Finally, finally done with this arc! Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed it, I really have but there are so many things I want to do past this point so it's nice to finally be able to wrap it all up.

Goodbye, season 7. You will always be remembered as one long, confusing dick joke.

Chapter 21: End of a Reign

There was an ominous mood over the cabin as it was decided just what to do next. With the Leviathans taking the face of their leader, it was going to be difficult to take out the right one. At best they had a one to three chance of getting the right guy. Better odds then they'd had at the start of the mess, but it was hardly good enough to go forward. They needed a way to be sure.

"Mind explaining to me why you two turned around and ran over Wonder Girl?" Meg asked, sipping on a beer. "She was out cold. You could have easily left her alone for thirty minutes to finish the job."

"Shut up, Meg," Dean muttered. He was starting to get sick of her smart ass comments.

"Dick made more Dicks," Sam explained. "He must have kept a piece of the original Dick Roman somewhere. They'd all have to touch it."
Dean glanced over at Cas, the angel looking worried as he washed the dishes.

"Hey. Cas, you okay?" he asked him gently.

"Do we need a cat?" the angel asked. "Doesn't this place feel one species short?"

The hunter took a deep breath and counted to ten. Not exactly his style, but he was trying to take a different approach to this whole thing. He'd been tense and high strung for a while now and it was not helping anything. What could he say? It'd been a bad couple of days.

Hell, it had been a bad year.

It had been a bad life.

He had two choices. He could continue on in a surly mood, yell at everyone and stay pissed, or he could try to help the man he promised to help and with luck the gentle approach would work.

"Cas, if you have an idea what can help us here, we'd love to hear it," he encouraged. "Crowley seemed to be under the impression you could help us out. Now we tried to do it once without you, but if you have anything that can-"

"I can't help!" Cas snapped, his voice somewhere between angry and panicked. "Don't you understand? I can't. I destroyed… everything and I will destroy everything again. Can we please just leave it at that?"

Count to ten. Calm down. Don't start yelling again…

"Cas," he said, determined to keep his cool. "Look, I get it. It's damn scary when you make a mistake that big. You think you can't go on. We've all done it. There is no one in this room that didn't have a hand in almost ending the world once."

"Yeah, that wasn't a mistake on my part," Meg pipped in.

He was going to shoot that bitch one day, he really was going to do it.

"The point is..." he snarled before taking a deep breath. "I know you're scared. I was scared once too. After you had me question… torture Alastair, and I found out about the first seal… Come on, man. You remember how broken I was, don't you? I wanted to stop too. I wanted to quit, but I couldn't. We had to keep going. You can't quit either."

The angel looked thoughtful for a second before approaching him.

"You know, we should play Twister," he replied sagely before he was suddenly gone.

"Good effort. The execution could have used a little work," the demon laughed. "Kind of cute, watching you be all kid's gloves with him."

"Meg, if you don't have anything helpful to contribute," Sam started, but the demon only smirked and blew him a kiss.

"How about this, smart guys? Has it occurred to either of you idiots that those things were inside of Castiel, riding around inside of him during his little crusade? He knows them. He can see past the meat suits."

"So he'll be able to spot the real… fake Dick Roman," Sam surmised.

"Gold star, sugarpants," she snarked before rolling her eyes. "Took you long enough. I can't believe you guys once outsmarted me enough to send me to Hell."

"Yeah, and that wasn't a mistake either," Dean told her with a grin.

"Hey, I was the one she got into in order to murder people. If I can stand her being around, you can, Dean," Sam stated before sighing. "So what do we do?"

They all looked over when Castiel returned, plastic mat out on the floor as he cheerfully spun a dial.

"I'll take care of this," he said before he walked over to the angel. "Hey, listen, you want to go hit a library? I got some errands I need to run. Might be fun. What do you say?"

"A library?" the angel asked.

"Yeah. Been thinking about something I'd like to go pick up since last night. Come on. We can talk. Not the end of the world. Just something pleasant. What do you say?"

Castiel hesitated for a second before nodding, seemingly liking the idea.

