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Benny gasped as he came to, coughing and groaning as pain hit him. He looked around his surroundings, confused by the stone walls and floor. His wrists were chained to the wall behind him and his ankles had shackles on them as well, enough slack to allow him to walk a little.
"What the fuck?"
He struggled against his bonds, finding that each time he did he felt slightly weaker and they burned a little. He hissed in pain and gave up for the time being, taking in his surroundings better this time. There was a pile of hay or straw in the corner near him, one blanket that looked very thin and frayed, and a single wooden bucket. Ahead of him about ten feet away were iron bars.
A cell. He was locked in a cell.
"How the hell did I get here?" he asked out loud as he took it all in.
"Because we need you, Benjamin."
Benny started and looked towards the sound of the voice, a tall figure stepping out of the shadows outside his cell. Another woman joined her and Benny almost hissed as holy energy wafted off her.
"Great, another angel. Don't you people have some clouds to play harps on or something?" he grumbled.
"Charming. What is the last thing you remember, Mr. Lafitte?" the angel asked, expressionless.
"Why do you care feather head?" Benny shot back, not trusting these women at all.
"You may have suffered some memory loss and slight brain damage on your...trip here. I merely wish to confirm if this is true or not before we proceed," the angel replied sounding almost bored.
"Proceed with what?" Benny snapped. He was fed up already with all this talking in circles and no straightforward answers.
"We'll get to that, Benjamin. In the meantime, please answer my associate's question," the first woman said. Benny could tell she was human, British or something similar. He sighed and huffed and exasperated laugh.
"I feel fine. Last I recall I was being torn apart in Purgatory by my own kind. All I remember is pain everywhere, thinking of...someone, and then a blinding light. I assumed I'd died, but looks like that ain't the case," he explained.
The human and angel exchanged looks and nodded before turning back to Benny, the vampire taking careful note of the glance.
“Well good news is you don’t seem to be missing any memories and you seem coherent enough. Might have to double check for minor concussions later but we’ll get there when we get there,” the British human said, sounding slightly relieved.
“Now are you two gonna tell me how in hell I got here?” Benny growled.
“Not hell. Quite the opposite really. We rescued you from Purgatory, Benjamin. Cost us much less than it did to drag Castiel out awhile back,” the angel stated matter of factly.
“Alright I’ll bite, metaphorically speaking of course. Why?” Benny was growing more and more impatient.
“We’ve recently had some developments. A troubling pair of humans have been poking their heads into places they shouldn’t and we plan to put a stop to that.” the angel replied.
“And this involves me…how?” Benny asked and jingled the shackles in his wrists.
“Tell me, Benjamin, what do you know about the Winchester brothers?” the human asked, getting closer to the cell bars and staring into his eyes.
Benny felt his heart grow cold. These people were after Sam and Dean? What did they want with the humans? What were they planning on doing to Dean?
“I thought you angels were working with the Winchesters?” he said instead, mind racing.
“We were, until Castiel went rogue and the Winchesters sided with him instead of logic,” the angel replied.
“How long have I been gone? Since when do the Winchesters go rogue? Who the fuck are you people? Why am I here? Enough of your damn riddles!” Benny snapped, flashing his fangs in frustration.
“Since they did. I am the angel known as Naomi, this is Lady Antonia Bevell. And as for why you’re here, Benjamin Lafitte, that’s so simple I’m surprised even your monstrous brain hasn’t figured out yet,” Naomi replied as she and Lady Antonia turned and started to leave.
“Wait! Don’t leave me here like this get me out of here!” Benny yelled and strained against the shackles, letting out a cry of pain as his wrists burned. Naomi paused and looked over her shoulder, a wicked smile on her face.
“You’re here to lure the Winchesters to us. You’re our bait.” She laughed and as she started to fade back into the shadows, Benny heard her voice echo one last thing. “Get comfortable, you won’t be breaking out of those chains anytime soon, they’re holy bindings. You’ll burn through yourself before you break them.”
