FIC: Ride The Skies 14/?

[dollarformyname]

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FOURTEEN

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They duck into the first bedroom they come across, recently vacated due to all the excitement. There are rumpled piles of blankets scattered on the floor around the bed, which is similarly mussed, pale gray light setting a single, unadorned window faintly aglow. It's uncomfortably warm up here, lingering body heat and humidity settled into the house's old bones like it's never known a better resting place.

Dean goes to the window right away, overlooking the scrapyard and field beyond.

"Still there?" Sam asks, shuffling around behind him.

Dean doesn't have to look to know what he's doing. "Yep."

Cas and Gabriel are keeping a respectable distance from each other. No one's throwing punches or wielding angel-killing swords, but that's not exactly comforting. Dean's fairly certain Cas can handle himself, shoo Gabriel off the property with some long-winded speech or other, and if not, Cas can fly out of harm's way. Dean needs to wonder about Gabriel's intentions, but that's for later. For now, he yanks a pocket knife from his jeans and wordlessly works around Alec, scrawling bloody Enochian on the glass, ready and waiting to banish any persistent heavenly jokers, should it come to that.

Dean sighs and turns, sees more Enochian in Sam's blood on the opposite wall, and it sends a familiar twinge through him, even if he should've long ago been used to his brother losing pints and pints of the stuff for stupider reasons.

"How's the leg?"

Sam barely glances up from what he's doing, brows furrowed like he has to actively recall what Dean's talking about. "Fine. Just a bruise."

Dean watches him move for a minute, dubious. Sam's not wincing or hobbling too badly, though, so he lets it go and drops onto the mattress with his super-limpet on his chest, reclines against the creaky old headboard, legs stretched in front of him. Finished with his blood-painting, Sam does the same with Ben, shoulder and hip brushing Dean's as he keeps muttering comforting nonsense against the top of Ben's head. Ben's only response is to make a wriggling fuss and crowd into Dean's lap like he and Alec are opposite poles that must attract when in range. The boys curl up together, a tight-knit, unbreakable bundle of rumbling. It sounds more like purring now than growling, and that's so fucking adorable Dean can't help but smile a little despite all the recent melodrama.

Lap empty now, Sam takes the opportunity to check them both over, and reports that, aside from some holes in their clothes, a few minor scratches that it looks like the boys accidentally inflicted on each other, the worst of the damage appears to be their hands: fingernails jagged and peeled back, knuckles split from trying to tear apart something essentially indestructible.

"Okay," Dean says, licking his lips. "Okay. Can you—"

"Got it." Sam's already halfway out the door. He comes back a few minutes later with a bowl of warm water, a med kit, some washcloths and a couple of clean shirts from the box downstairs. He sets everything on the nightstand, drops back onto the bed and gives the boys a considering look. Reaches for Ben again.

Ben doesn't want to let go.

"Ben, c'mon," Sam tries. "I just wanna clean you up, buddy."

Ben shakes his head, wraps his arms tighter around Alec, growls again when Sam won't stop trying to pry him loose.

"Hey, none of that," Dean says, gentle fingers working underneath the vise of Ben's grip.

"Not goin' out like this," a muffled voice says from somewhere in the vicinity of Dean's chest, which feels a thousand times lighter at the sound of it. "You're cuddling me to death, Ben. Leggo. I got a reputation to maintain."

"You're stupid," Ben mutters against Alec's neck. "Your reputation is stupid. You don't get a vote."

Huffing out a relieved laugh, Sam backs off and Dean drops his hand, letting Alec and Ben work it out among themselves.

"Your face is stupid. Geddoff." Alec bucks, and Ben loosens his hold reluctantly, sits up.

Shiny tear tracks are cutting through the muck on his cheeks, and he swipes a wrist over his eyes, smearing blood and dirt all over. "You're gonna kick his ass for this, right?" Ben asks, looking between Dean and Sam.

Dean raises his brows. "Language, dude."

Ben screws up his face. "You let Alec cuss."

"No one gets to cuss," Sam says sternly, his hands still held out. "And no one's kicking anyone's ass. C'mere."

