Fic-Crossover-Supernatural:Aliens-Dean,Cas,Sam - (4/?)
Title: Supernatural: Aliens
Author: nicole9514
Chapter: 4/?
Rating: R
Genre: AU/horror/action/crossover - Dean/Castiel pre-slash or friendship depending on preference
Characters: Dean Winchester,Castiel, Sam Winchester, and OC's
Warnings: Violence,language, gore, scary imagery, blood, death
Disclaimer: Only written for fun. I own nothing but the errors and OC's.
A/N: Goes AU after episode 5 X 18 - Team free will fic, but with a heavy focus on Dean/Cas friendship/strong bond, so if you don't like their dynamic you probably won't enjoy this fic.
Special Thanks: To my beta skylar_matthews. To jedakin for reading this fic and encouraging/motivating me to keep writing it.
Summary:Takes place after the events of Season five's Point of No return - Dean, Cas, and Sam investigate a case different than anything they've ever seen before in Gunnison, Colorado.
Wordcount: 3,818 (total so far 37,000)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Dean had seen a lot of fucked up shit in his life, but this, this was just wrong. It was something straight out of hell, and he had first hand experience.
Dean pushed past the panicking cop, and the doctor who was shouting out something about a grand mal seizure, and helped hold the guy down. His features were contorted in pain, his skin flushed, his eyes wild. The man was bucking so hard against his restraints he’d actually gotten one arm loose and it was flailing around, searching for relief that probably wasn’t coming.
Judging by the movement under this dude’s skin, he was screwed, but that didn’t mean Dean wasn’t going to try and do something to help him.
Sam had run to the other side of the bed, grabbing the flailing arm, and pinning it to the mattress. Together they were succeeding in holding him fairly still.
Dean glanced at the physician, the man was trying to stay calm, but the guy wasn’t an idiot. He knew this wasn’t normal. No fucking seizure did this, but he had to give the man his props, he wasn’t completely losing it yet.
“We need to see what’s going inside of him now!”
The nurse nodded, and ran out, Dean guessed to get an ultrasound or something similar.
A cracking sound had Dean’s gaze shooting back downward. The skin rose up again, higher, and higher.
Dean’s stomach dropped to his knees, and bile churned, creeping up his throat and burning but he couldn’t look away. He was transfixed with the freak show happening right next to him. This was why people always gawked, or slowed down when there was a car wreck. You didn’t really want to see what was happening, but at the same time, you had to know.
The man let out a howl of agony that would haunt Dean, then blood flew from his mouth, and he made a stuttering sound, as his chest exploded outward. Blood splattering all over Dean’s face and arms. He couldn’t block out the sound of flesh being torn, and bones breaking; even the blaring of his heartbeat couldn’t drown it.
Dean blinked, struggling to see, Sam yelled at him to get back, then he felt a warm hand on his chest as he was pushed.
Dean stumbled, his vision blurry, he wiped the blood from his eyelids and let out a hiss.
Sam had backed up a few feet and was staring down, his expression part disgust, part terror, his face also painted with blood.
The man was lying on the bed, his arms limp at his sides, his head lolled back, mouth open, face still flooded with terror. His hands were twitching, blood pooled on the tile beneath the bed. His rib cage was visible, along with other internal organs - a masterpiece of what most people would classify as shit that makes you gag.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst part.
He’d seen death, blood, and plenty of evisceration. That was old news for someone in his line of work.
But the fucking, pale worm-like, creature, with a small mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and a long tail wrapped around itself sitting in what was left of the man’s chest - that was new.
Its head tilted towards Dean, it cried out, a warbling, high pitched death omen. Dean whipped his handgun out and started to aim. He felt more than saw Sam do the same.
Before Dean could do more than start to apply pressure on the trigger, the thing literally flew out of the bed, hitting the floor, and streaking out of the room, tail whipping side to side. It was gone in the space of a heartbeat.
Dean tore out of the room a second later, caught a glimpse of its cream colored body as it darted around a corner.
“Fast little fucker,” Dean muttered as he pumped his legs, tearing down the hall, his boots pounding on the ground, Sam’s echoed close behind. Dean heard a child crying and an elderly woman hollering something about rats in the hospital as he barreled down the corridor.
Dean followed the sounds of shrieks, and the pale trail of blood it had left in its wake - leftovers from the party it had had with that poor dude’s entrails.
Dean almost crashed into an orderly pushing a cart of food as he burst through a set of doors, catching sight of its tail again, he darted around the startled man, losing sight of it around another corner.
“Mother fucker,” Dean snarled, vaguely aware that his handprint was acting up again, he’d wrestle with that later when he wasn’t chasing an ugly ass creature that seemed to have the ability to move at faster than light speeds.
*****
As they walked through the front entrance of the hospital Cas felt a tug, a familiar one, that made him feel safe despite the situation.
Dean.
