Here's the next chapter.

Rated:M

Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just write about them.

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Chapter Eleven

"Okay, Spinelli," Lulu sat down at the table, shoved a hand into the huge bowl of barbeque potato chips next to the laptop, and crunched down on a few. The tang hit her tongue and she found it a little ironic that she was actually starting to like these things. "Now that the Justice League is off defending the planet, you have to tell me how you got hooked up in all of this. Not only that, but you didn't say a word to me about it."

He gave her a guilty look over the top of the screen then went back to pecking. "I'm sorry blonde one, but Stone Cold gave me the whole top secret speech and swore me to silence. And, well, you know I'd be crazy to break that promise."

She leaned back and took a sip from her bottle of diet Pepsi, sympathetic of course, because Spinelli had a major case of hero worship as far as Jason was concerned. Spinelli would probably walk into traffic if Jason wanted it, so it was probably a good thing that Jason wasn't the type to take advantage of stuff like that. And Kady, Spinelli adored Kady. The guy had found himself a little family here with the Morgans and she supposed she couldn't begrudge him the loyalty. It was the same she gave her own family.

"I just mean, I've heard about Jason for as long as I can remember. My Dad and Sonny used to be really tight. And then there is Carly, which makes Kady my cousin. All I ever thought of Jason was that he was the Quartermaine that didn't want to be one, and he worked for Sonny doing stuff people weren't supposed to talk about."

"That's how he wanted it," Spinelli reminded her, "That's how he wants it. I mean, if everyone knew the things that we knew, what do you think would happen?"

"There would be a lot more residents of ShadyBrook that much is certain," she snorted, "I can barely believe it myself. I mean, I know it's true, because hello, why would Jason make up something crazy like that and before I hit my head, I caught a glimpse of those things but it still feels a little like I've stepped through the looking glass."

"That's actually kind of ironic in a way," Spinelli shook his head as he sat back in his chair.

"What do you mean?" Obviously he had found something, so she scooted her chair around so she could see the computer screen as well.

"I mean, that's sort of what Kady described. Walking through a looking glass," he ran shaky hands over his face, "I should be there. Damn, it isn't fair. Everyone else gets to go out tonight and make with the weapons. Hello, who is the best online Halo2 gamer in the world, that would be the Jackal here."

Lulu held back a smile as she patted his arm in support, knowing he was actually serious. She knew exactly why Jason insisted Spinelli stay home. The guy had the best of intentions but compared to everyone else that walked out of here tonight, Spinelli was Little League not Justice League.

The Winchester brothers looked hard and cold when they finally saddled up and walked out to that sexy black car of theirs. Sam was blind but that didn't take away from his aura of danger. And Dean, he was just a walking ball of ass kicking testosterone.

Then there was the vamp, the slayer and the seer. This seemed just like an ordinary walk in the park for them. Faith was even making jokes, twirling those tomahawks around like they were pixie sticks instead of the deadly weapons they were. Even Fred, slender, brainy Fred looked like she belonged with that crossbow she carried. She had to belong considering she was Spike's girlfriend.

Lulu wondered how that worked. Dating a vampire. Then it would hit her. Vampires actually existed and she had sat across from one during breakfast. Granted they had to close all the windows, so Spike wouldn't make like a fireball but still, vampire.

Then there was Jason. Sure he was dangerous, the PCPD, newspapers and the criminal element of Port Charles weren't all lying. Tonight, Jason looked so far past dangerous that she didn't know the word to describe him.

So no, Spinelli and his laptop and good intentions were better off here out of danger. "You're doing research remember? Fred wanted you to check out the lawfirm from LA and you're supposed to be finding a way to kill Lamashtu. Not to mention keeping me safe," she added on for an ego booster.

And sure enough he latched on to that, "Well, of course blonde one," he grinned, "The Jackal will protect you from all evil, so you don't have to be afraid."

"Of course not," and she wouldn't mention that state of the art security system that Jason had shown her how to activate when they left. She might only be eighteen but she knew all about boys and their pride. "I feel perfectly safe here with you."

ooXXoo

Across town, there were nine people who had more important things on their mind than comic book characters.

