Abandon All Hope
Dean, Sam, and Michelle were stopped near a lake, Dean on the phone with Castiel as Sam and Michelle leaned against the car.
"Got him," Castiel said, his voice carrying over to Sam and Michelle as well, "The demon Crowley is making a deal as we speak, it's…going down."
"Going down?" Dean raised an eyebrow before shaking his head, "Right. Ok, Huggy Bear, just don't lose him."
"I won't lose him," Castiel replied, hanging up
Dean turned to the pair and nodded at the car, they all piled in and headed off.
A few moments later Dean's phone rang again, "Cas?"
"I followed him," Cas replied, "It's not far, but…it's layered in Enochian warding magic. I can't get in."
"That's ok, you did great. We'll take it from here."
~8~
Sam, Dean, and Michelle watched from the bushes as Jo Harvelle approached the gate of a large mansion-esque home.
"Ow!" Dean hissed as Michelle smacked in the back of the head, "What was that for?"
"Eyes off Jo's dress," Michelle replied just as quietly. Jo was currently dressed up in a knee length black dress, a bit low cut, and Dean's eyes had been lingering in an inappropriate area.
Jo stepped forward and pressed the intercom on the gate around the home.
"Hello?" someone called.
"Hello," Jo began, "My car broke down. I…I need some help."
"I'll be down in a minute."
Jo cast a glance over in their direction, waiting till the gates swung open before turning around to see two men approaching.
"Evening, pretty lady," the first man greeted, "Get yourself on in here."
She shook her head, "I just need to make a call."
"You don't need to call anyone, baby," the first man grinned, glancing back at his partner a moment, "We're the only help you're ever gonna need."
"You know what?" she backed away, "I think I should wait by my car."
She turned to try and walk off, when the first man grabbed her shoulder, his eyes black, "We said, get your ass in here."
Jo tensed, ready to strike, when another hand grabbed the man's arm. She spun around to see Michelle jam her elbow down on the man's, breaking it, as Sam stabbed the second man through the neck with Ruby's knife. He tossed it to Michelle, who stabbed the first man, while Dean jogged up with a gun, making sure Jo was ok, "Nice work, Jo," he said, tossing her a bag.
"Thanks," Jo smirked, pulling out a pair of wire cutters, "Ok. Shall we?"
~8~
They snuck into the house just as Jo cut the lights, waiting as the demon they were after, Crowley, walked into the room. He stopped short, seeing the three of them there.
"It's Crowley, right?" Sam asked. He glanced at Michelle, who nodded, it was a demon.
"So," Crowley said, not at all startled to see them, "The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew finally found me. Took you long enough."
Sam's grip on Ruby's knife tightened as Dean and Michelle held up their shotguns. Crowley started to approach, but stopped when he saw the edge of his rug was rumpled, he knelt down and tossed a corner up, revealing a Devil's Trap painted on the bottom of it.
"Do you have any idea how much this rug cost?" he glared at them.
Suddenly two men grabbed Sam and Dean from behind, disarming them. Michelle turned, ready to fire at the demons, when she was thrown back against the wall by Crowley, being held there by his one arm, his powers holding her about a foot above the floor.
He took a few steps towards her, "Lovely to see you again luv. Miss me?"
Michelle glared at him as the boys looked confused.
He glanced over at them, smirking, before turning to Michelle, "Don't tell me Ruby renegged on her clause," he shrugged, "She always was a lying little bitch, wasn't she?" he sighed, turning to see the boys frowning, "Oh, sorry, how rude of me," he held out a hand, gesturing to himself, "King of the Crossroad Demons at your service."
He laughed as their eyes widened, making the connection between him and Michelle. He had been the only Crossroads Demon willing to make the deal she'd needed to make oh…little more than a year ago? He'd been hoping to avoid this whole mess of Lucifer walking free, knowing that was why the demons were so keen to have Dean Winchester in their clutches in the pit…so he'd made the deal hoping to keep the boy from breaking the first seal. Unfortunately, his fellow demons seemed to be resourceful, finding a substitute.
He shook his head, pulling out the Colt with his other hand, "This is it, right?" he asked, holding it up for them to see, "This is what it's all about," he aimed the gun straight at Dean for a moment, before shifting it and shooting the two demons through the head, "We need to talk. Privately."
He lowered his arm, allowing Michelle to fall back to the ground. Sam ran to her side as Dean kept an eye on Crowley, who just gave them a look and walked out of the room, the trio following a moment later.
"What the hell is this?" Dean asked as they came to a stop in a study.
"Do you know how deep I could have buried this thing?" Crowley held the Colt up once more. He waved a hand and the door they came through slammed shut, "There's no reason you or anyone should know this even exists, except that I told you."
"You told us?" Sam frowned.
"Rumors, innuendo, sent out on the grapevine," Crowley shrugged.
