*E.R.A.S.E.D*

by: WhiteGloves

A/N: To be fair, you're all missing something XD

Chapter 2: R

Of all the supernatural stuff, Dean seeing another Dean always tops it all. But hey, doppelgangers or shape shifters are common—but to meet the version of himself he thought never existed (he recognizes the dirty, combat-like-clothing of both men) staring back at him now with wild stumped look as he gathers himself up quickly from the ground with a hand snatching behind him to get his dagger for protection, is absolute crazy house. This one version of himself he actually disliked! Though Dean silently commends himself for the ready to attack first-questions-later move. He'd totally do that. He totally understands.

"What's going on?" the other Dean spat with a growl that seem to encompass his alarm at what he is seeing. He looks around them with murderous eyes and all the present Dean could do is to stand there, baffled and uncertain like his version.

"Hey, man—look—" he begins.

"Why am I alive?" other Dean bellows, his eyes with sharp blades. That got Dean and Cas to look at one another. Then the hunter replies—

"You remember—?"

"I remember dying." other Dean growls, eyes on his look-alike who stares back more puzzled, "Lucifer killed me! He snapped my neck—I remember all of that!"

"I remember that too." Dean affirms and in his mind's eye he sees Lucifer in his younger brother's meat suit, wearing an incredible white suit he'd use to annoy Sam with, stepping on his 2014 version and cracking his neck easily. How could Dean forget something like that? So turning serious looks at the angel beside him, the present Dean nods. "You were dead—"

"Then why am I alive?"

"Okay, man—one question at a time. You're not the only one—"

But the other Dean's already looking at Cas with contorted eyebrows, especially at the trench coat getup. Then as if understanding, he lowers the blade a little.

"You're 'Cas' with the angel power." He says with a little reverie but the blades in his eyes never disappear. "So what did you do, huh? Bring me back to life before you take this ol' version of mine on the right calendar cause' it's already past his bed time? Disappear just like that again?"

Castiel's mostly dismal face turned somber. "Whatever it is that happened… I assure you, it was not my doing. Even so… I think…" he looks pass this Dean towards the man in bloody jeans and coat still unconscious on the ground. "If he is me… he's dying."

Both Dean turns to the man on the ground with different expressions—one of concern and the other with slight indifference and further questions.

"Cas, go heal him, please." Present Dean quickly says right as his other version glares at him. "What? You're not just gonna leave your friend there dying, are you? No wait—" Dean's eyes flashes, "You already did when you sent him as a decoy to die. You remember that?"

Cas, who has lowered himself beside his unconscious version, slightly looks up as he checks the body.

"Get over it." Other Dean rumbles deeply as he put the blade in its sheath behind him with a strong expression and clenched jaw. "I thought I made it clear to you I'm the one making decisions here! It's my time—so you don't get to tell me what to do!"

To which Dean laughs out loud, "You think you're still in 2014? Post Apocalypse?"

Other Dean's lips go down into a curve.

"You're in my time—2016!" finishes the present hunter whose voice turned loud, eyes not leaving his own face, "So this time—

you don't get to tell me what to do."

"2016?" hard face Dean is not listening anymore, "What the hell…I moved into the future?"

"My future." Dean corrects.

"Strange…" Cas murmurs quietly somewhere but nobody pays him attention.

Other Dean is frowning so hard now as they stand face to face like-looking-in-a-mirror. "You're saying this yet you're still the'me' who came into my time from 2009? Man, you've been messing with time—!"

"No—this isn't future— this is my time! At present!"

"Oh, so you're telling me my time isn't the present?"

"Technically now, you're the past—"

Other Dean's jaw clenched so tight, present Dean knew he is just about to explode in anger—

"Alright—let's take a breather—you and I. I don't know what happened to you alright? I got snuffed out by Zachariah from your time before Lucifer could kill me. Did a few changes like you suggested—but I didn't say yes, dig. But I didn't end up being you, the dick. So on the technicalities again; your version did not happen. Me and Sammy prevented Apocalypse with Cas right after our little chat." He nods at the angel. "Someone else 'married' Lucifer and took him to honeymoon." He received a glare from Castiel. "Anyways, he managed to escape his cage, he's out there but he's weak and all—God, his sister—it's all confusing for you single-minded dude but you're smart. So I'm telling you, things just got supernaturally complicated for us. Suck it up."

