Demon Dean - Chapter Nine
Title: Demon Dean - Chapter Nine
Author: sil9800
Characters: Dean, Sam, Castiel, Gabriel
Pairing: GEN - None
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/contains: Adult Language and Violence
Word count: 24,756
Summary: Picks up immediately after 9x23 “Do You Believe in Miracles.” As Dean slowly realizes what’s happened and what he’s become, Team Free Will is gutted by the loss of Dean’s humanity and must figure out how to save him while also dealing with Cas’ fading grace. All comments welcome and encouraged! WIP - Updates to follow every few days.
**DISCLAIMER** I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters portrayed on the show and make no profit from this storytelling; however, I do have the utmost respect for those that do!
Carrying his duffle bag over his shoulder, Dean headed up from the dungeon and into the main room of the bunker to meet up with the others after making sure Metatron was "properly" restrained and secure. After finally getting a few hours of sleep, Sam was now finished packing and the angels had just returned from obtaining what ingredients they could from various local shops.
"Is Metatron secure?” Sam asked seeing his brother walk into the room, “And still alive?"
Dean rolled his eyes and said, "Yes, he's secure Sam, and no, I didn't kill him. He's chained up just like Crowley was, but he’s secured with angel cuffs. He's not going anywhere." Dean then turned his attention to the angels and asked, "What about you guys? Did you get everything you needed?"
"Everything we could get down here, yes, except the angel feathers," Cas replied, "and we have no idea where to get those since no one has wings anymore."
Laying his bag on the table in front of him, Dean just grinned and asked, "Why didn't you say so? Sam?"
"No problem!” Sam said, matching his brother's mischievous grin, “They should still be in the trunk where we left them." Sam then grabbed his own bag and headed to the garage.
While Sam was gone, Gabriel’s curiosity got the better of him and had to ask, "I'm sure you got more than a few regular angel feathers from Mr. Anything-To-Help-A-Winchester here, but how did you get an archangel feather?"
Still smiling Dean said, "After you supposedly bit the dust, and not long after Luci had left the building, Sam and I doubled back and grabbed a couple feathers you had left behind.” Then he winked at Gabriel and said, “You never know when something like an archangel feather might come in handy."
Sam returned and handed the feathers to Cas, saying, “One regular and one extra crispy.” which garnered a chuckle out of Gabriel. He then looked to Dean and asked, “You ready?”
“Almost.” Dean replied and then asked Cas, “Got a minute before we leave?”
“Of course.” Cas said as they both walked to the other side of the room.
Dean eased into the conversation by first asking how Cas’ grace was holding up and Cas assured him he was feeling better than he had since before the fall. Then Cas asked what this was really about.
“I don’t know,” Dean said, “I guess I just wanted to touch base.”
But Cas knew Dean wasn’t one to make a point of having a conversation without a purpose in mind, so he pressed on, “Dean, we’ve been through too much not to know when something’s on your mind. What is it?"
Dean tried to stop beating around the bush, but he wasn’t exactly sure himself and just hoped it would come to him, “I’m glad you’ve got your grace back Cas, if nothing else, it's a good thing you’ll still be around to fight the good fight.”
“Thank you Dean, I appreciate that, but that's not the reason you wanted to talk to me, is it?” Cas asked
“No, I mean yes, I am glad, but… Look, everyone knows how Metatron killed me. I felt that angel blade pierce my heart and I don’t know how I held on as long as I did, maybe it was the Mark and the Blade, I don’t know." Then Dean's voice cracked a little as he began to speak of his brother's role that day, "I’d like to think it was Sam’s shear will and determination for me to live, but the fact remains, I died right there with Sammy holding onto me with everything he had." He paused a moment to regain his control, "But I can feel my heart beating again now. I know Crowley put the Blade into my hand and the Blade and the Mark together brought me back as a demon." Dean paused again, always hating to ask for anything, "I guess I was just wondering if you thought there might be something you could do about this.”
Cas wanted more than anything to save his friend, after all, they each had so few friends left. But it was more than that; Sam, Dean, and Cas, they were family and that meant something! So Cas looked at him and said, “I just don’t know Dean, I don't want to make any promises, or get your hopes up," but then he took a determined step forward and said, "but I'll be damned if I can’t try!” Cas laid his palm on Dean's forehead and then closed his eyes and lowered his head as his newly restored grace began to flow from the angel and then through the demon.
That got Sam and Gabriel's attention real quick! They hadn't expected it, but they instantly knew exactly what Cas was trying to do. Sam had to shield his eyes from the blinding light as Gabriel looked on, silently praying his brother's angelic grace would in turn save the demon that had restored it to him in the first place.
