"Dean. I'm tired. Just take us back." I sighed from the passenger seat. Judson texting me from the room and asking how much longer we'd be.
"Tired or just ready to get back to the boy toy?"
"Well you'd have been able to take Sam and leave me at the motel with him if you hadn't let him disappear on his own, he hasn't my texts all day."
Dean sighed and leaned his head back slightly as we pulled up in front of the hotel.
"I know you're still mad at me, but Em it was his choice. I agreed, but I didn't ask or tell him to leave."
I turned and shook my head.
It's easier to be mad at Dean for making him leave then think that Sam left without saying goodbye and kept bare minimum contact on his own.
"C'mon." He said climbing out and coming around the car to swing an arm over my shoulders while I sulk.
"Hi. Good evening, brother. Is your soul rapture-ready?" A man on the sidewalk is trying to hand out flyers to people as they pass by, most are ignoring him. "Thank you, sir. God bless."
"Excuse me, friends, but have you taken time out to think about God's plan for you?" He said stopping in front of us next.
"Too friggin' much, pal." Dean huffs as he leads us inside. I went up the stairs to the second floor, and walked ahead of Dean as we got closer to the door. I knocked gently and grinned when Judson opened it for me. I leaned in with a kiss.
"Move it horndogs." Dean said pushing in past us. Before I could insult him b ack his phone rang.
"Hello?.. Hey Cas. Wait. What?"
"Put it on speaker." I said moving towards him.
"We're talking about the Colt, right? I mean, as in the Colt?" Dean said as he pulled the phone between us on hit the button.
"We are." Cas said confidently.
"Well, that doesn't make any sense. I mean, why would the demons keep a gun around that, uh, kills demons?" I asked.
"What? What? Did—I didn't—I didn't get that."
Dean chuckled and I slapped at him playfully.
"You know, it's kind of funny. Talking to a messenger of God on a cellphone. It's, you know, like watching a Hell's Angel ride a moped." Dean teased.
"This isn't funny, Dean. The voice says I'm almost out of minutes."
With that I covered my mouth and snorted trying to hold back my laughter. Judson shook his head at us but I could see the grin he was hiding.
"Okay, all right. I'm—I'm telling you, Cas, the mooks have melted down the gun by now." Dean responded.
"Well, I hear differently. And if it's true and if you are still set on the insane task of killing the devil, this is how we do it."
"Okay. Where do we start?"
"Where are you now?"
"Kansas City… Century Hotel, room 113." I shout reaching to read the numbers off our door key.
"I'll be there immediately."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, come on, man. I just drove like sixteen hours straight, okay? I'm human. And there's stuff I got to do." Dean groaned.
"What stuff?"
"Eat, for example. In this case, sleep. I just need like four hours once in a while, okay?"
"Yes."
"Okay, so, you can pop in tomorrow morning."
"De. You know he's probably going to stand at that payphone till the sun comes up."
"He'll be fine."
"Ughhh.. you're ridiculous. I'm gonna call for a pizza, that okay with the two of you?"
They both nodded at me as I dialed the number on the phamplet that was left on the bedside table for us. I scanned it for other local things I might be interested in. Honestly, every town seems kind of the same. At least pizza is hard to screw up.
As I finished ordering I looked over and Dean was already nodding off laying across his bed.
"Think he might be out." I smiled to Judson.
"Really now?" He gave a devious grin as he came towards me. "You better be quiet then."
He whispered the words into my hear as his hands slid up underneath my shirt and his fingertips slid up and down my sides. I wrapped my arms around his neck and breathed heavy against his lips.
"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT." Dean growled form his bed without opening his eyes.
I rolled my eyes as Judson pulled away and crossed the room with a sigh. Dean was refusing to allow us to get two rooms, yet also refused to let us share a bed. I either get to choose sharing with him or Judson sleeps on a couch. If I honestly thought he wouldn't wake up I'd just wait him out at night and move beds but the asshole hasn't slept well in days. He's upset about Sam even if he won't admit it.
"I guess it's pizza and bed then." I said walking by and smacking him with my pillow, he replied with a Grunt but didn't move a muscle. Asshole.
…..
…..
…..
I was asleep and suddenly I wasn't.
In my fuzzy sense of consciousness I could hear my phone ringing. I sat up and reached across the bedside table reaching for it.
"Who is it?" Judson whispered.
"I don't know." I grumbled not looking as I answered. "M'hello.."
"Kiddo, it's me."
"Sam?" I asked standing up. Now Dean was suddenly awake as well. "It's quarter past four, are you okay? Are you safe?"
"Yeah, Em. I'm fine. It's just that this is important, is Dean close by?"
"Yeah, he's here." I said turning back towards Dean who flipped on a light. I walked over and threw it on speaker phone as I sat across from him on the bed.
"Sammy?" Dean asked confused.
"Yeah. Uh, hey. Look. I know it's bad timing but I need to tell you something."
"What's wrong Sam?" I asked sensing the fear in his voice.
"Lucifer came to me, in a dream."
Dean and I froze, eyes going wide as we both turned up to look at one another. Judson moved closer and perched beside me, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
My entire body felt like it was made of chopsticks in that exact moment. Shaky and stiff as I swallowed the lump in my throat.
"I… I thought it was just a dream about Jessica. But. The things she said to me. Jess would never say those things to me. So I started getting suspicious and that's when her eyes started to glow red."
"Red?" I asked.
"Yeah."
"Yeah… That's him." I shuttered remembering the eyes in the smoke.
"I just, knew it was right then."
"What did he say? What did he want?" Judson asked intently.
"He uh… He wanted me to say, yes."
"Say yes?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Uh… kind of like how Zachariah wants you to say yes."
"What?!" I said as I stood. "No… you've got to be kidding me."
"I'm not, Em."
"So, you're his vessel, huh? Lucifer's wearing you to the prom?" Dean asked a little too calmly for my taste. I was on the verge of a panic attack.
"That's what he said."
"Just when you thought you were out, they pull you back in, huh, Sammy?"
