Breathe Life Into Me

I think I was frustrated most with that fact that we had the most powerful weapon we've ever had against demons and we can't freaking find a way to use it. I mean, bless poor Kevin's soul for staying up all hours of the day and night trying to figure the damn thing out but isn't there some kind of fast forward to this prophet process?

I looked over at Mel's still body as her breathing became even and heavy, signaling her deep sleep. She was exhausted. I let it go the first couple days...even after the first two weeks...because, I mean, she just got back from Purgatory and she isn’t half demon anymore...which should both be good things...but the old Mel wouldve bounced back by now. Mel never talked about how her “inner demon” effected her but I can only assume that it was what gave her so much energy all the time. No matter how tired and exhausted she felt she would never show it or let it break her down. She was physically and mentally strong but how much of that strength was really because of her defect?

Maybe we should take a break for the night. Go to a bar, drink some beers, relax a little, get some downtime, some fun time...who knows when we will get that kind of chance again.

My phone started to go off so I began to fumble around my pockets, searching for it while keeping the wheel steady. "Yea" I answered.

"You wanna pull over for the night or you good?" Deans voice came through.

"I just drank three thermos worth of coffee. I should be all set for a couple 100 miles"

He chuckled. "Okay...how's Mel?"

"Sleeping...which I guess is a good thing..."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know...something’s off about her lately, Dean..."

"She's still trying to adjust, Brit. She's not exactly used to being normal..."

I knew he wouldn't want to hear this but he was in denial. He wasn't seeing what I was seeing. "I know...it's not just that though...I have this really bad feeling in my stomach, Dean...what if we thought Cas fixed her for good but really...he just prolonged it...”

“Prolonged what though, Brit?”

I sighed. “I dont know...she’s just...not the same...”

“None of us really are...” But before we could continue Mel started convulsing in her seat. Her body was shaking so violently that the whole car was moving. "Brit?" I heard Dean yell but I tossed my phone to the floor and quickly pulled over.

"Mel! Hey! Come on, snap out of it!" I tried to hold her still and secure her body but all of a sudden she just shot up in her seat, breathing hard with sweat coming off her forehead.

I put her face in my hands so she would look at me. I searched her eyes for some indication as to what the hell just happened. But she just looked confused...and scared....

"You with me?" was all I said to her.

She just nodded. Then her side door ripped open and we both looked up to see Dean peering inside, worried as he took Mel into his arms and inspected her. "I'm fine, Dean" she tried to push him off but that just made him hold tighter.

"What happened?" He demanded of me.

"I...don't really know..."

"It was nothing...I just had a bad dream" Mel got him to let go. "Where are we? We have a case?" She looked around.

"Remember I told you a while back that we were heading to a case that Garth found for us..." I spoke as she gave me a blank look.

"Garth?" She made a face.

"Yea...you know Garth...really goofy...kind of annoying...the new Bobby...?" I tried to insist.

All she did was force a smile but I still saw the confusion in he eyes. "Oh...right. Yea, of course. I guess I'm just a little dazed" she tried to laugh it off. I only told her that a few hours ago before she passed out. She couldn't have forgotten already, could she?

~

"What's wrong with you?" I hissed at Mel as we made our way up the stairs of the apartment building and toward the crime scene.

She snapped her eyes at me. "What? Nothing..." she whispered.

But I continued to watch her avoid eye contact with every police officer she passed by and she kept fixing her skirt, pulling it down as she tried to cover more of her skin. "Hey, stop it. Cut it out" I snapped as I grabbed hold of her hands to push her into the corner. "You have to stop fidgeting" I told her.

"I don't want to draw attention! This skirt is too short and this shirt..." She made an exasperated motion to pull it up.

"Well you trying to fix at it every two seconds will draw more attention to you..." I pulled her skirt down to a reasonable length and fixed her shirt so it was covering more but still made her look perky. "Why are you so nervous?"

"We are committing a crime right now...and I've been a bit out of practice..."

I felt my body begin to slow as I processed her words. Since when was Mel against breaking the law? Since when did she not want the attention...?

"Hey, you two coming?" Sam hissed at us.

I watched as Mel walked passed me and over to Dean who was ready to go in. Sam waited for me, giving me a weird look. "You okay?" he wondered.

