{spn/dollhouse} promises were never made to be kept 3/5
Title: Promises Were Never Made to be Kept 3/5
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: Supernatural/Dollhouse
Pairing/Characters: Dean Winchester, Echo, Alpha, Adelle DeWitt, Boyd Langton, Castiel, Bobby Singer, Crowley, Samuel Campbell
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke and company, while Dollhouse belongs to Joss Whedon and company. The title comes from "Emotional Rescue" by The Rolling Stones.
Notes: The story changes POV quite a bit and at times, some characters are dealing with the same events at the same time. Written for the 2012 sncross_bigbang.
Summary: Set at the end of Supernatural Season Five, Dean becomes an active and embroiled in the plots at the LA Dollhouse while Castiel and Crowley search for purgatory.
Word Count: 2535/16207
In the four months since he first came to the house under unusual circumstances, Romeo has become as popular an active as Echo is. Dr. Saunders argues that neither Romeo nor Echo are being provided with enough downtime in between engagements and that it's only a matter of time before they break. She argues that it won't be near the level of Alpha's composite event but a melt down is just on the horizon. This causes Topher to very loudly and stridently argue that his wipes are spotless and that any of the actives, Romeo and Echo included, could go on an engagement immediately after the last with no downtown required other than the time it would take to prepare them for the next engagement. During the weekly meetings, Ivy keeps quiet about her findings, instead she reports the anomalies that she finds with both Romeo and Echo (and to a lesser extent the other dolls) to a shadowy source while keeping silent to her superiors. Adelle drinks, unable to get over the recent blows to the house while Boyd tries to keep all of the balls that he's now juggling up a loft in the air. Losing Dominic has hit them all hard, especially Boyd and Adelle, and Boyd doesn't have the time to effectively quash Harding. All the while Romeo keeps turning to Echo.
They meet secretly and quietly, a moment here and there, and at night in their pods. His dreams are confusing and Echo has no answers for him. He ensures that his drawings are simple and nothing to draw attention to himself. There was one drawing that he had made that had led to a treatment, one that had hurt, one that he knows he shouldn't remember. Alpha would tell him that it was his superiority bleeding through but in reality the wall that was built around Dean Winchester is slowly crumbling under the weight of the constant wipes and imprints but there's no one there that can tell Romeo that this is what is happening. Echo just coaches him on how to act like nothing has changed, that he's nothing more than a blank little doll who smiles plastic and empty smiles.
* * *
Samuel Campbell watches his youngest grandson and wonders if Sam Winchester has always been this cold and ruthless. The boy is quickly becoming a liability to his mission yet he has strict orders to keep Sam occupied and to keep Sam on the team no matter the liability he is to the mission. Samuel's tempted to bring up the idea of reuniting Sam with Dean but Sam doesn't seem to care about past familial bonds anymore or the fact that his brother is MIA. In fact it's almost as if Sam's life started the moment they both awoke in a field with a light rain pelting down on them. Sam had recognized him and Samuel had been told about his grandson when he had made his deal.
There had been nothing of his daughter in Sam Winchester in either appearance or attitude. Samuel had managed to ferret out enough information to know that something drastic had changed in his grandson. Something fundamental that makes the older man wonder about exactly what had happened in Lucifer's cage. Sam is short on the details and Samuel has no time to figure out the truth. Nor real desire to do so. All that matters is doing his job and then being reunited with his daughter.
However he does have enough time to figure out the mystery surrounding his eldest grandson. From what he's heard from Sam's sources, Dean Winchester is more like his mother than Sam is. He can't imagine Dean willingly abandoning Sam to his fate. His eldest grandson has a reputation as a hunter, most of the stories that he hears tend to feature Dean as the primary hunter with Sam added on as an afterthought. Samuel's careful not to draw Crowley's attention to his extracurricular activities. He feels that he owes it to Mary to ensure that both of her boys are at least alive and healthy. As he slowly gathers more Intel about Dean Winchester, both from Sam and other hunters, Samuel Campbell comes to the conclusion that a hunter of Dean's caliber doesn't just up and retire, regardless of sentimental promises made. No a hunter like Dean retires in one of two ways: either death or a severe injury.
