Fic: Firestarter 5/6 (Supernatural; Dean/Castiel, Superhero AU, R)
Fic Title: Firestarter (Art Masterpost)
Author: misachan
Fandom/Genre: Supernatural (Superhero AU)
Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel (also featuring Sam, Balthazar, Uriel, Gabriel and Alastair)
Rating: R
Word Count: 6787
Warnings: Brief descriptions of violence, minor character death
Summary: Dean Winchester was raised to be a hero, fighting alongside his father to protect the innocents of Lawrence City. Was he ever glad his old man wasn't alive to see him now. A Supernatural superhero AU.
*
Sam was so relieved to find himself back home in his city and on streets that he knew that all he wanted to do for a second was curl up and cry.
There wasn't time, though. He had to find Dean and then the two of them had to...Sam didn't know. Fix this somehow. Sam wouldn't be willing to let a total stranger rot away in hell, let alone someone who had just saved his life.
At least finding Dean didn't turn out to be all that difficult; Sam had walked less than two blocks before he heard his brother arguing with someone, another male voice Sam didn't know. He stayed close to the wall, inching forward until he felt brave enough to peek around the corner. It definitely was Dean getting in the face of an older guy Sam had never seen before, although something about him made the hairs on Sam's neck stand up. They were standing in front of a scar from a failed portal, something Sam had seen a lot of from when Dean had still been getting the hang of things. “I don't know why it failed, that hasn't happened since I was a kid. It felt like there was some interference, it happens. That's why you have to be careful where you place the stupid things.”
“Well, this one needs to happen here.” The other man spoke in a weird cadence, sing-songing the syllables. “Try again.”
Sam saw Dean square his shoulders and try, but nothing happened. “No go,” Dean said. “It's all scarred up, gonna take a week until this spot is good again. Minimum.”
The other man let out a sigh Sam thought could be seen from space. “Well, that will be some inconvenience but fortunately not for me. Until next week.” Sam ducked back into a doorway, expecting the guy to have to walk past, but when after a few seconds nothing happened Sam peeked back out and saw he was just gone, like he'd disappeared.
Sam was just happy Dean was still there, glaring at the ruined wall and rubbing his shoulder like it hurt. Finally Dean seemed to just give up with a shrug and started out, wincing again at the shoulder.
Sam stepped right into his path. “Hey, Dean.”
It was the look on Dean's face that convinced Sam he really had been gone a year. “Sammy?” He reached one hand for Sam and stopped himself short, like he thought Sam might be a ghost. “You can't...there's no way....”
“It's really me, Dean, I swear.”
Sam went in for a hug and Dean backed away, both hands up. “Don't! You gotta stay back.”
“What? Why?”
“Long story.” Then Dean did wrap Sam up in an enormous if very careful hug. “Fuck, Sam, I missed you. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Sam said when Dean finally let him go. “Yeah, I'm fine but that guy you sent after me isn't. Dean, he's in a lot of trouble.”
“What guy? I didn't send anyone after you, I didn't even think that was possible.”
“What do you mean? He said he was your friend. He had...I don't know, dark hair, maybe a little shorter than you? He said his name was Castiel.”
Sam had never seen anyone go so pale so fast. “Cas? How could he...Cas busted you out?”
“Yeah. He saved me twice, once waking me up and then again when they tried to grab me back. I don't know what his power is but he looked like he was unraveling down there.”
“How could Cas even get to hell?”
“He said he was borrowing your mojo. Dean, tell me what's going on.”
Dean just stared at the blackened scar on the wall, rubbing his shoulder. “Shouldn't be too hard to find where the last one opened.” He grabbed Sam's arm. “Hang on, Sam,” Dean said, his arm already stretched toward the wall opposite the scar, then he shoved Sam through the portal the instant it was open.
Sam's head spun as he stumbled through the portal. “I hate it when you do that, Dean!” he said, dropping to his knees until the wooziness faded. “You're getting better though, last time you tried that blind we wound up on different sides of the city.”
Dean didn't answer and and when Sam looked up he understood why. The alley looked like a bomb had gone off, all the windows blasted out and the fire escape of one of the buildings hanging at an angle. Along all the walls were the black impressions of huge wings, like someone had stenciled them there.
And in the middle of all the wreckage Sam saw a dark haired man lying very still.
Dean was at the guy's side like a shot, Sam close behind. Dean went down to his knees at Castiel's side and Sam had never seen his brother look like that. “He opened it right in their faces,” Dean said, his voice low and dangerous. “Serves the sons of bitches right.”
Sam really couldn't bring himself to disagree. As bad as Castiel had looked in hell he looked even worse here, bleeding from dozens of wounds and his half-open eyes vacant. Sam was shocked when he felt for the pulse point in Castiel's neck and found a heartbeat. “Dean, he has a pulse. He's alive.” Dean didn't seem to hear and Sam grabbed his arm to snap him out of the shock. “Dean!” Dean's head snapped forward to look at him, strange black and red flames surrounding him for an instant. “Dean, he's alive. But he's losing a ton of blood, we gotta get him to the hospital.”
Sam saw that break through. “Yeah. Yeah, if his body dies Cas won't have anything to come back to.”
That didn't make sense but Sam didn't care, as long as Dean was talking. “Can we port' him there?”
Dean shook his head. “He won't make it. Go hot wire that car on the corner, we have to drive him.”
“Do you want me to help with him? I can...”
“I got him, Sam. I got him. Go get the car.”
Sam backed out of the alley, not wanting to take his eyes off of Dean. Right before he turned the corner to run for the car he saw Dean examine something around Castiel's neck and slide it into his pocket.
***
Sam got the full story - as much of it as Dean was willing to tell, at any rate, Sam knew his brother well enough to be able to spot when he was leaving stuff out - sitting on a hard bench outside Lawrence City General's intensive care unit. Angels and demons and what Dean had been doing this past year to get him back. Why Dean was so careful not to touch him.
Sam hadn't known it was possible to feel so guilty. “How many people died because of me?”
“Don't think like that, Sam. You didn't do anything wrong, they used you to get to me. Blame me if you have to blame someone.”
Sam leaned his head against the cool of the wall. “I don't think that's true.” Dean started to argue again and Sam shook his head. “When we were in hell Castiel said that the demons were going to ask me to do something but didn't have time to say what. He made me promise not to do it. So that means they wanted me just as much as you. It's both our faults.”
“Nah,” Dean said after a long, quiet moment. “It's the demons' fault, and we'll make sure they get theirs as soon as we get Cas back.”
“What did the nurse say when you talked to her before?” Dean had been scary quiet from the second they got Castiel's body in the car and Sam just wanted to keep him talking.
“Nothing good. They're still trying to figure out what could do that to a person.”
Sam watched him dangle the chain he'd taken from Castiel's neck from his fingers and examine the dim light trapped inside the crystal. “What is that?”
“Cas,” Dean said, holding it up to the light so Sam could have a better look. “A piece of him anyway, or at least that's what he told me. It's usually a lot brighter than this.” He tapped the edge of the cut crystal. “I'm betting when his body finally goes this goes out too.”
“So if that goes out, it means he's dead?”
“Good as. It means he has nowhere to go even if we can get him out. This is our countdown.”
Sam watched the faint light flicker for a moment before steadying. “Then we better get moving.”
“Way ahead of you, Sammy. You think I'd be sitting here if I had something else I could be doing?” Dean closed his eyes, sweeping his hands over the air as if over a map only he could see. “The city's Swiss cheese and that's on me. If I'm gonna open a portal down to hell one more time it's gotta be in a place where it's gonna cause the least damage. I've been looking for the right place.”
“And you found it, right?”
That was a very, very grim smile on Dean's face. “We're going to Stull.”
