Fic: Outrun My Gun 5/7 (Supernatural; Dean/Castiel, NC-17)
Fic Title: Outrun My Gun ( Art Masterpost)
Author: misachan
Fandom/Genre: SPN, Drama, Romance, AU
Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel
Warnings: Violence, language, character death
Word Count: 3088
Summary: "The two of you are so stubborn you've made Heaven blink." Finally convinced that Sam and Dean will never say yes and accept their destinies, Heaven and Hell come up with a new plan, one that will redraw the Apocalypse and make everything run much more smoothly. All they need is Dean Winchester's soul.
The whole place felt wrong. Dean knew if he'd been here alive his skin would be crawling; as it was he could feel the demonic taint flood through him, like he was suddenly full of squirming spiders. It hit Castiel even harder - the second they touched down he doubled over and started coughing up blood. If Dean hadn't reached out and grabbed the back of his coat at the last second he would have been flat on his face. "Dude. You said you were good for this."
Castiel waved him off. "It's not the wound. Azazel is powerful and so are his wards. It'll be difficult for me to fly here." He gave Dean a look and Dean realized he was still holding on to the coat.
Dean let go and turned away, thinking how unfair it was that he was a ghost and could still blush. "So we'll hoof it, no big deal. Is Sam here? Can you tell? I'm having trouble."
Castiel nodded. "I can sense him."
"Great, let's go. I'm not signing up for the grand tour here." Castiel didn't move, his head cocked to the side like he listening to something. "Cas, what's up? Why aren't we heading to Sam?"
"Because there's something closer." He approached one of the buildings, holding his head forward like a hound tracking a scent. He swung open the door, his mouth twisting in visible distaste at having to touch anything here, then nodded towards something on the floor. "It happened here."
Dean came over to see what Castiel had found and God, was he happy he couldn't throw up anymore. He'd been finding mutilated bodies since he was a teenager and this was easily in his personal top ten of bad. It occurred to him, and not for the first time, just how screwed up it was that he had a personal top ten of dead bodies. "Jesus fucking Christ, Cas."
"I'm afraid we won't find him here," Castiel said, crouching next to the body.
Dean managed to tear his attention away from the gore and focused on the body's face. "Shit," he said, realization hitting him like a physical blow. "Cas, I know this kid."
Castiel looked up at him. "I didn't know you'd encountered any of Azazel's other targets."
"A few of them, yeah. Sam used to have these dreams about them." Dean let out a long breath, trying to remember what he'd looked like when he was was still in one piece. "Name was...Andy," he said, feeling that memory slot into place. "He wasn't like Sam, he didn't dream, he had this whole mind control thing going on. He was okay. Brother was a huge dick, but he was okay." He looked down at Castiel. "Is this what happens to Sam?"
Castiel shook his head. "No. We're here to save Sam from a different fate."
Dean sat back on his heels beside Castiel. "Poor son of a bitch. He didn't go fast, either." Dean reached out to close Andy's eyes, forgetting that he couldn't. Castiel saw what he was trying to do and did it for him. "Thanks." He shook his head. "You said Azazel's dragging them all here. Why?"
"He only needs one. He's pitting them against each other to determine the strongest." His mouth twisted into a sneer. "If I recall correctly, he'll promise the winner a place at the head of Hell's army."
"Which is bullshit, right?"
Castiel tilted his head. "I suppose it's true in a manner of speaking. This isn't just to open the Gate, remember. The winner is meant to be Lucifer's vessel."
Dean shook his head. "I keep trying to forget about that."
"Perhaps if we're successful you'll be able to."
"Yeah, let's hope, right?" Now that the first shock had passed Dean could take a critical look at that body; it was clear as day that it had been clawed apart (although not eaten, to his relief. Those were always the worst hunts.) "He had a salt line up," Dean said, pointing out the broken barrier. "What did this, Cas?"
Almost before the words were out Castiel straightened up, one arm shooting out in a sudden blur of motion. "An Acheri demon," he snarled, staring down the struggling, yowling thing he had by the throat.
Dean had never seen a demon like it before. Most demons could pass for human if they hid their eyes but not this thing; it looked like a demented child, clawing at Castiel as it spit and struggled like an angry cat. Castiel carried it outside, the strain of holding it clear on his face. "You can't kill me," it said in an up-and-down sing song voice, and Dean felt sick that it even sounded like a child. "Poor little angel can't get it up."
