City of Angels (and Demons)

Chapter Fourteen

It was too uncomfortably quiet. Dean kept the angel blade raised, using it to push open doors he came to. It appeared that no one was home, but he had the feeling that Dark was around. Maybe Dark was letting them know he was still here. They hadn't tried to sneak in quietly, after all.

The feeling that Dark knew they were here grew when a door a few feet from Dean swung open. Tightening his grip on the angel blade, he started forward then walked into the room. The door shut behind him, leaving him in complete and total darkness. An unnatural darkness. A work of Darkiplier.

I knew you couldn't stay away.

The voice Dean heard was in his head. He took a step back, not out of fear, but out of the need to remember where the door was. He could only hope it was unlocked. And still where he thought it was.

All bite and no play?

You're so predictable.

Pathetically predictable.

Dean pulled out his flashlight and turned it on, but it yielded no light. He cursed under his breath and turned it off, hearing Dark's laughter as he put the flashlight away.

You're in my world now.

My world.

My rules.

My way.

"Enough with the theatrics," Dean said, his impatience growing. "Come out and face me like a man. Well, demon." He took another step back and reached out behind him, but came in contact with nothing. That worried him since he knew he hadn't walked too far into the room.

You shot me.

Surely you can understand my reluctance in showing myself.

"You're obviously fine."

It's not the damage or pain; that I can deal with.

It's the fact that you didn't play nice.

Dean rolled his eyes. "I'm a Hunter, it's what I do," he said. "I don't remember you playing nice with Dr. Bates. Or the other patients you controlled."

I played nice.

Without me, they would have been dead a lot sooner.

"Yeah, you're a real gentleman," Dean said sarcastically. Maybe if he got on Dark's nerves enough, Dark would finally show himself. And when he did...

Then suddenly Dark was there, standing a few feet away. It was as if his presence illuminated the room because Dean could see again, though the room was still black all around him.

"Come on, do it," Dark dared. He probably didn't read Dean's mind. Dean's intentions were clear. "Kill me and you will fail. Your little trip here would be pointless."

Dean hesitated. Dark was right. If he killed Dark, he killed Mark as well. And then he would go against what he had come here to do. He hadn't been able to save the others, but he had to try and save Mark.

Dark smiled. "See? Predictable."

Dean knew what Dark was trying to do, but no longer cared. He had been trying to push Dark into breaking and had ended up being pushed himself. He moved forward, grabbing Dark and holding the point of the angel blade against Dark's chest. Dark didn't look worried. Did he think the angel blade wouldn't harm him?

Or did he know Dean wouldn't actually go through with it?

Dean wanted to, but he couldn't bring himself to use the blade and kill Dark.

"It'd be so easy," Dark said. "Plunge it into his chest and you can go home." His not my. Dark didn't care if he lived or died. He wanted Dean to kill Mark.

"You've killed before," Dark went on. "You...understand. You've felt the darkness. The power." So Dark knew about Dean's brief stint as a demon. But, who in Hell didn't know? "It's easy to slip into. Not everyone can be saved from it."

It took a moment for Dean to understand what had just happened. The fact that Dark's eyes were no longer a solid black as they had been a moment ago.

His not my.

Mark wanted him to kill Dark.

Dean let go and stepped back, watching as the lights in the room came on and he bumped into the door. He opened the door, but didn't leave. Mark remained standing there, not moving, saying nothing.

Dean could imagine the war he was going through right now.

Dean took a hold of Mark's arm and headed downstairs. When he walked into the kitchen, he saw that Sam had cleared out an area, finishing up the Devil's Trap. He finished before he noticed Dean.

Sam gave a look of surprise when he saw Mark. Dean said nothing as he shoved Mark into the Devil's Trap. Mark still remained silent. Sam stepped over to Dean.

"Mark's fighting harder than we are," Dean said before Sam could say anything. "At least we've got him contained now." He looked at Mark then at Sam. "If we exorcise him, he'll just keep coming back."

It appeared that Sam had already thought of that. "But isn't that better than just leaving him like this?" he asked. "We can keep Mark from being possessed again."

"Dark will just find a way around that," Dean said. "He went through all this trouble to get Mark. He won't stop until he has full control."

"We have to kill Dark without killing Mark."

"Could we stuff his demon ass into a jar or something and throw him into the ocean?"

"Let's just leave him be for now where we can watch him," Sam said, looking over at Mark. He looked back at Dean after a moment. "We should call Cas."

"He'll know just as much as we do."

"But Crowley might know more."

Dean didn't like the idea of bringing Crowley into this, but he might know something. He had been their first suspect, after all. He could still be involved in some way. It was worth a try.

"Fine, but Crowley joins him in there," Dean said, pointing at the Devil's Trap. He wasn't too serious about that statement. He really didn't want Crowley anywhere near Mark. And Sam seemed to get that.

Sam pulled out his phone.