Chapter 12

Dean PoV

"Dean, it's been six months since I last saw you," she says, dropping a huge bomb on me. Bella looks around the tent. It's a mess, but everything she saw before is still here, except for the addition of King Naldazar, who is oddly silent as he gazes between Bella and Charlie. "Have you been here the whole time?" Bella asks. "And why are you still wearing that ridiculous costume?"

"Bella, it's only been a few hours here," I tell her, deciding to be blunt rather than sugar coat anything.

"Wh-what?" She looks over at Charlie who is in Sam's arms, sobbing quietly into his chest. "Charlie, did you hear that?"

"Yes," is her muffled reply. She clings tighter to Sam who merely strokes her arm and back with a panicked expression on his face. Yeah, we're not used to being the shoulders women cry on.

"So long… we fought for so very long only for it to be the same damn day for you? I killed dragons and witches and ring wraiths. I fought along side hobbits, dwarves, ghostbusters, superheroes, and lost boys. Practically every single fictional character that I've ever read about or scene came to life in that place. Some of them even as cartoons! All the while you just sat here for a mere few hours waiting for me?"

What on earth is she talking about? It sounds more like she was under a Djinn's influence than in an alternate realm. She's sobbing uncontrollably now and I don't know what to do. "Bella, please calm down, you're going into hysterics," I implore her. I stroke her hair and hold her close, willing her to calm down. She's starting to hyperventilate and I know soon she'll pass out.

"I can help with that," a somewhat familiar voice calls out. I look up and see one of the vampires from the Cullen clan standing in the doorway of the tent. I think Bella referred to this one as Jasper. One of the two she said she'd be okay with seeing again. "Kinda hard to miss the massive earthquake happening only in this tent," he adds. "No worries, I've dealt with the people outside… willed them to forget. I've been trying to find Bella since she left Forks."

"What do you want?" I reply, not bothering to hide my hatred for him.

"Only to help, I assure you. I can feel your emotions, Winchester, and I can make you happy as a clam to see me. But I won't. I'm only here to help Bella," he says. "Feel my honesty." Just then a wave of what I can only call truthfulness washes over me. So he's for real. Well, how the hell can he help? I nod, deciding any help would be good now, even if it's from a sparkly vamp.

He touches her forehead, and she falls limp in my arms, passed out. "It's the adrenaline. And she's been through a lot. Why does she look so much older than when she left us? It's only been a few weeks, yet she's aged nearly half a year." I don't know how he can tell that, since her hair was way longer the last time he saw her. Maybe his creepy vampire eyes can see aging that humans can't.

I don't know how to respond to his question. "Sammy, you wanna take this one?"

"Well, she kind of um… got sucked into the fairy realm. Yes that's a real place. To us, it only happened a few hours ago. We've been trying to figure how to get her back. When we did, she tumbled through a portal and back into this tent. She said it's been six months for her and our friend Charlie here." Jasper glances at the girl in Sam's arms, paying her little mind.

Jasper stares at Sam for a moment then back at me. "You believe what you're saying is true, at least. Though I can't know if it is actually true."

"It is," King Naldazar pipes in. "They have been traversing the fairy realm and have made it back alive. Time is different there than here, so an hour here is roughly a month there. Child of Diaman, what are you doing in this realm?" he asks. Child of Diaman? What the hell is that?

"Child of who? My parents were named Jane and Milton Whitlock. Not… what did you say, Damon or something? And who pray-tell are you?"

Naldazar stands up taller, affronted. "I am Naldazar, King of the fairy realm. You are a child of Diaman. The cold temperature of your body and color of your eyes tell me so. Your kind has no business in the human realm. So I ask again, why are you here?"

"I've always been here," Jasper defends. "I was born in Texas, then made into a vampire during the Civil War."

"Vampire? Ha! Who are your kind's leaders?" Naldazar demands.

Jasper doesn't want to answer him, I can tell, but he does anyway. "They're called the Volturi. There are three of them: Aro, Caius and Marcus."

"Aro," Naldazar comments, his voice laced with hatred. "Aro always lusted after the human realm. 'Tis no surprise he came here and made more of himself."

