Chapter Twenty-Two
Dean looked around the room at their ragtag group and felt a sense of satisfaction. Bobby was sitting opposite Chuck at the kitchen table and Castiel was standing behind him. Spread out over the table were the notes Chuck had made from the Leviathan tablet. They didn't look much, but they were the people that were going to ice Dick Roman, saving the world again.
"Read it again, Chuck," Bobby said.
"Cut off the head, and the body will flounder. Waste not thy time nor your breath upon the Leviathan herd. Point thy blade at the heart of their master, for from him springs all their messages."
"That's simple enough to understand," Dean said. "We take out Dick Roman and the rest of the Leviathans will be neutered. How about the rest?"
Chuck cleared his throat. "Leviathan cannot be slain but by a bone of a righteous mortal, as light and good as the Leviathan are hungry and dark, washed in the three bloods of the fallen: a fallen angel, the ruler of fallen humanity, and the father of fallen beasts."
Bobby scrubbed a hand over his face. "And that's where I get a little lost. Where are we supposed to get the bone of a righteous mortal and the blood of the father of fallen beasts?"
"I believe it is referring to an alpha," Castiel said. "But how we will find one, I do not know."
Dean crossed the room and poured himself a mug of coffee. "Maybe Sammy will have some idea when he gets here. He's got the whole angel mind power-up going on. Any idea when he'll be here, Chuck?"
Chuck looked uncomfortable. "He and Lucifer are otherwise occupied at the moment."
Dean grimaced. He might be on board with the whole Sam-Lucifer thing now, like he had a choice, but he didn't want to think about them bumping uglys.
Deciding Sam and Lucifer had more pressing concerns than their sex life, he raised his eyes heavenward and spoke. "Hey. Lucifer, if you're not too busy molesting my brother, we have the not small task of killing Dick Roman going on. You think you can zip it up and come by Bobby's?" He waited, but there was no sound of rustling wings.
"You know, Lucifer's not going to like that," Bobby said conversationally.
Dean shrugged. "What's he going to do, smite me? Sam's got him as tame as a kitten these days."
"Really, Dean, a kitten?" a smooth voice said behind him.
Dean spun on his heel and came face to face with Lucifer. Sam was standing beside him, and he looked thoroughly amused.
"Oh, hey," Dean said with an unabashed grin.
Lucifer looked pissed, but before he could start with Dean, Sam drew his attention. "What's all this?" He was looking at the notes on the Leviathan tablet.
"That's all Chuck's deciphered for us," Bobby said.
"Awesome," Sam said. "So what's the deal?"
"We have to find the father of fallen beasts, a fallen angel and the father of fallen humanity," Bobby said. "We figure Lucifer and Crowley will do for angels and humanity and an alpha for the beasts, but we don't know where to find one."
"All the alphas were destroyed with Crowley's operations," Castiel said helpfully, and then in response to Sam's blank look, he went on. "When Bobby and I were attempting to stop Raphael and Crowley from breaking into Purgatory, we tracked down their base to the abandoned prison that Raphael took you to. He was holding all manner of creatures there, including the alphas." He looked apologetic. "I destroyed them all."
Dean cursed. "All of them?"
Bobby shrugged. "All that were there. I don't know if there are more out there somewhere."
"And if there are more, which I believe is unlikely, we won't know where they could be. There is a whole globe to search," Castiel said.
Sam gnawed on his bottom lip, deep in thought. "But there were definitely alphas there when you took out the prison?"
Castiel nodded. "The alpha vampire for certain. I believe the alpha shapeshifter was there also."
Lucifer moved to Sam's side and touched his chin gently, releasing his abused lip. "What are you thinking?" he asked.
"We need to go somewhere we know there's an alpha," Sam said.
Dean rolled his eyes. "But we don't know where they are, Sam. That's sorta the point."
"But we know when they are," Sam said enigmatically.
Lucifer nodded. "I can take you there."
"Mind slowing this down for those of us that didn't spend two centuries in Lucifer's school of hunting?" Dean said testily.
"I believe that the plan is for someone to go back to the time Bobby and I encountered the alpha vampire," Castiel said.
"Time travel," Lucifer confirmed.
"Why didn't we think of that?" Bobby asked, scrubbing a hand through his beard.
