Hello readers! Well, I am glad I am getting back on board with this story :) Little poll for you guys- should I keep this rated PG 13 or maybe go into some sexy times...nothing *too* explicit though, I promise. It would mostly be details on "soul-mixing" that is required to make the children of light, and its a lot less boring than it sounds, haha. If I get enough support I'll try to continue this into the fluffiness these poor whumped characters finally deserve, haha. Thanks for reading!
"Dean," Castiel's eyes slipped open and he blinked. Dean stirred groggily. Cas had his arm hooked over Dean's midsection, his forehead pressed to his back and their legs tangled together underneath the covers. But of course, they hadn't done anything tonight (except a lot of kissing, which had already overwhelmed poor Cas in itself).
"Hmmmm?" Dean asked sleepily. "Cas? S'matter?"
"I don't feel James or Henry in the house any longer." The angel's voice was clearer and much more sharp than Dean's sleepy voice. Dean shuffled in the covers and slipped to rest his back on the backboard, rubbing his eyes.
"Think they're...they've dissappeared? Already?" He asked, yawning and letting out a happy sigh as Cas came and snuggled up to him once again, wrapping his arms around his torso and resting his head on his shoulder.
"I don't feel Fenrisulfr's presence here either." Cas explained. "I don't know what's happening."
Dean finally seemed to wake up fully, his body making a slight jerk at his realization. "Aw, hell. Cas, James went after that last demon. I know James and that's what he did."
The two finally pulled apart from each other, Dean pulled on a white tee and his favorite jacket, pulling on jeans and his boots as Cas similarly got dressed, gripping Dean tightly by the arm.
"I've completed a scan and I've found them. The three of them are moving fast towards a dark and strong presence that I can only think is the time-traveling demon Mammon. I know you don't like flying, but-" He started, and Dean shook his head. "Trust me. It's fine."
He gave him a quick smooch, like it was the most natural thing in the world, before pulling on his outmost layer of clothing. "Go wake Sam, please."
Dean grabbed his gun, the one that he'd carved a devil's trap into every bullet and a flask of holy water, before rushing out to find Cas and a very disoriented Sam.
"Cas, you said they were moving fast?" Dean asked, an idea dawning on him. "They didn't just angel-poof there?"
"No." Cas said, and was a little surprised when Dean spun around and was sprinting down to the garage.
"Oh heeellllllll no." There was just a big, empty slab of concrete with no sign of his shiny black beauty. "If anything happens to either of my babies, I swear to God..."
"Guess we're flying then, huh?" Sam rubbed his eyes. "Hunting hell's worst at four thirty in the morning. Great."
Henry might not have been a bookworm and science guy like James was, but he wasn't dumb. The two cousins made quite a team when they put their heads together.
Henry and James let Fenris drive when they began to get closer, they both sat in the backseat, clasping their hands together and carving the devil's trap under the ground even before they got there.
James, around halfway through with his side, began shaking and his fingertips trembled within Henry's. His concentration slipped, and the marks he was making became lighter and weaker. James hadn't noticed when he'd slipped forward, his forehead pressing to Henry's, his eyes shut and his fingers trembling uncontrollably.
"Take it easy, cuz. I got it." Henry said reassuringly, crossing over to James's side and making the marks he's barely made stronger. James finally snapped back to reality and was breathing hard, shaking. Henry felt bad and had to remind himself that James wasn't as strong as he was, and the little bugger wasn't the type to complain even if he was being pushed too hard.
Henry finally sealed the trap and also came back to the backseat mentally, his own breathing a little hitched. He'd never made a trap of that magnitude before.
"You scared?" Henry asked James, who was still trying to steady his breathing.
"No way, asshole." James shot back, which earned him a loud chortle from Henry.
Henry looked down at his hands, which now were ghost-like almost down to the very wrist, his fingertips completely invisible by now. "I wonder what's changing." Henry said serenely. "I wonder if our new lives are going to be better, James."
James frowned. "I hope you get your dad back. And that stupid fucking shard out."
"Yeah, bud, me too." Henry said. "And I hope Cas doesn't have to go through all that this time."
"Yeah.." James closed his eyes and a look of pain crossed his face. "What about Hunting? Or what if...cause you're parents would both be there, what if we don't grow up together like before? What if.." A little water snuck into his voice and water shone from his eyes. "What if we're not even friends? What if we barely even see each other and we become those distant cousins who could care less.."
"Stop with the 'what-ifs'." Henry stopped him short. "You already know I'd do anything for you, Jimmy. That's not going to change in our next life, it's probably not going to change ever."
