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- Dean's POV -
I'd promised Lisa that I would think seriously about whether or not I could give up hunting for them, and I was, but it was getting harder as the night wore on because neither Sam nor Diana had come back to the motel. I asked the lady at the desk if she had seen either of them, describing them each to her, in case they had come back to another room, but she hadn't seen them.
After the sky had begun to lighten again, I decided to go look for them. I threw my jacket over my shoulders and left a note for Lisa and Ben letting them know that I'd be back by the end of the night, and that if I wasn't, they should take what weapons I'd left and run. I walked out of the room with a glare and determination in my stride, but as soon as I got out to the parking lot, I groaned. Sam had taken the car.
Grumbling, I was about to stalk off in the direction of town when I heard the flap of a heavy coat in the wind. Rolling my eyes, I turned to fas Cas.
"What do you want, Cas?"
"Where are Sam and Diana?" he demanded.
"I don't know. I'm about to go look for them. Why can't you sense them?"
"The power shields Diana from me, but I could sense Sam last evening, then he disappeared as well. I cannot find him."
"What!" I shouted, snatching the collar of his trench coat and yanking him closer. "What do you mean you can't find him! Where's my brother!"
"I'm here, Dean."
I whipped around to find an exhausted looking Sam standing behind me.
"Sam! Where've you been!" I demanded, dropping Cas and charging towards him. "I've been worried! Where's my car!"
"It's on a back road by a lake about four miles that way," Sam replied softly, motioning in its direction. He kept his head down and my eyebrows drew together in concern.
"Sammy? What's going on?"
"I'm here to get you, Dean," he sighed. "We're being held prisoner."
"What? By who?" I groaned. "Did you get yourself into something with Crowley? Or one of his crossroads bitches? C'mon, Sam, we've talked about this! We don't do that shit anymore!"
"No, Dean, this has nothing to do with hell. And I didn't enter this willingly." Sam flinched at something, like I'd just poked his bruised ribs.
"What the hell, Sam? Just tell me!"
"It's a god, isn't it?" Cas piped up from behind me.
I glanced back at him. "A what?"
"A god," he repeated. "I told you. Everything is after Diana. If I can't sense her, it's likely that others are unable as well. And the best way to get to her, is through you two. A god has captured Sam and, to humiliate you both, has sent him to bring you back in chains."
"And you think I'm gonna go willingly?" I asked gruffly. "You're gonna have to hit me with your best shot, little brother, 'cause I'm not letting you put me in shackles." I folded my arms.
"That's okay," Sam sighed. "She likes us to use collars."
"She?" I spat. "Great, I'm being sold into sex slavery to some entitled bitch with a human fetish." Sam didn't say anything, just kept his head down. I groaned. "Oh, gross."
"How fascinating," Cas mused. "What kind of god is she?" I glared at him. "What?"
"This is not fascinating," I snapped. "It sucks." I turned back to Sam. "Okay, fine. I come with you to the bitch's chamber. Then, what? What's the plan?" He didn't answer me. "Sam. What's the plan?" He didn't even lift his head. "You don't have one, do you?" I exhaled, running my hand over my face. "Jesus, Sammy, you're really slacking. This is some major trouble we're in now!"
"Dean, don't you think I know that!" he suddenly exploded at me. "Lisa and Ben are helpless, Diana's in way over her head with every monster in the world hot on her tail and I've gotten myself and my only family left into captivity so we have to sit by and watch the people we love die! I know that we're in trouble, Dean! I know it's my fault! I know! But there's nothing we can do about it right now so just shut up and follow me!"
He turned on his heel and stalked away. I glanced at Cas who raised his eyebrows, then disappeared. Exhaling, I threw one last look at the door behind which slept the two kindest people I had ever met, who had given me true happiness for a blissful time, short as it may have been. Then, I lifted my head, set a scowl on my face and marched after my little brother into the dungeon of a god.
- Diana's POV -
I ducked down another dark street behind the tall, crumbling buildings of the southern part of town. I rapped my bloody knuckles on a slab of plywood placed over a hole in a wall as a door. When a tall, lanky kid peered around it and saw me, he stepped outside, a toddler in his arms. I took the kid, setting her on my hip, then shoved a basket at him and stuffed his pockets. He peered up at me with big, wet eyes, clutching the basket to his chest. He turned to drop it inside the door then took the child back and dropped a kiss on my cheek before scurrying back inside.
Keeping my eyes everywhere, I headed back out to the main streets, keeping my eyes open for trouble. Most people stayed out of my way. Sometimes I was approached and made offers that I had to refuse. Whenever I caught a whiff of leather or saw a tall, imposing, brick wall of a man walking down the street, my mind wandered back to Sam and Dean. I wondered where they were and how much time had passed since I'd last seen them. I wondered if Sam was still mad at me, but then quickly turned my thoughts to how selfish and manipulating he had been. I was pissed at myself for letting him use me and would then follow the man that triggered his memory and wait for him to prove himself just as selfish.
