Chapter Thirty-Four
"Your brother?" asked Buffy. "Didn't he die?"
"They must've brought him back," said Dean. He looked back at Cordelia. "Where are they?"
"Wait, you're not just gonna go get him, are you?" said Gunn.
"You're suggesting we just leave him there at Zachariah's mercy?" said Dean.
"No, but need we remind you, that's Zachariah," said Xander. "You'd be walking right into his hands."
"I'll be real sneaky," said Dean, heading over to his duffel bag of weapons in the corner of the room.
"And how you planning on getting there before they leave?" asked Xander. "It's not like we can fly Air Castiel anymore."
Dean gestured over at Tara as he pulled the Colt out of the duffel. "We got a witch who can swing it. Right?"
"Well, I haven't tried many teleportation spells before," Tara told him.
"But you have done one," Dean clarified.
"Well, yes—" began Tara.
"Perfect," said Dean. "All we need is for you to get us there. We can find another way home if we have to. Cas, you coming with?"
"Of course," said Castiel, stepping forward to join Sam and Dean.
"Me, too," said Buffy, joining them.
"Alright, how much time you need?" Dean asked Tara.
Willow popped into the room, apparently having left, with her arms full of magical items. "Five minutes."
Tara proceeded to mix things together on the coffee table.
Cordelia walked over to Dean. "Be careful. I don't want to find out you've been decimated."
Dean nodded. "Got it. No decimation."
"I'm serious," Cordelia told her, worry pouring out of her eyes.
"So am I," Dean reassured her. "I promise."
Tara approached the four of them with a bowl of—
"Glitter?" Dean asked, staring at the bowl's contents.
"It's magic," Tara told him. "Don't question it."
Cordelia stepped away from them. "They're in Windom, Minnesota, about two miles out of town in the woods."
Dean nodded. "Right where we planted him. We know the place."
"I should be able to transport you back if you're in the same spot you appeared in," Tara told them.
"Got it," said Sam.
Tara tossed a handful of glitter over them, clapping her hands. "Discede!"
**************************************************SPN&BTVS***************************************************************
Adam stood staring at the fallen trees around him, stunned and shocked.
"Well, what do you say, Adam?" Zachariah asked behind him. "Give yourself over to Michael, kill the devil, and you will be reunited with your mother."
Adam turned and looked at Zachariah.
Zachariah held up two fingers in a scout's salute. "Angel's honor."
Adam sighed. "It sure sounds like a good deal."
"It is," said Zachariah, lowering his hand. "Tell you what, we'll sweeten the deal. You help us out, and we'll bring your mother back…permanently. The two of you will get to live the rest of your lives in paradise."
Adam stared at the ground, thinking it through. Zachariah had told him that he was basically the angel's last resort. If he didn't help them out, the devil would win and ravage the planet.
Adam looked back up at the angel. "Can I have a burger and beer before?"
Zachariah raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A table appeared in the clearing, a platter of burgers and a bowl of beers on top of it. Adam stepped over to the table and picked one of the burgers up.
"So, I take it we have a deal?" asked Zachariah.
Adam's gaze went back to Zachariah, and he nodded.
Zachariah suddenly crumpled as a man in a trench coat clocked him over the head with a gleaming blade.
"Not so fast, Junkless."
Adam turned to see two young men and a young blonde woman stepping into the clearing. The shorter, more butch of the two men was aiming an old revolver at Zachariah. The girl, on the other hand, held the scariest axe Adam had ever seen.
Zachariah glared up at the young man, pulling himself to his feet. "You." He brushed his suit off and gestured at Adam. "I'm trying to make a sale here."
"No, you're not," said the guy with the gun. "You don't get to lay one finger on him."
"You're too late," said Zachariah with a smirk. "Adam's already on my team."
"Adam, come with us," said the taller man.
Adam looked back and forth between the angel and the group of humans. "I-I don't understand—"
"They're working for Lucifer," Zachariah told him.
"He's lying," the tall man said quickly. "Adam, I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother Dean. We're John Winchester's sons…your brothers."
Adam's confused frown eased into a stunned expression. "I've got brothers?"
"Brothers who are trying to stop us, Adam," said Zachariah. "They have—"
"Enough, Zachariah," the trench-coated man told him in a deep, stern voice.
Zachariah turned to glare at the man. "Castiel…" He frowned, looking the man up and down. "Getting flabby in your old age, aren't you?" He narrowed his eyes at him. "You can't take me."
The man—Castiel—flexed his fist around the blade. "Don't be so sure."
"Adam, he hasn't told you the whole truth," the blonde girl told him, stepping forward. "The battle you are about to agree to is gonna destroy half the planet."
