A/N: So I was reading on the Supernatural Wiki that the bunker is hidden underneath a power-plant that supplies its water and electricity. And here I thought I made that part up ;)

Chapter 10

Dean PoV

We're all communing in the main room searching through news on the internet trying to find a case. Sammy had discovered that we're close enough to the power plant to pick up on their wi-fi. He said hacking into their account was beyond easy. "I think we're linked to their electricity, too. Otherwise I can't figure out how we have utilities. Clearly no one's paid the bill in 50 years. The lights shouldn't have come on when we got here. But I'm thinking that the power plant, which was built around the time that this place was, is a front for the Men of Letters. A way for them to gain income and remain hidden. No one would suspect that this place is anything but part of the plant, and the people coming in and out were just workers. It's brilliant."

"I wonder if we can tap into that income some how," Bella suggests. "Since we're all legacies, we should theoretically be receiving that money, right? I mean it's probably all sitting in a savings account somewhere accruing interest. Hell, we could be millionaires by now for all we know. I'm gonna make a mental note to look into that later. Maybe we won't have to use fake credit cards or hustle pool to get dough anymore."

That'd be nice. Not that I mind using the cards or hustling pool. But sometimes we can be running low on funds, and it would be nice to not to have to worry about money anymore. And it would make this god forsaken job a bit more tolerable, too. "Not a bad idea, short stack. Let's put that on the back burner for now and get back to finding us a case."

"Here's something," Sammy says as if on cue. "Farmington Hills, Michigan… Dude got ripped limb from limb inside his locked apartment. No signs of forced entry and no evidence other than his torn apart body. And a neighbor claimed to hear the sound of she said, 'a hundred horses stampeding through the apartment upstairs.' Think that's our kinda thing?"

Bella looks at me for clarification. "Yeah, I'd say that's our kinda thing. Any other weird cases in that area?" I ask.

Sammy makes a few more clicks. "Nothing that's been posted online or in the papers, but you never know."

"Alright then. Remi, pack your bags. We're goin' on a monster hunt!" I raise my hand for a high five. She has to jump to reach, but she slaps my hand with enthusiasm and runs off to our bedroom to pack. "We really shouldn't be excited about this. Our job fucking sucks. But dammit, I can't help but be happy right now."

"Me too," Sam agrees. "It's weird. Like it used to be that cases were a way to pass the time and try to make some miniscule difference in the world. Now… I'm actually pumped for this. Like I feel it's going to be fun somehow. Mike Rowe wouldn't touch our job with a ten-foot-pole, but damn, I'm happy right now."

"Dude, it's Bella. Don't you think? She completes us, not to sound cheesy, but she does."

Sam nods. "You're right. She does. I don't even feel like a third wheel around you two. We're a cohesive unit, as it were."

And that's enough talk about that. "Yeah, so I'm gonna get my bag and head to the car." Sam nods again and does the same.

Within fifteen minutes, we're in the car. It would have been closer to five minutes, but Bella insisted on packing a cooler with sandwiches, drinks, and some snacks for us to take on the road. "We're not stopping at fast food on the way. It's greasy and unhealthy and gross. Plus we're not filthy rich yet, so it makes sense to use what we have at home and not waste money on that crap that hardly can be called food."

She has a point. "But I love my Biggersons!" I complain.

"Ugh, that's the worst one! Remember those turducken sandwiches?" she sticks her tongue out in disgust. "Practically turned my dad into a zombie when he ate one. That was probably one of the few things that Edward did right in our relationship was keep my dad from eating them after that first one. He said they smelled wrong and made my Dad's blood smell extra appetizing. Even more-so than my own, and I'm Edward's singer, so that's saying something." I raise an eyebrow at her in question. "Um Edward always said that my blood called to him more than any other human's. That he almost killed me when we met because of it. Then when we were in Italy, the vamp leaders said I was his singer. Like my blood is singing to him. Carlisle said it was a huge testament to Edward's incredible control because most singers never survive meeting their vampire."

"Wow," Sam says, echoing my thoughts. "Bella, you may also be interested to know that something called Leviathan made those turducken sandwiches, in an effort to turn humans into cattle, basically, and also weed out the competition. If Edward had fed from your dad, his blood could have killed him. Granted, we don't know if it would for sure since your vampires are so different than the ones we usually fight, but the Leviathan created that stuff to kill off vampires and other human-eating monsters so that they could have us all to themselves.