"So, that's it? That's your response?"
"What are you looking for?"
I turned and threw the back of my hand against his shoulder, scolding him with my glare.
"I don't know. A—a little panic? Maybe?"
"I got that covered." I spoke up as I spun and began to pace slightly.
"I guess I'm a little numb to the earth-shattering revelations at this point." Dean sighed as he grabbed a beer from the fridge.
"What are we gonna do about it?"
"What do you want to do about it?"
"I want back in, for starters."
I turned to face Dean again and gave him a look that could kill. He better not fucking shut him down.
"Sam—" He sighed.
"Dean!" I whisper yelled, he turned away from me but I followed him.
"I mean it. I am sick of being a puppet to these sons of bitches. I'm gonna hunt him down, Dean."
"Oh, so, we're back to revenge, then, are we? Yeah, 'cause that worked out so well last time."
"Not revenge. Redemption."
"So, what, you're just gonna walk back in and we're gonna be the dynamic trio again?" Dean mocked.
"Dean stop it!" I said getting upset. "Stop being a fucking dick!"
He waved me off and went back to the phone.
"Look, Dean, I can do this. I can. I'm gonna prove it to you."
"Look, Sam—it doesn't matter—whatever we do. I mean, it turns out that you and me, we're the, uh, the fire and the oil of the Armageddon. You know, on that basis alone, we should just pick a hemisphere. Stay away from each other for good."
I can't believe he just said that… I stood and crossed my arms. Ready to punch him in the face.
"Dean, it does not have to be like this. We can fight it."
"Yeah, you're right. We can. But not together. We're not stronger when we're together, Sam. I think we're weaker. Because whatever we have between us—love, family, whatever it is—they are always gonna use it against us. And you know that. Yeah, we're better off apart. We got a better chance of dodging Lucifer and Michael and this whole damn thing, if we just go our own ways."
"DEAN!" I yelled going to knock my phone from his hand and beat the shit out of him, but he pulled it back.
"Dean, don't do this." Sam sighed.
"DEAN! Stop it!" I struggled to get to the phone. "SAM WAIT!"
"Bye, Sam." Dean said before hanging up the phone and tossing it on the bed.
"You asshole!" I yelled pushing my hands against his chest. "What the fuck are you thinking?!"
"Em. It's true. If he's Lucifer's vessel then we shouldn't be together right now. That's just the way it is."
"I can't fucking believe you Dean!" I said feeling the ground rumble beneath us.
"Emily calm down." Judson warned from behind me.
"No!" I yelled turning towards him. "This is family business so get the hell out!"
He held up his hands and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. I flinched but kept my eyes on Dean, who's face was too apathetic for me to really read him.
"You call him back right now! Tell him to come home and we will figure this out."
"No."
"YES!"
"NO!" He yelled back going to walk away from me to the bathroom.
"THEN I'M GOING WITH HIM!" I screamed as everything on the walls hit the ground and the glass in the room shattered.
Dean froze where he stood, the shattered mirror at his feet.
"… I'm sorry repeat that again." He said not turning around.
"Dean please stop this bullshit! Let him come back! We need each other, we have to face this together or we'll never stand at chance at winning!"
He turned towards me and in three steps closed the distance between us as he grabbed my shoulders. Just as he went to speak the world around us had changed. The walls had holes in them, no beds or furniture were left, and there was graffiti covering the walls.
"Dean… where are we?"
"I don't know." He said standing and spinning in a circle.
"I-I.. I didn't mean to." I began to panic, wondering if I destroyed everything around us without even realizing it.
"Em…" Dean said moving to the broken window. "I don't think this was you."
I walked to stand behind him and followed his gaze out the window. The entire city was destroyed. Smoke. Abandoned buildings. Graffiti. Trash.
"Dean what the hell happened? Where is Judson?!"
"I don't know kiddo. Stay close… you got a gun?"
"No." I said patting my hips. "It was under my pillow."
The sound of broken glass down in the alley caught our attention. Dean put his finger to his lips and waved for me to follow him down. No signs of Judson or anyone else for that matter as we exited the building and made our way behind it. We followed the rustling and found a little girl holding a tattered teddy bear.
"Little girl? Little girl?" Dean called out, she spun and just looked at us.
"Are you hurt?" I asked her stepping forward.
"You know the not-talking thing is kind of creepy, right?" Dean said after another 10 seconds of silence. Suddenly her mouth opens and blood begins to drip out of it.
"Dean… what.." I took steps backwards towards him.
Suddenly she shrieks and charges us with a shard of glass. I knocked her out began to pant heavily as I looked up and read the word sprayed on the wall behind her.
"CROATOAN." Dean mumbled. Then the empty alley began to fill with people, angry, sick looking people. Most likely they had all been infected like the little girl.
"Oh crap… RUN!" Dean yelled grabbing me and pushing me ahead of him as we ran for our lives down a different alley.
"Dammit!" I yelled as we chased into a chain link fence. Slamming my hands against it and realizing we were trapped. We'll never climb it fast enough as they walked towards us.
"Emily, I'm gonna fight- you climb!"
"No.. No I'm not leaving you."
"EMILY!"
"NO!" I yelled as I lifted my hands and focused my energy on a piece of metal scrap on the ground, I launched it forward and it took out two people. I went to lift another but suddenly tanks filled with soldiers came into view and they began shooting.
The music form the tank is blaring "Do You Love Me" as they take them out one after another.
"Dean do we run!?"
"No.. Not yet." He said as we took cover.
We continued to watch as the soldier jumped out, and while drinking a bottle of scotch he continues to kill them one at a time, singing out loud to the song.
"Em. Go." Dean said pointing to a hole in the fence at the bottom corner. We move towards it and take off, running for dear life.
"Wait stop." I said looking over at another fence. The sign catching my eye as I breathed heavily to catch my breath, Dean walked forward as he sucked in air and began to read it out loud.
"August first… 2014. CROATOAN Virus Hot Zone. No entry by order of acting regional command."
"What the hell does that mean!? We're in the future?"
