Disclaimer: I own nothing except Kayla and Christine.
A/N: Here is chapter 25. Read and Review.
The trio are at Bobby's. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Dean shouts at Sam. He and Dean are in the kitchen, Bobby, Kayla and Christine are in the study.
"Dean," Sam begins.
"No, don't 'Dean' me," Dean interrupts. "I mean, you- you have had some stupid ideas in the past, but this." Dean shakes his head and turns to Bobby, "D-did you know about this?"
"What?" Bobby asks, Kayla looks at Sam suspiciously.
"About Sam's genius plan to cram the devil down his throat," Dean asks. Bobby nods.
"You're going to say yes?" Kayla shrieks, making everyone jump. "Are you trying to friggin' kill me?" Kayla walks forward and goes to hit Sam but is stopped by Dean.
"I trusted you Sam!" Kayla growls.
"Yeah, I agree with her," Dean says. "You can't do this."
"That's the consensus," Sam says.
"All right," Dean says. "Awesome. Then end of discussion." A phone starts to ring.
"It's me," Kayla says. "Hello?"
"Kayla?"
"Cas?" Kayla asks, looking at Dean.
"Is he okay?" Dean asks.
Kayla shushes him. "We all thought you were dead Cas," Kayla says into the phone. "Where the hell are you?"
"Did she just shush me?" Dean whispers to Sam. Sam smirks in response.
"A hospital," Cas says.
"A hospital!" Kayla shrieks. "Are you okay?"
"No."
"What do ya mean 'no'? Do you wanna elaborate?"
"I just woke up here. The doctors were fairly surprised. They thought I was brain-dead."
"Brain-dead? Oh God, I'm gonna die of heart failure in a minute. You woke up in a hospital?"
"Apparently, after Van Nuys, suddenly appeared, bloody and unconcious, on a shrimping boat off Delacroix. I'm told it upset the sailors."
"Oh, yeah, that reminds me, I've so gotta get you back for that! Just wait until I see you!" Kayla threatens. "Oh, and the muttonheads have come up with a plan that will drive me to suicide."
"'Muttonheads'? You've been spending too much time around Gabriel. And what do you mean 'a plan that will drive you to suicide'?"
"I'll get them to tell you later." Dean holds out his hand, indicating that he wants the phone. "Dean wants to speak. I'll see you late bro."
"Hey Cas. Look, we're going after Pestilence now. So could you zap over here..."
"I can't 'zap' anywhere."
"What do you mean, you can't 'zap'?"
"You could say my batteries are-are drained."
"What do you mean? You're out of angel mojo?" Kayla looks at up Dean, worried.
"I'm saying that I am thirsty and my head aches. I have a bug bite that itches no matter how much I scratch it, and I'm saying that I'm just incredibly..."
"Human," Dean finishes. "Wow. Sorry."
"Well, my point is- I can't go anywhere without money for...an airplane ride. And food. And more pain medication, ideally."
"All right. Well, look, no worries. Uh, Bobby's here. He'll wire you the cash."
"I will?" Bobby asks.
Kayla glares at him, "You sure as hell will!"
"Dean wait. You said 'no' to Michael. I owe you an apology."
"Cas..i-it's okay."
"You are no the burnt and broken shell of a man that I believed you to be."
"Thank you. I appreciate that."
"You're welcome." Cas hangs up.
"Bye then," Kayla says, taking her phone back. She walks over to Christine, looking at her messages. There are loads from her ex-boyfriend Jack.
"Hey Collard," Kayla whispers. "Why the hell does Jack the idiot keep texting me?"
"Dunno," Christine replies.
"Alright, angel, time to go," Dean calls.
"See you later," Kayla tells Christine. "Have fun researching!"
"Be careful," Bobby says as the trio climb into the impala.
It's nighttime when they reach Pestilence's location. It's Serenity Valley Convalescent Home.
They sit outside in the impala, watching the home.
"So this is Dr. Evil's lair, huh?" Dean asks.
"It's kind of more depressing than evil," Sam remarks.
