Reasons von abgemeldet ================================================================================ Kapitel 6: The inner child -------------------------- Updated Version 6. The inner child Wanna play a little game? Something was tickling him. Flinching, Dean could feel himself returning into reality and back to consciousness. He could feel something moving over his hand, faintly touching and stroking his skin like a soft tissue. Opening his eyes slowly, he noticed his arm was lying on top of someone next to him. Squeezing his eyes shut again, he tried to remember what and with whom he did anything last night. He moved a little, trying to get up on his free arm. The motion seemed to irritate the one, whoever was touching him and the soft touch vanished. Dean managed to open his eyes and stared at the stubbly skin in front of him, leading his gaze upwards into dark brown, nearly black hair and further above. Castiel moved his head around facing the Winchester, without any sound, he just stared at him with his blue eyes and waited. Probably preparing himself for the screams and shouts Dean mentioned the day before. But they never came. "Mornin'." was all, the hunter said before he laid his head back down onto the pillow. Castiel felt the heavy grip on him disappear with Dean's move, he did not know why but his body had tensed the second the hunter woke up next to him. Now, the angel was lying on his back, his gaze turned towards the ceiling of the tent, feeling the weight of Dean's arm still resting on his chest but that was not comparable to the feeling before. Somewhere in the middle of the night, the Winchester had moved around a lot, turning the angel on his back in the process and nearly pinning him down with his well-muscled strong but also heavy arm. As he said, he did not sleep at all. Castiel had no need for that so he found himself thinking, staring and waiting. He remembered the way the hunter's hands had felt when they were all bloody and dirty but now they were clean and a bit softened from the amount of swimming in the lake. When he caught himself staring at those very hands, he could not resist and started to touch them, like he did back in the motel room but this time he was able to explore them without fearing to be kicked or punched again. Since the hunter was asleep and did not seem to notice anything of his behavior, he kept on doing so until the morning came. Now that Dean was awake, it seemed pretty wrong to continue such a weird act so he forced his own hands down to his side. Mumbling something into the pillow, Dean opened one eye, staring towards the pretty much naked angel in front of him and somehow managed to force himself to remain calm. "Cas... please, tell me why and how we got here." Castiel turned his head, facing the man to his right and tried to remember what Dean had said before he had fallen asleep. It took him a few moments but when he saw the face of the Winchester twitch a little in anxiety, he came up with the words. "You said you didn't want me to stay outside. Also, you said I should remind you not to scream and shout but it seems you, at least, remember that part by yourself." Hopefully he did not need to explain why they were naked except for their shorts. "And why the hell am I hugging you?" The rest of the explanation seemed understandable. God, he had not been drunk so why could he not remember? Castiel moved, looking quite uncomfortable with the whole situation. Dean waited a second but it seemed that he would not get any answer from the angel. When he noticed the embarrassment the angel seemed to radiate, a bad feeling sunk into his bones. Immediately he moved his hand from the angel's chest and forced it under his own blanket, moving downwards, tracing his legs and touching the fabric of his shorts. Dean's upcoming panic vanished with the feeling of still having those on him. He could not be that drunk, to do anything that stupid. Watching the tent Sam kept walking in circles, the phone on his ear, listening to the older man speaking on the other end. His gaze wandered to the lake and then, to an invisible point he focused on. Bobby had called him half an hour ago but he was still asleep. When his cell did not stop ringing Sam had simply thrown it out of his tent, hoping, he could sleep a little longer. What a mistake. After that he was fully awake, therefore he crawled out of his tent and started searching for his cell which had started ringing again. When the younger Winchester had answered the call the first thing he heard was a loud yell and a shot. Then, he heard somebody laughing and another shot. Alarmed, Sam had put a little distance between him and his brothers tent not to wake him up, but also to be able to talk with a normal volume. "Kid, why the hell don't ya pick up your calls?" he heard Bobby's voice. Sam was more than just confused. "And why do I hear you always yelling and shooting, when you call?" he asked in return. The obvious cause of the old hunters trouble answered with a "Because I keep visiting your gran'pa." Sam furrowed his brow. "Crowley?" he managed before Bobby took over the phone. "No, Santa Clause, you idjit. Of course, Crowley, who else should I have trouble with?" Sam held his cell a little away from his ear. "What's goin' on, over there, Bobby? Need help?" "No, but I got you somethin' you should work on. Now stop it, dammit. Just a minute!" the older hunter said and received something like a 'yes' but Sam was not sure. Pause. Sam was waiting for Bobby to continue. "Okay, listen, boy. I've picked up something really interesting you should check out. Orlando, Disney World, several people swore to be attacked by plastic alligators, flying popcorn cars and raptors. Some other people have disappeared during some magic tricks. Others said they have seen real ghosts. I don't know where you're right now but you should pay those guys a visit. It seems to be something big goin' down there." Sam's eye brows shot upwards. "You serious? Disney World?" he asked, not sure if the old man really did say that. He could hear Crowley laugh and Bobby snarl. "Yes, Sam, Disney World. You deaf or what?" Wow, that guy was really pissed. "Uhm, no but that does not really sound, you know. Why do you think it's something we should check out?" "Because daddy said so, little boy." Crowley interrupted. That was enough for the young hunter. "What the hell are you doin' at Bobby's anyway? Don't you have a home or somethin'?" he bitched back a little louder than intended. He looked back at Dean's tent, there was something moving inside, he could tell. "Boy, that's none of your business in the first place. It's all mature stuff." Crowley said, earning another shot from Bobby. "Just shut up, demon! Get yourself a hobby, a real one! Sam, you go there and check this out, I've got the feeling the cause of this chaos is your Trickster-friend." Sam tightened his muscles. He did not like the idea of seeing Gabriel again. Not after he had