Disclaimer: Don't own it. Never did. But I can dream, right?
Grammar was never really my strong suit.
AN: Unfortunately I won't be able to update for about a week. I have a family vacation thing to go to and there's no internet access. I apologize to all of my wonderful readers and I will try to write as many chapters as I can while I'm away so I can upload them when I get back. Well, enjoy the chapter!
Strolling down the sidewalk of some town in northern Michigan, Dean pulled out his cell phone, which had started to vibrate again and answered, "Yeah?"
A tinny but familiar voiced replied, "Where the hell are you! You'd better get your ass over here pronto!"
Dean grinned as he said, "Well its good to hear from you too, Marlin. You know if you wedge that stick any further up your ass it'll be scraping the roof of your mouth. And exactly where is 'here' and why the hell should I even care?"
Marlin was always fun to irritate as he was extremely short tempered but he always got over his anger fairly quickly. While he still made plenty of threats, Marlin never seemed to be able to follow through on them. All in all, he was a pretty decent guy for a demon.
Marlin, however, was not pleased with Dean's antics. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the factory that we've spent a week working on for the ritual! Remember now?"
"Sure, sure," Dean responded dismissively. "Sheesh, cool it Grandma. Don't get yourself too worked up now." Hearing the incomprehensible snarl that was Marlin's reply, he added, "Relax, I'll be there in two shakes."
"You'd better," was all Dean managed to make out of Marlin's next words before the static drowned out his voice. Turning, he walked down the street and vanished as he promptly appeared approximately six hundred miles away in an old abandoned factory.
Scanning the interior, he spotted the group of people gathered around an area near the rusted machinery, surrounded by the ingredients for a heavyweight summoning ritual. Dean recognized all of the demons present. Most of the other demons were older than him, but as Dean had personally tortured all of them in Hell, it was more than enough to instill a healthy sense of fear in them. Combined with Alastair's influence, those demons had an adequate amount of respect toward Dean.
"So," he said breaking the silence, Fill me in. What exactly do we need for this ritual?"
Marlin, who seemed to have already gotten over his fit of anger, replied, "Human blood, which we got," gesturing toward the pile of exsanguinated corpses thrown carelessly in the corner, "um, some herbs, which were a milk run, other odds and ends, and the bones of a murdered king, which by the way were a real bitch to find."
"How does the ritual go down? Are there any specific requirements we need to follow?" Dean asked.
"The ritual needs to be performed at midnight, tonight, but aside from that, no." Marlin answered. "Which means we got a few hours to kill. Anything else?"
"Actually yeah," Dean responded, "What's so special about the thing we're summoning, anyway?"
His question had been directed to Marlin, but to Dean's surprise it was Grant who answered. "Honestly, not much. Just a demon that's been locked in Hell for a few millennia. But it's also a Seal and an easy one at that."
"Great" Dean groaned, "Another Seal. I'm not scraping anybody off the wall this time though."
"Apparently, they ran out of higher level demons for the job," Alina chipped in, "so they sent a bunch of us here instead. But it's unlikely that the ritual will go wrong. We've covered the outside off the factory in Enochian warding sigils; the angels won't be able to even touch the place."
"I pray to God that what you're saying is true", Dean said, realizing how strange that sentence must have sounded coming from a demon, "Cause this is going to be one long night."
"What the hell, Ruby!" were the very first words out of Sam's mouth when the said demon appeared in his motel room. She had arrived about forty five minutes after Dean had left. Sam almost salted the room but remembered that the salt lines would keep Ruby out too.
"Chill, Sam," Ruby said shaking her head dismissively. "I know I've been gone for awhile but-"
"That's not what I mean Ruby!" Sam said, a little louder than he meant to. "I'm not talking about the fact that you've practically dropped off the face of the Earth for a month."
Ruby looked up, surprised. "So this isn't about your withdrawal symptoms from the blood."
"No," Sam said, slightly frustrated now, "But I do need some more; I ran out weeks ago. That's not the point though. Dean's back. "
"What do you mean Dean's back?", Ruby asked, puzzled.
"Dean's a demon," Sam responded flatly, waiting for her reaction. "Did you know you know?"
Ruby turned around, trying to find the best way to phrase her next words so it didn't come out as a big fat lie.
