99 Problems
The Impala raced down the highway at night. Dean glanced down at the speedometer, almost willing it to go faster as Michelle sat in the backseat with Sam, tending to the wound on his arm.
He hissed as Michelle wrapped a bandage around it, "Drive faster, Dean," Sam ground out.
"I can't!" Dean shouted, glancing at the speedometer again before looking at them through the rearview window, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm amazing," Sam rolled his eyes.
"He'll be fine," Michelle cut in, "Barely a graze."
"You ever seen that many?" Dean asked them, recalling the sheer number of demons that had cornered them only moments ago. Even Michelle had had a hard time keeping up with them.
"No," Sam answered.
"No way," Micelle agreed, "Not in one place."
Dean slammed on the brakes, jolting them, "What the hell?!" he exclaimed as they looked out to see a wall set up before them, burning, and blocking their only way out, "Damn it!"
He shifted the car into reverse and sped backwards, only for a demon to leap onto the back of the car, trying to smash the back window as another managed to break Dean's. The demon tried pulling Dean out of the car when Michelle shot it in the head. Dean quickly leapt out of the car, Sam and Michelle following after, readying themselves for the newest wave of demons. There were at least seven they could see and probably more coming.
Michelle aimed her gun, when suddenly a car sped over, spraying the possessed men and women with holy water firing out of a pump on the top of it. A few men stepped out of the car, surrounding it, firing at the men and women as well. The trio watched, stunned, as a man stood up holding a megaphone and began to shout something in what Michelle recognized was Enochian.
"What?!" she demanded, listening to it as the people began to fall to the ground, black demon smoke flying out of them as though they'd been exorcized. But how? That was NOT an exorcism.
"Well that's something you don't see everyday," Dean commented, looking around at the pile of bodies around them.
A couple of the men stepped up, each holding some sort of gun, "You three alright?" the first man asked.
"Peachy," Dean answered as Michelle and Sam eyed the men.
"Be careful. It's…dangerous around here."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait," Dean called as the men turned to leave.
"No need to thank us…"
"No, hold up a sec! Who are you?"
"We're the Sacrament Lutheran Militia," the man answered, nodding back at the truck, which had a white religious symbol painted on the side of it.
"I'm sorry…the what?" Michelle frowned, stepping up.
"I hate to tell you this, but those were demons and this is the Apocalypse," the man said seriously, "So…buckle up."
~8~
Sam and Dean opened the false bottom of the trunk, revealing a number of different types of guns, ammo, and other hunting items lying there for the small group of men to see.
"Looks like we're in the same line of business," Sam commented.
A young boy, they'd learned was named Dylan, whistled at the sight.
"You think that's good…" Michelle smirked at the boy, shutting the trunk and dropping a duffle bag of her own weapons down on the top of it. She opened it and pulled out a rolled up canvas, setting it down on the trunk and rolling it open to reveal an assortment of different stakes, silver, gold, bronze (after the siren incident), copper, wood, steel, as well as a few other knives, a small dagger, a sword, and a pair of sais as well as a few ninja stars. She tossed a bag on top of that pulling out little boxes of different types of bullets. Followed by her own bullet packer, rock salt, holy water, at least ten different types of guns, a few lighters, some gas, holy oil, matches, a set of police batons the boys had yet to ask about, a tazer, and a set of bow and arrows. There were even a few sticks of dynamite, a pouch of nitroglycerin, gun powder, twine, rope, chains, handcuffs, shackles, paint, a cross, and a few disks that she'd told them contained a few different computer viruses, just in case.
"Holy shi…" Dylan began.
"Dylan," the first man, his father, Rob, cut in, fixing his son with a disapproving look.
"Yeah," Dean nodded, recalling the feeling when he'd walked into the motel room once to see the bed covered with weapons and Michelle sitting on the side, cleaning and sharpening them. He still couldn't figure out how she managed to get all of it to fit in her duffle, "And that's probably everything she doesn't have on her right now."
Dylan looked at the girl, stunned, his eyes roving over her to try and see if he could find what else she might have hidden on her.
Sam cleared his throat, half-glaring at the young boy for ogling his girlfriend. Dylan looked up to see the expression on Sam's face and quickly looked away as Michelle went back to putting her weapons away.
"And among colleagues," Dean continued, smirking at his brother's possessiveness, before glancing at the gun in the men's hands, "That's a police-issued shotgun. That truck is, uh…inspired. Where'd you guys pick up all this crap?"
"You know, you pick things up along the way," Paul, the second man, shrugged.
"Guys, come on," Dean shook his head, "This whole corner of the state is nuts with demon omens."
"We just want to help," Michelle cut in, seeing Dean was most likely about to ramble about something or another dealing with the previous monsters they'd hunted, "That's all."
"We're on the same team here," Sam nodded, "Just talk to us."
Rob eyed them a moment before nodding, "Follow us."
~8~
They pulled up to a church, the sun just starting to peek through the sky. The men in the truck got out and headed in, the trio following after them.
"Dylan, it's a church," a red-haired woman, they'd been forewarned was Dylan's mother, Jane, told him as he walked up, "Headphones off."
"Yes, mom," Dylan rolled his eyes, pulling his headphones down around his neck.
They all slipped in slowly to see the congregation sitting down, a preacher standing before a man and woman clearly in the midst of conducting a wedding, "Who would have thought the Apocalypse could be so romantic? Marriage, family, it's a blessing. Especially in times like this. So hold on to that."
