Covenant/Supernatural cross...in which Dean is more than he appears. Enjoy.
When Dean was thirteen, IT awakened. The single most awful moment of his entire life, if only because he quickly realized even having it was a bad idea considering his father's views on anything not human.
When he was seventeen, he came across a man who would warn him about Ascension. The moment when the Power, as it was widely known, became Dean's life. When even using it would whittle away his life until he began to age prematurely and his life force would become the fuel.
That moment came a year later, on the exact moment Dean was born. Thanks to the forewarning, Dean was able to hide it from his father and younger brother. Unfortunately John made them spend three extra days trying to track the source of the unusual lightning without a storm.
From then on, Dean vowed never to use the Power if he had any other options. The rush was addicting, but the potential cost was too great. Particularly if a fellow hunter saw him using it and got ideas. Eventually, Dean forgot he had the ability to do amazing things just from the power of his will alone.
Until the day Sam was taken by the yellow-eyed demon Azazel, and forced to fight against his fellow demon-blood psychics.
Dean saw what was about to happen. Saw the other psychic walk up behind Sam directly where his back was. Knew that the man was planning to kill his brother.
Sam was looking right at Dean when his eyes flashed an ominous black color for a split second...and felt something pass by him before he heard the soldier being thrown violently away from him.
Sam hadn't even known he was there.
"Dean? What did you do?"
Dean breathed heavily, as his own mental block that kept him from ever wanting to use the Power had snapped. Like a twig.
"We need to go, now, before those damn demons send something else after us," he said, not answering the question.
The entire way back to Bobby's, Sam kept giving Dean worried looks. It wasn't until they were firmly in the panic room and Dean proved he wasn't a demon that they practically pinned him down and demanded answers.
What he said was the one thing they never expected.
"I'm a warlock."
"Warlock?" said Sam in disbelief.
"It started when I was thirteen. I woke up one morning with these weird abilities, but the second I found out they made my eyes turn black I quit using them. Then I met someone who recognized the Power, and he told me what was happening. He also warned me about the Ascension, and about the Covenant."
"Hold up one minute. What exactly is this power?" asked Bobby, not reaching for the gun quite yet. Knowing Dean, he had likely forgotten about his abilities until John died, for good reason.
"They don't know the origin, or how it came to be. All that is known is that the first born son of any family born to it automatically receives it when they turn thirteen. That's just to test them, prepare them for the Ascension when their Power becomes tied to their life force. It's addicting, and once you Ascend it consumes you every time you use it. It also, for some reason, turns your eyes black when your using."
"So how come you have it and John didn't?" asked Bobby.
"From what I was told, the last direct descendant was killed shortly before it turned thirteen, and since dad was too old, it went to me instead. We're the last remnants of a family from the Salem Witch Trials, and because the other part of the family died before passing on the bloodline, it jumped to the branch family that never inherited anything, because they came from the second son."
"So..."
"So Sammy would never inherit the power, because he's the second son, not the first," explained Dean.
Thought he might awaken the Power if Dean Willed his to Sam, but there was no way Dean would do that. Mostly because if he did, he'd die. No exceptions.
Bobby looked at Dean, who was the picture of miserable. It was clear the man he had practically raised hated using the Power, if only because he knew for a fact his father would have killed him if he had known.
Son or not, John never would have tolerated a Warlock in his bloodline, never mind that Dean had no say in it. He'd only get worse to the point he'd hunt down whatever demon Dean had made an agreement with on top of trying to kill the one who murdered his wife.
And there was a precedent, but the Covenant was very strict on the whole "No talking to Outsiders" part. The only reason he told Sam was because they were brothers, and because he knew Bobby wouldn't leave it be.
"Your secret's safe with us, son. I've known you two practically your entire lives and I can see how much it hurts you to even consider the idea we'd reject you over a power you developed a long time ago. We handled Sam's psychic powers, we can handle your Warlock ones," said Bobby.
Dean visibly relaxed. He had been terrified they'd reject him once they knew.
"Idjit," said Bobby, lightly whacking Dean on the head. Dean took the admonishment for what it was.
Twelve months and fourteen days...
Dean wasn't happy. He had been tricked into a deal in order to save his brother, and he knew something was up with how smug the demon was after he agreed to sell his soul. He had been given a scant year before the Contract came due.
And now he was planning something that was strictly against the rules of the Covenant. Something he knew had never been done, much less attempted before.
He was going to Will his power to his brother...a second son.
Such a thing had never been done, and to do so was an instant death sentence no matter who he Willed his power to.
Dean was looking at the house with trepidation. He knew he was going to die today, whether by hell hound or because of a suicidal stunt that would kill him without fail.
They left Bobby behind as he went to put a cross in the water supply to make into holy water.
"Sam."
"Yeah Dean?"
"After today, I want you to promise me something."
"What?" asked Sam, suspicious.
"No matter what, if this works I want you to go to Ipswich, Massachusetts and ask for the four sons. They can explain better than I can, even if they're one of the older families. Tell them as much as you can, but don't be surprised if the Covenant takes an interest in what I did. Or if it's stronger than it should be considering..." said Dean, not wanting to think about it.
"Considering what? Dean, what are you planning?"
"It's a last resort. I'd rather die knowing I did something to protect my baby brother than to let a damn hell hound eat me alive," said Dean. "Just remember that the Power does have a source, and it's not like your fake psychic powers. It's addicting and you have to remember that overusing will kill you faster than a demon can."
"Dean...what are you going to do?"
"Something that's forbidden," said Dean, not answering the question. He was going to die tonight, but he'd be damned if he gave that white-eyed bitch the satisfaction of being the one to kill him.
