Author's Note:
Sorry for the wait guys. Sadly, I found out two days ago that a friend of mine who had been battling a brain tumor for the past three years, passed away. I spent quite a lot of time over the past two weeks being... distracted... but managed to upload today. No sympathy guys, it's okay, I just wanted you to know why I've been a little scattered with the update.
One the plus side, 14,000+ words! Yay :D
Thank-you so much to those people who are now following my story and to those who added it to their favorites :)
Please review guys, your feedback would be greatly appreciated :) Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Supernatural series or any of the characters which appear in the series including Sam and Dean. I do own the character of Alexis in this story.
Alexis Winchester
Chapter 25 – Sympathy For The Devil
I felt it within me. Almost like a greeting. The white beam of light was stark bright and burning; its heat reaching Sam and Dean instantaneously and its light blurring their vision. It wasn't quite the same for me. I could see into the light. It felt like a cooling welcome on a hot day.
Someone was reaching out to me.
"Come on!" I felt the strong hand gripping my jacket, pulling me away from the beacon. That's all it took to snap me out of my daze and remember exactly what was going on. Sam had killed Lilith, Dean had killed Ruby and Lucifer was making his way out of the cage. One last tug and I was running alongside Dean to the chapel doors, which conveniently slammed shut at our approach.
Alexis. A slithery voice hissed my name. I turned slowly as Sam and Dean pounded on the door behind me, slamming their fists and ramming their iron shoulders into the wood. I felt the force of their actions vibrate through the floor but it wasn't as powerful as the call coming from the light. I stepped back, away from the light and between Sam and Dean, where I had always felt safe. I heard cracking behind me just before a high pitched noise pierced the air. I saw the boys squeeze their eyes shut as the light brightened, and cover their ears as the sound intensified but all I could do was stare.
My eyes were hurting slightly and I could feel fresh blood drip from my ears but something within me was stopping me from turning away. The three of us fell to our knees at the same time and finally I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. They were paining and so I shut them.
I felt it as soon as we were away. Opening my eyes to find myself, Sam and Dean on a plane confirmed my suspicions. We obviously weren't in the convent anymore because I couldn't feel that cool presence. Sam and Dean were still covering their faces.
"Hey." I whispered to them, at the same time noticing my reflection. I was completely cleaned up…no cuts, no gashes, no blood. Their eyes darted around the plane and it seemed no one thought of our sudden appearance as abnormal.
"What the hell?" Dean asked astounded and lost.
"I don't know." Sam replied, glancing around as well.
"Folks, quick word from the flight deck." The pilot's voice came over the intercom and I checked to see if I was wearing a seatbelt. "We're just passing over Ilchester, then Ellicott City, on our initial descent into Baltimore-" he informed us. Hold on a second.
"Ilchester? Weren't we just there?" I asked, leaning a little over Sam so Dean could hear me.
"-if you'd like to stretch your legs, now would be a good time to- Holy crap!" the pilot was cut off as the plane knocked itself sideways. I grabbed Sam's arm as people were thrown around in the hectic cabin, screaming all around us as the plane nosedived. I pulled my legs in just as the trolley went sliding past and before I knew it, oxygen masks had dropped down.
My hands worked quickly and in panic as I secured the mask around my face and glanced out the window to see a beam of white light intensifying. We were in so much shit.
"—and Governor O'Malley urged calm saying it's very unlikely an abandoned convent would be a target for terrorists, either foreign or home grown." The female radio news reporter's voice was the only sound inside the rented car. No one else had spoken yet.
"Change the station." Dean muttered and Sam poked at a button. I sat quietly in the back seat, alternating between staring out the window, glancing a Dean and avoiding Sam, who turned back every now and then to watch me.
"—Hurricane Kinley, unexpectedly slamming into the Galveston area-" Sam hit the button again, changing to another station.
"—announced a successful test of the North Korean nuclear-" he changed it again.
"—a series of tremors-" Oh my God. We were so screwed.
"—swine flu-" Sam finally shut the radio off after the fifth station and sighed. There was silence in the car. Dean hadn't bothered to ask about me yet but I had been expecting that. Sam's actions were the bigger problem here. The biggest part of why I didn't want to look at Sam was because I remembered all too well the poor nurse he had drained of blood. Dean didn't know about that yet either but I knew he'd agree with me in saying Sam is far from being the Sam we knew.
"Dean, look-" Sam finally plucked up the courage to speak.
"Don't say anything." Dean interrupted him. There was a pause. "It's okay. We just got to keep our heads down and hash this out, all right?" My face said it all. 'It's okay?' That's what Dean had to say… 'it's okay'. I was on the verge of tearing Sam a new one and Dean was ignoring his mistakes altogether? There were choices that had been made in the past two day, ignoring the past year, which defined exactly what Sam was capable of. In two days he had managed to fall.
"Yeah, okay." Sam replied. I resisted the urge to pull an 'immature act' and sigh loudly in frustration. This is not how it was supposed to happen. There needed to be screaming, accusations, guilt and a whole bunch of other crap that made us all feel like shit. Hell, I wanted to scream at Sam.
"All right, well, first things first—How did we end up on Soul Plane?" Dean asked. Again, he had avoided the topic of how I was and it prompted me to think he was mad at me.
"Angels, maybe? I mean, you know, beaming us out of harm's way?" Sam suggested. It seemed like something Nate would have done but I hadn't heard back from him since he left to save Anna. His absence was making me uneasy. I liked it better when he was here, not because I knew he was safe, not because I was a romantic but because I felt like I had someone whole who understood me and was watching my back. Any other day, that person would have been Dean, but he had Sam to worry about.
"Well, whatever. It's the least of our worries. We need to find Cas." Dean stated. There was another gut wrenching feeling. Dean had told us about the sacrifice Cas had made by rebelling and taking Dean to Chuck. Given how long Nate had been running, I didn't see the angels as a very forgiving group which meant Cas was up against a merciless force now that he'd sided against them.
There was also a little relief in me, knowing that Cas had pulled through and done what was right. We hadn't left on great terms but that didn't mean I didn't care about him. I just hoped he was okay.
I walked slowly behind Sam and Dean into Chuck's living room. The place was an absolute mess, like a tornado had ripped through his house except there was blood here. None of us knew whose blood it was but I doubted the archangel had lost.
There was a sound that came from the adjacent room and so naturally that became the new point of suspicion. I flanked, not wanting to be the one who discovered a bloody Chuck or Cas. God, please not Cas.
As we walked further into the room, Dean began examining the far left while Sam head towards the stairs. I walked forward, noticing the closed laundry door. Out of nowhere, someone lunged out and hit Sam in the head.
"Geez!" Sam exclaimed as we set our eyes on the attacker. "Ow!" Sam rubbed his head. Chuck stood before us, dirty and uneasy, armed with a toilet plunger. Of all the weapons he could have taken, he was holding a toilet plunger.
"Sam." Chuck said in confusion, not lowering the weapon.
"Yeah!" Sam exclaimed like Chuck was crazy for not noticing his gigantor body before.
"Hey, Chuck." Dean greeted him.
"So...you're okay?" Chuck stumbled over his words breathlessly as he walked forward, watching Sam in amazement.
"Well, my head hurts." Sam replied with a little attitude. I guess Chuck a good swing.
"No, I mean—I mean, my—My last vision." He continued, noticing me. "You went, like, full-on Vader. Your body temperature was one-fifty. Your heart rate was two hundred. Your eyes were black." He exclaimed.
"Your eyes went black?" Dean asked. The more he learnt, the more broken he became. Sam looked back, visibly upset.
"Yeah, that happened." I said quietly, moving my attention back to Chuck.
"I didn't know." Sam said to Dean quietly. Chuck was watching me again.
"I didn't see where you were until Sam arrived." He told me. "But you were bloody to the bone. You looked like a real life Carrie." He said to me.
"Not the greatest way to a girl's heart." I told him. "Where's Cas?" I asked.
"He's dead. Or gone." He replied. I couldn't breathe. The walls were closing in on me. "The archangel smote the crap out of him. I'm sorry." He continued. No, no, no, no, no, no. He had to be alive. I didn't turn around and face my brothers.
"You're sure? I mean, maybe he just vanished into the light or something." Dean suggested, covering all his bases.
"Oh, no. He, like, exploded." Chuck mimicked the action with his hand. "Like a water balloon of chunky soup." He explained. Please stop talking.
"You got a-" Sam was saying something to Chuck but my hearing was drowning out. Castiel, please be alive. I wasn't done with you. There was so much more I had to say.
"Oh. Oh, god." Chuck whimpered and I zoned back in, still facing away. "Is that a molar?" he asked, distressed. "Do I have a molar in my hair" he asked again, more upset. "This has been a really stressful day."
