All Our Wrath and Cutting Beauty (part 2)
Art Prompt Title: Bloodbuzz
Art link: Art Masterlist
Prompt Number: 1026
Artist: quickreaver
Fic Title: All Our Wrath and Cutting Beauty
Author: monicawoe
Fandom/Genre: SPN, Horror
Pairing(s): gen; Sam, Dean, Alistair, Castiel, Ruby, Lilith
Rating: R
Word Count: 10,624 total
Warnings: blood, blood-drinking, death, disturbing imagery, fire, language, violence
Author's Notes: A huge thank you to my wonderful beta Kimbott and an even huger thank you to quickreaver, the magnificent artist behind the piece that inspired it all. She paints what lives in my brain ; )
Summary:
This is an AU that begins during 4x16 'On the Head of a Pin' - opening dialogue is borrowed from that episode.
Sam killed Alistair, but not before Alistair reminded Dean of who and what he'd become in Hell. Dean knows Sam can take down Lilith, and he'll make damn sure Sam gets strong enough to do just that. They'll stop the Apocalypse -- together, no matter how many bodies stack up, or how much blood is spilt.
back to part 1
PART II
Hours later, Sam woke up to the smell of egg and sausage. He blinked in confusion and rolled over in his bed towards the sound of crinkling paper bags.
Dean smiled at him and put the bags on the table. "Morning, sunshine. I got us breakfast." He headed out the door again, saying, "Back in a minute with the rest."
Sam stared at the door for a few seconds before his stomach commanded him to go to the table. He could barely remember the last time he'd eaten. He unwrapped one of the egg sandwiches and took a huge bite.
The door swung open again forcefully, and Dean snapped, "Hey! That's mine."
"You bought four of them!"
"Yeah, and they're mine! Plus, you'll spoil your appetite." Dean said and flung the huge sack he was carrying onto his bed.
The sack twitched and Sam heard the muffled sound of screaming. He dropped his sandwich and jumped out of his chair, knocking it over. "What the hell?"
"What? I got you breakfast too."
"You...Dean, where'd you find this guy?" He eyed the sack warily, "I'm not gonna just drink from random possessed people!"
Dean smirked at him, "I know that, because I know you, and since I know you...I got someone I knew you wouldn't have a problem with." Dean yanked the sack towards him, dragged the bottom of it over the edge of the bed so it was sitting, and opened the drawstring at the top. He pulled the sack down, exposing the man's head, neck and shoulders. He was gagged, his eyes were black and he glared at Dean, "Meet Billy Colver -- sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the murder of four people. The demon riding him's killed plenty more. Billy broke out of Wyoming State Penitentiary three days ago. Didn't get very far though, thanks to our friend here."
Sam took a few steps closer to Dean and looked at the man, who turned his black eyes towards Sam. Within seconds, his expression shifted from anger to terror.
"You need to practice, Sam, and I know you're not gonna want to do that with me. See if you can read him, see what else you can do to him." Dean plopped down in the chair by the table and unwrapped another one of the egg sandwiches. "Then drain him."
Sam grabbed the chair he'd knocked down and turned it so he could sit across from the demon. He looked him in the eyes, and felt for the separation between the demon and Billy Colver. They were both awake and they were both terrified. Sam pushed the demon aside a bit, clamped his will around it until it was silenced, and focused on Billy. Billy's eyes were pale blue and wide. Sam stared at him and started to pull at his thoughts. Billy trembled violently as Sam played back the man's memories like a recording. Three minutes later, blood started to trickle from Billy's nose. Sam sat back in his seat and let the demon take over the host again. Turning to Dean, Sam said, "He didn't kill four people. He killed six. Two of them were kids."
Dean huffed and took another sip of his coffee before saying, "Told you." He looked over at Billy and added, "I think you crushed his brain."
Sam frowned, "I need more practice."
"Yup. And you need three square meals a day."
Sam stood up and walked over to his duffel bag. He pulled out a knife and went back to his seat across from Billy. Black eyes stared up at him and he heard the demon try to talk through the gag. Sam slid his knife under the gag, cut it off and said, "Speak."
The demon's eyes darted nervously from Sam to the blade and back. "I'll tell you what you want to know, okay?"
"Damn right you will." Dean said from the table, with a chuckle.
"What do I want to know?" Sam asked the demon, leaning towards him a bit.
"Lilith. Where she is."
Sam's lips twitched into a smile, "You know where she is?"