"Why?" Michelle asked, "Why tell us anything?"
Crowley just aimed the gun at Dean once more, "I want you to take this thing to Lucifer and empty it into his face."
"It's not going to work!" Michelle said for what felt like the hundredth time, "I've said this before."
Dean just waved her off, turning back to Crowley, until they literally saw it not work, they were going to chance it actually working, "Uh huh, ok, and why exactly would you want the devil dead?"
"It's called…" Crowley lowered the gun, "Survival. Well, I forgot girly there is the brains, you two, at best, are functioning morons…"
"You're functioning...morons…" Dean tried to insult him.
Crowley rolled his eyes, "Lucifer isn't a demon, remember? He's an angel. An angel famous for his hatred of humankind. To him, you're just filthy bags of pus. If that's the way he feels about you, what can he think about us?"
"But he created you," Sam frowned.
"From the corruptions of humans," Michelle cut in, "Demons are his proof that humans are flawed and evil, or at least that they have the potential for evil. Every demon was once a human that he was able to twist into a perversion of what they were," they looked at her, "To Lucifer, they're worse than humans. The only reason they're still around is that they're useful, for now."
Crowley nodded, "We're just servants. Cannon fodder. If Lucifer manages to exterminate humankind, we're next. So, help me, huh? Let's all go back to simpler, better times, back to when we could all follow our natures. I'm in sales, damn it! So what do you say if I give you this thing, and you go kill the devil?" he held out the Colt, handle first, to Sam.
The trio glanced at each other as Crowley wiggled the gun. Sam hesitantly reached out and took it.
"Great," Sam nodded.
"Great," Crowley smirked.
"You wouldn't happen to know where the devil is, by chance, would you?"
"Thursday, birdies tell me, there's an appointment in Carthage, Missouri."
Sam glanced over at Dean and nodded, "Great," he put the barrel between Crowley's eyes and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked but did nothing else, Sam stared, surprised, Crowley was just impassively staring back.
"Did you really think a demon would hand over a demon-killing gun with the bullets in it?" Michelle leaned over to ask Sam.
Sam nodded before reaching out and suddenly punching Crowley across the face, "What the bloody hell was that for!?" the demon shouted, wiping a hand to the corner of his mouth as Sam massaged his knuckles.
Sam just glared, "You kissed Michelle!"
It was how the Crossroad Demons made their deals, sealed with a kiss.
Crowley sneered, "Your little girlfriend kissed me first," he glared as Sam raised his hand to punch him again.
"Bullets!" Michelle shouted, grabbing Sam's fist and pulling it down, "Just give us the bullets and we'll leave."
Crowley's eyes narrowed but he moved to his desk and dug through it for the bullets.
Dean seemed a little surprised at that, "Oh, uh, excuse me for asking, but aren't you kind of signing your own death warrant? I mean, what happens to you if we go up against the devil and lose?"
"Number one, he's going to wipe us all out anyway," Crowley shrugged, "Two, after you leave here, I go on an extended vacation to all points nowhere. And three, how about you don't miss, ok! Morons!"
He threw a package at Dean, who caught it and opened it to see bullets for the Colt lined up. They looked over, Crowley was gone.
~8~
Sam, Dean, and Michelle were sitting in Bobby's study, Jo and Ellen trying some sort of drinking game with Castiel in the kitchen, while Bobby sat in another room, setting something up.
Dean was behind the desk, Sam across from him, Michelle standing near the wall, leafing through some papers of news reports Bobby had printed out.
"It's gotta be a trap, right?" Sam asked, taking a swig of beer.
"Sam Winchester, having trust issues with a demon," Dean remarked, "Well, better late than never."
"Thank you again for your continued support," Sam deadpanned, not at all amused.
"You're welcome," Dean smirked, clinking his beer bottle with Sam's in a toast, "You know, trap or no trap, we got a snowball's chance, we gotta take it, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose," Sam sighed.
"I'm not sure it is a trap," Michelle said, walking over and placing the papers on the desk, "Check it out. I mean, Carthage is lit up like a Christmas tree with Revelation omens. And look at this…" she slid a few other papers forward with pictures of different men and women, "There've been six missing persons reported, in town, since Sunday. I think the devil's there."
"Ok," Sam nodded, seeing all the facts.
"Look, when you think about it...you can't come with," Dean stated, staring pointedly at Sam, who just rolled his eyes.
"Dean…" Michelle tried to speak.
"Look, I go against Satan and screw the pooch, ok," Dean continued, ignoring them both, "We've lost a game piece. That we can take. But if you're there, then we are handing the devil's vessel right over to him. That's not smart."
Michelle snorted, "Since when have you two ever done anything smart?"
Sam just reached out and tugged her into his lap, "I fell in love with you."
She smiled, "Very good answer."
"I'm serious," Dean interrupted.
