Fairytales are Real Part 7: Lady and the Dragon
After leaving the kingdom it took them a few days to get to where Ruby's gang was camped out. Dean was against going back to Ruby, because he still didn't trust her, but they didn't really have anywhere else to turn to. They knew that Michael and the other angels would be after them and they needed allies. Ruby seemed to be expecting them when they got to the campout. She helped Sam off his horse. “Thank the gods you got here alright. I knew those douchebag angels were up to something.” She gave Sam a quick kiss on his cheek and Dean eyed her wearily. Sam saw his looks and pushed Ruby away.
“We need some way to defeat Lilith, like yesterday. Michael's army is going to be after us and we need something to make us strong enough to resist him.”
Ruby smiled slyly, “I thought you would say that. I've been doing some research, and I think I know how we can kill Lilith.” She led Sam and Dean to her own tent and a table in the middle. On the table was an old scroll, beginning to fall apart. On the scroll was a drawing of a large dragon. “What's this?” Dean grunts.
“This is a way to kill Lilith. This is Zennyo Ryuo, a goddess that transforms into a dragon. It is said that her fangs are as sharp as knives and emit a powerful poison that can smite demons, monsters, and angels alike. With her fang we can kill Lilith.”
Dean raised his eyebrow at her, and Sam frowned, “So how do you propose we defeat her if she can kill with her teeth?”
“Well, when she's injured, she reverts back to her human form which is a lot easier to kill. We're going to have to take her by surprise.” Ruby was very absorbed in reading through the text on the scroll.
Dean was still skeptical, “You're going to kill a dragon goddess? Aren't dragons supposed to be known for their wisdom or something? And you're supposed to woo them with your wit? How the hell are you going to kill it?”
Ruby sighs, “Don't you worry about it, Dean. We need her if Sam's going to be strong enough to defeat Lilith. We think we've tracked down her lair, but we have to wait till it rains because she's a goddess of rain and only reveals herself in it.”
Dean shook his head, “This is a really bad idea.”
Sam dragged Dean out of Ruby's tent and faced him, “Dean I know you're really against this, and if we had any other way I'd be all for it, but we don't. We tried going to Heaven and Michael and the angels turned out to be a bunch of douchebags. This could be our only chance Dean! My only chance! You know what this means, right? If I defeat Lilith, I'll get my own happily ever after, my own fairytale, and then I'll save Lawrence ... I'll save the world Dean. I could bring back the fairytale! I just have to do this first, so are you with me or not, Dean?”
Dean sighed, “I know, Sam. I know.” He grunted, “I trust you, I do. It's her I don't trust. Do we really need to kill the dragon? Can't we just ask her for her fang? Maybe she'll be sympathetic to our cause and will want to help us.”
Sam looked at the ground, kicking some dust up with his feet before taking a breath and looking Dean in the eyes. “No, Dean. We need her. We need her body.” Sam grimaced, “Look, I was going to tell you ... but I wasn't really sure how. Ruby and I, we've been ... hunting monsters and then eating them.” Sam bit his lip, expecting Dean's look of disgust but Dean kept his face carefully blank, so Sam continued, “I know what you're thinking, it's disgusting but it makes me stronger, Dean. When we eat the monsters, we gain their strength, that's how I've been getting so strong. And can you imagine it Dean? If I eat a goddess, can you imagine how strong I would be?”
Dean looked away from his brother, scrunching his face, “I know, Sam. I know what you've been doing. Do you have any idea how bad that sounds? Castiel said ... he said if you continue, you'd become a monster yourself.” Dean forced himself to look at his brother, his brother looked crushed. “Sam, this is dangerous. That can't be good for you. Ruby's a demon, but you're human, your body is not made to do that. Castiel's right, it will change you if you keep that up. I trust you, Sam, but you have to stop. I want to help you, but I cannot condone that.” He stared his brother down with a heavy gaze and Sam looked like he was on the verge of tears.
