Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.
Author's note: This is supposed to be a one shot, but if ya'll like it, I may make it a series.
"Ow," Dean groaned. He rolled onto his stomach, the motion jarring his bruised left side. "What the hell was that?"
Sam just shook his head. The young man looked around and a very confused expression came to his face. They were in a street, which set off a few alarms- their last location had been a crap motel on I-80. Sam and his brother had just returned with the burgers they'd bought at the diner across from their room when everything went black. He'd returned to consciousness when his body slammed against the pavement.
"I think demon. You think demon?" Dean asked as he gingerly lifted himself from the ground.
"With our luck," Sam muttered following his brother's lead and standing.
They headed down the street trying to find anything to indicate their location. The buildings, Victorian by the looks of them, looked to be abandoned shops. Sam surmised they were in some sort of old downtown, like the kind he and his brother tended to come across in the Midwest.
Dean led his younger brother around a corner and onto another block. The bright green sign at the corner read "Main Street."
"That's specific," Dean complained.
This street, too, was deserted. Sam had a bad feeling about the whole situation. "I don't think we should be out in the open like this."
"At least one of you has a brain," a feminine voice squeaked from behind them.
The brothers turned to find themselves facing a teenage girl, sixteen or seventeen years old, with long brown hair and keen green eyes that grew wider as she inspected them.
"Oh my God," the girl breathed. "What? How?" She sounded as confused as the boys.
"Do we know you?" Sam asked. The girl looked awfully familiar.
She shook her head. A piercing wail sliced through the air. Dean spun around, pulling a .45 from his jacket pocket. The girl panicked. "We need to go." She grabbed the boys' hands and ran down the street towards an old bookshop.
Inside, she collapsed on a pile of dusty books. "We need to get you out of here." She looked heavenward. "Cas!" she screeched.
Sam and Dean looked at each other. Sam knew what his brother was thinking. Was this girl trying to get in touch with Castiel the angel? How did she know him? And would he really respond to her calls? Maybe Castiel could explain how they'd gotten wherever they were.
"Cas, I'm not kidding around! Get your ass down here! It's important!" she yelled.
A figure appeared at the door just beyond the glass. He stepped into the darkened interior and grinned. Sam was unsure if this was Castiel. If it was, he wasn't using the same vessel. Of course, Sam wasn't sure if angels always used the same vessel. Just because he and Dean had only seen one, didn't mean that Castiel didn't have others. But the expression on the girl's face made him realize this wasn't who she was expecting.
"You're not Castiel," she said.
The man stepped forward; the girl stepped back, one hand beckoning Sam and Dean to do the same. The man just laughed, his receding hairline wrinkling further with effort. "Very smart. Give the girl a prize."
"I know you're a demon." The girl didn't take her eyes off the man. She didn't even blink. "But which one?"
The demon sucked his breath. "Has it been so long that you've forgotten me? That hurts, Mary." He placed a hand over his heart in mock pain.
The girl, Mary, recoiled again. "It can't be..." she whispered.
Sam noticed another figure loitering outside the shop. Mary saw it too. Apparently that figure was a sign of sorts, because in the next instant she'd snatched the .45 from Dean and riddled the demon's vessel with iron bullets. The demon shrieked and fell back, toppling a bookcase. The three humans raced out the shop and into the man outside.
"Castiel!" Mary sounded relieved. She pointed at Sam and Dean. "You have to get them out of here!"
"Hold up," said Dean, "we're not going anywhere. There's a demon in there. We need to get rid of it."
Mary glared at him. "You're not going anywhere near him. I'll finish him off, you too just go home. Castiel can help."
"No," the angel said.
Mary looked at him with eyes wide in astonishment. "Cas, they have to go. What if they get hurt? What if they get killed?"
Castiel placed a hand on the girl's shoulders. Sam noted that she was visibly comforted by the action. He wondered how they knew each other and if the relationship was more than platonic.
"I brought them here. They need to see this," Castiel explained to Mary. She pursed her lips, clearing disapproving of the situation, but nodded in agreement nonetheless.
Dean was very confused by now. "You did this? Why?"
Castiel turned to the two men standing behind Mary. "This is the future Dean. We lost. This is what the world will become if you do not change it."
Sam furrowed his brows. "It doesn't seem so bad. I thought if the demons win we'd be screwed. This just seems... like a ghost town. Not so different from some of the ones we've come across on hunting trips."
"That's because this town's population was obliterated. The buildings remain because they have no purpose. But the people are dead." Castiel's hands remained on Mary's shoulders but his eyes bore into the brothers. Sam shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. He knew Castiel and the other angels were still wary of him and his demonic powers.