Sam was sure he must have heard Dean wrong. “Stull Cemetery?”
“You know any other places called Stull in this town?”
“What are we gonna do, open a portal right over Dad's grave?”
“Nah. That would be weird.” Dean's voice was calm but his hands were trembling. “We're doing it over Mom's.”
“Jesus, Dean, that's....”
“Dad only started in this business because of what happened to her. Kind of makes sense that this all comes around. Hell, maybe she'll help, God knows we need it.”
“Okay. Okay, so you open the portal. Then what's the plan.”
Dean shrugged. “Then I go in and pull Cas out. Easy peasy.”
“Dean, you're really starting to freak me out.”
“Trust me, I'm not doing so well myself.” Dean held his shoulder, his breath hissing through his teeth for a few long seconds. “I can't leave another person I...I can't leave him there. I gotta try. I couldn't get you but I can get him.” He flexed his right hand, making red and black flames dance in the center of his palm. “It's not like this whole year hasn't been one long march into hell anyway.” He closed his palm to snuff out the flames. “I'm gonna drop you back at the motel on my way to Stull. Cas has the place all magicked up, it should keep out anything.”
“Like hell you are.”
“Sam, don't argue, I don't have the time for it. They've gotta noticed you're gone, I can't do this while I'm wondering whether the demons snatched you back the second my back's turned.”
“There's no way you're leaving me out.”
“Sam....”
“Don't Sam me. I'm the one who's actually been there, not you. Just because you can do fire tricks now doesn't mean you'll be able to take it down there. What if you can't open a portal to get back? Castiel looked like he was about to keel over when he'd tried that.”
“I don't know what you're....”
“I'll hold the portal open. We've done that before, as long as I'm half in, half out it'll stay open and you guys can go back the way you came. It's the only way this is going to work.”
“Every demon in hell and Earth is gonna be after you, what's your plan for when they show up?”
Sam looked around to make sure there was nobody watching. “I'll use this,” he said, pulling Castiel's sword out of his backpack. He laid it across his lap, guilt flaring back up for a second. “He dropped it when...when they grabbed him.” It took Sam a second to push that memory back down as deep as it could go. “I think it looks like it can help me kill a demon if I have to, right?”
Dean stroked his fingers down the blade, wincing a little like the metal was hot. “I'd say it does, yeah.”
“And besides, I have to be there to give it back to him.”
Dean rested his arms on his knees as he looked at Sam. “You're a pretty good kid.”
Sam had to look away from Dean and back at the sword. Dean wasn't as sparse with compliments as their father had been but it still caught him off guard to hear them. “Yeah, well, you've been hanging out with demons all year. Like I can trust your judgment.” That got something very close to a real smile out of Dean. “How's he look?” Sam said, nodding to the necklace still clutched in Dean's fist.
Dean held the necklace up to the light and Sam could tell at a glance the light was dimmer. “Like he's getting tired of waiting around for us to rescue him already.”
Sam nodded, the sword already back in his bag. “Then we'd better move.”
They didn't even make it back to the car. Dean noticed first, pulling up short at Sam's side. “Oh fuck, not now.”
Sam looked around and felt his heart push up into his throat. Lawrence General was on one of the busier streets in the city but everything was absolutely silent. The people walking by were frozen in place, some caught midstride and others midword, their mouths hanging open like they'd all forgotten what they were about to say. All of the cars were stopped, the light at the intersection paused mid-change from yellow to red. Even the pigeons were frozen.
Sam could tell Dean hadn't noticed any of that. His brother's eyes were locked on a man dressed in green and purple leaning against their front fender. “Well, you can't say I didn't give you ample warning,” he said, pointing the question mark staff in their direction.
“Sam, run,” Dean said, shoving Sam behind him. “Trickster, leave him alone.”
“That's the Trickster?” No one ever saw the Trickster, his goons practically treated him like a god and could never be made to talk. Sam had been half-convinced he was a myth.
“Good to meet a fan,” Trickster said, something Sam could tell was supposed to be mocking but instead came out raw and angry. “I told you what I'd do if he was in front of me, Dean. I can't have you thinking I'm a liar.”
“You're not gonna lay a hand on Sam.”
“See, that's the beauty of all this,” Trickster said, the end of the staff glowing white. “I don't have to be anywhere near him. Sorry kiddo, but you should have been dead a long time ago.”
Dean stepped right in front of Sam. “No way in hell I'm letting you touch my brother.”
“This is really not the time to bring up hell and brothers in the same sentence.”
That was meaningless to Sam but he felt Dean freeze up for an instant and he ducked out from behind Dean to see all the color drain from his face. “That's the same kind of light,” Dean whispered, like some horrible puzzle piece had just clicked into place. “You're one of them.”
“Give the boy a hand.” Sam felt energy crackle through the air, the Trickster's eyes glowing white as enormous wings of shadow spread out on the pavement behind him. “Now hold still.”
“That's why you bounced Cas all over that alley, he knew who you were. You didn't want him to blow your cover.”
“If I'd known what befriending you would do I would have put him out of his misery then and there.”
“And where the hell were you when all of that was happening? Or any of the others? Too busy slumming around here with the humans.” Sam tried to pull him back when Dean stormed up to get right in the Trickster's face but Dean wasn't having it. “Cas told me they put the one taken out before him through so much pain he couldn't even scream and from the looks of him Cas went the same way. Where the hell were you?”
For the first time Trickster looked a little unsure. “I don't take sides against my family.”
“I hate to break it to you, genius, but that's exactly what you did.” That reckless sneer was on Dean's face, the one Sam knew always led right to the emergency room. “Tell the truth. You were scared. That's why you never show your face, you're afraid one of them,” he said, gesturing at the sky, “would notice you. You AWOL? That why you shut Cas up before he could say your name?”
Trickster refused to confirm or deny. “All you had to do was leave town like I'd ordered. Nothing would have been able to happen if you'd just have gotten over yourself.”
“Yeah, I'm not willing to let my brother rot, unlike some people.”
Trickster swung his staff right for Dean's head; Dean ducked, the staff getting close enough to leave a bloody graze on his temple, then he tumbled back out of the line of fire and came back up on his feet, his fists wreathed with flame.
Sam put a stop to the fight the only way he could think of. “Go ahead and kill me.”
That pulled them both up short, and to Sam's immense relief. He hadn't been sure if they'd been too far gone to even hear him. “Sammy, no,” Dean said before Sam cut him off.
“You need to kill me because of what the demons want me to do, right? Because I'm that dangerous?”
“You have no idea how dangerous you are.”
“Then you'd better kill me. You said nothing would have happened if Dean had left, but he wouldn't have done anything if the demons hadn't wanted me in the first place. That makes all of this my fault, not his.”
“Sam, that's not....”
“I got this, Dean.” Sam took one step closer; the power radiating from the Trickster - or whatever he was, really - made it hard to breathe, his chest tight like he'd run too far too fast and hadn't gotten his wind back yet. “You need to kill me, I say go ahead. A lot of people died because of me, it's only fair.”
“Well, at least one of the Winchesters is capable of being reasonable.” He raised his staff and Sam sent another warning glance Dean's way, shaking his head no when Dean took a step forward anyway.
Sam waited until the staff was level with his head before speaking again. “Only you gotta wait until tomorrow to do it.”
“Always a catch,” Trickster said, his voice trying for amused but his eyes too wild and angry to allow it. “Why should I do that.”
Sam felt a bead of sweat slide down his back. “'Cause we're about to go bust Castiel out of hell and it might take us the whole rest of the day.”
Sam had never seen anyone look so angry and he'd grown up with John Winchester. “Castiel's dead. Just like all of the others.”
