Author's note- Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! It makes me a happy Crashy. Also, sorry it's taken so long to get this up. I'm still typing on my phone. Anyway, enjoy!
C~h~a~p~t~e~r~T~w~o
Dean walked into the room and looked at his twin, who was skimming through one of her books. He didn't know where to start. "Marion..."
"What caused you to leave the safety of the Cornwell's home? Why now, after 27 years?" Castiel spoke up from behind Dean.
"Who's this? Another brother I've never met?" Marion asked, smirking as she tried to see around Sam.
Castiel stepped forward, next to Dean. "No. I am Castiel. I'm an-"
"A friend." Dean interrupted. He ran his hand through his hair. "His question might sound invasive and tactless, but it's important. I don't think they just recently let you out of the basement, Mare. So, why escape now?"
Marion threw her hands up in exasperation. "I don't know! I just... couldn't be there anymore."
"Why?" Castiel pressed.
"Because of the dreams!" Marion sat on her bed and shook her head. "I kept having these dreams of an old chubby guy telling me that I had to find Dean, that the fate of the world rested on Dean saying 'yes' to something and I had to show Dean God's Grace."
Marion looked up at Dean, eyes glistening. "I thought you were dead, so I just wrote it off as a crazy dream... but then he started getting angry. He told me that the... angels would punish me if I kept ignoring him. He told me to stab Mister in the heart and leave! I couldn't do that. But he made it clear that if I stayed with Mister and Missus, that something very bad would happen to me."
Marion began to fiddle with the hem of her shirt. "One of the books I had was an anatomy text so I was careful to put the knife in Mister's stomach, made sure to miss the major organs and arteries and I ran. I know how crazy it sounds, Dean, and I'm sure I am, but... that's why I left."
Dean leaned over and wrapped his arms around her. "You aren't crazy. I have a million things to tell you, about my life, about that dick who made you stab an old man. I just don't even know where to start." He whispered.
"In the interest of saving valuable hours, may I facilitate the link between the two of you so she might see it herself?" Castiel asked.
"The what now?" Dean asked.
"You are twins. A link between your souls was created when you were in the womb. If I reconnect the link, I could transfer your memories into her. That way, she would know your life."
"Will it hurt?" Marion asked, meekly.
"I'm sure the emotional impact will be tremendous, but physically, you'll be fine. I will keep your memories in their place, though. There is no need for Dean to know your life." Castiel answered.
"Okay." Marion said, after a moment. "I want memories of my dad and baby brother. Let's do this."
Dean steeled himself in preparation for a flood of bad memories. "Hey, uh, Cas, don't give her any, uh, personal memories. You know what I mean?"
"I will attempt to hold back any memories of coitus, Dean, yes." Castiel said, placing a hand on Marion's upper abdomen and the other in the same spot on Dean's torso.
Almost immediately, memories started flowing from Dean and into Marion. Sam watched from the door as tears started rolling down his sister's cheeks. When Castiel pulled his hands away, Marion fell to the floor, face in her hands and sobbing. Dean rubbed her back. "Come on, Sis. My life isn't that bad."
"Mom was murdered! And Dad gave his life to the thing that killed her so that you wouldn't die! And you wasted that gift to bring Sam back! You spent 40 years in Hell! How can you say your life isn't bad?" Marion's shouts were muffled by her hands as she tried to will her eyes to stop leaking.
Dean ignored the question, choosing to turn to Castiel, angrily. "You didn't give her my memories of Hell, did you?"
"I-."
"He did, but it doesn't matter!" She said, pulling her hands away from her face and staring up at Dean. "You spend every moment of your life fighting, but... you gave up. You stopped fighting to bring Sam back to life. And you gave up in Hell. And you..." Marion was breathless as tears continued to fall. She turned her attention to Sam. "You thanked him for this by choosing a demon over your brother, the only family you thought you had left. You bringing about the end of the world is one thing, but how can you redeem yourself for the betrayal?"
Marion's hands found her face again and she slumped over, like she was trying to sink into the tiles. "Mom's dead. Dad's dead. The whole world is full of evil. No one, nothing is safe." She sobbed.
Dean pulled her up off the floor and sat her down on the bed. "I know it's big and scary, what's going down right now, and it's fucked up what the Winchester clan has done to and for each other in the past, but we're gonna get you out of this hospital, we're gonna get you some weapons training and we're gonna figure out a way to gank the Devil."
Marion looked up, catching his eyes in instant contact. "What if I don't want weapons training, Dean? I know you think I'm supposed to be the virgin yin to your man-slut yang, but... what if I want to go get my GED and go to college like Sam did? What if I just want to be normal?"
"You are the ying to my yang. We're twins. Gemini, you know, Remus and frickin' Romulus. And you can't just abandon me. You are a Winchester. You may not have grown up the way we did, but your upbringing was just as fucked up. Just like Sammy, even if you left us, you'd get brought back eventually. Why fight that?"
Marion shook her head. "Dean, I just wanna lay down. I need some time. My head hurts."
"I hate to be the one to say this, but, if Zach brought her, then he's going to be watching her. We don't have much time." Sam warned.
