Prologue
A lot had happened the last month or so, and Dean was still processing everything. He wasn't sure how he felt about a lot of things, but that was to be dealt with later because they were a little busy at the moment.
A horde of demons on their asses counted as being busy, right?
Right.
It's not that Dean was avoiding the conversation that apparently every damn body—Bobby, Gabriel, Sam before he was gone—was insisting he and Cas had to have. He was Dean freaking Winchester, he didn't run away. Was he going to enjoy the no-doubt emotional, chick-flicky discussion that Cas was no doubt going to ambush him with as soon as all this Lucifer-demons business was over? Of course not. But he wasn't ready to have that conversation until they had Sam back. That was priority, and Cas understood that, so he was currently the only one not being pushy about things Dean would rather not even think about, let alone discuss.
….okay, maybe he was avoiding the conversation a little. So sue him.
But that wasn't important right now.
Demons. Right.
Being led by his little brother.
Dean sighed and wished things were different. He didn't know what he wanted most of the time, but he knew that he didn't want this. Seeing his brother in that too-white suit, red-eyed and cackling as he ordered their deaths, was enough to make him feel nauseous. He glanced at Cas on his right, only to find intent blue eyes already looking at him in concern, probably wondering how he was handling this. Hardly new—Cas kept forgetting the danger he was in with his diminished powers in favor of worrying about Dean. Dean glared at him, intending to lecture him later—again—but soon they were both busy as the black-eyed sons of bitches charged at them.
There was gleeful cackling to his left, among screams and flashes of red, orange, and gold light, so Dean could safely assume that Gabriel was enjoying smiting demons with his archangelic mojo. It was eerily silent to his right, save for the occasional grunt of pain from Cas or an enraged snarl from a demon, but Dean knew Cas could handle himself so he tried not to worry. Cas would be pissed at him if he got distracted and hurt.
Now this, this was his forte, and Dean found himself settling into the familiar battle mode as he ducked, dodged, and ganked. It was times like this that he wished he'd put more work into memorizing the exorcism, but that had always been Sam's part. He was the book-smart nerdy hunter that came up with clever ways to deal with the things they fought, while Dean tended to do more of the manual parts.
He couldn't count on Sam though. Not now.
That…that hurt.
The only thing that hurt worse was the agonized cry that almost stopped his heart because he knew that sound. Without his permission, his eyes snapped to the right to see Castiel holding his side, blood oozing between his fingers, staining the white shirt he insisted on wearing. The demon yanked its knife from Cas' side and shoved him, and Dean felt his throat dry up when the former angel of the lord collapsed on his side in an unconscious heap. A strangled cry escaped his throat, because there were no words to describe how his world felt like it was coming apart at the seams.
He'd lost his mom, his dad, and his brother. He couldn't lose Cas, too.
He tried to run to Cas, forgetting about the demons around him. He paid dearly for his inattention when they swarmed him with gleeful cackles, pulling and tearing and clawing at any part of him they could reach. It brought back awful flashbacks from his time in Hell, and Dean shuddered, forcing himself to focus on the here and now instead of the slowly growing pool of blood around his best friend. Distantly, he registered Gabriel and Sam's voices, and he could only assume that the archangel was going after Lucifer-Sam as they'd planned. Dean had to focus, though, had to stay alive.
Pulling out the knife Ruby had given him, Dean slashed blindly, and was rewarded with several shrieks of pain and a little breathing room as the demons retreated, glaring at him with hate in their eyes. The vicious smiles on their faces sent chills up his spine and Dean's brain went into panicked adrenaline mode. He didn't think, just acted, and in only a few minutes he was surrounded by bodies, panting, covered in blood spatter that was a mix of his and his vanquished enemies'. He shuddered and limped over to Cas, the distant battle of Gabriel and Lucifer not even registering on his consciousness.
He felt cold all over when he saw all the blood. No human…no human can survive that, he thought weakly. He stubbornly shoved that thought aside, though, refusing to consider it, because this was not just 'some human', this was Cas, Castiel, former angel of the Lord. He may have lost his grace and a lot of his abilities, but he still healed more rapidly than anyone he knew. He was going…he had to be okay.
He knelt down, ignoring the blood soaking through his jeans, and gently felt for a pulse, almost sobbing in relief when he felt a small flutter against his fingers. It was weak, but it was there, and that almost surely meant that Cas was going to be fine. He wouldn't relax, though, until he saw those blue eyes open, so he began to shake Cas' shoulder.
"Cas, buddy, come on. You gotta wake up," he said hoarsely. His throat still felt too dry, and he was still cold all over. Was he shivering? Damn, he was. And he hurt all over—his ankle was sprained at least, and his shoulder was throbbing like a bitch, not to mention he was sporting several bruises and cuts all over.
All that faded to nothing, though, when a small whimper came from Cas' throat. The eyes didn't open but he was alive, and that was all that mattered. Dean carefully got to his feet, ignoring the throbbing protest from his ankle, and slid his arms under Cas, intending to carry him out if he had to. They couldn't just leave him here, he needed to get somewhere safe so he could heal up.
