SUPERNATURAL
THE PARCAEX RITUAL
Note - This chapter is very confusing, so forgive me. It should make more sense at the end... I hope. This was going to all be changed when I got around to rewriting this chapter, but that hasn't happened yet, so here's the original =P
Chapter 16
There was nothing he could do to stop it.
Sam and Dean were crouched in a corner, powerless to defend themselves against the monstrosity that approached them, a large gun cocked and aimed at Sams' head.
Bobby just watched, pinned up against the wall opposite, unable to glimpse the attacker, but tears were forming in his eyes, as he knew what was about to happen to his two most dear friends in the world.
Sam and Dean gazed sadly into Bobby's eyes, who was attempting not to think about how they were feeling at this moment. They knew that they had barely seconds to live, and this time they knew that nobody would come to the rescue.
With two horrible gunshots, the lifeless bodies of Sam and Dean fell to the ground, obviously dead.
He couldn't take it; the view was just too terrible. He closed his eyes and gazed at the ground, listening to the feint footsteps approaching him.
"Look at me," the attacker hissed.
Bobby stayed staring at the ground, stubborn in what could be his last moments.
"I said look!"
An invisible force grasped Bobby and his head was pulled into an upright position, and for the first time that night, Bobby glimpsed the face of their anonymous attacker.
"John?" he squinted, "John Winchester?"
The name caught the demon by surprise, and he stumbled backwards, his deep black eyes piercing Bobby's, and they locked gazes for the shortest of moments, before the figure turned and left without another word, releasing Bobby from the force which held him prisoner.
The two of them sat mourning long after midnight had come, crying over the lifeless body of their loyal friend, who had been through so much and come so far, only to be ruthlessly taken out of the fight.
"Sammy," Dean whispered, "Come on, we can't stay here."
"Bobby…" Sam mourned.
"Come on," Dean said, pulling Sams arm gently until he stood up, his eyes never leaving the body of his fallen friend.
"We can't just leave his body, Dean."
Dean sighed, "Okay, we'll take him with us, then. Help me carry him."
The two of them picked up the body and heaving them between each other they carried him through the front doors and loaded him into the old truck that Sam had used to drive into town.
Sam wiped the tears from his eyes and got into the truck, "Did you get the weapons?" he asked.
"Yeah, they're in the bag, up the back."
"And Lilith's?"
"No, it wasn't there."
"How is that possible? Did she take it with her?"
"I think so, Sammy."
"But… no way!" Sam exclaimed, "She didn't even have a physical form!"
"I know, but it seems like we're going to have to find and defeat her how we'd planned to from the start, if we're going to get that weapon from her."
"Dean," Sam paused, "We have to put all that on hold first. We have to cremate Bobby first."
"Cremate him?" Dean asked, "No." he demanded, "Not yet."
"Why?"
"Trust me, Sammy. We just can't. Not yet."
Sam didn't bother to question him any further, and they drove the truck down to the motel where Dean had parked the Impala and unloaded Bobby into the car. They left the truck outside the motel, wiped it down for prints and left town in the Impala.
The mood was gloomy and Sam sat in the passenger seat cursing himself for not attending to Bobby before he helped his brother.
"It was my fault." He insisted, whispering to himself.
Dean heard this, "Sammy?" He asked, "This wasn't your fault and you couldn't have stopped it."
Sam knew in his heart that this was true, but somehow he felt as if he had contributed towards his death somehow.
"So, where are we going next?" he asked, tryiNg to put this from his mind.
"Well, we've still got to find Ellen and Jo, and we'd better act quickly," he answered, "We don't know how much time they have."
"Okay, we could do a search for houses that Mathew Walker may have lived in," Sam suggested, "It's a place to start."
Dean tossed him a cell phone, "Do it, then."
Sam entered a familiar number and waited for the dial tone.
"Hello?" A female voice answered on the other end.
"Er, yes," Sam started, pulling from the glove compartment an old stolen police badge, "This is detective Bennetts of the New York Police Department, and I'm looking for some information, if you may give it to me."
"What is your badge number?" She asked.
"ID. 391494" Sam answered.