"Haven't we learned a damn thing?" Sam sighed, turning his attention to his brother, "If we're gonna do this…"
"We're gonna do it together," Michelle finished, taking Sam's hand.
Dean looked between the two for a long moment before looking away, "Ok. But it's a stupid frigging idea," he looked back at them, only for his gaze to be drawn past them to Castiel, Ellen, and Jo.
Sam and Michelle turned around to look as well, "Boy, talk about stupid ideas," Sam muttered.
"Good God," Dean agreed, his eyes trained on Jo, who was getting up to go to the fridge, "True that," he took a swig and stood up, heading over to Jo as she rummaged through it, her bottom prominent in his view. She turned around only to see him right behind her, "Hey."
"Hey," she greeted.
"So…" he began, turning to lean against the counter, "Dangerous mission tomorrow. Guess it's time to eat, drink, and, you know, make merry."
"Are you giving me the last-night-on-Earth speech?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
"What?"
"What?"
"No!" he said quickly, they laughed a bit, "If I was, would, uh, would that work?"
Jo smiled and leaned in close to him, her lips only a hair away from his, when she pulled back, "No. Sweetheart, if this is our last night on Earth, then I'm going to spend it with a little thing I call self-respect," she laughed and walked away from him, high-fiving Michelle, who had come into the kitchen with Sam to watch Dean get shot down.
"If you're into that kind of thing," Dean grumbled.
"Everybody get in here!" Bobby's voice called over to them, "It's time for the lineup. Usual suspects in the corner."
Sam, Michelle, and Ellen stepped in to see Bobby setting up a camera, followed by Dean and Jo.
"Oh come on, Bobby," Ellen remarked, "Nobody wants their picture taken."
"Hear, hear," Sam agreed, but Michelle nudged him in the stomach.
"Shut up," Bobby replied, "You're drinking my beer," he finished setting the camera up and rolled back to where they were all standing, Castiel coming to join them, "Anyway, I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by."
Everyone just sighed and got into position. Castiel on the left, followed by Sam, with Michelle and then Ellen standing in front of them, Dean behind Ellen and Jo, Bobby in front of Jo.
"Ha!" Ellen laughed, "Always good to have an optimist around."
"Bobby's right," Castiel replied seriously, "Tomorrow we hunt the devil. This is our last night on Earth."
Their smiles started to disappear.
"Well then," Michelle smiled, "Say 'Got Salt!'"
They started laughing as the camera flashed, all of them smiling.
~8~
The Impala drove slowly into the empty streets of the town, missing people posters tacked to the telephone poles, trash littering the street. It was eerily quiet as they held their arms out the windows, trying to get signals on their phones only to receive none.
"You getting a signal?" Michelle asked the boys, looking out the window at the streets.
"No, nothing," Dean replied as Sam shook his head, "Nice and spooky," he waved out the window at the other car following them and pulled over so Ellen could drive up next to them. Jo lowered the window, Castiel in the backseat.
"Place seem a little empty to you?" Ellen asked them.
"We're gonna go check out the PD," Dean told them, "You guys stay here, see if you can find anybody."
Ellen nodded, "Ok."
Dean drove off, leaving the two women and Castiel behind.
~8~
Michelle shivered violently as they wandered through the empty police department and looked over her shoulder, frowning, she couldn't help but feel like something bad had happened to Castiel.
~8~
There was nothing in the PD so they headed back, getting out of the car and waiting for Ellen and Jo, who were pulling up to them.
"Station's empty," Dean replied.
"So's everything else," Jo commented.
"Have you seen Cas?" Ellen asked.
"What?" Sam frowned, "He was with you."
"Nope. He went after the reapers."
"Reapers?" Dean's eyes widened.
"He saw reapers?" Sam turned to look at the street as though he'd be able to see them, "Where?"
"Everywhere," Michelle answered. They all looked over to see her standing there looking at the street, her gaze shifting all around.
"You can see them?" Dean asked, frowning.
She shook her head, "Not usually but…"
"But what?" Sam stepped next to her.
"There's so many of them," she frowned, "I guess…it's like they're so condensed I can't not see them? If that makes sense…"
~8~
Castiel stood still in the center of a ring of holy oil burning around him. There was one other man in the room, a middle-aged man with light brown hair…but Castiel could sense him, the person within the vessel.
"Lucifer," Castiel turned to face him, standing just on the other side of the flames.
"So I take it you're here with the Winchesters…and another young woman," Lucifer replied.
"I came alone."
"Loyalty," Lucifer nodded, "Such a nice quality to see in this day and age. Castiel, right? Castiel. I'm told you came here in an automobile."
"Yes…" Castiel said slowly, not sure what Lucifer was getting at.
"What was that like?"
Castiel looked around, confused, "Um. Slow. Confining."
"What a peculiar thing you are," Lucifer breathed, stepping closer to the fire, lighting up his face. He didn't look at all healthy. He was very pale, almost gray, with round marks on one side of his face almost like wounds or burns.
