Dearest Readers,
HELLO THERE IT'S BEEN A HOT SECOND! I know, I know, it's been months since I last updated. But hopefully that won't happen again. So, without further adieu, this one is for you! Let me know what you think :)
XOXO Ally Layne.
---
"The plan is simple. Persie, Sam, and Dean will go in first. They are the ones that Gordon will expect, and that is what we will give him."
Dean, armed with a gun, went in first. He refused to let Sam or Persie take the first step in the building, much to Persie's annoyance. He is one of the most annoyingly overprotective men she had ever met, that's for sure.
Persie made sure to go in behind Sam, armed with Riptide at the ready. Annabeth made sure that she knew Sam would be the one that would need protecting, and Persie had noted that her friend seemed to be a little wary of letting him go in the first wave.
"Persie, you need to make sure to hold Sam's six. He's going to be the one that Gordon will be going after, considering the asshat thinks he's the next antichrist or something. Dean, your job is to ensure both you and the girl get out as safely and stealthily as possible."
Dean's eyebrows furrowed. "What about Sam?"
Annabeth smiled knowingly at the older man. "Persie will watch his six. She will ensure that they get out safely."
She smartly didn't try to bother Annabeth about what her worry might be insinuating, but it was completely obvious that her friend was starting to catch feelings for the younger Winchester. At least she wasn't falling for Dean, that would be a bit weird.
But to be honest, Persie is well aware Dean is not Annabeth's type. Annabeth has always had a thing for smart, well put together men that are willing to have conversations about feelings and talk about the world and the environment... which wasn't exactly the gruff, broody older Winchester.
Persie followed Sam in the building, carefully watching their sides and monitoring any movement coming from behind her. She wouldn't put it past Gordon to try and attack their backs. She didn't think he was really the noble kind of guy anyway.
It looked like this place was some weird storage facility that held a lot of different things on shelves- she couldn't make out what anything was. They looked like pieces of equipment that she had never quite seen before. There were a few lights on, which was a good sign, but it was the dark places and the shadows that they were going to need to watch out for.
All of the sudden, a muffled sob sounded out from their left, making Dean pause and turn toward that direction to which Sam and Persie followed suit.
And there, bound and gagged while tied to a pipe, was the young girl who had gone missing. Sam ran over to kneel down at her front as Dean took out a pocket knife to slice through the restraints. Persie took watch, knowing this would be the perfect time for Gordon to make himself known.
"Hey, hey, we got you. Don't worry, we're going to get you out of here," Sam reassured the weeping girl. He took off the gag with a delicate touch, knowing that Gordon must not have been too kind to her. "You're safe now."
Once she was free, Sam and Dean took both of her arms and hauled her to her feet. "Watch her head," Persie warned them, and Sam placed a hand above her head to keep it from getting hit from any of the pipes.
Once her legs gave out, Dean immediately took control and wrapped her arm around his neck and hauled her into his arms. Persie immediately did a quick sweep of their surroundings. Now would be the time that something would happen.
"Sam, Seph, stay close," Dean ordered, as he hurried around the corner toward the exit with the girl in his arms,
Sam hurried after his brother, making sure nothing came out at them from the front, while Persie knew to stick to Annnabeth's plan and stuck to the back.
"Make sure to hold Sam's six."
After years of being best friends with the daughter of Athena, she knew there would be Hades to pay if she didn't stick to the plan.
She would happily take a raging vampire over an angry Annabeth any day.
And in just that moment, a steel wall dropped, separating both Persie and Sam from Dean and the girl he held in his arms.
So this is what he was waiting for.
"Sam! Seph!"
"Dean!" Sam called back, kicking at the wall in frustration.
"Dammit!" She heard Dean's muffled voice yell.
And that is when the lights went out.
"The show's about to begin, Sammy," She muttered over to him, her grip tightening on Riptide. "Be ready."
Sam held his machete up, prepared to make a quick strike if necessary. He started easing along the span of the wall while Persie was silently counting the seconds as they passed. She didn't know how well she could function in the dark, but she had done it before.
However, she knew someone that would be following her in approximately one minute who would be able to hunt a vampire in his own territory.
"Gordon!" Sam called out. "You got me where you want me! You might as well come out and fight!"
"I'm right here, Sam," Gordon spoke, making Persie and Sam turn to where the vampire was standing, only for there to be no one there.
Stupid vamps and their stupid speed.
