10x00 - Brothers of the Road - Part Nine: Mirror Door
Title: Mirror Door, Part Nine of Brothers of the Road
Author: dracox-serdriel
Artist: wifihunters
Acknowledgements: Thanks to my beta readers, septembers_coda and novakev
Status: Completed as part of sastiel-bigbang 2013
Dean strolled in from the kitchen, pie and burgers in hand. He put them on the table in the war room. Kevin, Sam, Cas, Dodge, and Charlie were all waiting for him to join them.
A second Castiel stepped into the room.
"Hello, Dean," he said quietly.
"Cas? There are two of you."
"This is a dream."
"Oh. It's nice."
"Listen carefully Dean."
"Okay."
"The Amazons have you. They plan to sacrifice you. We're coming to rescue both of you, but we need your help."
"I'm asleep, how can I help?"
"We've got Benny to track you. Amazons don't know about his special skills and talents, but there is much ground to cover, and - "
"You need me to help him out," Dean said sagely. "I can do that."
Cas took his hands and clasped them tightly. "We will bring you home soon. You understand?"
"I do. How's Sammy holding up?"
"He is highly annoying, but also right most of the time. It's aggravating."
"Sounds like him."
The room dimmed, and Dean couldn't feel Castiel's warmth anymore. "I think I'm waking up," he whispered to the angel.
"Wake up, Dean. It's okay."
Outside Imperial, Nebraska. Sam drove his Dodge Ram, with a tightlipped angel riding shotgun.
"Cas, I know this hasn't been easy for you," Sam started in. "But it hasn't been a cakewalk for me, either."
Cas remained silent.
"We both miss him, and it's important we stick it out together. No matter how annoying you find my presence," Sam continued.
"Your presence is not annoying," Cas said quietly. "It is comforting."
"Yeah? Because you've been acting otherwise."
"If something happened to Dean, I - you would be my only family," Cas said. "And it has occurred to me that, it could be worse. I mean... I could have a far worse brother than you."
"Thanks, I think."
"You can be frustrating, maddening even," Cas added. "Just like Dean."
Sam laughed.
Imperial, Nebraska. Benny called Sam as soon as he smelled it: blood and ash.
"I've found somethin'," he said.
"What?" Sam asked as casually as he could manage.
"Bodies," Benny said.
"Bodies? But the festival doesn't start till tomorrow!" Sam fumbled.
Benny could hear Castiel speaking, but the words weren't clear enough to make out. "What's yer angel friend goin' on 'bout Sam?" the vampire finally asked.
"Benny, can you see what... state the bodies are in?"
"No, not close enough yet. Why?"
"Apparently, on the eve of the festival, Amazons sacrifice in a kind of gladiatorial combat with mortal soldiers."
"Sounds unpleasan'," the vampire remarked. "What kind of state would the bodies be left in for these, uh, whatchu call it?"
"Gladiatorial sacrifices," Sam said. "They'd be mangled as hell, and then burned, according to Cas."
"But they haven't done it in centuries!" the angel said loudly enough for Benny to hear. "Why now?"
"Dunno, but these are definitely extra crispy bodies, I can smell it."
"Keep going, Benny. Find a place to stash your car and start on foot."
"Wha' abou' you three?" Benny asked.
"Dodge is looking for higher ground. Cas and I will split off and cause a diversion. Use the weird phone thing I gave you, a friend souped them up so you can contact everyone."
"Righ'," Benny said before he hung up. How did he know that none of the burned bodies here were Dean Winchester?
As he parked his car, he made up his mind to inspect all of them, just to be sure. Hell, maybe one of the bodies will give him a hint where they were holding their captives.
Madeline paced the length of the temporary living space she and her warriors acquired for their festivities. Harmonia had brought them word of a challenge, and they made the appropriate preparations and sacrifices. Two of the younger Amazons became injured in the Combat Games, but otherwise their ranks remained strong.
The goddess did not describe the challengers or provide their names, which made the elder Amazon nervous. Certainly one of their captives drew in these two individuals. All of them survived the Amazon initiation, and from her research, all of them were skilled warriors and likely surrounded themselves with the same.
Unfortunately, for the first time in all her life, not one but two of their captors were hunters, which meant that the people seeking to challenge her tribe knew who the Amazons really were. That's why they had taken precautions in their holding cells for everything from witches to angels to fairies, of all things.
"Ma'am," Laurel said as she entered.
"You have news?"
"The last of the dead have been burned, and we have visitors."
"Then let's not keep them waiting."
Benny had ditched plenty of tails in his life, but these two were like nothing else. They kept on him like jackrabbits fleeing from hawks, and he was ready to vamp-up to boost his speed. But he kept his cool and walked, ducking into shadows, because the only reason they were still following him was that they didn't know if he was a threat.
At least, that was the only reason he could figure.
Dodge didn't like the idea of establishing a vantage point in an old junker, but according to Sam, it was her best bet. She wished that this was a crazy serial killer cult; in that case, she could radio for local backup.
Unfortunately, an onslaught of dozens of Wonder Woman wannabes with superhuman speed, power, and swords wasn't something she could explain. Even if they were, she couldn't risk the lives of agents by sending them into a battle without all the information they needed to survive.
So here she was, watching her friends march off into a firestorm with nothing more than a jacked up cell phone for communication.
