AUTHOR'S NOTE 1: Please read the author's note at the end of the chapter if you want to continue to read this story. I don't own Supernatural. Stay with me I have a few surprises at the end of this story waiting.
Running Away and Staying a While
By: giddyfan
Chapter 5
They are driving in the Impala and pull up to a nondescript building. All of them get out of the car. "This is the address?" Dean questions.
"Yeah," Sam confirms. Roxanne is hesitant to come here. She hasn't seen Castiel since he found out she has the Mark of Cain. They are about to knock on the door when it opens. A man stands there and looks over them.
"If you'll follow me, the Commander will see you now," the man conveys.
"The Commander?" Dean wonders to Sam and Roxanne. They are led into Castiel's command center. It is a large room equipped with state of the art spy and tracking devices, computers, and it is well-staffed. To Roxanne it looks like something from a James Bond movie. They enter an office that Cas is in.
"Sir," the man announces their presence. Cas turns around and smiles at them. He comes over and gives Dean, Sam, and Roxanne each a hug.
"Um...dismissed," Castiel says to the man. The man leaves closing the door. "He can be a little stuffy," Castiel comments to them.
"So...commander?" Roxanne inquires.
"Yeah, not my idea. They had no leader, and they insisted on following me," Cas explains. There are only two chairs and a desk with a chair behind it. Dean offers Roxanne one of the chairs which she is surprised but accepts. Sam sits in the other chair. Cas offers the chair behind the desk to Dean but he waves him off and stands behind Roxanne. Cas sits in front of, on the edge of the desk.
"Yeah. No, we get it. You're a rock star," Dean remarks.
"Bartholomew is dead. Malachi was murdered by Gadreel, and with Metatron as powerful as he is now, I needed to do something," Cas discloses.
"So this war between angels is really gonna happen, huh?" Sam asks.
"Not if I can find a diplomatic option for getting rid of Metatron," Castiel remains hopeful.
"Good luck with that," Roxanne replies skeptically. From what she had seen of angels, Castiel was the only one who wasn't a complete dick.
"Roxanne, this angel-on-angel violence, it has to end. Someone has to say, 'enough.'," Castiel defends.
"And that someone is you?" Sam inquires.
"That brings me to why you're here. We have a prisoner. It's an angel from Metatron's inner circle. I need to know what they're planning, but so far, he's revealed nothing," Castiel informs them.
"So, you're done with the rough stuff, and you want us to be your goons?" Dean questions.
"Well, you've had success at these situations before. If you don't want to do it, I understand," Castiel responds.
"Who says I don't want to do it?" Dean wonders. Dean hasn't told everything about his past to Roxanne. However from what she has gained from Dean and Sam was that Dean went to Hell to save Sam and there he tortured people before Castiel rescued him. They go into a small blank looking room. The three walk in a see a male angel tied to a chair. His vessel has blonde hair and he seems to be around mid-forties.
"You're wasting your time. I have nothing to say," Ezra (as they figured out his name is) declares.
"We disagree," Dean contradicts.
"There's no use torturing me. I am a trained commando. It won't work," Ezra claims.
"Wow. Well, you just asked us to dance," Roxanne gets a little frustrated.
"Roxanne! He won't be telling us anything dead. Besides, you know, I'm really starting to realize that he probably doesn't know anything. He was probably just pretending at the bar. Most likely, he's a nobody. I mean, do the math. Ezra here is one of Metatron's elite posse? Really? One of Metatron's most trusted is hanging out at bars, blabbing about the boss. Does that make any sense?" Sam plays a different angle. Roxanne and Dean pick up on it immediately.
"Well, only if Metatron is purposely surrounding himself with losers," Dean follows.
"Exactly! Right?" Sam asks the last part to Roxanne.
"Yeah, what's this guy even doing here?" Roxanne inquires.
"He's a wannabe. I mean, if he was a key player, he would be up in heaven with Metatron where all the action is," Dean teases.
"Exactly," Sam confirms.
"What if I'm a decoy? Or in deep cover?" Ezra starts to get nervous.
"It's pathetic," Roxanne insults.
"Mm, probably hasn't even been to heaven, not since the fall," Dean agrees.
"Of course not!" Sam puts in.
"Yes, I have," Ezra expresses.
"Buddy, the gates are sealed. No one can get in," Sam tells the angel.
"Who said anything about gates? You don't need gates when you have a private portal," Ezra brags.
"Right. If there was a doorway on earth, the angels would've sensed it," Roxanne states.
"Yeah, you can't hide something like that," Dean speaks.
"No, you can't," Sam delivers.
