Alright, so a new story. This will sort of be an AU (more or less) taking place in the beginning of Season 9, but I must warn you that once my OC takes the stage, she'll steal the show. Um, the story, I mean.
I hope you enjoy because I really loved writing this story. I have to say it's my favorite of all my stories.
Gods and Monsters
Ignorance is Bliss
It had started occurring more often and no one knew where it came from. Word of mouth was all they had to go by and they were growing suspicious that there was little truth to this legend. It just began one day for unknown reasons and as days went by, it seemed to have become desperate, moving from town to town.
Looking further into it, the first time it appeared, not many noticed it on the east coast. They only noticed after it began leaving some bodies in its tracks. At first, they were just innocent victims with no connections, but then, once having analyzed the victims, a pattern was revealed. Whatever this thing was, it was going after young women who were either new to the town or had no ties to it, such as a family. And the fact that this creature was on the constant move suggested it was chasing someone. It seemed like the only fitting theory.
However, it was only now killing, as if growing frustrated and they knew this because each scene was bloodier than the last. What was it looking for? Did it even know who to find? That would explain the deaths; frustration that they weren't the one.
Once that was put into perspective, they had to narrow things down to better know what they were about to hunt.
He closed the laptop and pushed it away, sighing exhaustedly and rubbing the fatigue from his face. If only it was that easy to wipe away all the years of bullshit.
"I've got nothing, Sam." Dean said and looked at his brother who continued staring at the screen of his laptop. "It's a dead end." He added and Sam met his eyes, not wanting to believe that.
There was nothing but silence filling the study room at their bunker, their Men of Letters home that they discovered after their grandfather told them they were Legacies, not just the run of the mill grungy hunters. They sat at the table in the center of the room where books were spread out, opened to possible clues to their case.
"What's the one thing all the testimonies have in common?" Sam asked and Dean stared at him as if he was too exhausted to think. "They all reported it to be like a large serpent." He said and Dean just looked away, rubbing the back of his neck.
"There's no monster in the archives that matches that description, unless it's an anaconda out on a rampage." Dean replied and Sam stared at his brother with an intense defiance to surrender.
"Maybe it's not a typical monster, but a mythological one." He said and Dean looked at him with an arched eyebrow.
"Mythology, Sam?" he asked and his brother nodded slightly. "If this is a myth kind of monster, which I don't think it is, do I have to remind you that not even the dragons looked like dragons?" He added, trying to shoot down this idea.
"It's all we have." Sam said and turned his laptop around to show Dean. "In the Norse Mythology, there is a serpent-like creature." He began and Dean sighed, as if he'd rather not listen, but was too exhausted to argue. "Jormungand," Sam began.
"Wait, what?" Dean asked, unable to understand what his brother said or grasp the fact that he said it without any difficulty. Dean would rather keep it simple, like Your; being the only syllable he caught.
"Jormungand, he's the serpent that coils around the world with his tail in his mouth, waiting for the end of time and the Doom of the Gods, named Ragnarok." Sam said and Dean stared at him oddly.
"Right." Was all he said, but his expression told Sam that he couldn't relate that to their case. He didn't believe there was a connection. All the Mythological deities and creatures they had faced and still, a part of Dean would rather just ignore the fact that they existed. It was much simpler when the world was threatened by monsters like vampires and ghosts. The angels and demons were trouble enough. "Assuming this is that Your-Mun-Gand serpent, what does he want?" he asked.
Sam disregarded his brother's lack of knowledge and interest in this myth, but he couldn't argue that the questions still had no answer. If it was Jormungand, he couldn't understand why it was killing young women that were outsiders of these towns.
"Do you have anything else on this Norse snake?" Dean asked, not that he was really convinced. It was more out of curiosity.
Sam looked back at his laptop, reading the rest of the information.
"Jormungand is a child of Loki and the giantess Angrboda. His brother is Fenrir, the wolf that was also a creature of Doom, and his sister Hel, the ruler of netherworld; half woman and half corpse." Sam said and Dean just grinned in disgust.
They had known Loki, or at least the Archangel that pretended to be him. They had first known him as the Trickster that caused them quite a bit of misery. Then they knew him to be Gabriel, the Archangel that left Heaven and changed his appearances so he could become Loki amongst the pagan Gods. Either way, the dude was a pain in the ass and now, apparently, so was his supposed kid.
Dean tried to imagine Gabriel having three ugly children like these and it ended up clashing, it was that ridiculous. That's why he chose to ignore the mythological side of the horror they've had to face since their mother's death; having known Gabriel and hearing this myth just didn't make sense, especially if this serpent really does look like a serpent.
