DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but I wish I owned a Dean Winchester.
SUMMARY: How Poignant; the parting of two dear brothers. Two murders…two couples…two pieces of evidence pointing the finger of fate at one person…Desmond Tiny. Is it just a coincidence that Sam Winchester keeps having dreams about a man in a purple-suit or does it all have a hidden meaning…a hidden destiny? Is Desmond working on his own this time or is he in league with someone much more powerful…someone like Lucifer perhaps and can the brothers survive the home-truths which they are inevitably going to learn about each other?
A/N: Written for MrsOldGregg, sorry about any spelling mistakes but I was in a hurry to post this for her as I have been behind and promised it to her a while back.
Doesn't follow after a specific episode but set around series 2 after John Winchester's death.
You don't really need to have watched or read Cirque du Freak or the Saga of Darren Shan to understand it as it only uses the character of Desmond Tiny.
TITLE: The Devil's Master.
Chapter 1
"Idaho." Dean looked up through bleary eyes as Sam sat down on the bed opposite him and threw the newspaper at him.
"Excuse me?" Raising an eyebrow, he sat up and rubbed the spot on his head which had just been assaulted by the paper which now lay on the floor in front of the small bedside table.
"You asked where our next hunt was gonna be…I think I found it." Sam smiled, hiding how tired he really felt. He hadn't been sleeping lately; plagued by nightmares so vivid that even he questioned whether it was all a dream or whether the purple-suited man was actually real.
Picking up the paper, Dean quickly scanned the headline and furrowed his brows in confusion. "Wonder-dog Saves Family from Flash Flood?" Had Sam really woken him up for this?
Sam tiredly nodded until he realised what Dean had said. "What?" Dean held up the paper for him to see and Sam shook his head wildly, hair swaying from side to side and falling into his eyes. "No, not that…bottom left corner." Rolling his eyes, he waited for Dean to read the article.
Skimming over the words, he sighed. "You think this is something worth looking into?" He slowly nodded. "I guess there is something a little odd about it."
"A little odd?" Exasperation filled, Sam swore that Dean purposely tried to push his buttons just to piss him off. "Dude, two couples found in the same area with their hearts missing. I think it's a bit more than 'a little odd'." Mimicking Dean's voice for the last part, he chuckled as Dean glared at him. "Look, they were found with their hearts missing but no incision marks…not a scratch on them aside from…well you know?" Dean nodded and Sam sighed. "I just think that it's worth a look and besides…we have nothing else on at the minute." Dean opened his mouth to speak but Sam cut him off. "If we get something that looks more important then I promise we can drop this." Secretly Sam knew that if anything did crop up, Dean wouldn't just abandon the case so his promise was absolutely safe.
Yawning slightly, Dean stood up and dropped the paper back onto the bed. "Okay…okay we'll check it out." Stretching his arms above his head, he looked back at Sam. "I'm gonna grab a quick shower then we can grab breakfast before we go." Sam nodded, he had only been to the store next to the motel they were staying in and hadn't found anything that they could have for breakfast so the idea of having something cooked was nice.
Whilst Dean was in the shower, Sam having had one that morning before he woke his brother up, the younger of the two packed their bags. He left out a clean pair of underwear, a pair of clean-ish jeans, a black t-shirt and a button down shirt for Dean but packed everything else. They didn't have much to begin with but Sam figured that the sooner they were packed, the sooner they could get breakfast and more importantly set off for the journey ahead of them. They were currently in Denver, Colorado and Sam knew that it would take them at least thirteen hours to get to Boise, Idaho. Even if Dean drove them all the way there, which would be virtually impossible not to mention dangerous, it would still take them about ten hours if Dean stuck to main roads instead of the dusty back roads they seemed to travel on all the damn time. Usually the brothers took it in turns driving because although Dean loved his 67 Chevy Impala, after several hours of driving he got either bored or distracted and Sam knew that the long drive would eventually take its toll on his brother.
Sam was still pondering this thought ten minutes later when Dean stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and walked back into the main room. Quickly heading over to his bed he gathered his clothes and flashed a quick smile at Sam, who didn't seem to notice he was even there, before retreating to the bathroom. Once he was dressed he sauntered back into the room, still towel-drying his hair which stuck out in messy, clumpy spikes. "You ready to go and get breakfast Sam?" Throwing the towel back into the bathroom and smirking as it landed on the towel hook, he leant against the bathroom doorframe and raised an eyebrow as his younger brother didn't reply. "Sammy?"
Snapping back to reality, Sam turned to find Dean's concerned, emerald eyes staring at him. "Huh?"
"I said you ready to go get breakfast?" Sam slowly nodded. "You okay, you've been actin' really weird lately." It was true, Sam hadn't been himself the past few weeks but both he and Dean had been blaming it on Sam's lack of sleep.
"Yeah, I'm fine…just tired." Plastering a smile on his face, he refused to acknowledge the strange dreams that he still hadn't told Dean about.
"Hmm." It was clear that Dean didn't believe him but he let it go anyway. "Okay then little bro…let's eat." Smiling back, he picked up his bag and grabbed his car keys from the bedside table. "I think I saw a diner a few blocks over." Sam nodded and stood up, picking up his own bag and following Dean out to the Impala. Once their stuff had been put in the trunk and Sam had returned the room key, Dean climbed in behind the wheel and, after putting in an AC/DC cassette, pulled out of the parking lot.