"Cas, you stupid bastard." Dean said from behind.
"Stupid? He was trying to help us." Sam retaliated.
"Yeah, exactly." Dean responded. This was our fault. Cas was dead because of us.
"So, what now?" Sam asked. I felt a strange tingling in my arms, like the time Alastair had strapped me to the gurney and injected me. My skin was sensitive.
"I don't know." Dean was even more frustrated than before. Please be alive Castiel. The feeling grew a little stronger.
"Oh, crap." Chucks voice stopped them both.
"What?" Sam attention was back on Chuck.
"I can feel them." He breathed. So could I.
"Thought we'd find you here." Zachariah's voice pierced the air. I didn't even bother turning around. I knew the second I saw his smug face I would lose control. "Playtime's over, Dean. Time to come with us." He said. "We could use you too Alexis." I heard him begin to walk. I turned around in time to see Dean point at Zachariah. There were two angels standing guard for him as well.
"You just keep your distance, asshat." Dean told him firmly.
"You're upset." Zach noted.
"Yeah. A little." Dean shot back. "You sons of bitches jump-started judgment day!" he said in anger.
"Maybe we let it happen. We didn't start anything." Zach pushed the blame off himself. "Right, Sammy?" he winked at Sam and I felt that white rage build within me. "You had a chance to stop your brother, and you couldn't. So let's not quibble over who started what. Let's just say it was all our faults and move on. 'Cause like it or not it's Apocalypse Now. And we're back on the same team again." He seemed so happy about it.
"Is that so?" Dean asked, sarcasm dripping in his voice.
"You want to kill the devil. We want you to kill the devil. It's...synergy." he explained.
"And I'm just supposed to trust you?" Dean asked, annoyed. "Cram it with walnuts, ugly."
"This isn't a game, son." He said to Dean. "Lucifer is powerful in ways that defy description. We need to strike now, hard and fast—before he finds his vessel." He said, staring at Dean.
"His vessel? Lucifer needs a meat suit?" Sam asked with skepticism.
"He is an angel. Them's the rules." He stated, smiling coyly at the other angels accompanying him. "And when he touches down, we're talking Four Horsemen, red oceans, fiery skies the greatest hits. You can stop him, Dean, but you need our help." Dean shook his head.
"You listen to me, you two-faced douche. After what you did, I don't want jack squat from you!" he yelled.
"You listen to me, boy!" Zach stood to his full height in anger. "You think you can rebel against us? As Lucifer did?"
"OH shut the HELL up you pungent piece of shit." I spat, catching him off guard. I glared at him, anger pulsing through me. "This is all a game to you. And we're the chess pieces that you THINK you can move around every time one of your ass-licking colleagues notices that all you are is a worthless paper-pusher that doesn't have the intelligence or mind-capacity to lay out a strategic plan." I walked forward, the urge to strangle him growing. I walked past Dean and right into Zach's face. "Let me tell you exactly how this is going to go down ass-wipe. You're going to die. And real soon." I stared into his cold eyes. "Don't act like it wasn't you who sent our dad to hell, or that it wasn't you who got Sam killed and forced Dean to make a deal. DON'T you dare act like it wasn't you and your fucked in the head feathery friends who let Dean rot until he broke and then shoved Sam into breaking the last seal. It was ALL you. All of it." I stepped back. "And you will burn for it. If we don't want you around, guess what you're going to do?" I asked him. "You're going to pick yourself up your lazy ass and march yourselves back into the shit hole of a home you have so you can all be pathetic and miserable together without dragging us and everyone on earth down with you!"
There was silence as my voice rang in the room.
For a millisecond, I saw uncertainty cross his face and then he looked down at Dean's hand, where he would see dripping blood.
"You're bleeding." He stated. I could feel Dean smile behind me.
"Oh, yeah—a little insurance policy in case you dicks showed up." Dean responded, pulling back the door and revealing the angel sigil which he slapped with his bloody hand.
"No!" Zach yelled running into me but disappearing with a bright white light. I wasn't expecting that and stepped back into Dean. As the light cleared, there were no angels left.
"Learned that from my friend Cas, you son of a bitch." Dean growled to no one. I turned to face him, praying that Cas was alive, somewhere.
"This sucks ass." Chuck stated. Dean turned and walked away, while I tried desperately not to sink to the ground. Castiel. Please come back. Chuck entered my vision and I looked up, feeling sorry for the guy.
"Hey Chuck." I said to him quietly as Sam stared out the window. Chuck watched me, nodding meekly in response. "Let's take a walk." I told him, heading towards the kitchen. It was messy in here too but at least there wasn't any blood that I could see. I pulled open a few drawers and found some relatively clean tea towels, one of which I picked up. His sink was dirty, filled with dishes but I wasn't going to judge. He'd been through enough today.
"That was an awesome speech." He said walking ahead of me and leaning against the counter. I smiled as I turned on the tap and waited for hot water.
"If only you'd foreseen it." I mumbled.
"Oh, I've got down the basics. I mean you telling Zachariah to shove it… doesn't happen every day." He tried cheering me up.
"I wish it would though." The water became warmer and I slipped the towel underneath, letting it soak.
"You're worried." He noted calmly. I nodded slowly, squeezing the towel. "Nathaniel?" he asked. I turned to face him.
"Let's not get into that." I said quietly, pushing the towel to his forehead and wiping away the blood. He let me clean his face and at that moment, it felt like the only thing I could do properly. After a few minutes of silence, Chuck spoke.
"I saw what he did to Cindy." Chuck whispered to me. I was almost done but I froze, with the towel on his cheek. "It's okay to be angry and upset and confused." He told me. Before last night, I would have told Chuck off for obviously having seen Sam drink blood before and not telling us but I understood now that there was no one left to blame but Sam. It was after all, his choice.
"There's that, but more than anything…" I paused, making sure Sam wasn't near the room. "…I'm scared." I admitted. I wouldn't have told Sam, Dean, Cas or Nate the same thing, but Chuck seemed like a safe target. He was impartial. Chuck held my wrist and brought it down, looking up at me with those childish eyes.
"You just have to keep reminding yourself that Sam is your brother and that you love him." He said wholeheartedly. I left out a small, sarcastic snicker.
"That's the only thing keeping me from kicking his ass at the moment." I replied.
I sat on the motel room bed, pulling out my dear departed weapons. Unfortunately, my gun and two daggers hadn't been returned to me after Zach had confiscated them but I was going to get them back. In the meantime I had pulled one of my many other hand guns, a small knife which was tucked in my ankle and my salt laced, silver ninja stars which Dean had gifted me years ago. Maybe the change was good for me.
Dean stood at the other bed, taking out his weapons and getting ready to clean them. We were laying low for a while so cleaning weapons was the next best thing to occupy our time. Sam headed towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Dean asked, not looking up.
"There's something I have that can help us." Sam replied opening the door. "I'll be ten minutes." He slipped out, leaving Dean and myself alone in the room. I glanced up at him, still cleaning while he examined his weapons. He hadn't spoken to me yet. The silence went on for another two minutes but it felt like years to me. I wanted to tell him about Sam and the blood drinking I had witnessed but I didn't know how. Before I could even begin structuring a sentence in my head, Nate appeared between us.
Dean had pulled his gun in the blink of an eye but I ran to Nate's side as his knees buckled. He was too heavy for me and I went down with him, barely catching my breath. I felt his weight lift off me as Dean pulled Nate up and sat him on the bed.
"Thanks." He breathed, leaning back. As I got up, I noticed the blood. He was hurt.
"Nathaniel? Right?" Dean half asked him and me. I nodded, crouching beside him.
"What happened?" I asked, just glad that he was here.
"Anna's been taken." He answered, looking at me and then Dean. "They outnumbered me." And he didn't have his blade, courtesy of me.
"Are you going to be okay?" Dean asked. Nate nodded as he reached into his waist band and pulled out an angel blade. I looked down as it and noticed the symbols.
"How'd you get it back?" I asked, confused and impressed.
"Castiel gave it to me right before he broke you out." Nate gestured to Dean. "He told me he might not make it back and if that was the case, I had to keep an eye on you." He was referring to us collectively but I noticed the quick glance in my direction. He was already looking out for me.
"So what's the plan?" Dean asked, moving onto more important matters. I noticed I was a little too close to Nate and moved back a little. Nate stood up and I followed suit.
"I just need a minute to recharge and then I'm out of here." Nate looked to me now. "I've been cut off from heaven, so I'm ridiculously low on power here. Also, they have a worldwide APB out on me so if I stay, they'll find you." He pulled out something else from his jeans and handed it to me. "You're going to need these." It was sad how excited I was over seeing the silver object in his hand. Nate had managed to get me my gun. I took it from him with a smile on my face but he reached down to his ankles and rewarded me with my daggers as well.
