Requiem for Snow
Title: Requiem For Snow
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dean, Sam, Castiel, Melpomene, Gabriel, Mnemosyne, Heather!Michael, Nate, Bobby
Notes: This story follows canon up to Changing Channels - sort of - and borrows chunks of the rest of Season Five completely at random. This story has no beta. I also apologize for taking over a year to update this story. Life and other plot bunnies attacked.
Trailer 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8LXZM9nRC4
Trailer 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wijPDaRc9iA
Trailer 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eR1JNDxstk
Warnings:Mild violence, language, complete disregard for Greek Mythological Canon
Summary: The January before he went to Hell, Dean and his brother Sam faced the Last Calusa in Key West, Florida. Following the defeat of this ancient curse, the brothers left, barreling straight into their destiny and the inevitable showdown against Lilith and her minions. But what they assumed was just another hunt was actually a key part in the plans of the Apocalypse. A plan not laid by the powers below, but by the ones up above.
Michael stood outside of the Lutheran church in Blue Earth, sighing. He'd put Heather so far back in her own mind that it'd be impossible for her to remember any of what was about to transpire. Many of the believers of the Whore were already streaming towards the doors. Some of their souls already reeked of sulfur and damnation, others were merely tainted. If he did not act now,when the sun went down tonight, these followers would pour into the streets, armed with whatever weapons they could lay their hands on; guns, knives, gardening tools and slay the people who had yet to fall under the Whore's spell. This had to be stopped now. The guilty would be punished. The slightly guilty would have the fear of his Father put into them. They would be left to rebuild and to remember the wrath that would be visited upon them this day.
He waited until the church doors shut and then started up the walk. The path was full of salt mixed with sand that crunched under Heather's boots. He entered the church with no problems and stood outside the doors that led to the sanctuary, listening.
“The angels have spoken to me again. They want us to purge the town of the people keeping us from attaining paradise.” The Whore was speaking in such dulcet and calming tones, it was little wonder so many had fallen under her spell. She started listing names and Michael heard gasps through the congregation. “Those that do not stand with us will be purged!” There was a shout followed by a heavy thud. Michael had heard enough.
The doors of the sanctuary blasted open and he stepped into the threshold. “Liar!”
To her credit, the Whore only missed a beat when she realized who had walked into her group of followers. “There she is! There is the one who has brought the demons!” The Whore pointed at Heather. “Kill her!”
Gunfire echoed through the church, knocking Michael flat only from having to deflect so many bullets at once. He had been planning on sparing some of the people in this congregation, but now... A person stood next to him, nudged Heather's prone form with his foot.
“I think she's dead.”
Michael opened his eyes and caught the man by the ankle, rising to an almost kneeling position as fire began spreading through the man's veins and he started to smolder. The doors which had been thrown open slammed shut under Michael's power, holding the followers in. He closed his eyes, bowed his head and kept his concentration. Pure, holy light suddenly filled the church as Michael spread his wings, filling the small space. He heard screams, glass shattering and in the corner of his awareness, heard a reaper comforting the nine innocent souls she had gathered to her. As he opened his eyes and lowered his wings, he saw the Whore crouched down on the front of the altar, glowering at him.
“Ha! You think you can defeat me in that child's body?” She stood up, swaying on her feet. “You're in a shoddy, weak little vessel, Michael. You're no...”
Michael pulled the cedar stake from Heather's inner coat pocket and shoved it straight into the woman's chest. “Actually, I am.” He pushed the spear deeper into the Whore's stomach and let her body fall. He watched her spasm as she died and he then raised his head to see the pastor of the church lying unconscious on the floor. He walked over to the man and set a hand on his back. “Wake.”
Pastor Gideon had fainted right after the doors slammed open. “What... happened?”
“I am afraid the Devil attempted to take this town from the inside out.” Michael took a deep breath. “I know that not all of your congregation was here this day. The time has come for you to bring the stray sheep back to the flock.”
The man blinked at him, confused. “I don't understand...”
Michael tilted his head to the side, regarding the man. “You have known for some time that what has been spoken in this house has been false and damaging. Now is the time to repair what can be and rebuild from the ashes.” With a flutter of wings, he left.
Pastor Gideon rose to his feet, looking over the charred remains of the sanctuary and the bodies lying scattered on the floor and pews. The only visible damage to all of them was the fact that their eyes had been burned clean out of their skulls. He swallowed and look at the thing he'd suspected wasn't his daughter Leah for a the past few weeks. The creature that looks like her is lying dead on the floor, a jagged stake of wood embedded in her chest. How was Blue Earth to rebuild from this? How were they to go on? He heard the fumble of the catch on the doors and watched as several members of his church stumbled inside, silenced by the sight that greeted them. Cold wind blew in from the shattered windows, giving the room an out of place scent of snow and clean winter air.
“What's happened, Pastor Gideon?” A ruddy faced man seemed to be the only one who could find his voice of the group of seven at the back of the church.
The pastor came down the steps of the altar, still taking in the massacre in the room before answering. “A judgment.” He tore his eyes away from the body of the false prophet masquerading as his little girl. Wherever his Leah was, it would be a fair assessment that she was no longer alive. “It is time we went back to the correct path.”
**
They now numbered ten. Jo didn't like to think about what that meant. Now that they were all present and accounted for, she had no idea what Lucifer planned to do with them all. The last one to arrive, a diminutive woman from Romania named Olga, informed them that it was the third week of February. The date held no significance to Jo at all, considering they didn't know how long they would be here or what the hell they were wanted for in the first place. Well, almost no idea...
Other things had started appearing in the rooms now that they numbered ten. Gowns - one stark white and ivory with green embroidery had appeared in the closets - one of each for each of them, all perfectly sized. The food had changed - gone were the heavier dishes - and all of the pork was gone too. Now there was an endless supply of vegetables, fruits, cheese and bread. The only liquor was wine - much to Jo and several others' frustration. The only source of sugar came in the form of honey. She supposed it a was a good job those of them that drank coffee already drank it black. Jo had a feeling that other things were going to start vanishing from the room shortly. Like them.
Rolling over in her bed, she looked into the other room where a few of the newer girls were trying to break the language barrier. As for herself, Jo was to worried about what was going to happen to them all to go and join in the fun. She saw Astrid turn her way and then stood to come and join her. “Great...” She mumbled to herself as the slightly taller woman came into her room.
“You are worried.” Her English was better than some of the others were. “I too, am worried.”
Jo sighed and rested her head on her arms, hiding her face. “I've been thinking - there has to be something that we all have in common - apart from being female.”
Astrid shook her head. “I do know that none of us are married, but that isn't much more than the obvious.” She sat down next to her. “I've also heard some of the others talking... I don't think all of us are virgins.”
