Chapter 25: Lazarus, Arise!
A/N: Hi! Apologies for the delay taking longer than expected, I was traveling a lot in August and didn't have a lot of time to write. I likely will be covering more episodes with bonus ones for season 4 than I did for season 3, Some stuff may be out of order but there are key episodes I'm very excited about covering! Without further ado HERE WE GO!
The Road So Far...
Once Mia and the stranger had vanished, the loud, bone-breaking noise disappeared. Sam opened his eyes and released his ears to be greeted with the sound of silence. His eyes searched the room for Mia but instead, they fell on his brother, who was dead in a pool of his own blood. Sam began to sob, he crawled over to Dean and scooped him into his arms.
He cried and held onto his brother, he'd been so naive in hoping this day wouldn't come. What he'd give to go back and try to save Dean another way. His eyes filled with tears as he rocked back and forth. Mia had vanished into thin air and his brother was dead, Sam realized at that moment he was completely alone.
Dean Winchester saw a bright flash of light and then nothing. Suddenly, he was engulfed in darkness and felt pressure on his body as though he was lying down. He spread out his arms and legs and found he was encased within a box. He hit the wooden ceiling above himself and was greeted by a landslide of dirt. Dean reached his arms and pulled himself through the dirt until he could feel cool air and sunlight on his hands. He unearthed himself and lay in the grass to catch his breath. He gazed up at the sun shining above him, he never thought he'd feel the warmth of the sun ever again.
After a few moments of rest, he was on his feet, he had no idea where he was although the wooden cross above him told him this had been where he was buried. It seemed as though for some reason or another, he was back on earth. The area around him was surrounded by dead grass and trees. He was overwhelmed with thirst and decided to start walking.
Dean walked until he finally reached an abandoned gas station. He decided to break the glass and enter the store then rushed to the fridge, grabbed the biggest bottle of water he could find, and downed it. He breathed heavily as he took in the place. He headed to a nearby sink and washed his face, arms, and chest which were completely coated in dirt. He noticed that despite being ripped into by the hellhounds his chest looked clean, however, there was a massive red blistered handprint on his shoulder. He touched it and flinched, it burned as though he'd been branded by a hot iron. Dean decided to grab some provisions and figure out how he could find his family.
He explored the shop and took snacks, drinks, and a couple of magazines. The newspaper issue date told him it was September 18th, 2008 which told him it had been four months since he'd died. He reached towards the cash register to see if it had any money he could use when the loud sounds of footsteps crunching on broken glass made Dean jump.
He quickly ducked beneath the cash counter, fearing that people entering might be cops but when he checked the reflection of the blank television screen above him, he saw a group of men in civilian clothing stepping through the doorway. They might have been looters but their flashing black eyes told differently. The group of demons spread out and seemed to be searching the store. Dean glanced under the counter to see if there was some sort of weapon or salt he could wrangle. He dug through papers and boxes but found nothing.
Dean's eyes flickered back to the television screen and saw in the reflection that someone else had kicked through the broken door. This new person wore a full-faced motorcycle helmet, leather jacket, and jeans. The demons charged at this new person who quickly and effortlessly threw them against the walls one at a time. Once all of them were gone, the stranger walked over to an open fridge, grabbed a bottle of soda, and left.
Dean was amazed, whoever this person was they must be an extremely powerful hunter to have taken out so many demons solo. He hopped out of his hiding spot and walked after the stranger, he figured they might be able to help him get back to his family.
He burst out of the gas station and saw that the stranger had mounted a Harley Davidson Road King. He sprinted towards them and called out, "Hey! Hey, buddy!"
The stranger made no attempt to even look at Dean before speeding off out of sight.
Dean cursed, he would have to find another way to get to Bobby's. He glanced around the parking lot until he found an abandoned car and grinned.
After making it to Bobby's, Dean slammed his fists on the front door repeatedly.
Bobby finally opened the door and his face fell.
"Surprise," Dean joked.
"Dean?" Bobby exclaimed in shock, he went to hug him but Dean saw the flash of a silver blade coming at him and he pushed Bobby away.
"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing? It's me!" Dean cried out, grabbing a nearby bench to use as a defensive weapon.
