AUTHOR'S NOTE: Warning for mentions of rape. This is a bit darker than my usual stuff. Fair warning. It gets lighter again, I promise.
I don't own Supernatural, yadda yadda yadda.
***Ember POV***
March 19th
"What?" Mel asked, her eyes narrowed.
Ember and Sam looked at each other again. "Yeah," added Ember. "On our first trip to the Apocalypse World. He had taken some friends of ours hostage. Cas smited him."
"Are you sure?"
"I saw it in his memories," Ember said.
"He – that's -…" Mel seemed caught between angry and confused, but finally settled on doubtful. "What month was this?" she asked.
"I dunno," Ember thought back. "Maybe… late April? May?"
This seemed to ring true with what Mel had been told, and she quickly changed to anger. "Are you kidding me!" she screamed, pounding her fist on the table, her eyes flashing yellow. "I don't get to kill Michael or Castiel? Then what the hell is the point?"
Ember recoiled with shock. "Maybe you should tell us your story," she said, narrowing her eyes.
Mel seemed to catch herself, and settled back in her seat, shooting Sam a glare for good measure. "You go first. That was the deal."
Ember shrugged, and picked up where she left off. She discussed her break-up with Dean, and Castiel's rise to becoming the new God. "So he did try to erase your memories!" Mel shouted in vindication.
"Yeah, because Dean told him to," Ember protested. "And because, at the time, he was an idiot. The whole 'learning about humans' thing didn't come easy for him… he even became human, for awhile."
"I thought you said he became God," said Mel, and Ember continued the story.
Mel gave Ember several looks of disgust when she discussed her relationship with Castiel, and crossed her arms across her chest, but didn't interject. Ember was well into a discussion of Castiel's possession by Lucifer before Mel interjected again, this time with contemplative curiosity. "I never met Lucifer," she said. "The few times I met Michael, he bragged about his defeat. It didn't occur to us that he might actually be worse than Michael."
Sam joined in, at this point. "Michael was always very militant. He had big plans about how he wanted to change the world, to subjugate humans. Lucifer… was just breaking toys. And, as much as I hate to admit it given what's been happening recently with Michael… Lucifer is probably the more dangerous of the two."
Ember skipped over the demon blood bond and moved straight into her pregnancy. "Oh my God," Mel said. "Holy shit, Jack is your son!"
"Yes," Ember said.
"I mean, Jack was a hero in our world," said Mel. "A legend, there for awhile. Which, okay, I get that now, he was your son. But Castiel? You had a baby with that thing?"
By then, Ember had had enough. "Mel! Please stop talking about him like that. He's different in this world, my Castiel is different."
"That's what you think," spat Mel. "That's what he wants you to think."
"Fine," Ember said. "You know what, my story is almost caught up anyway. What's been happening in your world?"
"Fine," Mel said, and she was so angry the table was shaking, and her yellow eyes flashed for a second longer than usual before the manacles covering her arms overwhelmed her power.
"You want to know what happened in my world?" asked Mel. "I'll tell you.
"I never had a Bobby. I didn't have a Sam or a Dean. I didn't have anyone. It was just me and Mom. And the demons. Always the demons.
"I figured out pretty quickly how to fight them off. I got powerful. Until Alistair came and kidnapped me. Took me to Azazel. My real father."
Sam caught Ember's eye again and nodded. "That's the same too, then."
Ember nodded. "My father is Azazel as well. But I never met him. Dean killed him a long time ago. Over a decade, now."
Mel's face twisted into a smile, but it was a warped, terrifying thing. "Yeah, well, Azazel wasn't too pleased with me. Said I wasn't living up to my potential. He said he thought I'd be much stronger. He started threatening to kill Mom if I didn't… ya know… snap snap."
Sam and Ember both caught each other's eyes again. Everyone knew how close Ember was to her mother, even now.
"So, I snapped," said Mel, shrugging. "I waited for an opportunity, and then… I escaped. I overcame the cuffs they had on me - which weren't half as strong as these by the way – grabbed Mom, and teleported out of there."
Ember looked at Sam in surprise. "What?" asked Mel.
"That's… not what I thought you were going to say," admitted Ember.
"Oh!" said Mel, and her sinister smile was back. It looked foreign on her face. "I got Mom safe, of course, and then I came back and killed everybody."
Ember caught Sam's eye again. That was more what she had been expecting to hear.
"I knew they would come after me otherwise," Mel said defensively. "It was more a matter of… covering my own ass, than anything. I killed the demons, and left the humans housing them."
"What happened after that?" asked Ember, curiously.
Mel shrugged. "Mom and I went on the run for awhile. Staying out of sight, killing when I needed to. We learned what we needed to get by while the world went to shit, ya know? Got one of these." Mel twisted in her chair and pulled up her shirt. On her back was a symbol similar to the one Sam and Dean wore, but slightly different. Next to that was Enochian warding.