Castiel's eyes narrowed. "I'm getting very tired of demons saying that to me." He hauled the demon closer to look it in the eye, not even flinching when it clawed at his face. "It's true, I'm not able to send you back to the Pit," he said, and the thing's face creased into an obscene smile. He pulled it even closer, barely an inch away. "So instead I grant you liberty." The demon went slack-jawed with surprise for a second, then turned to smoke in Castiel's hand. Castiel sighed, wiping his hand on his coat.
"What the hell did you do, Cas?"
Castiel looked at Dean like he'd almost forgotten Dean was there for a second. "I freed it."
"Yeah, I got that. Why didn't you use your sword on it?"
Castiel shook his head. "Acheri are more akin to spirits than true demons. They're formed from a deep, frustrated need for vengeance. Once that need is slaked they dissipate. And this one’s been summoned; if I killed it would only reform here.”
"Who the hell summoned that thing?"
"We should discover that shortly." Castiel looked at Dean, uncertainty in his eyes. "I'll have to do things here you won't approve of, Dean. Violence against humans. I need you to understand that."
Dean swallowed hard. It went against every instinct he had to let that happen - he's been trained his whole life to save people - but he'd run into enough witches and cultists to know sometimes there was no avoiding it. "Just make it the last resort, okay? If you have to do it to save Sam, yeah, go for it, but just because they're here doesn't mean they're bad."
"We can't save them and Sam."
"We can sure as hell try."
A piercing scream cut off the argument and Dean rushed toward it, a lifetime of training kicking in. When Dean saw who the demon had pounced he couldn't believe it. "Ava?"
The Acheri was laying into her just the way Dean guessed it had into Andy but she was fighting back, her face a mask of concentration as she spit out what sounded like commands in a language that made Dean wish he could scrub it out of his brain. "Cas, we gotta help---"
"No, Dean," he answered, his hand on Dean's shoulder. "We don't."
"It'll kill her!"
"Because she summoned it."
Just then Ava gave up and took off running but Dean could tell at a glance that the demon was faster. The monsters were always faster.
The demon jumped up and landed on her shoulders, pulling her down to the ground by her hair. She shrieked once, the sound going right through Dean; he shook Castiel off and rushed over, knowing there was nothing he could do but not able to just stand there. He got there just in time to see the Acheri stab one clawed hand through her midsection, her whole body jerking up in one convulsive movement. The demon dissipated in a whiff of smoke and left the two of them alone.
Dean felt sick when Ava's eyes focused on him. "Know...know you," she said, coughing up blood. "You're Sam's...."
"Yeah," he said. He couldn't think of anything else to say.
Her expression changed, a hard ferocity creeping into her eyes that made Dean step back. "I was supposed win. I'm better than they are, I'm...." Her eyes lost focus and chest heaved, dragging in two spasmodic breaths before going still.
Dean didn't know how long Castiel had been standing beside him. "Where's the Reaper, Cas?" he asked, very sure he didn't want to know the answer.
"They only come if a soul hasn't already been claimed."
"What the hell happened? Ava was, I don't know, super vanilla secretary chick. She's the last person I would expect...."
"Azazel wouldn't have sought her out if she didn't have the potential." He crouched down beside her, sorrow in his eyes. "I believe that's why she was among the first taken. He needed her to be a weapon against the others. Andy wasn't the only one she had the demon kill."
"Sam liked her."
Castiel nodded. "That may have been part of the appeal for Azazel. To create the trauma of seeing what the corruption had made her become." He cocked his head to the side, listening to something. "We should leave. They're coming, Sam and the other. They're the only two left now."
"Wait, what?" Dean said, grabbing Castiel's arm as he stood up. "We're looking for Sam, why would we leave now?"
"Because it doesn't happen here." He let out a long breath, massaging his forehead as if Dean was giving him a migraine. "Dean, just once will you believe I know what needs to be done and not argue with everything I say?"
"You wanted me to let Sam die."
"And I brought you here anyway."
Dean stared at him; the guy looked beat, dark circles under his eyes and swaying like it was all he could do to stay on his feet. "Okay," he said, noticing that Castiel didn't even bother hiding his relief. "Okay, you take point." Dean grinned then, noticing the loophole in what the angel had said. "That does mean I get to argue with everything else you say."
Castiel shook his head. "There's nothing powerful enough to prevent that, Dean."