"Odin wanted to capture these three, since Fenrir was said to be the bane of his existence. He threw Jormungand into the ocean and Hel into the netherworld as he chained Fenrir." Sam said, ignoring Dean's facial expression of disgust and boredom. "If he's killing young women, clearly chasing one, then I'd say our best bet is that he's trying to find his sister, Hel." Sam said and only then did he get Dean's attention.
"If she's ruler of the land of the dead, assuming you're correct, then why isn't he looking there?" Dean asked and Sam nodded, finding that to be a very good question. However, the answer was simple.
"She's probably not there. For all we know, her kingdom could be Crowley's now, since Christians named Hell after her. She might be hiding on Earth." Sam said and the brothers remained silent considering this idea. It does make sense, despite the fact that mythology was hard to swallow when it becomes something other than just fantastic stories people once told themselves to explain the mysteries of the world.
"So, where would it be now?" Dean asked and Sam looked at a map of the country, tracking the serpent's movements. He was able to pinpoint the next location, if he was correct, and placed his finger on the map.
"Maple City, Michigan. It follows the line of his recent attacks." He replied and when he glanced at Dean, he could tell that his brother wasn't as intrigued as he should be, despite the fact that they might be onto something. Then, it dawned on him just why Dean wasn't invested in this hunt. It wasn't just because his brother chose to forget their experiences with pagan Gods, but his determination and stubbornness to see their mission with Crowley through.
He wanted to talk it out, but that's one thing Dean doesn't do when something bothers him. He shuts down and refuses to do anything else. As the years have gone by, it's only gotten worst; that shutting down and not talking about things. Sam didn't like to say it, but at times like that, Dean was just like their father.
Crowley tortured Kevin, their friend who was the Prophet, for a translation for the Demon tablet. He wanted to open the Gates of Hell and stopped at nothing to get Kevin to do his bidding. He even killed Kevin's girlfriend.
He couldn't get his hands on the Demon tablet, but when he learnt there was an angel tablet, he began searching for it. Crowley had become a bigger than usual pain in their ass because the brothers were trying to close the Gates of Hell. He even killed those they had saved in the past, trying to get them to surrender. They refused. If they could close Hell, then they would.
The last trial was to cure a demon and Crowley had been nominated. They were turning him human with the ritual from the Men of Letters.
Everything was going good, but then someone stepped in to give them more problems.
The last Knight of Hell, Abaddon arrived, trying to put an end to all of them. Her goal was to become the Queen of Hell. Sam got her to flee, after dousing her with Holy Fire, but as Crowley was becoming human, Dean convinced him to stop. If he did all three trials, he'd kill himself. Dean couldn't lose his little brother.
And then, to top it all off, angels fell from the sky as Castiel used the Angel tablet to close Heaven, being misled by Metatron and becoming human. A new problem.
They hadn't been able to get a hold of Castiel since then.
Kevin, on the other hand, was out, taking a long break despite the objections they had. After Crowley mentioned that his mother was still alive, he left, probably gone looking for her.
The Winchesters kept Crowley locked up in their dungeon, trapped within a Devil's Trap and chained in a chair with Devil's Traps carved into those very chains and handcuffs. Dean knew they could get information out of him about the Angel tablet among other things, but since they kept the King of Hell as their captive, he's been snarky and annoying. They even offered to give him to Abaddon, but Crowley still refused to talk.
With all the shit that happened, Sam could understand just wanting to shut down. By lives depended on them and shutting down wasn't an option.
Dean hadn't left the bunker since they stuck Crowley in that dungeon and, by the looks of it, he didn't want to leave even with a possible hunt. Stubborn just like their father.
"Crowley won't be going anywhere and you need to take a break." Sam said and Dean looked at him with that stone cold expression. He wasn't the only one shutting down, refusing to talk about things.
Dean could tell that Sam still wasn't back to normal, although he tried to hide it. Those trials took a lot out of him. Heck, they nearly killed him. But now, he could see that his brother was exhausted. Sam desperately wanted to get back on the road, do anything but sit around in misery. Dean wanted to argue that Sam's condition could get worst, but he knew stubbornness ran through both of them. It was a Winchester thing.
He gave a sort of nod and got up, walking off to his room; might as well shut up his little brother who was the Queen of Nagging.
Sam closed his laptop and went to his room to pack. He glanced at his bed and it seemed tempting to just fall and sleep, but he felt that staying awake was what he had to do. He didn't want Dean to see how those trials took a pretty big chunk out of him, even if they didn't complete them.
He grabbed whatever clothing he saw first and knew that as soon as they were ready, they'd be leaving for Maple City, Michigan. Moving forward and going on a hunt would bring, not only him, but Dean back to normal, step by step.