Chapter One: Purgatory's Claws
Dean swears as he's backed into a corner by the leviathan he was trying to kill. He glances at his machete, lying abandoned where it had skittered after being batted from his hands. By the time his eyes flick back to the leviathan, its face has transformed into a gaping maw lined with rows upon rows of sharp, jagged teeth. Dean flinches away, swearing some more and squeezing his eyes shut in preparation. But instead of getting eaten, he's sprayed with warm, black goop from the stump of a neck where the leviathan's head used to be. Dean spits and gags on the tiny amount of liquid that got in his mouth, feeling like he's going to vomit. When he's done gagging, he looks around to see who just saved him. He can't help but swear even more and try to back away from the figure standing over the leviathan's corpse. It looks like a normal teenager for the most part, except that its canines are long and sharp, and instead of normal fingernails on its left hand, it has huge, thin claws that are now coated with leviathan goop. It grimaces at the goop on it, tries to pick some out of its white hair, fails, and then groans exasperatedly before looking at Dean with pure black eyes.
"I apologize for taking so long to help you. I meant to come sooner but I got a little delayed by more of these fuckers." The humanoid kicks at the corpse in front of it with a disgusted look on its face. It moves aside when Dean steps forwards, but looks really, comically surprised when is suddenly faced with a machete up close and personal with its face. Still on edge from his last encounter with a supernatural being, Dean moves the tip of the machete to the creature's throat, growling out a wary,
"What the hell are you? A demon?" The thing is trying not to move too much, and its words come through gritted teeth. Despite trying not to move, it looks more offended than frightened.
"Nothing wishing you any harm. Nor anything you've ever heard of. Or anything that could actually be killed by lopping my head off or anything. It'd hurt, and take a while to heal, but I'd come back." Dean rolls his eyes.
"I'm not falling for that. Now, tell me. What the hell are you?" It tilts its head back, sighing in exasperation.
"You are stubborn as all hell. Fine, I'll tell you. Just don't get pissed off at me when you don't understand. I am…well, there's not really an actual name for us. Not one you humans have given us anyways. We call ourselves nephilim." Dean's stance doesn't waver in the least, and neither does the machete's position. Looking annoyed, the humanoid glares at Dean before reaching up and pushing the blade away. "Okay, I'm done with you. Thank me later. Ya wanna call me, the name's Allen. Just kinda…pray, like with angels. I'm sure I'll hear you. Although with how you're acting after I saved your ass, I might just ignore you." It turns and walks away, and when Dean tries to chase after it, something big, strong and soft shoves him back. Dean gets only a tiny glimpse of what it is before there's a familiar flapping sound, the creature is gone.
"...Wings?" Dean mutters in confusion, staring at the spot where he had seen - just for the tiniest of moments - the huge, black wing holding him back. He walks slowly to the spot, and gingerly picks up a single large, ragged ebony feather off the ground. Then, twirling the feather, Dean starts back to his car. I'm finding out everything I can about these nephilim.
.oOo.
Allen flinches and swears as Kanda performs the usual actions to suppress the demonic-looking form he gets when hunting things. Kanda rolls his eyes at the reaction.
"You'd think you would fucking get used to it and stop being a wimp." Allen scowls at Kanda.
"It hurts to get my face slashed open! I don't think I'm overreacting at all!" As he speaks, his fangs shorten and become normal human teeth. The black in his eyes shrinks until it's nothing more than the pupils of his silver eyes. His left hand reverts to normal, although the skin of the appendage stays black, making it look as if he has had his entire arm tattooed. Allen gingerly touches the fresh scar on his face, the vivid red design that holds his powers in check until he needs them. Pulling his dirty, gore-splattered shirt aside, he looks at the second symbol on his chest over his heart. It matches the one on Kanda's chest, and it's the thing binding Allen to his master. Allen sighs. "We're still filthy from Purgatory. Can we go get some changes of clothes and a place to stay?" Kanda nods, and Allen takes his hand. They both disappear with the sound of flapping wings.
.oOo.
"I can't find anything precise, Dean. Anything about nephilim just says they're demigods or something and then nothing else!" Sam complains, sitting back roughly in his chair and gesturing at his computer in annoyance. "Usually there's something on what I'm searching for, like what they look like or how to kill them, but…" Dean gets up from his stack of books and meanders over, sighing as he runs a hand through his hair.
"I can tell you what they look like. But yeah, there's really nothing but speculation. It's like they existed once, but now they've just been erased completely from existence." They are about to give up just as a knock sounds at it. Sam gets up to answer it, grabbing his gun from next to his computer. Dean does nothing, simply staring at the door and gripping his demon-killing blade as Sam opens it. Standing in the doorway are two men, one short one with snow-white hair and a twisting red mark on his face, and a taller one with long black hair in a ponytail and a scowl on his face. The shorter one glances at the other, who is standing just behind and to the right of him, looks back to Sam, and speaks.
