Eye of the Storm

Disclaimer: Don't own Supernatural in any way. I do own Haley Winchester and Laura Whitman.

Author's Note: Not really sure if there are woods or the like near Lawrence, but in this little world of mine, there are.

Review Answers:

Spuffyshipper – Thanks, here's the update. Soon enough for ya?

EmSyd – Thanks, I think. Is that thanks warranting?

Ghostwriter – Thankyou, nice to get an awesome so early in the story. Hmmm, never seen that movie, but I'm glad I did so well at… whatever I did that caused this reaction.

Chapter 4: Separate Paths

Haley stared in a mixture of fascination and surprise, as the flames seemed to materialize out of thin air, about a foot above the bed covers. Beside her, Sam seemed to have slipped into a semi-comatose state, completely unaware of what was happening right in front of him, though Haley was sure the flickering light caused by the bright flames would've been enough to pull someone from even the deepest sleep.

The flames flickered above the bed for a few moments, and then began to change, taking on the vaguest shape of a human face. Haley tensed, waiting for something to happen. In the back of her mind, she felt emotions begin to spread like a cancer, as faceless and empty as they always were when she was sensing a non-human entity, but taking up just as much space as normal emotions.

"What do you want?" She asked in a strained voice, taking deep breaths as she tried to ignore the effects of her empathy.

"You…" Haley stiffened as that single word reached her ears, weak and breathy, but by no means unclear. She was just considering waking up Sam when it tried again. "Help… you…"

She stared at the face, suddenly unsure what to do. With a sudden screech, the face lurched forward, passing straight through Haley's chest. Whether it came out the other side, she didn't know, and right at that moment, didn't have the time to care as a stream of images flooded her mind, completely out of control.

And then, as suddenly as they had started, they stopped. Haley gasped, supporting herself on her arms as she took deep breaths. Was that what it was like for Sam? A chaotic, never-ending stream of images that somehow seemed to make sense. If it was, no wonder he always looked worn out after having one.

She turned slowly to look at Sam, and smiled at him, leaning forward and kissing him lightly on the lips. "I won't be gone long." She whispered, pulling back. Then she climbed out of bed (with some difficulty), and began searching for her clothes.

When she was fully clothed, in a black hooded sweater with the front done up, over a red cardigan, a pair of black trousers, and plain black boots, she wrote a quick note for Sam and left it on the bedside table where he would see it, and then, with one final look at Sam, proceeded to leave the house.

Nobody noticed as the note caught fire, burning up into nothing in just a few seconds.

-;-

To say Sam was worried when he woke up and found Haley not in bed would've been an understatement. Of course, he didn't actually start to panic until he'd searched the house (in his boxer shorts), and still hadn't been able to find Haley. At which point he did the only thing he could think of.

He knocked on the door to the bedroom Dean had been given, and then opened the door before Dean could respond.

"Haley's gone." He said. Dean blinked, looking up from the pillow. And then looking Sam up and down, he gave his brother a quizzical look.

"I've had this dream before, but normally you're Leanne Rimes, not my brother." He said.

"This isn't a dream, get up." Sam said. "Haley's gone."

"Yeah, you said." Dean said. "You sure she didn't just go for a walk?" Dean asked, sliding his legs off the bed and sitting up.

"Positive, she always leaves a note if she goes for a walk before I wake up." Sam said.

"And you didn't just miss the note when you jumped to the conclusion that she was missing?" Dean asked.

"Can't you just trust me when I tell you there was no note?" Sam asked, slightly panicked desperation in his voice. Dean narrowed his eyes at Sam, and then got to his feet.

"Okay, give me a chance to get dressed - I recommend you do the same - and we can go out and look for her." He said. Sam looked down; only just now realizing he was only wearing his boxer shorts. As much as he wanted to find Haley, he doubted he'd last long outside at this early hour without even a pair of pants.

"Right." He said, turning around and leaving the room. He returned to his own room, and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, a plain blue t-shirt, and a grey jacket. He grabbed his boots and socks, and then went back out to meet Dean, who was waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Now, you're sure she's not just out for a walk?" Dean asked. Sam gave him an irritated look. "Okay, just making sure." He headed for the door, grabbing his leather jacket off the coat rack as he exited the house. "Oh, hey, you better leave a note. Don't want Dad and Missouri to think something's happened to us." He said, glancing over his shoulder at his brother. Sam clearly didn't like the short delay, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't argue with common sense.

