{spn/dollhouse} promises were never made to be kept 4/5
Title: Promises Were Never Made to be Kept 4/5
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: Supernatural/Dollhouse
Pairing/Characters: Dean Winchester, Echo, Alpha, Adelle DeWitt, Boyd Langton, Castiel, Bobby Singer, Crowley, Samuel Campbell
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke and company, while Dollhouse belongs to Joss Whedon and company. The title comes from "Emotional Rescue" by The Rolling Stones.
Notes: The story changes POV quite a bit and at times, some characters are dealing with the same events at the same time. Written for the 2012 sncross_bigbang.
Summary: Set at the end of Supernatural Season Five, Dean becomes an active and embroiled in the plots at the LA Dollhouse while Castiel and Crowley search for purgatory.
Word Count: 3405/16207
The treatment helps. He's Romeo now. Dean is still there but underneath the surface along with his guilt. Romeo can call on Dean or anyone else when needed but Romeo knows that Dean is only biding his time. Echo might whisper about holding her body for Caroline but Romeo knows that when push comes to shove that Echo is the real girl just like Dean is the real boy. When Echo and Ballard run, Romeo stays put, submitting to the treatments and wipes that are ineffectual. His head is getting far too crowded and he wonders if Echo or even Alpha feel the same way.
* * *
If he can't have her then he'll steal his other creation. From what he can tell, Romeo is a pale imitation of Echo. But Alpha is greedy. He made Romeo so why shouldn't he have him? Why shouldn't he make Romeo a god? Echo obviously has rejected him and her potential godhood. And Alpha's certain that if he steals Romeo, well it'll bring Echo to him. With her bleeding heart, she won't be able to resist playing the hero to save Romeo.
* * *
Romeo can't talk to his handler, he can't express how much he misses Echo. Sierra and Victor help but it's a dangerous game and the three of them are aware of how much they are watched now. Romeo even more so. Boyd guides him through the maze but Romeo knows that it's because of Echo that he has to be more careful. Everything is because of Echo. Except of course for Dean. He's Dean but he's not. Dean is catatonic, struck in the prison of his mind while Romeo has to navigate through the complexity of the dollhouse without Echo. And then Alpha is there.
* * *
Bobby sees Sam Winchester often enough for the older man to know that the younger has changed. He's not the same man who struggled not to be a pawn in the war between Heaven and Hell. Not once since he had managed to escape Lucifer's cage has Sam asked about his brother or his whereabouts. Not once has Bobby voiced his concerns, worries or fears for Dean Winchester to Sam. As a hunter, Sam has become far more ruthless than John Winchester ever was. Bobby will give Sam information and assistance but he draws the line on going on a hunt with the younger Winchester. Instead Bobby continues to call in favours, desperate to find something, anything that will give him some meager hint as to what has happened to Dean.
The one thing that Bobby refuses to admit to himself is that with every dead end he encounters, the more he fears that Dean is gone. That he's dead and that Bobby has failed him in the end.
* * *
There's a part of Sam, hidden beneath the layers of ruthlessness, that wonders what has happened to his brother. He wants to call up Lisa Braeden and finds out if the woman has any clue as to where Dean is. This part of Sam that's locked up can see the way that his grandfather looks at him and he can hear how Bobby speaks to him. Neither man trusts Sam Winchester and that secret part of him that's still him hates it. However that part of him is locked away and hidden. The rest of Sam that the world sees doesn't really care. Dean is lost. Or not. It doesn't matter. It doesn't affect him.
* * *
She doesn't hear about the fact that Alpha has Romeo for about a month. Paul and Boyd had agreed on keeping her in the dark. In fact Paul argues with her about trying to save Romeo. He's against it and Echo's not. She knows the truth about Alpha now that Alpha has scraped the scales off of her eyes. Echo knows that Alpha will do his best to break the other active. And that every day, she is kept away from them, the worse it will be for Romeo. Yet Paul refuses to listen to her arguments, he tells her that they can't risk returning to the house quite yet and she's left waiting for Boyd to call them in.