Dean took a deep breath and caught his sister's eyes again. "The life we lead... it's not easy, but since when is life supposed to be? Sammy and me, we have our problems, but we're still close enough to finish each other's sentences. He picked a demon over me, yes, and it jumpstarted the Apocalypse, but I've ignored his whiny ass in favor of a piece of tail before, too. In the end, though, we'll come together, as a family, and rectify this. But you're my missing piece and Zach, he'll take you away from me if I leave without you. We'll never see each other again. Please, Marion. Come with us."
Marion wiped her eyes. "You're just making it seem like a choice, aren't you?"
Dean smirked. "You refuse and I'll have Cas knock you out and fly you out to the Impala. I'd rather you didn't make me do that."
She sighed, loudly. "I've got a bunch of books. I hope your baby has room. I'm not leaving without them."
"We'll take them for now, but there's not much space, so we'll have to drop 'em off at Bobby:s." Dean said, grabbing a heavy stack of books and handing them off to Castiel.
-&*)*&()&#+))%#*()%# *
Marion stared out the small back window of the Impala. There was so much she'd never seen before, but this scenery was familiar. Dean had driven this road before, many times. The trees flashing past were almost hypnotic and she felt herself dozing off.
She knew it was a dream because she could no longer feel or hear the rumble of the Impala's engine. And someone was sitting next to her, someone she'd never met. It was a man with dark blonde hair, wearing loose jeans and an open plaid button-up over a grey t-shirt. "How's it feel to be out of that hospital, Mary? Lock a sane person up long enough, they start to go a bit nutso. The boys got you out in time, though." He said, turning sideways to look at her.
Marion leaned back as close to the black metal as possible. She knew this wasn't exactly real but the anxiety she was feeling was. "Who are you?"
The man smiled and offered her a slice from an orange she hadn't noticed he was eating. "I'd like to think I'm your friend, Marion. Don't worry. I'm not any friend of Zachariah's. To be honest, I'm not really a friend to Dean and Sam, either." He scooted a bit closer to her. "But I'd like to be your friend."
She took the orange slice, but did not eat it. "Why?"
"Because you're different from them, Mary! You were supposed to die! 27years ago, John Winchester was supposed to let Dean steal his attention for a few minutes, and you were supposed to fuck off like 4 year olds do and get hit by a Chevy truck. Instead, you were preserved, taught to fear God and love Him. You've never ganked a demon or purified a spirit. And you don't really wanna start now, do ya, Mary?"
"Please, stop calling me that. It's my mother's name. She passed."
He rolled his eyes. "I know! I'm the one who set Azazel on the path to kill her... and every other mother who's maternal instincts got the better of her. Listen. Marion. Your brothers, they're in the middle of something huge. Bigger than anything they've ever played with. They can't stop it. They were made for ot. Dean, he's going to say 'yes' to Michael. And, Sam, he's gonna say 'yes' too. You... weren't supposed to be here. You were preserved... because the Archangels thought they could use you. But you have no part in this." He moved forward more. "You don't need to be here, Marion. Dean is a big boy. He'll make his decision on his own. So will Sammy. If you want to stay, I can .ake a place for you in the Apocalypse, but if you don't want to be a party to this... I can make your escape route."
He scooted back. "I'll even keep you safe after Michael loses the battle and the Earth is thrown into Chaos. All you have to do, Marion Winchester, is tell me where your brothers are before you go. That simple. Don't answer now. Think about it."
Marion twitched as she woke. She had never pictured Lucifer that way... but she was certain that's who she'd spoken to.
"Bad dream?" Castiel asked, appearing next to her in the back seat. Marion debated telling them the dream, but she just nodded and looked away to the flashing trees. Something told her that Castiel might already know and she didn't want her brothers to doubt her decision like she was apt to do.
"How'd you find us, Cas? Thought you put angel symbols on all of our bones?" Dean asked, looking in the rearview mirror at his angel. He'd never admit it to anyone but himself... and he guessed Marion probably knew, but the way Castiel had given up everything for him, the way he'd risked everything to help Dean, that was a loyalty didn't know existed. So, while the other angels were just 'those dicks', Cas was 'my angel'.
"I assumed you were on your way to Bobby's, so I stood by the road until I heard the Impala approaching."
"That's not creepy." Dean muttered.
"I thought I might be able to assist with Marion's combat training." Castiel seemed a tiny bit nervous as he spoke the words, but only one Winchester noticed.
"I know how to fight. At least, my brain knows does. I have all of these memories of Dad training you and I remember which maneuvers have failed you in the past."
"But your muscles don't know this stuff. Your muscles know how to pick up a book, not a gun. We'll fix that, though." Sam spoke up.
Marion looked over at her partner in the back seat with her. "I'm sure that riding in this little slow machine must be driving you mad, since, you know, you're more used to flying. You could just meet us at Bobby's, if you'd rather."
Castiel gave her an awkward, half nervous smile. "It's fine. I would only be waiting around for you all to arrive. I would rather ride along."
"You stood by the road until you heard the Impala, not even knowing if we were taking this route but you don't want to wait at Bobby's? You're weird, Cas." Dean said, looking away from the mirror.
Castiel just looked away from Dean and focused out the window.