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Dante teleported back to the Asylum with less than preferable news. As if the Lord's vessel wasn't already a mess, now Dante had to report to him that his impulsive, half-witted excuse of a brother had gotten himself killed.
Spotting a figure walking down the corridor, Dante popped over to them.
"Casey." Dante smirked. "Where are you off to this late at night?"
Casey grimaced. "Ugh, it's you. Look, I'm off on official business given to me by Sam himself, so back off."
Dante bristled. "Don't casually call our leader by his first name!" Casey shrunk a bit. "Do you know how disrespectful that is?! Not to mention how speaking of him so casually will undermine his importance and add numbers to the resistance."
Casey perked up, a smug expression on her face. "I was entrusted to get information on the resistance. I have a private meeting in the morning with Sam, so if you would excuse me, I've got more important things to do than talk with the likes of you."
Casey pushed past Dante and continued down the hallway.
Dante pursed his lips in thought. Hmmm... He did recommend for the Lord's vessel to get some rest...
Dante grinned evilly to himself. He knew exactly what time he wanted to give Sam his report.
"The resistance was formed in response to you taking power after killing Azazel. The demons who chose not to pledge their allegiance to you are almost all in the resistance in some way. Some are more committed to the cause than others, but the general reason one or another demon joined was because the demons would rather fight for the spot as leader than listen to a human."
Sam resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He suspected as much. "Where's the resistance based at?"
Casey smiled, obviously waiting for that exact question. "This is where I had to be extremely careful. It took a lot of effort not to be detected, ya know-"
The doors to the throne room opened, cutting off the rest of Casey's explanation. Dante swiftly walked through the doors and in front of Casey.
He knelt to one knee. "My liege, I have terrible news."
Casey's face turned red with fury. "This is outrageous! I was-"
"Silence." Sam sat up straighter in his seat. "Casey, you are dismissed for now."
"B-but..." Casey stuttered.
"Out!"
Casey turned and all but ran from the room, the doors shutting behind her.
"Dante, what happened to my brother?" Sam's voice was soft, almost pleading. His eyes were full of sorrow, as if he already knew what Dante was going to say.
Dante stood and put on his most empathetic face. "I am very sorry to report this, but your brother has been killed."
Sam's face lost any semblance of emotion. It was blank, eyes staring off into space. Dante guessed he wasn't prepared for the worst, then.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Dante cleared his throat. "Sir..."
Sam's eyes locked onto Dante. "Did you get his bones?"
Dante was puzzled. "B-bones, sir?"
Sam's expression changed ever so slightly. It was harder now.
"Did. You. Get. My. Brother's. Bones?" Each word was harsh and accented.
Dante swallowed the lump in his throat. What was the importance of a human's bones? A demon's original bones could be burned to kill the demon, but why a human's bones? They're useless.
The look on Sam's face said otherwise.
"N-no, no sir." Sam's eyes hardened even more. Dante was quick to backtrack. "BUT I was explicitly told not to... That is to say, I couldn't... You see, I did try... He was held hostage by these two Pagan Gods... I couldn't take them out on my own..." Dante trailed off as Sam stood up.
"Dante." Sam walked up to the smaller man. "I am leaving in an hour. I need as much demon blood as possible, and if you can't find me what I need, I'll drain you."
Sam snapped his fingers, and Dante found himself in the hallway outside the throne room.
He had to acquire demon blood, and fast.
Sam slowly slid back into his chair and took a deep breath. Dean was dead. Dean got into a sticky situation and didn't have Sam with him to get him out of the mess. Sam doesn't even have Dean's bones.
"Casey." At Sam's call, Casey appeared in front of him.
"Sir." Casey's eyes roamed the room as she offered a small bow, and, upon not seeing Dante, she relaxed.
"Finish your report."
Casey gave a curt nod. "The resistance is based in hell itself, which makes sense because you're based outside of hell..." Casey trailed off awkwardly as Sam glared at her, his patience gone. "Anyways, the leader of the resistance-"
"Lilith."
"Um, yes... Lilith preaches to her supporters about your inferiority because you were born human and therefore aren't strong enough or worthy to rule the legions of hell." Casey finished her report by quickly adding, "Not that I think that!"
Sam thought back to what Alistair had learned from Ruby. "Do you know of any other things she's saying about me?"
At Casey's nod, Sam's heart sunk. "Lilith is telling the demons you are unfit to lead ruthless demons because of your human tendencies, and she gives the example of letting the man in the dungeon live on with minimal torture and allowing your brother to-"
Sam's hand snapped out; Casey's voice stopped as she felt an invisible force choking her neck.
"Do NOT talk about my brother. Your report is finished; leave and make sure everyone else knows not to mention him EVER." Sam dropped his hand, and Casey fell to the ground, coughing.
As Casey scurried away, Sam popped down to the cells. He needed to blow off a bit of steam before he went to collect his brother's bones.