Sam threw himself at his brother, wrapping his arms around his chest and pushing his face into his shoulder, his tears were now pouring freely and he was sobbing, “I'm so sorry, Dean. I'm so sorry. I should have told you. I'm sorry. I don't want to be a monster. I'll stop, I promise.”
Dean ruffled the back of Sam's hair, “Ok, buddy. I know you are. Ok, enough girl talk, right?” He gently pushed his brother off his shoulder. “Come on, I'll help you ice this dragon so we can get the fang, but we don't need to eat it. You'll be strong enough without that, right?” Sam nodded between soft sobs.
Dean and Sam waited in Ruby's camp for days for it to rain. They trained while they waited, building up their strength. Sam stayed out of Ruby's tent and out of her bed during their time there and Dean was really proud of him. He thought he could finally start to trust his brother. Ruby was not pleased, and her men were even less so. Most of them did not trust the Winchester brothers and wanted to leave. Then, finally, on a Friday, it rained. The brothers and their demon companions packed up everything they'd need for their hunt. The camp was only a few hours from where Ruby and her companions concluded the goddess' lair was.
At the mouth of the cave, a sweet smell wafted through the entrance. Sam informed Dean that it was most likely lotuses, the flower that symbolizes fertility. The cave was very moist, water dripped from the ceiling and walls like rain and echoed loudly throughout the stone tunnels, deafening the brothers. Although they could not communicate to each other through voice, which would have been a hindrance for any other hunters, the Winchesters could communicate to each other through hand signals and facial expressions. As such, they were able to weave the intricate tunnels of the caves. At some point they lost the majority of Ruby's army, either through the maze of tunnels, or through the small creatures that protected the caves and kept attacking the hunters. Soon it was down to just Sam, Dean, and Ruby as they came to a large alcove within the caves. There was a large lake in the middle and a young woman was bathing within the waters, washing her long blonde hair. Dean was mesmerized by the woman's beauty and started moving towards her, pulled in by her mystic beauty.
Ruby threw out a hand, grabbing onto Dean's arm and stopping him from progressing further. “Stop, you'll alert her to our presence.”
Dean scrunched his nose up looking at Ruby dazedly. The woman suddenly looked up, spotting the intruders. She let out a loud wail and suddenly her limbs stretched out and scales grew down her body, glistening in the artificial light of the hunters' lanterns. Before them stood a large, blue-gray dragon that could easily rival ten men stood on top one another head to toe. Dean gaped up at it, “My lord, that was the beautiful woman of a moment ago?”
Ruby hissed, “Yes, and you've alerted her now.”
The dragon let out another wail and spewed out flames from her great mouth. The two brothers jumped in opposite directions, avoiding the flames. The dragon immediately began running towards Dean, letting out great wails. Dean stumbled, trying to draw his sword. He glanced across the room to Sam and Ruby, Sam was trying to find a hiding spot as Ruby began drawing the sigils they would need to transform Sam's sword into a weapon that could pierce the dragon's scales. So Dean was left to distract the dragon ...
He weaved in and out of rock formations as the dragon kept trying to spew fire at its victim. He didn't even have enough time between bursts to attack back. Then he got to the end of the line, where he was trapped between the dragon and the lake. He only thought for a moment before throwing himself into the lake. The dragon stomped its feet in anger, at this point it had completely forgotten about Sam and Ruby and its sole prey was Dean. The dragon flew up into the air and dove into the water, causing ripples to spread throughout the lake. It swam like a fish, being born of water and dove deep until it found Dean and snatched him into her jaw. She flew out of the water, soaring into the air. Dean was unconscious in her jaw.
Sam and Ruby had finished their spell and Sam was waiting for the beast, standing over the lake by balancing on a rock formation. When she flew up into the air, Sam clenched his teeth, “You let go of my brother, you bitch.” The dragon snapped her head in Sam's direction. She opened her mouth to let out a loud roar, dropping Dean into the water. Dean's unconscious body dropped like a dead weight into the depths of the water. Sam looked down to his brother's figure, face torn. “I've got him, you kill that bitch!” Ruby yelled out as she dove into the lake after Dean's body.