***
Sam looked like he'd been in a fight. Dean glanced at Castiel but the angel didn't return the look; they were standing just on the outskirts of town and had been for a while. "Cas, when do we....?"
Castiel raised his hand. "We're standing at one of the turning points of history, Dean. Nothing has ever been more important that what's about to happen."
Dean crossed his arms and slouched back. "I just don't see what we're waiting...." He trailed off when he heard a car approaching; he looked over and saw Bobby get out of his beat-up old pickup and Dean had never been happier to see anyone. Sam spotted him too, his face lighting up with surprise.
Dean realized Castiel wasn't next to him anymore.
He looked up and saw someone coming up behind Sam, a tall black kid wearing an Army uniform with a walk that reminded Dean of his father, a soldier's walk. Castiel saying Sam isn't the one who opens the Devil's Gate echoed through Dean's mind when he spotted the knife in the man's hand. "Sam! Look out!"
And Sam heard him, just like with the wendigo but it only took Dean a second to realize his mistake; Sam stopped in his tracks, looking around for Dean and completely unaware of the danger lurking behind him. Dean saw the guy raise the knife and heard Bobby shout out a warning but it was too late, they were both too late.
At the last possible second Dean saw Castiel materialize behind the soldier, one hand pressed over his mouth. The man was taller but Castiel was stronger; he forced the soldier to his knees and Dean saw the glint of that angelic sword. Dean knew he should stop this, he shouldn't let Castiel murder someone for him but couldn't bring himself to move. The guy had been about to kill Sam. When Dean saw Castiel plunge that sword into the guy's back the only emotion he could muster up was gratitude. Dean knew there was something wrong with that, but Sam was alive when he should have been dead. That was all that mattered.
Castiel let the body drop and Dean wondered what that all had looked like to Sam and Bobby. He didn't have time to wonder long; Sam took one hesitant step toward the body and Castiel was suddenly beside him, two fingers pressed to Sam's temple. Sam started to sway and Castiel caught him, lowering him to the ground as Sam passed out.
***
"You seriously can't stay out of trouble without me, can you?"
Dean saw Sam's eyes struggle open. "Dean?" he said, disbelief tinging his voice. He sat up too quickly, almost knocking his head on the truck roof. "How are you...? Where am I?"
"Snoring away in the back of Bobby's truck."
Sam sighed, disappointment creasing his face. "So this is just a dream."
Dean nodded. "Yeah, but I really am here, so don't just forget everything when you wake up."
Sam stared at Dean, looking like he was a second away from trying to hug him and Dean didn't know if he could handle that. He'd almost fallen apart when Bobby had hugged him, let alone Sam. "So all that...Jake," he said, giving Dean a sharp look. "Was that you?"
Dean bit his lip for a second. "He was gonna kill you, Sammy," he finally settled on. Castiel had been insistent that Sam not know he was there, saying it would "prevent future complications."
"Yeah, I know. I know, he tried before, I thought I'd knocked him out...."
"Shh. Calm down. You're okay now."
Sam nodded. "There've been other times I thought...back on that night, out on the road. And later on, when I was hunting a wendigo...."
"Yeah, that was me." He grinned. "It's my job to look out for you, Sam, you know that." The truck shook, like a giant hand had reached down and grabbed it. "Fuck."
"What the hell was that?"
"Yellow-Eyes wants to have a chat with you and apparently it's a bitch to keep him out." The shaking calmed down after another few seconds and Dean let out a breath. "That's why I'm here, Sam. You listen to me and you listen good: he's gonna show up, God only knows how, probably in another dream, and he's gonna try to get you to sign on with him." Sam opened his mouth to protest and Dean cut him off. "I know you tried to make a crossroads deal, Sam, so just stuff the 'I would nevers' right now. You would, and if I was in your shoes I'd probably do the same." The truck shook again and Dean heard a rasping voice whisper in his mind Please hurry up. "All right, I don't have ton of time, so listen: I don't care what he says, what he promises, whether he brings up me, dad, whatever he says, you tell him no. You keep the Colt safe and you don't do a damn thing he says. You gotta promise me that, Sam."
He saw Sam swallow hard. "But if he...."
"Don't listen to a word of it. Demons lie, you know that. I'm gonna come back, but I don't want it to be because you did something you'll regret. Now promise."
Sam nodded. "Okay. Okay, I promise." He let out a shuddering breath, like he was about to cry. "I know what he did to me, Dean. He showed me it. He showed me mom dying."