put him and his brother into TV-Land. The memory of genital herpes was still burnt in his head. "Okay, fine. We'll check this out. I'll call you, when we're done." Sam sighed. "And be careful. That demon is dangerous." he continued listening to Bobby's steady breaths. "Don't worry kid, I may be old but I can handle an old prick like him." "Oh, I'm not that old!" Crowley said, pretending do be hurt. Sam smiled. At least, Bobby was a little distracted with his own problems and not busy in helping them fighting the apocalypse. He did not want to get him hurt. Therefore it was better when he had to deal with a low-life demon like Crowley instead of more powerful angels or Lucifer itself. "Okay, Bobby, hear you later and shoot this bastard for me and Dean." He could hear Bobby laugh, load and shoot at the demon. "Done, kid, Later then." With this, Sam ended the call and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Sam turned around. He could hear some voices from inside Dean's tent. He raised one eyebrow and a giant smile appeared on his face. As quiet as possible, the young Winchester moved towards his brother's tent, his smile getting bigger with every step. At the tent, he listened for a moment before he started knocking on the tent, speaking loudly. "Good morning, sleeping beauties! Time to get dressed and ready for the road! Or do you sweethearts still need five more minutes?" Sam could hear his brother cursing which made him start laughing. That is worth my death, he thought, walking around to pick up his clothes to get himself fully dressed. Sometimes he wondered how Sam could still walk around alive as often as he mentally wanted to kill him. Dean managed to sit up. He slightly shook his head, trying to make the dizzy feeling go away and crawled towards the exit. Castiel watched him in silence and followed him slowly. Since Deans trousers had been swallowed by the lake, he had to get new ones. He would not walk around naked in this kind of company. Technically he was not naked at all but he still felt stripped. The hunter did not wait for the angel to follow and made his way straight towards his beloved car, passing his brother and gaining a suggestive smile. "Why so happy, Sammy? Had a wet dream?" he said, ignoring the wish to throw arrows right into Sam's face. The younger Winchester did not react to his older brothers teasing and still grinned, as his brother opened the trunk of his Impala, searching for their costumes and clothes bag. "Disney World." he simply said. Dean's head jerked up, looking past the opened trunk. "If you're joking than this isn't funny at all, Sam. Disney World is no topic for jokes!" he said grumbling and tried to make his way into his new jeans. "I'm not. Bobby thinks we should check that place out. He even thinks our 'friend' Gabriel could be the source of whatever is going on there." Sam made his way around the car looking straight towards his brother as the thought sank into him. The words 'Disney World' made the older Winchester fight his insides. Sam could see it. He wanted to jump in joy and behave all adult and serious like at the same time. It just ended in a weird, nearly painful to look at expression on Dean's face. "How does Bobby know it's him?" he asked while he pulled another layer of clothes over his head. "Well, possibly the generic trickster behavior: scaring people, fooling around with them, sweets disappearing, and attractions walking around and attacking visitors. It fits him." "Sam is right, it could be Gabriel but what exactly is Disney World?" Castiel made his way over to the brothers, still busy trying to close the buttons on his dirty shirt. Since the Winchesters were busy talking he made his way over to his clothes. He scratched his neck since he did not bother to get his suit free of the sand. Blood stains were still visible at the places where the Each Uisge had bit him. Dean could not believe his eyes. "Cas, you can't be seriously wearing that again! You won't get any of that sand into my baby!" he said bending down into the trunk again, searching for another pair of pants and a nice white dress shirt. "But... it's okay I don't have to get in the car." The angel finally managed to close the last button, when Dean made his way over to him. "Listen. When clothes get dirty, we wash them. We don't wear them 'till they are worn out. Get that off and change." he ordered the angel, who did not seem to follow the Winchester at all and just stood still, his fingers fumbling with the last button again. Dean sighed heavily. Unbelievable, he thought and could hear a quiet laugh behind him. Sam could not hold it in any longer as he watched his brother and the angel arguing how to get properly dressed. "We don't have time for this right now!" The older Winchester laid the clothes down on his car and started to help the stupid, slow angel with his shirt. Undressing an angel was not exactly something he wanted on his 'Great things I did in my life' list but right now, Disney World called for him. Nearly ripping the mouldy piece of cloth from the angel, Dean threw it behind them and was about to bend down, to open the angel's trousers but stopped in the motion. No way, he thought and turned around throwing the shirt in Castiel's arms. "Get dressed and throw the rest of your clothes in the trunk." Dean said and turned away from the nearly confused looking angel. Castiel tried to seek answers from the hunter's younger brother but the only thing he got was a cheeky smile that confused him even more. Before anything could get even more awkward, he decided to just pull over the clean dress shirt and to save any questions for later. While the angel got socially acceptable again, Sam followed his brother, a few questions in mind but when Dean rose his hand he did not even tried to ask any of them loud. "So, how do you think we're gonna get to Disney World? It's a long trip from here and we both know we have not even enough money for one ticket for one fucking day." Contracting his brows, Sam stared at his brother in curiosity. "Dude, how do you know? You've seen the prices lately?" Dean felt caught for a second and smiled as it was normal to know such things. "It's not that I check them daily, ya know?" "Is this looking alright?" The Winchesters got interrupted again and looked past the car. Castiel walked towards the side of the Impala tilting his head a bit to see if the brothers were still behind it. The pants were a bit too tight actually but Castiel did not mind that. There was just one thing he somehow felt missing on him, so he bent into the open window and looked for his trench coat. Dean could not help it but stare at the sight of the freshly clothed angel bending into his Impala. Then, the elbow of his brother brought him back into reality. "How are we supposed to get there? We have Castiel remember? Just ask him!" Sam said whispering while the angel unfolded his coat and slipped in it, covering the new look partly with it. Dean