Masters - Supernatural - 2/3
Title: Masters
Author: twisted_slinky
Artist: agirlnamedtruth
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Spoilers for up to season 7. Violence, language, torture, gore, het sex, dub-con/non-con, religious subtext, Hell
Characters/Pairings: Meg/Dean, Meg/Castiel, Crowley, Alastair, Azazel, Lucifer, Sam
Summary: They knew her by Meg, but in Hell, she was called a different name. Dean just didn’t realize it at the time. Castiel, though, always knew. This is the tale of the fall of a demon with a cause.
Wordcount: ~15k
Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. Made for sick twisted kicks, not profit.
Notes: Please don't read if you're under the age restriction, especially this first part. The timeline on this skips around a bit, but just, fair warning, the italics are supposed to be Season 7 'Nurse' Meg chatting to coma!Cas. Dean's right-she does enjoy the sound of her own voice…
A big thanks to agirlnamedtruth for the beautiful art! Check out her masterpost, where you can see other wallpapers and a fanmix.
Art Masterpost II Story Masterpost
II.
The Truth Beneath the Rose
"I swear I just saw you twitch, Clarence. Don't like to hear such naughty things about your boy Dean, do you? Or maybe it's more than that…Maybe you don't like hearing it from me. Dean and I, we're a lot more alike than I ever realized-both being good little tin soldiers with daddy issues and an appreciation for decent music-but back when I was alive, you could say I had a few more things in common with Sammy.
"Azazel had big plans for me, too, then. I was his special child before he ever got the order to make more of us. I was…I was a good girl-I'd ask you not to laugh, but that's not a problem, now is it?
"After Hell, though? I was my father's soldier. I carried out my duty, embraced it. When Dean killed ol' Yellow Eyes, I lost my purpose and found a new one: finding inventive ways to help my old mentor rip our boy apart. Every. Single. Day.
"So, you can imagine, I was a bit peeved when you came and took him away, sweetplum. But, you did more than that-I'd never seen an angel before you broke into my corner of Hell and stole my favorite toy. I'd never seen anything so beautiful, so mighty, so blinding. Blew my mind.
"But, don't worry. I found something new to occupy my days in Hell after you left me high and dry. See, my true father began to speak to me, his voice slipping out from between the broken locks of his cage. What's the saying? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…Well, suffice to say, I won't be feeling any shame any time soon, but you get the drift. Once again, I found purpose. Once again, I found a new master to serve.
"And I would have done whatever he wished of me, even if that meant not getting to kill you all bloody…"
2009
The smoke crept along the ceiling of the room before funneling down into the corpse lying across the floor. The body shook as the demon filled it out, spilling into every inch, until, finally the girl's eyes opened once more.
Meg pulled herself up off the floor, rolling her neck to stretch out the kinks, and running her tongue over her lips, tasting the man who'd last been there. And, yes, peanut butter. The asshole had been right.
She'd thought that short encounter would be a final one, a finishing note. A tiny part of her had even hoped that the kiss would shock some sort of recognition out of him. That he'd look at her and know her name, her real name, right before his death.
Nothing. Not even a hint in his eyes.
It was enough to make her livid.
She'd hated him, the moment he'd left Hell behind, and she wasn't alone-what made that soul worthy of being rescued by an angel? What made Dean Winchester so much better than the woman she had been, back when she was just another fresh body on the rack? It wasn't fair, and she'd had centuries in the pit to stew over the idea, taking it out on whatever soul looked the most like the oldest of the brothers Winchester. But then, her own angel-The angel of angels, he'd paved her way out of Hell. Dean had been saved for someone else's purpose, and so had she. The only difference was, she was embracing hers and he…well, he'd be dead before he ever had a chance to do the same.
"Aren't you useful," she snapped, giving the other body in the room a sweeping glance of disinterest.
She stepped out, losing herself in a corridor. Chances were the hunters were a bit too preoccupied with carrying off their surrogate daddy before he had a chance to bleed out to come out and take care of the bodies, but she could never be sure when one of their rare moments of intelligence might arrive to rain on her parade.
Granted, she somehow doubted they'd think she'd come back for the meatsuit. Despite Dean's time down under and Sam's intimate knowledge of demons-"Dumbass," Meg muttered, rolling her eyes-they still knew so very little about possession. Though, these days, most demons didn't seem to know much about possession-it was pathetic, really, what was being allowed to escape Hell. But she supposed not every little Hell spawn could claim a father figure like Azazel, who'd been just full of useful tidbits.
As if to reassure herself, she reached down, patting the charms that had fallen beneath her neckline. The sigils, all of them, were still where they needed to be, which was fortunate-it was a pain in the ass reforming them every time she lost a body.