Dean pushed all of that down. He couldn't risk losing control now. "We'll get him, Sammy. When I wake up, we'll get him, I promise. You just keep this promise to me, okay?"
"How long?"
Dean shook his head. "I don't know. I'm working on it."
"I never got why you showed up at my dorm that night. Why you needed me to go after dad with you. I get it now. I didn't know how hard this would be on my own."
Dean flicked his finger against Sam's forehead. "That's because you're a moron. Of course hunting's hard when you're on your own. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." He shook his head. "Hunt with Bobby 'till I get back. Hell, find Jo, maybe you two idiots can keep each other out of trouble. But no more solo act, you hear me?" Sam nodded. The truck shook again and Dean swore under his breath. "That's my cue. You remember what I said."
"Dean." Dean paused and looked back at Sam. "I miss you. Every second."
"Dude. I'm already a ghost and appearing to you in a dream. Let's not jump the chick-flick level any higher than it already is." Sam smiled then, the first real smile Dean had seem from him since that night in the rain.
Dean blinked and found himself standing next to Castiel, who to his relief didn't look all that much worse for wear. "You handle Yellow-Eyes?"
Castiel nodded. "For now. He won't give up on Sam."
"Yeah, he doesn't seem the type. I think I've got Sam straight on what he needs to do now, at least." He watched Bobby's truck disappear over the horizon.
"You seem troubled. I would have thought saving Sam would bring you peace."
"I am. At least, I'm glad Sam's okay." He looked over at Castiel, not sure if he should say what he was thinking. He didn't know how many favors he could ask before the genie decided it was tired of granting wishes.
Castiel closed his eyes. "Just speak, Dean."
"You said that when the Devil's Gate opened my dad got out of hell. That the two of us killed Yellow-Eyes." Castiel nodded. "I'm glad that Gate's not going to open, don't get me wrong, but that means he's still down there. Yellow-Eyes can still use him against Sam." And it's my fault he's there in the first place, Dean thought but didn't say.
"And perhaps events can still be set in motion where he'll break the first Seal," Castiel said. "That is the last loose end." He was quiet for a very long time.
Dean was about to ask what they should do next when he finally spoke. "I suppose that means I'll have to pull John Winchester from the Pit."
On to Part 6
Return to Masterpost
Back to Part 4
Author: misachan
Fandom/Genre: SPN, Drama, Romance, AU
Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel
Warnings: Violence, language, character death
Word Count: 3088
Summary: "The two of you are so stubborn you've made Heaven blink." Finally convinced that Sam and Dean will never say yes and accept their destinies, Heaven and Hell come up with a new plan, one that will redraw the Apocalypse and make everything run much more smoothly. All they need is Dean Winchester's soul.
The whole place felt wrong. Dean knew if he'd been here alive his skin would be crawling; as it was he could feel the demonic taint flood through him, like he was suddenly full of squirming spiders. It hit Castiel even harder - the second they touched down he doubled over and started coughing up blood. If Dean hadn't reached out and grabbed the back of his coat at the last second he would have been flat on his face. "Dude. You said you were good for this."
Castiel waved him off. "It's not the wound. Azazel is powerful and so are his wards. It'll be difficult for me to fly here." He gave Dean a look and Dean realized he was still holding on to the coat.
Dean let go and turned away, thinking how unfair it was that he was a ghost and could still blush. "So we'll hoof it, no big deal. Is Sam here? Can you tell? I'm having trouble."
Castiel nodded. "I can sense him."
"Great, let's go. I'm not signing up for the grand tour here." Castiel didn't move, his head cocked to the side like he listening to something. "Cas, what's up? Why aren't we heading to Sam?"
"Because there's something closer." He approached one of the buildings, holding his head forward like a hound tracking a scent. He swung open the door, his mouth twisting in visible distaste at having to touch anything here, then nodded towards something on the floor. "It happened here."
Dean came over to see what Castiel had found and God, was he happy he couldn't throw up anymore. He'd been finding mutilated bodies since he was a teenager and this was easily in his personal top ten of bad. It occurred to him, and not for the first time, just how screwed up it was that he had a personal top ten of dead bodies. "Jesus fucking Christ, Cas."
"I'm afraid we won't find him here," Castiel said, crouching next to the body.
Dean managed to tear his attention away from the gore and focused on the body's face. "Shit," he said, realization hitting him like a physical blow. "Cas, I know this kid."
