chicago ♔ subscribe me not to darkness

[principal]

♬ To Darkness - Mumford and Sons

WHO || Buffy Summers, Sam Winchester, Robin Wood [closed]
WHAT || Buffy accompanies Sam to Chicago, seeking answers about Dean's past... and the fate of the version of Sam from this world
WHERE || Chicago, USA
WHEN || Late-October [back-dated]
HOW || Actionspam

Sam Winchester has not a very easy time of this world.  

Most of the reasons for which, it seems, can be traced back to the fact that there was another Sam Winchester native to this dimension.  One who somehow managed to alienate his brother Dean to the point where he almost murdered Sam on sight, and it's been a very slow, uphill battle ever since to get Dean to say more than two non-hostile words in a row to him.

An uphill battle that's going too slowly for Sam's taste.  

Upon googling his own name and doing some research in hunter circles, he learned more and more disturbing facts - including the fact that he and Dean from this world were held responsible for the deaths of Jo & Ellen Harvelle, and Bobby Singer.  Distraught by what he'd learned, he shared the facts with his new friend, Buffy, who agreed to travel with him to Chicago tracing down one of the only leads they have on finding out more about what happened, since Dean doesn't seem inclined to share.

And so off they go to Chicago - home to some of Buffy's own demons - to check out the Hunter's bar run by Robin Wood.

Comments

[astrayed]

Now if that were true, someone's been spreading some nasty rumors. I wonder why.

[familybusiness]

I don't know. They saw something, thought that was the only end result. It doesn't necessarily mean they were lying on purpose.

[astrayed]

Or maybe the person they were trying to lie to was themselves. Not that Dean Winchester ever does anything like that. [ she shrugs slightly ] From what I hear.

[familybusiness]

[Yeah, that's...exactly something Dean might do. He would rather he be dead than...something else.

Just like Sam would want the same for himself.]

He would have had a good reason.

[Just like he might have a good reason for not telling him what he wanted to know.

That hadn't stopped him from coming here, though.]

[astrayed]

At least in his mind. But the fact that you don't seem to know that reason, and that you're here looking for answers with Blondie instead of him, well...

That sort of smacks of a sad story, Sam.

[familybusiness]

Yeah, well, maybe it wouldn't if he'd tell me himself.

[Tries to act like it doesn't bother him. He's probably pretty transparent. (will save 14).]

But he won't, so here I am.

[astrayed]

And here I am. It's like kismet. [ she nods at a building they pass, one with a fire escape leading way up to the roof above. ] Don't be too hard on Dean about it all.

He's not playing with a full deck. The cards were sort of stacked against him. He was never going to understand. [ she turns around and snakes either arm through the rungs of the ladder above her head, arching her back slightly as she watches him, her hips undulating ever-so-slightly, just enough to make the posture incredibly alluring. ] Tell me, Sam. Do you really think any version of you is capable of hurting him the way he claims to have been hurt by you?

[familybusiness]

[Given some more time back home, he would have hated the sound of that.

This is all starting to get...pretty specific. There's a whole lot here he hasn't brought up, and he'd have to be an idiot not to notice (wisdom...nat 20. of course.)

Apparently she's also...super fucking distracting and getting what he needs is more important than a million warning signs (will save crit fail. i couldn't make this shit up).]

I think something big happened. We've had our differences and our disagreements, but this is something else.

[astrayed]

[ she hooks one heel up on a rung and pushes up, still holding onto the ladder enough to lean down closer to him. ] Lot of people who think it's better if you just don't know. But see, I have a feeling you're never going to stop looking. [ she shrugs, eyes tracing over his face, before she finally pulls back, and swings around the right way on the ladder. ] But, nobody knows you like I do, Sam. [ she starts climbing, so he gets a gr8 view of her ass in leather pants, as she scales effortlessly with no further explanation. ]

[familybusiness]

[He keeps his reaction to that almost entirely internal (ws 18), the only sign of it being a slight widening of his eyes.

She's right, though. He wouldn't be here if he had any intentions to stop looking. It's something Dean should have known too, maybe he even did, but maybe in the years he'd been gone his brother had forgotten that his patience was...not great when it came to secrets and deliberate withholding of information.

He doesn't hesitate, he just steps closer, reaching up for the ladder and climbing up after her (climb...nat 20. WTF SAM)]

[astrayed]

[ ♬ inertia creeps - massive attack

she still manages to stay well ahead of him, which is impressive in those boots, and by the time he gets to the top, barely noticing how high up they are, she's already sauntering across to the far side, where she lays one hand on the decorative gargoyle there and looks down, over the chicago skyline at night.

she turns when he gets closer, eyes glittering. ] You know. The last time I met you, you were hurting because of him too. Because of what he was willing to do for you, to protect you.

He just never really seemed to get how far it ran both ways, did he?

[familybusiness]

He thinks he's responsible for me. It's always been like that.

[Big brother, little brother complex. Dean never seems to understand that Sam would sacrifice just as much for him as Dean has in reverse.