Over the line Sam heard the distance sounds of typing on a keyboard. She was obviously searching his I.D number.
"Okay, Detective Bennetts, what do you want to know?"
"Wyoming?" Dean questioned, "Which town?"
"Well, it says that the only place ever registered under his name was a small home in Pinedale."
"You got an address?"
"Sure have. But Dean, before we go there we had better stop by Bobby's truck. There may be some things we could use in there, and we need all the help we can get."
"Yeah, sure thing. Sammy. You know, you don't seem as upset as you probably should be over Bobby's death," Dean pointed out, "You sure you're okay?"
"I don't know, Dean. I have this weird feeling. It's like I know he's dead, but somehow it just doesn't feel right. It's like I can feel his presence where I shouldn't... Does that make any sense at all?"
Dean looked at him, confused, "Nope, not at all."
"Well," Sam answered, "I don't know how to explain it, but I think there is more to this than we first thought."
"More to this, like... how?"
Sam sighed, "Truthfully, I don't know."
Dean laughed, "You really are a freak."
"Thanks, Dean. That makes me feel so much better."
"No problem. So how long until Wyoming?"
"About four hundred and fifty miles."
Dean looked at him, "I'm no freak, and I can't do the math. How long, Sammy?"
"Around seven hours, but five to six if you break the speed limit."
"Okay," Dean replied, "But I can't do this for another six hours, so we're swapping halfway."
"Yeah, whatever."
Dean moaned, "I swear that I've done more driving in the past four days than I have in my entire life."
Sam had been at the wheel for almost three and a half hours when they approached the road that led to the railway tracks bordering the Devils Gates. Dean was snoring in his sleep, and Sam had to shake him hard to wake him.
"Dean!" he whispered, "Dean, we're here."
"Where?"
"Wake up, man. Bobby's truck shouldn't be far."
Sam slowed the pace down dramatically, and they searched for the entrance path to where they had stashed Bobby's truck. "There," Dean pointed, "I see the path."
Sam stopped the car and the two of them got out, following the path into the bush, and rounding a corner to where the truck should have been.
The only problem was, it wasn't there.
"What the-" Dean walked around, searching the area for some sort of answer, "Who did this?" he asked.
"Well," Sam started, "I guess we know that it wasn't a demon."
"How do you know that?"
"Well, for one, we scratched Anasazi symbols on all the doors."
"But you said that Lilith can get past that sort of thing."
"Well, I don't know about Anasazi symbols, because they're a form of ancient ritual or magic. But she is definitely immune to the demon repellents such as sulphur and holy water."
"Well, this is just great, isn't it?" Dean exclaimed, "What are we going to do now? This is just so confusing," he moaned, following the small trail the truck left behind.
"Don't move assholes."
They heard a familiar voice behind them and turned, holding their hands up and facing a large man holding a gun to their faces.
Sam almost choked on his breathe, "Bo-"
"-Sam, that's not Bobby," Dean whispered, "Bobby died, it can't be him."
"Who are you?" He asked, "What do you want with me?"
Sam and Dean said nothing; they just eyed the gun and slowly walked backwards.
Bobby thrusted the gun forward, "Speak," he hissed.
Dean stepped forward and opened his mouth, but the words were drowned as another figure stepped into their midst, holding in his hands a similar weapon to what the fake Bobby was holding.
When Sam looked up at the new arrival's face, he gasped and suddenly he had no idea what the hell was going on.
"Two Bobby's?" Dean asked, rubbing his eyes to take another look, "This is mighty confusing, what the heck is happening?"
The Bobby's looked at each other and suddenly Dean and Sam were taken out of the picture and their eyes were fixed upon each other.
"What are you?" the first Bobby asked, "and who are they?" he gestured towards Sam and Dean.
Sam stepped forward, "I'm Sam Winchester, and what the hell is happening here?"
"You're not Sam Winchester," the first Bobby continued, "I watched Sam and his brother die six states away from here, so forgive me if I know that you're talking bullshit."
"Died?" Sam asked, "You're nuts!"
"Sam!" the second Bobby called, "I'm the real Bobby; don't listen to what he says. I just came back from a hunt and saw you with an impostor so I followed you here."