"Yeah… I think we are kiddo."
I began to look around again… the city was destroyed. Nearly burnt to the ground. CROATOAN had taken over like a demonic apocalypse.
"Dean… what if I did this."
"No, don't. Don't even. I need you on point, kiddo. We will figure this out. This isn't your fault. Okay? I promise."
"Dean… where is Judson.. Sam?" I began to whimper.
"Listen. We will find them. I promise!"
I nodded up and down.
"Let's get a car. Get on the road. See what else is out there okay? There's bound to be something nearby."
"Yeah… uh. There's a truck- over there." I said spinning and looking for a vehicle in decent condition. We run over and Dean hotwires it quickly before we take off down the road.
"No cell service." I said lifting a phone I found in the seat.
"Well. This isn't good." He mumbled as he found nothing but static on every radio station.
"This is CROATOAN huh?" I sighed. "I've never been so sure we would die as I was in that town. I hate that town."
Just then he finally got a signal on the radio.
"Croatoan pandemic reaches Australia." A familiar voice comes over the radio. Dean looked at me and narrowed his eyes.
"Is tha-"
"Hiya kids." Zachariah said from the backseat, flipping through a newspaper."
"I thought I smelled your stink on this Back to the Future crap." Dean groaned as I clutched his shirt in my hand. Sure that if I just didn't speak then maybe he'd leave me alone.
""President Palin defends bombing of Houston." Certainly a buyer's market in real estate. Let's see what's happening in sports. That's right—no more sports. Congress revoked the right to group assembly. What's left of Congress, that is. Hardly a quorum, if you ask me."
"How did you find us?"
"Afraid we had to tap some unorthodox resources of late—human informants. We've been making inspirational visits to the fringier Christian groups. They've been given your image, told to keep an eye out."
"The Bible freak outside the motel—he, what, dropped a dime on us?" I turned and said, unable to bite my tongue at the audacity.
"Onward, Christian soldiers."
"Okay, well, good, great. You have had your jollies. Now send us back, you son of a bitch."
"Oh, you'll get back—all in good time. We want you to marinate a bit, Dean."
"Marinate?" He scoffed. "Then why drag her here?"
"Because you would have killed me if you thought I separated her from you. God forbid." He rolled his eyes. "Three days, kids. Three days to see where this course of action takes you."
"Where is Judson!" I demanded.
"Making laps in the lobby waiting for you and Dean to stop bickering."
"And Sam?!"
"I didn't touch him." He raised his hands. "This isn't for him… this is for you and Dean."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Dean asked.
"It means that your choices have consequences. This is what happens to the world if you continue to say "no" to Michael. What could happen if Emily becomes the weapon Lucifer wants her to be. Have a little look-see."
A chill crawled down my spine as he vanishes.
"DAMMIT!" Dean slammed his hand against the wheel. "I hate that guy."
"De." I whispered. "It… it was me."
"Emily you don't know that."
"You heard him! I'm a walking, talking weapon that Lucifer will use to destroy us all."
"No. You get a choice. WE get a choice. Don't… let this be the reason you stay good. The reason you don't use that power unless its life and death. Okay?"
I didn't answer him, but I did lean my head against his shoulder as he continued to drive.
…..
…..
…..
"Bobby? Bobby, I'm coming in!" Dean said as he continued to beat on the front door. Finally he turned the knob and lead us inside.
"Dean. This place is trashed."
There was spiderwebs and dust covering floor to ceiling, clear that no body had been here for quite some time now.
"Oh no." Dean sighed. I turned and found him standing over a wheelchair bent and laid on its side.
"No, not Bobby." I cried as I noted the bullet holes and blood stains that Dean began to run his fingers across.
"Em, look." Dean said grabbing a journal out of a hidden pocket on his chair. He opened it and turned a picture towards me. Its Bobby, Cas, and three men I didn't recognize and a sign that read Camp Chitqua.
"Where is that?"
"I don't know… but we're gonna find it."
We drove four hours before we started to see road signs with the name Camp Chitqua spray painted on them. We parked a ways off and hid the truck in a clearing off the road. Dean grabbed my hand and kept us low as we approached the fence around the lit perimeter. There were men with guns just inside the fence patrolling.
"Aww… Baby." I whispered sadly as I see her off to the side in the distance. She looked smashed and rusted.
"Oh, baby, no." Dean sighed.
He pulled us through the brush and kept us in the dark until we found an out of sight path to the impala. Dean let go of me and reached up, peering inside the driver side door.
"Oh, no, baby, what did they do to you?"
Dean looked down and grabbed something off the seat.
"We gotta get you out of here." He breathed with a panic.
"Why?!" I snatched the paper and on it was a picture of me, and in large letters at the bottom it read 'kill on site- extremely dangerous'.
"Dean. I don-" I turned to look up at him but not before he was knocked out by… Dean?!
"What the fuck!" I said scrambling to get away as I fell back and stumbled. This Dean was harsh, his face cold, and as soon as he turned to me he pulled his gun and held it to my forehead.
"Wait!" I cried. "Please wait… I'm not what you think I am! Please!"
"I know who you are… I raised you. I know you. Well, did know you." He shrugged. Then he cocked the gun.
"DEAN! PLEASE!" I begged and cried. "I'm not YOUR Emily… I'm from the past, please!"
His face twitched slightly. He dug the tip of the barrel further into my forehead to the point it hurt, he lifted his hand and the butt of the gun connected with my face, sufficiently knocking me out.
…..
…..
…..
My head pounded. I groaned. I tried to lift my head but it was too heavy.
"What the hell?" Dean's voice cut into my head, immediately pulling me from my fog. I let my head stay hung while I listened.
"I should be asking that question, don't you think? In fact, why don't you give me one good reason why I shouldn't gank you right here and now?" The other Dean's voice cut in. I can tell it's his by the level of anger behind his tone.
"Because you'd only be hurting yourself." My Dean joked.
"Very funny."
"Hey.. Wait. Em! Emily, what did you do to her?"