"Sam, go check on Emma. Bring her a sandwich or something. We'll be back later on," he told his brother before hearing the angel out of the cabin.

It was a couple hours when they came back, a few bags in hand that Dean laid aside next to the door.

"What, you went shopping?" Sam asked as he came back inside. "For what?"

"Just a few things I wanted to pick up," Dean replied. "Reading material mostly."

"You picked up porn? Now?"

"Actually, that would have been a good idea. Should have thought of that," he mused before shaking his head. "No, other stuff. Look, doesn't matter right now. Sam, I don't think Cas is going to help us. We could demand he does it, guilt trip him, yell some but I think it's a lost cause."

"You're taking it kind of well," his brother noted.

"No, I'm not," he replied seriously. "I'm not, Sammy. I mean, as far as I know he's never getting better. He might be like this forever, but… he's here. Even if his brain is off somewhere else most of the time, he's still here. That's better than it was at the start of this. I couldn't take him being gone. It was killing me. No sense in denying it. Seeing him like this, I hate it, but if it's all I get then I'll take it over nothing any day. So I'm not okay, but I gotta be there for him because I won't lose him again."

Sam stared at him for a second before scoffing a little.

"How did you not know about the thing between you two for so long?" he asked.

"Shut up," he said, kicking his brother's feet. "Is Emma awake?"

"She was about an hour ago. I made sure she ate and she can move without wincing now. By tomorrow she should be about one hundred percent," he replied.

"Good. I'm going to go talk to her," he said as he grabbed one of the bags. "Thought she might like a gift."

"Dean," Sam said suddenly, looking a little concerned. "Uh… are you, alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're just acting… I dunno. Just this whole attitude. It's just kind of… calm for you," he stated. "Honestly it's a little freaky."

"Was it better when I was yelling?"

"Ehh, I guess I'm on the fence about it," Sam replied. "I just figured you'd be more road ragey. Not that I'm saying you should be but it feels like you should be snapping right now."

He had to admit, there was a point there. It wasn't that Dean wasn't a mess of emotions up in his head, it's just he felt like he needed to try to do better. Looking at it logically, they could all be dead soon if they screwed this up. Did he really want his last memories to be acting abrasive or did he want some last moments of comfort?

"I'll be back in a bit," he said before he made his way to the bedroom.

The Amazon was in bed, sitting up and looking out the window. True to what Sam had said, she did look better. More rested, less crying her eyes out.

"Hey, kid," he said as he approached and sat down at the end of the bed. "Feeling bored yet?"

"I've mostly been sleeping," she answered as she turned to him. "Um… Father… I was thinking about before, when I was… uh..."

She flushed a bit, clearly embarrassed. He decided to throw her a lifeline, to try and help her out.

"Emma, remember the first time I introduced you to Styx?" he asked her. "On that mixed tape of mine?"

"Yes. Come Sail Away," she said. "I should listen to the whole album sometime. What was it, Grand Illusion or something?"

"Ah, don't bother. It's got this whole deep, sad feeling to most of the tracks," he said with a shake of his head. "Miss America is decent though. Kind of thing you can move to. Anyway, the reason I'm asking is, well remember when I told you I didn't actually know that much about Greek mythology? Not exactly true on my part. Here."

He held out a thick book for her, the cover worn and the corners fraying a little bit, held mostly together by a wrap of plastic and tape with a barcode on the spine. He'd had to go to three different libraries before he'd found a copy that he'd wanted.

"The Odessey," he informed her. "1985 printing edition. I read this ages ago. Well, not this specific one, but the same edition. Cracked it open when Sam was in college. He was doing this higher learning crap, so I thought, hey, why not see what all the fuss was about."

She stared down at it, not saying anything, and Dean was starting to wonder if he'd somehow messed up.

"Ah, yeah. Like I said, I read it myself so I thought you might… you know… like it. I mean, yeah it's technically a sequel to a book called the Illiad so it might be better read after this after that one. Guess I should have gotten that too. I just thought you'd like it and… uh… You know, cause of Greek stuff and I read it too and… I mean it's a library book but I figured you could just keep it cause, I mean, people just keep books from the library all the time anyway."