Adam nodded. "He told me things might get a little hairy."
"There's another way," the one with the gun—Dean—told him. "One where no one has to die."
Zachariah's face twisted in fury. "I knew it. I knew it!" He began storming towards them, but Castiel latched onto him, holding him back.
"Adam, please, trust us!" shouted Sam, holding his hand out towards him.
Adam glanced back at the two men fighting before looking back at his two brothers. If they were telling the truth and there really was a way to end the apocalypse without killing a single soul, wasn't it worth it? And, besides, if you can't trust family, who can you trust?
Adam rushed over to the Winchesters, who pulled him behind them as they watched Zachariah and Castiel fight.
"Go, go!" shouted Dean as the blonde girl took her place next to him, wielding the axe.
Sam pulled Adam through the woods, keeping an eye out for anything.
"Who was that girl?" Adam asked. "And that Castiel guy."
"Later," Sam quickly told him, still rushing through the trees.
After ten minutes, they came to the edge of the woods, and Sam flipped his cell phone open, dialing.
"Tara, we're here!" Sam told the person on the other line.
After a moment, there was a faint popping noise, and they found themselves standing in someone's living room, surrounded by people.
"Tara!" a red-headed woman cried as the brunette next to her collapsed to the floor.
Sam quickly knelt next to them. "Is she okay?"
"The spell was too much," said the redhead. "She was wiped after the last one, but…"
The woman named Tara leaned against the redhead. "I'll be fine…I just need to rest…"
"Help me get her upstairs," said the redhead.
A pale man with dark brown hair pulled Tara into his arms, heading for a staircase in the other room.
"Okay, what's going on?" asked Adam. "What just happened? How did we get here? And why did we leave Dean and that girl behind?"
Sam sighed, putting a hand on Adam's shoulder. "We need to talk."
**********************************************************SPN&BTVS********************************************************
Dean raced through the woods, keeping an eye out for Zachariah. He glanced over at Castiel, who he and Buffy were half-carrying between them. "Any chance he'll be popping up soon?"
"I believe I wounded him sufficiently," Castiel told them, blood dripping from his swollen eye. "He would have returned to heaven to heal."
"But you guys heal in, like, a second," said Buffy worriedly, keeping one hand grasped firmly around the scythe as she helped Castiel.
"An injury caused by an angelic weapon—" Castiel indicated the blade Dean now held in one hand, "will take several hours, perhaps even days, to heal from."
"Great," said Dean as they reached the edge of the trees. "We might just make it back to the safe house unscathed." He pulled out his cell phone as they stopped.
"Dean?" came Sam's relieved voice on the other end.
"Sammy, get us out of here," Dean told him.
"Uh…Tara's not up to it," Sam responded.
Dean stood in silence for a moment. "She's not up to it?"
"This last one wiped her out," said Sam. "She can't do it."
Dean sighed. "Dammit. Are you and Adam okay?"
"Yeah, I'm filling him in," said Sam. "You guys?"
Dean looked over at the beaten, exhausted Castiel. "We'll live. Keep me posted. We'll be there sometime tomorrow."
"Got it," said Sam, hanging up.
Dean put his phone away. "Bad news. We're trapped out in the open."
Buffy sighed, looking over at Castiel. "Are you gonna be okay?"
Castiel nodded. "Give me a moment." He closed his eyes in concentration, and after a moment, the bruises and cuts on his face slowly faded and disappeared.
Dean watched carefully as Castiel straightened onto his own weight. "You good now?"
"Yes, I've healed," Castiel told them.
Dean looked around for the road towards town. "Well…let's get us a car."
************************************************SPN&BTVS**************************************************
Angel stood in the backyard later that night, hoping Buffy, Dean and Castiel would make it back okay. Well, mainly Buffy. They had spent the afternoon welcoming Adam and getting him comfortable. When night had fallen, Spike had rushed off as everyone prepared to turn in for the night.
Angel glanced over at the fence. Speak of the devil…
"They all asleep?" Spike asked as he walked over to him.
"I think so," Angel replied.
Spike sighed, leaning back against the deck railing next to him. "So…You and Buffy seem to be hitting it off."
Angel tensed, not wanting to discuss this topic with him. "And I hear you would rather be the one hitting it off with her."
"Yeah, well…" said Spike tersely. He stayed silent for a while before talking again. "Take care of her, you bloody wanker."
Angel's head shot over towards him at the statement of defeat. "You're…letting me have her?"
Spike shrugged. "Looks like."
"Why?" Angel demanded.
Spike had never been one to give something up that he wanted.
