"I'll be back as soon as I can," says Jack. "I'll let you know if Rowena can tell me anything."
The protest is immediate.
"What?" says Sam. "No, we're coming with you."
"You're not going to Hell alone," says Dean.
"And besides," adds Castiel, "I promised you I wouldn't leave your side. What if the voices return?"
Jack considers them for a moment. "Castiel comes," he says, holding out his hands. "But Sam…Dean…I'm sorry, but I won't take you."
"Why the hell not?" demands Sam. "You can't just leave us here and expect us to wait around."
"You're supposed to be done," insists Jack. "This is supposed to be your paradise. I made Heaven this way for you! I won't let you get involved anymore. It's not your fight. And I don't want you to get hurt."
Dean takes an almost threatening step forward. His face is twisted in determination, and already Jack feels like the situation is hopeless. "We raised you like you were our son," says Dean, his voice thick with emotion. "We don't forget something like that, no matter how long we've been in Heaven. We're coming with you and we're making this right."
Jack opens his mouth to object, but Castiel steps forward.
"Jack," says Castiel consolingly, "after everything they've done, they deserve to have a choice in this."
But Jack shakes his head. "No, you don't understand," he says quietly. "Things are different now. On Earth, this was always waiting for you—Heaven was always waiting for you. But if something happens to you now…"
"Are you saying…can we die again?" asks Sam. He brushes his hair off of his forehead, looking overwhelmed. "I guess I just assumed that we…that we were…"
"What?" asks Jack.
"Immortal," finishes Dean flatly. "We thought we were good to go. Forever."
"Here maybe," says Jack. "While you're here in Heaven, with me, no harm can come to you. But down there, in Hell, I don't know…"
"Couldn't you just bring us back?" says Dean. "With a snap of your fingers?"
"I don't know!" cries Jack, throwing up his hands. "The path from Earth was always to Heaven for you, but after that—listen, you don't belong on Earth or in Hell. Leaving this place is unnatural. This is where you're supposed to be. The rules change when you leave. If you die out there…I don't know what happens. You could be lost forever."
"But you're…God," says Dean lamely. "I mean…can't you just do whatever you want?"
"Even when Chuck had this power, he couldn't do whatever he wanted. That much is clear now," says Jack. "He couldn't read his Death Book. He couldn't control the Empty. Look, what I'm trying to say is that it'll be dangerous."
"Tell me something new," snaps Dean sarcastically.
"But this is different—"
"No," says Sam fiercely. "It's not. This is exactly what Dean and I do. We help each other. We help family."
"So what if the rules are a little wonky?" says Dean. "It's not like we haven't broken the rules before."
"We're not letting you do this alone," says Sam. "This isn't a discussion, Jack."
Jack sighs, giving Castiel a long look that acknowledges the battle that they both know he will never win.
"Alright, fine," he says heavily. "But you stick with me. I can still protect you. Even in Hell."
Sam and Dean straighten up. Jack doesn't let it show, but he's extremely grateful that they were so stubborn in accompanying him and Castiel. He thinks of all of the battles he's fought, all of the trials he has faced, and knows that he's much stronger when they're all together.
You can't let anything happen to any of them, he tells himself. They are your responsibility now.
"The last time I was in Hell, I jumped down a tear in the fabric of the Earth," says Castiel. A dark look crosses his face. "With a demon named Belphegor who was inhabiting your body."
"We won't be needing any demons or any tears in the Earth," says Jack.
He waves his hand and three demon blades appear in the air. He nods to Sam, Dean, and Castiel, and, looking impressed, they each take one.
"Just in case," says Jack.
Then he raises his fingers—SNAP!
The sitting room with the couches, chairs, and table disappear.
Hell.
It's darker down here, everything black and red. There are no windows, no natural light. They are in a twisting, narrow hallway with towering ceilings. The architecture itself is uncomfortable, like standing in a well or a heating duct. But there is opulence everywhere: detailed carvings on the walls, chandeliers with a million lights, a red carpet on the floor. There is not a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. Jack feels strangely underdressed.
"It seems that Rowena has made some changes," mutters Castiel, looking around.
"C'mon," says Jack, leading them through the narrow winding hallway.
He doesn't know how he knows where he is going, only that he is certain that he is leading them to the right place. Castiel takes the rear, while Jack leads. Sam and Dean clutch their demon blades close, eyes darting around. As much as Jack has enjoyed seeing them in paradise, there is something that just feels right with them back in their element.
At the end of the hallway, there is a gigantic double door, black as night, with two golden handles. There are two guards stationed there, and when they see the approaching party of four, there is a distinct unsheathing of metal as they brandish their weapons.
Jack feels Sam and Dean tense behind him, but he holds out his hand.
"We're here to speak with Rowena," says Jack, as strongly as he can.
"Is that…the Winchesters?" stammers one of the guards. He gives the other a furtive glance.
"You're supposed to be dead," says the other.
BANG!
With a startling clap, the black doors are punched open from the inside, revealing a cavernous space beyond. The floor and the walls are obsidian black, so colorless that it almost looks like there is nothing there at all. But at the end of the room there sits a lavish throne, gold, with an enormous back and opulently carved arm rests.
Atop the throne sits a familiar, red-headed figure.
"Did somebody say…Winchester?"
"Ma'am," says one of the guards, scrambling, "we don't know how they got in—"
"Enough," says Rowena. She waves them off, and they stand aside to the let the four of them in.
