Author's Note: Of all of the plot holes that I've so far disagreed with, none were as bad as the first episode of Season 14. I get that Cas was OP and so they had to take away his wings (I seriously think they could've written around that - look, I did, and I don't even do this professionally). I get that they had to slowly make him less powerful as time went on, gradually (or as Misha says, "Make Cas a wuss.") But taking away his ability to tell that the rest of the bar was full of demons? Sloppy and phoning it in. The script-writers made an obvious error and even Misha, much as I love the guy, could've corrected it by asking if he could change a couple of lines.
So I corrected it.
I don't own Supernatural, because if I did, that never would've happened. I love Supernatural, and I'll watch it and rewatch it until the day I die, and I spend way too much money on conventions, so I can call them out in fanfiction when there's a serious plot error. Thank you, that is all.
***Ember POV***
July 9
THREE WEEKS LATER
Three weeks.
It had been three weeks without a single sign or trace of Dean.
Due to the fact that Jack no longer had powers and Castiel's wing was still healing, their family of four was forced to move into the bunker for the first week after Dean's disappearance. Castiel and Ember moved back to their Conway Springs, Kansas home a week later after Castiel's wing finished healing, but both Krissy and Jack remained full-time at the bunker.
Jack had difficulty adjusting to the loss of his powers, and put forth a significant amount of effort learning to fight and dodge like a regular human. Ember and Castiel felt the frustration roll off him in waves, though he tried to hide it.
Ember still kept her part-time business as a Therapist for supernatural related trauma and/or supernatural beings trying to keep on the straight and narrow. In the evenings, however, Castiel nearly always gave her a ride to the bunker to help with the search for Dean.
Things were similar to during the time that Jack had been gone the previous year.
"I don't like it anymore this time than I did the last time," Castiel said after Ember asked for another dose of "angel energy" on a Tuesday evening at 8:00 PM. "It's not normal for humans to live off of angel healing energy. It's not coffee."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're a celestial being, blah blah blah," Ember said grumpily, but she gave him a wan smile. "Unfortunately we both know it's actually healthier than me drinking tons of coffee, which is the alternative."
Castiel sighed and touched two fingers to her forehead, after which she felt a bit better.
Sam, for his part, was just as stressed (if not more) and just as tired (if not more) as Ember. (In fact, Castiel admitted to Ember that Sam asked him for "angel energy" nearly as often as she did.) Sam was even sporting a beard, which was something Ember had never seen in the entire time she'd known him. In fact, if it weren't for Eileen, Ember worried that Sam would've done something completely stupid (as was usual for the Winchesters) within the first week of Dean's absence.
The only person who might have been more effected by Dean's disappearance than Sam, Ember, and Castiel was Jo, Dean's (sort of) girlfriend. In typical Dean fashion, she refused to discuss Dean with anyone and hadn't been seen at the bunker since his disappearance. Near the end of the second week, however, news reached the bunker from Jody (who had heard it from Claire) that Jo had barely managed to survive after vaulting into the middle of four demons armed only with a single angel blade.
"It sounds like a very Dean move," Sam had grumbled to Ember and Eileen, who were there when he spoke to Jody on the phone. Eileen was subsequently assigned to "see if Jo and Claire need any help on their next hunt." Though Jo didn't turn Eileen away, she did send a short series of angry text messages to Sam about the issue.
Finally, after several dead ends, Castiel and Ember hit rock bottom and did the thing they both dreaded the most – they contacted the demons.
The meeting was to be held in a local bar in Dallas, Texas, and the demon involved, Kipling, had stated that he would meet with Ember but not Castiel.
Therefore, both were invisible.
Unfortunately, the demons had planned for this. Ember spotted the two large angel wardings covering the bar a moment after Castiel let out a quiet curse in Enochian. "Shit," she grumbled. "We're going to have to go with Plan B."
"What's Plan B?" asked Castiel, turning in her direction. Ember couldn't see him, as both of them were invisible, but she could feel his hand in hers.
"I'll go in, erase the wardings when I can, and turn invisible and dodge if I need to."
"I strongly dislike Plan B."
"I knew you would," Ember said.
"Plan B is almost certain to end in a fight to the death or worse."
"And yet, it's what we need to do to get Dean back," Ember said. She couldn't see Castiel, but she could sense his resignation by the feel of the slump of his shoulders next to hers.
Ember walked in with her head held high and sat down at a table, trying to look far more at home than she felt. The bar was full of demons (seven in total), and while all of them eyed her immediately, they all pretended to go about their business. It wasn't the typical demon response, which would've been either to stare openly or make a pass at her. This meant that all of the demons in the bar worked for this "Kipling."
After only a few minutes, one of the demons approached Ember and identified himself as Kipling. He ordered both a coffee and a truly obnoxious drink before Ember finally began a conversation.
"I was surprised you wanted to meet here."
