Men of Letters 4:
Mary and John tried to start over, they even took a weekend vacation after the war to cool off and reconnect. It was perfect; they relaxed on the beach and hiked through a forest. For the first time, John didn't worry about studies or the Men of Letters. Mary in return didn't think of monsters once.
When they got back, they enjoyed a nice relaxing diner with John's family. John doesn't get a chance to see his mother and sister much and Mary noticed how patient and kind he was towards them. His sister, Gabriel especially, could ask him for anything and he would give it to her. His mother was so happy to see him alive from war that she hugged him and cooked them both a feast. In truth, Mary was kind of jealous of this family interaction. In her family all they care about is the next hunt. It was like a drug to them; an addiction and she could go along with it or be forgotten about. Gabriel needed help with an essay for class so John went away with her to assist and his mother taking a silent cue from Henry excused herself to clean up. Henry noticed her silence during the meal and took her aside for a talk.
"You can be a part of our family, or create one of your own," Henry said. At first Mary thought it was a kind thing to say but then grew suspicious. Perhaps it was her nature and she was just being silly, however, she got the feeling that she was being manipulated and she didn't like it. She felt like pushing back but instead smiled and said nothing. There was no need to start an argument; this was supposed to be a celebration of the war ending.
With Mary's father, things were different. At first everyone was cordial. John would try extra hard since only he and Henry knew of the future. Still, every time John world get in the room with her father, an argument would start. Her mother was visiting her brother at school and couldn't run interference. John would attempt to change the topic to a neutral subject when an argument started, but in the end he would continue to try to save or redeem creatures that Samuel would just normally kill. Mary did not want to leave her family and John refused to change.
Tensions only grew when Samuel and Mary caught a Kitsune that they were hunting. It was a male who they believed had been a part of a larger group that killed a fellow hunter. Samuel was spending time torturing the poor creature for information on the group while Mary was researching how to kill it. The creature was in their basement for three weeks.
John already knew how to kill the Kitsune but kept silent. He instead took care of it when no one was around feeding it pituitary glands of apes and pigs or whatever he could get his hands on. John had tried to talk to Mary before he took action with the creature in the middle of the night, "It won't kill again," he promised.
"It doesn't make up for the possible hundreds of people his group killed in the past," Mary replied.
Frustrated John tried again, "These creatures will always exist. Their children will seek revenge upon ours and we have the power to build a relationship to end this path of violence." His voice was getting loud, loud enough for the Kitsune to hear him.
"The decision is already made. Charlie was like an uncle to me and his friends killed and ate him. That creature will pay for that." Mary left the room and went to the study to complete her research. John knew she wouldn't find anything as he took the two books that mentioned anything about the Kitsune that they had captured.
John had told Samuel he was going to watch the creature to learn from it. He said he needed to speak to it alone. He was able to convince Samuel that the Kitsune would not reveal information to him because of all the torture and would open up to John if he tried to help it. A little bad cop good cop style he explained. Samuel brought the story and left the house for a beer run and Mary, who was still mad at him, remained in the study. This gave John the opportunity he was waiting for to sneak the Kitsune out. The Kitsune did trust him and willing followed John since it meant his freedom.
John took the creature to the Men of Letters headquarters. They created a chip and surgically implanted it in the hypothalamus part of the brain. The chip was in its early stages of development and was only a beta, but it was designed to prevent a creature from killing any human. It was a breakthrough by the research and development team that was bankrolled through a special fund from seven different governments with the condition once successful it would be shared.
Mary was so mad that John betrayed her and made this decision that she was ready to call the relationship off again. John was literally in the doghouse and they were going days without speaking to each other. He did try to call her every day, but only her father answered and he was very displeased with John himself.
Hunters always act on their feelings, they are so rash. John knew the Men of Letters are better than that. He made the decision not to kill the Kitsune when he approached the Men of Letters during a meeting. His father might be backing away from the Letters based off what he saw when he went to the future. John knew that knowledge and allies is what would make the future better. He was determined to make a better future for his children then they already had. One where they didn't need to fight at all, maybe instead become ambassadors for the human race. Sam and Dean deserved that. The thing with Mary would work out over time. They were, afterall, soul mates.
Henry was getting more and more nervous about the future. John was stubborn and it was his fault. Henry decided to call on Cupid for help. The Letters had an entire section in the library on him and he knew the risks, but it was impossible to find another way. He tried everything. He knew that Fate had a lot counting on Sam and Dean and for them to be born; Mary and John would need to marry. He thought at first that killing Samuel might solve things, but that would not guarantee that Mary and John would wed.
Henry called upon the cherub and he didn't have to wait long for Cupid to appear. Cupid came naked and with a smile on his face. He immediately hugged Henry. Henry hugged him back, expecting it and offered him tea.
The cupid refused his offer and responded, "The heavens are talking. We know the importance of the union of Mary and John for without it the prophesized brothers would not be born. If you didn't call upon us, we would have intervened ourselves. You made quite a mess by coming back here alive. The Fates are not pleased."
Preview of next chapter:
The Cupid was right: at that moment Atropos and her sisters having a heated discussion about what to do about this situation. "Really, it happened! It might have been what was supposed to happen from the beginning," one of them argued.
Atropos replied, "Henry should be dead and now he is using a cupid! John should have been a hunter, not a Man of Letters! Gabriel is not even supposed to exist! Everything the child does is not known on our fabrics. It is chaos and I will not have chaos in my workspace. If we do not do something about it together I will alone." Atropos was ready in her mind to kill both Henry and Gabriel if necessary to bring back the natural order.
Sorry for the delay. Thanks to SkyHighFan for checking for errors.