The English vampire hesitated before speaking. "'Cause it's what she wants."
Angel frowned, surprised by Spike's sympathetic response.
"As much as I want Buffy…I want her to be happy more," Spike continued. He glimpsed quickly at his grandsire before heading into the house.
Angel watched him go, taken aback by the younger vampire's scrap of humanity.
********************************************************SPN&BTVS********************************************************
Dean glanced around the motel parking lot, making sure no one was watching. He slipped a Slim Jim out of his jacket and opened the driver's door of the black Oldsmobile. He leaned down on the seat, pulling a few wires and fiddling with them until the engine sputtered to life. He got into the driver's seat and honked the horn.
Buffy immediately hurried out of their motel room, followed by Castiel. As Buffy opened the passenger door, a man grabbed her and yanked her away from the car.
"Buffy!" Dean yelled, jumping out of the car and rushing to her aide.
Five men with black eyes smiled wickedly at them.
"I knew if we were patient, we'd run into them sooner or later," said one of the demons.
Castiel pulled Buffy's scythe out from under his trench coat, tossing it to Buffy, as he charged for the demons. One demon came at Dean, and he pulled Castiel's blade from his jacket. Dean stabbed the first demon that came at him, glancing over at Buffy to see her slicing one's throat open. Surprisingly, the demon's throat and face lit up, flashing as he died.
"That thing can kill demons?" Dean yelled, staring at the scythe.
Buffy shrugged, smile on her face. "Apparently!"
Dean looked over to see how Castiel was doing. The three demons left seemed to have overpowered him as he tried to hold his own. But they seemed to be too strong for him to keep up with. Dean rushed over, surprising one by stabbing him in the neck. Buffy took on the second demon as Dean and Castiel pinned the third down. Dean stabbed the demon as Buffy dispatched the second.
"You okay, Cas?" Dean asked as he helped his friend up. "What happened?"
"I tried to smite them, but…I couldn't," Castiel told them.
"You can't kill demons anymore?" asked Dean.
"No," said Castiel, looking around them for more threats.
Taking the angel's cue, Dean hurried them back to the car. "Quick, before more of 'em show up."
Buffy jumped into the passenger seat as Castiel got into the back. Dean peeled out of the parking lot, getting them on the road. They rode in silence for a few minutes while they waited for a sudden attack.
Dean sighed in relief when it was obvious they were in the clear. "We made it."
"Yeah," said Buffy. "Think we'll be home by dinner?"
"Probably," said Dean. "Then we can get to figuring out how and when to find Michael and Lucifer."
Buffy stared at him. "So, you're really gonna do this?"
"Yep," nodded Dean.
"And we don't know if the whole 'Slayer making you stronger to fight back against possession' thing is gonna work?" said Buffy.
"No, we do not," said Dean. "Or, hell, even if I can fight back, who knows if Lucifer won't just take me with him."
Buffy frowned at his determination, amazed at his notion of self-sacrifice. "And you're still gonna do it?"
Dean shrugged, looking over at Buffy with a kindred, battle-worn smile and throwing her own words back at her. "It's who I am."
Buffy smiled at the phrase, knowing that if Dean had been born a woman, there was no doubt that he would have been called to be a Slayer.
Buffy's cell phone rang, and she answered it. "Hello?"
"Buff, it's me," said Willow on the other line.
"Hey, Will, everything going okay?" she answered.
"Well, actually, we think we can get you guys back home now," said Willow.
"I thought Tara was out of commission," said Buffy.
"She is, kind of," said Willow. "I'm gonna help."
"I thought you quit," Buffy pointed out.
"Well, I'm not actually going to use magic," Willow explained. "Tara's just gonna draw on my power to do the spell."
Buffy looked over at Dean. "Pull over."
Dean pulled the car over on the side of the road, and they got out of the car.
"Ready, Will," said Buffy, hanging up.
After several moments, Dean, Buffy and Castiel were standing in the Summers living room.
Tara swayed next to Willow, who steadied her. "Whoa…"
"You okay?" Dean asked her.
Tara nodded. "Yeah, this was tame compared with last time. Thanks, Willow."
Willow smiled, brushing a stray lock of hair behind Tara's ear. "Anytime." She looked up at Buffy. "Giles and Wesley found some info on the scythe. They're downstairs with the Potentials."
"Thanks," said Buffy, heading that way with the scythe.
Angel met her on the way. "Welcome back."
Buffy smiled, giving him a kiss. "I was only gone for one night."
"Still…" said Angel, hugging her.
"Come grab wicked axe intel?" asked Buffy.
"Sure," Angel replied, turning and heading for the basement with her.
