This will be different than the show.
Warning: Dakota's a potty-mouth in this chapter.
"Fortunately, as it pertains to guns, my dad and uncle introduced
me to guns the way it needs to be done: smart, slow and safe." -Ted Nugent
<< Love, Dakota >>
The survivors were all lounging around their makeshift camp, they felt the safest at night. Dakota was reclining back with her head placed in Jack's lap. The two had gotten increasingly closer since being stranded in the Apocalypse World. Dakota had her hand up, Jack's wrapped around her as he played with her fingers.
"Do you think they're looking for us?" Jack asked Dakota's eyes flicked up to meet his.
"Of course, there's no way in hell my dad wouldn't look for us," Dakota assured him softly, moving her hand to hold his closer so that he would look at her. "Hey, it's going to be okay, J. Sammy and my dad would go to Hell and back to find us."
"You." Jack corrected lightly, his face passive but his words sad.
"Maybe so, but where I go, you go. We stay together, no matter what."
Or so she thought. One second they were together and talking, the next there was screaming and people dying.
"Run!" Someone cried out in fear, another explosion hit the ground by Dakota and Jack. The young hunter was flung through the air, her ears rang harshly. She hit the ground with a thud, not that she could hear it. Her face connected with a jagged rock before she landed fully on her back. She barely registered her left shoe flying off from the force.
She turned over on her stomach, her eyes groggily dragged over the scene. It was complete chaos. Ash and dust sprinkled through the air like snow. Fires littered the ground as more explosions hit the ground. The angels had found them. She looked around groggily, her eyes fluttered now and then.
Dakota could see people screaming, but the sound was lost on her. It sounded like everything was submerged in water, and the only thing left was the ringing in her ears.
She could barely register the sound of gunfire, people firing out of pure fear while others ran in different directions. Dakota wasn't sure which group she should join. She pulled out and gripped her pistol tightly as she scanned the area.
"Jack!" She screamed, scrambling to her feet. She stumbled in her spot as the Earth shook with each hit. "Jack! Where are you? Jack!"
She sobbed out in panic, she could see the angels entering the camp as the smoke slowly cleared. She had to leave, she knew that the angels catching her would mean her death. She scanned the area one last time before darting off into the trees.
She staggered through the woods, her breaths came out in panicked pants. All at once, her hearing came back as the ringing faded, she stopped in her tracks as the screams reached her. She flipped her head back toward the camp, she could hear people screaming and crying. Some called out for their family members, and some simply screamed wordlessly. Each scream was cut off, not even finishing their breath as the angel's ended their lives.
Dakota covered her mouth with both hands, stumbling away as sobs tore through her chest. She stumbled into a run, wanting to get as far away as possible.
Dakota tripped over a root and fell to the ground, she curled up on her side. Sobs tore through her chest, she was scared. She didn't know where anyone was. She didn't know if Sam or Dean were alive, she didn't even know what World they were in. She didn't know where her grandmother was.
She didn't know where Jack was. Her soulmate was gone.
She stayed like that for a while, curled up under the trees, her hands cradled to her chest as she cried.
"C'mon Dakota, you're pathetic." She whimpered, moving to sit up. She wiped her eyes, only managing to get dirt and blood smeared there. "You're a Winchester, c'mon. You can do this. You're a hunter, a friggin' Winchester. Get the hell up and find your family."
She chanted this to herself until she finally got to her feet. She rolled out her neck and cocked her gun. She might've been a Winchester and a hunter, but she was also a sixteen-year-old girl. She was scared.
"Let's do this." She murmured.
She took a deep breath and scanned the area, it was dark now which made it harder to see. Dakota couldn't remember where she was or where the camp used to be. She sighed and picked a random direction, she couldn't get even more lost than she already was.
She walked as quietly as possible, watching out for random sticks and roots that were sticking up. She wasn't sure if angels were hiding out, waiting to catch a straggler. She wasn't about to be caught again by them, she'd rather die.
Dakota didn't hear them coming until someone crashed into her. A girl with stringy red hair ran full force into Dakota, knocking them both down with pained groans.
"Dude, what the hell." Dakota seethed, she pushed the girl off of her and rolled unto her feet. Her head pounded painfully, the girl headbutted her when they fell.
