Chapter Text
This was crazy.
Every aspect of this case was insane.
This thing was playing three-card Monte with them. And it was winning.
“You know what’s crazy?” Sam asked, breaking the silence as he stared at Samuel’s corpse. “I barely remember him. But what I do remember… it wasn't good. And what he did to us… but—”
“There’s a but?” Gwen inquired from where she was leaning against one of the pillars with her arms folded.
“I'm with Gwen,” Dean agreed.
Sam shrugged and let out a tired sigh. “I mean, I can't help but think… what would Mom say?”
Dean thought about it for a moment before stepping closer to Sam.
“You know what I think Mom would say?” Dean started, sucking his teeth. “She’d say, “Just because you're blood doesn't make you family. You gotta earn that.” And if a 1,000-year-old vampire like Elijah can understand that concept and take that as law, then, I’m sorry, but I will not give Samuel a pass for not doing that.”
“Well said,” Marie smirked.
A while later the lights in the factory turned on and Bobby, Rufus, and Elijah returned carrying a few bags of power tools.
“Alright, let’s play operation,” Rufus panted, setting the bag down.
As Rufus unzipped the bag, Elijah took notice of Gwen and the Winchesters, specifically Dean who was scrunching his face up and rubbing his temples as though he had a headache.
“The three of you should wait outside,” he said.
“We’re good,” Dean replied curtly, folding his arms over his chest.
“We’re about to pry open your grandfather’s skull,” Elijah reiterated. “Wait outside.”
Dean balked in disbelief and opened his mouth to argue but the look Elijah gave him made him think better of it.
Dean reluctantly started heading for the door, but as he walked past the table where Samuel’s body was lying, Dean swore his eyes peered through the layers of skin and bones until it zeroed in on something curled around the base of Samuel’s spinal cord.
However, by the time he realized that what he was seeing was real, Samuel had already popped up from the table and barred the door with a plank of wood and a bent piece of metal before attacking the older hunters.
Sam, Dean, and Gwen struggled to push open the door to no avail and were forced to watch as the shell of their grandfather plunged a broken shard of wood into Elijah’s chest and into his heart.
“I know this won't kill you,” the monster whispered to Elijah. “But it will keep you out of my way long enough to kill the others.”
“ELIJAH!” Bobby shouted.
He tried to get to the vampire and remove the stake from Elijah’s desiccated body, but was quickly thrown aside by the monster possessing Samuel.
Marie unsheathed her knife from her cane and swung at Samuel furiously, but she, too, was knocked away.
The monster closed in on Rufus and beat him down until it caught Bobby trying to crawl towards the vampire. It let go of Rufus and gripped up Bobby and started choking the life out of him.
* * *
30 YEARS AGO…
Bobby kicked down the door of the abandoned factory and fired off two shots at the Reapers as he charged in.
Two of them went down, but another three came out from the shadows and set upon the young hunter with unintelligible speed and agility.
Within seconds, they had him flung to the ground, and prepared to eat him alive. But then, Cheyenne bolted into the room, shooting one of the Wesen in the head while tackling the second head-on and wrestling it on the ground.
Other Reapers soon appeared and that’s when Rufus, Marie, and Elijah came through and systematically wiped them out, severing heads and ripping out hearts.
When the dust settled, all of the Wesen were dead, and Cheyenne was lying on the cold factory floor with a dead Reaper beside her, a gaping wound in her neck and in her chest, and a rapidly expanding pool of blood beneath her.
* * *
PRESENT-DAY…
“Heave, damn it!” Dean yelled, pushing against the doors to no avail.
“He must have jammed it with metal,” Gwen panted. “There’s no way we’re getting through there.”
The monster had already (temporarily) killed Elijah and tossed Marie and Rufus to the side like ragdolls. Dean would be damned if this thing killed Bobby.
A dark shadow fell over Dean’s face, as he quickly plotted his next move.
“Stand back,” Dean growled, taking a few steps back from the double doors.