Mel's face turned dark suddenly. "Five years ago, they finally caught up with me. I'd made a name for myself, a bit, I guess. Not on purpose – I never sought out trouble, ya know, but the demons…" she shrugged. "They always caught up with me. And angels too, occasionally, as the humans started to fall prey to angels more and more.
"Anyway, I guess they wanted me gone." Her face turned angry, anguished, and the yellow flashed again. "I'd found myself a man by then. But they killed him. And they killed Mom."
Ember's heart clenched. "It took a seraph and an archangel to take us out," Mel said proudly, her sinister smile back. "A seraph, an archangel, and Castiel. I killed the archangel in the process. Goodbye, Raphel."
Sam caught Ember's eye again, and surprise shown on his face. "We weren't fans of Raphael's in this world, either," he said.
"What happened after that?" said Ember with trepidation.
Mel's sinister grin dropped immediately. "Castiel kept me as a war prize," she said flatly, unable to meet their eyes. "Michael wanted me dead, but Castiel wanted to-…" she shrugged, looking at Ember quickly before looking away.
Sam looked down at his feet as though they were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Wanted to… what?" Ember said gently. She reached out for Mel, but stopped just short of her.
Mel shrugged again, her defiant exterior returning suddenly. "Wanted to do what you do to war prizes," she said darkly. "Angels don't usually do that, apparently. But Castiel didn't care.
"But then a year ago he just… fucked off." She picked up the thread of the story now, the fire returning to her eyes. "And they left me alone for a long time, just… keeping me 'on ice' or… whatever.
"Then, in June… we got the news that Castiel was finally dead! I tried to escape, but it was a no-go. So, I got transferred to a holding facility for trouble-making humans. I finally began to have hope again." And now, the first real smile Ember had yet seen bloomed on her face.
"I was going to be executed, but then we got attacked by another group of angels. They said Michael was gone… not dead, just… gone. So, obviously, things went haywire.
"Since then, it hasn't been the worst, honestly. It hasn't been good – there's never enough food, and they keep coming up with what they seem to think are new and improved ways to torture me. They want information, but there's nothing I won't tell them – I don't care. I've got nothing to lose."
It was Ember's turn, now, to look away awkwardly.
"Mel shrugged. "At least it's better than Castiel.
"Things have been chaotic overall," Mel continued. "I've been traded twice to different groups of angels. I think they think I could be some sort of secret weapon, but I'm too much of a danger to employ until they figure out what the fuck they're doing. They're trying to organize without a leader. Castiel is dead, Raphael is dead, and Michael is gone… they're trying to figure out who is next in line, but none of them are as powerful or as smart as the last group. Or, at least, that's what I've managed to gather from the angels dumb enough to let me overhear things.
"On the third trade, I finally managed to break out. And then…" Mel shrugged, another small, hopeful smile on her face. "I ended up here."
Ember smiled at her again, hesitantly, putting on her best Therapist tone. "And now what?" she asked carefully.
"Now, I'd like a bath," Mel said, standing up determinedly.
Ember looked at Sam questioningly.
Mel did not miss the look. "Relax, Samwich. Ember will watch me, you can watch Ember, and angel-boy can watch you."
Sam nodded once, and Mel took that as her cue to stand and stretch.
-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-
Mel filled the tub, directed by Ember while Sam stood outside. She inspected her handcuffs. "Could break out of these, if I wanted to," she said casually. "Chop off more of my hand. I've done it before."
"That's why you only have three fingers," Ember said, eyeing the stump of Mel's left hand, which lacked a thumb and forefinger.
"Yup!" said Mel, far too chipper for the discussion as she sunk into the tub.
"Why haven't you?" asked Ember. Surely there would've enough tools to get the job done if Mel had been really determined. Pieces of the table or a shelf, perhaps.
"Why bother?" said Mel, a look of bliss on her face as she enjoyed the bath. "Got three meals here. Nobody trying to dig into my head, or worse. Soft place to sleep. Doesn't seem worth trying to escape and making things worse."
Ember sat back to think, and the two lapsed into silence as Mel washed herself.
What would have had to happen to her for her to care so little about hygiene, about… well, about anything but revenge? Deaths of everyone close to her, for certain. Could "Mel" be saved?
It had been more than 15 minutes since Mel had put down her loofa before either of them said anything.
"I didn't go dark, ya know," said Mel, surprising Ember out of her musings.
"Huh?" Ember asked.
"I didn't go dark," said Mel. "Not completely, anyway. I always thought, if I went dark, it would be… like you described, locked up with Castiel. Like I couldn't stop thinking about killing, and death, and vengeance. Like I couldn't control myself. But it's not like that."
"It's not?" asked Ember.
