High Noon – chapter 7.

by: sifi.

OOooOO

"I don't care you get me back there right now! I won't leave my nephew behind God Damnit!" Shep screamed at the sidhe warriors who stood stolidly shaking their heads. They weren't about to let him go back.

"Shep calm down man, take a breath!"

"CALM! FUCK CALM BOBBY! That's MY BOY! MINE!" his hands clenched the hunter's flannel so hard he tore holes into it. His eyes poured and his breath came shaky, "Oh GOD… Oh GOD NO… please…" he cried unashamed as the older man grasped him close shuddering with the vision of that enormous black shape rising from the earth.

"Listen tell us exactly what you saw Shep… EXACTLY," Bobby urged with Gader'el at his side listening intently.

"The ground exploded," Shep shook his head, "That…thing… it was huge, my GOD how are we supposed to…" he breathed, "It was black, it looked like stone but there was so much…" he couldn't begin to explain the depth of what he'd felt, Hate was far too mild a word, as was Wrath or any of the descriptives they had at their disposal, even Vengeance wasn't quite right. What he'd felt emanating from that thing was ALL of those things and still so much more, "It exploded from the ground, that's what I saw and then he was gone. I could hear him scream but he was gone."

"Ammit?" Gader'el asked, "Did he get the boy?"

"I can't be sure," the eater of the damned shook his host's head, "There was so much dust and debris, things moved quickly." He nodded at Shep, "Like he said I too heard the boy scream at the same time he burst forth, it was all we could do to get the sidhe and Mr. McGregor through the veil," he shook his head sadly, "The next thing I saw… the boy was gone and… Death had arrived."

"Death?" Shep barely breathed and bent over clutching his knees, trying to draw a breath.

"He was supposed to have been the God of Death before he took part in Enki's betrayal," Gader'el explained.

"Did any of YOU see anything?" Bobby asked the tearful warriors.

Four distinct voices layered upon one another, the sound of one reminiscent of a gentle stream flowing, all four speaking hurriedly at once however, became a rushing river of sound.

"Slow down, slow down!" Bobby barked

"Please…" Shep grasped one of them by the shoulder, "Please… just open the way, I have to go back, I have to!" he begged.

Hope shined bright for a split second as to his right a faint shimmer split the air.

He dashed for the opening and straight into Dean's restraining arms as they locked around him, "Whoa there, Shep! No! No!" he held him back while the others finished coming through.

"Shep where is he? What happened?" Sam asked.

Imdugud, Yokai and their own four sidhe escorts listened as the moment of the Marauders' appearance was retold.

"I gotta find him!" Shep begged Dean this time, "You KNOW what it means, you of all people GOTTA know!"

"I do Shep," he looked over his shoulder at Sam, "So help me God I know… but we were just there. We went there first. The marauder was gone, we think he headed into the gate somewhere in the rocks," he started.

"We saw the crater, and the trail. We looked through the debris," Sam shook his head, his eyes watering, "we couldn't find anything."

"Oh God…" Shep collapsed against the older Winchester.

"Shep we couldn't find anything, NOTHING. No BODY," he explained.

"I felt his fear, and there was a moment of blinding, I mean BLINDING pain, and then it was gone… but," Sam shook his head again, "If he's dead it was fast, so fast he probably never knew what hit him," he grabbed the man by the jacket, catching his eyes, "but I'm not sure he is."

OOooOO

"Tim Connolly please?" He asked leaning half across the counter, a wide smile beaming at the receptionist.

"Who can I say's here?" the young man grinned back.

"I am Professor Ehren Hunter, he has some bones for me to look at," the man with the wild head of thick curly hair, and completely infectious smile tapped at a message carousel on the desk watching it spin while the receptionist dialed an extension.

"Uh professor? Where did you say you were from?" he asked.

"I teach an anthropology course at the Met," he answered casually.

"He'll be right up," the young hung up the phone and watched the strange fuzzy headed man in brown corduroy pants and a 'Party Naked' t-shirt on, spin the message carousel, "I hate to ask you this," and he really did, "Can I see some I.D. please?"

"I already showed it to you, when I first walked up here… remember?" the curly haired man grinned.

For a moment something rippled across the young mans' face before he nodded with a snap of his fingers, "Oh yeah that's right! Sorry Professor… Tim'll be right up."

"Thank you," he smiled turning toward a row of hard plastic chairs as scowling young man strode purposefully up to him, looking him up and down, from his fuzzy sandal wearing feet to his unkempt hair and the ill fitting clothes in between.