* * *
It's Topher who goes to Adelle DeWitt, who expresses his concerns. He's nervous because this is something that he should have caught months ago. Topher knows that he can't trust anyone else but Adelle, that he can't even trust his man friend Boyd with his fears. Someone has hacked into his computer, rather cleverly and is monitoring all of the imprints and wipes. And that someone could be anyone. Even someone within the house. It could be Ivy or Boyd or Dr. Saunders. The incident with Dominic had taught Topher to not trust anyone but Adelle. And maybe Echo. But Echo's not there.
He enters Adelle's office and the stink of alcohol hits his nose. He realizes just how much power Boyd has been wielding in Adelle's place. She stares at him blankly, lost in some alcohol stupor while he tries to explain what he's found. Topher tries to dumb it down for her but she doesn't really understand the seriousness of the situation and eventually he leaves her to her glass of vodka. He'll try to figure it out on his own.
* * *
Boyd sighs as he watches Topher leave Adelle's office. He worries that Topher has discovered more than he should have. They've all been spread thin in the recent months with Alpha's second attack on the house, Echo's escape, Adelle's drowning her sorrow in alcohol. Boyd decides that it's no longer effective for him to allow Adelle to wallow. He needs her back, fighting and working with him, even if she doesn't realize how much she's playing into his hand.
He enters her office and gives her a pep talk. Her bleary eyes stare up at him and he's tempted to drag her to Topher's office and to wipe her. It goes against everything that he's working towards but at the same time, drastic measures call for drastic means. Somehow, he does manage to convince her to lay off the alcohol and in less than twenty-four hours, Adelle DeWitt is back in her office, sober and ready to prepare for the war.
* * *
Crowley sighs in exasperation as Castiel enters the bar looking awkward in his cheap business suit and tan-coloured trench coat. In other words, Castiel either looks like an angel or an accountant. At least demons don't seem to stand out as much as angels tend to. As Castiel looks around, Crowley's fairly certain that he's heard a horrible joke or three about how an angel and a demon walk into a bar in the past. It hadn't been funny then and it's certainly not funny now. Then again when has an angel ever worked with a demon? Crowley's figured out that there's a reason why.
The demon takes a drink of his whiskey, savouring as the liquid burns a path from his tongue to his belly. For a moment, he misses working with Bobby Singer and the Winchesters. He finds himself missing Bobby's cheap whiskey. Anything would be better than meeting Castiel in an empty bar, while Crowley does his best to drown his sorrow in all of the alcohol on the top shelf. When Castiel finally sits down beside him, Crowley muses on the fact that Castiel is uncomfortable wearing his suit of humanity. Unlike Crowley, Castiel is still desperate to uphold Daddy's wishes. No wonder Castiel likes Dean so much.
Castiel arches an eyebrow at him and Crowley merely slides across a manila envelope to Castiel before finishing the glass of whiskey and pouring himself another one.
"What is this?" Castiel asks.
"Open it and see," Crowley replies.
The envelope contains evidence about how Castiel's little plan isn't working out quite like how he wanted it to. Dean's not safe in LA, not that Crowley particularly cares. As far as he is concerned, the dollhouse is the best thing that ever happened to him. Dean has been neutralized and in a perfect world that would give Crowley great satisfaction. However, Crowley finds himself caring more than he should. But that's not something that Crowley will ever admit to the angel.
Castiel is silent as he reads through the information that was contained in the envelope and Crowley merely drinks his alcohol. Finally Castiel places the report back in the envelope and slides it across the bar back to Crowley. Their eyes meet in the mirror behind the bar and Castiel expectantly waits for Crowley to say something. It's not the reaction that Crowley had expected. There's something infuriating about Castiel that makes Crowley grind his teeth before he downs another glass of the whiskey.
"He's still safer in the dollhouse," Castiel finally says.
"Are you serious? The dollhouse is on the brink of an internal rebellion. There's a sociopath after him and you think he's safer there?" Crowley demands.
"Yes."
Castiel's gravely voice is flat and Crowley finally realizes that he's nothing more than just another pawn in Castiel's game. Crowley's used to angels being inconsiderate and to use Dean's word for them: dicks. But this takes the cake. Dean is in very serious danger, not that he's still Dean if the reports are accurate. This Alpha individual is quite the obsessed character and Castiel doesn't care. In fact, Castiel doesn't care about anything than the end game. Dean, Sam, Samuel and Crowley are just pawns being moved across the chessboard.
"He's defenseless as this doll," Crowley finally says, loathe to let Castiel realize that Crowley's aware now.