"I know where she was. She might not be there anymore, but -- "
"Then what good does that do me, exactly?" Sam asked and pushed the tip of his knife forward just a bit. It cut into the hollow of Billy's throat and a drop of blood welled up around it. Sam stared at the drop and heard himself make a low, growling noise. He wanted to push the knife further in, but he needed to practice more first -- just a little.
"She was in Death Valley --"
Dean laughed from behind them, "Oh come on. At least try to sound like you're not lying."
"I'm not lying! She was breaking a seal --"
Sam pulled the knife back towards him and closed his eyes. He had to stop thinking about the drop of blood slowly rolling down Billy's neck. He had to focus. He reached out for him, wrapped his own mind around the demon's and peered inside. "Tell me where she is."
"She was in Death Valley --" The demon said, and then he started screaming.
"Where is she now?" Sam asked in a low voice. He searched the demon's thoughts but found nothing useful. This one had never even seen Lilith. He'd heard another demon mention Lilith was in Death Valley and hightailed it out of California minutes later. Sam let out a sigh and stopped flaying the demon's mind.
"I -- I don't know." the demon said frantically, "I'd tell you if I did. Please -- if you let me go, I'll track her down. I'll find her for you. I can help you."
Sam smirked, "You're right about that." He ran his blade across Billy's jugular, slicing it open, and closed his mouth around the cut. Blood flooded his tongue, and he lost himself for a while in bliss and power.
"Whoa! Easy killer!" Dean yelled minutes later.
Sam drew back slowly from the flow of blood, and turned his head towards Dean. The curtains were on fire. So was part of the wall. "Did...I?"
Dean nodded and grinned at him, while he used his jacket to put out the flames closest to him, "I'm proud of you Sammy, real proud -- but try not to burn the whole place down, okay?"
"I'll get some water." Sam said, and started to get up. He looked back at Billy and the trickle of blood running down his neck.
"Nah. I got it. Finish your breakfast. Just -- keep focusing on the demon -- please."
Sam nodded and fell back onto his seat. He leaned forward again and drank deep. He concentrated on the terrified demon inside. Billy was long gone. Sam wasn't sure what had happened exactly, but he was pretty sure he'd killed him. He hadn't even noticed him die.
The demon made a last ditch effort to struggle against Sam, but Sam cut him off from the host body. The demon was trapped inside the flesh with no control, no escape, and all of Sam's attention focused on him.
Sam felt power building in him again and aimed it carefully at the demon. He pushed his will through the host body and forced all the blood that was left up and out through the cut in Billy's neck. He swallowed the last mouthful and pushed just a tiny bit at the quivering remnant of the demon's soul. It burst into golden flame and was devoured, along with the host body. Sam ran his hand across his mouth and looked at the pile of ash at his feet.
Dean walked up next to him and said, "That was pretty damn cool. I'll go get the dustbuster."
_____
Dean pulled the Impala to the side of the road and climbed out. He walked through the empty field and looked down at his feet when the grass started making crunching noises. There was a trail of brittle, dried grass cutting straight through the field. Dean followed it for a while, thinking it looked almost scorched. After a few more steps, he stopped walking and put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "What are you doing out here, Sam?"
Sam turned to look at Dean, and smiled, "I can see them. I can see where they've been."
"Where who's been?" Dean looked around, but couldn't see anything besides grass. The sun was high overhead, and his sunglasses weren't helping much. "How did you even get out here? I didn't see any other cars. I didn't even hear you leave -- I went to take a leak, came back out and you were just gone."
"Vincent, the demon that was in Billy Colver -- I read his mind." Sam turned around and pointed out into the distance, "He passed a group of demons on his way through Rawlins. I can see where they were, where they went. They leave these tiny, little trails of energy behind...like threads. I feel like I could almost...reach out and pull them back."
Dean raised his eyebrow, "You think you can?"
Sam shook his head, "Not all of them -- not yet, but soon." Sam started heading towards the Impala, "Besides, there's only one demon I want to talk to right now."
_____
Ruby's eyes widened when she saw Sam and Dean. "How did I get here? Did you -- did you summon me?"
"What's the matter, bitch? Catch you at a bad time?" Dean said, glaring at Ruby. He pushed off the wall and walked closer to where Sam was standing.
"Dean -- what the hell happened to you?" Ruby asked, swallowing.
"I figured it was time for a career change." Dean said and his eyes went black.