"She's alive."
I twitched lightly and pulled my head up slowly, meeting eyes with my Dean as he breathed a sigh of relief. We were both bound to chairs and facing each other with about 6 feet between us.
"Look, man— We're no shapeshifter or demon or anything, okay?"
"Yeah, I know. I did the drill while you were out. Silver, salt, holy water—nothing. But you know what was funny? Was that you had every hidden lockpick, box cutter, and switchblade that I carry. Now, you want to explain that? Oh, and the, uh, resemblance, while you're at it? I mean she's definitely not the Emily riding shotgun with Luci, hairs too long and light colored. Eyes too scared. But you look a little too identical to me right now in this time. So spill."
"Zachariah." I sighed. "Please. You already know where we're from. I told you!"
"Come again?" The other Dean stood quickly and asked walking towards us.
"I'm you from the tail end of 2009. Zach plucked us from my our motel and threw us five years into the future." Dean explained.
"Where is he? I want to talk to him."
"I don't know."
"Oh, you don't know." He circled and walked towards me, putting a blade to my neck as he looked back at my Dean.
"No, I don't know! Look, I just want to get us back to our own friggin' year, okay?"
"Okay. If you're me, then tell me something only I would know."
My Dean looked between me and him and bit on his lip for a minute before smirking.
"Rhonda Hurley. We were, uh, nineteen. She made us try on her panties. They were pink. And satiny. And you know what? We kind of liked it."
"Ewww. De." I groaned. "Couldn't you have given him a PG example."
"Oh shut up, you and boytoy tried to get frisky while I was sleeping. You can't judge me!"
"Okay, okay. Touché. So, what, Zach zapped you up here to see how bad it gets?" Future Dean asked as he pulled the blade away from me and stood between us.
"I guess. Croatoan virus, right? That's their endgame?"
"It's efficient, it's incurable, and it's scary as hell. Turns people into monsters. Started hitting the major cities about two years ago. World really went in the crapper after that… and well. Her." He spun and pointed to me with a pained look on his face.
"Me?" I said with wide eyes. "What did I-"
"What about Sam?"
Future Dean pauses and looks down at the ground, then walked away from us both.
"Heavyweight showdown in Detroit. From what I understand, Sam didn't make it."
"You weren't with him?" I asked.
"No. No, me and Sam, we haven't talked in—hell, five years."
"We never tried to find him?" My Dean asked skeptically.
"We had other people to worry about." Future Dean turned towards me again. "Although that seemed to be wasted effort anyways… I haven't seen her in 3 years either, but she didn't look like that anymore. She's alive… somewhere."
I looked at my Dean and my lip quivered as I fought to reign in my panic. This was all so wrong. This was my fault. This is why we HAVE to stay together.
"Where you going?" My Dean's voice caught my attention again. I looked up to see Future Dean headed for the door.
"I got to run an errand."
"Whoa. You're just gonna leave us here?"
"Yes. I got a camp full of twitchy trauma survivors out there with an apocalypse hanging over their head. The last thing they need to see is a version of The Parent Trap. Or Luci's little bitch running around camp. They'll drop her the moment they see her. So, yeah, you two stay locked down."
"Okay. All right. Fine. But you don't have to cuff me, man. Oh, come on. You don't trust yourself?"
"No. Absolutely not." He said before he closed the door behind him.
"Dick."
"Well now you see why I say it." I grinned at him. He rolled his eyes in response.
"Shut up and please tell me you've got a bobby pin."
I twisted and turned my fingers, clicking to the left until I heard the pop. I pulled out of the handcuffs and walked over to pick Dean's.
"Okay… you can't go out there like this. Someone will recognize you. Even if you did get a make over."
"What do we do?"
"Uhh…" Dean said spinning around. "Here!"
He rushed over to the corner where some supplies were and grabbed a handful of things. He rushed back over to me and rubbed something over my face, the same thing I used to see in military movies. Then he slipped a vest over my arms and placed a ball cap low on my head, making sure my long brown hair gave me something to hide behind.
"Okay. Don't talk, don't leave my side. If anyone asks, you're a new recruit. Saved you from town."
"Yeah. Okay." I nodded nervously.
"Hey." He said before we walked out. "It's gonna be okay Em. Just a couple of days."
I swallowed and nodded slightly.
Dean grabbed me by the hand and led us out of the building and we began to try and make our way through the camp.
"Hey, Dean. You got a second?"
I jumped as the voice ran up behind us.
"No—yes. Uh, I—I guess. Hi, Chuck."
"Hi. So, uh, listen, we're pretty good on canned goods for now, but we're down to next to nothing on perishables and—and hygiene supplies. People are not gonna be happy about this. So, what do you think we should do?"
"I—I don't know. Maybe, uh, share? You know, like at a kibbutz."
"Wait a minute. aren't you supposed to be out on a mission right now? Who's she?"
"Absolutely. And I will be. As soon as I get our new recruit settled." He said lifting our hands.
"Uh-oh." Chuck's eyes go wide as he looks behind us. I spin just as a woman walks up and tries to punch Dean in the face.
"Whoa! Jeez! Easy, lady!" Dean said hiding behind Chuck. I stood off to the side trying to stay out of sight out of mind.
"Risa." Chuck said calmly.
"Risa?" Dean repeated.
"You spent the night with this new little slut of yours in her cabin last night, didn't you?" Risa said gesturing to me.
"No she- Uh, what? I—I don't—"
"I thought we had a 'connection'." Risa exclaimed with air quotes.
"Well, I'm sure that we do."
"Yeah?"
"Screw you!" She said slapping him and walking away. I chuckled behind my hand.
"Oh, jeez. I'm getting busted for stuff I haven't even done yet." He groaned looking at me. I widened my eyes at him.
"What?" Chuck asked confused.
"Uh, never mind. Hey, Chuck, is...Cas still here?"
"Yeah. I don't think Cas is going anywhere."
We followed Chuck over to Cas's cabin where he pointed us to the door before leaving, when we walked in he was surrounded by women, a large smile on his face. I'd never seen him look so care free… is he high?
