Chapter Seven

Mary stared out the windshield as John drove through the night. They had been on the road for a couple hours, wanting to put some distance between them and the demons. Pretty soon, they would have to buy the batteries for the radio in case the boys needed to contact them.

Dean had fallen asleep in the backseat shortly after they got on the highway.

John glanced over at Mary. "Everything's going to be okay. As soon as this mess is over, we'll find another place. We'll be fine."

Mary shook her head sadly. "No, John, I don't think we will."

"Mary—" John began to comfort her.

"Nothing is gonna be fine again, John," Mary said, looking over at him. "Whether it's demons or ghosts or something else, they'll always come after me…after us. I thought I could have that normal life, but I can't." She looked down at Sam, who was asleep in her arms. "Let's face it…A hunter never really retires, do they? Even if they give up the life, they still know what's out there."

John reached over and pulled Mary gently to his side.

Mary held her baby boy close. "I think, deep down, I always knew something would be back. Guess that's why I kept that arsenal in the closet." She took a deep breath. "I don't think we can go back to normal. Everything's changed now."

John rubbed his hand over Mary's arm. "And if it has…it doesn't matter. We're still all here. And after this is over, we'll still be here. Even though we're hunters, it doesn't mean we can't live a normal life. We can raise our boys normal while hunting on the side. We'll protect them, but not turn them into hunters. We'll let them decide when they grow up."

Mary looked up at him.

"I promise they will have a better life than you did," John told her.

Mary smiled as she nodded.

"But for now…" said John, "I need the crash course."

Mary nodded, beginning to explanation about everything related to hunting. "Well…ghosts are vengeful spirits—at least ghosts who try to hurt people. There are ghosts out there who don't harm anyone. Vengeful spirits are created by violent deaths. Now, usually, the bones are what keep them around, so what you have to do…"

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Sam glanced over at the radio for about the tenth time since they had ordered pizza, clenching his hands in front of him nervously.

Dean rolled his eyes from the other bed. "Dude, relax. If they need us, they'll call."

"And if something happens to them?" Sam pointed out, looking at him.

"Then we'll know," Dean told him, flipping through the channels on the TV. "Stuff will change, we'll get new memories, something. Just chill. Nothing we can do right now."

Sam sighed. "I guess you're right."

A knock came at the door.

"Ugh, finally," Dean muttered, rolling off the bed and onto his feet. He reached the door and opened it. "About freakin' time…"

A middle-aged guy in a suit stood at the door.

"Can I help you?" asked Dean.

The man smiled at Dean, eerily serene. "Yes, you can." He raised his hand, palm facing Dean.

Dean flew across the room, hitting the wall by Sam's bed and getting pinned there.

"Dean!" Sam shouted, jumping up to rush towards the guy.

The guy turned his palm towards Sam, and Sam was flung into the wall by the TV. The man stepped towards the center of the room, the door slamming closed on its own behind him.

"You, too, Sam," said the guy.

"What do you want?" growled Dean.

The guy looked at him. "You."

Dean glanced fearfully over at Sam and back at the man. "Look, I don't know what you've heard, but I haven't welched on the deal. I—"

"I don't want your soul, Dean," said the man. "I'm an angel."

Dean and Sam stared at him, dumbfounded.

"You're what?" said Dean.

"An angel, Dean. The name's Zachariah."

Dean sneered at him. "Yeah, right. There's no such thing."

Zachariah shook his head bracingly. "Always so narrow-minded."

Thunder rumbled distantly, and lightning flashed in the room, shining on Zachariah. Black wings lit up on the wall behind him, stretching up and over his head before the light vanished. Sam stared in awe as Dean narrowed his eyes at the guy.

"How are we supposed to know you're for real?" asked Dean.

"I could care less if you believe me or not," said Zachariah, stepping closer to Dean. "I am here for one reason and one reason only…to take this out of both of your asses."

He raised his hand, and Dean yelled in pain, spitting up blood.

"Dean!" Sam yelled, struggling against the angel's hold.