Still he goes through the motions, he sends Sam on a hunt with his cousins and then Samuel tracks down Lisa Braeden. He finds her living alone with her son. When he approaches her as an FBI agent, she tells him that it's been over a year since she seen Dean. There's a sadness in her voice that can't be faked. He thanks her for her time and he tries to figure out which of Sam's contacts he can tap without it getting back to Sam. The need to know what happened to Dean Winchester is stronger than Samuel cares to admit.
* * *
It's Echo's scream that has Romeo breaking out of his pod. He's not sure if he's Dean or if he's Romeo yet he's sure of one thing, he needs to keep Echo safe. The tall man roles his eyes at Romeo and the Dean part of him wants to mock him - can't just save the pretty girl, man. But Romeo remains silent and instead he follows Echo and the tall man at a slight nod from Echo. She reaches out for his hand and the man sighs.
"You're both safe now."
"We are but you're not," Romeo quietly says.
Before he can respond, the man is being pulled down the stairs by someone else.
"Alpha," Echo whispers.
She pulls Romeo up the safety of the stairs before she calls out to Alpha, Romeo thinks if she hadn't, Alpha might have killed the tall man in a fit of rage.
"There's only time for one treatment today," Alpha tells them in a sing-song voice. "Guess who'll it be."
Echo claps her hands delightedly and Romeo does the same thing, only following her lead. But there's a part of him that is still Dean, and Dean doesn't like what's happening. He doesn't like Echo's meek acceptance of everything that's happening, nor does he like this Alpha. Something is wrong, very wrong.
"Don't fret Romeo, it'll be your turn soon enough."
Romeo does his best to look happy and it seems to work. Soon enough, they're done and Echo is some giggling, vapid girl who can't keep her hands off of Alpha. And Alpha tells them that only one of them could win the girl but when Alpha's done with him, Romeo will be a god.
He follows the pair and does his best to look clueless even though his hand is itching for a gun. He can't explain how he naked he feels because he's never felt this way before. Or more accurately, Romeo has never felt this way but Dean has, far too many times than he cares to admit.
* * *
Lily Jones' voice is irritating and Boyd wishes that Alpha had wasted time attacking this one instead of the others that he had attacked. Alpha's appetite for terror and destruction have either eased up or painting the house read with blood has lost it's appeal for the former active.
"And I told Dominic that nothing good would come out of allowing Romeo to associate with Echo. And I was obviously right," Lily states, her voice getting higher and higher with each word that spills out of her mouth.
"I read over Dominic's report of your concerns and I agreed with him. Your suspicions were false and furthermore, I believe that Alpha targeted both actives."
She opens her mouth and Boyd glances at her. He decides that this one will have to be shipped off to the Attic after she is reassigned to another position within the organization. He has the feeling that she'll end up causing further problems for him if left unchecked. Boyd sighs, he can't very well tell her that he had ensured that Alpha would be interested in both actives so he decides on donning the authoritative role.
"The discussion is closed Ms. Jones, I have more important matters to handle at this time," Boyd icily tells her before he walks away from her.
He's loathe to use Paul Ballard but Boyd has quickly recognized the fact that he needs the disgraced FBI agent just as much as Ballard needs Echo. And when it comes down to it, Boyd is willing to gamble that he'll be able to control Ballard through November. Despite the misguided sense of nobility that Echo makes Ballard feel, November will always remind Ballard of sweet, loveable Mellie. Boyd's certain that Ballard will never be able to look at November without feeling his love for Mellie.
* * *
"This may pinch a little (a lot actually)," Alpha says.
Echo doesn't seem to be aware that it's as if two people are speaking out of Alpha's mouth but Romeo is. Echo merely watches in confusion as Alpha straps Romeo into the chair.
"Don't worry my love," Alpha says to Echo, "It's just that I need to test my device first."
She doesn't hear the breathed whisper that Romeo does. It's too late for him to reach when he hears those words that send a shiver down his spine: to make sure that this won't kill you. The machine hums to life and Romeo strains against the restraints when Alpha presses a button. Romeo sees Echo bite her lower lip and then he's racked in pain as too much data is shoved in his brain. His head feels like it's going to explode. Too
many things are being shoved in there, too many memories, to many people and it hurts like nothing he's ever felt before. It's even worse than being tortured in Hell and then pulled out.