Dean felt himself trying to fight the angelic intrusion. His mind knew Cas would never try to kill him, but the Mark burned with rage against it like never before, and his demon soul tried to recoil and run from it. He felt shame, and guilt, and regret in its presence, and although the whole experience lasted but a few seconds, it felt to him like time was standing still. How he was able to live through it at all, he'd never know and could only assume Cas was doing something to make it possible. As the blinding light finally began to fade, Dean knew absolutely, that these few moments, enveloped in true grace, would haunt him as long as he lived.
Dean’s strength and consciousness left him completely the very moment Cas’ grace had dissipated. Once Sam could open his eyes, he was only a few steps behind Gabriel as they both ran to catch their brothers and carry them over to the nearby table and chairs.
When Dean came to, hunched over at the table, they were all hovering and looking down at him with concern. "You guys really need to work on your poker faces.” He said, “Better yet, game night’s right here next week."
Cas then asked Dean if he was alright so he took a quick inventory and replied, "Yeah, no problem. What doesn't kill you and all that, right?"
Cas began giving Dean the rundown of what happened by saying, “The good news is your heart, and in fact, all of your organs and every cell of your body is whole, nothing whatsoever needed to be healed.” Then Cas paused and said, “But, I’m sorry Dean, I tried..." as his voice fell off.
The hesitation was evident, not just in Cas’ words, but in his whole being, and Dean knew, "It’s OK Cas, it was a long-shot anyway, just a pipe dream. Nothing is ever that easy for us. Not that that was easy!" Dean sighed.
Cas could only repeat what he had already said, "I'm sorry."
Sam had been utterly silent until now, overcome with the emotion of the moment, until he finally said, "He’s right, It's OK Cas, we'll just find another way.” Then he sat down at the table next to his brother and laid his hand on Dean’s shoulder and said, “There's always another way right? We just have to find it. And we WILL Dean, I told you before that if it's the last thing I ever do, I WILL find another way!"
Dean reached around Sam's arm and cupped the back of his brother’s neck, and with hope he could only explain as a remnant of Cas' grace said, "I know you will Sammy, I know."
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After everyone had wished each other good luck, shook hands, exchanged bro-hugs, and said their goodbyes, Cas and Gabriel headed upstairs to leave, while Sam and Dean headed to the garage. After the disappointment of the previous hour’s events, Sam was happy to see his brother's face light up once again as he saw the Impala there waiting for him. Dean grabbed the keys off the pegboard and walked straight over to her and said, “Alright Baby, Daddy’s back in town and we’ve got a job to do!” Dean then opened the driver’s side door, threw his duffle in the back, and got in to start her up as Sam climbed into the passenger side.
“Oh yeah! Listen to that purr Sammy!” Dean said as they both laughed. He then grabbed a cassette tape out of his collection and approved of the selection as he slid it into the tape player and “Carry On My Wayward Son” began to play, loudly! As he threw his Baby into drive, the two of them headed out to the open road. Destination: Atlantic City.
After several hours it was proving impossible to get Dean out of his tape collection and focused on anything other than driving and listening to his music. However, it was nearly two in the afternoon at this point, and unlike his brother, Sam still needed to eat.
“I’m sure this is going to royally suck for you over the next few days, but I still need the basics Dean, like food, and sleep, so if you don’t mind, would ya pull over at the next fast food joint?” Sam asked.
Dean just laughed and slapped his brother on the knee saying, “Ha ha! No problem Sammy!” then promptly turned up the volume and put the pedal to the floor for another half hour.
They finally pulled into a diner off the interstate where Dean ordered a greasy cheeseburger with extra onions and a side of fries, just for the hell of it, while Sam got an extra-large chef salad, having no idea when he might eat again. Once the food arrived and they began to eat Dean said, “Alright, Atlantic City, run it down for me little brother.”
“OK.” Sam said as he opened his laptop and turned it around so Dean could read the files, “Three women, all filed sexual assault charges against their boyfriends, who each had rock solid alibis.”
“Sexual assault, huh? This guy’s as good as dead already. Go on.” Dean said between bites.
“Yeah, thought you’d feel that way. Anyway, one guy was at an all-night poker game with five other men.”
“All friends?” Dean asked, “They could be covering for him.”
“Three of them were friends, yeah, but one was a new neighbor who barely knew the guy and the other was a relative of the neighbor that had only just met him that night.” Sam said.
“OK, and the others?” Dean asked throwing a couple of fries into his mouth.
Sam took a bite of his salad and continued, “The second guy was at a men’s bible study group with several people from his church, all of whom are willing to testify that he was with them at the time of the assault."
Dean took a bite of his burger and said, “Damn this burger is good! How could I forget?! Mmmhmm!”
“Uh Dean?” Sam laughed, “It’s a burger, not porn.”
“You sure about that Sammy?” Dean asked with a sly grin. “OK, what about the third guy?"
