How to Save a Soul 2.0

“Hey, Sammy…I found something,” Dean furrowed his brows as he and Sam sat in the main living space of the bunker going through news reports on their laptops, “There’s a news report…a Kansas resident is requesting…investigators drop by his estate. Get this,” he added before Sam could say ‘yeah so?’ and turned his laptop around and pointed to the bottom of the article, “There is a hunter symbol like the ones we see in shops every once in a while. In the report the owner says ‘If anyone knows this symbol and is nearby, please drop by to help me out.’ Now doesn’t that sound like something might be up our alley?”

Sam studied the article a bit more closely and grimaced, “Yeah, and you forgot to mention he would like to have this case solved before his Masquerade Party for Halloween. Really, Dean? You know how much I hate Halloween.”

“But it’s a case, Sam!” Dean whined, “We’ve been holed up in here for, like, two weeks besides runs to the store. Let’s take this one, please?”

“You hate tuxedos, and a mask might mess up your hair,” Sam tried to persuade.

“Yeah, so? Not like a mask is going to do wonders for you luscious locks either,” Dean snorted, and jumped up, “Come on! Get movin’!”

~*~

"We look ridiculous," Dean grumbled, straightening his blue jacket with white and gold trim and cuffed sleeves. and fluffed the white ruffles going down the front of his chest. His black slacks to match clung to his black boots. Glancing around he immediately ducked his head again. There were so many people were there for this party. Cars were all over the lawn and pavement, people roaming the courtyard. He was completely on guard, but a thought occurred to him, "Hey Sammy, at least you don't have an old lady to dance with this time."

Once he heard his brother's words, a scoff left him as an amused smirk creased his lips. "Heh, that is true," Sam also glanced around and ran his hand through his hair, "I feel out of place."

"I know, right? Ugh! Why couldn't we find masks that looked good? Now we gotta keep our heads down as we walk through all these other prissy pants. I didn't even find a decent looking Phantom of the Opera knockoff!"

"I was told I should look out for an Impala. I might be able to help with your mask problem," a man with dirty blond hair approached them with a golden mask that did not really hide much of his face. Dean supposed it was so people knew who they were talking to, "So glad you could make it. I am Emrick Kenton."

"Who told you that you should look out for us? Do you know who we are?" Sam eyed him suspiciously.

"Other Hunters. That...is why you are here, right?" Emrick held his hands up, and there was a mask in either palm.

"Yes, actually," Dean nodded, "I'll take whatever mask is for me." He was handed a dark blue mask that had white swirling streaks around the cat-like eye holes and a much paler blue crown that looked like the wings of a butterfly, with a taller piece in the middle and the silver bolts that held it in place was in the very center of the forehead and at the temples, looking like gemstones, "What am I, the Seelie Winter King or some shit?"

"Do you...really know what the Seelie Fae are?" Sam arched a quizzical brow at his brother.

"Hey, after I blew up that Fairy bitch in the microwave way back in the day, I researched the fuck out of them now get off my case," Dean grumbled as he slipped it on, "Now put on your dragon mask thing. At least you look all badass and not like a total douchebag."

"Actually, you would be Unseelie, since you're much darker and..." Sam stopped himself mid sentence, seeing the put-off look on his older brother's face. "Just...never mind." He scoffed with one of his awkward smiles before it faded instantly, feeling rather silly as he put on his mask. It was a unique bronze color with dragon like ears folding up on both sides, along with vine engravings on the mask itself. On the bottom and top trim of the mask were hoop-like designs with what appeared to be a vine with very small leaves stretching across it.

"Please, let us go somewhere...more private," Emrick said now that they were properly equipped and motioned to them so they would follow.

Once they reached the owner's office, Sam couldn't help but feel impressed at how well kept the room was. It was too fancy for his tastes, but it was a nice change, he supposed. "You have a very nice home." He complimented, giving the man a small yet friendly smile.

"It...actually recently came into my possession," Emrick admitted, "This party is a house warming event." He gave a low sigh, "The spirit was an unwelcome snag."