“Sam's right.” Trickster's head turned toward Dean like it was on a swivel as Dean held up Castiel's necklace. “I got Cas' bling right here,” he said, making the crystal swing like a pendulum, “and it still looks like it's glowing to me.”
The look on the Trickster's face was the exact same one Sam had seen on Dean's a few hours earlier. “But that's...how is that....”
“Cas got a little creative but he's stuck now. We're going to get him.”
Trickster shook his head. “That's not possible. Nothing comes out of hell but demons.”
“I got out,” Sam said and Trickster turned to look back at him. “Castiel got me out, I owe him.” Sam stepped as close to Trickster as he dared, his heart beating so fast he felt light-headed. “So here's the deal: it's my fault this all happened and when this is over you can kill me for it if you want. But right now Castiel's in trouble and if he dies because you wouldn't let us go, that one's all on you.” Sam swallowed hard. “So what's it gonna be?”
Trickster looked from Sam to Dean and back again, as if he was sure one of them had to be lying and was desperate to find the proof. After the tensest ten seconds of Sam's life the shadow wings receded; like a switch had been flipped: the street came back to life, the sudden noise so loud Sam winced. People started to gawk and point but Sam didn't think Trickster noticed. “Where do you have to go to open the portal?”
“Stull Cemetery,” Dean said. “You gonna back off the car and let us go, already?”
“I can do better than that.” Before either of them could protest Trickster touched them both on the shoulder and Sam felt space roar around him, like the beat of impossibly enormous wings.
***
Dean went down to one knee in front of his mother's gravestone, brushing away some dead flowers obscuring her name. “Sorry I haven't visited in a while,” he said, wishing for what felt like the thousandth time that the marble could talk back. “Been a crazy year.”
With that Dean stood and backed up a few paces; looking around to make sure Sam and their new friend had stepped back out of earshot like he'd asked. He'd said he'd needed to concentrate and while that was technically true, it wasn't the real reason he'd asked them to stay away.
He'd felt the summons tickle at the back of his skull while they'd still been at the hospital, right in the middle of plotting the path they'd take. He'd been able to ignore it at first but it kept getting louder, like a cell phone alarm he kept putting off answering and almost as agonizing as the pain radiating from the brand on his shoulder. Patience wasn't one of Alastair's very few virtues and Dean knew if he didn't answer soon the demon would just take it upon himself to investigate. Dean would prefer Sam be on another planet entirely from Alastair but if a few dozen yards away was the best he could manage Dean would take it. “Okay, you miserable son of a bitch,” Dean said, talking to the air. “Come and tell me what you want.”
Alastair materialized in front of him, less than a foot of space between them. “You always say the nicest things.”
Dean felt off balance immediately; he'd expected Alastair to be irate that Sam had escaped but the demon actually looked close to giddy. “I miss something?”
“When you said you'd had it handled I didn't expect you to do this well,” he said, with just enough inflection in his voice that Dean couldn't tell whether that was sarcasm.
“What do you think I did?”
“You sent a living angel into hell,” Alastair said, leaning forward to whisper in Dean's ear like this was a delightful secret. “I know the signature of your power anywhere. I never should have doubted you.”
This was a test. Alastair's tone couldn't hide the sharp way he looked at Dean, like he was trying to gauge his response. “Anyone down there touches him I'll rip their hands off.”
“Of course. You should have first dibs, after all.”
Castiel had told him that demons fed on pain and fear and for the first time Dean realized that hadn't been a metaphor. “You're not keeping him.”
“And what are you planning to do?” Alastair said, circling around him. “You can't just walk in and walk out, you're not...finished enough for that. Even if you do go in you won't be able to escape. There are demons born there who never manage that.”
“I got a plan for that.”
“I'm sure.” He craned his neck to look over Dean's shoulder. “Is it the same one Sam had? That seemed to have a few flaws.”
“You don't even get to look at my brother,” Dean said, moving to block Alastair's line of sight. “You and me, we are done. You summon me again, I rip your head off.”
Alastair sighed. “I'm sure you'll try. You did promise us a year.”
“A year as long as you had Sam. I got him back, you don't have anything on me now.”
“I don't need Sam for that, Dean. Not anymore.” Dean hated when Alastair smiled like that. “All I need to have you is this,” he said, grabbing Dean's wrist and running one fingertip down Dean's blackened veins. He pulled Dean forward with a sudden jerk, holding him there almost close enough to kiss. “Be honest, now. A part of you wants to see what's happening to that angel right now. You're wondering if it's screaming and what that would sound like now that it's free of the meatsuit. In your mind you're picturing how deep you would have to push in the knife before it starts to sob.”
God help him, Dean knew that was true. Every word sent the hellfire crawling under his skin like a swarm of insects. Very hungry insects. “I'll never hurt Cas.”
“Of course you will. It's what you are.” Alastair pulled out his knife, holding it out to Dean hilt first. “This is yours if you want it, Dean,” he said. “Open the portal and come with me. We'll do it together. There's still so much I have to teach you.”
For a terrifying moment the ground swayed under his feet as his lips tried to form the word yes. Dean closed his eyes and thought about Cas, trying to reach out and hold the way his eyes went wide just before he came, the little hitch in his breath when he would say Dean's name. The way his lips would just brush against Dean's and way he would trail his fingers down Dean's back, lingering over each spot that made him jump. After a few seconds of clinging to that like a man drowning Dean felt the earth under him grow solid again.
Dean had a good reason to arrange to meet Alastair on his mother's grave. He opened his eyes and pressed his right hand to the center of the demon's chest. For an instant Alastair's expression was exultant, sure this was his yes.
That didn't last long. “I said we're done.” Dean tapped his power, pulling it up from his core until he felt it vibrate through his bones. He didn't know how to actually kill a demon, especially not one as strong as Alastair.
But Dean figured this was the next best thing. Alastair didn't have time to do anything but scream as the portal formed in his chest, first that thin sliver of light and then a circle eating away at everything around it. There was an instant of resistance, like Alastair was putting everything he had into fleeing, then the demon's body flew apart, chunks of gore raining down. Dean hadn't expected it to be so messy but figured it hadn't gone so bad for a first try.
He gave the signal and the other two ran over, Trickster clearly impressed by the mess while Sam looked like he wanted to vomit. The portal in front of him pulsed with power as Dean bent down to retrieve Alastair's fallen knife. “Thanks for the knife, though. Might come in handy.” He waved Sam over before the kid could berate him for being so ghoulish. “You sure you got this?”
Sam nodded, stepping forward with one foot on either side of the portal. “Piece of cake. Just don't get lost.” Dean looked over Sam's shoulder at Trickster, taking the moment to glare anything happens to him I end you, then he dove through the portal without another backward glance.
Considering how far gone he was Dean had expected to be able to stand hell without any problems but it was still so hot he couldn't breathe for a second. Stinging heat rash broke out over his exposed arms and Dean clenched his jaw so tight he thought his teeth might start to crack. There was no way he was coming this far only to get defeated in the first thirty seconds.
After a few minutes Dean thought he'd acclimated as much as he'd be able. He fished Castiel's necklace out of his pocket and fastened it around his neck. “All right,” he said, scanning the bleak landscape. “Find your way home.”
Dean held his breath as the crystal charm lifted off his chest, hovering in the air for a second before slowly drifting to the right. Dean shifted his position until the crystal stayed steady, pointing toward Castiel like an angelic dowsing rod. “Hang on a little longer, Cas,” Dean whispered, watching the light in the charm flicker for a few seconds before righting itself. “I'm on my way.”
***
Dean had no idea how long he walked. Hell looked like every dystopia movie's version of the Outback and it would be easier if Castiel would stay in one place but Dean knew that was unrealistic when everything down here was hunting him. Dean followed the path the crystal set and tried to not think about what he might see when he found Cas; he'd expected trouble from the other demons but on the rare occasion he saw one they looked through him like he was a ghost, sometimes squinting a little like they thought something might be there before giving up. Dean supposed in a way ghost wasn't so far off - he wasn't quite human anymore but still not demon and for once that terrible in between was a blessing.
