Chapter 18

Thanks for reading this story.

New Chapter, read, enjoy and review.

It was early in the morning, Dean and Emma went out to get some breakfast. They stopped at a diner and sat in one booth, waiting for their orders.

"You okay?" Dean asked her.

Emma looked up. She had woken up earlier, gasping for air in a cold sweat. As she usually did when she had one of those nightmares or dreams. Or was it a memory? She could not tell anymore. She was growing more and more tired of those visions. She wished she could remember everything at once. Emmanuelle knew she would not love what was hiding in her past but at least, her nights would be better and longer. At least, she would know.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Emma hummed in response.

"You don't look fine." Dean retorted. The waitress came back with their scrambled eggs and bacon, and their coffees.

"Well, if your nights were as short as mine, you'd look the same too," Emma replied. She took a bite of her scrambled eggs.

"What was it? Dreams or memory?" Dean sipped his coffee.

"I don't know anymore," Emma admitted. "But I'm for sure getting sick of it."

"What do you remember?"

"Bits and pieces. Not enough to put it all together." She shook her head. "I mean the only clear memory I have is Michael and Lucifer almost killing me."

"Not depressing at all," Dean commented.

The worst memory she had—she was sure it was the worst memory—was the only clear memory she had. Maybe because it was the most painful one. It was not the physical pain she felt when they stabbed her. It was because her brothers—both of them—betrayed her. She had other memories—of past lives—husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends, children. She had led happy lives. Peaceful and quiet lives—with unfortunately regular visits from her brothers. Her brothers' actions had pushed her to use extreme measures to go in hiding. Which led her to lose her powers and damage her grace.

Her powers were coming back slowly and she had not yet had the occasion to use them. And she hoped she wouldn't have to. Not until her grace was completely healed. Her grace was far too damaged to allow her to use her powers to their full capacity. She would have to rely on guns and hand-to-hand combat until then.

"Gentlemen. What brings you by?" The medical examiner greeted them.

"We need to see Amber Greer's body," Sam told him.

"Really? What for?" The M.E. asked them.

"The police report said something clawed through her skull," Dean said.

"You didn't read the autopsy report that I e-mailed out this morning?"

"We had server issues." Sam gave an explanation.

He shrugged and took them to one of the drawers. He showed them Amanda's body. Her head was mangled. Half of her head was missing hair and there were deep cuts covering the patch of missing hair.

"When they brought her in, we thought she was attacked by a wolf or something." The doctor explained.

"Or something," Dean said.

"But we were wrong." He continued. He pulled out a bag in which there was a nail.

"Is that—?"

"It's a press-on nail." The coroner confirmed. "We found it in her temporal lobe."

"Is that even possible?" Sam asked him.

"You saying that she did this to herself?" Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Uh-uh." The coroner nodded. "She scratched her brains out. It'd take hours and it'd hurt like hell, but, sure, it's possible."

"How in the hell?" Emma frowned up.

"Pick your acronym." He shrugged. "OCD, PCP, it all spells crazy. My guess? Some kind of phantom itch."

"Hell of an itch," Emma commented.

"All it takes is someone talking about an itch or thinking about one, and suddenly you can't stop scratching."

"Thanks, doc." Sam nodded to him.

"Okay." And he left.

A serious case of a phantom itch. That cost a young babysitter her life. When they decided to work on that case, they had originally thought that it could have been a werewolf. But to think that this girl did this to herself, was unexpected, to say the least. Emma doubted that it was drugs or a mental illness. There was something else at play.

They visited the family for whom she was babysitting the night she died. They were nice folks for the most part. Nothing suspicious about them or their house. According to the answers they gave to Sam's questions, their house wasn't haunted by anything. They had a son. He was barely above ten or eleven years old. His name was Jimmy. After some intimidation from Dean, he finally admitted to a prank he played on his babysitter.

"Kid said he put this on the babysitter's hairbrush," Dean told both Emma and Sam.