He and Sam must have arrived; time blurred together when you were in a life threatening situation, he hadn’t even realized how much had passed since this morning.
It seemed their bond that had been forged in the fires of hell was unaffected by his lack of grace. In fact it seemed the energy that entwined Dean’s soul with him seemed to have grown brighter, stronger. This both surprised and comforted Castiel. He at least retained something of his angelic life.
They boarded the elevator, and headed for the floor Cas had vanished from earlier today. He realized this was going to require some explaining when the staff confronted him. He couldn’t simply tell them he’d regained his memories and had decided to go for a hike - Cas swallowed knowing how weak of an excuse that would be - he could only hope Dean and Sam would help him come up with a semi-reasonable explanation.
They got off on their floor and Cas immediately knew something was wrong. His entire being felt edgy, the remains of his grace prickled and danced under his skin, warning him.
A noise from the right.
Cas turned, searching.
The sound resembled a dog with long toe nails running on tiled floor, but it was faster, too fast.
The thing skittered around a corner, too quick to focus on, but Cas saw enough to know it wasn’t the same creature that had attacked him in the woods. This was longer, thinner, and more snake-like, but the tail was very familiar.
His throat ached at the memory.
Robin was shouting something, she tried to push him back but Cas sidestepped, and held his ground while she tried to find a target, it veered to the left, darting into a vent that lined the floor, the sound of metal breaking and whining, then it was gone.
Ragged breathing filled the silence, while Cas stared in awe at the hole in the metal, it hadn’t even slowed the thing down. His guts felt like they were full of lead.
“Cas?”
Cas’s heart leapt, pushing his fear down while his gaze shot away from the destruction, and met a pair of very familiar, warm green eyes. Blood covered Dean’s face and arms, and there were pieces of debris that may have been skin peppering his hair. Despite his haggard appearance Dean’s face broke out in an almost manic grin, that made Cas feel warm inside, shoving back the tendrils of dread that had woven themselves into the tattered remains of his grace.
He felt his own mouth stretch into a wide smile. It felt strange, but good. He had never fully utilized his vessels facial muscles before in his way, it seemed even something as simple as smiling was more powerful as a human.
He noticed Sam, wearing the same gory costume, also looking pleased to see him. Cas started forward to greet them, when Robin roared, “Put your guns down now!”
Dean and Sam both started, and Cas noticed their handguns. He saw two hunters trying to help, but Robin saw two men, covered in blood, wielding weapons. His mouth turned to cotton; if she fired there would be nothing he could do but watch while his friends…his family, bled to death. If he lost them, Cas was overwhelmed with the knowledge that he would be lost as well.
They both laid their weapons on the ground, moving slowly. “Calm down,” Dean said, his voice level. “We’re on the same side.”
Robin didn’t appear convinced, Cas was about to speak up, when Sam beat him to it.
“Officer, I’m sorry.” Sam smiled in a way that Cas had noticed seemed to always put people at ease, he had a gift for it. “We should have shown you our identification first instead of waving our guns in your face.” Sam moved at a pace that would make a snail impatient, eventually pulling out a badge. “I’m Sam Grayson.”
Dean did the same. “Dean Wayne.”
Robin sighed, her expression surprised, as she lowered the barrel of her handgun. “What the hell’s the FBI doing here? I don’t remember calling you guys?”
“Later,” Dean grunted, while he and Sam retrieved their weapons. “You mind if before we play twenty questions, we make sure that things not about to eat someone’s face off?”
Robin pursed her lips, but nodded, aiming her weapon at the destroyed grate.
Cas watched while Sam angled his head, narrowed his eyes, and pulled out a tiny flashlight from his pocket, and shone the beam all over. He focused on keeping his breathing steady, and the feeling of Dean’s steadfast presence near him; it helped control the newfound roller coaster of emotions he kept almost getting overwhelmed by - he would adjust - he would not allow this to control him.
“Clear,” Sam said moments later.
“Fuckers probably long gone by now,” Dean murmured, he stood, and addressed Robin. “Sheriff, you know where this lets out?”
“I can find out.” She walked a few feet away and picked up her radio.
Cas tried to relax, but between the two foreign creatures, and Robin pulling her gun on Dean and Sam, his nerves were fraying at the edges. He felt hot, and nauseous. He really hated these human responses, they were very disconcerting.
Dean was at his side in moments squeezing his shoulder. “Hey,” Dean whispered, and Cas felt Dean’s protective instincts swirl around him, settling his queasy stomach. “You holding up okay?” He asked while rubbing the back of his neck - a gesture that Cas had come to recognize as unease - Dean did not like to get personal.
So it meant even more to the former angel that he was making the effort. Dean wasn’t just asking him about his reaction to the current crisis, but now wasn’t the time to discuss how he was handling his humanity.