He didn't start really panicking until Castiel stopped moving. Dean broke into a run, scrambling over a rocky outcrop to see Castiel pinned under a demon, trying to fight her off but not getting anywhere. She had a knife like Alastair's and she grabbed a handful of Castiel's hair as she raised the blade.
She never brought it down. Dean threw his own knife out of pure instinct and it buried itself deep into the demon's right eye. She fell backwards howling and Dean leaped down on top of her, wrenching the knife free and slashing it across her throat. She spasmed and choked for several seconds before going still, dissolving into acrid black smoke that roiled around Dean before finally dissipating.
Dean knew he shouldn't do that again. Just that quick kill had hit his system like a drug and he knew that if he indulged too many times there really would be nothing left of him.
He heard Castiel shift behind him, the sound belonging to something much larger than what his eyes had told him was there.
When he turned around he felt his mind break for an amazing, awful instant.
Dean's eyes couldn't make sense of Castiel. It was like looking at a living kaleidoscope, pieces shifting and reforming as Dean watched. He was enormous and human sized, six winged and two winged all at once, a series of different faces all more terrifying than the next shifting into each other as if Dean's mind kept switching which one it liked best.
And stretched over all of that was the remnants of Castiel's human form stretched and shredding like an unraveling sweater. Dean? he felt rather than heard. How are you here? Even though Castiel's voice wasn't sound in any way Dean could define it he still felt the urge to shout over it.
Dean shrugged. “It's kind of what I do, Cas.”
Castiel shook his head - or heads or wings, Dean had no idea what he was looking at but never wanted to stop. You can't be here. You'll burn.
“That's why we're leaving,” Dean said, holding out one hand. “C'mon, Sam and some idiot brother of yours are waiting.”
I can't. Dean, I can't pass through a portal, I'm not strong enough to hold cohesion. Even if I had a vessel....
“You do. For a little bit longer, anyway,” Dean said, panic starting to come back as the light in the crystal began to sputter.
...Even with a vessel I wouldn't make it.
“I figured that. I do know how this works pretty well, y'know. You're gonna hitch a ride with me.”
It seemed to take a moment for Dean's meaning to sink in. No. You'll die.
“You said I could be a vessel....”
But not my vessel.
“I can be yours until we get out of here. It's the only way, Cas., I'm not going back to patrolling solo. Got too used to having a partner again.”
I will not kill you, Dean.
The more agitated Castiel got the louder the not-voice became. Dean stepped as close as he could without the power pouring from Castiel knocking him off his feet; as it was he felt his knees start to buckle and had to brace himself. “I am not leaving here without you,” he shouted. “I'm not even sure I can, not without you powering me up. But that doesn't matter, either we both go or we both stay. You wanna stay, fine, I'll stay right here with you and you can watch me burn.” Dean took one step closer, holding out his hand out again. “So what's it gonna be, Cas? We getting out of here together or are you gonna kill me after all?”
Castiel hesitated for another handful of seconds, despair visible on him like the word was written across his skin. Dean held his breath as Castiel finally reached out one glowing hand.
The energy slammed into Dean like a jetliner; he staggered back as he felt Castiel rush through him, filling his veins the way the hellfire did and reaching into every empty places the last year had hollowed out. For a second he felt like he was drowning, the power pushing him deep, deep down into a little corner of his mind Dean knew he would never escape.
Dean exhaled and the feeling passed. The power evened out and suddenly it was just him and Cas, they were together and Dean realized this was all he had ever really wanted.
***
Dean stumbled through the portal, falling to his knees as Sam tried to hold him up. “Hospital,” he gasped out. The light in the crystal was barely a flicker. “Gotta get....”
Dean never had to finish the sentence; Trickster tapped his shoulder and Dean found himself in the ICU staring down at Castiel's body. There was a long, terrifying second as the machines began to drone, the spiked readout of Cas' heartbeat turning into a thin line. Dean rushed forward and pressed one hand to Castiel's chest, releasing all that power in one convulsive rush; the shockwave destroyed every machine in the room, the alarms going dead and sparks leaping from the metal surfaces.
The power inside him was gone but Castiel stayed very still. “C'mon,” Dean said, checking for a pulse and finding nothing. “C'mon, we got back in time, I know we did.” He started chest compressions, watching Cas' face for any signs of life. The hospital hadn't had him on a breathing tube and Dean tipped his chin back, trying a rescue breath that also did nothing.
Cas' lips were turning blue when Dean tried breathing for him one more time. “Come on,” he whispered, his lips still close enough to touch Castiel's. “You can do this.” Dean kissed him, just brushing his lips the way Cas often did to him. The handprint didn't even hurt anymore. “Cas, I need you to wake up. Please.”
Castiel gasped. Dean let his knees finally buckle as Cas' eyes opened, searching around the room in a panic until finding Dean. “You are so fucking dramatic,” Dean said. Castiel's brow furrowed and Dean couldn't think of anything he'd ever wanted to see more. “Shhh,” he said, carefully running his fingers through Cas' hair. “You need to rest now. You're gonna be okay.” Castiel nodded, his eyes already fluttering closed again as his hand squeezed tight around Dean's. “And Cas, I swear to God, if you ever pull a stunt like that again I'm going to leave you there,” Dean promised, both of them knowing he didn't mean a word of it.
***
Sam kept one eye on the Trickster sprawled out on the bench beside him. “Are you keeping the doctors and nurses and stuff out of there?” he said, nodding to Castiel's room. “They should be swarming everywhere.”
Trickster shrugged. “It's not as hard as you'd think.”
“You know people are staring, right?”
Another shrug. “Let them. It's been a while since I made the front page.” He waved at an orderly taking a picture of him on her phone, which Sam was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to have.
“Are you in trouble now?” Sam asked, trying to distract Trickster from his adoring public. “All of them are going to know you helped us before too long.”
He let out a heavy sigh, tapping his cane against the floor. “They probably know now,” he admitted. He shook his head, taking off his hat and running his hands through his hair. “I knew the plan, I'm high up enough that there aren't a lot of secrets. It's not even the worst thing they've thought up, to tell you the truth. I knew a long time ago this was all going to set us against each other and I just...I wanted no part of it. I hoped they would just leave me alone.”
“You did kind of take a side, though, even just by bugging the hell out of Dean.”
“Well. Just because I wasn't willing to fist fight my family to the death to keep them from ending this world doesn't mean I actually wanted them to end it. I have henchmen I'm responsible for and I'm pretty sure that would void all of their contracts.”
“I always wondered if there were contracts.”
“I strictly deal with freelance now. The union is just too big a hassle.”
“I don't believe Dean was right about there being a union.” Sam knew this was a weird conversation to be having with a superpowered being who'd tried to kill him but it had been that kind of day. “Are they gonna come after you?”
“Most of them either wouldn't bother or wouldn't dare. And the two or so who would be a problem...well, I'll cross that bridge when it's collapsing under me, I guess.” He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “Gabriel,” he finally said. “You may as well know the 'real' name, considering all the mush going on in there we're almost family already.”
“Sam Winchester. Y'know. Just so we're properly introduced and all. Wouldn't want to be rude or anything.”
“Oh no, never.”
It felt good to be able to laugh at something. “So what happens now?” Sam said, letting that moment pass. “I mean...are you still going to kill me or not?”
Sam felt Gabriel's sharp eyes examine him from under his mask. “Not yet.”
Then Sam blinked and the angel was gone.