took a few steps towards the angel, patting his shoulder and smiling a little. "As I said, feels better right?" Castiel opened his mouth to answer but Dean continued immediately. "So, since our 'friend' Gabriel found a new playground, how about we pay him a visit? I mean, to save time you could get us there with your great angel magic!" Dean grinned hopefully and cheerfully when he patted the angels shoulder a few more times. Sam hid his face in his hands. Why could his brother not insert at least one tiny 'please' in his sentences? They needed to get there but Castiel seemed to consider what it was, that made the Winchesters want to meet with the mighty archangel. "Cas? Disney World may be there forever but we won't." Dean kept on babbling, turning his face around and meeting with his brother's gaze. Sam walked closer and tried to save whatever was left of their chance for a fast travel. "If we find Gabriel, he might know something... anything that could help us fight Lucifer. Also, we could just save a few hundred people from his murderous sense of humor. That's why we need you to get us there, please, Cas." When Sam finished his plea, he received an annoyed look from his brother. Forming a soundless 'what' and Sam focused on the angel again. Castiel had lowered his head for a few seconds, only to look up at the younger Winchester again. "Show me where that Disney World is and I'll get you there." he finally said moving his shoulder out of Deans touch and following Sam to his side of the car, where the Winchester retrieved a map from somewhere under the seat. Placing it over the bonnet, Sam moved one finger towards the place they were staying right now and deeper towards the coast. "It should be around here. Orlando... Florida. I guess it's alright if you don't get us in immediately. We can approach from the outside and maybe you could get us in from a save point." The younger Winchester smiled at the angel who followed his finger and the route. Dean felt like both of them ignored him at some point, so he decided to get their attention back and pressed himself between the map studying males. "If possible you should get my baby there, too!" he just said, still happy with the thought, he would finally see that damn place he always saw on TV or read from the magazines. "I will try, to get you both as close as possible." he paused and already placed two fingers on each of the Winchesters foreheads. "You're car will stay here, Dean." he continued, looking fierce at the older Winchester. "Wait but...!" The next second the Tims Ford Lake, the grass and most important, his car was gone. "Dean..." Sam turned around and his eyes widened in astonishment. "Oh! C'mon!" he could not believe it. His baby was alone on some lonesome break and they did not even have the time to give back their tents. "Dean!" Sam tried to get his brother back in the real non car-sexing world and gripped him tight by his shoulders. The older Winchester turned around to face whatever Sam was staring at. When his eyes met the sight in front of him, he could nearly feel tears building in his eyes. Dean's mouth fell agape. He could not stop staring. He simply could not. His younger brother did the same thing. They were really standing in front of the entrance to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando. Sam started laughing in disbelieve. "Dude, we're at Disney World." he said, pinching himself and his brother to make sure, they were not dreaming. In the meanwhile, Castiel stared at the two brothers. He tilted his head in this typical way. "Dean, Sam. Are you alright?" he asked and received a loud yell from Dean. He started jumping, hiding his hand in his hair, and not turning his gaze from the entrance gate. Fortunately, Sam did not start jumping but he was fighting inside, Castiel could tell. There was no way anyone could answer his question, at that moment, so the angel kept waiting. Castiel's gaze moved over the people around them. Apparently, nobody had noticed that they just appeared out of nowhere. But he noticed that it seemed to be common to start jumping and screaming when approaching those giant gates. Some humans even started to cry. Castiel furrowed his brow a little. He did not understand this human reaction. Was this some place the humans worshipped? The angel turned his attention back to the older Winchester. "Dean." he said patiently but a little louder than usually. The Winchester turned around, looking at the angel with a huge smile, completely happy being here, or whatsoever. When Dean finally noticed the concerned look on the angels face he tried to calm himself down, no matter how hard this was. He cleared his throat. "Cas... we're at Disney World!" he said, still smiling. Castiel did not reply on that. Why should he. He had brought them here, they wanted to come here. And now, they were here. "Thanks Cas." Sam said who was back in reality. The angel looked at the younger hunter, thinking about what to say, then, finally. "You are welcome." Sam forced a smile on his lips. He simply could not stand this angels staring. Hell, this was so awkward. It was like he could see right into his soul. Sam cleared his throat. "Dean, we've got a job to do. So, please, would you start to focus!" he hissed a little infuriated. It started to be embarrassing, parents and children were already looking at his brother and laughing, while others said to their children to stay away from that man, who apparently had gone mental. He turned to Castiel and smiled in an apologizing way. "It's his first time here, you know." "I can see that." was the plain respond and Sam wondered why he actually had said this in the first place. Then, finally, Dean turned his attention to his brother and the angel, receiving a bored look from Sam. "You done?" Dean shrugged and smiled. "Sure. Let's get goin'." Sam grabbed his brother by his arm. "Not so fast. Or do you know where Gabriel might be? No! Therefore, we do it the usual way: FBI! And don't start to freak out every time we pass by an attraction." Sam said, waiting for his brother to promise to behave all mature. "Cas, do you still have the shield and the ID I gave you?" Dean started watching the angel to search the pockets of his trench coat. When he found the desired object he showed it the Winchester. "Very good, then let's go!" The eldest Winchester practically dragged the others to the information desk. Dean took out his shield and the ID showing it to the lady behind the desk. "Agents Hetfield, Sambora and Walsh." he started. "We're here to investigate the accidents that happened recently." The woman at the desk seemed surprised. "Oh really? I haven't received any notice that somebody would come!" she said, searching in the computer in front of her. Sam smiled."That's because we usually don't make appointment calls. If you want..." Sam handed her a little business card. "...you can call our superior. He might help you." The woman accepted the card but did