"A wedding?" Michelle scoffed, "Seriously?"
Sam frowned, looking at her.
"Yeah," Paul remarked, "We've had eight so far this week."
"Wedding's a bad thing?" Sam whispered to her.
She looked up at him and smiled, "If it's for the right reasons. Just because the world's ending, doesn't mean you should rush into something you're not ready for. If this was any other day, they…" she nodded at the couple, "Wouldn't even be thinking about this. They should be in love and want to be in it for the long haul, not the next few weeks because that's how long they think they have."
Sam frowned thinking about that.
They waited till the ceremony was over before slipping out the door before the bride and groom headed out with the crowd, "Congratulations!" the people were shouting, "Yay!"
"So, Rob tells me you hunt demons," the pastor, Gideon, said, stepping next to them.
"Uh…yes sir," Sam said.
"You missed a few," he joked.
"Yeah," Sam smiled, "Tell us about it."
"Any idea why they're here?" Michelle cut in.
There was just something about this whole thing that didn't make sense. Why congregate here, in such a small town? There was nothing about the town's history that would explain it. She'd checked on Sam's laptop on the ride over.
Gideon shook his head, "They sure seem to like us though. Follow me, please," he turned and walked into the church, leading them down the aisle.
"So you're a preacher?" Dean asked.
"Not what you expected, huh?"
"Well, dude, you're packing," Dean pointed out, nodding at the gun on the man's hip.
"Strange times," was all the pastor said as he led them through a side door and down to the church's basement. He walked through a throng of people, the trio slowing as they looked around. There were various people cleaning guns, making ammunition, filling jugs of holy water, making bandages.
"Is that a 12-year-old packing salt rounds?" Dean frowned, seeing a small girl pressing the rock salt into the bullets.
"Everybody pitches in," Gideon stated.
"So, the whole church?" Sam asked.
"The whole town," Gideon frowned, there weren't many of them left, probably just enough to fill the small church.
"A whole town full of Hunters," Dean said in thought, "I don't know whether to run screaming or buy a condo."
"Well the demons were killing us. We had to do something."
"So why not call the National Guard?" Sam shook his head, confused. The National Guard would probably just assume it was some sort of disease and take out the demons with ease.
"We were told not to," Gideon replied slowly.
"By who?" Michelle asked, a hint of suspicion in her tone, one that didn't go unnoticed by Sam.
Gideon was silent.
"Come on, Padre," Dean smiled, "You're as locked and loaded as we've ever seen. And that exorcism was Enochian…" Sam frowned as Michelle frowned at that, "Someone's telling you something. "
"Look, I'm sorry, I, uh…I can't discuss it," Gideon tried to wave off the question.
"Dad, it's ok," a voice said behind them.
They turned around to see a young blonde woman standing there, "Leah…" Gideon began.
"It's Sam and Dean Winchester," Leah replied, glancing at the boys, before looking at Michelle and back at the boys, "And Michelle Davidson," she turned to her father, "They're safe. I know all about them."
"You do?" Michelle frowned.
"Sure," Leah nodded, "From the angels."
"The angels?" Dean shook his head, "Awesome."
"Don't worry. They can't see you here. The…marks on your ribs, right?"
"So you know all about us because angels told you?" Sam asked cautiously.
"Yes," she smiled, "Among other things."
"Like the snappy little exorcism spell," Dean smiled at her.
"And they show me where the demons are going to be, before it happens, how to fight back."
"Never been wrong," Gideon stepped beside her, proud, "Not once. She's very special."
"Dad…" Leah ducked down, a bit embarrassed.
"And let me guess," Dean began, "Before you see something, you get a really bad migraine, you see flashing lights?"
Leah's expression morphed into one of surprise, "How'd you know?"
"'Cause you're not the first prophet we've met," Dean smirked at her, "But you are the cutest," Michelle elbowed him in his side, rolling her eyes at him, "I mean that with total respect, of course," Dean added, noticing the hard look on Gideon's face as well.
"I need a drink," Sam mumbled, shaking his head, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that there was a whole town of new Hunters.
Gideon laughed, "I'll show you where Paul's bar is."
He stepped past them, leading the boys towards the door they'd just come from, "I think I'm gonna stick around," Michelle called after them, earning a pause from them, "I don't drink remember?"
Dean laughed, shaking his head, before turning to follow the pastor again, half-dragging Sam with him.
Michelle's smiled quickly dropped as she spun to face Leah. She leaned towards the girl and spoke quietly so as not to alert the people around her, "I don't know what sort of creature you are…" she inwardly smirked to see Leah's eyes widen just a fraction in surprise, "But try to read my mind again and I'll make sure you don't have a mind left to read with."
And with that, she turned and stormed off, now more convinced than ever that there was something not right. She had felt a gentle probe against her mind before and the source was Leah, luckily her parents had trained her how to guard her mind from those creatures that would use her thoughts against her. Now all she had to do was find out what they were dealing with.
~8~
Michelle had been going through the town records, seeing just when the demon attacks had started, how they were being dealt with, amongst other things about Leah when the sound of church bells caught her attention. She got out of the Impala, where she had been working on Sam's laptop, and headed over to the church people were flocking to. She stood near the back, catching sight of Sam and Dean as soon as they stepped in and motioned them over.