Dean's ingenious plan to eat at the nearest diner had failed when they pulled into the deserted parking lot to see a sign in the window declaring, 'Closed by order of the Health Department.' Sam groaned before glaring at Dean. "Great plan genius."
Sighing, Dean looked sadly at the notice as his stomach complained. "Well I didn't know the place had closed down." Sighing once again, he shook his head. "Okay, plan B it is then."
"We have a plan B?" This was news to Sam.
"We do…nearest gas station." Sam once again moaned and Dean shook his head in amusement. "Hey, we'll find somewhere soon…I'm hungry too." Patting his stomach, he quietly said, "Don't you worry…I'll feed you soon." Sam simply rolled his eyes and sat back in the seat as Dean turned the car around and set off again.
They had been driving for twenty minutes when Sam smiled slightly. "Hey Dean, look up ahead." Dean followed his gaze and also smiled as he saw a sign advertising a roadside diner. They followed the signs and were soon parked up in yet another parking lot. "Bet this place doesn't have e-coli problems." Sam smirked and Dean leant over to his arm.
"Shut up and get a move on..." Climbing out of the car, he waited for Sam to get out then locked the door and headed for the building. "You coming…bitch?" Looking back over his shoulder, he offered Sam another cocky grin.
"Sure thing…jerk." Laughing quietly to himself, he followed Dean into the diner and sat down in a booth near a window.
Once they had both ordered, Dean the 'pig in a poke' special and Sam the pancakes, Sam opened his laptop and clicked on the 'Internet' icon. "Jeez geek-boy, you can't take a half hour from work?" His voice was teasing and Sam chuckled.
"Some of us actually do our research before we get there you know." Looking over his laptop lid at his older brother, he smiled mock-accusingly.
"Yeah well, why would I bother when I have you for that?" Sam simply rolled his eyes as Dean looked out of the window and waited for his breakfast.
"It says here that the couples were engaged." Scanning the article he had pulled up on screen, he looked for anything else that might stand out.
"So what, it's targeting those who are loved up?" Dean raised an eyebrow and looked over at Sam but allowed his gaze to roam as a waitress walked by, sashaying her hips.
"Well that's the way it's looking but I mean…" He stopped talking as he realised that Dean was more interested in the busty brunette who had just walked past them. "Dean?" Dean didn't answer and Sam chuckled. "Dean?" Again he got no reaction so Sam snapped his fingers in front of Dean's face. "You'd better put your tongue back in Casanova; you're drooling all over the place."
Snapping back to reality, Dean glared and shook his head but still insisted on swiping a finger across his lower lip to check that there was no drool there. "Sorry, were you sayin' somethin'?" Raising an eyebrow, he looked at Sam and waited.
"Yeah, I was sayin' that these are the first ones reported in the area." Dean nodded and Sam sighed. "Maybe we should check dad's journal and see if he ever came across anything like this." Dean's face paled slightly, he hadn't looked inside John's journal since his death a few months earlier. Every time Sam would ask if there was anything written down, Dean would either throw the journal at him and tell him to do his won research or lie and say 'no'.
"Doubt he will have done." Shaking his head, Dean prayed to God that Sam would let the subject drop.
"Yeah but it can't hurt to check." Sam sighed as a million emotions flickered over Dean's face. "Okay, I'll check then." Dean slowly nodded and Sam sighed. "Sooner or later you are gonna have to get over this though Dean…you can't keep it bottled up forever." Before Dean could object, Sam turned his attention back to his laptop but Dean heard the whispered, "Save it Dean, I'm sick of hearing 'I'm fines'."
The rest of breakfast passed in relative silence and when they had finished, Dean paid the cheque and followed Sam out to the car. Climbing in behind the wheel, Dean sighed and pulled out of the parking lot; fully knowing that Sam was royally pissed off with him. "Where to geek-boy?" Raising an eyebrow, he looked over at Sam.
The only answer he got was, "Boise, Idaho." Nodding, Dean pulled out onto the highway as Sam muttered, "Wake me up when you want me to drive." Allowing his eyes to slip closed; he battled his way into fitful sleep.
As he drove, Dean allowed himself to steal quick glances at his little brother; he knew that he wasn't sleeping properly but Sam wouldn't talk about whatever it was that was keeping him awake. Sighing quietly to himself, he looked out at the highway ahead of them. One way or another he would get Sam to talk. An hour passed as Dean turned onto one of the back roads that he was so fond of travelling on. He drove along, quietly humming to the Metallica tape which he had turned down so that Sam could sleep peacefully. Looking over at Sam, Dean smiled; the boy was finally sleeping. His happiness was short lived however; turning back to the road, he yelled and swerved to avoid hitting a man walking in the middle of the road. The car span into the bushes at the side of the road, narrowly avoiding a tree and Sam jerked awake.
"Dean, wha…?" Trailing off, he tried to get his breath back as his eyes darted from side to side.
"I…there was something in the road." Looking back at the deserted road, Dean blinked a couple of times. "I swear…there was someone there Sammy." His whisper shook Sam to the core.
"Was he wearing purple?" Dean raised an eyebrow and slowly nodded as Sam sighed.
"H…how'd you know that?" Dean knew that Sam had been asleep when he had swerved off the road so how had he known what the man was wearing.
"I saw him." Dean wordlessly mouthed the word 'what' and Sam sighed for the millionth time that day. "I saw him…in my dreams."
A/N: