Supernatural: Chronicles of the Order 4

Chapter 8: The Resurgence of Hope

(DISCLAIMER: No, I don't own Supernatural because it belongs to Eric Kripke and Warner Bros. So, enjoy the show! Rated M for graphic violence, adult content, and adult language.)

I was up and about as I was getting ready to start the day going fishing. It had been two days since Dean and I were on Yock Island as we were there the moment we saw Reuben, Castiel, and Yashamaru leaving towards the ship. The warmth of the sun made me hopeful as I wasn't afraid to violate the test of not using my raw power again. The words coming from everyone made me realize that I was lost without using my raw power out in the open as the exile in the Dabb Mountains on Shiganshina for six months became something that made me more of a beast than a man. With breakfast consisting of fruit that was picked from the trees, I got into the fresh pineapple after cutting and skinning it as I was most likely to be going forth to go fishing again. The resurgence of my commitment into using the raw power that I had was becoming more intense than normal, but I had to make sure that I didn't fly off the handle during my stay on Yock Island.

After I finished up my breakfast, I smelled something cooking as I went into the kitchen to see what was cooking. It wasn't long until I noticed a huge stewpot on the stove as it was slow-cooking until it simmered. Out of curiosity, I decided to look into it as I noticed it to be a stew cooking in the pot until I noticed a familiar head floating in it. My heart dropped as I found Dean's head in it as it opened its eyes and stared at me. I was gasping for air as I saw the terrible fate that my brother had the moment I was scared to death and saddened at what I saw.

"You shouldn't have done that, Sammy," the head said to me. "You should've never recommitted to using your raw power in the first place!"

In that moment, I woke up as I was shaking in my bed. I was having a nightmare as I got up and left the room in which I went towards the kitchen to see Dean cooking at the stewpot that I noticed on the stove in my dream. I was relieved that my brother didn't get his head chopped off and put into the stewpot as I saw him cooking away at the stew that was smelling nicely for tonight's dinner. Still, the image of Dean's head in the stewpot unnerved me as I couldn't get that image of it out of my head. There was also the warning about me not to use my raw power ever again looming as I was trying hard not to think about it so much. There was also the factor of Soulless Sam's words haunting me as I heard his words ringing in my ears.

"I'll ruin you if you keep up to your raw power, and if you don't like it, you can go kill yourself so that no one will ever mourn you at your funeral!"

Those words scared me as I felt regret into resuming my use of the raw power that I had within me, but I also feared for Dean's life in the process. In a flash, I saw Soulless Sam standing in front of me as he had a machete in one hand and Dean's head in the other. I couldn't take it much longer as the image of the personal id in my past life's soulless self was smiling while he was standing there, but I was shaken by the last minute when I felt Dean's hand touch at my shoulder. He saw me shaking with fear as I couldn't take the graphic images of him having his head chopped off and put in a stewpot, for I couldn't let that happen to him this time.

"Is something wrong, Sam?" he asked me as I was shaking with fear.

"I had a bad dream...," I said.

"What got you so spooked like this?"

"In my dream, I saw a stewpot that was cooking on the stove. When I looked into it, I saw your severed head in it. I even heard it say that I shouldn't use my raw power anymore, but-"

"Hey, what did we tell you last night? There's nothing wrong with using your raw power and you'd be jello without it. Besides, there's no way in hell that I'm gonna drop dead just yet 'cause I'm there to be at my squad in the Hunter Corps. I know that you're scared to death about the nightmare you had, but you can't just dwell on it forever."

I went outside as I walked towards the boat the moment I cast it off towards the water. I was ready to go until I heard and sensed something in the distance. The sound of Dean's voice calling for help unnerved me as my heart dropped in fear. I had to find him as I was most likely to get him out of his predicament he put himself into. I carted the boat back to shore as I ran towards the slug roe home and noticed that Dean was not there the moment the stewpot was left on warm. Still, I had a feeling that he would go somewhere to either hunt for things or scold me for not using my raw power, but I had to find him fast before it was too late...


Dean was outside as he was wanting to have a bone to pick with me in which he was concerned about what I was suffering from. Still, he had to go and bring some vegetables and fruit to the slug roe home as he was walking into further territory. Just as he was about to go even further, he stepped onto something wooden as it broke on him the moment he fell into a pit full of spikes. It was luck that kept him alive as he wasn't killed by what was in the pit. In that moment, he saw his left leg impaled by a spike as he sat up after he felt his shoulder slide from another one. He was hurting bad as he wanted to yell at the top of his lungs for help, for this wasn't something he was used to so far.