"I'm immune to ass-kickings, anyway," Alec mutters as Ben complies, and Dean can hear the smirk in his voice. Little shit. "You'd just hurt yourself."

"That right?" Dean turns Alec around and pulls him up into a sitting position, takes the damp washcloth Sam hands him. Alec lets Dean get away with wiping him down like an infant for about ten seconds, then snatches the rag to do it himself.

"It is right. It's like a curse, how right I am all the time."

"Quite a burden you're carrying there, kid." Dean cracks a smile, taking the rag back when Alec decides dunking his hands in the bowl is faster. "That ego alone's gotta weigh a ton."

Ben snorts. "Wonder where he gets that from," he mumbles, cheeks flushing even as he says it. Alec snorts. Ben flicks a contrite glance at Dean's wide grin and quickly looks away, but the corner of his mouth twitches.

Sam chuckles, patting at Ben's shoulder. "Telling the truth's nothing to be ashamed of. Dean needs to hear it as often as possible." He finishes with Ben's arms and face, plops the rag into the pink-tinged water and carefully examines Ben's hands. Sam turns and snags the med kit, spilling its contents across the middle of the bed for easier access.

"Honesty's a good policy," Dean agrees, holding Alec's wrist firmly when the kid won't stop trying to wiggle away from having his injuries disinfected. He's not wincing, just looks annoyed about having to sit still. "So when you boys get your first period, feel free to blame that on Uncle Sammy."

"Dean," Sam huffs.

"What?"

"That's not funny." Sam frowns so hard it makes Dean's face hurt. "He's not funny," he repeats to the boys. "He's sexist and crude and a bad role model and not even close to funny."

Alec and Ben's muffled snickers beg to differ. Dean is unrepentant.

Sam goes on disapproving in silence, brow furrowed in concentration as they finish their respective patch jobs, and Dean does his best to distance himself from how very much he hates the sight of the boys' perfect skin being ripped up like this, even if it's ridiculously minor compared to what could have happened. Ben's right about Alec needing his ass chewed up and spit out for the stunt he pulled, but Dean just doesn't have it in him right now.

"Shirts," Sam says, once the boys are all bandaged up—Dean may have gone a little overboard with Alec's mummy hands—and once they're both dressed in clean clothes, Ben scrambles back over and shoves at his brother until Alec gives in with a sigh, like he can't believe how generous he's gotta be today. He throws an arm wide, and Ben shuffles closer, sitting half on top of him and pinning him to Dean's chest again.

"Sammy," Dean says, wiggling his fingers.

"What?"

"Hand."

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Sam rolls his eyes but doesn't seem to have the energy to fight him on it, offers his hand palm-up so Dean can pour peroxide all over the cut. "You done?"

Dean frowns in answer, but lets his brother have his hand back. Sam snatches the peroxide away and returns the favor before Dean knows what's happening.

"Fucker," Dean complains, swiping the fizzing wetness in his palm against the sheet, and then Max bursts into the room and derails all his halfhearted thoughts of revenge.

He wonders how Bobby managed to stall her so long, given the determined scowl she's sporting. He's gonna to have to buy the man a case of the good stuff later on to make up for all this. Maybe a truckload of cases.

"What was that?" Max asks, elbowing the door shut like they can actually get any privacy in a house full of kids with bat hearing. "What does it want? Can we kill it?" She seems to think she's keeping her fear a secret, arms crossed and her stance all killing is my business, but her eyes give her away. Alec and Ben instantly tense up at the subject change.

"Who put you in charge?" Dean says, more avoidance than irritation, even though her automatic assumption that she's entitled to any and all information is a little grating. Dean's rarely in the mood to be bossed around by someone who can't even reach the pedals in the Impala on a good day, and this isn't exactly shaping up to be one of those.

"We can't kill it, can we?" Max says, seeming to decide Dean's deflection is some damning thing, and the fear's not confined to her eyes anymore. She looks so bleak.

She's not supposed to look bleak; she's supposed to be innocent and oblivious, goddammit. Ben is supposed to give Alec noogies and Alec is supposed to plot swirly revenge and scraped knees are supposed to be the greatest traumas they will ever know. This whole thing is bullshit, and Dean really needs to know what it is about Gabriel that's got these kids so twisted up.