Castiel looked up at him. "I didn't know you'd encountered any of Azazel's other targets."
"A few of them, yeah. Sam used to have these dreams about them." Dean let out a long breath, trying to remember what he'd looked like when he was was still in one piece. "Name was...Andy," he said, feeling that memory slot into place. "He wasn't like Sam, he didn't dream, he had this whole mind control thing going on. He was okay. Brother was a huge dick, but he was okay." He looked down at Castiel. "Is this what happens to Sam?"
Castiel shook his head. "No. We're here to save Sam from a different fate."
Dean sat back on his heels beside Castiel. "Poor son of a bitch. He didn't go fast, either." Dean reached out to close Andy's eyes, forgetting that he couldn't. Castiel saw what he was trying to do and did it for him. "Thanks." He shook his head. "You said Azazel's dragging them all here. Why?"
"He only needs one. He's pitting them against each other to determine the strongest." His mouth twisted into a sneer. "If I recall correctly, he'll promise the winner a place at the head of Hell's army."
"Which is bullshit, right?"
Castiel tilted his head. "I suppose it's true in a manner of speaking. This isn't just to open the Gate, remember. The winner is meant to be Lucifer's vessel."
Dean shook his head. "I keep trying to forget about that."
"Perhaps if we're successful you'll be able to."
"Yeah, let's hope, right?" Now that the first shock had passed Dean could take a critical look at that body; it was clear as day that it had been clawed apart (although not eaten, to his relief. Those were always the worst hunts.) "He had a salt line up," Dean said, pointing out the broken barrier. "What did this, Cas?"
Almost before the words were out Castiel straightened up, one arm shooting out in a sudden blur of motion. "An Acheri demon," he snarled, staring down the struggling, yowling thing he had by the throat.
Dean had never seen a demon like it before. Most demons could pass for human if they hid their eyes but not this thing; it looked like a demented child, clawing at Castiel as it spit and struggled like an angry cat. Castiel carried it outside, the strain of holding it clear on his face. "You can't kill me," it said in an up-and-down sing song voice, and Dean felt sick that it even sounded like a child. "Poor little angel can't get it up."
Castiel's eyes narrowed. "I'm getting very tired of demons saying that to me." He hauled the demon closer to look it in the eye, not even flinching when it clawed at his face. "It's true, I'm not able to send you back to the Pit," he said, and the thing's face creased into an obscene smile. He pulled it even closer, barely an inch away. "So instead I grant you liberty." The demon went slack-jawed with surprise for a second, then turned to smoke in Castiel's hand. Castiel sighed, wiping his hand on his coat.
"What the hell did you do, Cas?"
Castiel looked at Dean like he'd almost forgotten Dean was there for a second. "I freed it."
"Yeah, I got that. Why didn't you use your sword on it?"
Castiel shook his head. "Acheri are more akin to spirits than true demons. They're formed from a deep, frustrated need for vengeance. Once that need is slaked they dissipate. And this one’s been summoned; if I killed it would only reform here.”
"Who the hell summoned that thing?"
"We should discover that shortly." Castiel looked at Dean, uncertainty in his eyes. "I'll have to do things here you won't approve of, Dean. Violence against humans. I need you to understand that."
Dean swallowed hard. It went against every instinct he had to let that happen - he's been trained his whole life to save people - but he'd run into enough witches and cultists to know sometimes there was no avoiding it. "Just make it the last resort, okay? If you have to do it to save Sam, yeah, go for it, but just because they're here doesn't mean they're bad."
"We can't save them and Sam."
"We can sure as hell try."
A piercing scream cut off the argument and Dean rushed toward it, a lifetime of training kicking in. When Dean saw who the demon had pounced he couldn't believe it. "Ava?"
The Acheri was laying into her just the way Dean guessed it had into Andy but she was fighting back, her face a mask of concentration as she spit out what sounded like commands in a language that made Dean wish he could scrub it out of his brain. "Cas, we gotta help---"
"No, Dean," he answered, his hand on Dean's shoulder. "We don't."
"It'll kill her!"
"Because she summoned it."
Just then Ava gave up and took off running but Dean could tell at a glance that the demon was faster. The monsters were always faster.
The demon jumped up and landed on her shoulders, pulling her down to the ground by her hair. She shrieked once, the sound going right through Dean; he shook Castiel off and rushed over, knowing there was nothing he could do but not able to just stand there. He got there just in time to see the Acheri stab one clawed hand through her midsection, her whole body jerking up in one convulsive movement. The demon dissipated in a whiff of smoke and left the two of them alone.