"Three miles off Talmadge Road," Gideon began when everyone was seated. Leah stepped forward and whispered something to him, "Five miles. There are demons gathered. I…don't know how many, but a lot. Thank you, Leah," she turned and sat down, "So, who's going to join me?"
"Wouldn't miss it," Rob called, raising his hand.
Paul did the same, "Someone's got to cover Rob's ass."
"We're in!" Michelle called as well, volunteering Sam and Dean along with her, not that they seemed to be complaining.
"Thank you," Gideon smiled, "I'd like to offer a prayer. Our Father in Heaven…"
"Yeah, not so much," Dean mumbled as the congregation bowed their heads. He looked over to see Paul just sitting there, looking almost bored. He nodded back at them before Rob turned to glance at him as he took a swig of liquor from a flask.
"Help us to fight in your name," Gideon continued, "We ask that you protect us from all servants of evil. Guide our hands in defeating them, and deliver us home, safely. Thank you, Amen."
Sam made a mental note to talk to Michelle as soon as she was alone…she hadn't participated in the prayer…now he knew something was wrong.
~8~
They were creeping through the woods, Gideon in the lead, as they crouched down by some bushes just outside a house where the demons were gathering. He motioned for Dean to take the right with Jane, while Sam took the left with Paul and Dylan, and he took Michelle and Rob with him.
They quickly rushed at the house from all sides. Sam entered from the kitchen, Dean from the living room, and Michelle from the front. However, there was one thing very different about this hunt that cemented the thought that something was very wrong in Sam's mind…as they took on the demons, shooting them, stabbing them, exorcizing them, fighting…Michelle stood at the front door, her shotgun in her hand, but at the ready, just watching it happen.
She frowned, watching as Gideon and Dylan shot at various demons and exorcized them, much like the others. She looked up when the last demon fell, to see Sam watching her with a curious expression, she just shook her head, silently telling him she would tell him later, as everyone gathered to check that they were ok before heading back out.
Sam sighed as they walked, desperately wanting to talk to Michelle about what was up. Dean looked over at him curiously, having heard him sigh, "I guess that's what it's like, huh?" Sam supplied, not knowing what else to say, not wanting to say anything till he could talk to Michelle.
"What?" Dean frowned, confused.
"Having backup."
Dean just rolled his eyes and headed back to the Impala, "You freeze up back there or something?" he turned to Michelle, just a bit concerned, he'd never seen her not take part in a hunt.
She shrugged, "There's a difference between freezing and observing."
Dean opened his mouth about to ask her what the hell she'd been observing, when Dylan jogged over, "Dean. Sam. Michelle."
"Yo," Dean turned to the boy.
"Hey," he glanced back at the truck with his parents, Paul, and Gideon in it, "So, um, is…is that…is that cool that I get a ride back with you guys?"
"Hey, you've saved my ass twice already," Dean remarked, "One more time, you can drive," he turned and waved off the other truck, waiting till it had pulled away before opening the trunk and tossing him a beer, "Get a beer?" Dylan looked down at it, surprised, "Hey, you earned it. Don't tell your mom."
Dylan smiled as Michelle rolled her eyes, getting in the car as Sam and Dean opened their own beers, "Oh, believe me…I will not," he turned and leaned against the side of the car, taking a sip, when suddenly his legs were pulled out from under him. He screamed.
"Dylan!" Dean shouted, running around the other side of the car as Michelle quickly got out on the other side to help Sam.
She grabbed a set of legs, pulling the demon out from under the car as Sam stabbed her. They ran around to the other side to see Dean pull Dylan out, his neck slit, dead.
"No!" Dean cursed.
~8~
Dylan's funeral was the next day.
It was a simple ceremony. He was carried through in a plain wooden coffin by men from the community as his heartbroken parents walked up the steps towards the church in black.
"Ma'am," Dean stopped Jane, standing just a bit in her way, Sam and Michelle on either side of him, "We're just, um, very sorry."
"You know…this is your fault," Jane glared at him.
"Jane," Rob cut in, nudging her towards the church, "Come on."
"Well she's going to cause problems later isn't she?" Michelle commented softly as Sam put a hand on Dean's shoulder, trying to comfort him before they headed into the church, standing against the back as Gideon conducted the ceremony, standing before the grieving community.
"I wish I knew what to say," Gideon began, "But I don't. I'm so sorry, Jane, Rob. There are no words. Dylan… I don't know why this happened. I don't know why any of this is happening. I got no easy answers. But what I do know is…"
Suddenly Leah fell off of her seat near the front and started seizing on the floor.
"Leah, honey?" Gideon ran to her side, kneeling down, "Leah, honey? Honey?" Leah awoke, a bit dazed, "It's ok sweetie. It's ok," he mumbled, helping her sit up.
"Dad, it's Dylan," Leah gasped.
"Just rest a minute, huh?"
"No, listen," she grabbed his hands, "Dylan's coming back."
Michelle let out a soft snort. Sam turned to see her half-glaring at Leah, clearly not believing what the woman had said.
Leah stood up with help from her father and looked at the congregation, "Jane, Rob…it's going to be ok. You'll see Dylan again. When the final day comes, Judgment Day, he'll be resurrected and you'll be together again. We'll all be together. With all our loved ones. We've been chosen. The angels have chosen us. And we will be given paradise on Earth. All we have to do is follow the angels' commandments."
~8~
"No drinking, no gambling, no premarital sex," Sam listed as they stepped out of the church after Leah issued the supposed order of the angels.