not bother with it. She picked up the phone dialing a number and held up the index finger, indicating the three men to wait. "Hi Chealsey, it's Elli. I've got three cuties here. Special Services or somethin'. Do we have some bedrooms available we could spare?" Pause. "Oh yes, fantastic. It was a nice weekend, darlin'. Just wonderful. What about you?" Sam turned his head to Dean, his expression saying 'what the hell' and his brother just could shrug. A look at Castiel's face told Dean, that the angel was very interested in the phone the woman was using right now. He could not help but smile. Cutie, huh? The older Winchester caught himself thinking about what the lady had called them. He certainly is no cutie, when he's mad, Dean thought narrowing his brows, still looking at Castiel. When the angel met Dean's gaze with his own, the hunter turned around. Sam noticed that behavior but did not say anything. "Bye bye, honey. Yes, I'll tell them, don't worry. You'll see them soon enough." The woman hang up and looked at the three men again. "Unfortunately, we don't have any standard free rooms, but you can have the two princess suites." She keyed something into the computer and then printed something out. Princess suite? Dean looked at his brother, searching for any help with this but Sam looked as surprised and speechless as Dean was. Then, she reached over the desk. "These are for you, darlin's. Three passes for the individual resort areas with full access for your investigations." The woman put three more cards on the desk. "These three cards are your room key cards. Don't lose them, sweeties or you won't get into your rooms. Besides, according to our policy I have to inform you that you can stay here for three days only. If you need more time you have to contact your superior and he has to book rooms for you." Dean smiled. "Guess you don't make exceptions for the feds, hm?" "No, we don't! But you have at least three days to go. Oh, and your rooms are at the Contemporary Resort Hotel, close to the Magical Kingdom Castle Theme Park. Jonas will pick you up and get you a lift over there." Before Dean could say anything, Sam interfered, smiling. "We better get started with our investigation, then." he said, punching his brother into his ribs. The woman smiled. "Okay, as you wish. Have fun!" she said smiling and moved one arm into the direction of the giant gate. Dean and Sam smiled, nodding and left, Castiel following them quietly. He still did not understand the why but he would follow anyway. "Okay." Sam said, handing Castiel and Dean their individual pass and the key cards for the rooms. Castiel did as the brothers did and put on the pass around his neck but he did not know what to do with the key card. Dean sighed and took it from the angel, putting it to his own. "You stayin' by my side. Don't want you to get lost in here! And don't you dare to leave my side!" Dean could not help but his voice was a little too commanding but the thought about his car alone at some place far away from him was not bearable, now, that he was finally able to use his brains again. Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean, be glad he brought us here! He also could have refused to do so and you would have to drive the whole way. You didn't even say thanks!" The older Winchester gave his brother a 'shut up, bitch' look before picking up a map of the Resort. "That's not very helpful Dean." he could hear his brother groan, apparently annoyed now. "Fine, then." he looked at Castiel. "Thanks, dude!" The angel did not reply just looked at the Winchester in his usual way. Sam sighed. His brother certainly needed some lectures in behavior and politeness. "What?" Dean asked but his brother shook his head. "Nothing. Let's start planning what we're gonna do now." he said, taking a look at the map and inhaling the air. "Huge area to cover, I'd say." Dean nodded. "Then, we should separate!" Both hunters looked up in surprise. Until now, Castiel had not bothered with helping the brothers but he was not dumb either. They had not much time, so they had to hurry. Sam nodded in agreement. "Yes, you're right. It surely is the best to split up. You think you can manage it alone?" he asked receiving a threatening look from his brother. "No, Sam. I already said, he's not gonna leave my side. I won't let him walk around and creep the shit outta people." Both, Sam and Castiel looked at the older hunter. Sam more in the way saying 'he's not a baby, he can do that, Dean' and Castiel curious. "But, Dean, in that way we can find Gabriel faster." "No discussion about that, Cas. You stay by my side every damn second we're in here, you got that?" Dean almost forgot to breathe when he saw the angels eyes. His expression did not show any stir of emotion but his eyes were fierce for just a very short moment. The hunter could feel a shiver crawl down his spine. "If this is what you want me to do, Dean." Sam raised one eye brow. Was it disappointment in the angel's voice he had heard? Apparently, he became more and more human in that matter. He sighed. "Fine, you go together." Sam pointed at a place on the map with the naming 'Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park'. "I assume that's the place where the alligators attacked." Dean nodded. "Fine, we'll check out the Disney-MGM Studios area. Let's see, if we can find somethin' there." The eldest Winchester looked at Castiel who had kept his eyes on him the whole time. He raised his brows. "We gonna have some fun there, what ya thinkin'?" "We should get going, Dean. The woman said we don't have much time." Dean rolled his eyes. "Sometimes, I really don't know what you're good for!" Sam closed his eyes for a moment. His brother did not really say that out loud, did he? The younger Winchester looked at Castiel and he did not like what he saw in his face. The angel was fighting. His fists were even shaking while he clenched them. "Dean." Sam grabbed his brother's arm and drew his brother aside. "Dean, what the hell are you doin'? You nuts?" Dean shrugged. "What? I'm right, aren't I?" Pause. "No Dean, you're not. I dunno if you noticed, but you told a friggin' angel that he is useless. What's wrong with you? Seriously? That's not normal? Since when do you treat Castiel like your personal servant?" Dean pushed his brother away earning a confused look from the people around them. "I'm alright, okay! Mind your own business." he said and turned around, walking past by Castiel. "You commin' or what?" he said and the angel did as he was told: following the older hunter. Sam could not believe it. His brother was behaving like a real asshole. How could he call the angel useless? Especially, because they called him every single time they needed help or did not know what to do! The Winchester sighed. If this kept going on like this they never would make it to defeat Lucifer. Not, if they killed each other first. Sam made his way to the entrance of 'Animal Kingdom', pulling his