Author's Note:

Wow! Thanks guys :D For those of you who don't already know I drew/painted Jet in photoshop and posted it on my deviantART and tumblr. Link to his direct picture is in my profile in the characters I draw for fics section. All who want to know what he looks like, now you can figure it out ;)

Fallout: Part 7

Dean, Sam, and Castiel strolled up to the encampment; it was dark with the sun barely rising in the distance. Cas covered his mouth as a yawn crept up through his throat, he was tired and exhausted from walking forever but he was trying to keep that part to himself. Dean glanced back his way and chuckled a little, "It's still too weird to see you like this."

"What do you mean?" Cas was taken aback by the comment, it was more his line to say about Dean than Dean to him considering one of them was sort of undead.

"I see him up ahead there, you'll see in a second." Dean's pace quickened, Dogmeat right on his heels. "Cas!" He called out and watched his partner's arm lift to wave.

"What to you so fucking long?" Castiel was quick to scowl, his tone vicious. "There's been an emergency on this end and you're just wandering in like nothing's happening."

"I love you too," Dean smirked as he walked directly up to the other, and for a moment the priest thought that this other Castiel was going to do something crazy. He wasn't sure why but the look of his opposing self was so much different than his own it was almost scary. He looked violent, rough around the edges, and a bit like a terrorizer. But instead the raider relaxed his shoulders and made a face, though very subtle, that Cas would never mistake. It was the expression he usually made for family and loved ones, the ones he cared for most and despite being angry or whatever he was feeling toward them that expression would always seep through in some way. It was a bit comforting to know some of his personality was present in this one too, though at the same time it meant that he was also capable of such a frightening persona.

"You're late." Raider Cas said again as they hugged, resting his head against Dean's for a longer period of time than the priest thought he would have. "You okay?"

"I'm fine, just ran into another you out there." Dean nuzzled his Castiel's cheek, "What emergency?"

"We got another you, another Sam, and another Jet in here. The emergency is with them actually," the raider looked over at his counterpart, "They need you."

Castiel bristled and stiffened at once, "Where are they? What happened?"

Instead of telling however, the other Castiel led them to the medical building where Dean had been sitting with his unconscious family. He looked up and his face brightened at the sight of his partner, "Cas! Cas you're okay!" He didn't know he'd feel so relieved, he didn't know how scared he'd been until he saw Cas again. Dean pulled him into a hug immediately, holding tightly and refusing to let go even when Cas tugged backward a little.

"Dean, we need to-"

"Just… give me this, okay? Please, just let me…"

Castiel stopped and dropped his head against Dean's shoulder like he'd seen the other him do. It was a relief to see his partner, he was very glad that Dean was alive but that didn't mean he wasn't worried about Sam and Jet. The two were unconscious and he had a few theories on what it could be. Some were more pressing with time and he just hoped he wasn't too late already. "Dean… I'm sorry I worried you." He spoke softly, running his hand up and down Dean's back soothingly, "But right now we need to save your brothers."

"You know Jet's not my brother," Dean stepped back, leaving room for Cas to approach and inspect the situation.

"And you know that he is." Castiel said as he passed, going to Jet's side first. From what he could tell Jet was the one in need of help and therefore more likely to be the victim of whatever void monster they were dealing with. "What happened to Sam?"

"Some black thing came out of Jet and sucked something out of Sam." Dean furrowed his brow and shook his head, "I couldn't… I couldn't do anything. Even with this magic it doesn't matter, I don't know what to do with it."

"It's okay, Dean. The magic comes with time, I'm glad you didn't try to do anything with this anyway. From what I understand, this thing requires a more delicate hand than you're capable of."

"What is it?"

Cas curled his bottom lip in to bite it gently as he thought, a number of names running through his mind but only one he knew of would do what Dean had described. "Anima."

Dean furrowed his brow and looked to his brother as Cas quickly stepped around him. "What does it do?"

"I'm assuming you didn't look at Sam's journal, hm?" the priest replied without so much as a glance at his partner, who all but sulked about the question.

"Well… no, not really. I dunno, I didn't think of it. I was panicking, okay? Sam was fine and then he wasn't and I didn't know where you were-"

"Calm down," Cas spoke softly, "We can fix this, an anima is a spirit type monster that seeps into the mind of someone's who been injured cranially and is rendered unconscious. It nests there, disconnects them from their body and traps them in their own head."

"That's what happened to Jet?"

"Yes. The anima feeds on memory and emotion, during the process the victim will see the memories as they pass and sometimes feel the emotions. The anima has been known to come face to face with its host, if it does that person is often frozen for a period of time as the anima feeds off their direct feeling of fear. There are different types of anima, some of them like to take their time and others prefer to hurry through their meal. If the host is difficult to deal with it will bring in the nearest person to use as a puppet to distract the host, which is why I believe Sam was taken in. From what I know Jet isn't the easiest of people to manipulate."

"So it's trying to use Sam to trip Jet up?" Dean almost wanted to laugh at that. He watched as Castiel started to lift Sam out of his chair and move him to Jet's bed. "And what are you doing that for?"