“I’m alright,” Cas whispered back, grateful but also worried Dean might think his reaction was a sign of weakness, a sign he couldn’t handle this as a human. He stilled his mind, calmed his breathing, and met Dean’s worried gaze with his own calm one. It seemed to work, Dean grunted, slapped him on the back, and backed up a step.
Sam who had been hanging back, watching them moved forward. “Hey man.”
“Hello, Sam,” Cas replied, not understanding the amusement in Sam’s friendly eyes.
Cas wanted to ask them a million questions about what had happened, but Robin chose that moment to come rushing back over.
“More of my deputies are on the way.”
“Sounds good,” Sam replied.
“Were you able to find out where Gunnison’s very own leprechaun may have gone?” Dean pressed.
She wrinkled her nose, but blurted, “The basement.”
Dean and Sam both checked their weapons. “Which way?” Sam asked.
“We’ll take the elevator down.” She held up a set of keys, and jangled them. “Using these, they don’t want patients to be able to access it, so you have to insert this before it will allow you to select the basement.”
Dean and Sam exchanged pointed glances. “I think it might be best if you stay here Sheriff,” Sam hedged.
Dean raised a hand as she started to protest. “Look, people saw that thing running down the halls. We need to keep the rumor mill under control, keep the town from panicking, and these people know you. It’s going to go a lot better if their sheriff talks to them instead of us.”
She took a deep breath, met both of their stares, then finally nodded. “I’ll make sure all patients are confined to their rooms, and once my men get here I’ll have them patrol the halls, keep people calm and safe.”
“Thank you,” Sam said, reaching out and taking the keys from Robin’s hand.
“Alrighty then,” Dean smirked, picking something from his hair and tossing it on the ground. “Let’s go on a scavenger hunt.”
They started towards the elevator, when Robin touched Cas’s arm. “Where do you think you’re going?” Her words could have been taken as aggressive, but her tone was more curious.
“To the basement,” Cas said honestly.
“No yo-”
Dean spun, his tone harsh. “He’s with us.”
Robin opened her mouth, Dean raised a hand, his eyes flashing.
“Explanations later when things aren’t hitting the fan.” Dean growled, his impatience bleeding off of him.
“Fine,” she snapped, “But after you get back we are going to have that talk.”
“Sure thing,” Dean quipped, then marched forward, not even glancing back.
Sam’s eyes turned owlish, then he just shrugged apologetically, and followed.
Cas swallowed and avoided meeting the sheriff’s gaze. Guilt at keeping someone who had helped him so out of the loop, gnawing at him. Worry over how they would explain any of this nibbling at his psyche. All of that and creatures that he had no knowledge of crawling around killing people -this was going to be fun.
****
Dean boarded the elevator, annoyance building, the first twinges of a headache made themselves known behind his eyes. He watched the sheriff, Blalock, according to her name badge stare after them, her dark eyes tinged with something Dean couldn‘t quite place, but it didn‘t sit right with him.
Dean didn’t like working with non-hunters. They got you killed; got the people you cared about killed. There had been a few exceptions to that rule over the years, but it didn’t make him any less leery of trusting them. Unfortunately considering what she’d seen, and the body in the room that she would see, completely ditching her wasn’t going to be easy.
Plus it seemed she and Cas had been through something together - a gut feeling - he’d have to ask the angel about that. He knew his friend, he wasn’t okay, something had happened. Hell, Cas looked like he’d been rolling around in the dirt, and what was up with the change of clothes?
And why the hell hadn’t he stayed in his room?
That headache got worse.
Dean clenched his teeth and gripped his weapon more tightly. When things settled down, they were definitely going to have to catch up.
But, best of all, the vent’s primary exit point was the basement. Of course it was, that was the darkest, creepiest place in the building, so naturally it had to be there.
Sam used the key, and pushed the button with a giant red B written on it.
“They have acid for blood,” Cas said quietly, in a monotone voice.
Dean’s had jerked towards his friend as they started to descend.
“I was attacked by one in the woods, not the exact same, but similar. It bled acid when the sheriff shot it.” Cas titled his head to the side, his piercing blue eyes worried and glued to Dean‘s, while the rest of him was still. “You need to be careful,” he blinked.
“You’re serious.”
Cas blinked again. “I’m always serious.”
Dean couldn’t stop the chuckle that slipped out; he’d walked right into that one.
“Well that’s new.” This was five-kinds of screwed to hell. What kind of thing had acid flowing through its veins? What had they stumbled across in this town?
“More like fucked up.” Sam added, shaking his head. “Cas is right, be careful.”
Dean raised his arms slightly, “Why are you both looking at me?”
“Because you tend to be reckless at times,” Cas stated, his eyes boring into Dean.
“He has a point,” Sam added.
“Shut up you assholes,” Dean spat, turning his back to them, and facing the door, wondering why the hell this elevator moved so damn slow. “Besides, I’m not the one who went running into the woods alone on some idiotic quest and almost got myself killed,” Dean growled, knowing this was not the time for this, but not able to stop himself.