"Dean, there's no way itching powder made that girl scratch her brains out." Sam scoffed. "It's just ground-up maple seeds."

"If you have any other theory, I'm open to them."

But before they could formulate any theories, they were called on another case. A man had been electrocuted and died. The coroner had theorized that it may have been a loose wire or a piece of equipment shorted out. The only witness on the scene, Mr. Stanley was clearly shocked. He had just watched a man being electrocuted to death.

"Mr. Stanley?" Emma called his name softly.

"It was just a joke." He responded instead. "I didn't know it would really work."

"What would work?" Dean asked him.

He finally glanced up at them. "All I did was shake his hand." And he handed them a joy buzzer.

The joy buzzer—that could roast an entire ham—and the itching powder were the last things she ever thought could kill anyone. And yet, there they were with two victims already. Was it cursed objects? Was it a witch? The only way for them to find out was to go to the store that happened to have sold both articles: The Conjurarium.

If you were a prankster, this would be your happy place. Fart bag bomb, rubber chicken, and other many articles of the sort. A real treasure trove for the pranksters. Emmanuelle was not surprised when she saw Dean grabbed one of the Fart bag bombs. He excitedly showed it to his brother and did not put it back on the shelves. Although this was a treasure trove for pranksters, this store was empty. Hopefully, there weren't many of those articles in town.

"Welcome to the Conjurarium, the sanctum of magic and mystery." The shop owner greeted them.

"You the owner?" Sam asked him.

"Yep." He walked up to the counter.

"Sold any itching powder or joy buzzers lately?" Dean asked him.

"Yeah, grand total, one of each." The owner scoffed. "They aren't exactly big-ticket items. Look, you guys here to buy something, or what?"

Dean gave him money for the fart bag. "So, you get many customers?" Sam questioned him.

"Kids come in." He shrugged. "They don't buy much, but they're more than happy to break stuff. These days, all they care about are iPhones and those kissing-vampire movies. The whole thing makes me just—"

"Angry?" Dean finished for him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am angry." He nodded. "This shop has been my life for twenty years, and now it's wasting away to nothing."

"That would explain why you hate them." Emma shrugged.

"I suppose. "

"You wish there was something you could do about it." Dean continued.

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"So, you're taking revenge with this."

Dean showed him the joy buzzers after he took one of the rubber chicken off of a rack and set it down on the counter. He jammed the buzzer in the rubber chicken, electricity shot, and the rubber chicken melted away. The owner yelped, surprised and shock. He fell to the floor.

"Yeah, something tells me this guy is not a powerful witch," Sam stated.

"You think?" Emma retorted.

"Sorry, sorry." Dean apologized before the three of them walked out of the shop.

Sleep did not come easy that night. She laid on her side for about two years before it finally came to her. As soon as her eyes closed the dreams came rushing behind her eyelids. Again, dreams of Lucifer and Michael. Both attacking her, chasing her. Sometimes, Raphaël or Gabriel would pay her a visit. Camael would swoop in and save the day.

It had been a long time since she last saw Camael. She was wondering what happened to him. Was he alright? Or was he on one of those other missions she had—according to her brother—sent him on? She had not checked on him, neither had he. She could only assume that things were alright for him.

Things just kept getting weirder and weirder in the town. A man was taken to the hospital, completely toothless. He claimed that the tooth fairy did this to him. A group of children was suffering from stomach ulcers after they mixed pop rocks and coke. And one man had his face stuck forever in a grotesque grimace. Everything that a child would believe to be true.

"Dude, seriously? Still with the ham?" Sam walked in on Dean eating, yet another ham sandwich.

"We don't have a fridge." Dean countered.

"Well, I found something. Here." Sam put down a map on the table as Emma walked out of the bathroom, drying out her red curls. "Tooth fairy attack was here—" He showed them a red cross at the top of the map. "Pop Rocks and Coke was here—" He pointed to the red cross at the bottom of the map. "Then you've got itching powder, face freeze, and joy buzzers—" He pointed to the other red crosses that he had drawn on the map. "All located within a two-mile radius."