I saved a lot of people and punished those who were making their lives hell. Pimps, dealers, violent addicts, burglars, arsonists, rapists, various abusers. It felt so good when their evil left the world. I felt powerful and finally in control of my own destiny. After all that I had been through, in this life and those before, I was finally the one calling the shots. Not my creators, not the Fates, me. I was making my own way through the world, deciding my own destiny, and it was the most satisfaction I had ever felt. In addition to the control I had, it was getting easier and easier to tap into the strengths and skills of others and, even beyond that, I was beginning to really enjoy it.
As I walked down the street, someone jostled me to the side.
"Watch it," I snapped. The panicky lady turned to me with wide eyes, then seized my shoulders, a boy following close behind. It wasn't until she had come up right next to my face that I realized it was Lisa.
"Oh thank God!" she gasped. "You have to help them! Please!"
"Help who? What are you talking about?"
"Sam and Dean!"
I felt my entire being darken at the mention of their names. "What about them?" I hissed.
"The man in the trench coat told me that I had to find you! That you were the only one who could save them!"
"Save them from what!" I demanded.
"God."
- Sam's POV -
I was sprawled across the bed, each of my wrists and ankles bound to a bed post, groaning as her hands pressed into my invisible wounds.
"Keep still," she snapped, "or the healing won't work. It's not exactly my usual style to repair, you should consider yourself lucky."
"Yeah, I feel like the luckiest man alive," I spat. She rolled her dark eyes at me and pressed down harder, then let up on the pressure.
"What is it about you, Sam Winchester, that attracts such negative attention?" she mused, stroking my cheek with the back of her armored leather glove.
"Just lucky I guess," I growled. She smirked and grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back. I arched my back, crying out in pain.
"Wow," she chuckled. "You're so responsive. No wonder she was drawn to you. Hell, with you and your brother here, and all this free time, you might even turn me."
"To men?" Dean snapped from his binds in the room across the hall.
"No, you entitled ass," she smirked over at him. "To pleasures of the flesh."
"You're a virgin?" he laughed.
"You are poor with your mythology, I see." She flicked her wrist and the door slammed shut. Turning her eyes back to me, she purred, "I hate it when my private conversations are interrupted, don't you?" I didn't answer.
She smacked my cheek with the armored glove before moving away from my side to crouch down by her bow and quiver in the corner. I felt her smooth smile glide onto her face from across the room. She stood once more, strapping her bow and quiver onto her back and held out my collar.
"Time to go, Rapunzel."
She led us by our silver collars to a cold, damp stone room. We were forced to walk stooped, no more than a foot behind her, as she always attached the collars by a chain to the belt around her waist. Neither our feet nor hands were bound in any way because she had the ability to enter our minds and inflict immediate pain, real or otherwise, and she often knew our thoughts before they finished manifesting. We were at her mercy. Cooperation was our only choice, and she was well aware of it. She would often tell us that she did not feel threatened by us and that we would be freed once we had served our purpose, which she never explained, not that it needed to be. She would say that we didn't have to like her or enjoy our captivity, only that we had to cooperate.
"You are very creative, Dean," she told him as she led us into the room, "I'll give you that."
"Thanks," he responded as proudly as he could. She glanced over her other shoulder at me.
"Sam, your thoughts are unlike any I've ever read. Somewhat fascinating. If could, I might keep you around just to try to figure out how you tick." I didn't respond.
"What do you mean if you could?" Dean asked. "You're a god. Why can't you?"
"Because I gave you both my word that I would free you once you had served your purpose," she explained. "Olympians never go back on their words, unlike some gods." She unfastened our chains from her hips. "You may make yourself as comfortable as you can in this space, but stay close."
We backed up to a comfortable distance, testing the privilege, then Dean walked the perimeter of the room, inspecting our surroundings. As he walked out of earshot, she spoke to me again.
"You know, Sam, as happy as you may think you are loving a vessel, the angel is right. It will only result in your mutual destruction."
I raised my head for the first time and looked her in the eyes.
"You all need to stop telling me who I am and am not going to love. It's not your decision. I love Diana. That's all there is to it. Your opinions are irrelevant."
She sighed, folding her arms. "Aphrodite would get a kick out of you." I turned my back on her as Dean returned to us. We felt her eyes on our backs, like she was inspecting us. I felt Dean's temper wearing down as we stood there. Just as he was about to say something, the door swung open with a bang and we all whipped around.
"Pardon me," Diana barked, standing with her hands on her hips. "But I believe you have something of mine."
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