"At least there's no children," Kayla says, leaning back. She's got another text. She reads it and sighs, "Remind me to kick this guys ass when we get back to Bobby's."
Dean and Sam ignore her."It's like a four-colour brochure for dying young," Dean says. "Of course, to Pestilence, it's probably Dollywood in there."
"Great," Sam moans. "A whole building full of people. We don't know who's human, who's demon, and who's pestilence. So what do we do?"
Kayla spots a CCTV camera and smiles. "I've got an idea." They get out of the impala and walk in. They walk to the security room. Kayla pulls her top down, revealing more cleavage. She looks at the brothers,
"No one mentions this to my brothers. Got that?" They nod. Kayla knocks on the door and walks in. "Hey," she says. "You couldn't do me a favour, could you?" The security guard looks at her and grins.
"Of course, darling. I will do anything you want."
"That's great," Kayla grins. She walks forward. Suddenly, she ducks. Dean punches the guard, knocking him out. Kayla grins up at him. Dean sighs and pulls her top up.
"Are you sure we're not related?" she asks him. Dean bangs on the door and Sam walks in. Dena then proceeds to drag the security guard over to the corner. The trio then spend the next few hours watching the cameras.
"So, what are," Sam begins. He then sees Dean drifting off to sleep. He taps him on the arm, making him jump. Kayla smirks. "He. What are we even looking for?" Sam asks him when he's awake.
"Well, he's Pestilence, so he probably looks sick," Dean replies.
"Everybody looks sick, genius," Kayla tells him. Sam spots a distortion on one of the screens.
"Hey," he says. They watch as the screens become distorted when one of the doctors appears.
"Oh, now we're talking," Dean says. They leave the room and walk to the room where Pestilence was last seen. They round a corner and find a couple of bodies. Sam and Kayla start coughing up blood. Everyone's vision becomes blurry.
"Ugh," Sam groans. "Must be getting close."
"You think?" Dean asks sarcastically. He starts to fall over.
"Dean?" Sam asks. He goes to help Dean, but he stumbles and Dean falls to the floor. "Get up." Kayla falls to the floor next to Dean. Sam stumbles to the door, but it opens before he reaches it.
"The doctor will see you now," the demon who opens it smiles. She moves to the side and reveals Pestilence.
"Sam. Dean. Kayla," he smiles, gesturing them in. Sam holds up the knife, but then falls to the floor. "Come right in." The demon walks over and drags the brothers in. She then walks over to Kayla and helps her in. "Hmm. You boys don't look well. it might be the, uh, Scarlet fever. Or, uh, the meningitis. Oh! Or the syphilis. That's no fun. However you feel right now? It's gonna get so very, very much worse." He then turns to Kayla.
She groans and says, "You can't hurt me, no without pissing off my brother. You might be able to get away with hurting them. But not me."
"I'll just take that risk," Pestilence smirks. He clenches his fist and Kayla cries out in pain. She falls to the ground and blood comes out of her mouth. Pestilence turns back to the Winchesters.
"Disease gets a bad rep, don't you think? For being filthy. Chaotic. Uh, but, really, t-that just describes people who get sick. Disease itself...very...pure...single-minded. Bacteria have one purpose-divide and conquer." Dean's hand slides over to the knife. Pestilence notices and steps on his hand. "That's why, in the end... it always wins. So, you've got to wonder why God pours all his love into something so messy...and weak. It's ridiculous. All I can do is show him he's wrong, one epidemic at a time. No...one a scale of 1 to 10, how's your pain?"
Suddenly, the door opens and Cas walks in.
"Cas?" Kayla groans quietly, looking at her brother.
"How'd you get here?" Pestilence asks.
"I took a bus," Cas replies. "Don't worry, I-" Cas falls to the floor, coughing.
"Well, look at that. An occupied vessel, but powerless," Pestilence says, bending down in front of Cas. "Oh, that's fascinating. There's not a speck of angel in you, is there?" Cas grabs the knife and cuts off Pestilence's ring.
"Maybe just a speck," Cas tells him. Pestilence falls to the side and the demon leaps at Cas. He stabs her in the stomach. The trio are instantly healed.