Sam just continued, "The third guy was at work, in a meeting with his boss and several other people in his department."
"So what are the cops saying?" Dean asked, "Are the girls able to prove the guys were there?"
"Fortunately for the guys that didn’t do it, they can't. So, since they each had an alibi, the cops had to drop the charges. Except for one,” Sam reached over and tapped a few keys on the computer, “the shifter was caught on camera at an ATM near where the assault occurred and just 15 minutes before it began. Watch this."
Dean watched the video closely and after a few seconds the camera had caught the shifter’s eyes. "Well, hello freak! That’s good enough for me. Anything else?" Dean asked as he grabbed a napkin to wipe some ketchup off the corner of his mouth.
Sam replied, "Yeah, ‘coincidently’ each assault occurred within a two mile radius."
"And I'll just bet they were all along the same sewer line too." Dean said.
"You got it." Sam said as he laid his fork down and reached for his wallet to pay the check.
Dean finished watching the video and felt the disgust and hate begin to fester inside, “Enjoy that money while you can dickbag, your days are done.”
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Cas and Gabriel had made their way to Cas’ special spot in heaven without too much of a problem. The portal guards however, were not exactly happy to see them after they had been punched into a wall and cast into sleep by the spell Cas and Gabriel had used to get Metatron out of heaven.
“Well baby bro, which spell should we try first?” Gabriel asked.
“I think we should start with the wings Gabriel. Just in case Metatron wasn’t entirely forthcoming, I wouldn’t want to attempt to open the gates and wind up making matters worse.”
“OK, but we should probably let someone know what we’re doing so they can tell angels not fight whatever may happen when their wings suddenly appear.”
Cas sighed, “Hannah. We should probably tell Hannah and let her warn the angels. It would be better coming from her after what we did. The guards said she wanted to see us anyway.”
“Oh I'm sure she does!” Gabriel laughed sarcastically, “But Castiel, after breaking Metatron out of prison and supposedly ‘losing’ him to Dean? She’s gonna be suspicious of everything.” Gabriel said. "Not to mention the fact she’ll ask how we got him to give up your grace AND the spells in the brief time we supposedly had him.” Gabriel said.
Cas thought about that and came up with an idea. “Just follow my lead.” he said as they made their way to the home office.
Hannah coldly greeted them at the door and led them into an office she was currently using to coordinate and manage the heavenly host. “Please, have a seat gentlemen.” she said, pointing to two chairs and taking another one for herself on the opposite side of a desk that was way too large for her small frame. On top of the desk lay a thick white folder.
She began the conversation by saying, “So, as I understand it, evidently you had heard about a plot to kill Metatron, and in order to prevent that from happening you decided to break him out of prison, without letting anyone know what you were doing, or why you were doing it. And then, just when you supposedly thought you were safe, Castiel’s favorite human… wait, I have it right here,” Hannah looked down and opened the file sitting in front of her, “here it is, So Castiel’s favorite human, who just so happens to be a demon now, pops up and whisks him away. Do I have this right gentleman?" Hannah asked.
"Yes,” Cas replied, “that's correct."
"And you expect me to actually believe that?” Hannah rose from her seat and leaned over the desk, glaring at both Cas and Gabriel and said, “I have half a mind to throw BOTH OF YOU in prison right now!"
And that was all it took to get Gabriel’s tighty-whities in a bunch as he then stood up to meet Hannah eye-to-eye, “Sweetheart, you wouldn't know what to do with half a mind even if you did have one, which plainly you don’t! Now you can sit there and play Miss. Tight-ass-bossy-pants with all the angels you like, BUT,” Gabriel’s voice began to rise, “since you don’t have half a mind, evidently I need to remind you that you're speaking to an ARCHangel right now, and honey, I don't take that crap from ANYONE, much less a pencil pushing wannabe trying to jockey for leadership in the very place this angel is actually doing something to restore! So you can just sit your tight ass right back down in that seat and listen to what the man has to say, OR you can sit on the sidelines with everyone else and watch the miracles he's about to perform from the cheap seats! NOW! DO WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?!"
Hannah just stood in shock for a moment, and not just a little fear, until she finally pulled down on her suit jacket and sat back down behind her desk. She then laid her clasped hands on top of the desk, cleared her throat and leaned forward to say, "My apologies, how exactly can I help you Castiel?"
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The boys had driven another eight hours until they both needed a break from the road and being cooped up in the car, so they pulled into a motel and paid for the night with a credit card in the name of Alex Lifeson and requested a corner room on the first floor which just so happened to be available (along with most every other room in the run-down motel). They threw their bags down and soon thereafter Sam left to grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant while Dean scoped out the area.