Dodge put on the scorched glasses, which felt odd on her face. Through their lenses, it was as if Castiel light up his general vicinity; she could spot him and Sam without even trying.
Something moved.
"You've got company," she said. "Your six and seven and your nine," she said into her phone.
She pulled up her binoculars. All three looked human enough. She couldn't just snipe them for being suspiciously beautiful, strong, and in the vicinity. So she waited.
Sam managed to teach Castiel the nature of direction by clock; otherwise, Dodge's calls would have meant nothing to the angel.
"I'll be the chum," Sam said.
"The what?"
"The chum. You know, the bait."
Castiel disappeared.
"Dodge, they're getting close," Sam warned through his phone. "What's up?"
"I can't tell if they're people or not," she said.
"Right, well, the skin around their eyes changes when they attack. And they have that symbol I showed you burned into their wrists."
He waited, and the woman on his six approached first, flanked by another. He guessed the woman at nine was supposed to surprise him while the first two kept him busy.
Sam had a gun and sword, just in case, but Dodge's point gave him pause. He couldn't see their wrists, and for all he knew, they were just women -
Then he saw their swords.
Bang! Bang! He hit the first one in the shoulder and neck, and the one flanking her suddenly became decapitated.
Cas didn't teleport. He went invisible. Just as the though occurred to Sam that Dodge could hit Castiel with friendly fire, he remembered the scorched glasses. That's why Cas gave them to her, so she could see him when he was invisible. His next thought was that the angel could've given him a heads up; he could've brought Dean's pair.
BANG! The shot rang out hugely, like a cannon. The third Amazon went down with a shot to the torso, and before Sam could reach her, a sickening thwack informed him that invisi-Cas had cut her head off for good measure.
"You got company," Dodge said.
"Where?"
"Everywhere, Sam. How long you planning on holding this up?"
"As long as it takes."
The two tailing the drifter vanished suddenly when he ducked into a restroom. Benny made a few more rounds in case they were just getting stealthier, but there wasn't any sign of them.
He had to find Dean. He'd already smelled his blood out in that field, but Cas mentioned Dean knew Benny was coming. That hunter would bleed himself, certainly, if it meant saving his life.
Had it not been for the Wonder Twins tailing him, he might've found him already. So Benny doubled back, almost at a run this time because from the sounds coming through his phone, the others were in a maelstrom of Amazonian warfare.
Dean would be pissed if they were all ripped to shreds. His "friend thing" would kick in.
Dodge discarded her concern over human attackers after she ran out of rounds for her first two guns. What worried her more was that the body count was getting high, over a dozen, and it would only be a matter of time before someone made her position and tried to stop the cover fire.
"Please tell me we're getting ready to leave," she said as she landed another hit to an Amazon's shoulder. Five shots in every eight managed to hit a target. That was something.
"Nada," came a reply. It sounded like Benny.
The vampire followed the smell of blood, and he found himself back near the burned bodies. He moved passed them, taking in the brutality of their deaths. Vampires might be monsters, but he'd never seen such violently abused bodies.
For Benny, that was saying something.
Ten men, all solidly built. They were tough sons of bitches when they were alive, no doubt about it. Benny pushed passed them, following the scent of fresh blood.
Was he moving in circles? It sure felt like it.
Damn it, he was. Benny took stock for a moment, breathing deeply. The pyres of bodies muddied the trail. He needed to focus on something other than smell.
So he closed his eyes and listened for something the burned stiffs wouldn't have - a heartbeat. There was more than one, but that's all he could figure, and it was -
Damn, of course. They were underground, beneath him. There must be a way down from here.
Pop! Slash! Scream -
The last two were closer than Sam would like. Even with invisi-Cas and sniper-Dodge, there seemed to be an endless supply of Amazons to push closer. How many were dead now? Twenty? Thirty? Sam couldn't keep up.
And he only had so many bullets. Sooner or later, he'd only have a machete and knife.
Crack! He heard it before he felt it; one of the Amazons snuck up behind him and landed a blow to one of his ribs with her elbow, and a blinding pain blossomed in his chest and stomach -
Bang! His assailant took a shot straight to the head.
Sam owed Dodge a lifetime supply of Twizzlers when this was over.
Benny drew his machete. He didn't believe in luck, but even if he had, he didn't expect to find anyone unguarded. No diversion would be that big.
It took him a moment to recognize what he was hearing. Back in Purgatory, before they found Castiel, Dean and Benny took shifts sleeping. The vampire made it a point to whistle quietly so his companion knew he was awake; it was the only way Dean could fall asleep. He used the same tune each night. He wasn't sure of its name; it was just something he picked up at some vaudeville scene a long time ago. He whistled it because it sounded like galloping horses and bubbles rising to the surface.
That's what he was hearing. Someone down here was whistling that tune.
But Dean didn't sing or whistle. When he tried, it came out all jarred and jagged. So who the hell was whistling now?
Suddenly, his body was thrown into a nearby wall and pinned. He hated when he was right. One of the guards must've spotted him. Her eyes were laced-red and oddly attractive.
"Who are you?" the guard asked.
"Jus' visitin'," Benny commented mildly as he lashed out with his machete.
Her arm fell away. At least they dismembered like people. That's all Benny had time to consider before she threw a wicked left jab. Apparently loss of limb did not constitute backing down for these women.