"Yea..."

"What's wrong?"

I just kept my eyes on Mel. "Melissa...didn’t want any attention..." Was all that came out of my mouth as if it was the craziest thing in the world...because it was definitely close to it. I ignored Sam’s confused stare and just headed over to the room that had the police going in and out.

We made ourselves known and got the low down. To sum it up-the vic was tied down and ripped apart (literally of course) but there was no sign of cover entry. Only thing was the fact he had a recent phone history with a mister Lance Jacobson and his last few choice words to our vic were pretty sketchy. So we questioned him...only to have him sob on and on about how he didnt send the texts. Not the real him anyway. It was LARPING version him...they were role playing. Lance was challenging our dismembered friend to a duel to see who would be fit to be at the queens side...whatever that meant. I wasn't too fluent in geek these days....

"So...are we believing this guy or what?" Mel wondered aloud.

"Well let's see if it checks out" Sam sat down at one I the stations computers and pulled up the LARPING website Lance mentioned. "Welcome to Moondoor, Michigan's largest LARPing game." Sam read the title.

I made a face. "And I thought we needed to get out more" Dean commented.

Sam found the picture gallery and the very first one we saw Lance dressed in a costume, seemingly having the best time of his life. Sam played a video that started a virtual tour. "It actually looks kind of awesome" Dean chuckled. We all gave him a look but he just kept smiling at the screen. I noticed Mel kept shifting in her sport, looking around in a very non-discreet kind of way. I nudged her and she brought her attention back to the computer. "Moondoor. A world of intrigue, honor, passion. Four kingdoms – followers of the Moon, Elves, Warriors of yesteryear, and the dreaded Shadow Orcs. All will fight on the fields of never..."

Dean grinned at me but when I gave him a pointed look he became serious again. But the ends of his lips were still trying to tip upward. "...in the biannual Battle of Kingdoms. Pick up a sword or a mace. Take control of Moondoor and defend the current ruler...the queen of moons..." It zoomed in on the face of a very familiar red head.

"Wait...is that..." Dean got closer to the screen. We all exchanged a look...but when my eyes met Mel's her eyes were still on the screen, un-phased.

~

Lances body was taken to the morgue and after watching the sur-valence camera 100 times we took into account that both men had the same creepy tree tattoos on their arms. But other than that the only thing that they had in common was a Larping and when we found Moondoor I've never felt so out of place in my life....

Mel seemed to be enjoying it though. She was dancing to the music, interacting with whoever walked on by and watched the mock sword fights and jousting take place. "I like the Renassaince era. Everyone is just so happy..." She giggled.

"I'm sorry. But did you just use the words like and happy in the same sentence?" I eyed her.

"Yea? Why?" I hesitated.

"No reason..."

She smiled and I had to restrain her from running off and joining this friggin circus. "Excuse me. Hi. Uh, you are a LARPer, yeah?" Dean asked one of them.

"I prefer the term “interactive literaturist."

“Right. Uh, I am Special Agent Rosewood. This is special Agent Taggart and our interns, Nash and Dane" we all flashed him our badges.

"Hold!" He suddenly exclaimed and took down his good. "Um, guys, we're not doing the whole genre-mash-up thing this weekend. We only do that every third month" His voice was suddenly much higher and squeaky.

"Umm come again?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Your fake badges, the cheap suits. It's very cool. I get it. Your characters are FBI agents that somehow traveled to Moondoor, but I'm telling you it's just – it’s straight-up Moondoor this weekend" he explained.

"These aren't fake badges" Sam insisted.

"Uh, yeah, they are, and they're very good, but, um, well, the I.D. number shifted to 10 digits with, uh, two letters mixed in at the end of the year, and, uh, the seal's from last month. Really good work"

"I told you we would get caught" Mel hissed in my ear but I just pushed her away.

"It’s just...a tournament weekend, okay guys, so you got to follow the rules. If there's no rules – chaos" He put his hood back on. "Resume" his voice was deep again. "If you would like to join the army of Moons, the queen is always on the lookout for new squires"

"Yes. Right. Uh, we would like to see your queen now, please" Dean said, officially agitated.