"How did you-?" I began.
"Castiel." He replied before I could ask. He looked back to Dean. "I need to find Micah and once I do, we're going to get Anna back. I heard the angels are looking for you, Dean." He added.
"Apparently." Dean replied.
"Zachariah's ruthless but he's a grade A dumbass. He's got an army of angels surrounding him but get him in a room alone and you've got the advantage." He said to Dean, running his hand through his soft hair. "I've seen you fight. You just need the right opportunity." He stepped past us and stood to his full height. "Adios." Then he was gone.
"You trust him?" Dean asked. I nodded, staring at the spot he'd last been standing. "Well, he's not half bad. At least he has the decency to announce he's warping out." Dean loaded his gun just as the door opened behind us.
"Hey." Dean greeted Sam.
"Hey." Sam replied, closing the door and pulling something out of his shirt. He tossed one to Dean and one to me, both of us effortlessly catching the small object. I examined the bags, noticing the smell.
"Hex bags. No way the angels will find us with those. Demons, either, for that matter." Sam said. Luckily Nate had dropped in just before Sam got here.
"Where'd you get it?" Dean asked, looking back down.
"I made it." He replied.
"How?" I asked, examining my daggers. The silence continued long enough for myself and Dean to look up at Sam's guilty face.
"I...I learned it from Ruby." He told us reluctantly.
"Of course you did." I muttered.
"Lex." Dean told me off and I gritted my teeth. He put his gun down and approached Sam. "Speaking of. How you doing? Are you jonesing for another hit of bitch blood or what?" he asked.
"I-it's weird. Uh, tell you the truth, I'm fine. No shakes, no fever. It's like whoever...put me on that plane cleaned me right up." Sam replied. I was getting angry again, just thinking about that poor nurse. 'Cleaned me right up' my ass.
"Supernatural methadone." Dean said with a hint of positivity. Don't play along with it Dean.
"Yeah, I guess." Sam replied optimistically, like he had a chance of redemption. That was all I could take. I tossed the hex bag at his face and he caught it in record time as I walked towards him.
"Fuck you, Sam." I spat, brushing past him and walking out the door. He was a monster.
Dean
Lex took me off guard as she stormed out the door, leaving Sam broken where he stood. There was so much hate in her words that she could have brought the both of us down. He took the hit to his chest before looking at me. Who knew words could hurt so much?
"Dean-" he started. No, I didn't want to do this.
"Sam." I interrupted him, annoyed. I turned away, trying to find a way to soften Lex's blow. "It's okay. You don't have to say anything." I told him.
"Well, that's good. Because what can I even say? 'I'm sorry'? 'I screwed up'?" Sam was hurting and he would keep grovelling, as he should, but I couldn't deal with that. "Doesn't really do it justice, you know? Look, there's nothing I can do or say that will ever make this right-" Enough.
"So why do you keep bringing it up?!" I said in annoyance; my voice rising. Sam sighed and his expression flashed me back to when he was a kid. I walked towards him, trying to fix this. "Look, all I'm saying is, why do we have to put this under a microscope? We made a mess. We clean it up. That's it." I explained, avoiding all the heartfelt apologies I knew Sam was going to make. He nodded in agreement, glancing back at the door like Lex might still be there. "All right, so, say this is just any other hunt. You know? What do we do first?" I asked, taking his mind off her.
"We'd, uh, figure out where the thing is." He replied.
"All right. So we just got to find...the devil." As soon as I said it, we both recognised how ridiculous it sounded. I walked past Sam and to the door. He didn't have to ask which gruelling task I was about to take on… we both knew somebody had to talk to Lex.
I walked outside to see Lex sitting on the curb, opposite the abandoned road which lead to the shady motel we were staying at. We were paying by the hour and given the kind of people that both ran and used this joint, I didn't want Lex wandering off on her own. Not that she couldn't take care of herself… there were just some responsibilities I had over her.
I crossed the road and approached her small figure as she sat with her legs tucked in.
"Miss me?" I asked, sitting beside her.
"How can you just let him off the hook?" she asked, ignoring my question. She was mad, both at Sam for screwing up and me for not pounding him in for it.
"I'm not letting him off the hook." I replied. She looked ahead, not meeting my gaze.
"Sure looks like it from where I'm sitting." She commented.
"What's done is done. We've just got to move on for the time being and deal with the bigger problems." I told her, not daring to even playfully nudge her until she was calm.
"You mean like icing the devil?" she asked me. "The one Sam let free?" she ducked her head, letting her hair fall around her face.
"Yeah, the same one." I replied. We sat in silence until I reached into my back pocket and handed her the silver bullet I'd found. She took it from me slowly and sighed. "You wanna talk about Lilith?" I asked. I knew she was physically fine after we'd been warped to the plane but given how bloody she was when I found her, I assumed she'd taken a real beating from the devil bitch, physically, mentally and emotionally.
"What's there to talk about?" she asked nonchalantly. "She threw me around like a rag doll, I stalled my death by trying to offer her a deal and then she used me to push Sam over the edge." She replied. I'd stopped listening after the 'trying to offer her a deal' part.
"You did what?" I almost growled. Her eyes darted up to me.
"What, the deal?" she asked. My face must have said it all. "What did you want me to do?" she asked defensively. "You two weren't there, it was the only solution I had."
"What kind of deal?" I asked, trying not to get mad.
"Our heads for her stopping the apocalypse." She replied. "Doesn't matter anyway, she didn't go for it." Although I was glad Lex was deal free, I was curious.
"Why'd she bow out?" I asked her. Lex smiled to herself humourlessly.
"She didn't think I'd be able to kill the both of you." So that's what this was about. I wasn't sure when Lex had grown up so much. This was something she never should have had to worry about but instead she was willing to carry a burden to save the rest of the world. I didn't believe for a second that Lex would have the heart to kill either Sam or myself.
"Well, she was right to think that." I said, looking out at the road. Lex finally dropped her tense shoulders a little.
"What are we going to do, Dean?" she asked. "How are we going to stop it?" I looked back to her, noticing the worry in her eyes.
"We'll figure it out." I replied. "I just need you to play nice with Sam." She groaned instantaneously and shook her head.
"I told him." She growled. "I told him Ruby was poison from the get go and he never listened to me. She twisted him in so many ways, that he's barely Sam anymore." She clenched her fist and pushed herself off the curb, standing in front of me. I followed suit, towering over her.
"He's still Sam." I said slowly. "He's still our brother."
"Yeah, we'll see." She said, turning her back to me and walking back to the motel room. Something else was going on with her… something she wasn't telling me.
Lex
I'd had the opportunity to tell Dean what I'd seen Sam do, but I hadn't said anything. I wasn't sure why but I felt like Sam deserved an opportunity to explain himself, though I didn't know how he would justify his actions. I was probably just fooling myself.
I was lying beside Dean, on his bed, while he watched the world wide news. Sam sat at the table, researching and keeping all conversation to a minimum. I buried my head in the pillow and pulled my arms above my head. I could feel Dean's warmth and it comforted me, especially with ex-blood junkie Sam sitting a few feet away.
"How would you then explain an earthquake, a hurricane, and multiple tornadoes, all at the same time, all around the globe?" The woman's voice on T.V. asked.
"Two words. Carbon emissions." The man replied. Everyone had an explanation for the drastic weather changes but only a few were narrowing it down to the apocalypse. Those were the few that lived in beaten down, weed infested-trailers in the desert, and were heavily disregarded by all sane people on the planet.
"Yeah, right, wavy gravy." Dean commented to the televised environmentalist. I was so relaxed, hugging the pillow that I almost missed the three knocks on the door. I wasn't quite sure I heard it but Dean's hand on my back affirmed that someone was indeed at the door. I pushed myself up on my elbows and turned my head as Sam approached the door cautiously and Dean sat between me and the door, his gun in hand.
Angels? Demons? Nate? Lucifer? Castiel? Who was here? I pulled the gun from under my pillow and sat on my knees. Sam checked the peephole and then opened the door slightly, hiding most of his body. There was a loud gasp from a small lady standing on the other side of the door. She was blonde, wearing a plaid shirt with a cotton cardigan on top and a satchel slung over her shoulder. Her attention was solely on Sam, her eyes taking in his features in awe. She seemed to have trouble breathing as she stood before him.
"You okay, lady?" Sam asked, his voice indicating he was confused and the woman at the door was hardly a threat.
