So. This is it. *Wipes away tears* The End... *Dramatic music gets cut off* Get it? The End? Cause this chapter is called End. Ah, I am hilarious :D Hahaha! So I wanna say (Write, whatever) one last thank your to all of my reviews and thanks for sticking with me. This is the longest chapter I have written and I hope you enjoy it. *Takes off Fez and bows* Good luck.
Joanna glanced around the church, breathing in and out deeply in pure, sheer boredom. She glanced over at Dean and when he caught her gaze those brown eyes darted away. She turned her eyes instead to the watch beside her hand and sighed at the amount of time left.
She took the small piece of paper that was tucked under the watch and looked it over. Sam had written down the incantation that she'd have to read to cure Dean. She put the paper back down, dismissing it.
Sam had gone back to Rufus's cabin to feed Lucifer and make sure the small kitten was okay; Jo was already missing him. Even though he'd just sat outside in the Impala his presence was still reassuring. Especially after the last time he left.
Heaving a great sigh, she almost missed it when Dean called out her name. She looked up and he was watching her questioningly.
"Yeah?" Yawning widely, Jo blinked with a lethargic slowness, barely paying attention.
"You know when I found you," Dean gradually spoke, haltingly and low, "At Rufus' cabin?" Jo nodded her confirmation with confusion written across her face.
Dean mulled over his words, looking to the leadlight Angel for guidance then back to the huntress.
"Why didn't it work? My powers…" He seemed at a complete loss and if his hands weren't bound, Jo could have seen him staring at them uselessly. So the huntress shook her head, looking at the id bracelet rimming her wrist.
"I don't know," Whispered, so faintly that Dean had to lean forward to catch those words.
Sam returned before the hour was up to silence, eerie and complete silence. It chilled him to the bone yet when the church doors opened at his touch, the two within were still where he'd left them; Dean in his chair, Jo on the table.
"Hey," He called out softly and Jo looked up; there was no smile upon her lips and that small action brought out just how much this cure had weighed her down.
"How's Lucifer?" Jo asked, going back to spinning the id bracelet continuously. Sam made a gesture to the door as if welcoming someone inside. "See for yourself."
A tiny, fluffy bundle of ginger fur raced into the room, past Dean and leapt to Jo's lap. She laughed as Lucifer began to instantly purr, rubbing his cheek against her hand aggressively. Complying, she patted the kitten and he battered her hand in return playfully.
Sam shrugged, "He followed me to the car and wouldn't stay behind so," He laughed mid-sentence, "I brought him with."
Tilting his head, Dean watched the huntress pet the feline as its rumbling purr grew louder. "You got her a kitten?" He partly turned to stare at Sam in aghast shock. "You got her a kitten?" He repeated numbly, blinking as the kitten jumped down from Jo's lap suddenly and padded his way to the demon.
Sam leaned close to Dean as he walked past and whispered, "At least it's not a dog." He stared meaningfully at his brother and noted how Dean seemed to pale at the prospect of a dog in his car.
"You still let that fluff ball into my baby," Dean mumbled just as Lucifer leapt into his lap and dug his claws in. He grimaced and tried to move away from the pain but the kitten started his roaring purr again, mewing softly. Dean sighed in defeat.
Joanna laughed at his expression and in that moment she glanced down at the watch. Her face paled and she looked to Sam for guidance. "Sam?"
The youngest Winchester in that room turned to Jo and he saw what had terrified her so; the final hour had come.
On unsteady and hesitant feet, Sam made his way to Jo's side. He glanced at Dean and their green eyes locked. He nodded to his older brother reassuringly as Jo hopped off the table. Her hands shook terribly and when she grabbed the syringe, it trembled.
Holding the business end of the syringe to her skin, Jo pressed it in. Her pure blood filled the vial and she barely held it together as she took it from her flesh. No blood bubbled in the wound and Jo almost missed it.
Lucifer began to circle Dean's lap, his tail flicking with agitated precaution. Dean barely felt the kitten move about as Jo came closer, slowly and barely keeping her feet under herself.
Sam walked just behind her, that slip of paper in his tightly clenched fist.
Dean tilted his chin, somehow managing to stare down at the hunters while remaining seated. He breathed heavily and with measured movements, he tilted his head to the side. Jo took another step forward so that she stood alongside him, the needle poised in her hand.
She glanced down, shrugging her other arm to move the bandage a bit before fixing her crumpled shirt. Sam's hand rose and fell to her shoulder comfortingly and when Jo looked back at him she saw the watch on the table.
And as that hand struck the hour, Joanna depressed her pure blood into Dean's bloodstream.
Pulling the syringe out and dropping it carelessly, Jo took her dagger from the belt of her pants, her eyes sliding over to Sam. He held up the crumpled piece of paper for her to see. Looking over the words quickly, Jo turned to Dean, her brown eyes closed and she started to say the incantation in a low, breathy voice.
"Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus." Jo cut her palm with the dagger, flinching at the pain.
"Hanc animam redintegra, lustra!" Brown eyes opened and as the final word fell from her lips, Joanna pressed her hand to Dean's lips.
"Lustra!"
Her voice rose to a shout and the blood upon her palm seeped into Dean's mouth, cleansing and healing his broken, flayed soul for the final time. A white-hot light engulfed Jo's hand and Dean, spreading over him and pouring from his eyes and his lips.
With a flash, the light faded and Jo stumbled back, falling into Sam's arms. A growling hiss broke her concentration as Lucifer, who had for some reason remained on Dean's lap the entire time, batted at Dean's jacket warily.
Pushing away from Sam, Jo cautiously walked forward, her arm tingling. The cut on her palm was raw and red, oozing blood down her arm. She ignored that bright sanguine and focused on the man before her.