A heavy door shut loudly and Benny was left along once again. He roared and yanked at the shackles, screaming in pain as his skin burned. Eventually he went hoarse and he grew tired, slumping where he sat. He felt a deep sadness welling up in him. Dean was going to be hurt or worse and it was going to be his fault and he couldn’t bear the thought of that. His mind raced as he tried to think of some way to escape or warn the Winchesters. He assumed that Naomi had this place rigged so that Castiel couldn’t pop in and out like he’d heard the angel could do.
“Fucking angels.” he grumbled.
He stayed like that for what felt like hours before he heard the door open again. He looked up and saw Lady Antonia approaching and cocked his head to the side, studying her.
“I should kill you now. Rid this world of another monster. You and all these barbaric American Hunters,” she spat.
“I’ll give you the first shot free. Better make it count sweetheart,” Benny laughed.
“If I wasn’t working with the angel and trying to stop these bothersome Winchesters, you’d be dead already. But that doesn’t mean I can’t torture you, love. Just enough to keep you alive while I squeeze every ounce of information out of you.”
Benny grew slightly uneasy at the look in her eyes, knowing that look quite well. He’d seen that look in Dean’s eyes while he tortured and killed in Purgatory.
“Might as well kill me then, ain’t no way I’ll betray Dean and Sam, and I was more than happy to be back in Purgatory. Looks like you nabbed you the wrong bait,” he grinned.
“Perhaps. I understand that you don’t make it a habit of drinking blood from people, am I correct?” Antonia asked, barely acknowledging Benny’s resolve. Benny glared at her and said nothing. “Such a strange habit. You’re a monster, you should embrace what you are.”
“What can I say? You humans just don’t taste as good as you used to. Even now I can smell how your blood would taste. Smells like bullshit,” Benny shot back.
“I wonder how long you can go without blood before you start to go feral. A few days? A week? A month? I have all the time in the world to find out,” Antonia grinned wickedly as she squatted down in line of sight with Benny.
“This ain’t my first rodeo, lady,” Benny said as he mentally prepared himself for the pain to come.
“Perhaps not. But this will be the most memorable,” Antonia grinned and stood, unlocking the cell and stepping in, wheeling a rolling table in with her. Benny saw her place some things on the table and heard the clinking of metal on metal and some other sounds.
She started humming as she toyed with the instruments before selecting one and turning to grin wickedly at Benny, a shiny scalpel in her hand.
“I learned a long time ago to customize my instruments to fit the monster. For example, this here is a special little tool I recently acquired. It’s a silvered blade infused magically with the blood of a dead man.” she said and stalked closer to Benny.
Benny tried to move away, eyes wide as he stared at the blade. This lady was insane!
“But that would be too easy. And too lethal at this time,” she said and moved back to the table and came back with a plain looking knife.
“I know vampires heal and can’t necessarily die from injuries, but it still hurts like hell,” she grinned before plunging the knife into Benny’s thigh, sinking it up to the hilt.
Benny screamed in pain, trying to hold it back but failing. He looked down at the knife in his leg and knew it wasn’t good. He could feel blood soaking his pant leg and saw the dark spot beginning to spread. Antonia ripped the blade free causing another scream of pain from the vampire. She had a wild look in her eyes as she stabbed one of Benny’s arms at the wrist.
Benny squeezed his eyes shut as the pain continued, Antonia going to town on his body. He thought of Dean and his soft green eyes that had looked at him with so much kindness and love so many times. He remembered the hug they shared when Dean had resurrected him and how warm the human felt. Benny concentrated on that memory and warmth to help him get through the torture.
~~~
Benny lolled his head to the side, weak and tired from the torture and starvation he’d been enduring for the passed two weeks. He hadn’t said anything, refused to give them anything on Dean and Sam. Naomi would heal his wounds to keep him alive just for the torture to resume. He’d been starved, only given water to drink to keep him hydrated. He’d been beaten, cut, sliced open, bled and even burned but still he remained silent, keeping that memory of Dean in his mind. Antonia also incorporated psychological torture, playing audio of what sounded like Dean screaming in pain and begging Benny to save him. Those were the worst days, when the sound of Dean screaming played so loud in his ears that he cried.