"You two are the biggest pain in my ass in the last two millennia," Zachariah growled. "We worked for years—centuries—to perfect this little plan. And in one night, you two managed to tear it all down."

He raised his other hand, and Sam began coughing up blood.

"You were meant to bring on the apocalypse and follow your orders!" Zachariah thundered. He raised his fist and punched Dean. He headed over towards Sam. "You are nothing more than pawns in our world!" He punched Sam. "Filthy maggots, puking larvae!"

Zachariah began beating the two of them. After a few minutes, he backed up in the center of the room again. Dean had a swollen eye, busted lip, cuts on his face, and probably some busted ribs. Sam had a nasty, swollen cut under his eye, a broken nose and what looked like a dislocated wrist.

"What made you pathetic meatsacks think you could just rewrite destiny?" Zachariah forced out past clenched teeth.

Zachariah marched towards Dean with murderous hate in his eyes. Dean braced himself for another onslaught as the angel drew closer. Zachariah suddenly yelled out in pain as he spun around, clutching at his side. A man with black hair and startlingly blue eyes stood behind Zachariah, wearing a black suit and tan trench coat and holding a shiny, silver sword. Light was pouring out of the cut the guy had made in Zachariah's side.

"Castiel…" said Zachariah. "You wanna tell me the meaning of this?"

"I won't let you destroy these boys," said Castiel in a deep voice. "Let them go."

Zachariah glared at the trench-coated man. "You dare to defy your superiors?"

"They are my friends," Castiel told him.

Dean and Sam exchanged confused and pain-filled glances. They didn't know this guy.

Zachariah stared at Castiel, realizing. "You are not the Castiel of now. You came back to change the past. We are specifically forbidden from interfering with history!"

"I think history has been changed enough," said Castiel.

He lunged at Zachariah with the sword, but the angel grabbed Castiel and flung him into the wall…hard. The plaster cracked around Castiel as he fell to the floor. Castiel pulled himself to his feet as Zachariah rushed him. Castiel swung a punch at Zachariah's face, drawing blood. Castiel swung the sword at Zachariah, who grabbed his arm and pulled his own sword out of his suit jacket.

Zachariah swung the sword at Castiel, but he blocked it with his other arm. They struggled for a moment before Castiel noticed a weak spot. Castiel raised his leg and kicked Zachariah in the side where his wound was. Zachariah clutched at his side as he brought the sword down. Castiel slashed his blade down, piercing Zachariah through the heart.

Zachariah yelled as light poured out from behind the blade. The light grew in intensity as Sam and Dean closed their eyes and turned their heads away. Castiel pulled the sword out, and light exploded from Zachariah.

The force holding Sam and Dean to the walls evaporated, and they fell to the floor. They looked over at each other and over at Castiel, who stood over Zachariah's body. They stood up and stared at the body, which had dark wings splayed out on either side as though they were burned onto the floor. Sam and Dean looked warily at Castiel.

"Uh…thanks," muttered Dean.

Castiel turned suddenly towards them, reaching out for them. Sam and Dean started to back away in alarm, but Castiel touched two fingers to each of their foreheads. Sam and Dean felt the pain from their injuries disappear.

"Don't mention it," muttered Castiel.

Sam and Dean touched their faces to find that they were healed.

Dean frowned at the guy. "Who are you?"

"Castiel," the guy began to eplain.

"Yeah, I figured that much," Dean growled. "I mean, what are you?"

For some reason, that made Castiel smile fondly. It wasn't much of a smile, but for all the emotion he'd shown on his face since he got there, he may as well have been grinning madly.

"I'm an angel of the Lord," Castiel explained.

Sam frowned down at Zachariah. "Wasn't he an angel?"

Castiel looked down at Zachariah and nodded. "My brethren have…fallen astray. They wish to bring on paradise to rid themselves of caring for humanity."

Dean frowned. "Okay, there is so much of this that doesn't make sense. Why are they running the planet? Where is God in all this? And why wouldn't paradise be a good thing? And, by the way, how do you know us?"

Castiel frowned as he stared at Dean. "Which question would you like me to answer first?"

