Author's Note:
Hi guys! I know I took 5 more days than I promised but all for good reason. I had no idea I was going to write so much! Due to all the added story lines, there was a lot I had to address in this futuristic chapter. The word count stands at a whopping 23,800 words - double what I usually write! This has been my longest chapter by far and hopefully that makes up for the delay xx
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 28 – The End
"I'm sorry." I apologised once again, watching Dean touch his nose. It was completely healed, courtesy of Castiel, but Dean kept touching it like the pain was still there. I must have really taken him off guard.
"Remind me to clock you one when I'm hallucinating." Dean growled.
"Shut up, I had my reasons." I shot back, looking out the window. The car stayed silent after that and for good intentions. What was Dean going to say that could possibly make me feel better?
'Hey Lex, it's okay that you have an indestructible power lying close to dormant within you that only surfaces during your rage blackouts which you've been able to control… never?' Or maybe 'You should feel grateful that the fate of the world rests in your ability to subconsciously favour one of your brothers over the other.'
I was past feeling sorry for myself and didn't want anyone's sympathy. For the first time in a long time, I knew all that I needed to know. It seemed to me that the most frequent issue I complained about, day and night, was being uninformed, whether it be Sam and Dean keeping something from me, the angels lying to us or the demons manipulating our asses nine ways to Sunday.
Not this time. Raphael had very kindly filled me in on the situation that was my life. What did I know...?
Sam and Dean, my beloved, asshole brothers were vessels for archangels that were ready for a UFC showdown after the sudden disappearance of their dad. One of them was expected to die.
My mother, Mary Winchester, had done the same thing I would have done had I been conscious in heaven before I was born. She delivered me to my brothers so that they didn't have to face this insane task alone.
I was, for the time being, going to ignore what seemed like the small issue of 'Corson and Raim resurfacing' and plough onwards towards the most important fact of them all.
I had power.
A power delivered by Mother Shakti, that was stronger than... pretty much anything that could threaten me. On top of that, I had the ability to identify angels and demons alike thanks to the warning tingling sensations and I was immune to supernatural influence such as possession, mind-meddling, angel compulsion… even something as unimportant as siren spit-juice.
I was going to count that as a huge advantage and find a way to make it work. I glanced over at Dean whose eyes were tiredly fixed on the road.
"Let me drive." I offered. Dean didn't even argue for once. He pulled over and got out of the car, moving around to the passenger side while I slid over. I pulled away from the side of the road as Dean laid his head back and shut his eyes. He was exhausted.
My mind wandered to my mother. If I hadn't been here, Dean would be driving alone… for the next sixteen hours on close to no sleep.
'You did the right thing mom.' I thought to myself. 'This is where I belong.' My phone rang only seconds later and I rushed to answer it, desperately not wanting to wake Dean.
"Scare yourself looking in the mirror?" I whispered, cringing at the fact that I was breaking the law by taking the call.
"Hey, hey!" Nate's response made me smirk. "Why are you whispering?" he asked. I'd seen him a couple of hours ago but I was glad he called.
"Dean's asleep next to me." I replied, paying extra attention on the road. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Apart from you throwing insults at me?" he asked.
"Hurt your feelings princess?" I asked, enjoying myself.
"I gotta say, you were nicer when I had my lips to shut you up." Nate replied.
"If that's your only weapon against me, you're gonna have to try harder." I pointed out.
"Oh I'm working on it." He threatened. "Listen, I'll get right to it. I'm pretty sure Castiel will want to hunt down the Colt seeing as God was a dead end." He informed me. "He's going to need your help and I think it'd be a good idea if you and Dean focused on that." That was code for he wanted us out of his way.
"What are you about to do?" I asked, wondering what could be so dangerous now that everyone was aware the extent of my power. "Did you get a lead on Micah or Anna?"
"No, those two are going to have to take care of themselves." Nate replied. "I have bigger fish to fry."
"Bigger fish like?"
"Corson and Raim." I could hear the annoyance in his voice. "Forget about Raphael, Zachariah and any other angel douches… those two spell trouble." Again with these demons. Who were they? "I don't know how long they've been topside but the longer they stay quiet, the bigger the storm they're about to unleash on us. I have to deal with them."
"And you want us nowhere near you while you're doing that." I mumbled.
"You catch on quick, tyro." He was smirking… I could tell.
"Me?" I asked incredulously. "Stop kidding yourself and give me a call if you get your ass handed to you." I shut my phone, feeling proud of myself.
Dean slept for a solid twelve hours until I parked beside the motel. His head jerked up as I pulled the brake and he looked around aimlessly for a couple of seconds, getting his bearings.
"My turn to drive?" he asked, siting up. I pulled the key out of the ignition and handed it to him.
"We're here, genius." I replied getting out of the car. There was some Christian hippie handing out flyers on the curb and preaching about something unimportant as I headed to the trunk.
"Why didn't you wake me?" Dean asked as he emerged from the Impala.
"You were snoring." I replied. "And mumbling happy things about Jo." I lied, throwing him his duffel. Dean's expression fell.
"What?" he asked, following me.
"Don't deny it brother, I know the truth." I smiled to myself as the hippie approached us.
"Excuse me, friends, but have you taken time out to think about God's plan for you?" he asked us.
"Too friggin' much, pal." Dean replied as he pushed past him. I gave the hippie a proper stare down.
"God's plan is being hijacked buddy." I patted his shoulder as I walked forward. "At this point you run fast, you run far." Dean held the door open for me and his phone rang. He handed it to me and walked ahead to the reception. I didn't recognise the number and answered expecting a case.
"Dean." I groaned internally hearing Castiel's raspy voice.
"Guess again." I muttered, glancing towards Dean who was talking to the receptionist.
"Alexis." Castiel corrected himself suddenly sounding very uncomfortable. We weren't on great terms right now… mostly because of the mistakes I'd made. Castiel was mad at me and I couldn't really blame him for it. I had screwed up when it came to stopping Lucifer from walking free but at the same time, Castiel had put Dean in danger by parading him around Raphael. I wasn't sure who was in the right anymore but after thinking about it long and hard I felt I still had more to apologise for.
"What do you want, Cas?" I asked as Dean made his way towards the elevator.
"Could I speak to Dean?" he asked. I handed Dean the phone and pulled my duffel into the elevator with me.
"Hey." Dean spoke clearly but not before watching me with observant eyes. Castiel's voice was muffled through the ear piece but it was Dean's response that gave his answer away. "Better." He replied. "A little sleep deprived though."
Great, I'd handed the phone to Dean so Castiel could talk to him about me. What a dick! I snatched the phone back from Dean.
"If you wanted to know how I was, ask me." I growled through the phone. "Stop using Dean as the middle man. Pluck up the god damn courage and just speak to me!" There was silence all around. Dean eyebrows were raised as he slowly took the phone out of my hand.
"He was asking about me." He informed me. Did I look like an idiot? Who knows… probably. I sure felt like one. "Yeah, Cas." Dean put the phone to his ear again, watching me like I was strange. "Lex is also a little sleep deprived." I almost flew out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened, hurrying to the room and hiding my embarrassment.
Stupid Alexis with her big mouth. Of course he was asking about Dean. Dean was the one who'd had a broken nose and still had an emotionally unstable sister. Why would Cas be asking about me when he disliked me so much? He wouldn't.
The door finally opened after I swiped the key card almost four times. I threw my bag on the floor and myself on the bed, burying my head in the pillow and feeling the tiredness take over me. Dean shut the door behind us, placed his bag beside mine and went to shut the drapes.
"We're talking about the Colt, right? I mean, as in the Colt?" I began focusing on the conversation they were having. Nate had been right about Castiel which meant he was probably already knee deep in Corson-Raim business.
"We are." Castiel replied. Dean put him on speaker phone as he moved to the next drape.
"Well, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, why would the demons keep a gun around that, uh, kills demons?" Dean asked as a loud, muffled noise came through the phone.
"What?" Cas yelled. "What? Dean—I didn't—I didn't get that." He said sullenly and I could picture his hopeless face. Dean laughed but I still found no humour in anything Castiel related.
"You know, it's kind of funny. Talking to a messenger of God on a cellphone." Dean smiled to himself. "It's, you know, like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped."
"This isn't funny, Dean." Cas chastised him. "The voice says I'm almost out of minutes." I cracked a smile into my pillow.
"Okay, all right. I'm—I'm telling you, Cas, the mooks have melted down the gun by now." Dean argued.
"Well, I hear differently. And if it's true and if you are still set on the insane task of killing the devil, this is how we do it." Cas replied. If I did happen to work with Cas on this, it was for Nate's sake.
"Okay. Where do we start?" Dean asked, sitting on the opposite bed.
"Where are you now?" he asked. I felt around for the key and threw it at Dean, with my face still in the pillow. I figured it was a narrow chance I'd hit him in the face.
"Kansas City. Century Hotel, room 113." He informed Cas.
"I'll be there immediately." My head shot up. No… no. I had been awake for the past thirty hours… I needed some sleep.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, come on, man. We just drove like sixteen hours straight, okay? We're human. And there's stuff we got to do." Dean rushed to my defence.
"What stuff?" he asked.
"Sleep, you asshole." I called into the phone. Dean rolled his eyes at me.
"Eat, for example. And in this case, yeah, sleep. Lex needs it more than I do at the moment but give it about four hours, okay?" he added. 'Four?' I mouthed to him, groaning.
"Yes." Cas replied stoically.
"Okay, so, you can pop in tomorrow morning." Dean confirmed.
"Yes. I'll just-" Dean hung up after hearing 'yes' and I threw my pillow at him.
"I need more than four hours." I complained. He threw the pillow back as he fell back on his bed.
"Too bad, you should've let me drive halfway." He retaliated.
"Yeah, that's the last time I do something nice." I said, slipping under the covers.
"And the first." Dean teased. I was too tired to reply.
I thought, seeing as I was so tired, I'd fall asleep instantly. That feeling lasted for ten minutes before my mind began to wander. Dean had fallen asleep in his bed within minutes and was snoring softly. I on the other hand couldn't find a comfortable position no matter how much I tossed and turned.
From the moment Nate had brought me back to Dean and Cas, the four of us had mostly ignored the underlying problem we now collectively had. That problem being; I was going to choose who won the battle between good and evil; the battle between Michael and Lucifer. And if my brothers said 'yes'… the battle between them.
I didn't want that responsibility. I loved them both. I didn't want either one of them to die… I needed them both. After all that I'd lost in my life; mom, dad, the rest of our family; whom we never knew, and the regular, safe life we were supposed to have had… how could the universe take away my brothers? Again?
I hadn't forgotten that I'd lost them both before. Watching Sam get stabbed in the back… seeing his life leave him… those memories haunted me even when Sam was sitting next to me. Did anyone know what it felt like to see their own brother, their own blood and life, die in front of them? To see them fall to their knees and not be able to do a damn thing to stop it? Time didn't stop. There was no magic to save the day. I couldn't rewrite the scene… I couldn't stop the bleeding… I couldn't make him understand the words that were coming out of my mouth. It was completely out of my control.
Sam had been there one second and the next… it was just his empty body. The same hair, the same eyes, the same warm skin but he was gone. And no matter how hard we shook him, no matter how loudly we yelled his name… he didn't come back.
I sat up in bed, suddenly realising how hot I felt. My heart had begun to race when I thought about Sam dying; the panic seeping in and coming in continuous waves. I swung my legs over and sat on the edge of the bed, my knees bouncing consistently, waiting for this feeling to pass.
It didn't.
Without any real control, my thoughts continued down the panicked road and I began to think about Dean. He'd left me before too. He'd been within a couple inches of me when the hell hounds jumped him. I was forced to watch his chest get shredded… to watch th-the…
My fingers were tingling… my face was tingling. My legs were still bouncing; I felt faint and hot. My heart wasn't slowing down. I felt a heavy weight in me and I began frowning. I wanted to cry. I really wanted to cry.
I stood up and paced in front of my bed in the dark room. It was so quiet and I didn't want to wake Dean. I felt a few stray tears fall down my cheek as my throat tightened. I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt cornered in this dark room… I felt like I had no escape.
What was happening? Was I having… a panic attack?
I headed for the door, opening it quietly and slipping outside into the hallway. I still couldn't breathe… I couldn't feel. I put my hand against the wall for support and lowered myself to the floor. It helped a little seeing as I wasn't swaying anymore but nothing else changed.
I stayed where I was, trying to breathe through the panic.
Just breathe.
Dean
The sound of my phone vibrating woke me up. I was cursing Cas in my sleep as I reached for it. I'd already slept in the car and I felt I could go for another eight hours but Lex really needed to sleep.
"Damn it, Cas, I need to sleep!" I growled quietly, not wanting to wake Lex. There was a short silence.
"Dean, it's me." Sam's voice was clear.
"Sam?" I asked, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. "It's quarter past four." I told him, worry seeping in. Was he okay? Did he need our help? How quickly could we get to him?
"This is important." He sounded alright. I pushed myself up and rubbed my eyes.
"Okay." I went to stand up when I noticed Lex's empty bed. "Hold up, Sam." I told him, looking around the room. "Lex?" I called, standing up and walking to the bathroom. Empty.
"Is she alright?" Sam asked. I felt the fear rise in me.
"I don't know where she is." I replied, walking to the door and checking outside. To my surprise, I found Lex rounding the corner, walking back to the room. She looked up and noticed me at the door as she got closer. She looked a little flushed and tired but was otherwise okay.