"You're not killing anything," Sam says. "You don't need to worry about stuff like that. It's our problem and we'll handle it."

The dark twist to Max's features says just what she thinks about that. "He's my brother." Her gaze skitters to Ben—the most visible what with the way his body's blanketing Alec like he's trying to protect him from the whole world—and softens a fraction. Alec goes impossibly tenser at that declaration and throws a possessive arm around Ben's shoulders, but Max doesn't seem to pick up on it. "You can't tell me not to worry about it."

And, well, she's got them there. People have told the Winchesters to ease up on worrying about each other their whole lives. It works about as well as throwing water on a grease fire and, while she's not a Winchester, 'family don't end in blood' is one of Bobby's favorite sayings for a reason. She knows Ben better than Dean or Sam right now, better than Alec, even. Has a bond and insights that they can't—

"C'mere," Dean says, sitting up a little straighter and shifting the boys.

Alec makes a betrayed grunting noise, and does his damnedest to take up all available lap space. Dean squeezes his arm in reassurance, but Alec's not appeased.

Max frowns at him, distrustful. Sam, apparently deciding to cut to the chase, goes to snatch her up, depositing her between him and Dean when he sits back down. Her eyes go wide but she doesn't fight him, just sits there looking about as comfortable as someone bunking down in a pit of snakes.

Dean sighs, swiping his knuckles across his eyes and thinking, while Ben risks Alec's wrath to twine his hand with Max's. Alec doesn't say anything, but he's not exactly subtle with the way he's trying to tug his brother to the other side of Dean's lap.

"Alec," Dean warns.

The kid lets out an aggrieved huff, but stops trying to plant himself between Ben and Max.

"We've let a lotta things fall by the wayside," Sam says, looking like he'd rather clean Bobby's bathroom than have this conversation.

Dean's right there with him. They haven't really had the monster talk with the boys yet, putting it off and off and off some more, and now it's gotten to the point where Alec and Ben aren't the only ones they've gotta enlighten. Killing these kids' last shred of innocence is not going to be fun or easy by any stretch of the imagination, but it's necessary. They think they've had it tough (which they have, don't get him wrong), that they've seen the worst there is to see, but they're still so far from knowing how bad things can get, how big and how far it all really goes.

"I don't wanna go through this more than once if I don't have to," Dean decides, and Sam nods. They'll take that part of it downstairs, but first: "What was with the wild kingdom act out there?"

"It was hurting Alec," Ben all but growls.

"Was not," Alec denies, petulant. "I had it under control."

"Oh, yeah," Max snorts, rolling her eyes. "Awesome control. Your hissy fit really had that thing shaking in its boots." She moves closer to Ben, who's taken to trembling with renewed rage, and Alec snarls. "Get over it," she snaps.

"Hey!" Sam and Dean react at the same time when Alec lunges for her jugular.

Sam wades into the pile of kids and yanks Alec over into his own lap, all tyrannical giant throwing his weight around and clearly not willing to put up with any arguments. "Be still," Sam orders, tone softly fierce and his arms a circle of steel. "You're pushing it right now, Alec."

Alec goes limp and sulky once it becomes clear he's not getting free without causing his uncle severe injury. His eyes are sharp and unforgiving, though, trying to burn holes in Ben's face when his brother doesn't immediately come to his defense.

"Have you lost your goddamn mind? We don't try to kill each other!" Dean barks. Alec refuses to meet his eyes, so Dean hardens his tone. "Hey. You hear what I'm tellin' you?"

"Alec." Sam shakes him a little. "Answer him."

Alec purses his lips, a clear indication that he will not be swayed no matter how much disapproval they throw at him.

Ben still looks pissed, but now he's obviously torn, too. Dean shakes his head in disappointment, allowing Max to claim Alec's vacated spot so she can comfort her brother.

Alec's expression goes from wrongly persecuted to downright furious, face burning red and his eyes all lightning-spidered storm clouds of wrath. Dean hates the defensive tension that runs through him when he senses an oncoming attack.