"What the hell are you doing? Just standing around like that." The girl hissed back. Dakota glared at the girl.
"I'm trying to find my boyfr--er, someone." Dakota hastily corrected herself, her cheeks twinging pink. She wasn't sure if Jack was her boyfriend, he was her soulmate, but she didn't know if they were together.
"We gotta go." The girl said hysterically like she could hear something Dakota couldn't. "They're coming."
"Damn it, you led them straight to me." Dakota snapped, she gripped the girl's wrist and they took off running.
"To you? Girl, they've been chasing me for miles." The girl protested.
"Yeah, well, all angels seem to want to kill me." Dakota breathed, looking over her shoulder.
Dakota pulled the girl after her, neither of them arguing as they sprinted through the woods.
"Do you know where we could go?" Dakota questioned, her breathing heavily. For the Winchesters being used to running for their lives, Dean and Dakota were out of shape. Much to Dakota's comfort, the girl was equally out of breath, it could be because she was running for a lot longer than the Winchester. Dakota chose to ignore that thought.
"No, all the camps I've come across have been destroyed." The girl sighed heavily, the two girls checked their surroundings. "What's your name anyway?"
"Why?" Dakota immediately asked, suspicious. She learned over the years to not give out her name to strangers. It always ended up with her captured or dying.
"Because I don't know it? It seems like we're stuck with each other, might as well know names." The girl pointed out. Dakota stared at the girl with narrowed eyes before sighing heavily. "Look, I'm not going to hand you over to the douchebags, that would just end badly for me."
"Dakota." She said finally. "My name is Dakota. Winchester."
"Ahh, that's what you meant." The girl hummed. "I've heard a lot of talk about the Winchesters. I'm Tess." The two stopped for a breath.
"Tess? Nice name." Dakota complimented, though she sounded absentminded. Dakota scanned the tree lines, she dug deep into her brain for a thought of where Jack would go. "Did you happen to see a boy with blonde hair? About yay-high?" Dakota held up a hand slightly above her head.
"Uh, no," Tess responded, barely glancing toward Dakota. "You're the only person I've seen for a while."
Dakota pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. She rolled her neck out and examined the girl in front of her. The girl's short red hair painstakingly reminded Dakota of Charlie. The girl's attitude? Not so much. She was hot-headed, much like Dakota was.
"Listen, Little Red Riding Hood, I'm not going looking to partner up with someone," Dakota sneered, crossing her arms over her chest. Winchesters were highly suspicious people, and they had every right to be. Given their history with making friends with strangers. Somebody always ended up dead or betrayed, sometimes both.
The situation she was in didn't make it any better.
"I didn't ask for a partner, angel bait." The red-head seethed, mocking Dakota posture. Dakota narrowed her eyes in a glare that would surely send someone six-feet under. The Winchester's lips twitched angrily, something that Dean was known for.
"I dare you to try to use me as bait. It won't end well for you." Dakota growled quietly, leaning in closer to Tess.
It was obvious that the two girls didn't like each other. Dakota just wasn't good at making friends, she's highly suspicious of people, demons, angels, basically anything breathing. Ghosts too.
"I already told you I'm not going to turn you in. We've been over the consequences." Tess hissed.
"I wasn't talking about the angels that would no doubt be after your ginger ass." Dakota spat. "I was talking about the people you'd piss off by handing me over. My family isn't too kind to those who try to kill our own."
Dakota didn't cope well with being alone, her temper got too hot for anybody to handle. None of the Winchesters were good at being by themselves, they got angry and snapped easily.
The girls decided to take a break, so Dakota leaned up against a tree with her eyes shut lightly. She tuned out Tess's complaints. The red-head paced before the Winchester, ranting about the angels closing in on them.
"I swear to Chuck if you don't shut the hell up, I'm going to stab you in the face." Dakota snapped, opening her eyes in a fierce glare.
Dakota sighed as the girl finally was quiet, Tess sunk to the ground with a groan. Dakota closed her eyes again, wishing desperately that Jack was beside her. She missed him, a lot.
"Tell me about this someone you're looking for," Tess said quietly, her voice just slightly above a whisper. "You seem attached to them."