-;-

Haley wasn't really sure how long it had taken her to get where she was, or for that matter, where exactly she was going. It felt as though her legs had taken on a mind of their own as soon as she'd left Missouri's house, and all of a sudden she realized she was (seemingly) completely lost in the woods. She tried hard not to think of how cliché that seemed.

And then suddenly she stopped, seeming to find what she was looking for: a small clearing not far ahead of her. Her eyes widened with surprise as the fire materialized once more, this time in the centre of the clearing. It kept growing this time, until it had taken on a vague, human-like shape, like Mary had, Haley realized.

Except something happened that had not happened with Mary. In the very centre of the flames, perhaps where a heart would've been for a person, a bright golden-white lighter formed, and spread outwards, consuming the flames in a matter of seconds and the filling the clearing. It was so bright that Haley found herself closing her eyes, holding her hands up to shield her face from the unbearably bright light.

After almost a minute, the light finally died down, and Haley lowered her hands, squinting as the light receding, shrinking back down into a single form, and Haley's breath caught in her throat and her eyes went wide as saucers when she could finally make out the form it took:

Standing before her, dressed in an elegant, cream-coloured dress, was her mother, Elise.

"M-Mum?" It came out in a sort of squeak. Elise smiled warmly at her, and Haley took a step towards her mother. And then stopped, blinking. For a split second, she'd seen…

And then it happened again. The slightest shimmer of her mother's image, like a jump on a TV screen, so small it was hard to even be sure it had happened. But something inside Haley told her to lock onto it. Something inside her suddenly clicked into place.

Everything around her seemed to stretch, melting away. She had a vague sense of freedom, like she was floating. Physically, she was still standing there, staring transfixed at her mother's image, but something, her mind, her essence, was floating, free of it's earthly shell and seeing the world for what it was.

Before her mind's eye, Elise's image was stripped away, melting into the boundless energies that surrounded them. And Haley felt… calm, at peace. Nothing like she had expected from a spirit…

And then, with a sharp intake of breath, she was back, standing in the clearing with the spirit that had donned her mother's face.

"Who are you?" She asked breathily, her voice little more then a whisper. The spirit stared at her for a long time, just stared, a slightly sad look in its eyes, Elise's eyes. And then, in a tone as quiet and breathy as Haley's, it spoke.

"I'm you."

-;-

Sam and Dean drove all around Lawrence in search of Haley. Although, if they were honest with themselves, there wasn't much chance of finding her, since they had no idea how long ago she'd left the house, nor where she could've gone (or been taken, as Sam continued to point out).

They'd been searching for almost an hour (making it a little after dawn) before Dean finally managed to convince Sam that they weren't going to find Haley on their own. Sam reluctantly agreed to go back to Missouri's house with Dean (though he had half a mind to tell Dean to stop the car and let him out).

Missouri and Pastor Jim were the only ones awake when they got back, everyone else still asleep (though they only had until six before the alarm clocks started ringing).

"You didn't find her?" Missouri asked. Sam shot an irritated glance at Dean, thinking that his brother had written in the note they'd left that Haley was missing.

"Don't blame your brother, boy." Missouri said. "You've got so much on your mind, I could sense it before you even got out of the car." She shook her head. "It's amazing you can function at all with all those thoughts buzzing around inside your head." She set two plates of toast down on the table, where Pastor Jim was already eating his, and nodded towards it. Taking the hint (well, it was a little more then that), the Winchester brother's sat down to have breakfast, though Sam's mind was clearly elsewhere.

Bobby joined them soon after, receiving the same treatment from Missouri as the last three men in her kitchen had, and was sitting at the table with a plate of toast in front of him within half a minute of coming into the kitchen.

As soon as he'd finished his breakfast, Sam left the table to get prepared to go out and look for Haley again. His seat was taken mere moments later by John.