Sam doesn't waste time, stands and carries Alec out of the room with a curt, "Give us a minute," and slams the door behind them.

"Fuck," Dean breathes, jamming the heels of his hands against his eyes. He's tired as shit and all this drama doesn't look like it's tapering off anytime soon.

"He's territorial," Max says, shifting back away from Dean like she just remembered she's not cool with hugging outsiders. "Some of us are worse about that than others."

Dean feels an illogical surge of annoyance. "So you thought baiting him was the way to go?"

Her eyes flash. "You're the one who made me come up here! And Ben was my brother first!" She hauls in a breath, visibly pushing the child away and erecting the soldier, too mature for her own good. "Besides, showing fear just makes it worse. Usually they get over it when you let 'em know you're not gonna take their crap."

"That worked out real well," Dean sighs, but spreads a hand in concession when she puffs up again. "Not your fault, I know. Just been a long day."

"I did that wrong." Ben pushes away and starts to scramble off the bed, ready and willing to beg forgiveness by the look of him.

Dean pulls him right back and plants his ass firmly in the middle of the mattress. "Let Sam handle Alec. He's not gonna stay mad for long, buddy, trust me." Ben looks dubious, so Dean says it again. "Trust me."

He doesn't tell him that Alec and Ben are too much like himself, or that Dean can't hold onto a grudge against his family to save his life so it's reasonable to assume the boys are similarly afflicted. But Ben seems to understand what he's not saying in some abstract way, and relaxes.

"You wanna get back on topic now?" Dean asks.

Max flinches, and Ben's face bricks up so fast it's dizzying, unreadable but for the darkness in his eyes. Dean couldn't see his expression before, what with Ben all tucked up against him, but he's got a clear view now and that startling emptiness seems to run so deep Dean gets a horrible flash of sulfur and copper on his tongue. It lasts less than a second and still leaves him breathless.

And he thinks again, Jesus fucking Christ, who do I have to maim to get all the broken pieces of this kid back where they belong?

This isn't a soldier looking at him. It isn't an animal. It's a killer, plain and simple. Except for the part where it's not simple at all. It's appalling. No child should wear that look. Nothing even remotely human should wear that look.

"It was hurting Alec," Ben says again. "It was too big and it had him. I wasn't gonna let it have him."

Dean suddenly aches all the way down to his core. More than he's needed anything, he needs Ben to not look at him like that. He swallows thickly, holds out his arms, but Ben is rooted to the spot, eyes gouged of emotion and peering off into some other galaxy. "Ben," Dean croaks, silently curses his own voice. He sits forward and curls his fingers around Ben's jaw, tilts his head up. "Hey, dude. Look at me."

Ben does look, and his eyes sharpen a little, but it's not even close to good enough.

"What was too big?" Dean asks.

"If you can't fight, you run. Listen to your instincts, that's what they told us. But sometimes you can't run, either. Sometimes you can't do anything." Ben's voice wobbles a little, but evens back out into that dead tone on the tail end. "It was too big to fight, but I wasn't gonna let it have him."

Dean doesn't even know where to start making sense of that. He gets the feeling Ben's talking about two things at once.

"It was too much," Max decides to help out, inching closer to Ben. "It felt like..." She bites her lip, face pinched. "Like it could swallow us up and burn us down at the same time. And it could pull everything apart if it wanted. Not just us, but the ground and sky too."

She twists her mouth up, not entirely satisfied with that.

"Say the world is one of those snowglobe things," she tries again. "And someone comes along and picks it up? And if you're inside, you'd be hitting the deck because you know they're gonna shake it around and jumble everything up until they get bored. Or they could drop it and kill us all. Or, if they were feeling generous, they could put it back down and move on. It was like that."

Dean nods when she looks to see if he's grasping the gravity of what she's telling him.

Max shrugs. "It didn't seem like it was gonna lose interest and go away, though, so we figured extraction was the next best thing."

"Huh," Dean says, rubbing at his mouth in thought. "And Cas didn't make you feel like that?"

Max shakes her head, but the reminder has her frowning, confused. "Not by himself. But out there it was like he made it bigger. I dunno."

