Thank you MaggieMay17 for beta'ing, Ncsupnatfan and VegasGranny for pre-reading, and you all for reading.
Today is the 10th Anniversary of my first ever fanfic being posted — it was a collab piece with Snarkymuch. Since that first taste of fanfic a decade ago, I've not stopped. I've written nearly 80 stories and published over 5.1 million words across 3 fandoms. Some of you have been with me since my first SPN piece in 2012 and some of you joined me again with Marvel. Thank you to each and every one of you for being part of my special decade.
Chapter Sixteen
Dean called to Nick as he walked through the halls of the bunker, though he thought he knew where he was already.
He turned the last corner and came to one of the former storerooms they'd emptied and set up with just a table, a map, and more Enochian sigils painted on the walls than Dean had known existed until Nick had found them after three days immersed in books of angel lore.
He pushed open the door and sighed as Nick startled and spun around. "Dammit, Dean," he breathed. "Knock or something next time."
Dean entered and clicked the door closed. "I was calling, you didn't answer. And what the hell are you doing in here now anyway?"
"I'm trying to find Magnus, obviously. What else would I be doing here?"
"I don't know. I always thought you were pretty smart, but apparently, you're dumb enough to do this when Sam and Cas are due to show up any minute. I guess I was hoping you were adding to the sigils, packing the map away, maybe. Basically, doing anything apart from giving them a reason to come looking in here when they arrive."
Sam and Castiel were off on one of their angel bonding adventures together. Dean wasn't sure if it was a mountain, a volcano, or maybe a planet this time, but whichever it was, Castiel had been excited when Sam came by to see them and headed out with him.
Sam had been back every other day or so in the month since they'd found Rowena, but he didn't stay as long as any of them would like. He never seemed completely comfortable there. Dean knew it was going to take time for him to get used to being with them all, and he understood it, but he wished Sam would give them more. He didn't even know where he was going or what he was doing when he wasn't with them since he had no mission any more.
Nick stared at him for a moment and then said, "I better hurry then." He tipped the red powder onto the map, spread it with his hands, and said, "Monstrant potentiam!"
Dots of light glowed all over the map, and Dean leaned closer. He traced the edges first, working his way in, and then Nick grabbed his arm and said, "Look!"
"What am I looking at?" Dean asked.
"Us! There's a damn spot right over us."
Dean's heart leaped as he focused on the point of light. It was hard to be sure as, though the map was huge, Lebanon was a tiny place; but it looked like the ball of light was directly over them. Magnus had to be close.
Dean's mind spiraled, and then reason returned to him. and he relaxed. "It's probably Rowena. She's been vocal about getting the codex so she might have decided to come in and get it herself."
"She's out of luck then," Nick said. "Sam saw to that."
Shortly after Sam's explosion of anger and rapid exit, he'd come back and taken the codex. He didn't do it covertly. He just showed up in the kitchen when they were eating dinner, announced he was taking it before they made any more stupid deals, and disappeared with it.
"We should go deal with her then," Dean said. "She's not going to be happy."
They started towards the door, and then Nick stopped and looked back at the map. "What if it's not her?"
Dean froze. "You think Magnus is here?"
"I don't know, but I think we should be prepared just in case. Where are Mom and Jack?"
"They're making popcorn in the kitchen. Mom wants to see if she can get Sam interested in a movie night."
Nick nodded. "Weapons first, then Mom and Jack. I'll call Rowena."
Nick pulled his phone from a pocket, and Dean hurried along the hall towards the library where they had the biggest store of weapons - apart from in the trunk of the Impala.
Behind him, he could hear Nick muttering about Rowena not picking up and then saying, "Rowena, about damn time. Where are you?" There was a pause, and then he shoved past Dean and started striding away, tucking his phone away.
"She's not here?" Dean guessed.
"She's in LA."
Dean cursed. "Okay. Weapons. Mom. But there's a good chance he's not actually in here. He doesn't have a key."