"But Bobby died!" Sam exclaimed, "We watched him. His body is in the back of our car as we speak."
"Think again, kid."
"What do you mean?"
The second Bobby didn't say a word. Keeping him weapon fixed upon the first Bobby, he beckoned the boys out of the path, to where they'd parked their car on the outskirts of the forest.
He looked at Sam and nodded, who walked over to the Impala and opened the back door, searching inside.
He let out a gasp for them all to hear, and when he came back he gave the second Bobby a suspicious look, "There's no body."
Dean looked shocked, "Does that mean...?"
"That one of them is the real Bobby, and one of them is fake?" Sam asked, "Well, Yes."
Dean had no idea what was happening, "What the heck is going on!"
He took a breathe and looked away. They stood in silence for a few seconds, and when he looked back he turned to the second Bobby, "What is your story, chuckles?"
"Well, after you'd saved Bella and went to see Catalus, I left and took on a few jobs. After one of my latest hunts, I'd come looking for you boys, because I'd found something that I think could help us. I saw you with another man, who looked strangely like me and I followed. It wasn't until now that I could show my face, after I thought that the impostor was dead. But when I looked into the back of the Impala, there was no body and I knew what this thing was going to do. If you remember, it was holding a gun to your head when I showed up, it is no friend of you."
Sam stepped forward, "And what is it exactly?"
"Truthfully," he answered, "I have no idea. Possibly some form of Shape-shifter, which is my only guess, but there are other creatures that can change their form at will, besides the shape shifter."
Sam cast a strange look at Dean, "It was a good story, and it kind of fits too," he whispered.
"Yes," the first Bobby started, "A story, that is all it is."
"Then what do you think?" Sam demanded.
He kept on glaring at the brothers, "No more than twenty hours ago, I witnessed Sam and Dean Winchester being murdered, and I was able to gain a glimpse of the attacker," he paused for a second, "I escaped and the second I found a vehicle I came down here to where I'd stored my truck, and I moved it. I parked it less than fifty metres away from this place, and when I heard a few voices walking along that same path, that was when I followed you, and here we are."
Dean looked at him in amazement, "Dude, whatever you are, you're nuts. We're here, aren't we? Sam and I are alive, or do you think we're some kind of Demon as well?"
"Truthfully," he glared, "I don't know, but I swear to god that I'm going to find out. Unless you can see, I hold the weapon here, and none of you are leaving here until I get these answers."
"So," Sam started, "To determine which of you is real, why don't you both let us soak you with holy water, a quick and easy test."
"Wouldn't work," The second Bobby said, "Shape-Shifters are immune to your holy water there and would therefore prove nothing."
"Well," Dean suggested, "You could be wrong. What makes you so sure that what you're dealing with is a shape-shifter? Like you said, there are other creatures with pretty much the same ability who would most likely react to the holy water in the same way as any other."
It only happened for an instant, but in those few split seconds Sam caught a trace of fear etched into one of the Bobby's facial expression, and in that moment he knew.
"Dean, can I talk to you?" he asked, lowering his voice, "Privately?"
The Bobby's watched them anxiously as they walked away, whispering quietly to each other. When they had finished the two of them reapproached the Bobby's and Dean nodded to Sam who walked over to the Impala, opening the trunk and pulling out a large silver bottle, and walking over to stand next to Dean.
The first Bobby stepped forward and held his arms out, "Go on," he urged, "Pour that water on me and prove that I'm not a demon already."
Sam didn't hesitate for a second, but he twisted the lid open and moved cautiously towards the Bobby and threw some onto him. The water splashed onto his clothing and the skin on his left arm.
"See?" he whispered, "No effect at all, now do you believe me?"
"Hey, this doesn't rule you out at all, you're still as likely to be the evil one as he is," Dean answered, pointing over at the second Bobby.
Sam approached the second Bobby, who didn't move an inch, but stood his ground, as he was also soaked in the liquid.
Nothing happened.
The first Bobby still was unsure of the situation, "If you really are Sam and Dean, then throw that water upon yourselves and prove it to me."
"You don't believe that it is really us?" Sam asked.
"I watched you die, as I've already told you twice. You can't be alive, unless those other two were fakes."