"So, in this way. We're each a fragment of total perception—just, uh, one compartment in that dragonfly eye of group mind. Now, the key to this total, shared perception—it's, um, it's surprisingly physical." Cas smiled to the women.
Gross.
"Oh. Excuse me, ladies. I think I need to confer with our fearless leader for a minute. Why not go get washed up for the orgy?"
DOUBLE GROSS.
"You're all so beautiful." He smiles to them as he stands and stretches, like he's warming up for a race.
"What are you, a hippie?" Dean wrinkled his nose at him.
"I thought you'd gotten over trying to label me."
"Cas, we got to talk."
"Whoa. Strange." Cas said turning towards me. I backed away as much as I could
"What?"
"It's Emily. The real Emily." Then he spun to Dean. "You...are not you. Not now you, anyway."
"No! Yeah. Yes, exactly."
"What year are you from?"
"2009."
"Who did this to you? Is it Zachariah?"
"Yes Cas." I sighed. "Please keep your voice down!"
"Interesting."
"Oh, yeah, it's friggin' fascinating. Now. Why don't you strap on your angel wings and fly us back to our page on the calendar?" Dean asked.
"I wish I could just, uh, strap on my wings, but I'm sorry, no dice."
"What, are you stoned?"
"Uh, generally, yeah."
"I knew it!" I exclaimed.
"What happened to you?" Dean asked him genuinely.
"Life."
We followed him as he walked outside, and we saw a humvee with future Dean and some soldiers driving up. I pulled back on Dean's arm and suggested we get hidden quick. But before I could speak we watched as future Dean lifted his gun at one of the soliders.
"Hey. Hey! Watch out!" My Dean charged forward and yelled, but not before future Dean got off his shot. Now everyone stood with a panicked look, flipping their heads between the two of them.
"Damn it." Future Dean growls. "I'm not gonna lie to you. Me and him—It's a pretty messed-up situation we got going. But believe me, when you need to know something, you will know it. Until then, we all have work to do."
They all hesitantly nod and future Dena grabbed my Dean by the arm and dragged him towards me where he grabbed me too and pushed us into a cabin, shutting the door behind us.
"What the hell was that?" Future Dean demands.
"What the hell was that? You just shot a guy in cold blood." My Dean argues.
"We were in an open quarantine zone. Got ambushed by some Croats on the way out." He shrugged. Dean and I stared at him silently suggesting he offer more information.
"Croats. Croatoans. One of them infected Yeager."
"How do you know?"
"Cause after a few years of this, I know. I started seeing symptoms about a half an hour ago. Wasn't gonna be long before he flipped. I didn't see the point in troubling a good man with bad news."
"Troubling a good man?" I scoffed. "You just blew him away in front of your own people. Don't you think that freaked them out a little bit?"
"It's 2014. Plugging some Croat, it's called commonplace. Trading words with my friggin' clone—that might have freaked them out a little."
"All right, look—" My Dean said stepping forward.
"No, you look. This isn't your time. It's mine. You don't make the decisions. I do. So, when I say stay in, you stay in."
"All right, man. I'm sorry. Look, I—I'm not trying to mess you—me—us up here."
"I know." Future Dean sighed as he poured three glasses of whiskey.
"It's just been a really wacky weekend."
"Tell me about it."
I stared as the two of them lifted and sipped at the whiskey at the exact same time, in the exact same way, making the exact same face as they let the burn settle.
"What was the mission, anyway?" I asked, sipping at my own drink.
Future Dean pulled something out of his waist.
"Is that…" I mumbled walking closer.
"The Colt?" My Dean finished.
"The Colt." Future Dean nodded.
"Where was it?"
"Everywhere. They've been moving it around. Took me five years, but...I finally got it. And tonight—tonight, I'm gonna kill the devil."
"What?!" I gasped.
"C'mon." He said leading us out of the headquarters building into the evening warm air.
"So, that's it? That's the Colt?" Risa asked stiffly coming beside him.
"If anything can kill Lucifer, this is it."
"Great. Have we got anything that can find Lucifer?" She scalded. He paused and turned to look at her.
"Are you okay?"
"Oh, we were in, uh, in a cabin with the new recruit over her. And, apparently, we and...Risa have a connection." My Dean mumbled over his shoulder.
"You want to shut up?" Future Dean rolled his eyes. My Dean raised his hands in surrender and stepped back. "We don't have to find Lucifer. We know where he is. The demon that we caught last week, he was one of the big guy's entourage. He knew."
"So, a demon tells you where Satan's gonna be, and you just believe it?"
"Oh, trust me, he wasn't lying."
"And you know this how?" Risa asked him skeptically.
"Our fearless leader, I'm afraid, is all too well schooled in the art of getting to the truth."
"Torture? Oh, so, we're—we're torturing again." My Dean asked in shock. Future Dean lifted an eyebrow at him. "No, that's—that's good. Classy."
Future Cas laughed from beside us. Future Dean glared at him.
"What? I like past you."
"Lucifer is here. Now. I know the block and I know the building."
"Oh, good—it's right in the middle of a hot zone." Cas grinned.
"Crawling with Croats, yeah. You saying my plan is reckless?"
"Are you saying we, uh, walk in straight up the driveway, past all the demons and the Croats, and we shoot the devil?"
"Yes."
"Okay, if you don't like, uh, 'reckless', I could use 'insouciant', maybe. You know even if we make it past them… she'll be there."
"Are you coming?"
"Of course." Cas sighed. "But why is he? I mean, he's you five years ago. If something happens to him, you're gone, right? Plus the… new recruit, would be in great danger. She may be needed back home." He said knowingly.
"That's why they're coming."
"Wait, what?!" I asked.
"Okay. Well, uh. I'll get the grunts moving."
"We're loaded and on the road by midnight."
"All righty."
Cas, Risa, and anyone else nearby leave to go prepare.
"Why are you taking us?" My Dean asked stepping in front of him.