"They basically just outlawed 90 percent of your personality Dean," Michelle joked.
"Yeah, well, whatever," Dean shrugged, not sounding amused, but almost…accepting, "When in Rome."
Sam stopped, along with Michelle, both stunned by his easy acceptance of the rules, "So, uh…you're cool with it?"
"I'm not cool," Dean sighed, turning to face them, "I'm not not cool. I'm just…look man, I'm not a prophet. We're not locals. It's not my call. I'll catch up with you."
He turned and walked back into the church, leaving Sam and Michelle standing there. Sam sighed and turned around, seeing Paul walking into the bar. He nudged Michelle before they both headed off after him.
"Hey," Sam greeted as they walked in, the setting sun behind them, "So what happened to, uh, 'the Apocalypse is good for business?'"
"Oh yeah," Paul rolled his eyes, "Right up until Leah's angel pals banned the good stuff. Wanna help me kill some inventory?"
"Sure," Sam smiled.
Paul looked at Michelle, "I don't drink," she replied simply.
He shrugged and turned back to the wall, pulling a bottle off along with a two glasses, "Don't get me wrong. I grew up here. I love this town, but uh, well, these holy rollers?"
"Yeah, yeah, I uh…I noticed you're not the praying type," Sam remarked.
"Yeah, well, between you and me, neither are half those guys," he commented, pouring some drinks, "A couple of months back, they're all in here, getting wasted, banging the nanny. Now they're all 'Warriors of God,'" Michelle snorted as Paul passed a glass to Sam, "Cheers."
"Cheers," Sam nodded, taking a swig.
"Look…there's sure as hell demons. And maybe there is a God. I don't know. Fine. But I'm not a hypocrite. I never prayed before and I ain't starting now. If I go to Hell, I'm going honest."
"You're not going to Hell," Michelle commented, reaching out and putting a hand on the man's arm, "You're probably the most honest person here right now. Pray, don't pray, I'm sure God will appreciate the honesty, someone who doesn't swap sides because it looks greener you know?"
Paul smiled, nodding, "How 'bout you two?"
"What about us?" Sam asked.
"Not true believers, I take it."
Sam sighed, "I believe, yeah. I do. I'm just…pretty sure God stopped caring a long time ago."
"I don't think so," Michelle argued. The men turned to look at her, "Apocalypse means Michael and Lucifer duke it out right?" she was asking more for Paul, who nodded, before speaking the rest more towards Sam, "You really think God, or any father, would want to sit around and watch his two sons kill each other? Can you blame him for not wanting to watch that happen?"
Sam looked off, lost in thought at that, he hadn't really looked at it that way…
~8~
"Where you been?" Dean asked as they walked into the motel after having talked with Paul, Sam helping him finish off a bottle of 'inventory.'
"Drinkin'," Sam replied.
"You rebel," Dean smirked.
"I'd have had more, um, but it was curfew," Sam rolled his eyes.
"Right."
"You hear they shut down the cell towers?" Michelle asked him.
"No," he sat up, "That's, uh, news to me."
"Yeah. No cable, internet. Total cut off from the 'corruption of the outside world.'"
"Huh…"
"Don't you get it?" Sam frowned at his brother, "They're turning this place into some kind of fundamentalist compound."
"Worse," Michelle cut in, "It's like when Lucifer was summoning Death, only difference is that the people are still here."
"No, I get it," Dean sighed.
"And all you've got's a 'huh?'" Sam shook his head, "What's wrong with you?"
"I get it. I just don't care."
"What?" Michelle frowned, now starting to get worried. She knew Dean had probably gone to speak to Leah…had the girl done something to him?
"What difference does it make?"
Michelle's frown deepened, that didn't sound like Dean.
"It makes a hell of a…" Sam began before shaking his head, now getting angry, "At what point does this become too far for you? Stoning? Poisoned Kool-Aid? The angels are toying with these people!"
"Angel world, angel rules man," Dean shrugged.
"And since when is that ok with you?" Michelle asked.
"Since the angels got the only lifeboats on the 'Titanic,'" Dean stood up, "I mean, who exactly is supposed to come along and save these people? It was supposed to be us, but we can't do it."
"Yes we can."
"So what?" Sam continued, "You wanna…you wanna just want to stop fighting, roll over?"
"I don't know, maybe," Dean replied, sounding defeated.
"Don't say that," Sam ground out.
"Why not?"
"'Cause you can't do this," Michelle said.
"Actually, I can."
"No, you can't," Sam cut in, "You can't do this to me. To Michelle. You can't do this to us," he took a breath, feeling like his world was falling apart, Michelle took his hand, seeing him struggling, "I got two things, two things, keeping me going," Sam told him, "You and Michelle," Dean looked up, "You think you're the only one white-knuckling it here Dean? I can't count on anyone else. I can't do this alone."
Dean grabbed his jacket and turned to leave, "Dean!" Michelle called after him.
"I gotta clear my head," he replied.
"It's past curfew," Sam called, trying to get him to stay, but Dean walked out anyway. He sighed and turned to Michelle, "What's going on?"
She rubbed her head and sat down on the bed, "Leah's not who we think she is."
