The Orb of Seven Stars
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Supernatural. I am just borrowing them. I promise I will put them back.
Chapter 1
Beneath the harbor in New York…
Lady Liberty's torch lit up the water at night. Light danced across the waves, but below them lay something ominous. It had been about a month since Air Force one had crashed below the waves, and while most of the plane had been rescued, some pieces had not been taken out of the water because they had been shattered into tiny bits. Among those tiny bits were frozen shards, which had once been Leviathans.
The pieces reformed beneath the waves, but the thing in the water did not look human. As it emerged, it looked more like a dragon than anything else. It was a dragon without wings, and certainly not breathing fire. The Leviathan who had been Dick Roman's first thought was…Sam must die.
Focused now on revenge, the dragon-like thing leapt out of the water. Its human form had been destroyed. All it wanted now was the death of the being called Sam Winchester.
Meanwhile, in Oregon…
"Bite me," Dean said to the woman in front of him, the thing called the Mother of All, also known as Eve.
Dean was tired of playing games. Sam lay on the floor unconscious. Blood was gushing out of his nose. Sam's powers had been useless on her. Dean had one gambit left, and he didn't think she had figured it out. He hoped she hadn't figured it out.
Eve bit into his flesh, but stepped back quickly as she realized that something was wrong. "What the…"
Dean smirked. "I had some phoenix on the rocks. Have a nice death, bitch."
Eve gasped for breath, and then fell over, burning up from the inside.
Dean ran to Sam's unconscious form and grabbed his shoulders. "Sam? C'mon, wake up. We gotta get out of here. The Jefferson Starships are going to be pissed."
Sam coughed. "What happened to Eve?
"She's dead. She tried to eat me and my plan worked. Come on."
Sam took a Kleenex and wiped the blood off his face. "Okay."
There was a pounding on the door and a very loud moaning sound. Dean looked around. "There's no way out."
"There will be," Sam replied.
Concentrating, he created a ball of hellfire and threw it at the wall. As the glowing ball of fire hurled towards the wall, it grew bigger. There was a sizzling sound as it burned a hole that was big enough for them to run through. Sam put out the fire before it took down the building.
"Come on," he said.
They ran.
The pounding on the door became more incessant. Finally the beleaguered door gave way, but the Winchesters were outside in the parking lot now. Dean opened the Impala's door and jumped in. The Impala's tires squealed as he drove off. In their rear view mirror, they could see a bright flash of light explode outward from the diner in an expanding ring. Then a golden beam shot down from the clouds, and the diner looked completely normal.
"Interesting," Sam said. "Looks like someone up there is having some fun."
"I wouldn't call it fun," Castiel said from the back seat.
Dean jumped. "That was you?"
"Someone had to kill those…Jefferson Starships."
"Should we tell him?" Dean asked.
"Tell me what?" the angel asked.
"We found God," Sam replied. "You're gonna be pissed when you find out who His vessel is."
Castiel looked surprised. "Who is it?"
"Chuck," Dean answered.
Castiel looked shocked. "It can't be him. His aura was normal. Well, normal for someone who had an archangel tied to him."
"It was Chuck. And we got a few answers."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I've been drafted," Sam replied. "Chuck wants me to be a mediator. He needs someone to work with the angels, the demons, and the humans. The problem is, He can't use a human because most angels see us as monkeys that talk, and the demons just see humans as potential demons. So, I got drafted because I have demon blood in me already. He's just adding angel into the mix."
Castiel nodded. "Do you know if He sped up the process after meeting you?"
"If He did, He didn't tell us. So I guess we'll have to wait and see. "
"Why are you here, Cas?" Dean asked.
"I came to tell you something. The Leviathan known as Dick Roman is not dead."
"I froze him and smashed him into little tiny pieces," Sam said. "How can he not be dead?"
The angel shrugged. "It might take a weapon from Heaven's armory to kill him permanently. You should talk to Balthazar."
"Great," Dean sighed. "Thanks, Cas."
"No problem. And Sam, you should know that you have a Grace. It's small, but growing."
"Okay. Thanks," he said.
The angel nodded and vanished with the sound of wings fluttering, as always.
"What can kill a Leviathan?" Dean mused. "I mean, if breaking them into tiny bits doesn't kill them permanently…"
"There has to be something in Heaven that could," Sam replied.
"Yeah, but what?" Dean asked.
Sam shrugged. He leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes. Dean put an old cassette tape of the Eagles in. Hotel California began to play.
It was a long drive to Ohio.
Sam put his fake moustache and nerd glasses on as they pulled into the hotel's parking lot. It was pouring down rain.
"Come on," Dean said. "By the way, I'm Sven. You're Ollie."
