So here's chapter four of Winchester under the Bed. This one is basically telling how Adam and Michael got to be where they are.
Hope you enjoy!
One Year Previous
When Michael had tumbled into the depths of Lucifer's Box, he had assumed that it was the end of his world spiraling out of control, resulting in him being confined for eternity with the brother who had turned against him.
Michael had never entered Hell, but he imagined that spending eternity with Lucifer would be close enough.
So when Michael had opened his eyes, after falling for what seemed like ages, and found that he was face down on an old, dusty rug, it was needless to say he was confused.
He should have been in Stull Cemetary, if he was to be anywhere but the burning fires of Hell. He certainly shouldn't have been in a cluttered study. Books were lined on every bookshelf, and there were several stacked on various surfaces; papers were strewn about haphazardly around the room. Michael could even spy a bottle of what he assumed was liquor set on the desk.
"I was wondering when you would wake up, Michael."
Michael picked up his head sluggishly (marveling at just how heavy his body felt), turning to look at the source of the voice. No doubt to a human eye, the man sitting in the arm chair across the room would have been simply ordinary: an ordinary man with an ordinary (if a bit scraggly) beard, with ordinary clothes and an ordinary hair.
But Michael wasn't human.
"Father…" Michael slurred, trying his best to get to his feet. His body was slow and sluggish to respond to Michael's commands. It was infuriating to the seraph.
"Careful, Michael." The man, or rather, God, smiled softly, "I made that body for you, don't break it so soon."
Michael blinked, looking down at his hands. They weren't Adam Milligan's hands, they were bigger, wider, "You made me a vessel?"
"Body." The heavenly father shook his head, standing from his arm chair, "After what you did to your last vessel, the last thing I'm going to do is allow you to destroy another human's life."
Michael grit his teeth, not looking the Almighty in the eye.
"Don't think I didn't know about what you and the others did, Michael." A firm hand gripped Michael's arm, "Don't think I didn't know that your brewing jealousy would lead you and your brothers and sisters to try and bring the Apocalypse upon the Earth."
"I was not jealous of the humans, father!"
"Do not lie to me, Michael!" For an instant, the average persona melted away to reveal the sheer power that lay beneath. But the ordinary facade was back in place before Michael's eyes could be burned from his body (or his body obliterated completely). There was a soft expression on God's face, "Michael, I crafted you with my own hands before time began, I know the darkest secrets of your heart."
Michael didn't answer. What was there to say?
"You've hated humans ever since the Eden debacle—"
"It was not a debacle, father!" Michael could feel his skin flushing with anger, "They disobeyed you! You gave them everything, and they turned around and spat in your face!"
"Like Lucifer."
Michael stopped, refusing to speak of his brother. Never again.
He could hear his father approaching him, and could feel the warmth of his hands grasping Michael's shoulders, "Michael, I'm sure we could talk about Lucifer and the imperfections of humans until the end of time, but I know you are not the best of listeners."
"I am not—"
"And you don't take criticism well." There was a fond smile on God's face, "But that's why I've made you a body, you'll need it for your lesson."
"Lesson?"
"Yes, you have learning to do, not to mention you need to clean up your mess. Until further notice, this is the last time you'll be in heaven."
"What?!" Michael could feel the outrage boiling within him.
But he didn't get the chance to voice anything further. In one moment, he was standing in front of the Almighty, but in the next, he blinked, and he was laying on his back in the middle of Stull Cemetery.
"No!" With a jolt, Michael sat up to look at his surroundings.
The opening to the Box was closed, and there was no evidence that it had ever been opened. In fact, the entire cemetery was empty save for one other soul, Michael's former vessel.
"I see you're awake." Adam was already sitting up, elbows resting on his knees, "Did you talk to God too?"
Michael blinked at the lanky blond, "You spoke to my Father?"
"After he put me back together after what you did to it, yeah." The youngest Winchester (even if not by name) snorted, "I should be pissed at you for what you and the other angels did. But at least God let me see my mother before he sent me back down here for this task."
"Task?"
"Oh come on, there's no way God didn't tell you that you were going to be cleaning up after your little botched Apocalypse." With a groan, Adam stood up shakily, "I'm guessing that means we need to be hunting demons? What else will we be cleaning up?"
Michael didn't answer the human. He was desperately trying to get back to heaven. He could still feel all of his grace as an archangel, but no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not gain access to heaven.
"Are you done having your meltdown?" Adam was confidently standing now, looking down at Michael, "Because if either of us wants to get out of this mess, we're going to have to work together." He extended a hand, intending to help Michael to his feet.
But the archangel refused the offered help. He may have been forced out of heaven by God himself, but he refused to rely on a weak human. Instead, Michael stood on his own, looking down at the blond from his taller stature.
"Let's go."
—
Michael spent the first few weeks after waking up in Stull Cemetery desperately trying to find an alternative way to get in contact with heaven. He tried searching the face of the Earth for any sign of anyone who could help him return to heaven.
At least, he tried to search the Earth.
God, it had seemed, had no intention of letting Michael run away from the task given to him. The Almighty had seen fit to give Michael a short leash. And that leash was Adam Milligan.