"I was at a cookout with my family when the call came that you needed help," he smiled offering his hand smoothly.

The analyst took the hand absently, his eyes falling to the finger width circle of solid gold around the man's neck. "I've seen… what…?" he started to ask.

"It's a torque," he explained motioning down the hall, "It was a gift… so tell me about these bones and teeth you found… and I'm to understand there's an unusual consistency to the ashes as well?"

Together, with the unkempt man's hand companionably at his back, they returned down the hallway to the lab, Tim taking him through the scene with explicit detail.

OOooOO

"We got more bad news than that, Mercy's team was ambushed," Bobby told them solemnly.

"Oh god…by who?" Dean asked.

"That's the good news. The cultists got 'em, started marchin' 'em right into the tunnel last they were seen," he looked at Sam's stricken expression and Dean chewing his lower lip, "Two of the sidhe slipped away, they're assembling a team to rescue 'em as we speak," he nodded obviously relieved.

Ajax's rich voice barked several times from the rear of the yard before they caught sight of him tearing down one of the aisles, his ears flopping with his galloping gait as a column of blinding white flame shot into the air, splitting and bowing against the unseen barrier that remained of the original wards.

"What the hell?" Dean groaned as the pup skidded to a halt slamming into Bobby's legs before dashing under the counter in the shed with his head poking out.

"I don't think that's a good sign," Gader'el frowned and took off down the aisle with the others at his heels.

With everyone heading back the way he'd come, Ajax slid out from under the counter following the humans but hanging back as they approached the volcanic spire of supernatural flame. Where the scaffolding had turned to a wad of molten metal and ash there now lay a pit with a tiny hole in the center that spat the fire into the world.

"Gader'el?" Bobby asked looking around at all the demons present, "Any of you know what the hells' happening here?" Fear shone deep in his eyes.

"Don't say 'hell' Bobby," Dean smirked with an undercurrent of seriousness.

Around the column, a cadre of sidhe materialized, all of them talking loudly over one another as they fanned out, moving the humans and Ajax a safe distance away.

"What're they saying?" Sam asked.

"They don't know," Imdugud shook his head, "Something's happening in the underworld."

"They THINK it's happening in the underworld," Ammit corrected as the Assyrian shrugged, not really caring about the difference.

Yokai tilted her head, "Sounds like wherever this is coming from it's moving through a couple different realms."

"How many are there on this plane?" Shep asked frowning.

"Don't ask," Ammit, Gader'el, Yokai, Imdugud, and apparently at least eight sidhe warriors warned.

"Why not?" Dean whispered to Sam, hopeful that he might have some answer, but the youngest Winchester shrugged and shook his head.

"I bet its cause no one really knows," Shep tried to smirk, "Sam? About Tommy…" he half choked on the plea.

"I wish I knew for sure Shep, it's just a gut feeling I've got no reason for feeling," the young hunter shook his head.

"Ammit said y'all's connection is written in your blood…" he mused.

"We're gonna be heading into the underworld anyway," Dean said softly with his hand on Shep's shoulder, "There's a garden… I saw Laura there before they dragged her behind the seventh gate, if we're successful, maybe I can look around for Tom too."

"You're not going alone Dean," Sam's voice lay heavy with warning.

"Neither of us know what's going to happen Sammy, this is one we're gonna hafta fly by the seat of our pants on alright, you know that as well as I do…" he leaned forward, "For all we know Tiamat might just broil our butts right there…" he looked pointedly at his little brother well aware of the red vixen's presence nearby. Thank's Kitsune. He knew she'd never been further away from Sam than a few leaps but to keep him unaware of her presence she was allowed to move with almost complete freedom through the veiled realm based on the strength of her vow to Dean. A sidhe remained near her in case they needed the veil opened in a hurry but other than that, per the elder hunter's instructions, she was to remain unseen by Sam.

"Whatever you're planning… DON'T," Sam half snarled though his voice was low, the promise deep within it was unmistakable.

Dean grabbed Sam by the shirt, moving him out of earshot of the others, "You listen to me. I'm not PLANNING anything… but if things get hinky YOU"RE the one they came to follow, YOUR job will be handling the aftermath up here and trying to get the Genie back into the bottle!"

"Oh that's funny," Sam nodded half angrily, the look on his face reminding the older hunter that indeed, there WAS a Djinn among their numbers.

"Oh yeah," he nodded then shook his head, "Anyway, you KNOW what I mean… you think they're just gonna go peacefully back to hell once we've saved the world, universe…" he shook his head, "Whatever… the fact is you're STILL gonna have the army that Jake kid unleashed, AND the ones we've assembled here and excuse me for thinking that most of them aren't gonna WANT to go peacefully back down the pit!"