"Hell, they even put an additive in corn syrup and sweeteners in order to weed out illnesses and traits they didn't like in humans so the stock would be 'perfect.' It was a huge corporate scheme unlike anything we've ever seen."

"Wait, was that all that Dick Roman Sucracorp nonsense?" Bella asks. Sam and I nod. "Holy crow. I remember the Cullens saying something was off about that guy. That he didn't seem quite human, but they couldn't quite tell. Was he a… what did you call it… leviathan?"

"Yep. Nasty creatures that can mimic humans just by touching them or having their DNA. There was a pair of them roaming the country looking like us. They wreaked havoc, killing innocent humans and making sure it was all caught on tape. Made our lives hell for a while. But as far as the world at large is concerned, Sam and Dean Winchester are dead. And all the Leviathan are back in purgatory where they belong."

"You guys did that?" Bella asks. I nod at her. "Wow. Um, thanks I guess. I'm glad I'm not cattle."

We regale her with a few more tales of what we've done over the years. With each story, she squeezes my hand tighter and tighter. Soon it's nearly painful. "Um, sweetheart, not that I don't love the affection, but you're about to break my fingers." She releases my hand immediately and apologizes. "No worries, but I think you're getting a little worked up over there. We've got a long drive today, so best calm yourself down if you can."

"I know it's just… you guys have done so much. So much for this planet that I never even knew about. I thought I was knowledgeable when I learned about vampires and werewolves, but then to find out that there's so much more out there. I mean, it's like literally every monster from every fairy tale or scary story or myth is real. All of them. I mean, I'll bet I could name a 'mythological' monster and you two could tell me a story about how you ganked one once, or know someone who did, right?"

"Most likely," Sam replies. I nod in agreement. I can see the gears turning in her head, trying to think of some obscure monster that we maybe haven't dealt with.

"Chupacabra?" she asks.

"Fellow hunter Gordon has dealt with those," Sam answers. "Next."

"Dragons."

"They can look like people," I answer. "Never seen one in its true form. But they are attracted to gold and jewels. Oh and they can make things burn red hot just by touching them, even melt metal. They're the ones that raised Eve from purgatory. They were collecting virgins to offer as a sacrifice. Yeah, that happens, too. And they can only be killed by a sword forged with dragon's blood. I'm sure you can imagine those aren't available at every hardware store."

"Wow, okay, um…Succubi?"

"Yeah, they're just female demons that suck the life out of men. Not really a separate entity."

Bella looks thoughtful. "Now that's interesting because there's a family of vampires in Alaska that say three of them are the origin behind the succubus myth." We're silent, waiting for her continue. "They said, and I'm paraphrasing from what the Cullens told me, that the three sisters used to hunt humans a few hundred years ago. They would lure men into their clutches, have sex with them and then kill them. Now they're like the Cullens and only feed from animals. They still take human partners, I guess, but the humans live."

"Maybe there are multiple truths behind each of the myths," Sam suggests. "I mean it makes sense, right? If there can be more than one species of vampire, why not more than one monster that calls itself a succubus?"

Bella nods. "What about things like Hell hounds? Or creatures that work for other creatures?"

"Hell hounds are real," I answer. "Very, very real."

Her hand squeezes mine. "You sound like you know that for an absolute fact."

"Yeah, when I went to hell. It was a hell hound that dragged me down there. They're invisible to anyone that's not being hunted by one. But when you can see them, damn they're nasty, ugly, horrible looking sons of bitches."

"Ick. I'm sorry that happened to you, Dean." She runs her hand along mine affectionately. She then leans over and rests her head on my shoulder. I can tell this isn't pity, but empathy. Bella has been through her own mess of shit, too.

"If it makes you feel better, Unicorns are real," I say. She pops back up.

"You're joking."

"Nope… well the only time I've really seen one was when it was a dude using dark magic to make kids' fears come to life and then killing their parents. So it was just the magic making shit real. Yeah, he was one fucked up bat shit crazy dude."

"Wow, so even things that weren't necessarily real can be made real through magic? That's messed up. So a jack-ass who just wants to play pranks on people could be behind a lot of stuff. Like UFO sightings or alien abductions, and unicorns. Hell even the loch ness monster." Bella has no idea how right she is. In fact, the trickster, who turned out to be an angel did a lot of that shit for fun.

