Fic: Uncharted Territories (14/14)
Chapter Fourteen: Tell the World I'm Coming Home
Chapter Word Count: 2,056
Final Fic Word Count: 31,266
|| Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five || Chapter Six || Chapter Seven ||
|| Chapter Eight || Chapter Nine || Chapter Ten || Chapter Eleven || Chapter Twelve || Chapter Thirteen ||
~~~
A/N: This is it, guys: the last chapter of 'Uncharted Territories'. It took a while, but we finally made it. Thanks for sticking around and reading it; I'm already working on the next story in this 'verse.
Castiel and Dean emerged from Purgatory in the middle of a pasture. It was hot and muggy; the last few strains of twilight painted the sky in dusky purples and grays. The stars were starting to appear, scattered across the sky overhead, and a hunter’s moon hung low and golden on the horizon as it began its climb upwards. A cow whuffled sleepily at the two travelers in vague bovine curiosity before deciding that neither of them were threats and then went back to sleep. Dean looked over at Castiel, who was fighting a smile, and then grinned at him, his posture relaxed and happy.
“Well, we’re back,” he said with a laugh. “In the middle of a frickin’ cow field, but we made it, Cas.”
“That we did,” Castiel replied. “I’ll go see where the nearest road is; there might be signs to tell us where was are, exactly.”
“You can’t tell?”
Castiel shrugged, glancing briefly up at the sky. “Somewhere in Nebraska, I think,” he said. “Other than that, I’m not sure.”
“I think Bessie and me will be fine here until you get back,” Dean joked.
Castiel nodded. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said, and then disappeared in a rush of wings. True to his word, the angel came back within a minute, reappearing right next to Dean.
“And?”
“I couldn’t find any signs,” Castiel began, “but I found something better.”
“Which would be what?” Dean asked.
“There’s a farm about three miles away that’s heavily protected by Enochian warding,” Castiel told him. “There’s an angelic presence there.”
“Really? What the hell would angels want out in the middle of Nowhere, Nebraska?”
“I don’t know, but I suggest we find out.”
Dean winced. “We’re going to have to zap there, aren’t we?”
“It would be the quickest way,” Castiel pointed out. “Unless you really want to walk three miles of country road in the dark.”
Dean sighed. “No, no, you’re right,” he said slowly. “God, I hate doing this.”
“I know.” Castiel reached out and put a hand on Dean’s shoulder. They moved in a blink of an eye, the landscape changing around them in an instant. They were standing on a well-maintained dirt road, facing a two-story farmhouse that sat in the distance.
“There are ward-stones at each point of the compass, which helps to sustain the wards without needing a blood sacrifice,” Castiel said, his hand dropping to his side. “We’re just outside the border. Once we cross it, they’ll know we’re here.”
“If they don’t already,” a dry voice said from behind them. Castiel and Dean turned, surprised. Inias stood there, wearing his usual black slacks and dress shirt.
“Inias!” Castiel said, looking surprised. “You’re alive! How? We didn’t see you after you took Kevin away, and he said that the angels who were with him were killed by Leviathan.”
“By a bit of luck and some quick thinking,” Inias replied. “It’s good to see you, Castiel.” He gave Castiel a bright smile. He looked over at Dean and nodded. “And you, Dean. Come on, you two; it’s cooler inside. Besides, there are some people there who will want to see you once they know you’re here.”
He gestured towards the farmhouse. Dean and Castiel followed after him, shoes making soft thuds on the dirt path. “I’m afraid you’ve caught us at an off time,” Inias said as he led them to the house. “Everyone save for myself and a few others are out on jobs.”
“There are others who live here?”
Inias nodded in response to Castiel’s question. “Not everyone lives here,” he said as he headed up the porch stairs, “but the network of hunters who use it as a safe haven is slowly but surely growing as the news spreads.”
“So, what, it’s like the Roadhouse 2.0?” Dean asked as they entered the house. Inias shrugged.
“Sort of,” he said. “We’re not a bar, though.”
Dean noticed that almost all of the furniture inside was made from wood, and hand-carved at that. The pieces used for seating were well-cushioned, and the hunter spotted blankets draped over the backs of the couch and two over-stuffed armchairs in the living room to the immediate left of the entryway. A clatter of shoes on the nearby stairs caught everyone’s attention, and Dean was surprised to see Becky Rosen coming down, a hands-free headset on one eat and a computer tablet held in her hands. She was talking to someone on the other end of the phone, not looking up until she was almost at the bottom of the stairs.