"This is for me?" she asked him softly.

"Yeah, that's the point," he said. "I thought you'd like it."

She hugged the book to her chest and shook her head.

"I love it. It's wonderful. Thank you, Father. I'll treasure it forever. I just wasn't expecting a gift from you," she confessed.

"Well, you know, wanted to get you something nice," he said, relieved. For a moment he'd been worried she'd start crying again. "Something to keep you occupied when I'm gone, you know?"

She nodded her head.

"Yeah, that makes sense," she replied. "You'll be going to the Leviathans soon, won't you?"

"That's the idea."

"Any plans on how to win?"

"No clue. You ask me, God should have known better than to make the damn things in the first place," he scoffed. "You ask me, the deities can freaking shove it. Hell, that whole book you got explains that really well. Those guys, yeah they will never give a damn about us. Luckily, we're tenacious little bastards."

He got up and ruffled her hair, giving her a smile.

"Don't worry, Emma. I'm going to do my best. With luck we might even win," he told her before he made his way out.

"Father!" she called suddenly, causing him to pause.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Can you send Uncle in here?" she asked him. "I… I'm still kind of hungry and he makes really good ham sandwiches."

"Sure," he said.

He passed along the message to his brother before he sat down and popped open the laptop, trying to see if he could do something to figure this all out. They'd gotten lucky before. Maybe some other solution would pop up.

By the time it was dark and he was starting to think he had a better chance of falling asleep and then just having a dream with an answer. Hour after hour of footage of Dick Roman and he wasn't any closer to figuring out how they were going to be able to tell the difference between the three.

"There's no real point in trying to look for a tell. They all downloaded Dick's brain. They all have the same tells," he said to Sam as his brother paced around, clearly no closer to a solution than he was.

"Then maybe the question is, what would the real Dick be doing?" his brother asked.

"Is that the best you can do?" a worn and tired voice asked, causing them both to turn suddenly to see Bobby in the room. "Idjits."

"Bobby," Sam breathed out. "We didn't know-"

"Well, you should have. You still have the flask," Bobby sighed out before glancing over at Dean. "I feel like I should scold you for not burning it yet, but I got no room to talk after what I did. Taking Emma like that..."

"Bobby," Dean said softly. "I… that was..."

"No, I get it. There's no excuse. Don't try to think of one for me," he said. "If you want to tear into me, you should. I deserve it. All the times I've talked about family and here I go and worry you like that, damn near got her killed. It wouldn't be any different than if I'd grabbed either of you. You can't tell me you ain't mad, Dean."

He frowned a bit before nodding his head.

"I am," he admitted. "I'm pissed, but what am I even supposed to say?"

"He wasn't in his right mind. He didn't mean it."

The three looked up to the doorway to see Emma there, leaning up against the door frame. She gently pushed herself off of it, walking over to Bobby. Her expression was wary, but she didn't stop until she was standing right in front of him.

"I… I was awake for a lot of it," she said softly. "But… there were times I kind of… I don't know, I guess faded out? Like I was dreaming or something. I saw some stuff, like I was in the place of someone else. There was this fight with a woman about having kids… and day in a park throwing a ball with a little boy before a phone call with a voice on the line, saying something about not being their dad… and other stuff… like a movie night, and another woman with a man who was hitting her and..."

She bit her bottom lip and drifted off for a second as Dean looked between the two of them. He didn't know what she was talking about, but Bobby had an expression on his face torn between hurt and understanding.

"I saw what you did to save her, and what you gave up to try and save Father and Uncle. I know what you did, it was to try to save me too. You got me out there after I screwed up. Maybe after you got distracted but I know you care about family and..." she said before she wiped at her eyes and smiled at him. "I know what you'd do for family. That wasn't you before, not really. I just wanted to say I get it and I forgive you. I'm sorry I ever put you in the situation you had to do that to keep me from getting killed. I should have been smarter."

"Kid… Damn, you're the spitting image of him when he was your age," he said, forcing himself to smile too. "Boys, get the flask."

"Bobby," Sam tried. "This can still work."

