A/N: I don't own anyone but my OC's…though I wished I owned the guys…*sighs*
The ride had been silent for Dean and Castiel. The hunter was unsure of what to say to the angel. He was so off and acted like he didn't care anymore about what happened around him. It was as if he was more concerned about weed and women than anything else. He watched the former angel lean over and flip open the glove compartment and pull out a pill bottle. Castiel popped a pill like it was candy and Dean snatched the bottle from his hand.
"Let me see those," he read the label then looked over at the former seraph. "Amphetamines?"
"You want some?" Castiel offered all to eagerly. "It's a perfect antidote to that absinthe."
Dean shook his head at the change in his behavior. "Look don't get me wrong, it's great to see you finally pull that stick from your ass, but what's going on – with the drugs, the orgies and love guru crap?"
Castiel laughed in his face which only made Dean stare harder at him. "What's so funny?"
"Dean, I'm not an angel anymore," Castiel answered. "Yeah, I went mortal."
"How?" Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving. When they bailed my mojo just kinda…" Castiel made a whooshing sound and flicked his hand over his head for added effect, "just drained away. Yeah, I'm human now Dean. I mean I'm all but useless. Last year I broke my ankle? I was laid up for two months."
"Wow, so you're human?" Castiel nodded. "Well welcome to the club."
"Thanks, except I used to belong to a much more exclusive club. Now I'm powerless, I'm hapless and I'm hopeless. I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence right? I mean that's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out. I mean…that's just how I roll," he smiled over at Dean.
"But what about Gabriel? What happened to him?"
"Gabriel, let me see, ah yes, he became Lucifer's bitch," Castiel answered in a matter of fact tone. "He just gave up and let Lucifer seduce him, just like old times."
Dean looked out the window and felt the full scope of things slowly set in.
"So you just gave up on Tristan? You just fell off the reservation after Brook died?" Castiel turned from happy go lucky to angry and sullen.
"When Brook died, I was devastated okay?!" The former angel glared at him. "I promised to keep her safe and I failed her! The hellhound got her and I had to watch her die and watch you fall apart at the damn seams!"
"So you let Tristan down? You just gave up on her?" Castiel slammed on the brakes and pulled along the side of the road. His bright blue flashed with anger and resentment towards the hunter.
"How dare you accuse me of that!?"
"In case you didn't notice earlier, she was despondent and miserable in your little social circle! Hell, she said you smelled! Some guardian you turned out to be! We trusted you to look out for her!"
Castiel just huffed and started the truck back up and pulled back on the road. He kept his eyes trained on the dark road ahead as Dean sunk in his seat.
"Cas look, I'm sorry…" he started to say.
"No, don't be. You're right, you trusted me to watch Tristan and I let you down. I deserved that," Castiel looked back across with pain in his eyes. "So much has happened Dean."
"So I hear," he sighed and relaxed in his seat. The light of dawn started breaking over the horizon as the ruins of Kansas City started to come into view.
The small group proceeded down the abandoned street, each armed to the teeth. Ahead a large shell of a building stood looming over them and cast a dark shadow over the ground. They froze at the gate seeing the sign posted on it.
Jackson County Sanitarium
Future Dean moved to the front and pointed at the second floor. "There through the second floor window. We go in there."
"Are you sure?" Risa asked eyeing the busted windows. Future Dean looked over at her and with a hint of confidence answered, "They'll never see us coming, trust me."
Dean just watched the interaction in silence. His counterpart was hiding something but held his tongue. "Now weapons check, we're on the road in five."
Dean finally spoke up and approached his older self. "Excuse me, uh future me, can I talk to you for a second?"
The future Dean followed him a little way away from the others and stood beneath a few trees. He looked hard at the older version. "Tell me what's going on?"
"What do you mean?" The future Dean feigned ignorance.
"Cut the crap, I know you. You're lying to those people and you're lying to me."
"Oh, is that so?" Future Dean said with a hint of amusement.
"Yeah, it is. The way I see it is I know your lying expressions. I've seen them in the mirror. Now there's something you're not telling us!"
"I don't know what you're talking about," his future self continued lying through his teeth. Dean just shook his head and edged closer towards him.
"Oh really? Well I don't seem to be the only member of your posse with questions, so maybe I'll take my doubts over to them," Dean spun to walk away but his older self caught his arm stopping him dead in his tracks.
"Whoa whoa whoa, wait," future Dean sighed. "Take a look around you, man. This place should be white hot with Croats. Where are they?"
"They cleared a path for us," Dean realized. Future Dean nodded his head. "Which means that this is…"
"A trap," future Dean finished, "Exactly."
"Well then we can't go through the front," Dean noted. Future Dean nodded.
"We're not," he motioned his head towards the group, "they are. They're the decoys. You and me, we're going through the back." Dean just stared in total shock at what he just said.
"You mean you're gonna throw your friends in the meat grinder?! Cas too!? You wanna use their deaths as a diversion? They're people for crying out loud! They have been loyal to you the entire time! Taking care of Tristan while you were drunk and holed up with women! And this is how you intend to repay that unquestioned service!?" He watched as the future Dean turned away unable to meet Dean's demanding stare.
"Oh man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions I would never make! I wouldn't sacrifice my friends! Brooklyn would never let this happen!"
