hey guys- i'm back! and proud of myself for updating 3 DAYS IN A ROW! that must be record for me or something...
anywho- i absolutely LOVED the 2 reviews i got from Squidtastik (you're so on top of the ball!) and snn7b - they make me feel like my work is actually worth reading! :D
ok- so this chapter might be confusing, so let me know if you have any questions about what's going on. i won't give away my plans, but i'll clear things up for the poor lost souls
on with the show! :D
Azazel concentrated deeply, focusing his powers to the exact moment the girl took his hand. As soon as their skin made contact, he froze her in place. Leaving her standing there, arm still reaching for him, he turned and formed an invisible barrier between them and her family. "I thought you might like to see the show." He said with a sinister smile. Dean surged towards his twin, banging furiously against the barrier separating them, yelling unintelligible words. The angel frowned at the barrier, attempting to break past it using his Grace; Azazel knew he'd fail.
With a smirk, Azazel turned back to Katherine. This really was going to be his best work by far. To Katherine, it looked like she was in a grassy meadow, although they hadn't moved at all in reality. He snapped his fingers, and Katherine was reanimated.
Her family balked at what they saw. A purple glow surrounded Katherine, strong and vibrant and beautiful. "Her aura." John breathed out. His sons looked at him. "It's like her soul, what makes her good, what keeps her going. What makes her Katherine." He continued.
Katherine head whipped around, taking in her 'new scenery'. Two figures appeared on the horizon, small at first, but soon coming into shape. Katherine's heart skipped a beat when she recognized them.
Her mother, her beautiful, kind, mother was alive, walking hand-in-hand with her father. A happy light shone around them. John's eyes glowed with joy in a way she hadn't seen in a long time. "Mommy?" Katherine whispered. The happy smiles slipped from her parents' face, twisting into a sneer of disgust.
"Look at what our daughter's become. She's not even human anymore." John snarled. Katherine flinched back as if she'd been physically struck.
"I don't even consider her my daughter anymore." Mary hissed, recoiling like Katherine was a contagious disease.
"W-what? Mommy, what are you saying?" Katherine whispered, sounding much like the four year old she'd been when she'd last seen her mother. Unbeknownst to her, her real father was calling out to her desperately. But she was transfixed in horror as her parents turned their backs on her and walked away. "No! Please come back! Mommy! Daddy! Don't leave me!" She cried out to them. But they didn't waver. They didn't even look back.
Her family watched in surprise as the purple began to fade, dimming slowly. It all became horribly clear. The only way Azazel could control her was when her aura had been ripped away.
Sam soon came into sight, looking hard and worn. He looked older, sadder and there was a cold glint in his eye. "Sammy, are you alright?" Katherine called out, brushing away her own tears. She needed to be strong for her baby brother.
"No, no, no!" The real Sam called out, knowing what was coming next. "That's not me, Kat, you gotta know that's not me!" But she didn't turn towards him.
"Stay away from me!" The other Sam bellowed, raising a gun and cocking it in the same fluid motion. Katherine froze mid-step. "Y-you're not my sister. You're just a demon!" He spat out, eyes cold and empty. "I'll give you one chance. Stay the hell away from me, and I'll let you live. Just 'cause you look like her. But if you ever come near me, I will kill you." Katherine shook her head slowly, not believing what she was hearing.
"Sammy, it's me. Katherine Marie Winchester. I'm your sister!" She insisted, voice breaking. But Sam simply stumbled away. She took a few steps forward, desperate to make him understand. The crack of Sam's gun was deafening. Katherine looked down at the bullet that had torn through her chest and fell to her knees silently, tears pricking her eyes.
The real Sam yelled out in anger. "Katherine! Please Katherine, it wasn't me. It wasn't me." He watched in horror as tears of shock ran down his sister's face.
Sammy had just shot her. Her baby brother, whom she'd raised with Dean, shot her. A sob escaped her mouth. Her aura faded again, and instead of shining out all around her, it dimly outlined her body.
In a rush of feathers, Castiel appeared before Katherine, face blank, hands limp at his sides. "Cas, you have to help me. Please, I don't know what's going on. Sam- Sammy just shot me." She pleaded, voice rough.