I'm getting really sick of having to keep my mouth shut. I want to be a part of these damn conversations.
"Relax. You'll be fine. Zach's looking after you, right?"
"No, that's not what I mean. I want to know what's going on."
"Yeah, okay. You're coming because I want you to see something. I want you to see our brother. Plus… she needs to know what she becomes. She may be the only thing that can get us past her."
"Sam? I thought he was dead." I stepped up and questioned. Part of me wanted to throw a fit, but the moment he said Sam would be there, I knew there was no way I wouldn't go.
"Sam didn't die in Detroit. He said 'yes'."
"Yes?" Dean questioned.
"Wait. You mean—" I gasped after a long silent pause.
"That's right. The big 'yes'. To the devil. Lucifer's wearing him to the prom."
"Why would he do that?"
"Wish I knew. But now we don't have a choice. It's in him, and it's not getting out. And we've got to kill him, Dean. And you need to see it—the whole damn thing, Emily you need to know how bad it gets—so you can do it different. So you can CHOOSE different."
"What do you mean?" I asked confused.
"I told you a long time ago, you get to choose. If those bastards have to ask permission to wear us like a tux, then I knew you would have to choose to do his bidding for him. He doesn't control you. He's at your mercy."
"Lucifer?"
"Yes… Sam. Lucifer. One in the same now, better get that in your head now. Zach said he was gonna bring you back, right? To oh-nine?"
"Yeah." My Dean nodded.
"Well, when you get back home—you say 'yes'. You hear me? Say 'yes' to Michael."
"What! No!" I cut in between them.
"That's crazy. If I let him in, then Michael fights the devil. The battle's gonna torch half the planet." Dean explained.
"Look around you, man. Half the planet's better than no planet, which is what we have now. If I could do it over again, I'd say 'yes' in a heartbeat."
"So why don't you?"
"I've tried! I've shouted 'yes' till I was blue in the face! The angels aren't listening! They just—left—gave up! It's too late for me, but for you—"
"Oh, no. There's got to be another way. What if I don't become his weapon? What if I just stay with Dean. I can fix this, right?!" I pleaded.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Then he turned back to Dean. "I was cocky. Never actually thought I'd lose. But I was wrong. Dean. I was wrong. I'm begging you. Say yes."
My Dean stopped and looked down at his feet, not responding.
"But you won't. 'Cause I didn't. Because that's just not us, is it?" Future Dean said to my Dean before turning to face me.
He paused.
"I never thought you'd go with him… but you did. You were angry at me. You were angry that I pushed him away. It made you resent me, it built up over time and when we finally saw Sam again. You fled to him. You clung to him. Sam said yes. You resisted for a while, but eventually you gave in. Like Lucifer owned one part of you, and Sam another. A double blood blond… that's the only thing I can make sense of."
"I'm sorry." I whispered, a tear making its way down my cheek.
"Me too, Kiddo." He said sadly before walking out and leaving us to prepare ourselves mentally for the night to come.
I sank down the wall and pulled my knees up to my chest, I forced slow breaths in and out while I watched Dean pace back and forth. The stress hung over him like a dark cloud. He didn't turn towards me for a long time, at least it felt that way.
At some point surely I would become numb to the earth shattering revelations too, right?
…..
…..
…..
"So, you're really from oh-nine?" Chuck said running up behind us. I spun my hat around and finally showed my face. He looked afraid for a minute.
"Yeah, afraid so." Dean sighed.
"Some free advice? You ever get back there, you hoard toilet paper. You understand me? Hoard it. Hoard it like it's made of gold. 'Cause it is."
"Thank you, Chuck." I replied with a tight smile.
"Oh, you'll thank me, all right. Mark my words."
Dean and I climb into a vehicle with future Dean driving, Cas riding shotgun. He reaches into his bag and begins to take some pills.
"Let me see those." My Dean snatched at them.
"You want some?"
"Amphetamines?"
"It's the perfect antidote to that absinthe."
"Mmm. Don't get me wrong, Cas. I, uh. I'm happy that the stick is out of your ass, but—what's going on—w-with the drugs and the orgies and the love-guru crap?"
Cas laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked confused.
"Emily, I'm not an angel anymore."
"What?"
"Yeah, I went mortal."
"What do you mean? How?" Dean asked.
"I think it had something to do with the other angels leaving. But when they bailed, my mojo just kind of— psshhew!—drained away. And now, you know, I'm practically human. I mean, Dean, I'm all but useless. Last year, broke my foot, laid up for two months."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"So, you're human. Well, welcome to the club."
"Thanks. Except I used to belong to a much better club. And now I'm powerless. I'm hapless, I'm hopeless. I mean, why the hell not bury myself in women and decadence, right? It's the end, baby. That's what decadence is for. Why not bang a few gongs before the lights go out? But then that's, that's just how I roll."
"Can't be mad at that." Dean sighed sitting back next to me. I nervously linked my hand with his. He leaned over and kissed the top of my head. When I looked up I could see Future Dean watching us in the rearview mirror, eyes red rimmed. I longed to reach out for him, but he pulled his gaze away quickly and shook out his shoulders.
He was angry at me…
Not me, but me. For leaving.
"Hey Cas." I mumbled.
"Yeah?"
"Uh. I didn't know if I wanted to ask, but. I need to know… What happened to Judson?"
He gave me a sad smile.
"He doesn't survive."
"How?"
"Emily don't." Future Dean warned without looking away from the road. "You don't want that on your conscious."
I nodded and chewed on my lip. Dean squeezed my hand and I laid my forehead against his shoulder. I just want to go back… I want to go back now. I have to make it right.
…..
…..
…..
"There. Second-floor window. We go in there." Future Dean instructed as we all gathered outside of the old sanitarium.
"You sure about this?" Risa asked.
"They'll never see us coming. Trust me. Now, weapons check. We're on the move in five."
"Hey, uh, Dean. Can I talk to you for a sec?" I waved future Dean over to us off to the side. "Tell us what's going on."
"What?"
