Hello everybody,

this is my take-on what could have happened after the final of season 13.

For the record: this whole story was written before season 14 started, so any similarities are totally by accident^^
I don't want to spoil anything more to you, so I just hope you'll enjoy it.

Please note that English isn't my native language, but I'm lucky to have a great Beta ;-)
Still, every form of comment, concrit, help or informaition is strongly appreciated.
I want to improve my writing skills, so I'm glad if you point out anything you noted (and of course as well if you like the story ^^)

Greetings
Sharry


Prologue

"So, who the hell are you?"

Eyes cold enough to belong to a murderer stared him down.

"I doubt you will believe me," Sam answered, calm.

"Humor me."

The man in front of him didn't even bother to lower his shotgun, neither did his companions, who watched warily as the two men talked.

But Sam wasn't the kind of man who was fazed by a loaded weapon pointing at him. Those lifeless eyes on the other hand were quite unsettling, although he would never admit that.

Slowly, he took a look around, glancing at every single person before regarding the man in front of him again.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."
"Hmpf," the other man scoffed, "not like I'm the one with the gun, right?"

"So you'll kill me if you don't believe me?"

"Probably. But I will definitely kill you if you try to fuck with me," the leader confirmed, just as calm, now sneering slightly.

So much for that. Sam was a good liar but no matter what he came up with, it would be more likely than the actual truth. He wasn't sure if this man would see right through him, but Sam was certain he'd shoot him if he did.

Sighing deeply he scratched his head before folding his arms. The people around him all glanced over to their boss, who didn't seem to mind the movement.

"Okay, you want the truth, as unbelievable as it is?"

The other man rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Didn't I just say that? You got the choice, start talking or I'll fill your head with some metal."

He then threw his weapon over his shoulder and leaned against the table, folding his legs over another, contradicting his threatening words. Still, everybody else kept their guns on the intruder.

"So, who the hell are you?" He repeated.

Sam sighed again lightly, but there was nothing he could do.

"My name's Sam and I heard that you might be able to help me."

The man in front of him didn't even react, his view never leaving the hunter, so Sam continued.

"Actually, I didn't plan on ending up here, but then I heard about you and that if I have any issues concerning angels I should talk to you."

"Who said that?" The man was ice-cold but didn't give any sign if he believed Sam or if he thought that he was a madman. "And where did you plan to end up? How did you come here?"

The roughness of his voice made the hunter shudder. It sounded almost like he was scolding him for giving an incomplete answer. Even his own father hadn't been able to make him feel like a stupid brat with just a few questions and an icy tone.

"I don't know his name, but he owns the farm about twenty miles from here." He pointed to his left. "He was the one who told me about you and where to find you."

"Liar!" Some guy next to him growled. "Jim doesn't talk to strangers. This guy must have tortured him. Did you kill him?"

"No, of course not." He spun around, indignant about the assumption. "Why would I? He found me wandering through the forest and then we talked like normal, civilized people usually do. He just told me where to get help, that's it."

"Yeah sure, because normal people take a walk through the woods armed like some crazy..."

"Hey," the leader interrupted the enraged man, "that's enough." His eyes never left Sam and his voice stayed emotionless.

"So why were you in the woods in the first place?"

"Tze," Sam clicked his tongue in irritation, "like I said, you're not gonna believe me." He turned towards the leader again, much more controlled now.

"Well, I'll be the one to decide on that, but he's right, you know? It's unlikely for Jim to talk to strangers as long as they're breathing, so you must have some hell of a story for him to help you."

Sam opened his mouth to answer, but this was more difficult than expected, especially with eight guns pointing at him.

"I'm from another universe."

Nobody reacted, except for the leader, who lifted a single eyebrow. Showing half a smile, Sam continued.

"In my universe we have some bad problems with an archangel from another universe, so I tried to travel into his world to gain some information about him, but instead I ended up here. I don't know what went wrong, but I know that I have only about twenty hours left before my way back closes for good."

He didn't know what reaction to expect, but he could see the men and women surrounding him exchange quick glances.

"An archangel from another universe?" The man in front of him repeated, calm.

"You don't actually believe him, do you? That's insane!" A woman to Sam's right insisted.

But the leader simply looked at Sam, almost a curious shimmer in his otherwise lifeless eyes.

"So you want me to help you kill an archangel from another universe? Well, not sure if you've noticed, but we kind of have our hands full with our own winged dickheads, so why would I help you?"

"Because if you help me maybe I can help you as well. You see, I have my own experience with the supernatural."

"You're a hunter?"

It surprised him how easily the other one found out and how openly he talked about it, but nobody seemed surprised, maybe the hunters weren't as subtle in this universe.

"You as well?" He asked as he pulled the collar of his shirt down to show his anti-possession tattoo.

"No, but I've met several. This camp here was founded by some, two of them are leading it."

So he wasn't the actual leader, yet all the others treated him with respect, or maybe fear?

The other man turned away and put his weapon down on the table behind him.

"Okay, I get it so far. But about your whole 'lemme scratch your back and you scratch mine' stuff. You still haven't given me a single reason why I should help you. I have enough on my plate, I don't need the BS of another universe."

"Michael." That was the only word he had as an answer and it was more than enough.

The other man froze for a second, his jawline grew razor sharp, his lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes came alive with the fire of pure hatred.

"I'm fighting against Michael, just like you are. I need somebody who knows about archangel possession..."

"Everybody, get out!" The sudden volume startled everybody, including Sam, although the order wasn't angry, just deadly serious.

To Sam's surprise, nobody objected, yet it was obvious that none of them understood, and even fewer agreed with that order.

Neither Sam nor the man in front of him moved until the door fell closed behind the last of the people filing out. The look he was giving Sam now was not as calm as before. He was angry, almost furious. He folded his arms and turned towards him.

"How did you find out?" This wasn't a question, it was a threat.

Confused, Sam took half a step back.

"Like I already said, I met this farmer, Jim or whatever, and he..."

"No!" The other man took another step towards him and although he was shorter than Sam he seemed to loom over him. "How do you know about Michael? Who told you? Who knew?"

Sam wasn't easy to scare, he had seen a lot in his life, had been through even more, but right now he felt fear growing within him. It seemed he had discovered some dark secret without even intending to.

"Look, nobody told me. All this farmer said was that there's guy who shows up at the refugee camp every so often who knows more about angels than everybody else in this world and I didn't really care because I know a lot about angels myself. You see, in my world I'm the true vessel of Lucifer."

This seemed to surprise the other man.

"You're Lucifer's true vessel?"

Sam simply nodded.

"But that doesn't explain how you know about Michael and me." His tone was deadly again.

"Well, I figured it out on my own. In my..."

"How?" The other man interrupted him, standing directly in front of him.

"Would you just give me a second to explain?" He wasn't going to be intimidated by this man.

"It was your name, okay?"

"My name?" Now the other man seemed confused. "How do you even know my name?"

"This Jim told me and I know it from my universe, you see..."

"I don't understand," the man in front of him interfered again, "if you're Lucifer's true vessel from your world, Michael's has to be..."

"Exactly, that's what I'm trying to tell you. My full name is Sam Winchester and my brother is Michael's true vessel."

The other man stared at him in utter disbelief.

"And that's how I knew that you must have been possessed by Michael. Because even though you don't know me, in another universe you and I are brothers, Dean."