Today he’d been bled a bit, the blood still streaked down his temple and arms. He’d all but been stripped of his clothes, the tattered remains dried with weeks worth of blood and sticking to him in places. He smelled horrible from the blood and time spent without bathing, plus the bucket he was given to relieve himself. He’d heard steps outside the door and wondered if they’d come to heal him or keep torturing him. He weakly opened his eyes as he heard the door open, seeing a figure rushing into the room.
“Hah. Couldn’t wait to get back to the fun huh?” he asked weakly, eyes not focusing.
“Benny?! Holy shit! Benny, it’s Dean. I’m getting you outta here buddy, you hear me?” Dean’s voice came to him.
“Dean? Is that really you? Nah, it can’t be. My Dean is off saving the world from demons and monsters like me. He wouldn’t be dumb enough to fall for this trap. But it would be nice to see him, one last time,” Benny smiled as he looked up at Dean, wishing it was real, that Dean had come for him and was going to take him away from all this.
“What the hell did they do to you? Snap out of it I need your help!” Dean snapped and managed to get the cell door open, rushing to Benny’s side and working on freeing the vampire from his shackles.
“You know, this torture ain’t so bad. Not sure what the point is but it’s nice,” Benny’s words were slurring.
“Hey, hey! Stay with me, Benny! You’re not dying on me today you son of a bitch!” Dean shouted and gently slapped Benny’s cheek until the vampire regained some of his senses.
“Okay I’ll play along. Let’s go, Dean,” he mumbled as Dean hauled him to his feet and started half dragging him to the door.
“Dean I…what the hell?!”
Sam had run down the stairs and at the sight of Benny looked heartbroken. Dean was almost in tears as he looked up at his brother.
“Help me get him to the car, Sammy,” he nearly sobbed, Sam nodding and leaping to help his brother haul the vampire out the door.
Benny was so weak he couldn’t even stand, though he tried to help as best he could, mumbling phrases that didn’t make sense and sometimes slipping into deep Cajun drawl. The Winchesters exchanged worried looks as they struggled forward, Dean realizing just how much lighter Benny felt than the last time he’d had to drag the vampire to safety. They made it to the car and rushed to the cabin as fast as they could, Sam driving and Dean looking back and holding Benny’s hand in his own.
“Hold on, Benny! We’re almost home. We’re gonna fix you up,” he said, voice broken.
“What kind of torture is this? Seems too nice. Forget it lady, I ain’t giving you anything on Dean and Sam,” Benny mumbled, eyes half closed.
A while later Benny opened his eyes, looking around in confusion. He was in a strange place, different from his cell. He was lying in a bed, a soft bed that was warm. He saw a couple of blood bags laying on a table nearby and assumed that they’d been used to heal him somewhat. He still felt like shit but he could feel his body starting to heal itself. It looked like he was in a cabin of some kind, his shackles strangely gone.
“Where’s they move me to?” he grumbled and struggled to sit up. He heard voices in the other room and tensed.
His senses were still a bit dulled from the weeks of torture and lack of food but he could still make out the faint noises, then the footsteps approaching. He looked around for anything he could use as a weapon but saw nothing and knew he’d have to rely on whatever strength he had left. The door opened and his eyes grew wide, jaw slack at who he saw.
“Dean? Is-is that really y-you?” he stammered.
“Benny! Thank God you’re okay! I was so worried about you!” Dean exclaimed and rushed to Benny’s side, placing a hand on the vampire’s shoulder gently so as not to aggravate the wounds.
“Where’d you come from? Where the hell am I?” Benny demanded, looking around suspiciously.
“Benny, you’re safe. You’re home, with us,” Dean said softly and reached out to grasp the vampire’s hand. Benny flinched back.
“How do I know this is really you and not some trick that damn angel has concocted? I won’t tell you anything! You hear me?! I won’t betray Dean to you!” Benny nearly roared, eyes filled with pain and determination. “If you want to beat me within an inch of my life go ahead! I ain’t saying shit!”