Benny staggered to his knees and thrust his machete up into her chest. That stopped her cold.
Once her body dropped the vampire pounded the ground, headed toward the whistling.
Her luck ran out when she shifted to her sixth weapon. One really tall bitch slammed into her junker full throttle, actually jolting both her and the car.
Hands found her neck and started to pull her out through the window, but her little pea-shooter was still in hand. Pop! Pop! Pop! Three shots to the assailant's chest, and the Amazon went down.
"My position's been compromised," Dodge said over her phone. "I've gotta move."
She drove off in the busted car but didn't get far before two more Amazons followed suit.
"Shit, shit! Guys!"
Broken ribs and now a broken arm. Sam was on the ground, hearing nothing more but the sounds of Dodge's calls for help. His heart raced -
Heat and comfort surged through his body. That must be Cas healing him. A strong force lifted Sam back to his feet while simultaneously cutting another Amazon in half at the waist.
Invisi-Cas was unnerving on so many levels.
Forty Amazon down. Only hundreds more to go.
"You poor bastard," Benny said as he approached Dean.
"Benny?" Dean said weakly.
"Knew you couldn't whistle for shit," Benny replied fondly, indicating the other man with him.
"Dean described it to me," Kelvin added. "You here to help or hurt?"
"Rescuing damsels in distress is jus' what I do," Benny said as he smashed open the lock. "Come on out."
"Where?" Dean asked.
"Follow the sound of my voice."
"I can't see. You should come in and get us," Kelvin said.
"Righ', 'cept I'll be trapped there myself," Benny replied. "You both are sittin' quietly in a brightly lit cave? Not clawing at the walls or lock? On'y reason Dean Winchester does that is if he's doped to high heaven."
"What?" Dean asked dumbly.
"It's a spell, genius. Keepin' you in place. Now git your ass up and follow my voice."
The two hunters tumbled out of their enclosure and fell flat on their faces.
"Benny, I hate you," Dean huffed.
"Mmm, Kelvin by the way," the other hunter said. "Take it you're Benny?"
"That's right, now let's haul ass before anymore guards show up," Benny said, pulling them both to their feet. "I brought these for you, but since there are two damsels, you gotta share."
Benny proffered three knifes and two machetes.
"Thanks, Benny. I feel like I've been drunk for days," Dean said. "You look good."
"Holy hell, you must be screwed up. Follow me," the vampire said. "There're a few other people locked up in other cells, I'm guessin' you wanna git to them, huh?"
There was no way out. Too many Amazons now dotted the horizon. They staggered the first fifty warriors as some kind of softening process, breaking the fight out of them. There must be a hundred Amazons battle ready in formation, and Dodge -
Sam hadn't heard a thing from Dodge in two whole minutes, not even a gunshot. She was probably dead, and he had to assume that Benny wasn't coming back. It was over -
He took a knee to fire off his last rounds, landing clean shots to the hearts on one, two, three Amazons -
Oddly enough, they made it out of the den to the stacked bodies without incident. The dozen or so other captives scattered as soon as they caught wind of scorched flesh, and Dean was just too tired to stop them.
"Uh, poor bastards," Kelvin said as he blubbered out into the open. "This must've been the screaming we heard."
"Awesome."
"Com'on, we don't have time to chit-chat - "
Thwack! A mallet met with Benny's chest, throwing him back into the rocky part of the wall. But this wasn't a woman; no, this was a man. He was burly and stacked, maybe a soldier.
"Curious," the man said happily. "You're not what I was expecting, but it'll do."
"Who are you?" Kelvin asked.
"Just a guy," he replied before he went for Kelvin.
Dean stepped in with his machete, but his balance was way off and he missed. The guy brought the mallet down hard on Dean's knee, breaking it and throwing him to the ground.
Kelvin tried his hand by throwing a knife. He hit the guy in the arm but that didn't do much, and the other hunter took the mallet in the face, knocking him clean out.
Benny grappled with him, since Dean was down and Kelvin was out. It was all he could do to fend off the man's attack. Soon his machete and knives were strewn on the ground, his only weapon remaining was, well, himself.
This might not be a woman, but he fought like the Amazon. That was all Benny could figure with Dean howling at him.
It was his only recourse now; Benny zipped around the mallet and bit down into his neck, hard. Blood touched his lips, and he spat it out. Most of it anyway. The guy went down, so Benny let him go, unconscious but alive.
Then the vampire grabbed his phone, which finally had service again. "We need help!"
Sam stood his ground with invisi-Castiel somewhere in the vicinity. He guessed. Obviously, he couldn't be sure -
As if to answer the question he didn't ask, he felt pressure, like he was standing back-to-back with someone.
"Cas?"
"Dodge is safe for now, but we need to get out of here - "
Hacking and slashing oddly punctuated their conversation, as pairs of Amazons slammed into their space, forcing them to react.
"Can't you wing us - "
"I am a bit distracted," Cas said as he impaled two Amazons at once.
Walls upon walls of warriors were upon them. The formation Sam saw before him was clever and terrifying. If Dean were here, he'd say it was like watching 300 in 3D and bloody.
Something odd happened. Odder than invisible angels having his back - their formation faltered, as if their focus became re-engaged elsewhere. It took Sam a few seconds to piece together what was happening.
It was a freaking air strike.