notepad and started asking a few of the staff members if they had seen anything or heard, that seemed not normal. Despite the fact that they had found sliced and dead bodies in their park. Since it seemed that every employee that had been present the day, the visitors got attacked was on 'vacation', his research did not produce any kind of results. They could not even tell him if they had noticed a short man, walking around with sweets and always a happy smile on his face. Every single one just shrugged at his description and got back to work. Yeah don't help the feds, sure, he thought to himself and sighed in annoyance. Maybe Gabriel was already informed that the Winchesters were around. How could they know? Sam continued his search in the 'Wild Africa' Zone of the 'Animal Kingdom' and tried to focus on any strange sign, behavior or just a stupid piece of chocolate paper. This park was obviously busy keeping it clean so you could even eat from the ground. The Winchester leaned on the railings in front of the 'Meet the crocodiles' compound and shook his head at the obviously fake animals. Those puppets did not even move as real as he thought they would. Maybe as kids we would've been scared, Sam thought, remembering how they watched the preview on TV with disbelieving amazement. It seemed the place was not very popular anyway, as no one else was around here. No, he was wrong. There was indeed a visitor. A small child had passed him by and was now climbing onto the railings right next to the fake crocodiles, which seemed to turn their attention from the Winchester towards the spoken boy. Sam raised his eyebrows when the puppets started to turn their heads and he could hear some of them growl deeply. It did not sound like it was coming from the speakers under him, instead he could have sworn, one of the crocodiles even blinked a few times. He tried to remind him that everything here was fake and just there to entertain the kids but when these fake crocodiles started to run into the water, right where the boy was playing around on the railing, Sam could finally tell that something was wrong. The kid was in danger, his brain started to work and he ran towards the boy who was already on top of the railing. "Get away from there!" Sam yelled and the boy who was now balancing on top of the railing, turned his innocent looking face towards the hunter. The kid was obviously busy gnawing on a bubble gum lollipop and blinked a few times at the fast approaching adult. When Sam was nearly at his side, the boy's right foot slipped from the railing and he lost his balance. He let out a little shriek when he fell backwards and right into the green water under him. "Shit!" Sam cursed himself and did not even hesitate a second. He jumped over the barrier and dove into the water, at first he could not see a thing and he had to surface again. Gasping for air, he looked around. The crocodiles were fast and with a huge splashing noise they all entered the pool, swimming directly towards the hunter. Those things are just puppets, just puppets, Sam tried to convince himself and dove under once more, the boy could not have drowned in this shallow pond. When his hands found the ground, he started to wonder where the hell the kid had gone but his thoughts were cut off when a sharp pain ran through his left leg. Screaming he lost a huge amount of air and nearly inhaled some of the dirty water. He looked around and tried to see, one of those puppets had seriously smashed his jaws into his skin. If that thing would start to behave like a real reptile, he knew he would not stand a chance in this element. Sam looked around in panic and his panic grew, when he noticed three more of these puppets swimming straight toward him. Even though the crocodile ripped on his leg, it did not seem to do any huge damage towards his skin. Still it felt like the teeth would sink in any moment. Sam managed to take a hold on the monsters huge head and poked it in the eyes several times. He could not tell if the beast felt pain or not but at least the grip on his leg weakened a little. When he went to destroy the other eye, the crocodile finally let go of him and he could manage to kick it out of his way. Nearly out of air he finally surfaced, gasping and panting he tried to crawl ashore. Scaly feet blocked his way out of the pond. Sam moved his hand down to grab his colt but the reptile was faster. It opened its mouth and tried to swallow the Winchesters whole being with one try but it failed to lift him up properly and just made him fall back into the pond, right on top of another of those animal puppets. The hunter kept fighting, stabbing and trying to get away but somehow these things would not let go of him. When he was dragged under water once again, he stared towards the railing above him. His eyes widened. The boy was sitting on top again, licking his lollipop and swinging his feet back and forth. He was not even wet or scared at all, that could only mean one thing. Sam got tired of being used as a gnawing toy for puppets and just pulled at one of the crocodile's heads until it snapped, tearing the puppet apart and causing it to creak violently. He threw the broken thing aside. On all fours, he made his way out of the filthy pond when a shadow bowed over him. Sam looked up and as he realized that it was one of the employees, he felt his shame level rising. How long did that guy watch him fight against these beasts? "What the hell where you doin'? Did one of our 'evil' creatures eat your wedding ring or your camera?" the old man said, laughing into his short white beard. "You're lucky we have these cardboard crocs in stock, otherwise I would have to order new ones and that would have cost ya, young man." the staff member said, giving Sam a hand to help him crawl out of the pond. The Winchester turned his gaze towards the crocodiles, ready to protect the staff member but there was no need. All of them had returned to their normal 'open mouth, shut mouth' motion and sometimes, they wiggled with their fake tails. "Somethin' like that, yeah." Sam managed to say, still heavily breathing. His gaze met the railing but, as he thought, the boy was gone. "You're pretty wet, boy. Shall I get ya a towel or do you prefer a long walk in the sun?" the old man continued as he bowed down towards the broken puppet and started to drag it towards the 'staff only'-signed door. "No, thanks but have you seen the kid that was sitting there a minute ago?" "Did ya swallow too much water? Except you, there was nobody here. You sure you don't wanna come with me and drink a nice little cocoa with marshmallows?" the man grinned, showing his blank white teeth. Sam turned his attention towards the old man and looked at him, uncertain what to do. "I'll help you to carry the mess but I've got some research to do. I'm not on vacation." The young hunter bent down and together with the old guy he dragged the broken crocodiles away. Something was wrong with that