"You think I don't know what you've got in mind," Sam's mouth hung open and his expression was filled with disbelief.

"What're you talking about?" Dean asked completely stymied.

"We're gonna walk into the underworld, you're gonna broker your deal with Tiamat and you're gonna go look to see if you can rescue Laura, and you're gonna try and send me back! Dean I KNOW you!"

"Sam," he shook his head.

"NO! Dean! Don't even DARE think of lying to me…"

"She's gone Sam," he spoke softly.

"I KNOW you better than that!" Sam whisper-shouted, "You'll NEVER…!"

"Sam, she's gone," he nearly whispered and shook his head. He flopped his hand at the column of flame while water collected in his eyes, "I couldn't… can't… I can't…" he shook his head looking away from his little brother in an attempt to hide the tears and pain.

Shocked, Sam reached out, "Dean…"

"It's bigger than any of us," his voice hitched, "she knew that before we even knew what was coming…she knew…" he gasped shoving Sam's hand away.

"I'm sorry," Sam said softly, "There IS hope Dean…"

Dean looked up into those shining blue-greens, able to see his little brother's belief while refusing to acknowledge it himself. He refused to give hope any quarter in his heart or head knowing full well he couldn't bear to be let down, "No… she gave everything up to protect us," he shook his head almost frantically, "I can't Sam… I can't…"

"Dean, you have to."

"I can't!" he hissed between clenched teeth, "It hurts too much Sam… like a Jessica type hurt…" he shook his head fighting and fisting away the tears, "You've always been stronger than me."

OOooOO

"What is that?" Ellen whispered feeling chills running through her. For the last twenty minutes, ever since the tunnel went pitch black the sounds of rhythmic whispers echoed through the corridor. They knew it wasn't the sidhe, and they hadn't come across any other humans, just rats and bugs aplenty.

"Sounds like it's coming from further ahead, it has to be people," Jo shook her head looking between her mother and Pinem'e, then Berith and the sidhe, all of them shrugging in turn.

"Or souls," Pinem'e sighed receiving a nod of concurrence but no words from Berith.

"So do you think this is an entryway to hell or just the underworld?" the young woman asked.

"Well, we're not hearing anyone screaming in torment," Ellen shrugged, "Maybe the underworld."

"Think we should call Sam?" Jo asked.

"Let's check it out first… then get out… I'm not sure there's cell reception in either hell OR the underworld," Pinem'e smiled easily.

OOooOO

"You stupid chivalrous ass hole!" Mercy sniffed. She stroked the sweat and blood damp hair from his face as Aeshema held true to her demonic nature unleashing her wrath on the last of the cultsmen.

The warrior who lay dying in her lap gave a pained smile and made a fist, pantomiming his victory over the cultist who'd been ready to slash her throat.

"You did good…" she nodded pressing her forehead to the small male's, amazed by how quickly she'd grown attached to the other worldly warriors.

"Let the others take him Mercy," Gary urged glancing at the half dozen sidhe from the rescue party that stood around the woman and their fallen comrade while the last four made sure all the cultsmen were dead.

"They'll give him the send off he deserves," Marax nodded streaking the blood from his hands onto his host's jeans.

"Well holy hell…" Aeshema grinned at a line of blood spatter on the tunnel wall, "I think I just found the way in," she gazed intently into what appeared to be a hole, but was actually a drop of blood. On the other side lay writhing darkness.

Leaning forward, peering into the break in this dimension's reality she looked for any indicator of location.

"Is it hell or the underworld?" Marax asked approaching the host.

"I'm not sure," she shook her head.

In the instant her head was turned a questing black tendril of demon smoke pierced the opening, sliding straight into the host's eye socket and through the back of her head. The demon's scream from the woman's mouth loosed ambient murderous rage into the tunnel.

"Get that veil open!" Marax shouted at the sidhe warriors.

Gary leaped at Aeshema, and Marax at the wall in the hopes of severing the connection as several more tendrils and columns started to pour out of the bloody droplets that created the conduit between worlds.

The warriors opened the way, dragging Mercy and their comrades into protection while the others sought to close the route out of hell.

"Dry the blood! Close the holes!" Marax shouted cringing with the sight of Aeshema and the new arrival fighting for dominion within the host's body while above them in the air more black smoke tried to coalesce.