A small formation of planes swooped down and blazed continuous fire, scattering and injuring the warriors.
"Need a hand, bitches?" came a familiar voice over the phone.
"Charlie?" Sam asked before the world around him suddenly changed.
The now-visible Castiel had teleported him to Dodge and the junker, which was barely functional after sustaining several Amazonian blows.
The majority of the warriors were thoroughly confused by Charlie's fighter pilots, and Sam made a mental note not to piss her off in the future.
Something pierced Sam's side and cracked more of his ribs, throwing him hard into the car.
"Sam!" Dodge yelled.
Bang! Pop! Her handgun shot one attacker, and Cas took down another.
Cas healed Sam for what felt like the twentieth time today and hauled his ass up.
"We gotta go!" Sam said. "I heard Benny a minute ago - "
"I'll distract them," Dodge said.
"With what?"
"Hope you weren't attached to this car or those guns, Sam," Dodge replied. "Cas, get us outta here on my mark."
Cas nodded, and Dodge took what looked like an improvisational hand grenade out of her survival bag and tossed it into the car -
"MARK!"
The angel took his human passengers away before the bomb exploded. The gas from the car added to the fireball.
"Holy crap!" Charlie's voice came through the phone. "Please tell me you guys did that on purpose."
"We did, mostly," Sam replied.
"Dean!" Cas choked out, seeing his hunter on the ground and writhing with pain.
Cas tapped on Kelvin's shoulder, healing him and restoring him to consciousness at the same time. He then moved immediately to Dean and knelt over him. He took a moment, taking Dean in, and Castiel's body lit up, his eyes glowed. For a moment, Sam could see his wings cast a shadow.
"Wow," Dodge mouthed taking Sam's hand.
"Cas," Dean said. "You're - uh - "
"I missed you," Cas said.
"Me too."
The angel took Dean's head in his hands and pressed their foreheads together, healing him completely.
"Ain't that sweet," Benny said. "Can we git the hell outta here now?"
"Benny, who's this?" Sam asked, indicating the vamp-bitten man.
"He beat the crap out of us," Dean said. "Benny was just defending himself, oh, and us too."
"He's not an Amazon," Cas said.
Before they could get much further in the conversation, a dark haired woman appeared, flanked by two Amazon soldiers.
"You will regret having crossed us," Madeline said to them.
Before anything else could happen, Castiel teleported them back to Sam's truck.
"Really?" Benny said. "You coulda dropped us in China."
"And leave substantial trail markers in so doing," the angel replied. "You remember where your truck is?"
"I parked it outside the Bowling Bar and Roller on First and Terrace - " Benny replied.
Cas touched his forehead and sent him back to his car before he could finish his sentence.
"Thanks, I guess," Benny said through his phone. "Signing off. Check in about an hour."
"I'll catch up with you," Cas said, taking the injured man. "Go."
Dodge took shotgun, and Sam took the wheel, leaving Dean and Kelvin under the cap of the truck.
"Hey, bitches?" Charlie's voice came through the phone. It made Sam jump; he had forgotten it was still connected.
"Charlie, we owe you," Sam said.
"Nah," Charlie replied. "Gave me an excuse to finally hack into some droids."
"I'm not hearing this conversation," Dodge said. "Understand?"
"Droids?" Sam asked. "You mean, un-manned planes?"
"Yeah, I can't fly a real fighter plane. Obviously," Charlie replied.
"Do I want to know how you hacked into some droids? Please tell me it was at least hard to do," Dodge said. "Even if it is a lie."
"Charlie's the best," Sam explained.
"Actually, uh, those Amazon bitches went after soldiers stationed nearby. One of the survivors wanted a little payback. So he might've helped me," Charlie said mildly.
"Again, totally didn't hear this conversation," Dodge said.
"You guys okay?" Charlie asked. "I mean, really okay?"
"Yeah, we are. We should've let you know once we cleared the state - " Sam said.
"Dude, bigger fish, right? Just fill me in when you get back. I gotta return the droids and ditch the hacking equipment, so give me like an hour."
"Thanks, Charlie."
Castiel appeared at a truck stop a few hours later, joining Kelvin and Dean in the truck bed under the cap.
"Can you zap me home?" Kelvin asked.
"I just need an address," Cas said.
"I wish I had an angel on my shoulder," Kelvin said quietly after giving them his address.
"I'm not on his shoulder," Cas pointed out before he touched his forehead and sent him back to Chicago.
"I missed you," Cas said to Dean. "I thought I lost you."
"You never did," Dean said sleepily. "Do I want to know what you did to that guy Benny bit?"
"I healed him, partially," the angel replied. "And dropped him at a hospital."
"What? Cas, that dude tried to kill us - "
"He mistook you for his enemy," Cas said. "His name was Sergeant Stewart Gregory. The other men the Amazons killed were stationed with him."
"How - what did you do?"
"I read his mind," Cas replied. "I needed to know."
"Thanks, Cas, for holding Sammy together for me," Dean said. "Looks like he and Dodge figured things out."
"Actually," the angel replied, "I believe you should thank Sam. He ensured my survival. I did not deal with your absence very well."
"Awww," Dean said, "You're just a big old softie, aren't ya?"
"Shut up."