“-I don’t know, Travis,” she was saying, “sounds like you’ve got a garden variety poltergeist on your hands. Should be an easy salt ‘n’ burn, from-”
She looked up, her eyes widening at the sight of Castiel and Dean standing there. “Trav, I’m going to have to let you go. If you need anything else, just call, okay? Good luck.”
Becky reached up and pressed a button on the side of her headset, ending the call. She looked over at Inias curiously, one eyebrow arching.
“They’re fine,” Inias reassured her. “It’s really them.”
“Dude, you didn’t even check us,” Dean protested. “How do you know for sure?”
“The wards wouldn’t have allowed you through if you were an unwanted supernatural being or if you intended anyone harm here,” Inias explained.
“I still want you to test us,” Dean insisted.
“All right,” Inias said. “Wait here.” He disappeared in a rush of feathers, coming back several seconds later with two vials of holy water, a silver knife, and a weak solution of borax in water, held conveniently in a spray bottle.
“Hands,” he said, giving Becky the holy water to hold onto. He tested them with the borax solution first, spraying a light mist on the back of their hands. When that did nothing, he had them turn over their hands and drew the blade over their palms hard enough to draw blood. The holy water shots were next, and once Dean and Castiel had downed them, Inias reached out and healed Dean’s hand with a brief touch.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
Dean shrugged. “Yeah,” he said. “Now, who else is-”
“Inias! Lee and the others are comin’ in hot! Get ready!”
Dean barely had time to register where the strangely familiar voice was coming from before both Inias and Becky were heading upstairs at a dead run, leaving Dean and Castiel to wonder what was going on. After a quick exchanged glance, the two travelers headed upstairs as well. What greeted them was a scene of barely controlled chaos. Two people were manhandling a third into a room at the direction of the woman Dean had seen during his Trial of Soul. The rest of the group were being taken care of by Inias and Becky.
Dean and Castiel dove into the fray with barely a second thought, with Dean helping Becky bandage the less urgent wounds while Castiel aided Inias with healing the more pressing wounds. Years of patching up himself and Sam helped Dean in his work, deft hands cleaning and bandaging bleeding wounds. The chaos settled down once most of the people were taken care of, and Dean drew in a breath of relief.
He emerged from the bathroom after washing his hands to come face-to-face with Sam. A brilliant smile blossomed across the younger Winchester’s face before he pulled his brother into a tight hug. Dean returned the hug with gusto, smiling brightly into Sam’s shoulder. He stepped back, looking up at Sam. Sam looked as healthy and hale as Dean had ever seen: his eyes were clear and bright and full of joy as he grinned back at Dean.
“When did you get back?” he asked.
“A half hour or so ago,” Dean replied. “I think we may have given a cow nightmares.”
Sam laughed, the amused sound easy and flowing. “Well, hopefully it’ll be all right,” he said. “Where’s Cas?”
Dean looked around to find Castiel in conversation with Inias; both angels seemed deeply invested in what they were talking about. Sam followed Dean’s line of sight and then nodded.
“Be right back,” he said before heading over to where Castiel and Inias were. He tapped Castiel on the shoulder, and when the angel turned around, smiled broadly at him in greeting. Castiel returned the smile with one of his own; Sam clapped him on the shoulder in lieu of a hug, not sure how Castiel would react to an embrace.
“All right, everyone who can, please move out of the hall,” Becky announced, raising her voice over the low babble of the small crowd. “There are leftovers in the fridge, as well as fresh ingredients if you want to make something from scratch. You know where the open rooms are, so feel free to crash if you want.”
There was a general murmur of agreement and then the crowd dispersed, leaving Castiel, Dean, Sam, and Inias in the hall; Becky returned to her study-cum-command center after saying goodbye to the others.
“So,” Castiel began, “this place- you said it was a haven for hunters?”
Sam nodded. “It’s a safehouse as well as neutral ground,” he replied. “No physical fights except for sparring is allowed. Lee’s thrown out several people on their asses for scrapping in the kitchen. It was temporary, but effective.”