And so the occupants of the household continued to play musical chairs around the table for the next fifteen minutes, until everyone had had their fill of toast. And then everyone gathered in the living room, where last minute additions had to be made to the plans so finely worked out the night before.

"I'm going with Sam." Was the first thing Dean said.

"No, you are not." John shot back. "You know what your jobs is, Dean. And, like it or not, you're the most qualified for it." He turned to Laura. "You can accompany Sam while he looks for Haley." She gave Dean a smug grin which, much to Dean's frustration, no one else saw. "Dean, you can take Caleb and Bobby with you in the impala." John said, and the two older men nodded, while Dean was still fuming about Laura being chosen over him to help Sam. "Daniel, you and Jim are together, you both know what you need to do." Elkins grunted, Jim nodded slowly. "Missouri, you're with me, we're gonna see if we can find where the Demon's hiding out."

They'd determined that the Demon was already somewhere in Lawrence the night before, sending minions across the country to take out its enemies.

"Okay, if there's nothing further to discuss, I say we get to this before any more of us end up dead." Everyone gave an affirmative nod or grunt, and then the small group of hunters separated to different parts of the house to prepare for their upcoming tasks.

Dean quickly tracked Laura down and cornered her in the room she'd shared with her uncle (who'd have thought Missouri had so many bedrooms in her house?).

"What are you up to?" He demanded. She grinned at him.

"Gee, Dean, paranoid much?" She asked, ducking under his arm and grabbed a knife of her bedside table, sliding it into her boot. She looked back over at him. "What? Worried I'll take your brother for a little spin?" She asked with a teasing smile.

"You keep your slutty hands off him," Dean said. "He's a married man." Laura just continued to smile, walking right up to him (and looking up at him, as she stood only a little taller then Haley).

"So was my last boyfriend. 'Til he met me." And with that, she planted a quick kiss on Dean's cheek and exited the room, leaving Dean staring after her in a mixture of shock and… no! He was not attracted to the hell-spawned slut. He gave himself a shake, but couldn't help but remember her kiss sending shivers of the good kind down his spine.

"Dean." He looked up and saw Pastor Jim. Oh great, had he been listening in on their conversation?

"Pastor Jim." Dean said.

"I couldn't help overhearing your… conversation with Laura." How much? Dean thought. "I think you should ease up on her, Dean." Dean scoffed.

"Give me one good reason why." He said.

"Well, she did only wake up about a week ago." Jim said. Dean furrowed his brow.

"'Wake up'?" He echoed, confused. Jim's eyes widened.

"You didn't know?" He asked.

"Know what?" Dean asked.

"Laura was in a car accident about… five or six weeks ago." Jim said. "She fell into a coma. The doctors said it was doubtful she was ever going to wake up again." Dean narrowed his eyes.

"But she did?" He asked.

"Yes. It was… a miracle." Jim said. "About a week ago, she woke up. The doctors… all of us, actually… we were all stunned. She's made a reasonably fast recovery, but personally, I think most of it is just an act." Dean frowned/ "So… ease up on her, would you, Dean?" He asked. Dean stared at the priest for a long minute, and then gave a sigh of resignation.

"Yeah, okay, I'll stop with the cold shoulder." He said.

"Thanks." Jim said. "You're a good man, Dean." Making to put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Dean said, taking a step back and holding his hands up. "No chick flick moments." He said. Jim rolled his eyes.

"Clearly not as good as I thought," He said jokingly. Dean grinned.

"And don't you forget it." He said with a cocky grin, stepping around the priest and leaving the room. Jim gave a small chuckle and followed the younger man out of the room.

-;-

"You're me… what?" Haley asked, confused.

"Not you… physically. But your power, your essence… comes from me." The spirit said. Haley frowned, trying to make sense of what it had said.

"Wait-"

"This form was… familiar to you… you trust it." The spirit went on. "I wore it so that you would trust me. So that I could help you."

"My power…" Haley whispered. Her eyes widened in realization. "You're-"

"The Heart of Gold." Said the spirit. "It's last… bearer." Haley took an involuntary step forward.

"You fought the Demon. You beat it. How did you do it?" She demanded. She realized how rude that must have seemed, and tried again. "Please, I need to know." The spirit frowned.