Nick sped his pace. "No, but he was one of The Men of Letters, and he was all about protection. He could have made sure he always had a way in." He cursed and started running.
Dean raced behind him, skidding around corners and into the war room. He wanted to call for Mary and Jack, but he didn't want to draw them out if Magnus was there. Weapons mattered more than getting them in here, too. And if Magnus was there, they would be safer in the kitchen popping corn than facing him with Nick and himself.
Dean ran up the short flight of steps to the library and turned to go to the weapons chest they kept in there. Nick was there first. He yanked it open and passed Dean a gun. Dean checked the clip and saw it was loaded with witch-killing bullets. If they could get a shot in on Magnus himself, not an illusion, they could take him down.
"Get Mom and Jack," Nick said.
Dean started towards the kitchen and then froze as he heard a gasp and then the sound of a gun firing. He spun back around in time to see an image of Magnus disappear.
Nick was pointing his gun at the place he had been. "He's here," he growled.
"Dean? Nick?" Mary's shout came from a distance, coming closer as she asked, "What's going on?"
"Stay there, Mom!" Nick shouted back, then lowered his voice to speak to Dean. "If you see him, shoot, no hesitation." Then his eyes widened as he raised his voice and said, "Sam! Cas! Magnus is in the bunker!"
There was a laugh, and Magnus spoke from behind a bookshelf. "They can't hear you. I bulked up what you already had and added some of my own magic to protect this place. This is a no-fly zone now, even for an archangel, and will be for a while."
Dean stepped forward, gun raised, and searched for any movement that could be Magnus.
Nick gave him a nod,stepped back and walked towards the hall that led to the kitchen. Dean guessed he was aiming to head Mary and Jack off before they came in.
Dean took a quick step around the bookshelf and fired at the figure of Magnus standing there, but it disappeared, leaving a bullet hole in the stone wall.
"Nick!" Mary's shout was panicked, and Dean spun around.
Nick was standing with his gun held at his side, his eyes distant, just like Castiel's had been when Magnus had put the spell on him.
Magnus was holding Nick in front of him like a shield. Mary and Jack were standing behind them, Mary's face white with shock and horror. Jack looked scared.
"Let him go, Magnus," Dean said, pointing the gun right at him.
Magnus fumbled in his pocket, pulled out a small knife and pressed it to Nick's throat. A dot of blood appeared and trickled down Nick's neck to the collar of his shirt: Nick showed no reaction at all.
"Now," Magnus said, "drop the gun and kick it to me, please."
When Dean hesitated, unwilling to give up the last weapon they had, Magnus dug the knife in deeper, and the blood flowed faster. Dean quickly bent and set down the gun then kicked it to Magnus' feet.
"All of you line up in front of me, please," Magnus said. "Quickly now."
Mary and Jack hurried around to stand beside Dean, and Magnus smiled approvingly.
Dean felt helpless. He wanted to attack, but the knife at Nick's throat and the blood trickling down made him too scared to move. He had no weapons, nothing to attack with but his fists, and if he tried for a physical attack, Magnus would have time to cut Nick's throat before he reached him.
"What do you want, Magnus?" Mary asked.
Magnus tilted his head to the side as he considered his answer. "Good question. What do I want? Well, I would like you all dead. I don't see you giving up the hunt for me anytime soon, and I'm tired of hiding, so I need to deal with that. After that, I think I would like to come home. My years with the Men of Letters were the best of my long, long life. I have missed this place. The sheer wealth of knowledge held here is beyond anything you and your intellectually stunted brother can imagine. I want to explore it all in peace."
"We're not alone," Mary said. "We have friends. We have family. You can kill us, but hunters and angels know who you are and what you did. They know about this place. They'll come for you. An archangel will come." She smiled cruelly. "My son will kill you."