And as suddenly as it had started, it's over. He's Romeo but he's not just Romeo anymore. Alpha undoes the restraints and pulls Romeo's boneless body out of the chair and throws him onto the floor. Romeo barely notices when Alpha lovingly lifts Echo up and places her in the chair. He doesn't notice her reluctance or her fear.
Romeo's not really aware of his surroundings. In his mind, he's back in that field where Bobby died, Castiel died and Sam is possessed by Lucifer. He watches in horror as his brothers grapple with one another, before tumbling down into that pit. His body is broken and battered. But now so many others are clawing through his brain, forcing him away from this moment.
"He's fine baby, but you'll be a goddess when it's all done," Alpha says. His voice filtering through the haze.
Romeo tries to move, tries to stop Alpha but he can't seem to move his body.
"A goddess?" Echo weakly asks.
The rest of her words are gone as she squeals in delight and a wave of pain crashes over him. His face feels strangely distorted but when his fingers touch it, his face feels whole and normal. And then he remembers: Sammy in Lucifer's cage, Bobby dead, Castiel dead. He's failed his father in the end. He didn't keep Sammy safe and wasn't that the first lesson.
Yet there are other voices clawing at his brain, shredding at his soul and it fucking hurts.
"No," he mumbles. He's not sure if he's Dean or Romeo or someone else.
All he gets is a vicious kick to the ribs. He can hear the sounds of a fight but he's too numb, too overwhelmed to help.
"Romeo."
Her voice is low and urgent. He recognizes it and not just from a moment before. Memories of her arms around his body. How long ago was the field? How long ago did he lose Bobby, Castiel and Sammy?
"Dean!"
She pulls him up and he's barely aware of who he is or even where he is, but he follows her. He allows her to drag him out of the that room full of pain and into the brilliant light that blinds them both. He whimpers as it hurts his eyes. His body might be undamaged but it feels like it did when he foolishly (desperately) had stood up to both Michael and Lucifer when they wore his brothers' bodies. Adam and Sam were both gone, imprisoned in a cage already. He stumbles again when he realizes that he had failed Adam just as he had failed Sam. He had failed his younger brother much longer than he had failed Sam.
"Move!"
The order is barked and he complies. Orders are something that he's familiar with, something hat he can obey until he can't anymore and he fails.
* * *
Boyd watches both Echo and Romeo in the van. They had both responded to the familiar phrases about a treatment positively. Yet he knows that something is off. It's in the way that Romeo's body shifts so that it's pressed against Echo's. It's barely noticeable but Boyd make it his habit to notice everything about Echo and Romeo. Right now, it's their feet (Romeo's left foot and Echo's right foot) that are pressed together. Boyd is positive that Ballard is oblivious to him. The former FBI agent is trying to piece together what happened in Alpha's hiding hole. Boyd's certain that the former active tried to spark a composite event in both of the actives in front him. But he can't be certain if it worked.
What bothers him the most is that he wasn't able to eliminate Alpha. Alpha has served him well but his usefulness has been completely used up. Although he's not completely certain that Alpha was able to give both of the actives their composite event, he knows that they have both been changed. It's in the way that Romeo represses a shudder and in the way that Echo shifts so that they are pressed together hip to hip. Boyd decides in that moment that he will use Romeo to further his ends. If Echo resists him, then Romeo is the key to his plans and all that remains is eliminating Alpha for good.
* * *
Crowley isn't sure when he started to doubt Castiel's grand plan as a viable one to cement their roles as the mutual leaders of Heaven and Hell. His reports from within the dollhouse have been vague and confusing. The more recent one is that a sociopath, a former active, has somehow managed to gain access to the supposedly safe dollhouse and has kidnapped both Dean and some other active. He's not sure what else has happened but Crowley has a feeling that things are beginning to turn against him and Castiel. He should have realized that the angel was a more than a little unhinged when Castiel first approached him.
They're no closer to discovering purgatory and the Winchester brothers have been destroyed by Castiel's little plan and Crowley's feet are just getting colder and colder by the minute.