"Sam..." she called his name in angst. "-is it really you?" she asked. How the hell did she know his name if Sam didn't know her? Sam was barely able to turn to us with the confusion etched on his face before he turned back to the woman, uncomfortable this time. She had reached out and put her hand on his chest, stroking his pectoral muscle with her eyes shut in ecstacy. "And you're so firm." She said happily. I kept my gun behind my back as I knelt on the bed, next to Dean, watching the lady in fascination.
"Uh, do I know you?" Sam asked carefully. He was clearly bewildered by her lack of social boundaries. She pulled her hand back and regained a somewhat serious face.
"No. But I know you." She informed him. "You're Sam Winchester. And you're-" she looked towards us and her eyes fell on Dean. He was staring at her in confusion as well. "-not what I pictured." She said with a hint of disappointment. She looked up to me and excitement filled her face. "And Alexis." She breathed. This woman was freaking me out. "I'm Becky." She introduced herself as she pushed past Sam, into the room. "I read all about you guys. And I've even written a few-" she glanced down, giggling in the strangest way possible. So she was a fan of Supernatural… and of fan fiction? That made me even more uneasy. "Anyway, Mr. Edlund told me where you were." She stated.
Hold up, this chick was legit. I stood up just as Dean did and came to face her as Sam shut the door and joined us.
"Chuck?" Dean asked.
"He's got a message," she said looking up at Sam. "-but he's being watched." He eyes darted to Dean. "Angels." She rejoiced looking to sky for a moment. I glanced at Dean, again frustrated at the fact a stranger knew so much about us. "Nice change-up to the mythology, by the way. The demon stuff was getting kind of old." Her eyes were back on Sam. I noticed I was not her primary or secondary point of focus with Sam and Dean in the room. I'd dealt with this before on numerous occasions. Typical.
"Right. Just, um...what's the message?" Sam asked, as Dean crossed his arms and I tucked my gun into my jeans discretely.
"He had a vision." She shut her eyes and put out her hand like she was reading. "'The Michael sword is on earth. The angels lost it.'" She recited, her hand moving as she spoke every word.
"The Michael sword?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"Becky, does he know where it is?" Sam asked immediately.
"In a castle, on a hill made of forty-two dogs." She said it like she was reading an enchanted fairy tale.
"Forty-two dogs?" Dean asked skeptically.
"Are...you sure you got that right?" Sam asked kindly.
"It doesn't make sense, but that's what he said." She replied. Dean kept his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed at her, trying to figure her out. The look on her face told me she was in both a mixture of pleasure, passion and awe at the moment. She stepped closer to Sam and I stepped back towards Dean, letting her have whatever moment she wanted. "I memorized every word." She breathed, touching his chest again. "For you." She caressed him seductively. Sam glanced over at the both of us uneasily but neither of us were going to make a move, that much was for certain.
Sam glanced back down at Becky, awkwardly.
"Um, Becky, c—uh, can you...quit touching me?" Sam stammered while Becky rubbed him. I winced, both Dean and I enjoying Sam's discomfort a little.
"No." she replied. She continued to stroke him and her expression turned into one of intense pleasure.
"What is happening?" I whispered to Dean, keeping my eyes on Sam and Becky.
"I have no idea but I think we're intruding." He replied uncomfortably.
"Should we leave?" I asked. Sam heard me and sent the both of us a glare. Becky was still touching him. Today had been a strange day, but this moment, by far, had been the most entertaining.
After a couple of minutes, we'd finally been able to get Becky's attention off Sam long enough to send her on her way. Her unexpected arrival had lightened the mood between the three of us but I still hadn't spoken to Sam. Instead I was sitting on the bed, doing some research on my laptop when there was a knock on the door. Dean stood up from beside me and went to open in, allowing Bobby to enter.
"Hey, Bobby." He said, pulling him into a hug while Bobby slapped his back. I put my laptop down and went to greet him as well.
"Good to see you kids all in one piece." Bobby commented moving onto Sam who was grinning. Dean closed the door and Bobby's eyes fell on me as Sam pulled away.
"Sorry about earlier." I said wholeheartedly. Bobby smiled, pulling me into a hug. I was grateful that we could put our tiff behind us but I was distracted the second Bobby touched me. My skin began tingling again, like it had before the angels had showed up.
"What made you change your mind?" he asked, pulling away.
"There are seven billion people I could be mad at, but one of them isn't going to be you." I replied. My eyes searched the room, wondering if angels were going to show up. Sam had said the hex bags would do the trick.
"You weren't followed, were you?" Dean asked. If he was, it would explain my sensitive skin.
"You mean by angels, demons, or Sam's new superfan?" Bobby asked. I couldn't help but crack a smile at the thought of Becky.
"You heard." Sam laughed.
"I heard, Romeo. So...sword of Michael, huh?" Bobby asked, moving onto the important matters.
"You think we're talking about the actual sword from the actual archangel?" Dean asked. He looked tired and in a no nonsense kind of mood. Today was not a day to mess with him.
"You better friggin' hope so." Bobby replied.
Ten minutes later, Bobby had retrieved a large book from the car, Dean had been reunited with the Impala, I'd made coffee and we were all huddled around Bobby's book at the table. He flipped to a page with what I assumed to be the archangel Michael, surrounded by other angels. To be completely honest, the visual representation of Michael looked incredibly feminine and the other angels looked like cherubs.
"That's Michael. Toughest son of a bitch they got." Bobby explained, showing the picture to Sam and myself while Dean came towards us from the kitchen, with a cup of coffee in his hand. Sam flipped the page to another painting, this one where Michael looked even more feminine.
"You kidding me? Tough? That guy looks like Cate Blanchett." Dean remarked, unimpressed.
"Well, I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley, believe me." Bobby replied. I kept glancing around the room, waiting for angels to show up seeing as my skin was still tingling. It had been feeling like this long enough for it to almost seem painful. "He commands the heavenly host. During the last big dust-up upstairs, he's the one who booted Lucifer's ass to the basement. Did it with that sword." Bobby pointed to the picture.
"Sure, or maybe he charmed Lucifer into the cage." I commented, noticing just how softly he was depicted in all the images. Bobby rolled his eyes at me and continued.
"So if we can find it..." he looked at us hopefully.
"We can kick the devil's ass all over again." Sam commented. Dean and I exchanged tired glances, both of us understanding that Sam's optimism was futile. He needed a grace period where he could quit being a suck up and think logically again. "All right. So, where do we start?" he asked.
"Divvy up and start reading—try and make sense of Chuck's nonsense." Bobby instructed. I nodded, both Sam and I heading over to the pile of books sitting on the other table. I got there first and picked up a large mahogany hard-cover, handing to Sam but he was just standing in front of me, in his own thoughts. He seemed troubled.
"Sam?" I asked, motioning to the book which was heavy. He didn't say anything, instead just staring at the book. It didn't help that my arms felt a hundred and one kinds of funny at the moment.
"Kid? You all right?" Bobby asked. Sam turned to face him, his whole persona seeming broken. I looked to Dean who was just as confused as I was.
"No, actually." I didn't know where he was going with this. "Bobby, this is all my fault. I'm sorry." He blurted out.
"Sam..." Dean sighed, putting his mug down and warning him to shut up.
"Lilith did not break the final seal. Lilith was the final seal." Sam confessed. As mad I was at him about what he'd done, I at least was his sister and had built up a level of tolerance. Only Dean and I would understand that but anyone else, including Bobby wouldn't see it the same way. If Sam wanted to stay alive he really needed to stop talking.
"Sam, stop it." Dean said with more authority.
"I killed her, and I set Lucifer free." Sam continued.
"You what?" Bobby asked, rage seeping through. I could see the hate develop in Bobby's face and it didn't matter how much I hated Sam, I would still protect him from taking an external hit.
"You guys warned me about Ruby, the demon blood, but I didn't listen. I brought this on." Sam was coming clean.
"Enough, Sam." I said to him quietly. Dean stayed quiet this time; already knowing that too much had been said. Bobby stood up and walked over to the two of us.
"You're damn right you didn't listen. You were reckless and selfish and arrogant." He spat in annoyance, Sam's face looking even more and more broken with every derogatory word. I hated seeing him like that.
"I'm sorry." He said softly.
"Oh, yeah?" Bobby asked sarcastically. He walked closer to Sam. "You're sorry you started Armageddon? This kind of thing don't get forgiven, boy." Sam was holding back tears at this point and I was hurting. "If, by some miracle, we pull this off...I want you to lose my number. You understand me?" Bobby both demanded and asked. Sam nodded, tears in his eyes but his expression barely changing. He was expecting this kind of reaction. Neither Dean nor I protested though despite all my anger, I just wanted to comfort Sam at the moment. After a moment of composing himself, Sam spoke.