"You can if it moves around from place to place, if it's wherever the boss wants it to be," Ezra answers not realizing he is giving them the information they need.
"Oh, I got it. So, you heard a rumor about Metatron's 'secret portal', and you decided to run with it," Sam theorizes.
"It's not a rumor. He showed me," Ezra replies.
"I get it. He's a fan," Dean jokes.
"A fan. Yeah," Roxanne mutters.
"You're a fan. Just 'cause you're hot for Metatron...or Bieber or Beckham...just 'cause you know everything about them doesn't mean that you actually know them," Dean works with what he said.
"Or that they even know you exist," Sam rubs it in.
"Ooh, that's cold, Sam," Roxanne pretends to reprimand.
"I'm just saying the truth," Sam defends.
"I was interviewed personally by Metatron for a key post," Ezra boasts.
"Yeah? Oh, wow. Well, then maybe you can tell me why you weren't at your key post and you were hanging down here instead," Sam points out.
"Now, that blows. He got passed over," Dean guesses.
"Yeah. Must have been rough," Roxanne comments.
"I was a finalist," Ezra sadly responds.
"Oh, man. To get so close and then get kicked downstairs. It sucks to be you," Sam remarks.
"Hardly anybody was chosen! And ground forces is still a very important assignment. It was an honor to have even been considered for the squad," Ezra reports.
"What 'squad'? There is no squad," Dean disbelieves.
"Yeah, says you. It's a highly guarded secret," Ezra reveals.
"Oh. And what you be doing, exactly?" Dean questions. Ezra doesn't say anything and hangs his head.
"Wait a second. Just, please, clarify this for me. You desperately wanted this job, but you didn't know what it was?" Sam questions.
"Well, until you were chosen, the exact nature of the mission was kept a secret," Ezra discloses.
"Wow. Wow," Roxanne couldn't believe how stupid he is.
"And…hardly anyone was chosen," Ezra repeats. The three of them leave the room.
"Dim bulb. No wonder he got bumped," Dean comments once the door is closed.
"Yeah. 'Ground forces'? 'Elite secret squad'? What's Metatron gearing up for?" Roxanne asks.
"I don't know. Why don't we shove somebody through the back door of heaven and find out. Oh, wait. No. It's portable and can't be found," Dean complains. The three of them walk down the hallway and go back to Cas's office. Later, that day they find out that Ezra has been murdered.
"It's unbelievable. I mean, he was fine when we left him," Sam disbelieves.
"I barely touched the guy," Dean defends.
"All we did was punch him a few times," Roxanne puts in. She can't even believe that this happened.
"Still shackled, no weapon. It wasn't suicide," Sam tries to figure out.
"No. This was an angel kill," Cas discloses.
"Okay. Well, I'm gonna say it. Maybe your operation's been hacked. You know, Metatron's got somebody on the inside," Dean points out.
"I was sure everyone here was loyal. Finally united by a common cause," Cas argues.
"Well, that's the problem. See, you don't think anybody's lying. I think everybody's lying. It's a gift," Dean brags. "Let's do some nosing around," Dean says to Sam and Roxanne. Dean and Roxanne leave. Roxanne hears Sam get called back by Castiel.
Roxanne is sitting thinking about what happened when she first held the Blade. Roxanne is tied up against a post. Magnus grabs Roxanne's hand and puts the blade in it. "Give me your hand. That's it," Magnus urges. Roxanne takes the First Blade, and the Mark begins to glows. Roxanne looks at the Mark on her arm. "Drop the Blade, Roxanne!" both brothers yell at her. Roxanne drops the Blade.
Roxanne hears someone calling her name, "Roxanne! Roxanne. Roxanne," Sam shouts. Roxanne is brought back to reality.
"What's wrong with you? You hear your phone?" Dean wonders. Roxanne looks at her phone and sees that Crowley is calling.
"It's about time. Where the hell have you been? And why are you calling my phone and not Dean's?" Roxanne answers.
"I told you I'd be in touch when I'd found Abaddon. Well...I'm in touch. Plus, your voice is so much prettier than Dean's," Crowley responds.
"Where are you?" Roxanne asks.
"First things first. I'll give you the location of the First Blade. You three fetch it, I'll keep her in my sights, and then we'll remove her from the payroll for good," Crowley offers.
He gives Roxanne the location and she writes it down. The three of them inform Cas they are leaving and head to a cemetery. It is night by the time they get there. Sam and Dean open the coffin that Crowley indicated the Blade was. Roxanne stands behind the boys making sure they have enough light.
"Oh! Come on, Crowley! You really have to hide the Blade in a corpse? Not with a corpse but in a corpse?" Sam questions. The look and smell makes Roxanne want to throw up.