Castiel arches an eyebrow up at him, another annoying habit that he's gained from Dean. Crowley doesn't care if he's letting his flawless mask slip a little more than he should.
"He's safe and hardly defenseless," Castiel intones.
"His mind was erased. He's not quite the Dean Winchester of days gone by."
"He is still Dean," Castiel points, as if that makes a difference.
"And what if you're wrong?" Crowley asks, not voicing the real question: what happens if Dean dies?
"He's safe," Castiel calmly replies. "I need him kept apart from Sam for our plan to work."
And suddenly Crowley gets it. If Sam and Dean reunite, Castiel's little plan will come crashing down. Crowley sighs, abandoning the glass in favour of the bottle, it's not just Castiel's little plan since he had helped to formulate it. Still he has doubts and reservations about it now. How can either of them be sure that purgatory is the answer? Crowley drains the bottle, not that there was much left in the whiskey bottle to begin with. He understands now why Bobby Singer drinks the cheap stuff.
Sam's a sociopath, Dean's gone for all purposes, and Crowley has foolishly placed his trust in an angel. Crowley feels like the net is closing around him tightly. He's almost helpless like he was when he was a pathetic human. He magics down another bottle, this time, a little lower than the top shelf and drinks heartily from it. It's easy to ignore the heavy weight of Castiel's judgment. As if the angel has any right to judge him.
Before Crowley can cal Castiel on it, his phone rings. The demon utters a curse that surprisingly doesn't shock the angel. Apparently, Dean Winchester was more of a bad influence on Castiel than Crowley had imagined. No one wonder why no one in Heaven or Hell speaks fondly of Dean Winchester. Crowley answers his phone and sighs.
The phone call is bad. Very bad. In fact. Crowley is surprised that he's actually getting it. In the past, he wouldn't have approached his superior with this type of news. He abruptly ends the call, hanging up while the other demon is still groveling, Crowley will deal with the demon later. He's in no mood to listen to the sycophantic groveling of an underling. Castiel arches an eyebrow up at him and Crowley wants to rip the offending eyebrow off of the angel's face and then drown himself in all of the alcohol in the bar.
"We have a problem," Crowley calmly says.
"What is that?"
"Sam's been attacked by Eve and Dean's been kidnapped by Alpha," Crowley tells Castiel.
"Eve should be easy enough to handle," Castiel smugly says.
Crowley misses the day when Castiel didn't believe in his own hype. When Castiel was just an angel, when it was clear that they were enemies.
"And what of Dean?" Crowley asks, even though he knows the answer.
"I have already told you, Dean is of no concern to us in this endeavour."
* * *
Something is horribly wrong once again. And he feels like the axis of the world has shifted just enough for him to notice a difference but not significant enough for anyone else to notice. Alpha snaps at him as Romeo paces the small confines of their hiding hole. Romeo is nervous but Dean is only worried. Whoever he truly is. he knows that Alpha and Echo and the dollhouse are nothing more than small fish in a much larger pool where far more dangerous predators are lurking.
"I've made you into a god and you're ungrateful," Alpha complains. "You and Echo are both blind to the gift I've given you."
Alpha's words pull forth Dean, pushing Romeo beneath the surface. It's Dean who shivers at the word god. There's a word that's on the tip of his tongue but has been obliterated with one too many treatments. There are vague, hazy memories of interactions with unhappy gods in the past. However it's Romeo who sighs and stares at Alpha with blank green eyes. He didn't ask or even want to be a god. He doubts that Echo had wanted this either.
"Neither of you have any idea of the gift I've bestowed upon you. Echo would rather save the world than embrace what I've given her and you're too timid," Alpha complains.
Romeo halts his pacing, a reply on his lips but before he can reply a man magically appears in front of them. Fumes of alcohol pour off of the him, an once immaculate suit is crumpled and Dean thinks that this man has fallen far since he last saw him. There's a familiarity about him that he can't focus on when Alpha pulls a gun on the man.
"Who are you?" Alpha growls.
"Crowley, an old friend of his," Crowley says as he points at Romeo.
"He doesn't have nay friends,' Alpha says before he shoots at Crowley.