Ruby turned to Sam but didn't meet his eyes. She stared at his hands instead.
Sam laughed softly, "You know, I gotta say -- I was expecting some kind of acknowledgement for taking down Alistair. A card, or a fruit basket, or maybe just a damn phone call, but -- nothing? That's cold. Makes a guy think you don't care."
"Sam, I -- " Ruby started. She looked up at Sam's eyes and then back down, "Taking down Alistair -- you know how grateful I am, but I've been tracking Lilith -- "
"Really?" Sam said flatly.
"Of course!" Ruby snapped, but there was an edge of panic in her voice. She forced herself to look Sam in the eyes. "What else would I have been doing?!"
"That's exactly what I'd like to know." Sam said. He flicked two fingers vaguely in her direction and she flew against the far wall.
Ruby hung, suspended by Sam's will, and looked at the brothers with fury and fear. "What the Hell is your problem?" she growled.
Sam walked over to where Ruby was, and leaned against the wall next to her. He'd pinned her high enough that they were at eye-level. He turned Ruby's head towards him and looked her in the eyes.
Ruby let out a gasp, and started trembling.
Dean spun around and walked to his bed, rummaging through the bottles of whiskey lying next to it. He came back a minute later holding two large, empty bottles.
"S -- Sam." Ruby said, fighting to speak.
Sam looked at her sadly and brought his finger up to her lips. "You don't get to talk anymore. But you do get to tell me everything." Sam ran his hand down Ruby's cheek and forced her mind open.
Dean kneeled next to Ruby's legs and cut a neat line down her right pant-leg. He pulled the denim apart, folded it back, and sliced into her femoral artery, holding the bottle under the cut. "Don't mind me. I know you're busy. Just want to make sure we don't let the useful part go to waste."
Ruby didn't even acknowledge Dean. Her eyes were wide open and locked on Sam's.
Sam sorted through Ruby's thoughts with an oddly detached thoroughness. She'd been lying to him -- about nearly everything. She hadn't escaped from Hell, she'd been set free. She was working for Lilith, and Lilith was trying to free her God. Everything Ruby had told Sam, everything she'd done, had been done in Lucifer's name. She'd make sure Sam would kill Lilith and in so doing, free the Devil.
He wasn't terribly shocked by her betrayal, really. When he'd pulled her into their room she'd been terrified, and that spoke volumes. For the moment, he was filled with more sorrow than rage.
All her memories of him poured out and he relived them with her -- the first time they kissed, the first time they fucked. With her, he didn't have to hold back -- he didn't have to worry about hurting her, or about going too far. She never stopped him, never made him hold back, no matter how harshly he pushed or pulled, how tightly he held her, or how hard he bit down on her skin.
One night, when he was lost in rage and self-disgust he bit down so hard he drew blood, and as that first drop hit his tongue, he knew peace again for the first time in months. His headache, brought on by far too many failed attempts at pulling a demon earlier that night, faded away. Nothing hurt anymore. He should have let go of her then, he should have pulled back the instant he tasted iron, but it felt so good and there was nothing good left in his life.
Her blood took the pain away and it pulled his power back to the surface. He'd spent so many years burying everything about himself that wasn't human, but now it came roaring back to life -- lighting up his mind, heightening his senses and making him strong. It made him powerful, and he was so very sick of feeling weak.
His memory of her blood mixed with her memory of his first bite. She'd had to fight to hide how happy she was. This was the moment she'd worked towards. Even if everything else failed -- if Sam caught on to her, if he killed her -- it didn't matter because he'd tasted her blood. No matter what happened next, he'd come back for more. He could fight it as much as he wanted, but the need would never go away. Azazel had given Sam his first taste, and Ruby had awoken his hunger. She could feel it take a hold of Sam, a hold that grew stronger every time he drank from her.
The night he'd gone to kill Alistair was the first time she'd ever had to force him to stop. He'd latched onto her wrist with a desperate hunger -- determined not to fail. He'd taken more than he needed to bring Alistair down, and part of her had wanted to let him keep going -- see how strong he'd be after he took every last drop, but it was just too dangerous. She couldn't risk losing control, not so close to the end. If she lost control, she'd lose Sam's trust...and then she'd lose him.
There was a part of Sam, as much as he didn't want to admit it, that had loved Ruby. She was a demon, and he knew he'd been a fool for letting himself think that they could have anything so human. The odd part was, she did care for him. For all her betrayal, she firmly believed that Sam would understand in the end -- that he'd come around and thank her for everything she'd done.
