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The Fall
The old wooden door of the church gave way with a soggy crunch and Dean skidded to a stop. Crowley was bent forward as much as his chains would allow and Sam was slumped against the altar, unmoving. The older Winchester was at his brother's side in an instant, his brain stuttering on the utter stillness of the taller man's chest.
"Sammy?" Dean felt the panic start to clench his heart. "Sam!"
Seconds passed and each moment Sam didn't open his eyes drove home the reality that Naomi hadn't lied. Dean was too late to stop his brother from completing the trials. All of the demons had been locked back in Hell and the gates sealed permanently. But that still left Crowley.
Leaving Sam where he lay, Dean whirled on the demon, knuckles white with fury. "Well, Crowley, Sam's dead. Guess this means you're human."
The former King of Hell struggled to raise his head to look at the hunter. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry?" The first blow snapped Crowley's head to the side but he turned back to the hunter. "You're not sorry yet!"
Dean hit the bound man repeatedly, letting all of the anger and despair at losing his brother pour into the barrage. Crowley could do nothing but take the beating until blood bubbled between his teeth and the hunter stepped back. The former Demon didn't try to speak again as Dean sagged back to the floor next to his brother.
The older Winchester's world seemed to shatter even further, leaving nothing but the hollow need to get Sam back. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Sam was supposed to survive the trials. They were supposed to lock away all of the Demons and retire, leave the other monsters to younger hunters. Sam was supposed to get married and have a bunch of kids, but that life was gone.
Yet the stubborn hunter couldn't accept that. There was always a way, even if that meant climbing his way into Heaven to get his brother back.
Crowley looked up in surprise when he felt the iron collar loosen and fall away. Dean glowered at him, daring him to speak or fight back. "Get up. We're going for a ride."
The former Demon King wavered on his feet, and climbed into the trunk of the Impala before Dean went back for Sam's body. He carefully lifted the larger man and silently cursed anything that would listen, even Castiel. When he stepped into the open air, a streak of light in the clouds caught his eye. For a moment the hunter dismissed it as a meteor or plane, but when dozens more illuminated the overcast sky, Dean recognized it for what it was.
Angels. The Angels were falling.
Dean sagged against the side of his car, still cradling Sam's limp weight and watched the celestial beings crash to earth. Vaguely, he wondered where Cas would land, or if he would be alone in Heaven. It was disheartening to see such powerful creatures ripped from their home, but he couldn't bring himself to care. All Dean could focus on was getting his brother back.
Everything felt slightly unreal as Dean slid Sam's body into the cold storage and closed the door. It wouldn't matter how many times it happened, he would never be able to bury his little brother. Only this time there was no crossroads Demon to make a deal with and no Angels to make it all better. And despite how desperate he was, Dean wasn't quite prepared to try to bind Death again.
Letting the heavy metal door slam open, Dean hid a self satisfied smirk at the dark bruises that colored Crowley's face. "You're going to help me get Sam back."
"I can't."
"I know you can't do it, but you've got to know something."
"Only Angels can get into Heaven. Just call your pal, Cas." The usual sarcasm was absent from the former Demon's face.
"No can do. The Angels are gone."
"What do you mean gone?"
"I mean they all fell. So you're going to come up with another way." Dean crossed his arms and stared at his prisoner.
"I would help you, but I don't know how."
"Well you think about it when you start getting hungry."
The hunter left Crowley chained to a chair in the hidden dungeon and closed the door. Unfortunately, the Limey prick was right. Only Angels could enter heaven and if he killed himself, he would be headed straight downstairs. Dean sunk into a chair to think, finally allowing himself to feel his exhaustion and a pulsing ache centered behind his left eye. But despite the bone deep weariness, Dean Winchester began pulling books closer, searching for some hint as to how to enter Heaven and retrieve a soul.
Hours later, Dean came to the conclusion that there really was no way to enter the celestial plane. Only the Archangels had the power to open the Gates of Heaven other than God, but the four powerful creatures had been destroyed. Gabriel by Lucifer, Raphael by the soul-drunk Castiel, and Michael was banished to the cage with Lucifer.
Just thinking of the powerful Archangels made the hunter remember his own guardian and friend. Castiel still had not answered his prayers but Dean could not quite bring himself to give up on him. It was Cas after all. He had faith in Dean when even Sam couldn't and the hunter hoped he was safe.