She's all out of helpful similes, it seems, but Dean's pretty sure he gets the gist. Thinks again about animals sensing the unnatural in ways people can't. He slides his attention back to Ben, whose thousand-yard stare is aimed at the door. Max shifts her focus, too, worrying at her lip some more. She's thinking too hard about something.

"Did he tell you about the Blue Lady?" she asks after a beat. Ben doesn't seem to hear her.

"Blue Lady?"

She nods, hesitates, then sidles up to Dean like they're about to plot a bank heist and the brass is listening in. "He was talking about the shakes before. The thing he couldn't fight? We were all scared of them, but Ben was... He took it pretty personally. Like he failed us every time someone got them."

Shit. Dean remembers all too well the helplessness of not being able to stop Ben's seizures. But then they handled them with pills. So maybe if he explains about medical science—or gets Sam to, because Dean's not the geek in the family—it will help ease some of that fear Ben's holding onto.

He's oversimplifying it, though, he knows that before he even finishes the thought. There's a dead fawn in a random forest that says it's a whole lot more complicated. Besides, Ben was raised in a lab; he probably knows more than anybody ever wanted to about medicine.

"Alec mentioned something about kids disappearing when they got sick," Dean says, and the tightness in Max's face smooths out a little, like having even the tiniest bit of the intel somehow makes him more trustworthy. "So where do blue chicks fit in?"

Max shrinks away from him a little. Dean's been around her long enough to realize she isn't easily subdued, which makes it all the more worrisome. But after a minute or so, she seems to gather up some courage and haltingly starts talking. She tells him about Ben's talent for storytelling, the things they overheard and the pieces of gossip Ben would weave into his stories, how he was so engaging he even had himself convinced his own yarns were the God's honest truth by the time he was done. Max tells him about the basement and the 'nomalies—the government's own special brand of the bogeyman, however unintentional—about Psy-Ops—a more deliberate bogeyman—the janitor and his ill-timed prayer card, hunting convicts for practice and other such repulsive details of their training.

She falters a few times, but Dean is patient and encouraging, and eventually she tells him everything—at least he hopes it's everything because he doesn't want to believe it gets worse. And, all the while, Dean's innards are all falling and leaping out of place, vacated spaces filling with rage and disgust and a deep, deep sadness that threatens to hollow him out.

It's fucked up. It's so fucked up there aren't words to fully encompass the fucked-upness of it. But, as much as he wants to scrape the new knowledge out of his skull with a rusty spoon, it does give him better grasp on how to deal with Ben's freaky deer hunting (gives him a little more to work with as far as Alec's issues go, too). Just as soon as he remembers how to claw his way out of his own horror.

"Jesus," is all Dean can think to say when she's done.

Max watches him process everything, wary. Dean's not sure what that's all about; she didn't do a single thing wrong, and he doesn't like the way Ben is still staring at the door like his life depends on it. The nervous tick of his jaw says he's not as oblivious as he's pretending to be.

"I'm sorry," Dean finally says, barely refrains from scooping both kids up to squeeze the proper doses of love and care back into them. They don't seem all that receptive to physical affection right now.

Max looks puzzled.

"Those assholes had no fucking right to do that to you," Dean clarifies. "If I ever run into any of 'em—" He stops himself from finishing that sentence. They may have been engineered for killing, but that's a far cry from the torturer Dean's been harboring since he got back from Hell. They don't need that kind of shit in their heads. Dean doesn't need it in his own head, but there's not a heck of a lot he can do about that.

It seems he got something right, at any rate, because Max lets out a huge breath and Ben stops grinding his teeth.

Alec bangs back into the room then, and he's like a whole new person: huge cardboard smile and a gaze that won't settle on anyone. Sam doesn't look pleased with this turnaround, hard frown set deep into his face like a stain that's never coming out again.

Ben's jolts into motion, like he just remembered where his on switch is, but Alec steps back behind Sam and cuts his eyes away. Barrier flung right up in Ben's face, and Dean can see the way it hurts him, a distressed sort of confusion from the unexpected collision.