"My ass, you are! You're sick and twisted to use this form," Bobby attempted to slash at Dean.
"I'm not a shapeshifter! I know you're Robert Steven Singer, your wife was possessed by a demon and that's how you got into hunting. You're the closest thing I have to a father," Dean cried out as he dodged Bobby's attacks. Eventually, Dean managed to twist the knife from Bobby's hand and in the process managed to nick his own hand.
"Look!" Dean held up his bleeding hand to Bobby's face and held the silver knife in his other hand showing that the silver wasn't affecting him at all.
Bobby threw his arms around Dean in a bear hug, then released him.
"How did you get out?"
"I have no idea," Dean replied, "I remember being puppy chow, and then I woke up 6 feet under."
"That doesn't make sense," Bobby scratched his chin, "I mean you were ripped to pieces, plus you were buried in the dirt for 4 months, how you're walking around right now is beyond me."
"Why wasn't I burned?" Dean asked, recalling his father's funeral pyre.
"I wanted to but Sam wouldn't have it, he was convinced there was a way to bring you back."
Dean grinned, "Well, I'm really glad he said that. How is Sam doing? And Mia?"
Bobby sighed and sank into his couch, "No idea, haven't heard from him in months. He's been hunting solo mostly. His phone's been disconnected for a while. Mia's fine too, I hear from her every once in a while but she's gone quiet for the last couple of months."
"They're both hunting solo? Did they get into a fight or something?" Dean questioned. He couldn't imagine a single reason why Sam and Mia would separate, he'd been hoping they would take care of each other after he'd died.
"No, just, everyone grieves differently I guess," Bobby mumbled not making eye contact with Dean.
"So Sam's phone is disconnected, but what about Mia's?" Dean offered.
They tried Mia's phone together but it repeatedly went straight to voicemail.
"She probably forgot to charge it," Bobby muttered, shaking his head.
Dean then called a cell provider with Sam's fake identity and information so they would track his phone and send an address to him. He luckily knew all the false identities and numbers that Sam had in his arsenal.
"He's in Pontiac, Illinois," Dean repeated to Bobby, before hanging up the phone.
"That's where we buried you!" Bobby exclaimed.
"I think Sam made a deal," Dean confirmed, "you should have seen the site, Bobby. The grass and trees nearby looked like a nuke went off. It was definitely bad mojo. And I've got this."
He took off his shirt to show the red handprint, and Bobby gasped.
"Must've been from a demon yanking me out," Dean explained.
Bobby grabbed his keys, "Let's go!"
They arrived at the address provided to find to their surprise that Sam was staying in the honeymoon suite of a hotel with a gorgeous dark-haired woman.
Sam, in utter shock at seeing his deceased brother at the door, attempted to swat at him with Ruby's knife but Dean dodged his attack. Bobby exclaimed that he'd verified that Dean was really human and the gorgeous girl decided to take this as a sign to get out and leave the boys to their own devices.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Dean cried, "You trade your soul for mine? Or is there another catch? Why'd you do it, Sammy? I never wanted to come back this way!"
Sam stared in confusion, "I didn't make any deals, I wish I could have but I no one would take me! I even tried opening the Devil's Gate. I tried everything and nothing worked so no, I have no idea how you got out but I swear, it wasn't me. But I'm so sorry it wasn't me."
"It's okay, Sammy, I believe you, there's no need to apologize," Dean reassured his brother. Despite the circumstances, he was beyond happy just to see him again.
Sam let Bobby and Dean in to settle on the couch and shared some drinks from the minibar.
"So wait, if you weren't here to dig me up, why are you in Illinois?" Dean asked.
"I was tracking a group of demons from Tennessee, I've been trying to find Lilith," Sam explained.
"And you couldn't be bothered to pick up a phone?" Bobby exploded, feeling hurt that he'd had very little contact from Sam.
Sam glanced at him apologetically, "I'm sorry, Bobby, I just wasn't in the headspace to hunt with anyone. Mia's offered countless times and I told her this morning that-"
"You heard from Mia this morning?" Dean asked enthusiastically.
Sam cocked his head, puzzled by Dean's enthusiasm, "Uh yeah, she said she's nearby and wanted to meet up to discuss something. She's supposed to meet me in the parking lot in an hour."