Silence for the hard-jaw Dean to stare daggers at himself.

"So why am I here? What am I doing here?" other Dean now takes the bad attitude of somebody waking up at the wrong side of the bed.

"Good question." Present Dean looks at the angel and his mortal version. "Cas? How did they end up here?" he walks to his friend who looks back at him—

"Dean, this me is terribly wounded. And he is mortal." He sounds full of curiosity and the hunter does not blame him.

"Well, he is. And he's more than what he looks so fix him up so we can get answers. You don't want to see yourself die, trust me." Dean shifts his footing as Castiel gives him another meaningful look that reminded him how many times both of them has already danced about with life and death.

"I did what I can already but he's physically drained. I think I understand what happened." That got the attention of both Deans who look back at him from where he is kneeling. "I think this version of me used all his angel power to somehow distort time and space—which require such an amount of power to achieve so that's probably how he's like this—in pieces and dying. I don't feel any angel grace with him anymore and I'm afraid I never would. I've never touched a soul so damaged—well—except the time with Sam's soul with the cage. But it is strange how this 'version' of me could be so strong to do time distortion. It's impossible."

"It's more than impossible—it's not supposed to. No, Cas, that's not what happened." Dean is already in front of the angel, eye to eye level with him, "I didn't tell you this in detail—and I never wanted to—but you were mortal in his 2014. The angels left and you sort of like—turn mortal.

Cas' expression turned even more confuse.

"Yeah, so listen. You… had a different kind of personality you never want to ask about."

"What are you—?"

"Are you telling me," other Dean's voice seem to come from the depths of the earth, low and rumbling, as the two present versions turn in his direction. "That he caused all this?" he eyes the piece of mortal meat still unmoving on the floor whose clothes were ripped and bloody but with wounds already healed. The other present two follows his eye line.

"No." present Dean says almost confidently then—

"Yes." Cas looks at the Deans skeptically. "I don't exactly know how he did it but if he's mortal his soul doesn't feel right. Like it's been exhausted from a magnitude of full use. He may just be the culprit."

Both Deans eyed the angel like they believe him and Cas has to narrow his eyes at them defensively. "What? You think this version of mine is incapable? He can't be that useless."

"So why bring me here—in your time?" He looks deviously at the angel, with a face ready to erupt any time and looking at this version of him almost like a ticking bomb makes the present Dean so uneasy. Because he knows what he is capable of—especially this ruthless version of his.

"He must be trying to save you." Cas says flatly like it was common place.

"Well, fuck. I didn't ask for that."

"Hey—" present Dean rounds on his counterpart, "You don't get to decide who saves you alright? Least you could do is show some gratitude."

A jerk on his collar and the next thing present Dean knows, he is almost nose to nose with his erratic twin whose eyes are ablaze.

"I've never known gratitude for years—not even to save my life." He breathes contemptuously, "So nobody gets to decide for me. Not you—not junkie over there. I don't care if he's dying but if it's real he messed with me—you better wish he doesn't get up now because I'm the one whose gonna put a bullet in his head."

Dean yanked himself away from himself with his own heat rising to his head—

"You touch him and I kill you."

Things shaped up pretty intensely right there, leaving Cas to watch the two dangle death sentence to one another. "Enough." He finally says. "This won't give us answers."

Other Dean glares at him, "You're an angel now and you're still as worthless as ever." Cas narrows his eyes but is unable to reply when present Dean smacks his right fists on his twin's cheek. Riot comes next as other Dean retaliated by giving a full swing of his own stronger one that sent Dean down the ground and the two rolled about for a minute, exchanging blows with bits of blood everywhere— a showdown of the fittest.

Dean knocked his head on the other Dean but seems ineffective as fist by fist—other Dean showers him with angry fists and when people are angry sometimes they turn to Mighty Joe. Present Dean can hardly get an opening when the man on top of him suddenly collapses on the ground like his soul just got snuffed out from him. Looking up, present Dean sees Cas staring down at him with an exasperated look at his comatose version on the floor. The angel took him out—safely.