Jo looked the blond woman over. “Excuse me?”
The Scandinavian woman sniffed. “Well, I do know that Olga is - until recently, her life was nothing but gymnastics... she's never had a boyfriend.”
She shook her head. “I just don't get it... I mean, we're all different types of....” Her voice cut off as she started thinking the other girls over. “So we could say that Olga is the sweet, innocent type.”
“Yes.” Astrid frowned. “What does that have to do...”
“And Maria is the smart, studious type...”
“And you would be the...secretly badass type?” Jo had told the woman about monster hunting.
Jo chuckled. “Exactly - just like you would be the bold and adventurous type.”
“I fail to see how being a pilot for traders makes me...” Astrid cut off and then looked abashed. “All right, I see your point. What does all that mean?”
“This is going to sound insane but uh... what if the types of women we are could be combined into one person?”
The woman's eyes widened. “Is that possible?”
“Given some of the shit I've seen, I'd say it's a definite possibility.” She brushed her fingers through her hair. “If someone was sweet, smart, adventurous, friendly, liked to cook, loved kids and was a pretty face all on top of that - what would you have?”
“Someone I'd like to punch in the face.” Was Astrid's flat reply.
“Well, besides that.”
“A perfect person - a perfect woman.” The blond's face darkened. “So in other words, one of us...”
“Is headed straight for Stepford Wifedom and the rest of us are dead meat.”
Astrid glanced up at the ceiling. “I don't suppose we've tried the vents to get out of here yet, have we?”
“As good of an idea as that is - given that we don't know where here is, I think it's a moot point.”
“True - for all we know, we're in the middle of Siberia.”
“And it's winter.” Jo sighed. “I don't think we're going to be here much longer anyway.”
“How much longer do you think we have?”
“A few weeks, at best - an equinox is coming up. Not as good as a solstice for doing something nefarious - but still good.” Jo stood up. “I need to eat something. You hungry?”
“Yeah.” The woman rose and the two left the room, moving to join the others.
**
“So you think Michael and Heather went to Blue Earth to kill the Whore?” Dean stared at his brother. “That can't end well.”
“Not for the Whore.” Castiel said flatly. “Michael may be contained in a smaller vessel, but he does retain all of his power.”
“I meant for Heather.” Dean shook his head. “Is she like, awake in her body or what?”
“I don't believe she is.” Cas frowned and was about to speak again when a crash sounded from outside, drawing the attention of all three hunters and the angel. “What...”
“That sounded like something just landed on a car.” Bobby frowned, rising to the window, opening it slightly and scanning the yard. “It's not hailing but.... what the hell?”
The others joined him and they watched as a figure stood up on the top of a partially crushed mini-van that was at the end of a double-decked railing and jumped the thirty foot drop to the ground as if it was only two. As they drew closer, they were able to make out a coat that was very white - and a shock of red hair.
“That's not...” Sam frowned. “Who is that?”
Castiel tilted his head, rather surprised. “It's Mnemosyne.”
“And she would be here, why?” Dean interjected.
“I am not certain.”
“Is she dangerous?” Bobby was still watching as the woman approached the house, pausing several yards away, either unable to approach it any further, or trying to figure out how best to enter.
“I do not know.”
“Good morning.” The goddess's voice called across the ground. “I don't wish to intrude, but do you mind if I come closer?”
The four looked at each other and then Bobby spoke. “You askin' for an invitation?”
She smiled in response and a moment later, was standing next to Sam, causing the hunter to jump back slightly. “No, I just usually like to warn people before I do that.” She arched an eyebrow at Dean, who on instinct, had pulled out his gun and had it pointed at her. “And that won't do you any good.”
“Why are you here?” Castiel seemed to have recovered first from woman's appearance.
“Didn't you understand when Penny told you that time is running out?” She made a disgusted noise. “Michael's already left Blue Earth, he and Heather are off smiting demons, Lucifer is tearing his way through what's left of the pantheons of the Aztecs and other Native American tribes who didn't have the sense to run and hide. You four seem to think this is a party that doesn't have an arrival time on the invite, or if it does, it is free to interpretation.”
“Well then...” Dean stepped closer to her. “Why don't you get off your ass and help us?”
“Dean, she is here.” Sam put in. “That is why you're here, right?”
“Very good Sam. And for the record, you are on my list of favorite freaks.” She put her hands into the pockets of her coat.
Bobby snorted. “Now I know where Heather gets that personality of hers.” He took breath. “Don't suppose you have a plan, do you sweetheart?”
“Well, there's more than one way to foil an Apocalypse.” She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets. “We have until the twenty-seventh of March to get everything in place.”
“What's the twenty-seventh of March got to do with anything?” Dean interjected.
“That's when Lucifer is planning on opening the door into Elysium. It's his first chance to do it. He's got most of his ducks in a row.” She started to pace. “Unfortunately, who he's looking for isn't in there.”
“Who is he looking for?” Sam asked.
“Persephone. She's not there, she's in Purgatory or the Oblivion, either place, I don't care, she's an unfaithful cow. But there's something else in Elysium that we don't want Lucifer getting his hands on.”
“What's that?” Castiel could tell that neither he or the hunters liked where this was going.
“Something that exists for one purpose and one purpose only - something to wash the planet as clean as it was after the Flood.” She saw the reactions in their faces. “Not exactly something you want getting out.”
“No.” Sam swallowed. “I - does the whatever it is get out automatically? I mean, if you open the door to Elysium?”
“Thankfully not. Normally Elysium only lets those it wants inside in - but if someone with access says so, someone without can enter.” She leaned against Bobby's desk, watching the four of them. “We know when and where he'll open the door.”
“Tell me there's a point to all this.” Dean said, frowning.
“Yes. If we have the four rings of the Horsemen, we can open a gate into Lucifer's Cage. Open both places at the same time and it'll be like a system restore - provided Lucifer hasn't possessed Sam yet. Everything gets restored to default. Crazy, I know...”
“How exactly does that work?” Sam looked from her to his brother. “Setting things right?”
“I don't know how it works.” She tapped the side of her head. “I just know it does work.”
“Let me guess - you remember how it works.” Bobby shook his head. “Don't suppose you know what's up with the missing women too?”
“You didn't put it together when I told you about Persephone?” She rolled her eyes. “If he's going to try and get a life-force, he's going to need a body to put it in.”
“That's just...” Sam started to say.
“I know, I know.” Mnemosyne sat down on the edge of the desk. “There is, however, one problem with the plan.”
“I've still got to say yes.” Dean swore. “It's just...”
“That's not going to happen.” Castiel added.
“Are you two lovebirds or something?” She rubbed her face. “Look, the thing about that whole opening up the portals thing is - when that system restore hits, it'll get anything that's not where it's supposed to be to where it is.”