"SAMMY!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "HELP ME!"

He feared his call for help would fall on deaf ears as he heard footsteps in the distance. Looking up, he saw me with my long scarf and first aid kit as I was ready to get him out of the pit he was in. I saw the spikes carefully as they were mostly broken, but the rest were intact over the years. When I saw Dean there suffering from his injuries, I was there to help him, but I wasn't about to use my raw power after the nightmare I had earlier. The image of my brother's head in the stewpot unnerved me so badly as I was refraining from using my raw power altogether.

"Hey, Rapunzel, a little help here?" I heard Dean say as he was bleeding from his wounds.

"Hold on, I'm coming in to get you," I said.

With my long scarf tethered to a post, I climbed down to the pit as I examined the injuries that Dean suffered from. When I saw the spike sticking out of his left leg where his foot was, I was ready to move it gingerly without causing the wound to bleed out even further. By the time I got the leg away from the spike, I got out the first aid kit as I began to clean the wound and bandage it up before bringing Dean back up to the surface and out of the pit. By the time I carted him to where the scarf was tethered, I carefully set him down as I climbed back up to pull him out of the pit and back towards the slug roe home.

"How come you aren't using your raw power to get me out of the pit? You did it last time when we were all in Gale Canyon, didn't you?"

"Just grab onto the scarf; I'll pull you up to the surface."

Dean did that as I was pulling the scarf up while holding on for dear life. In that moment, I decided to use my raw power to extend my long hair as I untied the scarf from the post and tied it onto my what I had on my head. I was walking with all my strength as I was going towards the slug roe home in order to get Dean inside the moment he was out of the pit. When I looked behind me, I saw my brother out of harm's way as he was out of the pit and hurting badly from his wounds. By the time I untied my scarf from my long hair, I lifted Dean up as I carted him into the slug roe home and went towards the bathroom to clean him up. I removed his shirt as I saw the wound on his right shoulder. Blood seeped from it as I was elated that the spike didn't hit anything vital within my older brother. Even though I bandaged up the leg, I was ready to clean and bandage up the shoulder as I got to work into patching up the wound.

I didn't say a word as I carefully cleaned up the wound on Dean's shoulder. I made sure that he was alright as I was even cleaning it with peroxide, along with the soap and water at my disposal. When I bandaged up the wound on his shoulder, I was worried about him as I was going without using my raw power again. It was something that was clear, but when I touched at Dean's leg where I cleaned and bandaged it up earlier. I was even making sure that no further infections got into the leg until I used my raw power to heal it up from further harm.

"It's about frickin' time that you used your gifts," said Dean as he was elated that his leg was healed for a while. "I thought that you would never use your raw power, but you did anyway."

"Just hold tight," I said. "As soon as I get you to your room, I'm letting you rest up until you recover from your predicament."

"And what about you? You were shaking like a leaf when you told me about my head being lopped off and shoved in the stewpot earlier."

"Now's not the time to be worrying, Dean. All I know that I can't let you suffer much worse than you already are right now."

I hauled Dean out of the bathroom as I carted him towards his room where I set him down on the bed. With such effort, I was getting some extra pillows to prop his left leg up to keep it elevated so it won't cause pressure on his heart. When I found a quilt that was rolled up in strings, I grabbed it as I placed it under Dean's back in order to prevent further pressure from going near his heart due to the wounds he sustained earlier. I was on hand into taking care of my brother as I didn't want him to suffer much worse the moment he fell in that pit not too long ago.

"You don't mess around playing nursemaid, do you?" said Dean as he was still sore from falling into the pit from outside. "I bet that looking into those medical books during our years living on the fort on Gehenna paid off big time."

"Save your breath," I said. "Very soon, I'll check up on the stew and I'll bring back some medicine to help you rest up."

"I had a feeling that you used your scarf to tie up your long hair to haul me up out of the pit, didn't you?"

"I couldn't allow you to bleed to death in there, so I had no choice but to get you out of there."

"Once again, you came in to protect me, didn't you?" I saw Dean laugh until he felt pain on his side where he fell. "It hurts, but at least I'm alive, aren't I?" He sees me get out the thermometer from the first aid kit as he wasn't thrilled to take it into his mouth just yet. "Seriously? I'm not the one who has to deal with the damn thing all the live long..."

