Insanity

Akuma’s P.O.V.

“So the victims bled out from deep cuts on their wrists and necks?” I asked no one in particular as I scratched my arm again, dropping my hand at the glare Alice gave me. The stitches felt like they were ready to come out regardless of whether or not the wounds were fully healed. They hurt and if Alice wouldn’t help me get them out I was getting rid of her and doing it myself.

“Stop scratching.” Alice snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning back in the chair she had claimed. “And yes. There’s been four victims in the last month. One for each week. All have been killed on a Wednesday.” She explained, pulling her computer onto her lap and hitting the power button. “All of the murders are in one family.”

“One family?” I asked, tilting my head and shoving my hands into my pockets, my eyes bouncing to Sam as I spoke. “No one else? Not even close family? Are you sure that this isn’t just a serial killer with a vendetta for a certain family?” I continued, tugging my hair out of its ponytail and combing my hand through it, scratching the bandage on the back of my neck while I moved.

“It could be but we should find out before we leave. It just popped up out of the blue and started killing. It seems really planned out, but I guess a lot of serial killers would plan.” Alice answered, looking up from her computer as I dropped my hand back to my side and started to pace the room.

“Not necessarily. Most serial killers don’t actually plan, even the psychopath serial killers don’t plan. They usually just start attacking and they do tend to have a specific way of killing but a lot of times it’s totally random. Shows like Criminal Minds overemphasize the planning of them.” Sam ranted, not looking up from his computer as he spoke. I stopped my pacing for a moment to look at him and raise my eyebrows before I continued to pace, trying to get my mind off of my arms.

“... You’re such a nerd.” Alice teased with a laugh and a sly grin as she turned her attention to the younger Winchester. “Anyways, two of us need to go down to the house of the latest victim and check things out. I’ll volunteer to be one of those people.”

“I’ll go to.” Dean piped up, and a look at Sam told me he had been about to volunteer. Either way I was happy as long as I wasn’t stuck with Dean, not to mention the fact that I wanted to talk with Sam a bit more about some of the stuff going on, especially with him and Alice. Alice told me that she told him about her visions and if she was telling him that there was major big sister talks that needed to happen, especially after he got so defensive of her in the office with the creep.

“Alright, sounds good to me.” Alice chirped, smiling at her sister as she took the fall so that Akuma wouldn’t have to spend another awkward and argument filled car ride with the older Winchester.

“So we know that it’s not a vampire or a werewolf. It could be a shifter or a ghost, maybe something else if not just a human so check for signs of that I guess.” I rambled on to Alice while she fiddled with the ends of her hair as she tried to deduce what the hell was going on with this case.

“Alright, got it. Look for recent deaths or something...” Alice sighed and then continued. “...maybe make some calls.” Alice turned sharply, her eyebrows tight with thought as she focussed on Sam. “Could you look for the same kinds of things in your research? You and Akuma can work together, you guys will be great.” She rushed around trying to find all the pieces of her outfit. “I have to change, so could you guys, uh, you know, give me some space?” Alice demanded, more than asked, brushing her messy hair out of her face, still clutching the clothing.

“Yeah sure.” Sam said, standing up and stretching his long legs. “We’ll wait outside the door. Dean can change after.” He offered with a smile and I rolled my eyes at the somewhat grumpy look on Dean’s face. Was he really that high maintenance?

The moment the boys were gone Alice was stripping down and getting into her suit, having opted for a pair of pants instead of a skirt. I was glad to see that she had learned her lesson. The last time she was in one of those suits she wore a skirt and we ended up getting attacked while she was still dressed. I would never get wearing skirts. They were constricting and made life difficult, not to mention way too over the top girly for my tastes. I was happy in leggings or sweats when tracking down monsters, they gave more room for moving than anything else did; especially when it came to fighting. “Here, let me put your hair up for you. You always miss chunks.” I offered once she was dressed, not giving her much of a choice as I walked over and shoved her into a chair, grabbing a brush from my bag and getting to work. “Jesus Christ, you need to get something to tame these curls.”

“Leave me and my wild curls alone.” Alice replied in a light, joking tone as I twisted her hair into a smooth bun. “Besides. Some people find it attractive.” She continued, pulling away the moment I had finished and turning to stick her tongue out at me, her green eyes bright as she smoothed out her suit jacket.

“Yeah. People like your tall lanky boyfriend out there.” I teased, grinning wide as her face went bright red and she muttered something about how he was not her boyfriend and never would be. I offered a laugh as a reply and danced out of her reach as she tried to punch me. I opened the door and stuck my tongue out at her, backing out of the room and gesturing or Dean to head in.