"Well," Dean answered, "That is most likely true. You see, we also watched you die, Bobby, – if that is who you truly are - which is why we're conducting these tests at the moment. So if you could kindly shut your trap hole, we can get this over with."
The first Bobby stood back and didn't say another word. The second Bobby seemed to be fidgeting a lot with himself, stepping sideways every few seconds and wincing as if holding back terrible pain.
Sam pointed this out to Dean, who pulled from his coat a silver pistol and aimed it at the second Bobby.
It couldn't hold it any longer. A horrible screech of pain echoed through the trees around them, and he collapsed to his knees, skin burning and the whites of his eyes glowing against the pale sun. "What is this!" he screamed "Holy water doesn't affect things like me!"
Dean laughed, "Gosh, this stuff is genius."
Sam looked at him, and then to the bottle in his hands, "that's not holy water?"
"Oh, it is," Dean smiled, "But its not regular water."
Sam looked back at the thing writhing on the ground and grinned, "Salt water?"
Dean laughed again, "Like I said, Genius."
Dean left Sams side and approached the thing on the ground, "Give it up, we know it is you."
The thing had stopped writhing and was now struggling beneath the large boot Dean had placed over him.
"What are you," Dean growled through clenched teeth, "Why are you here."
The answer to that became clear without words, when the skin from its back began to melt, the flesh itself falling off the bone, and Dean backed off as he saw what became of a shape-shifter as it shed its previous form.
The view was simply disgusting. It literally pulled the skin from its back, throwing it onto the floor beneath him, and when it was finished the creature was barely human. This, it seemed, was its actual form.
What they looked upon nearly made them pass out in shock. Where there was once a replica human body, stood what looked like a lifeless form, completely scabbed and scarred, as if the flesh had been peeled from the skin, leaving it in complete bone and vein, blood and mucus dripping from its knees.
Mouth agape, Dean finally spluttered, "You're a shape-shifter?"
"No."
Sam looked confused, "Then what the heck are you?"
It laughed, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Dean smirked, "There's a lot we can believe, as you should know."
"Okay," it said, looking over at the real Bobby, who stood motionless, "What if I told you that I'm a Demon in a Shape-shifters' body?"
"Well," Dean answered, "The first thing I'd do is ask, why? Of all the creatures and humans you could have taken over, why a shape-shifter? And I thought the law was that Demons can only possess other humans."
"You're right there," it smirked, "But what you didn't know is that I can possess the dead body of a shape-shifter, because it is simply a human form, no longer able to use its incredible power. Being in a shape-shifters body means that I carry its immunity to things such as Holy Water. Though as you find, there are ways around that. As for why, well, I've been tracking you down, and I needed a body to possess in order to talk to you. Seeing as you all carry those pathetic amulets, I needed something else."
"Why were you following us, who sent you?"
"Oh, nobody sent me, don't you worry about that. But your friend over here isn't lying about watching you die. In fact, I saw exactly the same thing, I was there at the same time as he, and I watched you cower beneath my gun before I shot you both in the forehead. You can't be alive, it is not possible."
Bobby had stood silent all this time, and at these last few words, he seemed completely paralysed, struck by the words spoken by this being, as if they told a forbidden secret, something terrible.
"That's right, Bobby," it said, "You know, don't you."
Sam and Dean turned to Bobby, beginning to walk towards him, "What is it, Bobby?" Sam asked.
"Stay there!" The demon spat, "Don't move or I'll have the pleasure of watching you fall a second time."
"What is it?" Sam repeated, keeping his eyes glued upon Bobby.
The demon also turned to Bobby, and his eyes shone a ghastly black.
"H-He," Bobby spluttered, "He is-"
"What?"
"Sam, Dean," Bobby sighed, "That's your father."
Sorry about any confusion! I didn't particularly like this chapter, to be honest, even though I wrote it =P When I planned the rewrite, this one was going to have a major change. But I didn't get far enough to re-write it, so I couldn't change it. In actual fact, I decided AFTER the last chapter that Bobby would still be alive =P Someone complained, so I worked in a way to keep him there.
Ah well, i'll post more in a few minutes. Cheers =D