<<< Previous Part:
Part Eight: Show of Force
Next Part: >>>
Part Ten: Lions in the Street
Primary Post: 10x00 Brothers of the Road
Author: dracox-serdriel
Artist: wifihunters
Acknowledgements: Thanks to my beta readers, septembers_coda and novakev
Status: Completed as part of sastiel-bigbang 2013
Dean strolled in from the kitchen, pie and burgers in hand. He put them on the table in the war room. Kevin, Sam, Cas, Dodge, and Charlie were all waiting for him to join them.
A second Castiel stepped into the room.
"Hello, Dean," he said quietly.
"Cas? There are two of you."
"This is a dream."
"Oh. It's nice."
"Listen carefully Dean."
"Okay."
"The Amazons have you. They plan to sacrifice you. We're coming to rescue both of you, but we need your help."
"I'm asleep, how can I help?"
"We've got Benny to track you. Amazons don't know about his special skills and talents, but there is much ground to cover, and - "
"You need me to help him out," Dean said sagely. "I can do that."
Cas took his hands and clasped them tightly. "We will bring you home soon. You understand?"
"I do. How's Sammy holding up?"
"He is highly annoying, but also right most of the time. It's aggravating."
"Sounds like him."
The room dimmed, and Dean couldn't feel Castiel's warmth anymore. "I think I'm waking up," he whispered to the angel.
"Wake up, Dean. It's okay."
Outside Imperial, Nebraska. Sam drove his Dodge Ram, with a tightlipped angel riding shotgun.
"Cas, I know this hasn't been easy for you," Sam started in. "But it hasn't been a cakewalk for me, either."
Cas remained silent.
"We both miss him, and it's important we stick it out together. No matter how annoying you find my presence," Sam continued.
"Your presence is not annoying," Cas said quietly. "It is comforting."
"Yeah? Because you've been acting otherwise."
"If something happened to Dean, I - you would be my only family," Cas said. "And it has occurred to me that, it could be worse. I mean... I could have a far worse brother than you."
"Thanks, I think."
"You can be frustrating, maddening even," Cas added. "Just like Dean."
Sam laughed.
Imperial, Nebraska. Benny called Sam as soon as he smelled it: blood and ash.
"I've found somethin'," he said.
"What?" Sam asked as casually as he could manage.
"Bodies," Benny said.
"Bodies? But the festival doesn't start till tomorrow!" Sam fumbled.
Benny could hear Castiel speaking, but the words weren't clear enough to make out. "What's yer angel friend goin' on 'bout Sam?" the vampire finally asked.
"Benny, can you see what... state the bodies are in?"
"No, not close enough yet. Why?"
"Apparently, on the eve of the festival, Amazons sacrifice in a kind of gladiatorial combat with mortal soldiers."
"Sounds unpleasan'," the vampire remarked. "What kind of state would the bodies be left in for these, uh, whatchu call it?"
"Gladiatorial sacrifices," Sam said. "They'd be mangled as hell, and then burned, according to Cas."
"But they haven't done it in centuries!" the angel said loudly enough for Benny to hear. "Why now?"
"Dunno, but these are definitely extra crispy bodies, I can smell it."
"Keep going, Benny. Find a place to stash your car and start on foot."
"Wha' abou' you three?" Benny asked.
"Dodge is looking for higher ground. Cas and I will split off and cause a diversion. Use the weird phone thing I gave you, a friend souped them up so you can contact everyone."
"Righ'," Benny said before he hung up. How did he know that none of the burned bodies here were Dean Winchester?
As he parked his car, he made up his mind to inspect all of them, just to be sure. Hell, maybe one of the bodies will give him a hint where they were holding their captives.
Madeline paced the length of the temporary living space she and her warriors acquired for their festivities. Harmonia had brought them word of a challenge, and they made the appropriate preparations and sacrifices. Two of the younger Amazons became injured in the Combat Games, but otherwise their ranks remained strong.
The goddess did not describe the challengers or provide their names, which made the elder Amazon nervous. Certainly one of their captives drew in these two individuals. All of them survived the Amazon initiation, and from her research, all of them were skilled warriors and likely surrounded themselves with the same.
Unfortunately, for the first time in all her life, not one but two of their captors were hunters, which meant that the people seeking to challenge her tribe knew who the Amazons really were. That's why they had taken precautions in their holding cells for everything from witches to angels to fairies, of all things.
"Ma'am," Laurel said as she entered.
"You have news?"
"The last of the dead have been burned, and we have visitors."
"Then let's not keep them waiting."
Benny had ditched plenty of tails in his life, but these two were like nothing else. They kept on him like jackrabbits fleeing from hawks, and he was ready to vamp-up to boost his speed. But he kept his cool and walked, ducking into shadows, because the only reason they were still following him was that they didn't know if he was a threat.
At least, that was the only reason he could figure.
Dodge didn't like the idea of establishing a vantage point in an old junker, but according to Sam, it was her best bet. She wished that this was a crazy serial killer cult; in that case, she could radio for local backup.
Unfortunately, an onslaught of dozens of Wonder Woman wannabes with superhuman speed, power, and swords wasn't something she could explain. Even if they were, she couldn't risk the lives of agents by sending them into a battle without all the information they needed to survive.
So here she was, watching her friends march off into a firestorm with nothing more than a jacked up cell phone for communication.