"I'd rather get it out of the way before it escalates, but first up, temperature."

I shoved the thermometer into Dean's mouth as he took it under his tongue. He was even noticing me grab his wrist to check his pulse in which it was racing after what happened to him. I didn't want him to be in further harm as I heard the thermometer beep in which I took it out of his mouth. On a whim, I noticed that he had a temperature of 100.3 as it was a low fever after falling into the pit and suffered from his injuries. It was a miracle that he wasn't in further harm as I was most likely to be checking up on him periodically. When I left the room, I went straight to the bathroom as I got out a bottle of pain pills as I took out two to give to Dean. When I went out of the bathroom, I walked towards the kitchen as I got out a glass and filled it up with water. By the time I got back into the room where Dean was kept in, I gave him the water and pills as he took them and drank the contents from the glass in which he was elated that he wasn't in further harm than he was earlier.

"So, how do you feel?" I asked.

"I feel as if I crashed into a wall," answered Dean.

"It's a miracle that you lived or else you would've never made it..."

"Hey, I had worse..."

"Anyway, I'll be in the kitchen checking up on the stew while you rest up, alright?" Dean noticed a quiver in my voice as he was concerned about what was going on with me. "Don't worry, I won't let the stew burn at the bottom, so there's no need to worry."

I left the room as I was on my way to the kitchen to check up on the stew. When I looked into it, I removed the lid of the pot as I was stirring it up in which I was seeing the beef that was brought into it along with the vegetables and spices that were put into it. I was elated that I didn't find a head floating in it this time as I wasn't about to be handicapped with the nightmare that I had before Dean's predicament earlier. When I put the lid back on the pot, I sat down at the table in the dining area as I wasn't expecting Soulless Sam to appear in front of me again. He was meaning business as he was most likely to attack me for no reason at all. Still, he wasn't amused that I used my raw power to heal Dean for a brief time as he was ready to attack me at any time when I was alone.

"You shouldn't have done that, Sam," he said.

"You stay the hell away from me..." I said as I was shaking with fear.

"Oh, you should've never used your raw power when you had all that time to bandage your older brother and leave his ass in the pit, but nooo, you wouldn't leave well enough alone, did you?"

"He was injured, alright? I couldn't let him suffer like that, no matter what is thrown at him so far."

"Perhaps you should know the lesson of pain instead!" Soulless Sam punched me hard in the eye as I fell to the floor. "Get up, you pussy! I dare you to do so!"

I slowly got up to my feet as I saw Soulless Sam getting ready to attack me once again. He was angry that I was using my raw power as he was determined to keep everything as is the moment he would remind me that I had better options than what I had at my disposal. When I saw him getting ready to punch at me again, I grabbed his hand as I was gaining a bit of confidence that I had in me for the longest time. I didn't want him to attack me as I was on top of things in order to care for Dean, who was resting in his room. I couldn't leave him hanging as I was ready to get past Soulless Sam and take care of my brother, with or without the use of my raw power within me.

"You think you can get past me the moment you resume your use of that piss-poor panacea in your arsenal? Think again!" I heard him say. "Everyone believes that you're perfect with that raw power of yours, but I won't buy it this time." I saw him get out his gun as he was pointing it at me. "In the end, I wanna see you die, so I suggest that you get your claws out and start clawing at yourself. It's the big crescendo so far, but I'm bringing in the party favors just to see you bleed to death when you hit a vital nerve."

"You can't force me to do it!" I cried as I was standing up to my personal id. "I'm my own person, so I suggest that you leave me alone!"

"Oh really? What would your brother say about this? Nothing so far! In the end, you'll see nothing when I go and splatter his brains everywhere! Well, are you ready to start clawing or do you want to see your brother be shot up with a couple of bullets into him? Either way, it's your funeral."

Those words from Soulless Sam meant business as I began to claw up my arms with such force. I was at the amusement of my personal id as he was laughing with such exuberance and without remorse for his glory. Blood came out of the claw marks from my arms as I was causing harm to myself until I noticed Yashamaru appear and forced me to stop in the nick of time. He was disappointed in me for caving to the whim of Soulless Sam's amusement as he didn't want me to claw myself up even further this time, for he was there to put my id in his place.