"Didn't think of that before he got me in pieces?" Dean asks just as Cas offers him a hand to help him up.

"He's dangerous." The angel sighs as they stood side by side. "Nothing is more dangerous than a confuse Dean Winchester."

"You notice now?" Dean stares at his unconscious other and shakes his head. "Yeah, well, he's me. Bad version."

"So what do we do?"

"I know what I'd do." Dean nods at the angel and took his phone out from his pocket, dialed his brother's number and sigh just as it got answered. "Hey, Sammy? Remember when you told me to surprise you? You'll never believe it."

"I don't believe it." Sam says extra hours later as the younger Winchester stands in the dungeon of the bunker with eyes on his brother, seated on the metal chair with cuffs and chains about him. The other Dean's wide awake and is staring at Sam with a mystifying look of pure killer intent. "Why is he in chains?" he turns to his older brother who is beside him with crossed arms.

"Because he's me. Demonic. Unpossessed."

"You mean like you being you."

"I'm never him." Dean takes a serious face as he got into a staring contest with his twin. "I will never be him."

"I guess not." Other Dean smirks subtly as he eyes the brothers. "Cause here you are, wrapped in your happy rainbow. I guess it takes a few turns of events to keep you sane and happy." Dean and Sam turns to one another. "No Apocalypse. No brother dead, but there is a Lucifer. Which makes you guys wusses."

"Excuse me?" Sam frowns. "Apocalypse didn't happen, but we had to deal with a lot worst."

"Everything else that happened after 2014 made Apocalypse look like icing on the cake." Dean glares at his glaring self. "So nut up, will you? You're not the only one with beefs to offer. So if you're not going to be part of the solution then find another hobby that doesn't involve making things worse."

Other Dean throws a sour look at them. "So what now? You can't keep me here forever."

"But we can't let you out either." Sam is apologetic that only received another deadly glare.

"Why not?"

"Because we don't know what brought you here in the first place." Present Dean receives half the deadly glare. "We're trying to avoid another scenario where you or human Cas will be use to end the world. Don't look at me like that—you know you're a wild card. You're the supernatural."

Silence fell in the lips of the 2014 version. Sam stares at him again and tries to change the subject.

"If you want to know how Cas is doing—"

"I didn't ask." Other Dean closes his eyes and when he opens them he gives the vibe of bad ego. "I don't care. Do what you want with him."

"We're not going to do anything to him." Dean crosses his arms with the same bad vibe. "What you did is enough."

Sam looks from his older brother to the older brother, knowing the context of how ugly the Detroit plan worked out in 2014.

"Okay, uh—"

"And you better stop talking to me." Plain and simple coming from the man in chains that got Sam to freeze. "With that face all I can see is my enemy." He nods at Sam, who looks so taken a back he shifts in his feet. "So why don't you just kill me? Again."

"We won't kill you." Sam says with a bit of sympathy reflected on his face, "We don't kill victims of circumstances."

"Really? Is that our new motto now?" spat the other sarcastically, "Because the last time I remember you snapped my neck after bitching about how pathetic I am—and now here you are standing in front of me—again—and y'know what there's nothing else I can think but ripping you off that sorry-ass mask!"

Sam frowns heavily and steps into the light. "I didn't do shit to you in this time, alright?"

"I'm not gonna stick around waiting for you to prove it."

Sam rounds to his present brother and stares him full in the face.

"Dick!" he hisses with much force.

"He's a tease." Dean says apologetically with a tap on his younger brother's shoulder. "Let's let him cool off. Maybe even forget he's here." They turn to the door and locked it. They heard the other Dean mutter something but ignores it as they walk on the Bunker's corridor shoulder to shoulder.

"It's worst than the demon you." Sam tells his brother in an I-confess way, "Or not. But this Dick Dean's full of crap on his shoulder. I don't think he's willing to take any help any time soon."

