89Chuck said it best: "Endings are hard."
Warnings: Rated T for language and themes typical of canon. Un-betaed, all mistakes are mine.
Disclaimer: Call me when Adam gets out of the cage.
-X-
Chapter 10
Lost and Found
Morgan wasn't sure how many laws Deputy Noble had broken in the drive across town - he was sure that her squad car was not meant to go on two wheels like that.
Seeing as the only ones in the car were herself, Morgan, Hotch, and Dean Winchester; all of whom were on their way to track down the lair of the Boogeyman... it was just one of many things that would never make it into the paperwork.
Rocks and grass shot up in an arch from the tires as the woman turned sharply into the parking lot, clipping the side of the road and leaving a deep scar. It was only through luck and practice that none of her passengers stumbled as they practically leapt from the car.
From the corner of his eye, Morgan saw JJ starting toward them but she was quickly intercepted by Noble. Trusting her to explain - or at least lie well enough to delay her - Morgan followed Dean and Hotch to the Winchesters' room.
When the electricity suddenly cut out just as they reached the door, Dean let out a stream of curses under his breath. This creature had a horrible sense of humour.
"Hurry up," Hotch urged as Dean dug in his pocket.
"I don't have the key," he growled, reaching instead for his lock picks.
However, before he could even start, they heard Yuki scream. Dean and Morgan shared a look before using their combined strength to kick in the door.
Inside, the two children were crouched in their circle of salt as the creature leapt from one shadow to another. It came as close to the salt as it could, trying to startle them out of the circle. Yuki screamed again as it reared up in front of her as a large snake and she flung a bottle of water at it. It shrieked and writhed as if in pain before giggling madly.
"I thought you said holy water might work!" Morgan yelled as he swung his pipe through the unsuspecting Boogeyman.
"'Might'. Thought it was better than nothing."
"Mr. Dean!" Yuki cried in relief, getting to her feet. Time almost seemed to slow as the girl attempted to reach the hunter. The Boogeyman and Kai noticed at the same moment when she stepped beyond the salt line, both leaping forward.
Kai grabbed his sister's arm and shoved her back into the circle, but put himself outside in the process.
"Kai! Onii-san!" Yuki screamed, slipping into Japanese in her distress. The three adults attempted to grab the boy but the creature reached him first, twisting shadows around his form and cutting off his scream before it could escape his throat. When the lights flickered back to life, he and the Boogeyman were gone.
Yuki sat in the salt circle, eyes wide and face pale, trembling. Morgan approached her with caution, calling her name softly. He was a bit worried by her lack of reaction.
Suddenly, the three men found themselves being splashed with water.
"Anything that moves," she mumbled, clutching the now-empty bottle like a lifeline.
"Yeah, sweetheart," he agreed calmly, blinking water out of his eyes. He reached out to take the bottle from her and pull her into a hug. "You did fine. We'll get him back."
He hoped he wasn't lying.
-X-
"I have a McCall back here," Prentiss called from a copse of small trees.
"At least we've found the 'M's," Sam muttered. When Garcia had told them that the cemetery wasn't too large and had been relatively new when Thomas had been buried, they'd been relieved. They hadn't considered how overgrown the back had become.
"Over here!" Reid called. Hi fingers carefully traced over the worn letters on a small headstone that had been partially covered by the bare branches of a bush. "The date's about right, too."
"Good job Reid," Prentiss said, digging her shovel into the ground, "We might get this done before the others even find the kids. Keep an eye out for that Boogeyman while we dig, alright?" Sam sent a quick text before joining her.
The younger agent sighed.
"Have I mentioned that you seem far too comfortable with this?"
-X-
"Rose and Jack are some of the best trackers we've had," Noble said, patting the two German Shepherds on the head, "But they were out there for hours and didn't find anything."
"True, but I'm not asking them to track anyone," Dean said, rolling a small black bead in his hand. It had been part of Kanade's bracelet, the one that Yuki had found in the woods last night. Kai must have had it on him when he'd been taken; with any luck he'd left a trail. It seemed that while the Boogeyman could hide its victims in shadows and keep them quiet, it couldn't transport them long distances at once.
"Dogs have a better sense of spirits. These two will see it coming long before we do."
JJ was left to take care of the other officers - and Dean had to admire how quickly she adapted to the situation. She showed no outward sign of doubt, instead trusting Hotch to explain later. Collecting shot guns and salt-rounds from the Impala, the group of four set off with the dogs trailing loyally at their heels.
They moved quietly through trees, on high alert, but there was no sign of the Boogeyman. As Dean had predicted, there was a patchy trail of beads leading to a steep rock wall.
"This is where we found the bracelet before," he muttered, pacing the base of the cliff with Jack trailing him. The dog barked sharply to get his attention and looked up.
"It can't be that easy..." Yeah, that shadowy dip about fifteen feet up could definitely be a cave.
Morgan followed his gaze. "I don't like your idea of easy."
"Race you to the top?"
"Just start climbing," Hotch ordered, tossing his suit jacket carelessly in the dirt and rolling up his sleeves.
The cliff side wasn't that hard to climb, at least not for them, but Dean had to wonder how an eleven year old made it. It must have changed pretty badly over the years. Morgan reached down to help Dean and Noble up onto the ledge while Hotch pulled out a flashlight.
Now that he was in front of it, it wasn't surprising that they'd missed it in the dark. The entrance was barely taller than his waist and not quite tall enough for two adults to enter side by side. To a child, it would have seemed like a perfect hideaway.
Dean pulled out his phone when it buzzed, a bit surprised to get any signal, and sent a quick reply to Sam. "They're digging now," he relayed to the others, crouching next to them to better see inside the tunnel. It curved a few feet in, so they couldn't see very far.