"So you have no attachment to the ghost, but the ghost has an attachment to the house. Fantastic, that doesn't narrow down our search at all," Dean grumbled, "You mentioned other Hunters? Where are they?"

"Oh I already talked to them and we think we figured it out, but they are downstairs enjoying the party. One of them...I had a run-in with a vampire nest in Kentucky and her father rescued me, even though it was rather...in-passing because he'd been tracking the nest for a while and I happened to be the lead he needed that helped him destroy them," Emrick grumbled, rubbing his neck pointedly, "The ghost I have only caught glimpses of, but it's a female. Young, maybe teenager to young adult. Her clothes looked in the same era as the civil war."

"What did you /do/ to get her pissed off at you? Remodel?" Dean rubbed his face, "Awesome, an old spirit that's been with the place for a while. She was probably stuck in a history loop and when you showed up you disturbed her. You think you figured it out, though? Why she's haunting the place?" he pressed.

"I haven't changed the house any, simply restored it to it's former glory," the owner assured, "She hasn't attacked me, but she's been trying to hurt the workers that say, put brand new flooring in, or replaced the wallpaper."

"A ghost that old doesn't do well with change," Sam sighed.

"We found a few things and kept even fewer. We had to throw out a lot because it was old, rotten, or what have you," Emrick told them, "The one thing that stands out is a music box. Any jewelry was given away so there's none of that she could be holding on to."

"A music box sounds perfect," Dean nodded, "We have to find it and burn it."

"That is what I and the girls agreed on, but we did not want to cause a ruckus so we are going to party a bit first, try and lull the Spirit so she doesn't believe we are a threat," Emerick held his hands up, "Please, the first dance should be starting soon."

"Of course. Thank you." Sam gave Emrick a nod of understanding before following his brother out of the office and to the ballroom. Once there, the younger Winchester's eyes examined his surroundings and scratched the back of his neck once he noticed several hungry stares of women that were probably older than him. God, he hated standing out like this... He hoped to get this case done and over with so he could go back to wearing normal clothes.

~*~

"You look stunning, Kerica! I don't understand why you're feeling so self-conscious." A young redhead woman whispered to the brunette standing beside her, taking a sip of her wine. Hiding her face was a pure white mask that shined blue in the light, with glittering spiral designs engraving it. Her attire was a pale blue strapless dress that had a layered effect on the bust area, and the skirt flowed elegantly like dunes of snow.

Kerica wore a similar mask to the redhead next to her, but it was red that had a gold shine and instead of swirls it had flame-like flares engraved all around and it sparkled. There was also a red long feather that curved up over her head, folding into her messy bun, and there was a smaller orange feather beside it. "Insecurity is often irrational, Amalia," she sighed. While her partner was the epitome of purity with the Snow Queen vibe going on, Kerica had a much simpler red dress on. There were two parts to it, the main solid red dress and the sheer orange over-layer.

The gossamer straps were scrunched and held in place with gold-like plates that were three inches across and two inches wide, and the fabric crossed over her breasts but left an opening for the dress underneath to show through. There was also a golden band around her waist with a garnet smack in the middle, and the sheer layer flowed over the skirt but left an opening at the front as well.

What had Kerica subconscious was that she did not have a bra on and it was completely obvious to anyone who saw her bare back. The dress straps came down in a straight V, connecting at the belt that held it together. Kerica finished off her third glass and set it on the buffet table, pulling away and looking around. Gunmetal green eyes spotted two men that looked uncomfortable, and dark red painted lips smirked when she saw the one in blue, the back of her hand smacking Amalia's arm and then she pointed at him, "You should totally go ask him for a dance."

Amalia blinked a few times before her head turned to where Kerica was pointing at, her bright hazel eyes widening at the sight of the man in blue. Her face suddenly grew hot at her friend's suggestion, looking to her with hesitation. "But I...!" She trailed off, looking down for a moment as she contemplated on what to do. It was true that she wasn't the best dancer, and it shamed her to admit that she didn't even know how to do the waltz. Yet, she knew that she couldn't let this opportunity pass. Biting her bottom lip, she turned to Kerica with a sudden look of determination. "All right... I'll go ask him." She smiled, taking a deep breath and released it slowly with her heart pounding against her chest.