Dean could have told Alpha the futility in shooting this man who's actually a wolf in sheep's clothing but he had been desperately fighting Romeo for control of his body. Once he's in charge, it's easy to overpower Alpha and to take the gun from the other man. It's useless against Crowley who grimaces in pain before glaring at Dean.
"I've been shot far too many times since I've made your acquaintance," Crowley bitterly says. "Keep him in line, would you?"
"What do you want?" Dean stonily asks.
Romeo and the others stuck in his head scratch at the flimsy wall that Dean has hastily erected.
"I want many things Dean but right now I'll settle for a glass of whiskey, anything you have on hand will do," Crowley replies.
"You'll have to without," Alpha tells him. "And Dean doesn't live there anymore."
"Shut up Alpha," Dean caustically says. "Why are you here Crowley?"
Crowley dramatically sighs. "You're back in charge and this is how you thank me?"
Dean thinks it would be funny how Alpha's mouth is opening and closing as if the other active was a fish. However there are far too many holes in his memory and he knows he doesn't have the time to waste on laughing. He's not sure if he should trust Crowley or not. Aside from the fact that Crowley is a demon, Dean seems to remember that this one in particular is a tricky one. All that he knows for certain is that Crowley is a demon and demons get rather angry when they get shot.
"What do you want?" Dean asks again.
Crowley looks at him and Dean realizes that Crowley is tired. There's a certain vulnerability about the demon that Dean is certain was never there before. It makes Dean feel his own fatigue even more. He just wants to leave this claustrophobic hiding hole behind, he wants to leave Alpha and Crowley behind, leave all of the confusion, all of the people he now is behind but he can't. He rubs the back of his neck and wonders why it always has to boil down to a Winchester saving the world.
"Sam is in trouble," Crowley says.
The name is familiar but it's not at the same time. It's hard for Dean to place his younger brother in his mind. Dean looks at Crowley blankly as he tries to remember his brother. The best that he can come up with is that Sam is always in trouble but the particulars escape him. Alpha quietly watches and that worries Dean far more than any potential danger than Sam might be in. There's a sense of detachment that he feels the more he tries to think about his brother, about who he is and who he was. Wearing Romeo is far easier and more comfortable for him.
"And that affects me how?" Dean asks.
"Aren't you the one who brought him to the house?" Alpha quietly asks at the same time.
Alpha's words wash over him and he thinks that there's something important there but Dean can't quite place them. Instead he focuses on Crowley's reaction and he's certain that he's never seen Crowley look as defeated as he does in this moment. And Dean's pretty certain that there were would have been a time when it would have made him happy but that was before he had a host of voices clamouring inside of his head. Words tumble out of Crowley's mouth as the demon tells him (both of them actually) how everything began, the alliance with Castiel and to where they are now. Dean feels a sharp pain in the pit of his stomach when he realizes that it was Castiel who had sold him out and that Crowley has only been Castiel's puppet. It's the first time that Dean has really felt something for his former life.
"What exactly is that you think that I can do?" Dean finally questions.
"Someone needs to stop Castiel before he goes too far," Crowley says.
The statement causes Dean to roll his eyes, from the sounds of it Castiel has already gone far enough. Dean is reminded of Zachariah and how the angel was always trying to push him into some unwanted position. He's not sure if Crowley's trying to do that and if he should still trust in Castiel. Yet there's something about all of this that stinks of a betrayal by Castiel. There's too much truth in Crowley's despair even if there's no truth in his words. Dean heavily sighs.
"I'm pretty sure that killing an angel is a task that I'm not quite up to," Dean tiredly replies.
Alpha looks gob smacked as he sits down on one of the two cots. It's then that Dean realizes that Alpha has accepted the idea of demons, angels and monsters rather easily. He wonders just how much the other man knows about him, about who he was before the wires were stuck in his brain. He files it away for something to think about later.
"You're my only hope," Crowley says.
"No," Alpha flatly says.
"I don't think that you realize the consequences if Dean doesn't at least try," Crowley argues.
Alpha gives the demon a chilling smile that clearly tells Dean that Alpha doesn't give a damn about the consequences, as if he had ever doubted that even as Romeo. He's fairly certain that the other active would delight in an old-fashioned apocalypse. Dean shakes his head and realizes that buried deep inside there is a part of him that does still care.
"I will give it a try," Dean finally says.
"There's the Dean Winchester that I know," Crowley smugly replies.