“So what, open the doors and Michael gets sucked into Elysium? No loss there.” Dean snorted.
“Not without killing Heather in the process.” Bobby spoke up, having retreated to the bookshelves and he set the tome he had been flipping through on his desk. “Possibly.”
“How exactly...” Sam started to say.
“A body is a shell.” Castiel said, flatly. “A shell for the soul inside.” He glanced at the goddess. “I'm contained in a vessel - along with a soul. The body belongs to the soul. I'm not a high enough ranked angel to have only a true vessel. I could, in theory, take a vessel from any person with Novak blood.”
“And that makes you what, exactly?” Dean frowned at her.
“The last Titan standing.” She sighed and looked over her shoulder at Bobby. “You mind if I made some coffee?”
The grizzled hunter stared at her. “Long as you do it under supervision.”
“Sure.” She slid off the desk and headed for the kitchen - knowing Sam would be right behind her.
*
Nate set his helmet down on the back of his four wheeler and hauled his backpack off the rack. He looked up at the house in the salvage yard, sighing. Another day of dropping off homework for someone who wasn't here. He hurried up the steps and knocked. “Hello?” He peered through the glass and a moment later, the taller of the two brothers answered the door. “Hi - Sam, right?”
“Nate.” He stepped aside to let him in. “Heather's still not back.”
“I sort of figured.” He glanced past the man into the kitchen. “Who's that?”
Mnemosyne looked up from her coffee mug. “I'm a friend of a friend of a friend of Cas's.”
“Really?” He smirked. “I was going to guess you're Heather's mom.” He shrugged and opened his bag to pull out a manila folder. “You haven't heard from her, have you?”
Sam took the folder and shook his head. “No.”
Mnemosyne took a sip of coffee, shaking her head. “She'll be back soon.”
“You seem pretty sure of that.” Sam replied. “I don't think so.”
“I think so too.” Nate came over to the table, looking down at the woman. “You said you're not Heather's mom... but even I can tell you've got the same color hair and eyes.”
The Titan looked from the boy to the hunter before responding. “Sam, how much does Nate here know?”
“How much does he know about what?” He folded his arms and shot a glance into the library, where Dean, Bobby and Cas were watching them.
“You know what.” She responded before taking another drink from her mug.
“Will someone just please tell me what the heck is going on?” Nate almost shouted. “The teachers keep asking me how sick Heather is, if she's bad enough not to come to school but not sick enough for the hospital. Some of them think she's had a nervous breakdown and is down in that mental hospital in Topeka!”
“Nathan, you best sit down for this.” Mnemosyne indicated the chair across the table from her and it scooted outward for him.
**
Gabriel sat at the long table in his sister's house, staring down at the ring in front of him. Pestilence's ring. He had taken it from the horseman at the Niveus Center in California. He frowned, wondering if his older brother had stopped his pantheon slaughter enough to figure out what was going on. For his part, Gabriel had taken the ring from Pestilence, who had been getting ready for the testing of a 'vaccine' of the swine flu. Since FDA regulations wouldn't just let them distribute the vaccine without testing, the test group was going to be the first group to get a strain of the Croatoan virus with a slightly longer incubation period. By the time they were fully infected, they would have already spread the illness to thousands unknowingly. Or they would have - had Gabriel not sent the horseman back to Hell and then burned every trace of the illness away.
He only had two problems now. One, he was stuck here on Olympus - Zeus had allowed him and the other pagans to stay here on the condition they could not leave - and his second problem was not knowing who was safe on the other side of the world. Gabriel was fairly certain Kali was fine, he'd told her to hide and stay away from Lucifer, but she was the most stubborn goddess he'd ever met, so he wasn't certain if she'd stay put or not.
“You trying to burn a hole through the wood?” A voice broke into his thoughts. “My mom will freak out if she comes back and finds you've damaged her favorite table. I mean, she won it in a poker game from some English lord who got it from Henry VIII. I don't know where he got it from though.” A tired figure slid into the chair across from him. “But odds are, you already knew that.”
Gabriel sighed. “Good morning, Penny.” He slid the ring into his pocket. “Do you know where your mother went?”
“She went to go see an old hunter about a Plymouth, I think.” She slid a hand through her hair, sitting so she could rest her chin on her knee. “She should be back shortly.”
“This is just...” He folded his arms and leaned back slightly in his seat. “I hate getting involved and now that I am involved, I hate having to stay out of it.”
“Welcome to my life for the past four centuries.” Melpomene rolled her eyes. “At least you don't have to go to a watch party and pretend to be upset that you're not actually at the Oscars.” She made a sound like she was disgusted. “I haven't enjoyed going to that event since actors and actresses became political commentators.”
“That is one thing all pantheons seem to have in common. No-one seems to be in charge of politics directly.” Gabriel smiled weakly. “When this is over, I may just have to go on a demon smiting spree.”
She let out a weak laugh. “Loki, find me the demon who made the deal with Meyer, and I'll give you a favor, maybe two...”
He thought for a moment, “I can't believe I didn't know that. Then again, I don't spend much time around those sorts of... sparkly vampires...” He shook his head.
“Then again, the Alpha of the vampires is offering a similar deal. My only deal to sweeten the pot is to rig a sporting event as well.” Her head fell back against the chair. “I don't like this waiting either.”
“So I take it you're more or less grounded as well.” He leaned forward onto his arms, resting them on the table.
“Something like that. Callie's being a pain, she went and whined to daddy, and well, she's one of the few who can do that and get what she wants.” She sighed. “The only one who can pull that off that looks like him is Thea Missy.”
“If you're all grounded, why isn't Erato here?” Gabriel felt like that was a sensible question.
“Because Atty's not on the radar,” the muse stood and stretched. “You want to play a board game?”
“No.” He snorted. “I think I'll sit here and work on burning that hole into the table.” He let out a breath. “I don't mean to be rude, but I have a lot on my mind and a board game isn't going to help.”
“You think I don't?” Her voice went up an octave. “In case you've forgotten, your big brother is currently possessing my daughter.”
“I know that!” Gabriel snapped and he stood up. “I just want this to be over!”
“We all want that!” She held her arms out. “But for some reason, Dean Winchester had to be among the most stubborn men ever put on the face of the earth! Maybe if Zachariah wasn't such a dick, he could have explained everything to him in a better way and it never would have gotten this far!”
“I don't want to argue with you!” He gripped the chair to keep himself from throwing something. “I just...”
“Are you two going to kill each other? Let me know if you are, cause I want to get popcorn before I watch.” A new voice cut into the conversation.
“Not today, Clio.” Melpomene took a deep breath. “Sorry about that.”
“It's okay. I heard the shouting and came up - Annie and I are getting ready to insult some movies not connected to us.” Clio smiled weakly. “We've got ten gallons of kettle corn, if you care to join in.”