He waited for them to clear out before he started kicking at the doors, causing noticeable dents to appear in the metal, earning looks of shock from Gwen and Sam. Dean kicked the doors a grand total of two more times before they flew completely off their hinges. One of them soared towards the monster, who was still standing over Bobby’s body preparing to deliver the final blow with Bobby’s own saw, and smashed him against the pillar containing the electrical outlet.
Samuel’s body convulsed violently from where it was sandwiched in between the outlet and the metal door as electricity deep-fried his corpse and forced the monster to eject.
The worm monster scrambled down Samuel’s spasming body and disappeared from sight as Dean, Sam, and Gwen rushed over to check on Rufus, Bobby, and Marie.
They helped them up off the ground and the first thing Bobby said once he regained consciousness was, “Where’s Elijah?”
Dean, Sam, and Gwen looked towards Elijah’s body and sighed somberly.
“I'm sorry, Bobby,” Dean comforted.
Bobby looked at him strangely. “Sorry for what?”
Dean tilted his head, clearly caught off-guard by the nonchalant question.
Moments later, a loud gasp startled everyone, but none more so than Sam, Dean, and Gwen, who watched as Elijah opened his eyes and sat straight up before pulling the stake out of his chest with an annoyed grunt.
“Robert, next time I try to wear my favorite suit on one of your little monster hunts, remind me of this moment and tell me to fuck off,” Elijah complained, as he stood up.
Dean instinctively pushed the others back as the vampire walked towards them. “Stay back, he could have the monster in him,” he warned.
Elijah let out a deep, long-suffering breath before saying, “Dean, if the monster wanted to possess me, do you honestly believe we would be having a conversation right now? Much less, that you would be breathing?”
“He’s got a point,” Rufus agreed with an awkward cough.
Elijah grinned. “Oh, how that must have hurt for you to say.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Rufus waved off. “Point is: that monster has had plenty of opportunities to get inside Elijah while he was alone, and it didn't.”
“Why not?” Sam asked, leaning in.
“Personally,” Marie interjected. “I don't think it can. I mean, Elijah is a Mikalaen vampire, not an Evarien one. On top of that, he is an Original vampire created by witchcraft. Bottom line, he's too different.”
Dean listened to what Marie said, his eyes never once leaving the vampire’s.
“If you still aren't sure, then use your Grimm sight to see if it's in me,” Elijah volunteered.
A cold shiver ran down Dean’s spine, as everyone’s eyes turned on him.
“Wait, you activated?” Sam queried, placing a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “When?”
“Not too long after Samuel died,” Dean answered with a shaky breath. “I felt this throbbing in my head and eyes. Then as we were walking out… it was like I had x-ray vision or something, and I could see this thing—it, whatever it was, curled at the base of his neck. Then, just now, when we were trying to get back in here, I—”
“Felt like you could demolish a tank with your bare hands?” Marie offered.
Dean nodded slowly. “Yeah. Exactly like that.”
“Okay, then, Superman,” Gwen coughed. “Is it in him?”
Dean narrowed his eyes at Elijah, feeling the same dull ache from before build up in his head, before his vision suddenly intensified, blocking out everything but Elijah’s skeletal system, which was still healing from where the stake had previously been lodged in his sternum.
But there was no sign of the worm anywhere.
Dean screwed his eyes shut and turned his head away before re-opening them and facing the others with his normal vision.
“He’s clean.”
“So, good news: Dean can see the thing and we know what tickles it,” Bobby chimed.
“Yeah, bad news is I get a fucking headache every time I try to see it,” Dean groaned irritably, rubbing his pounding forehead.
“Which is all a natural part of the Grimm activation process,” Marie added, handing Dean a bottle of Tylenol. “It’ll clear up in a few days until the Sight settles into you. After that, you won’t have to try so hard to see.”
Dean was only half paying attention as he downed two Tylenol capsules in one go.
This was going to be a rough transition.