"Because it's a little out there," Dean said. "Still, I'm not complaining. Beam me back, Scotty." He didn't particularly want to go bouncing around in time again, but it was their best shot at getting an alpha.
"I'm afraid you cannot go, Dean," Lucifer said. "None of you can."
Dean crossed his arms over his chest, irritated. "Why not?"
"Because you were already there."
"What? No I wasn't. I've only been to that prison once, and it sure as hell wasn't stuffed with monsters then. It just had your psychotic Mister Sister there."
Sam shook his head. "What he means is that you were a part of the world on that day. You were out there somewhere, and you can't cross your own timeline."
"So who's going?" Dean asked, though he thought he knew the answer already.
"I am," Sam said.
Dean shook his head. "No, you're not. Didn't you hear Bobby? The place was stuffed with monsters. With your luck, you'd end up coming back with a set of fangs. That's if you come back at all. You could get stuck there." It was more than that. If Dean couldn't go too, he couldn't protect Sam, and his luck lately was really in the toilet. He'd almost died at the hands of Raphael, he had died back in Detroit, and he'd almost been a snack for the Jersey Devil. There was no way Sam was going in there unprotected.
Lucifer looked deep in thought and Dean guessed his thoughts were travelling the same path as his own. Lucifer would never allow Sam to put himself in danger like this.
Sam stepped up beside his angel and took his hand. "I can do this."
Lucifer nodded and Dean's mouth dropped open. "You can't be serious! You're going to let him do this?"
Lucifer frowned. "If you can provide us with an alternative, I am all ears."
Sam looked satisfied but Dean's scowl deepened. Lucifer was just playing to Sam's ego. He wasn't taking the danger into account. He thought Lucifer was better than that.
"We will leave presently," Lucifer said. "We will need to arm ourselves."
"Can we raid the trunk?" Sam asked Dean.
The word 'we' connected with Dean and his fears abated somewhat—Lucifer would go with Sam at least—but they didn't disappear. Something else had occurred to him. "How come I can't go back to the past when Zachariah zapped me to the future without any worries?"
Lucifer smiled. "Zachariah didn't zap you to the future. He created a reality for you in hopes that it would scare you into saying yes." He looked at Dean fondly. "Really, Dean, do you believe Castiel would become a stoner if he was humanized?"
Dean felt a little stupid as he looked across the room at Castiel. He was standing in his customary trench coat, looking slightly bewildered. He was no doubt trying to imagine himself as a stoner. That world had felt so real though. "Just as a point of interest," he said. "Is Zachariah still bobbing about up in Heaven?"
Castiel smiled. "He had been sent to our… I suppose you would call it human resources department… for analysis and retraining. I have never been there, but I am told it's an unpleasant experience."
Dean nodded his satisfaction. "Works for me."
"So, can we raid the trunk?" Sam asked impatiently, apparently eager to risk his neck again.
Dean sighed. "I guess you better. Can't have you popping back in time without anything to defend yourself."
Sam grinned and bounded out the door and over to the Impala. Dean watched through the window as Sam rifled through the contents of the trunk.
He felt someone step up beside him and he knew who it would be even before they spoke. "I will take care of him, Dean. Don't worry."
Dean nodded. He knew Lucifer would rather die that allow Sam to be hurt, but that didn't dispel the feeling that something was going to go wrong and Sam was going to be stuck there without Dean to take care of him.
Sam picked up the clip of silver bullets and snapped it into his gun. He had silver for skinwalkers and werewolves, a machete for vampires, a homemade flamethrower for wendigos and rugarus and Lucifer was currently getting the lamb's blood from Bobby's fridge for djinns. They were as prepared as they could be, and now all that there was to do was go.
He went back into the house and stuffed his gear into a duffel. Dean watched with his arms crossed over his chest and a deep scowl on his brow. Sam knew he was pissed that he wasn't coming with them, and he understood Dean's feelings, but he was going with Lucifer; he couldn't be better protected.
He exchanged a glance with Lucifer and they nodded in unison. It was time.
"The alpha vampire was being kept in the bowels of the prison," Castiel said. "The shapeshifter was in the room in the prison Sam was taken to. Crowley was in the process of torturing it when we arrived and he fled."