"It doesn't matter," Pestilence says, holding his hand. "It's too late."
"Cas," Kayla walks over to Cas and hugs him. Cas returns the hug gratefully. "I'm so glad you're alive," she tells him. She then pulls away and slaps him. Cas puts a hand to his cheek and looks at her, surprised. "You didn't say goodbye?" she asks. Cas doesn't answer, he just pulls her back into a hug.
"Well, it's nice to actually score a home run for once aint' it?" Bobby says, looking at the ring. He looks up to see Sam, Dean, Kayla and Cas looking miserable. "What?"
"Last thing Pestilence said," Sam tells him. "'It's too late'."
"He get specific?" Bobby asks.
"No," Sam replies.
"We're just little freaked out that he might have left a bomb somewhere," Dean says. "So please tell us you have actual good news."
"Chicago's about to wiped off the map," Bobby tells them. "Storm of the millenium. Sets off a daisy chain of natural disasters. Three million people are gonna die."
"Huh," Dean groans.
"I don't understand you definition of good news," Cas says. Kayla pats his hand.
"Well...Death, the horseman - he's gonna be there," Bobby tells him. "And if we can stop him before he kick-starts this storm, get his ring back – "
"Yeah, you make it sound so easy," Dean says, sarcastically.
"Hell, I'm just trying to put a spin on it," Bobby says.
"Well...Bobby, h-how'd you put all this together, anyways?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, how did you?" Christine asks. "'cause I haven't heard of anything like this."
"I had, you know... help," Bobby replies awkwardly. They hear someone in the kitchen and turn around. It's Crowley.
"Don't be so modest. I barely helped at all," he smiles.
"Not him again," Kayla groans quietly. Crowley walks into the study and leans against the door frame.
"Hello boys, Kayla. Pleasure, et cetera," Crowley says. At the mention of Kayla's name, Cas puts his arm around her waist and pulls her to him. "Go ahead. Tell them. There's no same in it."
Everyone turns to look at Bobby.
"Bobby? Tell us what?" Sam asks.
"World's gonna end," Bobby says. "Seems stupid to get all precious over one little...soul."
"You sold your soul?" Dean asks.
"O, more like pawned it," Crowley interrupts. "I fully intend to give it back."
"Well, then give it back!" Dean shouts.
"I will," Crowley assures him.
"Now!" Dean says.
"Did you kiss him?" Sam asks suddenly.
"Sam!" Dean rebukes.
"Just wondering," Sam says defensively.
"No!" Bobby exclaims. Crowley whistles and holds out his phone. It has a picture of him and Bobby kissing on it. "Why'd you take a picture?" Bobby moans.
"Why do you have to use tongue?" Crowley shoots back. Just then, the doorbell rings.
"I'll get it," Kayla sighs and goes to answer the door. She opens the door.
"Jack?" she gasps.
"The one and only," Jack grins. Kayla glances behind her and pushes Jack out the door. She closes it behind her.
"What the hell are you doing here?" she asks him.
"I miss you," he tells her.
"Yeah, well, you should have thought about that before you slept with Julie Myers," Kayla tells him angrily.
"Look, babe, I've already told you I'm sorry," Jack begins.
"Sorry!" Kayla shrieks. "I'll give you sorry, you cheating bastard." She turns away from him. "Gabe?"
"Yes kiddo?" Gabriel asks, appearing behind her, causing Jack to jump. Gabriel looks at her closely and sees tears in her eyes. He walks over to her and puts his hands on her shoulders.
"What happened?" he asks her. Kayla glances over to Jack. "Is this the guy?" Kayla nods. "The cheating little scumbag?" Gabriel asks again.
"Yeah," Kayla replies. Gabriel growls and walks over to Jack. He grabs hold of his arm and says to Kayla, "I'm just going to go visit Luci-Lou. See you soon." He disappears with Jack. Kayla hears voices and walks around to the back of the house. She walks over just in time to see Bobby throw a bag at Cas and say, "And load the damn truck." Dean and Sam walk round to join them. Kayla walks over to Cas and hugs him.