Mary tugged on Castiel's coat. "If you brought them here, then you have to show them."
"Show us what?" Dean piped up.
"Hell on Earth," Mary whispered.
Castiel led the group down a few more blocks to the outskirts of town, where a subdivision sprawled as far as the eye could see. Sam and Dean gasped.
People screamed, bloodcurdling screams Sam didn't even think were possible. Some even sounded inhuman. The entire area was a disaster zone, crumpled houses, flattened trees, fire and smoke everywhere. Sam glanced at his brother, whose face was a mask of fury and pain and Sam realized this was all too familiar for Dean.
"Dean?" Sam asked quietly. The older brother remained silent, his hands balling into fists at his sides. Sam knew he was trying to contain himself.
Mary timidly reached out and gripped Dean's left hand. He looked down at her. She smiled sadly and pressed his hand in empathy.
Dean looked back at the sight before them. "We have to stop this."
"We will," Sam assured him.
"Well, well, well, what he we here?" a voice sneered.
The two brothers, Mary, and Castiel turned. The demon from the bookshop stood about thirty paces behind them, that sadistic grin plastered to its face. "This is quite a reunion," it laughed. "I didn't expect to see you here, Sam. Or you, Dean. Oh, but it has been a while!"
Mary stepped forward. Sam wasn't sure if he should be impressed that she no longer seemed to fear the demon or if he should protect her from the damn thing.
"They're nothing to you. Just let them go back," Mary demanded.
The demon laughed again. "Stupid girl, why would I do that? Why would I let them return to the past and find a way to change this wonderful future?"
Dean snorted. "You call this wonderful? You're sick bastards, the lot of you. We're going to stop you all."
The demon stared at Dean like he was something humorous, a comedian he'd paid big money to see live but was disappointed in the show. Sam was struck by the familiarity of the demon's expression. Perhaps he'd seen the demon before. But they'd exorcised or killed every demon they'd come across, so that wasn't possible. Unless... Sam gasped inwardly. If Hell had won, then all the demons they'd eighty-sixed would have gone topside to plague the Earth. His life, Dean's life, their dad's life, would have all been for nothing.
Mary spoke again, this time to Castiel. "Get them out of here. They've seen what the future is like. If they stay any longer, he'll kill them."
Castiel nodded and reached for the brothers, grabbing each by the shoulder. They were about to leave, Castiel using his "divine influence" of course, when Mary was suddenly lifted off the ground and slammed into the side of a brick house.
"Mary!" all three men yelled.
The girl winced as her head cracked against the wall. She shook the stars out of her eyes and glared at the demon. "You shouldn't have done that," she warned in a low voice.
The demon strode to his prey. Sam itched to kill the damn thing and help Mary out. He sensed Dean fidgeting under Castiel's grasp as well, but the angel wouldn't loosen his grip. They were forced to simply stand by and watch.
"Silly little Winchester," the demon murmured. He ran a hand along Mary's face. She shuddered beneath the touch. "I can't stop them. The timeline cannot be altered. But I can have you. Remember how much fun we used to have, Mary? So much blood. So many screams. Daddy lasted thirty years in Hell before he broke. How long did you last?"
Son of a bitch, Sam thought. Dean abruptly ceased struggling with Castiel and stood, gaping, at his daughter.
In her peripheral vision, Mary saw the realization dawn on her father and uncle. She glanced back at the demon. "I warned you, Azazel." A white flash emanated from her small body and threw the demon backwards. He landed spread eagle several yards away. Mary slumped from the wall, Azazel's telekinetic grasp now slackened, and straightened herself. She stared at the demon, simply stared, her face passive. Her eyes, however, flashed with hatred.
"You half-angel brat!" Azazel spat.
"Wait, what?" Dean sputtered. He looked at Sam with questioning eyes. Sam shrugged and they turned their attention to Castiel. "Care to explain?" Dean asked.
"You'll see," was all that Castiel replied. He increased pressure on the boys' shoulders. A wave crashed through Sam. He thought he was drowning and quickly squeezed hie eyes shut. He knees buckled and for a moment he thought he would fall. Then the feeling passed. Opening his eyes, Sam saw that he was still in the same place, the war zone better known as the worst-case scenario future.
Confused, Sam looked around. Dean stood beside him harboring the same expression. Sam saw Mary standing before the demon, locked in a staring competition. He decided to ask Castiel what the hell just happened, thinking perhaps the angel had meant to send them back. "Cas, what was-" Sam began but he stopped when he saw the angel doubled over. "Castiel!"