"Hey, sorry." She stopped in front of me. "It was getting really hot inside." She explained. I stepped aside, letting her in and checking the hallway before shutting the door. How she felt hot when I was freezing my ass off… I had no idea but I pushed past that and went back to Sam.
"She's here." I told him. Lex gave me a questioning look. "It's Sam." I told her putting him on speaker. "He says it's important."
Lex
Sam hadn't told us anything new. In fact to his surprise, we had a lot more news for him than he had for us. Apparently Lucifer had confronted Sam in what he believed was a dream, informing him that our brother was in fact his true vessel.
His timing couldn't have been more perfect because not only did we learn the same truth hours earlier, but Raphael had indulged us with more cringe-worthy information. All of which stunned Sam into silence.
"Lex decides?" he repeated once Dean filled him in. "Because of mom?"
"And Shakti… goddess of power and mother to angels everywhere." Dean confirmed.
"She's my mother too." I added quietly. There was silence as Dean stared at me. "She gave me this responsibility and now I have to do something about the apocalypse."
"No." Sam's voice was stern. "No you don't. You don't have to choose." He told me.
"I don't get to choose consciously Sam… it's just going to happen on its own." I explained in frustration. "Who better to decide than the one person who knows both sides of the story? I'm the impartial."
"That's not impartial. That's overthinking to a point of burnout." Dean argued. "Why can't they just leave it to chance and keep you out if it?"
"Because it's not supposed to be impartial." Sam replied. Dean and I looked at each other. "Lex, you're supposed to pick Dean." I felt my breath leave me. "You're supposed to pick heaven."
"Shut up, Sam." I whispered.
"You know that's what they want."
"Shut up, Sam." I said it louder this time.
"I'm not saying that's what you have to do." He defended himself.
"Then why do you keep saying it!" I yelled at him.
"Just listen," he sighed. "You can fight this."
"They said I don't have a choice." I argued.
"And since when do you listen to them?" Sam's voice got louder.
"Since they told me what I can do and what I'm destined to do." I shot back.
"Listen to yourself, Lex? No choice? Destiny?" he said disbelievingly. "Look at all the power you have. Who's going to force you to do anything?" he asked. I'd felt the same way in the car but the panic that had stemmed from the possibility of losing either Sam or Dean again, had shattered my confidence.
"A power I can't control." I reminded him.
"We'll help you control it." He assured me. Dean shook his head. "Dean… I want back in." Thank-god.
"Sam-" Dean warned him with reluctance.
"I mean it. I am sick of being a puppet to these sons of bitches." Sam was pissed off but I didn't care. I wanted him with us. I hadn't wanted him to leave from the start. "I'm gonna hunt Lucifer down, Dean."
"Oh, so, we're back to revenge, then, are we?" Dean snatched the phone up from between us and went back to being the big brother. "Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time."
"Not revenge. Redemption." Sam corrected.
"So, what, you're just gonna walk back in and we're gonna be the terrific trio again?" Dean asked.
"Look, Dean, I can do this." He knew it wasn't me he had to convince. "I can. I'm gonna prove it to you." I looked helplessly at Dean, silently begging him to agree. Instead, he gave me a nervous glance before continuing.
"Look, Sam—it doesn't matter—whatever we do. I mean, it turns out that you and me, we're the, uh, the oil of the Armageddon and Lex is the lethal match. You know, on that basis alone, we should each just pick a continent. Stay away from each other for good." Dean's eyes were on me as he spoke, judging my reaction. I wasn't even going to hide it… I was fuming.
"Dean, it does not have to be like this. We can fight it." Sam reasoned. He at least had a little bit of sense… Dean was being stupid. Don't get mad… don't get mad… control.
"Yeah, you're right. We can. But not together. We're not stronger when we're together, Sam." Dean continued. "The three of us are weaker." He sighed. "Because whatever we have between us—love, family, whatever it is—they are always gonna use it against us." He watched me with pained eyes. "And you both know that." I stayed silent, feeling tears in my eyes. "Yeah, we're better off apart. We got a better chance of dodging Lucifer and Michael and this whole damn thing, if we just go our own ways."
No.
This was not right.
"Dean, don't do this." Sam begged. "Lex-"
"Bye, Sam." Dean hung up, deciding for me. He looked back towards me. I felt waves of betrayal course over me.
"You promised me, not even two weeks ago, that you weren't going anywhere." I said quietly.
"That was before we learnt how dangerous staying together is." Dean replied.
"You can't leave me." I told him. "I'll lose my mind." I whispered.
"You'll lose your mind if you think you're favouring one of us over the other." He said, staying seated.
"You're abandoning me." I realised.
"I'm protecting you." He justified.
"You're a liar." I said through my teeth, finally looking up at him. He just looked at me, not denying my accusation but I could see he hated that it was true. Fine. If he didn't want me around, I'd leave. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'll go." I told him. I wasn't sure if he was happy that I agreed, surprised that I hadn't argued or hurt that I would in fact leave… it was a mix of the three.
I got back into bed, facing away from Dean, wondering if I would get any sleep, ever again.
For the remainder of the night, I must have had fifteen minutes of sleep, but in those fifteen minutes, everything changed. I awoke to find myself on a mattress less bed, without sheets and cool breeze on my arms. Rolling over on the squeaky metal, I turned to see Dean was still here but our room was trashed.
I sat up quickly, reaching for my gun… which wasn't there, and then my daggers… which also weren't on me.
"Dean." I called, looking around for intruders. He didn't move. "Dean!" This time I shook his arm and copped a crushing grip on my upper arm as he opened his eyes, alert and ready to attack. "Let go." I complained, feeling my veins about to pop. "And get up. Something happened." I told him, looking around the destroyed room.
He noticed what I was referring to and sat up, confused.
"The hell?" he muttered, standing up. We moved to the window which had been smashed and took a look outside. I was genuinely surprised to see that the city of Kansas was empty and destroyed.
"Did we sleep through the apocalypse?" Dean asked, sticking his head further out and looking around.
"Dude, I got no idea." I replied. It looked like there hadn't been a sign of life in years. "You think it's safe to go down?" I asked, both of us forgetting we had fought a couple hours earlier.
"One way to find out." He said, backing away from the window and heading towards the door. I followed him, flanking him in case of danger, until we emerged from the building onto the broken streets. Then my feet took charge, walking me down the street in awe at the destruction. A broken fridge, fallen lamp post, crashed cars, upturned trolleys, broken boxes, empty barrels, tangled mesh, overturned vehicles, smashed glass, graffiti, leaves everywhere and everything was filthy.
"This did not happen in one night." I said to Dean as he walked beside me, taking in the scene. We kept looking around until we were stopped by the sound of glass smashing. Our heads turned towards the noise and we moved in stealth towards it, realising we were no longer alone.
Dean moved down the alleyway first and stopped ahead of me when a small huddled figure came into sight. A child. A little ragged girl, crouching in the back alley, her face hidden. There was a dirty, ripped up teddy bear lying next to her and she was running her fingers on the ground, perhaps scratching the floor with a rock.
"Little girl?" Dean asked, approaching her slowly. "Little girl?" he walked closer and I glanced around and behind us, making sure we weren't about to get jumped. "Are you hurt?" Dean asked, moving closer. I didn't trust her. "You know the not-talking thing is kind of creepy, right?" he commented. Before I knew it, the girl shrieked and swung at Dean with a shard of broken glass. Dean jumped back, getting nicked on his side before flattening her with a solid punch. He grabbed his side, wincing a little as he looked back at me. I shrugged at him, still not understanding what was going on. His eyes moved from my face to something behind me… realisation and disbelief setting in.
I turned and saw what had grabbed his attention. The wall behind me was covered in graffiti. One word in bright red. Croatoan.
"Oh, crap." I heard Dean behind me. I turned back to look at him, theories flying through my mind. The virus couldn't have spread in one night… something else was happening. I heard footsteps behind me and turned back around to see a group of people, who looked like they'd seen better days, walking around the corner. They were infected, no doubt.
They stopped at the T-intersection while Dean and I slowly backed away from their gruelling stares. There was a moment… the same moment before every chase where both parties realise what's going to happen next.
I turned on my heels and ran.
The adrenaline was pumping through me furiously as I flew down the alley way, rounding the corner and running onto the street, Dean right beside me. That was for a couple of seconds before I over took him, the two of us sprinting. I didn't risk looking behind but just kept running while Dean must have been glancing back every two seconds because he kept smashing into things.
I saw the dead end, which meant we had to turn. My heart was in my mouth and I was going too fast to stop gracefully. As I came around the corner, I was confronted with a chain-link fence, blocking the street. I looked for a way to jump it but Dean was beside me by then which meant the Croatoans were here too. I turned to face them as they slowed down, smiling at the fact we were trapped.
They were moving towards us when the first shot was fired. I grabbed Dean's jacket and the two of us dropped to the floor, taking cover and realising the shot were coming from behind us.
"Go, go, go." I urged Dean, pushing him towards the side-alley. We scrambled, army style, while soldiers emerged from army tanks and continued shooting the crap out of the Croatoans. Glass shattered above us and bullets whizzed by as we tried to get out of firing range. Suddenly, The Contours' 'Do You Love Me' blasted from the tanks… the soldiers shooting to the music. What the hell was going on here? What kind of deranged soldiers were these?
Dean got through first and cleared himself taking cover. I was right behind him and felt a bullet tug on my jacket but miss me. Dean saved me the trouble and pulled me the last couple of feet, burying my head under his arm as the last couple of shots came our way and then moved on. The two of us leaned against the brick wall, catching out breath
"What is going on here?" I asked. Dean stood up, pulling me to my feet.
"I don't know but we gotta move." I looked around, weighing between staying on the ground and climbing up the rackety fire escape.
"I say higher ground." I told him, pointing to where the metal railings started. We didn't have much of a choice so we just went for it. Luckily, the fire escape was stable enough to carry us to the top from where we could see most of what was happening down below.
The Croatoans that had been chasing us were all dead and the tanks that had come to save us, had retreated, never passing the fence. Speaking of the fence, everything on our side was destroyed and desolate. It seemed our answer lay on the badass side of the magical fence which meant we had to cross it.
"I don't have my cell, I don't have my gun, I don't have any of my knives or daggers." I noted, looking around the dingy and dark apartment. Dean and I had decided to wait out until nightfall before we crossed the fence.
"I do." Dean checked himself. That was weird. Why did he get to keep everything?
"Try Sam." I told him, walking up to him. He pulled out his cell while I intrusively searched his jacket for a weapon I could use.
"Nothing." He looked confused. "Not even a signal."
"Fine, you call Cas, I'll call Nate." I told him, shutting my eyes and silently praying. Neither of us got a response which scared me a little. "So what do we do?" I asked, glancing out the window again.
"We wait." Dean replied. We moved a few hours after sundown, scaling the fire escape once again and Dean opted for cutting the fence rather than climbing over it. He said it would make less noise which proved to be true when he yanked up the chain allowing me to pass under first. The first thing we noticed when we got to the other side was the sign on the fence.
The sign that read 'Croatoan Virus Hot Zone. No Entry; by order of acting regional command. August 1, 2014. Kansas City.'
"August first, 2014." Dean breathed. "We did not time travel."
"This is the most well planned practical joke ever." I noted.
"Except it's not a joke." Dean added. I turned to him and punched him in the arm. It felt good considering our fight.
"Oww, hey!" he glared at me.
"Did it hurt?" I asked with raised eyebrows. He rubbed his arm.
"Yeah, it hurt." He looked at me like I was crazy.
"Well, I guess we're not dreaming." I told him with snide before walking past him. It was a cheap shot but he deserved it. We found a car nearby and it took Dean less than two minutes to break in and hotwire the conveniently fuelled car.
Without really discussing it, our next stop was Bobby's. We figured that if there were any survivors, they'd be there. I checked the cell again as Dean drove, still not getting any service. When Dean turned on the radio and all we heard was static, I realised how much shit we were in.
"That's never a good sign." He murmured. I began zipping up my jacket due to the cold.
"Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia." A voice came from the back seat which made both Dean and I almost jump out of our skin. I turned around to look at Zachariah's smug face while Dean opted for the rear view.
"I thought I smelled your stink on this 'Back to the Future' crap." Dean remarked. Neither Dean nor I had forgotten that horrible time we had woken up without our memories as corporate employees. Zachariah had thrown us in that scenario to teach us all a lesson. Mine in particular; control.
"President Palin defends bombing of Houston." He read from a newspaper. "Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports. That's right—no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me." He was flipping through the pages and speaking mostly to himself. I wanted to punch him in the face. In his big, fat, stupid, angel face.
"You fucktard." I growled. "How did you find us?"
"Ah, now that language won't do." Zachariah scolded me. "Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late—human informants." He admitted. "We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out."
"The Bible freak outside the motel—he, what, dropped a dime on us?" Dean asked. That hippie? I should've known… never trust hippies.
"Onward, Christian soldiers." Zachariah corrected.
"Okay, well, good, great. You have had your jollies. Now send us back, you son of a bitch." Dean demanded. Zachariah disappeared from the backseat and was suddenly between us, squishing us in the front seat.
"The fuck?" I inched as close to the door as I could. Dean followed a similar approach.
"Oh, you'll get back—all in good time." He assured us. "We want you to marinate a bit."
"Marinate?" I asked. Zachariah looked to me and lightly tapped my nose like he was my grandfather or something. I flinched away.
"This one isn't actually your fault but we thought it was necessary for you to be here." He explained though none of it made sense. "Three days, Dean." He addressed Dean now. "Three days to see where this course of action takes you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" My brother was asking all the right questions.