When they each returned to their room for the night, and after Dean had finished taking a shower, Sam decided the time was right to ask about something that had been nagging at him.
“Dean,” he began, getting straight to the point, “I was wondering, how did you know you could melt down angel blades with hellfire, and how did you get to the hellfire to do it?”
Dean wanted to spend the evening watching a few movies on HBO, but he figured his brother had been holding that question in his pocket for a while now. He also knew that this was only the introductory, softball question that usually led to the harder ones, which always had the potential of turning into a huge debate. So he made a mental note to keep his own temper in check, knowing the answer to this question was seriously going to piss his brother off. He sat at the table across from Sam and calmly said, "I found out about it when I let Crowley catch up to me during the time I was away."
"WHAT?!" Sam asked with the full temper Dean had known the answer would arouse, "You let CROWLEY catch up to you, but I was literally just a few feet away from you in Wyoming and you RAN?!"
"Well, I didn't exactly run." Dean smirked.
"Yeah? What would you call it?" Sam asked.
"Ok fine! I ran!" Dean said starting to respond to Sam's temper in kind. "Call it whatever you want."
"I call it like I see it Dean!" Sam said, "But WHY? Why would you run from me but let Crowley catch up to you?"
Dean knew there was only one way to get Sam to fully understand the answer to that one, so he looked down and closed his eyes for a long second, and then looked back up at Sam with black, demon eyes and said, "Because of this Sam! Because as much as we know about demons, Crowley obviously knows a whole lot more, and at the time, I needed answers that only HE could give!" Dean said and then changed his eyes back to green.
Sam was always taken back by seeing Dean's eyes turn black, but he decided that he wasn't going to let that deter him from getting the answers he needed.
"OK fine, what did he tell you?" Sam asked.
Dean took a deep breath then began by explaining, "I asked him about the hellfire glow that lit up everything I was seeing and where it was coming from. He said it was obviously coming from hell so I asked him to take me to it."
"You went back to hell? Voluntarily?" Sam asked.
"Well it was a little different this time Sam, I had the First Blade with me so it wasn't like anything was going to get me anywhere near that rack again!"
"Ok, what happened then?" Sam asked.
"He told me that the hellfire wasn’t good for much and that he usually just used it to toss souls into when he was done having his 'fun' as he put it. But the first thing I noticed was how freaking hot it was! So I got to wondering if maybe it could melt things down, that under normal circumstances, were indestructible, like angel blades. You've got to understand Sam, at the time, I had no control over the Mark or my newly minted demon mind. All I could think about was killing Metatron, torturing and killing him, giving him a hundred times worse than what he did to me. So I grabbed an angel blade out of my bag, held it over the fire and watched it melt. Even Crowley was surprised. Then I began thinking of all the things I could forge from the blades I had and Crowley left me to it."
Of course, there was more to what Crowley had told him about his new existence, but Dean wasn't ready to reveal everything just yet. It wasn't an outright lie, Dean told himself, it just wasn’t the right time to reveal the whole truth just yet, or so he thought.
But Sam could never be accused of being stupid; he knew there was something Dean wasn't telling him. Although this was usually the point where he would let things drop and wait until Dean was ready to tell him whatever he was holding back, this time he was determined to keep pushing until he got the truth. If he was going to save his brother, he had to know everything, no matter how bad it was.
"What else?" Sam asked.
"Nothing,” Dean replied a little too quickly. “I told you, he left after that."
Undeterred Sam asked again, "What else?!"
Dean tried to shut down Sam’s questions by saying, "You wanted to know about the hellfire and I told you everything there was to tell about it, now leave it alone dammit!" Dean demanded.
"NO!” Sam demanded back, “There’s something else you’re not telling me Dean. Maybe not about the hellfire, but there’s something! Now TELL ME, what else did Crowley say to you?"
His brother's insistence only made Dean’s anger and rage surge, but unlike just a few minutes before, Dean did not want his brother to see him when he didn't have full control over himself, so he turned away, instinctively grabbing the Mark as it started to burn. But it wasn't until his eyes darted to his bag, where he was currently keeping the Blade, that he knew he was in trouble, or more precisely Sam was in trouble.
Sam on the other hand, softened his tone when he saw his brother recoil, but he believed Dean was still in control and wouldn’t hurt him. He had no way of knowing the extent to which his brother was fighting to keep it that way.
“Dean,” he said, “whatever it is, it's OK. But if I’m going to help you, I have to know everything. What else did Crowley tell you? What else do I need to know?”
