thank you all once again for the great, great reviews. there isnt too much more to go. two chapters left, three at the very most. thank you all for sticking with it. as always let me know what you think of the newest chappy. :)

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NOT ALL AS IT SEEMS

Chapter 12

Sam stood in the small bathroom, watching the creature before him. It was surreal to say the least, and Sam didn't know whether to laugh or scream. Here he was, twenty five and six foot five, and he was being held at bay by a two and a half foot toddler. It was like he was being attacked by a mini-me. He heard his brother telling Kerri to take the real Jake and run, the door slamming again as Dean came up behind the Changeling. But, instead of advancing on either of them, instead of aping out and tossing Sam around the small space, it just stood there, staring.

"I tell you." Dean began, moving forward slowly, obviously knowing the creature was aware of his presence. "For something that's supposed to be super smart, it's acting pretty dumb."

The second Dean reached for the child, however, the thing pounced. It grabbed one of Dean's outstretched arms, flipping the much larger hunter over its head, sending him careening into Sam. He tried to duck, but the movement of the creature was too fast, and Sam was hit full force by his brother. He blinked several times, his vision clouding as his head collided with the tile wall behind him. It took both men several seconds to recover from the impact, Dean cursing, de-tangling himself from Sam as they listened to the creature laugh.

"Oh, you son of a bitch. You alright, Sammy?"

"Oh yeah, I'm super. Dean." Sam began, pushing himself to his knees, Dean laying on his back beside him.

"Yeah?"

"It's looking at us again." And sure enough, the demented toddler was staring at them once more, the being remaining freakishly still as it watched their every movement.

"I guess no one ever told it not to play with its food." Dean grumbled, pushing himself to his feet and advancing on the evil Jake. This time, Sam did duck quick enough. "This is getting old." Dean mumbled, as Sam helped him to his knees, the older hunter looking worse for wear but still intact after his second trip into the wall.

"Dean, why isn't it eating us?"

"What are you, in a rush?"

"No, I mean something's not right. It's almost like it's trying to keep us in here."

The piercing sound of the impala's horn drowned out whatever Dean was going to say. Sam's heart nearly stopped, his mind running a mile a minute as everything fell into place. The Changeling was smart, too smart, and they'd fallen for the trap. They'd sent Kerri outside the protective perimeter of the motel room, with Jake, while he and Dean had remained behind. And judging by the deep, guttural growl from Dean, his brother realized the mistake, too.

The horn blared for several long seconds, the noise filling up all the air around them, suffocating them, their hearts beating fast as they listened to the noise. Kerri was out there with something, and by the sound of it, she was losing. The brothers spared a glance at each other before rushing the Changeling, the creature tossing Dean into the wall with just one hand, the other tiny fist wrapping around the fabric of Sam's jeans, sending the young man crashing to the ground. But, while it had effectively kept Dean in the bathroom, Sam was now out in the main room, where a silver dagger sat gleaming on the table.

He heard Dean growl again, signaling to Sam that he was once again rushing the creature. The younger hunter jumped up when he saw the Changeling move to deflect Dean once more. The instant Sam moved, however, the Changeling was on top of him. He wrestled with the creature, the baby's sharp fingers ripping into his flesh as it clawed at him, trying, and succeeding, to pull him back into the bathroom. With one last burst of energy Sam reached out, pulling at the leg of the table, sending it and everything on top of it crashing to the floor. The Changeling leapt from him when the dagger clattered to the ground, racing towards the object before the hunter. But Sam was a fraction of a second quicker, and an instant later, the room fell into an empty silence, the air around them so heavy, that Sam could barely breath.

He laid on the ground for several second, not wanting to look up at the creature he'd just stabbed. He knew it wasn't a child, knew it was a killer, but that wasn't going to lessen the shock of seeing it any less. It was going to look like a dead child, and that wasn't something Sam was sure he'd be able to handle. A second later, though, he felt the being beneath him melt away, a thick, grey dust the only remains of the creature. His moment of triumph was short lived, however, when he heard his brother curse, screaming out Kerri's name. He looked up just as Dean came back into the room.

"She's gone, Sammy. They both are."

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Kerri blinked awake slowly, her entire body aching. Why the hell did she feel like she'd just been run over by a truck? She rubbed at her forehead, wincing when her shoulder protested the movement. She would have said that she felt like absolute crap, except crap probably felt a little bit better. She searched her mind, trying to figure out how she had ended up where she was, wherever the hell that actually was. It looked like a motel room, but she'd just been in a motel and it didn't look similar at all.

She sprang up at the memory, the last few hours coming back to her with remarkable clarity. They'd brought the Changeling back to the motel with them, which was, in hindsight, a huge mistake. Just as Sam had predicted, it wolfed out and went after him. They'd run into the room to find Sam, cornered by the creature, which was when Dean told her to take Jake and run.

Jake! She looked around the room frantically, her eyes adjusting to the dim light slower than she liked. She was definitely in a motel room, but she was certain that it wasn't the same motel she'd been at. No, this one didn't look like it had been touched in years, the wallpaper peeling and molding as water ran down the walls. She pushed herself up at the sight, the mattress she found herself laying on smelled like mold and rot and who knew what else.