"So, we got a blast zone of weird, and inside, fantasy becomes reality," Dean said.

"Looks like."

"And what's in the center?" Emma asked him.

"Four acres of farmland and a house." Sam shook his head.

"Our motel isn't in that circle, by any chance?" Dean asked his brother.

"Yeah, why?" Dean just showed Sam his hairy right hand. "Oh, dude. That's not what I think it is, is it?"

"Oh, eww." Emma groaned disgusted.

"I got bored. That nurse was hot." Dean smirked.

"You know you can go blind from that too." Sam reminded him.

"Give me five minutes. We'll go check out that house." Dean said walking to the bathroom.

"When—?" Emma started. And then her eyes felt shut. "I'd rather not know."

The trio drove to the address. There they found a lonely house. It stood alone in the middle of nowhere, pretty much. The nearest home must have been a few miles down. There was little to no traffic around. Dean parked the car on the side of the road, across the house.

Once on the porch, Sam started to pick the lock, the door opened to reveal a young boy. It was normal, Emma could see it. But there was something about him. She could see it. He had the same darkness that the demons had. And yet, he didn't appear disfigured and torn apart like most of them. He was human but not entirely.

Dean brought her out of her thoughts by elbowing her. He was holding out his fake badge. She quickly pulled out hers.

"Let me see that." The young boy took Dean's badge to get a better look at it. "So, what, you guys don't knock?" Emma snorted.

"Are your parents home?" Dean asked.

"They work." He answered.

"Well, you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Sam asked him. "Maybe take a look around the house?"

"I don't know."

"Come on, you can trust us, huh?" Dean said, in an attempt to convince him. "We're the authorities."

The boy had let them in. Emma was watching him closely. He was just a boy and yet, there was darkness looming inside of him. Waiting to take over. He was just a boy. She had to remind herself of that fact. Something inside of her was revulsed by this boy. She ignored why she felt this way. She could not resist this feeling. So, she kept reminding herself, in spite of seeing his true nature, he was just a boy.

"What's that?" Sam asked him, noticing the pot on the stove.

"It's called soup." The boy answered. He turned off the stove and moved the pot to the table. "You heat it up and you eat it." He poured the content into a bowl.

Sam scoffed. "Right. I know. It's just, uh—I used to make my own dinner too when I was a kid."

"Well, I'm not a kid."

"Right. No, I know." Sam extended his hand to the boy. "I'm Robert, by the way."

"Jesse." The boy shook his hand.

"Jesse? Nice to meet you."

Emma smiled at the boy. He was just a boy. A lonely boy who was fending for himself while his parents were at work. She couldn't help but feel for the boy. And just like that, the revulsion flew away. He was just a boy, after all.

"Did you draw this?" Dean asked him after he took a picture that was stuck to the fridge.

"It's the tooth fairy," Jesse answered. On the drawing, it was a man with a tutu and a magic wand, and a face full of beard.

"That's what you think the tooth fairy looks like, huh?" Dean asked.

"Yeah. My dad told me about him."

"Huh."

"What, didn't your dad tell you about the tooth fairy?" Jesse asked him.

"My dad?" Dean scoffed. "No. My dad told me different stories."

"Well, the tooth fairy isn't a story."

"What do you know about itching powder?" Dean went on.

"That stuff will make you scratch your brains out."

"Pop rocks and coke?"

"You mix 'em and you'll end up in the hospital. Everyone knows that." Dean showed him the joy buzzer, he'd kept in his pocket. "You shouldn't have that."

"Why not?"

"It can electrocute you."

"Actually, it can't," Dean told him. "It's just a wind-up toy. It's totally harmless. Doesn't even have batteries." He explained.

"So, he can't shock you?"

"Nope. Not at all. I swear."

"Oh, okay." Jesse nodded.

"All it does is just shake in your hand. It's kind of lame. See?"

Dean jammed the joy buzzer in Sam's arm. Emma gasped. And Sam jumped, not expecting his brother to jam an object that could fry a ham in his arm.