He heard Cas inhale quietly and he knew he was being a dick.
Sam gave him a look. One that meant ‘leave him alone; you would have done the same thing.’
Sam was right, but that didn’t make him any less pissed off - Cas wasn’t used to being human, he didn’t know how to take care of himself without his grace. It had been stupid.
But if he hadn’t you wouldn’t know about the other type of creature in the woods, or that they bleed acid. That knowledge might have just saved you or Sam’s life.
Dean told his subconscious to shut the fuck up and mind its own business. None of that would have mattered if something had happened to Cas. It wasn’t like he had many people left to lose - he would do anything to keep those he had left.
“I was only trying to help,” Cas said quietly, his voice laced with sadness, but also determined. He felt Cas step closer to him, Dean turned, as the elevator stopped, jostling them. The former angel was inches from him, so close Dean felt his breath on his chin.
Cas‘s eyes were dark and dangerous, his voice dropped, got rougher. “I am not a child, Dean. I have been fighting battles for centuries. Remember that.”
Dean swallowed, refusing to be the first to look away. Cas could be scary as hell when he was rocking the “smite you where you stand” personae.
The door opened.
Sam cleared his throat. “Can you two finish this later? Monster on the loose remember.”
They both dropped their eyes, and Cas backed up out of Dean’s personal space, leaving the hunter feeling unsettled. Dean promptly told Sam where to shove it, then took point.
He stepped out into the large basement - they were in the main room. It was long, rectangular shaped, with a cement floor. It held a large heater, and Dean could see pipes along the ceilings. He could hear water rushing through them, and other creepy sounds that went along with the territory. His eyes were immediately drawn to several blind spots where something could easily hide underneath or above.
There were also two doors along the walls, one on each side, they’d have to search those as well. Thing could be anywhere.
Dean took two steps forward, motioning for Sam and Cas to flank him.
“I need a weapon,” Cas said quietly and the words hit Dean like a bullet to the heart, chasing away most of his anger, leaving him feeling cold.
It was his job to keep his family safe, and he had been about to let Cas walk into a dangerous situation unarmed.
You fucking moron.
His head was starting to throb.
They fell back into the relative safety of the elevator before Dean reached into his boot and pulled out a smaller gun, he kept it in case of emergencies. Not to mention it was simple to use, point and shoot, nothing fancy to trip Cas up. Later, Dean would teach him how to use his personal favorite - the sawed off shotgun.
Dean checked the weapon, disabled the safety, and handed the weapon to Cas, his eyes asking if he felt comfortable using it.
Cas took it, nodding his thanks, his own anger seemed to have vanished as well. He gripped the gun, surprising Dean by holding it properly, all that time he’d been spending with them, something must have rubbed off.
Cas had his finger lightly over the trigger, he showed Dean, raising eyebrow, silently asking if he was doing this right.
Dean grinned, gave him a quick thumbs up. “Just don’t shoot me or Sam in the ass and we’ll be good,” he whispered.
Cas narrowed his eyes, but Dean detected a glint of humor in those normally serious blue orbs.
Dean turned towards his brother, using hand signals he communicated to Sam to cover their rear, and they started their search.
*******
Sam kept his breathing steady, his knees slightly bent, and his ears open as he covered Dean who was shining his flashlight underneath the large heater, there was about a six inch gap in between it and the ground, plenty of space for that thing to hide underneath.
A fluorescent light hanging above them kept flickering, it was really starting to get on his nerves.
Cas was standing next to Sam, his face calm, but his shoulders tight.
Sam wiped at a bead of sweat that was threatening to drip into his eye. “Anything?” he kept his voice low.
“Yep.”
Sam tensed, he felt Cas shift next to him.
“About thirty nasty ass spiders, and more cobwebs than I can count.” Dean stood up, picking at flecks of dried blood on his cheek. “Damn, I need a shower.”
“You’re going to have to fight me for it.”
Dean snorted. “That wouldn’t be much of challenge.”
Sam shoved past him, resisting the urge to fire something back. “I’ll take point.”
Dean didn’t argue, and took over their rear.
Sam noticed the way Dean kept sneaking glances at the fallen angel whenever he thought no one was looking. The Dean Winchester brand of love was freaking annoying, but Cas could hold his own. Sam had been impressed in the elevator. Once things calmed down they all needed to talk, Cas needed to bring them up to speed on exactly what had occurred in the woods and they needed to fill him in on the chest bursting creature, together they might be able to make some kind of sense out of all of this.
First things first. Don’t get killed down here.
Sam scanned the pipes overhead, using his light.
He noticed a tall, brown box lying on the floor, he moved to check behind it.
A soft noise from his left.
Sam spun, seeing nothing.
Scraping.
It had come from above.
Sam raised his weapon, realizing if it jumped him and he fired, the acid would kill him.
Shit.