Jason handed Dean and Spike two ear pieces, to which they stared down at, then back at him before grinning. "Tell me this isn't what it looks like," Dean chuckled huskily. It made him smile as well.

"I know what they look like, but they actually work." Spinelli had tweaked the earpieces from the ones he bought from the store. "They might come in handy tonight if things go bad. Faith has one and so do I. I don't know how well they will work once we're inside the house."

Spike took his and passed it to Fred, "I'd prefer Win to wear it. She hears trouble, I'll know," he alluded to the bond between him and his mate. "I feel like I've stepped into a bad Bond movie or something."

"You actually liked Casino Royale," Fred reminded him and he laughed before pressing a kiss to her temple.

"That was a right bastard there," was his only agreement. "So, I'll take watch on the roof like planned. Dean walks the perimeter, while you and Miranda take the porch."

"That's right," Jason nodded once. "Anything approaches, kill it, no questions asked."

"What if it's a human? A person?" Miranda asked softly, looking down at the crossbow that Fred had given her. There was a little shock there, and more than a touch of fear, but Jason had to hand it to her, Miranda was willing to fight to get her son back. "What if someone just innocently happens along tonight?"

"I'll smell a human. You don't have to worry about that." Spike assured her. Neither of them would say that there were some humans that might be looking for Lamashtu to come through that door. All her minions didn't have to be demons. And nothing innocent would be out here tonight. There were enough bad vibes surrounding this house that regular people would instinctively shy away.

"You guys should get going," Fred gave them a bolstering smile, "Moon's almost high. You take care of each other and be careful."

oXXo

Faith watched Jason kneel in front of his daughter and place a hand to her face. She couldn't imagine how he felt tonight but her respect for the man swelled beyond her already high regard. She knew Cordelia was having a difficult time with Jason, especially the mob enforcer stuff but any guy who raised a kid like Kady Morgan couldn't be all that bad.

"Are you ready?"

Kady swallowed and though she nodded, though she seemed confident and sure of herself, Faith could see the white knuckled grip she had on Jason's other hand. He turned her around and placed her hand on the door, then straightened, as they all waited to see what would happen.

The knob, dented and rusty, turned with a squeak and Kady had to put her arm against the door to push it open. But open it did, and they were all hit with the slightly musty odor from inside. With one last shove, the door swung wide revealing the dark interior.

"Somehow I was expecting more than that," Dean muttered echoing her own feelings precisely. For a house that seemed drenched in evil, it was pretty damned mundane inside.

Furniture was covered with dust and faded sheets. It looked like all the spiders in the world had come to live here given the webs hanging throughout the room. A cold fireplace sat against a far wall, dirty and black from disuse. The windows were covered with yellowed curtains, most ragged and torn so that the night poured in.

"Kady goes in first," Jason spoke up, "I'll follow with Cordelia. Faith, you and Sam watch our six."

"Sounds like a plan," she squeezed the hand that gripped hers, then looked to Sam who seemed to be staring at her as well. Proven by the soft smile that touched his mouth.

"Miranda has to close the door," Kady said, her unseeing gaze errily on the woman, "When we're all inside, Miranda has to close the door."

"Then let's do this," and at Cordelia's words they all stepped inside the house. Faith turned back to see the bleak expression on Miranda's face as she gripped the handle of the door. How she felt, Faith couldn't say. The burden on her shoulders, wanting nothing more than her son back but knowing that another child was placing her life in danger to rescue him, had to be hell.

It was different for her, probably all of the people here tonight. They were used to the danger, they knew the risks going in. Stepping inside this house was just one more step on the path of the Chosen One for her. Kady's life was just beginning. She hoped the Powers knew what they were doing.

Miranda swallowed and slowly pulled the door closed. It felt like being enclosed in a tomb. As if all the light from outside, what little there was, had been sucked away by whatever forces dwelled in this house. Something scurried through a cornor, large and fast, and she prayed it was a rat. The instinct to run back to the door was strong but she forced it down tightening her grip on the handle of the tomahawks she carried.

"Stay together," Jason told them all, "No stragglers."