"I'm surprised you wanted to meet at all," the demon said. "Didn't think you consorted with our kind." He removed his sunglasses, his eyes turning black.
"I need information," Ember said, flashing her own black eyes for a quick second. It was rare that she did it, and she could never hold the blackness for more than a few seconds… but Kipling didn't need to know that.
Ember noticed that the demons around them were all watching raptly now, though a few of them were still pretending to do other things. Carefully, Ember used her force powers to raise an open bottle of dark wine near the angel symbol closest to the bar. She poured the bottle over the angel symbol, and it was enough to disrupt the flow of power.
One down, one to go. "Does any demon know where Dean Winchester is?"
"I'm sorry," said Kipling sarcastically. "Did you just say you lost a Winchester? Because, one - that's... interesting. And, two, how is that you lost Dean? Last I heard, he and the angel were the only ones who got to…" His gaze raked down Ember suggestively.
"Just answer the question," snapped Ember as the bartender brought more drinks.
"You see, I could..." said Kipling slowly, "Except, not to be crass, but what's in it for moi?"
Ember narrowed her eyes. There were two demons right next to the door where the second angel symbol was painted. Trying to break that angel symbol would be the same as starting an immediate fight. "I was under the impression that you wanted to make a deal."
"This is true…" Kipling mused. "Unfortunately, I was really hoping to make the deal with Sam Winchester. I'm sure your angel is flying around here somewhere, but I was quite surprised Sam didn't show up. So, unless you have something I want…" He raised his eyebrows suggestively. Then he said, "You should consider it a complement, you know. I don't usually even like your gender."
Ember rolled her eyes. "I've heard enough." In one move, she turned invisible and vaulted sideways. At the same time, she used her force powers to yank another bottle of wine off of the shelves.
"Grab her!" screamed Kipling, and the bar turned to chaos.
Ember was about to douse the angel symbol with the wine, but suddenly she felt a hand on her arm, while another demon barreled into her from behind.
"I've got her!" yelled the man whose hand was on her arm, but unfortunately the demon who had barreled into her from behind forced her body out of the man's grip, and both of them went sprawling on the floor. Ember rolled and slid right, tripping another demon in the process who screamed, "she's here!"
In one move and using all of her strength, Ember used her force powers to hurl half of the wine and liquor bottles in the shelves straight at the door where the angel symbol was. Two or three of them hit home, dousing the entire right of half of the symbol in strong liquor.
A second later Castiel's entrance was marked by the immediate smiting of two demons, but Ember was too busy fighting to notice. Three demons had grabbed her, one by her feet, one by her head, and one by her hand. She rolled quickly into a ball, catching all of them off guard. In the process she managed to grab the angel blade she kept on her hip near the only limb not grabbed by a demon.
After that, Ember stabbed and Castiel smited until only Kipling was left.
***Sam POV***
July 9
Despite the search for his brother, Sam Winchester couldn't remember a time when he was taking care of, or worried about, more people.
First, there was Jo. Her recklessness was out of hand. It was such a Dean thing to do, that stunt with the vampires! She'd been lucky to get out of it with only a fractured arm and a couple of bites. And, rather than letting her arm heal, she'd turned around and gone off on yet another hunt… Dean would never forgive him if Jo died while he was gone. So, Sam had given up the one person keeping him sane, his wife and Jo's best friend Eileen, to keep an eye on her.
Then, there was Jack. Sam tried to check on Jack as often as possible, but he feared that he'd been doing a poor job of it lately. He could only imagine what it felt like to have Jack's powers and then be robbed of it. He worried that, like Jo, Jack might do something reckless or get himself killed trying to take on more than he was able.
And finally, there was… Nick.
Nick, whose face (the face of Lucifer) had followed him for over a year after he had opened the portal to Hell in the graveyard. Nick, whose face was in his scariest nightmares and most horrible daydreams.
Somehow, Nick had survived Lucifer's death. Sam had never heard of such a thing, but both Ember and Castiel had assured him that Lucifer's essence was gone and only Nick was left.
What was Nick, though? Was Nick even human? Nick's human body had rotted away, died when Lucifer had switched to possessing Sam more than eight years ago. Then, just under two years ago, Crowley had resurrected Nick to once again be the vessel for Lucifer. Based on Sam's preliminary research and Rowena's feedback, it must've taken nearly all of Crowley's power and several additional spells to do so. Nick had been forged into something human, but also slightly more, slightly modified.
As it was, Sam wasn't sure what would awaken when Nick finally did. As a therapist, Ember was the obvious choice to talk to him. However, when this was suggested, Castiel put his foot down, going so far as to insist that he be the one to talk to Nick in Ember's stead. Sam guessed that the angel was still guilty about his time as Lucifer's vessel.
But when Nick finally did awaken from his coma, Ember and Castiel were both in Texas, and so the job of speaking with Nick fell to Sam, just like everything else.