- On To Chapter 6 -
- Back To Masterpost -
- Back To Chapter 4 -
Author: misachan
Fandom/Genre: Supernatural (Superhero AU)
Pairing(s): Dean/Castiel (also featuring Sam, Balthazar, Uriel, Gabriel and Alastair)
Rating: R
Word Count: 6787
Warnings: Brief descriptions of violence, minor character death
Summary: Dean Winchester was raised to be a hero, fighting alongside his father to protect the innocents of Lawrence City. Was he ever glad his old man wasn't alive to see him now. A Supernatural superhero AU.
*
Sam was so relieved to find himself back home in his city and on streets that he knew that all he wanted to do for a second was curl up and cry.
There wasn't time, though. He had to find Dean and then the two of them had to...Sam didn't know. Fix this somehow. Sam wouldn't be willing to let a total stranger rot away in hell, let alone someone who had just saved his life.
At least finding Dean didn't turn out to be all that difficult; Sam had walked less than two blocks before he heard his brother arguing with someone, another male voice Sam didn't know. He stayed close to the wall, inching forward until he felt brave enough to peek around the corner. It definitely was Dean getting in the face of an older guy Sam had never seen before, although something about him made the hairs on Sam's neck stand up. They were standing in front of a scar from a failed portal, something Sam had seen a lot of from when Dean had still been getting the hang of things. “I don't know why it failed, that hasn't happened since I was a kid. It felt like there was some interference, it happens. That's why you have to be careful where you place the stupid things.”
“Well, this one needs to happen here.” The other man spoke in a weird cadence, sing-songing the syllables. “Try again.”
Sam saw Dean square his shoulders and try, but nothing happened. “No go,” Dean said. “It's all scarred up, gonna take a week until this spot is good again. Minimum.”
The other man let out a sigh Sam thought could be seen from space. “Well, that will be some inconvenience but fortunately not for me. Until next week.” Sam ducked back into a doorway, expecting the guy to have to walk past, but when after a few seconds nothing happened Sam peeked back out and saw he was just gone, like he'd disappeared.
Sam was just happy Dean was still there, glaring at the ruined wall and rubbing his shoulder like it hurt. Finally Dean seemed to just give up with a shrug and started out, wincing again at the shoulder.
Sam stepped right into his path. “Hey, Dean.”
It was the look on Dean's face that convinced Sam he really had been gone a year. “Sammy?” He reached one hand for Sam and stopped himself short, like he thought Sam might be a ghost. “You can't...there's no way....”
“It's really me, Dean, I swear.”
Sam went in for a hug and Dean backed away, both hands up. “Don't! You gotta stay back.”
“What? Why?”
“Long story.” Then Dean did wrap Sam up in an enormous if very careful hug. “Fuck, Sam, I missed you. Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Sam said when Dean finally let him go. “Yeah, I'm fine but that guy you sent after me isn't. Dean, he's in a lot of trouble.”
“What guy? I didn't send anyone after you, I didn't even think that was possible.”
“What do you mean? He said he was your friend. He had...I don't know, dark hair, maybe a little shorter than you? He said his name was Castiel.”
Sam had never seen anyone go so pale so fast. “Cas? How could he...Cas busted you out?”
“Yeah. He saved me twice, once waking me up and then again when they tried to grab me back. I don't know what his power is but he looked like he was unraveling down there.”
“How could Cas even get to hell?”
“He said he was borrowing your mojo. Dean, tell me what's going on.”
Dean just stared at the blackened scar on the wall, rubbing his shoulder. “Shouldn't be too hard to find where the last one opened.” He grabbed Sam's arm. “Hang on, Sam,” Dean said, his arm already stretched toward the wall opposite the scar, then he shoved Sam through the portal the instant it was open.
Sam's head spun as he stumbled through the portal. “I hate it when you do that, Dean!” he said, dropping to his knees until the wooziness faded. “You're getting better though, last time you tried that blind we wound up on different sides of the city.”
Dean didn't answer and and when Sam looked up he understood why. The alley looked like a bomb had gone off, all the windows blasted out and the fire escape of one of the buildings hanging at an angle. Along all the walls were the black impressions of huge wings, like someone had stenciled them there.
And in the middle of all the wreckage Sam saw a dark haired man lying very still.
Dean was at the guy's side like a shot, Sam close behind. Dean went down to his knees at Castiel's side and Sam had never seen his brother look like that. “He opened it right in their faces,” Dean said, his voice low and dangerous. “Serves the sons of bitches right.”
Sam really couldn't bring himself to disagree. As bad as Castiel had looked in hell he looked even worse here, bleeding from dozens of wounds and his half-open eyes vacant. Sam was shocked when he felt for the pulse point in Castiel's neck and found a heartbeat. “Dean, he has a pulse. He's alive.” Dean didn't seem to hear and Sam grabbed his arm to snap him out of the shock. “Dean!” Dean's head snapped forward to look at him, strange black and red flames surrounding him for an instant. “Dean, he's alive. But he's losing a ton of blood, we gotta get him to the hospital.”
Sam saw that break through. “Yeah. Yeah, if his body dies Cas won't have anything to come back to.”
That didn't make sense but Sam didn't care, as long as Dean was talking. “Can we port' him there?”
Dean shook his head. “He won't make it. Go hot wire that car on the corner, we have to drive him.”
“Do you want me to help with him? I can...”
“I got him, Sam. I got him. Go get the car.”
Sam backed out of the alley, not wanting to take his eyes off of Dean. Right before he turned the corner to run for the car he saw Dean examine something around Castiel's neck and slide it into his pocket.
***
Sam got the full story - as much of it as Dean was willing to tell, at any rate, Sam knew his brother well enough to be able to spot when he was leaving stuff out - sitting on a hard bench outside Lawrence City General's intensive care unit. Angels and demons and what Dean had been doing this past year to get him back. Why Dean was so careful not to touch him.
Sam hadn't known it was possible to feel so guilty. “How many people died because of me?”
“Don't think like that, Sam. You didn't do anything wrong, they used you to get to me. Blame me if you have to blame someone.”
Sam leaned his head against the cool of the wall. “I don't think that's true.” Dean started to argue again and Sam shook his head. “When we were in hell Castiel said that the demons were going to ask me to do something but didn't have time to say what. He made me promise not to do it. So that means they wanted me just as much as you. It's both our faults.”
“Nah,” Dean said after a long, quiet moment. “It's the demons' fault, and we'll make sure they get theirs as soon as we get Cas back.”
“What did the nurse say when you talked to her before?” Dean had been scary quiet from the second they got Castiel's body in the car and Sam just wanted to keep him talking.
“Nothing good. They're still trying to figure out what could do that to a person.”
Sam watched him dangle the chain he'd taken from Castiel's neck from his fingers and examine the dim light trapped inside the crystal. “What is that?”
“Cas,” Dean said, holding it up to the light so Sam could have a better look. “A piece of him anyway, or at least that's what he told me. It's usually a lot brighter than this.” He tapped the edge of the cut crystal. “I'm betting when his body finally goes this goes out too.”
“So if that goes out, it means he's dead?”
“Good as. It means he has nowhere to go even if we can get him out. This is our countdown.”
Sam watched the faint light flicker for a moment before steadying. “Then we better get moving.”
“Way ahead of you, Sammy. You think I'd be sitting here if I had something else I could be doing?” Dean closed his eyes, sweeping his hands over the air as if over a map only he could see. “The city's Swiss cheese and that's on me. If I'm gonna open a portal down to hell one more time it's gotta be in a place where it's gonna cause the least damage. I've been looking for the right place.”
“And you found it, right?”
That was a very, very grim smile on Dean's face. “We're going to Stull.”
Sam was sure he must have heard Dean wrong. “Stull Cemetery?”
