An Impromptu Visit.
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Death hummed in contentment as he bit down elegantly on the forkful of succulent pizza.
He was rather glad he had spared Chicago; true there were many places that served up the junk food he favoured, but this was surely the best pizza he had ever eaten.
Death was a solitary being; his line of work didn't exactly endear him to others; not even to his army of reapers whom he kept in line with an iron fist, stricter than any marine commander.
If he ever caught one of them stepping out of line, his wrath would be unmerciful.
Sometimes though, blind obedience could be boring, he mused.
X
This was the same table he had sat at with Dean Winchester, just before the Apocalypse had entered its final act.
The boy was a strange mix of fear and defiance, and he had to admit that he enjoyed his little exchanges with Dean, even if he considered the entire race of humans more or less at the same level as a colony of ants, compared to his august self of course, but they were certainly curious and engaging creatures.
The Winchesters had kept well away from him since the unfortunate debacle of trying to bind him to take out the wannabe God Castiel, whose delusions of grandeur had turned him against his old acquaintances and who had so callously broken the wall he had so carefully put up in Sam's head.
He wondered if the boy's mind had survived the break.
Well he had nothing else to do for the moment so he might just go pay them a visit and satisfy his curiosity.
He ordered more pizza, took a second to locate the whereabouts of the Winchesters, materializing instantly in their motel room where two surprised faced gawked at him.
X
"Dean, Sam," he greeted pleasantly, placing the food on the table and taking a seat as the brothers backed away alarmed.
"Um..." Sam began.
"It's quite alright, Sam, " Death enunciated in his polite manner. "I'm not here to do either of you any harm. Consider it a friendly visit. I thought it would be congenial to share a meal together.
I brought you pizza from that little place in Chicago. You remember don't you Dean? Come, sit down; be my guests."
He glared balefully at them while indicating the empty chairs.
The brothers exchanged wary glances but there wasn't much else to do except obey, and so they did.
X
"Here, take a slice, Sam... Dean. It's excellent," Death deadpanned as the brothers took the proffered slices on the paper plates he had brought with him.
Death was nothing if not organized!
X
"Now then, I know I was a little cross with you both when you tried to bind me, " he continued.
"It was rather nasty of you and it did take me a while to calm down, but there's no point in holding a grudge when I could snuff out your lives in a second, so I thought I'd pop in and see what further damage you might have done to the foundations of time and space."
X
"Um…," Sam tried again, but Death seemed to be on a ride as far as talking was concerned.
"Sam, I didn't expect you to be on your feet after the angel broke your wall. Rather a nasty thing to do to you after you sacrificed yourself to stop the Apocalypse, but then angels are distasteful lot; so much worse now that God isn't around to keep them in check.
If I were you two, I'd keep well away from them. But come now, I'm doing all the talking. Chalk it down to the fact that I rarely get the chance!" he almost grimaced.
"So Sam?" he repeated. " How are you?"
X
The younger Winchester cleared his throat before speaking. "Uh, well, I was pretty bad..."
"Yeah, " Dean broke in. " He was just waiting for one of your reaper minions to come and get him, so he wasn't just pretty bad, he was a goner."
"Dean, manners! It's not polite to interrupt. I was addressing Sam, " Death chided fixing Dean with a stare that had him almost trembling at the knees.
Sam threw an amused glance at his brother.
He wasn't as in awe of Death as Dean was. He figured that if he had wished them harm, they would have been dead by now.
"Yeah, I was dying; couldn't get a moment's rest with Lucifer banging my head twenty-four hours a day, but Dean found Castiel and he shifted my hallucinations onto himself. I can still remember them all, but I can push them away far easier now," Sam explained.
X
"I'm glad to hear that Sam. It was a very brave thing you did throwing yourself into the Cage with Lucifer, knowing what tortures you would be subjected to.
I remember when your brother came begging me to get your soul back. I have to say that he's the first human who has dared to come into my realm and ask for a favour. I admired his audacity and that's one of the reasons I granted his request, " Death said chewing slowly on his pizza.
"I asked him whose soul he wanted, yours or Adam's but he never hesitated a second before choosing you."
X
Sam caught Dean's eyes. "You never told me that, Dean!"
"What was there to tell? There was never any choice. I'm sorry for Adam but I came for you, Sammy," Dean shrugged. "What would you have done?"
Sam lowered his eyes. There would never have been any choice for him either. Dean came before anything and everyone.
X
"You couldn't…." he began turning to Death.
"No Sam, I couldn't! I'm nobody's messenger boy. I gave Dean a choice and he picked you. Perhaps when God decides to come out of hiding, He will intercede for your half-brother. I noticed that he wasn't being badly treated. Michael protects his vessel."
"But..., " Sam insisted stubbornly..
"No buts, Sam! I have already given my answer!" and this time the glare that Death turned on him made him tremble too, so he closed his mouth.
"Now then, have you made any progress in shutting those uncouth Leviathans back in their cage?"
X
"Not yet," Dean answered cagily. "We've got our hands on a tablet supposedly with the word of God. It's a spell to take out their leader. It seems that if he goes down, they all do."
"Good, " Death nodded. "I don't have much respect for humans but the Leviathans, although more powerful, are a crude and vulgar lot of meat-eaters. We don't want them around now, do we?"
X
"Well, it's been nice having this little chat. I might drop in again some other time," Death declared as he pushed back his chair and stood up, his cane appearing magically in his hand.
"Perhaps next time I see you, the Leviathans will be back in the swamps of Purgatory. Your angel friend has a lot to answer for in letting them out, and I'm sure when his boss comes back, he won't be too pleased to see that he has destroyed most of his brother angels too. Be very careful. The angels belong to heaven and they only care about their own realm. They are not creatures of the Earth as you are, and its safety is not high on their list. Without God to guide them they are easily manipulated by those more cunning than themselves. The last time I warned you about the souls, Dean. This time I warn you of the angels."
And with that he disappeared.
X
Dean felt himself relaxing when only he and Sam remained in the room
"What the Hell, Sammy! Since when does Death pay house-calls?"
"Huh, you know, Dean, I get the feeling he's a little lonely. After all, other than God, there's not really anyone else for him to talk to."
"Yeah, well, I'd rather he hadn't adopted us as his confidants," Dean bitched.
He couldn't understand why Death had the effect he did on him. All he knew was that the less he saw of the Grim Reaper, the better.
He had to admit however that the old crow had good taste in pizza.
X
"Dean," Sam said coming to loom over him. "Just what was that all about? He gave you a choice? Come on. I want to hear the whole story."
"Aw Sammy. I've just been through a hair-raising moment here. Can't it wait?
"No, Dean it can't," Sam insisted, arms folded like some Arabian genii, bitch-face securely in place.
X
The enD.