"Well, the queen's calendar is booked up months in advance. But if you wish to witness what's in store for you in her army, her highness is overseeing new squires on the pitch as we speak.

~

"Guys? Where did Mel go?" I looked around.

"I thought you were watching her" Dean said to me.

"I thought she was with you though!" I accused.

But then a loud clamor made us rush over to a crowd of these "LARPERS" as two of them were sword fighting in the center. I was kind I hoping one of them was Mel but as one of them gained dominance, knocking the other to his knees, a helmet flew to the ground and we saw it was Charlie. Everyone began to cheer. She faced her people.

"Greyfox and Thargrim are missing. We pray to the goddess they have not fallen victim of foul play. In their absence, the honor guard's ranks are weakened. To join..." But her voice or caught in her throat when she saw us. "Uhh the queen needs some royal "we" time. Talk amongst thyselves" she rushed off and we followed.

Dean stopped to pick up one of the fake swords that were laying around. I just shook my head at him as we went inside the tent where Charlie headed. It was decorated with a rug, small statues, lanterns and a table with fancy chairs. There was also a map laid out on the table with figurines positioned on it is on a second table.

"Charlie..." Sam started.

"Charlie Bradbury is dead. She died a year ago. You killed her. My name is Carrie Heinlein. Oh, and guess what. Now you killed her, too" she started packing.

"Okay listen..." Dean tried again.

"No, I buried myself. Then Dick Roman went down, his company belly-up, and I figure Hey, it's all good, and I was fine. I got my life back. Now you're here, and if you guys are here, monsters are here. Why do I have such bad luck? What am I – some kind of monster magnet? Is there such a thing as a monster magnet? You know what? Don't answer that. I don't care. What I care about is not getting my other arm broken...or dying..." she babbled, slinging her duffle bag over her shoulder.

"So... I'm dropping my sword and walking off the stage, bitches. Have fun storming the castle" she placed her crown on Deans head and tried to walk out but before she could the tent doors flapped open.

"Oh why thank you kind sir for showing me the way to our queens tent. Serve and protect always" a familiar voice sang through the air.

I face palmed myself as Mel came walking in to us wearing a long pink dress and a pointy pink hat. She reminded me of Princess Peach when she looked at all of us and grinned.

"I am having a great time" she laughed. We didnt know what to say. "Oh! You must be Charlie" she jumped in front of Charlie and hugged her tight.

"Oh Uhh I..." I saw Charlie begin to blush.

I pulled her off the excited redhead. "Are you wearing a corset?" I furrowed my eyebrows at her.

"Yea. It's actually pretty comfortably snug..."

"Is she okay...?" Charlie wondered.

"Yes. She's fine. Mel, you remember Charlie. She helped us take down Dick Roman..." I tried to get through to her but all I saw was this innocently confused look in her eyes.

"Oh uhh of course I remember Charlie. How could I forget..." She smiled, calming down and recognizing the seriousness of the situation and I also felt the guys eyeing us.

"Maybe...I can hear what you have to say..." Charlie spoke and I watched her eyeing Mel curiously.

So we explained everything to her about the case from beginning to end. "Wait, I've seen this before. It's a Celtic magic symbol. At least it was in my favorite video game. Does that help? Can I go now?" she sighed, frustrated.

"It's a start, but no. Um, listen. What can you tell us about Ed and Lance?" Sam asked

"Good guys. Two of the best members of the queen's ever-shrinking army"

"Ever-shrinking?" I repeated.

"My kingdom has had a lot of bad luck lately, probably 'cause of me, but...maybe it's tied to this. A month ago, one of my guys had both her ankles broken before battle. Before that, I had three people have hospital-worthy accidents while at home. You think there's any connection there?"

"Did they have any enemies in common?"

"In real life? No. Everyone gets along famously. In the game, though..." she got up to walk over to Mel who was inspecting some figurines. She took them out of her hands but hesitated there, staring intensely at Mel.

"Is it just me or does it seem like Charlie developed a serious woman crush on Mel..." Dean whispered to me.

I just ignored him and watched Charlie place the figurines back down onto the map that was on the table. This happened last time too. Mel didnt realize it but it was really obvious how hard core Charlie was crushing on her at the time and it obviously was there.

