Huntress

Part 21: Realignment

Sam and Dean didn't bother knocking. They swung the motel door open, distraught and desperate. Sam was quieter than usual, panicked. And Dean was angry. Since the last hunt, Y/N had been missing. They'd ran after Max to help him out and when they came back to the Impala, where Sam had last seen her, she was gone. The boys sought their Mother for help, but the motel room was empty.

The brothers shared a look of fear. "Dean, Y/N's gone. And now Mom's gone...I don't-"
"Sammy, look at me," Dean ordered, "we're gonna find them. We will."
Sam nodded at his brother, his phone's rings breaking the silence. "Hey Jody," he answered, "No...no I hadn't heard...oh God...what happened? Alright...well thanks for telling me. See ya."
"What happened?" Dean asked, picking at the pieces of paper on the desk.
"Eileen...she got mauled to death by an animal, supposedly. But she wasn't in Ireland."
"So she was running from something?" Dean said.
"I guess," Sam shrugged, "That's like the third Hunter death in two weeks. That can't be a coincidence."
"Well if Mom's not on the road she's usually bunking with the Brits, but Mick's not answering his calls still..."
"Maybe call Ketch?" Sam suggested, hating those words but knowing it was necessary. He watched Dean reluctantly take his phone, his mind elsewhere. If anything had happened to his girl...or his Mom...he wouldn't know what to do.

"Hey Ketch it's Dean...Winchester! Right well we're looking for Mom, have u seen her? I'm not being rude! Listen, I don't want a manners lesson I just wanna speak to my Mom!" he sighed angrily and hugged an, "Alright...bye."
"Any luck?" Sam asked. He was fidgeting with his phone, flipping it in his hands nervously.
"Said he hasn't heard from her in weeks," Dean said bitterly, "but they had a case a few days back so he's definitely lying."
"Chances are whatever's happened to Mom has happened to Y/N." Sam nodded."Let's go."

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Sam stared down at Eileen's body, holding back tears. He bit his lip and looked away, down at his hands where they shook. He'd lost a friend and he was scared he'd lost a daughter. "Seven Hunter deaths." Dean mumbled.

"And those are just the ones we know about." Sam nodded."So what, did monsters start working together?"

"Dean, we know that demons and monsters don't just team up," Sam began, starting to panic, "this is something else. No one's heard from Mom, Cas is missing and we have no idea where the hell Y/N is! Ketch is lying to us and Mick won't pick up the damn phone! I- I wanna punch something in the face!"

"Good," Dean said blankly, "hold on to that. Use it." Dean glanced at Eileen before adding, "If this is a hell hound then we know what that means."

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You blinked awake, taking a good few seconds to gather your surroundings. It was cold. You were hooked up to some sort of IV drip looking machine, with needles jabbed into your hands. You sat up and looked about the room, immediately recognising it as Men of Letters. It was where they had attempted to realign you, where they had injected you with some sort of brainwashing fluid, only it hadn't worked on you for reasons unknown. The room was large and circular, whitewashed walls with metallic greys to separate the clinical look. There was the bed, the machinery and the door. It was locked shut. There was also a camera in the top right corner. There were footsteps outside every now and then.Your head was aching, but you felt okay so you tore the needles from their grips in your veins, wincing a little as they came out, before tossing them aside. The door handle twisted and you adjusted so you were sat perched on the side, legs swinging beneath.

In walked Toni. Brilliant.

"Ah, Brooks. Long time no see." Despite the greeting she looked cold and showed no emotion, not even her usual pride.
"Alright?" You said, not sure what else to say or do. She stared for a little while, so you reluctantly added, "What happened?"
"You were already out cold on the grass, unconscious and ready for the taking. You could have died so really you should be thanking us."
"I could have died?"
"Yes. Your brain activity was fluctuating significantly. And your heart was barely beating. So now it's my turn to ask you, what happened?"
"Why should I tell you?" You spat. Truth was, you had no idea what had happened. You'd had another wave of pain and that was all you could remember. Toni smiled ever so slightly, "Just as I suspected. You have no idea what's happening, do you?"You examined her expression worriedly. Of course, it gave nothing away, but you were desperate for answers. "Y/N," Toni began, folding her arms over her chest, "do you know why the realignments never worked on you? We initially thought it was genetics, but your Mother switched just fine, didn't she?"
You winced at the mention of your Mum, you didn't like to think about what she became.
"Such a shame we had to kill her," Toni smirked, "but we had to see whether your brain would succumb if it was vulnerable. A brain in mourning, distraught and ready to be manipulated. It's the perfect target for realignment."