“That could be fun.” The younger muse's shoulders fell slightly with the release of tension. “What are you starting off with?”
“The egregious insult to the book series that is Percy Jackson.” She rolled her eyes slightly. “Riordan might be one of my little darlings but even I was appalled at what Disney did to it.”
Gabriel looked from one woman to the other, frowning. “You say that like you're surprised.”
“Oh this is going to be a good time.” Clio came over to the two of them, put her arms around their shoulders and led them out of the room.
**
Nathan returned home feeling drained. He had just found out his biological mother was Urania, the Muse of Astronomy. Heather was his biological cousin - and that was just the light stuff. His biological father died when he was four years old. The world was racing towards the Apocalypse and only certain people knew about it.
It sort of made the math test looming at the end of the week seem like nothing.
After lying in bed for at least an hour and a half he got up, turned on his computer and settled into his desk chair. He had no idea what Urania looked like, or even if any portrait was accurate - he didn't even know how he was going to bring all this up with his parents. But there was one other thing he gotten from Mnemosyne - another name. He felt that the way she barely said it made him think she hadn't meant to say it - if she hadn't been distracted at all, she probably wouldn't have.
He clicked onto Firefox and then went to Google and typed in the name of his biological father.
Jason Irvine
He scanned the list of links, almost all of them about the September 11 attacks when he was four. He shook his head, figuring there had to be more than one Jason Irvine in the world and hit the 'Images' tab. The first row of pictures made his mouth fall open. There was a man who had his cheekbones, his smile, his nose - not the same hair, Jason's was darker and curlier, his expression bright. Nate enlarged the one image of what had to be the Irvine family and scanned them. None of them had his blond hair, his ears, his coltish stature. He thought about the woman at the salvage yard, with her red hair and bright blue eyes - so much like Heather, it was sort of scary. The girl herself, however, bore a strong resemblance to Dean Winchester - her biological father.
Nate shook his head to clear it, shut down his computer and went to his work desk. He picked up the action figure he'd been repainting into Challenger Green for the shadowbox, uncapped the paint jar and let himself get lost in his work.
**
Michael sat, perfectly perched and invisible to the human eye on the Sherman-Milton Bridge over the Ohio River. Louisville was to his left and New Albany to his right. Below him, the vague feelings of the humans passing in the cars below drifted up towards him. Commuters, for the most part, people worried about reports, meetings, bills - the mundane things of human life that weren't all that different from an angel's - if angels had to use monies to pay for their debts, instead of with prayers or charity work. He let out a breath, resting Heather's hands on the icy metal, wondering how much longer this was going to go on.
He knew he would have to take Heather home soon - he couldn't carry on in the girl's body like this. Or rather he could, but the girl's fragile body couldn't take it for much longer. If Dean didn't say yes, he would have to resort to more drastic measures if they had any hope of winning. He was about to rise and head southward, to Texas after a minor demon when a flash of grace echoed to his right.
It wasn't in New Albany, it was further north. He stood, frowning. An angel, one from Heaven, had just headed to one of the places that was on a no-fly zone.
“That idiot.” Michael growled and raced away from the bridge, heading for the suburb of Indianapolis called Cicero.
*
Lisa Braden hadn't believed in monsters until her son had been switched with a changeling and Dean Winchester had told her the truth of what he really did. She hadn't given much thought of it since then, other than odd stories on the news would make her wonder from time to time. Like the massive explosion in Pontiac, Illinois that had uprooted dozens of trees yet let no trace of fire or cause. The teacher who went psycho and killed a bunch of students - things that her inner voice told her weren't normal. She would then wonder if Dean knew anything about it, if Dean was on the case, or if it was some other hunter.
She never told Ben about the rest of the monsters. It was bad enough he'd already gotten up close and personal with them once, she didn't need for it to happen again.
“Mom?” Ben came into the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine, Ben.” She shook her head and turned the stove on. “How was school?”
“It was okay, I guess. The art...” His next words were cut off as a middle-aged man in a suit appeared out of thin air next to fridge.
Lisa shoved her son behind her and grabbed the knife she had been using to chop vegetables a moment ago. “Who are you? What do you want?”
In response, the man waved his hand and Lisa flew across the room, slamming into the fridge.
“Mom?” Ben ran to his mother, who was struggling to sit up. “What did you do to my mom!” He screamed.
“Just come along and no one will get hurt, Ben.” The man replied, his jovial tone far to out of place for the situation.
“What...” Lisa coughed, alarmed by the fact that she could barely feel her legs - not a good sign. “Who...”
“Zachariah.” A fourth voice caused Ben to shift his gaze from the man for a second and he started. The newcomer was a girl, a little older than him.
“Michael.” The man, Zachariah - paled slightly. “It's good to see you, and I was just...”
“You were just what?” The girl stalked towards him, the man suddenly looking afraid. “I thought my instructions to leave this woman and her child alone were clear.”
“Who... who are you people?” Lisa gasped out.
“I was thinking...” The man was going whiter by the minute. “I mean...”
The girl said nothing and crossed over to Zachariah, setting her hand on his arm. A moment later, he gasped and then his face went gray - a moment later, flames shot out of his mouth and eyes, causing Lisa to choke on a scream and then tighten her grip on Ben. The man crumbled to ashes on the floor of the kitchen and then the girl turned towards them.
“Don't... please...” Lisa was trapped. “Run, Ben....”
“I'm not going to leave you mom.” Ben swallowed as the girl crouched down and then gave them a sad smile.
“Sorry about the mess.” The girl - Michael? - reached out and set a hand on Lisa's shoulder, and she flinched, expecting pain, but to her surprise, it was gone - even the niggling pain from yoga was gone from her arms. The girl looked over at Ben, smiled and then ruffled his hair. “Adelfí̱.”
And then she was gone.
“Mom?” Ben swallowed and helped her stand. “What...what was that?”
“I... I don't know.” She crossed over to the stove and turned it off. She was about to do something she'd sworn she wouldn't - no matter how crazy things got on the news, she had never wanted to do it, but now - now it looked like she needed to. “Go upstairs, pack a bag. Few changes of clothes, just enough for a few days. Okay?”
“Mom?” He swallowed. “What's going on?”
“I... we need to go to Dean's friend's house. He'll be able to help us.” She tried not to look at the pile of cinders on her kitchen floor. “Just to make sure everything's safe, that's all.”
“Are... do you think those things are coming back?” Ben didn't like to think about his time with the changelings - truth was, it still gave him nightmares at times.
“I don't know. But if anyone can help us, they can.” She started to straighten up the kitchen. “We're going to leave in an hour.”
“Yes, mom.” He turned and ran up the stairs to his room.