We stop for gas and Bella spots a park across the street from the gas station. "Let's go have lunch," she says, taking the cooler out of the car and heading towards a picnic table. She has yet to learn our ways of drive, get gas, pee, grab food to go, drive some more, maybe crash in a parking lot for a couple hours then drive some more until we get there. Sam and I decide to allow her this one picnic, but we can't go on like this. It'll take forever to get to our cases if we stop for this long every time.

Back in the car, we go over the game plan for once we get to Michigan, mostly for Bella's benefit as she's not used to our routine yet. We'll arrive late tonight, grab a hotel and a few hours shut eye, then in the morning, we'll dress in our FBI garb and head to the police station. Bella seems a little bit too excited to use her new FBI badge. I hope she doesn't ruin our cover.

Around one in the morning, we arrive in Michigan. There's only one motel with an available room and it's only one room. Bella assures us she doesn't mind sharing a room. It's not her I was concerned about; I knew she wouldn't mind. But I do. Now that she and I are a thing, we should have our own room. It was one thing to snuggle innocently before, but now, I'm not making out with Bella when Sammy is in the next bed. It's just not gonna happen. I hope this case can be closed quickly so we can get back to the bunker and our own room.

"Yeah there's some kind of convention in town or something," the desk clerk tells us when we ask why it's so busy. "All I know is I see a lot of nerds walking around in costumes." Oh great. I hope it's not another supernatural convention like we had to deal with before. That was messed up.

"You mean like cosplay?" Bella asks.

The clerk shrugs. "I think I maybe heard one of them call it that, yeah. There's some kind of huge shindig over at the park this weekend. They do it every month, but this one is the big annual battle royale or something. I dunno. Here's your key. Check out is at 11am. Have a good night." And with that he goes back to his computer to likely play a mindless game of solitaire.

We head to our room and crash for a few hours. In the morning, Bella is up first and already dressed like a damn sexy librarian. She's wearing a black skinny skirt with a blazer and a blue shirt underneath. She's bent over straightening her pantyhose and putting on her shoes, so I'm getting a glorious view of her ass. I also notice she's wearing heels. I didn't even know she'd packed heels. "Hot damn, Bella. Who knew you could pull off the sexy librarian look?" When she stands up, I see, she's straightened her hair and arranged it in a more professional style. She has, I shit you not, a pair of black framed glasses perched on her nose.

"What? I wanna look the part. Are the glasses too much? I do want to look FBI-y, not librarian-y." She takes them off and shows me her look again. She looks hot both ways, but I know she's not going for hot, she's going for professional.

"I'd leave them behind," I say. "Sometimes less is more, y'know? When did you get all this stuff?" I ask.

"At the department store the other day," she answers. "You were so busy trying out all the mattresses, I had plenty of time to get your birthday gifts as well as some professional clothing for myself. How did I do?" She twirls around to give me the full look. The expression on my face must give it away. "Good. Now get up, shower, get dressed and let's go. I'm ready to start this case!"

Twenty minutes later, the three of us are on our way to the police station to learn about the case. When we get there, I introduce myself as Agent O'Hara, Sam as Agent Grohl, and Bella as Agent Remington, as that's what's on her badge right now. "Oh, Remington," the officer says, smiling big at Bella. "Any relation to the gun company? I got a coupla them at home."

Bella shakes her head. "Just the same name, no relation," she answers, giving him a friendly but professional smile. "Now we're here about this recent strange death you've got on your hands. Man was ripped apart inside his locked apartment?"

"Um yeah, but I don't understand why the FBI would be interested. Thought you guys went after serial killers and terrorists and stuff."

"Yeah, we do, but this one bears some similarities to a cold case we've got, so we're checking out as many leads as we can," Bella lies expertly. And here I thought she'd ruin our façade and she's showing us up.

The officer looks all flustered but agrees and leads us to the evidence room. "Here's the file. We've got no leads yet, since we're waiting for the tech report on his phone, so it's just kinda sitting here right now. Um, take all the time you need, let me know if you have any questions." We thank him and settle in to look over the crime scene photos.

"Victim's name is Ed Nelson, 31 years old. Insurance claims agent, lived alone. Not surprising based on the photos of his place. Dude was a nerd," I say, holding up a photo. There's blood spatter all over a Lord of the Rings poster. Bella smacks my arm.

"Don't speak ill of the dead, Dean. It's disrespectful."

