"So get this," Sam said as his brother walked into the bunker, his hands full of groceries. "There's this town about twenty minutes from here- Eudora- that no one has heard from in a little over 14 weeks. Plus, anyone who steps into the border falls asleep. A policeman tried going in, and his fellow cops had to pull his snoring ass out."
Dean groaned as he put the groceries down with a loud thud. "Come on man, can't the monsters and demons of the world take a break for once? Is it too much to ask?"
The other Winchester was inclined to agree. He was pretty emotionally wiped out after the whole "good werewolf" case. But it was there job to stop supernatural occurrences, and they both knew it.
"Are we sure this isn't a case of everyone being super hungover for three and a half months?" Dean continued, obviously joking but trying to deny that there might be a case.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Just get in the Impala, you big baby."
"But I want to stay in the bunker, bake some pie and eat it," Dean whined and Sam had to physically carry his brother out.
The brothers pulled up to the city limits of Eudora and stopped the car.
"Badges, just in case?"
"Yes, Agent Decarlo."
"Salt?"
"Check."
"Lighters?"
"Sam, do you think I'm an idiot? I know what to bring in my knapsack."
"Guns?"
"... I'll go get them from the trunk."
Sam stood cautiously in front of the small town while Dean finished getting weapons. What was even going on here? The only way to look seemed to be stepping into the town, but he was weary of that option.
A sudden idea hit him and he started running towards the car, telling Dean to drive into the nearest diner in the outskirts of the town. They reached a small grocery store when Sam announced that this one will do, and he'll be back in a minute.
Almost exactly fifteen minutes later, Sam arrived with a huge flask of coffee and two cups.
"Drink up, man," he ordered, tossing Dean a cup and pouring the liquid inside.
"Oh, man. Couldn't you at least bring some sugar with you," Dean groaned in frustration.
"We need to stay alert. So, drink up, big brother."
"Cheers," Dean clicked his cup with Sam's and took a long gulp, resisting the urge to spit the bitter liquid out.
They sat near the border of Eudora, force drinking cup after cup. Five cups later, they were buzzed and definitely ready to face whatever came their way.
"Dean?" he called behind him, "I'm going in." The tall man took a deep breath, crossed the line, and… nothing happened.
"Dude, you aren't asleep." Dean puzzled, tilting his head a little, "What gives?"
Sam shook his head. "I don't know, but I have a feeling that we're about to find out."
Slowly, the boys wandered around the town. Everyone had, quite literally, fallen asleep. Cars were crashed, water was running, the food on the stoves were burning- Sam shuddered to think of how many casualties there must have been. Overall, though, there was no sign of demons and it didn't seem that ghosts could put the whole town into sleep. So that ruled out their top suspects.
It wasn't until they got to the mayor's house, that there were deep suspicions. First of all, the house was ridiculously shaped and designed to resemble a castle with rose bushes that seemed to be normally trimmed climbing up the walls, long and sharp thorns sticking out. They barricaded the door and all of the windows. And words were written, glittering across the house in something red…
"You poor, simple fools. Thinking you could defeat me. Me! The mistress of all evil! Well, here's your precious 'princess!'"
Sam had read that somewhere before, but he couldn't quite place it. It seemed like something out of a fairy tale… Crap.
"Dean, we should go back to the bunker. I think I know what we're dealing with, but I need to do some research first," the younger Winchester declared, quickly walking back the way they came.
"Good thing you do, because I'm totally lost."
"I've got it!" Sam boomed, with a final click on the webpage it popped up.
"Dammit, Sam," Dean grumbled, "I'm right here. So what's the deal?"
"Sleeping Beauty."
The older Winchester narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, Sleeping Beauty? You better not be getting fairy tales confused with real life."
"I'm not!" the other argued, "Just hear me out. The writing on the wall was from the original version, when the witch cast a spell on the kingdom. Giant walls of thorny roses were used to keep the castle hidden from the rest of the world. People fell asleep in the middle of what they were doing. Plus, the prince came after 100 years. It's been over 14 weeks since anyone heard from the citizens of Eudora, so today must have been the 100th day.
"But the real kicker is a girl. Three days before the town collectively passed out, a teen named Aurora killed herself. Her mom, in the obituary that ran the next day, claimed that her daughter was bullied for being gay. Then, she stormed out of the city, saying that 'they would all learn tolerance or pay.'"
"Sounds like they pissed off the local Mama Witch. So, how do we fix it?"
"And that's the secret to getting them to wake up- kiss the 'princess.'"
"You don't mean-" Dean started, looking terrified.
"We have to find the mayor, the princess, and give her a kiss."
The two men had no trouble slashing through the roses of the mayor's house the next day. They climbed the staircase, only to find the mayor asleep in his office.
Sam faltered for a second. "Dean, that looks an awful lot like-"
"No, Sammy."
"It's really eerie-"
"He does NOT look like him."
"Yes he does! He looks like-"
"Say it Sam, and I'll punch you."
"He looks like Castiel!" the younger brother exclaimed, and then he winced after being hit in the chest.
"We're not kissing him. There has to be another way," Dean said adamantly.
"No way," his brother scoffed, "I don't want to do it either. Rock paper scissors?"
Thus, Dean had to kiss the mayor. On the way up, he had been hoping that the mayor was an incredibly hot chick, but fate never seemed to swing his way. Although, he did look kind of like their friendly neighborhood angel of the lord which wasn't entirely unappealing…
"Man, I hate witches. You sure there's no other way?"
"Pretty sure," Sam replied, hiding his amusement behind a cough.
Dean quickly lifted the mayor's head, quickly kissing his cheek. The days old stubble tickled his face but he ignored it.
Nothing happened.
"Dude, you have to do it on the lips," Sam said through fits of laughter.
"Shut up," the older brother grumbled.
Throwing daggered looks to Sam, Dean approached the man, planted one on him, and dropped him back onto the desk. The sleeping man opened his hazel (dammit, not blue) eyes with a start, appearing bewildered.
"What are you people doing in here? Leave!" he exclaimed.
The brothers quickly left, watching all the people wake up as they ran.
"Dude," Sam panted when they reached the Impala, "I will never let
you live that down. You kissed a Cas look alike."
The older Winchester frowned, "Just don't tell Cas that."