Sam glared at his brother. "What did you say your name was again?"

Emma head-slapped Dean as soon as they walked out of Jesse's home. "What's that for?" The eldest Winchester glared at her.

"You know what that was for." Emma glared back.

"Dude, what the hell?" Sam asked him.

"I had a hunch and I went with it."

"You risked my ass on a hunch."

"You're fine. Besides, we know who's turning this town into Willy Wonka's worst nightmare." Dean said.

"The kid," Sam replied.

"Yeah, everything Jesse believes, comes true." Emma stopped next to Sam as Dean continued. "He thinks the tooth fairy looks like Belushi, joy buzzers really shock people. Boom, that's what happens."

"Yeah, convince him that joy buzzers don't actually work, and they go from killing machine back into crap toys." Sam turned to his brother.

"He probably doesn't even know he's doing it."

Emma turned to the house. "Must have something to do with what he is."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked her.

"There's something different about him." Emma sighed. "I'm just—I'm not sure what it is."

Later that day, Sam would find out that Jesse Turner—apart from being an average student and a normal kid—had been adopted. No father was listed but they had the name of his biological mother; Julia Wright. She lived on the other side of the state. So, the trio set out to find her and Emma hoped that she would bring some answers as to Jesse's true nature.

His nature was unknown to her or maybe was it something she could not remember? Either way, she felt it. She felt how powerful Jesse truly was. He was not a prophet like Chuck. But he wasn't entirely human. It was as though she knew, in a corner of her brain she had the answers to her questions and yet, she could not name it.

Julia Wright lived in an isolated home. The house looked abandoned. There was crack here and there in the paint, vines were growing on the wall, and the garden had not been taken care of in a while. It looked as though no one was living there.

Dean rang the bell. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested," Julia said from the other side of the door.

"Oh, we're not salesmen," Dean said as the three of them started to pull out their badges. "Agents Page, Plant and Krauss, FBI." They flashed their badge to the peephole.

"Put your badge in the slot. Your partners' too." She instructed them. And they did.

After a few seconds, they heard Julia unlocked the door. One. Two. Three. Four. Emma counted four locks. Four locks. Who was she trying to keep out? What was she afraid of? The door opened to reveal a blonde woman. She looked wary of them, afraid. Her door was barely opened, clearly, she had no intention to let them in. Emma did a quick scan of her. She was entirely human, unlike Jesse.

"What do you want?" She handed them back their badges.

"We just had a few questions about your son." Sam retorted.

"I don't have a son." She denied.

"He was born March 29th, 1998, in Omaha." Sam continued. "You put him up for adoption."

"What about him?" She asked, thus admitting that she had a son.

"We were just wondering. Was it a—?" Sam hesitated. "Was it a normal pregnancy?"

"Was there anything strange?" Dean clarified.

"Stay away from me!"

Julia slammed the door shut on them. They pushed it open as they rushed after her. She fled into her home, she closed another door on them. She had found refuge in her kitchen. They pushed the door open and salt was thrown onto their person.

"You're not demons?" She asked them surprised.

"How do you know about demons?" Dean asked her back.

Emma put down a cup of hot tea in front of Julia, before sitting down next to Dean. Julia took a sip. The three of them waited for her to calm her nerves.

"I was possessed." She started. "A demon took control of my body, and I hurt people. I killed people."

"That wasn't you." Sam tried to reassure her.

"But I was there." She replied. "I heard a woman beg for mercy. I felt a young girl's blood drip down my hands."

"That's how you knew about the salt." Dean said.

She nodded. "Yeah, I picked up tricks. It was in my head for months."

"How many months?" Emma asked her, leaning in.

"Nine."

Sam exchanged a glance with his brother. "So, your son—"

"Yeah, the whole time, the pregnancy, birth—all of it—I was possessed."