"Okay!" Alec says, all false brightness as he claps his hands sharply. Ben flinches. "Think Grandpa Bobby's had enough time to strangle everyone's spirits. Someone's gotta keep up morale around here so I'm gonna," he jerks both thumbs over his shoulders, "go do that," spins around and marches right back out.

Ben watches him go, standing so small and forlorn on his own little desert isle, and Dean can tolerate that for all of two seconds. He stands and swings Ben up into his arms. "Trust me," Dean tells him again. Ben's only response is to cling so hard Dean can feel his eyeballs threatening to pop out of his head in protest.

Sam clears his throat. "Dean," he says, eyes distant and troubled. "We gotta talk, man."

With all these threats and revelations crashing down around them like a perpetual meteor shower, and them with barely a second to themselves since these kids showed up, Dean really has to agree. But first things first.

"Later, Sammy." He sets Ben back down, knees cracking as he bends to be at eye level, hooks a finger under the boy's chin when he tries avoiding Dean's gaze some more. He hates what he's about to do next, but with all he's seen and heard when it comes to these boys, and no matter how his gut curdles at the idea, he thinks it might be the right thing. Fuck, he hopes it's the right thing. "I need you to do something for me, okay?"

Ben's eyes shimmer, tears swelling but not falling yet. He gives a jerky nod.

"I need you to help me look after your brother. No matter what else is goin' on, that's your primary objective." Dean swallows, but Ben is straightening, looking grateful and determined and like he's settling in his own skin for the first time in a long time. "There's something dangerous outside and Alec's having a tantrum. What do you do?"

"Keep him safe," Ben blurts quickly, practically vibrating with the purpose. "Secure the perimeter, don't let him wander off just because he's mad. Hold him down if I have to."

Despite the shitty feeling that laying this kind of responsibility on the boy gives him, Dean's chest swells with pride. It's insane, how quickly these kids pick things up. "That's good, Ben. That's real good."

And damned if Ben doesn't believe that. He lets out a thousand-pound breath and turns away without further instruction, racing out the door and down the stairs.

Letting out his own breath, Dean stands and faces his brother. Sam's frown now looks like the obsessive work of a sculptor's chisel.

"Wow," Max pipes up from the bed, and they both turn, startled. They'd forgotten she was there. She swings her feet to the floor and hops up, pushes past them. "Guess you're not as dumb as you look," she calls over her shoulder.

They watch after her for a beat and then, smirking tiredly, Sam opens his mouth—

"No," Dean cuts him off before he can ask, slices a hand through the air for emphasis. "We can only fit so much smart-ass in the car."

Sam frowns again, and Dean turns on his heel to walk away before his brother can start firing off his arguments.

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A/N: I ramble-write, I'm aware. I'm getting back to Gabriel next chapter; I promise it wasn't a completely pointless cameo. XP

TBC...

Comments

[jebbypal]

Oh wow. I really needed the crack break. Great job

[butterflykiki.livejournal.com]

So. Much. Glee. That you picked this one up again. I love this whole story so damn much. (And I kind of want Max and girl-Sam to end up in the Impala too, even if it's not *that* big.)

Great stuff, awesome characterization, love Dean as dad, and hugs to both Alec & Ben. (And for boy-Sam for trying to deal so hard, too.)

[sailorstarshine.livejournal.com]

... Sam wants to keep Max. AHAHAHAHAHAHA! XD Can't wait for more! What's Gabriel doing here? to help? well, they certainly do need help, but with his introduction, whoooboy. none of the kids will trust him.

[dark-spn-angel.livejournal.com]

Sam wants to keep Max now.....LOL!!

Technically, Max is wrong....she wasn't Ben's sibling first......Alec was.....ever since they were created in the test tubes.

I really liked that Max opened up to Dean about everything (basically) and now he has more of an understanding.

I can't help but wonder what Sam said to Alec (or what Sam needs to urgently speak to Dean about).

I feel bad for Alec when Max basically throws it in his face that she's 'replacing' him.

I LOVE this story and I'm so relieved that you're continuing this!!!!
UPDATE ASAP!!!!
I can't wait for Dean to have that mass meeting about Gabriel and the other creatures of the night.