She let out a long breath when she saw the toddler laying on the bed next to her's. He was sobbing quietly, his face buried in his arms, small body shaking as he cried. Kerri didn't know how long she'd been out, but she was more than certain that Jake had remained in that position the entire time. How the hell had they gotten there? The last thing she remembered was sitting in the impala.

Kerri moved gingerly to the other bed, pulling Jake up into her arms. The little boy screamed and thrashed, fighting her off for several long minutes before he realized who she was. And, once he did, he dug his little face into her shoulder and held onto her for dear life. She couldn't blame him, though, she was a fully grown adult and terrified, lord only knew what was going through his head. She continued to hold him in her arms, rocking him gently as she searched her pockets for her cell phone, relieved when she found it not only intact, but with a signal.

She had no idea what the Korrigan was planning, if that's what grabbed them in the first place, but she was more than certain that, trap or not, things would go a whole lot smoother with Sam and Dean there. Well, maybe not smoother, she decided, dialing Dean's number, but she herself would feel a hell of a lot better with the brothers by her side.

"Please, please tell me you just went for coffee or something?" Dean's desperate and worried voice broke through the static.

"Yeah, what flavor do you want?"

"Where the hell are you?"

"I don't know."

"Is Jake there?"

"Yeah, I've got him."

"Damn-it, Kerri, we've been looking for you for four hours. What's the last thing you remember?"

"Honestly, sitting in the car."

"Nothing else?"

"No. I swear, Dean, one minute I'm sitting in the car, the next I'm waking up in mold city."

"Any guesses as to where it's keeping you?"

"I'm in a motel, but it looks like it's been abandoned for about ten years. Either that, or I'm in the economy suite."

"What's it near?"

"Uh, I haven't actually looked yet."

"Just, go to the window, don't let it think you're leaving."

"How are you so certain that this is the Korrigan?"

"Because, turns out baby baddie was just trying to keep us occupied."

"Where is it now?

"Taken care of. All that's left is you and momma baddie. Anything?"

"Nah, the window's boarded up." Kerri sighed, dropping the curtain before moving towards the door. "Holy. Sh…."

"What, what is it?"

"Oh my god."

"What?"

"The freaking thing's standing right outside the door."

"What?"

"It's like it's keeping guard or something. Dean? Dean?" Kerri looked at her phone, cursing at the no signal sign. This was definitely not good.

"What the hell's it doing out there?" Kerri mumbled to no one in particular, trying Dean again, even though she knew the call wouldn't go through.

"Waiting." Kerri jumped at the voice, spinning around and staring at the man behind her.

"Who the hell are you? And where'd you come from?"

"What can I say, I'm full of surprises." The man smiled, sickly yellow eyes surveying Kerri as she backed up a step.

Her heart stopped when she saw its eyes, her mind screaming at her to run. But she was trapped, the Korrigan was standing guard, keeping her inside, and help outside.

"What do you want?"

"World peace."

"I wouldn't have thought something like you needed a Korrigan to do its dirty work."

"Ouch. Low blow." The Yellow Eyed Demon chided, smiling when Kerri stumbled and nearly fell as she backed up again. "If you must know, I normally prefer to work alone. But even I can't pass up a good opportunity."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you see. It wanted something that belongs to me, so I set up a little trade."

"Jake isn't yours."

"Wouldn't be so sure about that, Kerri."

"None of them are yours." Kerri answered defiantly. She would rather die before she let the thing in front her lay claim to any of the special children.

"Any who." It smiled, eyeing the door before turning back to her. "Like I was saying, I'm here to make sure what's mine stays safe."

"Why don't I believe that. I mean, you want him, take him."

"I don't want him."

"Then what?"

"I told you I made a deal. Korrigan's need hearts to survive, two to be exact. That's why it always goes for the babies, or more specifically, their parents. You proved to be a little more trouble then I thought, though. You see, the thing gets weaker and weaker the longer it has to wait, and attacking you at your house, that just about killed it."

"So?"

"So. I figured I could make this a win, win situation. I've got two of my children to check up on, and two hunters that just so happen to be in the way."

"Well, you checked up on them, we kicked ass. So why not just let the Korrigan die?"

"My world's governed by rules just like yours, sweetheart. If the Korrigan dies, so does Jake."

"You're lying."

"Oh, I seem to have struck a cord. What a dilemma you have. You die, baby lives. You live, baby dies."

"That's not true."

"Why would I lie to you?"

"That a trick question?"

"Evelyn was right, you're smarter than you look."

"Don't say her name."

"Who's name, Ev's?"

"Shut up."

"Now now, is that anyway to talk to someone who can break your neck just by thinking about it."

"Yes. What're you really after?"

"The honest truth? I want Dean dead, this seems like an entertaining way. You, well that's just a bonus."

Kerri's heart was racing, the Demon before her smiling at her with a lust and hatred she had never before experienced. They were dealing with more than just a Korrigan, more than just a Changeling. The creature was being controlled by the Yellow Eyed Demon, and it had been after them since the very beginning. Everything, the other families, the fact that the Changeling chose a psychic child, it was all the Yellow Eyed Demon's doing. It was all a test, she knew it, and they'd walked right into it.