"Why do you want to know?" Dakota was a highly suspicious person, and when people questioned her about Jack? Her suspicious sky-rocketed.
"Must we go over this every time I ask you a question?" Tess groaned.
"Yes," Dakota answered without hesitation. "I don't trust you. No offense."
"Yeah, I don't trust you either, but we're stuck together. So might as well fill the silence."
"Says who?" Dakota questioned, quirking an eyebrow with her eyes still shut.
"Just answer the question, Dakota. It's not like I'm asking for your deepest darkest secrets." Tess taunted lightly, smirking at the girl.
Dakota sighed and peeked her eye open. The emerald color seemed to shine under the moonlight.
"His name is Jack. He's my...soulmate." Dakota answered quietly. She decided that telling Tess that Jack was her soulmate would be safe enough. "Like literally, we were made for each other."
"So he's your boyfriend?" Tess clarified.
"No, he's more than that. We're not together, so to speak, but we'd do anything for the other. I'd die for Jack with no hesitation, and I know he'd do that same. So, no, he's not my boyfriend he's my soulmate." Dakota's tone was soft and light, something Tess hadn't had the chance to hear.
"You're in love with him," Tess noted. Dakota choked on air, her eyes sprung open in disbelief. "What? It's obvious."
"What? Girl, no. I'm sixteen. I've never been in love before. I can't fall in love." She corrected sadly.
Dakota had watched both her dad and uncle fall in love once or twice, and it never ended well for them. It didn't end well for Mary or John, so who's to say it would end well for her? Jack might be her soulmate, they might've been designed for each other. But no, Dakota couldn't let herself fall in love with him. He'd die if she did.
"You Winchesters are famous around here, but only recently. It was just out of nowhere your name popped up and suddenly everyone knew about the Winchesters." Tess drawled out.
"Yeah, we didn't know about this world until recently. My...grandma fell through a portal thing and was trapped. My soulmate's father kinda pulled her through. But it's okay, he's Satan so it made sense. She's fine now, I think." Dakota explained, her words rambling together.
Tess opened her mouth to say something when a twig snapped a few feet from them. Dakota scrambled to her feet and cocked her gun, her green eyes scanning the trees.
"Time to go." Dakota hissed. "Now." She shoved Tess forward a little too harshly, but she needed to get them out of there.
Tess grabbed Dakota's wrist and they took off running. Dakota kept her gun in her grasp tightly, constantly sending glances over her shoulder. Tess kept muttering something under her breath, but Dakota was too preoccupied to worry about it.
Suddenly everything went silent, even the wind stopped rustling the leaves. Dakota cast a worried glance toward Tess.
"Something's not right," Dakota warned nervously. She yanked Tess to a stop, something wasn't right. It was like they were walking into a trap.
"Dakota, what are you doing? We have to go, now!" Tess whined, her voice sounded squeaky.
"No, no, something isn't right." Dakota murmured.
"That's why we should be running!" Tess grabbed Dakota from behind and started pulling her. Dakota thrashed around, using all of her limbs as an advantage. She broke free from Tess's grasp, holding them both still.
Dakota took a deep breath and listened carefully. She heard a high pitched noise and her eyes widened.
"Move!" Dakota shouted and she shoved Tess out of the way right as an explosion hit the ground beside them. Dakota's back hit a tree roughly, causing the Winchester to cry out in pain. She hit the ground with a thud, her ears ringing painfully.
Dakota swore to herself. Damn, a couple more hits to the head and I'll get brain damage. She thought to herself.
Dakota rolled over and pushed herself off, she scoured the area for Tess, but she couldn't find the red-head.
"That bitch left me." Dakota hissed, she looked over her shoulder and saw two angels walking through the treeline. "Shi--"
Dakota shoved herself off the ground and sprinted through the woods. Her breaths came in quick pants as she ran as fast as she could. She darted out of the woods and through the spikes, weaving through them before making her way into another forest. She leaped over a fallen tree, stumbling slightly before continuing her stride.
She jumped behind a tree and pressed her back to it. Drawing in as much air as she possibly could, she peeked out from the tree to see if they were still following her. She assumed they were, but she needed to catch her breath before she passed out.