With a small grunt and a wince, hunter lifted up ex-angel, staggering just a little under the sudden weight. He could do this, he insisted to himself through gritted teeth. He began to slowly limp away, heading in the general direction of the Impala. His progress was agonizingly slow, but it was progress.
He was about halfway to his baby when everything went abruptly silent, and it was only then that Dean remembered there was still a battle going on outside his internal chaos. The silence could only mean that it was over, and that meant…who had won?
Dean was afraid to turn around and see, but he was also dying to know. Slowly, wincing and clenching his jaw around the pain, he turned, green eyes scanning the battlefield they'd made of the once-beautiful meadow. There was only one person standing besides himself.
Sam.
No—Lucifer, Dean reminded himself. That wasn't his brother.
Dean cursed under his breath as the wicked grin stretched across his brother's face, red eyes taunting him. Gabriel was dangling from his hand, and Sam—Lucifer—tossed him aside carelessly. The archangel twitched a little when he landed, so he was alive. But incapacitated, for God only knew how long.
Probably just long enough for me and Cas to die, Dean thought sourly. Not that he intended to go out without a fight, but he was only human and he couldn't protect both himself and Cas from the devil himself. It was beginning to look like this really was the end.
Movement in his arms caused him to look down, and he was pleasantly surprised when blue eyes met his, concern and confusion familiar in their sapphire depths. His arms tightened around Cas for a moment—he only just registered that his muscles were starting to shake from the effort of holding him up—before the angel squirmed to his feet. Flicking an anxious glance to Lucifer, the hunter saw him strolling towards him at a leisurely pace, glancing around at the massacre with an amused smirk.
Of course the son of a bitch would enjoy this destruction, the hunter thought furiously, hot fury sweeping through him. A light touch on his arm distracted him, and he turned to look again at Cas.
The ex-angel looked resigned, and sad.
"Dean…I don't think we can fight him," he murmured. Something twisted painfully inside Dean at the admission.
"You're probably right, Cas. But see, I refuse to accept that. I'm going to go down fighting." He had no doubt that he was going to go down, though, not that Cas needed to know that. Something in those sad blue eyes told him that he already knew, though, and it hurt.
Damn it, he thought, wondering when this stupid little man had wormed his way so deep inside Dean. He didn't like feeling so much for anyone, besides Sammy. Sam was gone, now, though. All he had left was Cas.
"Of course, Dean. I will fight with you," he promised.
"Can you?" Dean arched an eyebrow, looking pointedly at the blood staining his shirt.
"I am as fit to fight as you are," Castiel said, giving Dean a pointed look as well, and the hunter had to admit he was probably right. Besides, he couldn't send the angel away—Lucifer would only hunt him down and kill him, and Dean would rather go down with Cas, one last battle side-by-side.
"Let's do this, then," he said, clapping Cas on the shoulder. They turned to find Lucifer only a foot away, watching them with sardonic mirth.
"Oh, don't stop on my account. You two are really so cute together, it's sickeningly sweet." He laughed, and it only made Dean angrier.
"You son of a bitch," he growled low in his throat, further enraged by the amused smirk the devil sent his way. "Give me back my brother and maybe we'll let you live," he said arrogantly, grip tightening on the hilt of his knife. Cas shuffled uncomfortably at his side, and Dean moved to stand protectively in front of him, ignoring the noise of protest and the fingers trying to drag him back.
"That's so cute, Dean. You think you're going to survive this? Please. You'll be back in Hell before long—you had so much fun down there, I'm sure Alistair will welcome you back. You were his favorite protégée. As for you," the red eyes shifted over his shoulder, and Dean sensed Castiel tensing up behind him, "I have no idea where you'll go, brother. Perhaps purgatory? I highly doubt you'll be welcomed back to Heaven." He laughed cruelly again, and Dean felt nauseous and furious because those were low blows.
"Brother, it doesn't have to be this way," Cas' weak voice suggested. "Just let Sam go, and we can…we can…"
"We can what, Castiel? Talk to Raphael? I can spend the next several millennia, perhaps eternity, in celestial bondage? No, thank you. I'd rather just kill you both and have fun destroying the planet."
"Well you have to go through us first," Dean interjected before Cas could say anything else.
"With pleasure," Lucifer assured him, sauntering forward, and that was when it hit Dean that this was really real. He was probably going to die, and Cas with him. He'd never see Sam again. He felt sickeningly dizzy for a moment, but then a small warm hand slipped into his and squeezed, and Dean remembered he wasn't alone. He had Cas, and that was all he needed for now.
Dean squeezed back, and together, hunter and former angel rushed into their final battle.
[A/N: Well, there you have it. This is the prologue, and it's just the beginning: a hint of what's to come. And can I just say how glad I am to have this out so quickly? Man oh man I love spring break! ANYWAYS, what did you think about this for the beginning? Good, bad? Too much, too little? Drop a review and let me know okay? I want feedback from you guys!]
[On a different note: Special thanks to I'mTheDreamAssasin and Laura Messer, your comments on CBTS were great for me to read! :) You guys rock and I hope you enjoy this first installment in MTB. I'm going to keep writing all day, so hopefully there'll be the first chapter up soon. Keep an eye out, guys, and DFTBA!]
-Makky