Why couldn't Sam just let it go? Dean thought, feeling the rage coursing through his veins and fearing what could happen as a result. He knew for Sammy’s sake, he had to go! Barely able to stay in control, he looked at his brother again with eyes blacker than midnight and snarled, “This is over Sam!” then grabbed his bag and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Author: sil9800
Characters: Dean, Sam, Castiel, Gabriel
Pairing: GEN - None
Rating: PG-13
Warnings/contains: Adult Language and Violence
Word count: 24,756
Summary: Picks up immediately after 9x23 “Do You Believe in Miracles.” As Dean slowly realizes what’s happened and what he’s become, Team Free Will is gutted by the loss of Dean’s humanity and must figure out how to save him while also dealing with Cas’ fading grace. All comments welcome and encouraged! WIP - Updates to follow every few days.
**DISCLAIMER** I do not own Supernatural or any of the characters portrayed on the show and make no profit from this storytelling; however, I do have the utmost respect for those that do!
Carrying his duffle bag over his shoulder, Dean headed up from the dungeon and into the main room of the bunker to meet up with the others after making sure Metatron was "properly" restrained and secure. After finally getting a few hours of sleep, Sam was now finished packing and the angels had just returned from obtaining what ingredients they could from various local shops.
"Is Metatron secure?” Sam asked seeing his brother walk into the room, “And still alive?"
Dean rolled his eyes and said, "Yes, he's secure Sam, and no, I didn't kill him. He's chained up just like Crowley was, but he’s secured with angel cuffs. He's not going anywhere." Dean then turned his attention to the angels and asked, "What about you guys? Did you get everything you needed?"
"Everything we could get down here, yes, except the angel feathers," Cas replied, "and we have no idea where to get those since no one has wings anymore."
Laying his bag on the table in front of him, Dean just grinned and asked, "Why didn't you say so? Sam?"
"No problem!” Sam said, matching his brother's mischievous grin, “They should still be in the trunk where we left them." Sam then grabbed his own bag and headed to the garage.
While Sam was gone, Gabriel’s curiosity got the better of him and had to ask, "I'm sure you got more than a few regular angel feathers from Mr. Anything-To-Help-A-Winchester here, but how did you get an archangel feather?"
Still smiling Dean said, "After you supposedly bit the dust, and not long after Luci had left the building, Sam and I doubled back and grabbed a couple feathers you had left behind.” Then he winked at Gabriel and said, “You never know when something like an archangel feather might come in handy."
Sam returned and handed the feathers to Cas, saying, “One regular and one extra crispy.” which garnered a chuckle out of Gabriel. He then looked to Dean and asked, “You ready?”
“Almost.” Dean replied and then asked Cas, “Got a minute before we leave?”
“Of course.” Cas said as they both walked to the other side of the room.
Dean eased into the conversation by first asking how Cas’ grace was holding up and Cas assured him he was feeling better than he had since before the fall. Then Cas asked what this was really about.
“I don’t know,” Dean said, “I guess I just wanted to touch base.”
But Cas knew Dean wasn’t one to make a point of having a conversation without a purpose in mind, so he pressed on, “Dean, we’ve been through too much not to know when something’s on your mind. What is it?"
Dean tried to stop beating around the bush, but he wasn’t exactly sure himself and just hoped it would come to him, “I’m glad you’ve got your grace back Cas, if nothing else, it's a good thing you’ll still be around to fight the good fight.”
“Thank you Dean, I appreciate that, but that's not the reason you wanted to talk to me, is it?” Cas asked
“No, I mean yes, I am glad, but… Look, everyone knows how Metatron killed me. I felt that angel blade pierce my heart and I don’t know how I held on as long as I did, maybe it was the Mark and the Blade, I don’t know." Then Dean's voice cracked a little as he began to speak of his brother's role that day, "I’d like to think it was Sam’s shear will and determination for me to live, but the fact remains, I died right there with Sammy holding onto me with everything he had." He paused a moment to regain his control, "But I can feel my heart beating again now. I know Crowley put the Blade into my hand and the Blade and the Mark together brought me back as a demon." Dean paused again, always hating to ask for anything, "I guess I was just wondering if you thought there might be something you could do about this.”
Cas wanted more than anything to save his friend, after all, they each had so few friends left. But it was more than that; Sam, Dean, and Cas, they were family and that meant something! So Cas looked at him and said, “I just don’t know Dean, I don't want to make any promises, or get your hopes up," but then he took a determined step forward and said, "but I'll be damned if I can’t try!” Cas laid his palm on Dean's forehead and then closed his eyes and lowered his head as his newly restored grace began to flow from the angel and then through the demon.
That got Sam and Gabriel's attention real quick! They hadn't expected it, but they instantly knew exactly what Cas was trying to do. Sam had to shield his eyes from the blinding light as Gabriel looked on, silently praying his brother's angelic grace would in turn save the demon that had restored it to him in the first place.