"Okay, okay, okay. C'mon, Kota, think, think." She pressed her hand against her forehead and quickly ran over ever plan she's ever had. None of them would work in this situation. Sam was the one to come up with plans on the fly, Dean was the muscle. Dakota was the speed and stealth. She was the sneaky one.
Her thoughts of a plan were washed away with the desperation to find Jack. She couldn't care about Tess at this point, that bitch left her behind.
Dakota peeked around the tree she was hiding behind. When she noticed the coast was clear she took off in a sprint. She was heading back to the original campsite, the one where she lost Jack in the first place. She kept her footsteps light and avoided any sticks. Being a Winchester made her good at sneaking around. She excelled at it.
"C'mon, J, where the hell are you?" She muttered to herself, sounding incredibly out of breath. Sam was the fit one. Despite their ability to easily kill someone, Dakota and Dean would be the first to die in the horror movie. They were too dumb and curious about everything, and they hated running. They'd sacrifice themselves if it meant no running.
Dakota lept over a fallen tree trunk, huffing in annoyance as she landed in a puddle. When she looked down, she noticed it wasn't water. It was a puddle of blood. She was close, that was for sure.
"What the hell." She hissed, shaking a couple of droplets of blood off her remaining sneaker. She lowered her posture as she slowly made her way through the opening of the camp.
She drew in a sharp breath, taking in all the destruction. This was her home for however long she was in this world. She built friendships here, people she cared about were here. It was all gone. The Winchester clenched her eyes shut as they stung, both from the acrid smoke and the hot tears threatening to escape.
Beautifully destroyed would be how Dakota would describe the sight she was seeing. An army of angels, Heaven's most angelic creatures, bombed her camp, destroying it with perfect symmetry. Beautifully destroyed.
She noticed how the explosion points were in line with each other. It was like the angel in charge of the bombs had OCD.
"Dakota?" A voice questioned.
Dakota whipped around, her gun held high and ready as she faced the person.
"O-oh my--" Dakota dropped her gun and sprinted forward, she launched herself at the person. Her legs came around and latched onto his waist, her arms locked tightly around his shoulders. "Jack." She whimpered in relief.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they hurt you?" Jack interrogated, holding Dakota tightly to him.
Dakota buried her face in the crook of his neck, sobbing. She was overwhelmed with relief but also held the same fear she had in the woods. Jack held onto her just as tightly as she did him, he ran his hand through her hair. He found out their first night that that would calm her down.
"I'm okay, are you?" She asked him, her voice small and vulnerable. She was slightly muffled by Jack's skin, but he was able to hear her.
"I'm all right, now." He assured her. Dakota squeezed him tighter before dropping her feet to the ground.
"I was so scared, J, it was--they all died." Dakota cried out, her eyes looking over the destruction again.
"I stopped a couple of them, but some escaped."
"The angels?" Dakota wanted to clarify.
Jack nodded, joining her in looking at their campsite.
"Did you see anyone?" Jack asked and Dakota made a face.
"Not from here, I ran when everything happened, I had no choice. I ran into a girl, Tess. They tracked us down a few miles out and nearly killed us. Tess left me to die." She spat angrily.
Jack stared at Dakota for a couple more seconds before a soft smile fell on his lips. He was overcome with relief at seeing her alive. He thought she had died. When the smoke cleared, everyone was either dead and gone, he had no choice but to flee.
Dakota smiled up at him, leaning further against his chest. Her smile slowly faded as the atmosphere around them changed. Her eyes drifted down to his lips before darting back up Dakota rose on her tip-toes, cradling Jack's face in her hands. He watched her with both fascination and confusion.
Dakota glanced at his lips again, gaging his reaction before she slowly pressed her lips against Jack. Dakota's hands moved to the back of his head, moving him closer as she moved her lips against his. Jack slowly followed her lead, never having been kissed before. Although he did watch several movies with the Winchesters, and he's seen people before.
Jack's arm looped around Dakota's waist, pulling her against him. His other hand came up and held her face against his, softly kissing her.
Dakota pulled back a few seconds later, her cheeks bright red as she stared at him with wide eyes.
"I--uh, hi?" Dakota whispered, internally face-palming.
"Hello," Jack replied in confusion, although he had a smile on his face.
"I just kissed you, oh my God." She replied, talking mainly to herself, but he heard her due to their closeness.