"They had tons of enemies. Red reps the followers of the Moon – my peeps. Green's for Elves, blue's for Warriors of Yesteryear, and black's for Shadow Orcs -- total d-bags. This weekend is the Battle of the Kingdoms to see who wears the Forever Crown. This weekend, each faction is definitely an enemy of me and mine"

"You know, if you, uh...move your archers back and your broadswordsmen to the west..."

"Huh. Fight the warriors"

"Yep"

"Hey, good call"

"Thanks"

"What about the southern wall?"

"Guys can you try to bring the nerdiness level back down to where it's non existing" I pleaded with them.

"Right...sorry" Dean apologized and I just sighed.

"But maybe someone from one of the other kingdoms got ahold of real magic and started using it to weaken your army" Mel spoke up suddenly.

"But why not just come after me? And why the escalation?" Charlie wondered.

"All right, we will canvass the kingdoms. You should get out of here. We don't want you to get hurt" Dean established.

"Whoa, wait. Charlie knows Moondoor a lot better than we do. We need her" Sam argued.

"Sam, I think we can take care of a bunch of accountants with foam swords"

"We need all the help we can get, Dean. People are dying"

"My point, which is usually yours, is that she should get somewhere safe and get back to a normal life"

"Okay enough!" I shouted. They stopped.

"Charlie's the queen. She has to stay" Mel added with a smile. I gave her a look to shut up.

But Charlie sighed. "She's right. As much as I want to go...I can't . I mean, Sam is right. People are dying. That can't happen on my watch. And you know what? I am tired of running. I like my life here. I'm gonna stay and fight for it" she established. "

You tell em! Fight the power!" Mel threw her fist into the air, giggling.

Then, Sam got a phone call and walked off to the corner to talk. "Okay you’ve been acting weird all day..." Dean addressed Mel.

"Have I?" She inquired.

"Who cares? I like her this way. She's more fun" Charlie smiled at Mel.

"Hey. She's taken" Dean reminded her.

"Oh uhh no...I didnt..." She started to turn red.

"Mmhhmm"

"Excuse us" I pulled Mel outside. "You have to pull yourself together. If Dean finds out you’re not yourself then that just adds more stress to the whole situation..." My mind was racing 1000 miles a minute. This wasnt Mel. I don't know who she was but it wasn't the person I've known my whole life.

"Whoa easy there Brit. Who says I'm not myself...I'm perfectly fine...better than fine actually..."

"Yea and that's the problem! This happy, go-lucky side of you...it's not who you are..."

"So you preferred my depressed, more stressed self...who I used to be...not happy..."

"Yes" I stressed but then realized how bad that really sounded. "Wait...no Mel...that's not...of course I want you to be happy..."

But then Sam came walking out to us. "I'm going to the tech tent to do some digging...do you..."

"I'll come" Mel said quickly. He nodded and the two of them walked off together.

~

"You sent Sam a phantom text from his ex? Dick move, sir" I felt Dean look over at me but I just sat there unsure of what to make of anything.

"Yeah, not our finest hour..."

"So he found some normalcy with this chick, and now it's gone... again. Thanks to you"

“Yeah, well, now he's more committed than ever, so there's that. But, trust me, this life – you can't afford attachments. You just got to... let go" My eyes shot back up at him. "Are we still talking about Sam, or are you sure you and Mel didnt call it...?" Charlie tried again.

"Dude!"

"What? Just saying" she said defensively.

"No...we didnt call it...but..." Come on. Say it!

"But what?"

"She's just...not herself lately...like, she's not the same person I once knew...the same person I fell in love with..."

"So..."

"She's...kind of better. She's the person I knew she could be...the one who she used to be..." What?! Better? How can he think...

"Care to elaborate because I'm pretty much just living vicariously right now..." She sighed with his dreamy look on her eye.

"I don't know really...she makes me want to love life...the way she did...the way she does...there was this time when we were younger..." He chuckled at the memory he was recreating. "We would always sneak out late at night to go to this field that was close enough to walk to but far enough to get away from everything...it wasn't anything special either really, it was just a grassy field with this one tree that we would lay under...and we would just stare up at the stars for hours...but then we got grounded of course when we fell asleep and didnt come home until the next morning..."