Dean felt himself trying to fight the angelic intrusion. His mind knew Cas would never try to kill him, but the Mark burned with rage against it like never before, and his demon soul tried to recoil and run from it. He felt shame, and guilt, and regret in its presence, and although the whole experience lasted but a few seconds, it felt to him like time was standing still. How he was able to live through it at all, he'd never know and could only assume Cas was doing something to make it possible. As the blinding light finally began to fade, Dean knew absolutely, that these few moments, enveloped in true grace, would haunt him as long as he lived.
Dean’s strength and consciousness left him completely the very moment Cas’ grace had dissipated. Once Sam could open his eyes, he was only a few steps behind Gabriel as they both ran to catch their brothers and carry them over to the nearby table and chairs.
When Dean came to, hunched over at the table, they were all hovering and looking down at him with concern. "You guys really need to work on your poker faces.” He said, “Better yet, game night’s right here next week."
Cas then asked Dean if he was alright so he took a quick inventory and replied, "Yeah, no problem. What doesn't kill you and all that, right?"
Cas began giving Dean the rundown of what happened by saying, “The good news is your heart, and in fact, all of your organs and every cell of your body is whole, nothing whatsoever needed to be healed.” Then Cas paused and said, “But, I’m sorry Dean, I tried..." as his voice fell off.
The hesitation was evident, not just in Cas’ words, but in his whole being, and Dean knew, "It’s OK Cas, it was a long-shot anyway, just a pipe dream. Nothing is ever that easy for us. Not that that was easy!" Dean sighed.
Cas could only repeat what he had already said, "I'm sorry."
Sam had been utterly silent until now, overcome with the emotion of the moment, until he finally said, "He’s right, It's OK Cas, we'll just find another way.” Then he sat down at the table next to his brother and laid his hand on Dean’s shoulder and said, “There's always another way right? We just have to find it. And we WILL Dean, I told you before that if it's the last thing I ever do, I WILL find another way!"
Dean reached around Sam's arm and cupped the back of his brother’s neck, and with hope he could only explain as a remnant of Cas' grace said, "I know you will Sammy, I know."
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After everyone had wished each other good luck, shook hands, exchanged bro-hugs, and said their goodbyes, Cas and Gabriel headed upstairs to leave, while Sam and Dean headed to the garage. After the disappointment of the previous hour’s events, Sam was happy to see his brother's face light up once again as he saw the Impala there waiting for him. Dean grabbed the keys off the pegboard and walked straight over to her and said, “Alright Baby, Daddy’s back in town and we’ve got a job to do!” Dean then opened the driver’s side door, threw his duffle in the back, and got in to start her up as Sam climbed into the passenger side.
“Oh yeah! Listen to that purr Sammy!” Dean said as they both laughed. He then grabbed a cassette tape out of his collection and approved of the selection as he slid it into the tape player and “Carry On My Wayward Son” began to play, loudly! As he threw his Baby into drive, the two of them headed out to the open road. Destination: Atlantic City.
After several hours it was proving impossible to get Dean out of his tape collection and focused on anything other than driving and listening to his music. However, it was nearly two in the afternoon at this point, and unlike his brother, Sam still needed to eat.
“I’m sure this is going to royally suck for you over the next few days, but I still need the basics Dean, like food, and sleep, so if you don’t mind, would ya pull over at the next fast food joint?” Sam asked.
Dean just laughed and slapped his brother on the knee saying, “Ha ha! No problem Sammy!” then promptly turned up the volume and put the pedal to the floor for another half hour.
They finally pulled into a diner off the interstate where Dean ordered a greasy cheeseburger with extra onions and a side of fries, just for the hell of it, while Sam got an extra-large chef salad, having no idea when he might eat again. Once the food arrived and they began to eat Dean said, “Alright, Atlantic City, run it down for me little brother.”
“OK.” Sam said as he opened his laptop and turned it around so Dean could read the files, “Three women, all filed sexual assault charges against their boyfriends, who each had rock solid alibis.”
“Sexual assault, huh? This guy’s as good as dead already. Go on.” Dean said between bites.
“Yeah, thought you’d feel that way. Anyway, one guy was at an all-night poker game with five other men.”
“All friends?” Dean asked, “They could be covering for him.”
“Three of them were friends, yeah, but one was a new neighbor who barely knew the guy and the other was a relative of the neighbor that had only just met him that night.” Sam said.
“OK, and the others?” Dean asked throwing a couple of fries into his mouth.
Sam took a bite of his salad and continued, “The second guy was at a men’s bible study group with several people from his church, all of whom are willing to testify that he was with them at the time of the assault."
Dean took a bite of his burger and said, “Damn this burger is good! How could I forget?! Mmmhmm!”
“Uh Dean?” Sam laughed, “It’s a burger, not porn.”
“You sure about that Sammy?” Dean asked with a sly grin. “OK, what about the third guy?"