guy, Sam just could not tell what exactly, that was what made him worry. Maybe it was the fact, that old geezer came out of nowhere, he did not know for sure, since he was busy fighting cardboard animals. Right after they had left the 'Animal Kingdom' and entered the room for the personnel, realization hit him. The Winchester was not that dumb to put one and one together but he would play along for now, if it was necessary. The old man was stroking his back and stretched it a bit before he turned his attention back to the FBI agent. "Thanks, son. My old bones seem to fall apart each day." the man said with a nice, grandpa like smile. Sam started to fumble with his pockets. He considered calling Dean and telling him, that Gabriel knew they were here but something told him it was not the right time now. "Hard working schedule, huh?" the Winchester asked with curiosity, still pretending, he did not know who and what the old guy really was. He received a soft nod and observed each move the older man made. He set a pot on the fire and filled it with some milk, grabbing a package with cocoa powder and started to heat the mixture. "So, since you invited me in, I guess you won't call for anyone to get me arrested for 'killing' the attractions. Right Mr. ...?" Sam played along, taking a look around in the little staff office. Apparently it was stocked with all kind of sweets and bags of more sweets. He was not sure how that could be a good disguise to surround yourself with the stuff you love but who was he to understand the thinking of an archangel? He could not even manage the certain one who was intensely hanging around with his brother lately. The old guy grabbed an open bag of marshmallows next to him and turned around towards Sam, slowly taking one marshmallow out of the bag and grinned perky. "You my friend, you can call me Gabe." Dean was pissed. Sam, his o so great baby brother dared to ask him about his behavior? Who's the demon blood sucking freak in the family, certainly not me, Dean thought following the map in his hand, Castiel by his side. Since they had separated, he and the angel had not talked at all. The Winchester could only tell that the angel was not interested in talking, the way he looked at him. It was one of those creepy gazes the angel was capable of and Dean was not sure whether or not to mention that. However, right now, he had other problems. First, he kept thinking about what his brother had said to him, even though he tried to focus on the job. Second, they had to find Gabriel before anything worse happened. Approaching the, in Deans eyes, only possible place for 'real' ghosts, the 'Tower of Terror', he sighed at the look of the long line of people waiting for their turn. Lucky for him, that he had a pass and a shield! "Okay, Cas. Let's get this thing done." he said and searched for his ID in his pocket. "How do you know that this would be the place?" The Winchester looked at the angel. "Well, it's called Tower of Terror. Where else should ghosts appear if not there? Don't forget, that's Disney World. It has nothing to do with real ghosts." Castiel turned his head towards the giant burned looking facade of a hotel. Dean was waiting for a moment before he continued. "Get your ID. We're goin' in." At the counter Castiel and Dean showed the man their IDs. The supervisor of the building, introducing himself as Warden Mitchell, guided them the way to his office. "Agents, what can I do for you?" Mitchell asked. "We're here to ask a few questions about the people who swore to have seen ghosts! You know something about it?" Pause. "And the government sent you because...?" Dean smiled. "...of a reason which is none of your business." The Winchester finished the sentence. The man growled low. "Listen, we want to get through this as fast as possible. Just show us where it happened." Mitchell nodded. "Okay, come with me." he said, walking in front of the two men, guiding them the way to the staff's elevator. "Some of the staff have said it too, you know. Not only visitors. They have said they'd seen real ghosts, not the ones we created here." Getting in the elevator, the man pushed a button. "So, what did they see?" Dean asked. "Well, they said, they have seen pale people flying over the floor." Mitchell shrugged. "They first thought, they were working there to scare the visitors but then, those guys... ghosts... whatever, attacked the staff members." Castiel moved his head to look at Dean, opening his mouth to say something but the Winchester cut him off with his hand. "Where are those employees you're talking about? We may want to speak to them as well." "That's not possible, they've all quit." A low sound signaled them that they had reached the desired floor. When the doors opened the only thing they could see was darkness covered with lighting dots. Screams could be heard from far away. "The visitor's elevator is at the end of this floor. We're using mirrors, glass and light to fake the ghosts. They appear as soon as the elevator doors open. They are connected by a mechanism so they can interact with each other." Dean nodded moving forward and looking around. "Can't see a thing. It's pitch black." he said. "Well, there's a switch over there." The supervisor crossed the room and worked on something before a muted light illuminated the place. "Nice. And that's working? Really?" The man shrugged. "It's working quite well! Nowadays, people like to be scared." Castiel walked around on the floor. Searching for some traces of the angel but could not find anything in particular. He already wanted to go back to the others when the electric switch was pushed and the ghosts appeared. The angel tilted his head. He could not understand why somebody would enjoy such kind of thing. And then, he felt it. There was something wrong but before he could do anything, he flew across the floor, landing in front of the Winchester. "Cas?" he asked bending down. "Dean, there is something wrong." Coughing, the angel stood up, staring into the darkness in front of them. The lights started to flicker and moved unsteadily. "What's goin' on? That's not supposed to happen!" Dean cursed. "Just go back into the elevator. We're gonna handle this." Both men could not even say 'bye' so fast was the other man disappearing in the elevator, leaving them alone. As soon as the man was gone, most of the lights were overloading and blew up. "That's not good." Dean drew his gun, switching it from secured to charged. Both, the hunter and the angel, could see them. There were many of them, Dean counted at least nine. Over the ground floating humanoid creatures covered in green glowing light. Dean made a face. "What the hell? They're no ghosts. They look like they've escaped the Ghostbusters." He said, indignant about this bizarre picture. Castiel simply looked at Dean, not knowing what to say about that. "What?" Dean asked, pointing his gun at one of those 'ghosts' and shot. As to be expected, nothing happened