"Yes, you did. I liked it." Jack stated bluntly. Dakota's face grew even redder.
"I did, too." She mumbled softly.
Dakota suddenly felt a presence near her, she tensed up and drew away from Jack. Her hand going toward her switchblade. Her gun still laid a few feet from them. The huntress moved her soulmate before her, facing the direction she believed the person to be in.
Two men stumbled into the campsite, both out of breath as they looked at the two teenagers.
"Dad?!" Dakota gasped, she glanced back up to Jack in confusion.
Dakota rushed forward and threw her arms around both Sam and Dean, holding onto them tightly. Jack followed mutely, smiling at Sam before watching the family reunion.
"Are you two okay? Are you hurt?" Dean questioned his attention mainly on Dakota.
"I'm fine, we're okay. We just found each other, we got lost for a while." Dakota answered as Sam scanned the area. "Where the hell did you come from?"
"Oh, we forced an archangel to open the portal," Dean answered like it was completely normal.
"What the hell happened here?" The tallest Winchester asked in utter confusion, still looking at the destruction they stood in.
"Oh, yeah, Michael the dick archangel dropped bombs on us while we were sleeping. Asshole." Dakota explained bitterly, Jack slipped his hand into her's for comfort.
Dean grimaced at the sight, clenching his jaw but not moving to stop them. His eyes widened as he registered her story.
"The angels bombed you? Like they actually dropped bombs on you? They're angels, you'd think they'd get more creative." Dean said.
"I know right? Disappointing, no wonder Chuck left. They have no creativity." Dakota drawled, shrugging.
"Are you guys serious right now?" Sam hissed at them, Jack was no lost on the conversation.
"Yes, it's very disappointing that Heaven's greatest soldier used bombs on a bunch of humans. Though, I guess it did its job. Anyone who survived the blast and didn't run was slaughtered." Dakota recounted darkly, her voice losing any humor it had.
"Dakota and I got separated when the tree beside us exploded. I went after the angels, and stopped a couple of them." Jack jumped in, squeezing Dakota's hand lightly.
"I took off running, I had no choice. They swarmed the camp and started killing everyone, I couldn't find Jack or grandma. So, I ran." Dakota said, her voice holding guilt.
"You did the right thing, baby. If you stayed, you would've been killed." Dean assured her softly.
Dakota nodded her head but still felt guilty. She knew she had to run, but she was supposed to be a hunter. She just took off at the first sign of trouble.
"Besides, no matter how strong you are, you couldn't have taken on an army of angels." Sam tried to help.
"Thanks, Sammy, I feel so much better now." She drawled sarcastically.
"What happened everything? You said you only now found each other." Dean butted in.
"Oh, I met a bitch named Tess, left me to die when the angels caught up. Not important." Dakota shrugged it off, still angry at the girl for abandoning her.
"I found a couple more people, we set up a new camp, Mary's there. I came back here looking for anything to lead me to Dakota, but I found her instead."
"Wait, you found a camp? Why didn't you tell me?" Dakota asked.
"I tried, but you kis--"
"Okay! Point made." Dakota cut him off quickly, giving Jack a warning look before peeking nervously at Dean. He looked between the two suspiciously. They both smiled innocently.
"Just show us the camp please, Jack," Sam said politely.
Jack led the Winchesters to the camp, where they collected Mary and the rest of the survivors. Sam and Dean shepherded everybody through the portal, Dakota and Jack's hands laced together tightly.
Sam stayed with the survivors, setting up rooms for them in the bunker. Jack disappeared into his room for some sleep, having not gotten any in the Apocalypse World.
Dakota escaped to outside, perching herself on the hood of the Impala. Her legs pulled up to her chest as she leaned her back against the windshield. She stares at the stars above her, sighing softly.
"You had better not of scratched my paint." Dean's voice calls out, his tone is incredibly soft. Almost like he was afraid of scaring her. Dakota looks over her shoulder with a confused expression. "Your shoes." He gestures to her feet.
"Oh, no, Michael blew up my left shoe." Dakota shrugs, chuckling slightly. "I lost the other one escaping, I have no shoes, I'm shoe-less. I mean who the hell blows up shoes? That's a weird fetish."