"Oh, look;" said Soulless Sam. "Four eyes has come to the rescue, hasn't he?"

"You have no right to force Sam to submit to your whim," said Yashamaru as he fished out a spirit ward and threw at the personal id directly. "Your threat into doing away with his brother has pushed Sam over the edge and you get off on it the moment you cream in your pants to see him suffer from such horror."

"It's my job, but I'm a part of him, so I suggest that you give me space." Soulless Sam sees the spirit ward attach to his body as he was writhing in pain. "You bastard!" He was seething at Yashamaru as he stood firm without running away. "You can't do this to me! I'm the only who could understand Sam in all his glory! Without me, he's useless!"

"No, I'm useless with you," I said as I stood up. "You may be a part of me, but I won't let you dominate me, is that clear?!"

"No can do 'cause I own you and I won't leave you even if it meant by ignoring me all the live long. I won't let you go too far with that raw power of yours and if you do, I'll stop you the moment you're alone and without your friends or family on board this time!"

"The torment ends here! I won't be goaded by your crap anymore, is that clear to you?!" I didn't want to be bogged down by Soulless Sam's threats any longer as I was standing firm with what I was living for. "Even though you appear to harass me, I won't be goaded anymore by your threats because I have family and friends by my side, regardless of the matter at hand!"

"You'll pay dearly for this, Sam; mark my words!"

I saw Soulless Sam disappear once again as I wasn't about to let him have his way with me, but I wasn't feeling right the moment I went towards the bathroom and washed my arms with soap and warm water. When I put the peroxide onto my arms, I felt the burn as I got out the bandages from the first aid kit and bandaged them up so they wouldn't get infected. When I got out of the bathroom, I saw Yashamaru stare at me as he was disappointed in me once again, but he was also impressed that I went in and helped Dean at the last minute so far.

"You did good, but you should also tighten the control of the personal id of your own making, Sam," he said to me. "Furthermore, you shouldn't listen to his empty threats or else he would dominate you just like Lucifer dominated your past self in the Elder Days."

"He was gonna go after Dean and kill him while he was resting," I said as I was shaking with fear.

"You had a bad dream, didn't you?" I nodded sincerely. "You saw Dean's head in the stewpot the moment you found it on the stove."

"Yes, but the pressure of the nightmares and hallucinations have gotten worse for me without Ippei's guidance since he was killed six months ago. Still, I can't shake the fact that Soulless Sam's pulling all the stops at forcing me to never use my raw power again."

"I take it that you got clocked by your personal id of yours..." Yashamaru saw the black eye on my face. "During the Elder Days, your past self without his soul worked out in which he was much stronger to the fullest until he got his soul back."

"Good for him, but I'm taking the full brunt of what I got from him... No matter how many times I try to do good, I always get pushed into the undertow."

"Don't let your negative emotions get the better of you, you got that? You must always focus on the positive or else the negativity will cause Soulless Sam to pester you for the rest of your life, do you want that to happen?" I shook my head. "Look on the bright side, at least you saved Dean from a fate that was much worse in mind."

"If I didn't do that, he would've been dead by bleeding to death. It was a godsend that I came to get him out of the pit before it was too late. Still...," I felt my voice become shaky as if I was about to cry after what I went through. "...I was goaded by Soulless Sam to self-mutilation by clawing up my arms in which he didn't lift a finger to stop me. It was as if he got off on it or something... He was banking on me to kill myself in which no one would mourn me at my funeral..."

"Sam, you can't let your soulless self get the better of you, nor could you allow him to win, even if it meant by causing yourself further harm. Still, you need to utilize your raw power to the fullest in which it's the best gift that you could get in you so far... It's also a godsend that you use it to help your friends and family the moment the chips are down, so I suggest that you think hard about what you have at your disposal so far."

"And I won't let him get his way, either. I can't let that happen again the moment I have everything at stake right now."

I left the kitchen as I went towards Dean's room in which I noticed him resting after what he went through. I was grateful that he was alright, but I had to make sure that he was safe from harm after what he went through. I was also happy that I used my raw power to help heal him as he was away from danger at the last minute. Even though he was sound asleep in his bed, he was most likely to be getting up the moment he would smell the stew simmering. When I got back into the kitchen, I went towards the stove as I opened up the lid to the stewpot to see that the stew itself wasn't burning on the bottom as it was fine, but the meat in it became very tender the moment I grabbed a fork and took a piece out of the pot. The taste of the beef was very seasoned as I had a feeling that Dean would soon have so much at his disposal in the future.