"Hey look at this," Sammy says, holding up a photo of the deceased's arm. "Ever seen a tattoo like that before?" I take a closer look and it's a tree symbol of some kind. Looks like an ancient sigil for something. "Looks more like a birthmark than a tattoo, right?" Then the door opens and the officer we dealt with before is being followed by an older man.

"Agents, this is Sheriff Miller," he says.

"Agents," the sheriff greets. "I'm told you're here because this case is similar to a cold case you've got?" We nod. "Well, we've got a suspect now," he says. "Come with me, I'll tell ya all about it. Even letcha have first crack at interrogatin' 'im." We put the photos back in the file, hand it to him and head out the door.

"Uniforms are bringing him in now, but we were finally able to get into the victim's cell phone. He had it all kinds of locked down. Had to bring in an expert to hack it. Looks like he was having a pretty heated argument with another guy. They talked on the phone for 15 minutes the night of the murder. Then this Lance Jacobson sent him all kinds of text messages.

"How does that make him a suspect?" Bella asks.

"Well it's the content of the messages. Most of them are your usual threats but some of them are kinda weird." Bella gestures for him to go on. He pulls his paper pad out and reads some of the messages. "'You shall bleed for your crimes against us.' Followed by the emoticon of a skull. And then, 'I am a mage; I will destroy you.' See what I mean? Kids these days with their texting… and murder…"

We get to the interrogation room, and sit across from the suspect at the table. He doesn't look like much. Under six feet, scrawny. Very obviously the nerdy type. The kind I used to eat for breakfast when Dad made us attend schools.

"This is terrible," he begins without us even prompting him. "I thought he just decided not to play anymore. I didn't know he was dead! I… I can't believe Ed's dead!" The guy starts to cry. Real tears. Hard to make this shit up.

"Mind telling us what your text messages to Ed were about?" Sam asks.

The guy rolls his eyes. "I tried to tell the officers that arrested me, but those texts weren't from me."

"Your phone and Ed's phone beg to differ," Sam retorts.

"I mean, yes they were from me but not from me, me," he replies. Yeah, that cleared it right up.

I pipe in. "Did you really think that sentence was gonna clear things up?"

"Look," he replies. "Those texts were from Grey Fox the Mystic to Thargrim the Difficult of the Elder forest. Son of Hargrim and Bofant." When we continue to stare blankly at him, he explains. "They're the characters we play in Moondor, an online massive role-playing game. Every other week we do Live Action in Heritage Park. Y'know Live Action Role Play. We have a website. You can look at the photos from that night's feast. I was there all night! I couldn't have murdered Ed. In real life or in a made up duel."

"LARPing," Bella adds. When she realizes I was hung up on his words. He turns to her as if seeing her for the first time.

"Yes, m'lady. LARPing. We do it one weekend a month in Heritage Park. This month is huge because it's the Biannual battle for the Kingdoms. You'd be a wonderful addition to the Honor Guard. I'm pretty tight with the Queen of Moons. I can put in a good word for you."

Bella rolls her eyes. "Back to the topic at hand, Lance. What does all this have to do with you supposedly not murdering Ed Nelson?" Damn she's good.

"Basically, Thargrim was the Lancelot to my Merlin. He and I were named to the Queen's Honor Guard, which is no easy feat. I thought he broke protocol so I called Ed after game hours and accused him of cheating. And then I challenged him to a duel. Wands and swords at dawn. But he never showed. I went to his apartment and knocked, but he didn't answer. I had... I had no idea he was in there dead!" He starts bawling again and looks up towards the ceiling. "Oh Ye Gods! Thargrim the Difficult is Fallen!"

Okay and that's our cue. We leave the room then and head out towards the main office area. "Do you believe Dungeons and Dragons there?" Sam asks.

"Well, those weren't crocodile tears. I don't think he's our guy."

"Let's find the website," Bella suggests, pointing at a computer nearby. Sammy hops on and does a web search for the Moondor game. Clicking on the website, the first thing we see is a slide show of photos from the feast Lance was talking about. Sure enough, he's in damn near all of them, thus confirming his alibi for that night. "Okay, so if Lance didn't kill Ed, or Grey Fox didn't kill Thargrim… then who did?" We click through some more of the website and see that the battle royale is taking place this weekend.

A video starts playing that shows off each of the armies. There are four groups all vying for the crown. There's the Followers of the Moon, the reigning champs; the Elves; the Warriors of Yesteryear; and the Shadow Orcs. "Well, knowing what I know about Orcs, I'd give any kinda money that they're behind this."