Jack, Sam, Dean, and Castiel enter the throne room. Rowena surveys them with a devious curl to her lip. She's wearing a royal purple gown with an impossibly long train that snakes underneath her feet. Sparkling from head to toe, her waist band is adorned in crystals, as is the jewelry hanging on her neck, and even the tops of her high-heeled shoes. Her sharp face is framed by flaming red hair, curled and full, without a single strand out of place.
They stop at the foot of her throne. Jack has a funny urge to bow.
"Well, boys," she drawls, as if they had only spoken yesterday. "I can't say I'm surprised."
"Good to see you, too," says Dean roughly. "Again."
Rowena's eyes glimmer. "Now, the last I heard, you three were all cozied up in the clouds and young Jack here was making some big changes. What could you possibly need me for now?"
"I'm the one who needs help," says Jack, stepping forward. "They're here because of me."
"A wee bit dangerous now, bringing Sam and Dean here," says Rowena. "Being dead already…"
"You won't hurt us," says Sam emphatically. "I know you won't."
"Not with that attitude," she says slyly. Then she gives a big sigh. "Yes, alright, I know Hell isn't the same as it used to be. I wasn't a fan of the constant torture and the deal making, was I? It's not a space to…kick back—is that the phrase?" Her eyes survey Jack steadily. "Now Jack, what do you suppose I could do for you that you couldn't already do for yourself? What with your newfound…godliness?"
"What do you know about the Empty?" says Jack.
Rowena tilts her head. "The Void? The Nothingness? What was Before the universe?"
"Yes," says Jack breathlessly. "Can it be destroyed?"
She considers him. "You're dealing with ancient forces, Jack. Not even God created the Empty. Nothing created the Empty. It just was. Why do you want to destroy it?"
Jack hesitates. It's not that he doesn't trust Rowena. It just still feels odd to admit his secret out loud.
"When I took Chuck's power," he explains, "I absorbed his sister, the Darkness, Amara. We were in harmony, at least for a little while, until I started hearing these voices. I know now what they are. It's the Empty and it's…in my head." He swallows hard. "It took me a while to figure it out, but I now I understand. The Empty isn't speaking to me. It's speaking to Amara."
Rowena drums her long red fingernails against the armrest. "And what is the Empty saying?"
"Come to me," says Jack, hearing the voice in his memory clear as day. "I offer you freedom… Rid yourself of this prison…" Jack takes a deep breath, almost like coming out of a trance. "And she accepted. She spoke through me, and accepted the offer."
"The Empty and Amara, together," muses Rowena. "Interesting…"
"Interesting?" says Dean. He takes a forceful step forwards, but Jack puts his arm out. From behind Jack, he snaps, "She's practically possessing Jack! What's interesting is that if they team up, they could put this whole thing in jeopardy! Everything!"
"Not everything," says Rowena. "Not Hell."
"You don't know that," says Castiel. "I've been to the Empty. It's not like other places. It's not like Heaven or Hell."
Rowena surveys the part of four with narrowed eyes. "The most I can do for you—and let's not forget that I've already played my part for you four, with dying and all—is to give you advice."
"Which is?" says Sam.
"Let her go," says Rowena simply.
"No," says Dean emphatically. He gives Castiel an acknowledging look. "We've already talked about this—it's a stupid idea."
"No, it's not," says Rowena. "Let the Darkness out, save poor Jack here."
"But you don't know the destruction they could wreak together," says Sam desperately.
"The Empty wants to sleep," says Rowena, as if her reasoning should be entirely obvious. "Perhaps Amara will help it to do just that."
"No, that's not it," says Jack quietly. Rowena gives him a searching look. Sometimes Jack gets the feeling that she forgets how powerful he really is. "The voice…it wasn't looking for rest. It was vengeful."
"Vengeful?"
"Something about the way it spoke…it was like it was beyond angry. It was furious. Restless." Jack looks up at all of them. They are staring at him openly. "And Amara was drawn to it."
"Yeah, that plan's out," says Dean. "Plain and simple, we can't have a cosmic being out for revenge teaming up with someone as powerful as Amara."
"Amara wouldn't hurt you," says Rowena.
"But she would hurt Jack," says Dean firmly.
Rowena leans back in her throne. "Well, boys, I'm not a predictor of the future, but I can say that if you don't take my advice, there's nothing else I can do for you."
"But—" says Sam.
"I'm the Queen of Hell, not God," she snaps. She peers at Jack through devilishly long eyelashes. "Surely you of all people can tell the difference."
Disappointed, Jack turns back to Sam, Dean, and Castiel. "Let's go," he says quietly.
"We'll figure this out," says Castiel in a low voice. "It's not over yet—"
A crash like the wind breaking through glass erupts through the double doors. Jack barely has a second to watch as the doors burst open, and the two guards from the outside come sailing through. Sam and Dean fling around, their demon blades held aloft; Castiel brandishes a gleaming angel blade from the sleeve of his trench coat.
Then through the broken doors swirls a blackness, like molten lava, black good, crawling across the floor and flying through the air. Instantly, it's chaos. Rowena shouts something and a ball of purple light flies into the blackness. But the blackness absorbs it instantly.
Someone pulls Jack to the ground, and he finds himself on his stomach, face to face with Castiel. The sounds of shattering glass and cracking walls makes it almost impossible to hear the angel.
"It's the Empty!" shouts Castiel. "Jack, you have to do something or we're all going to die!"
Sorry to leave you on a cliff-hanger like this! I'll have the next chapter up really soon. Leave a review if you can!