Dodge put on the scorched glasses, which felt odd on her face. Through their lenses, it was as if Castiel light up his general vicinity; she could spot him and Sam without even trying.
Something moved.
"You've got company," she said. "Your six and seven and your nine," she said into her phone.
She pulled up her binoculars. All three looked human enough. She couldn't just snipe them for being suspiciously beautiful, strong, and in the vicinity. So she waited.
Sam managed to teach Castiel the nature of direction by clock; otherwise, Dodge's calls would have meant nothing to the angel.
"I'll be the chum," Sam said.
"The what?"
"The chum. You know, the bait."
Castiel disappeared.
"Dodge, they're getting close," Sam warned through his phone. "What's up?"
"I can't tell if they're people or not," she said.
"Right, well, the skin around their eyes changes when they attack. And they have that symbol I showed you burned into their wrists."
He waited, and the woman on his six approached first, flanked by another. He guessed the woman at nine was supposed to surprise him while the first two kept him busy.
Sam had a gun and sword, just in case, but Dodge's point gave him pause. He couldn't see their wrists, and for all he knew, they were just women -
Then he saw their swords.
Bang! Bang! He hit the first one in the shoulder and neck, and the one flanking her suddenly became decapitated.
Cas didn't teleport. He went invisible. Just as the though occurred to Sam that Dodge could hit Castiel with friendly fire, he remembered the scorched glasses. That's why Cas gave them to her, so she could see him when he was invisible. His next thought was that the angel could've given him a heads up; he could've brought Dean's pair.
BANG! The shot rang out hugely, like a cannon. The third Amazon went down with a shot to the torso, and before Sam could reach her, a sickening thwack informed him that invisi-Cas had cut her head off for good measure.
"You got company," Dodge said.
"Where?"
"Everywhere, Sam. How long you planning on holding this up?"
"As long as it takes."
The two tailing the drifter vanished suddenly when he ducked into a restroom. Benny made a few more rounds in case they were just getting stealthier, but there wasn't any sign of them.
He had to find Dean. He'd already smelled his blood out in that field, but Cas mentioned Dean knew Benny was coming. That hunter would bleed himself, certainly, if it meant saving his life.
Had it not been for the Wonder Twins tailing him, he might've found him already. So Benny doubled back, almost at a run this time because from the sounds coming through his phone, the others were in a maelstrom of Amazonian warfare.
Dean would be pissed if they were all ripped to shreds. His "friend thing" would kick in.
Dodge discarded her concern over human attackers after she ran out of rounds for her first two guns. What worried her more was that the body count was getting high, over a dozen, and it would only be a matter of time before someone made her position and tried to stop the cover fire.
"Please tell me we're getting ready to leave," she said as she landed another hit to an Amazon's shoulder. Five shots in every eight managed to hit a target. That was something.
"Nada," came a reply. It sounded like Benny.
The vampire followed the smell of blood, and he found himself back near the burned bodies. He moved passed them, taking in the brutality of their deaths. Vampires might be monsters, but he'd never seen such violently abused bodies.
For Benny, that was saying something.
Ten men, all solidly built. They were tough sons of bitches when they were alive, no doubt about it. Benny pushed passed them, following the scent of fresh blood.
Was he moving in circles? It sure felt like it.
Damn it, he was. Benny took stock for a moment, breathing deeply. The pyres of bodies muddied the trail. He needed to focus on something other than smell.
So he closed his eyes and listened for something the burned stiffs wouldn't have - a heartbeat. There was more than one, but that's all he could figure, and it was -
Damn, of course. They were underground, beneath him. There must be a way down from here.
Pop! Slash! Scream -
The last two were closer than Sam would like. Even with invisi-Cas and sniper-Dodge, there seemed to be an endless supply of Amazons to push closer. How many were dead now? Twenty? Thirty? Sam couldn't keep up.
And he only had so many bullets. Sooner or later, he'd only have a machete and knife.
Crack! He heard it before he felt it; one of the Amazons snuck up behind him and landed a blow to one of his ribs with her elbow, and a blinding pain blossomed in his chest and stomach -
Bang! His assailant took a shot straight to the head.
Sam owed Dodge a lifetime supply of Twizzlers when this was over.
Benny drew his machete. He didn't believe in luck, but even if he had, he didn't expect to find anyone unguarded. No diversion would be that big.
It took him a moment to recognize what he was hearing. Back in Purgatory, before they found Castiel, Dean and Benny took shifts sleeping. The vampire made it a point to whistle quietly so his companion knew he was awake; it was the only way Dean could fall asleep. He used the same tune each night. He wasn't sure of its name; it was just something he picked up at some vaudeville scene a long time ago. He whistled it because it sounded like galloping horses and bubbles rising to the surface.
That's what he was hearing. Someone down here was whistling that tune.
But Dean didn't sing or whistle. When he tried, it came out all jarred and jagged. So who the hell was whistling now?
Suddenly, his body was thrown into a nearby wall and pinned. He hated when he was right. One of the guards must've spotted him. Her eyes were laced-red and oddly attractive.
"Who are you?" the guard asked.
"Jus' visitin'," Benny commented mildly as he lashed out with his machete.
Her arm fell away. At least they dismembered like people. That's all Benny had time to consider before she threw a wicked left jab. Apparently loss of limb did not constitute backing down for these women.
Benny staggered to his knees and thrust his machete up into her chest. That stopped her cold.