"No, no it can't," he replied. "I damn near killed Dean and used her to do it. It's what ghosts turn into. I really bet the farm I could outsmart that."

"What's it feel like?" Dean asked softly.

"What? Going vengeful? It's an itch you can't scratch out. Look, I'm done. Go get Dick, but don't do it thinking it'll scratch the itch. Do it because it's the job, and when it's your time… go."

The three collected what they needed, going down to the basement to say their goodbyes. Dean almost didn't let Emma make her way down the stairs, but he had to admit she had the right to see him off too. She leaned on him as they lit the fire and put the flask in, watching in silence as Bobby left them again.

"Is it always this hard?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," Sam replied softly. "Yeah, it is."

"How do you move on?"

"Try to keep living for them," Dean told her. "Hope you do something that can make them proud."

He turned to go back upstairs before he noticed Castiel of all people, sitting on the stairs and watching them. What was he doing here? Had he been showing his respects?

"Sam, get Emma back off to bed," he said before walking up to him. There was still one other thing he had to do, and they were down to the wire. It was now or never. "Cas, I need a wingman."

"Dean..."

"It's not that. You don't want to jump in the jaws of death, I get that. It's just one last errand before tomorrow," he assured him. "We're getting my baby."

Understanding seemed to cross the angel's expression before he nodded and place a hand to Dean's forehead, taking him to where he wanted to go. He looked around, glad they were at the right place, seeing his Impala under a dusty tarp, safe and sound.

"Thanks for the ride," he told him. "Thanks for everything. I know it's been tough, but you've been helpful for a lot of this. I appreciate it."

"Dean, if this is about going to Dick-"

"Actually, it's not," he cut him off. "It's about something entirely different. It's about something that I didn't know existed, or maybe I did and I didn't want to admit it. It's not like I don't have a habit of not always understanding what you mean. Heck, all the way back in the gas station, fresh out of Hell and running from you, couldn't understand a word you were saying. You've always been big and powerful, yet kind of endearing in this weird little way of yours. I mean, you threw away Heaven for me, killed your brothers and sisters for me. How could I not see how you were feeling?"

"Dean, what are you saying?"

"Look, I might die tomorrow," he replied. "I might lose this chance so I have to say it now. I need you, okay? I need you in my life, by my side. I want to be able to be lucky enough to have this life as long as possible and know you're here with me and not just as another soldier in the fight, but as… as..."

"I'm not good luck, Dean," the angel replied before Dean decided to just do it. He stepped forward and took the angel's face in his hands, pulling him close and pressing their foreheads together. For a second Castiel tensed up before slowly relaxing in his grip.

"I'm bad at this. I know I am. I couldn't with Lisa, and I don't really know how to do the whole relationship thing but I want you to be there for me. I want to be there for you too," he breathed softly. "It'll probably never be normal. We'll probably hurt each other a ton figuring it out. Hell, I don't even know if it would be weird to call myself a boyfriend or if we have something more than that, or different, because really you don't even have a body that isn't yours and my ideas of dates is to ask girls to sit on my lap for fifteen minutes. I know though I want something more than before, and I want to acknowledge it exists, not just pussyfoot around it thinking we both know but just won't say it. Please just… please just tell me you want me too."

The intensity of Castiel's eyes had been gone for a while now, fogged over with insanity, and dulled out in a way Dean had hated. For a moment they sharpened, understanding filtering in the angel's expression as hands slowly crept up and traced over Dean's hands, cradling them in his own.

"I love you, Dean," he whispered.

It was all he needed to hear. That was enough, more than enough. He crushed him into a hug, clinging to him but also providing a pillar of strength for his angel. He would let the angel lean on him, take strength where he needed it, like he'd been able to do with him before. Somehow they'd make this work.

"This seems rather sudden for you," Cas noted, tracing his hands idly over the man's back in a way that made him feel rather warm. It felt pretty nice, and not just in a tickling in the special place kind of way.

Though that was definitely there too.

"Well, I'm probably going to die tomorrow," he admitted. "When else could I say it?"

"Well… I'll go with you," the angel said, causing Dean to pull away and look at him curiously. "As my lover, you deserve my best."