“I’ve never seen that many hunters in one place besides the Roadhouse,” Dean mused. “Whatever you’re doin’ here, it must be working. I recognized most of those people. They don’t play well with others, normally. What were you hunting that needed six people to take care of it?”
“One of the largest nests of wendigos I’ve ever heard of,” Sam said. “Five of the frickin’ things, all holed up in the Catskills. There were actually eight of us out there; Devin is the one getting intensive care right now.” He jerked a thumb at the closed door. “They’re taking care of him right now; it’s probably going to be a while, so we should leave them to it and head downstairs. You guys hungry? I think it was casserole night, but I’ve been on the road for the past week and a half, so I could be wrong.”
“Quiche night, actually,” Inias supplied as they headed downstairs, “assuming there’s still some left by the time we get there.”
There were only three people in the kitchen when the Winchesters and the two angels reached it; two men and one woman. One of the men was waiting near the microwave, while the others had already retrieved their food and were eating. Dean couldn’t help the amused grin that broke out when he saw the surprised look on Sam’s face when Castiel got a plate of food for himself out of habit, even though he didn’t have to eat anymore. Once everyone had gotten food (if they so chose, Inias declined, having already eaten earlier), the four of them went into the living room, wanting a place to talk privately with one another.
Sam settled in one of the overstuffed armchairs after closing the far door on the other side of the room. Inias closed the other door before sitting down next to Castiel on the couch, with Dean on Castiel’s other side.
“So,” Sam said, setting his plate on a nearby side table. “Purgatory.”
“Yeah,” Dean confirmed. “How’d you guess?”
“Chuck.”
Castiel’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Are you sure? He hasn’t contacted you since before Lucifer and Michael were trapped in the Cage.”
Sam shrugged. “He didn’t contact me,” he said. “That honor went to Becky, actually. She’s the one who got all of us together in the first place.”
“I dropped in unintentionally,” Inias said with a wry smile. Sam chuckled softly.
“Yeah, well, it turned out all right in the end,” he said. “So, you guys want to tell us about Purgatory?”
Dean looked over at Castiel, who shrugged and then began talking.
“To begin with, Purgatory is a wild forest, shrouded in near perpetual fog and twilight…”
Chapter Word Count: 2,056
Final Fic Word Count: 31,266
|| Chapter One || Chapter Two || Chapter Three || Chapter Four || Chapter Five || Chapter Six || Chapter Seven ||
|| Chapter Eight || Chapter Nine || Chapter Ten || Chapter Eleven || Chapter Twelve || Chapter Thirteen ||
~~~
A/N: This is it, guys: the last chapter of 'Uncharted Territories'. It took a while, but we finally made it. Thanks for sticking around and reading it; I'm already working on the next story in this 'verse.
Castiel and Dean emerged from Purgatory in the middle of a pasture. It was hot and muggy; the last few strains of twilight painted the sky in dusky purples and grays. The stars were starting to appear, scattered across the sky overhead, and a hunter’s moon hung low and golden on the horizon as it began its climb upwards. A cow whuffled sleepily at the two travelers in vague bovine curiosity before deciding that neither of them were threats and then went back to sleep. Dean looked over at Castiel, who was fighting a smile, and then grinned at him, his posture relaxed and happy.
“Well, we’re back,” he said with a laugh. “In the middle of a frickin’ cow field, but we made it, Cas.”
“That we did,” Castiel replied. “I’ll go see where the nearest road is; there might be signs to tell us where was are, exactly.”
“You can’t tell?”
Castiel shrugged, glancing briefly up at the sky. “Somewhere in Nebraska, I think,” he said. “Other than that, I’m not sure.”
“I think Bessie and me will be fine here until you get back,” Dean joked.
Castiel nodded. “I’ll be back shortly,” he said, and then disappeared in a rush of wings. True to his word, the angel came back within a minute, reappearing right next to Dean.
“And?”
“I couldn’t find any signs,” Castiel began, “but I found something better.”
“Which would be what?” Dean asked.
“There’s a farm about three miles away that’s heavily protected by Enochian warding,” Castiel told him. “There’s an angelic presence there.”
“Really? What the hell would angels want out in the middle of Nowhere, Nebraska?”
“I don’t know, but I suggest we find out.”
Dean winced. “We’re going to have to zap there, aren’t we?”