"Foot fetish on steroids?" Dean questions, joking slightly. "Michael has always been one weird SOB."
"That's like calling yourself a weird SOB." Dakota points out. "I mean, you are Michael's vessel."
"Potato, potato." Dean shrugs, Dakota scoffs at her dad.
"That's not the saying, but good try," Dakota sniggers. "Michael might have a foot fetish, but he did answer a lot of questions for me."
"Explain." Dean prods, Dakota tugs her shirt up a little bit, showing the scar angels carved into her. "This expelled Lucifer, you know? It's because it's the soulmate mark, they carved this into my stomach because Lucifer was encroaching on taken property, that being me. It forced him out of my body, it's always why Cas couldn't heal me. It's marking me at Jack's, no other angel can touch me."
"But they've been trying to kill you." Dean points out, trying not to cringe at the whole soulmate thing. It was hard for him to process that his baby was an angel's soulmate.
"Well, yeah, they're dicks. It doesn't stop them from wanting to kill me, they just can't possess me--even with permission--and they can't heal me."
"That's actually comforting," Dean says truthfully. It was comforting to him that they couldn't possess her, even if they had her permission. It worried him that they wouldn't be able to heal her, but he knew she could take care of herself. She was tough.
"A lot of good people died over there." Dakota murmurs, her eyes going back up to the stars. "They swarmed us, out of nowhere. Everything turned to hell, people screaming and running. The bombs never actually hit anyone, but it provided a distraction I guess. I was separated from Jack, he went to take care of the angels, but I was pulled from his grasp. I couldn't do anything but run. I ran before they stormed the camp, killing everyone in their path."
"I don't need to tell you that it wasn't your fault, right? You did the right thing by running, baby, I would've done the same thing."
"I kissed Jack." Dakota blurted, ignoring his words.
Dean made a face, slowly processing her words.
"I'm sorry, it was just too tense." Dakota awkwardly adds.
"Uh, okay. I'm gonna kill him." Dean says, heading toward the bunker.
"No!" Dakota shrieks, she jumps from the Impala and onto Dean's back.
"What the hell is going on here?" Sam questions, leaning against the door of the bunker, watching the two with amusement.
"Nothing!"
"They kissed."
The two spoke at the same time, Sam's eyes widened before a smirk pulled at his lips.
"Well, it's about time."
"No, Sam!" Dean barks, glaring at his younger brother.
The three start bickering with one another, Sam and Dakota against Dean. Dakota couldn't help but smile.
Her whole life seemed like a dream, or a nightmare, that she couldn't wake up from. It was moments like these that she cherished the most, the lighthearted moments with her family.
Dakota wouldn't trade her life for anything. There's no lie that Dakota's life hasn't been the easiest, there have been moments where she wanted to give up. She came close to it a couple of times.
There was no feeling that beat the adrenaline she felt in the face of danger, the sense of bravery she felt. She lived off the feeling of reuniting families together, rescuing those who can't protect themselves.
There was no beating the joy she got seeing her father smile at her with pride.
Her life might've been scaring and dark, but she was surrounded by people she cared about. People she loved. People that gave her a reason to keep fighting, to keep pushing through the darkness.
She was a hunter, she was made to live this life. She was strong enough to face the darkness and thrive on it. As long as she had her loved ones by her side, Dakota Winchester was capable of anything.
This is it! The final chapter of Definitely a Hunter!
I'm beyond grateful that you all love the story as much as I do. I'm thankful for each and every one of you.
Thank you for giving Dakota a change, and loving her as I do. And thank you for sticking with the story until the end. I know it's not the best story ever written but I'd like to believe I've improved.
I have plans in the works for making a book filled with flashbacks, kind of like a one-shot book. You would request what flashbacks you want to see, and I would dedicate a chapter to that memory. Now, this won't be for a while.
My plan for right now is to finish Flames of Eden, my marvel fanfiction. Please check it out if you love the MCU.
Again thank you for sticking with me and loving the story and Dakota. I appreciate each and every one of you. I'm always a DM away, feel free to message me.
Words can't describe how grateful I am for every single one of you beautiful people. You've all made me incredibly happy. Thank you <3
Stay safe out there!
Love, Kaz.