Dean grinned at the prospect of seeing her again soon.
"Before we do our little meet and greet with her, we need to have a discussion. If Sam didn't make a deal then-" Bobby suddenly stopped and looked at Sam.
As if reading his mind, Sam shook his head, "It wasn't her. I know that for a fact."
Bobby raised his eyebrows, "You're that sure?"
Sam stood up, "Yes, she was searching for another lead, she…"
He then went silent and furrowed his brow as if he was thinking very hard about something. He turned to his brother, "What do you remember about getting out?"
"I came to, underground then dug myself out of my grave. The site near me looked like it was hit by lightning or something," he answered.
"It wasn't her," Sam confirmed, "but she might have some ideas. Let's head down now, she should be here soon."
The three hunters headed down to the parking lot to wait beside the Impala. Bobby stepped over to his car to make a phone call while Dean and Sam climbed into the Impala to wait. Dean noticed the iPod jack plugged into the dashboard.
"How could you do this to her? I told you to take care of her not douche her up!" Dean cried in horror.
Sam rolled his eyes, "It's just an iPod player, not the end of the world, Dean."
Dean scoffed and unplugged the player before chucking it into the backseat.
Sam couldn't help but smile, it was good to have his older brother back.
"Oh, I think you'll be wanting this," Sam told his brother before pulling the amulet he'd gotten for Dean years ago from around his neck. He'd been keeping it on him since his brother died.
"Thanks, Sammy," Dean smiled.
Their brotherly moment was interrupted by the sound of a motorcycle engine revving nearby. A motorcyclist was pulling off the highway and heading towards the parking lot.
Dean recognized the motorcyclist as the hunter he'd run into at the gas station. He tapped Sam's shoulder.
"That guy is a total badass, he faced a gas station full of demons and slaughtered them all. I saw him when I first came to," Dean told his brother in awe.
Sam smirked at his brother's amazement, "Oh yeah, they are quite the badass. I know them actually, we've worked on some cases in the past. Want me to introduce you?"
Dean nodded and Sam climbed out of the Impala and told Dean to wait. Sam then headed over to the motorcyclist who was parked on the opposite side of the parking lot beneath a neon sign.
The rider recognized Sam and waved enthusiastically as they climbed off the bike. Once Sam was close enough they pulled him into a hug.
Dean was confused by this, Sam was not a big hugger.
The rider popped off their helmet to reveal long wavy brown hair. Dean squinted and realized the rider was Mia!
"WHAT?" He exclaimed in utter disbelief. Mia had been a good hunter, great even, but he'd never seen her take on a bunch of monsters on her own before, not to mention ride a motorcycle.
He climbed out of the Impala and hurried towards her. He was ecstatic to see her again.
"Mia!" He called to grab her attention as he got closer.
Sam stared over at his brother in surprise, "Dean! Wait!"
Mia's head turned and she saw Dean running towards her. Believing him to be a shapeshifter she pulled out a silver knife from her boot and held it aloft.
"Don't come any closer!" She called angrily.
"Mia, it's me!" Dean insisted, ignoring her warning.
Her eyes flashed and she extended her other hand shoving him backward with the force of a Mack truck.
Dean landed on the asphalt on his back and stared up at Mia in complete shock. How the hell did she do that?
"It's him, Mia, I already took him through all the tests, both Bobby and I did, he's back!" Sam exclaimed, jumping between Mia and Dean.
Mia stared at Dean who was still sitting on the pavement groaning in pain.
"He's really back?" She asked Sam in complete and utter disbelief.
"Yep, still not sure how, but it's definitely him," Sam smiled.
Mia rushed to Dean who had just managed to recover from getting the wind knocked out of him and helped him to his feet. She beamed before throwing her arms around him in a bear hug. Dean hugged her back.
"I can't believe you're alive!" She exclaimed squeezing him tighter.
"I won't be for much longer if you keep doing that!" Dean gasped for air.
Mia released him but put her hands on either side of his face and smiled into his green eyes, "You haven't changed!"
Dean gazed at her. Maybe he hadn't changed but she definitely had. She looked so different, the way she carried herself, her voice, her face. Especially her strength, he was amazed at how hard she'd been able to shove him with one hand and yank him to his feet.