The redhead soon made her way towards him, his back facing her which gave her the opportunity to calm her nerves. With a silent breath, she put on a polite smile and parted her lips to speak to him. "Good evening. May I have the honor of dancing with you?"

Whipping around, Dean's wide eyes turned sultry as he looked the woman who had appeared before him up and down, "Well...so the Unseelie Ice King meets his Seelie Snow Queen?" he asked, hoping he used Sam's correction the right way, "There's no way a lady like yourself could be from the Dark Court, after all, though that bright red hair could be topic of debate as to what you really are." He held his hand out, "You wish to dance with me? I can certainly oblige."

Kerica nodded to herself and was about to turn to grab herself another pastry bite when she noticed that the guy in red had completely disappeared. Looking around, she wondered how a guy like that could disappear into a crowd so easily. Unless he was...she felt a presence behind her and froze, "So you two must be the other hunters I thought were coming? Emerick gave you nice masks."

Amalia felt her face grow even hotter at his words, a bright grin lighting up her face as she took his hand. A small gasp left her as she suddenly felt a static shock starting from the tips of her fingers up to her arm. Judging from his surprised expression, the man must have felt it as well. However, it didn't cause any harm, nor did she pull her hand away from his; instead, she let it linger for a brief moment and looked up at him with a smile. "Shall we?" She asked, letting him lead her to the dance floor. "I must say, I'm very impressed that you know about the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. I wouldn't expect anything less from a fellow Hunter."

~

Sam smirked lightly once she figured out he was behind her, chuckling softly. "Good guess." He said, finding her bare back very sexy but he had to ignore the impulse to slide his fingers along her skin. Walking around to face her completely, his eyes widened only for a moment as he admired her appearance; golden make-up with black swooping eyeliner to make her eyes look even more fierce beneath the mask. He found her incredibly beautiful, "I saw that you were sending your friend over to my brother. I don't suppose you were playing matchmaker, were you?"

"Are you the one who suggested to look out for an Impala?" Dean asked, spinning her once and sliding his arm around her waist, pulling her close to his body. That static shock had been weird, but he tried not to think about it. He could tell by the way she moved she was not confident in her dancing skills, so he chuckled and squeezed her hand a bit, "Just relax."

~

"I might have been," Kerica shifted, finding her cheeks felt like they were on fire because of the way he looked at her. The raw attraction was evident. Even if his expression and tone was gentlemanly, the way he drew himself to his full height was more of a sub-conscious movement and his eyes glinted, the green in them popping, "You two were looking rather off-put so I sent my partner to be a welcome distraction. I had a feeling you were brothers...what with how your outfits match." Wait...Hunter Brothers? Winchesters? She had no idea what their first names were, but the 'Winchester Brothers' were always hot news in any Hunter Bar. Better not raise any flags, though.

She giggled softly as he spun her around before they began to dance, realizing that her muscles were tensed up once he mentioned it. Amalia nodded in response, focusing on just looking into his eyes before she had completely relaxed against him, her body flowing naturally with the music. The way he stared down at her made her face flush into a bright shade of red, visible even behind the mask. "Actually, it was my friend over there that told me and the owner about it." She answered honestly, motioning her head towards where Kerica and Sam were standing.

~

He flashed a bright smile before it faded ever so slightly, scratching the back of his neck and shifted on his feet a bit. "You noticed, huh...?" He chuckled, clearing his throat. "We're not really used to this sort of thing, and to be honest... I hate dressing up; makes me feel out of place."

"Is that so? I wonder how she knew. Do you know?" Dean asked curiously, twirling them and swaying now she had relaxed more. For once he wasn't really worried about the crowds around them. The blush was a stark contrast to the mask and made him glad he still had that effect on women.

~

Kerica's eyes softened and she moved closer to him. Their height difference put her eye-level with the buttons on the pocket flaps of his jacket which were in the middle of his chest, "I feel the same way. Why do you think I've stayed over here the whole time?" she shifted, "I might be convinced to leave, though, if I was asked to dance by a handsome stranger."