"Of course" Charlie acknowledged lightly, really enjoying his story.

"Then...I called her that night and I asked her...why do you like going to the field so much. Wouldn't you rather me actually take you out?" He smiled a little. "And she said...but that's our spot. It makes us different from other couples...and when I watch the stars with you...there's no place is rather be. And I'm always reminded that no matter how far apart we are...I know the stars are what connect us...”

“That’s...wow” Charlie breathed out. “Who knew Melissa had such a...” Dean shot her look, warning her on what she should say next. “I was gonna say who knew she had such a soft side. Proof thatyou’re the one who turns everything dirty” she said simply, shrugging and turning her back. Dean laughed.

I thought about it. This whole time I was so concerned with this new Melissa...but what if nothing’s wrong with her...that’s just who she is...who she’s always been. Maybe I just never had the luxury to get to know that Mel...I always had the hard ass-expect every scenario, especially the worst Mel. The one who always pushed me to do better and to be stronger...that Mel I was used to...that Mel I liked having around because I knew she was always one step ahead of everything. And I tried to convince myself that Dean would be the one upset with these changes...but really...I’m the one that doesn’t want her to change. I’m the one that needs the original...the real and the old...Mel back.

“Your majesty” a woman greeted Charlie as we made our way out of the tent and through the camp.

Dean exchanged his foam sword for a wooden one. “You always been into LARPing, Charlie?” I asked.

“Nah. For role-play I prefer a tabletop. D&D, Gamma World, Car Wars. That's why Cthulhu invented multi-sided dice, right? But a buddy of mine was into LARPing. Went for him, stayed for the chicks" Dean and I both laughed. “It's not just that, though. It's an escape. I mean, here, I'm queen, a hero. Out there in the real world, I'm just hacking out code and chugging coffee all day long”

I grabbed her hand to stop her in her tracks and she faced me. “Hey...if it wasnt for you we would have never been able to take down Dick Roman” I told her honestly.

Dean put a hand on her shoulder. “Out there in the real world, you are a hero” he added.

She smiled lightly, almost embarrassed now. “My queen” another woman greeted and walked on.

“I'm noticing a lot of these maidens checking you out” Dean commented."What? I can't shut this down” she gestured up and down her body. “It's good to be queen.” she sighed happily.

Sam

How could any of this possibly become true...it was a game for Pete’s sake! It was...grown adults getting dressed up to talk an old language with other grown adults doing the same thing. I glanced up quick to see Mel playing with her finger nails as if this was some every day chore that bored her...which is completely understandable. But when I got a good look at her I saw she wasn’t bored. Just deep in thought.

“Penny for your thoughts?” I voiced, keeping my eyes on the computer screen but my full attention was on her.

I noticed she looked up to smile at me. Her smile was nice. I used to always appreciate it whenever it snuck up on her because it was never too often I got to see it which was a shame. Her smile showed so much excitement...so much hope and so many dreams...but lately it was losing it’s touch. I can tell when she’s forcing it and right now it was definitely forced. She was also kind of giving me whiplash because of her intense mood changes. She’s just...so happy....

“Do you...think I’m...different...?” she made a face.

I still kept my eyes on the computer screen, scrolling and pretending to continue my research. “Different how?”

“I dont know...” she sighed, leaning back in her chair.

I looked at her sympathetically. “Well...you did just get out of Purgatory a few weeks ago...and not even all of you got out. Only your human side...so you’re still adjusting...” I tried to reason with her.

She sat up again and leaned toward me. “But...what if I said...I don’t really remember what it was like...not being fully human...”

“I...dont think I understand...”

“Hey, that’s Phyllis. Heard she broke her ankles or something...” a voice interrupted us. We looked up to see the girl sitting next to us peering onto our screen. “Sorry...I dont mean to be nosey...” she quickly turned away.

“No, it’s okay...” I quickly gestured for her to sit down. Maybe she could help.

I clicked on Phyllis’ picture. “Wow. It looks like she got...”

“Hobbled. Oh, and that's Jamie. He said someone broke into his house, beat him with his own mace, but...”

“No signs of forced entry” Mel assumed, still in her own world. For someone who thinks she’s different she still has the same attitude and has the same obvious skills she's always had.