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: Supernatural/Dollhouse
Pairing/Characters: Dean Winchester, Echo, Alpha, Adelle DeWitt, Boyd Langton, Castiel, Bobby Singer, Crowley, Samuel Campbell
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke and company, while Dollhouse belongs to Joss Whedon and company. The title comes from "Emotional Rescue" by The Rolling Stones.
Notes: The story changes POV quite a bit and at times, some characters are dealing with the same events at the same time. Written for the 2012 sncross_bigbang.
Summary: Set at the end of Supernatural Season Five, Dean becomes an active and embroiled in the plots at the LA Dollhouse while Castiel and Crowley search for purgatory.
Word Count: 2535/16207
In the four months since he first came to the house under unusual circumstances, Romeo has become as popular an active as Echo is. Dr. Saunders argues that neither Romeo nor Echo are being provided with enough downtime in between engagements and that it's only a matter of time before they break. She argues that it won't be near the level of Alpha's composite event but a melt down is just on the horizon. This causes Topher to very loudly and stridently argue that his wipes are spotless and that any of the actives, Romeo and Echo included, could go on an engagement immediately after the last with no downtown required other than the time it would take to prepare them for the next engagement. During the weekly meetings, Ivy keeps quiet about her findings, instead she reports the anomalies that she finds with both Romeo and Echo (and to a lesser extent the other dolls) to a shadowy source while keeping silent to her superiors. Adelle drinks, unable to get over the recent blows to the house while Boyd tries to keep all of the balls that he's now juggling up a loft in the air. Losing Dominic has hit them all hard, especially Boyd and Adelle, and Boyd doesn't have the time to effectively quash Harding. All the while Romeo keeps turning to Echo.
They meet secretly and quietly, a moment here and there, and at night in their pods. His dreams are confusing and Echo has no answers for him. He ensures that his drawings are simple and nothing to draw attention to himself. There was one drawing that he had made that had led to a treatment, one that had hurt, one that he knows he shouldn't remember. Alpha would tell him that it was his superiority bleeding through but in reality the wall that was built around Dean Winchester is slowly crumbling under the weight of the constant wipes and imprints but there's no one there that can tell Romeo that this is what is happening. Echo just coaches him on how to act like nothing has changed, that he's nothing more than a blank little doll who smiles plastic and empty smiles.
* * *
Samuel Campbell watches his youngest grandson and wonders if Sam Winchester has always been this cold and ruthless. The boy is quickly becoming a liability to his mission yet he has strict orders to keep Sam occupied and to keep Sam on the team no matter the liability he is to the mission. Samuel's tempted to bring up the idea of reuniting Sam with Dean but Sam doesn't seem to care about past familial bonds anymore or the fact that his brother is MIA. In fact it's almost as if Sam's life started the moment they both awoke in a field with a light rain pelting down on them. Sam had recognized him and Samuel had been told about his grandson when he had made his deal.
There had been nothing of his daughter in Sam Winchester in either appearance or attitude. Samuel had managed to ferret out enough information to know that something drastic had changed in his grandson. Something fundamental that makes the older man wonder about exactly what had happened in Lucifer's cage. Sam is short on the details and Samuel has no time to figure out the truth. Nor real desire to do so. All that matters is doing his job and then being reunited with his daughter.
However he does have enough time to figure out the mystery surrounding his eldest grandson. From what he's heard from Sam's sources, Dean Winchester is more like his mother than Sam is. He can't imagine Dean willingly abandoning Sam to his fate. His eldest grandson has a reputation as a hunter, most of the stories that he hears tend to feature Dean as the primary hunter with Sam added on as an afterthought. Samuel's careful not to draw Crowley's attention to his extracurricular activities. He feels that he owes it to Mary to ensure that both of her boys are at least alive and healthy. As he slowly gathers more Intel about Dean Winchester, both from Sam and other hunters, Samuel Campbell comes to the conclusion that a hunter of Dean's caliber doesn't just up and retire, regardless of sentimental promises made. No a hunter like Dean retires in one of two ways: either death or a severe injury.