"Vampy, vampy, vampy, come on out! Show us your new smile, why don't you? I can't wait to see all of your nice new teeth!" She taunted.
Sam paused, and looked over at her for a brief second that said everything she needed to know. "Too much?"
Gordon's chuckle sounded out.
"What's the matter, Sammy? Can't take a good joke?"
Persie rolled her eyes at Gordon's words.
Sam, however, was visibly starting to get frustrated. "So this is the way you really want to do it, huh?"
"Damn right I do."
The younger Winchester started to move again, to keep following the large structures in the dark like some sort of lost, wounded animal. "Sam, stop," she demanded, grabbing his arm and pulling him to a halt. "Gordon, why don't you stop being such a coward and show yourself?"
"You have no idea what I faced, to get here. I lost everything, my life... But it's worth it 'cause I'm finally going to kill the most dangerous thing I ever hunted. You're not human, Sam."
"Look who's talking," Sam grunted out before making a swing for where Gordon had moved.
"You're right," Gordon spoke, this time coming from a different direction. "I'm a bloodthirsty killer."
Persie scoffed. "Don't talk like you don't have a choice."
"I don't."
"Yes you do, Gordon," Sam added. "You didn't kill that girl."
"You're right, I didn't." Gordon's voice came from another direction, again. "I did something, much, much worse."
Persie's eyes widened. "Dean..."
.
.
.
Dean tried to call in for backup, but he couldn't find his phone. However, he couldn't leave Sam and Seph to that monster, either.
He lost track of time as he hammered away at the chain that held the steel wall down and separated him from his little brother and the girl he thinks he cares for.
"Dean? What are you doing?" a female voice called out from behind him.
He immediately whirled around at the voice. The girl didn't know his name. Who was here that would-
Standing there were Persie's cousins: Nico and Thalia.
Oh, right.
Backup.
"After Sam, Dean, and Persie go in, we will wait five minutes before the next group goes in, hopefully to make sure that nothing goes wrong and everyone gets out safely. Thalia and Nico will go in as the second wave to make sure that if anything needs to be blown up or if we get separated, we can shadow travel."
"Where are Sam and Persie?" Nico asked, eyes widening as he looked at the steel contraption in front of him.
Thalia let out a groan. "Ugh, I hate shadow traveling."
.
.
.
Sam grabbed Persie's arm briefly before holding his machete with both hands once more. "He'll be fine, you know he will."
Her features soured. "You're dead, Gordon."
The vampire let out a low chuckle as he seemed to ignore her words. "I gotta hand it to you Sam, you got a lotta people fooled. But I know the truth. We're the same now, you and me. I know how it is, walking around with something evil inside you."
"This lil bean? Evil?" Persie scoffed. "Please, get a grip, vamp. You're the only one that's evil here."
"Ah, but you aren't human, are you, Persephone Jackson?" Gordon chuckled again, and she knew he could see how she stiffened at the use of her full name. "I have heard stories about you. I thought they were rumors. How could something be so... powerful? But here you are. In the flesh. Flesh and blood, a murderer without a consciounce. How well do the Winchesters really know you?"
She grit her teeth, feeling her cheeks heat up in anger. "Shut up."
"Do they know what you've done? How many lives you have single handedly massacred because your gods told you to? You're a weapon of chaos and mass destruction."
"I said, shut up!"
"It's just a shame neither of you will do the right thing and kill yourselves. I'm gonna. Just as soon as I am done killing you. My last three good deeds. Killing the both of you, and then killing myself."
Persie felt a faint tug in her gut, making pipes around her explode with water. "Ah, there she is."
In an instant, Gordon slammed right into Sam, taking him through the shelf behind them. Persie screamed out his name and pushed water right in his direction, slamming the vampire off of Sam and into the wall, being held up by his throat. She grabbed Riptide with a steeled grip and stalked over to the vampire, simmering in rage and power.
"I told you I was going to kill you, Gordon." She tilted her head, studying him calmly. "Too bad you were too stupid to believe me. You should've run."
He chuckled. "There's the killer I had been warned about."
Persie smiled. "Too bad you didn't listen."
Gordon blinked. "They have no idea what you have done, do they? How you slaughtered hundreds of-"
With a beat of her heart, his head had been sliced off and fell to the ground with a solid thump.
"Well that's disappointing," a voice came from behind her. She whirled around, Riptide ready to shred some more heads, when she was face to face with Thalia and Nico.