~8~
Sam rubbed his eyes as he sat in the motel room that night, Michelle had gone over everything that was making her think Leah wasn't an actual prophet. Besides not seeing the flicker of wings behind her like with Chuck, she also had a suspicion that Leah could read minds and that was how she knew about them. She also thought that there was a chance that Leah was the one controlling the demons, making them flee from the body…especially after the false exorcism chant. When Sam had asked what it meant, she'd just chuckled and waved him off. Unfortunately there were a few creatures that she could be, but Micelle had a pretty good idea what, which was why she'd gone to the car to get a couple of her religious books to try and double check if she was right.
He wasn't too sure if Micelle was right, Leah had all the signs of being a prophet. But then…he'd recalled Joshua's words and decided to just trust what she was saying. And after all, her track record of being right was pretty good, damn near impeccable.
"I got your message," a voice said behind him. He turned to see Castiel leaning against the small refrigerator in the room, "It was long, your message. And I find the sound of your voice grating."
"What's wrong with you?" Sam frowned, eyeing the angel swaying as he stood straight, "Are you…drunk?"
"No!" Castiel exclaimed, before stumbling and leaning heavily against the doorframe, "…yes."
"What the hell happened to you?" Sam shook his head at the man.
"I found a liquor store."
"And?"
"And I drank it. Why'd you call me?"
"Whoa," Sam held out his hands, afraid the man might just keel over, "There you go. Easy. Are you ok?"
Castiel motioned for him to come closer before whispering in his ear, "Don't ask stupid questions," he pulled away and staggered into the room, "Tell me what you need."
"There have been these…these demon attacks," Sam said, watching the man carefully as he leaned on a dresser, "Massive, right on the edge of town. And we can't figure out why they're…"
"Any sign of angels?"
"Sort of. Michelle doesn't think so though."
"Why not?" Castiel cracked an eye open.
"She hasn't seen any signs. They've been speaking to this person who seems to be a prophet…"
"Who?"
"This girl, Leah Gideon..."
"She's not a prophet," Castiel shook his head.
"She's claimed to have visions though. Headaches…the whole package."
"The names of all the prophets, they're seared into my brain," Castiel rolled his eyes up to Sam, "Leah Gideon is not one of them."
"Then what is she?" Sam frowned.
"The Whore," Michelle's voice called over.
They turned to see her entering the room, a large book in her hand, holding one page open with a picture of the Whore of Babylon on it.
~8~
Dean entered the room the next morning, having been out all night, "We went out looking for…" Sam began.
"You alright?" Michelle asked, seeing the blood on Dean's hands.
"Yeah," he nodded, "It's…it's not my blood. Paul's dead."
"What?" Sam's eyes widened.
"Jane shot him."
"I knew she'd be a problem," Michelle muttered.
"It's starting," Castiel added.
"What's starting?" Dean turned to him, glaring at the MIA angel, "Where the hell have you been?"
"On a bender."
"Did he…did you say 'on a bender?'" Dean's eyes widened comically at that.
Of all the things he'd expected to hear, that was not one of them.
"Yeah," Sam nodded, eyeing the angel, "He's still pretty smashed."
"It is not of import," Castiel waved them off, "We need to talk about what's happening here."
"Well I'm all ears," Dean rolled his eyes.
"Well, for starters…Leah is not a real prophet," Sam told his brother.
"Well, what is she, exactly?" Dean frowned, now growing serious.
"The Whore," Castiel said, repeating Michelle's words.
"Wow," Dean smirked, "Cas, tell us what you really think."
"She rises when Lucifer walks the Earth," Michelle cut in, "'And she shall come, bearing false prophecy.'"
"This creature has the power to take a human's form, read minds," Castiel nodded, sliding Michelle's book over to Dean to look at, "Book of Revelation calls her 'the Whore of Babylon.'"
"Well, that's catchy," Dean remarked, sitting down to look at the book.
"The real Leah was probably killed months ago," Michelle said.
"What about the demons attacking the town?"
"They're under her control," Castiel informed him.
"And the Enochian exorcism?"
"Fake," Michelle sighed, "It actually means, 'you breed with the mouth of a goat.'"
Castiel started to chuckle at that as the brothers looked at him, "It's funnier in Enochian."
"So the demons smoking out…that's just a con?" Dean concluded correctly, "Why? What's the endgame?"
"What you just saw…innocent blood spilled in God's name," Michelle said, "She was doing it long before we got here. Remember the house? How I observed?" Dean nodded, "They were shooting first then exorcizing, forcing the people to die as humans. It would be one thing to kill or exorcize, but what they were doing was murder."
"You heard all that Heaven talk," Sam nodded, seeing Michelle's point, "She manipulates people."
"To slaughter and kill and sing preppy little hymns," Dean sighed, "Awesome."
"Her goal is to condemn as many souls to Hell as possible," Castiel explained, "And it's…just beginning. She's well on her way to dragging this whole town into the pit."
"Alright…so, then, how do we go Pimp of Babylon all over this bitch?"
~8~
Castiel dropped a wooden stake down on the table in front of the trio, it was old, gray bark with holes and warps in the wood.
"The Whore can be killed with that," Castiel said, "It's a stake made from a cypress tree in Babylon."
"Great," Dean went to pick it up, "Let's ventilate her."
"It's not that easy," Michelle cut in.
"'Course not," Dean sighed, sitting back again.
"The Whore can only be killed by a true servant of Heaven," Castiel finished.
"Servant, like…"
"Not you," Castiel rubbed his head, "Or me. Sam, of course, is an abomination. Michelle hasn't taken the oath and there's no true angel around to swear it to," he sighed, "We'll have to find someone else."