"There's an old church nearby. Maybe I'll go read some of the lore books there." Sam suggested in a husky voice.
"Yeah. You do that." Bobby replied, still evidently pissed. Sam nodded once more and headed towards the door. I sighed, putting the book down and giving Dean a look before following Sam out the door.
"Sam, wait." I called to him as I shut the door behind me. Sam turned around in confusion, shocked that I had followed him.
"What is it?" he asked quietly, coming to a halt. I stopped in front of him, not sure what to say. I wanted to tell him that even though Bobby was cutting him out of his life; that would never happen with me and Dean. We wouldn't do that. I wanted to tell him that I loved him all the same and that we'd find a way through this. I wanted to give him a hug and just have my brother back. I missed him.
And then Cindy's screaming face flashed in my mind. I stumbled back a little, away from Sam.
"Lex?" he asked, taking a step forward. I struck out my hand, stopping him from moving closer. I could see it hurt him but I couldn't care at the moment. He'd killed an innocent girl. He'd drunk her blood while she was alive.
"Never mind." I said quickly, turning away and heading back to the room. It was too much to ignore and I couldn't do it. I couldn't be alone with Sam when I was so disgusted with him and at the same time, terrified of him hurting me the same way he hadn't hesitated in drinking Cindy's blood.
I could feel him still staring at me as I disappeared into the room, shutting the door behind me quickly. Dean and Bobby looked up from the table at me.
"You okay?" Dean asked, about to get up. I motioned for him to sit as I walked towards his bed.
"I'm good." I replied, pausing for a moment. My skin was freaking me out a little seeing as it hadn't stopped tingling yet. It was about time I told Dean, but then I looked at his tired face and thought otherwise. "You mind if I catch some shut eye?" I asked him. He looked concerned for a moment. "I'm just beat Dean, give me an hour." I told him. He nodded and I collapsed on the mattress, burying my head in the pillow.
I fell asleep almost instantly but my dreams were filled with exploding soup cans, lost angels and a black eyed Sam.
It had been a long week. My sleep left me in a floating state where I wasn't sure if I was awake or still in my dreamland. I was pretty sure Dean let me sleep for longer than an hour but whatever rest I got, was quickly diminished.
In the midst of my nightmarish dreams, I was rudely awoken by a loud crash and something of considerable mass falling on my legs. I yelped in pain and sat up in bed, trying to get my bearings. I only caught a glimpse of Dean lying on the floor and Bobby towering over him before he yanked a limp Dean up and kicked him through the wall.
"Hey!" I yelled, clumsily slipping out of bed. Bobby turned to face me, his eyes black. I looked over at Dean who was lying in a pile of rubble, moaning. "Son of a bitch!" I swung at Bobby but I was slow after having just woken up. Bobby blocked my strike, grabbed my arm and threw me into the wall. I felt the breath go out of me as my back hit the wall. Bobby walked over to Dean, grabbed him by the throat and dragged him to his feet.
The motel door opened, allowing a man and woman to enter. The man came straight to me, his eyes turning black. He jerked me up by my jacket and kneed me in the stomach. I doubled over in pain but the demon kept me up. Dean lunged at the demon holding me as soon as I'd been hit but Bobby was strong and kept Dean in place.
"I always knew you were a big, dumb, slow, dim pain in the ass, Dean." The woman said happily, looking around the room. "But I never dreamed you were so V.I.P." she noticed Ruby's knife on the table and picked it up. "I mean, you're gonna ice the devil? You? If I'd have known that, I'd have ripped your pretty, pretty face off ages ago."
"Ruby." Dean said in disgust.
"Try again. Go back further." She hinted looking over at me. "Pumpkin." She smiled at me.
"Meg." I growled.
"Hi. I'll get to you in just a second, baby." She looked back at Dean. "These are the days of miracle and wonder, Dean." I tried moving again but was rewarded with another knee to the stomach. One more and I was going to cough up blood. "Our father's among us. You know we're all dreaming again for the first time since we were human? It's heaven on earth. Or hell. We really owe your brother a fruit basket." I needed Dean to get us out of this. I was next to useless at the moment.
"My god, you like the sound of your own voice." Dean said in a gruff voice, still in Bobby's hold.
"But you, on the other hand, you're the only bump in the road. So every demon—every single one—is just dying for a piece of you." She told him, walking closer. Dean smirked humourlessly.
"Get in line." He shot back.
"Oh, I'm in the front of the line, baby. Let's ride." Meg retaliated, grabbing Dean's face and pulling it towards her. She locked lips with him and I rolled my eyes in disgust.
"Oh, gross." I hissed. It was a long and intrusive kiss, one that I wished I had never seen.
"What is that, peanut butter?" Dean asked when she finally allowed him to breathe.
"You know, your surrogate daddy's still awake screaming in there. And I want him to know how it feels slicing the life out of you." She said calmly, handing Bobby the demon knife. He raised it to Dean's throat.
"No, stop!" I yelled, struggling to get free. Dean tightened his hold on Bobby and tried desperately to keep the distance between them as Bobby pushed Dean against the wall.
"Bobby!" he yelled, trying to snap him out of it. He was struggling in keeping the knife away from him. I kicked at the demon, getting free for a second before I was pulled back. Bobby turned to look at Meg.
"Now!" she yelled. Bobby raised the knife to stab Dean. I kicked again but this time the demon was prepared. He pulled me around and punched me right in the face, sending me to the ground.
"Bobby! No!" Dean yelled. The demon dragged me up again and I saw the black fade from Bobby's eyes. He swung the knife down… into himself. He flashed gold and collapsed to the ground. I stared in shock at Bobby's limp figure as Dean sprung into action. He lunged forward, swinging left and right at Meg, throwing her onto the floor. As soon as she was down, his eyes found me.
The demon was still holding me up but seeing as Dean was two steps away, I used all the energy I could muster to twist out of his grip. Dean kicked himself at the demon, punching his face and slamming into the wall. I began crawling towards Bobby but felt a hand grab my ankle and drag me back.
I turned my head to see the demon punch Dean against the wall and knee him in the stomach, whilst still grabbing a hold of my leg. Dean fell to the ground and I was lifted up by the demon and spun into the broken room divider.
"No!" Sam's voice was heard somewhere. I heard him get hit with something. In the meantime, this demon was not letting up. He was fast and precise, beating both Dean and I at the same time. He kicked Dean in the gut several times while he was down, long enough for me to charge at him. Unfortunately, he was expecting me. He turned and grabbed me, slamming me into the wall, fastening his hand around my neck, lifting me and smashing me down.
"Heya, Sammy. You miss me? 'Cause I sure missed you." Meg's voice was somewhere far in the distance. I could barely move.
"Meg." Sam stated in anger. He swung at her, missing, and she kicked him the balls before knocking him to the ground. A large wooden beam came swinging down at me and I barely had time to block my face before it made contact with my abdomen. Something broke and I screamed. Dean was still being kicked, somewhere.
"It's not so easy without those super-special demon powers, huh, Sammy?" Meg asked, pulling him up by his hair and punching him twice in the face. The same beam came down again and I turned to my side, the heavy wood making contact with my side. I felt something else break. Dean kicked the feet out from under the demon, just before he grabbed the knife out of Bobby and stabbed the male demon in the chest. His scream alerted Meg and she backed away as Dean stood up. He was pissed.
As he moved closer, Meg looked to sky and screamed her way out of her meat suit. Dean lowered the knife as Sam got up. They stared at each other for a moment before they realised Bobby's time was ticking away.
I was in searing pain. It was very hard to breathe or move.
"Take Bobby." Dean ordered Sam, walking past the unconscious Bobby and to me. He knelt down beside me and placed his hand on my back, supporting me.
"Broken ribs." I said to him breathlessly, putting my arms around him.
"I'm going to kick his ass all over again." He muttered, securing his other arm behind my knees and lifting me in one swift motion. I groaned as my body knocked against him. Sam had pulled Bobby to his feet and was basically carrying him to the door. Dean overtook them, carrying me down the stairs in record time and leaving me by the Impala with the keys. He ran back to the room while I unlocked the car and slid in the front seat, almost passing out from the pain. I didn't hear the back door open, or anyone get it. I only opened my eyes when I felt Dean pry the keys out of my hand and start the engine. He sped towards the hospital and every bump in the road made me want to cry. I kept my arms around my torso and shut my eyes, keeping to shallow breaths.