“You know any other places called Stull in this town?”
“What are we gonna do, open a portal right over Dad's grave?”
“Nah. That would be weird.” Dean's voice was calm but his hands were trembling. “We're doing it over Mom's.”
“Jesus, Dean, that's....”
“Dad only started in this business because of what happened to her. Kind of makes sense that this all comes around. Hell, maybe she'll help, God knows we need it.”
“Okay. Okay, so you open the portal. Then what's the plan.”
Dean shrugged. “Then I go in and pull Cas out. Easy peasy.”
“Dean, you're really starting to freak me out.”
“Trust me, I'm not doing so well myself.” Dean held his shoulder, his breath hissing through his teeth for a few long seconds. “I can't leave another person I...I can't leave him there. I gotta try. I couldn't get you but I can get him.” He flexed his right hand, making red and black flames dance in the center of his palm. “It's not like this whole year hasn't been one long march into hell anyway.” He closed his palm to snuff out the flames. “I'm gonna drop you back at the motel on my way to Stull. Cas has the place all magicked up, it should keep out anything.”
“Like hell you are.”
“Sam, don't argue, I don't have the time for it. They've gotta noticed you're gone, I can't do this while I'm wondering whether the demons snatched you back the second my back's turned.”
“There's no way you're leaving me out.”
“Sam....”
“Don't Sam me. I'm the one who's actually been there, not you. Just because you can do fire tricks now doesn't mean you'll be able to take it down there. What if you can't open a portal to get back? Castiel looked like he was about to keel over when he'd tried that.”
“I don't know what you're....”
“I'll hold the portal open. We've done that before, as long as I'm half in, half out it'll stay open and you guys can go back the way you came. It's the only way this is going to work.”
“Every demon in hell and Earth is gonna be after you, what's your plan for when they show up?”
Sam looked around to make sure there was nobody watching. “I'll use this,” he said, pulling Castiel's sword out of his backpack. He laid it across his lap, guilt flaring back up for a second. “He dropped it when...when they grabbed him.” It took Sam a second to push that memory back down as deep as it could go. “I think it looks like it can help me kill a demon if I have to, right?”
Dean stroked his fingers down the blade, wincing a little like the metal was hot. “I'd say it does, yeah.”
“And besides, I have to be there to give it back to him.”
Dean rested his arms on his knees as he looked at Sam. “You're a pretty good kid.”
Sam had to look away from Dean and back at the sword. Dean wasn't as sparse with compliments as their father had been but it still caught him off guard to hear them. “Yeah, well, you've been hanging out with demons all year. Like I can trust your judgment.” That got something very close to a real smile out of Dean. “How's he look?” Sam said, nodding to the necklace still clutched in Dean's fist.
Dean held the necklace up to the light and Sam could tell at a glance the light was dimmer. “Like he's getting tired of waiting around for us to rescue him already.”
Sam nodded, the sword already back in his bag. “Then we'd better move.”
They didn't even make it back to the car. Dean noticed first, pulling up short at Sam's side. “Oh fuck, not now.”
Sam looked around and felt his heart push up into his throat. Lawrence General was on one of the busier streets in the city but everything was absolutely silent. The people walking by were frozen in place, some caught midstride and others midword, their mouths hanging open like they'd all forgotten what they were about to say. All of the cars were stopped, the light at the intersection paused mid-change from yellow to red. Even the pigeons were frozen.
Sam could tell Dean hadn't noticed any of that. His brother's eyes were locked on a man dressed in green and purple leaning against their front fender. “Well, you can't say I didn't give you ample warning,” he said, pointing the question mark staff in their direction.
“Sam, run,” Dean said, shoving Sam behind him. “Trickster, leave him alone.”
“That's the Trickster?” No one ever saw the Trickster, his goons practically treated him like a god and could never be made to talk. Sam had been half-convinced he was a myth.
“Good to meet a fan,” Trickster said, something Sam could tell was supposed to be mocking but instead came out raw and angry. “I told you what I'd do if he was in front of me, Dean. I can't have you thinking I'm a liar.”
“You're not gonna lay a hand on Sam.”
“See, that's the beauty of all this,” Trickster said, the end of the staff glowing white. “I don't have to be anywhere near him. Sorry kiddo, but you should have been dead a long time ago.”
Dean stepped right in front of Sam. “No way in hell I'm letting you touch my brother.”
“This is really not the time to bring up hell and brothers in the same sentence.”
That was meaningless to Sam but he felt Dean freeze up for an instant and he ducked out from behind Dean to see all the color drain from his face. “That's the same kind of light,” Dean whispered, like some horrible puzzle piece had just clicked into place. “You're one of them.”
“Give the boy a hand.” Sam felt energy crackle through the air, the Trickster's eyes glowing white as enormous wings of shadow spread out on the pavement behind him. “Now hold still.”
“That's why you bounced Cas all over that alley, he knew who you were. You didn't want him to blow your cover.”
“If I'd known what befriending you would do I would have put him out of his misery then and there.”
“And where the hell were you when all of that was happening? Or any of the others? Too busy slumming around here with the humans.” Sam tried to pull him back when Dean stormed up to get right in the Trickster's face but Dean wasn't having it. “Cas told me they put the one taken out before him through so much pain he couldn't even scream and from the looks of him Cas went the same way. Where the hell were you?”
For the first time Trickster looked a little unsure. “I don't take sides against my family.”
“I hate to break it to you, genius, but that's exactly what you did.” That reckless sneer was on Dean's face, the one Sam knew always led right to the emergency room. “Tell the truth. You were scared. That's why you never show your face, you're afraid one of them,” he said, gesturing at the sky, “would notice you. You AWOL? That why you shut Cas up before he could say your name?”
Trickster refused to confirm or deny. “All you had to do was leave town like I'd ordered. Nothing would have been able to happen if you'd just have gotten over yourself.”
“Yeah, I'm not willing to let my brother rot, unlike some people.”
Trickster swung his staff right for Dean's head; Dean ducked, the staff getting close enough to leave a bloody graze on his temple, then he tumbled back out of the line of fire and came back up on his feet, his fists wreathed with flame.
Sam put a stop to the fight the only way he could think of. “Go ahead and kill me.”
That pulled them both up short, and to Sam's immense relief. He hadn't been sure if they'd been too far gone to even hear him. “Sammy, no,” Dean said before Sam cut him off.
“You need to kill me because of what the demons want me to do, right? Because I'm that dangerous?”
“You have no idea how dangerous you are.”
“Then you'd better kill me. You said nothing would have happened if Dean had left, but he wouldn't have done anything if the demons hadn't wanted me in the first place. That makes all of this my fault, not his.”
“Sam, that's not....”
“I got this, Dean.” Sam took one step closer; the power radiating from the Trickster - or whatever he was, really - made it hard to breathe, his chest tight like he'd run too far too fast and hadn't gotten his wind back yet. “You need to kill me, I say go ahead. A lot of people died because of me, it's only fair.”
“Well, at least one of the Winchesters is capable of being reasonable.” He raised his staff and Sam sent another warning glance Dean's way, shaking his head no when Dean took a step forward anyway.
Sam waited until the staff was level with his head before speaking again. “Only you gotta wait until tomorrow to do it.”
“Always a catch,” Trickster said, his voice trying for amused but his eyes too wild and angry to allow it. “Why should I do that.”
Sam felt a bead of sweat slide down his back. “'Cause we're about to go bust Castiel out of hell and it might take us the whole rest of the day.”
Sam had never seen anyone look so angry and he'd grown up with John Winchester. “Castiel's dead. Just like all of the others.”
“Sam's right.” Trickster's head turned toward Dean like it was on a swivel as Dean held up Castiel's necklace. “I got Cas' bling right here,” he said, making the crystal swing like a pendulum, “and it still looks like it's glowing to me.”