"Sam, I'm a wanted demon. Socializing with other demons is pretty much out of the question for me. Also, it takes decades or even centuries to become a demon. Dean only died a little over a year ago. Who could of guessed that it would happen so soon?," Ruby explained, hoping Sam would buy it.
To her relief he did, but then he asked the million dollar question, "Where have you been the past month then?"
The truth was that she was scared of running into Dean. Before Hell, he was a hunter, one who had no qualms about sending her back to the Pit or even killing her. Now, as a demon, along with Alastair's teachings, she didn't even want to imagine what Dean might do to her. As soon as she heard the news that Dean Winchester was topside, she hid. But it wasn't like she could tell Sam that.
"Well," she replied, I've been finding out more about Lilith nowadays. I know what her game plan is. There are these things called the 66 Seals, they're like locks on a cage. Lilith is trying to break open the cage."
"What's inside the cage?" Sam asked, frowning though he realized now that this must have been what Dean was referring to earlier.
"Lucifer. I know it sounds crazy but the devil is real and so are angels. I don't know how else to break this to you but you're just going to have to accept it," Ruby said wearily.
"Angels are real?" was Sam's only response.
Ruby sighed before saying, "Unfortunately, angels are very much real. But don't get your hopes up. Some of them are even bigger dicks than the demons and they're deadly too. They smite first and ask questions later. If you don't believe me you should ask a few of the demons they've disintegrated."
"And now," Ruby continued, "we need to get the hell out of here. Start packing."
"Why," Sam asked, confused.
"Because if Dean was able to find you it means other demons can too. Hurry!"
Back in the old factory, everything was set for the summoning ritual. The sigil was drawn in blood on the floor, the bones were placed at certain points outside the symbol, and the herbs were stacked carefully in the middle with a circle of blood surrounding the entire area. One of the dead bodies was lying off to the side of the summoning site as the demon would probably want an instant meatsuit after being in Hell for so long.
It was only 11:58 though, and the ritual had to be performed on the stroke of midnight. Marlin pulled out a sheet of crumpled paper from his back pocket, smoothing it so he could read the incantation. Everybody else got into position, waiting as Rick counted down the seconds on his watch to midnight,"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Now."
Marlin began to slowly recite the Latin incantation, as Grant poured the remaining blood over the pile of herbs. Dean placed a smoldering match on top of the bloody mound; the blood began to burn as if it were oil, spreading from the pile and igniting the other lines of blood drawn into the ground.
Dorian placed the bones in the flame's path which turned to dust as soon as the fire touched them. Alina scattered the ash from the burnt herbs and blood over the sigil; the blood began to boil and sizzle as the tiny grains of ash coated the bloody symbol. Marlin read louder as the entire building shook; the symbol on the floor changing, curling, twisting, tendrils of blood snaking from the center as if it were trying to latch on to something.
A vortex opened in the center, growing larger and larger as something started to emerge from its depths. Then all the windows in the building exploded, raining shards of broken glass over everyone. A blindingly bright white started to glow as a piercing ringing sound began. It was the angels.
"What the hell!" Dean yelled over the din, "I thought you put warding symbols on the outside!"
"Apparently, they only work when the building in question is still standing!" Marlin shouted back, "We all need to get the hell out of here!"
But it was too late. The building exploded in a flash of pure white light as the ringing grew even louder. All the demons inside fell to the floor writhing, doing their best to shield their eyes and ears from the incessant light and ringing. Then it was all over.
Dean opened his eyes cautiously and looked around. The place was a mess. The factory was unrecognizable; it looked like a bomb had been set off. Chunks of plaster, concrete, and mangled metal littered the entire area. He stood up slowly, noticing that everybody else was still on the ground. Dean automatically knew that they were all dead.
"Hello Dean," a voice behind him said.
Dean spun around looking for the perpetrator. The voice's owner was a dark haired man wearing a suit and tie underneath a trench coat. He was also undoubtedly an angel.
"What the hell do you want?" Dean said, knowing that the angel could kill him in mere seconds. As for why he had not already done so; he wasn't sure.
The angel frowned at him, narrowing bright blue eyes and said in a gruff voice, "We need to talk."
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