By the time I returned to Dean's room, I saw him still sleeping as he was resting comfortably without any difficulty at all. I was also thankful that he was alive and kicking the moment he was saved by my abilities the moment I came to the rescue in time, for he was my older brother after all...


Many years ago on Alecrast...

Dean and I were returning home from school as we were getting ready to start our summer vacation at home where the castle was. The summer weather was the greatest so far as we were ready to go and play in the stream after school. With another school year gone, we were there to play until we got caught by Cynthia, who was bringing Reuben and Henry-John into the castle yard. It wasn't long until we noticed a set of twins in a stroller as they were simply the cutest that anyone laid their eyes on, for they were our half-brothers after all.

"Hey, Cynthia," said Dean. "I take it that you stopped here in Kanto Village just to oversee things, aren't you?"

"Your father's on a hunting mission on Gethos right now, so I suggest that you behave yourselves while I'm here."

"We know..."

"Before you and Sam go off and play, I suggest that you get started on your studies first."

"But school's over until September!"

"No, it's not," said Reuben. "Mommy says that we all have to study in order to help people. And besides, when I grow up, I'm gonna study medicine and go to the Medical Corps."

"You're too young for that right now, young man," said Cynthia. "As for Sam and Dean, they're going inside to do their homework before going outside to play."

Dean wasn't too thrilled to do homework on the last day of school as I wasn't minding it one bit. Still, we had our work cut out for us as we had to get the led out in order to get by on a daily basis during our summer vacation. It was something that we didn't want to do, but we had to do it anyway when we got inside of the main house in the castle. When we got towards the living room, we saw Cynthia set our twin half-brothers down near the table as she brought out some journals for us to write in. She was strict into making us write our experiences, but it was mandatory to do so before going outside to play.

"That's not fair at all," said Dean as he received his journal. "How come the other kids get to play outside and all we do is homework all the live long throughout the summer?"

"You're not wriggling out of writing in your journal, Dean," said Cynthia. "Besides, one can't go without knowledge with them."

"I'm writing about the last day of school," I said as I was writing in my journal. "I'm even talking about how the weather got so hot out there."

"You should follow Sam's example, Dean. At least he's writing in his in order to get through the day and play and so should you."

Dean began to write in his journal as he wasn't too thrilled with dealing with it. The journals that Cynthia gave to us were something to keep us on our toes as she didn't want us to go without any form of education during the summer months. By the time we finished writing in our journal entries, we were ready to go outside to play as we hit the stream and went swimming. With sunblock all over us, we were happy to play in the water as we even noticed Reuben running towards us. Like us, he was a swimmer due to the Winchester genes he had in him as we saw him run towards the water. Summer vacation was on us as we all played in the stream for the whole afternoon until it was time for dinner the moment we all got out of the water. When we got inside, we went straight to the bathhouse as we were getting ourselves cleaned near the wash basins. By the time we rinsed off, we went to the hot spring to play in as we were relaxing in there. It was something that we got used to, but we were there in the hot spring as we were most likely to be going into the main house for dinner.

"Oh, I love summer vacation," said Dean.

"I wanna go back there and play again," I said.

"At least we don't have to hear Cynthia complaining about us in the long run."

"Mommy doesn't want us to go without homework at all," said Reuben. "Besides, it's not taken lightly when she tells us to write in our journals."

"Is that so?" Dean was splashing water at us. "Perhaps you're gonna be splashing all over the place when we get done."

Reuben and I were not too thrilled to see Dean splashing water at us as he was making a splash fight in the hot spring. I fought back as I splashed water at him until we noticed Cynthia come into the bathhouse to fetch us. She meant well despite her stern demeanor as she wanted to get us out in time for dinner.

"Okay, boys, out of the hot spring," she said.

"We know," said Dean.

"Anyway, dinner's ready, so I suggest that you get out of the hot spring and get dressed, alright?"

Cynthia left the bathhouse as we all got out of the hot spring to get dressed in clean clothes. When we all got out of there, we went into the main castle as we smelled the scent of beef brisket cooking in the oven with vegetables in it. We were there in the castle as we all were bound by family, for it was something that we had in us until the harsh reality of adulthood crept upon us in the end...