Author: Aaronlisa
Fandom: Supernatural/Dollhouse
Pairing/Characters: Dean Winchester, Echo, Alpha, Adelle DeWitt, Boyd Langton, Castiel, Bobby Singer, Crowley, Samuel Campbell
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: Supernatural belongs to Eric Kripke and company, while Dollhouse belongs to Joss Whedon and company. The title comes from "Emotional Rescue" by The Rolling Stones.
Notes: The story changes POV quite a bit and at times, some characters are dealing with the same events at the same time. Written for the 2012 sncross_bigbang.
Summary: Set at the end of Supernatural Season Five, Dean becomes an active and embroiled in the plots at the LA Dollhouse while Castiel and Crowley search for purgatory.
Word Count: 3405/16207
The treatment helps. He's Romeo now. Dean is still there but underneath the surface along with his guilt. Romeo can call on Dean or anyone else when needed but Romeo knows that Dean is only biding his time. Echo might whisper about holding her body for Caroline but Romeo knows that when push comes to shove that Echo is the real girl just like Dean is the real boy. When Echo and Ballard run, Romeo stays put, submitting to the treatments and wipes that are ineffectual. His head is getting far too crowded and he wonders if Echo or even Alpha feel the same way.
* * *
If he can't have her then he'll steal his other creation. From what he can tell, Romeo is a pale imitation of Echo. But Alpha is greedy. He made Romeo so why shouldn't he have him? Why shouldn't he make Romeo a god? Echo obviously has rejected him and her potential godhood. And Alpha's certain that if he steals Romeo, well it'll bring Echo to him. With her bleeding heart, she won't be able to resist playing the hero to save Romeo.
* * *
Romeo can't talk to his handler, he can't express how much he misses Echo. Sierra and Victor help but it's a dangerous game and the three of them are aware of how much they are watched now. Romeo even more so. Boyd guides him through the maze but Romeo knows that it's because of Echo that he has to be more careful. Everything is because of Echo. Except of course for Dean. He's Dean but he's not. Dean is catatonic, struck in the prison of his mind while Romeo has to navigate through the complexity of the dollhouse without Echo. And then Alpha is there.
* * *
Bobby sees Sam Winchester often enough for the older man to know that the younger has changed. He's not the same man who struggled not to be a pawn in the war between Heaven and Hell. Not once since he had managed to escape Lucifer's cage has Sam asked about his brother or his whereabouts. Not once has Bobby voiced his concerns, worries or fears for Dean Winchester to Sam. As a hunter, Sam has become far more ruthless than John Winchester ever was. Bobby will give Sam information and assistance but he draws the line on going on a hunt with the younger Winchester. Instead Bobby continues to call in favours, desperate to find something, anything that will give him some meager hint as to what has happened to Dean.
The one thing that Bobby refuses to admit to himself is that with every dead end he encounters, the more he fears that Dean is gone. That he's dead and that Bobby has failed him in the end.
* * *
There's a part of Sam, hidden beneath the layers of ruthlessness, that wonders what has happened to his brother. He wants to call up Lisa Braeden and finds out if the woman has any clue as to where Dean is. This part of Sam that's locked up can see the way that his grandfather looks at him and he can hear how Bobby speaks to him. Neither man trusts Sam Winchester and that secret part of him that's still him hates it. However that part of him is locked away and hidden. The rest of Sam that the world sees doesn't really care. Dean is lost. Or not. It doesn't matter. It doesn't affect him.
* * *
She doesn't hear about the fact that Alpha has Romeo for about a month. Paul and Boyd had agreed on keeping her in the dark. In fact Paul argues with her about trying to save Romeo. He's against it and Echo's not. She knows the truth about Alpha now that Alpha has scraped the scales off of her eyes. Echo knows that Alpha will do his best to break the other active. And that every day, she is kept away from them, the worse it will be for Romeo. Yet Paul refuses to listen to her arguments, he tells her that they can't risk returning to the house quite yet and she's left waiting for Boyd to call them in.