His brother never has looked at him as much else than a kid who can't handle anything on his own. It's what got them into this mess in the first place, by the sounds of it.

He watches her carefully, curiously, as he makes his way over.]

But I'm not here to talk about Dean.

[astrayed]

No offense, Sam, but... it's kind of hard to talk about one without the other. [ she nods off the roof ] Take a look around. What do you see down there?

[familybusiness]

[While it's a fair enough comment, it's also mildly irritating.

It would be less so if he wasn't dealing with a truckload of drama involving him, but he'd created this mess by avoiding talking about anything.

He peers off the roof, taking in the view (spot 23).]

[astrayed]

[ they're not so far up that the people are reduced to ants, and so he sees plenty bustling too and fro, wrapped up against the chill october air. the city is alive at this hour, traffic and conversations and peddlers and beggars and limos creating an elaborate patchwork of motion. it's... a city, with all that entails. she watches him with interest, waiting for his response. ]

[familybusiness]

[So basically what he expected to see.]

A city at sundown. People heading home from work or heading out for the evening. An intricate network of people and community, electricity and steel working together to keep everything running.

[He pauses before he adds:]

Back home I'd comment on how ninety-nine percent of them have no idea the things that were going on around them, but things are...different here. At least in certain ways. [Another beat, then:] But they probably still don't realize how fragile it all is. People tend to take a lot of things for granted.

[Whoops he got...nerdy and philosophical.]

[astrayed]

They really do. Things might not be as different here as you realize. [ she reaches up to drag her fingers through the back of his hair, keeping his head locked in place. ] Look past them. I know you can see it, Sam. What everyone else can't.

[familybusiness]

[His brows furrow, as if he doesn't quite understand, but her fingernails against his scalp is as distracting as the rest of her.

And so he looks, even though he has no real clue what she's talking about or what he's supposed to do, trying to let it all go in a way, as if losing focus on the individual pieces will let him see whatever she seems to think is 'behind' it.]

What am I look for exactly?

[astrayed]

I think you know. Demons, Sam. You can see demons.

[ and in fact, the more he looks, the more things start to shimmer into view, as if they were there all along, out of the corner of his eye, an extra layer of movement below that's

well

everywhere.

everywhere people are gathered, people are arguing, beneath the framework of metal and flesh, creatures are lurking and roiling, fading in and out, as if drawn here and there. it's hard to say what they're even doing, and everyone seems completely unaware of their presence. ] It's easy for people with the sight to catch the more powerful ones without even trying. But it goes deeper than that. They're always pressing against the edge of this world, some just on the verge of spilling over.

Trying to feed.

[familybusiness]

[That's...not what he was expecting.

To him, demons are an ever present threat, but he hasn't seen that many of them. They crawl up from Hell from time to time, possess someone, do their dirty work, making deals, condemn human souls to hell, but they're no harder for him to see than anyone else when they show themselves. Their eyes give them away, or the smoke trails and the sulfur they leave behind.

This is so much worse than that.]

They're...everywhere.

[Just beneath the surface, not far below in the Pit. Just waiting.

He stares for what probably seems a long time, unable to look away. It takes him taking a step or two away from the edge, blocking his view, before he can stop.]

[astrayed]

They're drawn to suffering and vice. Did you think those things were hard to come by in this world?

[familybusiness]

[His mouth is dry as he turns his head to look at her.]

...No. Especially not in a big city like Chicago.

[So many people in such a small space. Crime and booze and poverty. It wouldn't be hard to find either of those things.]

[astrayed]

It is worse in these kinds of places, you're right. [ she looks almost proud ] Gold star.

But they're easy to find in any place on earth, if you know how to look. Greed demons find the greedy and feed, and grow in power or reproduce. Pride demons shadow the proud to do the same. They multiply and multiply, and wherever they gather in mass, they tip the scales, push people closer to temptation, make it harder for them to turn around.

It's a self-sustaining system, a cancer devouring this world and everyone in it, and it's the reality that underlies every single thing that happens here.

So you're right. Most people will never really know how fragile things are. How close this world is to the edge of despair.

[familybusiness]

Demons, from each of the nine Hells.

[Thanks for that bit, Dumage. No, but really. Nine Hells. And denizens from each are this fucking close?

It's pretty...horrifying, really.]

I'm guessing this isn't something particularly common or those Hunters wouldn't be sitting in that bar having drinks right now. So how do you know all of this?

[The who are you really goes unsaid. She's not just some hunter that happened to know the other version of him.]

[astrayed]

Most of those Hunters can't even see demons. The ones who can don't understand what they're really looking at. And very few of them have as powerful of a gift as you do.

[ she turns and hops up to sit on the edge, facing him, legs crossed, hands gripping the stone on either side of her. ]

I've been around the block, Sam. I was there through the whole big mess with you and your brother. I know what you both did for each other. Did to each other.

And the real kicker is? You both thought you were doing the same thing. [ she jerks her head behind her towards the city ] Putting an end to that.