at all. Cursing, the Winchester put his gun back at its place staring at those things in front of them. "They are not real, Dean." Castiel interrupted him in his thoughts. "No shit, Sherlock." When one of those fake ghosts attacked Dean he tried to punch it as a reflex. Since this thing was not real he fell through and landed on the ground. Moaning, the hunter tried to stand up but instead, he flew across the floor, like Castiel did before. Unlike the angel, he hit one of the glass parts for the reflections. Dean could feel the broken parts cut through his flesh. Then, he flew into the opposite corner of the place. Castiel grabbed a loose metal bar and hit the fake ghost but nothing happened. Now it was him who landed in the walls. Standing up, Dean cut himself at a shard. C'mon, dammit, there has to be a way, he cursed internally. "Cas, c'mon. We can't let a bunch of fake ghosts beat us!" the hunter said and rose to his feet. So did the angel. "What are we supposed to do? They do not seem to have a weakness for iron and salt." "I know. Let's just not give up, okay?" With this, both men started to punch and kick, not causing any harm except to themselves. Covered in blood and sweat, Dean's breaths were short and fast. The angel did not look much better either. They were both exhausted. How could they not? They were fighting the air for twenty minutes now, nonstop, and without any result! How long are we supposed to keep doin' this. Dean leaned at the wall trying to catch his breath. He turned his head, Castiel was by his side. And they were surrounded by those fake ghosts. "Great. This is not funny anymore, goddammit." The Winchester moaned. One of the fake ghosts approached them, probably to give them another flying lesson but the angel moved himself between Dean and those fake things. And then, it was Castiel who was smashed into the wall. Why is he always doin' this? Dean certainly did not understand this angel. But what he understood was the fact, that he protected him against whatever had come until now. Gritting his teeth, the hunter rushed through those appearances kneeling down next to the angel. "C'mon. Don't give up." Dean looked up at the ceiling. It's worth a try, he thought. "Gabriel. I know you're here you friggin' angel. Stop this shit. That's not funny anymore, you kinky little bastard." "Dean. Stop." Castiel laid his hand on the hunter's mouth, who just gave him a confused look. "He is still a powerful archangel. You can't talk to him the way you talk to me!" Not sure, what he should think about this, Dean fell silent. It took the angel one more moment before he lowered his hand. "You have to show him respect, Dean." the angel continued earning an angry look from the Winchester. "You serious? This prick ran away from home and is killing people now. And you're telling me I should respect him? No way. He's not better than anyone of those other winged assholes I have met. Forget it!" "Dean!" Castiel's voice was mixed of patience and anger. "You are the one who wants something from him, not the other way around. If you want him to stop this, stop commanding him. He will not follow your orders." Pause. The hunter pursed his lips. "Fine. Then, tell me. How are we supposed to make Gabriel stop this shit? Any idea? If you wanna crawl in front of his feet, fine, but I won't." Without a warning, Castiel grabbed Dean at the collar of his jacket, turning around and pressing him against the wall. The hunter winced at the sight of the angels face. He was infuriated. The old geezer swallowed the sticky, soft sweet and smiled once more as he had just told himself a joke he did not know before. Sam held his breath as the white beard and hair gained color and the small man, still being small, recovered his youth. "Hello Sam, it's been a while." the angel said with a sweet smirk on his lips. "Gabriel." The Winchester knew it but still, the sudden change of the angel's appearance made him feel uncomfortable. He knew the archangel was powerful and he should not strain his luck any further. Gabriel would not kill him, he knew he would not or at least he would not kill him and let him stay dead. No fun with dead people after all. Sam tried to not show his discomfort and set on his own little smile. Before he could start to ask his millions of question, Gabriel waved his right hand in the air. "It seems we have to skip the cocoa and marshmallow part. Unfortunately your brother and little Castiel seem desperate for my attention." He said and threw the bag of marshmallows at the young Winchester. Replacing one sweet with another, he started to nibble on a lolly and a second later, he was gone, leaving the stunned Winchester with the boiling milk. The blue eyes were burning right into him. Not again, please. A shiver ran down the Winchesters spine. "If you don't show me any respect, then show him some, at least. He might be the most powerful ally we have and I won't let you ruin this." Castiel had moved too close, the hunter could feel his warm breath on his face. He felt uncomfortable. Somehow, the angel scared him. His behavior scared him, to be precise. As a reflex Dean tried to push Castiel away but the angels grip was too strong. "Cas, if you don't let go, I'm gonna kick your ass, big time!" Dean's voice was low and rough. He could not stand this angel being so close to him. The angel tilted his head in curiosity. "How do you want to do that? How do you, as a human, want to hurt me?" Castiel pressed Dean into the wall receiving a painful groan. "Cas... stop... hurts." The angel tilted his head looking somehow satisfied. "This hurts? Do you want me to heal you, so you can keep offending me? Is this what you want, Dean?" With every word, Castiel's voice grew louder and finally, yelled the hunter's name. The Winchester looked directly into those bright blue burning eyes of the angel. There was something but he could not grab it. Instead, Dean just asked. "What happened to you?" Surprised, the angel widened his eyes, letting go of the hunter and moving backwards. "I don't know." Ashamed, Castiel lowered his head, looking at the ground. Somebody clapping his hands interrupted the awkward silence between the two men. Both, Castiel and Dean, turned around to see Gabriel standing at the end of the floor. "Guys, that was really entertaining, you know that? You should consider a life as actors. Hmm, Castiel, how does it feel becoming so... how shall I call it, emotional?" Castiel lowered his head again. "Oh, don't look so sad. It's just emotions, right? You get used to it. I did too. It's much more fun with them as without. Believe me." Gabriel gave Castiel a supporting wink before he turned to Dean, who, apparently, did not know what the angel was talking about. Gabriel cocked his head. "Seriously? How can somebody be that dumb?" He shook his head, putting a lolly in his mouth. "Well, whatever. You know, Dean-o, Cassy is right. You should respect me, or at least pretend you do, but talking to