"It means 'lesson time'." I replied sarcastically, putting more distance between Zachariah and myself. He gave me a quick glare.
"Believe it or not, this works in your favour." He told me. "It means that your choices have consequences." He turned back to Dean. "This is what happens to the world if you continue to say 'no' to Michael and even worse, isolate yourself from Alexis." He waved the paper at us. "Have a little look-see." He told us before vanishing into thin air.
"That's all we get?" I asked, pissed off that he disappeared before we could ask him anything. Dean hit the steering wheel in frustration.
"Fucking angels." Dean growled.
The entire trip to Sioux Falls was littered with the broken remains of society. It was hard to see how far the world had fallen in five years but I kept myself a little more occupied with what our future was going to look like. Where was everyone? What were we doing? Who was winning the war?
Dean turned into Bobby's yard and I hadn't seen it worse condition, ever. I had to jump over dented hoods and mammoth tires which had been flung from the car yard just to get to house. Dean entered first, cautiously.
"Bobby?" he asked, walking in slowly. "Bobby, we're coming in!" he warned. We looked around at the trashed house where everything was upside down, broken and covered in spider webs and dust. Nobody had been here in years. I followed Dean past the living to Bobby's study.
"Oh, no." My eyes went to what Dean was staring at; Bobby's wheelchair, on its side. I walked forward, setting it upright and noticed the bullet holes through the back of the seat. On closer inspection, there was dried blood as well.
"Where is everybody?" I asked Dean, trying to ignore the sinking feeling that Bobby was dead. He didn't answer me and instead went to the console table, knocking open the hidden compartment. Sam and I had first discovered it at the wee age of four and eight when we watched Bobby hide love letters from a Ms. Connor in there. Since then Bobby had showed us that he kept important books and talisman's in the compartment, in case the house got raided.
Dean pulled out Dad's journal, which opened to a page being bookmarked by a photo. I crouched beside Dean to get a better look. The photo was of Bobby, sitting in a wheelchair, holding a gun. Cas was with him, wearing proper hunting gear and was also armed. There were also three unidentified men, all armed, standing beside a sign which read 'Camp Chitaqua'.
"I've been there." I said with realisation.
"When?" Dean asked, looking back at the photo.
"I was a year shy of my first hunt. You, Sam and dad left me with Bobby. He took me to the lake." I told him remembering the bleak weather.
"To train?" Dean asked, standing up.
"To fish." I corrected. Dean smiled.
"You catch anything?"
"Trout." I nodded. "And a cold." I shut the hidden compartment. "Bobby told dad he had me running in the rain. Dad fell for it."
Camp Chitaqua was not what it used to be. The first thing we noticed was the double guarded fence which closed off the entrance. Dean had parked in the trees and we'd walked the last five minutes so we didn't attract any attention. It had been the right call seeing as behind the fence, night patrols were in action. Well-built men, armed with guns and mean faces.
I ducked behind the bushes, taking my time to properly scope out the area and look for the best way in. Dean was on the same path for about thirty seconds until something caught his eye. I glanced over and couldn't believe my eyes.
"Is that your car?" I whispered. He didn't wait for me. Before I could grab a hold of him, he was gone, on his way to his precious car. I glanced nervously back at the armed men and tried to call Dean back quietly. "Dean!" I whispered harshly. He approached the smashed up and rusted to hell Impala with a look of defeat and misery plastered over his face.
"Oh, baby, no." he said to himself. I could barely hear him seeing as he was so far away from me. I kept glancing at the patrol, wanting to make sure they didn't see Dean. He, on the other hand, moved from the back of the Impala to the side, peering inside the driver's side door for a better look at the damage.
"Come on, Dean!" I hissed to myself. "God, you and your stupid car… get over it!" I growled quietly although he couldn't hear me.
"Oh, no, baby, what did they do to you?" was what I heard Dean say, but my attention very quickly shifted to figure approaching him. I was fifty yards away from Dean; I wouldn't get to him in time. In two seconds, he was on Dean, knocking him out cold with a firm punch. I'd only ever seen my brothers and my dad render someone unconscious with one punch, humans at least, and was surprised to see the brawn this guy was bringing.
There was something familiar about his silhouette and when he moved into the light, I almost had a heart attack. His appearance did in fact make me back track and I even slapped myself lightly.
It was Dean.
Dean had knocked out Dean. This one was wearing an army jacket while my brother was in a blue shirt... the only way I could tell them apart. That and the fact that the evil one was dragging my brother away from the car.
I had to move.
I had never been talented at providing distractions or playing the loud, boisterous role during an operation. My forte was to go unseen so Sam and Dean usually covered everything I was uncomfortable with. Fortunately for me, this meant sneaking in and out of restricted areas, not so different from this army camp, was child's play for me.
I followed the fence to the lake, where I suspected security would be low. Instead of wading through the mud, I managed to climb a few trees and pass over to dry land where the park benches were situated. From there, it was easy to scale the fence and cross over to the camp. I had waited around to see where Dean had gotten dragged off to by… well the other Dean whom I could only presume was 2014 Dean, and managed to relocate the cabin.
The trouble now was getting from the bushes at the edge of the camp, to the very central cabin that contained Dean.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
Dean
My head was killing me. The last thing I remember was seeing the Impala smashed up and Lex hissing at me to get back to her. Lex.
I opened my eyes, realising I was sitting on the floor with my right hand, handcuffed to a ladder. The sound of metal made me look ahead where I saw the most twisted thing I had seen in a long time.
Me. Sitting across from me, cleaning and loading a gun. The imposter looked at me.
"What the hell?" I asked. Who was this guy? Was it the 2014 version of me?
"I should be asking that question, don't you think?" he replied in my voice. He sounded stern and more seasoned. "In fact, why don't you give me one good reason…" he began pointing the gun at me and I raised my free arm slowly in defence, remembering Lex was somewhere here too. "…why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?"
"Because you'd only be hurting yourself." I replied.
"Very funny." He didn't sound amused but it did do the job in getting the gun away from me. I quickly glanced around, looking for Lex. Future Lex or my Lex. Both would understand.
"Look, man—I'm no shape-shifter or demon or anything, okay?" I reasoned, hearing how scared I was in my own voice. I mean this was me I was talking about and I was usually ruthless. This was the first thing I'd want to reassure myself about.
"Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water—nothing." Future Dean noted. He stopped for a moment in disbelief. "But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry, minus one dagger." I gently felt my jacket, realising I was unarmed. I should've figured that much out. "Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it?" he added.
He'd confirmed one thing for me. He hadn't seen Lex yet.
"Zachariah." I confessed. I could be honest with myself. Future Dean was pissed at just hearing that name. He stood up immediately, new business on his mind.
"Come again?" he asked.
"I'm you from the tail end of 2009." I explained, sighing. "Zach plucked me from my bed and threw me five years into the future." I wasn't going to give away the fact that Lex was here with me just yet. Knowing her, she was in the middle of breaking me out.
"Where is he? I want to talk to him." Future me demanded.
"I don't know." I replied, shrugging.
"Oh, you don't know." He didn't believe me. Boy, I was a prick.
"No, I don't know. Look, I just want to get back to my own friggin' year, okay?" I argued before we got off topic. Future me stared at... well me, rubbed his face and then crouched down in front of me.
"Okay. If you're me, then tell me something only I would know." He quizzed me. It was a good way to make sure I was me. I thought about it for a second.
There were a lot of things I could bring up but one I was sure would work.
"Rhonda Hurley." I told him. "We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties." He was remembering slowly. "They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it." I smirked at him.
"Touché." He smiled back, standing up. "So, what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?" he asked, reloading a gun.
"I guess." I replied, wondering where Lex was and if she was okay. "Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?" I asked.
"It's efficient, it's incurable, and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters." Future me was packing weapons into a duffel… getting ready for a hunt. "Started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that."
"What about Sam?" I asked. My question prompted future me to go still. He watched me cautiously.
"Heavyweight showdown in Detroit." He said slowly. "From what I understand, Sam didn't make it."
It took me a while to take that in. Sam didn't make it. Sam didn't make it. Sam didn't make it. Wait… from what I understand? Suddenly I was very angry.
"You weren't with him?" I directed at him with disgust.
"No." he replied. "No, me and Sam, we haven't talked in—hell, five years." That was a blow while I was already down. What the hell happened?
"We never tried to find him?" I asked, not believing this crappy future.
"We had other people to worry about." He replied. Other people.
"Lex?" I asked. "You had to worry about Lex, right?" I asked. If Sam was dead… then Lex, at least, had to be alright. He smiled at me in disbelief.
"Lex?" he repeated. He had more to say but right on cue, a small, very familiar figure slipped through the door, shutting it quickly behind her. Future Dean had his gun locked and loaded, aiming at her head before she turned around to face him.
Lex's face was flushed but she froze when she saw the nozzle in her face. Dean on the other hand, looked like he had seen a ghost. Lex's eyes jumped from future Dean to me and then back to future Dean. Before she could say anything, future Dean moved forward and slammed his fist into her face.
Lex's head whipped back. She had no time to defend herself as future Dean grabbed her by the shoulders, kneed her in the stomach and delivered two more blows to her face.
"Hey!" I yelled, yanking at the handcuffs furiously. Those punches were hard; they weren't to wound, they were to kill. "LET HER GO!" Future Dean didn't listen, dragging Lex to her feet and slamming her head down against the wooden table, then letting her fall to the floor. I kicked at the ladder, trying to get free. He kicked her while she was down, twice and then pulled out his gun while she slumped against the door with a bloody face.
"Don't do it." I told him, my heart pounding. Lex was bleeding, bruised and spitting out blood.
"What are you doing here?!" he yelled, looking at her. I put my hand up in defence and noticed the distressed look on his face as he aimed steadily at her limp body.
"I should've told you. Zachariah sent her back with me. She's from my time!" I explained quickly. Lex tried to sit up but future Dean kicked her down again.
"Don't move!" he ordered.
"She's not going to hurt you!" I shot back, still yanking at the chain. He looked to me with a humourless smile.
"She hasn't yet, but she will." He looked back at her. "If she's from the past, she's not as strong yet which means I can kill her now and end this."
"End what?" I asked him, breathing heavily. "She's my sister. She's your sister!" He was grinding his teeth. "You're going to kill your own sister?"
"She screwed everything up. She's the reason we're here!" he growled, inching forward. Lex flinched away from him.
"Stop." She whimpered. He froze. "Please stop."
"We'll change it. We'll fix it." I reasoned. "Just leave her alone." He was having an inner battle with himself. He watched her for a few seconds and finally lowered the gun. I had one second of relief before he punched her again, the force slamming her against the wall. She was out cold. "Jesus Christ, stop!" I yelled.
He put his hands under her arms and dragged her beside the bed. He pulled out another set of handcuffs and locked her to the bed. He then took a clothed bag and placed it over her head.
"What are you doing?" I asked. He fastened the bag as he spoke.
"If anyone walks in here and sees her face, they'll kill her on sight." He explained.
"Why? What did she do?" I asked, desperately wanting to know what Lex could have done that was so terrible.
"She lied to me about something and we had some words. It led to a chain of events." He explained, standing up. "Bottom line, when the time came, surprise-surprise, Lucifer won over Michael because she was pissed at me." He put his gun back in the bag. "When Sam…" he paused. "…Lex was convinced that she could bring him back with her powers. She went to Lucifer, thinking she could manipulate him."
"You didn't stop her?" I asked. He looked at me with narrowed eyes.
"No." I had the devil to kill but she's been trying to bring Sam back ever since. It started with her working undercover… convincing Lucifer she was on his side, but the more she did to win his trust, the more she turned against us. Her power took control of her and finally it came to the point where she attacked the camp." He sighed. "2014 Lex is too powerful to be killed but this one," he motioned towards Lex. "…her powers haven't grown yet. Ergo, they see her, they'll kill her." He moved towards the door.
"Where you going?" I asked.
"I got to run an errand." He replied. I looked over at Lex… she didn't seem well.
"Whoa. You're just gonna leave me here?" I asked, confused.
"Yes. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of The Parent Trap. So, yeah, you stay locked down." He replied. "Plus, I let you go and you let her go." He nodded towards Lex. "I know how I work." He walked out the door.
"Dick." I muttered.
Lex
"Lex." I felt a warm hand around my wrist. It hurt to open my eyes but when I finally did, I still couldn't see anything. The cuffs around my wrist loosened and whatever was covering my face was pulled off.
The first thing I saw was Dean's face.
The first thing I did was flinch away from him.
"Whoa, easy, it's me." He assured me. My heart was pounding. "2009 me." He added when he saw my uncertainty. I reached out to him and he put his arms under mine, pulling me against him and helping me up.
"You're mean in five years." I croaked as I stood upright.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, letting his thumb wipe away the blood near my mouth.
"Dead." I answered. "Man, you hit hard." I told him, feeling the ache all over my body.
"Sorry." He apologised for his future self. "Sam and I have never hit you that hard." He said mostly to himself.
"I know." I kept my arm on Dean's as he sat me down on the bed. "What the hell did I do?" I asked. Dean gave me a quick look.
"I'll explain later. First, we need to get out of here and make sure no one sees you." He said. "Apparently they're all going to react the same way so we need to cover your face." He started looking around the cabin.
"We get out here and then what?" I asked, looking at myself in the mirror. My face, surprisingly, was looking a little better.