“Do you recognize this from Moondor? I think it’s Celtic maybe?” I enlarged the picture of the tree tattoo. “No. Sorry. But I'll look it up” she promised and went to her own computer .

I looked back at Mel. “So...”

“Never mind” she said quickly, smiling and exiting the tent in one quick movement. I wanted to go bring her back and see what it was that was bothering her so much but this was important too. I’m sure she’s fine....

Brit

“Hey...hey, Brit!” I looked up to Dean. “Hey, you coming?”

“Yea...where are we going...?”

“The Black Hills to find the Shadow King. Man, you’re really out of it today” he mentioned and I just followed him and Charlie through the woods.

“So what’s up with you? Why the funk?” Dean addressed me. Do I try to continue our conversation? Do I tell him what I’ve been seeing in Mel? Do I keep my mouth shut? Do I let him have whatever moment he’s having right now...?

“It’s nothing...I was just looking forward to a bit downtime” I shrugged.

“You and me both sister” he sighed.

“My queen” a voice made me jump and I almost went for my gun. But I saw it was just another nerd in costume.

“There you are. I've been searching everywhere for you. Has this...oaf attempted to harm you with his blasphemous metalworks?” he gestured to Dean.

“Boltar, he's with me. These are my new...handmaidens” Charlie said earning a look from me which she nervously avoided. “We seek an audience with the Shadow King” she quickly added.

“Uh, these hills are not safe. I beseech you, my queen, you should return to camp"

“He's right...your worshipfulness. Uh, may I have a moment before you take your leavings?” I played along and we all moved a few feet away from Boltar. “Really, Charlie? Do I look like a handmaiden to you?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“He was suspicious. I panicked” she apologized.

“All right, look. Take my phone. Find Sam and Mel. We'll find the shadow dorks”

“But I can help” she insisted.

“Yeah, you are helping by finding Sam and Mel. Go” I ordered and she walked away.

“Lead the way to the Orcs, Bolty” Dean encouraged.

“Speak when spoken to, handmaiden.” he scolded and then led the way. I snickered as we began to follow.

Sam

“The Tree of Pain. A symbol of Fairy Magic. It was used by the Ancient Celts for magic rituals and casting spells. The Tree of Pain is used as a hex to maim or kill the subject bearing the mark for the uninitiated. It symbolizes pain, both physical and spiritual. For the initiated practitioners of Celtic Fairy Magic, the Tree of Pain is a powerful protection symbol that served to bind the tribe. The Tree of Pain symbol had been passed down to the ancient Celts from...”

“Blah, blah, blah. So if you’re tagged with this mark you will be a victim of fairy magic” Mel summed it up.

“Well...yea. Do you know anything about this? Like how to stop it?” I asked her.

“How would I know...?”

“Well...you did do magic for a period of time”

“I did?” she made a face.

“Yea, Mel...dont you...” She doesnt remember? Is that what she tried telling me before? Is that why Brit is so on edge? Why wouldnt she...

“Come on. We should probably go find Dean and Brit” she got up and I had to scramble to my feet to catch up with her as she headed out the tent.

“Hey. Nice outfit” I commented, seeing Brit and Dean in their “Ren get-ups”.

“You love it” Brit smirked at me, dangerously. I did love it. How was it that she was able to pull off anything she did...anything she wore...anything she said....

“Well, while you guys were playing dress up...” Mel teased.

“Look who’s talking” Dean nodded at her.

“We found out...” I offered him the info about the tattoo.

“Belongs to the Shadow Orcs” Dean said, proudly.

“Yeah. And they're using fairy magic”

“The Tree of Pain. Awesome” Brit commented, reading the rest of the data.

“Whoever gets marked gets ganked”

“All right, how do we stop it?”

“Find whoever cast the spell, and take them out. No more whammy, no more marks. No more marks, no more dead bodies” Mel shrugged.

“Okay, well, perfect. Boltar the chatty is getting the Shadow Orc prisoner. We're gonna do a little prisoner exchange, try to draw the king out of hiding” Brit explained. Dean smiled. “It was my idea”

“Hey...where’s Charlie?” Brit asked.

I gave her a pointed look. “She was with you guys” Mel reminded them.

“No, we sent her to you” Dean informed us.