"What's wrong with your vessel?" Castiel frowned.
"Yes," he sighed, "Um, Nick is wearing a bit thin, I'm afraid. He can't contain me forever, so…"
"You…" Castiel stepped forward, about to confront the man, but stopped short, the fire separating them, "You are not taking Sam Winchester. I won't let you. And neither will Michelle."
Lucifer smirked, "Ah, yes, Michelle, I have heard a lot about her. She's a rather special individual, isn't she? And not just to you or the Winchesters."
Castiel's expression hardened, "I will not let you harm them."
"Castiel," he continued sadly, "I don't understand why you're fighting me, of all the angels…"
"You really have to ask?" Castiel glared.
"I rebelled, I was cast out. You rebelled, you were cast out. Almost all of Heaven wants to see me dead, and if they succeed, guess what? You're their new public enemy number one. We're on the same side, like it or not, so why not just serve your own best interests? Which, in this case, just happen to be mine?"
"I'll die first," he nearly spat.
"I suppose you will," Lucifer agreed, looking down at the flames.
~8~
The gang was walking through the streets, shotguns in their hands, on the lookout for trouble.
"Well, this is great, been in town twenty minutes and already lost the angel up our sleeve," Dean remarked.
"You think, uh, you think Lucifer got him?" Sam looked at his brother worriedly.
"I don't know what else could have," Michelle sighed, equally as concerned.
"There you are," a voice called, they spun around to see a demon, very familiar to the Winchesters and a bit to Michelle.
"Meg," Sam glared.
And that was when Michelle remembered who she was, she was one of the demons who attacked when Bobby had been possessed after they got Sam back and Lucifer was released.
"Shouldn't have come here," Meg smirked.
"Hell, I could say the same thing for you," Dean aimed the Colt at her.
"Didn't come here alone, Deano," she replied as something splashed a puddle near her feet. There was a distinct sound of dogs growling and barking. They quickly looked around for the source of the noise, realizing they were surrounded. Dean tensed, trying to pretend he wasn't afraid.
"Hellhounds," Michelle remarked.
"Yeah," Meg nodded, turning her attention to Dean, "Your favorite Dean. Come on, boys and girls. My father wants to see you."
"I think we'll pass, thanks," Sam ground out.
"Your call," Meg shrugged, "You can make this easy or you can make it really, really hard."
Dean looked back at Ellen, who nodded, her grip on her gun tightening. He glanced at the others, they were ready too.
"When have you known us to ever make anything easy?" Dean replied, shifting his aim and firing at the hellhound, wounding it.
"Run!" Sam shouted.
They all took off down the street, trying to find some place to hide, when a hound tackled Dean to the ground.
"Dean!" Jo yelled, having heard him fall.
"Jo, stay back!" Dean called.
But Jo didn't listen. Instead she began to fire her shotgun in Dean's direction, Sam, Ellen, and Michelle turning around and running back. Jo kept firing, knocking the hound further and further back, off of Dean.
"Jo!" Michelle screamed, lunging forward and shoving her to the side as a hound attacked, now able to see them given the massive amount of hellish energy in the town. Michelle fell to the ground, the hound tearing a claw against her side viciously.
"Michelle!" they all shouted.
Jo fired her gun in her direction, knocking the hound off the girl, only for a hound to turn on her and bite her leg.
"No!" Ellen yelled, firing at the hellhound by Jo while Sam fired at the one by Michelle. He ran to her side, scooping her up as she pressed a hand to her bleeding wound as Ellen and Dean ran to Jo and hefted her between them, the three running after Sam as he burst into the nearest store, a hardware store.
Ellen continued to help Jo into the store as Dean turned and slammed the doors shut, Sam depositing Michelle on the floor by the front counter before running to help his brother.
Ellen helped Jo sit on the counter and dropped to her knees by Michelle, who was breathing hard, nearly hyperventilating, from the pain, "Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok, breathe now…"
Sam chained the doors shut, "Ok!" he called.
"Boys, need some help here!" Ellen shouted back to them.
They quickly grabbed some bags of rock salt and slit them open, frantically pouring it into a line by the doorway and windows. Ellen peeled Michelle's hand away from her side, staring in shock at the blood slowly leaking from the wound, not at all a spurt and pour like she was expecting. She looked up at Michelle, her eyes wide, the girl just flinched and pressed her hand back against the wound as Sam and Dean ran over.
"Jo…" Michelle groaned.
"I'm here," Jo's voice drifted down to her.
"You…" she bit her lip, "You ok?"
Jo nearly laughed, when a pain shot up her leg from the movement, "Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Ellen…" Michelle turned back to her, trying to sit up.
"Don't you move baby girl," Ellen tried to hold her down.
Michelle reached up her other hand to the strap around her shoulder, her messenger bag, "Got…some supplies…" she wheezed.
