A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. The title and closing lyrics are "Vienna" by The Fray, which I also don't own. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review. :D
Vienna
The lengths of the days seem to grow as answers are few and far between. Castiel continues to heal from the demon attack, his physical body almost back together without pain. Sam's emotional state continues to be depreciated at worst, and his relationship with Dean is still tenuous at best.
Try as they might, Bobby and Castiel can't quite seem to reconcile the Winchesters.
Castiel and Dean are sitting in yet another motel room, trying their best to hide in plain sight. Sam is in the shower at the moment, and Bobby is quickly working his way back to the boys.
Finally, the outbreak Castiel has been expecting for days comes to surface as Dean throws a book against a wall in frustration while he jumps up.
"What the hell are we doing?" Dean spews. "Reading lore? We don't have a friggen thing! No one's ever had to kill the fucking devil! How the hell are we supposed to?"
Castiel sighs softly, unsure of how exactly to respond. But the outburst ends as suddenly as it began as Dean paces more calmly.
"I don't wanna trust the angels," Dean spouts, sounding more like a petulant child than the man of 30 years that he is.
"There may be another way," Castiel says softly.
Dean stops, throwing up his hands. "I'm open to anything right now."
"We need to find wherever God has gone."
"How?"
"That is a very good question."
"What, is God on vacation or something?"
Castiel shrugs. "I don't know. If he is, he has been gone a long time."
"Yeah," Dean resigns. "Long enough for the angels to finally think that the Apocalypse could be a good idea."
Castiel nods, sighing.
"What can we do to find God?" Dean asks, looking at Castiel.
"I don't know," Castiel replies, half-sarcastic. "I forgot to throw the GPS in him before I left Heaven."
"You're becoming a bigger pain in the ass every day."
Castiel smirks. "That so shocking?"
Dean shrugs. "Is there anyone in Heaven that might still be working for the humans?" he asks, going back to the original subject.
"I doubt it," Castiel replies. "Perhaps Chuck can shed some light on that, though. He is the closest connection we have to Heaven right now."
"I'll give him a call. Pretty much anything's worth a shot at this point."
Bobby knocks on the motel room door as Dean starts dialing his phone. Castiel opens the door as Sam finally exits the bathroom.
"You look a helluva lot better than the last time I saw you," Bobby comments, patting Castiel on the shoulder as he pushes past him.
"I feel better," Castiel replies, checking outside before closing the door and bolting it shut.
"That's good. How ya doin', Sam?"
"I'm alive," he mutters.
Bobby gives Castiel a look, and the former angel shrugs as if to say, 'no, nothing's changed.'
"How're we doin' on the Apocalypse?" Dean asks, shifting the mouthpiece of his cell phone down toward his throat.
"Well, it's started," Bobby says regretfully.
Dean groans softly as Chuck finally answers the phone.
Castiel turns to Sam, finding the younger Winchester even more despondent. The past few days, Sam had been starting to come around. But Bobby's news has crushed any gains that Sam has been making.
"I need some air," Sam says finally, grabbing his coat as the thunder crackles outside. Without another word and before anyone can stop him, Sam escapes the room.
"Is there anything we can do?" Castiel asks, looking at Bobby as he gestures to where Sam just left.
"Pray we manage to stop this," Bobby replies. "Before 90% of humanity is gone."
"Thanks, Chuck," Dean says, hanging up. "Chuck's gonna be on the lookout, but he says that it seems like the angels are even scrambling here."
"What if this is the key I hold?" Castiel asks. "What if that's what I'm destined to do?"
"If it is, you might wanna get on that."
"I'm not sure where to start."
"What do you know about God?"
"He is my Father. He will help us, if we can find him."
"And how exactly are we supposed to do that?"
Castiel shrugs. "Pray?"
"I can't imagine He'd be too far away when His creation's about to be seized by Hell," Bobby says.
"But the question is, who is he gonna back?" Dean asks. "Us, or the angels?"
"The angels allowed for this," Castiel says. "God is not going to be happy with them for that."
"Hey, if God gives you the chance to become an angel again, will you take it?"
Castiel shrugs. "I don't know that will happen."
Dean tilts his head to the side, looking around the room. "Where'd Sam go?" he asks, finally noticing his missing brother.
"Said he needed some air," Bobby replies.
Dean groans softly again. "I swear, if he doesn't get his head back in the game here, I'm gonna kill him."
"I think that is what he's hoping for," Castiel whispers, uttering the words that Bobby had been thinking but wasn't willing to say.
Thunder echoes in the silence that follows Castiel's words, and Dean shakes his head. "You two… work on something," Dean says in soft distraction as he grabs his own jacket. "I'm going to find Sam."
Dean is gone before Bobby or Castiel can say another word.
*~*~*~*
Sam shudders as the wind kicks up and the rain pours down, threatening to wash away all of humanity. Though he'll never admit it, Sam is hoping that he either gets struck by lightning or swept away in the current of the nearby river that is in danger of flooding.
Despite managing to save some people, Sam can't see where his powers have done him any good. The torrential downpours that have swept across the country, coupled with the unbearable heat in many places, have shown him just how badly he has messed this up. And now, innocent people are being slaughtered by the truckload.
It makes him sick.