Once her body dropped the vampire pounded the ground, headed toward the whistling.
Her luck ran out when she shifted to her sixth weapon. One really tall bitch slammed into her junker full throttle, actually jolting both her and the car.
Hands found her neck and started to pull her out through the window, but her little pea-shooter was still in hand. Pop! Pop! Pop! Three shots to the assailant's chest, and the Amazon went down.
"My position's been compromised," Dodge said over her phone. "I've gotta move."
She drove off in the busted car but didn't get far before two more Amazons followed suit.
"Shit, shit! Guys!"
Broken ribs and now a broken arm. Sam was on the ground, hearing nothing more but the sounds of Dodge's calls for help. His heart raced -
Heat and comfort surged through his body. That must be Cas healing him. A strong force lifted Sam back to his feet while simultaneously cutting another Amazon in half at the waist.
Invisi-Cas was unnerving on so many levels.
Forty Amazon down. Only hundreds more to go.
"You poor bastard," Benny said as he approached Dean.
"Benny?" Dean said weakly.
"Knew you couldn't whistle for shit," Benny replied fondly, indicating the other man with him.
"Dean described it to me," Kelvin added. "You here to help or hurt?"
"Rescuing damsels in distress is jus' what I do," Benny said as he smashed open the lock. "Come on out."
"Where?" Dean asked.
"Follow the sound of my voice."
"I can't see. You should come in and get us," Kelvin said.
"Righ', 'cept I'll be trapped there myself," Benny replied. "You both are sittin' quietly in a brightly lit cave? Not clawing at the walls or lock? On'y reason Dean Winchester does that is if he's doped to high heaven."
"What?" Dean asked dumbly.
"It's a spell, genius. Keepin' you in place. Now git your ass up and follow my voice."
The two hunters tumbled out of their enclosure and fell flat on their faces.
"Benny, I hate you," Dean huffed.
"Mmm, Kelvin by the way," the other hunter said. "Take it you're Benny?"
"That's right, now let's haul ass before anymore guards show up," Benny said, pulling them both to their feet. "I brought these for you, but since there are two damsels, you gotta share."
Benny proffered three knifes and two machetes.
"Thanks, Benny. I feel like I've been drunk for days," Dean said. "You look good."
"Holy hell, you must be screwed up. Follow me," the vampire said. "There're a few other people locked up in other cells, I'm guessin' you wanna git to them, huh?"
There was no way out. Too many Amazons now dotted the horizon. They staggered the first fifty warriors as some kind of softening process, breaking the fight out of them. There must be a hundred Amazons battle ready in formation, and Dodge -
Sam hadn't heard a thing from Dodge in two whole minutes, not even a gunshot. She was probably dead, and he had to assume that Benny wasn't coming back. It was over -
He took a knee to fire off his last rounds, landing clean shots to the hearts on one, two, three Amazons -
Oddly enough, they made it out of the den to the stacked bodies without incident. The dozen or so other captives scattered as soon as they caught wind of scorched flesh, and Dean was just too tired to stop them.
"Uh, poor bastards," Kelvin said as he blubbered out into the open. "This must've been the screaming we heard."
"Awesome."
"Com'on, we don't have time to chit-chat - "
Thwack! A mallet met with Benny's chest, throwing him back into the rocky part of the wall. But this wasn't a woman; no, this was a man. He was burly and stacked, maybe a soldier.
"Curious," the man said happily. "You're not what I was expecting, but it'll do."
"Who are you?" Kelvin asked.
"Just a guy," he replied before he went for Kelvin.
Dean stepped in with his machete, but his balance was way off and he missed. The guy brought the mallet down hard on Dean's knee, breaking it and throwing him to the ground.
Kelvin tried his hand by throwing a knife. He hit the guy in the arm but that didn't do much, and the other hunter took the mallet in the face, knocking him clean out.
Benny grappled with him, since Dean was down and Kelvin was out. It was all he could do to fend off the man's attack. Soon his machete and knives were strewn on the ground, his only weapon remaining was, well, himself.
This might not be a woman, but he fought like the Amazon. That was all Benny could figure with Dean howling at him.
It was his only recourse now; Benny zipped around the mallet and bit down into his neck, hard. Blood touched his lips, and he spat it out. Most of it anyway. The guy went down, so Benny let him go, unconscious but alive.
Then the vampire grabbed his phone, which finally had service again. "We need help!"
Sam stood his ground with invisi-Castiel somewhere in the vicinity. He guessed. Obviously, he couldn't be sure -
As if to answer the question he didn't ask, he felt pressure, like he was standing back-to-back with someone.
"Cas?"
"Dodge is safe for now, but we need to get out of here - "
Hacking and slashing oddly punctuated their conversation, as pairs of Amazons slammed into their space, forcing them to react.
"Can't you wing us - "
"I am a bit distracted," Cas said as he impaled two Amazons at once.
Walls upon walls of warriors were upon them. The formation Sam saw before him was clever and terrifying. If Dean were here, he'd say it was like watching 300 in 3D and bloody.
Something odd happened. Odder than invisible angels having his back - their formation faltered, as if their focus became re-engaged elsewhere. It took Sam a few seconds to piece together what was happening.
It was a freaking air strike.
A small formation of planes swooped down and blazed continuous fire, scattering and injuring the warriors.