"Find Cas. He's at the camp somewhere." Dean emerged from the closet with a fur-lined, black winter jacket that had an oversized hood. "Put it on, cover your face." He told me.
"And when they ask who I am?" I asked, putting the jacket on.
"I'll make something up. Let's go." Dean ushered me through the door. I kept my eyes on the ground and my head covered as Dean directed me outside. "It's clear." He said quietly. I looked up and saw the empty camp, trying to gauge where to go next.
"Hey, Dean. You got a second?" I caught a glimpse of Chuck striding towards us before I put my head down again.
"No—yes." Dean stammered beside me. "Uh, I—I guess. Hi, Chuck."
"Hi. So, uh, listen, we're pretty good on canned goods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and—and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this." He was panting a little as he waited for Dean's response. "So, what do you think we should do?" he asked, seeing that Dean was staying quiet.
"I—I don't know. Maybe, uh, share? You know, like at a kibbutz." Dean's answer made me smile.
"Wait a minute. Aren't you supposed to be out on a mission right now?" Chuck asked. There was dumbfounded silence beside me.
"Absolutely. And I will be." Dean replied.
"And who is that?" Chuck half whispered-half mouthed. I could still hear him and I knew he was referring to me.
"This… uh, this is one of our… our recently rescued victims from a… raid in one of those…" there was a silence.
"Nests?" Chucked offered.
"...nests." Dean finished. "She was hiding when we found her and we had to cover her face because…" Oh. My. God. Dean sucked at this. "…she's also a burns victim and the…. sun hurts her skin."
"Oh… okay." Chuck said slowly. "Would you like me to show her to first aid or… get her a room?" Chuck asked.
"No… no." Dean quickly cut him off. "She's fine. I'll take her from here."
"But, I need to sign her in." Chuck argued. "You haven't been by the log book all week. No one will know who she is." This was taking too long. I pulled Dean down to my level and whispered into his ear.
"Let's just tell him." I said quietly.
"Are you fucking crazy?" Dean hissed. "He'll kill you."
"He's Chuck." I pointed out. "He won't do shit." I didn't give Dean a chance to respond. Instead I lifted my hoodie and grabbed Chuck. The guy nearly had an asthma attack as he tried to fling himself away from me with wide eyes.
"Calm down, Chuck." Dean told him.
"How could you bring her here!?" He almost yelled, trying to pry my fingers off him.
"I'm not evil." I tried to argue.
"The last time you saw me, you tried to blow me up." He hissed, struggling in my grip.
"The last time I saw you, happened to be after the angels blew Cas up and you found a molar in your hair." I corrected him. "Look at me." He was still struggling and on the verge of screaming for help. "Carver Edlund, look at me." I ordered him and his eyes met mine. "I must look different because I'm from 2009. You can see that much can't you." He finally calmed down enough to process what I was saying.
"What?" he breathed, looking between Dean and me.
"That's right buddy. Zachariah zapped her ass from 2009 and now she's here so you need to calm yourself down and help us out." Dean aided my argument. Chuck was suddenly looking at Dean.
"You too?" he asked. Dean nodded. "Does Dean… I mean my Dean… 2014 Dean know about this?" he struggled with his question.
"Why do you think my face has been rearranged?" I asked him. "I hear I'm not the most popular person around here… which is a change actually. The point is, we need to find Cas, so tell us where he is and then go back to doing whatever it was you were doing."
"Uh-oh." Chuck, in a turn of events, reached out towards me, his arms on either side of me and pulled the hoodie over my head just as Dean turned in time to dodge a slug from a woman. She tried to kick him after that from what I could tell.
"Whoa! Jeez! Easy, lady!" Dean placed Chuck between him and the woman, using him as a shield.
"Risa." Chuck told Dean.
"Risa?" Dean asked; he was still on guard.
"You spent the night in Jane's cabin last night, didn't you?" she asked, very, very angry.
"Uh, what? I—I don't—did I?" Dean asked Chuck. I peeked up seeing as the woman's attention was on Dean and took note that she was a fighter by nature. On the other hand, Chuck was extremely scared at the moment as he nodded in response to Dean. Risa was not happy at all about that.
"I thought we had a 'connection'." She threw at him, using air quotes and one hell of an attitude.
"Well, I'm sure that we do." Dean replied.
"Yeah?" Risa asked, storming past them, ignoring me completely.
"Hi, Risa." Chuck addressed her meekly.
"Screw you." She spat.
"Oh, jeez. I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet." Dean complained. I lifted my hoodie a little.
"Not shit dick wad." I shot at him. "Couldn't keep it in your pants, could you?" I sneered. Chuck looked between us. "What?" I asked.
"I believe you." He stated simply.
"You do?" Dean asked, disbelievingly. Even we wouldn't believe our own stories.
"The Dean and Alexis I know, would not get along." He said pointing between us. "Come on, cover your face, I'll show you Cas' cabin." I did as he told me and let Dean lead me around camp. Cas' cabin was not far from Dean's at all and that made me laugh on the inside. He couldn't let Dean out of his sight.
"This is it." He looked to us. "Dean, you should probably go first and explain before he sees Lex." Chuck looked to me. Man, I was one hell of a problem in five years' time. I nodded at Dean.
"That's fine." I told him and he went ahead. I looked back over at Chuck, lifting my hood a little and smiling. "So Chuckster, this whole camp thing seems like a neat deal." I commented.
"You're really Lex from 2009?" he asked desperately, ignoring my comment completely.
"In the flesh." I nodded.
"My foul mouthed beauty." He muttered to himself, looking away in wonder.
"Chuck, don't call me that." I ordered, remembering how much I hated it the first time he'd said it. "We talked about the whole Mary-Sue complex once, let's not do that again."
"You don't get it." He said, turning back to me. "This is you before you go corrupt. The good Alexis." He gestured to me. "I almost forgot what you were like." How bad did I get?
"Look, Chucky." I put my hand on his shoulder. "I know you try and say things to make me feel better but you only manage to make me feel worse." He looked at me miserably. "I'm going to intercede in that process by leaving and if you want to keep your limbs, you're going to go back to your cabin and organise toilet supplies like this never happened. Capisce?" I asked.
"So much fiery passion." He breathed, looking into my eyes.
"Go." I told him sternly, turning my back to him and walking up the stairs. Chuck did turn around and leave but I had left him dazzled. Approaching Cas' door, it was hard to miss the beaded curtain that passed as his door. Dean was standing in the entrance, not moving. I stood behind him, out of view of anyone in the room.
Peeking over his shoulder I saw Castiel. He was sitting on the floor, in scruffy clothes which did not include his trench coat, surrounded by several women. They all looked like a bunch of hippies.
"What is happening?" I whispered to Dean. He shrugged, watching Cas speak.
"So, in this way." Cas was explaining very calmly to the group of women. "We're each a fragment of total perception—just, uh, one compartment in that dragonfly eye of group mind." Was this meditation? "Now, the key to this total, shared perception—it's, um, it's surprisingly physical."
"Go." I pushed Dean into the room and into Cas' view. He looked up, noticing Dean standing there awkwardly, before Dean had a chance to turn back.
"Oh. Excuse me, ladies. I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute." Cas said, smiling at the women. Good, we had his attention. "Why not go get washed up for the orgy?" My knees buckled. Dean's expression mirrored mine. What the fuck was going on here? The women got up to leave and it took all I had in me not to storm into view and slap some sense into Castiel.
"You're all so beautiful." He commented, watching them leave. I felt a heated anger rush though me. This wasn't right. The women passed Dean and then me as they left. I wanted nothing better than to kick them on their way out. These women were not up to Cas' standards. Castiel was a sweet angel who needed a loving partner… not a group of orgy-willing skanks. Castiel stood up and faced away from Dean, stretching his back and grunting as it cracked.
"What are you, a hippie?" Dean asked, moving forward and looking around the candle and incense lit room.
"I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me." Cas replied. This was not the angel I knew.
"Cas, we got to talk." Dean said urgently as Cas turned around. His eyes widened like he was on crack as he took Dean in.
"Whoa. Strange." He commented.
"What?" Dean asked.
"You," he looked at Dean strangely. "...are not you. Not now you, anyway." At least he knew that much.
"No!" Dean revelled in the tiny success. "Yeah. Yes, exactly." He nodded, happy to be on the same page.
"What year are you from?" he asked.
"2009." Dean answered. Cas was very much intrigued.
"Who did this to you? Is it Zachariah?" Cas asked, one step ahead of the game.
"Yes." Dean replied, angry at just the thought.
"Interesting." Cas put a finger to his chin in contemplation.
"It gets better." Dean continued. "I'm not the only one he sent packing." I pulled my hoodie down and walked into view. Cas was smiling and that soon changed once he saw me. His expression fell, his body language changed and he exhaled lightly in shock.
"An orgy?" I asked in disgust. Trust me to focus on the important matters. "You perverted sex freak." I walked forward, not knowing why it bothered me so much.
"Alexis?" he breathed, watching my face in disbelief as I approached him.
"2009 Alexis… before you attack me." I quickly added.
"You're here." He stated, his eyes not moving off me. "You're…" he reached out to touch me but I slapped his hand away.
"Don't be a creep." I scolded him.
"Cas, we need you to strap on your angel wings and fly us back to our page on the calendar." Dean told him.
"What happened to your face?" Cas asked, looking me over, ignoring Dean.
"2014 Dean kicked my ass when he saw me. Not a hundred percent sure why just yet but we're not planning on waiting around to find out." I replied.
"It's really you." Cas smiled, still watching me.
"Cas!" Dean tried to get his attention back.
"Oh, uh," he looked back to Dean, laughing. "I wish I could just, uh, strap on my wings, but I'm sorry, no dice." He was too giddy for my liking.
"What, are you stoned?" Dean asked.
"Uh, generally, yeah." Cas smiled. Dean and I were equally taken aback by his answer.
"What happened to you?" Dean asked. I had a few guesses.
"Life." Cas exulted.
"No, really." I asked, watching him carefully. His eyes narrowed at me.
"Really?" he asked. I nodded, glancing at Dean. Cas nodded slowly… anger seeping in. "Well let's see…" he looked up like he was thinking. "You…" he pointed to me. "…lost your mind," his eyes widened and he touched his temple. "…and the world suffered the consequences." I hated hearing this. "You and your psycho powers." He pointed to my face. Dean glanced down at me and he narrowed his eyes as he took in my face.
"What?" I asked.
"Your face is nearly healed." Dean told me in amazement, touching my cheek. Cas looked over at us.
"Is that the first time it's happened?" he asked. I nodded at him, touching my face which wasn't hurting as much anymore. Cas looked surprised. "That's oddly refreshing." He said. "That and you touching Lex without trying to kill her." He added.
The sound of engines in the distance prompted Dean and I to look towards Cas' bead door.
"Is that future you coming back?" I asked, worried about getting my ass handed to me again.
"It's a safe bet." Dean replied, moving to the door. I followed him outside, Cas one step behind me. A car and a jeep arrived with 2014 Dean and some of his hardened soldiers climbing out. I kept looking at Dean… who was identical to my brother but so very different.
"I know he's you, but he scares me." I admitted to Dean.
"Confessing to fear?" Cas said from beside me. "Word to the wise, you lose your humility." Dean and I glared at him before focusing on future Dean. He took out two beers, handing one to a soldier and opening the other one for himself.
"He won't hurt you." Dean assured me though he didn't believe it himself.
"He won't get a chance." I said quietly, taking my jacket off so I was in full view. Cas had been very laid back up until this point. "Last time I wasn't prepared."
"You don't want to do that." Cas said, standing in front of me, blocking me from view. "Put the jacket back on." he said quietly, glancing back.
"Bite me." I replied. Dean had already started making his way down to the cars. I followed him, Cas trying to grab me from behind. As we reached the bottom, future Dean put down his drink, pulled out his gun and aimed at one of his comrades who had his back turned.
"Hey." My brother tried to warn him. "Hey! Watch out!" The shot went off, killing the man right in front of us, future Dean standing with his smoking gun. The other soldiers looked between the two Deans in confusion, until one of them spotted me.
"Is that-?"
"No." Cas answered for them, standing in front of me. "She's not who we're looking for." They continued to look at me before changing their focus to the identical Dean's.
"I'm not gonna lie to you." Future Dean addressed them. "Me and him" he pointed between the two of them. "It's a pretty messed-up situation we got going. But believe me, when you need to know something, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do." His voice was authoritative and to my surprise, his men listened. They slowly walked away, without question, leaving us to future Dean.
Future Dean took a hold of my Dean and dragged him to one of the cabins. Cas ushered me into the adjacent cabin, keeping Dean and I separated and shut the door behind us.
"I told you to stay hidden." He growled. I waved him off.
"Since when do I listen to you?" Cas' attitude kept fluctuating between his new persona and surprise at the words coming out of my mouth. "What, cat got your tongue?" I asked.
"I barely remember you like this." He commented honestly. "I forgot what a pain in the ass you were." I ignored his comment. "What the hell was that?" he asked, moving on. I assumed he was referring to me showing my face and Dean rushing to rescue the dead man.
"What the hell was that?" I repeated his question. "My future brother just shot a guy in cold blood." I pointed out.
"Yeager must have been infected." Cas defended Dean.
"How can you tell?" I asked.
"After a few years of this, you just can." He explained. "He had to be put down."
"Put down?" I asked in disgust. "He's a human and Dean just blew him away in front of your people. Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?" I asked.
"It's 2014. Killing a Croat is common practice." Cas defended Dean, smiling a little.