Bella laughs aloud. "Dean, I'd have never pegged you for a Lord of the Rings fan."

"Yeah, well. Viggo Mortensen's a badass, and Liv Tyler's hot, so yeah… I saw the movies. And I'll admit… they were pretty cool." She shakes her head, but is still smiling. As the video continues, it reveals the Queen of moons. "No way.. Sammy isn't that—"

"Charlie Bradbury," he says. "What are the odds?"

"You guys know her?" Bella asks.

"Yeah, she helped us majorly on a case last year. We were able to bring down Dick Roman and his leviathan followers because of her."

A commotion brings us out of our conversation. Officers are running towards the interrogation room where we'd left Lance. A moment later, the Sheriff comes out. "I hope you guys got strong stomachs."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

He leads us to their security room and pulls up the footage of the interrogation room. We see a video of Lance scratching at his arm almost obsessively. When he pulls up his sleeve, he stares at his arm, confused. Seconds later, he starts coughing up blood. Then vomiting it, and finally, his eyes start to bleed. By the end, he's bled out and dead within half a minute. "God forbid he was contagious," the sheriff adds. "I'm gonna go dip myself in hand sanitizer."

He walks away leaving us to review the video more closely. "Look at that," Bella points out. "Zoom in on his arm." Sam does so. "Same tree as on Ed Nelson. Think they got matching tattoos? I mean, they were brothers in arms before Ed supposedly cheated, right?"

"Well," I answer. "There's only one way to find out, and luckily for us, we know the queen."

"Guys, we can't just walk into their LARPing universe dressed as a bunch of FBI Agents," Bella says, stopping us in our tracks.

"Um, the badge kinda lets us do whatever we want, Remi. Yes we can."

She rolls her eyes. "They're gonna see right through it. No matter how accurate our badges are, they're gonna notice that you're both named after members of rock bands. These people make costumes and create fake personas all the time. They're gonna spot us a mile away. If we want to get close to the queen, we need to look the part. Come on, I've got an idea." We get back in the car, and she tells me to head for the motel. Instead of going to our room, she heads to the lobby. Behind the desk is a different clerk than we dealt with last night. "So this LARPing thing going on this weekend, do you know much about it?"

"Why yes," he replies, standing up. "M'Lady, you are addressing Sir Boros of Westerly," he says, bowing to her. "If I didn't have to work this weekend, I'd be standing next to the Queen of Moons herself as her number one guard. But that jackass Thargrim and his minion Grey Fox took it from me, so I had no reason to take this weekend off of work."

Well, that kinda makes him suspect number one, considering both of them are dead. Bella communicates that she's thinking along the same lines by giving me a look. "Okay, well, we're in town on business but have a few days before we need to head home. Thought we might give LARPing a try. Maybe we can get you back into the Queen's good graces. Do you know of a costume shop in town? I'm sure most of you make your own costumes, but we're on a time crunch, and I didn't bring my sewing machine."

"Of course, M'Lady. Right this way!" He leads us outside and to his car. Inside his trunk is a trunk full of fabric. "I supply many of the players with their garb as a side job," he explains. "You can be Lady Estrella, sorceress of the Moon," he says, pulling out a dark blue dress that has stars sewn onto it all over. And these can be your… um… servants?"

I get tossed a pair of leather pants, a shirt and some chain mail. Sam gets about the same. "If you want to get close to the Queen, you need to look like you're important and can help her win the Battle." She hands the man a few bills as payment. He tries to give it back, saying we can just return the garments when we're done.

"I don't think you're gonna want these back," I whisper to him. Then he takes the cash without another word. We head to our room to dress in these ridiculous costumes. Secretly though, I think this is kinda awesome. Bella seems to be having fun, too.

She comes out of the bathroom with her hair style different again. This time she's curled it and pinned it back. There's a jeweled headband that lays across her forehead. It matches the dress. "Well, at least Alice Cullen was good for one thing. She taught me how to do hair. Okay, come servants, there is business to be done," she announces in an altered voice pattern. Damn, she's already in character.

When we arrive at the park, there are tents and booths and put up all over. Banners show where each area is and there are signs pointing to certain important destinations. "Good afternoon, milady. I'm afraid I've not yet made your acquaintance," some dude says to Bella. He kneels at her feet, takes her hand in his and kisses it gently, making her blush. He smiles wider. Nice moves asshole.

