after the grueling journey they'd taken together. "Well Mr. Jack of All Trades, looks like we survived and made it." She hugged him tightly around the neck and kissed his cheek. "Thank you. For everything." Just seeing Malcolm and Susan reunited was worth every bit of Mark's anger she knew was coming.

Dean kept an arm wrapped around Abigail's shoulders as they turned to face Taker, figuring she was going to need emotional support. The big man looked royally pissed; he was inwardly cackling with glee and it damn sure showed on his face. Abigail had blatantly defied him and gone to wherever her former lover lived to rescue his father. Taker forced himself to take deep breaths, knowing he had other matters to attend to before he dealt with her.

"Ron, see that the trailer is unloaded. Hardy, go round up whatever hands you can find." He was going to snap Ambrose's neck, just for that look on his idiot face. Maybe make Abigail watch.

She hadn't defied him, just did what she felt needed to be done. Exhaustion registered on her face along with relief because they had made it back and she hadn't died. Abigail didn't say a single word to him, not showing the slightest bit of guilt for what she'd done. If he was like Bray Wyatt, she would bring him down as well as that cocksucker. Bray was NOT her former lover because she was a virgin and hadn't been with anyone except Mark and Dean intimately.

With Bray, it was more forced and out of fear than anything, so she didn't put him in the 'lover' category. She appreciated Dean's support, nodding when he asked in her ear if she was alright and felt as if her legs were jelly. Susan would have Malcolm set up in the common house and Abigail had a bed waiting for her with the Shield, along with a job since she had 'talent', according to Dean. When Mark just stared at her hardening, not saying a single word, Abigail couldn't stand there anymore and walked past him inside the gates, immediately collapsing.

"Whoa Abs, I got you, girl." Dean scooped her up into his strong arms and smirked back at Taker, his blue eyes gleaming wickedly as he carted her off toward his place alongside Roman. He was exhausted himself, but refused to leave her in the care of any of these idiots, the cigarette still dangling from the corner of his mouth.

"Where the fuck did you go while I was gone?" Dean hadn't told anyone, not even his brothers, what he had planned with the ebony-haired beauty.

"Hell." That about summed it up.

Abigail was out cold before her head hit the pillow, and slept for the next 2 days straight.