Sam nodded.
It was an extremely long wait for service. There was a skinny teenage boy with red hair and freckles. He couldn't be any older than sixteen. He wore a black t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.
"Hi, welcome to Motel Eight, how can I help you?" the red-haired kid asked in a squeaky voice.
"We're Sven and Ollie Larsen," Dean lied smoothly. "I'm Sven, this is my brother Ollie. Do you still have a room?"
"Uh, we have one room left. Unfortunately, the shower doesn't work. I'm supposed to tell you that."
"Fine with us," Dean said.
"This way please," said the red-haired kid.
Sam and Dean followed him. The floor creaked as they made their way upstairs and down a couple of hallways. Finally, the red-haired kid unlocked a room. It was the last one on the left. "Here you go," he said.
"Thanks," Dean said.
The red-haired kid left. Sam promptly sat on one of the beds. The décor was straight out of the 1970's: lime green shag carpet, and orange and green quilts on the bedspreads. The lamp on the table between the beds was a replica of the woman's leg with a high heel lamp from the "A Christmas Story" movie.
"Did we step into a time warp?" Sam wondered aloud.
"No, the owner is just incredibly cheap," Dean replied.
"Right," Sam said. "I think I'm going to get some food."
"Great idea," Dean replied. "I'm going with you."
The Silver Bullet Cafe was next door to the hotel. It was decorated in a Jetsons-like theme with silver tables and chairs. 1960's sci-fi and horror posters were plastered all over the walls.
"Hi," Dean said to the waitress, who was blonde and wore a poodle skirt. "Can I just get a burger and fries?"
"Sure. What would you like, sir?" she asked Sam.
"Can I have a Caesar salad?"
"Yes. We also have a two-for-one milkshake or malt deal."
"Great, make it chocolate malts," Sam answered.
"Okay." The waitress noted it down on her pad and left.
Dean raised an eyebrow. "You're drinking something as unhealthy as a chocolate malt? Who are you and what have you done with Sam?"
"I have five years left on planet Earth. I might as well enjoy them."
"Chuck didn't say that, exactly."
"No, but if I don't end up looking remotely human, what's the point of coming back?"
Dean shrugged. "We don't know that for certain."
"Yeah, well," Sam replied. "If you had five years left as a semi-human being, what would you do?"
"I would probably get really drunk and date a lot of women."
Sam laughed. "Why am I not surprised? You know there's more to life than sex."
"What are you going to do?"
Sam was about to answer, but he got a sharp pain in his head instead. "Uh oh," he groaned. "I have a migraine coming on."
Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of aspirin.
"Not that kind of migraine," Sam replied, wincing. "The other kind."
"Oh. Crap," Dean said, knowing that this was a bad thing.
White-hot pain spread from Sam's head to the rest of his body in a few moments. He doubled over. The waitress was just coming in from the kitchen with chocolate malts on a tray.
"Is he okay? Do you need to call someone?" she asked.
"Migraine," Sam said between clenched teeth.
"He'll live," Dean answered. As he glanced over at Sam, the lights flickered on and off. "Thanks for the malts. Listen, you might want to get out of here."
The waitress's eyes widened as tiny sparks flickered all over Sam's body. "What's happening to him?"
"He has a…medical condition."
The waitress looked at Dean skeptically. "Uh huh."
By now, blood was gushing out of Sam's nose. His fake glasses had cracked.
"If you're not going to call 911, I will," said the waitress, taking her cell phone out of her pocket.
"No, wait," Dean said. "The hospital won't know what to do with him."
"Don't…call," Sam mumbled. He was closing his eyes tightly. The lights slowly stopped flickering and returned to normal. "I got this."
"Are you sure?" the waitress asked.
"Yeah." As he sat up, Sam peered through his cracked glasses and took them off. His fake moustache had fallen off and was lying on the floor.
The waitress looked stunned. "I thought you looked familiar. You're the guy who can fly."
"No, no. That wasn't me." Sam wiped his bloody nose with the napkin on the table.
"If it wasn't you, then why were you wearing glasses and a fake moustache?"
Sam realized he was no longer wearing the fake moustache. He looked around, reached down for it and looked back up, sheepishly.
"Dinner's on me," the waitress said.
Sam looked surprised. "Really? You're not afraid of us? I mean, we were framed for mass murder."
"This may come as a surprise, but not everyone buys the official government line on you two. The dinner is free tonight. It's the least I can do."
As the waitress walked back into the kitchen, Sam's cell phone rang. He picked it up. It was Balthazar.
"Sam, where are you?"
"How did you get this number?"
"Castiel gave it to me. Where are you?" the angel asked.