This one, though, would stick. This girl…this girl had fit her like a glove. Usually demons didn't luck up on humans so broken that they'd beg to be taken over, beg to be completely numb, but occasionally it happened, and when it did, it gave the demon complete power over the soul inside. It was like having a portable battery pack, and the longer they stuck around, the more juice they could suck out at one time. Meg had even taken the time to properly thank her new host, mercilessly slaughtering the men who'd turned her into a sniveling sack of bones. And people said she wasn't charitable.
The original Meg Masters…well, Meg had just gotten that little package working at optimal speed when she'd been pulled from it via Winchester interference.
This time around, she'd strengthened her sigil carvings, making sure they'd serve all their purposes, shielding her from prying eyes, hiding her from summonings...Before Rocky and Bullwinkle had scrambled off to the hospital, they'd paused, looking for a pulse, and they'd determined the body dead-maybe she was. Meg never claimed to be gentle with her clothes. But, the necklace, still in place, made sure the shattered soul stayed inside, keeping the meatsuit warm for her return.
When she turned the corner, she realized she was back where she'd began, at the open door of the room she'd just fled, moments earlier. Meg paused, staring into it, until her eyes landed on the puddle of blood that had collected under the other demon. A ripple ran through the red.
"Child."
Meg knew her body was still running on all cylinders because she could feel its heart speed up with her excitement. The shock of that voice, of finally hearing it again, ran through her. The last time he'd spoken to her, she'd still been in Hell, biding her time, waiting for His release. Even as others left, even as Alastair left, she'd stayed, waiting for the cage to open, waiting to follow her Lord.
"Father," she answered. "Father, I had them-"
"Child."
She closed her mouth, swallowing hard. "Yes, Father."
"Tonight I will walk among you on Earth. Gather your brothers and sisters. I have plans for the faithful."
She smiled at the order, as if she'd been waiting years to hear it. And she had. "Yes, Father."
"…I had always been a servant. A good servant. A believer. In life, I'd tried to serve your father-I loved your God, Clarence. I really did. And I thought, as such a good servant, I could face devils and be saved from their fire, that your father would protect me. I thought my power laid with God.
"It broke me in half when Azazel finally approached me, told me the truth right before my end-those miracles of mine were not of God at all, but of him. Of his blood, in me. It was enough to rattle a girl's faith, being told she was an abomination.
"Lucifer, though…Lucifer wasn't like your father at all. He came to me. He promised me what I'd always wanted. He promised me a path to Heaven, and I believed him, because he'd never forsaken me before, never left me to burn on a stake…
"Left me to burn in Hell, sure, but that was the past. I had complete faith in him once I saw his beauty, once he spoke to me.
"And it's really your fault that changed. It was only a few months later, in Carthage, Missouri-oh, is that a sore subject for you? Because you lost a few of your little crusaders there? Bet I get the blame for that, right? I told those idiots to turn themselves over-surprise, surprise, they didn't heed my advice and other people ended up paying for it. It really doesn't pay to be friends with Winchesters, does it? But, that's not the real reason you just twitched, is it? Carthage is where you learned how truly screwed you were. Join the party."
The town around them was dead, and Meg couldn't stop smiling.
It wasn't that she was fully enjoying the mayhem. No, even she wasn't a fan of destroying all in her path-the world was just more fun with the living around-but there was a sense of serenity to the absence of life.
These souls, all these souls lost-it wouldn't matter soon. When her father won, when he fulfilled his promise of Heaven, all would be equal. Demons, humans. Hell would be no more. Dead or living would simply be an insignificant detail.
They were all going to the same place in the end. And wasn't that just a beautiful thing?
"You seem pleased."
His deep voice stirred her from her thoughts, and she turned to stare past the ring of fire, where the angel stood at center. He looked so much like a man-Christ, he looked like a damn accountant-not at all like the massive creature who'd left her dazed when had he torn Dean Winchester out of Hell. At the time, she'd been entranced by him, but now…Well, no angel compared to Lucifer.
"We're gonna win. Can you feel it?" Meg leaned back against the brick wall behind her. "You cloud-hopping pansies lost the whole damn universe. Lucifer's going to take over Heaven." Her grin widened into something genuine, something she hadn't worn in so long. "We're going to Heaven, Clarence."
The angel shot her a glance, a slight amusement in his eyes that she hadn't expected. He was mocking her with that gaze. "Strange, because I heard a different theory from a demon named Crowley."
As soon as the other demon's name left his lips, her mood soured completely. She straightened, stepping closer. Meg stared back at Castiel, eyes alight with anger, but she held it down-she'd known, of course, there were plenty of demons without masters, without a will to follow their father. Betrayers of the very one who'd given them their power. And, yes, that son of a bitch's name was on her list. Had been even before Lucifer called her into service, though for other reasons.
"You don't know Crowley," she said, her voice quieter.