"Hello, Sam. My name is Allen. I've met your brother before. I'm sure he's told you." Sam looks at Dean, and the look on his brother's face tells him all he needs.
"You're the nephilim?" he asks, and Allen nods. Then, his mostly emotionless expression turns to annoyance and wariness.
"Can we come in now, please? I, at least, am very noticeable and there are leviathans out for my blood." Sam nods and moves aside, and Allen nods hello to Dean as he enters. As soon as the door has closed behind Allen and the other man, Sam and Dean start asking questions.
"How the hell did you even get made? How did that work?"
"What's the red thing on your face? And what happened to your crazy fangs? And claw?"
"Where've you been for the past, like, hundreds of years?" And so on. Allen does his very best to answer, and the man behind him gets more and more agitated-looking as the questions keep coming.
"Um…I'm not answering that. It's a seal, to keep those fangs and claws gone while I'm wandering around amongst humans. Purgatory, actually. Kanda. Calm down." He finishes answering the questions in the dumbfounded silence following his answer to the question about where he's been. "Yes, there are more of us. Two more if you include the masters. Only one if you're just counting the actual nephilim." Having finished talking, Allen waits a moment for more questions, receives none, and smiles humourlessly. Then, he bows to them once before straightening. "Time to properly introduce myself and Kanda here. I am Allen, son of the angel Lenalee and the demon Kanda, and brother nephilim to Lavi. Kanda is my master for all intents and purposes, not my father." Kanda rolls his eyes.
"Did you really need to say all that? They've heard your name already, and the rest they have no fucking business knowing." Allen glares at Kanda, and Kanda cuffs him on the head in return. Allen looks somberly at Sam and Dean.
"I hope we can help you two with whatever you may need. Judging on what the angels are saying, and the demons as well, and the leviathans, etcetera, you've been causing quite a bit of trouble. I would love to join you in spiting everything in existence." This time when he grins, it's full of dark humour. Sam and Dean have a very quiet, tense, and quick conference while the nephilim and master duo stand awkwardly in the room, Allen staring at the floor with a look of exasperation.
"It's already saved you once, Dean. And if it wanted to hurt us I'm pretty sure it could-"
"Exactly, Sam. It's powerful. And we don't know if it's telling the truth."
"Cas is gone. We may as well let it help us. We need the help."
"The hell do you mean? Sam, we're fine. We've got Bobby, we know how to kill the leviathans, we have a plan-"
"And that plan could fail! If we let it join us, at least for a little bit, we'd have a plan B." Neither of them can get another word in before Allen interrupts.
"I can hear you, you know. This is a small space, and I'm half celestial being." Both brothers look at Allen, Dean grimacing and Sam raising his eyebrows. "Also, I'd prefer it if you referred to me by my name, or at least 'he'. 'It' isn't very polite." Dean looks away with pursed lips, and it's obvious to Sam that he's not at all happy with the white-haired hybrid eavesdropping on their conversation however accidentally it was. Sam rolls his eyes and gives Allen an apologetic, long-suffering smile.
"Sorry, Allen. I think it is perfectly reasonable for you two to join us for a while. So you may want to get yourselves a room at the motel for the night. We'll be heading to Bobby's tomorrow." Allen nods, grinning excitedly, and shakes Sam's proffered hand. Dean is definitely grouchy about this, and his mood is only worsened by the smug smirk Kanda tosses his way before they leave, Allen bowing a little before getting dragged out by Kanda:
"Stop fucking bowing! You don't need to, you idiot!" Allen sticks a finger under the collar he's wearing so that it doesn't choke him as Kanda yanks it to get him out. Then, he regains his footing and kicks Kanda in the back of the knees.
"I can walk by myself." The two argue until Sam can't hear them anymore. He closes the door, shaking his head.
"They're, uh…a bit more interesting than Cas. I don't know how they're suppoded to fight as a team if they act like that." Dean grumbles something along the lines of,
"They're nothing close to Cas. And if they can't fight we're screwed." Admittedly, the actual words Dean uses are quite a bit more colorful, which makes Sam chuckle before his tone turns solemn.
"I'm sure they'll do fine, Dean. I get that they'll never replace Cas. No one ever will. But since Cas is gone, they'll have to do. At least until the leviathans are taken care of." Dean nods and grunts from where he's lying on the bed he's claimed as his. Then he turns his back to Sam and pretends to be trying to sleep. Sam decides not to bother his brooding brother, instead opting to lie down in his own bed and relax as much as possible. Lord knows, he and Dean deserve a bit of peace.