And now it made sense. Jesse was born of a possessed woman, Born of a demon. This explained everything, his nature, his powers, the revulsion she had felt. He was a demon spawn. Such creature were more powerful than any demon. Probably more powerful than any angels.

"The night the baby was born, I was alone—and the pain was overwhelming. I screamed, and it came out a laugh because the demon was happy. It used my body to give birth to a child." She shook her head. "When it was over, something changed. Maybe the demon was tired—or if the pain helped me fight it, but—somehow I took control." She closed her eyes as she kept on. "And the demon wailed inside me, it pounded against my skull. I thought my head was gonna explode, but I knew. I knew what I had to do." She paused. "And when I was alone with the baby, part of me—part of me wanted to kill it. But, Gold help me, I couldn't do that—so, I put it up for adoption, and I ran."

"Who was the father?" Dean asked her once she finished her story.

"I was a virgin." Julia shook her head. They exchanged meaningful looks. "Have you seen my son? Is he human?"

"Yeah, very much human." Emma answered, knowing well the truth. Her son was far from being human.

"His name's Jesse." Dean told her. "He lives in Alliance. He's a good kid."

"So, now what?" Sam asked as soon as they walked out of Julia's home.

"We need help." Dean walked ahead of them towards the car.

"He's a cambion." Emma said stopping next to the car.

"A what now?" Dean looked at her over the roof of the car.

"A cambion." She repeated. "Half-human. Half-demon."

"And how do you know that?" Dean asked her.

"It would explain what I see when I look at him. It would explain his powers." Emma explained. "I mean—the way he was conceived. His birth. It fits. Jesse is the Antichrist."

"The devil's son?" Sam asked her.

"No. More like demon spawn. But still very much powerful."

"Well, if Jesse's a demonic howitzer, what's he doing in Nebraska?" Dean asked her.

She shook her head; "I don't know."

Emmanuelle had no clue as to why a powerful being such as Jesse was doing in Nebraska. The demons would have never taken the risk of letting him out of their grasp. So, why was he? Why was he in Nebraska away from the demons? And what was the purpose of Jesse? Why create him?

Castiel was waiting for them in their motel room. "I take it you got our message." Sam sat down at the table.

"It's lucky you found the boy," Cas said.

"Oh, yeah, real lucky," Dean replied. "What do we do with him?"

"Kill him."

"What?" Emma was baffled by his answer. "He's just a boy."

"This child is half-demon and half-human." Cas countered.

"Yeah, the antichrist, we know," Dean interjected.

"So, you know it is one of the devil's greatest weapons in the war against heaven." Castiel turned to Emma.

"He might not be used as a weapon." Emma walked over to him. "I mean the demons don't even know he's here."

"They lost him but they're looking."

"And they lost him because—?" Dean asked trailing off.

"Because of the child's power." Castiel looked at him. "It hides him from both angels and demons for now."

"So, he's got, like, a force field around him. Well, that's great. Problem solved." Dean said.

"With Lucifer risen, this child grows strong. Soon, he will do more than just make a few toys come to life—something that will draw the demons to him." Cas explained. "The demons will find this child. Lucifer will twist this boy to his purpose and then, with a word, this child will destroy the host of heaven."

"Wait, you're saying that Jesse's gonna nuke the angels?" Dean questioned him.

"We cannot allow that to happen."

"He hasn't done anything yet," Emma said as the room grew quiet. "We won't kill a child."

"There was a time you would have done whatever it took to win this war." Cas got in her face.

"If that was truly the case, I would have killed these two a long time ago." Emma pointed to the brothers. "Before they were even born. It was never about winning the war, Castiel. It was always about stopping it."

"Okay. Hey, look. We are not going to kill him, all right?" Dean placed himself between them. "But we can't leave Jesse here either. We know that. So, we take him to Bobby's. He'll know what to do."

"You'll kidnap him?" Dean nodded at Cas' question. "What is going on in this town, it's what happens when this thing is happy. You cannot imagine what it will do if it's angry. Besides, how will you hold him? With a thought, he could be halfway around the world."