Chapter 24
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Dean, Sam, Castiel, Melpomene, Gabriel, Mnemosyne, Heather!Michael, Nate, Bobby
Notes: This story follows canon up to Changing Channels - sort of - and borrows chunks of the rest of Season Five completely at random. This story has no beta. I also apologize for taking over a year to update this story. Life and other plot bunnies attacked.
Trailer 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8LXZM9nRC4
Trailer 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wijPDaRc9iA
Trailer 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eR1JNDxstk
Warnings:Mild violence, language, complete disregard for Greek Mythological Canon
Summary: The January before he went to Hell, Dean and his brother Sam faced the Last Calusa in Key West, Florida. Following the defeat of this ancient curse, the brothers left, barreling straight into their destiny and the inevitable showdown against Lilith and her minions. But what they assumed was just another hunt was actually a key part in the plans of the Apocalypse. A plan not laid by the powers below, but by the ones up above.
Michael stood outside of the Lutheran church in Blue Earth, sighing. He'd put Heather so far back in her own mind that it'd be impossible for her to remember any of what was about to transpire. Many of the believers of the Whore were already streaming towards the doors. Some of their souls already reeked of sulfur and damnation, others were merely tainted. If he did not act now,when the sun went down tonight, these followers would pour into the streets, armed with whatever weapons they could lay their hands on; guns, knives, gardening tools and slay the people who had yet to fall under the Whore's spell. This had to be stopped now. The guilty would be punished. The slightly guilty would have the fear of his Father put into them. They would be left to rebuild and to remember the wrath that would be visited upon them this day.
He waited until the church doors shut and then started up the walk. The path was full of salt mixed with sand that crunched under Heather's boots. He entered the church with no problems and stood outside the doors that led to the sanctuary, listening.
“The angels have spoken to me again. They want us to purge the town of the people keeping us from attaining paradise.” The Whore was speaking in such dulcet and calming tones, it was little wonder so many had fallen under her spell. She started listing names and Michael heard gasps through the congregation. “Those that do not stand with us will be purged!” There was a shout followed by a heavy thud. Michael had heard enough.
The doors of the sanctuary blasted open and he stepped into the threshold. “Liar!”
To her credit, the Whore only missed a beat when she realized who had walked into her group of followers. “There she is! There is the one who has brought the demons!” The Whore pointed at Heather. “Kill her!”
Gunfire echoed through the church, knocking Michael flat only from having to deflect so many bullets at once. He had been planning on sparing some of the people in this congregation, but now... A person stood next to him, nudged Heather's prone form with his foot.
“I think she's dead.”
Michael opened his eyes and caught the man by the ankle, rising to an almost kneeling position as fire began spreading through the man's veins and he started to smolder. The doors which had been thrown open slammed shut under Michael's power, holding the followers in. He closed his eyes, bowed his head and kept his concentration. Pure, holy light suddenly filled the church as Michael spread his wings, filling the small space. He heard screams, glass shattering and in the corner of his awareness, heard a reaper comforting the nine innocent souls she had gathered to her. As he opened his eyes and lowered his wings, he saw the Whore crouched down on the front of the altar, glowering at him.
“Ha! You think you can defeat me in that child's body?” She stood up, swaying on her feet. “You're in a shoddy, weak little vessel, Michael. You're no...”
Michael pulled the cedar stake from Heather's inner coat pocket and shoved it straight into the woman's chest. “Actually, I am.” He pushed the spear deeper into the Whore's stomach and let her body fall. He watched her spasm as she died and he then raised his head to see the pastor of the church lying unconscious on the floor. He walked over to the man and set a hand on his back. “Wake.”
Pastor Gideon had fainted right after the doors slammed open. “What... happened?”
“I am afraid the Devil attempted to take this town from the inside out.” Michael took a deep breath. “I know that not all of your congregation was here this day. The time has come for you to bring the stray sheep back to the flock.”
The man blinked at him, confused. “I don't understand...”
Michael tilted his head to the side, regarding the man. “You have known for some time that what has been spoken in this house has been false and damaging. Now is the time to repair what can be and rebuild from the ashes.” With a flutter of wings, he left.
Pastor Gideon rose to his feet, looking over the charred remains of the sanctuary and the bodies lying scattered on the floor and pews. The only visible damage to all of them was the fact that their eyes had been burned clean out of their skulls. He swallowed and look at the thing he'd suspected wasn't his daughter Leah for a the past few weeks. The creature that looks like her is lying dead on the floor, a jagged stake of wood embedded in her chest. How was Blue Earth to rebuild from this? How were they to go on? He heard the fumble of the catch on the doors and watched as several members of his church stumbled inside, silenced by the sight that greeted them. Cold wind blew in from the shattered windows, giving the room an out of place scent of snow and clean winter air.
“What's happened, Pastor Gideon?” A ruddy faced man seemed to be the only one who could find his voice of the group of seven at the back of the church.
The pastor came down the steps of the altar, still taking in the massacre in the room before answering. “A judgment.” He tore his eyes away from the body of the false prophet masquerading as his little girl. Wherever his Leah was, it would be a fair assessment that she was no longer alive. “It is time we went back to the correct path.”
**
They now numbered ten. Jo didn't like to think about what that meant. Now that they were all present and accounted for, she had no idea what Lucifer planned to do with them all. The last one to arrive, a diminutive woman from Romania named Olga, informed them that it was the third week of February. The date held no significance to Jo at all, considering they didn't know how long they would be here or what the hell they were wanted for in the first place. Well, almost no idea...
Other things had started appearing in the rooms now that they numbered ten. Gowns - one stark white and ivory with green embroidery had appeared in the closets - one of each for each of them, all perfectly sized. The food had changed - gone were the heavier dishes - and all of the pork was gone too. Now there was an endless supply of vegetables, fruits, cheese and bread. The only liquor was wine - much to Jo and several others' frustration. The only source of sugar came in the form of honey. She supposed it a was a good job those of them that drank coffee already drank it black. Jo had a feeling that other things were going to start vanishing from the room shortly. Like them.
Rolling over in her bed, she looked into the other room where a few of the newer girls were trying to break the language barrier. As for herself, Jo was to worried about what was going to happen to them all to go and join in the fun. She saw Astrid turn her way and then stood to come and join her. “Great...” She mumbled to herself as the slightly taller woman came into her room.
“You are worried.” Her English was better than some of the others were. “I too, am worried.”
Jo sighed and rested her head on her arms, hiding her face. “I've been thinking - there has to be something that we all have in common - apart from being female.”
Astrid shook her head. “I do know that none of us are married, but that isn't much more than the obvious.” She sat down next to her. “I've also heard some of the others talking... I don't think all of us are virgins.”
Jo looked the blond woman over. “Excuse me?”