It felt like Dean took forever to get ready, though my phone told me that it was closer to ten minutes, but nonetheless I managed to keep back a snarky comment about how high maintenance he was as he walked out of the room. Instead I ignored him and walked inside, glancing over my shoulder as I grabbed a pair of scissors from the small desk inside the room and ducked into the bathroom before Sam or Alice could see what I was up to. I heard Sam wish the two good luck and a rather grumpy Dean grumble something back to Sam before the door closed. I started the shower to cover my tracks, setting it to cold and sitting on the toilet to get to work on ripping these stitches from my terribly itchy arms.

~~~~~~~~

Sam’s P.O.V

I frowned slightly at how fast Akuma rushed to the shower but shrugged it off and sat down on the chair I had been using earlier, returning to the article that I had been reading on the previous murders. There wasn’t a lot of information there, but with a few calls it could clear up a lot of questions. There was a small possibility that it was just a serial killer, but I really doubted it. I had a strong feeling of something that wasn’t quite natural being behind it. It wasn’t long before Akuma was out of the bathroom, wearing the same sweats and long sleeved shirt as before, the only indication that she actually showered was that her hair was down and wet instead of being pulled back and dry.

“So do you have any solid idea on what this thing might be?” She asked as she sat down across from me and grabbed Alice’s computer, pulling it onto her lap as she sat cross legged. She looked a lot more relaxed than she had when Dean was here, and her face held a look of relief.

“Not really. Though I’d veer away from a shifter and look more at something like a ghost. Shifters tend to get caught on camera a lot. They like to get people in shit for crimes that they didn’t commit.” I muttered, running a hand through my hair and turning my attention back to my computer. “They like to cause havoc...like Tricksters, but without the trick.”

“Tricksters?” Akuma asked and I looked up at her with raised eyebrows, my eyes flicking to her arms when she stretched and the sleeves on her shirt pulled back a bit to reveal a lack of bandages or stitches. I frowned a bit but turned my eyes back to her face as I answered.
“Yeah, they are extremely old and very powerful. Like demigods, they can warp reality to play tricks on your mind. Though I have never encountered one. The lore says that they can be killed with a stake to heart, but it has to be dipped in the blood of one of their victims.” I ranted on as I flicked over the next page of the article, frowning for a moment before I got up to dig around in Dean’s duffle bag, pulling out dad’s journal.

“What is that?” Akuma asked, setting her phone on the table and watching me, her ice blue eyes concentrated and slightly suspicious as she watched me move back to my seat.

“It’s my dad’s journal.” I explained, sitting down and pushing my computer out of the way so I could set the journal down instead. I flipped through a few pages and settled on the pages about a tricksters before sliding it over to her. “Here. There’s more stuff about tricksters here. They’re pretty interesting.”

“... Yeah but you’re a nerd.” She replied with a snarky grin before she closed Alice’s computer and leaned forward. “So. You like my sister.” She said, forming it as a statement, her grin getting wider as I felt my face go red.

“Alice is a nice girl, she takes good care of you. I can see that, like your bandages. She must have some pretty great healing mojo if you don’t need stitches anymore.” Was my immediate reply as I forced the blush to leave my face. My expression turning cold.

“... I had skin grafts.” She muttered, pulling her sleeves down and leaning back and staring at me intensely, her eyes and voice getting cold. “So have you two fucked yet?

“How long have you been lying to me and Dean?” I interrupted and ignored her question, trying to change the subject.

“I’m not lying about anything.” She said, her pupils dilating slightly as she pushed back and went to the fridge. “Do you WANT to fuck her?” She questioned from the fridge, grabbing two beers and setting one on the table in front of me.

“What happened on the plane? You didn’t just get sick did you? There’s something else, isn’t there?” I placed my hands on the table and leaned forward. I am going to get an answer out of her.

“Stop trying to change the subject Samuel.” Akuma said, her voice calm but sharp as she opened her beer. “Because I know you want to get with my sister and if you hurt her I will flay you alive.”

“It’s Sam. You couldn’t if you wanted to. First of all, Alice wouldn’t let you, and second Dean would have you shot so full of rock salt, you’ll be crapping margaritas for a week.” I shot back, frowning as she leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes, tilting her head back so it was facing the room, her chest rising and falling rapidly with her breath.