A flash of white teeth, and something leapt at him from the pipes.
Next Chapter
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Author: nicole9514
Chapter: 4/?
Rating: R
Genre: AU/horror/action/crossover - Dean/Castiel pre-slash or friendship depending on preference
Characters: Dean Winchester,Castiel, Sam Winchester, and OC's
Warnings: Violence,language, gore, scary imagery, blood, death
Disclaimer: Only written for fun. I own nothing but the errors and OC's.
A/N: Goes AU after episode 5 X 18 - Team free will fic, but with a heavy focus on Dean/Cas friendship/strong bond, so if you don't like their dynamic you probably won't enjoy this fic.
Special Thanks: To my beta skylar_matthews. To jedakin for reading this fic and encouraging/motivating me to keep writing it.
Summary:Takes place after the events of Season five's Point of No return - Dean, Cas, and Sam investigate a case different than anything they've ever seen before in Gunnison, Colorado.
Wordcount: 3,818 (total so far 37,000)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3
Dean had seen a lot of fucked up shit in his life, but this, this was just wrong. It was something straight out of hell, and he had first hand experience.
Dean pushed past the panicking cop, and the doctor who was shouting out something about a grand mal seizure, and helped hold the guy down. His features were contorted in pain, his skin flushed, his eyes wild. The man was bucking so hard against his restraints he’d actually gotten one arm loose and it was flailing around, searching for relief that probably wasn’t coming.
Judging by the movement under this dude’s skin, he was screwed, but that didn’t mean Dean wasn’t going to try and do something to help him.
Sam had run to the other side of the bed, grabbing the flailing arm, and pinning it to the mattress. Together they were succeeding in holding him fairly still.
Dean glanced at the physician, the man was trying to stay calm, but the guy wasn’t an idiot. He knew this wasn’t normal. No fucking seizure did this, but he had to give the man his props, he wasn’t completely losing it yet.
“We need to see what’s going inside of him now!”
The nurse nodded, and ran out, Dean guessed to get an ultrasound or something similar.
A cracking sound had Dean’s gaze shooting back downward. The skin rose up again, higher, and higher.
Dean’s stomach dropped to his knees, and bile churned, creeping up his throat and burning but he couldn’t look away. He was transfixed with the freak show happening right next to him. This was why people always gawked, or slowed down when there was a car wreck. You didn’t really want to see what was happening, but at the same time, you had to know.
The man let out a howl of agony that would haunt Dean, then blood flew from his mouth, and he made a stuttering sound, as his chest exploded outward. Blood splattering all over Dean’s face and arms. He couldn’t block out the sound of flesh being torn, and bones breaking; even the blaring of his heartbeat couldn’t drown it.
Dean blinked, struggling to see, Sam yelled at him to get back, then he felt a warm hand on his chest as he was pushed.
Dean stumbled, his vision blurry, he wiped the blood from his eyelids and let out a hiss.
Sam had backed up a few feet and was staring down, his expression part disgust, part terror, his face also painted with blood.
The man was lying on the bed, his arms limp at his sides, his head lolled back, mouth open, face still flooded with terror. His hands were twitching, blood pooled on the tile beneath the bed. His rib cage was visible, along with other internal organs - a masterpiece of what most people would classify as shit that makes you gag.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst part.
He’d seen death, blood, and plenty of evisceration. That was old news for someone in his line of work.
But the fucking, pale worm-like, creature, with a small mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and a long tail wrapped around itself sitting in what was left of the man’s chest - that was new.
Its head tilted towards Dean, it cried out, a warbling, high pitched death omen. Dean whipped his handgun out and started to aim. He felt more than saw Sam do the same.
Before Dean could do more than start to apply pressure on the trigger, the thing literally flew out of the bed, hitting the floor, and streaking out of the room, tail whipping side to side. It was gone in the space of a heartbeat.
Dean tore out of the room a second later, caught a glimpse of its cream colored body as it darted around a corner.
“Fast little fucker,” Dean muttered as he pumped his legs, tearing down the hall, his boots pounding on the ground, Sam’s echoed close behind. Dean heard a child crying and an elderly woman hollering something about rats in the hospital as he barreled down the corridor.
Dean followed the sounds of shrieks, and the pale trail of blood it had left in its wake - leftovers from the party it had had with that poor dude’s entrails.
Dean almost crashed into an orderly pushing a cart of food as he burst through a set of doors, catching sight of its tail again, he darted around the startled man, losing sight of it around another corner.
“Mother fucker,” Dean snarled, vaguely aware that his handprint was acting up again, he’d wrestle with that later when he wasn’t chasing an ugly ass creature that seemed to have the ability to move at faster than light speeds.
*****
As they walked through the front entrance of the hospital Cas felt a tug, a familiar one, that made him feel safe despite the situation.
Dean.
He and Sam must have arrived; time blurred together when you were in a life threatening situation, he hadn’t even realized how much had passed since this morning.