“So, then we have to rely on the other good news we got,” Sam continued. “Electricity. It can hurt it.”
“So it would seem,” Elijah concurred. “Now the question is where did it go?”
“We already counted you out,” Rufus piped up. “That leaves the rest of us.”
“No. Me, Sammy, and Gwen were awake,” Dean protested.
“Did you have eyes on each other?” Rufus questioned.
“Yes,” Dean responded.
“One hundred percent of the time?” Rufus clarified.
Dean looked at his younger relatives, who looked at each other and back at him.
“Define 100,” Dean stammered.
Rufus gave him a pointed nod. “Like I said.”
“Alright, how about a check for goo?” Sam suggested.
The hunters nodded in agreement and each stuck their fingers in their ears, which produced no viable result.
“Clean?” Sam asked.
“Clean on my end,” Dean nodded, before returning his hands to his temples.
“No goo,” Gwen said.
“None,” Rufus and Marie replied.
“Nope,” Bobby answered. “Maybe it's just gone.”
Dean shook his head fervently, before wincing in pain. “Nah, it just wised up. Started covering its trail,” he informed them.
“Spoken like a true Grimm,” Elijah smiled.
“Alright, then, let’s settle this, 100 percent,” Gwen declared.
Elijah was already one step ahead of them and had already taken the liberty of plugging in the cord from Bobby’s power saw and removing the insulation, leaving the wire exposed. Then he pressed the live wire against Samuel’s corpse, shocking it, and the others, to kingdom come.
“Okay, I’m not a doctor, but I'm gonna go ‘head and call this one,” Rufus quipped.
“So… who will be first?” Elijah inquired.
They all looked at each other, before Dean slowly stepped towards the vampire.
“Are you certain?” Elijah asked.
“Yeah, just do it before I change my— fuck! Shit! Damn it!” Dean swore, as the wire burned his skin and sent a surge of electricity through his body.
Once Elijah took the cord away from Dean’s body, Sam was next in line, biting back every swear word he knew as Elijah pressed it against Sam’s arm.
Marie and Gwen were the next to go each one having their own (admittedly hilarious) reactions to getting shocked, despite no sign of the creature.
And then there were two.
Bobby and Rufus.
Elijah’s eyes gleamed mischievously as he made a beeline for Rufus.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Rufus called out, backing up with his arms raised. “I'm sorry, but no.”
“No passes, Rufus,” Dean grunted, still recovering from the electrical shock and his headache.
“I got a damn pacemaker,” Rufus argued.
“Then pray it's a good one,” Elijah remarked, leaving no remove for argument.
“Since when do you have a pacemaker?” Marie and Bobby said in unison.
“Since Bush Jr., term one. I'm down three toes, too, FYI,” Rufus retorted, before looking back at the Original who was still standing there expectantly.
Rufus let out a huff and rolled up his sleeve saying, “Fine just make it quick— ah!—”
Elijah chuckled impishly as the live wire sizzled Rufus’ skin.
“Okay, I think he's had enough,” Dean asserted after a few seconds went by.
Elijah exhaled deeply and pulled the wire back as Rufus jumped back, cursing and carrying on like a lunatic, which only made Elijah laugh more.
“Are you all right?” Elijah chuckled.
“No, I’m not okay!” Rufus snapped.
“Okay, my turn,” Bobby started. “Well, go right ahead, ‘cause it ain't inside me.”
“Alright, then hold still,” Elijah said, frowning somewhat.
“Okay, uh, just a second, Mikaelson,” Bobby paused. “The answer is yes, by the way.”
Elijah’s eyes widened slightly before he used his vampire speed and strength to shove Bobby against the nearby pillar and zapped him on the neck, knocking the hunting knife Bobby was holding behind his back clatter to the floor.
The monster inside Bobby growled and shoved Elijah back with inhuman strength, and tried to get out.
However, he was swiftly knocked unconscious by Dean.