Castiel's expression didn't shift in the least. His eyes smiled, as if he were enjoying her reaction, and he stepped forward, closer to the edge of the ring. "He believes Lucifer is just using demons to achieve an end, and that, once he does, he'll destroy you all."
She didn't need to hear it.
"You're wrong," she bit, but she couldn't quite summon the joy she'd felt earlier. Lucifer had left her here, with this angel, to guard him. Had left her while he went to attend to the demons she'd summoned for him…so many, so many to possess the men of this small town and help bring about the Horseman. Because he'd had a use for them. He'd 'had use' for others, too, since she'd been out of Hell, and still she'd helped gather them.
She hadn't asked for more of an explanation when they didn't return. Obeying orders was what she did. If you were committed to your lord, you obeyed him.
But, something had been left behind in her, a nagging particle of doubt, when he'd told her she had to stay here.
"Lucifer is the father of our race," she continued, with conviction. "Our creator. Your father may be a deadbeat. Mine-mine walks the earth."
She wasn't even sure what had happened. Something slammed into her back, pushing her forward, through the circle. Meg didn't have time to pull back before the angel's arms wrapped around, holding her tight against his chest, and then he pressed his hand to her head.
She sucked in a breath, waiting for it.
Meg had been around so long, she'd just assumed that, if her end were to come, she'd have a moment to anticipate it, and that she'd never stop fighting to keep it from happening. But now that it had arrived, she froze, steeling herself for the flames she knew would engulf her essence.
They didn't come.
She swallowed, eyes still fixed on the angel holding her close, so she saw the hint of frustration in his expression and understood it immediately. He hadn't spared her-he'd had no choice in the matter.
"You can't gank demons, can you?" She huffed out a breathy laugh. Then she'd been right-he didn't just look the part, he really was more man than angel. Sad, really. Tilting her head up, she observed him with new interest."You're cut off from the home office, and you ain't got the juice." She gave him a slight, teasing smile. "So what can you do, you impotent sap?"
He leaned down, his face inches from hers, and she could feel the heat pooling in her body at the movement, at the dangerous expression in his eyes. The threat was enough to turn her on.
"I can do this," he said.
She was burning at her very core before she ever realized she'd been dumped onto the ring of fire. Thrown out to burn like so much trash. A stifled scream filled the room-it took her another moment to realize it was her own, forced out when the angel had stepped over her to get of the circle, pressing her back down into the flames. Meg raised her head, blinded by the pain, but she knew the angel, her charge, was already gone.
Her elbows dug into the floor, and she lifted herself high enough to roll off. None of the flames followed her. She was not engulfed. Her human body, her clothes were not even scorched by the heat, but she trembled, still feeling its licking touch eating away at her demonic essence.
She wasn't sure how long she lay, writhing on the floor, but she'd awoke to a new day, alone, and the fire was gone. Meg knew she should feign confusion, should be puzzled by her state, but she already knew the answer to the question any other person might have asked.
Castiel hadn't returned to finish her off, and if Lucifer had come back, he had decided she wasn't worth the trouble of collecting.
Meg pulled herself up off the floor, still quaking as she ran a hand under her shirt, over the smooth skin of her body. She could feel the burns beneath the pale flesh, even if they remained unseen. The holy fire had weakened her, leaving her barely strong enough to walk on two feet, but she knew power would return with time.
Just as she knew her father would not.
"...A hell of a love tap you gave me, Castiel. I should hate you for that. For burning me. But, hey, that's war, right?
"You weren't lying that day. I never thought you were, but I did think you were wrong. I suppose that's one point I have to give to your deadbeat dad-at least he never lied to my face.
"I really was a pathetic puddle of smoke after that, and not in an emotional woe-is-me sense. That holy fire knocked it right out of me. Even now, I can still feel it. The wounds haven't fully healed, but they're getting there. I'll be powerful again. But, maybe not as strong as I once was-you're always stronger when you have a cause to fight for. I knew that then, too.
"So, I told myself my father couldn't use something so weak at his side, but that I could still be his loyal servant. I made it my mission to hunt Crowley down, and all the pathetic traitors like him. Even with Lucifer back in the cage, that duty stayed with me.
"Of course, you can see how dedicated to that smarmy bastard's destruction I was if I was willing to work with you and the Hardy boys.
"You just twitched again. Getting all sensitive in your comatose state, aren't ya, Clarence? Or were you just remembering our kiss.
"You burned me once, back in Carthage, and you knew it. You burned me again the day you kissed me in Crowley's prison-holy beings, like yourself, they can burn the uncleanness right off a dirty girl like me…But it's a good kind of pain. The kind I like.
"I think I've developed a bit of an angel kink since then.
"What do you say, wings? Why don't you open those baby blues and set me on fire again?"
Link to Part 3