No matter what Michael did, it wouldn't be long before he found himself back at the blonde's side. Either Adam would say a prayer and summon Michael, or the young man would get himself in danger and Michael would be forced to intervene.
It wasn't that Michael wanted to save the human's life. In fact, the first time Adam had gotten himself killed (trying to kill an attacking vampire with a wooden stake, idiot), Michael had been content to allow the blond to die. But then Michael found himself in a time loop of that hour until he ultimately realized that he could not allow Adam to die.
Which meant Michael had to keep the human from harm. And that meant teaching him to defend himself.
"You do not use a wooden stake against vampires, you fool." Michael rolled his eyes after sparing Adam's life, "You have to behead them."
Adam frowned, "Well excuse me. I don't exactly have any experience with monster hunting!"
It was a bitter reminder that Adam was not Dean, Michael's true sword and experienced hunter. And the only way that Adam would stay alive long enough to complete their task would be if Michael taught him how to survive.
As if Michael needed another reason to resent his circumstances.
—
They had been hunting for a month when Michael had to teach Adam to memorize the Latin needed for an exorcism. Of course Michael could simply smite the demons, but he needed to be sure the weaker human could at least handle a low level demon on his own. He couldn't possibly be saving Adam every five minutes.
The day after Michael taught Adam the Latin words, he found pages of paper in their motel room, each page covered with repetitions of the exorcism. He also heard Adam practicing the words while he was in the shower.
"Repetition helps me remember." Adam had admitted when Michael confronted him, "It's the same tactic I used to study for my pre-med classes."
The next time they came across a demon, Michael hadn't even had the chance to draw his weapon before Adam had exorcised the demon.
—
Michael began to find more pages as they continued to hunt. Every time they encountered a new beast (well, new to Adam), the novice hunter would write down every detail Michael could tell him, and then repeatedly write that information until their motel room was littered with binder paper.
But every time they left a motel, Adam would burn every copy of his notes save for one. He would always save one copy of his new information and store it in a black binder.
"My dad apparently had a journal with all his hunting information." Adam had admitted once as they drove from their motel in Bristol, Rhode Island (after dealing with a rogue Arachne). "So I thought I'd start keeping my own."
Michael didn't say anything, and he certainly wouldn't acknowledge any sort of appreciation for Adam's studiousness.
—
They had been hunting as a team for a year. During that time, Adam had lost the natural fear most humans have of Michael's awesome power as an archangel, and Michael had developed a reluctant tolerance of Adam's presence.
The human would always take Michael to dinner whenever they reached a new town, despite the fact that Michael did not require food to sustain himself.
"Well you know, you can eat for the sake of enjoyment." Adam had replied while they were in Evanston, Illinois, shortly before their buffalo wings had arrived. Michael didn't admit that he actually liked buffalo wings, even if buffalo didn't actually have wings.
It was a strange tradition for them, but the two of them had taken small comfort in the ritual. One single constant in their vague and erratic quest.
Beacon Hills was a mysterious town. It had come on their radar while they finished up a hunt in San Diego. The string of violent murders had caught their attention, especially since they were all attributed to animal attacks.
"Animal attacks" was usually code for "Violent, yet unexplainable deaths." Which meant they had a hunt.
And there was something with the town that "ruffled his feathers" (as Adam was fond of saying), and Michael had the feeling that their hunt would not be their normal fare.
As it was, Michael had taken to roaming the streets of the small town while Adam was busy playing schoolboy. It was something he had done plenty of times before, and Michael was often able to detect any evil presences. It made their job easier (though not as easy as it might have been if Michael could simply smite every beast they came across when they came across them, but Adam said it was "too conspicuous").
The people did not seem to be affected by the bloody murders that were only a few weeks behind them. Which was incredibly strange. It would seem the humans had believed the reports of "animal attacks" (Michael knew humans were stupid, but were they truly dim?), or they were simply used to the string of violence.
Either way, it was unsettling.
As Michael made his way down the sidewalk, he could sense a nonhuman presence. The archangel stopped, looking around to try and pinpoint the presence. At that time of day, there were few people on the streets. As it was, the only figure worth noting was a young man making his way towards a fancy looking car. He was similar to Michael in build, and judging by the stance the man had while walking, he was in an agitated state.
An agitated state made it easy for Michael to see through the human facade that monsters hid behind to see them for . Even if only for a moment.
A moment was all Michael needed to see it. Just as the man opened the door to his car, Michael could see a flash of red in the other's irises.
Red, huh?
There were not a whole lot of creatures with red eyes, especially not red irises.
Interesting.
As the man drove away, Michael took out his phone and snapped a quick photo of the car (it might make it easier to identify the man). After that, he quickly typed out a text to Adam.
[Found a lycan.]
Michael didn't receive a response for an hour. During that time, Michael had decided to take the human approach and conduct some research. He had been sifting through the library's newspaper archive when he recieved Adam's response.
[So are you going to take care of it?]
[Not that simple.] Michael took several notes from the articles he was reading. The notes were more for Adam than for him, as the archangel had near perfect memory. Based on the newspapers, there was more to the the sleepy town than they had anticipated. [I'll explain more when you're done at the school]
[Understood. Have you found a place you want to go to dinner?]
There you are! Let me know what you think, or if you have any ideas what should happen next!