Sorry this update took longer than usual – I was seriously contemplating the need for the next two chapters. Still, it moves the story along, and explains a few things, I decided to keep them in the story.

This was another chapter that I had to divide because it was too long. This first part has Shawn and Dean engaging in a proper conversation – well, as proper as these two can have – about their roles in the impending Apocalypse. I tried to condense as much as I could into it, so I may not have covered everything. Still, it's relevant to the story, and I hope it makes sense. So, here's chapter twenty-six.

Chapter 26

In which our hero and his friends endure some forced downtime

Shawn had never been good with waiting, but fortunately he had enough interesting playmates to keep him occupied. He started with his best friend first, watching as Gus gingerly settled himself in his seat. "Dude, I've been meaning to ask, what happened to you?"

Gus groaned, clutching at his side. "When I realized that I got lured out by a demon I used the holy water and the salt Azrael gave us to defend myself against her. She didn't like that too much."

"No, no, I imagine she didn't," Shawn said.

"She beat me like a drum for a bit and then dumped me in that hotel room. I feel like my insides have been liquefied. Although considering how it could have gone with those invisible demon dogs, I'm not complaining."

"Do you want me to ask Azzie to see if she can fix you up or something?"

"And have her tell me she's not a nurse and hold me over the Grand Canyon? No thanks. Nothing's broken and I've already taken some painkillers. I'll be fine." Gus motioned to where Dean was over at the receptionist desk methodically cleaning his second firearm of the night. "He, on the other hand, doesn't look too great."

"You can't blame him, Gus," Shawn said, "His brother, vessel to Satan no less, has been kidnapped by a douche angel who's possessed Woody."

"Actually Sam is the vessel of Lucifer, not Satan."

"How is that any different?"

"In the bible 'the Adversary' is normally referred to as Satan, who may have been erroneously tied to Lucifer as the Devil(i)," Gus explained. "Theologians have come to believe that the Light-bearer and Satan are two different beings."

"Did they teach that in Sunday school when I was absent or something?"

Gus flashed him a dry look. "Maybe you should go talk to him."

"Gus, in the thirty years that we've known each other, have I ever shown any propensity in calming angry, unstable guys who also happen to be cleaning shotguns?"

"Don't worry, they're not loaded."

"Well that's a relief," Shawn said, thumping him on the shoulder and causing Gus to give a barely stifled whimper of pain. "All right, rest up, buddy, I'm going to talk to the grumpy pretty boy."

Shawn had just entered the adjoining room when Dean, not looking up from his guns, sharply said, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Okay, great, we won't talk about it," Shawn said, holding his hands up. "Let's talk about something else. Did Gabriel really kill you off a hundred times when you were investigating that Mystery Spot(ii) in Broward County?"

Dean looked at him sharply. "What? How did you know about that?"

Shawn grinned and placed a hand to his temple. "Psychic…" When Dean narrowed his eyes at him, he added, "And a Supernatural wiki site. Did you know some guy wrote a bunch of books about you and Sam?"

"Yeah, I do," Dean said dryly, dropping into a chair. "We found out he was a prophet(iii) being given visions through massive headaches and drunken stupors. Cas said they were the 'Winchester Gospels'."

"Catchy," Shawn said. "Does that mean this is getting written as we speak?"

"Yeah, probably. Although we did tell Chuck to stop publishing the shit."

"Dude, why not? I could have done with a volume or two dedicated to me. Plus Gus and I just fought off hellhounds. While that would have looked so kickass in a TV show, I'd happily settle for print."

Dean gave a wry grin. "I've had my fair share of hellhounds, and I've seen the ugly sons of bitches too, mind you – they're not pretty. And it's not fun getting ripped to shreds by them too."

"Oh yeah, I meant to ask you, what's hell like?"

Dean glared dangerously at him. "That is NOT up for discussion either."

"Oh. Would asking how you got out of it be part of the taboo too? Because the novels kind of ended on a cliffhanger…"

"You have one second to get off this train of thought before Metatron finds himself having to resurrect you."

"Okay, then let me board another," Shawn said. "From what I can gather, me saying 'yes' to Metatron would actually be the solution to all your problems. He uses me to find God, who then delivers cosmic, heavenly, parental punishment on his naughty children, and poof – Apocalypse thwarted."

"Yeah, and your point is?" Dean asked.

"I'm just wondering why you haven't tried to talk me into it yet."

Dean gave him a weird look. "What makes you think I'm going to try that?" Shawn gave him a dry look and he sighed and said, "Okay, okay, so I thought about it maybe for half a second. But then I figured you have a right to be as stubborn as Sam and me. I'm not hypocritical.

"And here I thought you were going to get all noble on me."

Dean dropped into a chair. "I just think it's fucked up that angels want to go around messing with humans' businesses since they're being unsupervised at the moment. Besides, Team Free Will and all."

"Team Free Will?"

"Yeah, the unofficial title of our merry little group."

"So aside from you, Sam and Cas, who else is in this group?"

"An old guy in a wheelchair. And you and Gus now, I guess. And Azrael, if she sticks around."

"Wow, earth is screwed, isn't it?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, we figured that out some time ago."

"So why keep fighting?"

"Shawn, come on. Would you roll over for Michael or Lucifer or any of those other douchebags?"

Shawn grinned. With his hasty scanning of the 'Winchester Gospels' and his conversation with Dean now, he was starting to understand the hunter much more. "Valid point, that. Still, not all angels are that bad." He looked around and wondered, "Speaking of angels, where's our heavenly entourage?"

"I haven't seen them since they covered the office in angel wards," Gus said, coming over.

"They're probably hanging around outside. Hey, we're low on nutrition. I think the salted nut guy is due for his rounds. Might as well stock up and go see what Azzie and Cassie are up to while I'm at it," Shawn said, and before either of the other two could say anything he was out the door.

"He's not good with sitting still, is he?" Dean observed.

"No, not he is not," Gus said with a sigh.

"I guess I can relate. Does he still have my shotgun?"

"Yes, yes he does."

"Awesome."

Continued

i I'm going with Supernatural canon again here, where Lucifer mentioned 'Devil' was the term coined by men. In lore there is still debate whether Lucifer and the Devil is the same being (which is why I refer to him as 'the Adversary' more).

ii Supernatural Ep03.11 'Mystery Spot' – but you already knew that. By the way, check out my other story based on that episode – 'Let the Mystery Be'. Cheap plug!

iii While there is strong indication that Chuck Shurley is in fact God, I don't want to use it as canon until it's actually been confirmed.