"All right, well...good luck stopping the whole zombie apocalypse," Dean says.
"Yeah. Good luck killing Death," Sam replies.
"Yeah," Dean says.
"Remember when we used to jus...hunt wendigos?" Sam asks. "How simple things were?"
"Not really," Dean replies.
"Well, um" Sam pulls out the demon-killing knife. "You might need this."
"Keep it," Crowley says, appearing. He hands Dean a small scythe. "Dean and Kayla are covered. Death's own. Kills, golly, demons and angels and reapers and, rumor has it, the very thing itself."
"How did you get that?" Cas asks as Kayla walks over to Dean.
"Hello-king of the crossroads," Crowley says. "So, shall we? Bobby, you just gonna sit there?"
"No, I'm gonna riverdance," Bobby replies sarcastically.
"I suppose if you want to impress the ladies," Crowley says. "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Really wasted that crossroads deal. Fact - you get more if you phrase it properly. So, I took the liberty of adding a teeny little sub-a clause on your behalf. What can I say? I'm an altruist. Just gonna sit there?" Bobby stares at him and moves his foot. He gasps and slowly stands up.
"Son of a bitch."
"Yes, I know," Crowley says. Completely worth your soul. I'm a hell of a guy."
"Thanks," Bobby says.
"This is getting maudlin," Crowley says. "Can we go?" Dean, Kayla and Crowley walk over to the impala and get in. They drive off.
They arrive in Chicago and get out of the impala.
"Hey, let's stop for pizza," Crowley says.
"Are you kidding?" Dean and Kayla ask.
"Just heard it was good," Crowley says. "That's all."
"I heard that as well," Kayla say. Dean looks at her. Kayla shrugs. "What? Gabe told me."
"Up ahead," Crowley says, pointing. "Big, ugly building. Ground zero. Horseman's stable, if you will. He's in there."
"How do you know?" Kayla asks.
"Have you met me?" Crowley asks. "'cause I know. Also, the block is squirming with reapers."
"He's right," Kayla says, looking up at Dean. "I can feel them."
"I'll be right back," Crowley says and disappears. He reappears again a few minutes later. "Boy, is my face red," Crowley says. "Death's not in there."
"You want to cut the cute and get to the part where you tell me where he is?" Dean says.
"Sorry. I don't know," Crowley says.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait a minute," Dean says. "You don't know?"
"Signs pointed," Crowley says. "I-I'm just as shocked as you."
"Bobby sold his soul for this!" Dean shouts.
"Relax," Crowley says. "All deals are soul back or store credit. We'll catch Death in the next doomed city.
"Millions, Crowley," Kayla snaps. "Millions of people are about to die any minute."
"True," Crowley agrees. "So I strongly suggest we get out of here." He disappears.
"Un-bloody-believable," Kayla growls as her and Dean walk towards the impala. They get in and Crowley appears.
"So, what?" Dean asks. "Call in a bomb threat? 1,000 bomb threats? I mean, how the hell are we supposed to get three million people out of Chicago in the next 10 minutes?"
"He's gone, Dean," Kayla sighs.
"Come on!" Dean growls. He sighs and looks around. He spots Crowley in front of a pizzeria. Crowley's mouthing something but Dean and Kayla can't understand what.
"What? I can't hear you," Dean says, mouthing his words clearly.
Crowley appears in the impala again, "I said I found him. Death- he's in there." Dean and Kayla get out of the impala.
"You coming or..." Dean begins to ask Crowley. He looks into the impala and sees that Crowley has disappeared. "Not."
The pair enter the pizzeria through the back entrance. They look around and see that everyone's dead. Dean spots Death sitting at a table with his back to them. He nudges Kayla and they silently walk forward. As they approach Death, the scythe heats up, causing Dean to drop it. They close their eyes in fear.
"Thanks for returning that," Death says. They look down and the scythe is gone. They see it appear on Death's table. "Join me, Dean, Kayla," Death says, "The pizza's delicious." They cautiously walk over. "Sit down." They sit.