Dean coughed and shifted his hips a little. That was somehow even better than the gentle touching.

He smiled and pulled the tarp off the car, pulling Castiel with him, not wanting to let go of his hand. He didn't let go of it, even with the drive back, wanting to spend the time behind the wheel of the car instead of just teleporting right back. He ran his thumb over the back of the angel's hand, enjoying the feel of the wind in his hair as the cool night passed by through his open window, steering wheel in his other hand and finally feeling right with the world in a way he hadn't in a very long time.

And when they got back, he laid back on the couch to get some sleep, head on the angel's lap. The position was awkward and very much a chick flic thing, but he knew Cas wouldn't move from that spot in fear of disturbing him, and he was greedy for the contact for as long as he could have it.

"You gotta promise me one thing," he breathed out softly as he drifted off.

"Anything, Dean."

"Promise me you won't leave me again."

"I believe I can do that."

He grinned and fell asleep to that thought.

It wasn't until the next morning until he felt himself waking up, getting gently shaken. His eyes cracked open for a second, looking over at Emma kneeling down next to the couch, a small package wrapped up in newspaper in her hands.

"Emma?" he asked as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. "Where's Cas?"

"Off getting breakfast. I asked him if we could have a moment," she explained before she held the package. "It's uh… for you."

"Is this cause of the book?" he asked as he looked it over. "Emma, you didn't have to get me a gift. Where'd you even get something?"

"I made it. Uncle got me the stuff I needed," she explained.

Curious, he tore the paper off, seeing a necklace underneath it. It was a black nylon thread, looped and tied around two silver dollars that looked like they'd had small holes drilled near their edges.

"To get into Hades, the underworld, you have to buy passage," she explained. "A coin or two will do. I know this is goodbye, Father. I know where you want me, with Jody, and I know you don't have faith in gods. I do though, and I'd share it if I could. Whatever happens, I just want you to remember that, and I'm grateful you allowed me to ride along with you for so long in this life. Who knows, maybe my faith will do something for you."

He looked down at the necklace for a moment before he slipped it on over his head.

"I have faith, Emma," he informed her, "in my family."

He pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head.

"And just so you don't have any doubts, that includes you," he said.

Sam groaned out in pain as he rolled over on the floor of the lab, feeling like a horse had kicked in his skull. He'd been thrown across the room before Dean had gone at Dick, thrusting the bone inside of the monster. Watching in confusion the body started to shake, he threw an arm up to cover his face when it suddenly exploded, throwing black goo everywhere. When he lowered his arm, he was alone in the room, Dean and Castiel gone.

"Dean?" he asked as he pushed himself up. "DEAN!"

"Well, that is what happens when you take down a king. Usually requires a pawn or two."

He whipped around to see Crowley standing there, a grin on his face.

"You! What did you do to them?!" he demanded.

"Nothing, mate. Relax. God weapons usually come with a bit of a kick. What do you think happened?" the demon asked, but Sam didn't want to say it. He couldn't. "Come now, you know the risks of the job. It happens. People die, people get lost. Oh, like Meg."

"What?" he asked, his mind reeling from the knowledge his brother was dead again.

"Well, I can't let her run around, now can I? I already said I'd take her, so it's not like this is a big surprise. Course, you could fight me for her if you wanted. Do you want to?" he offered.

Sam hesitated at that. It's not like Crowley was a friend, far from it, and he didn't really want to take his side but both of them had hurt him. Was it really worth it?

"See? Why worry yourself over it? A demon killing another demon shouldn't matter to you, Sam. You'd probably feel the same way even if she'd gotten me," he assured the hunter. "This has actually all worked out quite well. Leviathans are without their king, one they've followed since the dawn of time. They'll be lost, confused and easy to kill. I already have an army outside to help with the cleanup. Cut the heads off, and bonus I can get those things far away from the bodies they'll never really be an issue again. There will be clean up, but hard to kill monsters are still killable. You'll do fine."

"You wanted him out of the way," Sam hissed. "So you could just get back to making deals."

"Well, to the victor goes the spoils," he informed him. "I actually got quite the gem out of the bargain too, if I do say so myself."