We were at the hospital in about ten minutes, give or take a few. As soon as the car had stopped, Dean had flown out and opened the back door, helping Sam in carrying Bobby to the emergency room. I wanted to get the medical kit from the trunk but there was no way I'd be able to do that without collapsing and screaming in the process. Instead, I opted for slowly getting out of the car and sitting in the back seat instead. To my surprise, Sam and Dean were running back to the car within a minute. Sam took a few extra seconds to pull out said kit from the back and slid in beside me.
"Bobby?" I breathed. It was hard to speak still and would remain that way for the next seventy-two hours or so.
"We have to get to Dad's storage locker now." Dean replied, bringing the engine to life. I looked to Sam, confused. What was at Dad's locker? "In a castle, on a hill made of forty-two dogs." Dean stated speeding out of the hospital lot. "Forty-two Rover Hill, Castle Storage, Upstate New York." He explained. "Dad had the sword all along." I didn't even have time to respond; Sam offered me four pills and water.
"Two anti-inflammatory, two sleeping." He said, pulling out the ice pack. I downed he pills, wincing as I gulped. Sam leaned against the seat and put out his arm, prompting me to move towards him. The thing about cracked or broken ribs is that it's painful to stand and it's painful to lie down. The most comfortable position is sitting in a reclined chair, but seeing as we didn't have one of those, I'd have to make do with Sam.
I turned my back to him and leaned back, resting my head on his chest. He put his arm under mine and held the ice pack against my ribs. I groaned and then tried to control my erratic breathing.
"You should have left me at the hospital." I said quietly, grabbing a hold of Sam's other arm as we hit another bump in the road.
"Not a chance." Dean replied from the front, checking on me through the rear view every couple of minutes. "You're safer here."
I really hoped I was.
I woke hours later, when Sam tried to move me off him. I sat up a little too quickly and winced. Dean was already out of the car and opening the trunk.
"What's going on?" I croaked, rubbing my eyes.
"We're here." Sam replied, opening the door. I opened my door and slid my legs outs. Dean's arm shot out, leaning against the door and he blocked my path. He had a loaded shotgun in the other hand as he bent down and lowered his head.
"Sit it out." He advised me. I shook my head.
"No way." I replied. "I'm not letting you two just wander in there alone." I pushed myself up and Dean got out of my way, careful not to touch me.
"Lex."
I turned to him and noticed the distress on his face. He was watching me and my arm wrapped around my body.
"I'm not leaving you." I told him firmly, painfully taking out my gun. "I'll flank you." I told him. "Cross my heart." Sam nodded once and began loading his guns. Dean's gaze lingered for a second longer and he followed Sam in getting armed.
"Don't use your daggers." Sam instructed me as he cocked his hand gun. "Keep a distance and aim for their eyes. It'll give you a couple of seconds to run." I nodded, still leaning against the car. Dean shut the trunk and the boys moved ahead of me. I turned my back to them and kept an eye on our six.
When we got to the locker, Dean took out dad's key and got to work. I aimed right and Sam kept a lookout left. We were in within seconds, only to find dead demons sprawled across the floor. They'd already been here, but who had killed them? I stayed close to Dean, keeping my promise, as I scoped the room. My skin tingled a little and I already knew what to expect.
"Angels." I hissed.
"I see you told the demons where the sword is." Zachariah's voice rang out. We turned the corner to see him standing between two other angels.
"Oh, thank god. The angels are here." Dean commented sarcastically.
"And to think..." he said stepping over a dead demon and walking towards us. "…they could have grabbed it any time they wanted." He put his hand out and telekinetically closed the storage locker door. "It was right in front of them."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"We may have planted that particular piece of prophecy inside Chuck's skull, but it happened to be true. We did lose the Michael sword. We truly couldn't find it. Until now." I didn't understand and judging by their faces, neither did Sam or Dean. "You've just hand-delivered it to us."
"We don't have anything." Dean replied honestly.
"It's you, chucklehead." Zachariah said as if it were obvious, though none of us knew what the fuck he was on about. "You're the Michael sword." This sounded more like a dirty joke. I glanced at Dean who was staring at Zachariah in what could only be described as bewilderment. "What, you thought you could actually kill Lucifer? You, simpering wad of insecurity and self-loathing? No." he sighed. Zachariah was about to land himself a punch from an injured twenty-two year old girl. "You're just a human, Dean. And not much of one." Yeah, I definitely owed this prick either a fist to the face or a kick to the balls.
"What do you mean, I'm the sword?" Dean demanded.
"You're Michael's weapon. Or, rather, his...receptacle." Zachariah answered. Wait, like a meat suit?
"I'm a vessel?" Dean asked, non-believingly.
"You're the vessel. Michael's vessel." Zachariah clarified.
"How? Why—why me?" he asked, even more confused.
"Because you're chosen! It's a great honor, Dean." There was a tick of anger in my temple and it was slowly growing with each word Chuckles uttered.
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, life as an angel condom. That's real fun." Dean shot at him.
"Yeah, I don't really see the perks." I added, finally lowering my gun.
"I think I'll pass, thanks." Dean rejected the offer.
"Joking." Zach said in disbelief. "Always joking. Well...no more jokes." He raised one hand, his fingers in the shape of a gun and pointed at Dean. Then he shifted to Sam. "Bang."
There was a loud crunch the same time Sam screamed. He fell to the ground unable to stand.
"God!" he gasped. I dropped my gun and rushed to side.
"You son of a bitch!" Dean growled at Zachariah.
"Keep mouthing off, I'll break more than his legs." Zach threatened.
"Sammy, breathe." I told him, trying my hardest to keep pressure off his legs.
"I am completely and utterly through screwing around. The war has begun. We don't have our general. That's bad. Now, Michael is going to take his vessel and lead the final charge against the adversary. You understand me?" Zach sounded more and more pissed off as he spoke. That anger grew and I clenched my teeth, trying to focus on Sam instead of Zach.
"How many humans die in the crossfire, huh?" Dean asked. I could hear the rage in his voice. "A million? Five, ten?"
"Probably more. If Lucifer goes unchecked, you know how many die? All of them. He'll roast the planet alive." Zach shot back as a defence. I kept one arm around me whilst still adjusting Sam's legs.
"There's a reason you're telling me this instead of just nabbing me." Dean noted. "You need my consent. Michael needs my say-so to ride around in my skin." The angels look less than pleased.
"Unfortunately, yes." Zach replied.
"Well, there's got to be another way." Dean said in desperation.
"There is no other way. There must be a battle. Michael must defeat the serpent. It is written." Zachariah seemed like he had a stick lodged so far up his ass, that he choked on it now and again.
"Yeah, maybe. But, on the other hand... Eat me. The answer's no." Dean said it with such authority even I believed he had one upped the angels.
"Okay. How about this? Your friend Bobby—we know he's gravely injured. Say yes, and we'll heal him. Say no, he'll never walk again." Sam and I both glanced up at Dean, unsure of what he would say.
"No." Dean answered. It was a hard decision to make.
"Then how about we heal you from...stage-four stomach cancer?" he asked. There was a moment of confusion before Dean doubled over in pain, coughing. He spat blood into his palm. I felt the blood rush in my head, pumping away in anger.
"No." he answered still.
"Then let's get really creative. Alexis." He smiled at me crouching between my injured brothers. "I see you have, two-" he looked at me carefully. "-no, three broken ribs." He paused, looking directly at Dean. "Let's break them all." He suggested. I was forcefully straightened for a second which was painful enough and then came the most disgusting series of snaps I'd ever heard in my life. I felt each and every rib break, one millisecond after the other and then I collapsed within myself.
"Lex!" Sam reached out towards me. Dean caught my eye for a second as I lay sprawled on the floor, unable to move. He was grinding his teeth and my helplessness. I was going to pass out from the pain.
" Or uh, let's see how...Sam does without his lungs." Zach suggested. Dean's eyes shot to Sam and he in turn began gasping in a way I'd never heard before. "Are we having fun yet?" he asked, stepping forward and grasping Dean's chin in his hand. "You're going to say yes, Dean."
"Just kill us." Dean spat.
"Kill you? Oh, no. I'm just getting started." Zachariah stated happily. There was a bright flash of light at which I had to shut my eyes. When I opened them, I saw one of Zach's buddies collapse to the ground, a big, bloody hole in his throat. The other angel lunged at what I thought was someone wearing a trench coat.
Castiel?
Then I saw him, in a flurry, kicking some major ass. He spun quickly and stuck hard, manoeuvring himself around his opponent and delivering jaw shattering blows at every opportunity before he pinned him against the wired wall and stabbed him in the back of the head. The bright light flashed.
He was here. He was alive. I could only revel for a moment, but that didn't matter because he was alive. Our eyes met and for the first time, I understood them. There was something more than friendship in those eyes when he looked at me. There was something much more powerful.
"How are you...?" Zach started in shock.