"What is so funny?" I asked, getting angry.
"You're so soft." He commented.
"Would you cut it out?" I chastised him. "You know what, forget it. I'd rather speak to Nate." Realisation crossed his features. "Where is he?" I asked. Cas sniggered.
"Wow… I almost, ALMOST, forgot about your hidden romance with Nathaniel." Cas said cynically, walking around me. My heart dropped, not expecting Cas to know about us. But I guess in five years, someone would have found out… or I might have plucked up the courage to tell Dean.
"Good for you Cas, now you know." I smiled without humour. "Where is he?" He stopped to look me in the eye.
"Oh, I'm really going to enjoy telling you this." He grinned. "Your 'boyfriend'," he walked up to me, "…is dead."
No.
Castiel watched my demeanour fall, my heart throb and life get crushed in one second. His eyes searched mine, as if this had happened before. Nate was dead? How? Why? I looked up at Cas, tears in my eyes, longing for it not to be true.
"No." I breathed.
"Those eyes…" he whispered, moving closer to me. My back hit the wall and I steadied myself, my chest falling and rising rapidly. "You used to look at me like that." He said softly, his nose touching mine. "Right before you did this."
Castiel moved forward, pinning me against the wall. His lips crushed mine, his hand finding its way to my neck. He was forceful and passionate; my body reacting to his like fireworks. His warmth encompassed me. I let him take control, my body losing power until he pulled away. I was breathing heavily while he watched me.
I looked him in the eye and my fist swung forward, aiming for his face.
To my utter surprise, he caught my blow, slammed my arm down and pressed me to the wall before kissing me all over again. He knew what I liked and he was fiery, his lips ravaging mine like no one had before. After being dazed for a couple of seconds, I fought back.
I went to knee him but his legs blocked mine, I went to jab him but his arm was there. After blocking several of my strikes, while still kissing me, I did what I had to. I bit his lip, hard, and he finally let go, his hand going to his mouth. I shoved him back and tried to breathe again.
When I looked up, he had a little blood on his lip but he was smiling at me.
"That's how you should be kissed." He told me. I had no idea what was going on right now.
"You shouldn't have done that." I said, touching my lips.
"Why, because you're with Nathaniel?" he asked. There were more reasons than that; like invasion of personal space, consent and attraction but my body had betrayed me in those areas. I nodded, not knowing what else to say. He walked forward and out of fear he'd kiss me again, I stepped away from him.
"No." I put my hand out. He smiled a hateful smile.
"What if I told you that I never needed to chase you?" He said. "What if I told you that you used to come running to me?" I shook my head.
"You're invasive and rude." I spat. He smiled.
"This isn't the first time I kissed you while you were mad." He smirked. I realised he was blocking my strikes like a choreographed dance because he'd done it before.
"I'm with Nate." I said mostly to myself.
"You were with Nate." Cas corrected me. My eyes went to his. "And you left him," I shook my head, "-and came running into my arms." He finished.
"No." I couldn't believe it. "I didn't."
"You did." Cas nodded, running his thumb across his lip. "You were with me. I loved you and you loved me and-" he inched closer. "-we were happy." I listened to him. "We were…" he laughed. "-madly in love. Your heart was mine."
"Why would I leave Nate?" I asked. I couldn't comprehend that Nate was dead or that I'd left him for Castiel.
"You realised you couldn't live without me." He replied, running his hand through his hair. "When I realised I couldn't live without you." His blue eyes bore holes in me. He was telling the truth.
"Then why aren't we together now?" I asked, clenching my jaw.
"Because Lucifer killed Nathaniel and you left." He answered. I looked up in confusion.
"What?" I asked. Castiel pointed directly at me.
"When you left to avenge him, you left me." He accused me. "The Winchester curse… you think all the blame falls to you." He sounded like we'd had his argument several times. If I'd left Nate for Cas and then Nate had been killed… I would have felt guilty enough to want to kill Lucifer for it. That much was true.
"You know what?" I asked. His attention moved back to me. I found the courage to step forward and stand straight. "If you cared about me at all, then you'd know it's not fair for you to punish me for things I haven't done yet." I said what was in my heart. His eyes softened. "And if you loved me," I looked around helplessly. "You wouldn't have kissed me." I told him. "Five years ago… in my time, you and I are nothing." My voice got forceful. "In fact, we're fighting at the moment. You're not speaking to me; you're avoiding me… and me… I'm happy with Nate." I told him honestly. "What did you expect? That I'd take your word for it and make the five-year transformation in one day?" I asked.
Cas stayed silent, watching me. Then he smiled lightly.
"You're right." He walked up to me and humbly lowered his head a little. "I shouldn't have done that." He confirmed. "In all honesty, I just wanted to feel you… again." He admitted. "But I've upset you, and for that… I'm sorry." He apologised. "And thank-you," he paused, looking into my eyes. "-for reminding me of who you really are." I didn't say anything. Cas straightened up and walked out the door, leaving me alone.
This week was killing me.
I let myself out and made my way to the room Dean was in… both of them. I walked in while both were downing a glass of whiskey. Future Dean saw me and put his glass down, moving towards me with angry purpose.
"Touch me and I'll beat your ass black and blue buddy." I threatened, raising my hand so he didn't come closer. I continued walking until I was next to my brother.
"I told you they'd kill you!" Future Dean scolded me. "And you still showed your face around here!" he was angry. Guess what. I was on a whole new level of angry. My mind was on Cas and Nate and the massive mess I was going to make in five years that screwed EVERYONE on the FUCKING planet over.
"Yes I did." I growled looking at Future Dean. "What the fuck are you going to do about it?" My brother was used to my language and anger, and although he was a little surprised, he stood a spectator for the time being. Future Dean on the other hand, had an expression that proved no one had spoken to him like this in years.
"What did you say?" he asked, the anger growing. If he wanted a fight, he was going to get one. I was pissed.
"What are you going to do?" I asked, walking up to face him. "Beat my face in?" I asked. "You already did that and I'm still here."
"I'll kick the crap out of you all over again." He said with clenched teeth.
"Try me." I provoked him.
"Lex-" My Dean started. I held my hand up.
"No Dean," I glanced back at him before looking at my future brother. "What the hell happened to you?" I asked. "I'd give my life for you and there was a time you'd do the same." Future Dean's breathing fastened in fury. "And now we're in a place where you'd rather kill me on sight!" I shoved him back. "You're supposed to have my back!" I yelled.
Dean was suddenly between us, keeping me away from future Dean as he stood upright again and strode forward.
"I tried to help you! You're the one that screwed up!" he yelled back as Dean restrained him from moving closer to me. "I told you I'd help you so long as you stopped lying to me!" I froze. What was I lying about now? Was it Nate? Cas?
"What are you talking about?" I asked. Future Dean looked between my brother and me.
"You and I went on a hunt." He was talking to me. "Witchcraft orchestrated by a very disturbed guy named Matthew McClellen." He glared at me. "That name sound familiar to you Alexis?" he asked. I tried to think and came up blank. Dean continued, seeing my confusion. "Turns out he was trying to summon any demon or witch that could help him find his missing wife."
I felt a sinking feeling take over.
"She was a nurse in the NICU at Enfield Memorial Hospital, Illchester, Maryland." He informed me. I felt sick. My Dean looked at me, confused as to what I knew that he didn't. "They'd been married six years." I shook my head in denial as he stepped closer. "She had dark brown hair, hazel brown eyes and was of medium build." Future Dean knew I'd figured it out but he continued. "She was last seen at work taking a newborn to the intensive care unit."
I turned away.
"You know how I know that?" he asked, addressing Dean now. "The man had gone crazy; scratching those words over and over again with his fingernails. Into his furniture, onto his walls and even on his body." This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. "Look at me Alexis." He said. I plucked up the courage to turn around and face him.
"Imagine my surprise when he recognised you." He said slowly.
"What is he talking about?" Dean asked, no longer worried about standing between us. He was more concerned about what I'd been hiding from him.
"Are you going to tell him or should I?" Future Dean asked. I stayed silent, trying to figure out where to begin. Future Dean took my silence as a cue to begin. "Okay, I'll tell him." He turned to Dean. "Our little brother happens to be capable of more heinous crimes than we previously thought." He started.
"Okay, fine!" I stopped him, looking between the two. "I'll tell him."
"Tell me what?" Dean was getting mad. "What did Sam do?"
"Dean…" I faced my brother as he crossed his arms over his chest. He suddenly looked a lot bigger and it didn't help that his five-year older self was also glowering at me. That was a lot of Dean to face. "I just needed some time to straighten things out with Sam. I was going to tell you." I started.
"No you weren't." Future Dean interrupted me.
"Shut up!" Dean glared at him. "This may be your time but she's my sister." He said plainly. "I deal with her… not you." He looked back at me. "Tell me what, Lex?"
"When I was in the church with Lilith… she mind linked me to her personal chef demon." I explained. "This demon was possessing a woman named Cindy McClellen, who was a nurse in the NICU. She looked after newborns and so the demon possessed her to steal the babies and deliver them to Lilith." Dean let me speak, still not seeing how this was completely relevant. "Ruby and Sam tracked Cindy down and interrogated her to find out Lilith's location. Sam was torturing her with his demonic powers and in return for giving up Lilith's location, Sam promised he would kill the demon altogether so she didn't have to suffer Lilith's wrath when the truth came out."
"Smart." Dean commented.
"Except after receiving the information they needed, Ruby convinced Sam not to kill her." I added.
"Why not?" Dean asked. This was the hard part.
"She claimed that in the final run, she didn't have enough demon blood to give Sam. He was going to need a lot more." I explained. Understanding lit up in Dean's face.
"He bled her dry?" Dean asked.
"Oh, it gets better than that." Future Dean piped in, taking another swig from his glass.
"As a defence, the demon took a back seat and let human Cindy come to consciousness." I told him. "She wanted to put Sam off from draining her… and Sam was reluctant up until he heard your voicemail which I can only assume Zachariah tampered with because the things you said, didn't sound like you." Dean's face had fallen.
"Sam bled and drank this woman out while she was human?" Dean asked in disbelief and shock.
"She was alive, conscious, watching and screaming the whole way through." Future Dean answered him. "That's what Sam is capable of." Dean looked to me… angry, hurt and disappointed.
"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.
"I wanted to tell you as soon as I found out but then I thought about it; I mean you and Sam were fighting already. So I confronted him." I admitted. "I contacted Cindy's husband and told him to meet me. I wanted Sam to see him and how broken he'd become. He was shocked when he saw Matthew. I told him I couldn't trust him anymore. He understood that and then asked me not to tell you. I gave him the benefit of the doubt." I was sincere as I could ever be and Dean recognised this. "I was going to tell you when things weren't as complicated as they are now." Dean nodded slowly and turned his attention and anger to future Dean. Neither of us was expecting that.
"That's it?" he asked softly. He scoffed, shaking his head. "She's right, you know." He told his future self. "She's family." He reiterated. "You don't give up on family. So she lied to you, big deal. Why the hell are you so tied up in one lie?"
"It's more than that." Future Dean shot back. "Let me tell you what really happens." His eyes were fixed on me but he was talking to Dean. "You never speak to Sam again because you think he'll have the will power to fight on his own. Little do you know that any common demon, not too different from Ruby, can influence him to do something as destructive as kill an innocent woman while she watches. Alexis here," he pointed to me, "-does know what Sam is capable of and so she leaves you to support baby brother. In the meantime, Sam has broken down, he's drinking demon blood to the point where he's high off it and he needs so much that he's killing innocent people on a weekly basis."
It hurt to hear the future. It hurt even more to see future Dean's face as he recounted history.
"Sam's so far gone, Alexis is with him and you're left here wondering what the hell happened. You ask for Lex's help, you go on a hunt, you find Matthew, you realise the truth and the two of you have the biggest and more irreversible argument to date." Future Dean put down his glass and looked closely at the both of us. "Michael and Lucifer fight… and now we're here." He raised his arms, pointing all around us before pointing to me. "Because you screwed up."
We stayed silent, all of us. How could something so small lead to something so big?
"Well look," Dean started. "I know now so we've fixed the problem before it started." He reasoned. "We'll go back and everything will change."
"Unless she comes up with a new lie." Future Dean motioned to me.
"Would you leave her alone?" Dean was getting pissed.
"I don't buy it man," Future Dean paced the room. "These angels always have a back-up plan… always."
"So what's your plan? For right now?" I asked him, glad we were off the topic of all my failures. "You just came back from a mission… what was it for?" For the first time since I'd arrived here, Future Dean and I had something in common. We were both very interested in the next play. He walked over to his bag and pulled out a gun. A very familiar gun.
"The colt?" Dean asked, recognising it instantly.
"The colt." Future Dean nodded.
"Where was it?" I asked, looking up at him.
"Everywhere." Future Dean replied. "They've been moving it around. Took me five years, but...I finally got it." He smiled, looking between us. "And tonight," he took a sip of his drink, "—tonight, I'm gonna kill the devil."
We were sitting at Headquarters devising a plan of action. Future Dean stood at one end of the table, a map laid out in front of him and the colt sitting in plain view. Risa was standing on our end with her arms crossed over her chest, still pissed. Cas sat on a seat, next to her, with his feet crossed up on the table. I had not so subtly given him a wide berth when passing him for the obvious reasons and he'd noticed. Dean sat on the window sill and I stood beside him; not sure how much power we really had here.