It seemed their bond that had been forged in the fires of hell was unaffected by his lack of grace. In fact it seemed the energy that entwined Dean’s soul with him seemed to have grown brighter, stronger. This both surprised and comforted Castiel. He at least retained something of his angelic life.
They boarded the elevator, and headed for the floor Cas had vanished from earlier today. He realized this was going to require some explaining when the staff confronted him. He couldn’t simply tell them he’d regained his memories and had decided to go for a hike - Cas swallowed knowing how weak of an excuse that would be - he could only hope Dean and Sam would help him come up with a semi-reasonable explanation.
They got off on their floor and Cas immediately knew something was wrong. His entire being felt edgy, the remains of his grace prickled and danced under his skin, warning him.
A noise from the right.
Cas turned, searching.
The sound resembled a dog with long toe nails running on tiled floor, but it was faster, too fast.
The thing skittered around a corner, too quick to focus on, but Cas saw enough to know it wasn’t the same creature that had attacked him in the woods. This was longer, thinner, and more snake-like, but the tail was very familiar.
His throat ached at the memory.
Robin was shouting something, she tried to push him back but Cas sidestepped, and held his ground while she tried to find a target, it veered to the left, darting into a vent that lined the floor, the sound of metal breaking and whining, then it was gone.
Ragged breathing filled the silence, while Cas stared in awe at the hole in the metal, it hadn’t even slowed the thing down. His guts felt like they were full of lead.
“Cas?”
Cas’s heart leapt, pushing his fear down while his gaze shot away from the destruction, and met a pair of very familiar, warm green eyes. Blood covered Dean’s face and arms, and there were pieces of debris that may have been skin peppering his hair. Despite his haggard appearance Dean’s face broke out in an almost manic grin, that made Cas feel warm inside, shoving back the tendrils of dread that had woven themselves into the tattered remains of his grace.
He felt his own mouth stretch into a wide smile. It felt strange, but good. He had never fully utilized his vessels facial muscles before in his way, it seemed even something as simple as smiling was more powerful as a human.
He noticed Sam, wearing the same gory costume, also looking pleased to see him. Cas started forward to greet them, when Robin roared, “Put your guns down now!”
Dean and Sam both started, and Cas noticed their handguns. He saw two hunters trying to help, but Robin saw two men, covered in blood, wielding weapons. His mouth turned to cotton; if she fired there would be nothing he could do but watch while his friends…his family, bled to death. If he lost them, Cas was overwhelmed with the knowledge that he would be lost as well.
They both laid their weapons on the ground, moving slowly. “Calm down,” Dean said, his voice level. “We’re on the same side.”
Robin didn’t appear convinced, Cas was about to speak up, when Sam beat him to it.
“Officer, I’m sorry.” Sam smiled in a way that Cas had noticed seemed to always put people at ease, he had a gift for it. “We should have shown you our identification first instead of waving our guns in your face.” Sam moved at a pace that would make a snail impatient, eventually pulling out a badge. “I’m Sam Grayson.”
Dean did the same. “Dean Wayne.”
Robin sighed, her expression surprised, as she lowered the barrel of her handgun. “What the hell’s the FBI doing here? I don’t remember calling you guys?”
“Later,” Dean grunted, while he and Sam retrieved their weapons. “You mind if before we play twenty questions, we make sure that things not about to eat someone’s face off?”
Robin pursed her lips, but nodded, aiming her weapon at the destroyed grate.
Cas watched while Sam angled his head, narrowed his eyes, and pulled out a tiny flashlight from his pocket, and shone the beam all over. He focused on keeping his breathing steady, and the feeling of Dean’s steadfast presence near him; it helped control the newfound roller coaster of emotions he kept almost getting overwhelmed by - he would adjust - he would not allow this to control him.
“Clear,” Sam said moments later.
“Fuckers probably long gone by now,” Dean murmured, he stood, and addressed Robin. “Sheriff, you know where this lets out?”
“I can find out.” She walked a few feet away and picked up her radio.
Cas tried to relax, but between the two foreign creatures, and Robin pulling her gun on Dean and Sam, his nerves were fraying at the edges. He felt hot, and nauseous. He really hated these human responses, they were very disconcerting.
Dean was at his side in moments squeezing his shoulder. “Hey,” Dean whispered, and Cas felt Dean’s protective instincts swirl around him, settling his queasy stomach. “You holding up okay?” He asked while rubbing the back of his neck - a gesture that Cas had come to recognize as unease - Dean did not like to get personal.
So it meant even more to the former angel that he was making the effort. Dean wasn’t just asking him about his reaction to the current crisis, but now wasn’t the time to discuss how he was handling his humanity.
“I’m alright,” Cas whispered back, grateful but also worried Dean might think his reaction was a sign of weakness, a sign he couldn’t handle this as a human. He stilled his mind, calmed his breathing, and met Dean’s worried gaze with his own calm one. It seemed to work, Dean grunted, slapped him on the back, and backed up a step.