Dean felt sick when Ava's eyes focused on him. "Know...know you," she said, coughing up blood. "You're Sam's...."
"Yeah," he said. He couldn't think of anything else to say.
Her expression changed, a hard ferocity creeping into her eyes that made Dean step back. "I was supposed win. I'm better than they are, I'm...." Her eyes lost focus and chest heaved, dragging in two spasmodic breaths before going still.
Dean didn't know how long Castiel had been standing beside him. "Where's the Reaper, Cas?" he asked, very sure he didn't want to know the answer.
"They only come if a soul hasn't already been claimed."
"What the hell happened? Ava was, I don't know, super vanilla secretary chick. She's the last person I would expect...."
"Azazel wouldn't have sought her out if she didn't have the potential." He crouched down beside her, sorrow in his eyes. "I believe that's why she was among the first taken. He needed her to be a weapon against the others. Andy wasn't the only one she had the demon kill."
"Sam liked her."
Castiel nodded. "That may have been part of the appeal for Azazel. To create the trauma of seeing what the corruption had made her become." He cocked his head to the side, listening to something. "We should leave. They're coming, Sam and the other. They're the only two left now."
"Wait, what?" Dean said, grabbing Castiel's arm as he stood up. "We're looking for Sam, why would we leave now?"
"Because it doesn't happen here." He let out a long breath, massaging his forehead as if Dean was giving him a migraine. "Dean, just once will you believe I know what needs to be done and not argue with everything I say?"
"You wanted me to let Sam die."
"And I brought you here anyway."
Dean stared at him; the guy looked beat, dark circles under his eyes and swaying like it was all he could do to stay on his feet. "Okay," he said, noticing that Castiel didn't even bother hiding his relief. "Okay, you take point." Dean grinned then, noticing the loophole in what the angel had said. "That does mean I get to argue with everything else you say."
Castiel shook his head. "There's nothing powerful enough to prevent that, Dean."
***
Sam looked like he'd been in a fight. Dean glanced at Castiel but the angel didn't return the look; they were standing just on the outskirts of town and had been for a while. "Cas, when do we....?"
Castiel raised his hand. "We're standing at one of the turning points of history, Dean. Nothing has ever been more important that what's about to happen."
Dean crossed his arms and slouched back. "I just don't see what we're waiting...." He trailed off when he heard a car approaching; he looked over and saw Bobby get out of his beat-up old pickup and Dean had never been happier to see anyone. Sam spotted him too, his face lighting up with surprise.
Dean realized Castiel wasn't next to him anymore.
He looked up and saw someone coming up behind Sam, a tall black kid wearing an Army uniform with a walk that reminded Dean of his father, a soldier's walk. Castiel saying Sam isn't the one who opens the Devil's Gate echoed through Dean's mind when he spotted the knife in the man's hand. "Sam! Look out!"
And Sam heard him, just like with the wendigo but it only took Dean a second to realize his mistake; Sam stopped in his tracks, looking around for Dean and completely unaware of the danger lurking behind him. Dean saw the guy raise the knife and heard Bobby shout out a warning but it was too late, they were both too late.
At the last possible second Dean saw Castiel materialize behind the soldier, one hand pressed over his mouth. The man was taller but Castiel was stronger; he forced the soldier to his knees and Dean saw the glint of that angelic sword. Dean knew he should stop this, he shouldn't let Castiel murder someone for him but couldn't bring himself to move. The guy had been about to kill Sam. When Dean saw Castiel plunge that sword into the guy's back the only emotion he could muster up was gratitude. Dean knew there was something wrong with that, but Sam was alive when he should have been dead. That was all that mattered.
Castiel let the body drop and Dean wondered what that all had looked like to Sam and Bobby. He didn't have time to wonder long; Sam took one hesitant step toward the body and Castiel was suddenly beside him, two fingers pressed to Sam's temple. Sam started to sway and Castiel caught him, lowering him to the ground as Sam passed out.
***
"You seriously can't stay out of trouble without me, can you?"
Dean saw Sam's eyes struggle open. "Dean?" he said, disbelief tinging his voice. He sat up too quickly, almost knocking his head on the truck roof. "How are you...? Where am I?"
"Snoring away in the back of Bobby's truck."
Sam sighed, disappointment creasing his face. "So this is just a dream."