"Wait just a cotton pickin' minute," Jasper replies. "What do you mean he came to the human realm?"

Naldazar sits down, holding his book close to his chest. "Every creature on earth came from somewhere else. Even humans, technically. This realm or plane of existence kind of became a melting pot for all manner of beings. This is why you two hunt them. None of them belong here, nor do you, but Humans long ago claimed this planet and ever since, other beings have been warring with them and each other over it.

"You see, Earth sits in the middle of all the realms, sort of as a central planet, if you will," he continues. I'm thinking about Thor calling this planet Midgard and wondering just how accurate Stan Lee was with his comic books. "Diaman is the father of your species," he tells Jasper. "One of his children, Aro, came to this realm on a vacation as it were, and discovered that he could infect the human population with his DNA and they would become like him. After the war between him and the Romanians, we thought the Children of Diaman had gone back to their realm of Diamandala, but I see that is not the case."

"So, what you're saying is everything that we fight was brought here or came here from some other planet?"

"Realm," Naldazar corrects. "Think of it as an alternate dimension. We all exist in the same space, but over an infinite amount of dimensions."

"The fairy realm is six kinds of fucked up," I hear Bella's weak voice murmur. I look down in my arms and she's looking at Jasper. "Jasper, what are you doing here? Are the others here?" I can feel her body tensing up, despite his obvious attempts to keep her calm. "Quit with your empathic mumbo jumbo and just talk to me!" she demands.

"It's just me, Bella," he assures her. "I left the family not long after you did."

Bella's eyes go wide. She tries to wriggle out of my grasp, but I hold her tighter. "Dean, I know who this is. He's one of the two vampires I said I'd ever talk to again, remember? And, he was one of the two that held Edward back when we left that day. We can trust him." I let her go against my better judgment, but only because I can tell she'll fight me tooth and nail until I give in.

"Why don't I start at the beginning?" Jasper suggests. Bella nods. "Before the newborn battle, I slipped a tracking device into your ring," he says pointing at the ring that sits on her index finger. I've never seen her take it off. "I wanted to ensure that if you were taken somehow, we'd be able to track you. I never told Edward this because I didn't want him to have the added stress of the idea that you could be kidnapped by whoever was behind the newborn army. I never got the chance to remove it of course, as you rather quickly left.

"I was just keeping tabs to make sure Edward stayed at least 500 miles away from you, and I'd interfere if he got closer, but then earlier today you just up and disappeared. I didn't know if you'd taken the ring off, or what happened. So I came to the most recent check point the device had registered and saw this tent shaking around as if an earthquake and a tornado were happening right inside the canvas walls, but nowhere else. I figured, It's Bella, so she's got to be involved somehow. You always were a magnet for danger." Bella blushes but smirks knowingly. Yes, she's an absolute magnet for all things that could cause her harm. Myself included.

"I had to see you to make sure you were alright and to tell you that… I left the family." Bella steps back in shock. "Alice was never my mate. She manipulated me from day one. Just like Maria did. Alice was more stealthy about it so it took you pointing it out for me to realize that for decades I've been her puppet. When you said what you did about the venom control, it had been a while since she or Carlisle had bitten me, so their hold was wearing off. I knew for sure when she tried to bite me again when I said I was leaving her. She wasn't even sneaky about it, just grabbed my arm and tried to sink her teeth in. I'm stronger and faster though, so it didn't work."

Bella blinks a few times, taking in his words. "So you just up and left? Just like me?"

Jasper shrugs and nods. "Rosalie and Emmett are going to leave, too. Just tying up loose ends I guess. Esme's staying for duty's sake as a mother to Alice and Edward, but she's pissed at Carlisle for keeping that information from her all these years. They're true mates, though, so even without biting each other, they'd stay bonded. But that doesn't mean she can't lay into him for a few decades."

"Wow," Bella says, whistling for added emphasis. I'm simply staring at her trying to figure out how she can be having this casual conversation with a vampire. What he did for her or not, he's still a monster. And apparently an alien, too.