* * *
When he woke up, he was tied to a chair surrounded by Elijah, Rufus, Marie, Gwen and the Winchesters, each one glaring at him in suspicion.
“Well, hey there, you little herpe,” Dean snarked, before zapping it with the wire.
The monster grunted in pain, while Sam eyed Dean in confusion.
“Why do you keep talking about herpes?” Sam asked.
“What?” Dean replied, noticing the strange look he was getting from Sam. “I don't. Shut up.”
“You also have a very focused fascination with penetration that I have noticed,” Elijah chimed in.
Dean blanched and shook his head. “No, I don't.”
“I'm afraid you do,” Elijah grinned.
“Okay, can we get back on track here?” Rufus cut in.
Dean cleared his throat awkwardly and returned his focus to the current situation. “Now don’t you even think about shagging ass, because we got every crack in this room sealed,” he stated. “So get comfy.”
Bobby chuckled in a voice that wasn't his own. “I am comfy,” he said. “It's nice in here. And you love this guy, don’t you? You really wanna kill me and take him with me?”
“Perhaps if I fed Robert my blood as an insurance policy,” Elijah shot back, earning several glares from each of the hunters, albeit for different reasons.
“You won't,” the monster replied in a taunting tone. “You know that Bobby would never forgive you if you did that. And you still have that pitiful thought in your head that Bobby will still say those magic words.”
Elijah clenched his jaw, as black veins surged beneath his eyes, making them bloodshot.
Marie noticed Elijah’s shift and placed a gentle hand on his arm.
“We’ll do what we have to do. Now, we got some questions for you. You can either play ball…” Dean threatened, shocking the monster again, “or we can fry up a little shrimp on the barbie.”
“Ask,” it said. “Been waiting for you to ask.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” Gwen piped up.
“It means I've got nothing to hide,” the monster chuckled.
“What are you?” Elijah interrogated.
“You haven't got a name for me yet,” the parasite replied. “I'm new around here. Eve cooked me up herself.”
Elijah glanced pointedly towards Rufus and cleared his throat. “So much for nothing new.”
“You know what?” Rufus started.
Sam quickly intervened before they could start fighting and asked another question.
“What's your deal in all of this?” he queried. “How is jumping a few truckers gonna help Eve retake the earth?”
The monster rolled Bobby’s eyes. “You think I'm here to mess with a couple of cannery workers?” it scoffed. “We led you here.”
“Why?” Dean seethed.
“She knows you're trying to reassemble the Dagger, and she wants to give you a message,” the monster responded.
“What’s that?” Marie questioned.
“She wants you to know you’ll never find all the pieces. And you're all going to die,” it grinned maniacally. “She’s pissed. She’s here. And it's gonna be nothing but pain for you from here on in.”
“Well, here’s my response,” Dean snarked, before zapping his monster-possessed surrogate father in the neck again.
“Dean, wait,” Sam blurted out. “How much more do you think he can take?”
“Can’t kill me without killing him,” the parasite snickered.
“Don’t count on it, Khan worm,” Rufus fired back, before looking at Sam. “Hand me that tape.”
Sam reluctantly obeyed and watched as Rufus taped Bobby’s lowered face over, leaving no room for the monster to escape.
“Robert, listen to me,” Elijah began, stepping forward and kneeling before the hunter, grabbing his hands with his. “You need to fight this. You need to be strong, just like I know you are.”
Dean started electrocution the monster again, turning his head away to avoid seeing Bobby convulse.
Sam faced the opposite direction, running his fingers through his hair, while Gwen lowered her eyes. Rufus and Marie flinched away, unable to fully witness the pain their friend was in.
Only Elijah could stomach it.
Only Elijah could stand to keep looking into the eyes of the one man who had come to mean more to him than even Rebekah and Niklaus.
Only Elijah could bear to stay strong and hold the hands of the man he was so desperately and hopelessly in love with… even as black ooze filtered out of every orifice in Bobby’s face and his heart rate faded into nothing.