The bits of newly escaped demon smoke were vulnerable in their current state and to Marax's and Gary's surprise as they dried the blood on the wall; closing this gateway from hell and in effect severing parts of the demons from the other parts still behind the wall, Gary watched the smoke simply cease to exist while Marax watched igigi feast.

He lowered Aeshema's host to the tunnel floor watching the battle between the demons within her flesh peter out, each of them dying, each of them becoming food for the marauder's foot soldiers.

Gary looked around, taking in the quantity of slaughter. Eight workers outside, the cultists, three sidhe…well, they're going back behind the veil… and one demon, "We gotta get out of here, someone's gonna find all these bodies way too soon, when those workers don't report in…" he told Marax.

Slowly the demon astronomer nodded, he'd been looking for signs of life inside the host body but knew it was impossible. "Let's go," he sighed motioning Gary toward the faintly shimmering slice in the air.

In the darkness he didn't see near the base of the wall where several drops of blood were waiting to dry, to seal the opening, several igigi were worming their way into the openings while others sipped at the emerging bits of demon that still quested for freedom.

OOooOO

Am I dead? Tom felt himself wonder as his eyes slowly came open and the details of the dense foliage surrounding him became clear, Must be… ain't no jungle like this… what the hell happened? He rolled his head from side to side and began to take inventory of his wounds. I saw it come. It… oh God… his heart leaped in his chest, If I'm dead should I be feeling my heart beat? He wondered feeling his body trying to shudder with fear as tears slipped from his eyes.

In the same moment racking sobs tore from him and though he wasn't certain any of it was real, his arm came across his eyes while he cried, more full of fear and anguish than he'd ever been in his life. Even more than when he'd lost his son and the woman he'd wanted to marry to a patch of black ice on that far away night. When he'd cried so often back then, it'd been for him, for HIS loss. In his heart now, this time, with the image of that stony embodiment of pure loathing and malice in his mind's eye, he cried for the loss of an entire world.

OOooOO

"You don't think he'll try to kill her… I mean isn't she the one who put the world together? The heat from her fire?" Shep asked.

Dean turned to the sidhe, "We need to beat him to the underworld. He can't be allowed to get to her first."

"How the hell are you boys gonna stop him? You got NUTHIN' to work with!?" Bobby stormed as Sam stuffed the tablets, translation notes, and the original notebook into his messenger bag along with some of the standard weapons of their trade, all of which felt woefully inadequate.

"We don't have a choice Bobby," Sam muttered.

"What the hell are we supposed to do when the others get back?" he asked.

"Do what the sidhe tell you to, they've been opening portals all over the globe, helping evacuate anyone who can see what's going on that wants out," Dean divulged much to the elder man's jaw dropping surprise.

"What?" Bobby huffed in disbelief, realization coming clear in his eyes, "That's why they've been so hard at work for so long, they've been preparing the way just in case it came to this."

Dean nodded, but Sam explained, "They didn't have enough advance warning to evacuate their own universe until it was too late. Once the last survivors arrived here, and once they were sure this was his primary target, they started setting up portals, some of them close to vortices to make it easier…"

"How long have you known about this!?" Bobby demanded angrily.

"Laura told me right before… before she… before I killed her," Dean shook his head clapping Bobby at the neck and shoulder, "When the others return and confirm that the gates are sealed you go with them. If we succeed, we'll meet you on the other side."

"How're you boys gonna beat that thing?" Shep shook his head just as crushed by this news as Bobby was, there was no trace of hope in his voice. With Tommy his world was gone, and now his universe was about to follow suit, "Let me come with."

"No," Dean shook his head closing his duffel bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Let us BOTH come with you boys. You don't know what you're going to run into out there, or in there… or whatever… and if need be… this is too important…" Bobby started.

"Bobby no…" Dean shook his head again, this time more emphatically he wasn't going to risk the lives of two of his oldest and best friends on a fools errand.

"Dean," Sam countered.

"Sam No!"

"We can't blow this," Sam muttered.

"Son of a BITCH!" Dean yelled knowing full well they were right.

"Gader'el, will you and the sidhe make sure everyone else gets to safety when they get back?" Bobby asked.

"I will," the weapons master nodded handing over a small satchel full of ammunition they'd finished earlier in the day.

"Let's go," Shep nodded standing between Ammit and Imdugud. A moment later he moved to Ammit's far side, a little more comfortable with the Egyptian than the Assyrian.

"Son of a bitch," Dean scowled then motioned at the sidhe.

A moment later both Winchesters, Bobby, Shep, Imdugud, Ammit, and Ajax left the world they called home.

OOooOO

tbc.

Please R&R.

Thanks.

sifi.