Future Dean gripped him by the collar of his jacket. His stare was icy and empty. "Don't you ever talk of her like that again! Because you wouldn't make these decisions and swallow back your fucking humanity is kind of why we're in this mess in the first place! It's because of your lack of balls she's dead! I will not let Tristan grow up looking over her shoulder every five minutes like we did!"
"These people count on you! They trust you!" Dean shouted back.
"No! They trust me to kill the devil and save the world and that's exactly what I'm going to do!" Future Dean snapped back.
"No, not like this you're not. I won't let you," Dean held his ground ready to fight his future self.
"Oh really?" the other Dean challenged him before belting him with a right hook and sending him to the hard ground.
"Sorry but it has to be this way. Someone has to clean up the mess you made."
Sometime later Dean started to come around. He woke up to the sound of gunfire and leapt to his feet. The hunter jerked his head up towards the building watching flickers of light and listening to the eruption of gunfire within.
"NO!" He cried out as the sounds of screaming and gunfire melted into one horrid sound. Dean heard Castiel's voice loud and clear then suddenly it was silent. The hunter shook his head knowing the former angel was dead. The others were probably goners as well. He took off around the building and entered a small but beautiful garden. Lightning flashed all around as he froze at the entrance. There, on the ground was his future self with someone in white stepping on his neck. Dean stared in shock and horror as the foot pressed down and instantly snapped the hunter's neck. He looked at the one who killed his future self and slowly the killer turned around. His mouth dropped open as Sam or rather Lucifer wearing Sam's body faced the hunter.
"Oh, hello Dean," he calmly greeted him. Dean could only stare at the thing that was his brother as lightning flashed all around them. Lucifer vanished then appeared behind him.
"Aren't you a surprise, brother. You've come a long way to see this haven't you?" Dean backed away from Lucifer, disgusted by what he was seeing.
"Well, go ahead and kill me," he challenged the fallen angel.
"Kill you?" Lucifer asked and raised his eyebrows. He looked past Dean to the body of the future hunter then back to him. "Don't you think that'd be a little…redundant?"
Dean remained silent with his fists tight to his sides. Lucifer smiled thinly as he looked at his brother. He stepped closer and tried reaching out to him. "I'm sorry, it must be painful, speaking to me in this….shape. But it had to be Sam, it had to be. I am also sorry that you witnessed the loss of Brooklyn as it must be so painful to have learned about her untimely fate," Lucifer placed a hand on Dean's shoulder but the hunter jerked away and noticed a hint of rejection on his face.
"You don't have to be afraid of me Dean, or is it Michael? What do you think I'm going to do?" Lucifer walked past Dean and looked a small red rose blooming on the stem. He appeared to be in total awe like a child exploring his world for the very first time.
"Oh I don't know maybe deep fry the planet?" Dean snapped in anger. Lucifer turned around, hurt that his brother would entertain such a notion.
"Why? Why would I destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful, in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God. Do you remember when I was cast out? Of course you do because you were the one to do it. My own brother, the one I admired and looked up to and loved so dearly. You cast me to Hell and bound me with 600 Seals ensuring I wouldn't break free. All because I loved our Father and refused to bow down to those hairless apes."
Dean noted the bitterness when Lucifer mentioned humans. For him it was the opposite, he had come to love humans as John and Mary were human and his family. Markus and Brady were family as well.
"Now tell me Michael, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially when I was right? You of all should know this intimately from being here amongst them. Look what six billion people did to this stunning thing and yet they blame me for it."
"Your bitterness and hatred has blinded you. I lost Brooklyn, the one person I loved more than anything! Yet you stand here pretending to give a damn! You're not fooling me. You never were able to. When I look at you, do you know what I see? I see the same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my entire life. I don't buy the sympathy for the devil crap! You're just like the all the rest – an ugly, evil, belly to the ground supernatural piece of crap! You know what the difference is? It's the size of your ego!"
Lucifer smiled softly at the hunter and stepped closer towards him. "You haven't changed a bit Michael, even now as you walk in a human body. Still the same good little son who followed his Father blindly and never once questioning an order or command. I can see why you were a member of the Heavenly Host."
Dean continued glaring at Lucifer unable to move or speak. His eyes had welled with tears and now the drops rolled down his face leaving clear streaks on dirty skin.
"Good bye," Lucifer said. "We will meet again, soon."
Dean watched the fallen angel turn to leave and shouted out, "You better kill me now!"
Lucifer stopped dead and slowly turned around to face him. "Pardon?"
"You better kill me now! Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you and I won't stop!" Dean shouted louder.
"I know you won't," Lucifer responded and stepped closer. "The human in you doesn't want to see the world destroyed as you've come to love it and the pleasures that go with it too much. You won't restore your Grace and I know you won't kill Sam. You can't bring yourself to do it. Whatever you do, whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up….here."
Dean stood silently letting the tears continue to fall. Lucifer looked with sympathetic eyes and spoke again.
"I win," he said simply. "So I win."
Dean's chin started to quiver as he stood up to Lucifer, "You're wrong."
"See you in five years Michael," Lucifer bid farewell as a large bright streak of lightning broke across the sky and vanished. Dean saw Lucifer was gone leaving him alone in the tiny patch of green. Was this what was going to happen? Was Sam going to say yes? So many questions for the hunter as he turned around and came face to face with Zachariah. The angel said nothing as he touched the hunter's forehead and sent him back to 2009.
No Tristan never learned about Sam's fate....As far as she knows he died in Detroit....Dean didn't want her to be hurt by the truth....