Chapter 36
Sarah woke to a throbbing headache and her muscles so stiff she could barely move. Opening her eyes she realized that she was in the backseat of her car. Sitting there she worked at clearing the cob webs that seemed to be clouding her mind and tried to figure out what had happened. The last thing she remembered was talking with Sam. Fighting with Sam… No not Sam… an angel possessed Sam. Suddenly everything came back to her and she was shocked to still be alive. Jumping into the driver's seat she quickly grabbed her phone from the passenger seat and pulled up her tracking app.
"Well it looks like Dean finally decided to do something." She muttered to herself after noticing that both Dean and Sam's phones were at the same location. Tossing her phone back on the seat next to her she was shocked yet again, but this time seeing her angel blade laying on the seat. Scrunching her eyebrows together confused, she turned her car on and floored it.
Walking up to the abandoned building, Sarah immediately heard Sam's strangled screaming. Quickly she pulled out her gun and hurried up to the door. Peering in the door she silently made her way inside to see Crowley standing above Sam, messing with pins that were sticking out of Sam's head.
"HEY! Get your hands off of him, Asshat!" Sarah yelled out, aiming her gun at Crowley as she moved down the stairs.
"Sarah. Late to the party are we?" Crowley crooned, holding his hands up. "Yo squirrel, I could use some help out here."
Sarah inched forward, to get a better look and saw that Sam was tied to a chair and Crowley had an anti- demonic chain attached to his neck. She was about to ask what was going on when Dean walked into the room followed by Cas.
"What Crowley? You find anything usefu…" Dean asked, trailing off as he noticed Sarah standing nearby with her gun still raised at Crowley. "Seriously Sarah! How the hell do you keep finding us?"
"What the hell is going on? Why is Crowley out of the dungeon?" she countered.
Sighing, Dean said, "I'll explain once you put your gun away."
"What? Afraid she might shoot you after she hears the truth?" Crowley joked, earning a glare from Dean.
Sarah studied them for a moment, then put her gun away and followed Dean out of the room.
"Alright. Explain. Tell me how an angel managed to possess Sam." She instructed once they were alone.
"You know?" Dean asked surprised.
"We had a little run in earlier and I could tell. But what I don't know is how or why."
Dean sighed heavily and began telling her everything that had happened since the end of the trials. Sam almost dying. Accepting the help of who he thought was Ezekiel. Deceiving Sam into saying yes to Ezekiel just before Death could take him. Telling Cas he couldn't stay at the bunker because Ezekiel said he would leave if he didn't. Ezekiel becoming more and more demanding of secrecy. Eventually Ezekiel demanding that Sarah was getting too close and that she had to leave as well.
Dean talked fast, telling her everything that had happened. Leaving nothing out. But when he came to the events of the last day, he slowed, staring at the floor. Sarah could see the guilt pouring off of him. He told her of Cas calling. Ezekiel was dead. The angel had lied to Dean. He turned on Dean. Killed Kevin. Stole the tablets and took off. And finally finding out that the angel is Gadreel. The angel that let Lucifer in to the garden of he finished, he let out a long heavy breath before looking up at Sarah.
Sarah stood gripping a nearby chair. She was visibly shaking from anger.
"Sarah?" Dean called out tentatively. "Say..."
Dean was interrupted by her throwing the chair against the wall. She rounded on Dean. "You… Why… how… you… I… Kevin…" she spat, unable to form a sentence with how mad she was. She strode over to him and smacked him across the face. "Bastard." She turned to walk back to the other room and knelt down next to Sam, placing her hand on his.
"I didn't hear any gunfire. Should I assume Dean is still alive?"
"Shut up, Crowley, and do your job." She snapped at him.
"What no snappy comeback? I'm hurt. It's been so long since we've had a good sparing match. And I'm not gonna forget that you didn't visit me once during my stay at Casa de Winchester." Crowley feigned upset before one of his signature smirks appeared on his face.
In one fluid movement, Sarah grabbed her gun and shot Crowley in the leg.
"Oy! What the bloody hell was that?" he growled at her.
"Hey! What's going on?" Dean yelled as he hurried into the room.
"She shot me! She bloody shot me!" Crowley yelled at him.
"Anyone else want a new hole?" she asked harshly. "No? Then I suggest that everyone shut their cakeholes and you, Crowley, get back to work. Unless, you want me to shoot you some more. Cuz I have 5 mags on me, 3 of which were soaked in holy water and salt. And I would be more than happy to oblige." She sneered, still aiming at Crowley.
"Sarah put the gun down." Dean said cautiously as he slowly approached her. She responded by switching her aim to him and cocking the hammer. "Put that down or Cas will make you. The choice is yours."
Sarah slowly uncocked her gun and put it away, returning her attention back to Sam.
"Now, what's taking so long?" Dean asked Crowley.
"Other than Calamedy Jane and the fact that I'm trying to unravel a living, multidimensional knot of pure energy, not much." Crowley replied sarcastically.
Suddenly Sam gasped and came too.
"It won't work. You will never find your brother. Go ahead. Poke and prod. I can sit in this chair for years and watch you fail over and over again. I've endured much worse than this, Dean. So...much...worse. And I have all the time in the world." Gadreel swore, staring directly at Dean. Sarah tightened her grip on his hand, causing him to glance over at her confused but quickly returned his attention to Dean.
"Shut up! All right. Plan 'B.' Cas, you got to possess him."
"What?" Cas and Sarah asked.
"Do it now! Get in there, tell Sam what's going on, and help him kick that lying son of a bitch out!"
"Dean!" Sarah warned.
"It might work. But I can't possess a vessel without permission." Cas said over Sarah.