“It would be the quickest way,” Castiel pointed out. “Unless you really want to walk three miles of country road in the dark.”
Dean sighed. “No, no, you’re right,” he said slowly. “God, I hate doing this.”
“I know.” Castiel reached out and put a hand on Dean’s shoulder. They moved in a blink of an eye, the landscape changing around them in an instant. They were standing on a well-maintained dirt road, facing a two-story farmhouse that sat in the distance.
“There are ward-stones at each point of the compass, which helps to sustain the wards without needing a blood sacrifice,” Castiel said, his hand dropping to his side. “We’re just outside the border. Once we cross it, they’ll know we’re here.”
“If they don’t already,” a dry voice said from behind them. Castiel and Dean turned, surprised. Inias stood there, wearing his usual black slacks and dress shirt.
“Inias!” Castiel said, looking surprised. “You’re alive! How? We didn’t see you after you took Kevin away, and he said that the angels who were with him were killed by Leviathan.”
“By a bit of luck and some quick thinking,” Inias replied. “It’s good to see you, Castiel.” He gave Castiel a bright smile. He looked over at Dean and nodded. “And you, Dean. Come on, you two; it’s cooler inside. Besides, there are some people there who will want to see you once they know you’re here.”
He gestured towards the farmhouse. Dean and Castiel followed after him, shoes making soft thuds on the dirt path. “I’m afraid you’ve caught us at an off time,” Inias said as he led them to the house. “Everyone save for myself and a few others are out on jobs.”
“There are others who live here?”
Inias nodded in response to Castiel’s question. “Not everyone lives here,” he said as he headed up the porch stairs, “but the network of hunters who use it as a safe haven is slowly but surely growing as the news spreads.”
“So, what, it’s like the Roadhouse 2.0?” Dean asked as they entered the house. Inias shrugged.
“Sort of,” he said. “We’re not a bar, though.”
Dean noticed that almost all of the furniture inside was made from wood, and hand-carved at that. The pieces used for seating were well-cushioned, and the hunter spotted blankets draped over the backs of the couch and two over-stuffed armchairs in the living room to the immediate left of the entryway. A clatter of shoes on the nearby stairs caught everyone’s attention, and Dean was surprised to see Becky Rosen coming down, a hands-free headset on one eat and a computer tablet held in her hands. She was talking to someone on the other end of the phone, not looking up until she was almost at the bottom of the stairs.
“-I don’t know, Travis,” she was saying, “sounds like you’ve got a garden variety poltergeist on your hands. Should be an easy salt ‘n’ burn, from-”
She looked up, her eyes widening at the sight of Castiel and Dean standing there. “Trav, I’m going to have to let you go. If you need anything else, just call, okay? Good luck.”
Becky reached up and pressed a button on the side of her headset, ending the call. She looked over at Inias curiously, one eyebrow arching.
“They’re fine,” Inias reassured her. “It’s really them.”
“Dude, you didn’t even check us,” Dean protested. “How do you know for sure?”
“The wards wouldn’t have allowed you through if you were an unwanted supernatural being or if you intended anyone harm here,” Inias explained.
“I still want you to test us,” Dean insisted.
“All right,” Inias said. “Wait here.” He disappeared in a rush of feathers, coming back several seconds later with two vials of holy water, a silver knife, and a weak solution of borax in water, held conveniently in a spray bottle.
“Hands,” he said, giving Becky the holy water to hold onto. He tested them with the borax solution first, spraying a light mist on the back of their hands. When that did nothing, he had them turn over their hands and drew the blade over their palms hard enough to draw blood. The holy water shots were next, and once Dean and Castiel had downed them, Inias reached out and healed Dean’s hand with a brief touch.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
Dean shrugged. “Yeah,” he said. “Now, who else is-”
“Inias! Lee and the others are comin’ in hot! Get ready!”
Dean barely had time to register where the strangely familiar voice was coming from before both Inias and Becky were heading upstairs at a dead run, leaving Dean and Castiel to wonder what was going on. After a quick exchanged glance, the two travelers headed upstairs as well. What greeted them was a scene of barely controlled chaos. Two people were manhandling a third into a room at the direction of the woman Dean had seen during his Trial of Soul. The rest of the group were being taken care of by Inias and Becky.