The next day, I was up as I got dressed up in my clothes and was ready to go outside and play. When I noticed Dean dressed up and ready to go, he was waiting for me to come with him as we were going for a walk before breakfast time. Even though it was the crack of dawn, we left the castle as we were walking into the path to Kripke Shrine to pay our respects to our mother, who died when I was young back then. The short pilgrimage to Kripke Shrine was something that we did once a month as we were walking there to simply either throw coins in the bin, ring the prayer bell, or pay our respects to those who fell in battle. I simply ran towards the prayer bells as I rang them without worry. When Dean ushered me away from them, he noticed someone in the cemetery near the shrine as he didn't want whoever was there to get away the moment the thief was ready to steal gravestones from it.

"What's wrong, Dean?" I asked.

"That guy shouldn't be stealing those things for chump change," he said.

"Why is he trying to steal the gravestones?"

"According to what Dad told us, those gravestones are made from onyx and are worth a fortune due to the onyx mine that's on the outskirts. As for whoever's trying to make off with the markers that show respect to our fallen friends, that's a blatant form of disrespect for the dead in a nutshell."

Dean ran towards the thief as he threw him away from the nearest gravestone in the cemetery. He didn't want the thief to steal the gravestones as they were a symbol of honoring our fallen friends and family. The thief didn't hesitate to get out his bow and arrow as he fired directly into Dean's chest where his heart was. I saw what was happening as I ran to my brother's aid in which I pulled the arrow out of him. He was dying as I didn't want to lose him on the spot the moment I saw the thief get away in broad daylight.

"Dean, don't die on me," I said as I had tears in my eyes.

"Sammy...," he said as he was coughing up blood. "Go... get... Cynthia... She must..."

"No..., I don't wanna lose you..." I felt a surge or raw power flowing within me as I felt the tears roll down towards Dean's shirt where he was wounded by the arrow. "DON'T LEAVE ME ALL ALONE!"

The raw power I had in me healed Dean from certain death as he was spared from the hands of Death himself. When I saw him sitting up, he was feeling at his chest as he noticed the wound fully healed the moment he was out of harm's way. When he stared at me, I was glowing in synch with the jeweled sigil on my forehead as I was happy that he was safe from harm. He didn't know what to think as he saw me still crying after I saved his life from an arrow not too long ago.

"What the hell's going on, Sam?" he said as he saw me glowing. "What's with the glow all of a sudden?"

"Thank goodness that you're alive, Dean," I said as I was grateful that he was still alive.

"For a minute, I was dying from that guy's arrow and the next, I get healed up like it's nothing. What gives all of a sudden?"

"I don't know, but this power I got saved you in the end..."

We heard footsteps approaching as we saw the high priest of Kripke Shrine running towards us. When he stared at me with all the raw power that I had in me, he was concerned as he wanted to get the higher-ups from the Order of Letters to weigh in on what went on earlier. It was something that never came out into the open until now as the sight of me was a sign of things that would soon become a path to greater things yet to come.

"What's going on here?" he said as he saw me glowing. "Oh, dear..., does your father know about this?"

"He's been like this since he saved me from an arrow, sir," said Dean as he sat up. "It's a miracle that he saved me from that gravestone thief earlier."

"Another grave robber comes and goes just to collect the onyx gravestones just for profit again... Luckily, you foiled him, but at least a miracle occurred after what happened earlier."

"Sam! Dean!"

We heard Cynthia's voice in the distance as she ran towards us in Kripke Shrine. When she saw Dean's shirt with a bloodstain on it, she was concerned as she wanted to make sure that he was alright the moment she felt at where the arrow hit him in the chest. She never expected to see it healed as it was something that she couldn't fathom the moment she stared at me for some odd reason.

"I take it that your raw power came into play after all...," she said as she was grateful that Dean was alive. "You saved your brother's life and that's all that matters or else he would've been dead by now."

"But I can't stop glowing...," I said.

"Hey, Mr. Nightlight, we gotta get back home," said Dean as he was grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"Both of you need to go home because your father came back from his mission."

Dean and I were both excited to hear of our father at home as we followed Cynthia out of Kripke Shrine and towards Winchester Castle where we noticed him standing next to Reuben where they were waiting at the gate. It was at that moment when Dad noticed me glowing as he was concerned about what would happen next with my raw power so far. I was shaking as I was about to get yelled at for venturing off too soon, but I noticed Dad standing still in which he was staring at me for the longest time.