"I am the Lady Estrella. Sorceress of the Moon. I'm here to see the Queen of Moons and offer her my services. And who might you be, kind sir?"

Standing up, he puffs out his chest. "I am Boltar the furious. I can take you to the queen myself. While her schedule is full, I'm sure she'll make time to see you. Her highness is overseeing new squires on the pitches as we speak."

Following Boltar, Sam and I stay silent as he shamelessly flirts with Bella. Every now and then she looks back and winks at me. I never knew she'd be so good at playing a role. She was a genius FBI agent earlier today and now she's pulling off this sorceress thing without a hitch. She may end up being an even better hunter than me.

We enter the tent reserved for her majesty and wait for her to appear. Boltar leaves to retrieve her from where she was scouting squires. Soon after, she walks into the tent and groans when she recognizes us. "Seriously? Again?"

"Hi Charlie," Sam says. "Er, your highness." Bella is behind Sammy, checking out some of the décor, so Charlie doesn't see her right away.

"If you guys are here, then I know monsters are here. Real ones. Right?"

"'Fraid so," Bella answers, poking her head around Sammy. "Hiya." She turns back around and starts admiring the map with all the battalion figures strategically positioned on it. "If you put your archers over here, they can take out these guys before their cannons can even get in range of your knights," Bella states. She moves the pieces and shows Charlie what she means.

"Damn, who's the knowledgeable babe?" Charlie asks me, making eyes at Bella, who is completely oblivious. No wonder she had never been out with a guy until Ediot Cullen. She's totally unaware of when people are flirting with her.

"That's Remi. My girlfriend," I answer. Never been afraid of any competition when it comes to dudes, but Charlie's a different story. I'm sure Bella's as straight as I am, but you never know. And now my mind is filled with images of Charlie and Bella making out. Okay. Baseball, cold showers, Bobby in a speedo…

"Today, however, I am Lady Estrella, Sorceress of the Moon and at your service my queen," Bella curtsies and bows down to Charlie, making the red-heads eyes light up like a kid on Christmas morning. Yeah, not helping my fantasies at all.

"Well that's all well and good," Sam says, thankfully. "We are here on a real case. You're familiar with Grey Fox and Thargrim? Otherwise known as Lance Jacobson and Ed Nelson."

Charlie nods. "Yeah, Thargrim went missing a few days ago, and Grey Fox never showed up to Honor Guard training this morning."

"Yeah, they're both dead," he tells her. "And not accidentally."

Charlie gasps. "They were murdered?"

"Jeez, could you two oafs have some damn tact? For god's sake these were her friends, in and out of Moondor, I'm imagining." Bella leads Charlie over to the bed. God dammit, and sits down next to her. Charlie puts her head on Bella's shoulder and begins sobbing. Bella then soothes her by running her hands through Charlie's hair and up and down her back. Still not helping! "It was something supernatural, Charlie. We don't know what yet. All we do know is that the two victims had Moondor in common. Also, they had a weird tree tattoo on their arms."

That sobers Charlie up. "Neither Lance nor Ed had any tattoos," she says. "I know because when I showed them mine one night, they were going on and on about how neither of them had the balls to go under the needle, and I said neither did I, but I sure had the ovaries to do it."

That's news. "Okay, so whatever killed them left the trees as what… some kind of signature?" Bella asks.

"Or maybe, those who have the tree are marked. Kinda like when workers mark trees that are about to be cut down with spray paint," Charlie suggests.

"So it's an evil tree?" I ask. Bella and Charlie roll their eyes at the same time. I can tell I'm going to have my hands full with them.

"Charlie, have you ever seen that tree symbol before?" Bella asks, showing her the picture we'd pilfered from the police station.

Charlie takes it from Bella and studies it closely. "Actually yes, this is the crest of the Shadow King. Ruler of the Shadow Orcs."

"I told you it was the Orcs!" I declare. Everyone stares at me. "What, I said it was them. And it looks like it is."

"Do you… do you think they're using real magic to try and win this battle? If so, they're taking LARPing a bit too far," Bella states. She's right.

Charlie is still making goo-goo eyes at her. Did I not say that she's my girlfriend? "So, your name is Remi? Is that short for something?"

"Yeah, Remington, my last name."

Charlie snorts. "You're kidding. Remington and Winchester?" Bella shrugs. "That… that can't be a coincidence. Remington's a fake name, right?" Bella looks at me, a bit panicked. I nod at her, indicating she can trust Charlie."