Amalia hesitated at answering his question, looking to the side before her gaze met his again. "I guess you can say she has these...'dreams', per say. Images flash in her mind, though one fades just as fast as they appear. At least, that was how she explained it to me." She answered honestly, biting her lip lightly. "I don't really understand it, but this gift she has really helped us out on cases."

~

Sam blinked a few times as he looked down at her, laughing lightly at her words. "I was hoping to dance with a beautiful woman..." He smirked, watching her carefully before he chuckled deeply and bowed with his hand extended to her, "So...Will you dance with me?"

"Is it wrong to feel like we are in a musical with how up-beat the music is?" Dean muttered off-topic as he leaned his head closer to the redhead in his arms, his breath hot against her ear, "Dreams? Your partner is some sort of Psychic? I would say that's crazy but I've seen weird shit for real in my time as a Hunter."

~

Reaching out, Kerica placed her hand in his, nearly jumping at the way the energy bolted up her arm making her fingers tingly and setting her body on fire as if the dress she wore were actually flames swallowing her whole. Mesmerized by the feelings she suddenly had, she easily allowed him to take her to dance. He was a natural, either that or he had been taught well, because they seamlessly blended into the swirling mass of bodies ballroom dancing in unison to the music. The way he held her close...her large breasts pressed into his chest and she felt his touch on her bare back. It was absolutely sinful...and she wanted more.

"I don't believe it's wrong." She giggled, then felt a sudden shiver run down her spine when she felt his breath on her ear. God, how can one man have such a powerful impact on her? It made it hard for her to think straight, and it made indecent images run through her mind. No...! Now was not the time for such things! "I'm not sure if she's a Psychic, to tell you the truth..." She whispered, swallowing hard as she tried so hard not to blush again.

~

Sam felt the shocking sensation as well, believing it was just static for a moment before pulling her into his arms, nearly shuddering at the feeling of her skin against his hand. It was soft and smooth, and he couldn't help but get lost in those green eyes of hers. If he had his way, then he would... Wait, no. No, no! Sam immediately pushed back the dirty thoughts of them together and focused on dancing with her, not wanting to come across as a total creep.

Then what could she be? Dean wanted to ask, but he heard jingling, like glass against glass and he looked up to see the chandelier they had come to dance beneath was trembling, "Oh, crap!" he cursed and wrapped both arms around the woman in blue, jumping out of the way as it wiggled itself loose and came crashing down. He managed to slide them under a table and cover her with his body, feeling shards pummel at his back.

~

It happened so quickly, but the tall man that held her was facing that direction and then suddenly she was watching the brother slide her partner to safety, being protected as well, "Lia!" Kerica shouted without thinking before ducking her head into the brunette Winchester's shoulder, the shards flying all around and screams filled the dancing hall.

A small squeak of surprise left her lips as she was suddenly enveloped in his arms, unable to process the situation until she heard shattering glass and her eyes were shut tight as she clung to his chest. Amalia soon opened her eyes open to see the man on top of her, face flushed a bright pink. "Are you all right?" She asked, worry etched in her tone.

~

Sam immediately pulled her close and turned around as the chandelier fell to the floor, his tall figure covering her frame before the sound of shattering glass faded into the screams of everyone in the room. He immediately looked to his brother and the redhead, bringing Kerica with him as he rushed to them. "Are you both okay?!" He asked, voice holding a small hint of panic.

"She's okay but my suit isn't, too bad so sad," Dean joked as he grunted, shifting onto his knees and crawled out from the table first, helping her next. Fixing his mask since it had gotten askew, he looked at Sam and nodded, "I think we've had enough /fun, and we should go destroy that damn music box. What'd'ya say?"

"I'm all for it," Kerica nodded, "Let's go find Emrick."