"Not planning to go exploring, personally," Faith muttered, looking behind her as they started forward. "We should have brought light." Normally she had precise nightvision, figured it came with being a slayer, so she hadn't thought of it. Now her eyes were taking too long to adjust, felt as if she were trying to see through dense smoke almost.

"No light would work in here," Kady murmured just loud enough for her to hear.

Something squeaked behind her and Faith jerked around to check and stopped in her tracks. "HEY!"

The shuffle of footsteps stopping penetrated the thick silence as all turned to see what she had found. "What is it?" Sam asked.

"Jason do you see that?"

"Yeah," he answered, "I told you Faith, this house isn't normal."

What should have been mere feet away from the door, looked more than four hundred meters away. What should have taken minutes to walk, had only taken mere seconds. Faith glanced around Kady, noting the long hall before them, maleveloent shadows dancing in the distance and she knew they weren't alone in this house.

"Do you see any stairs Daddy?"

"Yeah, just up ahead."

But that was all relative wasn't it? What appeared to be just before them actually took more than fifteen minutes to reach. Faith chanced a look back at the door and could barely see it in the distance. The sounds of the house had grown in volume, as if it knew intruders were inside, and it was preparing to strike back.

The small scurrying sounds she had attributed to rats, were now too loud to even pretend otherwise. The wooden floor beneath their feet was squeaking as if something was slowly dragging itself in their direction. Faith transfered Sam's hand to her arm, preparing the tomahawks for the fight she could feel coming.

"They're wraiths, Faith," Kady said, grabbing her attention. "Ghosts. Premonitions of death. There has been a lot of death in this house. They're harmless." She put a sneaker on the first step, "For the moment," and she began her assent.

By the time they made it to the top of the stairs, Faith felt like she had climbed a small mountain. The muscles in her thighs burned, perspiration covered her face, judging from Cordelia's quickly drawn breaths she was feeling even worse. It was a good thing they had left their coats outside, otherwise they would have been forced to lose the damned things half way up. As it stood, she was ready to peel off the long sleeved tee she wore and go with the bra.

Even Sam and Kady were panting from extertion. The only one who seemed oblivious was Jason and Faith was really close to snapping at him. The man had barely broken a sweat while the rest of them were dragging their asses. If something jumped them now, she would be damned near useless.

"How the hell are you standing this," Cordelia shouted, and it felt like the very walls of the house began to vibrate. Not in a good way either. She pulled air into her starved lungs, bent over at the waist with her hands braced on her knees. Despite her sightless eyes, she still managed to convey a disgust that only Cordy could. "You don't even sound winded!"

"Because it isn't real."

"What!"

"It isn't real Cordelia. The fatigue, the sweat, it isn't real." Jason turned back and pinned her with eyes that almost glowed in the darkness. "You saw this house from the outside Faith, do you honestly think it takes almost twenty minutes to climb a flight of stairs in here?"

"What are you saying?" She managed to say.

"I'm saying, this house isn't normal, Faith. It's playing with your mind. Close your eyes and take a deep breath." At her questioning glance he shook his head, "Don't think about, just do it." So she did as he asked, concentrating solely on the sound of his voice and nothing else. A neat little mediation excercise that Wesley had taught her.

"Take a deep breath and let it out through your mouth and try to relax. This house is eating at your focus. It's taking your anxieties and multiplying them. It has a purpose, it's a door, a portal to another dimension and for tonight, the darkness that lives here is at it's strongest."

This wasn't something she hadn't already told herself, but she had been so drawn into the illusion, how long it was taking them to walk a few simple steps, how hard it had been to climb a short staircase, that she allowed her anxieties more control than she normally would have.

"It knows what we're here to do and it's not happy about it. It's eating your fears and growing stronger, you have to try to let that go and focus on the reality, not what your eyes see or the messages you think your body is sending to your brain."

"He's right," Sam said with quiet emphasis, judging from the way he was no longer out of breath or straining with fatigue, he was telling the truth. "It's an illusion, like when you go to the zoo and enter an animal house and it really smells but after a while you don't smell it anymore but if you actually tell your brain to really smell it, it's exactly the same as when you walked inside."

"It feels like we've been walking up a long flight of stairs because the house is making us believe it," Kady reasoned, "It wants us tired and frustrated, so that when the door opens we'll fail."