Still he goes through the motions, he sends Sam on a hunt with his cousins and then Samuel tracks down Lisa Braeden. He finds her living alone with her son. When he approaches her as an FBI agent, she tells him that it's been over a year since she seen Dean. There's a sadness in her voice that can't be faked. He thanks her for her time and he tries to figure out which of Sam's contacts he can tap without it getting back to Sam. The need to know what happened to Dean Winchester is stronger than Samuel cares to admit.
* * *
It's Echo's scream that has Romeo breaking out of his pod. He's not sure if he's Dean or if he's Romeo yet he's sure of one thing, he needs to keep Echo safe. The tall man roles his eyes at Romeo and the Dean part of him wants to mock him - can't just save the pretty girl, man. But Romeo remains silent and instead he follows Echo and the tall man at a slight nod from Echo. She reaches out for his hand and the man sighs.
"You're both safe now."
"We are but you're not," Romeo quietly says.
Before he can respond, the man is being pulled down the stairs by someone else.
"Alpha," Echo whispers.
She pulls Romeo up the safety of the stairs before she calls out to Alpha, Romeo thinks if she hadn't, Alpha might have killed the tall man in a fit of rage.
"There's only time for one treatment today," Alpha tells them in a sing-song voice. "Guess who'll it be."
Echo claps her hands delightedly and Romeo does the same thing, only following her lead. But there's a part of him that is still Dean, and Dean doesn't like what's happening. He doesn't like Echo's meek acceptance of everything that's happening, nor does he like this Alpha. Something is wrong, very wrong.
"Don't fret Romeo, it'll be your turn soon enough."
Romeo does his best to look happy and it seems to work. Soon enough, they're done and Echo is some giggling, vapid girl who can't keep her hands off of Alpha. And Alpha tells them that only one of them could win the girl but when Alpha's done with him, Romeo will be a god.
He follows the pair and does his best to look clueless even though his hand is itching for a gun. He can't explain how he naked he feels because he's never felt this way before. Or more accurately, Romeo has never felt this way but Dean has, far too many times than he cares to admit.
* * *
Lily Jones' voice is irritating and Boyd wishes that Alpha had wasted time attacking this one instead of the others that he had attacked. Alpha's appetite for terror and destruction have either eased up or painting the house read with blood has lost it's appeal for the former active.
"And I told Dominic that nothing good would come out of allowing Romeo to associate with Echo. And I was obviously right," Lily states, her voice getting higher and higher with each word that spills out of her mouth.
"I read over Dominic's report of your concerns and I agreed with him. Your suspicions were false and furthermore, I believe that Alpha targeted both actives."
She opens her mouth and Boyd glances at her. He decides that this one will have to be shipped off to the Attic after she is reassigned to another position within the organization. He has the feeling that she'll end up causing further problems for him if left unchecked. Boyd sighs, he can't very well tell her that he had ensured that Alpha would be interested in both actives so he decides on donning the authoritative role.
"The discussion is closed Ms. Jones, I have more important matters to handle at this time," Boyd icily tells her before he walks away from her.
He's loathe to use Paul Ballard but Boyd has quickly recognized the fact that he needs the disgraced FBI agent just as much as Ballard needs Echo. And when it comes down to it, Boyd is willing to gamble that he'll be able to control Ballard through November. Despite the misguided sense of nobility that Echo makes Ballard feel, November will always remind Ballard of sweet, loveable Mellie. Boyd's certain that Ballard will never be able to look at November without feeling his love for Mellie.
* * *
"This may pinch a little (a lot actually)," Alpha says.
Echo doesn't seem to be aware that it's as if two people are speaking out of Alpha's mouth but Romeo is. Echo merely watches in confusion as Alpha straps Romeo into the chair.
"Don't worry my love," Alpha says to Echo, "It's just that I need to test my device first."
She doesn't hear the breathed whisper that Romeo does. It's too late for him to reach when he hears those words that send a shiver down his spine: to make sure that this won't kill you. The machine hums to life and Romeo strains against the restraints when Alpha presses a button. Romeo sees Echo bite her lower lip and then he's racked in pain as too much data is shoved in his brain. His head feels like it's going to explode. Too
many things are being shoved in there, too many memories, to many people and it hurts like nothing he's ever felt before. It's even worse than being tortured in Hell and then pulled out.