Sam just continued, "The third guy was at work, in a meeting with his boss and several other people in his department."
"So what are the cops saying?" Dean asked, "Are the girls able to prove the guys were there?"
"Fortunately for the guys that didn’t do it, they can't. So, since they each had an alibi, the cops had to drop the charges. Except for one,” Sam reached over and tapped a few keys on the computer, “the shifter was caught on camera at an ATM near where the assault occurred and just 15 minutes before it began. Watch this."
Dean watched the video closely and after a few seconds the camera had caught the shifter’s eyes. "Well, hello freak! That’s good enough for me. Anything else?" Dean asked as he grabbed a napkin to wipe some ketchup off the corner of his mouth.
Sam replied, "Yeah, ‘coincidently’ each assault occurred within a two mile radius."
"And I'll just bet they were all along the same sewer line too." Dean said.
"You got it." Sam said as he laid his fork down and reached for his wallet to pay the check.
Dean finished watching the video and felt the disgust and hate begin to fester inside, “Enjoy that money while you can dickbag, your days are done.”
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Cas and Gabriel had made their way to Cas’ special spot in heaven without too much of a problem. The portal guards however, were not exactly happy to see them after they had been punched into a wall and cast into sleep by the spell Cas and Gabriel had used to get Metatron out of heaven.
“Well baby bro, which spell should we try first?” Gabriel asked.
“I think we should start with the wings Gabriel. Just in case Metatron wasn’t entirely forthcoming, I wouldn’t want to attempt to open the gates and wind up making matters worse.”
“OK, but we should probably let someone know what we’re doing so they can tell angels not fight whatever may happen when their wings suddenly appear.”
Cas sighed, “Hannah. We should probably tell Hannah and let her warn the angels. It would be better coming from her after what we did. The guards said she wanted to see us anyway.”
“Oh I'm sure she does!” Gabriel laughed sarcastically, “But Castiel, after breaking Metatron out of prison and supposedly ‘losing’ him to Dean? She’s gonna be suspicious of everything.” Gabriel said. "Not to mention the fact she’ll ask how we got him to give up your grace AND the spells in the brief time we supposedly had him.” Gabriel said.
Cas thought about that and came up with an idea. “Just follow my lead.” he said as they made their way to the home office.
Hannah coldly greeted them at the door and led them into an office she was currently using to coordinate and manage the heavenly host. “Please, have a seat gentlemen.” she said, pointing to two chairs and taking another one for herself on the opposite side of a desk that was way too large for her small frame. On top of the desk lay a thick white folder.
She began the conversation by saying, “So, as I understand it, evidently you had heard about a plot to kill Metatron, and in order to prevent that from happening you decided to break him out of prison, without letting anyone know what you were doing, or why you were doing it. And then, just when you supposedly thought you were safe, Castiel’s favorite human… wait, I have it right here,” Hannah looked down and opened the file sitting in front of her, “here it is, So Castiel’s favorite human, who just so happens to be a demon now, pops up and whisks him away. Do I have this right gentleman?" Hannah asked.
"Yes,” Cas replied, “that's correct."
"And you expect me to actually believe that?” Hannah rose from her seat and leaned over the desk, glaring at both Cas and Gabriel and said, “I have half a mind to throw BOTH OF YOU in prison right now!"
And that was all it took to get Gabriel’s tighty-whities in a bunch as he then stood up to meet Hannah eye-to-eye, “Sweetheart, you wouldn't know what to do with half a mind even if you did have one, which plainly you don’t! Now you can sit there and play Miss. Tight-ass-bossy-pants with all the angels you like, BUT,” Gabriel’s voice began to rise, “since you don’t have half a mind, evidently I need to remind you that you're speaking to an ARCHangel right now, and honey, I don't take that crap from ANYONE, much less a pencil pushing wannabe trying to jockey for leadership in the very place this angel is actually doing something to restore! So you can just sit your tight ass right back down in that seat and listen to what the man has to say, OR you can sit on the sidelines with everyone else and watch the miracles he's about to perform from the cheap seats! NOW! DO WE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION?!"
Hannah just stood in shock for a moment, and not just a little fear, until she finally pulled down on her suit jacket and sat back down behind her desk. She then laid her clasped hands on top of the desk, cleared her throat and leaned forward to say, "My apologies, how exactly can I help you Castiel?"
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The boys had driven another eight hours until they both needed a break from the road and being cooped up in the car, so they pulled into a motel and paid for the night with a credit card in the name of Alex Lifeson and requested a corner room on the first floor which just so happened to be available (along with most every other room in the run-down motel). They threw their bags down and soon thereafter Sam left to grab a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant while Dean scoped out the area.
When they each returned to their room for the night, and after Dean had finished taking a shower, Sam decided the time was right to ask about something that had been nagging at him.