"So, that's it? That's the Colt?" Risa asked. She kept glancing back at me… mostly because of the five of us in the room, she was the only one who'd never encountered a morally stable Lex before. Future Dean had explained that Risa joined long after I'd lost my marbles so the only version of me she'd seen, had been the one powerful to obliterate whole camps.
"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it." Future Dean replied.
"Great. Have we got anything that can find Lucifer?" Risa asked, her attitude leaking through her question. Future Dean looked up at her in a little concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked, for a split second showing me he was in fact the kind Dean Winchester of my time.
"Oh, we were in, uh, Jane's cabin last night." My brother interceded beside me as Risa recrossed her arms and enabled her bitch face. "And, apparently, we and...Risa have a connection." He explained. I raised my eyebrows, holding in a smirk at Future Dean's face. Cas seemed to have the same problem as me, as he was looking down with a smile playing on his lips. Future Dean looked between Dean and Risa.
"You want to shut up?" he half threatened Dean, who raised his hands in surrender. "We don't have to find Lucifer. We know where he is." Future Dean stood upright. "The demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."
"So, a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be, and you just believe it?" Risa asked. She was a smart girl, asking the right questions.
"Oh, trust me, he wasn't lying." Future Dean assured her.
"And you know this how?" she asked further.
"Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth." Cas answered for Future Dean. Wait…
"Torture?" Dean asked from beside me. He was more shocked than I was. "Oh, so, we're—we're torturing again." He said, standing up and inching forward. Future Dean looked at him. "No, that's—that's good. Classy." Castiel was smiling up at him, very amused. Future Dean noticed his glee and glared.
"What?" Cas defended himself. "I like past you." Future Dean rolled his eyes and turned the map around.
"Lucifer is here." He pointed at section circled in red. "Now. I know the block and I know the building."
"Oh, good—it's right in the middle of a hot zone." Cas commented. Sarcastic Cas was giving me the creeps… I wasn't used to it.
"Crawling with Croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?" Future Dean asked.
"Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil?" Cas asked in return.
"Yes." Was Future Dean's short and unbelievable reply.
"Okay, if you don't like, uh, 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe." Cas offered.
"Are you coming?" Future Dean asked. Castiel sighed.
"Of course." He replied.
"What kind of plan is that?" I asked, not able to hold my tongue any longer. Future Dean and Risa looked back at me. "What happened to scoping out the surroundings and the building?" I asked. "Establishing a body count, assembling a man to man ratio, picking sniper vantages, organising decoys? That's how you plan… not just wagging your ass through the middle of the 'hot zone'."
"I don't remember asking you." Future Dean commented.
"I'm in this room, aren't I?" I shot back.
"Easy, Lex." Dean stopped me from continuing.
"You left, we changed." Future Dean told me.
"Yeah, you became dumb." I prodded. I walked forward and pointed out some obvious features on the map. "You want to go by foot; there's a trail here. Direct attack via vehicles is going to be more efficient for a northern attack; see the distance it takes to get from the front gate to the first pillar. That'd take you one minute at least – even in stealth. It's practically open field, which is smart on their part but sucks for you. You come in hard and fast since you have no element of surprise." I pointed to the back. "If you want a team on foot that can take their time, you manoeuvre around these paths. There's a lot of coverage and even easy access to higher ground."
I moved around the table and caught Dean and Cas smirking at me.
"And why have you ignored this?" I asked pointing to an area of the map. "That's a second exit out of the building. You need to block that!" I looked up at future Dean who was patiently listening. "You know all of this. You taught me all of this." I said to him in confusion. Risa looked between us and I could tell she felt out of place. Here she must have thought she knew Dean best and with me out of the way, that's the way it must have seemed… but I was back now.
"I did teach you all of this." Future Dean admitted. "A little too well."
"What does that mean?" Dean asked.
"It means, who do you think defends Lucifer's fortress?" Cas asked looking at me. "That's right… you do."
"What?" I asked.
"In our time, you're guarding Lucifer." Future Dean explained. "You already know the tricks of the trade. We learnt that the hard way, the first time we attacked Lucifer after you'd switched sides. Every back route we had in play, every decoy we sent… you had something in place to stop it."
Man, I really hated myself in the future.
"Which is why, we're going to do it my way and you're not going to kick a fuss." Future Dean told me sternly. I took a deep breath and nodded. He was right in this case. "And I'm bringing you along because I need you to distract your future self so we don't get our ass handed to us."
"We could just kill her and solve our problem." Risa pointed out. Nobody in the room responded well to that… not even future Dean. Could it be that I'd grown on him? He'd hated me so much but maybe I'd reminded him of how awesome I used to be. Maybe he saw me as his little sister again.
"No," Future Dean said firmly. "She's better off alive. When she goes back to '09, her power will help us, if she's on our side. We kill her and Lucifer could still win."
"Okay, but why is he going? I mean, he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right?" Cas asked, looking back at Dean.
"He's coming." Future Dean said forcefully, ending any negotiations.
"Okay." Castiel didn't argue. "Well, uh. I'll get the grunts moving." He said, standing up. Risa followed him to the door, both of them exchanging unsure glances about future Dean's reasoning.
"We're loaded and on the road by midnight." Future Dean called out as they left the cabin.
"All righty." Cas replied, as they shut the door behind them.
"Why are you really taking us?" Dean asked, once he was sure Cas and Risa were long gone.
"Relax. You'll be fine. Zach's looking after you two, right?" he asked, placing his bag on the table. I glanced up at the small mirror hanging on the wall and noticed my injuries had completely disappeared.
"No, that's not what I mean. I want to know what's going on." Dean clarified. Future Dean looked up from the bag and nodded slowly.
"Yeah, okay." He said, walking around the table. "You two are coming because I want you to see something." He paused. "I want you to see our brother."
"Sam?" I asked, confused. "I thought he was dead."
"Sam didn't die in Detroit." Future Dean explained without emotion. "He said 'yes'." No. No. No.
"Yes?" Dean asked, a little confused. "Wait. You mean-"
"He means 'yes'." I whispered in disbelief.
"That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom." Future Dean almost spat the words out.
"Why would he do that?" Dean asked. I had a few ideas… maybe because these two assholes cut him out of their life. Dean had hung up on Sam not even one week ago… when Sam had begged to come back.
"Wish I knew." Future Dean replied. I couldn't believe these two. "But now we don't have a choice. It's in him, and it's not getting out." There must have been a way. "And we've got to kill him, Dean."
"If I have so much power…. I could cast him out, right?" I asked. Future Dean shook his head at me, grinning.
"Why do you think you left in the first place?" he asked me.
"You said I left to manipulate Lucifer into bringing Sam back from the dead." I answered.
"You left to manipulate Lucifer into letting his guard down so you could cast him out and Sam could regain control of his body." Future Dean explained. This made so much more sense to me. "It backfired because the more you did for Lucifer… the more his vessel manipulated you into doing evil things." He looked to Dean. "And you need to see it—the whole damn thing, how bad it gets—so you can do it different."
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"When you get back home—you say 'yes'." Future Dean moved closer to us. "You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael."
"That's crazy." Dean replied with narrowed eyes. "If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet."
"Look around you, man. Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now. If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat." Future Dean admitted. This didn't sound like my brother at all.
"So why don't you?" Dean asked.
"I've tried!" Future Dean's voice got louder. "I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't listening! They just—left—gave up!" It hurt to watch him. He looked so desperate. "It's too late for me, but for you-"
"Oh, no. There's got to be another way." Dean was in denial.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. I was cocky." He admitted. "Having Lex on your side isn't worth shit if you don't say 'yes'." He pointed to me. "Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean. I was wrong. I'm begging you. Say yes." There was a long silence. Future Dean saw the resolve in his younger self's face. "But you won't." he said, turning away, realising the truth of the situation. "Because I didn't." He'd already lost. "Because that's just not us, is it?"
Future Dean's team was locked and loaded, ready to go. They had just packed up the cars and had given us the okay to get in. Dean and I had sat silently beside each other, mulling over all the information we'd received about the future. Both of us were thinking of ways to avoid this path; to change history for these guys by making the right choices.
I was also nervous about meeting my future bitch self; the older and wiser version of me that everyone both loathed and feared. I'd seen how people reacted to me, how they talked about me… now I got to see it for myself.
"What's it like to meet your future self?" I asked Dean, trying to mentally prepare myself. It wasn't helping that everyone was hustling and bustling all around us.
"You worried?" Dean asked, putting his arm around me, finally coming out of his silence.
"Wouldn't you be?" I asked, looking up at him.
"We'll fix it." He told me, his fingers running through my hair lightly. "If this is what happens when the three of us separate… then we'll stay together." He said honestly. I smiled, looking away. "What?" he asked.
"Well, I'd like to say 'I told you so'-"
"Shut up." Dean cut me off. I couldn't help but laugh. That's when I noticed we'd attracted an audience. Castiel, Riza and others who were part of this mission were watching us discretely while packing the cars. Whilst most people, including Riza, were mostly surprised at seeing a version of Dean and I that got along so well, Cas was wearing a fond smile like he was remembering the good old days.
When I glanced to our right, I noticed future Dean also watching us. There was a pain and longing in his eyes when he saw us.
"I'll be right back." I told Dean, pulling his arm off me and getting up. I walked over towards future Dean, who as he saw me approaching, walked into his cabin. I followed him in and shut the door behind me.
"What do you want?" he asked, not facing me and checking his gun. His shoulders were tense and his body was tired. It was time for someone to take the burden off him. No one had done it for him in four to five years, but I was here now.
"Why don't you just say it to me?" I asked, knowing full when what was in his heart. "No one's here but us. The old me and the new you." Dean looked up and contemplated what I'd offered him.
"You think it's my fault this happened." Dean stated.
"No." I stopped him from making assumptions. He seemed surprised.
"I saw the look you gave me when we were talking about Sam." He told me honestly. "You think I shouldn't have left him." He shook his head.
"You shouldn't have left him." I agreed with him, causing him to look up at me again. "But this isn't your fault, Dean." I walked closer. Dean's expression changed to one of surprise. "Sam had a responsibility to remember what you taught him. He had a responsibility to not rub shoulders with Ruby while you were gone. You sold your soul for him… the least he could do was keep out of trouble." I stated clearly. "That wasn't your fault." I said sternly. "And me… I had a responsibility to tell you the truth… from the beginning. That was my fault." I pointed to myself. "And so you didn't say 'yes' to Michael. If God put you on this earth, he also gave you free will. You don't want to be Michael's vessel; I get it. You don't have to be."
Dean looked perplexed at my resolve.
"Don't worry." I was standing an arm length away from him. "I promise you, we'll change it. We'll do it differently." He was listening to me silently, his tough exterior crumbling before me. He was reverting to my brother. "And I promise you, no matter what happens, I'll keep the family together. However it happened, I was sent to this earth by mom and heavenly powers to make sure you and Sam didn't do this alone." I pointed to the cabin around him. "I won't let this happen." I looked him in the eyes. "I won't leave you." I vowed to him what he had vowed to me only three minutes ago.
To my complete surprise, Dean just stared at me, long and hard, before producing the most subtle smile. In that instant, he seemed five years younger.
"What?" I asked, softly.
"It's been so long since I've seen you like this." He admitted.
"What? Like a normal human?" I asked, my mind wandering back to monster I imagined myself to be in 2014.
"No, like you." He clarified, looking at me again. "The girl I grew up with." He looked down at his gun. "My sister." I remembered the way he was watching me with Dean. He longed for us to be like that again. Even though the man in front of me had my brother's face, he'd been a stranger to me. Up until now.
I was going to do something risky. He might not have taken it well. It was strange and uncalled for. But I was weird individual anyway and had to give it a chance.
I walked forward and put my arms around Dean, embracing him and taking a deep breath as I did. His body tensed for a moment, unsure of what was going on. He figured out pretty quickly that I was giving him what he really wanted. If the 2014 Lex couldn't make amends with him, at least I could.
Slowly, I felt his arms go around me. It felt like he hadn't done this in years, which was the reality. He exhaled with a small smile and then his arms wrapped around me properly and I felt his lips near my head. I stayed in his arms.
"Yesterday you nearly killed me and look at us now." I said against his chest. "I turned that corner pretty quickly."
"I guess you did." Dean replied.
"So, as you're from oh-nine, let me give you some free advice." Chuck walked between my brother and I on the way to the cars.
"Sure." Dean nodded.
"You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper." Chuck said plainly. Both Dean and I looked at him strangely. "You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it like it's made of gold." He almost sounded crazy. "'Cause it is." And now he was. Dean gave me a look that said he'd had enough of the guy.
"Thank you, Chuck." His sarcasm heavily evident to me as he entered the car.
"Oh, you'll thank me, all right. Mark my words." Chuck stated. I stopped in front of him smiling, while his eyes were still on Dean.
"I'll see you around." Dean called to him, shutting the door. Chuck finally looked to me, where I was grinning at his aloofness.
"It was lovely seeing you again, Alexis, especially since you weren't trying to blow me up." He said kindly.
"The night's still young Chucky Cheese." I replied. Castiel was approaching from the cabin when he spotted us at the cars. "What do you like to call me, again?" I asked Chuck, devising a quick plan.
"My… my foul mouthed beauty." He stuttered in reply. I bit my lip, thinking for a moment.
"When I'm around you Chuck, my brothers stop referring to me as the crazy one." I admitted. "I like you for that." I smiled, stepping closer to him. "Pick another name that doesn't involve the word 'foul'." I told him.