Sam who had been hanging back, watching them moved forward. “Hey man.”
“Hello, Sam,” Cas replied, not understanding the amusement in Sam’s friendly eyes.
Cas wanted to ask them a million questions about what had happened, but Robin chose that moment to come rushing back over.
“More of my deputies are on the way.”
“Sounds good,” Sam replied.
“Were you able to find out where Gunnison’s very own leprechaun may have gone?” Dean pressed.
She wrinkled her nose, but blurted, “The basement.”
Dean and Sam both checked their weapons. “Which way?” Sam asked.
“We’ll take the elevator down.” She held up a set of keys, and jangled them. “Using these, they don’t want patients to be able to access it, so you have to insert this before it will allow you to select the basement.”
Dean and Sam exchanged pointed glances. “I think it might be best if you stay here Sheriff,” Sam hedged.
Dean raised a hand as she started to protest. “Look, people saw that thing running down the halls. We need to keep the rumor mill under control, keep the town from panicking, and these people know you. It’s going to go a lot better if their sheriff talks to them instead of us.”
She took a deep breath, met both of their stares, then finally nodded. “I’ll make sure all patients are confined to their rooms, and once my men get here I’ll have them patrol the halls, keep people calm and safe.”
“Thank you,” Sam said, reaching out and taking the keys from Robin’s hand.
“Alrighty then,” Dean smirked, picking something from his hair and tossing it on the ground. “Let’s go on a scavenger hunt.”
They started towards the elevator, when Robin touched Cas’s arm. “Where do you think you’re going?” Her words could have been taken as aggressive, but her tone was more curious.
“To the basement,” Cas said honestly.
“No yo-”
Dean spun, his tone harsh. “He’s with us.”
Robin opened her mouth, Dean raised a hand, his eyes flashing.
“Explanations later when things aren’t hitting the fan.” Dean growled, his impatience bleeding off of him.
“Fine,” she snapped, “But after you get back we are going to have that talk.”
“Sure thing,” Dean quipped, then marched forward, not even glancing back.
Sam’s eyes turned owlish, then he just shrugged apologetically, and followed.
Cas swallowed and avoided meeting the sheriff’s gaze. Guilt at keeping someone who had helped him so out of the loop, gnawing at him. Worry over how they would explain any of this nibbling at his psyche. All of that and creatures that he had no knowledge of crawling around killing people -this was going to be fun.
****
Dean boarded the elevator, annoyance building, the first twinges of a headache made themselves known behind his eyes. He watched the sheriff, Blalock, according to her name badge stare after them, her dark eyes tinged with something Dean couldn‘t quite place, but it didn‘t sit right with him.
Dean didn’t like working with non-hunters. They got you killed; got the people you cared about killed. There had been a few exceptions to that rule over the years, but it didn’t make him any less leery of trusting them. Unfortunately considering what she’d seen, and the body in the room that she would see, completely ditching her wasn’t going to be easy.
Plus it seemed she and Cas had been through something together - a gut feeling - he’d have to ask the angel about that. He knew his friend, he wasn’t okay, something had happened. Hell, Cas looked like he’d been rolling around in the dirt, and what was up with the change of clothes?
And why the hell hadn’t he stayed in his room?
That headache got worse.
Dean clenched his teeth and gripped his weapon more tightly. When things settled down, they were definitely going to have to catch up.
But, best of all, the vent’s primary exit point was the basement. Of course it was, that was the darkest, creepiest place in the building, so naturally it had to be there.
Sam used the key, and pushed the button with a giant red B written on it.
“They have acid for blood,” Cas said quietly, in a monotone voice.
Dean’s had jerked towards his friend as they started to descend.
“I was attacked by one in the woods, not the exact same, but similar. It bled acid when the sheriff shot it.” Cas titled his head to the side, his piercing blue eyes worried and glued to Dean‘s, while the rest of him was still. “You need to be careful,” he blinked.
“You’re serious.”
Cas blinked again. “I’m always serious.”
Dean couldn’t stop the chuckle that slipped out; he’d walked right into that one.
“Well that’s new.” This was five-kinds of screwed to hell. What kind of thing had acid flowing through its veins? What had they stumbled across in this town?
“More like fucked up.” Sam added, shaking his head. “Cas is right, be careful.”
Dean raised his arms slightly, “Why are you both looking at me?”
“Because you tend to be reckless at times,” Cas stated, his eyes boring into Dean.
“He has a point,” Sam added.
“Shut up you assholes,” Dean spat, turning his back to them, and facing the door, wondering why the hell this elevator moved so damn slow. “Besides, I’m not the one who went running into the woods alone on some idiotic quest and almost got myself killed,” Dean growled, knowing this was not the time for this, but not able to stop himself.