"You sure picked a bad time to become a firefly in the daytime," he told me.

"I'm sorry..." I said as I had tears in my eyes.

"Dad, he saved my life when I got shot with an arrow by a gravestone thief," said Dean. "It's a godsend that he helped me out or else I wouldn't have made it in time."

"It's a miracle that Sam used his raw power, but there are others who would collect him and abuse his gifts for their own reasons in mind. It's ironic that he was born with a jeweled sigil on his forehead, but the raw power in him is something that can't be taken lightly."

"Taken lightly?" I said as I was shaking like a leaf. "I have that power in me to help people now?"

"It's something that is given to you for a reason, Sammy. Besides, it'll be helpful in the future."

I was puzzled at the fact that I was most likely to be experiencing this raw power that could be beneficial to those who are ready to fight at my side. In the end, I would soon find answers that can be waiting in the wings the moment I would go towards manhood in the later years. Even though I was born with the sigil on my forehead, I was blessed with what I had in me as I was happy that Dean was still alive the moment I healed him at the last minute…


Meanwhile, back in the present…

Dean woke up as he was sitting up in the bed. When he looked at his leg that had been bandaged up, he decided to have it changed as he noticed the wound fully healed after what happened to him earlier the moment he fell into the pit. By the time he was up on his feet, he went towards the bathroom as he looked into the mirror to where he noticed the bandage on his shoulder. By the time he removed it, he also saw it to be healed fully as if something within me saved him from certain death. He was up on his feet again as he was even staring at the imprint of raw power that protruded out from his chest. He remembered that day when I saved him from an arrow that was supposed to kill him as he felt the pinch of raw power healing him to the fullest.

When he got out of the bathroom and go into the kitchen, he saw me sitting at the dining table as I had my arms bandaged up, but I was stuck with a black eye after being punched by Soulless Sam not too long ago. He didn't know what to think as he wanted to hear what went on the moment he was resting up after falling into the pit earlier. He knew that I wasn't in fine fettle as he couldn't shake the fact that the personal id that was part of me began to attack me in which I couldn't allow again, for I had so much at stake already.

"I take it that you got clocked by Snuffleupagus, didn't you?" he said.

"It didn't turn out too well," I said.

"And you pull that crap into clawing yourself again? I can see it 'cause your arms are all bandaged up from what you were doing."

"I saw Soulless Sam about to go into your room to do away with you, Dean. I had no other choice but to resort into such self-mutilation to his amusement or else he would've blown you away by now."

"That thing's not real and you know it, but when it comes to life and makes you do things to yourself that are considered to be unsavory, you need to put your foot down or else you'd end up spending the rest of your life in Helgaard Citadel on Efrafa and the orderlies aren't the type that console you over there."

"I'm nothing but useless so far… Perhaps I should've removed that jeweled sigil out of my forehead when I was smaller."

"Nonsense; you're not useless, Sam, and you're not taking off that jewel on your cranium, either. Besides, if you weren't born with it, complete with that raw power, I wouldn't be alive by now. You see this?" He shows me the imprint of raw power protruding out of his chest. "This baby is the reason why I'm still alive and kicking and if you didn't use your raw power to help me after being shot in the chest with an arrow, I wouldn't be here today. Besides, after our week is up, it's business as usual the moment we go back to Alecrast to kick Darbus in the daddy pills for kicking you and your family out in the first place. When we get back, he's gonna be in a world of hurt right now 'cause he's not gonna get away with all the crap he pulled so far."

"Let's hope that we go home soon..."

"We are, but I'm not gonna let anything happen to you or your family, no matter what's been thrown at you or the rest of us. We have a long way to go, but you're on a quest to have everything mastered once again and I'll hold you up to it the moment you try to wriggle out of it."

"I won't wriggle out of it, nor will I fall under despair, either. Too much has happened in the past six months in which Darbus and his artificial creations will end up taking over the entire Ashizoka System if we don't do anything to put them in their place."

"As long as we are around, there's always hope for the future and don't you forget it..."

"And I'll be on that hope to stop Darbus before he does more damage..."

I was truly hoping for the best so far as I was more than likely to be dealing with the pressures of what was happening to me since my exile on Shiganshina six months ago. In due time, I would soon go home as I was not out of the scrutiny just yet. I had to deal with Darbus Toller the moment I would go back as he was still on top with his celebrity status and whatnot. It would also become a time for restoration on my part as I was clinging onto the greatest thing that I was strapped with and that thing was hope. It was all I had within me as I vowed to never submit to Soulless Sam or fall under the cracks of misery so far, for I had to commit to be a part of the Destiny of Worlds a lot more than I did so far...