"I know you. You're lying to these people and to me." Dean crossed his arms.
"Is that so."
"Yeah. See, I know your lying expressions. I've seen them my whole life. He sees them in the mirror. Now, there's something you're not telling us." I insisted.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, really? Well, I don't seem to be the only member of your posse with some questions, so, uh, maybe I'll just take my doubts over to them." I shrugged and moved to walk away.
"Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Wait." He reached out and grabbed my shoulder. I paused, he pulled his hand back quickly.
"What?" Dean asked.
"Take a look around you, man. This place should be white-hot with Croats. Where are they?"
"They cleared a path for us. Which means that this is—"
"A trap. Exactly." Future Dean nodded.
"Well, then we can't go through the front."
"Oh, we're not. They are. They're the decoys. You two and me, we're going in through the back."
"You mean you're gonna feed your friends into a meat grinder? Cas, too? You want to use their deaths as a diversion?" I asked shocked. I looked up to my Dean who mimicked my disgust. Future Dean just looks away from us.
"Oh, man, something is broken in you. You're making decisions that I would never make. I wouldn't sacrifice my friends." Dean told him.
"You're right. You wouldn't. It's one of the main reasons we're in this mess, actually."
"These people count on you. They trust you."
"They trust me to kill the devil and to save the world and that's exactly what I'm gonna do."
"No. Not like this, you're not. I'm not gonna let you."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah."
Future Dean slugs my Dean and knocks him out cold.
"DEAN!" I yelled leaning down to him.
"You. With me. I need your help."
"No! Stop this… please."
"C'mon. Now." He said pointing the colt at me. I swallowed the lump in my throat and stood, hoping that we were far enough out of sight my Dean would be safe during the attack.
"There's gotta be another way. Please." I asked as he pushed forward pulling me along with him.
"There's not. Not when you turned on me."
"I didn't… Dean I would never. You know me!"
"But you did!" He turned and yelled in my face. "You left! You went after Sam and you shut me out. You looked at me like I was the one who let the Devil take his body after Detroit."
"You were there…"
"Yes. I was… and I watched as Sam gave up. He was weak! He couldn't fight it anymore and you had spent months trying to build him up enough to say no but it just wasn't enough Emily. It wasn't… and when Lucifer took him, you were like a fish in a barrel."
"I wouldn't do this… I can't." I cried.
"But you do. If you don't believe me, then I'll show you." He said stepping aside and pointing to the back gate of a garden. I swallowed and inched forward, him behind me, until he wasn't. My breath was shaky and shallow. I could hear the screams, I turned and looked towards the second floor where flashes of gunfire continued. Until they stopped…
I stood and wept.
"I thought I heard you."
My voice.
But this time it wasn't just in my head. I held my breath as I slowly turned back to the gate. Seeing myself standing next to the open latch. My hair was short and dark, mostly dark auburn but with black tendrils throughout the curls. My make up with thin and tight, similar to my smile.
"Don't just stand there." She shrugged. "Come in."
She moved to walk back into the garden and I followed.
"What the hell have you done?"
"I've made the world a playground for us… with help of course."
She turned and smiled, and there was Sam. Red eyes. White suit. But still… Sammy.
"No." I shook my head.
"This is wrong. How could you do this?! To Dean?"
"Dean is the reason this happened!" she yelled and brick along the garden wall exploded.
"I see we still have a temper." I said with wide eyes and a raised eyebrow.
"Temper… that's funny." She laughed. "Emily we painted the world in Red. You ever wonder why you and Sam weren't susceptible to CROATOAN?"
"Yes." I admitted.
"Because you can control it. You spread it amongst the cities like a cloud of dust and it started all of this."
"No… no I wouldn't."
"You would… because its either fear it, or own it. We got tired of being scared all the time babe. Grew a pair of balls and stepped up to the plate."
"Did it so well too." Sam smiled at me as his eyes faded back to hazel. "I couldn't have asked for anything better. To have family at my side."
"I am NOT your family." I growled at him.
"Emily we share blood- in more ways than one."
"Blood doesn't make you family. Incase you forgot that."
"Ah yeah… Bobby wasn't thrilled with the new look. It's a shame you put him out of his misery so fast. I had plans for him."
"What?!" I asked. "I… I killed uncle Bobby?"
"And Judson… and well. Pretty much everyone else."
"Stop it. Please."
"You don't see it do you?" My future self spoke.
"See what? The death and destruction?"
"No… the beauty in it."
Just as I went to speak she turned and held up her hand, I followed her gaze to see Future Dean behind Lucifer, struggling for air as she laughed.
"STOP! Let him go!" I yelled as I reached out for her. I watched her grip fade on him as she turned to me with a surprised look on her face.
"Ladies.. ladies." Lucifer soothed turning towards her. "Let him go."
As soon as she released her grip he went to aim the colt and Lucifer laughed as he was suddenly behind him, knocking him to the ground with his foot over his neck at an odd angle.
"No!" I screamed as I heard the bones snap and watched his body go lax.
I took steps backwards as I sobbed, until I bumped into something solid.
My Dean, who pulled me to stand behind him.
"Oh. Hello, Dean." Lucifer smiles. "Aren't you a surprise."
With a clash of thunder Lucifer was now behind us, we turned suddenly. Hearing future me laugh from where she sat in the garden.
"You've come a long way to see this, haven't you?"
"Well, go ahead. Kill me." Dean growled at him.
"Kill you?" He asked looking over at dead Dean. "Don't you think that would be a little...redundant?"
"Let us leave." I begged.
"I'm sorry. It must be painful, speaking to me in this—shape. But it had to be your brother. It had to be."
Lucifer reached out to place a hand on my shoulder but Dean pulled and again stood between us.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, Dean. What do you think I'm going to do? Hurt her, look at her now… I need her."
"I don't know. Maybe deep-fry the planet after you manipulate her?" He said looking between future me and Lucifer.
"Why?" Lucifer asks reaching for a rose off the bush. "Why would I want to destroy this stunning thing? Beautiful in a trillion different ways. The last perfect handiwork of God. You ever hear the story of how I fell from grace?"