Sam and Dean raced to the angel, who for some reason had been shoved away from them and into a nearby yard. Mary's ears pricked up when she heard the concern in Sam's voice. She looked over and her heart leaped into her throat. Sam was supporting a rather weak looking Castiel while Dean interrogated him.
"He won't last much longer," Azazel said.
Mary glared at the demon, a proper glare this time. She lunged at him, twisting his arms behind his back with one hand, the other suctioning to his vessel's forehead. He screamed as she physically exorcised him from the body.
Her job done, Mary ran to Castiel's side. "What the hell happened?" she asked, looking at Sam and Dean in turn.
"No idea," Sam admitted.
Castiel groaned and fell onto his back. Mary caught him just in time to keep his head from hitting the ground. His face was contorted in pain.
"It's poison," Mary realized.
"Poison? You can poison angels?" Dean asked, incredulous.
Mary nodded, tears forming in her eyes. "Demons discovered it two millennium ago but the formula was lost in time. It was rediscovered when they took over."
Castiel's breathing hitched. He hiccuped and clutched Mary's hand. "Go... with...them," he ordered. "Get...out...of...here."
Mary shook her head and whispered no, repeating the word over and over. She rocked on her knees, tightening her grasp on Castiel. Sam and Dean could do nothing but watch as Castiel hiccuped one final time and was still. Mary shrieked and pulled his body, not technically his body but the only thing she had left, to her chest and sobbed.
Dean sat, stunned. Castiel was dead. Unless... "Is this a future version of Castiel? Cuz then he'd be alive in our time."
"Angels don't belong to a single timeline," Mary explained during sobs. "They jump. This is your Castiel, my Castiel, and he's gone." She sobbed harder with that last statement.
Sam awkwardly patted her shoulder and looked at Dean, imploring him to comfort the poor girl. Dean shrugged. She was his daughter, but at the same time, she wasn't. Not yet, anyway. What if she didn't want him to comfort her? Regardless, they had to leave. Dean knew it would be hard to get Mary to leave Castiel's body, but she had to. There wasn't time to mourn. Grief must wait.
"Mary, we need to get out of here. You can mourn him when we're back in our time," Dean said softly. He looked down at the body. "We all can, but not here."
Surprisingly, Mary nodded. "You're right. You have to leave." She carefully placed Castiel on the ground and grabbed the boys' shoulders. Her tear-stained face struck Sam's heart.
"What did you say? No, we have to leave. You're coming with us!" Dean grabbed at his daughter, but Mary swatted his hand away.
"I'm not going anywhere." She stared him hard in the face when she spoke. Sam almost felt like laughing at the Winchester stubbornness. Almost.
Unfortunately for Mary, Dean was equally as stubborn. "Like hell you are! Castiel said you're coming, so you're coming! He didn't want you stuck here in Hell! He wanted a better life for you!"
That made the impression Dean was looking for. Mary sighed, nodded, and shut her eyes tight. Sam and Dean did the same and found themselves drowning again. Then everything went black and Sam felt that whatever Mary had done it had worked the way it was supposed to.
Sam came to with a splitting headache. He rubbed his head and felt blood. Rolling over, he realized he had knocked into the corner of the coffee table in the motel room. They were back in the dingy room on I-80, their burgers untouched on the table, right where they had left them. To his left, Dean was also regaining consciousness. The older Winchester pulled himself into a sitting position.
"Damn that hurt," Dean growled. His eyes grew wide and he threw a fearful look round the room. Sam knew he was looking for Mary. For a moment, Sam feared she hadn't come with them. He didn't see her near the table. But then he spotted a shoe out of the corner of his eye and raced his brother round the queen-sized bed. There, on the floor, was an unconscious brown haired teenage girl.
"Mary," Dean breathed. He squatted and lifted her in his arms then transferred her onto the bed. Sam went to the bathroom to wet a washcloth and placed it lightly on his neice's forehead. Dean stroked the girl's cheek. There was a look in Dean's eyes that Sam saw only on occasions when he himself had been the injured party.
A sudden intake of breath caught Sam's attention. Mary was awake. Her eyelids fluttered until her green eyes could be seen. Dean smiled down at her. "Hey," he whispered. "You okay?"
Mary nodded, then, as though the memories had come flooding back all at once, began to cry. Dean pulled her into a hug and she buried her face in his leather jacket. Dean soothed her, rubbing her back and hugging her tighter.
"He's gone," Mary sobbed. "He's gone."
