§- § means the brothers are communicating via telepathy
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Chapter Nine
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For once Dean didn't slide in happily behind the wheel. The thought of being close up and personal with Death didn't exactly fill him with anticipation, but he did as he was told.
Sam felt that the whole situation was overwhelmingly surreal. They had seen and been in the strangest of situations but having a chat with Death inside the Impala was without doubt one of the most unusual. He stole a look through the back window where Bobby, Meg and her little group of demons were standing.
Bobby had a worried expression on his face but the older hunter knew that if Death had wanted to hurt the boys they would have been vulture meat by now, so he was willing to wait it out.
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Death took a moment to savour the scene, the gaunt lines of his face showing no emotion whatsoever.
He was well aware that he induced terror in the hearts of Men; he was Death after all, but he had a soft spot for Dean and it amused him to bait the child, enjoying the kaleidoscope of expressions that flitted across his face.
He felt the younger's eyes carefully studying him but there was no fear emanating from Sam; he wasn't in awe of him as Dean was.
Death had held Sam's soul in his hands and had tasted its power; no wonder Crowley wanted to get his slimy hands on it.
The silence in the car's interior was becoming heavy as two pairs of green eyes waited for Death to speak.
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"First of all congratulations once again on rescuing your brother, I wasn't quite sure if you could pull it off Sam, but I see that my doubts were unnecessary." Death began.
Sam just shrugged tiredly and offered an eloquent bitch-face, causing Dean to stare at him in panic.
"Sam, dude! What the Hell! You don't piss off Death!"
"He doesn't scare me, Dean. All he can do is kill us," Sam replied unfazed. "And we've been there, done that!"
He caught Death's eyes with his own. "I had to get Dean out, and so I did. Dean would have done the same for me," he declared quietly.
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Death inclined his head elegantly. "I don't doubt that for a moment. You two are the biggest troublemakers in the whole of existence with all your dying and coming back to life. In your crazy efforts to save one another you have upset the very foundations of Fate, Destiny and Creation!"
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He refocused his attention on the older Winchester who seemed to shrink back a little from his intense gaze.
"Now Dean," he began. "I believe that you have finally come to understand that you possess angelic power. I could have informed you about that myself but it's better it happened spontaneously."
Dean grunted in surprise. "You're talking about the pebble-blasting stuff, I suppose?"
For a moment he had thought that Death was referring to his telepathic bond with Sam; no one had to know about that, it was theirs alone!
"I am," Death answered in his stiff formal manner. "It is of no surprise to me that it manifested itself when Sam was in danger."
Dean glanced back affectionately at his little brother.
"You got that right, dude! It's my job, saving Sammy here's ass!"
Death watched as Sam returned his brother's smile, his eyes bright, and although he was a completely emotionless being Death felt a little pang of something that he couldn't quite decipher, but to any human it would have been synonymous with envy; envy for the loving caring bond these two brothers shared and which was clearly palpable even to a creature such as himself.
He could never aspire to what the Winchesters were blessed with, for each individual had a function in the Universe and he was Death plain and simple; feared but never to be loved.
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"You do realise that you haven't even scratched the surface of it yet; your untapped power is far more formidable."
Dean stared at him unbelievingly. "You're joking! It's only a little party trick, nothing like Sam's demon ass-kicking power."
"You are mistaken," Death droned on pedantically. "It's exactly like Sam's. As to the superior strength, Sam has just had more practice."
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Death almost grinned inwardly as both brothers presented him with identical confused expressions on their faces, while simultaneously blurting out. "But why?"
"It's quite simple, young Winchesters. You were specifically crafted as vessels for two of Heaven's most powerful angels, Dean for Michael and Sam for Lucifer; all this in order to fulfil the prophesied Apocalypse.
Good versus Evil, with a side helping of Earth's destruction that didn't quite turn out as planned thanks to you two and now Michael, Heaven's general and Lucifer, Hell's true ruler are currently twiddling their thumbs in the Cage."