"What's the mean? Meg?"

"Well, among other things. A new inmate to keep me company. Of course Meg," he replied silkily. "It's been a good twenty-four hours for me, collecting souls that used to belong to me."

"Dean," he breathed before he grabbed his jacket. "If you have him, I'll gut you!"

"Oh boy, you are thick when you're worried," the king laughed. "No, relax. I don't have Dean, I swear. I'd tell you if I did, if only to rub your cute little face in it. If I didn't get him, then he must be up a little further north. Really only two options for you two, Heaven or Hell. Don't bother with trying to make a deal for him though. I don't want to stand the embarrassment of you trying to deal for him, and I wouldn't give him up anyway if he was in my possession. There is one thing though, a little detail needing to get cleaned up. Same little birdy told me to pass on the message, details about you not being told on this new line of tracks or something so I'm letting you know. The creamer in that little box and the lab are making? Poison, all of it. I'd do something about it if I were you. Good luck to you, Sam. You finally got what you wanted. For the first time in your life, you are truly, finally, all alone."

The demon slipped out of his grip like smoke, gone in an instant as Sam weakly looked around the lab, dread settling in his stomach as he felt his world collapsing around him.

Twigs snapped and broke underneath of Dean's body as he slowly sat up, climbing to his feet. He felt disoriented and confused, looking around the wooded area he found himself in. Was it night time? How long had he been out?

"We need to get out of here," Castiel informed him. "You're in danger, Dean."

"Where are we?"

"You don't know?"

"Last thing I remember is we ganked Dick," Dean admitted.

"And where would he go when he died?" the angel asked him.

"Wait," he said as he put it together. "Are you saying we're in..."

"This is where every soul goes after they die, to prey upon each other for all eternity," he explained.

"We're in Purgatory?!" he asked in alarm, starting to get worried as he heard branches snapping around them. "How do we get out?"

"I'm afraid it's much more likely we'll be ripped to shreds," Castiel admitted as he looked around at the creatures slowly getting closer to them, red eyes glowing in the darkness. "I promised I would not leave you, but you'll die otherwise."

"What are you talking about. You're going to leave?"

"No. You are," he stated as he put a finger to Dean's head. "I'll hold them off. You need to run."

He didn't get anything out before he suddenly found himself alone, in another part of the woods entirely. Turning in every direction, he didn't see the angel anywhere, only the sounds of howls to keep him company.

Close by to where they'd landed in Purgatory, alone and still, blackness stirred. Thick and laying about on the ground, like a puddle of water, it slowly pulled itself together and reformed. When lungs shaped along with a throat and a mouth attached to it, a shaky little laugh erupted from it. The thing that had been Dick Roman, the king who'd almost had Earth, had nearly won, laughed out bitterly.

He'd gotten careless. It didn't matter. Dying had just gotten him put back where he'd started. He'd get out again, revived and still strong. This wasn't a defeat, just a delay.

He looked up when he heard footsteps approaching, bare feet walking up to him over the leaf covered ground. Oh good, he was hungry and could use a snack of whatever dumb monster was stupid enough to come up to him.

"Didn't go the way you thought it would, Your Majesty?"

"Oh, lovely. It's you," he said as he looked up at a young woman, skin as pale as the white dress she wore, looking even more so by the black hair hanging over her shoulders. "Go away, Eve. I'm not in the mood to listen to you wax on about your mutt children."

"You killed them. A lot of them," she said as she stooped down next to him. "Did you think I would be okay with that?"

"Honestly, slut, I was figuring there wouldn't ever be a time to discuss it, seeing as how you're here and I wasn't planning on coming back. Now beat it. I'm trying to reform here."

She arched an eyebrow at him before smiling softly, a gentle little crook of her lips.

"A powerful being like you, even hurt like this, still powerful enough to order me around," she said before she suddenly slammed her hand into him, her hand getting slick with black guts and crimson blood as it seemed into the mess. "I guess we all know my strength is in my children I create."

"Get out of me before I eat you," he snapped at her, trying to pull away before he paused. He tugged again, but his body was trapped under her grip. "What are you doing? Let me go!"

