Demons, Demigods and Hunters: Return from Hell

Chapter 17

Dean

After Anna's initial outburst, she'd sobered quickly. She'd insisted that they turn the car around, and head straight back to Wyoming.

"Why Wyoming?" Dean asked her through gritted teeth. He avoided the state when he could, for obvious reasons. He would have expected Anna to feel the same way. He avoided going anywhere near where he'd been killed and resurrected at all costs. Anna glanced up, her face scrunched in concentration.

"That's where I came back. Woke up under the rubble of the Devil's Gate. It's a blur, mostly because I had just climbed through an interdimensional gateway, but also partly because I thought I was hallucinating the entire time. But I remember leaving Eleos there. I think" Anna said, her expression growing dark with frustration as she tried to grasp at the holes in her mind.

Dean didn't press her for more details beyond that. He remembered coming back from Hell. She would talk when she was ready.

Dean's thoughts paused for a moment, as he realized that she probably wouldn't. Anna was even worse than him about not talking about the important stuff. And he had only talked about it after Sam had pushed at him for weeks . Her gaze had wandered out the window, her forehead furrowed in concentration.

Something about his friend still seemed off. She might have realized that the world around her was real, that she was no longer in Hell. But Anna was still flinching, her eyes flicking into the shadows in suspicion. She'd almost entirely lost her ability to lie. Every emotion she felt was on her face, and Dean could practically read her thoughts just by glancing in the mirror. It was unsettling.

He'd once wished for her to be less guarded, during a djinn induced dream. But never like this. Not because she'd been torn open, pulled inside out and now had no idea how to even begin putting herself back together. Dean glanced at the road signs. They'd been driving for several hours now, the longest stretch they'd gone in days. He and Sam hadn't wanted to cage Anna in the car for more than an hour or two at a time, and the ten hour drive to Sioux Falls had turned into a three day saga. Now, they would arrive at the destroyed Devil's Gate within the next ten minutes.

He pulled over, stopping the car at the train tracks. He and Sam got out of the car, and Anna followed suit after a long moment. She was hesitant, and Dean saw the fear in her expression.

"What if I fall again?" She asked softly. Dean curled an arm around her, hugging her into his side.

"Won't let that happen." He stated confidently.

"What if I have too?" She asked suddenly straightening, her eyes filled with an odd determination.

"Still wouldn't let that happen." He insisted, uncomfortable with the sudden fire that had filled her eyes.

"Why'd you have to Anna?" Sam asked her. Anna shrugged Dean's arm off of her, as she strode off. Something about the question seemed to temporarily resurrect the old Anna, her old confidence straightening her shoulders and purpose infusing every step. They all walked across the graveyard, Dean and Sam both carrying weapons while Anna seemed confident and unafraid. She reached the spot where the Devil's Gate used to be, and after only a brief moment of hesitation, frantically began to dig. He and Sam glanced at each other once before dropping to their knees to help.

They dug and dug until Sam found an empty black scabbard, worn and damaged. Anna let out a triumphant cry as she picked up a single gold ring. Dean found a couple more, and she slid them on, one by one. She flexed her hand, and deadly sharp looking claws shot out from the metal around her fingers. Eventually they managed to excavate the whole pile, and there was nothing left. Neither of her guns, or the second half of her ring set or any of her other weapons.

No sword.

Anna seemed unperturbed though. She took the scabbard from Sam and carefully slung it over her shoulder. Dean's eyes widened. The sword was there. In the scabbard. That had been empty thirty seconds ago. Dean's hand twitches violently towards his gun at the blatant display of magic.

"What in the hell was that?" He snarled suddenly. Anna's eyes widened with fear, and suddenly she grew very tense. Her hand twitched towards her weird ass sword, and her expression shut down. It was like Anna was leaving the building. Her expression was emptying out, horrifyingly similar to how she had looked while she'd been in the hospital. Before they'd broken through to her.

Something inside him died, even as another part stiffened his resolve. Clearly, Anna had more to go than just the destruction of the wraith. On the other hand, she was dangerous, and clearly had access to some kind of mojo. Which placed her in the possible target category.

"Dean." Sam warned him softly, putting his gun down. Dean couldn't quite bring himself to follow suit, but slowly lowered his own weapon. Non threatening. Right.

"Anna, Anna, can you come back to us? You're out, remember?" Sam asked softly. Anna stalked forward, reaching back and smoothly unsheathing the bitterly familiar sword as she moved. Dean glanced down at his gun. Then he checked Sam's. The shotgun in his brother's hand was loaded with rock salt. His was loaded with bullets. If it came down to it, Sam would shoot first. His eyes flicked up to his brother's face. Sam got the message, and his expression was grim.

"Anna, you're safe ok? We're not going to hurt you." Sam tried cajoling again.

Something in her expression broke. The sword dropped to the ground and the claws vanished. Anna collapsed to the ground, her shoulders shaking. Dean took Sam's gun and they both approached her cautiously. She was laughing, giggling, snorting laughing . She was laughing so hard tears streamed down her face, but when her voice hitched wetly; Dean realized that their half crazed mojo sword wielding friend was also crying.

"Anna?" It came out like a question. It wasn't supposed too. She just laughed and cried a little more, shaking her head.

"Do it." She said, nodding to the guns. She rose up on her knees, arms spread wide. Offering them the shot.

"I promise bullets will work." She sobbed and laughed. Dean lowered his gun and tucked it away. He couldn't shoot her. He'd known that in the back of his head already, but when she'd offered herself up like a sacrificial lamb, it cemented it. The core part of him that once sold his soul for his brother shifted, and suddenly Dean realized that Anna had somehow fallen into the category as Sammy. He would die before letting her get hurt, let alone kill her.

Anna kicked her weapons away from herself, eyes widening in wild desperation.

"Do it. Do it now, before I remember, before I fight. Because we all know who's going to win." She half begged them.

"C'mon Dean. Finish the job. You can do it. It'll be quick. Quicker than time moved while we were running. Promise. Won't even feel a thing, right here." Anna tapped the center of her forehead, grey eyes looking up at him, tears spilling over, rolling down her cheeks. Dean stepped back in horror, unsure of how to react. They'd put people down before, witches, werewolves. Things that used to be people, vampires and demons. But this was different. Anna might have weird mojo that Dean doesn't trust, but he also wouldn't hurt her. Couldn't.

"Anna, no." Sam said softly. There weren't words to describe the sudden panic filling Dean. If this wasn't a trick, if this was Anna, he didn't want to hear those words coming from her lips. But if it was a monster, he wouldn't be able to gank it. No, not with all the weird little reminders and flashbacks that he was finding in their lives that made him want to cling to her so tightly she could never leave them again.

Anna let out another choked laugh, the crazed sound slowly being swallowed by the tears pouring down her face.

"They warned me. When I agreed to figure this out. To look for Azazel. To destroy this gate. When I joined you. They said I would die. Yes Sammy . C'mon Short Stuff. I didn't die like I was supposed too then. Let's make it right. Right here. Where I should have gone . " Anna's eyes were slowly losing their lucidity, and her tears were slowing. Soon enough all that sat in front of them was the same empty shell they'd rescued from the hospital.

No he wasn't going to kill her. But he sure as hell was going to find out what the hell was going on with her. The time for secrets had more than passed. The end is nigh, and they can't afford to be hiding anything.

Not even Dean. He knew that he'd run out of time to tell Sam what had really happened in Hell.