"You didn't leave any for us," Thalia pouted, crossing her arms. "So not fair."
Persie rolled her eyes. "You're a Huntress of Artemis. You always get to go monster hunting. Let me live a little, won't you?"
Nico looked over at where Sam was still on the ground, watching Persie with wide eyes. "He okay?"
Sam looked over at the newcomers, finally tearing his eyes off the daughter of Poseidon. "Yeah, I'm great."
Persie immediately stiffened, and looked over at Thalia with alarm. "Did you see that girl that we were rescuing?"
She nodded. "Yeah, she was leaning up against a pipe when Dean was trying to get through to the both of you."
Nico tilted his head. "Why do you ask?"
Her face went pale. "I think she's a vamp. And if Dean has his back to her..."
"Dear gods, do I have to shadow travel again?"
.
.
.
"If the first two teams aren't back three minutes after they go in, then Jason and I will follow for precautionary measures. At that point we need to make sure the girl gets out safely, followed by the rest of us. If we don't capture or kill Gordon, at least we will all be alive. And if we do end up killing him- at least I don't have to worry about coming up with another plan to find the vamp."
Dean sighed when they left in the shadows, leaving him alone once more on this side of the steel wall. He had to admit, he was slightly annoyed at the conversation that had taken place before.
No, Dean, you can't come with us.
You need to stay and get the girl out safely.
Let us handle this, you can get the girl-
He thought that Thalia chick didn't even like shadow traveling. If she didn't like it, then she could stay with the girl and he could go help his brother and Seph.
Too bad the two demigods didn't seem to feel the same way.
No, no, no, we need to stick to Annabeth's plan.
Thal's right. We'd be in more danger from Annabeth than that Gordon dude if she learned we didn't stick to the plan.
Dean knew when he was outnumbered. He had heard enough about the two of them from Seph and Annabeth that they weren't exactly the type that one could disagree with and end up getting their way.
Were all demigods as stubborn as them?
He sighed.
They better be okay, or there was going to be hell to pay.
A growl sounded out from behind him, making him whirl around just in time for the blonde chick they had saved lunge out for him with her teeth bared and ready to rip out his throat.
However, the girl had a dagger stuck in her head before she could even reach him, and her body fell to the floor in a heap.
"I really hate vampires," a voice spoke, and he turned to see Annabeth walking out of the shadows. "They always ruin things."
Jason walked out from behind her. "It's as if you think I don't know you already planned for this to happen."
She grinned up at him. "You know me well."
Annabeth grabbed the black blade out from the girl's head, grimacing at the blood that stained the blade. "Where's Persie when you need a good blade washing?"
Dean coughed. "They're uh, behind the steel door."
She blinked at him, and seemed to puzzle everything together in a split second as she nodded. "Nico will be bringing them back shortly, I'm sure."
She was right. Obviously. Out of the shadows came Thalia and Nico with Persie and Sam tagging behind.
"Just on schedule," Annabeth chimed. "Now, what are we going to do about these bodies?"
Persie half-heartedly listened to Annabeth and Thalia coming up with a disposal plan of the bodies, as she walked over to where Dean and Sam were now checking each other out, making sure they weren't hurt.
"Gordon told us about the girl," Sam said, looking over to where the girl was now laying, dead on the floor. "We were worried you would be caught off guard."
Dean scoffed. "Me? Off guard? Who taught you what that meant in the first place, Sammy?"
Persie scooted into the conversation. "I don't know, that blade mark looks awfully like Annabeth's dagger. You sure you didn't get caught off guard, Hot-Shot? Annie didn't have to save you?"
His eyes widened. "What? No-"
"Funny, actually, considering that's exactly what happened," Annabeth spoke up, walking over to stand by Sam. Persie noticed her eyes scan his form quickly, and nearly squealed to herself. Looks like Annie's got a crush!
"I definitely would've had her," Dean insisted.
"Yeah, after you had your throat ripped out," she deadpanned.
Dean rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
Sam followed his lead, and the two boys walked toward the door while Annabeth lagged behind. Persie looked to her friend. "Everything okay?"
"Sam seems skittish," she commented, making Persie freeze. "And Thalia told me what that vamp said to you." They watched as the Winchesters lazily walked to the door. "Do they not know?"
Persie sighed. "Not everything, no."
Annabeth tilted her head slightly. "Why not?"