She had opened her mouth to reply when her phone went off and she grabbed it off the table without moving her head, flipping it open and pressing it to her ear. “Hello?” She asked, her voice hard and sounding...darker than it had before. “Yes this is their supervisor. We sent them because of the murders. We’ve seen a similar case and haven’t caught the killer. We want to make sure we catch whoever this is, even if it’s a copycat killer.” She said with a tone of finality. She sat still for a moment as she listened to the other end before offering a simple “thank you” and hanging up, turning to face me and opening her eyes. I don’t know what I was expecting, but her eyes were their regular blue, if not a bit brighter than usual, with her pupils only pin pricks in the center. “Let’s make a deal. You answer one of my questions and I’ll answer one of yours.”

“Deal. I get to ask first.” I said, opening my beer and taking a swig.

“... Fine.” She answered, her tone filled with reluctance and her face filled with a mixture of emotions that I couldn’t read.

“What actually went down when we were on the plane?” I questioned, making sure that my tone wasn’t too pushy or demanding as I watched her closely, my eyes narrowing a bit as she shifted her weight and looked away from me for a moment.

“I almost died.” She muttered, rubbing a hand over her face and taking a long drink from her beer, her eyes drifting away from me again. “Have you two fucked yet?”

“No. Not yet.” I grinned and then let my face return to the interrogative expression I was playing. “What’s with your stitches?”

“They were itchy. I don’t need them.” She replied, pushing up her sleeves, revealing what was now just faded pink scar tissue and rather shallow cuts. “Do you just want to fuck her or do you actually want to be with her?”

“Alice and I have a connection, I would never hurt her like that.” I ran my hand over my mouth in anticipation of my next question, a kind of geeky excitement rising up in my chest against my wishes. “How did you heal so fast? What are you?”

“That was two… pick one question and I’ll answer that.” Akuma snapped, thought it seemed more like a snap of panic than anger.

“Fine. What are you?” I questioned, shifting my weight impatiently as I watched her stare me down, looking as if she wished I had asked the other question first, though they basically warranted the exact same answer.

“There’s not a word for it. I’m the only one.” She said with a shrug, resting her feet on the table and pushing her chair back onto its two back legs. “Are you going to take her out on a real date? You should. She’d love that.”

“The only what?” I stood up, my interest now peaked. “And yeah, I am planning on it as soon as this damn case is over.”

“.... Half demon.” Akuma answered, letting the chair drop back onto all floors with a loud thump before she stood up as well, her blue eyes filling with fear. “Are you going to tell Dean?” She demanded and I stumbled backwards at her words, my eyes falling to the floor as I pieced together the last couple days. My eyes returned to her face at the question and I frowned for a few moments as I thought it all over. She had done nothing that warranted what Dean’s answer would be. She helped us hunt down and kill a few monsters already, monsters had kidnapped her, and she was hiding as a human and seemed like she’d prefer to be fully human. She hadn’t do anything to require telling Dean… except make seemingly empty threats.

“No.” I answered simply, and Akuma visibly relaxed, her face and eyes filling with relief as she ran a hand through her hair again, stopping at the back of her head and gathering a chunk of it into her fist.

“Thank you.” She muttered quietly, turning her gaze away from me before releasing her hair and tilting her head back, finishing off the last half of her beer.

“Does Alice know? I’d assume she does, but you know. We really don’t know anything about you.”

“Yeah. She found out after our dad died.” Akuma said, not missing a beat as her pupils dilated for a moment and a look of anger crossed her face for half a second before her eyes and face returned to normal. “You don’t know anything about me because you’re the fucking Winchesters. Your brother would try to kill me if he found out and the only way to do that is to let me bleed out as far as I know. And even that doesn’t really work if what just happened is a good example.”

“I know. I won’t tell Dean; that will be your choice. I’m sorry, I should be in the right mind here and try to take you out, but I think you’ve earned your place. You know hunting and all... that and you only said half-demon, so that also makes you half-human.” I rationalized, though it was mostly for myself. It was going to be hard to keep such a big secret from my brother, but she didn’t deserve to die for existing… if she could actually be killed.

“I would never hurt a human. I learned my lesson from what happened with my father and with other victims. These monsters are terrible and I would basically be spitting on my mother’s grave if I ever hurt a human.” She ranted, her hand flying to the locket around her throat as she spoke. “... Thank you for understanding”

“Alice really looks up to you. You’ve helped her grow into a strong woman, like yourself. You should open up to her more.” I said calmly, not really recognizing her thanks.

“She knows everything that she needs too. I’m keeping her safe.” I smiled, realizing the similarities between my own brother and myself as she started pacing and ran a hand through her hair yet again. “I’m going to call the cop shop, tell them someone is going to go collect the files on the case. I’ll call Alice and tell them to pick them up on the way back.”

“Good. I, uh, I think I need to take a walk. You know, let it all sink in for a minute.” I muttered, heading for the door.