"We're in this café in Ohio," he replied. "It's called the Silver Bullet."
There was a flash of light as Balthazar appeared.
"Sam, how are you doing?" the angel asked.
"Why do you care?" he answered.
"We have a few bets going up there," Balthazar admitted. He squinted in the darkness. "Is that…holy crap, you really do have a Grace!"
"Yeah," Sam said.
"Have you…I mean…your powers?"
"I don't think I have any angel abilities yet, if that's what you're asking."
"Bummer," Balthazar replied.
"How do we kill the Leviathans permanently?" Dean inquired. "Cas said you would know."
"Ah. Yes, well…there's a catch," the angel said.
"We don't do catches," Dean answered.
"Too bad, because I was going to disclose the one and only method of how to permanently kill the Leviathan formerly known as Dick Roman. He's out for revenge, you know. Oh yeah, Sam, he totally wants you dead."
"What is it?" Dean asked, annoyed.
"You two have to do a job for me," the angel replied.
"What sort of job?"
"Nothing major. I just need you to recover the Ark of the Covenant."
"The Ark of the Covenant? Are you serious?" Dean asked.
"I'm afraid so," the angel replied. "See, I happen to know that you two are the only ones who will be able to retrieve it. The location where it's at will require your blood specifically. Only members of the lineage of Cain and Abel will be able to retrieve it. We had to protect it from potential looters."
"Great," Dean replied.
"Also," Balthazar said, "Sam's abilities will come in handy. See, it's guarded by a hydra. The last hydra, in fact."
"A hydra?" Sam asked.
"Is there an echo in here? Yes."
"We'll do it," Dean said. "Just tell us how to kill the Leviathans."
"I'll do better," Balthazar replied. He concentrated. A few moments later, there was a glowing orb that appeared to be made of light. There were stars on it. Seven, in fact. They sparkled with golden light.
"What is that?" Sam asked.
"This? It's only the Orb of Seven Stars," said the angel.
"The what?" Dean asked.
"It's from the Book of Revelations," Sam replied. "Well, it's not exactly described as an orb per se, but…"
The angel nodded. "This is it," he said. "This contains the raw power of seven angels. There are only seven things in existence which can survive its use, none of which happens to be Leviathans."
"Okay, I'm guessing at least six of those things are God, Lucifer, and the four archangels," Sam said.
"That's a good guess," Balthazar replied. "I am not permitted to tell you what the seventh thing is."
"Fair enough," Sam responded. "So, deal?"
"First, you must retrieve the Ark of the Covenant. Then I will give you the Orb," the angel answered.
"Where is the Ark?" Dean asked.
"There is a reason it has been hidden for all of these centuries. However, Heaven has known its true location. Why we haven't gotten it yet, well…let's just say our past volunteers haven't exactly been up to snuff. But I'm not worried about you two."
Sam and Dean exchanged glances. "What about the hydra?" Sam asked.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to deal with it. You do still have the Colt, right?" the angel asked.
Dean nodded.
"Good. You'll be fine. Ready to go?"
The elder Winchester brother was getting very irritated by now. "You haven't answered my question."
"Oh, right. Well, uh, I hope you don't mind getting a bit wet. See, the Ark is in Atlantis. But don't worry. I'll give you the ability to breathe underwater, temporarily."
"Atlantis?" Sam and Dean repeated in disbelief.
"Yeah. What, you thought it didn't exist?"
"No, no…" Sam said. "It's just…well, how exactly did the Ark end up there?"
"Long story," Balthazar replied. "Suffice to say, my brother Gabriel had it for a while, but he lost it in a game of strip poker with one of the Greek deities, and well…it was hidden in Atlantis. This particular Greek god just happens to have a pet hydra named Fluffy. I should warn you, Fluffy isn't exactly housebroken."
"The Greek deity wouldn't be Poseidon, would it?" Sam asked. "Because I don't think pissing him off would be a good thing."
By the look on the angel's face, he surmised that it was, in fact, Poseidon. "He won't even miss it, trust me," the angel replied. "He has thousands of baubles. If Poseidon wants something shiny, he can just order an oyster to produce a pearl."
"Yeah, sure," Sam answered skeptically.
"Just take us there, and we'll do your dirty work for you," Dean said.
The waitress was returning from the kitchen with the food, and gasped at the sight of the angel holding the orb.
"Don't mind me," she said as Balthazar turned to look.
"Hey, is that a burger? I haven't a burger in years," said the angel.
The waitress squinted at him. "What is that?"
"This? Nothing." The orb vanished into thin air. "Have fun, guys," Balthazar said.
There was another flash of light, and Dean and Sam vanished.