"Anyway, my point is, Rosalie and I had to literally tear Edward apart to keep him from following you. Emmett helped. Carlisle and Alice put him back together, and he ran off towards Alaska to lick his wounds. He's still there now. He's no idea I put a tracker in his family crest bracelet, either, so unless he takes it off, which I doubt he's a reason to, I'll make sure he stays as far away from you as possible. Though I'd like to set him ablaze for what he did to you."

"Thanks Jasper. For some reason, I knew you'd have my back. We never did talk much, like you said, but I knew there was more to you than Alice allowed me to see. And even through her manipulations, you never lied to me or held back the truth." Jasper nods in agreement.

"True, one thing Alice could never do was make me lie. No matter how hard she tried. The other reason I'm here is to lend you my support, and that of the Whitlock family. I have descendants who would more than happily take you in and protect you. I can see that you have that now," he says, around the space and seeing me and Sam standing protectively. "But if you or your companions here ever need a safe-house, just find the Whitlocks in Galveston and mention my name. You'll be taken in no questions asked. Also, my brother in arms, Peter and his mate Charlotte wouldn't hesitate to help either. But they are human hunters, so I understand if you're unwilling to go to that extreme.

"I guess what I'm saying, Bella, is that while you may not be a soon-to-be Cullen anymore, you are most certainly still my little sister. I may not have said as much to you, but that was Alice keeping me from getting to know you. She was a jealous little sprite. I have never and still do not harbor any romantic feelings for you, Bella, but Alice never saw it that way. She used her venom to manipulate me into holding affection only for her. I wasn't allowed to be brotherly to Rosalie or treat Esme like a Mother. Alice kept me as an outsider and never trusted me to be otherwise. I think she felt if I bonded with any other female in the family, she'd lose me."

"She always exuded such confidence in her pairing with you," Bella says. "I never imagined her to be so selfish and at the same time insecure enough about you to keep you from truly bonding with the family. I'm so sorry Jasper." Bella steps forward and wraps her arms around Jasper's waist. He freezes momentarily, his eyes locking with mine. He's trying to assure me that he won't hurt her nor steal her away. I nod minutely and he then wraps his arms gently around Bella's shoulder, returning her embrace.

"Thank you, Bella. You've always been very understanding and kind to me. I'm sorry for what Edward, Alice, and Carlisle did to you. If I'd realized what was going on, I'd have stopped him long ago."

Bella steps back and a look of realization crosses her face. "Is that why Rosalie never warmed up to me? She was always cold and distant, and sometimes down right mean. Is it because she knew what was going on and was trying to warn me away without actually saying the words?"

Jasper nods thoughtfully. "Probably. You'd have to ask her to know for sure. She was being manipulated too, by Carlisle, since it was his venom that changed her. So maybe she wanted to tell you more, but couldn't. I'm not sure. This whole venom control thing is kinda new to me, even though I've been a victim of it for a century and a half."

"The creatures of your realm should not have such power," Naldazar comments. "Not here. The fact that you do is very perplexing."

Bella ignores the fairy king's words. In fact, she's yet to even acknowledge him since she got back. "Well, listen, Jasper, I'm sure you can feel the… we'll call it hesitation to trust from my friends here, so we should probably cut this conversation short. It's great to see you and I'm so glad to have you in my corner. I'm in yours, too, should you ever need a human on your side for anything. And as far as this Children of Diaman thing goes, I say to hell with it. You've every right to be in this realm as anyone does. And if anyone says otherwise, you tell them they can answer to me."

"Sure thing, Bella." He turns to leave. "And thanks to you for not trying to torch me," he says to me. "I need to look into this whole other realm of Diamandala that I apparently am from… should be an interested read if nothing else." He winks at Bella and then is gone in a flash.

Bella PoV

"Well that was weird," I comment as Jasper disappears. "Apparently my vampires aren't vampires but, what did you say, Children of Diaman?"

"Yes, child," Naldazar confirms. "Please I must ask, are you alright? I know you were in the company of Medlina. Whatever she told you was likely a lie."

I put my hand up to stop him talking. "Yes I know. Didn't take long to figure out that she wasn't the one in power. Especially when she kept looking at me and Charlie like she was waiting for something to happen. I never did figure out what that was. We got out of there before her plans could come to fruition."

Naldazar steps towards me. "May I?" he asks, placing his hand near my forehead. I nod, having some idea that whatever he's about to try won't work. "Hmm, you appear to be blocking me. How is that possible?"

I shrug. "Medlina called me a shield. Plus the vampire er… child of Diaman, that I used to be with was a mind reader, yet he could never read my mind. Also, I figured out the trick to the Fairy Realm rather quickly."

"Yes, it would seem your mind protected you from the realm's magic. Normally, someone from this realm would be sucked in by the wonder it shows you, but you fought it, realizing it was all a farce. And you did it quickly. Yes it seemed a long time to you, but most are their for decades before they realize what's going on. Medlina is yet to be defeated, but without you two, her power will soon wane. And I have my book back, so she can no longer siphon my own power from me. I will go back there now and end her once and for all."

He recites some strange incantation in fairy-speak and is gone in a poof of shimmery smoke. I can honestly say that wasn't the craziest thing that's happened to me in the past six months. Then I remember, six months haven't actually gone by. "So it's been like six hours for you?" I ask once the purple smoke clears.

"Roughly," Dean answers. "When you went through that doorway, you vanished. I followed right after you, but that Medlina bitch closed the portal or whatever. I just ended up outside right here. We looked through the book and soon that Naldazar guy showed up. He said by a mortal opening the book, the binding spell that Medlina had put on it was broken, so he was able to claim it and stop her. Then he said all you and Charlie had to do was believe you could come home and you would."

I nod. "Yeah, I had a niggling feeling at the back of my mind that our ordeal was a lot like Dorothy in Oz. Just click your heels and you'll be sent back home. It took a while to realize that, but eventually we did."

"What was it like, Remi?" Sam asks.

"Awful," I reply. "The world is created based on your own mind, like it plucks memories right out of your head to create the universe around you. Medlina said it looks different to everyone, but Charlie and I both saw the same thing. That crazy fairy told us it was because my imagination was stronger than Charlie's, apparently. Then once I realized that's what was happening, we were able to control it in a way. Look, can we get outta here? Like back to the bunker or something? I don't feel safe here."

"Me neither," Charlie mutters.

We head out of the tent and back to where Dean had parked the car. Everything is exactly the same. I mean, it's gotten dark out, but for everyone but me and Charlie it's the same day. I just can't wrap my head around it. I grip the ends of my hair, realizing it's much longer than it was when we left this realm. "I need a haircut, too," I declare. "But first, food. Real food that I don't have to use my imagination to conjure up."

Dean looks at me oddly, but drives the car towards a Mexican restaurant that boasts all you can eat fajitas. "This okay?" he asks. I nod. We get out and find a table. Soon the waitress has brought our first round of drinks and takes our fajita orders. Then I'm downing a Margarita like my life depends on it. Charlie is taking back to back shots of tequila. Maybe I should just do that; it'd be easier.

"Whoa, slow down there," Dean says as I'm about to take one of Charlie's shots. "I get that you've been through a lot, but drinking away your trauma isn't gonna help. Believe me. I'm the king of trying to drink away the pain and memories." I begrudgingly set the shot down and wait until our food arrives.

I can't say how much it surprises me to see plates of actual food be brought out. Eating imaginary food for six months does something to a woman's constitution. My entire plate and half of Dean's are gone in a flash. We order more and I down that as well. It feels as though I haven't eaten in six months. Apparently eating invisible fairy food doesn't actually fill the stomach as well as it seemed while we were there.

After that, we stop at a salon where both Charlie and I have our six months of hair growth cut off. Meanwhile the guys go back to the hotel to get all our stuff and will meet us back here. Charlie actually cuts hers as short as mine, having the stylist shave one side of her head in an edgy, super badass style. "What do you think about color?" I ask the stylist. "I'm thinking purple. Like different shades of purple."

"I think that'd be great, but we'd have to bleach your hair first or it won't show up much. You okay with that?" I shrug my indifference. It's just hair and it'll grow back.

Two hours later, my hair is as short as it was the last time I cut it, and has been dyed four shades of purple. The stylist had pinned it up in different chunks and dyed each section separately. I love it. It's absolutely perfect for me and fits my mood spot on. Charlie approves as well.