"Okay," James finally agreed, sighing shakily. "I hope things don't feel too different."
"Not like we'd even be able to tell." Henry said, and James snorted.
"You guys are such girls." Fenris laughed huskily from the front seat. "Get your kissing over with 'cause we're here."
He killed the engine and hooked his arm around the seat to look at them. "Oh shit." He said, and the two whipped around and saw Sam, Dean and Cas standing behind the car. All three of them looked pissed.
"Yeah, oh shit." Henry said under his breath.
"Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" Dean was holding his gun and strode up to them. "There isn't even a saying for 'fool me three times'. So I'm just gonna assume it's 'shame on you.' "
"Look. We don't have anything to lose." James spoke up this time. "You're the ones who need to be careful. You're my parents and if you die, I die."
A scream of anguish pierced the air, coming from inside the building, and James still kept his eyes on Dean and Cas.
"There's no way in hell I'm letting you go in there alone." Dean growled. "I won't let myself let you get hurt like that again."
"What, dad, stabbed?" James frowned. "Please. I don't even have a scar. It just comes with the job!"
"A job I never wanted you to have!" Dean shot back. "Jamie-"
"He's right, Dean." Cas interrupted him. "We can't risk you being hurt."
Dean stammered. "Me getting hurt?"
"Your brother and you are the only mortals here. If you die..." Cas answered, and Dean rolled his eyes.
"It's either all of us, or no one goes." Dean slipped his hand into Cas's.
The blonde was pacing, blood staining her mouth and getting in her long strands of hair. "What is this, a family reunion?" She spat. "How sweet."
The two half-angels insisted on being in front at the very edge of the devil's trap, sheilding the other three behind them. Fenris was almost lost in the shadows, his huge, black wolf form with his flank to Sam and Dean's backs, his head was lowered and just the beginings of a snarl on his snout.
She made a sweeping motion with her arm, and suddenly Sam was flung across the room, there was a sickening crack as ribs broke. Dean the same, but he was flung the opposite direction, and when he hit the ground, his face was lax and he didn't move.
"Dad..!" Both boys cried out, as Sam breathed raggedly and tried to stand up. Fenris was already there, nosing him to try and help him up. Cas had Dean in his arms, trying to heal him as fast as he could. It left the two boys to face her on their own.
"You fuckin' touch my father-" Henry's hands curled into fists and a small breeze began to ruffle his hair.
James saw Henry in vain trying to produce his shadow of influence, but the three-dimensional shadow didn't get very far past the small glow of his skin. Henry, what's happening? James shot out the thought, and Henry closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
"Looks like someone's having a little trouble?" The demon flicked her tongue across her teeth. "What's the matter? Baby doesn't know what to do?"
The blonde woman smiled smugly. "I know all about you two. You've been tracking me, and badly at that, for months. One of you is part-archangel. And I know all about those fancy schmancy powers of yours, big boy."
Henry tried to concentrate, he extended his arm an opened his palm, taking a deep breath, and James saw a little more of the shadow exude, begining to turn from a glow into a moving plasma, the shadow beginning to sway like flames among his shoulders.
Keep going! James urged, and Henry dipped his head down, a red line of blood dipping from his nose and dribbling over his lips.
"No, no. Don't do that, honey." The demon smirked, her red lipstick pulling to reveal perfect white teeth, and she suddenly made a kind of pushing motion, and Henry let out a gasp and his knees buckled, James quickly wrapping his arms around his torso to stop him from hitting the ground.
"What did she just do?" James whispered into his ear, helping him to stumble to his feet. His whole chin was glistening with blood, his nose was streaming now from both nostrils.
"She has her own." Henry coughed out. "Fucking Christ, she has her own."
James had to concentrate a little harder than usual to see it, but Henry was right. The woman had her own shadow, whipping around the room, most of it circling around Henry and pushing his down, not letting him use his.
Fuck. She must have consumed thousands of demons to gain that kind of power.
"James." Henry wheezed, he'd gone back to square one, and his shadow had snapped back to a resting state once again. "There's only one thing I can do now, James."
His cousin understood without Henry explaining. He remembered the dream that he'd had a few nights ago, Henry with a strange suited man standing behind him. He realized now, it had been the devil. And the only way Henry would be strong enough to rip out this demon's soul...
James cupped his face, Henry's cheek was damp with sweat and he was shaking, he dragged his hand over his mouth but only smeared the blood. "I have to do it," Henry coughed out, and James was shaking his head.
"We can kill her other ways!" James squeezed Henry's shoulder, hard. Still, it didn't produce much of a squeeze, the transparency had crept down to his forearm already. "Please."