"So what? " Dean declared indifferently, while Sam waited silently for him to continue.
"So, " Death replied. "This state of affairs cannot remain as they are. Someone has to take their places and that someone is you," he stated, his gaze lingering over the two startled brothers.
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Sam was the first to find his voice. "You're joking, right!"
"I never joke," Death replied deadpan. "You are, what shall we say, the vice- presidents of both Michael and Lucifer and when the president goes down, the vice steps up."
Dean finally found his voice and any fear he might have had at Death's presence was magically set aside, as his eyes became two chips of green ice.
"You and your amigos have messed with us long enough. What the hell more do you want?
This is the crappiest thing I have ever heard. Get out of my car and tell whoever it is that sent you to leave us the hell alone! I don't care if the whole frigging world goes up in smoke, Sam and I have paid whatever debts we had to the full. We've done more than enough for the cause. Go find yourself some other poor jerk to torture."
"Dean," Sam huffed as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "It'll do no harm to let him finish."
§ You're crazy. Sam. We shouldn't even listen to any of this junk. §
§ The more info we have, the better we can defend ourselves. § Sam sent back.
The displeasure on Dean's face showed just what he thought of that idea, but his logical little brother had a point. Know your enemy, the better to defeat him!
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Death had remained as still as a statue, his face as expressionless as a sphinx.
"Just what are you implying exactly?" Sam asked.
"I believe I made myself crystal clear," Death intoned. "Dean must go and put Heaven in order by leading the heavenly host and you Sam must take your allotted place as King of Hell."
Dean grimaced sarcastically. "I kinda thought that's what you were going to say but it's not on. You can stuff Heaven and Hell and I don't give a rat's ass, about the angels. The whole of Heaven can crumble down into Hell for all I care, and my brother is never again setting foot in that infernal torture chamber. So take your bony ass out of here because this little meeting is over."
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"What happens if we refuse?" Sam asked while Dean's mind- voice just about blew him away with its strength. § Sammy, don't even ask. Let them clean up their own messes! §
Death's face took on a hesitant look before he answered. "No-one really knows. All I know is that order must be restored."
"Listen," Dean said trying to calm himself down. "Cas wants to take over Heaven, why not just let him be the big Kahuna general? As long as someone is in command that's all that matters isn't it? Crowley's already ruling Hell so why are we so important? And if you come out with any "This is your destiny crap" I'll kill you."
§ Dean, § Sam bitched. § You can't kill Death. §
§ There's a first time for everything Sammy! § Sam rolled his eyes.
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"So lemmi get this straight. You want me to go up to Heaven, present myself as the new Michael and wait for all the angels to come running to kiss my ass. As far as I know Raphael is doing his own thing up there. He's already got Cas trying to take his place, just why would he move over for little old me?"
"The angels would pledge their allegiance to you as Michael's heir."
Dean laughed out loud at what Death was proposing. "Angels have been trying to gank my ass for a while now and you're saying that they're just going to let me take control of Heaven. You're just a little delusional there, Dude."
"I did not say it would be easy but it's your destin….! "
"I said not to mention that word," Dean cautioned pissed.
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Sam had been quietly brooding while Dean was raging on at Death.
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"There's no way we could do as you ask even if we wanted to. Raphael, Cas and Crowley could tear us apart with a snap of their fingers. We could never defeat them. They're angels, for Pete's sake and Crowley's no sub-par demon. He's the king of Hell."
"You underestimate yourselves," Death insisted. "Your powers are more potent than you can imagine. You must just accept them and if you stand together nothing will be able to stop you. Did Dean give you any help in getting out of Hell, Sam?"
Sam shared a glance with his brother and sighed. "When Dean put his hand on my shoulder my power exploded like a bomb and took out a whole row of demons."
Death pursed his lips. "Dean's power is just at the initial stage. Just think what your combined powers can do when he has mastered his own. However I will give you time to think it over, " he said as he disappeared instantly from sight, leaving the two boys shocked and numb with how complicated everything had become.
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