The look on the Trickster's face was the exact same one Sam had seen on Dean's a few hours earlier. “But that's...how is that....”
“Cas got a little creative but he's stuck now. We're going to get him.”
Trickster shook his head. “That's not possible. Nothing comes out of hell but demons.”
“I got out,” Sam said and Trickster turned to look back at him. “Castiel got me out, I owe him.” Sam stepped as close to Trickster as he dared, his heart beating so fast he felt light-headed. “So here's the deal: it's my fault this all happened and when this is over you can kill me for it if you want. But right now Castiel's in trouble and if he dies because you wouldn't let us go, that one's all on you.” Sam swallowed hard. “So what's it gonna be?”
Trickster looked from Sam to Dean and back again, as if he was sure one of them had to be lying and was desperate to find the proof. After the tensest ten seconds of Sam's life the shadow wings receded; like a switch had been flipped: the street came back to life, the sudden noise so loud Sam winced. People started to gawk and point but Sam didn't think Trickster noticed. “Where do you have to go to open the portal?”
“Stull Cemetery,” Dean said. “You gonna back off the car and let us go, already?”
“I can do better than that.” Before either of them could protest Trickster touched them both on the shoulder and Sam felt space roar around him, like the beat of impossibly enormous wings.
***
Dean went down to one knee in front of his mother's gravestone, brushing away some dead flowers obscuring her name. “Sorry I haven't visited in a while,” he said, wishing for what felt like the thousandth time that the marble could talk back. “Been a crazy year.”
With that Dean stood and backed up a few paces; looking around to make sure Sam and their new friend had stepped back out of earshot like he'd asked. He'd said he'd needed to concentrate and while that was technically true, it wasn't the real reason he'd asked them to stay away.
He'd felt the summons tickle at the back of his skull while they'd still been at the hospital, right in the middle of plotting the path they'd take. He'd been able to ignore it at first but it kept getting louder, like a cell phone alarm he kept putting off answering and almost as agonizing as the pain radiating from the brand on his shoulder. Patience wasn't one of Alastair's very few virtues and Dean knew if he didn't answer soon the demon would just take it upon himself to investigate. Dean would prefer Sam be on another planet entirely from Alastair but if a few dozen yards away was the best he could manage Dean would take it. “Okay, you miserable son of a bitch,” Dean said, talking to the air. “Come and tell me what you want.”
Alastair materialized in front of him, less than a foot of space between them. “You always say the nicest things.”
Dean felt off balance immediately; he'd expected Alastair to be irate that Sam had escaped but the demon actually looked close to giddy. “I miss something?”
“When you said you'd had it handled I didn't expect you to do this well,” he said, with just enough inflection in his voice that Dean couldn't tell whether that was sarcasm.
“What do you think I did?”
“You sent a living angel into hell,” Alastair said, leaning forward to whisper in Dean's ear like this was a delightful secret. “I know the signature of your power anywhere. I never should have doubted you.”
This was a test. Alastair's tone couldn't hide the sharp way he looked at Dean, like he was trying to gauge his response. “Anyone down there touches him I'll rip their hands off.”
“Of course. You should have first dibs, after all.”
Castiel had told him that demons fed on pain and fear and for the first time Dean realized that hadn't been a metaphor. “You're not keeping him.”
“And what are you planning to do?” Alastair said, circling around him. “You can't just walk in and walk out, you're not...finished enough for that. Even if you do go in you won't be able to escape. There are demons born there who never manage that.”
“I got a plan for that.”
“I'm sure.” He craned his neck to look over Dean's shoulder. “Is it the same one Sam had? That seemed to have a few flaws.”
“You don't even get to look at my brother,” Dean said, moving to block Alastair's line of sight. “You and me, we are done. You summon me again, I rip your head off.”
Alastair sighed. “I'm sure you'll try. You did promise us a year.”
“A year as long as you had Sam. I got him back, you don't have anything on me now.”
“I don't need Sam for that, Dean. Not anymore.” Dean hated when Alastair smiled like that. “All I need to have you is this,” he said, grabbing Dean's wrist and running one fingertip down Dean's blackened veins. He pulled Dean forward with a sudden jerk, holding him there almost close enough to kiss. “Be honest, now. A part of you wants to see what's happening to that angel right now. You're wondering if it's screaming and what that would sound like now that it's free of the meatsuit. In your mind you're picturing how deep you would have to push in the knife before it starts to sob.”
God help him, Dean knew that was true. Every word sent the hellfire crawling under his skin like a swarm of insects. Very hungry insects. “I'll never hurt Cas.”
“Of course you will. It's what you are.” Alastair pulled out his knife, holding it out to Dean hilt first. “This is yours if you want it, Dean,” he said. “Open the portal and come with me. We'll do it together. There's still so much I have to teach you.”
For a terrifying moment the ground swayed under his feet as his lips tried to form the word yes. Dean closed his eyes and thought about Cas, trying to reach out and hold the way his eyes went wide just before he came, the little hitch in his breath when he would say Dean's name. The way his lips would just brush against Dean's and way he would trail his fingers down Dean's back, lingering over each spot that made him jump. After a few seconds of clinging to that like a man drowning Dean felt the earth under him grow solid again.
Dean had a good reason to arrange to meet Alastair on his mother's grave. He opened his eyes and pressed his right hand to the center of the demon's chest. For an instant Alastair's expression was exultant, sure this was his yes.
That didn't last long. “I said we're done.” Dean tapped his power, pulling it up from his core until he felt it vibrate through his bones. He didn't know how to actually kill a demon, especially not one as strong as Alastair.
But Dean figured this was the next best thing. Alastair didn't have time to do anything but scream as the portal formed in his chest, first that thin sliver of light and then a circle eating away at everything around it. There was an instant of resistance, like Alastair was putting everything he had into fleeing, then the demon's body flew apart, chunks of gore raining down. Dean hadn't expected it to be so messy but figured it hadn't gone so bad for a first try.
He gave the signal and the other two ran over, Trickster clearly impressed by the mess while Sam looked like he wanted to vomit. The portal in front of him pulsed with power as Dean bent down to retrieve Alastair's fallen knife. “Thanks for the knife, though. Might come in handy.” He waved Sam over before the kid could berate him for being so ghoulish. “You sure you got this?”
Sam nodded, stepping forward with one foot on either side of the portal. “Piece of cake. Just don't get lost.” Dean looked over Sam's shoulder at Trickster, taking the moment to glare anything happens to him I end you, then he dove through the portal without another backward glance.
Considering how far gone he was Dean had expected to be able to stand hell without any problems but it was still so hot he couldn't breathe for a second. Stinging heat rash broke out over his exposed arms and Dean clenched his jaw so tight he thought his teeth might start to crack. There was no way he was coming this far only to get defeated in the first thirty seconds.
After a few minutes Dean thought he'd acclimated as much as he'd be able. He fished Castiel's necklace out of his pocket and fastened it around his neck. “All right,” he said, scanning the bleak landscape. “Find your way home.”
Dean held his breath as the crystal charm lifted off his chest, hovering in the air for a second before slowly drifting to the right. Dean shifted his position until the crystal stayed steady, pointing toward Castiel like an angelic dowsing rod. “Hang on a little longer, Cas,” Dean whispered, watching the light in the charm flicker for a few seconds before righting itself. “I'm on my way.”
***
Dean had no idea how long he walked. Hell looked like every dystopia movie's version of the Outback and it would be easier if Castiel would stay in one place but Dean knew that was unrealistic when everything down here was hunting him. Dean followed the path the crystal set and tried to not think about what he might see when he found Cas; he'd expected trouble from the other demons but on the rare occasion he saw one they looked through him like he was a ghost, sometimes squinting a little like they thought something might be there before giving up. Dean supposed in a way ghost wasn't so far off - he wasn't quite human anymore but still not demon and for once that terrible in between was a blessing.