you is like talking to a donkey, I guess. You're doin' what you want, right? Commandin' everyone around as you please." Dean snarled. "I'm not letting others do what they don't want to do, you sweet-obsessed chicken wing." A smirk appeared on Gabriel's face. "Really? You sure?" Castiel raised his gaze back to the archangel. They had a job to do. "Why do you scare those people, Gabriel? Those killings, what is it good for, especially at such a strange place?" "Cassy, this is no strange place. This is Disney World. People's wishes come true at this place. It's a little fun paradise. You'd understand if you had no stick up your ass." Dean smiled at that. At least, they agreed on one thing! Suddenly, something started to vibrate in his pocket. As a reflex, Dean reached out for it, getting his cell in his hands. "Sammy? Yeah, know that. Where are you?" Pause, Dean listened to his brother while Gabriel turned his attention back to the other angel. "I really wish I could say, I pity you for what you're feeling, but somehow, I think you should be grateful. Even, if it's for that..." Pause. "That has nothing to do with the reason we wanted to find you." Castiel interrupted him. He would not have done it on any other topic, but for this one, he felt Gabriel should not interfere. They came here to stop his murderous fun and maybe they could even get a new hint about Lucifer's plans or any possibility to cut through them. Annoyed with the unbroken graveness of his angelic brother, Gabriel rolled his eyes. The humanization was not going in the same direction his own went. He enjoyed having fun, playing games, eating sweets and enjoying pleasure of all kinds but the angel in front of him, seemed way too busy to stay overloaded with suppressed anger. That could not be healthy at all. Dean kept rambling on the phone and argued with his brother how fast he could come to the 'Tower of Terror' and how the hell they would convince the archangel to behave the way they wanted. Meanwhile Sam had a few problems with the over boiling milk Gabriel had left him with. Gabriel smiled compassionate. "You know. Ignoring those emotions is not good. But I do understand that it can be difficult, especially with him." Subject of this conversation growled loud and shouted 'bitch' back into the phone. Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Why him?" The archangel looked at Castiel, not awaiting an answer. Especially not when the angel himself did not even know what this was all about. "Cassy, I certainly don't get your taste." Shaking his head, Gabriel moved forward. Castiel remained silent. He did not know what to say. Why did the archangel not talk about something else but his problem? When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up, meeting the archangel's gaze. Gabriel was smiling. "Don't worry, Cassy. I've got a gorgeous idea that will even put a smile on your face." he said, before snapping his fingers. Next thing they saw was a giant white building shaped like a ball. The giant big glowing sign stated 'Epcot'. Castiel looked around, they were among other people. Sam was standing in front of Dean, his phone at his ear and staring at his older brother. It was the same with Dean. The angel moved his gaze back to Gabriel. "What are we doing here?" The archangel just shrugged, smiling at the approaching Winchesters. "How about we, let's say, play a little game. To my conditions of course! If your friends win, I might consider telling you some other way, to get Lucifer back to where he belongs. If they lose, well, we can discuss that later." Dean and Sam put their phones back into their pockets. Dean did not look much happy about the whole zapping them out thing but Sam held him back. "Gabriel, that's not funny, you know. Try somethin' new." he said, forcing a smile onto his lips. "So, what's this all about?" "This place is full of smiling children and happy adults. Yeah, even old people enjoy the fun shows and they even say it makes them feel younger again." While he kept talking, his eyes moved towards the not amused Winchesters and back to the confused looking angel. How could a simple place with fake ghosts and fake animals and rides and shows make anyone feel happy? Happiness, how did that even feel? "Here're the rules!" Gabriel raised his voice again and was about to give instructions, as Dean let out a loud snarl. "So what makes you think we follow your rules or play any of your stupid games? The last time we played along, you lost remember? Why do you think this time will be different?" The Winchester was simply amused. He would not work with Gabriel on his conditions, not if he could avoid it. "Dean!" Castiel and Sam said coincidentally looking towards the big-mouthed hunter. "Well, as far as I'm informed, you want something, from me. So you better win this game. I will win both ways anyway." Gabriel continued and sucked happily on the sweet cherry flavored lollipop in his hand. Dean felt like everyone around him was knowing things he did not know and that each and every one of them was angry at him for not knowing what was going on, so, he decided to stay quiet, at least for the next few minutes or seconds, whatever it would take the archangel to finish his speech. "Since I left heaven, I started to appreciate everything you got down here. Not only your little emotions but also the things humans can be capable of. It's a pity that our father didn't bother to grant us a bit more than gratitude for being alive. You can do so much more. You die easily, sure, but at least you experience life as a beginning and an end, not as an endless task without any signs of redemption or accomplishment. All my brothers wanted, was to make him, our father, happy but even though he didn't grant us the ability to feel certain emotions, the feeling of jealousy emerged in some of us. Anyway, I'm running off the track." He cleared his throat and caressed the tip of the lolly, glaring at the younger Winchester in the process. Grinning as he got a rather confused look from him, he closed his eyes and sighed. "The game, I have in mind has only one goal to accomplish." "Spit it out already!" Dean interfered once more, gaining a 'shut up Dean' look from his brother and a nice hit with Sam's elbow. Still playing around with his sweet, Gabriel ignored the hunters little interruption and took a few steps away from the angel and the Winchesters, before he turned around again and smirked. "The challenge is for you, to show to my brother, to show Castiel, that life's not focused on anger. Life's not just about existing. Life is there to be lived. Life can be as sweet as a piece of cake. Show him that even sometimes, in dark hours, you can have a moment to enjoy yourselves and the ones close to you." "Could you please talk in a way we get what our task is? What about cake?" Dean said and stared at the archangel with a blank expression. "Make him smile, you idiot!" Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)