"Alive? That's a good question." Castiel replied, looking back to Zachariah. "How did these three end up on that airplane? Another good question. 'Cause the angels didn't do it. I think we both know the answer, don't we?" he asked rhetorically.
"No. That's not possible." Zachariah was lost.
"It scares you. Well, it should." Cas said forcefully. "Now, put these three back together and go. I won't ask twice." He commanded. The pain left me as Zach vanished into thin air. I sat up, moving my body to check nothing was hurting. I was fine and seeing the boys, they seemed just as well. We got to our feet as Cas approached us.
"You need to be more careful." He told us.
"Yeah, I'm starting to get that. Your frat brothers are bigger dicks than I thought." Dean said, regaining his breath. I pushed between the boys so I was standing ahead of them. I wanted to see Cas.
"I don't mean the angels. Lucifer is circling his vessel." He said, glancing down at me. I focused on his face; making sure he was alright. "And once he takes it, those hex bags won't be enough to protect you." Cas put his hands to either side of me, and on Sam and Dean's chest. They both gasped in pain. He moved one had to me but I stepped back into Sam and Dean, dreading what was coming next.
"What the hell was that?" Dean asked, placing a hand on my back.
"An Enochian sigil. It'll hide you from every angel in creation, including Lucifer." Castiel explained, lightly placing his hand under my neck. I gasped too as I felt my ribs ache.
"What, did you just brand us with it?" Dean asked, a little annoyed.
"No. I carved it into your ribs." Cas replied. I touched my neck, feeling a little violated. We paused for a moment, taking that information in.
"Hey, Cas, were you really dead?" Sam asked. Castiel kept his eyes on me and I felt we were having a secret conversation.
"Yes." He replied. I knew he had to be back. My time with him wasn't over. There was so much I wanted to say to him; so much I wanted to apologise for.
"Then how are you back?" Dean asked. One glance and I knew he was leaving.
"Cas, wait." I blurted out. He was gone. "Why does he always disappear?"
"God knows." Dean replied in frustration. "You two okay?" he asked. I nodded, turning to face them again. Sam gave Dean a curt nod as well. "Let's get out of here then."
Dean pulled up to the hospital and put the car in park. I was riding shot gun, with my window down and my laptop out. Earlier I'd been doing some 'research', before Bobby went all demon on us, and now it was time to collect.
"Dean, head on in without us." I said nonchalantly, still looking at the screen. From my peripherals, I saw them exchange glances and Sam shrug.
"Why?" Dean asked, ever so rudely. I glared up at him.
"I haven't had a chance to yell at Sam yet. You mind or do you wanna stick around for the theatrics?" I asked bluntly.
"No thank-you." Dean replied, opening his door and slipping out quickly. It was the right thing to do. I had a habit of blowing up in anger in a matter of seconds. As soon as Dean was through the hospital entrance, Sam spoke.
"Let's hear it." He said quietly. I pushed open my door and stepped outside.
"Let's take a walk." I told him, shutting the door behind me. Sam fell in step beside me as we walked along the side walk and down the street. The sun was shining down on us with such force that we were sweating bullets. There were so many things I had to say to him. So many things I had to throw in his face.
"I told you she was evil." I started. "I told you she was a psychopathic bitch with no moral compass whatsoever. And you didn't believe me." I stopped walking and faced Sam. "You didn't believe me?" Sam stared at me, hurting. "I'm your sister, Sam. I would never do anything to hurt you. You've known me from the day I was born, and you chose a demon…" I growled, pacing a little. "A demon, over me? Over Dean?" I asked in disbelief. "Dean raised you! Forget about me for a second and think about him! Your oldest confidant and you trust the twisted whore who's feeding you demon blood? How the HELL do you think we feel?" I demanded. He kept eye contact with me the whole time. "I rooted for you Sam. I told Dean and Bobby you were fine and that we could work things out but the first thing you did when you busted out was run off to Ruby. AGAIN!" Sam looked down in guilt.
"You left me once for her when Dean was gone, and then you did it again. I'm supposed to be one of the most important things in your life and you left me to rot on my own for a fucking demon!" I almost screamed. "I needed you." I pointed at him. "I needed my big brother and you abandoned me! I was alone Sam. I had no one. Bobby had no idea what to do with me." I tried to regain a steady breathing pattern.
"No, forget that." I waved my previous speech off. "Ruby tried to kill me. She was working with Uriel and Lilith. I told you that and you didn't believe me." I accused him. "She pinned me down to a table and recorded me getting my heart almost pulled out. How could you not believe me?" I asked. "How could you not trust me? Who the hell were you kidding?" I stepped towards him, grabbed his hand and put it against my heart. "This is me we're talking about. I'm not a stranger to you, Sam. You know me best and vice versa. From God knows where, you let Ruby get between us. We were keeping secrets from each other! Lying to each other's faces and for what audience?" I asked. "We all knew what was going on but nobody had the guts to speak out and just tell it like it was. How did we let it get that bad?"
"Lex-" he breathed, pain etched on his face.
"But you know what the crazy thing is?" I asked him, letting go of his hand. "Despite all that, I'm still here." I looked deep into his eyes. "Without even knowing, I ran to you in a heartbeat. I need you more than you'll ever realise, Sammy." He was on the verge of tears, as was I. "But there's one thing that I don't know how to forgive you for." I told him.
"What?" he asked, holding in the pain pulsating through him.
"I'll show you." I said quietly, turning around and walking into the building we'd stopped outside. I entered the police station, Sam one step behind me, and headed towards the board at the back. I approached a tall, well-built man in his late twenties. He was leaning against the wall, a pile of papers in his hands and dark bags under his eyes. I'd only seen him on his driver's license previous to this meeting.
"Lex, what are you doing?" Sam whispered from behind me, just as the man looked up.
"Matthew?" I asked. The man glanced between Sam and me before straightening up.
"Yeah, that's me." He replied. Sam looked so very confused but he was about to find out why I'd brought him here.
"Hi Matthew. My name is Alexis and this is my older brother Sam." I pointed to him behind me. Matt's eyes followed my finger but he remained confused. "I spoke to you on the phone." I reminded him. "We work alongside the 'missing persons' department in Delaware and neighbouring states." I informed him. Sam stood a little straighter as he realised I was playing a role. Matthew's eyes lit up and he ruffled through the fliers he was holding.
"Oh thank God." He exclaimed, handing a flyer to Sam. "Thank you for contacting me. I'm looking for my wife." Sam glanced down at the page and his face dropped. I could see his breath hitch in his throat and his heart skip a beat as he took in the face on the page. "Her name is Cindy McClellen and she's a nurse in the NICU at Enfield Memorial Hospital, Illchester, Maryland." He informed us. "We've been married six years. She has dark brown hair, hazel brown eyes and is of medium build. She was last seen at work taking a newborn to the intensive care unit." He continued quickly but my eyes were on Sam. He was flabbergasted, watching Matthew in such a panic and disarray, and every now and then he'd glance at me. Matthew ran a hand through his hair; he looked so tired. "The baby was found abandoned in the hallway but she was gone. The security footage has been wiped clean. The police are ruling out kidnapping but I know," he was getting more and more emotional. "-I know she wouldn't leave me. We were in love and we were happy." He looked to me now, desperation in his eyes. "I've been looking everywhere but it's like she disappeared of the face of the earth!"
"Matthew-" I started patiently.
"I mean, her passport, her money, her phone… everything was just left behind. Even if she was running away, it doesn't make any bloody sense!" His voice got louder.
"Matthew, you need to calm down." I told him politely.
"No! Don't you get it! I can't calm down until I've found her! She's out there waiting for me to come get her." He yelled.
"We are going to try our best to find your wife." I lied to him, trying to calm him down but it wasn't working.
"That's freaking bullshit!" he yelled. I noticed the officers at the station talking quietly to each other. They would intervene soon. "I have been to every police station from home to here and no one is fucking helping me. NO ONE is taking me seriously. You're just like the rest of them." He pointed to Sam and myself. "You're just going to push me aside and forget about her." He growled grabbing my jacket with both hands. That was enough to kick both Sam and the officers into action.
Sam's body was suddenly between mine and Matthew's, his hands had been removed from my jacket and the officers were now detaining Matthew. The poor guy was sobbing as they cuffed him for safety and Sam put his hand on my back, forcefully ushering me out of the station.
"What the hell was that?" he asked, annoyed, as soon as we stepped outside.
"You know exactly what that was." I told him. "I got in contact with Cindy's husband and told him to meet me here so you could see the trouble you caused the second you let Ruby slit that girl." I hissed. Sam was shocked that I knew somehow but his expression quickly turned to shame.