And as suddenly as it had started, it's over. He's Romeo but he's not just Romeo anymore. Alpha undoes the restraints and pulls Romeo's boneless body out of the chair and throws him onto the floor. Romeo barely notices when Alpha lovingly lifts Echo up and places her in the chair. He doesn't notice her reluctance or her fear.
Romeo's not really aware of his surroundings. In his mind, he's back in that field where Bobby died, Castiel died and Sam is possessed by Lucifer. He watches in horror as his brothers grapple with one another, before tumbling down into that pit. His body is broken and battered. But now so many others are clawing through his brain, forcing him away from this moment.
"He's fine baby, but you'll be a goddess when it's all done," Alpha says. His voice filtering through the haze.
Romeo tries to move, tries to stop Alpha but he can't seem to move his body.
"A goddess?" Echo weakly asks.
The rest of her words are gone as she squeals in delight and a wave of pain crashes over him. His face feels strangely distorted but when his fingers touch it, his face feels whole and normal. And then he remembers: Sammy in Lucifer's cage, Bobby dead, Castiel dead. He's failed his father in the end. He didn't keep Sammy safe and wasn't that the first lesson.
Yet there are other voices clawing at his brain, shredding at his soul and it fucking hurts.
"No," he mumbles. He's not sure if he's Dean or Romeo or someone else.
All he gets is a vicious kick to the ribs. He can hear the sounds of a fight but he's too numb, too overwhelmed to help.
"Romeo."
Her voice is low and urgent. He recognizes it and not just from a moment before. Memories of her arms around his body. How long ago was the field? How long ago did he lose Bobby, Castiel and Sammy?
"Dean!"
She pulls him up and he's barely aware of who he is or even where he is, but he follows her. He allows her to drag him out of the that room full of pain and into the brilliant light that blinds them both. He whimpers as it hurts his eyes. His body might be undamaged but it feels like it did when he foolishly (desperately) had stood up to both Michael and Lucifer when they wore his brothers' bodies. Adam and Sam were both gone, imprisoned in a cage already. He stumbles again when he realizes that he had failed Adam just as he had failed Sam. He had failed his younger brother much longer than he had failed Sam.
"Move!"
The order is barked and he complies. Orders are something that he's familiar with, something hat he can obey until he can't anymore and he fails.
* * *
Boyd watches both Echo and Romeo in the van. They had both responded to the familiar phrases about a treatment positively. Yet he knows that something is off. It's in the way that Romeo's body shifts so that it's pressed against Echo's. It's barely noticeable but Boyd make it his habit to notice everything about Echo and Romeo. Right now, it's their feet (Romeo's left foot and Echo's right foot) that are pressed together. Boyd is positive that Ballard is oblivious to him. The former FBI agent is trying to piece together what happened in Alpha's hiding hole. Boyd's certain that the former active tried to spark a composite event in both of the actives in front him. But he can't be certain if it worked.
What bothers him the most is that he wasn't able to eliminate Alpha. Alpha has served him well but his usefulness has been completely used up. Although he's not completely certain that Alpha was able to give both of the actives their composite event, he knows that they have both been changed. It's in the way that Romeo represses a shudder and in the way that Echo shifts so that they are pressed together hip to hip. Boyd decides in that moment that he will use Romeo to further his ends. If Echo resists him, then Romeo is the key to his plans and all that remains is eliminating Alpha for good.
* * *
Crowley isn't sure when he started to doubt Castiel's grand plan as a viable one to cement their roles as the mutual leaders of Heaven and Hell. His reports from within the dollhouse have been vague and confusing. The more recent one is that a sociopath, a former active, has somehow managed to gain access to the supposedly safe dollhouse and has kidnapped both Dean and some other active. He's not sure what else has happened but Crowley has a feeling that things are beginning to turn against him and Castiel. He should have realized that the angel was a more than a little unhinged when Castiel first approached him.
They're no closer to discovering purgatory and the Winchester brothers have been destroyed by Castiel's little plan and Crowley's feet are just getting colder and colder by the minute.