"The only one here is pastor Gideon but…" Michelle trailed.
"What?" Sam turned to her.
She sighed, "I'm not sure if he still qualifies as a servant of Heaven," she admitted, "He fell pray to the Whore, he's killed."
"But he was defending his town," Dean argued.
"Doesn't matter," Michelle shook her head, "Any priest or pastor or whatever, they are supposed to swear to nonviolence, peace, like you said Dean, he's packing."
Castiel frowned in thought, "But he is a priest?" she nodded, "We may have a chance…he would be the least corrupt of the town."
Michelle sighed, it still didn't work in her mind, but she nodded her head anyway, "You may need to go get him Cas."
~8~
They waited patiently till there was a rush of wings and Castiel appeared back in the room with Gideon.
"What the hell was that?" Gideon gasped, shocked.
He'd been walking outside, Leah had gone on a rampage, giving out names of people that she claimed had to be killed. He hadn't been sure whether to follow any longer and gone to seek revelation…only to truly find an angel it seemed.
"Yeah, he wasn't lying about the angel thing," Dean nodded, sensing what the man was thinking, "Have a seat, Padre. We got to have a chat."
~8~
Gideon took all they had to say better than anyone else had. But then again, he had firsthand experience that demons existed. He was sitting before the trio and Castiel, looking down at the cypress stake, shaking his head, "No. She's my daughter."
That part, of course, he hadn't taken quite so well.
"I'm sorry, but she's not," Michelle cut in, "She's the thing that killed your daughter."
"That's impossible," Gideon denied.
"But it's true," Sam argued, "And deep down, you know it. Look, we get it…it's too much. But if you don't do this, she's going to kill a lot of people. And damn the rest to Hell."
Dean picked up the stake and held it out to Gideon.
"It's just…" Gideon began, taking the stake, "Why does it have to be me?"
"You're a servant of Heaven," Castiel answered.
"And you're an angel?" Gideon asked again, still trying to wrap his head around that fact.
"Poor example of one," Castiel looked down.
"The best example of one," Michelle cut in, getting up to stand beside Castiel, putting an arm around him, "…when you're sober at least," she nudged him in jest. He looked up at her a moment before looking down, "I'd bet even better than Michael."
That got his attention.
Castiel's head whipped up so fast she thought he might have sprained poor Jimmy's neck, "What?" he breathed.
She smiled, squeezing his shoulder, "Cas, I've known you my whole life. You've been there for me, through everything. From nightmares to when my parents died to saving me from Hell. You're risking everything to do what you know is right, you're doing what you think God would want, what would make him happy as opposed to Michael, who thinks that just following orders blindly is right, even if the orders will lead to something that would just hurt God in the end. You're trying to save the world. You're taking initiative. You're fighting. Everyone else…they're just sitting around doing nothing," she smiled wider, "In my book, you are the best angel around."
Castiel looked stunned and, in Sam's opinion, a bit near tears at what Michelle had said. She'd told him once or twice, when he'd asked, about how old she was when she'd first met an angel, how many she'd seen, how frequently. She'd joked that she almost saw the angels as family, they were there so often, always bothering her, having a hand in her life. But Castiel, she said, he was the one she'd seen the most, like her own guardian angel, always there for her. To hear her reaffirm that, must have meant the world to the angel.
Castiel smiled at Michelle in return before turning and going outside to just think on her words.
~8~
They waited in the back room of the church for Leah. Castiel had said as soon as he appeared in the church Leah would be aware and come looking for him. They could hear the sounds of people begging and screaming for their lives down the hall. According to Gideon, the Whore was having Jane and Rob and a few others lock the rest of the town in a room and burn down the church around them.
The door to the room opened and Leah walked in and over to the mirror. She revealed her true face for a moment before Castiel appeared and grabbed her arms, holding them behind her as Gideon ran up with the stake, "Daddy!" she shouted, "Don't hurt me!"
He hesitated.
"Gideon, now!" Sam shouted as he, Dean, and Michelle exposed themselves, running from their hiding spots as well.
Leah, seeing her chance, turned her head to face Castiel and began to chant in Enochian, "Pizin noco iad…"
Castiel groaned in pain as a light started to show in his eyes and mouth. He dropped Leah, falling to the ground.
"Cas!" Michelle shouted, running to his side, as Leah tossed her father away with her powers. Sam and Dean ran at her and she simply opened her hands, throwing them back as well. She ran out of the room while Gideon grabbed the stake and ran after her.
"Gideon!" Sam yelled as he and Dean pushed themselves up and ran after him, "Wait! No!"
"Cas," Michelle whispered, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Go," he groaned, "They'll need you!" she hesitated a moment, "Go!"
She nodded, getting up and running through the door, down the hall to the room. She could see two men holding Gideon back as Sam shoved Rob against the wall, Jane trying to attack him for it, Dean taking on Leah himself. She ran over, shoving Jane aside as Rob attacked Sam again.
She heard Dean grunt and looked over to see Leah knock him to the ground, the stake inches away from his outstretched arm. But she could do nothing as Jane tried to hit her again.
Dean fell back onto the floor, Leah quickly straddled him, strangling him with her bare hands. He stretched out an arm, reaching for the stake.
Leah laughed, "You're the great vessel? You're pathetic, self-hating, and faithless. This is why my team's gonna win. It's the end of the world and you're just gonna sit back and watch it happen."