"Well, my first name is Bella. That's real. Remi is just they're nickname for me now that I've taken Remington as a last name. It used to be Swan."

"Bella Swan, well, you certainly are one, aren't you?" Bella smiles at the compliment then looks confused.

"Okay, so let's go hunt down this Shadow King and ask him a few questions, huh?" she declares, standing up. Charlie follows her around like a puppy, and it's rather unnerving. The queen goes behind her dressing area to put on a disguise so she can roam the 'kingdoms' without giving away her identity.

"Dean, was she… was she flirting with me?" Bella whispers.

"Oh yeah," I reply. "Not even bothering to be stealthy about it."

Her eyes go wide. "Wow. Well, there's a first time for everything I suppose."

Bella PoV

Can't say I've ever been hit on much in my life. Though it's been happening more in the past two days than in my entire life combined. And most of it by a woman. I wonder how much worse it'd be if Dean hadn't told her I'm his girlfriend. As we're heading towards the quadrant the Shadow Orcs claim, she asks me, "How long have you and Dean been together? Last I saw him, he was kind of chronically single."

"Yeah, it's not been long. I was in a relationship with a vampire that was surely going to kill me one way or another and Dean more or less saved me. It's a long story, which I'll gladly tell once this is all over. I'm sure her majesty would like to stop losing her guard and constituents to a real monster."

"Agreed. Let's gank this SOB," Charlie agrees. She takes my hand, but not as an affectionate move, more like a sisters in arms move, which I'm more than okay with. I can see myself being really good friends with her. We come upon what looks to be a raiding party heading for the Followers of the Moon.

"Halt!" I declare. "What is your business here? This is not your territory." They start throwing bean bags at us, which Dean and Sam deflect expertly with their foam swords. When did they get foam swords?

"I am the Lady Estrella, sorceress of the Moon and you will tell me your intentions!" I yell. I feel a bean bag enter my hand and throw it at the nearest Orc. Thanks, Charlie.

"Please, my lady, we beseech thee. We were sent by the Shadow King to capture the Queen of Moons and bring her to him. He wishes an audience with her, but can never get close enough."

I turn to Charlie and she decides to reveal herself. "Audience granted." The Orcs, step back surprised to see the Queen herself and start to fall over themselves. "Oh get your asses up and lead us to your king." At the end of our swords, the Orc raiding party leads us through the woods to their tent area.

"The king is through here," one of them announces.

"Whose tent is that?" I ask, pointing at a particularly creepy tent down by the river.

"My lady, we are unsure," one of the Orcs says, kneeling down at my feet. "It showed up one day and we have never seen anyone enter or leave it other than the Shadow King. We're under strict orders to never go near it."

That bears investigating, I think. Before we can decide which way to go, the Shadow King emerges from his tent. "Queen of the Moons," he declares. "What have I done to be worth such an honor?"

"Quiet, you!" Charlie says. "I'm told this raiding party was sent to my kingdom to capture me and bring me here."

"Yes, though I see it is my Orcs who are captured and have led you here. Not only do you know the whereabouts of my… castle, but you are not bound. Such.. idiots Orcs are… don't you agree."

"Enough of the niceties," I snarl. "Where did your crest come from?"

"It is the Shadow King's family crest and has been bestowed upon me by the fairy queen herself. Medlina. I am her servant." He bows towards the creepy tent and we begin to put the pieces together.

"And, tell me Shadow King, was it you who revealed to Medlina that GreyFox and Thargrim had broken the rules?" Charlie queries.

The Shadow King puffs his chest out proudly. "Aye, I did. And they are no longer a part of your honor guard, are they? Your guard is weaker now, thanks to her."

"You fucking idiot!" I holler. "They're dead! And I don't mean fake dead. I mean in real life Lance Jacobson and Ed Nelson are really actually truly dead!"

"Wait, what? I… I don't understand. She came here offering to help me win the battle. I thought she was a regular chick that was really good at being stealthy and has a kick-ass costume. What do you mean Lance and Ed are dead?"

"Murdered," Dean says, stepping forward. "Murdered by something un-natural. Ed was drawn and quartered inside his own apartment. Lance started coughing up blood and damn near exploded." I look towards the lone tent again. Something about it is just unsettling. It appears innocuous enough, but it's like it gives off an aura. "Is that Medlina's tent?"