He heard Cas inhale quietly and he knew he was being a dick.
Sam gave him a look. One that meant ‘leave him alone; you would have done the same thing.’
Sam was right, but that didn’t make him any less pissed off - Cas wasn’t used to being human, he didn’t know how to take care of himself without his grace. It had been stupid.
But if he hadn’t you wouldn’t know about the other type of creature in the woods, or that they bleed acid. That knowledge might have just saved you or Sam’s life.
Dean told his subconscious to shut the fuck up and mind its own business. None of that would have mattered if something had happened to Cas. It wasn’t like he had many people left to lose - he would do anything to keep those he had left.
“I was only trying to help,” Cas said quietly, his voice laced with sadness, but also determined. He felt Cas step closer to him, Dean turned, as the elevator stopped, jostling them. The former angel was inches from him, so close Dean felt his breath on his chin.
Cas‘s eyes were dark and dangerous, his voice dropped, got rougher. “I am not a child, Dean. I have been fighting battles for centuries. Remember that.”
Dean swallowed, refusing to be the first to look away. Cas could be scary as hell when he was rocking the “smite you where you stand” personae.
The door opened.
Sam cleared his throat. “Can you two finish this later? Monster on the loose remember.”
They both dropped their eyes, and Cas backed up out of Dean’s personal space, leaving the hunter feeling unsettled. Dean promptly told Sam where to shove it, then took point.
He stepped out into the large basement - they were in the main room. It was long, rectangular shaped, with a cement floor. It held a large heater, and Dean could see pipes along the ceilings. He could hear water rushing through them, and other creepy sounds that went along with the territory. His eyes were immediately drawn to several blind spots where something could easily hide underneath or above.
There were also two doors along the walls, one on each side, they’d have to search those as well. Thing could be anywhere.
Dean took two steps forward, motioning for Sam and Cas to flank him.
“I need a weapon,” Cas said quietly and the words hit Dean like a bullet to the heart, chasing away most of his anger, leaving him feeling cold.
It was his job to keep his family safe, and he had been about to let Cas walk into a dangerous situation unarmed.
You fucking moron.
His head was starting to throb.
They fell back into the relative safety of the elevator before Dean reached into his boot and pulled out a smaller gun, he kept it in case of emergencies. Not to mention it was simple to use, point and shoot, nothing fancy to trip Cas up. Later, Dean would teach him how to use his personal favorite - the sawed off shotgun.
Dean checked the weapon, disabled the safety, and handed the weapon to Cas, his eyes asking if he felt comfortable using it.
Cas took it, nodding his thanks, his own anger seemed to have vanished as well. He gripped the gun, surprising Dean by holding it properly, all that time he’d been spending with them, something must have rubbed off.
Cas had his finger lightly over the trigger, he showed Dean, raising eyebrow, silently asking if he was doing this right.
Dean grinned, gave him a quick thumbs up. “Just don’t shoot me or Sam in the ass and we’ll be good,” he whispered.
Cas narrowed his eyes, but Dean detected a glint of humor in those normally serious blue orbs.
Dean turned towards his brother, using hand signals he communicated to Sam to cover their rear, and they started their search.
*******
Sam kept his breathing steady, his knees slightly bent, and his ears open as he covered Dean who was shining his flashlight underneath the large heater, there was about a six inch gap in between it and the ground, plenty of space for that thing to hide underneath.
A fluorescent light hanging above them kept flickering, it was really starting to get on his nerves.
Cas was standing next to Sam, his face calm, but his shoulders tight.
Sam wiped at a bead of sweat that was threatening to drip into his eye. “Anything?” he kept his voice low.
“Yep.”
Sam tensed, he felt Cas shift next to him.
“About thirty nasty ass spiders, and more cobwebs than I can count.” Dean stood up, picking at flecks of dried blood on his cheek. “Damn, I need a shower.”
“You’re going to have to fight me for it.”
Dean snorted. “That wouldn’t be much of challenge.”
Sam shoved past him, resisting the urge to fire something back. “I’ll take point.”
Dean didn’t argue, and took over their rear.
Sam noticed the way Dean kept sneaking glances at the fallen angel whenever he thought no one was looking. The Dean Winchester brand of love was freaking annoying, but Cas could hold his own. Sam had been impressed in the elevator. Once things calmed down they all needed to talk, Cas needed to bring them up to speed on exactly what had occurred in the woods and they needed to fill him in on the chest bursting creature, together they might be able to make some kind of sense out of all of this.
First things first. Don’t get killed down here.
Sam scanned the pipes overhead, using his light.
He noticed a tall, brown box lying on the floor, he moved to check behind it.
A soft noise from his left.
Sam spun, seeing nothing.
Scraping.
It had come from above.
Sam raised his weapon, realizing if it jumped him and he fired, the acid would kill him.
Shit.
A flash of white teeth, and something leapt at him from the pipes.
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