"Oh, good God, you're not gonna tell me a bedtime story, are you? My stomach's almost out of bile."
"You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created..." He turned and smirked at us. "You. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed, murderous." And for that, God had Michael cast me into hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially, when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it? Quite frankly I saved Emily from that fate, you should thank me."
"You did nothing for me." I growled.
"You're not fooling me, you know that? With this sympathy-for-the-devil crap. I know what you are." Dean insisted.
"What am I?"
"You're the same thing, only bigger. The same brand of cockroach I've been squashing my whole life. An ugly, evil, belly-to-the-ground, supernatural piece of shit. The only difference between them and you is the size of your ego."
"I like you, Dean." He smiled. "I get what the other angels see in you. Goodbye to you both. We'll meet again soon."
Lucifer turns to walk away and future me waves, I move to leave and pull at Dean's arm begging him to follow.
"You better kill me now!" He yells, causing lucifer to turn back to us.
"Pardon?"
"You better kill me now. Or I swear, I will find a way to kill you. And I won't stop."
"Dean! Let's go!" I begged him.
"I know you won't. I know you won't say yes to Michael, either. And I know you won't kill Sam. Whatever you do, you will always end up here. SHE will always end up here. Whatever choices you make, whatever details you alter, the three of us, we will always end up—here. I win. So, I win."
"You're wrong." Dean grinned to him, rage hidden behind it.
"See you in five years, Dean. See you much, much sooner, Emily."
Thunder and lightning surround us and suddenly they're gone. We spin and Zachariah appears placing his hands on our foreheads.
I land back against the hotel floor. I drag in deep breaths and then rush to the bathroom to hurl over and over again in the toilet.
"Emily?!" Judson said busting up into the room. "What the hell happened?"
I couldn't answer him. I just wrapped my arms around his neck as he moved us back to the doorway, his eyes stabbing daggers into Zachariah.
"Oh, well, if it isn't the ghost of Christmas screw you." Dean growled as he splashed his face at the sink on the kitchenette.
"Enough. Dean, enough. You saw it, right? You saw what happens. You're the only person who can prove the devil wrong. Just say yes."
"How do I know that this whole thing isn't one of your tricks? Huh? Some angel hocus-pocus?"
"The time for tricks is over. Give yourself to Michael. Say yes and we can strike. Before Lucifer gets to Sam. Before billions die."
"And her?" Dean asked pointing at me. "What are you going to do to her when I say yes, when Michael takes over and no ones left to fight for her? No one with this much leverage anyways…"
"Dean. She'll be safe. We can make that deal. IF you say yes."
Dean looks up to me and chews on his lip. I shook my head back and forth. It's a lie… a trap. They'll kill us both if Michael gets control. I can see the wheels spinning in his eyes, he's actually considering it. Not that I can blame him after what we saw, but I beg him to say no.
"Nah." He shakes his head.
"Nah? You telling me you haven't learned your lesson?" Zachariah scoffs.
"Oh, I've learned a lesson, all right. Just not the one you wanted to teach."
"Well, I'll just have to teach it again! Because I got you now, boy, and I'm never letting you—"
Suddenly we were no longer in the motel, but standing in the middle of the road in the dark.
"Cas!" I sigh as I run to hug him. "Thank you."
"That's pretty nice timing, Cas." Dean sighed.
"We had an appointment."
"Don't ever change." Dean smiled putting a hand on his shoulder.
"How did Zachariah find us?" Judson asked. I thought we were all warded.
"Long story. Let's just stay away from Jehovah's Witnesses from now on, okay?"
Dean pulls out his phone as he finishes speaking.
"What are you doing?" Cas asked.
"Something I should have done in the first place."
He looked at me and I nodded. Taking a deep breath for the first time in hours.
He walked away as I heard Sam answer the phone, I didn't need to follow, I simply wanted him here with us. Together. To know that we will fight this together.
"Emily. Are you okay?" Cas leaned down and asked me.
"I've been better." I sighed as I wrapped my arms around Judson and buried my face in his chest.
"Can I do anything?"
"No Cas." I turned to look at him. "I just… need time."
"Okay, well. I see that you have business to attend to. Shall I fetch your car?"
"Yes please."
He disappeared and left Judson and I standing in the middle of the road alone. Dean wandering further down as he talked on the phone.
"What was it Em? What did he show you?"
"Everything that could go wrong… me."
"What do you mean babe?"
"I left Dean. I went with Sam. Sam said yes… and then so did I. I destroyed everything. I killed so many people. I was worse than any monster we've ever faced."
"Emily you don't know that will happen."
"I saw it. Five years from now… I killed you."
He sighed as he held me tighter.
"We can change it, Em. We will… we'll change it."
…..
…..
…..
Dean and I leaned against the impala as the car slowed down and pulled in beside us. I smiled as Sam climbed out and ran towards him. He picked me up and swung me around like I was a kid again. When he set me back down we walked towards Dean.
"Sam." Dean nodded as he pulled Ruby's knife out and flipped it in his hand, giving it to Sam handle first. "If you're serious and you want back in...you should hang on to this. I'm sure you're rusty."
"Look, man, I'm sorry. I don't know. I'm...whatever I need to be. But I was, uh—wrong." Dean admitted. I've never seen him admit it so easily before. I reached over and squeezed his arm.
"What made you change your mind?"
My stomach sank just at the thought of it.
"Long story. The point is...maybe we are each other's Achilles heel. Maybe they'll find a way to use us against each other, I don't know. I just know we're all we've got. More than that. We keep each other human."
"Thank you. Really. Thank you. I won't let you down."
"Oh, I know it. I mean, you are the second-best hunter on the planet."
"Yeah and Dean's the third." I smirked.
"Oh." He laughed. "Is that right?"
Sam and Judson chuckled beside us.
"So, what do we do now?" Sam asked.
"We make our own future." I tell him. "We make good choices."
"That's the only choice we got, Kiddo."