Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. The handsome men of the show belong (unfortunately) to Eric Kripke, Sera Gamble, and the rest of the gang over at the CW.
Author's Note: This is the weirdest thing I think I have ever written. But, it's what I needed to write, cause there is no way I'm accepting the fact that the Sam on the show is really Sam. He's just a creepy version of the real Sam. And not to give out spoilers, but seriously, what the hell was with him in the last episode?
Author's Note 2: There are some mini spoilers for season 6 and some of its episodes along with some of season 5.
Author's Note 3: The creature in this isn't strictly a supernatural creature... I kind of stole the idea from a book series I never read as a kid and Smallville of all things. So, don't expect to find any real information about it.
Reviews are not necessary but always welcome!
Summary: Tag of sorts to 6x05: Live Free or Twihard. Dean finally figures out that Sam is not Sam.
(not)Sam
Chapter 1
One year, three months, two weeks, five days, four hours, sixteen minutes, and a jumble of seconds that he couldn't really remember. That's how long it took for him to figure out that the thing in front of him that was impersonating his brother wasn't his brother.
And damn, did he feel like the world's worst brother for not figuring that out sooner.
It was after the disastrous hunt for the vampires that had turned Dean into a vampire (no thanks to the thing that was not Sam) and the fall out with Lisa and Ben did Dean really begin to realize just how much wrong there was with the thing that was not Sam.
Sam had been acting weird ever since Dean had gotten his (not)brother back. Dean had chalked it up to Sam being out of hell and then being on his (semi)own for the past year (even though it was totally his fault) at first. Then there was the incident with the kid and Castiel. However much Dean tried, he couldn't figure out why Sam would let Castiel do such a thing. Dean didn't even try to figure out why Castiel would do such a thing—he was an angel; douche baggery came with the territory.
It went downhill from there. Sam stating in no uncertain terms that he was stronger than Dean, that Hell hadn't affected him. That had hit a little too close to home for Dean's liking—he still had nightmares about that damned Siren. Then (or maybe it was before, Dean couldn't really remember any more) there was the shape shifter baby. That was just buckets of crazy. And then there was the vampire thing, where Sam had just watched Dean get turned and did absolutely nothing to stop it.
It would have been a lie to say that was really the first time Dean noticed something off about his brother.
It wasn't just the shape shifter baby or the kid torture or the coming back from Hell with a shoot first, second, and third and then maybe ask questions attitude that reminded Dean a little too much of himself. It wasn't just the newfound family hunting buddies (and seriously, what the hell was up with that?). It wasn't the car or the phone or the weapons or the laptop or anything physical.
It was just Sam. There was something that didn't sit right with Dean about his younger brother. The imposter wasn't the same person Dean remembered. He just wasn't Sam. Sam, the kid who was terrified of visions. Sam, the kid who fell in love with the wrong people because his heart was just too damn big for its own good. Sam, the kid who was absolutely convinced that Dean was right about everything. Sam, the man who started the apocalypse by drinking demon blood and listening to some demonic bitch. Sam, the man who did everything in his power to prevent the end of the world. And succeeded in stopping it. Sam, the guy who made bad jokes, listened to crappy music, cried at soap operas, and made Dean feel really stupid and really proud and really scared and needed all at the same time.
This Sam who was sitting in front of Dean was none of those things. He didn't have the same amused yet highly annoyed eye roll. He didn't have the same chuckle when Dean did something hilariously stupid. He didn't have the same astonished yet triumphant expression when he figured something out before Dean did. He didn't have the same bitch look or the same puppy dog eyes or the same hair or the same attitude or the same anything except appearance.
And appearances were deceiving. Dean was beginning to learn that.
This (not)Sam wasn't a doppelganger. Or a shape shifter. Or a demon. Or any of the usual things that he could possibly be and not be Sam. In every respect, he was Sam, except for the fact that he wasn't. And Dean was determined to find out what the hell this thing who was not Sam was and where the real Sam Winchester was.
He hoped the answer to the latter question wasn't Hell. Though Dean's gut feeling (which usually turned out true) was that the real Sam was out there somewhere. Alive. Probably hurt, because that's just what happened when Sam was left to his own devices. But above all, he was Sam and he was the brother that Dean wanted. Not this happy, go-lucky, gun toting, kid torturing Stepford-wife of a brother that he had right now.
Bobby was much too easily convinced that the thing that was (not)Sam wasn't what it was claiming to be. Dean wondered why that was. He knew it wasn't because he was just that honest of a guy—Bobby didn't fall for crap like that. He was too damn suspicious for his own good.
Castiel seemed a little skeptical at first (Dean thought it was because Cass liked the new (not)Sam), but soon agreed that whatever the thing that was (not)Sam was definitely not the real Sam. Dean didn't question it. For now.
Dean left the one giant happy family of Campbell hunters out of his revelation. He had a sinking suspicion that they were a part of it all and didn't want (not)Sam being tipped off to anything. And besides, they were creepy as hell. Seriously, they had no taste in cars if they advised the (not)Sam to buy that plastic POS he had been driving.
Apparently, the one thing Sam and (not)Sam had in common was their intelligence. Damn, (not)Sam figured out what Dean was doing pretty quickly (not so long after Dean himself figured out that he was going to go hunt down his real brother). And there was an epic fight that ensued, resulting in a broken and bleeding Dean (he was really beginning to hate losing to his younger brother, real or not) and an enraged (not)Sam who flat out told Dean that he was definitely not the real Sam Winchester and that the real Sam Winchester was dead.
Which was a total lie.
It turned out that the (not)Sam was a metamorphogous, which everyone believed to be extinct, but hello, post apocalypse world. New (er, old) creatures walking the earth apparently didn't miss out on the whole 'take down the Winchesters at any cost' speech. But, that spelled out good news for Dean, who took pleasure in stabbing the metamorphogous version of Sam with a wooden knife dipped in lamb's blood (and damn, did he have flash backs to the hunt before Sam died for the first time).
But it also spelled out bad news. He had no idea where the hell (no pun intended) Sam was, except that Sam was very much alive. Metamorphogi had to have a (alive) piece of their intended transformation before they could turn into that person. And they had to continually take a piece from the alive victim.
Dean resorted to going to the place where he had first found (not)Sam (which, admittedly, was a giant mistake, as Dean nearly died because the Campbell family got a little upset over their giant secret being discovered). On the other hand, he did find out about a secret spot that the (not)Sam had been going ever since he had become Sam.
After being rescued by Castiel and Bobby, Dean made for the secret hiding spot that the (not)Campbell hunting family had told him about.
What he found there made him want to cry, scream, throw up, and pray to God (wherever he might be) in relief.
He found Sam. The real Sam. Broken, confused, in a world of pain, mistrustful, angry, bitchy, alive Sam.
Dean made short work of getting his brother (and damn, did that feel good to think) out of that hell hole and to safety.
And within a few months, they were back to normal. Well, their version of normal. Sam had nightmares about Hell. Dean was there for him. Dean was tossed out by Lisa. Sam was there for him. Dean and Sam ran into a few more vampires. Had a few more beers together. Had a few more brotherly chick flick moments.
The supernatural world never stood a chance after that. All of the weird ass things that had been roaming the earth were sent back to where they belonged. The demons were vanquished back to Hell. Order was restored to Heaven. Castiel had a few more drinks. Bobby bitched out the Winchesters a few more times for being whiny bitches.
And Dean had the real Sam back.
Life was good for once.