Yashamaru was sitting on a log near the shore as he was staring at the crashing waves of Stohess' turquoise waters. The weather in this part was hot enough to warm everyone as Yashamaru himself was without his jacket as he was seeing the wind blow through the trees and sand. Just as he was about to return to the slug roe home, he noticed a Draaza woman come here on a boat as she brought it towards the shore of the island. He saw her to be very familiar as she was dressed in a long black dress that had a plunging neckline that was down to her stomach that was similar to the standard cocktail dresses that showed more than just breast cleavage. He remembered her very well as she was there for a reason, for she was on board with shutting down Darbus Toller and his artificial creations like the rest of us.

"It's been a long time, Yashamaru," she said as she got off from her boat. "After emerging out in the open two thousand years later, you never change, do you?"

"I've been expecting you, Azeri," he said. "The last time, we fought against those who supported Metatron and his allies during the Elder Days, only to have ourselves hiding further in the Middle Ground before the human population departed Earth long ago."

"Even though Metatron has faded into memory, we can't forget about the damage he has done the moment he sealed off Heaven during the Elder Days."

"And Metatron was also power-hungry in his thirst to keep Heaven for himself..."

"Still, there's the matter of Sam Winchester and his family when they were found and taken out of Shiganshina six months ago. Even though my kind plucked his past self from Earth after the fall of Dick Roman, his DNA and lifeforce were collected and stored before he was brought back to his planet in which he spent the later part with a veterinarian while other problems were sliding away from him."

"I never forgot about it, but his past self took on the demon trials that were essential into shutting the doors of Hell, only to fail with the third one."

"There's also the factor of Gadreel who was reborn, but his crimes into killing the prophet and doing Metatron's dirty work was more than enough for him to repent and redeem himself in order to serve the Destiny of Worlds."

"Still, Sam and Reiko have a long way to go, but their quest to go home will be more complex than normal. Currently, a test is being run for the Father of Destiny and his older brother to last on this island for a week, only to have more in store for what's yet to come."

"You know that Yock Island was named after the founder of the Medical Corps, don't you? Even though this hospital here has been closed for centuries, there's also something else here that must be found first."

Yashamaru followed Azeri into the further part of the island as they were also looking out for further traps that were considered to be dangerous. When they saw the pit that Dean fell into, they saw the spikes all ruined and broken as it was old with age. The trap itself had been overlooked and abandoned so far, but now wasn't the time to look into it right now the moment Yashamaru and Azeri resumed their walk into the further parts of Yock Island. By the time they stopped somewhere, they were standing next to the hospital that hasn't been used in centuries as it was still in good condition after its owner died long ago. Even though they were ready to look into it, they didn't have time for it as they were going farther into where a set of old ruins were put in. They were made from alien designs as it was none other than a Draaza settlement that became a derelict long before the old hospital was built.

The Draaza colony was old as it was a place that had so much technology that had been abandoned for centuries so far, but it was still standing even after the closure of the abandoned hospital long ago. When Yashamaru and Azeri went inside, they were standing in the courtyard of the ruins as there was a mural painted on the wall where two familiar figures were painted many years before all of us were even born or thought of. Yashamaru saw them to be me and Reiko in the mural as we were surrounded by many planets and stars along with the Draaza language written on the wall.

"It's Sam and Reiko again...," he said. "According to the mural your people wrote and drew on the wall, it says that the two chosen by destiny will unlock the promised land of twelve planets in the center of the four planetary parts of this system."

"It also says that the two chosen by destiny will face hardships and other dangers in which they will shine through in the end," said Azeri.

"Sam and Reiko will come here before we leave Stohess, for this is one of twelve tasks that is given to them when they will face Darbus Toller and his artificial creations when they return to Alecrast."

"Still, the Destiny of Worlds must remain faithful and loyal to one another or else this galaxy will fall under the forces of darkness. They must be ready when the time is right for them..."

Both Yashamaru and Azeri stared at the mural on the wall as it was a sign of prominence for many more things to come in the future. Still, we had so much to go as the quest to return to Alecrast has taken a detour so far...

To be continued...