Magnus shrugged. "Then I will be sure to lock the door." He tilted his head to the side. "And I think I will have Nick be the first…"
Dean thought he meant 'to die' as the knife twitched on Nick's throat, and he shouted for help even though he wasn't sure it was possible, "Jack, do something!"
Jack sucked in a breath and then lifted his hand. He spread his palm and began to pulse Magnus with energy.
Dean held his breath, but Magnus barely flinched. He moved the knife from Nick's throat and whipped it through the air, throwing it at Mary.
Dean cried out in shock and dragged his mother back, but at the same time, Jack was moving. He jumped in front of her, and the knife entered him just below the collarbone.
"No!" Mary shouted as Jack's legs buckled, and he dropped.
Dean was torn between wanting to help Jack and wanting to attack Magnus now that he was unarmed. Instinct made the decision for him. Dean launched himself at Magnus, his fists flying, but he barely managed to punch him once before Magnus' hand was on his temple, and he was rapidly chanting, "Mentem tuam ac voluntatem adsumo."
Dean felt something wash over him and then the strangest sensation of peace and lightness. It was the same feeling he'd had when Magnus had performed the spell on him before, but this time it was more intense. He'd felt some fight before. This time he just felt empty, a feeling that only changed when Magnus spoke, and then it was just the slightest pang of unease. "Get the knife, Dean."
Dean walked towards where Jack lying on the floor, his face pale, and Mary shielding him. He felt no will to resist or hesitate as he shoved her aside and pulled the knife from Jack's chest.
Jack cried out in pain, and Mary shouted at Dean to stop, but Dean barely heard them. He was just waiting for his next instruction.
Magnus laughed. "This is working even better than I thought it would. After you and the angel resisted me, I knew that I needed to tweak the spell, but you feel nothing, do you, Dean? You will kill them when I tell you to, won't you?"
"Yes," Dean said dully.
"No!" Mary shouted. "Dean, fight this! Sam! Please!"
"He can't hear you while I'm close, and he won't be able to get in," Magnus crooned. "But I should curtail my enjoyment. When you're dead, I can put some time into the books, find a way to kill an archangel; there will be a way." He walked back to Nick and touched his forehead. "I think you should do the honors, Nick. You can…" He stopped with his fingers pressed to Nick's temple. "What happened to you?" He looked back over his shoulder to Dean. "Who did this?"
"Did what?" Dean asked, his tone neutral.
"Something has interfered with his mind. There is something fighting to be freed here. What is it? It's not my spell. I've not felt this before. It's very old power. Ancient…"
"I don't know," Dean said.
Magnus smiled cruelly. "Then let's explore it a little."
"No! Please, don't!" Mary shouted. She was bent over Jack, who was breathing in pants, her hands pressed to the wound on his chest that was bleeding copiously now that the knife was gone. "Dean, stop him!"
Dean turned back to Nick and Magnus, no unease in him, just curiosity.
Magus took a small bag from his pocket and tucked it into Nick's hand. "Repeat after me, Nick," he said.
There was an almighty crash, a thud, and Sam shouted, "No!" At the same moment, Nick recited in an inflectionless voice, "Verum videre."
Nick jolted as if an electric charge was rushing through him and his eyes rolled back. At the same moment Dean saw a flash of silver in the air, heard a strange whistle, and then Magnus' head was flying back as his back arched, revealing the blade of an archangel sword that extended from his chest, right over his heart. Behind him, Sam was standing with his arm still extended from the throw, and Castiel standing horror-struck behind him.
Magnus made a soft sighing sound and collapsed.
Control returned to Dean in a rush, and he stood frozen, one brother to his right, a guttural moan coming from his throat as he convulsed in a seizure, and Jack, the kid he loved like a son, bleeding out to his left.
He didn't know who to go to, what to do, and his words came as a plea. "Sammy, help them."
So… Yep. That happened. So much fun stuff to come now. Angst, hurt, comfort, and a big sacrifice. Buckle in and enjoy the ride.
Until next time…
Jadey xxx