Dean grabbed the stake and stabbed her in the chest.
Leah just smirked and pulled the stake out, casting it aside, "Please. Like you're a servant of Heaven!"
"Well try me bitch," Michelle called, stabbing Leah in the back with the stake she'd grabbed.
Leah gasped, her body shaking, as the stake caught on fire. She fell off Dean, onto her stomach, Dean scrambling away as the stake exploded, leaving a burning hole in her back, black smoke rising from it like a dying fire.
Jane and Rob stopped fighting, the two men holding Gideon back let him go as they stood watching the smoke leave Leah, her true face being revealed to those watching.
"But…I don't understand," Jane shook her head, "How are we supposed to get to paradise now?"
"I'm sorry," Dean replied, not sounding sorry at all, "Pretty sure you're headed in a different direction."
"Maybe not," Michelle said quietly, looking down at Leah's body.
"What?" Rob asked as they turned to look at her.
"Get in the room," Michelle ordered.
"Excuse me?" Jane gasped.
"You even want a chance of getting into Heaven you shut the fuck up and get in the God damn room now!" Michelle nearly snarled.
She was pissed, absolutely livid. How could these people possibly let themselves fall so far? If they were that susceptible to evil, was there really any use trying to save them? But she shook herself out of those thoughts, everyone should have the chance to be saved.
She'd learned that much from Sam.
Jane flinched at the girl's tone and headed towards the room. She opened the door, the crowd within about to surge out, when the woman stepped in to join them. They froze, confused, especially when Rob and the others joined them.
"You too," Michelle said, turning to Dean and Gideon.
"What are you going to do?" Gideon asked, knowing what Leah had planned.
"Trust me," was all she said, but she was looking at Dean.
Dean stared at her a moment, before nodding and heading into the room, Gideon following along hesitantly. When everyone was in there, Michelle stepped into the doorway.
"Join hands," she commanded.
Everyone looked confused a moment.
"Do it," Gideon said, taking the hands of those around him. As soon as everyone had joined hands, Michelle reached out and took Dean and Gideon's in her own.
She looked around the room, glaring fiercely, "Just so you know…I don't think any of you deserve this."
She closed her eyes and focused. The crowd watched in shock as her hands began to glow, the light seeping out of them, flowing over Dean and Gideon, passing through them to the others, into each and every person there. When it reached the last person Michelle dropped their hands and fell backwards, only for Sam to catch her.
"Michelle!" he shouted, cradling her to him.
She blinked blearily, opening her eyes just a bit, "Did it work?" she asked.
"What?"
"Do they look sorry?" she asked. Sam looked up, seeing that all the people in the room, save Dean, looked almost beside themselves now, some crying, some looking disgustful. He nodded, "Good," she slurred before her head lulled to the side and she fell unconscious.
"What did she do?" Gideon asked.
"She purified all of you," a voice said. They looked over to see Castiel leaning heavily against the wall, "You couldn't enter Heaven till you were truly repentant for what you'd done. And you couldn't feel sorry with the Whore's influence still lingering on you. She removed it. Now you can try to make up for it."
He staggered, Dean rushing over to grab him, pulling the angel's arm over his shoulder, "Come on," he called to Sam, nodding towards the door.
Sam scooped up Michelle and headed out, motioning for Gideon to come with them. They all piled into the Impala, driving back to the hotel where there were supplies to clean their wounds. Sam had left Michelle in the backseat, she seemed to be actually asleep and he didn't know if Castiel or Gideon would need to lie down, which would mean the couch and beds would be taken.
"How did Michelle do that?" Gideon asked as Sam helped wrap his arm where he'd been cut.
"Michelle's just special," Sam shrugged.
"I thought Le...the Whore...could only be killed by a servant of Heaven…"
"She is," Castiel called, "In a way," they looked over at him, "She is Michael's Shield, a warrior meant to protect the vessel of Heaven. I believe it made her enough of a servant of Heaven to succeed."
"So, why didn't the stake work for me?" Dean asked, following that logic, he should have been able to gank the bitch as Michael's Sword.
"You were influenced by the Whore as well," Castiel replied, recalling seeing Michelle purify him, "It made you tainted."
"Huh," Dean looked down, in thought.
If he'd just had faith, been sure of himself, been a true servant of Heaven…he could have stopped the Whore himself and not forced Michelle to do it for him. He wasn't angry or even upset that Michelle seemed to be taking out all the monsters they were facing for him, the Horsemen, the wraith, among others, but he was starting to get angry at himself for not being able to do it, it was his job as the older brother to protect his siblings, not have them throw themselves into the line of fire to protect him.
Which just made him think…maybe he was being selfish with the whole Michael thing…by saying 'no,' he was forcing Sam and Michelle to protect him, rather than protecting them by facing Lucifer and ending it once and for all…
"You ok?" he looked up to see Sam staring at him in concern.
"How's the head?" Dean deflected, looking at Gideon.
"I'm seeing double," he joked, holding an ice pack to his head, "But that may be the painkillers."
"You'll be ok."
"No," he shook his head. Whether it was from the death of his daughter or the fact that he could now see how far off the path he'd gone himself…they didn't know.
"Where you going?" Sam asked as Dean headed to the door.
"I'm just gonna grab some clean bandages out of the trunk," Dean rolled his eyes at his brother, "Relax."