I see you found your Muse again

[kag55.livejournal.com]

Great chapters. Of course, considering Gabriel's idea of "helping", next one is going to be GOOD, I just know.

[greeniron.livejournal.com]

This is great to see more of this story. You're maintaining an excellent balance of having the kids be truly damaged without being hopelessly broken. Reading this it's clear how much they need help but also that they can be helped. Also, it's interesting to see their reaction to Gabriel -- Max's description of him is perfect. Thanks for posting this!

[randomstasis.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think Max could fit in the car-Dean and Sam's smartassery didn't break it all those years they travelled with John, after all:) And Sam needs a real girl around..
Very disturbing how quickly the kids picked up on Gabriel's chaos. What does he want, we wonders?
And Bobby, poor Bobby, trying to disarm the Munchkin Horde!

[marziebarz.livejournal.com]

WOW. Just read the whole thing so far in one shot, and its AWESOME. I can't even tell you how much I'm looking forward to more ^_^

I've never actually seen much Dark Angel, but from what I've seen you've got everyone pegged pretty well, and your Supernatural characters are pitch-perfect. This whole thing is really nicely done, and I am on the edge of my seat for more!

[marziebarz.livejournal.com]

Just re-read the whole thing, wanted to pop back in and say it's still awesome! And I would still love more ^_^

Review

[sayoes.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan of both Dark Angel and Supernatural and while browsing for crossover fic I found this today. I'm so glad I found it now because it has 14 chapters and I just finished reading 1 to 14 without having to wait for updates.

I think your writing style is amazing, just the right amount of humour mixed with angst at the right moments. Dean's fainting had me stuffing my fist in my mouth to keep from laughing too hard. Sam is an amazing parent and you Ben and Alec are adorable.

I'm so glad you included Max in the later chapters, her relationship with Ben and Alec were one of my favourite things about Dark Angel (I didn't really like Logan that much. I always thought he was too old for 19 year old Max).

I can't wait to see how Gabriel fits in this and your picture of Castiel trying to drive the impala was hilarious! I love Castiel, he and Dean are my favourite characters on Supernatural and I think having him rescue the kids from Manticore was brilliant. By the way will Lydecker or that evil Director be making an appearance?

Sorry, I think i've really rambled in this review, please keep writing and update soon!

Sayoes.

Celebratory Woot

[onechairleft.livejournal.com]

Oh my god! How did I miss this update for FOUR WHOLE DAYS?! I blame LJ's recent hissy fit.

This is really, really good- showing how easily it can all turn to crap when you have so many teeny tiny soldiers and not enough adults around to contain all that awesome.

Plus, Gabriel? Always has been a shit-stirrer, so its no wonder he kicked everything off. I hope he apologizes. I have to say, his death in canon hit me hard because he picked a side and it got him killed and that sucked. :(

But he's alive again in your fic, so YAY.

Also, general Yayness for updates. Updates = Win. ;)

[skogsraa-v.livejournal.com]

I'm so happy this was continued.

[khek.livejournal.com]

O-kay. Things get darker and deeper at the Singer Salvage Yard...

I think young Ben and Alec are even more fucked up as kids than they ended up as adults! Poor little things. (Of course, saying that around them would probably be like teasing a lion, so...) I hope they'll be better off if Sam and Dean can deal with their issues before they become bigger. That's one of the things I'm really enjoying about this story. I really like little Max too...which is good, because big Max was pretty annoying.

And Gabriel! He should know better. All that power, and not even a sliver of common sense. Angels. tsk.

I really enjoyed these chapters. You're managing a cast of thousands and about a dozen plotlines with a very deft hand. :) I can't wait to see where you're going!

[valkyrie4clex.livejournal.com]

I've just spent the night reading this and was praying that it wouldn't end and now here I am :(
REally - I love this and can't wait for more. I've been reading and downloading while threats of a tornado are on the tv- hoping I could get it all before the elctricity goes out.
Thank you for sharing your work- I love Alec and Ben- I love your Sam and Dean and Bobby is totally right.
Now I have to go to bed wondering who the Blue Lady is and what Gabirel wants.
I never watched Dark Angel but you have made me decide i need to watch at least some of them - I had a good friend who tried to get me into it - I hate to tell her you succeeded where she failed.