"No," said Mel, and she seemed surprised herself. "I mean, don't get me wrong. Anything demonic or angelic, around me, is still gonna bite it, just because I don't trust them. But I'm not, like… obsessed with killing people and eating hearts or whatever. It's not how I thought it was gonna be."
"It was for me," Ember said, looking at her feet. Was Mel telling the truth?
"Mel… I can't trust anything you say," she said slowly.
Mel looked slightly hurt, but again changed her expression to defiant.
"Why not? You're me, after all."
"I'm a very different version of you," Ember said calmly.
"You're an undamaged version," Mel said, nodding. "Well cookie for you then."
"No," said Ember, though there was some truth to this. "You're a different version."
"Yeah, I'm the version of you that gives no fucks because I stopped giving them a long time ago," Mel said. "I'm the version of you you wish you could be, in your darkest daydreams." Her smile was back, the evil, twisted one.
Ember felt a pang of guilt, but she kept her smile sweet. "I won't deny that," she said. "You'd know it was a lie."
Mel nodded once as if to say, Gotcha.
"Which makes trusting you even farther from possible," Ember added, and Mel rolled her eyes. "How do I know you won't kill me and my friends?"
"Fine," Mel said, sighing. She rolled her eyes again and nodded her head side to side as though mocking. "What can I say or do to get you to trust me enough to let me go?" She adopted her regular countenance again. "I know this warding well enough to know I can't get out of it. And I've been in worse enough spots to tell you I'm not incredibly motivated, though I will get bored after awhile."
Ember sighed. Mel wouldn't like the answer. "You know what you have to do to gain our trust."
Mel's eyes flashed yellow again. "Your angel will never see inside my mind!"
"I don't see a way around it!" Ember fired back.
"He can tell if I'm telling the truth or not without reading my mind," Mel said determinedly. "Bring him in here. And even that's permitting a lot from me."
Ember decided not to respond that Mel wasn't in a position to "permit" anything. Instead, she said, "Mel, we both know you're too powerful for that to work."
"Get a witch, then," said Mel. "A powerful enough one can cast a spell that my power can't sway."
Ember thought about this.
"You've got enough friends who know enough about the supernatural," Mel said. "Surely you must have a witch on staff."
***Dean POV***
March 20th
"A week?" Dean exclaimed to Sam. "Demon Ember", as he had taken to calling the version of Ember from Apocalypse World, was in the dungeon with Krissy, who was overseeing her while she did a girly thing with her nails that Dean didn't want to look too deeply into. The rest of the group – Sam, Ember, Castiel, Dean, and Eileen – were gathered just outside the door to the dungeon, discussing the next step.
"What the hell is Rowena doing for a week?"
"Judging from the voice in the background, a French guy," said Ember.
"Well, at least someone is getting some," said Dean, thinking of Jo. "Did you tell her it was an emergency?"
Ember and Sam looked at each other. "Dean, this doesn't actually rate that high on our 'emergency' scale," said Ember slowly.
"She asked if it was life or death, and I wasn't gonna lie, Dean," Sam added. "She's dropped everything for us more than a few times in the past. We can wait a week on this one."
"Fine," said Dean, sighing.
"We can take her with us," added Ember.
Castiel looked at her in surprise. "We can?"
"Our panic room is almost as good as this one, we just don't use it as much," said Ember. "And Jack and Cas don't sleep."
"She won't want to go with Cas," commented Eileen.
"Maybe," said Ember, "but she won't want to leave me."
***Castiel POV***
March 21st
And so it was decided. Mel went with Castiel and Ember to their home. Dean, Sam, and Krissy went on a trip to Polk, Iowa to kill a monster that was killing hikers. Jack stayed behind at the bunker to hold down the fort.
Ember had shared the highlights of Mel's backstory with Castiel, and he understood that his counterpart had caused Mel a great deal of trauma. Ember, Sam, Dean, Eileen, Krissy, and Jack were unanimous in their vote that he should have minimal contact with Mel, and so: he believed that the human phrase was that he "didn't have a leg to stand on." Ember was particularly adamant on this point, so much so that Ember had driven Mel the four hours from Lebanon to Conway Springs while Castiel had flown instead.
Still, they couldn't avoid each other forever. That fact became apparent on Mel's first night in Conway Springs. Ember slept more than Mel did, so Castiel spent long hours staring at Mel through the security cameras, wondering if there was really any point. Sometimes he felt as though Mel was staring back. Often, she would glare at the cameras as if in challenge.
Around 3 in the morning on their first night at Ember and Castiel's, Mel awoke and began to yell, "Ember! Ember! EM-BER!"
Castiel ignored her. The sound would not carry to where Ember was sleeping, and he would not awaken her. She was still weak from the memory ordeal, and she was due to begin work again tomorrow.