"And the distance to the door? The wraiths, is that an illusion too?"

"No," Jason answered this time.

"So how the hell are we supposed to know what's real and what's not!"

"The only thing we have to worry about is getting to that door," Kady pointed toward the end of the long hall. It was lined with closed doors but even from this distance Faith could feel that one door was different than all the rest. What she really wanted to know was how Kady knew that door was there?

"And we're waisting time, it's already been forty-five minutes," the intensity in Jason's lowered voice made her already skittish nerves pull just a bit tighter.

"How do you know that watch is right?" Cordelia asked.

"It's not," he shrugged, "The watch says it's four o'clock in the morning. I've been counting."

"We have got to find you some hobbies," Faith smirked making the others laugh and this time when the house responded it contracted away from the hopeful sound.

ooXXoo

"So what happens now?"

Cordelia didn't want to think about walking down that long corridor, how she had inwardly shriveled inside from the noises emating from the other side of those doors. It was enough to put her off horror movies for the rest of her life. Especially the one that had sounded suspiciously like Buffy begging to be let out.

Instead of making her want to open the door, it had the opposite effect that the house probably hadn't anticipated. It pissed her off. She might not have liked Buffy much, envied the hold she had on Angel's heart for so long and detested that self-pitying attitude she had sometimes, but Buffy had died fighting the good fight. Cordelia knew the Powers wouldn't allow a hero to be in some hell dimension suffering after sacrificing herself to save the world.

No matter how one sighted the Powers could be, Cordelia knew their had to be some reward at the end of it all for the people who fought against evil.

It had taken every ounce of control not to shriek in fury at the door, or worse open it to confront the damned liar behind it, which was probably just what the house wanted. The Wraiths might not be dangerous yet, the thing with the stairs illusions, but she had no doubt that something was behind those doors waiting to be released in their moment of weakness.

If she listened carefully, she could still hear the whine and scrape against wood.

"Now I open the door," Kady answered in a resigned voice.

"So wait a minute," Faith spoke up, "I thought this Succubus was supposed to open the door to let Lamashtu in."

"This is about more than just opening a door and letting someone walk inside," Kady told her, her voice carrying a hint of humor, "And what is on the other side isn't the hell dimension you're probably expecting. Lamashtu will come through this door, whether I open it or not. The essence of the door, the portal, resides beyond the wood and metal. I have to open the physical one, or Gabriel and the other won't be able to cross through. That's why we were given the vision, to make sure that we were here to help them."

"Are you ready?" Cordelia could feel the tension rushing through Jason's body. Outwardly he seemed controlled but she knew otherwise.

"Ready."

Cordelia could hear the twist of metal, telling her that Kady was opening the door. There was a deep snap, it echoed through the hall and Cordelia could feel the floor beneath her quake. Her grip on Jason's arm tightened in reflex as she unknowing sway against the hard length of his body.

Before she could appologize, there was a waft of air against her face, through her hair, then warmth. Heat. And most amazingly.

Light.

Then it felt like something circled her waist and snatched her forward. Weightless, she screamed as she sailed through the air, hearing the voices of the others and knowing they were experienceing the same phenomenon. And just as unexpected she was released, held suspeneded in the air for countless seconds before she fell, crashing into the ground.

"Damn it!" Sam groaned from behind her as Cordelia instinctively flinched away from the blinding white against her face.

A resounding explosion filled the air, and she braced to see what would happen next but there was nothing.

"Is everyone okay?"

Jason. Cordelia turned her head toward the sound of his voice, blinking against the dust that surrounded them. That's when she realized, "I can see again."

She couldn't contain the rasp of excitement in her voice, despite the fact that every muscle in her body hurt. Shaky, she pulled herself to her knees, then her feet, slapping dirt and sand from her hands. "Okay, what the hell is going on here?"

Because instead of the pants and shirt from before, she was now draped in a flowing white gown. It was a nice gown sure, felt like silk, nice halter neckline, cute matching sandals, but hello, not the clothes she had on before. In fact, she didn't own a gown like this. Taking a unsteady hand to wipe at her face, she noticed not only was her hair now in thick wild curls but her katana was missing.