"How did you-?" he began.
"Does it even matter, Sam?" I shot back
"Lex, I'm sorry." He said slowly. "I am, and I know there's nothing I can say or do that's going to undo what I've already screwed up but I am trying." He said in grief.
"You're right." I said, my lip quivering a little as I thought of Cindy screaming as Ruby had approached her. "You can't undo it. She's dead, Sam." I told him. "She's dead. She can't speak, she can't breathe, she can't see her husband." I pointed to the police station. I stepped closer to him. "She was innocent." I emphasised. "That girl hadn't done anything wrong. She was possessed and you should have used your powers to kill that bitch of a demon and let that girl go. That's what we do. We save people! We don't drink their blood until their dry." I had tears in my eyes as I spoke. Sam was frowning, upset that I was on the verge of crying.
"It's like I don't know you anymore or what you're capable of. Every time I get close to you, Sam, my heart beats faster and I think to myself, what if he turns on me?" I told him honestly. Sam's face dropped as he heard my words. "What if he turns around and hurts me? Like he did to Cindy?" I looked down. "That's what's stopping me from trusting you. I'm scared of being near you." I told him. I might as well have stabbed Sam right in the heart with the demon knife because his face said it all. He hated hearing those words come out of my mouth.
"Lex, I would never-" she stepped towards me but I stepped back, putting out my hand.
"Don't." I breathed.
"I'd never hurt you." He said firmly. "Never." I looked up at him.
"I never thought you'd kill an innocent girl." I said quietly. "Look, I haven't told Dean yet, and I won't if you don't want me to but I need you to keep your distance from me for the time being, okay?" I asked, moving back slightly. "I can look past the rest, but not this." Sam stood wounded as I turned my back towards him and began walking back to the hospital.
I sat in the chair at the foot of Bobby's bed, not really aware of the argument that was taking place. Sam and Dean stood to the right of me, both of them leaning against the window sill, Dean with his arms crossed. I hadn't spoken to Sam since our conversation and I wasn't sure if Dean had picked up on the disconnection between us.
"'Unlikely to walk again'?! Why, you snot-nosed son of a bitch! Wait till I get out of this bed!" Bobby yelled, throwing the metal supporter off the bed. I tuned back into the conversation as the doctor quickly opened the door and fled out of the room. "I'll use my game leg and kick your friggin' ass! Yeah, you better run!" He threatened, his voice echoing down the hall. I pulled my legs closer to me on the chair. "You believe that yahoo?" Bobby asked, looking over at us.
"Screw him. You'll be fine." Dean replied.
"So, let me ask the million-dollar question. What do we do now?" Sam asked. There was a silence as his question hung in the air.
"Well... We save as many as we can for as long as we can, I guess." Bobby replied from the hospital bed. "It's bad. Whoever wins, heaven or hell, we're boned."
"What if we win?" Dean asked, arms still crossed, his voice low.
"Team people." I muttered. Bobby and Sam both stared at Dean who sounded a little too confident to be joking. "I'm serious. I mean, screw the angels and the demons and their crap apocalypse. Hell, they want to fight a war, they can find their own planet." Dean said forcefully, pacing forward. "This one's ours, and I say they get the hell off it. We take 'em all on. We kill the devil. Hell, we even kill Michael if we have to. But we do it our own damn selves." I gave Dean credit for the motivational speech and the honourable plan but it seemed a little too much for just us to handle.
"And how are we supposed to do all this, genius?" Bobby asked. He had the same doubts I had.
"I got no idea." Dean shrugged. "But what I do have is a GED and a give-'em-hell attitude, and I'll figure it out." He said with confidence. I couldn't help but smile.
"You are nine kinds of crazy, boy." Bobby commented.
"It's been said." Dean replied proudly.
"I'm game." I said, with a smirk on my face.
"You're always game." Bobby shot back. I rolled my eyes as I stood up. Dean patted Bobby on the shoulder and I leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.
"Listen, you stay on the mend. We'll see you in a bit." Dean told him. He nodded, both Dean and I headed towards the door.
"Sam?" Bobby called out. We turned as Sam stopped and looked to Bobby. "I was awake. I know what I said back there. I just want you to know that...that was the demon talking." He clarified. I glanced up at Dean, kicking myself mentally for ever thinking Bobby would turn his back on Sam. Stupid me. "I ain't cutting you out, boy. Not ever." Sam sighed in relief at Bobby revelation.
"Thanks, Bobby." He said softly.
"You're welcome." He replied. Sam turned to leave. "I deserve a damn medal for this, but...you're welcome." He continued. Sam smiled before we turned and left the room. Dean and I walked a little ahead and Sam trailed behind, lost in thought. Dean took the opportunity.
"You and Sam good?" He asked as we turned the corner.
"Furthest thing from it." I replied quietly. I could have told Dean about Cindy but I didn't think he needed the extra fuel. Maybe one day. Sam fell in step with us as we exited the hospital into the car park.
"You know, I was thinking, maybe we could go after the Colt." Sam suggested as we walked onto the road.
"Why? What difference would that make?" Dean asked.
"Well, we could use it on Lucifer. I mean, you just said back there-" Sam started.
"I just said a bunch of crap for Bobby's benefit." Dean interrupted. I stopped walking in the middle of the road and looked to Dean in confusion. Sam did the same.
"But-" I was confused.
"I mean, I'll fight." Dean clarified. "I'll fight till the last man, but let's at least be honest. I mean, we don't stand a snowball's chance, and you both know that. I mean, hell, you of all people know that." He said, aimed at Sam. He walked around us.
"Dean..." Sam called out to him. I still had my back turned, trying to comprehend what Dean had just dropped on us. "Is there something you want to say to me?" Sam asked. There was a long pause and I didn't want to turn around and face them. Finally Dean spoke.
"I tried, Sammy. I mean, I really tried." Dean started. "But I just can't keep pretending that everything's all right. Because it's not. And it's never going to be. You chose a demon over your own brother… your own sister-" I turned to see Sam roll his eyes. "—and look what happened."
"I would give anything—anything—to take it all back." Sam told Dean.
"I know you would." Dean replied. He was in s much pain. "And I know how sorry you are. I do." He sighed. "But, man...you were the one that I depended on the most. And you let me down in ways that I can't even..." Dean paused, struggling for words. "I'm just—I'm having a hard time forgiving and forgetting here. You know?" he finished.
"What can I do?" Sam asked. It was a hard question but unfortunately there was nothing he could really do.
"Honestly?" Dean said, looking down. "Nothing." Sam nodded a little, looking down. He was expecting that kind of response. "I just don't...I don't think that we can ever be what we were. You know?" Dean continued. It was heartbreaking because although Sam may have felt rejected, it hurt Dean even more to be the one rejecting him. I knew that. "I just don't think I can trust you." Dean finished. Sam looked up, shocked. He hadn't been expecting that.
Dean shook his head as he walked away, pausing at the trunk of the Impala to look back at Sam. Everything was falling apart. Dean got into the Impala and I was about to do the same.
"Lex." Sam called, stopping me. I looked back for a moment. "Did you-? He asked, glancing at Dean in the car. He was out of earshot. Sam was asking about Cindy.
"I told you I wouldn't." I replied. Before Sam had time to say anything else, I slipped into the car and shut the door.
Fuck.
Author's Note:
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Go ahead and review!
If you like the story go ahead and follow it so you get notified when I post the next chapter. Remember to review, if you tell me what you like I can incorporate it into my story!
NOTE: I will be writing Folsom Prison Blues and uploading that soon as a one-shot. Soon after that is the one-shot directly after What Is And Should Never Be. I will also start writing the prequel to my story which is the season 3 finale, the time between seasons 3 and 4 and the first couple of episodes of season 4.
Review Response
Sara. B - Thank-you so much! Seeing as most people have watched the show, I was aiming to keep people on the edge of their seats so... mission accomplished!? Lex and Dean... sigh. Such an intricate relationship those two have and you're right, something as small as that silver bullet changed everything.
And poor Sammy... I watched 'First Born' this week, *SPOILER ALERT* Cas saying to Sam that he can relate because of how much they've both screwed up... such a beautiful moment. Of course Lex and Dean love Sam, but I was always hoping to illustrate he was always different from those knuckle heads and I'm glad that translated through my story.
Thank-you again about the fightng scenes and I think you are going to be soooo happy with season 5. I have everything planned! Hope I didn't make you wait too long xx Thank-you again for your support!
Guest - Don't we all love hating on Ruby? Glad you enjoyed the chapter and standby for more Nate later on x
Harley (One Shot) - Thank-you so much!
Feel free to message me anytime :)
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Lots of love
Emerald Princess 14