I can tell that she's going to be the sister I always wanted. The sister that I had hoped Alice would be. Charlie and I bonded while in the Fairy Realm and I'm happy to know that bond will continue here. By the time we're done the boys have returned, all fueled up and ready to head back to the bunker. "You're gonna love this place, Charlie," I tell her. "It's a veritable smorgasbord of information on the supernatural. Hell, maybe we can find a way to completely torch the fairy realm out of existence.

"Isn't that a bit vengeful?"

I snort. "Yeah, but I think we more than earned some revenge, don't you?" She shrugs, not wanting to commit one way or another. I guess we'll have to chat more on that later. Dean makes no comment on my hair but stares at it for a good few seconds before opening the door to let me out of the salon.

In the impala, Charlie and I decide to sit in the back together so we can nap on our way to the bunker. Six months of fighting fictional characters and eating imaginary food will take a lot outta ya.

I wake a few hours later, though Charlie is still fast asleep, as is Sammy in the passenger seat. Dean sees me stirring in the rearview mirror and offers me a small smile. "How ya feelin?" he asks.

"Okay, I guess. Still reeling from what all has happened."

"Wanna tell me about the fairy realm?"

"No, but I know I need to, or it'll sit and fester on my soul for all eternity, right?"

Dean chuckles humorlessly. "Something like that, yeah."

"Well, when we got there, it didn't take me long to realize where we were wasn't a real place. I mean it was but wasn't at the same time. Everything looked and felt real, but there was no sound. It was beautiful. A huge ornate fountain setting in the middle of this incredible meadow. We were sitting on the edge of the fountain, but couldn't hear the water. I could see the wind moving through the trees and tall grasses but it didn't make any noise, and we couldn't feel the breeze at all.

"Then we were in a corridor that I knew I'd been in before. When I visited the Volturi in Italy, they took us through this series of tunnels under the city. The walls of the tunnels in the Fairy Realm were exactly the same. Shortly thereafter, the tunnels turned into a labyrinth, and we realized that items from our own minds were being used to create the world around us. The meadow was one that I used to go to in Forks, and the fountain was the same one from Volterra.

"After that we were summoned for dinner and every dish at the table had steam coming off of it or smelled really good but was completely empty. It was then we realized we were in the movie Hook."

"Hook?" Dean queries.

"Yeah, y'know the peter pan movie with Robin Williams as Pan and Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook?" He looks at me oddly. "Seriously, you've never seen Hook? Well, we'll have to fix that right away. Anyway, in Hook, the Lost Boys have a game where the only way to see and eat the food is to use your imagination, so Charlie and I had to do that. It's hard to explain if you haven't seen the movie, but suffice it to say that eating food that I didn't have to conjure up out of my mind was a nice change today."

"I'll ah… just have to take your word on that… Until I see this movie, that is," Dean answers.

I smile. "Exactly. So after that, we figured if this place can pluck these images out of our heads, we should be able to make things appear as well. So we brought up the characters from various fictional places that we both love. Hobbits from the Tolkien-verse, Goblins from Labyrinth, various Disney characters, and so on. Some of them even showed up in their cartoon form, which was rather odd. I felt a bit too like Mary Poppins when that happened. To make a long story short, we defeated Medlina by sufficiently distracting her. I could feel a tugging at the back of my mind that told me to go back to the place where we entered the realm. The doorway had been sealed off, but we used our imaginations to will it back into existence and the next thing we knew, we were tumbling towards you and Sam.

"And all of this passed over the course of six months?" Dean asks.

I nod. "Yep, pretty much to the day. Charlie and I etched tally marks into the wall in the bedroom we shared."

Dean shakes his head. "Wait a minute. You two had to share a room?"

I furrow my brows at him. "Like we would have separated in that creepy place. Yes, of course we shared a room. What about it?"

"But you're a woman… and Charlie's a…"

"Lesbian. I know," I reply. "But I'm not. Turns out Lesbians don't typically like straight girls."

He cocks his head to one side like he often does when he's in agreement with something. "Well, if you say so. But if you recall, she was flirting with you when you first met."