Ellen gently pulled the bag over Michelle's head and looked in, to see a mess of bandages and medical supplies, disinfectant, stitching tools. Ellen moved to pull her hand away again, when she grabbed Ellen's arm, "Jo first."
"Michelle…" Jo cut in, shaking her head, her wound was by far more serious.
Ellen handed a large gauze to Sam, who was kneeling on Michelle's other side. He carefully pulled her hand away and quickly pressed the gauze to it while Ellen stood and, with a nod from Dean, both got to work on Jo. Though everyone's glance kept returning to Michelle, who was now shaking, as though cold, and looking far too pale for anyone's comfort.
~8~
Jo sat beside Michelle, having been moved there by Dean before he went off to try and contact Bobby. She was holding the girl's hand tightly in her own, flinching every time her mother moved the gauze away. She almost felt lucky to only get a bite, true the hound had managed to break her leg in two places by biting her, but it was far less gory than Michelle's wound.
"Gonna be alright," Ellen muttered from Michelle's other side. Sam knelt down and handed her a bowl of water and some more gauze, she'd been trying to clean the wound, "Thank you."
Sam remained crouched at Michelle's leg, when Michelle just turned to him, still breathing a bit erratically, but able to breathe, "Sam," she said, he looked at her, "Go help Dean…keep him from breaking whatever it is he's trying to do."
"But…" Sam began, not wanting to leave her side.
"He needs your help," she said meaningfully, "I've got Ellen and Jo, I'll be fine," he opened his mouth to argue, "I promise. Ok? Go!"
He sighed and nodded, getting up to look for his brother as Ellen pulled the gauze back again and began to clean the wound.
Dean was standing by the electronics section, fiddling with some sort of receiver, "How's she holding up?" Dean asked, speaking more about Michelle as he knew Jo was alright, having helped Ellen patch her up…Michelle on the other hand…
There was a long silence as Sam swallowed hard. He honestly didn't know. He knew Michelle was good at hiding things, her emotions and all, she was an expert at lying too, he'd realized that now, so he had no idea just how bad she was hurting, if she was hiding her pain to try and keep them calm…not that it helped. He didn't know how she could be alright, there…there was so much blood. His mind just kept bringing up images of when Dean had been attacked by the hounds before going to Hell…
"She promises she'll be ok but…" he took a breath, "Salt lines are holding up."
"Safe for now," Dean nodded, trying to get his brother's mind off Michelle's fate. Not that he could get his own off it. He'd seen that hound tear into her, seen the wound, the blood. He shook his head firmly.
"Safer," Sam scoffed, glancing back at the girls, who were speaking quietly, "Trapped like rats."
"Hey, you heard Meg," Dean looked up, pulling his brother's attention back, "Her father's here. This is our one shot, Sammy. We gotta take it…no matter what," Dean glanced over at the girls, Michelle trying to give them a small smile, there was another long silence, "Here we go," he turned back to the gadget he was working on and it squealed, "K C 5 Fox Delta Oscar, come in."
There was static for a moment before, "K C 5 Fox Delta Oscar, go ahead," Bobby's voice came back.
Sam and Dean let out a breath of relief, "Bobby, it's Dean. We got problems."
"It's ok, boy. That's why I'm here. Is everyone alright?"
"No," Dean said grimly, glancing at Sam, "It's…it's…it's Michelle. Bobby, it's pretty bad. And Jo got dinged up as well…"
"Ok. Copy that. So now we figure out what we do next."
"Bobby, I don't think she's…" Sam cut in, breaking off, unable to even entertain the thought that Michelle, their power house, their rock, might not make it.
"I said, what do we do next?" Bobby repeated, his voice like steel.
"Right," Dean took the speaker back, "Ok, right."
"Damn right, right," Bobby snapped, "What the hell do you think that girl would do if she heard you two talking like this?"
"Kick us in the nuts…" Dean smiled a bit at that, "Again."
"And don't think Jo or Ellen won't if she tells them to. Now, tell me what you got."
Dean took a breath and explained everything that had happened, Meg, the hounds, Jo and Michelle's state, the reapers, and Cas disappearing.
"Before he went missing, did Cas say how many reapers?" Bobby asked.
"I don't…" Dean shook his head.
"Michelle can see them too," Sam cut in, "The way she was looking at the street, more than we ever thought possible."
"Does the number matter?"
"Devil's in the details, Dean," Bobby replied, "And I don't like the sound of that."
"Nobody likes the sound of that, Bobby, but what…wh…what does that sound like?"
"It sounds like death, son. I think Satan's in town to work a ritual. I think he's planning to unleash Death."
"You mean, like, as in this dude and taxes are the only sure thing?"
"As in Death. The Horseman. The pale rider in the flesh."
"Unleash?" Sam frowned.
"Yeah," Dean agreed, "Hasn't Death been tromping all over the place? Hell, I've died several times myself."