Mel waited for a few minutes, during which she began to pace. "Ember! Get down here this instant! I have to pee, and there's no damn bathroom in this fucking room! I'm not gonna shit in a bucket!"
Castiel thought for a moment, then hesitantly went downstairs.
Mel's face paled visibly at the sight of him, but she stood her ground. She seemed to arch forward, reminiscent of a cat with rising hackles. "I asked for Ember, not you, angel."
"Ember is sleeping," Castiel said calmly. "She has to work tomorrow. No one else is here."
Mel glared at him. "I don't trust you."
"I don't trust you either," said Castiel, "but I was under the impression that you have to pee."
"So you are watching on the cameras!" Mel said, crossing her arms on her chest.
"As I've said, we don't trust you," said Castiel simply.
Mel didn't respond, but she glared at Castiel for so long that he asked, "Should I leave?"
"You're not watching me pee," snapped Mel.
"I will turn the other direction while you urinate," offered Castiel. He was fairly certain Ember had done something like that earlier.
Mel glared at him for a second longer, then agreed, "Fine."
Five minutes later, Castiel had returned Mel to the panic room, where she continued to glare at him. He was about to close the door and return upstairs when she asked, "So what's your deal, Ass-tiel?"
He turned, hesitantly. Mel had a look on her face that was reminiscent of Ember's "I have the upper hand and you just don't know it yet" look.
"I do not have a 'deal,'" he said.
"Yeah, whatever," said Mel. "So what, you don't want to fuck me? I smell like Ember, don't I? Only it's stronger, 'cause I'm stronger."
Castiel stared at her in shock, suddenly wrong-footed.
"C'mon, Cas," said Mel. "We both know it's only a matter of time before you drop this whole 'in love with humanity' act. Everybody else is asleep, it might as well be now." And yet, she looked as though she were afraid of her own words.
Castiel took one step toward her, and she took three steps back, shrinking into the corner of the room. "You are not my Ember," he said sharply. "And I am not the Castiel you knew. Try not to confuse us in your head." He turned, fully intent on heading upstairs.
"Cas, wait!" yelled Mel.
It was her use of the word "Cas" that stopped him, more than her desperate tone. He turned, hesitantly, glaring at her. She had not left the corner, where she sat with her hands wrapped around her knees. A tear shone in her eye, and he could feel his glare soften.
"Did you really kill him?" she asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Castiel said. "He was damaged beyond repair. A cruel reminder of what I could have become if things had been different."
This time, he left her and did not look back.
-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-SPN-
"Why would she say that to me?" Castiel asked the next morning.
"She wants to know what to expect from you," Ember told him. "She was testing you."
They sat still for a moment, Castiel twined around Ember, his face buried in her neck and shoulder.
Finally, Castiel asked, "What does she want?"
"I don't know," Ember said. "Food. A shower. But…"
"What?" asked Castiel.
"I think she wants… this is weird. But I think she wants to protect me."
"From what?" Castiel asked, his mouth moving against her skin.
"From becoming like her," Ember whispered.
Castiel was silent.
"Is the smell really more tempting?" Ember asked, turning to look into his face.
Castiel thought for a moment. "I mean… yes…?"
Ember laughed. "Why is it a question?"
Castiel tried to put his thoughts into words, a skill that was still difficult at times. "The smell is... stronger. But it comes with evil. She gives me... jeebie heevies."
Ember laughed again. "Don't ever change, Cas."
***Ember POV***
March 22nd
Mel was pleasant, overall, when Ember was around. Mostly she was kept in the panic room, where she could keep out of trouble. When Ember had time to watch her or spend time with her, she was allowed out of the panic room. On one memorable afternoon, Mel spent time looking up the counterparts of people she had known in the other world on Facebook and telling funny stories about them to Ember. Often she would get a pained look on her face, and Ember was well aware that all of the people Mel was discussing were now dead at the hands of angels.
On the third night that Mel stayed with Ember, she requested to talk to Ember's mother – or, at least, this world's version of her. Ember had never told anyone – not even Dean or Castiel – where her mother was hiding, and used a burner phone to speak with her. Her mother had managed to stay safe despite multiple Apocalypses, and Ember would do nothing to jeopardize her safety now.
"We did that too," said Mel darkly. "But it doesn't help much when the world has gone to shit. When there are more enemies than friends, and all of the enemies are concentrated on you… it doesn't help your odds." Ember didn't blame her. She'd been terrified for the fate of those close to her during the time she had been pregnant with Jack.
Mel did speak to Ember's mother on the phone, but she had no sooner managed to choke out "I love you" than she buried herself under the covers and refused to come out. An hour later the cameras showed that she had emerged, and was sobbing into her mattress - long, heaving sobs that wracked her body. This lasted late into the night, past the time Ember could no longer stay awake to check on her.