"Took you long enough to find me," Death says. "I've been wanting to talk to you."
"I got to- I have mixed feelings about that," Dean says. "S-so is this the part where...where you kill me?" Kayla glances over at Dean. She picks up a slice of pizza and starts to eat it.
"You have an inflated sense of your importance," Death remarks. "To a thing like, a thing like you, well... Think how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table and started to get snarky. This is one little planet in one tiny solar system in a galaxy that's barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean. Very old. So I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you." Death scopes a slice of pizza onto the plate infront of Dean. "Eat." Dean takes a bit out of it. "Good, isn't it?"
"Well, I got to ask," Dean says. "How old are you?"
"He's definitely older than me and my brothers," Kayla says.
"She's right," Death says. "I'm as old as God. Maybe older. Neither of us can remember anymore. Life, death, chicken, egg. Regardless- at the end, I'll reap him, too."
Kayla chokes on her pizza, "God? You'll reap God?"
"Oh, yes. God will die, too, Metatron," Death tells her.
"Well, this is way above my pay grade," Dean says.
"Just a bit," Death agrees.
"So, then why am I still breathing, sitting here with you?" Dean asks. "Uh...w-what do you want?"
"The leash around my neck off," Death tells him. "Lucifer has me bound to him. Some unseemly little spell. He has me where he wants, when he wants. That's why I couldn't go to you. I had to wait for you to catch up. He made me his weapon. Hurricanes, floods, raising the dead. I'm more powerful than you can process, and I'm enslaved to a bratty child with a temper tantrum."
"O, Luci," Kayla groans and puts her head in her hands.
"And you think...I can unbind you?" Dean asks.
"There's your ridiculous bravado again," Death says. "Of course you can't. Metatron might be able to, but you can't. But you can help me take the bullets out of Lucifer's gun. I understand you want this." Death holds up his hand, displaying his ring.
"Yeah," Dean replies.
"No," Kayla whispers.
"I'm inclined to give it to you," Death says.
"To give it to me?" Dean asks.
"That's what I said," Death replies.
"But what about..." Dean begins.
"Chicago?" Death finishes. "I suppose it can stay. I like the pizza." Death takes off his ring. "There are conditions."
"Okay. Like?" Dean asks.
"You have to do whatever it takes to put Lucifer in his cell," Death tells him. He glances at Kayla. "Or, at least get rid of the leash."
"Of course," Dean replies.
"Whatever it takes," Death says.
"That's the plan," Dean replies.
"No. No plan. Not yet. Your brother. He's the one that can stop Lucifer. Either he says Yes or Metatron gets her grace back. Seeing as though the second option isn't going so well, Sam is the only one."
"What, you think-"
"I know. So, I need a promise. You're going to let your brother jump right into the firey pit. Well, do I have your word?" Death holds out his ring.
"Okay, yeah. Yes," Dean agrees, holding out his hand.
"That had better be 'yes', Dean," Death warns. "You know you can't cheat death." He drops the ring into Dean's hand. "Now, would you like the instruction manual?" Death tells Dean the instructions on how to use the rings and open the cage. Dean nods and leaves. However, Kayla hangs back.
"I got the impression that you wanted to speak with me privately," she says.
"I do," he confirms. "As I said, I would settle for the leash being removed. However, it would be wise to keep him from me after."
"I can do that," Kayla says. She gets up to leave but Death stops her.
"As you already know, there are some angels that want you dead," Death tells her.
"Yeah," Kayla says cautiously.
"Well, in two days, they succeed," Death says. Kayla looks at him, her eyes wide. "The only way that you will survive is to get your grace back."
"Why are you telling me this?" she gasps.
"Because I quite like you," Death tells her. She nods and stumbles out of the door. Dean's waiting for her by the impala.
"Whoa, Kayla, are you alright?" he asks, running forward. She shakes he head and collapses in his arms, Death's words echoing through her mind.
A/N: Hey guys, the last chapter should be posted either tomorrow or wednesday. So, who do you think the angel who is gonna kill Kayla is? Let me know what ya think. Jenni.