I roll my eyes. "Yes, and then she learned I'm not only straight but taken, so she backed off. Dean, seriously. She's like a sister to me, and me to her. I know you can't grasp that we were gone for six months, but still."

"That's actually not a foreign concept to me, sweetheart. Remember hell was different. I was there for 40 years, but it was like 4 months up here." Oh yeah, I remember he had told me that. So he does get it.

"And you were alone," I comment. He gives one stiff nod. "I'm sorry Dean. I guess I got caught up in my own trauma that I forgot you suffered one far worse and for far longer."

Now he's giving me his trademark slick smile. "No worries, sugar. I know you didn't mean anything by it." Then I see the creases on the sides of his eyes. Normally they'd be called laugh lines, but on Dean, I know they're not. They're from cringing in pain while he was tortured for years and years in the pit. He's trying to keep a calm demeanor and while I know it's been years since he was there, it's still fresh in his memory and probably always will be. I've seen that look on him before, and even though I know it's one of sadness and pain, I missed it. I missed all of his quirks and expressions. His voice, his face, his glorious body.

We're silent again after that until we stop for gas and to switch drivers. Sam looks at Dean oddly before taking the keys. When I'm getting out to stretch my legs, Sammy comments to me quietly that Dean almost never switches drivers. "He's been at it a long time. I'm sure he's tired. Plus it's been a rather dramatic day for you guys." I decide not to delve into what Dean and I were talking about.

Sam shrugs. "I guess. But to be honest, we've had worse hunts. Did you guys talk while I was sleeping?"

"Yeah, I told him what the Fairy Realm was like, and when I was done, we got here."

"Hmm," he replies, frowning his mouth like he does. I had no idea how much I missed these guys until I saw them again. Fighting fictional characters all day every day left little time to think about anything but the next battle. I throw my arms around Sammy and hold him tight. "What's this for?"

"The face you made. You make it all the time, and it's been six months since I saw it. I missed it, and you." He pats my back awkwardly, but I can feel him chuckling.

"We were so worried about you and Charlie, Remi," he replies. "Hadn't the time to miss you just yet, but we were getting there."

I fight back a tear that's threatening to fall and pull away from him. Dean is standing on the other side of the car, eying us oddly. We decide to have Charlie sit up front with Sammy so Dean and I can share the back. Not even bothering with my seatbelt, I lean over and wrap my arms around Dean. "I missed you most," I whisper.

He then wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer to him. "I always miss you when you're not around, Bella. Even if it's only a few minutes or hours. I'm happy when you're nearby." That has my heart warming and I just know that this man is it for me.

A few hours later, we arrive at the bunker. Even though we all slept a bit in the car, we're all still exhausted. Charlie is curious about the place and wants a tour, but even she is too tired to look around. We show her to a room and she promptly passes out on the mattress without even bothering with the covers or changing her clothes. We're both still dressed in our fairy realm garb. Good thing I bought that Lady Estrella dress from that one guy because it's long gone. Stuck on the other side, and I'm sure a certain few mice have taken it and made it into something else by now. I wouldn't be at all surprised.

"But the sheets are 600 threadcount!" Dean complains as I stop him from hassling Charlie about getting under the covers.

"Dean, I'm sure she'll be here a while. She's got plenty of time to examine the sheets and enjoy the comfort. Let's leave her be and go to our room."

"Our room," he replies, a grin on his face. "Yes, let's go to our room and lock the door."

A/N: Up next will be Charlie's tour of the Bunker and some more discoveries of the place. Then a search for Henry so the killing of Abbadon can be checked of their to-do list.

FYI, I took the name Diaman (pronounced Dee-uh-mahn) from the Spanish word diamante, which means diamond. Since the twi-vamps sparkle like diamonds, I figured it'd be a fitting origin story for their species. Also, Naldazar, Medlina and the whole premise of the fairy realm as I wrote it all came directly from my own brain. Not to toot my own horn, but it's one of the cleverest things I've written, in my opinion. I've been working on a dystopian novel idea for a new original fiction, and I just might implement that idea into it. We'll have to see where the words take me. Thank you for reading!