Sam, now having nothing to divide his attention, jumped onto the back of the dragon. She tried to knock him off, breathing fire down her back but she couldn't reach his small form clinging to her back. He stabbed the sword in between her wings and the dragon let out a low cry. Suddenly she started to shrink very quickly, until Sam was clutching to a naked woman and plummeting into the water below him. He broke the surface of the water with a loud smack and the two plummeted deep. As soon as they stopped sinking, Sam kicked off and dragged the limp body to the surface. He swam to the shore where Ruby and Dean were panting heavily. He dragged the body up and threw her next to his body.
Dean grimaced and backed away, the body was broken and very different from the beautiful woman she was when he'd first saw her. Ruby grinned at Sam, “Good job, Sam. Now we need to extract her fang.”
“Well will the fang still work when she's in her human form?”
“One way to find out,” Ruby declared as she pulled open the other woman's jaw and, using her long nails, pulled the largest tooth from her mouth. As she tossed it to Sam, it suddenly transformed back into a large dragon fang. The body before Ruby changed back into a massive dragon as well. Sam examined it for a moment before putting it into his pack.
Ruby took out her knife and used it to rip off a chunk of the dragon's flank. Dean stared at her in horror as she handed it over to Sam. Sam took it cautiously and Dean glared at him, “Sammy.”
Sam looked at Dean with a sad expression, “I'm sorry, Dean. But I need to be as strong as possible.” Sam bit into the dragon flesh as Dean tried to throw himself at him to dislodge the meat. They struggled for a moment before Ruby pulled Dean off his brother and held him back. In his weakened state, after nearly drowning, she was able to easily hold him back. Dean stared at Sam, feeling very betrayed. Sam began to tear up as he ate whatever Ruby gave him.
***
For the rest of the ride after Lilith, Dean ignored his brother. He was ready to leave him and head home, feeling betrayed and angry towards Ruby, but he didn't want to leave his brother with her again and he didn't want him to have to face Lilith on his own. And so Dean rode beside the two silently. The whole ride to Lilith's encampment, Sam kept throwing his brother side glances, seeking forgiveness but Dean just kept his eyes forward and Ruby sighed defeatedly. When they stopped for the night, Ruby tried to comfort Sam, which would only piss Dean off more until Sam told Ruby to leave him alone. And so the three sat in silence, each one considering what they'd given up to get there.
It didn't take very long to find Lilith considering everything they'd done to get there. It was almost a disappointment to Dean when they arrived at Lilith's camp with no guards and complete silence. It was kind of too easy, like a trap easy. Sam clutched to the spear he'd made of the dragon fang as they silently entered the camp. They followed the silence to the tent that Ruby suspected Lilith was hauled up in. They entered the tent to see Lilith seated on her bed, watching the two brothers. Suddenly, two demons grabbed either side of Dean and shoved him onto his feet. “Sam!” He called out in his panic, but Sam was getting manhandled too and his spear was ripped from his hands.
Lilith grinned, “You boys thought you would just walk right up to me and stab me with a dragon fang?” she laughed aloud.
Dean was trying to get a look at his brother, but they were holding his head down to the ground. Suddenly he heard his brother laughing, “I'm stronger than the last time we saw each other.” He was outright chuckling now. The two demons holding onto him looked nervous now. Sam wrestled his way out of their grasp and punched them both alongside the head, knocking them out. Dean overtook the two demons that were holding onto him in their momentary surprise and was able to regain his sword, slicing one of their throats before the other was on him.
Sam grabbed a hold of his lost spear and had it pointed at Lilith who chuckled but even she didn't seem so confident anymore. She waved one of her hands but nothing happened. “Oh no, your little demon tricks won't work on me anymore.”