****************************************************SPN&BTVS**********************************************************
Dean finally managed to locate his brothers out in the backyard: target practice. Adam fired off a round, hitting the painted target almost dead center.
"See?" said Sam. "You're a natural."
"Adam's a hunter now?" asked Dean.
Sam and Adam turned to see him approaching them.
"Hey, you guys made it," said Sam.
"All in one piece," said Dean. "Oh, and FYI: Cas is down one smiting power."
Sam sighed. "Man, he's dropping fast."
"Yeah…" said Dean. "So, Adam…all up to speed?"
Adam nodded, narrowing his eyes at Dean. "Are you really gonna take down Michael?"
"No, I'm taking down Lucifer," Dean corrected.
"Well, yeah, you know what I meant," said Adam.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, I am."
"And you're a…Vampire Slayer?" asked Adam. "Just like that Buffy?"
"Yep," said Dean. "Some family, huh?"
Adam chuckled. "Some family."
A door slammed, and Dean turned to see Buffy making her way towards the fence, scythe in hand.
"New mission?" asked Dean.
Buffy came to a stop near them. "We think we found where this scythe came from. Something about…a tomb on unconsecrated ground. I need to find out what this is and why I have it."
"Well, good luck," said Sam.
"Thanks," said Buffy. "I'll need it." She turned and headed through the fence and into town.
Dean looked back at his brothers. "So…beer anyone?"
*****************************************************SPN&BTVS******************************************************
Dean, Sam and Adam stumbled through the back door and into the kitchen, laughing together.
"Oh, man, you should have seen your face," laughed Sam.
"I don't drink much, okay?" said Adam. "Lay off."
"Ah, we're just messing with ya," said Dean, throwing an arm around Adam's shoulders.
"Yeah, that's what big brothers do," said Sam. He stopped, frowning and then smiling. "Hey, I finally get to be the older brother."
"Don't get used to it," Dean told him, heading towards the dining room. "Shall we see what Xena and her sidekicks are up to?"
Buffy and Willow stood next to the table, talking amongst themselves.
"Buff, I don't know if I can do this," Willow told her, worry all over her face.
"You don't have to worry," Buffy reassured her. "Tara will be there the whole time. She'll be your anchor."
"But this is so far beyond anything that I've ever—" began Willow.
"Will, I know how hard this is, but there's no one else," Buffy pleaded with her. "I need you to do this."
Willow sighed and then nodded her agreement.
"Do what?" Dean asked.
Buffy looked over at them. "Just in time. I was about to lay out the battle plans."
Sam frowned. "I thought we already had a battle plan."
Buffy shrugged. "Well, I made a little addendum to it." She smirked confidently at them before turning and heading for the living room.
Dean watched her go, Willow following her. "She is way too cheerful for a girl about to fight the apocalypse…This I gotta hear." He and his two brothers headed into the living room.
Everyone was gathered in the living room: Potentials, Scoobies, Angel Investigators and hunters. It seemed that whatever Buffy had to tell them was big news.
"Now, I know we've been training all of you to fight," Buffy addressed the Potential Slayers. "Fight vampires, demons, Bringers…but now we know Lucifer has an army of Turok-hans at his disposal." She took a deep breath. "So, we need an army of our own."
"Whoa, wait a minute," said Rona. "It took two Slayers to take down one of those things. And you want us to fight a whole army of them?"
Buffy took a moment to gather herself, seemingly building the suspense. "I hate this."
Dean frowned, wondering where she was going with this.
"I hate being here," Buffy continued. "I hate that you have to be here. I hate that there's evil, and that I was chosen to fight it." She began to pace back in forth in front of her audience. "I wish a whole lot of the time that I hadn't been. But this isn't about wishes. This is about choices. I believe we can beat this evil. Not when it comes, not when its army is ready—now. Tomorrow afternoon, we will all kick down the devil's front door and finish this once and for all."
Buffy paused for a moment, letting that sink in. "Right now, you're asking yourself, 'what makes this different? What makes us anything more than a bunch of girls being picked off one by one?' It's true. None of you have the power that Faith, Dean and I do…So, here's the part where you make a choice. What if you could have that power…now? In every generation, one Slayer is born…because a bunch of men who died thousands of years ago made up that rule. They were powerful men." She pointed over at Tara and Willow. "These women…are more powerful than all of them combined."
Willow cringed at the pressure that came with that statement as Tara wrapped an arm around her.
"So, I say we change the rule," Buffy went on. "I say my power should be our power." She grabbed the scythe from the desk along the wall, holding it in front of her. "Tomorrow, Willow and Tara will use the essence of the scythe to change our destiny. From now on, every girl in the world who might be a Slayer…will be a Slayer. Every girl who could have the power…will have the power. Can stand up…will stand up. Slayers…every one of us."