"Need a hand, bitches?" came a familiar voice over the phone.
"Charlie?" Sam asked before the world around him suddenly changed.
The now-visible Castiel had teleported him to Dodge and the junker, which was barely functional after sustaining several Amazonian blows.
The majority of the warriors were thoroughly confused by Charlie's fighter pilots, and Sam made a mental note not to piss her off in the future.
Something pierced Sam's side and cracked more of his ribs, throwing him hard into the car.
"Sam!" Dodge yelled.
Bang! Pop! Her handgun shot one attacker, and Cas took down another.
Cas healed Sam for what felt like the twentieth time today and hauled his ass up.
"We gotta go!" Sam said. "I heard Benny a minute ago - "
"I'll distract them," Dodge said.
"With what?"
"Hope you weren't attached to this car or those guns, Sam," Dodge replied. "Cas, get us outta here on my mark."
Cas nodded, and Dodge took what looked like an improvisational hand grenade out of her survival bag and tossed it into the car -
"MARK!"
The angel took his human passengers away before the bomb exploded. The gas from the car added to the fireball.
"Holy crap!" Charlie's voice came through the phone. "Please tell me you guys did that on purpose."
"We did, mostly," Sam replied.
"Dean!" Cas choked out, seeing his hunter on the ground and writhing with pain.
Cas tapped on Kelvin's shoulder, healing him and restoring him to consciousness at the same time. He then moved immediately to Dean and knelt over him. He took a moment, taking Dean in, and Castiel's body lit up, his eyes glowed. For a moment, Sam could see his wings cast a shadow.
"Wow," Dodge mouthed taking Sam's hand.
"Cas," Dean said. "You're - uh - "
"I missed you," Cas said.
"Me too."
The angel took Dean's head in his hands and pressed their foreheads together, healing him completely.
"Ain't that sweet," Benny said. "Can we git the hell outta here now?"
"Benny, who's this?" Sam asked, indicating the vamp-bitten man.
"He beat the crap out of us," Dean said. "Benny was just defending himself, oh, and us too."
"He's not an Amazon," Cas said.
Before they could get much further in the conversation, a dark haired woman appeared, flanked by two Amazon soldiers.
"You will regret having crossed us," Madeline said to them.
Before anything else could happen, Castiel teleported them back to Sam's truck.
"Really?" Benny said. "You coulda dropped us in China."
"And leave substantial trail markers in so doing," the angel replied. "You remember where your truck is?"
"I parked it outside the Bowling Bar and Roller on First and Terrace - " Benny replied.
Cas touched his forehead and sent him back to his car before he could finish his sentence.
"Thanks, I guess," Benny said through his phone. "Signing off. Check in about an hour."
"I'll catch up with you," Cas said, taking the injured man. "Go."
Dodge took shotgun, and Sam took the wheel, leaving Dean and Kelvin under the cap of the truck.
"Hey, bitches?" Charlie's voice came through the phone. It made Sam jump; he had forgotten it was still connected.
"Charlie, we owe you," Sam said.
"Nah," Charlie replied. "Gave me an excuse to finally hack into some droids."
"I'm not hearing this conversation," Dodge said. "Understand?"
"Droids?" Sam asked. "You mean, un-manned planes?"
"Yeah, I can't fly a real fighter plane. Obviously," Charlie replied.
"Do I want to know how you hacked into some droids? Please tell me it was at least hard to do," Dodge said. "Even if it is a lie."
"Charlie's the best," Sam explained.
"Actually, uh, those Amazon bitches went after soldiers stationed nearby. One of the survivors wanted a little payback. So he might've helped me," Charlie said mildly.
"Again, totally didn't hear this conversation," Dodge said.
"You guys okay?" Charlie asked. "I mean, really okay?"
"Yeah, we are. We should've let you know once we cleared the state - " Sam said.
"Dude, bigger fish, right? Just fill me in when you get back. I gotta return the droids and ditch the hacking equipment, so give me like an hour."
"Thanks, Charlie."
Castiel appeared at a truck stop a few hours later, joining Kelvin and Dean in the truck bed under the cap.
"Can you zap me home?" Kelvin asked.
"I just need an address," Cas said.
"I wish I had an angel on my shoulder," Kelvin said quietly after giving them his address.
"I'm not on his shoulder," Cas pointed out before he touched his forehead and sent him back to Chicago.
"I missed you," Cas said to Dean. "I thought I lost you."
"You never did," Dean said sleepily. "Do I want to know what you did to that guy Benny bit?"
"I healed him, partially," the angel replied. "And dropped him at a hospital."
"What? Cas, that dude tried to kill us - "
"He mistook you for his enemy," Cas said. "His name was Sergeant Stewart Gregory. The other men the Amazons killed were stationed with him."
"How - what did you do?"
"I read his mind," Cas replied. "I needed to know."
"Thanks, Cas, for holding Sammy together for me," Dean said. "Looks like he and Dodge figured things out."
"Actually," the angel replied, "I believe you should thank Sam. He ensured my survival. I did not deal with your absence very well."
"Awww," Dean said, "You're just a big old softie, aren't ya?"
"Shut up."
<<< Previous Part:
Part Eight: Show of Force
Next Part: >>>
Part Ten: Lions in the Street
Primary Post: 10x00 Brothers of the Road