"So we—"

"So, we tell him the truth." Sam cut off Dean. "You say Jesse's destined to go dark side, fine, but Emma's right, he hasn't yet. So, if we lay it all out for him, what he is, the Apocalypse, everything he might make the right choice."

"You didn't," Castiel said. "And I cannot take that chance." Castiel flew away.

"If we're not doing it. He will do it." Emma told the brothers.

As quickly as possible they left and drove, in the middle of the night, to Jesse's home. It became urgent once they realized that Ruby's knife had disappeared.

Dean kicked in the door. Jesse was standing in a corner of the room, looking scared out of his wits. No sight of Castiel anywhere.

"Was there a guy here in a trench coat?" Dean asked him. Jesse pointed to the floor, there stood a small action figure of Castiel. Jesse was truly powerful.

Dean picked up the action figure and put it on the chimney. Emma gently led Jesse to the couch, there she sat next to him.

"Was he your friend?" Jesse asked her.

"Not really." Emma shook her head.

"I did that."

"Yes, you did."

"But how did I do that?"

"Well—"

"You're a superhero," Dean said. Emma stared up at him. What happened to tell him the truth?

"I am?"

"Yeah." Dean nodded. "Yeah, I mean, who else could turn someone into a toy? You're Superman, minus the cape and the go-go boots." Dean glanced at Sam behind him, crouched in front of Jesse. "See, my partners and I, we work for a secret government agency. It's our job to find kids with special powers." Emma rolled her eyes. "In fact, we're here to take you to a hidden base in South Dakota, where you'll be trained to fight evil."

"Like the X-Men?" Jesse asked him excitedly.

"Exactly like the X-Men." He stood back up. "In fact, the guy we're taking you to, he's even in a wheelchair. You'll be a hero. You'll save lives, you'll get the girl. Sounds like fun, right?"

Suddenly Dean flew to the wall and was held there. "They're lying to you."

Emma stood up to see Julia. She was possessed again. She swatted the First One away. Her back slammed into the wall. Sam got the same treatment.

"Stay right there, Dreamboat." She smiled. "Can't hurt you. Orders." Her eyes went to Dean. "You, on the other hand, hurting you is encouraged." With a flick of her hand, she sent Dean to the other side of the room.

"Stop!" Emma yelled struggling to break free. Dean's back slammed into the wall next to her.

"Leave him alone," Jesse shouted.

"Jesse, you're beautiful." The possessed Julia told him. "You have your father's eyes."

"Who are you?" Jesse asked her.

"I'm your mother."

"No, you're not." Jesse shook his head.

"You're half-human, half one of us."

"She means demons, Jesse," Dean told him.

She clenched her fist and slightly turned it, the hold tightened on their bodies.

"Those people you call your parents, they lied to you too. You're not theirs, not really."

"My mom and dad love me." Jesse refused to believe her.

"Do they?" She said back. "Is that why they leave you alone all day? Because they love you so much?"

"Don't listen to her, Jesse." Emma groaned.

"These people, these imposters, they told you that the tooth fairy was real," the demon continued. "And your toys could hurt you, and a hundred other things that aren't true. They love you so much, they made your whole life a lie." Emma was getting frustrated that she could not break free. She should be able to. "Look into your heart, Jesse. You've always known you weren't theirs. You've always known you were different. Everyone has lied to you." She turned to the three of them. "They're not FBI agents. And you're not a superhero."

"Then what am I?"

"You're powerful. You can have anything you want. You can do anything you want."

"Don't listen to her, Jesse," Dean shouted.

"They treated you like a child. Nobody trusted you. Everybody's lied to you. Doesn't that make you angry?"

Jesse clenched his fists. The house started to shake, the walls cracked between them.

"See? It does make you angry. But I'm telling you the truth, Jesse. Wouldn't it be better if there were no lies? Come with me. And we can wash it all clean. Start over. Imagine it, a world without lies."