"I got to say, it's not the first place I'd look. All right, here we go," Dean goes to reach into the corpse. Suddenly they hear growling in the distance.
"Do you two hear that?" Sam says after him and Dean stop what they're doing.
"I'm guessing Hellhound," Roxanne guesses. Next they hear a low growl.
"Go. Go!" Dean yells. They run and lock themselves behind a gate. The hellhound is growling and clawing at the gate. Dean calls Crowley while helping Sam and Roxanne hold up the gate. Roxanne can only hear one part of the conversation through the noise of the Hellhound. "Damn it, Crowley, the grave is guarded!" Dean shouts at the king of hell. "A Hellhound!" Dean tells Crowley. "The hell she was!" Dean responds to whatever Crowley said.
"Guys!" Sam yells after a particularly hard hit against the gate.
"I little help here," Roxanne shouts after another hit.
"I'm gonna put you on speaker!" Dean tells Crowley.
He presses a button and then Crowley's voice commands, "Juliet? It's papa. Stand down." The Hellhound does. "You're welcome," Crowley says and hangs up. The three of them sigh a breath of relief. From what the boys have said of their experiences of Hellhounds, she didn't want to encounter one again.
The trio walks up the grave and kneel down. Roxanne goes to reach into the grave, "All right. Here it goes."
"Hey, you know what? Maybe, I should do this," Sam suggests before she can grab it.
"Sam, it's fine. I can safely grab it without stuff happen...," Roxanne starts. Dean reaches into the corpse and retrieves the Blade before Roxanne can.
"Let's go kill a knight of hell," Dean comments and walks away. On the way Roxanne calls Crowley.
"Betty. I hope you were nice to your father," Crowley answers.
"What? Of course I am. Who is Betty? I am not Betty? Whatever, look we got the Blade," Roxanne replies irritated about Crowley's flirting.
"You do? Well, you need to get it here at once. Cleveland, Humboldt Hotel. Penthouse, of course. When you get here, I'll take you to Abaddon. I'll draw her out, and then you can skewer the ignorant hag," Crowley plans.
"All right, we're on our way," Roxanne says suspiciously.
"Oh, and tell Dean you need to get a move on. It's a good day's drive from Poughkeepsie," Crowley reminds. Roxanne perks up and looks at Sam with a worried look on her face. She remembers from her first adventure with Dean the code word.
"All right I will be sure to tell him to hurry it up," Roxanne replies trying to seem normal. She hangs up the phone.
"What's the matter" Sam asks.
"He was flirting with me," Roxanne tells them. Dean nods to Sam and then looks at Roxanne through the rearview mirror. He gives her a hard stare that Roxanne gets to mean 'gear up'.
"So, we good?" Sam inquires.
"Yeah," Dean agrees.
"Yes," Roxanne sighs and prepares to kill a Knight. They pull up to the hotel that Crowley told them he was in. It is a sunny day out as they get out of the car. Sam still has the Blade in his hand.
"All right. Let's do this," Sam is ready.
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a sec. We should split up and search for demons. When I am fighting Abaddon I don't want to be distracted by a bunch of other demons coming at me," Roxanne tells the brothers.
"Well okay?" Sam answers suspiciously.
"So why don't you check out the basement Sammy. I'll, take a look outside and Roxanne can take the main floor," Dean plans out.
"Great let's go," Roxanne agrees. Sam gives Roxanne the blade and they go their separate ways. Roxanne uses her plan to automatically go to the suite. She slowly enters the suite and sees Crowley sitting there.
"Hello, Roxanne. Love the crazy whatever it is in your eyes. Let's not waste time. I'll take you to Abaddon. It's not far," Crowley expresses.
Abaddon enters the room saying, "A little girl who is playing with adult toys. Not enough to destroy the new queen." "So, first...you'll die...painfully. And then Crowley will watch his son die, ditto, and then the king himself. And Blade destroyed. That's quite a to-do list," Abaddon lists.
"Do you ever stop talking?" Roxanne complains.
Abaddon pins Roxanne to the wall with a flick of her hand and she struggles to get free. Finally she does and she struggles to get to Abaddon. It's as if she is walking against a strong wind. Abaddon struggles to keep Roxanne away but, eventually managing to pin her to the wall again. Roxanne accidently drops the Blade leaving her weaponless. The mark on her arm is burning brighter than it ever has. Just as Sam and Dean burst into the room Roxanne uses the mark to call the Blade to herself with telekinesis. This causes her to break free fully of Abaddon's spell. With the Blade in hand, Roxanne gets to Abaddon and stabs her in the stomach, lifting her off the ground with supernatural strength. Abaddon dies in a massive flash of red light screaming. Roxanne still filled with anger and influenced by the Mark, stabs Abaddon's dead body several times more.