Dean’s eyes filled with tears and he slowly stood, taking a step back. Sam rushed in and took in the scene. Benny’s eyes were wild now, scared.
“Tell your human pet that she can torture me all she likes. She’s going to have to kill me eventually,” he snapped.
“Dean?” Sam asked unsure what to do.
“Leave us, Sammy,” Dean said.
“What?! What if he accidentally hurts you or worse?” Sam protested.
“He’s my responsibility, Sam! Remember? Leave, please,” Dean snapped, looking at Sam who saw how hurt his brother was.
“If you need help or anything I’m just on the other side of this door. Be careful,” he said before starting out the door, pausing and looking back at Benny. “I’m glad you’re back, Benny. I’m sorry I couldn’t get you out myself.”
Benny paused at that, a flash of a memory slamming to the forefront of his mind.
Sam absorbed Bobby’s soul into his arm, the other human disappearing with a final fond look on his face. Gasping for breath, Sam turned to Benny, pulling up the sleeve on his other arm.
“Okay, Benny, now it’s your turn c’mon,” he said and raised the knife to his arm to begin the ritual.
Benny was about to say the words he’d been so hesitant to say but knew he’d need to when a sound reached his ears. The two turned and saw four vamps emerging from the woods, fangs bared.
“Well if it ain’t Benny Lafitte. Still working with the Winchesters I see,” one spat as he stalked forward.
“Benny, hurry we can still make it! Hurry up!” Sam urged.
Benny smiled sadly and shook his head, patting Sam’s arm as he walked away from the human.
“Time for you to go, Sam. I’ll hold them off, it’s me they want. Besides,” he turned and looked at the human, seeing the resemblances he had to Dean and felt a fresh stab of pain in his chest. “I was never any good up there anyway. Just…tell Dean I said goodbye, y’hear?”
Sam stared at him in shock but nodded slowly, as what Benny was saying fully dawned on him. The vampire had never intended to come back topside. This was his final destination, where he truly felt at home.
“Benny! Benny wait, here!” Sam yelled and tossed the vampire the Purgatory blade he’d taken earlier from a camp he’d killed.
Benny caught the blade and gave a nod and a small smile, before he turned and launched himself at the vampires.
“Go, Sam! Get out of here! Get back to Dean!” he yelled, laughing as he cut through a couple of the vampires, several more emerging from the trees and rushing him.
Three tackled him to the ground and started beating him and tearing into him, the vampire fighting back and holding his own. He looked up and saw Sam step into the portal and look back.
“Benny!” he yelled before the portal pulled him away and snapped out of existence.
“Goodbye, Sam. Tell Dean, I love him.”
“Benny!”
Benny snapped out of the trance he was in and looked up, Dean holding his shoulders and shaking him slightly to get his attention. The human looked so concerned and worried. Benny’s eyes watered and he reached up, placing a trembling hand on Dean’s cheek.
“Please, tell me you’re real,” he nearly begged.
“I’m real, Benny. I’m real and I’m never leaving you,” Dean sobbed and held the hand pressed to his face.
“What was the thing you told me, about that place?” Benny asked, tears nearly blinding him. He wanted this to be real but he had to be sure.
“That it was pure,” Dean sobbed again.
Benny smiled, the tears streaming down his cheeks now. He grabbed Dean and pulled him into a hug, clinging to his friend like he was afraid if he let go all this would fade. Dean held Benny close as he felt the vampire sobbing into his chest, his own tears falling now as he gently rubbed his friend’s back. Sam peeked in and gave a relieved smile and nod to his brother.
“I’m never leaving you again, Benny. You hear me? I love you,” Dean said and pressed a kiss to the top of Benny’s head.
“Y-you love me?” Benny sputtered and pulled away, wiping his eyes and looking hopefully at Dean who nodded and smiled.
“I thought I’d never see you again. I was so lost without you. I’m going to make everything up to you, I’m going to make this time around better for you,” he breathed, wiping his own tears away.
Benny hugged Dean again, squeezing ever so slightly.
“You love me. That’s all I need, cher.” He cried.