"I didn't beat it." It said mournfully. "My power alone wasn't enough to beat it. You've seen it… in your dreams. It killed me."

"But… but it's not like it was in my dreams." Haley said.

"No, it isn't." The spirit said. It stepped forward, raising its hand. Haley didn't move as it reached forward, not until its fingertips made contact with her forehead. Then her eyes went wide as saucers, and she staggered backwards, hitting a tree and sinking to the ground, her eyes falling closed as she laid her head back against the tree trunk.

When she opened her eyes again, she gasped in shock, taking a startled step back as fire rose up from the ground in front of her. Mixed through the flames was the deepest, darkest shadow she had ever seen.

As the flames grew bigger, they began to take form, vaguely man-like. And then they solidified into a corporeal form, though it somehow still seemed to be made primarily of shadow. Except it's eyes, like two sickly yellow orbs of hatred staring straight at her.

"It's time to end this." The Demon hissed. It stared straight at Haley, like she was a thing not worth it's time.

"I couldn't agree more." She said, pulling her sword from the scabbard at her waist and lunging forward, swinging the sword in a wide arc aimed at the Demon's neck.

It caught hold of the blade with its bare hands, bring it to an abrupt halt. Haley's eyes widened, and the next thing she knew, the Demon, too, had a sword, and before she could so much as think, had driven it into her stomach.

She gasped, taking a minute to comprehend the pain stemming from the spot where the sword had penetrated her body.

"It's over." The Demon hissed, pushing her backwards, leaving the sword imbedded in her abdomen.

Pain shot through her body, like nothing she'd ever felt before. It was almost impossible to focus on anything else. But she had to. If she was going, then she was taking this… thing with her.

The sword shook, sending more shockwaves of pain through her body. She ignored them as best she could, focusing only on the sword. She felt herself slipping away, losing her hold on life.

And suddenly the sword was ripping from her stomach. Her scream seemed loud enough for the heavens to hear, and the Demon spun around to face her. In that split second before death took her, Haley threw all she had into the sword as it seemed to turn itself up, the blade, soaked in her blood, aimed directly at the chest of the body the Demon had taken on.

And then it thrust forward going straight through the body, leaving a gaping, burning hole in the Demon's chest.

The screams of a thousand victims seemed to echo from the Demon as flames spread from the hole. Pain and terror and fury all mixed into one as it was consumed by the very fires that made it.

And with that Demon's demise filling her vision, she finally let herself be taken, let the last spark of life inside her go out…

Haley's eyes opened as she sat bolt upright, gasping for air, hand on her stomach where the sword had been embedded. And for the second time that morning, felt utter relief wash over her as she felt no steel sword blade, no gaping hole. Just the warm material of her sweater.

The spirit still stood where it had been when it had pushed her into the vision, still in Elise's form. She stared up at it from where she sat for a long minute, feeling too worn out to even think of standing up.

"You killed it… with its own sword?" She asked.

"No… on both accounts." The spirit said. "I didn't kill it. Only weakened it to the state it is now. And it wasn't its own black sword that killed it." It knelt down in front of Haley. "It was the blood that coated the blade. My blood." Haley's eyes widened. "Just as my blood reduced it to the parasitic state it is in now, your blood can be used to finish it off."

It took Haley a minute to register what the spirit was telling her. She frowned. "But… that doesn't make sense." She said. "The prophecy stated that it would drink my blood to restore itself." The spirit nodded slowly, fixing Haley with a calculating gaze.

"'The blood of her heart will stain her hands, and the darkness shall feed upon it to rise from its bonds'." It recited, getting slowly to its feet. "Now tell me, Haley Winchester…" The whole front of Elise's body seemed to catch fire, spreading outward from the centre. The further it got, the less the flames in the centre became, and as they faded away, a new face and form replaced Elise's. "… Where does your heart lie?" Sam asked, his face completely blank.

Haley's eyes went wide with horror as realization dawned on her.

-;-

A/N: Evil cackle So tell me, do you like the cliffhanger? Did any of you figure out who/what the spirit was? And did any of you suspect the little twist I added at the end?