"Roxanne. Roxanne! Roxanne!" Sam yells.
"Stop! You can stop," Dean shouts at Roxanne. Roxanne drops the bloody Blade and stares at it plus her hands in shock as Sam, Crowley, and Dean do the same.
"A little help here?" Crowley requests gesturing to the bullet wound in his shoulder. Sam goes over to look at it. Dean puts a hand on Roxanne's shoulder and gives her a 'Are you okay?' look. Roxanne hesitantly nods and they both go over to Crowley and Sam. Removing the bullet from his shoulder himself with a large knife Crowley complains, "You could at least - aah! - help me with this."
"We didn't kill you, Crowley, even though it would've been very easy. Isn't that enough?" Sam inquires.
"You owe me. Do I get no credit for warning you this was a trap?" Crowley questions. Sam and Dean look perplexed. ""Poughkeepsie" ring a bell? I sense drama," Crowley teases.
"I just still can't get over the fact that Crowley has a son," Dean comments.
"How's he doing, by the way?" Roxanne asks feeling sorry for the kid.
Finally getting the bullet Crowley answers, "Ow! How do you think?"
"You get that he's got to go back, right? To his own time?" Dean inquires.
"If the lad goes back, his destiny is to board a ship bound for America. That ship went down in a storm. All hands were lost. He had one chance in this world to change his life. You want that to all end in tragedy?" Crowley explains.
"Well, I don't know what to tell you. Them's the rules. He goes back," Dean demands.
"The lore all says the same thing, you change any one thing in the past, the ripple effect impacts everything that follows," Sam informs Crowley.
"Please. No one bends the rules like you three bend the rules. He's one misfit kid. He impacts no one," Crowley begs.
"You don't bend that rule, okay? You don't. We'll take him back to the bunker, figure out the spell. That's the way it's got to be," Roxanne reiterates getting frustrated.
"Can I at least say goodbye? I'll cheer the day when the last trace of humanity leaves me. Feelings," Crowley wonders making a face. Crowley enters the bedroom where his son is waiting. After a moment Crowley magically closes the doors. The three of them run over and open the door to find the room empty.
"Damn it, Crowley!" Dean expresses Roxanne's thoughts exactly. The boys and Roxanne silently pack up and start on their way back to the bunker. It is night before the boys ask why she didn't warn them.
"I didn't tell you about the warning because I knew exactly what you would do. You would make sure that you were right alongside me going in that room," she explains.
"You mean like we should have been?" Sam wonders.
"Because we would have watched each other's backs?" Dean supports Sam's point.
"I don't expect you two to understand," Roxanne brushes them off.
"Try us," Sam challenges her.
"First time I touched that Blade...I knew. I knew that I wouldn't be stopped. I knew I would take down Abaddon and anything else if I had to. And it wasn't a hero thing. I had to go it alone," Roxanne tries to verbalize.
"Were you just trying to protect us?" Dean tries to understand through why he would do it.
"Even with all the stuff you two have faced you two could've gotten nabbed by Abaddon. She could've bargained her way out and we couldn't have afford to screw this up," Roxanne tries logic.
"Look...I'm glad it worked out, okay? I am. And I'm glad the Blade gives you strength or whatever, but, Roxanne, I got to say...I'm starting to think the Blade is doing something else, too," Sam points out.
"Yeah? Like what?" Roxanne asks kind of offended.
"I don't know. Like, something to you. Look...I'm thinking until we know for sure that we're gonna kill off Crowley, why don't we store the Blade somewhere distant? Lock it up somewhere safe? Okay?" Dean suggests.
"No," Roxanne answers. The car is silent and eventually Sam falls asleep.
"I know what it's like to be tempted by the dark. To give into the dark," Dean states. Roxanne looks up at him and see his eyes through the rearview mirror. "When I was in hell, I gave into the darkness. It was the worst decision I've ever made," Dean continues. "Don't give into it," Dean warns. Roxanne sees Dean glance at her through the mirror. Roxanne nods her head and looks away. She feels like in the end she will have no choice. That it will consume her.
AUTHOR'S NOTE 2: I will continue this story on my new blog. I will post a link on my profile when it is ready. I will also post another "chapter" saying that the next chapter is up on the blog. I will continue to post stories on here but only the first chapter. The rest will be on the blog. P.S. Whoever is the first person to guess who Betty is will get an extra treat from me. Hint think about the characteristics of the nicknames Crowley gives to Dean and Sam.