"Have you ever felt fear, Your Majesty?" she asked him softly. "Have you ever felt the pain of being helpless, ready to be devoured? I guess not."

"How are you doing this?!"

"A little trick, a spell to keep you immobilized," she giggled out. "See, after you left, I knew what you would do. I knew you'd hurt them, and I knew I had to make moves to make Purgatory mine and mine alone. No more sharing with you. I don't care if we are family. Luckily, I had three ladies who were glad to help me out, to give me all the answers I needed. And all they wanted was a promise to run this place well."

"LET ME GO, EVE! NOW!"

"I don't think so. In fact, I'm feeling very hungry," she snarled before she lunged forward and sunk her teeth down into him, tearing away at his flesh before going for another bite. The screams didn't last long, fading away into the darkness of the woods as Eve consumed, lapped away at her fingers until there was nothing left, only the black stains on her lips a testament of the reign of the now fallen king.

"It would have been a long war to subdue him and the others. It could have taken ages to make the Leviathans to see me as their mother," she noted as she turned around to look over at Atropos, the Fate trying to look at anything but the mother of all monster's face. "I should be grateful for the help, but I'm not a fool. The line about ruling Purgatory effectively. That's hardly a deal you're getting anything out of. Why did you help me?"

"Truth?" Apathos asked.

"If you don't mind. Why are the Fates so interested in the affairs of this realm? What is your end goal?"

"We want everyone in Purgatory strong, and under one leader. You were a better candidate them him. We just told you the spell to hurry things along," the blonde Fate admitted, adjusting her glasses. "We want a force that can rise to Earth. Completely empty this place out and send them there."

"My children reborn to the world again? For what? An invasion?"

"Exactly. Want a part in it?"

Eve licked at her lips. A fertile, warm home for her children to take completely, to leave Purgatory behind and know life again.

"That sounds wonderful."

Sam tossed the clamp down, glad the new window was in place. Getting the broken glass out the Impala had taken a while. The car hadn't been too badly damaged during the attack on the Leviathans, but it still needed some work.

He'd been a mess afterward. He still was. His brother was dead and gone. He felt lost, like he was set adrift in the middle of the ocean without any idea what direction to even try paddling toward in order to find the shore.

So he was doing what he could. He thought about what Dean would do in this situation, and only one answer had come to his mind. Fix the car. Figure out the rest as it came.

Footsteps approached him and he looked up to see Emma holding a bottle of water out to him. He took it with a smile and chugged a few gulps down.

"Thanks," he said. "Anything in the paper?"

"Three deaths in California. Hearts caved in," she said as she unfolded the newspaper to show it to him. "The police are calling it natural causes, some medical condition they'd never heard of. Apparently they were all a family, so they figure it's some strange strain they all had."

"Uh huh. And you don't think so?" he asked her.

"Doesn't sound like it. When you told me to look out for cases, I figured this was too weird to not look into," she admitted.

"Good," he said as he slammed the car door shut. "You're getting good at this. Go grab your stuff."

He watched her nod before going back inside the cabin, making sure she had the weapons she'd need. He knew this wasn't what Dean would do, train her to hunt. In fact, this had been the one thing he knew his brother would never have done.

But Dean was gone. Everyone was gone. It was just the two of them left, and Sam was not ready to face this world alone. She'd never be the partner Dean was, but she was good enough, only a month into her training and taken to this life she'd been born to it.

And no matter what Dean might have thought, no matter where he would have rather seen her end up, she had been.

"All packed," she said, carrying her pack, sawed-off shotgun held in her hand. He took the things from her and put them away safely, figuring they could take the Impala this time instead of the Plymouth.

"Let's get to work," he said as he firmly shut the trunk.

End of Chapter 21

Oh, the wrap up done and heading into new storylines and plots. It has been one hell of a ride, let me tell you. I wonder how many people I intrigued by this ending? Well, I hope a few of you at least. Nah, Sam isn't giving up hunting. In fact, there's going to be a lot changing in this new direction.

I certainly hope that you all will continue sticking with me to see where it goes. Thank you for the support and I'll see you all next time.