Dean rolled his eyes in frustration.

Sam put a hand on Dean's chest to get him to cool off before addressing the angel. "How do you know us? Zachariah said that you weren't from now?"

Castiel nodded. "I come from the year 2010."

"And we're friends?" asked Dean.

"Yes," Castiel answered.

"Alright, start from the beginning," said Dean. "When did we meet you?"

"2008," Castiel replied. "I was the one who raised you from perdition."

Dean's brow rose in surprise. "You pulled me from hell?"

Castiel nodded. "Four months after you died. I was told to raise you to stop the apocalypse."

Sam suddenly frowned, remembering something. "Wait, but he said something about us bringing on the apocalypse."

Castiel nodded once again. "The angels have been planning it for over two millennia. Azazel made the—"

"Azazel?" asked Sam.

"The demon that killed your mother," Castiel explained. "Azazel made the deal with your father to break the first seal."

"Seal?" said Dean.

"There are hundreds of seals protecting Lucifer's cage," said Castiel. "In order to free him, sixty-six of them must be broken."

"Lucifer?" Dean uttered in shock. "As in, the devil?"

"Yes," said Castiel. "That has been the demons' plan all along."

"I thought you said it was the angels' plan," Sam pointed out.

"The demons plan to unleash Lucifer so they can rule heaven," Castiel explained. "The angels want to get Lucifer free so the archangel Michael can kill him and bring peace to mankind."

Dean frowned. "Isn't that a good thing?"

"The battle between Michael and Lucifer will be immense," Castiel went on. "It will destroy half of the planet. The angels believe that the outcome is worth the risk."

"And our dad's death was the first seal?" Dean asked the angel.

Castiel shook his head once. "The first seal will be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in hell."

The boys' faces paled.

"So…so, you're saying Dad…" Dean said, unable to voice it.

"No, your father did not," Castiel replied. He looked sadly at Dean. "You did."

Dean's jaw dropped. "What?"

"Your father would not break, so they had to make a deal with you," Castiel told him. "When you were dragged to hell…they broke you…and you broke the seal. That is why the angels sent me to raise you."

"They sent you?" asked Sam. "You were with them?"

Castiel nodded. "I was among heaven's ranks before I learned the truth. You and your brother spent a year trying to stop Lillith from breaking the seals. Dean began hunting down the demons responsible whereas you, Sam, used more…unconventional methods."

Sam nodded in understanding. "My psychic abilities…"

"Ruby taught you how to use them—" Castiel began.

"Ruby?" said Dean, his voice rising. "Ruby the demon?"

"Yes," said Castiel, seeming to avoid Dean's gaze. Apparently, he had experience with Dean's attitude towards Ruby. "She won Sam's trust and caused his psychic abilities to emerge by…feeding Sam demon blood."

Sam and Dean's eyes widened. "What?"

Castiel avoided the tender subject and went on with his story. "At the end of the year, Sam killed Lillith with his abilities to stop her from breaking the final seal. But Zachariah had pushed Sam to kill her because her death was the final seal."

Sam's jaw dropped. "I broke the final seal?"

Castiel nodded. "Lucifer was set free, but before the battle could begin, he and Michael would need their vessels. Dean, you are Michael's vessel, and Sam is Lucifer's."

Dean's eyes widened. "You're possessing some poor bastard?"

"An angel cannot possess a human like a demon can," Castiel told them. "We need to be invited in. The three of us tried everything to kill the devil—the Colt, finding God—but nothing worked. We finally decided to lock Lucifer back in his cage. Sam gave Lucifer his consent—"

"He what?" exclaimed Dean, looking at Sam.

"—to fight back control and jump into the cage," Castiel finished.

Dean frowned, surprised. "Did it work?"

"Eventually, yes," said Castiel. "I only recently pulled Sam back from hell."

"Wow…" breathed Dean, overwhelmed. "Um…Our bad?"

Sam chuckled a little, hiding his smile behind his hand.

"Good thing we're fixing it, then, right?" Dean smiled at the angle.

Castiel gave him an appreciative smile and a nod. "Good thing."