Dean was slouching against the chains, his eyes shut. His breath came shallowly and he barely stirred. Jo gently reached out with her left hand and pressed it to his forehead. "He's burning up," She looked back at Sam and he walked over, started working at the chains to release his brother.
"Dean? Dean, can you hear me? Dean?" Jo whispered, gently shaking the ex-demon. He groaned, leaning into her palm reassuringly. His fanfiction green eyes opened blearily and Jo laughed with joy. Sam looked up, his hands still working with the chains that refused to relinquish their capture.
Dean groaned again, shaking his head vigorously. He glanced around, grumbling when the harsh light hit him in the face. Looking up at Jo he smiled slightly then that all changed when he glared at Sam over the back of his chair.
"If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you." His voice held a promise and Sam started to smile, a simple act in the face of his brother. The ginger bundle of fur in Dean's lap mewed and Lucifer purred his satisfaction, digging his claws into the flesh beneath him.
Then Joanna's right hand started to glow an eerie golden light.
"Sam? Dean? What's happening?" Her voice was panicked and she kept running her other hand along her arm in a scared manner. She glanced up and locked eyes with Dean pleadingly, "What's happening?"
Sam abandoned the chains securing Dean and he rushed to Jo. He caught her gaze and held it soothingly. "I-It's going to be okay," That little break in his voice scared Jo more than the light ushering from her arm.
"Do you know that?" Jo whimpered, holding her arm away from her body as though it was cursed and dangerous. The way Sam glanced at her arm and the familiar horror in his green eyes told Jo that maybe this time the Winchesters couldn't help her.
Sam saw that uncertainty and he smiled bravely, reaching out slowly to grab her wrist. Dean looked up just before skin met skin and shouted, "Sam, don't!"
His little brother made that comforting gesture to his fellow hunter and then his arm started to glow. It joined with the light shining from below Jo's skin and became undistinguishable from hers.
Then they started to scream.
Jo reflexively grabbed Sam's wrist and their joined arms glowed with a fierce lustre. Joanna's high screams melded with the young Winchester's deeper shout and watching the horror, Dean couldn't tell the difference between those noises of pain.
"Jo!" Dean strained against his bonds but he was too weak; too insignificantly human to break them. He fought and struggled but he could only watch on as that golden light leaked from Sam's body and seeped beneath Jo's skin, sinking in.
Sharp pain flared in Dean's leg as Lucifer dug his claws in, back arched and hissing like a wild cat. The bundle of orange fur swiped the air with his paw, his tail whipping around dangerously. Dean shrugged off the pain and looked back up.
The pair before him writhed in pain yet they stayed on their feet; Jo seemed to collapse at a point but a spasm rushed through her body and it forced her back upright. "SAMMY!" Dean felt that aching pain deeply when they both screamed and he felt useless.
Her knees crumpling and her resolve weakening, Jo started to fall. Sam opened his green eyes and with a mighty yell he tried to pull his hand free of Jo's.
Their hands stayed joined and Dean watched with a horror as the tears began to gather in Sam's eyes; his little brother was helpless to stop whatever was happening.
And then the lights flickered. Dean flinched and looked up as the bulb blew in a shower of glass. It cut into his skin and when he looked back to the duo, that golden glow was the only source of light within the house of God.
The front doors blew off their hinges in a cacophony of broken wood and shrieking metal, and in walked an Angel of the Lord.
Castiel ignored the shocked stare of Dean and stalked towards the hunters. His hand came in contact with Sam and he pulled him away from Jo, sending the Winchester across the floor. Their hands parted and when Joanna looked up to the saviour he brought his fingers to her forehead.
Jo slumped, unconscious.
With piercing blue eyes, Castiel looked up and locked eyes with Dean; the newly re-made hunter breathed a sigh of relief and slumped into his chair. The short cream-brown overcoat that blew out from Castiel's figure swayed when he turned to Sam.
"Sorry," He kind of shrugged before holding out his hand to the Winchester. Sam scoffed lightly before grasping it and was pulled to his feet.
"Cass?" Sam asked, unsure and hesitant in the face of the Angel.
"Sam," Castiel nodded, considering Dean for a moment then greeting him just the same, "Dean."
The three, two Winchesters and an Angel, all appraised each other with a small smile. Sam let out a light laugh and Dean let his own smile fade when he noted Joanna Beth on the floor. She was unconscious and that golden glow had faded from her arm, leaving nothing but unblemished skin.
"Jo?" He asked quietly and both Castiel and his little brother beheld the huntress at their feet.
Castiel started to sway and with an exhale of breathe; he fell down into a slump, those piercing blue eyes rolling up into his head. He twitched for a moment then lay still. Sam lunged to try and catch the Angel but was too far away; all the while Dean gaped at the two bodies.
"Cass!"
Gemma laughed, happy and excited as her fist met the sky in a feat of victory, her troubles and toil finally over. She spun on the spot, showing her face to the sky and its ever glorious light. She laughed again, breathless, before fading into a comfortable silence. She kept spinning slowly before her bright, joyous blue eyes opened and her wavy brown hair fell to a stop, tumbling across her shoulders. She gave the audience a daring look, a challenging smirk creeping over her pale lips. "Bring it on Book Two." She raised an eyebrow mockingly and everything went dark, the echo of her laughter ringing through the air.
Ah! I had to! So obviously, this is not the end; there is a second book! (Fanfic. What. Ever.) I'm trying to think of names for it and all I've got is The Monster and The Defective. So lend me your thoughts! Now, it may take a while for the second one to go up cause I want to have lots of chapter written first (Only got three). So... *Smiles softly and ignores the tears racing down cheeks*
Goodbye Stranger.
Its Been Nice.
Hope You Find Your Paradise.