Dean nodded. "Yeah, but I really am here, so don't just forget everything when you wake up."
Sam stared at Dean, looking like he was a second away from trying to hug him and Dean didn't know if he could handle that. He'd almost fallen apart when Bobby had hugged him, let alone Sam. "So all that...Jake," he said, giving Dean a sharp look. "Was that you?"
Dean bit his lip for a second. "He was gonna kill you, Sammy," he finally settled on. Castiel had been insistent that Sam not know he was there, saying it would "prevent future complications."
"Yeah, I know. I know, he tried before, I thought I'd knocked him out...."
"Shh. Calm down. You're okay now."
Sam nodded. "There've been other times I thought...back on that night, out on the road. And later on, when I was hunting a wendigo...."
"Yeah, that was me." He grinned. "It's my job to look out for you, Sam, you know that." The truck shook, like a giant hand had reached down and grabbed it. "Fuck."
"What the hell was that?"
"Yellow-Eyes wants to have a chat with you and apparently it's a bitch to keep him out." The shaking calmed down after another few seconds and Dean let out a breath. "That's why I'm here, Sam. You listen to me and you listen good: he's gonna show up, God only knows how, probably in another dream, and he's gonna try to get you to sign on with him." Sam opened his mouth to protest and Dean cut him off. "I know you tried to make a crossroads deal, Sam, so just stuff the 'I would nevers' right now. You would, and if I was in your shoes I'd probably do the same." The truck shook again and Dean heard a rasping voice whisper in his mind Please hurry up. "All right, I don't have ton of time, so listen: I don't care what he says, what he promises, whether he brings up me, dad, whatever he says, you tell him no. You keep the Colt safe and you don't do a damn thing he says. You gotta promise me that, Sam."
He saw Sam swallow hard. "But if he...."
"Don't listen to a word of it. Demons lie, you know that. I'm gonna come back, but I don't want it to be because you did something you'll regret. Now promise."
Sam nodded. "Okay. Okay, I promise." He let out a shuddering breath, like he was about to cry. "I know what he did to me, Dean. He showed me it. He showed me mom dying."
Dean pushed all of that down. He couldn't risk losing control now. "We'll get him, Sammy. When I wake up, we'll get him, I promise. You just keep this promise to me, okay?"
"How long?"
Dean shook his head. "I don't know. I'm working on it."
"I never got why you showed up at my dorm that night. Why you needed me to go after dad with you. I get it now. I didn't know how hard this would be on my own."
Dean flicked his finger against Sam's forehead. "That's because you're a moron. Of course hunting's hard when you're on your own. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one." He shook his head. "Hunt with Bobby 'till I get back. Hell, find Jo, maybe you two idiots can keep each other out of trouble. But no more solo act, you hear me?" Sam nodded. The truck shook again and Dean swore under his breath. "That's my cue. You remember what I said."
"Dean." Dean paused and looked back at Sam. "I miss you. Every second."
"Dude. I'm already a ghost and appearing to you in a dream. Let's not jump the chick-flick level any higher than it already is." Sam smiled then, the first real smile Dean had seem from him since that night in the rain.
Dean blinked and found himself standing next to Castiel, who to his relief didn't look all that much worse for wear. "You handle Yellow-Eyes?"
Castiel nodded. "For now. He won't give up on Sam."
"Yeah, he doesn't seem the type. I think I've got Sam straight on what he needs to do now, at least." He watched Bobby's truck disappear over the horizon.
"You seem troubled. I would have thought saving Sam would bring you peace."
"I am. At least, I'm glad Sam's okay." He looked over at Castiel, not sure if he should say what he was thinking. He didn't know how many favors he could ask before the genie decided it was tired of granting wishes.
Castiel closed his eyes. "Just speak, Dean."
"You said that when the Devil's Gate opened my dad got out of hell. That the two of us killed Yellow-Eyes." Castiel nodded. "I'm glad that Gate's not going to open, don't get me wrong, but that means he's still down there. Yellow-Eyes can still use him against Sam." And it's my fault he's there in the first place, Dean thought but didn't say.
"And perhaps events can still be set in motion where he'll break the first Seal," Castiel said. "That is the last loose end." He was quiet for a very long time.
Dean was about to ask what they should do next when he finally spoke. "I suppose that means I'll have to pull John Winchester from the Pit."
On to Part 6
Return to Masterpost
Back to Part 4