* * *
It's Topher who goes to Adelle DeWitt, who expresses his concerns. He's nervous because this is something that he should have caught months ago. Topher knows that he can't trust anyone else but Adelle, that he can't even trust his man friend Boyd with his fears. Someone has hacked into his computer, rather cleverly and is monitoring all of the imprints and wipes. And that someone could be anyone. Even someone within the house. It could be Ivy or Boyd or Dr. Saunders. The incident with Dominic had taught Topher to not trust anyone but Adelle. And maybe Echo. But Echo's not there.
He enters Adelle's office and the stink of alcohol hits his nose. He realizes just how much power Boyd has been wielding in Adelle's place. She stares at him blankly, lost in some alcohol stupor while he tries to explain what he's found. Topher tries to dumb it down for her but she doesn't really understand the seriousness of the situation and eventually he leaves her to her glass of vodka. He'll try to figure it out on his own.
* * *
Boyd sighs as he watches Topher leave Adelle's office. He worries that Topher has discovered more than he should have. They've all been spread thin in the recent months with Alpha's second attack on the house, Echo's escape, Adelle's drowning her sorrow in alcohol. Boyd decides that it's no longer effective for him to allow Adelle to wallow. He needs her back, fighting and working with him, even if she doesn't realize how much she's playing into his hand.
He enters her office and gives her a pep talk. Her bleary eyes stare up at him and he's tempted to drag her to Topher's office and to wipe her. It goes against everything that he's working towards but at the same time, drastic measures call for drastic means. Somehow, he does manage to convince her to lay off the alcohol and in less than twenty-four hours, Adelle DeWitt is back in her office, sober and ready to prepare for the war.
* * *
Crowley sighs in exasperation as Castiel enters the bar looking awkward in his cheap business suit and tan-coloured trench coat. In other words, Castiel either looks like an angel or an accountant. At least demons don't seem to stand out as much as angels tend to. As Castiel looks around, Crowley's fairly certain that he's heard a horrible joke or three about how an angel and a demon walk into a bar in the past. It hadn't been funny then and it's certainly not funny now. Then again when has an angel ever worked with a demon? Crowley's figured out that there's a reason why.
The demon takes a drink of his whiskey, savouring as the liquid burns a path from his tongue to his belly. For a moment, he misses working with Bobby Singer and the Winchesters. He finds himself missing Bobby's cheap whiskey. Anything would be better than meeting Castiel in an empty bar, while Crowley does his best to drown his sorrow in all of the alcohol on the top shelf. When Castiel finally sits down beside him, Crowley muses on the fact that Castiel is uncomfortable wearing his suit of humanity. Unlike Crowley, Castiel is still desperate to uphold Daddy's wishes. No wonder Castiel likes Dean so much.
Castiel arches an eyebrow at him and Crowley merely slides across a manila envelope to Castiel before finishing the glass of whiskey and pouring himself another one.
"What is this?" Castiel asks.
"Open it and see," Crowley replies.
The envelope contains evidence about how Castiel's little plan isn't working out quite like how he wanted it to. Dean's not safe in LA, not that Crowley particularly cares. As far as he is concerned, the dollhouse is the best thing that ever happened to him. Dean has been neutralized and in a perfect world that would give Crowley great satisfaction. However, Crowley finds himself caring more than he should. But that's not something that Crowley will ever admit to the angel.
Castiel is silent as he reads through the information that was contained in the envelope and Crowley merely drinks his alcohol. Finally Castiel places the report back in the envelope and slides it across the bar back to Crowley. Their eyes meet in the mirror behind the bar and Castiel expectantly waits for Crowley to say something. It's not the reaction that Crowley had expected. There's something infuriating about Castiel that makes Crowley grind his teeth before he downs another glass of the whiskey.
"He's still safer in the dollhouse," Castiel finally says.
"Are you serious? The dollhouse is on the brink of an internal rebellion. There's a sociopath after him and you think he's safer there?" Crowley demands.
"Yes."
Castiel's gravely voice is flat and Crowley finally realizes that he's nothing more than just another pawn in Castiel's game. Crowley's used to angels being inconsiderate and to use Dean's word for them: dicks. But this takes the cake. Dean is in very serious danger, not that he's still Dean if the reports are accurate. This Alpha individual is quite the obsessed character and Castiel doesn't care. In fact, Castiel doesn't care about anything than the end game. Dean, Sam, Samuel and Crowley are just pawns being moved across the chessboard.
"He's defenseless as this doll," Crowley finally says, loathe to let Castiel realize that Crowley's aware now.