The Scandinavian woman sniffed. “Well, I do know that Olga is - until recently, her life was nothing but gymnastics... she's never had a boyfriend.”
She shook her head. “I just don't get it... I mean, we're all different types of....” Her voice cut off as she started thinking the other girls over. “So we could say that Olga is the sweet, innocent type.”
“Yes.” Astrid frowned. “What does that have to do...”
“And Maria is the smart, studious type...”
“And you would be the...secretly badass type?” Jo had told the woman about monster hunting.
Jo chuckled. “Exactly - just like you would be the bold and adventurous type.”
“I fail to see how being a pilot for traders makes me...” Astrid cut off and then looked abashed. “All right, I see your point. What does all that mean?”
“This is going to sound insane but uh... what if the types of women we are could be combined into one person?”
The woman's eyes widened. “Is that possible?”
“Given some of the shit I've seen, I'd say it's a definite possibility.” She brushed her fingers through her hair. “If someone was sweet, smart, adventurous, friendly, liked to cook, loved kids and was a pretty face all on top of that - what would you have?”
“Someone I'd like to punch in the face.” Was Astrid's flat reply.
“Well, besides that.”
“A perfect person - a perfect woman.” The blond's face darkened. “So in other words, one of us...”
“Is headed straight for Stepford Wifedom and the rest of us are dead meat.”
Astrid glanced up at the ceiling. “I don't suppose we've tried the vents to get out of here yet, have we?”
“As good of an idea as that is - given that we don't know where here is, I think it's a moot point.”
“True - for all we know, we're in the middle of Siberia.”
“And it's winter.” Jo sighed. “I don't think we're going to be here much longer anyway.”
“How much longer do you think we have?”
“A few weeks, at best - an equinox is coming up. Not as good as a solstice for doing something nefarious - but still good.” Jo stood up. “I need to eat something. You hungry?”
“Yeah.” The woman rose and the two left the room, moving to join the others.
**
“So you think Michael and Heather went to Blue Earth to kill the Whore?” Dean stared at his brother. “That can't end well.”
“Not for the Whore.” Castiel said flatly. “Michael may be contained in a smaller vessel, but he does retain all of his power.”
“I meant for Heather.” Dean shook his head. “Is she like, awake in her body or what?”
“I don't believe she is.” Cas frowned and was about to speak again when a crash sounded from outside, drawing the attention of all three hunters and the angel. “What...”
“That sounded like something just landed on a car.” Bobby frowned, rising to the window, opening it slightly and scanning the yard. “It's not hailing but.... what the hell?”
The others joined him and they watched as a figure stood up on the top of a partially crushed mini-van that was at the end of a double-decked railing and jumped the thirty foot drop to the ground as if it was only two. As they drew closer, they were able to make out a coat that was very white - and a shock of red hair.
“That's not...” Sam frowned. “Who is that?”
Castiel tilted his head, rather surprised. “It's Mnemosyne.”
“And she would be here, why?” Dean interjected.
“I am not certain.”
“Is she dangerous?” Bobby was still watching as the woman approached the house, pausing several yards away, either unable to approach it any further, or trying to figure out how best to enter.
“I do not know.”
“Good morning.” The goddess's voice called across the ground. “I don't wish to intrude, but do you mind if I come closer?”
The four looked at each other and then Bobby spoke. “You askin' for an invitation?”
She smiled in response and a moment later, was standing next to Sam, causing the hunter to jump back slightly. “No, I just usually like to warn people before I do that.” She arched an eyebrow at Dean, who on instinct, had pulled out his gun and had it pointed at her. “And that won't do you any good.”
“Why are you here?” Castiel seemed to have recovered first from woman's appearance.
“Didn't you understand when Penny told you that time is running out?” She made a disgusted noise. “Michael's already left Blue Earth, he and Heather are off smiting demons, Lucifer is tearing his way through what's left of the pantheons of the Aztecs and other Native American tribes who didn't have the sense to run and hide. You four seem to think this is a party that doesn't have an arrival time on the invite, or if it does, it is free to interpretation.”
“Well then...” Dean stepped closer to her. “Why don't you get off your ass and help us?”
“Dean, she is here.” Sam put in. “That is why you're here, right?”
“Very good Sam. And for the record, you are on my list of favorite freaks.” She put her hands into the pockets of her coat.
Bobby snorted. “Now I know where Heather gets that personality of hers.” He took breath. “Don't suppose you have a plan, do you sweetheart?”
“Well, there's more than one way to foil an Apocalypse.” She stuffed her hands in her coat pockets. “We have until the twenty-seventh of March to get everything in place.”
“What's the twenty-seventh of March got to do with anything?” Dean interjected.
“That's when Lucifer is planning on opening the door into Elysium. It's his first chance to do it. He's got most of his ducks in a row.” She started to pace. “Unfortunately, who he's looking for isn't in there.”
“Who is he looking for?” Sam asked.
“Persephone. She's not there, she's in Purgatory or the Oblivion, either place, I don't care, she's an unfaithful cow. But there's something else in Elysium that we don't want Lucifer getting his hands on.”
“What's that?” Castiel could tell that neither he or the hunters liked where this was going.
“Something that exists for one purpose and one purpose only - something to wash the planet as clean as it was after the Flood.” She saw the reactions in their faces. “Not exactly something you want getting out.”
“No.” Sam swallowed. “I - does the whatever it is get out automatically? I mean, if you open the door to Elysium?”
“Thankfully not. Normally Elysium only lets those it wants inside in - but if someone with access says so, someone without can enter.” She leaned against Bobby's desk, watching the four of them. “We know when and where he'll open the door.”
“Tell me there's a point to all this.” Dean said, frowning.
“Yes. If we have the four rings of the Horsemen, we can open a gate into Lucifer's Cage. Open both places at the same time and it'll be like a system restore - provided Lucifer hasn't possessed Sam yet. Everything gets restored to default. Crazy, I know...”
“How exactly does that work?” Sam looked from her to his brother. “Setting things right?”
“I don't know how it works.” She tapped the side of her head. “I just know it does work.”
“Let me guess - you remember how it works.” Bobby shook his head. “Don't suppose you know what's up with the missing women too?”
“You didn't put it together when I told you about Persephone?” She rolled her eyes. “If he's going to try and get a life-force, he's going to need a body to put it in.”
“That's just...” Sam started to say.
“I know, I know.” Mnemosyne sat down on the edge of the desk. “There is, however, one problem with the plan.”
“I've still got to say yes.” Dean swore. “It's just...”
“That's not going to happen.” Castiel added.
“Are you two lovebirds or something?” She rubbed her face. “Look, the thing about that whole opening up the portals thing is - when that system restore hits, it'll get anything that's not where it's supposed to be to where it is.”