"Not this guy," Bobby sighed, "This is…this is the angel of death. Big daddy reaper. They keep this guy chained in a box 600 feet under. Last time they hauled him up, Noah was building a boat. That's why the place is crawling with reapers. They're waiting on the big boss to show."
"You have any other good news?" Dean shook his head.
"In a manner of speaking. I been researching Carthage since you've been gone, trying to suss out what the devil might want there. What you just said drops the last piece of the puzzle in place. 'The angel of death must be brought into this world at midnight through a place of awful carnage.' Now, back during the Civil War, there was a battle in Carthage. A battle so intense the soldiers called it the 'Battle of Hellhole.'"
"Where'd the massacre go down?" Sam asked.
"On the land of William Jasper's farm."
~8~
Castiel stood in the ring of fire, his eyes on Lucifer, Lucifer still watching him, even as Meg entered the room.
"I got the Winchesters pinned down," Meg said, smirking, "And that girl they were with…" she shook her head, "Doesn't look good for her."
"What?" Castiel's eyes widened.
Meg turned to him, a triumphant smile on her face, "My hellhounds got her good," Lucifer watched in curiosity as Castiel's expression morphed to concern and fear before Meg spoke again, "What should I do with them?"
"Leave them alone," Lucifer replied.
"I…I'm sorry, but are you sure?" Meg frowned, looking up at her father, "Shouldn't we…"
"Trust me, child," Lucifer cut in, hugging Meg to him, stroking her hair, as Castiel looked around, eyeing a pipe bolted to the wall, "Everything happens for a reason," he turned to Castiel, "Well, Castiel, you have some time. Time to change your mind?"
"After what she did to Michelle," Castiel glared at Meg, "Never."
~8~
Sam and Dean stood a few feet away from the girls as Michelle sat cross-legged next to Jo and Ellen, she still had a hand on her side but there was a large gauze on it, and a bandage wrapped around her torso holding it in place.
"Now we know where the devil's gonna be, we know when, and we have the Colt," Dean muttered to his brother.
"Yeah," Sam nodded, "We just have to get past eight or so hellhounds and get to the farm by midnight."
"Yeah, and that's after we get Jo and Michelle the hell out of town," Dean sighed, feeling a headache come on at how much was stacked against them.
"Won't be easy."
"Stretcher?"
"I'll see what we got," Sam turned to go, when the sound of a gun cocking reached them. He turned around to see Michelle aiming her gun at him.
"If you think I'm leaving you two alone to face the devil," she began seriously, having heard them, "I will shoot you both right now."
"Michelle…" Sam began, tears in his eyes at seeing her like this, pale, clearly in pain, blood all over her clothes...
"No Sam," she glared, not lowering the gun, "I came this far with you, I'm going all the way or die trying."
"That's what we're trying to avoid," Dean replied.
"Fine," Michelle lowered her gun, "Either I go with you or I blow this place up with me and the hellhounds in it."
"What?!" Sam and Dean demanded.
"Think about it," she stared them down, "The hellhounds have our scents and they won't stop. Now we've got all we need for a bomb in here, propane, iron nails, wiring, salt…I'll just let them in and…"
"Stop," Jo cut in, seeing the boys about to argue and not wanting to hear her best friend talk about dying like that, "Guys, stop," everyone quieted and looked at her, "Can we, uh, be realistic about this, please?"
"I am," Michelle argued, "If I just…"
"I can't move my leg," Jo cut in, "We obviously can't put the bomb or whatever on a timer, there's no guarantee the hounds will come in here and even then…I won't be able to move fast enough…you can. Even with your wounds, you're faster than me."
"She can't even move," Dean rolled his eyes at the women.
"Oh really?" Michelle glared at him. She reached out to try and push herself up but grunted in pain. Ellen immediately reached out to grab her arm. Michelle grabbed hold of her as well and used her as a support to stand up. As soon as she was upright she swayed a bit, Sam jolting forward to steady her.
Both boys were just shocked that she was able to even stand with her wound.
"How?" Sam breathed, eyes wide.
"The slash must not have been as bad as we thought," she shrugged.
Dean frowned, eyeing her for any hint of a lie. He remembered the hellhounds tearing into him before he died, it was never 'not that bad.' But then again…there she was, standing, a bit hunched as the wound was still prevalent, maybe it had just looked worse than it was...but...if she could walk…she might be able to run…
"See?" Michelle said, taking a few steps away from Sam, standing of her own power.
"I told you," Jo called, smiling up at her friend, tears in her eyes, "You can make it out but…I'm not going anywhere."
"Joanna Beth, you stop talking like that," Ellen chastised her daughter.
"Mom," Jo shook her head at her mother, "I can't walk, I doubt if I try I'll be able to even stand, and if I can, it'll hurt too much to do anything. I can't help you fight, but I can do something," she looked over at Michelle, "I can do this for you."