"Let's go," Hotch said, starting forward. Even crouched, the tall man's hair slightly brushed the roof of the cave. Good thing Sam had gone to the cemetery.
-X-
Prentiss heard a wet, splintering sound as her shovel finally found the wood of Thomas Maxwell's coffin.
"We've got it," she called to Reid were he still stood on lookout, "Still clear?"
"No sign of it yet."
"Good," Sam said, clearing more dirt from the half-rotten lid, "With a bit of luck we'll have these bones burned before the others even find the lair."
-X-
The tunnel eventually opened up into a wide cavern with a sharp drop at the entrance. It wasn't high enough that it would be a challenge to get the kids into the tunnel; that would come when they got back outside. Hotch stopped just short of the drop and motioned for the others to do the same behind him.
In the absence of their footsteps he could hear faint whispering.
"Hello?" he called, voice level and calm so he didn't spook them.
"Kai?" Dean called from behind him.
"Dean? We're over here!"
Hotch swung his light toward the boys voice, finally landing on the small group of children. The Akiyama siblings looked to be in the best condition, having only been there for a few hours, and the Green boy sat on the ground with the Miller girl tucked into his side. While they looked exhausted and miserable, from a distance he couldn't see any obvious injuries.
The last two lay near the wall, unmoving.
He went to them first.
Hotch could hear Noble introducing herself to Dante, reminding him that she'd worked with his father. The boy must have remembered her, because when Hotch next looked over his shoulder the two local children had been pulled into a tight hug. He could also hear Dean having a quiet conversation with the Kanade and Kai.
Tuning them out, the agent was just able to hear Danica's shallow breathing. The girl's pulse, while weak, was steady under his fingers. The same could not be said for Matthew.
"Dante, do you know how long they've been like this?" he asked.
"The boy was like that when we got here," Dante said shakily, "But Dani was awake until a little before she showed up." He nodded his head toward Kanade.
Meeting Hotch's eyes, Morgan nodded and carefully lifted Danica. They'd be able to call for an ambulance as soon as they reached the cliff side and get her taken care of as soon as possible.
"Let's get out of here," he said to the other children as he ushered them toward the entrance, sending Noble ahead to make the call.
"What do we do with him?" Dean asked quietly. Hotch could see a familiar glint of guilt shining in the younger man's eyes, one he was far too used seeing in experienced agents who were forced to remember that they couldn't save everyone.
"We'll send someone out when we reach the motel. For now we need to focus on the ones we can still save."
Hotch's flashlight flickered, catching their attention.
"What are the chances it's just the batteries?" When Hotch sent him a look, Dean sighed and dropped his bag. Rooting around, he withdrew a handful of cheap plastic glow sticks.
"No electricity," he explained simply, tossing one to each of them. Soon the cave was dimly lit in neon colours.
There was no chilling laughter this time as eyes like burning coals glared at them from the darkness.
"Stealing is bad," it scolded, taking the form of Thomas Maxwell that they'd originally seen.
"So is kidnapping." Dean fired a salt round at it and the boogey man and it disappeared with a yell of surprise before rising up from another shadow next to Hotch.
"Give it back!" it screamed before a pipe was swung through it.
"Keep it away from the kids!" Hotch ordered, but Morgan didn't need to be told. He already had the children surrounded by a fragile circle of salt.
Kanade and Dante carefully held Danica between them while the younger two stood as close to them as possible. Kai held a pipe - Dean's - in front of him like a sword while Ellie had hidden her face in Dante's back, clutching a small ragged bear in one hand.
Hotch ducked as a snarling creature leapt at him. He couldn't see it properly but when he swept his above his head, the snarl was abruptly cut off.
"They should be done by now," Morgan said, scanning the shadows.
"I know," Dean replied, shooting a half formed shadow, "It should be going up like a damn roman candle!"
"Thieves!" the creature shrieked. It nearly got past when it dodged one of Morgan's shots, but put itself right into Hotch's reach.
"It's mine!" The plaintive whine of a child crept into its tone. Wait, it? Dean seemed to have noticed it too, glacing at the huddled group. His eyes widened in realization.
"Ellie," the girl looked up, teary-eyed. "That's your name, right? Did you find that bear here?" She nodded. "Alright."
The hunter smirked and fired one more shot at the Boogeyman. He lunged for his bag before it could reform, pulling out a small canister of salt and some lighter fluid.
"Toss me the bear," Dean held his hand out. The girl hesitated for only a moment before kicking the stuffed toy toward him like a soccer ball.
The creature that had once been Thomas Maxwell shrieked in rage as Dean soaked the old doll in fuel and sprinkled it with salt. The moment the match touched the material, both the toy and the Boogeyman went up in flames.
The cavern was lit up so brightly for a moment that Hotch had to close his eyes, but as quickly as it started the fire died down.
"Sometimes a spirit gets attached to an object," Dean explained before anyone could ask, "Sam and the others were taking too long."
"Can we go home now?" Ellie asked quietly, looking around in case the monster came back. Most likely they would be jumping at shadows for the next few weeks, and Hotch now wasn't sure it would be unwarranted. Dean reached out and ruffled her hair and she let out an indignant squeak.
"Yeah, kiddo. Let's get you home."
"Demons run, but count the cost / The battle's won, but the child is lost." - Steven Moffat (Doctor Who)
-X-
Welp, there you go. (As you could tell: action? Not my forte)
"Onii-san" - (Japanese) Older brother
Thank you for having patience with me as real life does not. All that's left is the epilogue and notes, which should be up soon. Also, SPN 10: HELL YEAH, MUSICAL EPISODE! See you soon.
As always, reviews are welcome and appreciated.