Castiel arches an eyebrow up at him, another annoying habit that he's gained from Dean. Crowley doesn't care if he's letting his flawless mask slip a little more than he should.
"He's safe and hardly defenseless," Castiel intones.
"His mind was erased. He's not quite the Dean Winchester of days gone by."
"He is still Dean," Castiel points, as if that makes a difference.
"And what if you're wrong?" Crowley asks, not voicing the real question: what happens if Dean dies?
"He's safe," Castiel calmly replies. "I need him kept apart from Sam for our plan to work."
And suddenly Crowley gets it. If Sam and Dean reunite, Castiel's little plan will come crashing down. Crowley sighs, abandoning the glass in favour of the bottle, it's not just Castiel's little plan since he had helped to formulate it. Still he has doubts and reservations about it now. How can either of them be sure that purgatory is the answer? Crowley drains the bottle, not that there was much left in the whiskey bottle to begin with. He understands now why Bobby Singer drinks the cheap stuff.
Sam's a sociopath, Dean's gone for all purposes, and Crowley has foolishly placed his trust in an angel. Crowley feels like the net is closing around him tightly. He's almost helpless like he was when he was a pathetic human. He magics down another bottle, this time, a little lower than the top shelf and drinks heartily from it. It's easy to ignore the heavy weight of Castiel's judgment. As if the angel has any right to judge him.
Before Crowley can cal Castiel on it, his phone rings. The demon utters a curse that surprisingly doesn't shock the angel. Apparently, Dean Winchester was more of a bad influence on Castiel than Crowley had imagined. No one wonder why no one in Heaven or Hell speaks fondly of Dean Winchester. Crowley answers his phone and sighs.
The phone call is bad. Very bad. In fact. Crowley is surprised that he's actually getting it. In the past, he wouldn't have approached his superior with this type of news. He abruptly ends the call, hanging up while the other demon is still groveling, Crowley will deal with the demon later. He's in no mood to listen to the sycophantic groveling of an underling. Castiel arches an eyebrow up at him and Crowley wants to rip the offending eyebrow off of the angel's face and then drown himself in all of the alcohol in the bar.
"We have a problem," Crowley calmly says.
"What is that?"
"Sam's been attacked by Eve and Dean's been kidnapped by Alpha," Crowley tells Castiel.
"Eve should be easy enough to handle," Castiel smugly says.
Crowley misses the day when Castiel didn't believe in his own hype. When Castiel was just an angel, when it was clear that they were enemies.
"And what of Dean?" Crowley asks, even though he knows the answer.
"I have already told you, Dean is of no concern to us in this endeavour."
* * *
Something is horribly wrong once again. And he feels like the axis of the world has shifted just enough for him to notice a difference but not significant enough for anyone else to notice. Alpha snaps at him as Romeo paces the small confines of their hiding hole. Romeo is nervous but Dean is only worried. Whoever he truly is. he knows that Alpha and Echo and the dollhouse are nothing more than small fish in a much larger pool where far more dangerous predators are lurking.
"I've made you into a god and you're ungrateful," Alpha complains. "You and Echo are both blind to the gift I've given you."
Alpha's words pull forth Dean, pushing Romeo beneath the surface. It's Dean who shivers at the word god. There's a word that's on the tip of his tongue but has been obliterated with one too many treatments. There are vague, hazy memories of interactions with unhappy gods in the past. However it's Romeo who sighs and stares at Alpha with blank green eyes. He didn't ask or even want to be a god. He doubts that Echo had wanted this either.
"Neither of you have any idea of the gift I've bestowed upon you. Echo would rather save the world than embrace what I've given her and you're too timid," Alpha complains.
Romeo halts his pacing, a reply on his lips but before he can reply a man magically appears in front of them. Fumes of alcohol pour off of the him, an once immaculate suit is crumpled and Dean thinks that this man has fallen far since he last saw him. There's a familiarity about him that he can't focus on when Alpha pulls a gun on the man.
"Who are you?" Alpha growls.
"Crowley, an old friend of his," Crowley says as he points at Romeo.
"He doesn't have nay friends,' Alpha says before he shoots at Crowley.