“So what, open the doors and Michael gets sucked into Elysium? No loss there.” Dean snorted.
“Not without killing Heather in the process.” Bobby spoke up, having retreated to the bookshelves and he set the tome he had been flipping through on his desk. “Possibly.”
“How exactly...” Sam started to say.
“A body is a shell.” Castiel said, flatly. “A shell for the soul inside.” He glanced at the goddess. “I'm contained in a vessel - along with a soul. The body belongs to the soul. I'm not a high enough ranked angel to have only a true vessel. I could, in theory, take a vessel from any person with Novak blood.”
“And that makes you what, exactly?” Dean frowned at her.
“The last Titan standing.” She sighed and looked over her shoulder at Bobby. “You mind if I made some coffee?”
The grizzled hunter stared at her. “Long as you do it under supervision.”
“Sure.” She slid off the desk and headed for the kitchen - knowing Sam would be right behind her.
*
Nate set his helmet down on the back of his four wheeler and hauled his backpack off the rack. He looked up at the house in the salvage yard, sighing. Another day of dropping off homework for someone who wasn't here. He hurried up the steps and knocked. “Hello?” He peered through the glass and a moment later, the taller of the two brothers answered the door. “Hi - Sam, right?”
“Nate.” He stepped aside to let him in. “Heather's still not back.”
“I sort of figured.” He glanced past the man into the kitchen. “Who's that?”
Mnemosyne looked up from her coffee mug. “I'm a friend of a friend of a friend of Cas's.”
“Really?” He smirked. “I was going to guess you're Heather's mom.” He shrugged and opened his bag to pull out a manila folder. “You haven't heard from her, have you?”
Sam took the folder and shook his head. “No.”
Mnemosyne took a sip of coffee, shaking her head. “She'll be back soon.”
“You seem pretty sure of that.” Sam replied. “I don't think so.”
“I think so too.” Nate came over to the table, looking down at the woman. “You said you're not Heather's mom... but even I can tell you've got the same color hair and eyes.”
The Titan looked from the boy to the hunter before responding. “Sam, how much does Nate here know?”
“How much does he know about what?” He folded his arms and shot a glance into the library, where Dean, Bobby and Cas were watching them.
“You know what.” She responded before taking another drink from her mug.
“Will someone just please tell me what the heck is going on?” Nate almost shouted. “The teachers keep asking me how sick Heather is, if she's bad enough not to come to school but not sick enough for the hospital. Some of them think she's had a nervous breakdown and is down in that mental hospital in Topeka!”
“Nathan, you best sit down for this.” Mnemosyne indicated the chair across the table from her and it scooted outward for him.
**
Gabriel sat at the long table in his sister's house, staring down at the ring in front of him. Pestilence's ring. He had taken it from the horseman at the Niveus Center in California. He frowned, wondering if his older brother had stopped his pantheon slaughter enough to figure out what was going on. For his part, Gabriel had taken the ring from Pestilence, who had been getting ready for the testing of a 'vaccine' of the swine flu. Since FDA regulations wouldn't just let them distribute the vaccine without testing, the test group was going to be the first group to get a strain of the Croatoan virus with a slightly longer incubation period. By the time they were fully infected, they would have already spread the illness to thousands unknowingly. Or they would have - had Gabriel not sent the horseman back to Hell and then burned every trace of the illness away.
He only had two problems now. One, he was stuck here on Olympus - Zeus had allowed him and the other pagans to stay here on the condition they could not leave - and his second problem was not knowing who was safe on the other side of the world. Gabriel was fairly certain Kali was fine, he'd told her to hide and stay away from Lucifer, but she was the most stubborn goddess he'd ever met, so he wasn't certain if she'd stay put or not.
“You trying to burn a hole through the wood?” A voice broke into his thoughts. “My mom will freak out if she comes back and finds you've damaged her favorite table. I mean, she won it in a poker game from some English lord who got it from Henry VIII. I don't know where he got it from though.” A tired figure slid into the chair across from him. “But odds are, you already knew that.”
Gabriel sighed. “Good morning, Penny.” He slid the ring into his pocket. “Do you know where your mother went?”
“She went to go see an old hunter about a Plymouth, I think.” She slid a hand through her hair, sitting so she could rest her chin on her knee. “She should be back shortly.”
“This is just...” He folded his arms and leaned back slightly in his seat. “I hate getting involved and now that I am involved, I hate having to stay out of it.”
“Welcome to my life for the past four centuries.” Melpomene rolled her eyes. “At least you don't have to go to a watch party and pretend to be upset that you're not actually at the Oscars.” She made a sound like she was disgusted. “I haven't enjoyed going to that event since actors and actresses became political commentators.”
“That is one thing all pantheons seem to have in common. No-one seems to be in charge of politics directly.” Gabriel smiled weakly. “When this is over, I may just have to go on a demon smiting spree.”
She let out a weak laugh. “Loki, find me the demon who made the deal with Meyer, and I'll give you a favor, maybe two...”
He thought for a moment, “I can't believe I didn't know that. Then again, I don't spend much time around those sorts of... sparkly vampires...” He shook his head.
“Then again, the Alpha of the vampires is offering a similar deal. My only deal to sweeten the pot is to rig a sporting event as well.” Her head fell back against the chair. “I don't like this waiting either.”
“So I take it you're more or less grounded as well.” He leaned forward onto his arms, resting them on the table.
“Something like that. Callie's being a pain, she went and whined to daddy, and well, she's one of the few who can do that and get what she wants.” She sighed. “The only one who can pull that off that looks like him is Thea Missy.”
“If you're all grounded, why isn't Erato here?” Gabriel felt like that was a sensible question.
“Because Atty's not on the radar,” the muse stood and stretched. “You want to play a board game?”
“No.” He snorted. “I think I'll sit here and work on burning that hole into the table.” He let out a breath. “I don't mean to be rude, but I have a lot on my mind and a board game isn't going to help.”
“You think I don't?” Her voice went up an octave. “In case you've forgotten, your big brother is currently possessing my daughter.”
“I know that!” Gabriel snapped and he stood up. “I just want this to be over!”
“We all want that!” She held her arms out. “But for some reason, Dean Winchester had to be among the most stubborn men ever put on the face of the earth! Maybe if Zachariah wasn't such a dick, he could have explained everything to him in a better way and it never would have gotten this far!”
“I don't want to argue with you!” He gripped the chair to keep himself from throwing something. “I just...”
“Are you two going to kill each other? Let me know if you are, cause I want to get popcorn before I watch.” A new voice cut into the conversation.
“Not today, Clio.” Melpomene took a deep breath. “Sorry about that.”
“It's okay. I heard the shouting and came up - Annie and I are getting ready to insult some movies not connected to us.” Clio smiled weakly. “We've got ten gallons of kettle corn, if you care to join in.”