"Where he comes from there's almost no help." Dean says quietly, "Mostly it's just him and a bunch of guerilla survivors who's lost the tank. It's pretty hard on him out there and I don't blame him being that way. It's just… hard man."

"Are you siding with him?"

"No, but I get it." They eyed each other till Sam drops it just as they turn on the room corners.

"So the Cas here is mortal… and you think he's got something to do with this 'distortion'?"

"Cas thinks so."

"But this mortal's a junkie, right? Mortal Cas? The Cas who turned mortal here can't even do anything—"

"He did baby sit once."

"Yes, but if I remember what you told me correctly, he's not up for any juice in that 2014 version. Let alone—a full time distortion while reviving your Dick Dean." Dean turns at his brother with a flat stare and Sam just had to shake him out of it— "I'm serious man! What if it's not him—what if it's—

"Lucifer?" both Dean and Sam jumped in surprise when Castiel, the angel in the trench coat, appeared on their pathway with the deepest expression. "That's a scary thought."

"How's Cas, Cas?" Dean just has to try it that received a suspicious glare from the angel.

"He's awake. Seems pretty acceptable of what's going on. I didn't think myself too… adaptable."

"You've no idea." Dean says, "What'd he tell you?"

"Aside from the casual sex and drugs and constant requests for alcohol?" Cas shakes his head. "I don't think he remembers. He knows up to when he finds Dean dead—"

"Dick Dean dead." Sam corrects him and shrugs when his brother glares.

"And he just sort of… blacked out." The angel finishes with uncertainty. Then he stares up at the brothers with blue eyes shining, "I don't think he did this alone. Lucifer or not, he had help. Someone plucked them out of that time and dropped them here in the present."

"Why would anyone do that?" Dean counters, unimpressed, "I mean— why would they pick out people from a universe that didn't happen! This story line—we avoided it—or altered it—whatever! But it's not like we're talking of past of future—we're talking about nonexistent universe!"

"Well, they happened in your head." The angel says simply. "That should be enough to believe they existed."

Dean scowls at the apparent lack of concern. "If everything in my head gets to exist I'd vote myself as god of the year."

"Let's thank Chuck you're not." Sam says with eyebrows going up, "So how do we explain this?" Blank stares looked back up at him.

"Maybe we don't need to." Cas answers quiet pensively, "The way he tells me his story—that me—when he sees 'Dick Dean' dead… that could have been a trigger."

"Trigger for angel juice?" Dean bites questioningly.

"No—a trigger for faith." Cas snaps back. "Sometimes all it takes for a person is to lose everything… and then there's faith. You know, honestly I think if I prayed hard enough and sincerely wished for it, they'd accept me in heaven with open arms."

Dean stares hard at him. "Why don't you?"

Cas refrains from answering but the look he gives his friend bear meaning.

"So wait—" Sam pulls them back from the heap, "You telling me you think this Cas prayed hard enough for God to respond? But that's Post Apocalypse, Cas, why would anyone answer him upstairs? You know well as I do how crap loaded the angels are. No offense."

"Which brings me back to Lucifer." Cas admits with a hint of worry. "If he's realized that Dean—our Dean here came charging from the past, he must've meant for these two to follow—"

"So why 2016?"

"Maybe Lucifer's playing bull." The angel shakes his head. "We do not know for certain. Angels are not omniscient, we can't know what will happen but we do know the past. Zachariah sending you in there should not have been done in the first place. Especially with Lucifer reigning that time. Sending people to future… makes the future the present for them… and a creature as powerful as Lucifer seeing that…"

"So it's Zachariah's fault?"

Cas catches their eyes. "I'm afraid so. But it doesn't explain the purpose."

Dean inhales and shut his eyes close. "I want a drink."

"That's why I'm here," Cas says with Dean giving him an odd look. "I mean—my other version is asking for absinthe. Do we have that here?"

"Don't give him any of that." Dean says, "he's not wasting on my wake."

"Well, you get him juice, but I want to see him." Sam interrupts as the two headed towards the kitchen.

"Don't stress him." The older brother calls out. Then turning to the angel, "How's that? You just met you whose worst than your own version when you became human."