Dean could have told Alpha the futility in shooting this man who's actually a wolf in sheep's clothing but he had been desperately fighting Romeo for control of his body. Once he's in charge, it's easy to overpower Alpha and to take the gun from the other man. It's useless against Crowley who grimaces in pain before glaring at Dean.
"I've been shot far too many times since I've made your acquaintance," Crowley bitterly says. "Keep him in line, would you?"
"What do you want?" Dean stonily asks.
Romeo and the others stuck in his head scratch at the flimsy wall that Dean has hastily erected.
"I want many things Dean but right now I'll settle for a glass of whiskey, anything you have on hand will do," Crowley replies.
"You'll have to without," Alpha tells him. "And Dean doesn't live there anymore."
"Shut up Alpha," Dean caustically says. "Why are you here Crowley?"
Crowley dramatically sighs. "You're back in charge and this is how you thank me?"
Dean thinks it would be funny how Alpha's mouth is opening and closing as if the other active was a fish. However there are far too many holes in his memory and he knows he doesn't have the time to waste on laughing. He's not sure if he should trust Crowley or not. Aside from the fact that Crowley is a demon, Dean seems to remember that this one in particular is a tricky one. All that he knows for certain is that Crowley is a demon and demons get rather angry when they get shot.
"What do you want?" Dean asks again.
Crowley looks at him and Dean realizes that Crowley is tired. There's a certain vulnerability about the demon that Dean is certain was never there before. It makes Dean feel his own fatigue even more. He just wants to leave this claustrophobic hiding hole behind, he wants to leave Alpha and Crowley behind, leave all of the confusion, all of the people he now is behind but he can't. He rubs the back of his neck and wonders why it always has to boil down to a Winchester saving the world.
"Sam is in trouble," Crowley says.
The name is familiar but it's not at the same time. It's hard for Dean to place his younger brother in his mind. Dean looks at Crowley blankly as he tries to remember his brother. The best that he can come up with is that Sam is always in trouble but the particulars escape him. Alpha quietly watches and that worries Dean far more than any potential danger than Sam might be in. There's a sense of detachment that he feels the more he tries to think about his brother, about who he is and who he was. Wearing Romeo is far easier and more comfortable for him.
"And that affects me how?" Dean asks.
"Aren't you the one who brought him to the house?" Alpha quietly asks at the same time.
Alpha's words wash over him and he thinks that there's something important there but Dean can't quite place them. Instead he focuses on Crowley's reaction and he's certain that he's never seen Crowley look as defeated as he does in this moment. And Dean's pretty certain that there were would have been a time when it would have made him happy but that was before he had a host of voices clamouring inside of his head. Words tumble out of Crowley's mouth as the demon tells him (both of them actually) how everything began, the alliance with Castiel and to where they are now. Dean feels a sharp pain in the pit of his stomach when he realizes that it was Castiel who had sold him out and that Crowley has only been Castiel's puppet. It's the first time that Dean has really felt something for his former life.
"What exactly is that you think that I can do?" Dean finally questions.
"Someone needs to stop Castiel before he goes too far," Crowley says.
The statement causes Dean to roll his eyes, from the sounds of it Castiel has already gone far enough. Dean is reminded of Zachariah and how the angel was always trying to push him into some unwanted position. He's not sure if Crowley's trying to do that and if he should still trust in Castiel. Yet there's something about all of this that stinks of a betrayal by Castiel. There's too much truth in Crowley's despair even if there's no truth in his words. Dean heavily sighs.
"I'm pretty sure that killing an angel is a task that I'm not quite up to," Dean tiredly replies.
Alpha looks gob smacked as he sits down on one of the two cots. It's then that Dean realizes that Alpha has accepted the idea of demons, angels and monsters rather easily. He wonders just how much the other man knows about him, about who he was before the wires were stuck in his brain. He files it away for something to think about later.
"You're my only hope," Crowley says.
"No," Alpha flatly says.
"I don't think that you realize the consequences if Dean doesn't at least try," Crowley argues.
Alpha gives the demon a chilling smile that clearly tells Dean that Alpha doesn't give a damn about the consequences, as if he had ever doubted that even as Romeo. He's fairly certain that the other active would delight in an old-fashioned apocalypse. Dean shakes his head and realizes that buried deep inside there is a part of him that does still care.
"I will give it a try," Dean finally says.
"There's the Dean Winchester that I know," Crowley smugly replies.