"My fiery warrior princess." The words came tumbling off Chuck's tongue, his eyes wide as he stared at me with his cute expression. I suspected that was another name he'd kept for me and I was flattered. I leaned forward and kissed Chuck slowly on the lips.
"Thank you." I told him once I'd pulled away. I smiled as he watched me, completely flustered. "I'll see you around." Castiel had been standing a few feet away, watching the entire time. I got into the back seat of the car, and shut the door as Castiel took to the driver's seat, glaring.
Chuck was still standing shell shocked as the cars started. The noise prompted him out of his daze and he waved before we pulled away. Dean grimaced at me from the passenger seat, having seen the whole thing. On the other hand, Castiel was radiating an angry heat which I could see from the rear view.
Good. He deserved it.
We had been on the road only five minutes before Castiel started popping pills. Up until this point, he'd been silent, casting me a disapproving looking in the mirror every thirty seconds.
"Let me see those." Dean said. Cas handed the bottle over and Dean read the label.
"You want some?" Cas asked, keeping one hand on the wheel. I still found it weird that he could drive.
"Amphetamines?" Dean asked.
"It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe." Cas replied. I could only stare in amazement at his attitude.
"Mmm." Dean nodded slowly. "Don't get me wrong, Cas. I, uh. I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but—what's going on—w-with the drugs and the orgies and the love-guru crap?" Dean asked. Castiel laughed, looking at me in the mirror. His expression told me I had something to do with it. Was I the sole reason for Cas going off the rails. If so, Dean couldn't know.
My eyes spoke for themselves, begging Castiel not to tell Dean about our futuristic relationship. I couldn't tell him that yet.
"What's so funny?" Dean asked. With one sentence, Cas could out me to Dean about my relationship with Nate in the present. I had just kissed Chuck to piss him off. If he wanted revenge, now was the time. Cas' eyes were on me as he spoke.
"I'm not an angel anymore." He confessed.
"What?" I asked exactly what I was thinking.
"Yeah, I went mortal." He admitted happily.
"What do you mean? How?" Dean asked, looking back at me. I shrugged, letting him know this was news to me too.
"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving." He explained. "But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of— psshhew!" he used his hand to plummet down. "—drained away. And now, you know, I'm practically human." Man… you lose your powers and then your girlfriend, I had trouble imagining it was me, leaves you. I guess that would lead to sex and drugs. "I mean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months."
"Wow." I said mostly to myself.
"Yeah." Cas nodded like he couldn't believe it himself.
"So, you're human. Well, welcome to the club." Dean serenaded him.
"Thanks." Cas smiled at him. "Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless." His eyes locked with mine as he spoke. "I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out?" He was aiming those words at me… like it was my fault. I found this hugely unfair. "But then that's, that's just how I roll." Cas smiled again.
The team parked at the edge of the hot zone. The soldiers began arming themselves when Dean and I realised we didn't have any weapons. We looked to future Dean for help in that area.
"Here." He handed both Dean and I guns we were comfortable with.
"Do you happen to have any daggers?" I asked slowly. Castiel and future Dean looked up in surprise, almost like they'd forgotten that was my weapon of choice.
"Wait, you know how to fight with blades in '09?" Risa asked, a few soldiers listening in.
"Yeah," I nodded, looking at her. "Of course I do, I mean he taught me." I nodded towards both Dean's as Cas dug through the weapons. Risa looked to future Dean with wide and angry eyes. Future Dean looked to me instead with an expression that told me I had too big a mouth. I guess he hadn't divulged that information to his camp just yet.
Castiel handed me two daggers which weren't very different from my own. I took them in my hands and decided to test them out to make sure I could use them. I let my body take over as the blades glided through my fingers and twisted around my wrists, slicing through the air at record speeds. I liked them.
When I looked up, I noticed I'd once again drawn an audience. Majority were amazed at my talent, which was to be expected, however future Dean and Cas had a sense of nostalgia across their faces. I tucked the daggers into my ankle holders and took out my gun instead, ready to move forward.
The thought of meeting myself was making me more nervous with each passing minute. As much as I didn't want to see myself, I knew it had to be done. I was walking beside Risa and as far away from Castiel as possible. I was however, impressed by how much he'd learnt in five years. He was skilled with all weapons that came his way but he opted for a double barrelled shot gun and an AK47 assault rifle.
This new Cas… I didn't know how I felt about him. He wasn't as neutral as before, that was obvious, but was he a little too extreme. I was usually the one with the lack of inhibitions and now he'd taken that role. If we really had been in love, like he said, it meant we'd both changed over time. I must have loosened him up a little but at the same time, that must have meant I became a tight ass.
Anyways, he was still pissed off with my affection for Chuck, which was whole-hearted but a little pushed to show Cas I was NOT interested. He was acting like I'd betrayed him. At the same time, I saw a fond expression on his face when he watched me in my element. Hunting was what I loved and what I was good at. He seemed to enjoy watching me be happy. Well, as happy as I could be in this situation.
We were almost at the Jackson County Sanitarium when future Dean ordered us to duck down. He led us behind some junk-yard worthy cars and began scoping the building out with binoculars. I crouched beside Dean and checked my gun in advance.
"There. Second-floor window. We go in there." Future Dean pointed out, handing the binoculars to Cas.
"You sure about this?" Risa asked, unsure.
"You, Roberts, Oliver and Alexis are running through the side gate and to the back compound." He pointed to Risa. "The rest, go through the front."
"Wait, that wasn't the plan." Risa argued.
"I know, but if you deliver Alexis to 2014 Lex and double round, we'll have a greater chance of ambushing the central party." Future Dean explained.
"Whoa, hold up!" I stopped him, "I know I have to distract myself, but I'm going alone?" I asked.
"I'm going with her." Dean supported my argument.
"She'll hurt you." Future Dean explained pointing to Dean, "She won't hurt you." He pointed to me. "Trust me on that. Okay, so weapons check." Risa and the other two didn't argue. I stood with them, Oliver leading the way as future Dean sent us off. I glanced back at Dean, Cas and future Dean one last time before I adopted my combat persona.
We were off, running through the compound without any obstacles. No Croatoans and no demons came running at us until we'd turned the corner. Then there was a swarm.
Oliver bent his knee and began shooting from a stationary position. Roberts and Risa bypassed him, firing on the move. I stood behind Oliver, just for a second, taking in the scene. There were like thirty Croatoans and maybe five to ten demons in my path. That was more than I'd ever taken on.
But there was a first time for everything.
I sprung into action, tucking my gun away and pulling out my daggers. The first two were easily taken care of with a quick spin that slit their throats. One came running at me so I threw my dagger at him, the blade embedding in his head. I snaked my free arm around the neck of one close to me and used her to support my weight as I double side kicked two coming from my right. They both went down as I spun to the earth, bringing the Croat in my arms down with me and stabbing her in the face. I pulled the blade out of her, spinning on my knees and using the blade to cut the seventh one's knees, pulled out my other dagger from the third one's head and brought the two daggers down on the fourth and fifth who were still on the floor. I pulled the daggers out again and jumped on the Croat that was sinking because of the deep gashes in his knees and slit his throat.
Suddenly the daggers left my hands, flying to the wall. Risa, Oliver and Roberts lost their weapons as they too were levitated before being pressed quick and hard against the walls around us with an invisible force.
"Leave us." A woman appeared ahead of me. She had straight, short black hair, was wearing tight black pants and black tank-top. She had a twisted tattoo down the length of one arm and… my face. The Croatoans and demons dispersed immediately, not one defying her order. She saw me standing alone and her lips curled upwards. "Well, Dean has sunk to a new low." She… I said with a husky voice.
"I don't think its Dean you should be worried about." I stated, watching my older self approach with a cold exterior. I looked meaner, darker and more seasoned. There was age in those eyes that stared back at me and a whole lot of mixed feelings.
"When are you from?" she asked me getting right to the point. I was nervous as she looked me up and down. "You're definitely younger… back when I was fighting the good fight."
"2009." I answered. Her eyes lit up with recognition.
"Ah, so this must be very confusing to you." She commented. I glanced at my comrades who were still up against the wall. "Are they distracting you?" My future self asked, not missing a thing. "We'll take care of that." She didn't lift a finger or even move her eyes. Risa, Oliver and Roberts; all three of them, their heads did a complete one-eighty with a sickening crunch, before their lifeless bodies fell to the ground.
I couldn't breathe.
"Wh-wh-what did you-" I stared at their bodies in complete and utter shock.
"They were annoying me." She replied. I looked back at her… really looked at her. She was completely calm… and absolutely, without a doubt, fucking crazy. "Now, who sent you and why?" she asked, circling me.
"What happened to you?" I asked. "We were good. We were supposed to protect people! Not-" I looked over at the three bodies, keeping down bile.
"And who do you protect when your brothers are fighting against each other?" she asked diplomatically, stopping in front of me. "Sam, or Dean?" she raised an eyebrow. I didn't have an answer. "Exactly, so you just kill who you want and protect who you want. No more responsibility. Now I know that you're tired of the responsibility. I was too when I was your age." She continued to circle me, no emotion on her face. Her voice remained quiet, with no need to be louder than it was.
"How could you side with Lucifer?" I spat.
"I didn't side with him." she replied, without empathy. She walked up to me with a quizzical expression. "What lies have they fed you? Was it Dean? Or was it Castiel?"
"They both had plenty to say." I replied. "Dean beat me within an inch of my life and Castiel had a bitch fest before making out with me." She smiled to herself without care.
"Castiel…" he eyes softened for a moment. "Wait… you're with Nate, aren't you?" she asked, smiling. I nodded. "Well, a word of advice. Leave them both. You're better off." I wasn't sure whether what she was telling me was really for my benefit. Well, why wouldn't it be? She was me after all; she wouldn't do anything to hurt me.
"Why do you say that?" I asked, letting her watch me the entire time.
"You're still young. However, you'll learn very quickly that staying amongst Sam, Dean, Castiel and Nate… it'll become too much. Each one tugging you in a different direction to the point where this," she lightly tapped my temple. "-will want to explode. Save yourself the trouble and devoid yourself of emotion. Feel nothing. Let no one influence you. Hold your own power." She told me with wisdom.
"Is that why you left Cas and Dean?" I asked. "Because you felt you were losing your mind." This had been a fear of mine.
"No." She replied. "I left because I felt guilty for letting Sam and Nate die." She stood completely still while she spoke. "I was so angry and I wanted to avenge them. It was a child's dream. Once I was away from Dean and Castiel, I realised how much control I had over my own power."
"So if you're okay where you are, why do you keep attacking the camp?" I asked.
"They've told you white lies." She said softly, her eyes still on me. "They attack, we attack. That's how the world works. They might be upset that I'm attacking the camp despite the fact they're a part of it. They think I should be conflicted when wanting to hurt them."
"You should be. Dean's your brother and Cas-" I started.
"They are complications in my life. In your life." She interrupted me. "Learn to let go of them and you'll find your peace." She prompted me. "When I'm around either of them, my balance shifts and I no longer have control. I cannot live like that, so I try and keep away."
"And what about when you're with Lucifer?" I argued. "Doesn't your balance shift then? Don't you lose control?" I asked.
"I have not emotional connection to Lucifer. I had a connection with Sam, but he's dead. Lucifer and I have a common interest – eliminating Dean and Castiel. The resistance believes I've chosen a side." She explained. "The truth is, I've embraced my neutrality and they can't deal with it." She looked over at Risa. "I would kill a demon just as easily as I killed Dean's girlfriend." She looked back at me. "Now, you didn't answer my question. Who sent you and why?" I didn't see why I should lie to her.
"Zachariah sent me." I answered. There was surprise on her face. "He wanted me to see the future so I could change the outcome." She smiled lightly.
"I remember hating him." She focused on me. "You must too at the moment. As much as a nuisance as he was, he taught me one worthwhile lesson."
"What was that?" I asked.
"Control." Castiel's voice came from behind me. Future Lex looked behind me the same time I did to see him walk around the corner.
"Castiel." She said calmly, walking to my side. I felt uncomfortable standing so close to a psychopath.
"Alexis." He replied. "I see you've met yourself."
"You kissed her." She stated. The lack of emotion on my older face was freaking me out. I was barely able to contain myself and ice-queen me was as still as a statue.
"I was trying to remember what it felt like." Castiel replied, stepping forward. Out of nowhere, the trees and ground around us exploded. I almost jumped out of my skin, Castiel was less surprised but he stopped moving and future me, had not moved an inch. I watched her in amazement and fear. My eyes travelled around us at the huge amount of damage that had taken one second and not even the blink of an eye for future me.
"You know how this ends Castiel." She spoke again.
"I know." He replied, slowly taking off his guns and finally his jacket. He was completely unarmed and only dressed in a loose shirt. He was very scruffy and by lack of better judgement, looked strangely sexy with his stern face. Her lips were at my ear.
"You're about to find out why I keep my distance." She whispered, before pulling away and walking towards Castiel. She approached him slowly and with confidence. With every step she took, debris around us began to levitate. He stood exactly where he was, not moving but allowing her to come to him. The debris, plants and even trees began to rip free of the ground and begin to hover.
With one step between them, Castiel made the final move, stepping forward and grabbing her in his arms. Their lips met in a desperate and fiery passion at which point the world around me began to explode. I covered my head in shock as dirt flew everywhere. Castiel and Alexis remained unaware of their surroundings as they kissed. He was holding her roughly and ravaging her lips.
I saw movement on my left. When I looked over, I saw the heads of my fallen comrades move back to facing forward. Castiel and Lex were still in each other's arms. I watched Risa, Oliver and Roberts, come back to life, coughing and gasping.