“Dean,” he began, getting straight to the point, “I was wondering, how did you know you could melt down angel blades with hellfire, and how did you get to the hellfire to do it?”
Dean wanted to spend the evening watching a few movies on HBO, but he figured his brother had been holding that question in his pocket for a while now. He also knew that this was only the introductory, softball question that usually led to the harder ones, which always had the potential of turning into a huge debate. So he made a mental note to keep his own temper in check, knowing the answer to this question was seriously going to piss his brother off. He sat at the table across from Sam and calmly said, "I found out about it when I let Crowley catch up to me during the time I was away."
"WHAT?!" Sam asked with the full temper Dean had known the answer would arouse, "You let CROWLEY catch up to you, but I was literally just a few feet away from you in Wyoming and you RAN?!"
"Well, I didn't exactly run." Dean smirked.
"Yeah? What would you call it?" Sam asked.
"Ok fine! I ran!" Dean said starting to respond to Sam's temper in kind. "Call it whatever you want."
"I call it like I see it Dean!" Sam said, "But WHY? Why would you run from me but let Crowley catch up to you?"
Dean knew there was only one way to get Sam to fully understand the answer to that one, so he looked down and closed his eyes for a long second, and then looked back up at Sam with black, demon eyes and said, "Because of this Sam! Because as much as we know about demons, Crowley obviously knows a whole lot more, and at the time, I needed answers that only HE could give!" Dean said and then changed his eyes back to green.
Sam was always taken back by seeing Dean's eyes turn black, but he decided that he wasn't going to let that deter him from getting the answers he needed.
"OK fine, what did he tell you?" Sam asked.
Dean took a deep breath then began by explaining, "I asked him about the hellfire glow that lit up everything I was seeing and where it was coming from. He said it was obviously coming from hell so I asked him to take me to it."
"You went back to hell? Voluntarily?" Sam asked.
"Well it was a little different this time Sam, I had the First Blade with me so it wasn't like anything was going to get me anywhere near that rack again!"
"Ok, what happened then?" Sam asked.
"He told me that the hellfire wasn’t good for much and that he usually just used it to toss souls into when he was done having his 'fun' as he put it. But the first thing I noticed was how freaking hot it was! So I got to wondering if maybe it could melt things down, that under normal circumstances, were indestructible, like angel blades. You've got to understand Sam, at the time, I had no control over the Mark or my newly minted demon mind. All I could think about was killing Metatron, torturing and killing him, giving him a hundred times worse than what he did to me. So I grabbed an angel blade out of my bag, held it over the fire and watched it melt. Even Crowley was surprised. Then I began thinking of all the things I could forge from the blades I had and Crowley left me to it."
Of course, there was more to what Crowley had told him about his new existence, but Dean wasn't ready to reveal everything just yet. It wasn't an outright lie, Dean told himself, it just wasn’t the right time to reveal the whole truth just yet, or so he thought.
But Sam could never be accused of being stupid; he knew there was something Dean wasn't telling him. Although this was usually the point where he would let things drop and wait until Dean was ready to tell him whatever he was holding back, this time he was determined to keep pushing until he got the truth. If he was going to save his brother, he had to know everything, no matter how bad it was.
"What else?" Sam asked.
"Nothing,” Dean replied a little too quickly. “I told you, he left after that."
Undeterred Sam asked again, "What else?!"
Dean tried to shut down Sam’s questions by saying, "You wanted to know about the hellfire and I told you everything there was to tell about it, now leave it alone dammit!" Dean demanded.
"NO!” Sam demanded back, “There’s something else you’re not telling me Dean. Maybe not about the hellfire, but there’s something! Now TELL ME, what else did Crowley say to you?"
His brother's insistence only made Dean’s anger and rage surge, but unlike just a few minutes before, Dean did not want his brother to see him when he didn't have full control over himself, so he turned away, instinctively grabbing the Mark as it started to burn. But it wasn't until his eyes darted to his bag, where he was currently keeping the Blade, that he knew he was in trouble, or more precisely Sam was in trouble.
Sam on the other hand, softened his tone when he saw his brother recoil, but he believed Dean was still in control and wouldn’t hurt him. He had no way of knowing the extent to which his brother was fighting to keep it that way.
“Dean,” he said, “whatever it is, it's OK. But if I’m going to help you, I have to know everything. What else did Crowley tell you? What else do I need to know?”
Why couldn't Sam just let it go? Dean thought, feeling the rage coursing through his veins and fearing what could happen as a result. He knew for Sammy’s sake, he had to go! Barely able to stay in control, he looked at his brother again with eyes blacker than midnight and snarled, “This is over Sam!” then grabbed his bag and left the room, slamming the door behind him.