Nick seemed surprisingly human, compared to the larger-than-life red eyes that had peaked out of Nick's body three weeks before. His voice was softer, and he seemed calm and defeated.
"I don't understand how Lucifer could die and I could live," he grumbled as Sam treated the wound Nick had sustained from the archangel blade.
Sam could barely look at him, and forced himself to remember that this was Nick, not Lucifer. "Yeah, um... I think that maybe it's because the archangel blades were made to kill the archangel inside, and not the person that he, uh -…"
"Possesses and uses to almost end the world twice?"
"Yeah," Sam said awkwardly. "That."
"It must be weird, you looking at me and seeing him," Nick commented quietly.
"Yeah," Sam agreed, swallowing hard and forcing himself to not look away. He cast around for something positive to say. "But... I'm really glad it's you. I'm glad Lucifer is dead."
"Me, too," Nick whispered.
"Do you still, uh - Y-You still remember…" Sam couldn't put words to his question, but he knew Nick would understand.
"Just little bits and pieces here and there. Nothing - Nothing about your brother," Nick said quietly.
"Okay," Sam conceded. "And, uh, Michael? Did he tell Lucifer anything? Anything about his plan?"
"I mean, I remember him saying... he wanted to do it right this time," Nick said, concentrating.
"Do you know what that means?"
Nick shook his head. "I don't, I'm sorry. Everything was… well… you remember," Nick said, looking hopefully at Sam. "I mean… right? Weren't you…?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. I remember." As much as it was difficult for him to look at Nick, he had to remember that Lucifer had possessed him for a time, too. He knew what it was like to be possessed by Lucifer… the feeling of boiling hatred, of drowning, of being chained to a comet, all rolled into one.
The next time, his smile to Nick was more genuine.
***Ember POV***
July 9
"What did you want with Sam Winchester?" Ember demanded of the demon Kipling, who was currently tied to a chair. "Either name your terms… or die."
"I wanted to make a deal," Kipling said. He seemed unworried about the fact that he was tied to a chair with a demon knife held to his throat, and his nonchalance was grating on Ember's nerves. He still spoke with a calm smile, and only his eyes belied his true fear.
"You really think that he'd make a deal with you?" Castiel asked.
"He's dealt with worse," said Kipling calmly. "You see, recently, I had a revelation. Somebody asked me what it was that I wanted. And I realized that after 600 years as a demon, walking the planet, destroying, drinking, defiling - you know, the Three D's – I realized, I didn't know. So, I sat back, and I gave it a good think, and I realized exactly what I wanted."
"And what is it?" asked Castiel, looking more irritated than ever.
"Everything," Kipling answered, his eyes lighting up maniacally.
"Right," Ember said, rolling her eyes. "Well, we can start with your freedom. We'd be willing to offer that if you know something about Dean Winchester."
Kipling ignored her, smiling a large smile. "Now, Ember, I don't know if you're aware or not, but Hell's in a bit of a pickle, you know, with Crowley dead and Asmodeus Kentucky fried, which means -…"
"I don't care," said Ember.
"Yes, you do. Or you will. You see, for the first time in a very long time, Hell is without a King. And that - that's just not right. So, I sort of… volunteered."
"You?" Castiel said, surprised. "You're the new King of Hell?"
"Exactly," said Kipling.
"Why are you telling us all this?" asked Castiel.
"Because I want to work with you, not against you," he said, still smiling. "I'll tell you everything I know about Michael. But in return, I want the Crowley Deal. I give you information, a spot of help every now and again, and in return, you choose to turn a blind eye to the crossroads deals, the demon-on-demon violence, et cetera."
Ember and Castiel looked at each other with surprise. "We never gave Crowley that deal," said Castiel.
"How exciting," said Kipling, though for the first time he looked truly worried. "Then I would be breaking new ground."
"All right," said Ember. "Look, you've got style, I'll give you that much, but you're no Crowley."
"Ouch!" Kipling laughed over-dramatically, though his eyes showed true hurt. "Owie! I know that I'm not that ponce-y son of a bitch." He narrowed his eyes, which turned black just for a second. "You see, in life, I rode with Genghis Khan, and I burned half the world. So, please, do you think that I like prancing around like this? Please. If I had it my way, I would eat your heart. But a King has an image to maintain. And I'm not afraid of you." His voice lowered to an angry whisper. "So, take the deal, before I stop trying to be Crowley and I show you who I really am. So, what do you say, darling?"
Ember caught Castiel's eye. "Cas, if he had solid info on Dean, he'd have made a bigger deal about it. Do I kill him?".
Castiel gave her a small smile and an almost imperceptible nod.
"Well?" said Kipling, smiling phonily at the both of them. "What's your decision?"
"No," Ember said. "There will be no new King of Hell." And she stabbed Kipling with the angel blade.