"Jo," Michelle shook her head softly, "You don't have to…"
"I do," Jo tried to smile, "They need you more than me."
"That's not true," both Dean, Michelle, and Ellen said at once.
Jo laughed, "It is," she nodded, "We all need you alive Michelle, if only to keep those two alive long enough to get a shot at the devil…and it's a shot we have to take," she looked at all of them pointedly, daring them to argue, "Ok…so…I let the dogs in and you guys hit the roof, make a break for the building next over. I wait here with my finger on the button, rip those mutts a new one. Or at least get you a few minutes head start, anyway."
"Jo…" Michelle tried again.
"You heard the girl," Ellen cut in. She'd been watching her daughter these last few minutes, turning into a magnificent and brave woman. Sam, Dean, and Michelle looked up at her as though she was crazy, but it wasn't that. It was that Jo was right, "Do it," she nodded.
Sam, Dean, and Michelle exchanged a look before the boys went off to get the supplies, Michelle resting against the counter as she tried to gather her strength to run. She watched as Sam and Dean grabbed various materials for the bombs, filling pails with nails, salt, and propane tanks. By the time night fell, they were ready.
Sam knelt with Michelle beside Jo, Michelle hugging the young woman tightly before letting go. Sam held her hand a moment in silent thanks. Jo nodded at him, understanding, her sacrifice was allowing him to keep Michelle. Sam turned and helped Michelle stand. It seemed like once she was standing or sitting she was fine, but the transition was what got her. He helped her to the back, the two of them getting a head start so they would be able to make it out by the time Dean came to join them.
Dean led a string of wires from the containers over to Jo, kneeling down and pressing a button into her hands, "Ok, this is it. I'll see you on the other side. Probably sooner than later."
"Make it later," Jo smiled, holding up her shotgun for him to take.
Dean eyed her as the tears she'd been holding in began to fall from her eyes. He kissed her forehead and then gave her a kiss on the lips before getting up, Ellen taking his spot next to her.
"Mom, no," Jo shook her head, realizing what her mother was planning to do.
"Somebody's gotta let them in," Ellen told her, "Like you said, you can't move fast enough. You got me, Jo. And you're right, this is important," Jo nodded, "But I will not leave you here alone," she took a breath and looked up at Dean, "Get going now."
Dean hesitated a moment before nodding and walking off.
"And Dean?" Ellen called, he turned to look at her, "Kick it in the ass. Don't miss."
He nodded and walked out of the room, rushing to catch up to Sam and Michelle.
Ellen got up and unchained the doors, sweeping the salt away with her foot and opening the propane tanks before sitting down with Jo, hugging her, "I will always love you, baby."
"I love you too mom," Jo replied as a hound howled. They looked at the doors just as they burst open.
"It's ok," Ellen whispered, clutching Jo to her as they could hear the hounds growl and enter, walking around the shop, following the scents.
They remained still, a hellhound coming up right before them, blowing a breath in their faces.
"It'll be ok," Jo said, squeezing her mother's hand that was joined with hers, holding the button.
"You can go straight back to hell, you ugly bitch!" Ellen shouted at the hound before they both pushed the button.
~8~
Dean, Sam, and Michelle froze as the hardware store exploded behind them. They spun around to stare at it for a moment before Dean took off down the alley, Sam and Michelle following behind, Sam glancing at Michelle every now and then to make sure she was ok. He could tell she was struggling, by the way she was biting her lip and panting, but she would be damned if she gave up now, not after what Ellen and Jo did.
They reached the edge of the farm, sneaking through the bushes until they came across a field with dozens of men standing there, waiting.
"Guess we know what happened to some of the townspeople," Dean remarked.
"Ok," Sam breathed, squeezing Michelle's hand.
"Ok," Dean agreed, Michelle nodding.
"Last words?" Sam asked, glancing at them.
Dean looked at Sam a moment, "I think I'm good."
"I don't know what to say," Michelle admitted.
"Yeah," Sam agreed, "Me too."
They looked back at the people, "Here goes nothing," Dean grumbled.
Sam pushed his way through the crowd of people with his shotgun, alone, knowing Michelle was waiting by the bushes with her gun ready, should any try to sneak up on him, only to see a man he recognized as Lucifer filling in a hole.
"Hey!" Sam shouted, Lucifer turned, dropping his shovel at the sight of Sam aiming his gun at him, "You wanted to see me?"
"Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun here," Lucifer remarked, "You know I'd never hurt you. Not really."
"Yeah?" a voice said beside him. Lucifer looked over to see Dean pointing the Colt at him, "Well, I'd hurt you," he aimed, point blank, at the angel's forehead, "So suck it," and fired.