Winds began blowing fiercely, lightning struck all around us and thunder crashed, almost deafening me. It certainly felt like the end of the world.
Just one kiss from Castiel had done this. One kiss. Alexis had her hand on Castiel's shoulder while he grabbed her waist. Her hand moved slowly down to his chest. The sky was filled with debris. When I looked up, I could see the sky. I looked back over at Alexis, and in the split of a second, Castiel gasped.
Lex's hand was holding a heart and there was a gaping hole in Castiel's chest.
No! I felt my own heart drop.
She kissed him once more before his lifeless body fell to the ground. The debris came crashing down around me but my older self had placed a protective bubble around me, protecting me from harm. I couldn't say the same for the three newly resurrected soldiers, who were now buried under a forest worth of trees.
Alexis faced me.
"Take my advice and rid yourself of that commotion." She pointed to dead Castiel. I couldn't look at him. "Let's go pay Dean a visit." She said, telekinetically pulling me with her. The thunder and lightning continued.
"No, wait!" I begged her. "What are you going to do?" I asked; my worry was off the charts at this point. She walked us through a greenhouse and as we emerged on the other side, we entered a courtyard.
Future Dean was lying on the floor, dead. My Dean was alive, standing opposite, none other than Sam himself. Or I guess it was Lucifer in this case.
"Lucifer." My future self noted as she walked forward. I moved with her. Dean turned a little to face all of us and his face dropped when he saw future me. Lucifer watched me with curiosity and a smile on his face.
"Alexis." He spoke kindly to her. "And Alexis." He looked past her at me.
"You've both come a long way to see this, haven't you?" he asked, looking between us.
"Well, go ahead. Kill me." Dean said with contempt. Neither Lucifer or Alexis responded with anger or hate.
"Kill you?" Lucifer asked, looking at future Dean's corpse. "Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?" he asked. Nobody said anything. Lucifer sighed. "I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this—shape." He said to the both of us. Yes, it bloody well was. All I could do was stare at Sam's face and wonder how it wasn't him. "But it had to be your brother. It had to be." Lucifer assured, reaching out to touch Dean's shoulder. Dean moved back, out of reach.
At that point, Lucifer turned to me. Suddenly, Dean was between us, with a look of deadly warning on his face.
"No." he stated simply.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean." Lucifer said calmly. "What do you think I'm going to do?" I hadn't realised, but Alexis had diminished her hold on me. She walked slowly to Lucifer's side, handing him a red rose she'd picked from the garden. I moved closer to Dean, standing right behind him.
"I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet?" Dean suggested. Lucifer looked up from his rose.
"Why? Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God." He exulted. When we didn't respond, he continued. "You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?" he asked. Thunder crashed all around us.
"No, and we don't want to." I answered. Lucifer shook his head at me fondly before glancing at future me.
"You were so naïve." He smiled. Alexis was staring at me with curiosity.
"I've noticed." She replied. Lucifer turned back to us as more lightning struck.
"You know why God cast me down?" he asked. "Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." Lucifer smirked with a little anger. "You. The little...hairless apes." He sounded angry. I lightly grabbed a hold of Dean's sleeve, out of their view. "And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him." I think both Dean and I wanted to take a step back.
"And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed, murderous." And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime?" Sam's voice with Lucifer's words made me uneasy. "Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."
"You're not fooling me, you know that?" Dean spoke, his voice wavering. His eyes had glassed over, though image of Sam upsetting him. "With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are."
"What am I?" Lucifer asked.
"You're the same thing, only bigger." Dean replied through his teeth. "The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of crap." He almost spat. Alexis crossed her arms over her chest, a hint of emotion playing on her face. "The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego."
"Is that what you think of me, Dean?" Alexis asked. Our attention moved to her as she walked forward. "Is that what you think of the young girl clutching your jacket sleeve?" she asked. I let go of Dean and Lucifer smiled, watching me.
"It's alright Alexis." Lucifer spoke to me directly. "Whatever happens, in the end, you find your place." He looked at my future self. "You'll be at my side. Safe. Protected." He glanced at Dean. "And I never leave you."
"You don't get to talk to her." Dean spat, grabbing my wrist.
"You no longer have a right to decide for me… or her." Alexis interceded. "We're our own person, Dean. You learnt that far too late and look where you ended up." He glanced at Dean's corpse.
"I don't know what happened to you." He spoke to future me. "But you're not my sister." He stated plainly. "You're the furthest thing from her."
"You'd be surprised Dean." She replied. "The amount of thought that runs through her head leads her down my path, not yours." She told him. Lucifer smiled.
"You two are very unique." He stated. "I see what they saw in you. You especially." He looked to me. "With my mother's core." He kissed the rose. "Goodbye. We will meet again, soon." Lucifer turned with Alexis and the two of them began walking away.
This wasn't how it was supposed to end. Sam couldn't be victim to this evil. He had to survive. We had to save him, somehow. I couldn't watch this happen… I'd… I'd… lose my mind. The revelation hit me hard. I had to be stronger than that. I could not… no… I would not lose my brother to Lucifer.
"You better kill me now!" Dean called out to them. Lucifer stopped, turning back. I felt my heart sit in my throat at his expression.
"Pardon?" he asked, Alexis watching Dean carefully.
"You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you." He declared. "And I won't stop."
"I know you won't." Lucifer walked back towards us and I stepped between him and Dean. Lucifer cast me a glance. "I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam." He lowered his vision to me. "And I know they've told you that you determine the outcome, but they're wrong sweet Alexis." He pointed to future me. "This is your destiny. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, we will always end up—here." He looked at the two of us. "I win. So, I win." He shrugged.
"You're wrong." I stated with a trembling voice. I hadn't realise I was shaking.
"See you in five years." He smiled at us one last time before both he and Alexis disappeared. Thunder and lightning crashed right before I saw a horrifying flash of Zachariah. Then came the sickening punch in my gut.
We were back in the motel room. I had arrived sitting on the bed whilst Dean appeared next the kitchen counter. I leaned back against the bed head immediately, gasping a little and Dean supported himself on the kitchenette sink. Standing between us was Zachariah.
"Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you." Dean commented, glaring at Zachariah, as I stood up.
"Enough." He said to the both us. "Just, enough. You saw it, right?" he asked, turning to me and gritted my teeth, stepping away from him. "You saw what happens." Zachariah's eyes were wide as he spoke. "I've told you before and I'll tell you again Alexis, learn to control your emotions." Zach turned to Dean. "And Dean, you can prove the devil wrong. Just say yes."
"How do I know that this whole thing isn't one of your tricks?" Dean asked, leaning away from Zach. "Huh? Some angel hocus-pocus?"
"The time for tricks is over." Zachariah said surely. "Give yourself to Michael. Say yes and we can strike." He stepped closer. "Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die." There had to be another way. One that didn't involve Sam or Dean or myself getting manipulated or possessed. Dean was considering what Zach had to say and he gave me a long look. He walked towards me and stopped by my side, his back to Zachariah. I saw it in his eyes. They always told me the truth.
"Nah." Dean responded. I smiled.
"'Nah'?" Zach's face was priceless. "You telling me you haven't learned your lesson?" he asked.
"Oh, I've learned a lesson, all right." Dean replied. Zachariah looked furious. "Just not the one you wanted to teach." I summoned any anger I had, trying to tap into my power as Zach moved towards us.
"Well, I'll just have to teach it again!" Zach growled almost on us. "Because I got you now and I'm never letting you-" I felt the surge within me as Zachariah was forced backward a few feet. He looked shocked.
"Was that you?" Dean asked quietly. I nodded. Zach shook his head.
"Lucky shot, try it again." He dared me, charging at us again. I couldn't summon the energy anymore. Zachariah reached out in fury as Dean pulled me behind him and then-
We were standing on an abandoned road. Dean was in front of me, but I felt someone hovering behind me. I turned around to see Castiel. Any anger or strange fights we'd had before, left my mind. I'd seen Cas get his heart pulled out.
"Oh my god." I breathed, pulling him into warm hug, squeezing him in joy.
"That's pretty nice timing, Cas." Dean sounded just as grateful as I did. Cas' arm went lightly around me and he patted me on the back. I let him go.
"We had an appointment." He replied. Dean put a hand on Castiel's shoulder.
"Don't ever change." He begged. I couldn't help but feel guilty for being the reason he was so different in the future.
"How did Zachariah find you?" Cas asked.
"Long story." Dean replied. "Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?" he pulled out his phone and I leaned a little closer to Cas.
"Human spies." I whispered.
"Oh." Castiel breathed, worried now. "What are you doing?" he asked Dean who was now speed dialling Sam.
"Something I should have done in the first place." Dean replied. I leaned back towards Cas.
"He's calling Sam to make amends." I whispered. Cas looked down at me.
"Something's changed in you." He noted. I looked up into his blue eyes and remembered that forceful kiss; the one that had my heart racing then and now. My advice from future me had been to distance myself from those closest to me. I leaned away again, wondering if I should follow it.
"I received a little clarity, that's all." I replied. In honesty, the person I really wanted to see was Sam.
Dean was leaning against the Impala, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on me. I wandered aimlessly around in front of him, kicking up dirt and rocks. Every now and then I'd find a rock large enough to hurl at the fence around the dam.
I had filled Dean in on everything I knew and that he didn't about our visit to the future, minus the bit where Castiel and I had been a couple or that Nate and I still were. He was sad to hear about Nate's death. He was shocked to find out that future me killed Cas without a second thought, oh and the other three soldiers including Risa. It unnerved him as much as it unnerved that in the future I became so emotionless and distant.
"But it's okay, we're changing that right now." I added. "Plus, I'm really going to try and work on the whole 'controlling my emotions/powers' thing." I looked over at him. "I won't let it control me."
"You did push Zach back, all on your own." Dean commented proudly. "That's progress on its own." He was trying to make me feel better.
"Look at you being all brotherly." I smiled, knocking his foot with mine.
"Well someone should be." He replied. "I mean, future me was such a dick to you." He commented.
"I managed." I replied, remembering I was on the way to self-healing. Dean stared out ahead.
"I swear, he looked like he was actually going to kill you." Dean's eyes met mine. "I can't imagine a world where I'd ever do that."
"He had reason." I pointed out, "I wasn't exactly sunshine. Attacking camps, blowing people up…" I was suddenly feeling hungry. "Hey, do we have any food?" I asked. Dean glanced back through the driver's window.
"No." he replied. "Can't you conjure something up with your twilight mojo?" He asked.
"Do you want to get our ass handed to you?" I asked.
"Keep dreaming ankle-biter." He replied, smiling to himself. The sound of a car approaching made me stand straight and almost bounce on the spot.
"He's here." I smiled. "Don't screw this up." I added as Sam stepped out of the car. Dean pushed himself off the Impala and walked forward. Sam looked well as he took in the both of us, his expression solemn.
"Sam." Dean welcomed him. I hung back, not sure how Dean was going to play this, after all, it was these two who needed to make up, not me. Dean pulled out Ruby's knife and Sam inched backward, looking at it nervously. Dean turned the blade and held it out to Sam. "If you're serious and you want back in..." he paused. "-you should hang on to this. I'm sure you're rusty."
Sam took the knife, unable to meet Dean's eyes.
"Look, man, I'm sorry." Dean apologised first and I felt the relief all around me. "I don't know. I'm...whatever I need to be. But I was, uh—wrong."
"What made you change your mind?" Sam asked. He looked like a child who was done being scolded and was now allowed to eat dinner with the rest of the family instead of being sent to bed early.
"Long story. The point is...maybe we are each other's Achilles heel." Dean replied. "Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got." He confessed. "More than that. We keep each other human."
"Thank you." Sam said sincerely. "Really. Thank you. I won't let you down."
"Oh, I know it." Dean replied. "I mean, you are the second-best hunter on the planet." Oh, that was a prod in my direction.
"Ranking yourself third there, Dean?" I asked. Sam smiled, looking over at me and Dean looked back at me with his eyebrows raised. "If you guys are done with your sob fest," I walked towards them and Dean shook his head slightly. "-I'd like to hug the gigantor." Dean shoved my head as I walked past him, prompting me to slap his hand away before colliding with Sam, who quickly moved the knife out of my path.
His arms went around me and I pinched him, causing him to flinch.
"That's for leaving me alone with teen drama over there." I nodded towards Dean. The expression on his face could have killed me alone. Sam chuckled, keeping his arm around me.
"So, what do we do now?" Sam asked.
"We make our own future." Dean answered.
"And we do it with style." I added. Dean sighed at me.
"Do you ever shut up?" he asked.
"I'll fight you right here, brother." I put my hands up and stepped towards Dean.
"Get in the car." Dean told me.
"You get in the car." I shot back.
"You have zero control." Dean told me, grabbing my arm and pushing me towards the Impala.
"Yeah…I know." I admitted. Sam smiled as he Dean walked behind me, side by side.
"Bet you didn't miss this." Dean told him, nodding at me as I spun dirt up with my feet. "Hey, watch my car!" his pace increased towards me.
I slipped in the back before he slit my throat.
Author's Note:
Hey guys, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Go ahead and review!
So, the next chapter will be my very first original! I'm working on it right now and aim to have it up in a weeks time. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I'd love to read your comments!
Also, to everyone who has reviewed, I am so very grateful! I have replied to all those readers with accounts but for those without... I'm sorry. I'll reply in the next chapter because at the moment, it is 5:30 AM and I am beat. Again, ENJOY!
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Emerald Princess 14