"I'm assuming that Sam's just as hard to control, so I doubt that's an issue. And I'm trying to get as much contact between them as possible. After we diffuse the anima it'll very suddenly let go of the extra victim, at that point the consciousness of the other person will go to the nearest body. We have a much greater chance of getting Sam back after if he's in as much contact with Jet as possible." Cas grunted a little as he struggled to angle Sam right; the deadweight was difficult to maneuver and was starting to piss him off.

Dean walked over and helped angle his brother to be a little more comfortable for both Sam and Jet. "How long until this anima is done feeding, and what happens?"

"I don't know how long, each anima is different as I said," Cas placed a hand on Jet's forehead, a pale light flickering where their skin touched. "But when it is finished it drains the consciousness entirely. The host is emptied and left as a shell, some wake up; others fall into comas for the rest of eternity. The ones that wake are nothing more than mindless bodies, their conscience is gone, their spirit, emotions, memories, all of what makes them human."

Dean felt panic arch through again, the thought of his brother winding up in a coma from this or worse, a zombie taking its course. "What can we do?"

"Well now that I have a second priest with me we can go inside. Place two fingers his temple and your thumb over his forehead like mine."

Obediently Dean listened, Jet's forehead felt cold and a little clammy to touch. It was a little scary but he knew that Castiel had a handle on the situation; he was so calm and collected that it didn't seem to bother him at all. He had to make a mental not to ask Cas how he'd known what to do in that situation. There had been so many times where Cas just knew what to do with his magic while Dean fumbled around helplessly with his own.

And while it seemed important to ask he knew that they didn't have the time just then. The same light that glimmered beneath Castiel's palm appeared under his own, he could feel the energy in his arm and it was electrifying. The same magic he didn't know what to do with just activated on its own, like his mind knew what it was supposed to do without him consciously aware of it.

Just as easily as it had started it ended. Among all the new sensations and feelings he suddenly felt nothing, like he'd been completely disconnected from himself. His entire body tingled on and off like a wave, at the same time it felt like gravity was looping around him and increasing in force. He didn't like it at all; it confused him as to which way was up and with his eyes closed he really didn't have a clue. It wasn't new but it wasn't something he was aware he'd ever experienced if he had. It was a mixture of everything that he knew was comfortable and everything that made him anxious, like his body wasn't used to breathing.

"Cas?" He called out, his voice distant to him. He could barely hear anything and when he realized that his eyes were in fact open but he couldn't see either he started to feel claustrophobic. But it all stopped. Everything halted and he found himself standing in a corridor with a light shining at the end. "What the hell was that?!"

"The transfer, we're now inside Jet's head. As priests we are physically present here so be careful." Castiel strode forward somewhat cautiously, heading straight for the light. He glanced around them as if expecting something to come out at them.

"Cas where are you going? Do you know where they are?" Dean hurried after his partner's footsteps, worry only rising inside him. He still didn't know where Sam or Jet had gone or if they'd even find them. Constantly concerned for his brother's safety wasn't exactly a relaxing pastime.

"The anima sucks everything to the center of its host's mind, where the connection of the host's humanity to their spirit lives. In the center is where it starts the draining process, and by the looks of these walls it has already started." As Cas spoke Dean realized that everything around them was moving, even the ground below, all toward the light. "Therefore I'm heading toward the center along with the rest of it."

If the strange substance around them was already moving to the center it meant that Jet was already being drained, that Jet's and Sam's spirits were about to be or already had been devoured. Dean pushed past Cas to run to the center, he didn't need to really say why he was going and if Castiel's silence had been anything to go by, his partner knew the reason as well. Not that Cas didn't have his objections to Dean running into unknown territory, but he knew to keep them to himself.

The light beyond the corridor signified Dean was close to the end and though he thought he was prepared for anything he quickly realized that what he was seeing didn't quite count. The doorway opened to the deepest part of Jet's self and it was enormous, at least as big as a football stadium. He was standing on a ledge just like several all around the perimeter, all barely safe from the rushing ooze that drained toward the center. A center that looked like it was hundreds of yards down from where he stood. It sounded like he was standing next to a waterfall, the room was extremely loud and on top of that it made him feel entirely too small.

Dean didn't know where to look first; the room was too big to see something as small as another person on the other side. "SAM!" He screamed as loud as he could and to his immediate relief he heard a response.

"Dean!"

"There," Castiel was at his side already and pointing to their right, one ledge away Sam was standing with his arms entirely wrapped up in a rope that was pulled tight off the other side of his outcropping.

"What are you doing?" Dean motioned to the rope without much use for words at that moment, he was so relieved and still terrified because Sam wasn't safe yet. "You'll fall in!"

"That's what I keep saying!" Jet's voice called out from past Sam, filling Dean in on a detail or two of the situation.

"Shit…" Cas took a step or two back, angling properly as he judged the distance between their ledges. "We'll need to jump over to them, the anima knows we're here and it'll speed up the process very soon."

