City of Angels (and Demons)

Chapter Eight

Dr. Laurie Bates didn't look happy to see Dean.

"You're not him!" Bates shouted as she came forward toward Dean as if to attack him. She was a small woman, Asian. Then Dean figured she was Korean, from the symbols that had been placed around. Fischbach being half Korean was pure coincidence.

"He's been delayed," Dean said, sidestepping Bates and walking over to Clyde, who was lying on the floor unmoving. Dean nudged him then checked his pulse. The doctor was dead. He didn't see any obvious cause, but they had been locked up in an operating room for a week. He could have been given something.

"He wouldn't be delayed," Bates said. "Not if the door is unlocked."

Dean turned to her. "Does it look like he's here?" he asked. "What happened to Dr. Clyde?"

"He no longer believed," Bates said. "I told him our king would come, but he didn't believe."

"King?"

"King of Darkness."

"Right," Dean said. He couldn't remember reading anything in the Darkiplier lore that referred to him as the King of Darkness, but maybe Dr. Bates had come up with her own lore. "And he's coming here?"

Bates nodded. "He can't rule his kingdom without his queen," she said.

Dean suddenly had a picture in his mind of Fischbach and Bates together that he hadn't wanted. "He doesn't have a kingdom," he said. "He didn't even exist before 2012 and he wasn't even real until now!" He had thought the fans of Markiplier had brought Darkiplier to life, but maybe Bates dabbled in witchcraft or something. He still wouldn't out-rule the deal with a demon theory.

"Lies!" Bates shouted. "This realm is his kingdom and he shall rule for an eternity!"

Dean started to say something, but then an invisible force grabbed him and threw him backward, pinning him against the wall. He had been man handled by demons enough to know that Darkiplier had just shown up.

And, looking past Bates, he saw that he was right.

Mark Fischbach was standing there, dressed in a hospital gown, but there was nothing ridiculous in his appearance. Even if his eyes hadn't been solid black, Dean could actually feel that Darkiplier had taken over. Whatever Patrick had slipped into the medicine had obviously triggered it. That or it had killed Mark to let Dark take over.

Bates turned around and dropped to her knees in front of Dark, who actually looked annoyed by her presence. Dean suddenly had a bad feeling, but he could do nothing but watch as Dark raised his hand and snapped the doctor's neck. Dean flinched at the sound.

As her body flopped over, Dark stood there staring at it for a moment then looked at Dean. "Enjoy your stay," he said, an evil smirk on his face as he stepped back and closed the door. With a click, the door was locked.

The hold on Dean was released. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath as he dug through his pockets to get his phone to call and warn Sam.

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As Sam looked over the bodies, he noticed a symbol etched into the skin of every patient. He had overlooked it before because it hadn't been that prominent. But then he realized the symbol was like that protection spell he had seen. He took out his phone and took a picture of each tattoo.

"Sam Winchester?"

Sam wasn't startled by the sudden sound of a voice, but he instinctively reached for the gun he had hidden away when he heard his name instead of his alias.