Sam hesitated a moment, watching Dean leave, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong though. He shook his head and finished wrapping Gideon's wrist, "There. How's that?"
Before the pastor could answer, the sounds of the Impala starting up reached them. Sam ran outside, only to see Dean speed away. He cursed silently under his breath, when he felt something vibrate in his pocket.
It was a text from Michelle:
Don't worry, I'll watch him.
He'd forgotten she was still in the backseat. He could only pray that she'd be able to stop Dean from doing whatever he was planning to do…which he just knew wasn't going to be good.
~8~
It was daylight when Dean knocked on the door of a house and none other than Lisa answered.
"Dean!" she smiled, pleased to see him.
"Hi, Lisa," he returned her smile with a small one of his own, "I didn't have your number, uh, so…"
"No," she cut in, "No, it's ok. I'm…I'm…just surprised."
"How's Ben?"
"Good. Good. He's at baseball."
"You moved," he commented, glancing around, "It's a…nice house."
"Dean, you didn't come all the way here to talk about real estate," she said, knowing him better than that, "You alright?"
"No," he admitted, "Not really."
She frowned, "Well, what is it?"
"Look," he took a breath, "I have no illusions, ok? I know the life that I live, I know how that's gonna end for me. Whatever. I'm ok with that. But I wanted you to know…that when I do picture myself happy…it's with you. And the kid."
Lisa blinked, her heart racing, "Wow."
"I mean, you don't have to say anything," Dean began, slowly backing away as he took her silence in a negative way.
"No," she said quickly, taking a step towards him so he'd stop, "I…I mean, I know. I know. I want to. Come inside. Let me get you a beer."
"I wish I could," he muttered, "Take care of yourself, Lisa."
"No, wait, wait!" she called as he turned to leave, he looked back, "You can't just drop a bombshell like that and then leave."
"I know," he sighed, "I'm sorry. But I don't have a choice."
"Yeah, you do. You do. You can come inside and let me get you a beer. We can talk."
"Lisa, wait a minute…things are about to get really bad."
"Like how?" she frowned, "Like your kind of bad?"
"Worse. Next few days, the crap you're gonna see on your TV, it's gonna be downright trippy. Scary. But I don't want you to worry, because I'm making arrangements for you and Ben."
"Arrangements?" she shook her head, confused.
"Whatever happens, you're gonna be ok," he promised.
"What do you mean?" she breathed, starting to feel frightened, not for herself but for him, "What are you talking about?"
"The people that I'm gonna see next, they're not gonna get anything from me without agreeing to a few conditions."
"Just...just come inside," she pleaded, "Please. And whatever you're thinking of doing, don't do it."
"I have to," he said, resigned.
"Just stay an hour. At least say bye to Ben."
"It's better if I don't," he replied, leaning forward and kissing her, "Good bye Lis…"
"You weren't going to leave without introducing us, were you Dean?" a voice said behind him. He looked over his shoulder and Michelle stepped forward, "Hi, you must be Lisa," she smiled, shaking the woman's hand, "I'm Sam's girlfriend, Michelle," she added, seeing Lisa start to frown and look at Dean. But as soon as those words left her mouth Lisa returned her smile fully.
"Michelle, we gotta go," he muttered, not too pleased that he'd forgotten Michelle was in the car. He knew she'd been trying to contact Sam with his whereabouts…which was why he'd taken her phone for the time being.
"Then go," she rolled her eyes at him, "I just want to talk a bit with Lisa, you clearly didn't do a good job reassuring her of anything."
Dean just sighed but turned and headed back to the car.
"Don't worry," Michelle turned back to the woman, "I'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
Lisa smiled, for some reason she felt like she could just trust that girl, "Thank you."
"No problem," she glanced back at Dean before turning back to Lisa, "And just to be sure you're safe…" she reached out and hugged the woman.
"Um…what are you doing?" Lisa asked, a little surprised by the sudden action.
"I doubt Dean's negotiators are going to go for his conditions, so I want to make sure you're safe anyway," she replied, pulling back.
Lisa gasped, feeling a sudden warmth spread through her, "What did you do?" she asked, knowing instinctively it had to do with Michelle.
"I did something reserved for prophets. I've tethered an archangel to you and Ben, to watch out for you," she turned and headed back to the car, leaving a stunned Lisa standing there.
"Who?" Lisa managed to call out.
Michelle glanced back, "He's a real character, but he'll protect you," she smiled reassuringly, "His name is Gabriel."
A/N: It's been pointed out that Michelle has been getting a bit of the spotlight instead of the boys, that's actually been just a little bit intentional, all building up to this. I really wanted to dig deep and see Dean's reasoning for suddenly deciding he might just say 'yes.' Here, Michelle has been stepping up more, getting hurt more, and it's really starting to hit him hard. He sees her as a younger sister, as good as family, and for her to keep doing that while HE'S the big brother, the one who should be protecting the others, it's what's driving him to consider the 'yes.'
I also felt like...the badass Dean we all know and love was really out of sorts in this episode. So I thought it might be fitting that he was influenced by the Whore, if just a little. He spent time with her alone, listened to her, he could have been affected. Which is why, going in that direction, he wasn't a true 'servant of Heaven' and able to stop Leah. Just another thing driving home that he hasn't been 'doing his job.'
Awww, poor Dean :(
Have to say, we're going to see a very familiar event from Yellow Fever play out in the next chapter :) And yay! We're only 13 reviews away from matching 'Purgatory' :)