Lucifer collapsed to the ground, yet none of the men reacted. Sam and Dean looked down at the body a moment, when Lucifer suddenly inhaled and shifted position, "Ow…" he stood up, much to the shock of Dean and the horror of Sam, Michelle just closed her eyes and shook her head, she'd TOLD them this would happen, "Where did you get that?" he turned to Dean and punched him, sending him flying into a tree at the edge of the area, falling hard to the ground.
"Now, where were we?" Lucifer turned back to the hole as Sam turned to his brother to see Michelle already kneeling at his side, checking on him, "Don't feel too bad, Sam. There're only five things in all of creation that that gun can't kill, and I just happen to be one of them. But if you give me a minute, I'm almost done…" he picked up the shovel again and began to shove more dirt into a pit as Sam just turned and ran over to Dean and Michelle, breathing a sigh of relief when Michelle nodded that Dean was fine, just knocked out.
"You know, I don't suppose you'd just say 'yes' here and now?" Lucifer called, not seeming to see Michelle behind Sam. Sam just stood up to face him, "End this whole tiresome discussion? That's crazy, right?"
"It's never gonna happen!" Sam shouted.
Lucifer just shrugged and went back to filling the hole, "Oh, I don't know, Sam. I think it will. I think it'll happen soon. Within six months. And I think it'll happen in Detroit."
"You listen to me, you son of a bitch," Sam glared at him, "I'm gonna kill you myself, you understand me? I'm going to rip your heart out!"
"That's good, Sam," Lucifer smiled, "You keep fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage. I'm gonna need it."
Sam opened his mouth to give an angry retort, when he felt someone take his hand. He glanced back to see Michelle had scrambled to the other side of Dean and had taken his hand in support. He could almost feel himself calming down as he turned to look back at Lucifer, seeing the men around them still not doing anything, "What did you do? What did you do to this town?"
"Oh, I was very generous with this town," Lucifer glanced over at him, "One demon for every able-bodied man."
"And the rest of them?"
Lucifer paused, nodding at the hole, "In there. I know, it's awful, but these Horsemen are so demanding. So it was women and children first. I know what you must think of me, Sam. But I have to do this. I have to. You of all people should understand."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Lucifer dropped the shovel, done, and turned to Sam, "I was a son. A brother, like you, a younger brother, and I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And one day I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael…Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own. Tell me something, Sam. Any of this sound familiar?"
"Don't you dare listen to him Sam," Michelle said, standing and stepping beside him, squeezing his hand once more.
Lucifer's eyes widened as he saw her, before smiling, "So this is Michelle…I've heard quite a lot about you," he started nodded, looking from Sam to Michelle a moment, "Now I understand…" he tilted his head as he eyed her up and down, his gaze drifting to the gauze, "You faced down a hellhound and lived? Impressive. But as much as I'd love to continue, we'll have to cut this little reunion short. Midnight is calling and I have a ritual to finish. Don't go anywhere. Not that you could if you would," he turned to the hole once more and began to chant, turning to his demons, "Now repeat after me. We offer up our lives, blood, souls…"
"Sam," Michelle whispered as the demons repeated Lucifer's words. He looked over at her, only to be tugged down, Dean stirring, alive.
"To complete this tribute," Lucifer finished.
"To complete this tribute."
The trio watched in horror as one by one the demons flashed gold and fell down dead.
"What?" Lucifer called to them, "They're just demons," he turned back to the mass grave as the ground began to rumble.
"Cas!" Michelle gasped, so relieved to see the angel alive. Sam and Dean whipped around to see Castiel, holding a finger to his lips.
Lucifer turned, only to see them gone.
~8~
They were standing in Bobby's house, all gathered around the fireplace, Bobby holding the copy of the photo he'd taken earlier in his hands.
He leaned forward, about to toss it in the flames, when a hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. He looked up to see Michelle standing there, changed out of her bloodied clothes. She took the picture from him and turned around, walking over to a small table. The boys watched her curiously a moment, before she turned around, the picture now framed. She walked over to the fireplace and put the picture on the mantel.
"We honor their memory," was all she said, "We don't erase it."
And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving them to ponder her words and stare at the picture.
She walked out into the backyard, feeling the sunshine did not fit the mood of the day nor the loss.
"I heard you were injured," Castiel said from behind her.
She turned around, "Hellhound tore into me."
Castiel tilted his head, eyeing her, "And you are still alive?"
Michelle frowned and lifted up the side of her shirt, the bandage gone, to reveal three already healed scars from the claw of a hellhound, "What's happening to me Castiel?"
Castiel could only stare in shock at the wound she had received not even twelve hours ago.
A/N: What is happening to Michelle? Not even she knows.
Have to say, you guys have given some great theories on what Michelle is and who her father is. Not going to say anything about it for certain. I will be hinting a little more in a a couple chapters to come, but...not saying!
And thanks so much! 55 reviews! You've beaten 'Hell!' And we're almost halfway through the story, I think we just might make it to 100! :)