"What was with that Hulk shove?" Dean asked in disbelief.
"Oh, sorry about that, not used to my own strength I guess," She responded releasing him.
Sam approached the two of them and cleared his throat. Mia jumped and turned to face her friend, "Uh, like I was saying about those demons you were tracking that got a hold of me, I took out a group of them out but more keep coming. I think I can guess what they are coming into town for."
"You think they might have collectively brought back Dean?" Sam deduced with a skeptical tone.
Before Mia could respond, Bobby appeared with a big smile on his face, "Good news, there's this psychic I know, Pamela, she's great, she can hear the other side, she's agreed to speak with us about Dean, she might be able to figure out what's going on."
Mia rushed to give Bobby a big hug and he returned it happily, "Always good to see you, kiddo."
The four of them agreed it would be a good idea to speak to this psychic and Bobby led the way with Sam and Dean in the Impala, and Mia on her motorcycle. A few hour's drive later they arrived at Pamela's house.
While they waited at the door, Dean turned to Mia who was taking her helmet off, "Since when did you become Evil Knievel?"
She smiled distantly as though she was remembering a private joke with someone else, "It's a family heirloom."
Before Dean could ask a follow-up question, the front door swung open and a young woman a few years older than Dean opened the door. She had dark curly hair and was wearing a black tank top.
"Bobby!" She shrieked in excitement giving Bobby such a tight hug she practically swept him off of his feet.
"These must be the boys and Mia," She grinned and released Bobby.
Her eyes flickered over the three of them individually but lingered on Dean the longest.
"Out of the fire and back into the frying pan, you really are a marvel, aren't you?" She flirted.
She invited everyone inside and explained that she'd attempted several Ouija board sessions but with no results and wanted to attempt a seance to summon whatever had pulled Dean out of hell to see what they were up against. The four of them agreed and she began to set up the room with candles and special tablecloths. Once everything was prepared, the five of them sat at the table and clasped hands.
"To start I'll need to touch what our mystery-being touched," Pamela announced. She released Dean's hand to stroke hers against his inner thigh.
Dean jumped at Pamela's touch and chuckled, "Uh, they didn't touch me there."
He looked at the circle and stood embarrassed, before taking off his shirt to reveal the handprint branded onto his back.
Sam stared in shock and Mia blinked rapidly in astonishment.
Pamela laid her hand on the branded mark and began to chant to conjure the being. At one point she mumbled, "Castiel? Well, Castiel I don't scare easy, I command you to appear."
"Castiel?" Dean asked.
"The being's name," Pamela replied, "they are warning me to look away."
She continued to chant, demanding for Castiel to show their face as static noises began to play on the television and the candles on the table began to shake violently.
"Maybe we should stop," Bobby offered fearfully.
"No, I've almost got it!" Pamela exclaimed.
Mia felt Dean squeeze her hand tightly in fear and she squeezed his back.
Suddenly, the candles on the table shot up in the air and Pamela screamed in pure agony. Her eyes were on fire! She collapsed on the floor whimpering while the candles fell back down and the noises in the background faded.
Bobby and Mia were quick to Pamela's side. Mia cradled her head and placed a hand gently over her forehead. Mia squeezed her eyes shut and she took a deep breath and held it.
"What the hell is she doing?" Dean asked Sam who was currently dialing 911.
"Helping," Sam whispered back. He then began to speak with the operator and stepped out of the room.
Mia released the breath she'd been holding and exhaled loudly, "She'll survive but she'll be blind, whatever she saw literally burned her eyes out."
Bobby heaved a sigh of relief while Mia grabbed a nearby pillow and lay the unconscious Pamela's head on top of it.
Bobby went to the hospital with Pamela while Sam, Dean, and Mia decided to get some food. Mia stepped out to answer a phone call while Sam and Dean gorged themselves at a nearby diner.
"So, I have to ask," Dean mumbled between bites, "how did you and Mia get out? The last thing I remember was Lilith seeming pretty hellbent on killing the two of you."
"Uh, yeah, so she had us both pinned against the wall, and then we felt this super hot blast of light and there was this like glass breaking sound and when we opened our eyes we were fine. Completely immune," Sam explained, "after that, Lilith didn't really stick around."