"Do not talk to me. You have no right." Cas droned out, face still blank. "You are nothing to me."
"No, no Cas. Please, what's going on?" She cried out, stung. "Y-you would never say this to me!" She insisted, but doubt gnawed at her heart. Azazel was playing her insecurities: that she would never be good enough for Castiel.
"I should've known you wouldn't be able to handle it." He scowled at her.
Katherine whispered tearily "I love you."
Castiel turned away and looked briefly over his shoulder "And you're not good enough." He said cooly. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. The purple faded even more, until it was barely visible. Another sob escaped her lips, even though she tried to cover it with a hand.
The real Castiel's face contorted in pain, hating the fact that he couldn't help his love. Even if he used all of his Grace, Azazel's power was too great.
"We're almost there!" Azazel sang out gleefully. "Only one more left. Wanna guess who's next?"
"No." Dean whispered quietly. "No!" He repeated again, kicking the barrier in rage, his injuries forgotten.
Katherine saw her twin jogging towards her, concern shining in his eyes. She let out a sigh of relief. Dean was always there for her. He wouldn't leave her.
"Kat, are you alright?" He took in her teary face and bloodstained hands. "Oh my god, come here!" He inspected her wounds worriedly. "It's not that deep, you'll be okay. But Kat, what happened to you?"
"I- I don't know." She sobbed. "First Dad calls me a demon, then Sammy shoots me, and finally Cas breaks up with me. I don't know what's going on!"
"That son of a bitch! Cas broke up with you? Next time I see him, I'll rip those angel wings off!" Dean raged. Katherine smiled sadly. That was Dean, always looking out for her. "Don't worry about Dad, you know how he is sometimes, he'll bounce back. He always does. And I'll talk to Sam, make him see reason. It'll be okay, I promise." He wiped away one of her tears tenderly. "I'll always be on your side, princess." He said quietly, pulling her into another hug.
"I know." She breathed, inhaling the scent that was Dean that never ceased to calm her down: car oil, gun powder, and leather.
Suddenly, Dean was yanked from her grip and dragged a few yards away. Hellhounds. They sank their teeth into his flesh, tearing tortured screams from him as he attempted to break from their steel grip.
"Dean!" Katherine shrieked. "Dean!" She tried to run to him, only to find her arms shackled to the ground. She ripped at them viciously, ignoring the bruises blooming on her wrists. "Dean, no!" She screamed again, voice ragged by the force her cries. She screamed and screamed until blood coated her throat. Dean was being slowly ripped apart by the Hellhounds, and Katherine couldn't do anything to stop it. Her wrists were soon bloody and bruised by her efforts to get free.
On the other side of the barrier, Dean yelled for her in turn. The twins cried out to each other, but neither headed the other's call. "Please Kat, wake up! It's not real, come on Kat! Wake up! It's not real. I'm not dead, princess, I'M NOT DEAD!"
Soon the hounds stilled, leaving Dean's mangled body lying quietly in the grass. Blood stained the Hellhound's muzzles, their paws.
With a wail, Katherine fell to her knees, head bowed in complete sorrow. "Dean." She breathed before breaking into sobs that wracked her body forcefully. Her family was silent. There were no words to say for the scene that lay before them. Katherine knelt in the grass, unintelligible wailing tearing from her chest like a wild animal, her twin's body lying close, but not close enough.
After what felt like eternity for Dean, her bawling receded into weeping, weeping faded to soft whimpers, whimpers shuddered to a stop. Blank eyes stared at the grass, back hunched as if the weight of the sky was bearing down on them.
It was the final push. Katherine had just watched the one person that always had her back die. She wasn't able to save him and he was gone. Forever. Her family watched in horror as the last of her aura vanished, leaving only a hollow husk of Katherine Marie Winchester.
"No." Was all Dean could say.
*bursts into tears* why did i do that? whyyyy?! (because it's fun!)
but yeah, so if this is confusing and weird- let me know! (but don't if you just want to tell me how sucky my work is- i don't like it very much)
love you all! :D