~~~~~~~~~

Dean’s P.O.V.

I sighed slightly as I pulled out of the parking lot and turned on the radio, changing the setting to the tape player. “I don’t know what crap you guys listen to in your car but I refuse to play anything but classic rock.” I muttered, leaning back in my seat once I had adjusted the volume to an appropriate volume.

“We listen to the same thing.” Alice replied coolly and I glanced at her with slight shock. I wasn’t sure why I was assuming they listened to pop or some fruity shit, but I hadn’t expected them to like rock... even if it did make a lot of sense.

“Dean. Take a left.” Alice said, a frown crossing her face and I turned my gaze back to the road, watching two police cars speed around the corner, their lights flashing but their sirens silent. With a soft swear I took the corner and sped after the cop cars, pulling to a stop behind them and getting out of my baby, holding my tie so I wouldn’t get it caught in the door.

“What’s going on?” I demanded, walking up behind the closest cop and flashing my badge as I spoke, keeping a straight face on as he watched me.

“.... Why is the FBI here?” The cop asked, lifting his eyebrow a bit as his partner got out of the car and moved to face Alice.

“Because head office sent us here to investigate a long string of killings that match up with a serial murder we’ve seen before.” Alice answered coolly, flashing the partner her badge before holding out a card. “Call our supervisor if you’d like. But for now you should probably answer our questions and help us out. You seemed like you were in a pretty big rush.” She finished, never missing a beat as she moved so she was standing directly next to me. The cops stared at us for a moment before looking at each other and nodding, the first one gesturing for us to follow him while the second one stayed behind.

“There was another murder. As with every other case, the victim is the person who witnessed the previous murders… there were two witnesses this time and just like the others they didn’t see the murderer at all. They said it was as a shadow that was killing them.” The cop explained as they stepped into the house. There was already a few cops around and a young girl and her grandmother were sitting next to each other on a couch in the living room.

“You go talk to the cops some more. I’m going to talk to the victims.” Alice said quietly, not giving me a chance to reply before she moved away and headed to the couch, giving them both a kind smile and crouching down in front of them. I quickly glanced around the house before I followed the cop upstairs, wishing I had caught his name so it wouldn’t be so difficult to catch his attention later. Instead of asking I stayed silent and followed him to a young teenage boy’s room up the stairs and lifted my eyebrows at the stench that was already starting as well as the amount of blood.

“So this kid saw and called in the murder from four days ago?” I asked, looking at the cop and catching the name C. Cooper on his nametag as he turned to face me.

“Yes. And he said the exact same thing that the young girl and her grandmother are saying. It seemed as if a shadow was doing the attacking, though he said it could have just been the lighting.” Cooper explained, rubbing his forehead as he spoke and let out a small sigh. “This is the fifth death, fourth witness. They’ve all said the same thing that has gotten us nowhere.” He concluded, turning away again and looking down at the body. “Anyways, the mortician will be here in about five minutes. I’m going to go consult with my partner. I’m sure you know the drill on not touching things.”

“Yes of course.” I replied, my tone a bit harsh in reply to the tone of his voice. He was kind of being a dick and acting like he didn’t believe me, but it was probably because he was like fifty and he thought that I was a little over twenty and in the FBI. The old man was probably jealous. I watched him go down the hall before I closed the door and pulled out my EMF meter, walking around the room and going towards the body, frowning at the crazy rates in the room. Based on the description and this small machine, we were probably dealing with a ghost.

I slipped away the EMF at the sound of the door opening and turned to face the mortician, giving the older woman a grim smile before I walked back downstairs and into the living room, calmly waiting a few more minutes for Alice to finish talking to the old woman and the young girl before joining me. “Did you find anything?” She asked, her green eyes looking troubled as she met my gaze for a moment before heading to the door.

“Yeah. The guy said that every witness has said that they could see the murderer, but not really see them. They all said it looked like more of a shadow.” I explained as we headed towards my baby. “And the EMF readings were off the wall...”

“Jamie, the young girl, said that the lights had flickered a bit and the room was cold when she ran in because her grandma was screaming… Her grandmother, Charlotte, confirmed it.” Alice said, her voice grim as she stopped in front of me and turned to look me in the eye again. “I think we should go check out the house of the last victim and then come back here when things are less hazardous.”