Chapter 11 Oh, Death
Danny
Help us.
Dean's words whirled around and around in Danny's head. You have free will just like the rest of us. Why can't you?
His hand clenched. He didn't want to let billions of people did. But he couldn't do anything! If he tried to help, Death would just order him not too!
As if thinking his name summoned him, Death appeared in the other side of the restraint booth. He slid Danny's untouched plate of onion rings away and ate one. "Hmm…no bad. I still think that the ones from Philly are the best, however."
"What do you need me to do?"
Death raised an eyebrow. "I can't visit my son while he's sulking?"
"You haven't before. And I'm not sulking."
"If you say so." Death ate another ring. "You had quite the conversation with Dean Winchester. I imagine he gave you much to think about."
"No." Yes. "Was your confrontation with him successful?"
"In a way. I gave him my ring and told him how to open the Cage."
Danny choked on his drink. Death continued. "The boy was quite shocked. I have no idea why. It's not like I ever expressed any desire for the world to end."
"Well, you haven't exactly been very vocal about your opinion," Danny said with a glare.
"No, I suppose I haven't, but I was hoping you could have figured it out yourself. Oh, well. It's not like I can do anything now. Lucifer has already taken Samuel's body and is going to go confront Michael. Dean is on his way to Stull Cemetery to try and stop them. Not that it's possible at this point. No, he'll probably be the first of the many victims of the apocalypse."
Dean Winchester, a victim? Danny snorted. Impossible. That man has defied the natural order so often, coming back to life all the time that Danny had no doubt that he could pull another miracle out of his ass.
But this time…if Death couldn't do anything—
Death couldn't—
But—
Danny scowled at the older man. That complete and utter ass. Was this what he'd been planning from the beginning?
Probably.
He stood and Death raised an eyebrow. "So you finally figured it out. It's about time. Your friends were right to call you clueless." He sighed. "You should hurry to Stull Cemetery. I can feel him dying from here."
Danny shrunk back, but regained his composure enough to teleport. He arrived in the old graveyard just in time to see Samifer wailing down on Dean. Without any other choice, Danny did what he had to do in order to save his…friend's? Yes, his friend's life.
He socked Satan in the face.
The power behind his blow threw Lucifer a hundred feet. Danny looked down at Dean, the sun behind his head. "Open the Cage, Dean. I can deal with Lucifer."
Dean stared up at him, his green eyes as wide as they could be while still swelling. "What are you doing?"
"I appear to be exercising my free will for the first time in years to save your ass. Now, hurry up so we can make it count!" He faced the recovering devil and pulled off his gloves with his teeth. The black leather dropped limply to the dewy grass.
Lucifer stood, rubbing his jaws. "Damn reaper…" In an instant, the archangel was in front of Danny and pierced his stomach with his angel blade. Danny grinned, ectoplasm staining his teeth black.
The devil was obviously shocked by his lack of pain and dying. "Did you actually think that your little pig-poker could kill me?" Drawing back his hand, Danny shoved it through Samifer's chest. The archangel screeched as he grabbed hold of his Grace and pulled. It should have been impossible.
No one had ever separated an angel from its host before.
But Danny was created to be the impossible.
The sound of wings fluttering altered Danny to Michael appearing behind him. But he ignored him in favor of pulling. Ectoplasm bubbled up from his throat as he finally tugged Lucifer free, causing Sam to fall in a crumpled heap. "What are you doing!?" Michael yelled at him over the sound of Lucifer's true voice. "How dare you go against us—"
It was easy to make archangels shut up. You just had to pull them out of their vessels. Now his hands were full with two squirming angels and his face was dripping with black goo. Danny looked desperately over at Dean who was standing beside the open portal to the Cage, shielding his eyes from bright light caused by Michael and Lucifer.
Danny trudged forward to the Cage, his grip on Lucifer and Michael strong. It was difficult, every step harder to take, every movement causing another flood of ectoplasm down his face. The two were desperate to get free; they lashed out at him, ripping open his clothes and making him ooze even more. Their true voices rang out in fury, driving Dean to his knees but leaving Danny unaffected. Their efforts were futile.
He stood in front of the portal, its suction almost pulling him in. Danny fell to his knees, his hands holding the archangels out over the pit. "Go to hell, and take your damn apocalypse with you!" Danny spat out past the ectoplasm and let go.
If it wasn't for the divine pull of the Cage, the two would have been free. Instead the two lights spiraled down into the dark depths. The Cage closed. Danny collapsed into the grass, exhausted and in pain. He couldn't move. He didn't want to move. He could barely breathe.
Was he dying?
Odd. Danny had been looking forward to this day for the last 6 years, but now…
Someone was flipping him over and Danny stared up at Dean's suddenly healed face. He was shaking him. "Danny! Wake the hell up, Danny!"
"Dean…"
He tried to pick Danny up, but the half human gasped in pain. "Hey, it's okay Cas is gonna fix you right up—"
Danny choked out a laugh. "He wouldn't…know where to begin. I'm…I'm dying."
"Like hell you are! You're not going to die, not now!" He turned. "Cas? A little help?"
"I'm…sorry, Dean." Danny heard someone say. They sounded like they were really far away… "He is correct. His entire being is falling apart. The fact that he's still alive right now is…miraculous."
Dean looked back at him. Danny tried to smile. "It's okay, Dean. I k-knew this day would come." A coughing fit interrupted him. "Damn…hey…do you think you could apologize to Sam and Tucker for me? They…were good friends. They didn't deserve me scaring the shit out of them."
"You're going to be able to tell them yourself, Danny." Dean said. "Just you wait. Any second that supernatural healing is going to kick in and you'll be back on your feet in no time."
"You're a good person, Dean." It hurt to laugh, but Danny wanted to at Dean's expression. "Don't ever…let anyone…tell you otherwise."
It was really hard to talk now. Danny was so tired. He just…wanted to sleep…just for a little while. Maybe if he just closed his eyes… Dean noticed. "Hey, hey! Don't you close your eyes! Don't you close your eyes you son of a bitch—"
The light faded from his eyes and Danny exhaled one last time.