“That could be fun.” The younger muse's shoulders fell slightly with the release of tension. “What are you starting off with?”
“The egregious insult to the book series that is Percy Jackson.” She rolled her eyes slightly. “Riordan might be one of my little darlings but even I was appalled at what Disney did to it.”
Gabriel looked from one woman to the other, frowning. “You say that like you're surprised.”
“Oh this is going to be a good time.” Clio came over to the two of them, put her arms around their shoulders and led them out of the room.
**
Nathan returned home feeling drained. He had just found out his biological mother was Urania, the Muse of Astronomy. Heather was his biological cousin - and that was just the light stuff. His biological father died when he was four years old. The world was racing towards the Apocalypse and only certain people knew about it.
It sort of made the math test looming at the end of the week seem like nothing.
After lying in bed for at least an hour and a half he got up, turned on his computer and settled into his desk chair. He had no idea what Urania looked like, or even if any portrait was accurate - he didn't even know how he was going to bring all this up with his parents. But there was one other thing he gotten from Mnemosyne - another name. He felt that the way she barely said it made him think she hadn't meant to say it - if she hadn't been distracted at all, she probably wouldn't have.
He clicked onto Firefox and then went to Google and typed in the name of his biological father.
Jason Irvine
He scanned the list of links, almost all of them about the September 11 attacks when he was four. He shook his head, figuring there had to be more than one Jason Irvine in the world and hit the 'Images' tab. The first row of pictures made his mouth fall open. There was a man who had his cheekbones, his smile, his nose - not the same hair, Jason's was darker and curlier, his expression bright. Nate enlarged the one image of what had to be the Irvine family and scanned them. None of them had his blond hair, his ears, his coltish stature. He thought about the woman at the salvage yard, with her red hair and bright blue eyes - so much like Heather, it was sort of scary. The girl herself, however, bore a strong resemblance to Dean Winchester - her biological father.
Nate shook his head to clear it, shut down his computer and went to his work desk. He picked up the action figure he'd been repainting into Challenger Green for the shadowbox, uncapped the paint jar and let himself get lost in his work.
**
Michael sat, perfectly perched and invisible to the human eye on the Sherman-Milton Bridge over the Ohio River. Louisville was to his left and New Albany to his right. Below him, the vague feelings of the humans passing in the cars below drifted up towards him. Commuters, for the most part, people worried about reports, meetings, bills - the mundane things of human life that weren't all that different from an angel's - if angels had to use monies to pay for their debts, instead of with prayers or charity work. He let out a breath, resting Heather's hands on the icy metal, wondering how much longer this was going to go on.
He knew he would have to take Heather home soon - he couldn't carry on in the girl's body like this. Or rather he could, but the girl's fragile body couldn't take it for much longer. If Dean didn't say yes, he would have to resort to more drastic measures if they had any hope of winning. He was about to rise and head southward, to Texas after a minor demon when a flash of grace echoed to his right.
It wasn't in New Albany, it was further north. He stood, frowning. An angel, one from Heaven, had just headed to one of the places that was on a no-fly zone.
“That idiot.” Michael growled and raced away from the bridge, heading for the suburb of Indianapolis called Cicero.
*
Lisa Braden hadn't believed in monsters until her son had been switched with a changeling and Dean Winchester had told her the truth of what he really did. She hadn't given much thought of it since then, other than odd stories on the news would make her wonder from time to time. Like the massive explosion in Pontiac, Illinois that had uprooted dozens of trees yet let no trace of fire or cause. The teacher who went psycho and killed a bunch of students - things that her inner voice told her weren't normal. She would then wonder if Dean knew anything about it, if Dean was on the case, or if it was some other hunter.
She never told Ben about the rest of the monsters. It was bad enough he'd already gotten up close and personal with them once, she didn't need for it to happen again.
“Mom?” Ben came into the kitchen. “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine, Ben.” She shook her head and turned the stove on. “How was school?”
“It was okay, I guess. The art...” His next words were cut off as a middle-aged man in a suit appeared out of thin air next to fridge.
Lisa shoved her son behind her and grabbed the knife she had been using to chop vegetables a moment ago. “Who are you? What do you want?”
In response, the man waved his hand and Lisa flew across the room, slamming into the fridge.
“Mom?” Ben ran to his mother, who was struggling to sit up. “What did you do to my mom!” He screamed.
“Just come along and no one will get hurt, Ben.” The man replied, his jovial tone far to out of place for the situation.
“What...” Lisa coughed, alarmed by the fact that she could barely feel her legs - not a good sign. “Who...”
“Zachariah.” A fourth voice caused Ben to shift his gaze from the man for a second and he started. The newcomer was a girl, a little older than him.
“Michael.” The man, Zachariah - paled slightly. “It's good to see you, and I was just...”
“You were just what?” The girl stalked towards him, the man suddenly looking afraid. “I thought my instructions to leave this woman and her child alone were clear.”
“Who... who are you people?” Lisa gasped out.
“I was thinking...” The man was going whiter by the minute. “I mean...”
The girl said nothing and crossed over to Zachariah, setting her hand on his arm. A moment later, he gasped and then his face went gray - a moment later, flames shot out of his mouth and eyes, causing Lisa to choke on a scream and then tighten her grip on Ben. The man crumbled to ashes on the floor of the kitchen and then the girl turned towards them.
“Don't... please...” Lisa was trapped. “Run, Ben....”
“I'm not going to leave you mom.” Ben swallowed as the girl crouched down and then gave them a sad smile.
“Sorry about the mess.” The girl - Michael? - reached out and set a hand on Lisa's shoulder, and she flinched, expecting pain, but to her surprise, it was gone - even the niggling pain from yoga was gone from her arms. The girl looked over at Ben, smiled and then ruffled his hair. “Adelfí̱.”
And then she was gone.
“Mom?” Ben swallowed and helped her stand. “What...what was that?”
“I... I don't know.” She crossed over to the stove and turned it off. She was about to do something she'd sworn she wouldn't - no matter how crazy things got on the news, she had never wanted to do it, but now - now it looked like she needed to. “Go upstairs, pack a bag. Few changes of clothes, just enough for a few days. Okay?”
“Mom?” He swallowed. “What's going on?”
“I... we need to go to Dean's friend's house. He'll be able to help us.” She tried not to look at the pile of cinders on her kitchen floor. “Just to make sure everything's safe, that's all.”
“Are... do you think those things are coming back?” Ben didn't like to think about his time with the changelings - truth was, it still gave him nightmares at times.
“I don't know. But if anyone can help us, they can.” She started to straighten up the kitchen. “We're going to leave in an hour.”
“Yes, mom.” He turned and ran up the stairs to his room.
Chapter 24