Her knowledge about Lilith was frustratingly limited. Lilith purposefully kept her from knowing too much precisely because she'd expected something like this. Sam understood now why Ruby hadn't taught him how to read minds. It was too risky. Plus, he'd been too ashamed of being inhuman to push for anything more than becoming a weapon against demons. Sam sighed heavily and pulled his hand away from Ruby. He glanced down at Dean, who had nearly filled the second bottle.
"Need me to move?" Dean asked.
Sam nodded, "Probably best." He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Ruby's and whispered, "Good bye." Ruby's eyes lit up white-gold as she burned, inside and out. Sam stayed where he was as bits of her skin started to turn to ash and flake off. He kissed her charred lips one last time as she broke apart.
In her last moments, Ruby was filled with more calm and peace than she'd felt in centuries. Sam's power burned through her -- fire purifying every last part of her soul. She couldn't feel the pain anymore, maybe because Sam didn't want her to...though that was probably just wishful thinking on her part. She felt a swell of pride at how far he'd come. He'd go so much further, now that he'd stopped fighting what he was -- who he was meant to be. She just wished she'd be there to see. Part of her had always known that she wouldn't live through this. What she'd done -- what she'd dedicated herself to -- was too important, too sacred for self-preservation to come into play. Sam kissed her lips and as Ruby's eyes started to burn she looked at him, one last time, and saw Lucifer.
_____
"Lucifer? Seriously?" Dean asked again.
Sam nodded.
"We kill Lilith, we free Lucifer?"
"Not exactly. If she cracks open sixty-five seals -- then, when we kill her, we set Lucifer free." Sam stood up, "Which means we have to kill her now."
Dean nodded, " We have to find the bitch and take her down before she gets the chance." He walked over to his bed and started packing his duffel bag.
Sam turned towards the door, narrowed his eyes and said, "We have company."
The door flew open and two demons walked into the room.
"Delivery!" Dean chuckled, as the door slammed shut.
The taller one leered at Dean and said, "Well how about that. Here we were, pissed you stole Ruby out from under us, but you...the bounty on your heads is way higher."
"Is that a fact?" Sam asked. He smirked as he flung the two demons across the room, and pinned them to the wall. "Dean, why don't you start packing the car. I'll be out in a few."
"Sounds like a plan, Sammy." Dean said, and went back to filling his duffel bag.
Sam walked over to the demons. "You killed your hosts. That's unfortunate -- even more so for you." He looked from one to the other, slowly, and asked, "Where's Lilith?"
The demon Sam was closest to answered, "South of us. Maybe New Mexico."
"Maybe?" Sam asked, walking closer to him. He put his hand on the demon's shoulder. "I need you to be a little more specific." The demon moaned in pain as Sam's will sunk its teeth into his soul.
"He doesn't know. We don't know!" said his companion, frantically, "We just heard she was in California and she was heading east but sticking to the south. That's all we know. I swear."
"Hmm." Sam said, "That's not a lot." He sighed, "Well I guess we're done then. I'm going to scoop out your minds anyway, because I have to be sure -- but don't worry, you probably won't even notice." The demon Sam was next to let out another sharp hiss as his throat split open. Sam leaned down and drank.
The door opened and shut again as Dean headed out to the car with both of their bags.
Sam dug through the demon's thoughts as he drank. It was terrified, it didn't want to die, and it knew next to nothing about Lilith. It had heard plenty of stories about her from other demons though, and it knew some of the demons that were close to her.
Sam wanted to find a demon from Lilith's inner circle. Not just to question them about her, but so he could get a read on how strong Lilith really was. He had to be absolutely sure he was strong enough to kill her. He knew he was much, much stronger than he'd been when he killed Alistair. His powers were not just growing but expanding. He could sense demons now. On the edge of his mind, he felt them, all around him -- from miles and miles away.
As he finished draining the demon he'd been holding and started on the other, he let his mind search for more demonic energy. He could see so many of them -- flickers of their power all through the state and further away. Soon -- very soon, he'd be strong enough to sense Lilith, but he had to make sure he'd be strong enough to kill her too. If he could sense her, she could sense him, and she'd know he was coming for her.
Sam felt his power crest again -- there was so much of it, he felt like the room they were in couldn't possibly contain him. Above his head, the light fixture shattered, and distantly he heard the sound of pipes bursting.