Sam toys with Ruby's knife, the one thing he managed to sneak out of the hotel room under his coat. Ruby. There's the biggest mistake he ever made. She played him from day one, dangling Dean in front of him before doing the same with Lilith. He never should've trusted her. He should've listened to Dean.
Bobby's right. Sam is an idiot.
Sam continues to hold the knife, contemplating ending it all right here, right now. But Sam feels that's the coward's way out, and while he's never been more afraid in his life, Sam also isn't that selfish.
Well, maybe he is.
If he isn't, how come Ruby was so able to jerk him around? His selfishness of not letting go of Dean made him trust her in the first place. And even after Dean came back from hell, he still let his selfish vengeance get the best of him, teaming up with Ruby to kill Lilith.
And look what that's gotten him.
The rain pounding down around him is loud, but he can still hear the footsteps walking up behind him. He clutches the handle of the knife tightly, his body ready for attack.
"Dude, I know you so well," Dean says, his voice barely audible above the rain.
"Yeah," Sam replies, relaxing his posture. "You do."
"Which is why I know you're gonna give me Ruby's knife."
Sam shakes his head, looking down at the puddle forming in the grass. Both brothers are already soaked to the bone at this point. Something else for Sam to feel guilty about- the fact that Dean got soaked searching for Sam.
"Sammy," Dean says softly. "Give me the knife."
"No," Sam whispers.
"Is this how it ends then? What, am I supposed to walk away and let you kill yourself?"
"No."
"Then what is this, Sammy?"
Sam shrugs, shaking his head. "The Apocalypse."
Dean shifts his position, moving into Sam's line of sight rather than standing beside him. "This," he says, gesturing around at the rain. "This is not your fault."
"Really?" Sam counters, looking up. "Because two weeks ago, you were saying the exact opposite."
"Yeah, well, I was wrong. It's my fault, not yours."
"How do you figure, Dean? Were you the one to break the last seal?"
"No."
"Then how is any of this your fault?"
"Because I broke the first one!" Dean shouts.
Sam rests back a bit as Dean's confession sinks in. "What?"
"I… I broke the first one," Dean repeats, his voice much softer. "I started this."
Sam swallows hard, unable to form actual words at the moment.
Dean shakes his head slowly, recalling the words Alastair told him a few months ago. "'And it is written that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in Hell. As he breaks, so shall it break.'"
Sam bites his lip, watching in silence as his older brother looks defeated.
Dean knows that if not for the heavy rain, Sam might actually see the tears of guilty regret falling down the older brother's face. But, maintaining his cover, Dean continues softly with, "I know I've been an ass lately…"
Sam scoffs lightly.
"But… it's because I don't know what to do. Innocent people are being killed and ultimately, it's my fault."
"I didn't have to break the last one," Sam concedes, his own depression seeping through.
"But you can't break the other seals without breaking the first," Dean replies dismally. "So, we've both brought on the end of the world."
Sam sighs, nodding and falling silent as the rain continues to pour down over the already saturated Winchesters.
*~*~*~*
Castiel's stomach growls loudly, and he reaches into the plastic bag on the table. He pulls out a large bag of chips, a candy bar, and a bottle of water. He opens the bag, eating the chips as he goes back to the book in front of him.
Bobby chuckles softly, and Castiel looks up. "You've been with Dean too long, son," Bobby says, gesturing at Castiel's food choices.
"They are good," Castiel defends, frowning slightly.
"They're not good for you, though."
Castiel shrugs. "I'll eat an apple later."
Bobby chuckles again, taking a few chips from the bag Castiel has opened. "Definitely been with Dean too long."
*~*~*~*
"I'm sorry, Dean," Sam says, looking at his older brother.
"Sam," Dean says tiredly, looking up. "We've both made this mess. And now, we've both gotta clean it up."
Sam nods again, but says nothing.
"So, I say we get the hell out of the rain, and see if we can't help Cas find God. ... And I sound like a priest."
Sam chuckles softly, sticking the knife back in between his jeans and his belt.
Dean claps his hand over the back of his brother's neck, squeezing it gently to offer what little comfort he can. After all, Sam is still his brother. Moronic, and a major pain in the ass at times, but still his brother.
Sam watches his feet as they leave the park, his mood still downtrodden. The knowledge of Dean starting this doesn't make him feel any better. Dean wouldn't have even gone to Hell if Sam had just figured out a way to get him out of the deal. But Sam had been too stupid to figure something out, and too slow to save Dean. Instead, Sam had to watch as the Hellhounds ripped Dean's flesh from his bones.
Sam wishes Hellhounds would rip him apart. At least, it'd be something he deserves.
Dean looks over at Sam, seeing the guilty expression hiding in between pain and fear. Dean has seen these expressions so often with Sam, almost as often as he has felt them within himself. And Dean hates himself for not being quicker, not being able to stop Sam from breaking that final seal, and for starting this in the first place.
Dean wishes Castiel was still an angel and that he could wave his time traveling wand, make it so that none of this ever happened. But, none of that can be. They can't take this back.
The only thing they can do is fight to stay alive.
This is the distance
This is my game face
There's really no way to reach me
There's really no way to reach me
Is there really no way to reach me?
Am I already gone?