Moments after he'd spoken the dark substance started rushing to the middle faster and faster, swirling and crashing together. Sam had just taken Jet's hand but the current ripped them away from the safety of his platform. A sharp cry escaped Sam's mouth when he felt airborne for a few seconds before he felt the thick fluid all around him. Luckily for him Dean and Castiel had already made the leap, Dean catching hold of Sam's ankle while Cas already had a firm grip on the back of Dean's coat.

The trail of men jerked to a stop as Castiel ground his feet and braced himself, holding onto Dean as tightly as he could. The force of the current mixed with the weight of the three he was holding up meant that Cas had needed every ounce of strength he had to keep them in one place. He grit his teeth and started to pull them in, the only one with his feet still on solid ground.

Jet coughed out the ooze that managed to get into his mouth and looked up to see Sam's scrunched face. His jaw was clenched and eyes squeezed shut as he concentrated past the pain and stress that he was being bombarded with. "Just let go, Sam!" Jet shouted for what Dean knew must've been the hundredth time.

"You know I won't!" Sam glared back at him, "So stop telling me to!"

"Goddamn it." Jet laughed and shook his head, "You're seriously going to make me a murderer, aren't you?"

"How did he even get you to grab the rope with that attitude?" Dean called down to his best friend with a bit of a chuckle.

"Said he'd jump in himself if I didn't grab it."

"Sounds like Sam."

"Would you guys at least shut up!?" Cas growled down at them just before the anima's beady-eyed face formed out of the substance beside their ledge and lunged at Castiel. The priest snapped a hand up just in time to catch the thing's face, holding it at bay for a second. He could feel Dean and the other's slipping, his legs barely holding out against the strain. Cas looked at the shrieking thing and squeezed a little as his palm started to flicker again, keeping it from disappearing on him.

Dean looked back to see Castiel glowing again, his eyes lit up and that same magically energy flowed around him like controlled air. It sparked every now and then as he started to chant something Dean kind of understood. It was a banishing spell, or a seal of some kind. Whatever it was Cas knew it by heart and it was starting to affect the entire room. "Hold on Sammy! It's gonna get rough."

"This isn't bad enough!?" Sam cried, trying to hold onto Jet. He was scared, scared because it was too easy to lose him. If Jet wanted to he could just let go and there'd be nothing Sam could do about it. "Promise me," He squeezed Jet's hand and caught the other man's attention. "Promise you won't give up."

Jet stared at him for a moment before letting one hand go and reaching a little higher to get a better hold for himself, "I promise, I said I'd keep you safe didn't I?" He smiled a little and despite the fact that the room was starting to shake more violently than any amusement park ride Sam had ever been on, Sam felt so much better.

Castiel's body tensed for a second before he let go of Dean entirely, both hands forcing the face he held into a disconnected shape from the rest of its mass. He spoke so quickly and his hands moved in such a way that the light trailed behind, making something in its wake. The room shook and spun on its own as everything that the anima had destroyed reformed itself, a light flashed through the area several times, each time getting brighter and brighter until it never stopped.

Jet pulled hard on Sam to bring them closer together and wrapped his arms around the other. He had no idea what was going on but protecting Sam had been his goal originally and it hadn't ever stopped. He remembered Castiel's words the first time, 'If you all die don't come crying to me… Right, but if Sam does and you don't I don't want to hear about it.' "Not giving up on you." He grit his teeth and held on for all he was worth, despite the torrential force trying to tear them all apart.

Dean held tight to his brother's leg though that was all he'd managed to get a hold of, he looked back as the light consumed the room, seeing that it was all originating from Castiel who hadn't stopped floating but had arched back further than was normal with the anima still clenched in his hand. His body looked so stiff and tense it couldn't have been natural. "CAS!" He could hear himself shouting above the sound of the shrieking and the rumbling but it still wasn't loud enough.

The flash ended and everything once again came to a sudden halt. Dean stumbled to the ground, his eyes wide as his body shook from the vast difference of pressure. "Cas!" He choked out the name as he spun around, seeing Castiel's form laid out on the floor. "CAS! Fuck, what keeps happening to you!?"

"I'm okay," Castiel groaned as Dean scrambled to prop him up, "I'm alright."

"What was that? Your magic almost always knocks you out."

Cas looked up at him like he was ready to answer but instead he fell limp again. Dean cursed under his breath and lifted him up to put on an empty bed nearby. Cas often had to rest after big magical blowouts like that, where he completely obliterated the monster they were dealing with all on his own. It wasn't new, Dean reminded himself as he went to check on Sam, remembering the possibility of Sam not making it back to his own body.

However he was met by a smile, Sam was laughing softly against Jet before he started to push himself up. "We almost died."

"Yeah, you find that funny?" Jet raised an eyebrow at him, still wincing at the pain from his previous beating.

"A little. You're more dramatic than you let on- whoa!" Sam flailed a little as Jet shoved him off entirely

"Shut up!"

"You're alright," Dean sighed, relieved over all. "Thank god…"

"Is Cas okay?" Sam asked as he stood, looking over at the other bed.

"Just resting."

"This happens to him a lot, huh?" Jet nudged Sam's shoulder, "Check the book now, see if there's anything in there on this kind of thing."

"You know I barely got it a few days ago, I have no idea where to start."

"Anywhere. Start anywhere."