Faith managed her feet, and Cordelia realized she wasn't the only one who had gone through the costume change. Faith wore some strategically placed pieces of what looked like tanned leather, soft knee high boots and her dark hair was wild. With those tomahawks in her grip she was the personification of the Chosen One. The Slayer.

Sam on the other hand seemed almost normal. He wore a long sleeved white shirt, unbuttoned to reveal a stomach rippling with muscle that she never would have expected. A pair of leather pants the same color as Faith's rode low on his hips. That dark crop of messy hair shadowed his quiet handsome face but his eyes were soft green, as if covered with cataracts, and Cordelia knew hers were exactly the same.

Whatever this place was, it hadn't countered the spell placed on them, but somehow managed to bring back their vision anyway.

Kady moaned and rolled over, and Cordelia rushed over to help her to her feet. "Thank you," the little girl murmured and Cordelia could see her eyes were the same as Sam's. She wore a white gown as well, a tank style suited more for a girl her age. What stood out most about Kady was the utter glow of innocence that surrounded her. Warmth and goodness were more than an aura, Cordelia could actually feel them pouring from Kady's skin where her hand touched.

"What is this place?" Cordelia glanced around, noting the landscape for the first time.

"A Waste Land," Kady whispered, "The corridor between worlds."

It was hideous.

Though there was light it was the only thing about the land that felt right. The land was dead, the grass brown and matted beneath their feet and mixed with dry earth and sand. The few trees she spotted were bent with crooked blackend branches that clawed at the sky. There were bones scattered randomly, stripped and whitened from heat and time. Some so large that she knew they couldn't possibly be human. The air was ripe with evil, it turned her stomach with nausea, forcing her to take light breaths so she wouldn't take in the thick toxic smell.

"In this place, all is revealed," Kady continued on, wrapping her thin arms around her stomach, her face a grimace of distaste.

"You know, we're really going to talk about how you know all this stuff and you're just eleven years old." But Cordelia thought she understood what she meant. A Slayer. Three Seers and one of which was a hunter. The clothes and armor used to conceal were stripped way to the very essence of who each of them were. "Where's Jason?"

Her eyes scanned the land and finally lit on him. Breath choking in her throat.

Predator.

It was the one word that floated through her mind as she watched him walk toward them. Stalk them. Some part of her instinctively responded, awakened with hunger. Every movement a ripple of muscle a temptation that was impossible to resist.

The other part wanted to sweep Kady into her arms and run. Cordelia figured that was the one that still had sense.

What had been revealed about Jason? He no longer carried the spear in his hands, but a sword, simple, unadorned and gleaming under the light. He too wore tanned leather pants but while Sam's had been sexy, Jason's should have been illegal.

It wasn't like they were tight, though she could make out each taut muscle in his thighs with every step he took. They rode low, giving her an amazing view of his stomach. The man didn't just have a six pack. No, no. He was just ripped with muscle hard like granite.

Over his navel was some kind of tattoo, though instinct whispered it was nothing like a tattoo at all. Across his heart was the same triquetra tattoo from before, on his arm was some print, though she couldn't decifier the language.

When he finally stood before her, she inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the wild scent of leather, man and danger. He was so close she could feel the heat pouring from his skin. She wanted to bury her face into the crook of his neck, trail her mouth over his skin. For she knew exactly in this moment what all her protests had been about. The answer wasn't just attraction like Faith suggested, like she had feared. The answer was feral, starving and right here making the blood pulse alive through her body.

"Are you okay?" Those words were addressed to Kady as he placed a hand on Kady's head but his eyes never left her. The same hand with that ring which seemed to give off a humming vibration that resonated through her body.

"Your eyes," she whispered, unable to prevent herself from reaching up to touch his hardened face. Something flared in those depths savage and captivating, leaving her body feeling heavy and warm. It made her want to place her lips to his, to curl her body around him in a despearte attempt to cool the longing that coursed through her veins like an awakened river. "What happened to your eyes?"

They were still that same gorgeous cerulean, but inside were flecks of black that almost seemed to match the markings on his stomach. And the same question from before drifted from her lips. "Who are you?"

And all hell broke loose around them.