He didn't start really panicking until Castiel stopped moving. Dean broke into a run, scrambling over a rocky outcrop to see Castiel pinned under a demon, trying to fight her off but not getting anywhere. She had a knife like Alastair's and she grabbed a handful of Castiel's hair as she raised the blade.
She never brought it down. Dean threw his own knife out of pure instinct and it buried itself deep into the demon's right eye. She fell backwards howling and Dean leaped down on top of her, wrenching the knife free and slashing it across her throat. She spasmed and choked for several seconds before going still, dissolving into acrid black smoke that roiled around Dean before finally dissipating.
Dean knew he shouldn't do that again. Just that quick kill had hit his system like a drug and he knew that if he indulged too many times there really would be nothing left of him.
He heard Castiel shift behind him, the sound belonging to something much larger than what his eyes had told him was there.
When he turned around he felt his mind break for an amazing, awful instant.
Dean's eyes couldn't make sense of Castiel. It was like looking at a living kaleidoscope, pieces shifting and reforming as Dean watched. He was enormous and human sized, six winged and two winged all at once, a series of different faces all more terrifying than the next shifting into each other as if Dean's mind kept switching which one it liked best.
And stretched over all of that was the remnants of Castiel's human form stretched and shredding like an unraveling sweater. Dean? he felt rather than heard. How are you here? Even though Castiel's voice wasn't sound in any way Dean could define it he still felt the urge to shout over it.
Dean shrugged. “It's kind of what I do, Cas.”
Castiel shook his head - or heads or wings, Dean had no idea what he was looking at but never wanted to stop. You can't be here. You'll burn.
“That's why we're leaving,” Dean said, holding out one hand. “C'mon, Sam and some idiot brother of yours are waiting.”
I can't. Dean, I can't pass through a portal, I'm not strong enough to hold cohesion. Even if I had a vessel....
“You do. For a little bit longer, anyway,” Dean said, panic starting to come back as the light in the crystal began to sputter.
...Even with a vessel I wouldn't make it.
“I figured that. I do know how this works pretty well, y'know. You're gonna hitch a ride with me.”
It seemed to take a moment for Dean's meaning to sink in. No. You'll die.
“You said I could be a vessel....”
But not my vessel.
“I can be yours until we get out of here. It's the only way, Cas., I'm not going back to patrolling solo. Got too used to having a partner again.”
I will not kill you, Dean.
The more agitated Castiel got the louder the not-voice became. Dean stepped as close as he could without the power pouring from Castiel knocking him off his feet; as it was he felt his knees start to buckle and had to brace himself. “I am not leaving here without you,” he shouted. “I'm not even sure I can, not without you powering me up. But that doesn't matter, either we both go or we both stay. You wanna stay, fine, I'll stay right here with you and you can watch me burn.” Dean took one step closer, holding out his hand out again. “So what's it gonna be, Cas? We getting out of here together or are you gonna kill me after all?”
Castiel hesitated for another handful of seconds, despair visible on him like the word was written across his skin. Dean held his breath as Castiel finally reached out one glowing hand.
The energy slammed into Dean like a jetliner; he staggered back as he felt Castiel rush through him, filling his veins the way the hellfire did and reaching into every empty places the last year had hollowed out. For a second he felt like he was drowning, the power pushing him deep, deep down into a little corner of his mind Dean knew he would never escape.
Dean exhaled and the feeling passed. The power evened out and suddenly it was just him and Cas, they were together and Dean realized this was all he had ever really wanted.
***
Dean stumbled through the portal, falling to his knees as Sam tried to hold him up. “Hospital,” he gasped out. The light in the crystal was barely a flicker. “Gotta get....”
Dean never had to finish the sentence; Trickster tapped his shoulder and Dean found himself in the ICU staring down at Castiel's body. There was a long, terrifying second as the machines began to drone, the spiked readout of Cas' heartbeat turning into a thin line. Dean rushed forward and pressed one hand to Castiel's chest, releasing all that power in one convulsive rush; the shockwave destroyed every machine in the room, the alarms going dead and sparks leaping from the metal surfaces.
The power inside him was gone but Castiel stayed very still. “C'mon,” Dean said, checking for a pulse and finding nothing. “C'mon, we got back in time, I know we did.” He started chest compressions, watching Cas' face for any signs of life. The hospital hadn't had him on a breathing tube and Dean tipped his chin back, trying a rescue breath that also did nothing.
Cas' lips were turning blue when Dean tried breathing for him one more time. “Come on,” he whispered, his lips still close enough to touch Castiel's. “You can do this.” Dean kissed him, just brushing his lips the way Cas often did to him. The handprint didn't even hurt anymore. “Cas, I need you to wake up. Please.”
Castiel gasped. Dean let his knees finally buckle as Cas' eyes opened, searching around the room in a panic until finding Dean. “You are so fucking dramatic,” Dean said. Castiel's brow furrowed and Dean couldn't think of anything he'd ever wanted to see more. “Shhh,” he said, carefully running his fingers through Cas' hair. “You need to rest now. You're gonna be okay.” Castiel nodded, his eyes already fluttering closed again as his hand squeezed tight around Dean's. “And Cas, I swear to God, if you ever pull a stunt like that again I'm going to leave you there,” Dean promised, both of them knowing he didn't mean a word of it.
***
Sam kept one eye on the Trickster sprawled out on the bench beside him. “Are you keeping the doctors and nurses and stuff out of there?” he said, nodding to Castiel's room. “They should be swarming everywhere.”
Trickster shrugged. “It's not as hard as you'd think.”
“You know people are staring, right?”
Another shrug. “Let them. It's been a while since I made the front page.” He waved at an orderly taking a picture of him on her phone, which Sam was pretty sure she wasn't supposed to have.
“Are you in trouble now?” Sam asked, trying to distract Trickster from his adoring public. “All of them are going to know you helped us before too long.”
He let out a heavy sigh, tapping his cane against the floor. “They probably know now,” he admitted. He shook his head, taking off his hat and running his hands through his hair. “I knew the plan, I'm high up enough that there aren't a lot of secrets. It's not even the worst thing they've thought up, to tell you the truth. I knew a long time ago this was all going to set us against each other and I just...I wanted no part of it. I hoped they would just leave me alone.”
“You did kind of take a side, though, even just by bugging the hell out of Dean.”
“Well. Just because I wasn't willing to fist fight my family to the death to keep them from ending this world doesn't mean I actually wanted them to end it. I have henchmen I'm responsible for and I'm pretty sure that would void all of their contracts.”
“I always wondered if there were contracts.”
“I strictly deal with freelance now. The union is just too big a hassle.”
“I don't believe Dean was right about there being a union.” Sam knew this was a weird conversation to be having with a superpowered being who'd tried to kill him but it had been that kind of day. “Are they gonna come after you?”
“Most of them either wouldn't bother or wouldn't dare. And the two or so who would be a problem...well, I'll cross that bridge when it's collapsing under me, I guess.” He leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. “Gabriel,” he finally said. “You may as well know the 'real' name, considering all the mush going on in there we're almost family already.”
“Sam Winchester. Y'know. Just so we're properly introduced and all. Wouldn't want to be rude or anything.”
“Oh no, never.”
It felt good to be able to laugh at something. “So what happens now?” Sam said, letting that moment pass. “I mean...are you still going to kill me or not?”
Sam felt Gabriel's sharp eyes examine him from under his mask. “Not yet.”
Then Sam blinked and the angel was gone.
- On To Chapter 6 -
- Back To Masterpost -
- Back To Chapter 4 -