"Yes, I'll… I'll take you to her." He leads us towards the creepy tent and steps inside. Inside is a beautiful young woman wearing a white dress. "Medlina, these kind folk wish to pay homage to you and your power." He's lying to keep us safe. Hmm, that's a bit odd.

I spy a spell book on the table behind us. Poking Dean in the shoulder, I show him. He gives me an almost imperceptible nod. "Yes, I am the fairy queen, Medlina. Bow before me." Nobody moves. "I said bow!"

"Was it you that vanquished Grey Fox the Mystic and Thargrim the Difficult?" I ask, veiling my question as if I'm fascinated by it.

She nods proudly. "I am, and I shall defeat many more so my King can rule over all four kingdoms as he deserves." Now I'm wondering who the real villain is. This chick or the Shadow King. Either way, he's not the one casting spells on people and killing them.

"What brought you to this realm?" I ask.

"It's a marvel, isn't it. The human realm. Fairy folk are told not to interfere. The humans will kill themselves off eventually, we were always told. But no, you don't. Your species endures. And now, you don't even believe in my people. Fairies have become the stuff of myths and stories, 'fairy tales' as you call them. Well not anymore. I'm here now. And once I've completed my ritual, the Shadow King will rule this land and all fairy folk will be welcome to roam freely. No more fairy tales!"

Yeah, that's not gonna happen. I don't know how, but we've gotta stop this crazy bitch. Also, something tells me, when she refers to the Shadow King, she's not talking about the dude behind me quivering behind his codpiece. I hear Dean whisper behind me, "Bella, play along."

Gaining confidence, I address Medlina. "Your ritual, how exactly do you plan to execute it?" I ask. "I'm a sorceress in training, my queen, and I am eager to learn." I bow for extra effect. She seems to soak up my words and has a proud smirk on her face. So far so good.

She steps towards me and lays her hand on my shoulder. "Yes, I sense much power. Well, I don't but it's because you're a shield and you're blocking me. You will be very powerful and that will serve me well. Come, sister, I shall share my secrets with thee." Why do I feel like I just stepped into the movie Hocus Pocus and the pretty one is about to suck the life out of me?

Charlie steps up then. "Real magic or no, you'll still need some humans on your side to win the battle, yes? I'm sorry to say, but you should not have allied with this idiot of a man," she says pointing at the still quivering Shadow King. "Here, I am known as the Queen of Moons. Let us work together and the battle may be won that much easier."

The fairy queen purses her lips in thought before smiling brightly and extending her hand towards Charlie. I spare a glance at Dean who looks about as panicked as I feel. I have no idea what we've just stepped into, but I'm quite positive that once I learn her secrets, I'll be able to relay them to Dean. One way or another. "Do you have your phone?" I whisper to Charlie. She pats her pocket and nods. The queen leads us to another room that I didn't think should fit inside the tent. In fact, it's bigger than the one we were just in. That's not possible.

"This is a little trick we picked up from some lords of time," she muses. "It's bigger on the inside." We look around the room and it's very lavishly furnished. A huge four-poster bed is on one wall and there's a chest of drawers opposite it with a large gilt mirror above. Charlie starts to panic and steps backwards as if to go back into the other room. But when she goes through the doorway, she simply ends up back in the same room only on the other side. She starts running through the door again only to see she's making a loop.

"Now that's a trick of my own making," the queen comments, a wry smile on her face. Oh shit. What kind of trouble are we in now? Charlie sidles up next to me and wraps an arm around me. I know it's because she's needing to feel safe, and so do I. I do the same and I can feel her phone in her pocket. Stealthily I whip it out and glance at the screen. No service. Well hell, now we're really in trouble. Charlie and I exchange a glance and we both know we're on our own. Son of a bitch.

A/N: Sorry about the cliffie… this chapter was getting a little long for my liking, so we're splitting it into two parts. As you can see I decided to make the fairy herself the villain. I like it better when the monsters are the bad guys rather than just regular humans who are too crazy to realize the difference between real life and role-playing games. Hope you liked my little nod to Doctor Who ;)

Up next will be how the dynamic duo of "Charla" can defeat this fairy on their own with limited assistance from the brothers. Then will be a visit from Bella's past. Many of you already know who it is… Bella's shield will play a part in this story, but pretty much to the effect that magic of any kind won't work on her. This'll work to her and Charlie's benefit when Medlina tries to reel them into her master plan.