"I was only human briefly." Cas answers as Dean gets beer and throws him juice. "But I think give or take a few years of me staying on earth, it could be possible."

Dean looks up. "Not funny, man. I'm not letting you." Which just made the angel incline his head on one side curiously.

"What did he say happen to him, this Cas version of me?" he asks.

"Life." Dean responds after one swig, his eyes hard. "And people around him… not particularly nice."

"It's Post Apocalypse. Not the nicest time." The angel leans on the table thoughtfully.

"I'm speaking of when… we, people, don't lose humanity and sacrifice our friends." That came out really grinding for the hunter.

"You mean the other you?" Cas assesses, "You don't seem particularly fond of this version."

"Not really. He's the one guy I hope never to turn into." He takes another swig and sighs. "And that version of you is another thing I never want to see you in. And so is Sammy bitching as Lucifer. Damn, I really hate that 2014."

Castiel makes no comment as Dean empties his bottle just in time for Sam to come thundering from the corridor.

"Where's Cas?" he throws at them at once and they know immediately he's talking about the other one.

"Not here." Flat fact. Then Sam is the first one to run outside instinctively and the two follow suit. They practically raced towards the dungeon room when there free off his chain, already stepping outside it is Dick Dean with human Cas, wearing casual clothing, right behind him. The look on Dick Dean's face is priceless. Especially on his hand is a loaded gun.

"Oh, great." Dean grits his teeth as they stop full and warily eyes their reflection. Castiel beside him frowns at his counterpart who is supporting a bleeding lip. Dean and Sam see this and turns eye of daggers to Dick Dean. "He sets you free and you beat him?"

Human Cas licked his bleeding lip and shifts uncomfortably behind the man.

"It's well deserved." Dick Dean glares behind him, "And now we're out—now what?"

"How did he even know where to find him?" Sam points out of nowhere.

"It's pretty telling." human Cas answers conversationally, "Where you keep the thickest door and strongest locks. That's normally a call sign for my fearless leader." He catches the angel's eyes. "I'm sorry me, but I'm not you. Different-different… and different priorities." He smiles that got Castiel blinking.

"He sent you to the grinding machine in Detroit to die and you're still with him?" Dean rumbles out to other Cas.

"It's always been part of the plan." The human Cas answers with a blank expression. "I signed up for."

"Yeah, but now you survived," Sam cuts in, "And you're in different time than you know—you don't have to do this, Cas."

"Do what?" Dick Dean spats at everybody. "Nobody's making any body do anything and that means you three get out of my way. I'm not gonna stay here like a guarded ticking bomb—let me out! Or I swear you'll have me breathing at your neck and nobody wants that." He gives off all intent of meaning what he said. Except Dean is unconvinced.

"And what are you going to do out there, huh?"

"I don't think you have to worry about me surviving." Comes the retort. "But the last place I wanna be in is here." He eyes Sam particularly who looks offended at the man.

Dean raises an eyebrow. "Fine. But when we call you, you answer or you'll have me breathing down your neck and you won't like that."

The Deans give each other a stare that only they can do. And Dick Dean walks out—only, Cas intends to follow. The leader turns to him.

"You're not coming." It is a flat order.

"What?" Cas watches as Dick Dean walk pass him, nudging his shoulder as he did. "What am I supposed to do here? I don't belong here—a"

"You stay." The leader turns once only with his dead eyes at his subordinate. And it is said in such a commanding voice that got mortal Cas looking lost for a second. But Dick Dean isn't finish yet. "If you're the real reason we are behind this mess, I don't want to see you. You're already useless to me when you lost your crap. Now you're as useless as before and I don't want to be burdened in a world I don't even know."

"Hey!" Present Dean barks angrily but a gun is pointed in his direction. Sam and Cas automatically stood vigilant but present Dean is undaunted. "Speak properly to your friend, you asshole."

Dick Dean turns to him, darkly. Full of rage. Then he is gone, leaving human Cas just standing there with a stricken, yet plain expression.

"Dick." Sam breathes out with Castiel and Dean watching the former angel.

RAGE

~TBC~

A/N: Or maybe not haha!

Next A is for...?

Thank you for reading!