Buffy looked down at the Slayer's scythe in her hands and then stared hard at the Potential Slayers in front of her. "Make your choice…Are you ready to be strong?"
*******************************************************SPN&BTVS*********************************************************************
Dean stood in the backyard the next morning, watching Buffy assemble the Potentials. Willow and Tara were setting up their spell on the patio deck, looking nervous.
Sam stepped up next to Dean. "Nervous?"
"About what?" asked Dean, watching everyone else come out into the yard to see this day that would go down in Slayer history.
"About heading out to face Michael soon," said Sam.
Dean shrugged. "Maybe. Trying not to think about it."
Sam smiled. "You'll do fine." He looked back at the thirty or so girls in the yard. "You think there will be guys who get turned when they do the spell? You know, because of you."
"What, my own line of male Slayers?" asked Dean, finally looking over at him.
"Why not?" said Sam.
Dean looked back at the girls who were about to become something so much more. "Nah."
Sam frowned. "No? Why don't you think so?"
"Well, take a look around you," said Dean with a shrug. "The Council has been sending Potentials here all year. You see any guys?"
"That doesn't mean…" began Sam.
"I was never part of the Slayer line, Sam," Dean elaborated. "I just took the place of the girl that came after Buffy."
Sam shrugged, looking back at the young girls. "That does make sense, I guess."
"Okay," said Buffy. "We're ready."
Dean headed over to join everyone else watching as Buffy picked up the scythe and headed towards the deck where Willow and Tara waited.
Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw a guy in a black jacket and pants storm through the opening in the fence. As the man stepped closer, Dean's eyes widened as he recognized him.
Warren…
"Buffy!" Dean shouted in warning.
Buffy spun towards the newcomer as everyone else did also, staring uneasily at the gun he held at his side.
Warren glared at Buffy. "You think you can just do that to me? You think I'd let you get away with that?" He laughed hysterically. "Think again." He raised the gun and fired a shot off, hitting Buffy in the chest.
"No!" yelled Angel from where he had been watching in the cover of the house.
******************************************************SPN&BTVS*************************************************************
Castiel watched Buffy fall to the ground, bleeding. Willow, Xander and a few others rushed over to her. Castiel looked up to see Warren aim the gun at Dean, who stared down the barrel of the gun with wide eyes.
The next few seconds seemed almost to happen in slow motion.
Castiel looked from Dean to Warren and quickly stepped in front of his friend, raising his hand to catch the bullet. The gun went off as Castiel closed his hand around the bullet. Warren stared at him with wide eyes before turning and fleeing the yard, firing wildly into the air behind him.
There were sudden cries of alarm by the house, but Castiel was not aware of them. All he could focus on was a strange sensation in his chest, almost as though something had stung him. Castiel's gaze went down to his hand, seeing a hole in the back of it, red trailing down his skin.
Castiel opened his fist as he turned his palm around to face him, staring at the hole that ran clean through it. Castiel's stare went down to the front of his shirt, staring in astonishment at the blood soaking through it. Right over his heart, a neat, round hole had appeared in his shirt, and it was from this hole that the blood was pouring from.
My powers…I'm mortal…
"Cas!"
Castiel slowly looked up at the person in front of him, his vision blurring in and out of focus.
"Cas!" Dean exclaimed, looking down at the bullet wound and back up at his face.
Castiel suddenly became aware of how painful it was to breathe. He drew in a rugged gasp as his legs gave out from under him.
"Cas!" Dean shouted again, catching him and lowering him to the ground.
Castiel's head fell to the side, where he saw Buffy lying on the ground, blood spilling from her chest.
"Buffy, stay with us!" Xander said, putting pressure on the wound.
"No, baby, come on!"
Castiel looked up at the deck, finding Willow sitting there with Tara in her arms. Tara had a bullet hole right through her heart, and she wasn't moving.
"Tara!" Willow howled, tears flowing down her face. "No, baby! Tara!"
Castiel's gaze slowly slid up to Dean as he began to feel a little cold. Dean was pressing on his chest, trying to stop the bleeding. He could feel his feeble breaths rattling in his chest, just like he could feel his heart begin to slow.
Strange…I was never much aware of it until now…
"Cas, dammit, don't you do this!" Dean yelled above him.
Dean's face blurred as Castiel's heart pounded its slow beats in his ears.
"Cas!" Dean's faint voice called.
The world faded to black as he slipped into darkness.
I know! I'm so evil! Please don't kill me!