"Hmm, that's weird… then afterward, how come you and Mia decided to split up?"
Sam paused as though contemplating how to word what he was going to say next. "Um, she had a friend of hers show up, whisked her away, took her under their wing. I heard from her from time to time, but she was focused on one mission and I was focused on another."
"What friend? Peter?" Dean frowned.
Sam smirked, "An old family friend, nobody you'd have to worry about."
"Is he the reason why she's turned into Ghost Rider?"
"Yeah, a little bit," Sam chuckled.
Before he could ask another question, Mia returned and slid into a seat at the head of the table.
"That was Bobby, he called to say that Pamela's doing okay, her surgery went well, she'll be blind for the rest of her life but she'll live."
Dean nodded solemnly, "Just like what you said earlier. How did you know?"
Mia shrugged, "Just a feeling, I saw her injuries they didn't seem life-threatening."
Dean studied her expression. He felt that before he died he was able to read Mia's face fairly easily, but now he felt she was hiding a lot. It was hard to gauge what she might be thinking or feeling.
"At least she got us the name. Castiel," Dean offered to change the subject.
"Yeah, but that's not much to go on," Sam replied.
"It's enough to summon, remember what Bobby did with Lilith? Maybe we can recreate that mumbo jumbo, find its location, or even some sort of summoning spell," Dean offered as he munched on his fries.
"Dean," Sam began, "that Castiel burned Pamela's eyes out for looking at them and you want to summon them? That's insane. What about those demons Mia and I have seen, maybe we can corner them, see if they know something."
Dean shot Sam a look, "Seriously, you want to ask the demons?"
"They probably know something, there must be a reason why they keep coming back!"
Their waitress appeared and put down a slice of pie in front of Dean.
"Gee thanks but we didn't order this," He replied.
The woman ignored him and sat down beside Mia.
"Is this on the house? You hoping for a bigger tip?" Dean joked.
"Sorry, I heard you were looking for us," the waitress responded flatly. Suddenly, her eyes flashed black.
Mia raised her arms defensively but the Demon waitress lifted a hand, "That won't be necessary, we just want to talk."
Two other demons appeared in the form of the restaurant cook and a police officer who loomed nearby blocking both exits.
"Well, well, well, look at you, you lucky duck," the waitress demon said condescendingly to Dean, "What makes you worthy of a rescue?"
"Must be my perky nipples," Dean responded flatly.
Mia choked back laughter, then composed herself.
"I have no idea, why I was saved or who saved me if that's what you're after," Dean continued.
"Right, you have no idea what good samaritan saved you," the waitress drawled sarcastically.
"I don't, and it looks like neither do you," Dean deducted, " Whoever pulled me out is likely way over your paygrade and you're just looking for answers, like us."
The demon sneered at Dean, their silence confirming everything.
"In that case, we're free to just walk out of here then," Dean laughed, "You really do just want to talk, you can't hurt me because you don't want to risk upsetting your CEO or whoever it was that dragged me out."
"I'll rip your tongue out of your throat," the demon threatened, angered by Dean's cockiness.
Sam started at the demon, but Dean shook his head and threw down some cash, "Save it, Sam, they're not worth the trouble."
The three hunters stood, Dean mockingly thanked the waitress for the meal, who growled at him, and then they left the diner.
Mia was impressed they'd made it through the conversation unscathed, Sam was furious.
"We should have taken all three of them out," Sam fumed.
"There might be more than that, for all we know this place is crawling with demons," Dean dismissed.
"I've been killing a lot more than three demons, and so has Mia, we could have taken them all out," Sam insisted.
Mia crossed her arms, "Sam, I've taken out this group already, they just keep crawling back. They were just curious, like Dean said. I think it's best to just let them go, focus our energy on finding Castiel."
Dean shot a smug look at his younger brother and headed towards the driver's seat of the Impala with the intention of heading back to Sam's hotel. Mia followed suit on her motorcycle. Once they returned to the room they pulled through Sam's book collection to see if they could find anything related to Castiel. After a few hours, Dean passed out, sound asleep. Mia was half-asleep but noticed Sam creeping towards the front door with the Impala keys.