The four of them darted off upstairs while the waiters and waitresses scooted people from the dance hall so the mess could be cleaned up. Reaching the owner's office, the door was ajar and Dean took liberty of kicking it open only to be thrown off to the side, grunting as his back hit the wall and he slid to the ground. Thankfully he was only dazed, but he played he was unconcious as he watched Sam also be knocked off to the other side. The ghost bitch in Civil War Era clothes was separating them, smart move. Amalia stayed out of sight but Kerica strode right in, but she was swinging a chain in a wide circle. It had to be iron because of the way the spirit kept trying to push her hand at Kerica but she kept moving forward.

"I would do so much more, but there are guests here that I would rather not know all my secrets. This /is/ a Masquerade," Kerica purred, and once she got close enough she swiped the chain at the spirit. That dropped Sam and Emerick to the floor from being held up. While the Spirit dispersed, it popped right back up behind her, and this was where Dean saw her swipe her leg up in a martial-arts move and the glimmer of her ankle bracelet caught his attention. She was definitely prepared. While the Spirit was gone, Dean scrambled to his feet but Emerick had jumped forward ahead of him, his hand enclosing on the music box only for him to drop it on the floor as he and the rest of them were knocked away.

A shotgun blast went off and they were all dropped /yet again/, but Dean managed to slide forward across the wood floor and pitched the music box into the roaring fireplace as soon as his fingers touched it. The spirit screamed, and Dean glanced over to see Amalia with a sawed off shotgun in her hand, and he knew for sure that had been a salt blast she had fired. "Way to go, there, Seelie Snow Queen! I knew you had some fire in ya but I didn't think it was literal." He grunted as he got to his feet, "No wonder you were wearing that poofy dress. You have a gun strap on your thigh, don't you?"

A grin formed against the redhead's lips at his compliment, soon feeling her face heat up slightly before a sly smirk was aimed at him. "Maybe." She teased, giggling gently at his reaction before rushing over to help Emrick get back on his feet.

Sam groaned as he got up as well, brushing his suit off before straightening his mask. "That was, uh..." He paused for a moment, a small amused scoff leaving his lips as a grin spread across his face. "That was impressive, both of you."

"I'm curious what you mean by 'secrets', pixie," Dean pointed at Kerica.

The girl dressed as fire smirked saucily at him and put her hand on her hip, "Perhaps if we meet again, I'll consider telling you. This is a small world, after all," she shrugged one shoulder and turned to walk out the door, but paused and turned to Sam, "If we do, we should totally dance again," she winked at him and this time did leave, "I'll start the car, partner!" she called.

Dean watched as Emerick dusted himself off, "We should get going as well. Try not to get yourself in anymore trouble, ya hear?"

"Oh, most definitely. Hopefully I can get the party back on the road once you are gone, too," Emerick sighed and went to his desk, pulling out two envelopes, "I had asked for you to take your time and enjoy yourselves so I could not only find the music box but so I could also wrap up some money as a job well done. Here," He handed one to Amalia and the other to Dean, "Get yourselves some dinner or something. My number is also in there, if you ever get into trouble I have connections to help you out."

Dean wasn't one to turn down some well earned cash, and he and his brother needed it, "Thank you, but hopefully that won't be necessary. C'mon," he motioned to Sam to follow, "See ya 'round the block, Snow Queen," he waved with a wink.

Amalia blinked a few times in surprise as she was given the envelope, smiling up at Emerick with a polite bow of her head. "Thank you very much. Take care of yourself." She said, then turned to the brothers who were about to leave. When she heard him call out to her, her face flushed a bright red at his wink only to wave back at him with another bright smile. "Until then..." She replied, letting out a soft breath once they were out of the room before she rushed out to Kerica's mustang.

()

Kerica slowly moved through the rooms made of stone, following her instinct and gut to try and find her partner. She was her responsibility, and she gripped the silver dagger soaked with lamb blood. There was no way she could let anything happen to her. They hadn't even been together that long.

It was just so dark...the only light streaming through the small windows was from the half-moon. She was very good with night-time and seeing in the shadows, but her stomach twisted and her teeth gnashed together. Another corner turned, and she swore she heard the pebbles in the dirt shift somewhere. Whipping around, one hand wrapped around her mouth while another gripped her right arm that held the dagger. Feeling sick and weak, she dropped it and slumped, the darkness swallowing her whole.