Crowley cleared his throat indiscreetly.
"No. Not happening." Dean said just as Sarah blurted out, "Hell no!"
"Don't be daft. Demons can take what they want. I can burrow into that rat's nest of a head. I can wake Sam up. Just call me plan 'C.'" Crowley persuaded.
"You can't…" Cas started to say.
"...you got a better idea?" Dean asked. When he didn't get an answer from Sarah or Cas, he looked to Crowley, "What about the angel?"
"I'll work fast."
"And if he finds you?" Dean asked.
"I'll run. I'm not dying for you lot. Of course, if I do this, you're gonna have to..."
"Take off the leash. Yeah, I know."
"And it stays off. I save Sam, I leave here a free man. Do we have a deal?"
"Over my dead body." Sarah responded as she stood up but keeping her hold on Sam's hand.
"That can be arranged!" Crowley snapped back.
Sarah moved to pull her gun out again but Dean saw and caught her arm. "Enough. Sarah. Enough. This is our only option. Get with the program or get out."
Sarah glared at him before pulling her arm from his grasp and kneeling back down next to Sam.
"Cas, burn off Sam's tattoo." Dean instructed.
"Dean."
"Do it. Do it." Dean commanded. Cas walked over to Sam and pulled his collar away enough to remove Sam's anti-possession tattoo off. "If you mess with Sam, if you try anything…"
"I keep my bargains. Besides, I don't want to be inside your brother any longer than I have to. I'm not one for sloppy seconds." Crowley replied.
"When you find him, say 'Poughkeepsie.' It's our go word. It means 'drop everything and run.'" Dean explained as he unlocked Crowley's restraints.
"Fine. While I'm gone, hands off the suit." Crowley replied smugly.
"I will destroy you." Gadreel said, glaring at Crowley.
"Eat me." Crowley retorted before a red smoke escaped his mouth and flew into Sam's.
They waited a few tense moments before Dean started pacing.
"A demon and an angel walk into my brother. Sounds like a bad joke." Dean joked.
"Dean, if this doesn't work..." Cas started.
"It'll work." Dean interrupted, not wanting to think of the alternative.
Sarah looked up and studied Dean for a moment. She could see everything on his face. His worry. His guilt. His own self-loathing. Tears started to fill her eyes again, making her even more angry at the whole situation. He betrayed her in every way possible, she shouldn't care how he felt. She shouldn't. But somehow she did.
Without warning, Sam started moving under her grasp causing her to return her focus back on to him. She watched as he jerked around in the sit a little before a white smoke left his body and flew out of the room, making Dean and Cas jump out of its way. Then Crowley's red smoke left Sam and returned to Crowley's body.
Sam gasped as he returned to consciousness.
"Sam?!" Sarah cried out, standing up and cupping his cheek with her hand.
"Sam! Cas?" Dean yelled out, as he and Cas rushed to Sam's side.
"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Crowley retorted indignantly.
"Sam, are you okay?" Cas asked as he removed the pins from his forehead.
"Cas?" Sam asked wearily.
They see headlights flash through the window. Cas hurried over to see who it was as Sarah and Dean worked to uncuff Sam.
"It's Abaddon." Cas replied.
"Go. The back door. I'll handle this." Crowley informs them.
"Oh, 'cause you're such a good guy?" Dean quipped.
"Right now, I'm the goodest guy you got." Crowley replied, motioning to the door.
"This don't make us square. I see you again…" Dean said.
"I'm dead. Yes, I know. I love you, too." Crowley replied smugly. Sarah glared at Crowley as she went to open the door so Dean and Cas could help Sam outside.
Once outside, they helped Sam into the impala and then all took off in their cars. They drove for a while before pulling over near a bridge. Cas took Sam aside to start looking at his injuries.
"You feel better?" Cas asked him, after using his healing abilities.
"A little, yeah." Sam replied.
"It'll take time to fully heal you. We'll have to do it in stages." Cas replied. "Like I did with Sarah."
Sam nodded his head in agreement but kept looking unsteadily at Dean. Dean approached Sam wearily. Cas backed away to stand next to Sarah, who was leaning against one of the cars.
"All right. Let me hear it." Dean stated.
"What you do want me to say - that I'm pissed? Okay. I am. I'm pissed. You lied to me. Again." Sam replied.
"I didn't have a choice."
"I was ready to die, Dean!" Sam growled out. Sarah gasped at that revelation.
"I know. But I wouldn't let you, because that's not in me." Dean replied.
"So, what? You decide to trick me into being possessed by some... psycho angel?"
"He saved your life."
"So what? I was willing to die. And now... Kevin..." Sam questioned, his eyes filling with guilt.
"No. That is not on you. Kevin's blood is on my hands, and that ain't ever getting clean. I'll burn for that. I will. But I'll find Gadreel. And I will end that son of a bitch. But I'll do it alone." Dean replied strongly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam countered.
"Come on, man. Can't you see? I'm... I'm poison, Sam. People get close to me, they get killed...or worse. You know, I tell myself that I-I - I help more people than I hurt. And I tell myself that I'm - I'm doing it all for the right reasons, and I - I believe that. But I can't - I won't... Drag anybody through the muck with me. Not anymore." Dean vowed.
"Go. I'm not gonna stop you." Sam responded. Dean's face fell in defeat and surrender. He glanced over at Cas and Sarah then slowly turned to walk away. "But don't go thinking that's the problem, 'cause it's not."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked without turning around.
"Just go." Sam states.
Dean lingered for a moment, throwing another glance behind him.
"You heard him. Go." Sarah stated.
Dean slowly got into the impala and drove away.