Lucifer nodded and took Sam's hand. "We will find them." He turned to Dean. "We will be back as soon as we can."
Dean nodded and spoke. Sam was expecting a threat for him to keep himself safe, but instead he said, "Bend your knees."
Lucifer squeezed his hand and they were gone. It was a dizzying sensation, being shifted through time, similar to how it had felt to throw himself into the vortex that led to the cage. He felt Lucifer's hand in his, and he gripped it back tightly.
They arrived with a resounding thump that jarred Sam's legs—he had forgotten to bend his knees. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart.
"Are you okay?" Lucifer asked solicitously.
Sam nodded. "Just give me a minute."
Lucifer rubbed a hand on his back, and it was that touch that enabled Sam to calm himself. He looked around and saw they were in a dingy cell that was all too familiar. It was almost exactly the same as the cell Raphael had kept him in. Shaking his head to dispel the memories of what had happened when he'd got out of the cell, Sam tested the door. It was unlockedLucifer would have been able to break it open, but the noise might have brought Crowley or his henchmen to them.
They stepped out into the hall and looked around. They were in a long corridor with cells lining the walls. From some of them came the sounds of scrabbling and whimpering, and Sam guessed they were the sounds of Crowley's captives.
"We have to make it to the basement," Lucifer said softly. "And we cannot let ourselves be seen by Crowley or his henchmen."
"What about the other monsters?"
Lucifer shook his head. "They are unimportant. Castiel will be here presently to take care of them. They cannot share their story with anyone."
"Okay." Sam was a little disappointed. He didn't want to have to face the monsters being held there, knowing that their time was limited. Soon Castiel would be there to kill them all.
Lucifer took his hand and led him towards the door at the end of the hall. They passed empty cells at first and then they came to the occupied ones. The first creature they saw was a shapeshifter; at the edge of the cell was the glutinous pile of skin and hair that had been its last form. As they passed, the shapeshifter looked up at them curiously. It didn't speak, but Sam felt its accusation in its silence.
The next cell was occupied with a female djinn with tattoos covering her skin. She scuttled back on the cot as they passed. Sam felt a pang of guilt. He had come here armed to kill if necessary, but now he saw them and how pathetic they were, he wanted to help them. These feelings were all because of Lucifer. He had taught Sam that just because someone is thought of as evil it didn't mean they are beyond redemption.
Lucifer seemed to sense his disquiet, as he squeezed Sam's hand and whispered to him. "They are not long for this world anyway, Sam. Castiel will put an end to their suffering."
They came to the door at the end of the hall and Lucifer eased it open. It led out onto another corridor with a sign marked as Basement Access. Sam breathed a sigh of relief. They were almost there. They opened the door and made their way down the stairs, alert for any sign of someone coming the other way. There was nothing until they reached the bottom of the stairs. Then voices came to them and Sam's heart contracted painfully in his chest. He knew those voices.
Lucifer clapped a hand over Sam's mouth to stop him calling out the greeting that was on the tip of his tongue.
"We cannot go to them," he whispered into Sam's ear. "Understand?"
Sam nodded. He had completely lost his head at the sound of Bobby and Castiel's voices. He had forgotten that they had to remain hidden. He could only imagine the chaos that would ensue if Bobby and Castiel saw them.
Lucifer led him around to a recess in the wall, and they pressed themselves up against the concrete, out of sight.
"I know all about you, Bobby Singer," a deep, honeyed voice said, "and I know why you are here."
"And you're still so calm?" Bobby said. "Knowing what we are going to do to you?"
"Whatever you and your pet angel are about to do is no worse than what The King of Hell is doing. Now, enough about me. Let's talk about you."
"What about me?" Bobby asked.
"How are you coping, Bobby? I hear your two favorite humans have up and left you. The stories of Dean Winchester have been bandied around amongst our community."
"What do you know about that?"
"I am an alpha, Bobby. I follow the tales of all hunters that pose a threat to my children. I hear Sam threw himself into Hell and his brother has lost his reason."
"Sam did what he had to do," Bobby said steadfastly. "And Dean will be back soon enough. He just needs time."
Sam felt a surge of affection for Bobby. He and Dean had abandoned him but here he was, defending them.
"Are you sure?" the deep voice asked. "From what I hear Dean is too far gone to return, and Sam will never come back."