~*~

"Ugh...an eleven and a half hour drive and I feel stiff as a board. We're getting lazy, never having to stay in a hotel when we can just go back to the Bat Cave," Dean grunted as he shut the engine off and popped the car door open. He stretched, popping his back. As he turned his waist to and fro, he spotted a shiny red car that was...oddly familiar. It may have been two weeks since the Masquerade, but he furrowed his brows, "Sam...is that the same Red Ford Mustang from the party?"

Sam snorted in amusement as his brother's complaining with a slight smirk appearing on his face, getting out of the Impala before he heard his brother's question and turned his head to the familiar vehicle. "I think it is..." He answered with wide eyes before turning his head to meet Dean's gaze. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That somebody may be a step ahead of us on this Mesa Verde National Park Case?" Dean nodded and they headed inside to the front desk. "Excuse me, did two women pass through here? One brunette and short like a pixie and the other a cute redhead that had a rather pale completion?"

The lady eyed them suspiciously, "Who's asking?"

"We are friends of theirs and they asked us to meet here," Dean lied smoothly.

Thankfully the gal at the desk was one of those blondes who was the reason their hair color had a bad rap because she bought it, "They're in room 106," she waved them off dismissively and went back to her phone.

Patting Sam's arm with a grin of success they jogged from the lobby and looked for the room number in question down the halls. When they found it, Dean knocked, "Hey, might the Seelie Winter and Summer Queens be in here?" he called.

"Really Dean? Still flying with that?" Sam asked in disbelief.

"Shut up, you like yours being a Summer Queen, admit it," Dean grumbled but after a moment longer, there was no response. Frowning, he pounded harder, "Hey! Anyone in there?!" When silence met his ears he pulled a lock-pick kit from his pocket and pried it open, not wanting to draw attention they didn't need.

Inside, Dean stopped as he saw the poster board balanced on the desk by the window with news clippings and notes pinned to it along with pictures. Striding over to it he picked up one note that said it was a couple who were doing it, "A djinn duo, fantastic. Like the mother and her kid. They really didn't do well hiding out if they got caught so easily," he dropped it onto the table with a flick of his wrist, "It's probably one of each, with our luck."

Sam looked around the room with narrowed eyes, nodding to himself slightly. He had to admit, he was rather impressed that the girls got here before they did. He soon realized something was off about the place, turning to Dean with a suspicious look on his face. "Maybe it's just me...but do you think something seems strange about this situation?" He asked, seeing the confused look aimed at him. "I mean, they were incredibly prepared back at the party, but something doesn't feel right here. Something obviously caught them off guard, because whoever forgot this..." He paused, lifting up a pair of car keys in between his fingers to reveal to Dean. "...was definitely in a hurry. I mean, why else would they leave for the park without their Mustang unless they were trying to be quiet?"

He thought for a moment, staring at the keys before his eyes widened, realization clicking in an instant. "Oh, shit...!" He cursed, turning to his brother and swallowed hard.

"She walked. One of them cot caught and the other one walked to the Park to go save her. Which means we should be able to get there in time," Dean told him, trying to stay level but his heart pounded hard, "Let's go, Sam. You should whip up some Dream Juice on the way, we're probably going to need it."

~*~

It did not take very long from the hotel to get to the Park, and they both had knives at the ready. It took a while; the City made of stone was extremely hard to navigate. So many rooms, so many places to hide...it was the worst place for a Hunter to cross a Dijinn. There was a scrape against the ground and he looked down to see he had kicked...another dagger with dried blood on it. "It's worse, Sammy, they're both caught," Dean cursed as he leaned down and grabbed it, slipping it into his belt.

They quickened their steps, and they rounded a corner only for Dean to nearly drop his dagger in shock. Amalia was hanging by the low ceiling, her blood being drained from her body. Kerica had not been far from finding her partner. Oh that was hard. "Sammy!" He called and rushed forward, his hands cupping the redhead's face, "C'mon...oh, fuck, no..."