[longbca.livejournal.com]

I like that Max has been brought into this but I also don't want her to stick around...she irritates me...always has. i just re-read this and the new chps! It was awesome- i hope you manage to find a way to get Adam back into this- I'm sure the boys would love their Uncle Adam very much- but also think about vulnerable!Adam and protective!Dean!and!Sam of him. I could easily imagine Alec and Ben taking care of Adam in their own special ways... I love how you write the boys- brilliant! I admit I am interested to see how the transgenic's will divide themselves up. I also am interested to see what Gabriel will do- I kinda want him to put Max into her place about killing him- cause there is no way she'd be able to. Also post on FF already!

[trouble-sd1.livejournal.com]

it figures that you update and my chinchillas decide to murder my internet for the second time in two weeks.this is just the thing for my crossover craving that i've been having :)more please soon?

[camdk.livejournal.com]

There are not enough good SPN/DA crossovers out there that I can afford to see one of them stagnate, so imagine my squee at seeing this update. :-)

Looking forward to reading more about what Gabriel is up to. And little Ben... so happy to be given a purpose. If only he had met someone to do just that he (probably) would have avoided that unhealthy teeth obsession.

One can never have enough wee!Ben and -!Alec. Thank you for providing them so brilliantly!

[ame-lockheart.livejournal.com]

omg there were two more chapters and I didn't KNOW. YAYGABE.
I'm totally with Sam on this... but Dean is right about the smart ass. Poor Alec... and Ben~ Your story just makes me want to squeeze the hell out of them...
And Sam growing in size to meet a threat was kinda a hilarious image.

[gigglingkat]

Hi! I'm Kat. I'll be stalking this delicious tag from here on out.

SO MUCH LOVE.

[kiyomisa.livejournal.com]

I am loving this. so looking forward to more

[avirt75.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this fic and I can not wait til there is more. Your characters are spot on and I love your writting style.

[fireflybanner.livejournal.com]

I just reread this one from the beginning (again), and it still sucks me right into the story. If you need some encouragement, or a beta again, please let me help!

[lillithblack.livejournal.com]

Where is the rest of this!?? Where is the rest of this!?? I have never come across a SPN/DA crossover that was so perfectly suited to what I was looking for! Please please please continue!!
This is beyond good! It's Perfect!! i love the plot I love the characterizations! Max coming into the plot was the best and if she stay with them which I'm hoping she will because she IS Ben's sister that's just sealing the deal on this being the best crossover I've ever read.

[orange-8-hands.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed this. I hope you continue it one day...

[charibob.livejournal.com]

*poke*

more needs to happen. What about Gabriel? What about the Max/Sam thing? What about Cas? What about introducing Ben and Alec to pie?

*poke,poke,poke*

[insane-no-baka.livejournal.com]

OMG this is amazing. I have no words to describe the awesomeness of this fic. I really hope that it will be continued and will be sure to check back once in a while in hopes that it has been updated. n_n

[orange-8-hands.livejournal.com]

Ah, good story, I'm enjoying it. Guess it's been abandoned but the ride was fun while it lasted.

[avirt75.livejournal.com]

Hi, again! I am about to do some serious poking....poke...poke....poke. PleasepleasepleasepleasePLEASE, say there will be more of this. I have been waiting for ever for some of this delicious fic. I am very hopeful there is still more to come. I will keep my fingers crossed and keep checking bk.

[fic-obsessed.livejournal.com]

FUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKKK!!!! NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! You can't do this to me. I just pulled an all-nighter reading this thing, then discover it's NOT. FINISHED. lkasdjfklasdjfl;kasdjfkl;sdjfgklsdjc klsdfnj jsdklsd;fkljsdl;jkfcnhdklsdnvfjsdkl;fj This fic is so amazing, I'm loving every fucking second of it, PLEASE DON'T DO THIS TO ME!! Please finish it?? Pretty please??@?@?@?@??!!!?>>!!????