She crept up and followed him outside into the hallway. Before he could reach the outside door she called, "Where are you going?"
Sam jumped and turned around to face her, "I can't let those demons just roam free."
Mia sighed, "Do you need backup? Or is your girlfriend meeting you there?"
"She's meeting me. But, you haven't told Dean anything about that, right?" Sam confirmed.
"No, but you probably should, he's gonna find out sooner than later. And if he doesn't find it out from you he's going to be extremely pissed."
"Hey, same goes for you, he's already starting to ask questions about what's happened to you," Sam retorted.
"I'll tell him when the timing is right."
"I'll keep you posted. If Dean asks where I am tell him I went to grab a burger."
Mia nodded and watched her friend drive off. When she returned to the motel room she thought about how she was going to tell Dean about what had happened to her in the past four months. She couldn't find the right time to do it as she didn't want to detract from Dean's own situation.
She decided to take a shower to think things over and headed into the bathroom. As she finished up she heard what sounded like talking coming from the motel room. It sounded as though someone was calling Dean's name. She wondered if Sam had returned already. As she towelled off, she then heard a piercing sound and what sounded like glass shattering and Dean crying out.
Mia burst out of the bathroom, wrapped in her towle, to see the mirrored ceiling and windows of the honeymoon suite had been smashed to pieces with the debris all over the floor. Dean was crouched down, cowering on the ground to protect himself from the broken glass falling from the ceiling.
Once the glass stopped falling, she rushed to him and gently helped him to his feet, brushing debris from his hair and shoulders. She noticed there were some cuts on his hands.
Mia took his hands in hers, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Are you okay?"
Mia nodded and gently squeezed his hands. "What the hell happened?"
"I don't know, I woke up and there was this loud noise, the TV and radio turned on then it started raining glass," Dean explained and looked down to see that Mia was still holding his hands.
Mia softly released him, "Was someone in here? I could've sworn I heard someone talking loudly."
"Probably the radio," Dean offered as he examined the back of his hands. He could've sworn he saw a gash on his hands but they were spotless. In fact, the stinging pain he'd felt was completely gone.
"That must've been Castiel, nothing else could have caused this amount of damage without making itself known," Mia interjected so Dean would be distracted from the miraculous recovery of his hands and not ask any questions.
Dean glanced at the bed next to his suddenly, "Where's Sam?"
"He said to tell you he went out to grab a burger," She responded, feeling slightly guilty for being complicit in Sam's lie.
Dean grunted in annoyance, likely at the fact that Sam had taken the Impala without asking. He grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and began to dial.
"I'm calling Bobby," Dean told Mia, "I want to face this Castiel and settle up, once and for all."
It took several minutes of convincing, but Dean and Mia were able to make a concrete plan with Bobby to perform a summoning ritual at a nearby abandoned building. Bobby agreed to meet them there with all the equipment they'd need. Dean decided to not include Sam in the plan, thinking his brother would be completely against it. Instead, he messaged his brother that he, Bobby, and Mia were going out for some drinks and would be back soon.
"Only problem, wherever he is he's got our ride," Dean mumbled to Mia as they packed up their own gear.
Mia, who had changed back into her clothes shook her head, "You forget, I have my bike."
Dean grinned and walked into the parking lot towards Mia's motorcycle with her following behind. He attempted to hop onto the seat but Mia made a loud noise of disapproval.
"Excuse me, who said you could drive my baby?" She said in perfect imitation of Dean.
"Aw come on!" Dean argued.
Mia cocked her head, "Do you have a motorcycle license? Didn't think so."
"And you do?" Dean snorted.
Mia tossed him an extra helmet, "I dated a biker in high school, he gave me lessons and encouraged me to go for it along with my driver's license."
Dean frowned as he watched Mia climb onto the Harley. She'd never really told him a lot about her life prior to joining him and Sam, he wondered what other random skills and talents she had up her sleeves.
"Hop on, let's go!" Mia urged, before placing her own helmet on.
Dean climbed on behind her and tentatively wrapped his arms around her waist. Before he could ask her if she was okay with his hold she revved the engine to life and took off.