Dean and Castiel dove into the fray with barely a second thought, with Dean helping Becky bandage the less urgent wounds while Castiel aided Inias with healing the more pressing wounds. Years of patching up himself and Sam helped Dean in his work, deft hands cleaning and bandaging bleeding wounds. The chaos settled down once most of the people were taken care of, and Dean drew in a breath of relief.
He emerged from the bathroom after washing his hands to come face-to-face with Sam. A brilliant smile blossomed across the younger Winchester’s face before he pulled his brother into a tight hug. Dean returned the hug with gusto, smiling brightly into Sam’s shoulder. He stepped back, looking up at Sam. Sam looked as healthy and hale as Dean had ever seen: his eyes were clear and bright and full of joy as he grinned back at Dean.
“When did you get back?” he asked.
“A half hour or so ago,” Dean replied. “I think we may have given a cow nightmares.”
Sam laughed, the amused sound easy and flowing. “Well, hopefully it’ll be all right,” he said. “Where’s Cas?”
Dean looked around to find Castiel in conversation with Inias; both angels seemed deeply invested in what they were talking about. Sam followed Dean’s line of sight and then nodded.
“Be right back,” he said before heading over to where Castiel and Inias were. He tapped Castiel on the shoulder, and when the angel turned around, smiled broadly at him in greeting. Castiel returned the smile with one of his own; Sam clapped him on the shoulder in lieu of a hug, not sure how Castiel would react to an embrace.
“All right, everyone who can, please move out of the hall,” Becky announced, raising her voice over the low babble of the small crowd. “There are leftovers in the fridge, as well as fresh ingredients if you want to make something from scratch. You know where the open rooms are, so feel free to crash if you want.”
There was a general murmur of agreement and then the crowd dispersed, leaving Castiel, Dean, Sam, and Inias in the hall; Becky returned to her study-cum-command center after saying goodbye to the others.
“So,” Castiel began, “this place- you said it was a haven for hunters?”
Sam nodded. “It’s a safehouse as well as neutral ground,” he replied. “No physical fights except for sparring is allowed. Lee’s thrown out several people on their asses for scrapping in the kitchen. It was temporary, but effective.”
“I’ve never seen that many hunters in one place besides the Roadhouse,” Dean mused. “Whatever you’re doin’ here, it must be working. I recognized most of those people. They don’t play well with others, normally. What were you hunting that needed six people to take care of it?”
“One of the largest nests of wendigos I’ve ever heard of,” Sam said. “Five of the frickin’ things, all holed up in the Catskills. There were actually eight of us out there; Devin is the one getting intensive care right now.” He jerked a thumb at the closed door. “They’re taking care of him right now; it’s probably going to be a while, so we should leave them to it and head downstairs. You guys hungry? I think it was casserole night, but I’ve been on the road for the past week and a half, so I could be wrong.”
“Quiche night, actually,” Inias supplied as they headed downstairs, “assuming there’s still some left by the time we get there.”
There were only three people in the kitchen when the Winchesters and the two angels reached it; two men and one woman. One of the men was waiting near the microwave, while the others had already retrieved their food and were eating. Dean couldn’t help the amused grin that broke out when he saw the surprised look on Sam’s face when Castiel got a plate of food for himself out of habit, even though he didn’t have to eat anymore. Once everyone had gotten food (if they so chose, Inias declined, having already eaten earlier), the four of them went into the living room, wanting a place to talk privately with one another.
Sam settled in one of the overstuffed armchairs after closing the far door on the other side of the room. Inias closed the other door before sitting down next to Castiel on the couch, with Dean on Castiel’s other side.
“So,” Sam said, setting his plate on a nearby side table. “Purgatory.”
“Yeah,” Dean confirmed. “How’d you guess?”
“Chuck.”
Castiel’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Are you sure? He hasn’t contacted you since before Lucifer and Michael were trapped in the Cage.”
Sam shrugged. “He didn’t contact me,” he said. “That honor went to Becky, actually. She’s the one who got all of us together in the first place.”
“I dropped in unintentionally,” Inias said with a wry smile. Sam chuckled softly.
“Yeah, well, it turned out all right in the end,” he said. “So, you guys want to tell us about Purgatory?”
Dean looked over at Castiel, who shrugged and then began talking.
“To begin with, Purgatory is a wild forest, shrouded in near perpetual fog and twilight…”