"Well I can't just go telling people that I went into a massive blood rage and killed hundreds of monsters and people, not caring which was which? Wise Girl, that is the exact kind of thing that they hunt."
"So you're scared."
She shook her head. "No, I'm not scared. I know I should be, but I'm not."
"You're content in knowing that they will likely try to kill you when they find out?"
Persie shrugged. "It wouldn't be less than anything I deserved."
Annabeth sighed. "You paid your penance. It's time to move on."
She watched as the Winchesters walked out the door. "Tell that to the lives I ruined, the families that are broken and the friends that have been lost. You said it yourself Annabeth- I was a monster."
"We all are monsters, Persie," She said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Some of us are just able to hide it."
Persie closed her eyes. "Then why didn't I?"
.
.
.
After they got their things and got ready to leave the town, Annabeth, Nico, and Thalia were ready to leave. They said their goodbyes, and Persie watched as Annabeth had a little moment with Sam, telling him to take care of himself.
He gave her a hug, and Persie nearly laughed at the stunned look on her friend's face.
"Is there something going on between the two of them?" Thalia asked Persie as they watched the scene unfold.
"Annabeth wishes."
Dean leaned over. "I think Sam wishes, too."
Thalia let out a chuckle. "Then Sam better get a move on because Annabeth has no clue how to show her feelings for guys. Well, she does, but it takes her a long time to come to terms with them."
Dean nodded. "I'll put out some prods and see what happens."
"Don't force him, hot-shot. It'll happen when it's meant to," Persie told him, wrapping an arm around his waist. "They're both just testing the waters."
Dean chuckled. "Somehow I think Sam wouldn't do anything he didn't want even if I told him to, Seph."
She shrugged. "I think you'd be surprised."
Annabeth had walked over to where they were standing and yanked Persie in for a hug. "I'm glad we were able to come and help you, Seaweed Brain."
"Yeah, just make sure you don't disappear again, okay? I think we've all had enough of that to last us a lifetime," Nico added.
Thalia grinned. "Or maybe three lifetimes."
Jason rubbed the back of his neck. "I was thinking more along the lines of two-"
"Okay, okay, I get it. No more disappearing and no more going off alone, now scram you hooligans. Camp is probably falling apart without you," Persie said, crossing her arms.
"Oh, I don't know," Annabeth sighed. "I once thought the same thing if you ever left camp. But now look at us now."
Persie smiled slightly. "Yeah, look at us now."
"Well, I'll see you when I see you," Thalia told Persie, hugging her quickly and tightly before letting go. "Hopefully we won't be hunting the same thing next time. That might be a little awkward."
"Yeah, I'd rather the Hunters not try to kill me," Persie deadpanned.
"The what now?" Dean asked, looking at Thalia strangely.
"I'll explain later," Persie told him, patting him on the back.
Nico walked over to Persie with his hands in his pockets. "And I'll put out some inquiries with my father and Thanatos about what we had talked about before. I'll see if there's any way we can figure something out."
Sam immediately looked at the younger man with wide eyes. "Thank you, that means a lot to us."
Nico shrugged. "Yeah, well, Will's been telling me I need to be nicer. I think this'll give me some brownie points."
Persie coughed out a laugh. "I can tell him about this if you want."
"Please do."
Annabeth looked over at Persie. "So when will I be seeing you again?"
She looked between the two Winchesters, before shrugging at her friend. "Well, I do plan on going to New York for Christmas. Maybe I'll run into you then."
Annabeth grinned. "That sounds excellent."
Nico looked at Persie with interest. "Is your mom making some blue food?"
She grinned. "Always."
"You might be seeing me, too."
Persie laughed. "I'll tell her to set an extra spot at the table."
Nico nodded, before turning to the others and grabbing onto them and leading them into the shadows. "Later, losers!"
And they were gone.
It was only the three of them once more.
"Well, that was fun," she offered.
Dean nodded, still staring oddly at where they disappeared. "I don't think I'll ever get used to that."
Sam looked over at Persie. "I can't remember the last time I had Christmas with the entire family."
Dean nods in agreement. "I am not so sure that we ever really had a Christmas with the entire family."
Persie smiled. "Well, this Christmas you boys will be coming with me. We're going to have a Christmas with my family whether you like it or not."
Dean let a sloppy crooked grin cover his face. "That sounds nice."
She smiled, grabbing his hand. "It is. It really is."