"I have to do this, James." Henry closed his eyes. He let go of his cousin's shoulder in shock, he saw what he most feared. Henry was using that shard, pulling it bigger, letting it take him over, as it pulsed bright and strong. James didn't realize he was crying. Henry tried grinning at him one more time, his eyes squinting like he was looking directly into the sun. "See you in another life, brother."
Once he let Lucifer's grace take him over almost all the way, the demon was incapable of holding him back anymore. Henry's shadow exploded from his body, long tendrils bursting and whipping, tearing up the floors and walls, the largest amount, a piece of darkness like a wave, rushed forward and wrapped around the blonde-haired girl, battling with her until he could reach inside and snake around her blackened soul, gripping tight.
Fires burst to ignite along the far wall and miscellaneously around the room. Dean was slowly coming to in Cas's arms, and he could see through the two boys and see the fires through their bodies as James held Henry from behind, letting his long-legged cousin lean back into him.
Blood was pooling around the two of them as they both began to bleed from the spining substance, they were getting less and less visible as Dean and Cas watched, dumbstruck.
Then, it was just over. Mammon's soul was ripped from her body, black, ink-like substance exploded to every corner of the room, coating the walls in its filth, and everyone in the room.
Dean was the last one to see them; the shape of the two boys, covered in ink-black, before the black splashed to the floor and the shapes disappeared into nothing.
"See you in five years, Jamie." Dean breathed, quickly wiping a tear from his eye. Cas helped him up, Dean groaned as his newly healed bones still throbbed. He was sticky and covered in that black stuff, it reminded him of Leviathan blood.
"Let's go home, Cas." Dean said as the angel wrapped his arm around his stomach, helping him as he limped over to Sam and Fenris.
Sam was leaning onto his step son, his face still a little pale from the pain. "I guess they're gone, then, huh?" Sam said sadly, finally relaxing a little as Cas healed his broken bones.
"Not forever." Dean insisted. "We'll see them again. Henry in two years, James in five."
"I guess so," Sam answered, smiling just a little as he wiped his face of the black soul, smearing it a little as he tried to get it off. "What a damn trip."
"Let's head home and get all this off." Dean said, and the four of them couldn't agree more. They were careful not to slip on all the sludge as they made for the doors.
Sam washed Fenris off in the hose outside, and the man looked like he was having the time of his life as the gigantic black wolf shook and sprayed water drops everywhere. Sam always had been a dog person. He looked like a little boy with his chrismas wish that had came true.
Dean and Cas went inside to shower. Of course, the angel could have cleaned himself without it, but he wanted to see what all the hype was about as Dean bragged that nice showers were basically the third on his list of best things, below #1 (sex) and #2 (really good food).
Dean washed Cas's hair for him and the two watched as black swirled down the drain and was replaced with clean white suds.
Cas said that he liked kissing in the shower because the warm water ran down his face and into his lips as he kissed at that it was nice. Dean agreed. Cas said he didn't like it when the stingy soap got in his eyes. Dean said he'd try to make sure he'd be more careful next time. Cas said he liked the fluffy towels and he wished he and Dean wouldn't have to share one because then Cas would never get dry with Dean's slippery skin on him. Dean laughed for a long time after that.
It's hard to distract yourself after a day like that. The bunker felt way too empty now. Fenris had cleaned the makeshift beds on the couch away before they could see them so they wouldn't feel bad. By now the dawn had already broken, but of course all of them were dog-tired.
Fenris had kicked back on the couch to watch television while drinking a beer, as Sam did the same next to him. Dean made pancakes as Cas "helped" (watched with instense interest). And when they went out to the living room again, both of them were fast asleep, Fenris snoring loudly, Sam's cheek pressed to his stepson's jet black hair as his own dark hair fell into his face.
Dean took a picture for blackmail. He wondered if the guy was going to stick around.
Then, with a full belly and sleepy eyes, Dean crawled back into their (God, he'd have to get used to saying 'our bed') bed, the sheets still rumpled in the same place they'd left them, and went to sleep.
Cas closed his eyes and watched Dean dream. Dean dreamt that he, Cas and James had gone out to a diner for lunch, James was probably six and way too enthusiastic about wanting a chocolate malt milkshake. And both of them, Dean in his sleep and Cas with his arms around him, laughed as little boy James wound up squirting chocolate malt from his nose as he tackled the straw and sucked like his life depended on it once the beverage had arrived.
And the new timeline, like a rail line switching tracks, finally clicked completely into place.