He drank down the second demon as quickly as he could, and couldn't help but laugh when he let go. He felt euphoric and so powerful that he wasn't the slightest bit surprised the room looked the way it did. He would have been more surprised if it had stayed in tact.
Dean smiled at Sam when he took his seat next to him in the Impala.
"We should go." Sam said, "The room is on fire."
"Okay then." Dean said, and they headed out onto the highway. The sun dipped below the horizon behind them, shifting the sky from red to purple.
_____
"Sam, no. No way in Hell am I driving my baby in there."
Sam sighed, but smiled fondly at Dean, "Fine. Pull over. You know...it might be safer for you if you just wait for me out here. I don't know if I'll be able to -- "
"Not gonna happen. We're in this together." Dean pulled onto the side of the road and stopped the car. "So, what -- are we just gonna walk in?"
"No." Sam said, placing his hand on Dean's shoulder.
Everything went black, and Dean felt himself being pulled. When he could see again, he was in the main cellblock of Wyoming State Penitentiary. Three correctional officers were on the floor, unconscious.
The inmates took one look at the two intruders and started shouting and whistling.
"Quiet." Sam said, taking a seat in the middle of the room. The prisoners all fell silent and stopped moving. They stood -- awake, but completely motionless.
"What are you doing, Sam?" Dean whispered.
Sam didn't answer. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and barely moved for the next three minutes.
Just when Dean was about to lose his patience, Sam opened his eyes again. A dozen of the cell doors opened.
"You've been judged and found innocent. Leave. The doors are open. No one will stop you."
Dean raised an eyebrow in surprise, but stood aside as one of the inmates woke out of his stupor, and skittishly ran out the open cellblock door. Within seconds, the other freed prisoners followed his example.
Sam stood up and looked at the rest of the cells. There were at least four dozen inmates left. He turned to look at Dean and said, "You might want to stand back a bit."
Dean humored Sam and took a few steps back.
Sam raised one arm in the air, his hand reaching towards the ceiling. After a few seconds, there was a deep rumbling noise from all around them. Sam pulled his hand back down, made a fist, and the whole room filled with an enormous cloud of demon smoke.
For a few minutes, Dean couldn't see anything through the cloud of smoke and power. When the air cleared, a sea of black eyes stared back at him. All of the inmates had been possessed. Their cells had opened, but they stayed where they were, waiting.
Sam turned slowly and looked at all of them. He reached his hand out towards the cell across from him. The demon inside walked out of his cell, over to Sam and fell to his knees. Sam pushed his head to the side, and watched his throat split open. He pulled the demon to his feet, latched onto his neck, and drank in his blood and his thoughts.
Dean watched Sam go through five demons, then ten. It seemed like he was draining them faster and faster as he went. Dean spent a few minutes contemplating how that was even possible, physically. All that liquid had to go somewhere...didn't it? Sam barely took a break in between demons anymore. Before he finished draining one, the next one was already waiting, neck bared, eyes open and welcoming death. Above them, the lights started to sputter and die. The room wasn't getting dimmer though, it was getting unbearably bright -- flooded with Sam's power to the point where Dean had to turn away. Even with his eyes closed, the afterimage of Sam shining as bright as the sun was burned so deeply into Dean's retinas, it took him several minutes to realize that Sam had taken pity on him. When Dean turned back to Sam, he saw only his brother -- his tall, floppy-haired, ordinary-looking brother. He would have looked convincingly human too, if it wasn't for the demon he was devouring.
Somewhere around the fifteenth demon or so, Sam made a contented sort of humming sound that reverberated through the walls oddly. Dean felt it rattle his bones, and cocked his head, wondering if he should take a few more steps back.
When he'd gone through more than twenty demons, Sam stopped, and took a few long, deep breaths. On his last exhale, the walls began to crumble, and the bars on some of the cells started to glow bright orange. He turned to Dean and said, "You need to leave. Go. Now."
"Sam --"
"Now!" Sam said again and flung his hand out toward Dean.
Dean landed on his ass, in the dirt. He was next to the highway, a few feet away from the Impala. "Son of a bitch!" he said, getting up. He tried to will himself back into the prison -- struggling to remember the sensation of being torn through space. It wasn't something he'd ever practiced as a demon, though -- certainly not while in a body. After his few meager attempts did nothing but give him a headache, he gave up and started running back up the road. He ran as fast as he could, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the whole building fill with a white light so blinding he had to cover his eyes.
_____
on to last part