Stalking through the house, Dean was openly relieved when he realized the demon bitch wasn't in the little girl anymore. Seeing the family escape to the basement until the fight was over (because if they tried to leave the house they'd be killed without question by the demons waiting) Dean turned to Sam.
"Remember Sammy, ask for Caleb, Pogue, Reid or Tyler. They'll explain everything, if this works."
Sam nodded...he really didn't want to lose Dean but he'd act out his last wishes.
Barricading themselves in a room facing the street, Dean Used a little to make a thunderstorm appear in the area. It would help mask what he was about to do, even if Bobby ended up a little wet as a result.
It wasn't until "Ruby" smirked at them that he realized it was actually Lilith. Her true form was...horrifying, to say the least.
Sam was quickly pinned to keep him from interfering, but it was Dean she was more interested in. He could feel the Contract closing in. He heard the baying of the hell hounds as they were eager to feast on him.
He spared a single glance at his brother before Sam realized Dean was about to act on whatever insane plan he had come up with.
He spoke the forbidden words of the Covenant. One of the few things they were never supposed to do, because of the consequences.
Looking his baby brother in the eye, Dean spoke with the conviction of an older brother who spent almost his entire life protecting his little brother from harm.
"I Will Sam Winchester My Power."
Six little words, but the effect was damn near instant. A split second before the Contract came due, the storm outside slammed into Dean as his eyes turned a bone white. Lightning struck through him into Sam, and Dean felt the Power being ripped from his body...and going into Sam's.
He felt his soul depart, unaware that because of him breaking some of the Covenant's laws, he'd escape Hell. Though in some ways the place his soul ended up was far worse.
Dean's attempt to protect Sam had unforeseen consequences, and not just because Dean's soul went to Purgatory rather than hell through a technicality Lilith hadn't anticipated.
Sam was the first second-born son to inherit the Power, and he went through a sudden Ascension because he was well over the age of Majority.
The ripples of the Power caused anyone who had access to the energy to sit up and wonder what was causing it, despite being nowhere near the area.
It wouldn't be until a scant week after Dean's death that the effects became known.
All over America and in parts of Europe, second-born sons of the Covenant under the age of eighteen, or just turning thirteen were waking up and suddenly finding themselves with the very power that their elder brothers had. Something they had resigned themselves to the fact they would never inherit it, or be considered a candidate for.
And that was worrying the Elders, who scrambled to find an explanation for the sudden awakenings.
A month after Dean's death, Sam drove his brother's car to Ipswich and started to ask around.
It wasn't until he became frustrated enough to Use that they found him instead.
Sam's presence on their 'turf' (which really only held the remnants of the Salem families) wasn't the reason why the Sons of Ipswich were having trouble adjusting to him being one of them.
It had everything to do with the fact that Sam was second-born, and according to the Covenant rumor mill, a lot of second-born sons were suddenly developing a connection to the Power that hadn't existed before. All under eighteen, and none of which had displayed any inkling to having the Power previous to a few weeks ago.
It wasn't until Sam explained why he was even there, and how he 'woke' his connection to the Power, that even more questions were raised, and very few were properly answered.
One thing was for certain.
When Dean Willed his Power to his younger brother, he somehow woke up a connection to all second-born sons of the Covenant families under the age of eighteen.
On the plus side, they did put Sam's worries about Dean to rest.
"Wait...when Dean Willed me his power, he slipped through a loophole?" said Sam incredulous.
"It's a well documented fact among the Covenant that anyone who Wills their Power away get sent straight to Purgatory. Though very few used that to escape hell."
Sam looked openly relieved.
"I hope you don't mind studying obscure books," said Pogue.
"I'm the bookworm of the two of us. Dean barely got through high school and I almost got into law school in Stanford," said Sam.
Caleb shared a look with Pogue and the others.
"You know there is a way you could fast track your application back into law school. The Covenant could use a good lawyer who already knows about the Power."
Sam considered that. He did still want to be a lawyer and have a normal life before...but he didn't want to abandon his brother.
"Besides, there's little you can do to get Dean back if he's in Purgatory. They can't bring someone out of limbo like they can hell," said Pogue.
Sam drooped. There was very little he could do, as he had never been that enthusiastic about hunting to begin with. And he had already tried to bring Dean back with another deal, but the demon had laughed to his face saying NONE of the demons would be interested in Dealing with Sam.
Besides, he still had to find out what exactly he could do, and reading the old books would be a good way to get his mind off Dean...and away from that lying bitch Ruby.
She couldn't have said something about Lilith having the damn contract sooner!?
Sam's return to formal schooling to finish getting his law degree was met with almost no fanfare at all, save from the limited amount from the Covenant upon learning his situation.
They approved of his dedication to his older brother, and the fact he was serious about his studies. Because he was a hunter...and technically dead in the eyes of the law... Sam registered under his mother's maiden name to avoid suspicion, and because he had never liked his dad that much anyway. For the first time in his life he had home tutors, a home to sleep in, and a proper support base to work with.
Needless to say Ruby was less than pleased when she finally found where Sam disappeared to. Less so when the head of the family Sam was staying with to get his law degree used his Power to forcibly remove the demon witch from the body she was possessing and throw her out.
Sam had mentioned past run-ins with demons, but he had never said anything about them actively searching for him.
He was quietly moved into another state with another family, and his tutors alerted. Until he left of his own free will, or got his degree, he was going to be kept from any demons trying to get to him.
He was too valuable (and interesting) for the Covenant to let some filthy pit denizen get his hands on him, and he represented some of the last members connected to the old Salem families not tied down. Most of the Ipswich four had already married, and none of them had demonstrated the power that John Putnam had, which was inherited only by his bloodline.
At least they let him talk to Bobby, even if they had him sign a binding nondisclosure agreement to keep his mouth shut about the Covenant.