Startled by the speed Mia reached, Dean squeezed his arms tighter around her. He couldn't hear over the engine and the roar of the wind but the shaking in Mia's torso felt like she was laughing at him. Feeling slightly embarrassed he loosened his grip slightly. He'd never been on a motorcycle himself, preferring muscle cars but he could appreciate the wonderful feeling of being completely free on the empty highway.
Dean felt another feeling in the pit of his stomach, being so close to Mia was making his insides squirm. Despite having traveled to Hell and back, the shadow of feelings he had for Mia had not vanished. He had no idea what she'd been through in the past four months but whatever it was Mia seemed a lot stronger, tougher, more confident, and sure of herself as a hunter, and as a result, his feelings for her were becoming even harder to dismiss. He'd written off exploring these feelings before because he felt there could be no future for the two of them but now that he was back, maybe he was wrong…
"Alright," Bobby sighed in exhaustion, "we've now officially got every single trap and talisman from every culture, I think we're ready to start the ritual."
The three of them had met at an abandoned warehouse and proceeded to tag the place from top to bottom.
"We've got the weapons ready to go," Mia called from the back of the space, she rolled out the guns, silver knives, salt, holy water, iron, and wooden stakes.
Dean clutched Ruby's demon-slaying knife in his hands, "Ring the dinner bell, Bobby."
Bobby muttered again that this was a very bad idea but reluctantly grabbed some powder, threw it into a bowl, and began to chant in Latin.
Dean gestured for Mia to join the two of them. Mia held her gun in one hand and her silver knife in the other.
After Bobby finished the incantation, there was resounding silence.
"Are you sure you did it right?" Dean asked and Bobby responded with a glare.
"Sorry, touchy," Dean raised his hands.
"Maybe he's not at home," Mia joked and Dean smirked. Their jokes were shortlived as the wind began to pick up shaking the sheets of metal on the roof.
The doors of the warehouse suddenly burst open and a man wearing a suit and trenchcoat stood at the entrance. Mia, Dean, and Bobby jumped into position.
The man began to walk into the building, and each hanging lightbulb exploded into a shower of sparks as he passed underneath. Bobby and Dean began to fire their guns but the man continued unphased. Mia shot her holy water gun but to no avail.
"Who are you?" Dean shouted.
"I am the one who gripped you tight and rose you from perdition," the man responded in a deep gravelly voice.
"Yeah, thanks for that," Dean replied before plunging Ruby's knife into his chest.
The man simply pulled the knife out and dropped it on the floor. Mia's eyes widened, this was no demon.
Bobby took the opportunity to launch at the man with a wooden stake, but the man gingerly touched Bobby's forehead causing him to collapse to the ground.
Mia swung her silver blade towards the man but he used it to swing her around and then touched her forehead as well. Mia's vision went blurry and before she fell, she heard the man's voice.
"Dean, we need to talk, alone."
Dean caught Mia in his arms before she hit the floor. He gingerly laid her down and felt for her pulse. He felt extreme panic and fear that it was his idea to summon this being and his friends were the ones to get hurt because of it.
"They're both fine, they're just asleep," the man reassured.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm Castiel."
"Yeah, I figured, I mean what the hell are you?"
"I am an angel of the Lord," Castiel replied bluntly.
Dean snorted, "Yeah and I'm a Ninja Turtle."
"You don't believe," Castiel muttered. There was a lightning strike and the outline of his shadowy wings was illuminated on the back wall of the warehouse.
Dean's jaw dropped but he quickly recovered and retorted, "Some angel you are, burning a poor woman's eyes out."
"She was warned, I told her not to look at my true form, as it can be destructive to some people like my voice. I had hoped that you were one of the few that could hear it but I was incorrect," Castiel answered.
Dean realized the shattering glass and loud noise back at the hotel was Castiel speaking.
"So what form are you now? Holy tax account? Are you possessing this poor bastard?"
"Actually, he prayed for this to happen," Castiel remarked, coolly.
"I don't buy it, why would an angel save me from Hell?"
"Do you not believe you're worthy of being saved?" Castiel asked, raising an eyebrow.
Dean shrugged, "Why save me?"
"Because God commanded it, there's work for you to do."
A/N: Thank you so much for reading!
Next Chapter: Mia reveals parts of her story as the hunters learn more about what Castiel has in store for Dean...