"Sam did what he had to do," Bobby said again, and Sam heard the hitch in his voice. He felt guilty. He had been so consumed with making amends to Dean that he'd forgotten that he wasn't the only one he had left behind when he went after Lucifer.
"We are wasting time. We have seen all that we need to see," Castiel said, speaking up for the first time. "I will take you to safety and then I will return to deal with the prisoners."
Sam heard a huff that he took as Bobby's acceptance and then there was the rustling sound of an angel in flight.
He waited, unsure whether or not they'd really left.
"They're gone," the deep voice said. "You can come out of your little hidey hole now."
Lucifer and Sam stepped around the wall and saw the most shocking sight of the day. The alpha, his pointed teeth descended, was strapped to a chair with leather restraints. Around his neck was a thick metal collar. He didn't seem perturbed by his situation. On the contrary, he smiled as he saw them.
"Sam Winchester, and Lucifer, I believe."
"How do you know who I am?" Sam asked.
"I have been watching you through the eyes of my children for a long time, Sam. Now," he considered them carefully, "what are you doing here when my latest news was that you were both trapped in Hell?"
"We got out," Lucifer said simply.
"That is part of the tale, but not all," the vampire said. "You are out of your time, are you not?"
Lucifer nodded. "We are. We come from two years into the future."
The vampire smiled his satisfaction. "I thought so. What calamity can have happened that made you travel so far to see me? I assume that is why you are here, skulking in the shadows and avoiding your friends."
"We are in need of help," Lucifer said.
The vampire laughed softly. "As you can see, I am not in a position to help anyone at the moment, least of all myself. What assistance do you need?"
Lucifer stepped closer to the vampire. "We need your blood."
"And what use can you possibly have for my blood?"
"There is a new monster in the world in our time," Sam said. "And it's hurting people."
The vampire shook his head. "I think you are confused, young one. I do not help humans. They are food, nothing more."
"They are hurting your children too," Lucifer lied.
The vampire's eyes widened, and Sam knew they had his full attention now.
"How?"
"They are eating you," Sam said. "That's what they do, eat humans and vampires and other monsters."
The vampire tapped his long nails on the arm of the chair he was strapped to. "And my children are dying?"
Sam nodded soberly. "Vampires, humans, they're all dying."
"What use is my blood?"
"It's part of a spell to banish them," Lucifer said.
Sam held his breath as he waited for the vampire to answer. The truth was that they had no idea if vampires were being killed by the Leviathans, but it wasn't outside the realm of possibility.
"I will aid you," the vampire said.
Sam breathed a sigh of relief.
Lucifer stepped forward, clutching a glass vial. "Thank you." With his angel blade, he sliced a deep cut across the vampire's forearm and positioned the vial to collect the blood. When it was full, he ran a hand over the cut, sealing the wound.
Sam eyed the vial reverently. It had been much easier than he anticipated. They now had the first part of the items needed to banish Dick Roman.
"I have helped you," the vampire said, "now it is your turn to help me. That angel will be back soon to destroy me. I want you to free me."
Lucifer nodded. "Of course."
Sam gaped at him. They couldn't release the vampire. There were rules to travelling in time and limitations. The alpha vampire was dead in their time. Castiel had killed him. You couldn't change the future.
"You will help me?" the vampire asked.
Lucifer nodded and took Sam's hand. "I will do what needs to be done. You have my word."
Sam was about to vocalize a protest, but Lucifer was one-step ahead of him. He squeezed Sam's hand and then Sam felt the dizzying sensation of being shifted through time. He closed his eyes against the swirling lights surrounding him, and when he opened them, he was standing in Bobby's study.
"You're okay!" Dean said, his voice heavy with relief.
For once, Sam wasn't concerned with reassuring his brother. He saw Bobby standing in the kitchen and he crossed the room with long strides and then threw his arms around his friend.
"What's that for?" Bobby asked.
In response, Sam held him a little tighter. He wanted to say so much, that he was sorry for leaving Bobby to fight alone, that he was grateful for Bobby's defense of him after what he'd done, but to say that would have been to embarrass them both, so he merely hugged him.
So… We're coming down to the end now. There are 27 chapters and an epilogue.
Until next time…
Clowns or Midgets xxx