"She's right. We lied to you." Sam choked out. "But I'll tell you the truth. Ugh!" The demon started to choke him. "I just—Ugh! I just want to tell—Ugh!"

"Stop it," Jesse ordered her.

She did. Her hold on Sam was gone. "I wanna hear what he has to say."

"You're stronger than I thought."

"We lied to you, and I'm sorry." Sam continued. "So, here's the truth. I'm Sam Winchester. That's my brother, Dean. And this is Emma Williams, our friend. We hunt monsters."

"Except when you are the monster, right, Sammy?" She taunted him.

"And that woman right there, her name is Julia." Emma felt the strange calmness overcome her again. "She's your mother. But the thing inside of her, the thing that you're talking to—it's a demon."

"A demon?"

"He's done nothing but lie to you, since the moment you met him." The demon said. "Don't listen to him. Punish him."

"Sit down and shut up," Jesse ordered the demon. A chair moved behind her, hit the back of her knees. Forced to sit down, the demon could no longer talk.

"There's kind of a war between angels and demons and you're a part of it."

"I'm just a kid," Jesse said, his voice wobbling slightly.

"You can go with her if you want. I can't stop you. No one can. But if you do, millions of people will die."

"She said I was half-demon. Is that true?"

"Yes. But you're half-human too. You can do the right thing. You've got choices, Jesse—but if you make the wrong ones, it'll haunt you for the rest of your life."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jesse snapped, on the verge of crying.

"Because I have to believe someone can make the right choice, even if I couldn't," Sam told him.

Jesse turned to Julia. "Get out of her." The black smoke came flying out of Julia's body. And disappeared through the chimney.

"How did you do that?" Dean asked Jesse, staying close to Emma.

"I just did." Jesse shrugged.

"Kid, you're awesome," Dean said.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Jesse asked them.

"Eventually," Dean answered. Dean then bent down to pick up Castiel. "Look, uh, truth is he's kind of a buddy of mine. Is there any way you can turn him back?"

"He tried to kill me." Jesse reminded him.

"Right, uh? But he's a good guy. He was just confused." Jesse didn't budge. "Okay. It's been a long night. We'll talk about it later."

"What now?"

"Now, we are going to put you to safety." Emmanuelle crouched down in front of him.

"Get you trained up," Dean added. "You'd be handy in a fight, kid."

"What if I don't wanna fight?" Jesse asked.

"It's your decision to make."

"Jesse." Sam intervened. "You're powerful." Emmanuelle stood up. She could feel Dean's eyes on her. He was watching her every move, making sure she was fine. "More powerful than pretty much anything we've ever seen. That makes you—"

"A freak?" Jesse finished for him.

"To some people maybe, but not to us," Sam said. "See, we're kind of freaks ourselves."

"I can't stay here, can I?" Jesse turned to Dean.

"No," Dean answered. "Demons know where you are. More will be coming."

"I won't go without my mom and dad," Jesse said.

"There's nothing more important than family. We get that." Sam retorted. "And if you really wanna take them with you, we'll back your play. But you gotta understand, it's gonna be dangerous for them too."

"What do you mean?" Jesse asked her confused.

"Our dad, he would take us with him wherever he went," Dean explained.

"Where is he now?"

"Dead. A demon killed him."

"Look, once you're in this fight—it's to the end." Emma gently held his hand.

"What should I do?"

"That's for you to decide." Emma pressed his hand.

"Can I go see my parents?" Jesse asked them. "I, uh—I need to say goodbye."

"Sure."

Emma stood up. "Another life that my brothers have ruined." She shook her head. "He's just a kid."

"A powerful kid." Dean reminded her. "We don't really have a choice here. We have to take him someplace safe."

"I know." She nodded. "I just wished we didn't have to."

They didn't have to. The boy had vanished. He left to keep his parents safe. Hopefully, he would stay hidden for as long as possible. No one would find him until the very end. How many more lives would be ruined in the name of their wars? How many more lives would be taken in this war? This had to be stopped, this war between Heaven and Hell. This feud between her brothers. This needed to end.