She frowned, “Well fine, but they'll work on him.” Lilith declared as she waved her hand towards Dean and Dean went flying back against the wall. The demon that was grappling with him, was able to get the better of him and now had his own blade to Dean's throat.
Sam gritted his teeth, “No you don't! Hands off my brother!” he growled as he plummeted the spear into Lilith's chest. Lilith screamed before she burst into a bright light and the whole room lit up. Sam fell back, stunned and the demon holding onto Dean had lost its control causing Dean to fall to the ground as well.
Ruby was laughing as the light did not dissipate right away. “What's going on, Ruby?”
Sam had to close his eyes to keep the light from burning through him. “You did it, Sammy. Oh my, it was a little touch and go for awhile there. But you actually did it!”
“What'd I do, Ruby? Ruby?!”
Ruby's voice seemed to be getting further away as she was moving around the room, Sam wanted to know what was going on but he couldn't risk opening his eyes and burning his retinas. “Oh Sammy, Sammy, you don't even know. You've done a great service to our lord and savior, Lucifer. You see, Lilith was only his pawn, a magical decoy if you will. Killing her only unleashed a greater power for his consumption. And now, Sam, he's coming. He's really going to want to meet you. You've been such a great help in his army. He'll want to reward you!”
“You bitch!” Sam heard Dean shout as he heard a knife plunge into skin.
“Dean? Dean!” Sam still couldn't see anything. He risked opening his eyes for a second but it was too strong, it burned too much, so he was forced to shut his eyes again.
A figure came bundling up next to him and grabbed on to him. “I'm here, Sam. It's ok, Ruby's dead.”
Sam was crying now, “I'm sorry, Dean. I'm so sorry. What I did, I'm so sorry.” There was a shrill screech that burned through the room and the brothers were forced to cover their ears.
And then, suddenly there was silence. “Hello boys.” An unfamiliar voice spoke and the brothers had to open their eyes now. They were surprised to see that the blinding light was gone. There was a man before them, or rather an angel. After spending so much time in the Kingdom of Heaven Dean could tell just by looking at him that he was an angel. Which could only mean one thing, Lucifer was standing before them.
There was a flapping noise behind them and they spun around just in time to see Castiel put two fingers to each of their heads and they were gone. They reappeared several miles away but none of them knew exactly where they were. Sam began puking in a bush and Dean was still in shock. “Cas, you're alive.”
Castiel took a hold of Dean and pulled him away from his brother. Once they were secluded amongst the trees Cas slammed Dean's body into a tree. He punched him in the stomach and Dean doubled over in pain. “Cas, what the fuck?!”
Castiel threw him up against another tree and held onto the collar of Dean's tunic. “You stupid bastard. I've given up everything for you, Dean! And this is how you repay me? By almost getting yourself killed by Lucifer? I don't have a home anymore, Dean. All I have is you.”
Dean stared at Cas, unsure of what to say. This was too big, too much, he'd never been someone's all, or other than Sam's, but Cas wasn't family. No one's ever given up everything for him. And as he was thinking about that, Castiel grabbed his face, one hand on each cheek, and crashed his lips to Dean's. It was messy and inexperienced, and Dean would bet on the fact that Castiel had never kissed another person before, ever. But it was ok, because Dean slowly guided him. He brought Cas' hands down to his own waist, wrapping them around himself firmly before caressing his own hands around Cas' head, running his fingers through his hair. He deepened the kiss by stroking Cas' bottom lip with his tongue and the angel gasped, allowing Dean to slide his tongue into his mouth. Their tongues battled for dominance for awhile, a slow back and forth, tangling into one. And Dean was perfectly content just kissing for awhile, until Cas' hand dragged up under his shirt, stroking the small of his back. Then Dean had to pull away for a deep breath and he rested his forehead against Cas'. They were both breathing heavily now and Dean wrapped his arms around Cas, holding him tightly. “I'm so sorry, Cas. So sorry.” He buried his face into Cas' hair.
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