Unexpected Destinies Chapter 85
Title: Unexpected Destinies
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,623
Summary: The Vatican gives and receives a few surprises.
PAST
"Lucy?" clown guy repeated, confused, and Dean could practically see him trying to figure that one out before Anrig blanched. "You mean Lucifer?"
"Yep, the one and only," Dean confirmed.
The reactions all around them were pretty amusing with shocked gasps and horrified whispers even as several people stepped back, as if merely being close to the photo could be dangerous. Dean would have found that even funnier if it weren't such a serious issue. For all of his giving the devil himself a nickname, he knew only all too well that there was nothing trifling about the situation. Hell, part of the reason why he always gave such powerful creatures nicknames was to help himself and others overcome what could otherwise be an all consuming fear of the being in question. It tended to make people focus on something else and that could get them thinking again instead of being frozen in fear, or awe as the case might be. Well that any he wasn't going to let their power stop him from doing something he was liable to do anyway.
To his credit, clown guy didn't take a step back though Dean could see increased wariness in his eyes and posture.
"This is what Lucifer looks like?" Anrig asked.
"No, this is what he used to look like," Dean corrected. "This vessel is dead now, he died when Lucy left him for another one."
"And what does his new vessel look like?"
"It doesn't matter as he's no longer in it. In fact he doesn't have a vessel at the moment at all."
There, Dean figured that he'd sidestepped that question rather well without even raising any suspicions at all. As long as no one came back to the issue and the Vatican didn't find any suspicious photos of his brother from when he'd been Lucifer's vessel, then Sam should be safe. Though, to be honest, he was rather more worried that Anrig and his men would dig up incriminating evidence about what Sam had done with Ruby than about the whole Lucifer thing as the latter had been so short. Still, better to keep an eye out for both so he could do damage control if need be. After all, given some of what he'd been thinking at the time, he didn't even want to consider what the Vatican would make of the whole drinking demon blood or sleeping with a demon thing. Although weren't these the guys that were so gung-ho about repentance and forgiveness? He was pretty sure they were, but better not to risk it.
"No vessel?" clown guy asked.
"Dean and his brother were able to temporarily trap Lucifer in his cage once more," Michael replied. "During that process my brother lost the vessel he was in and therefore does not possess one at the moment."
"Why is it only temporary?" a new, accented voice inquired.
Dean turned his head to look at the speaker and was startled to find that it was the pope himself. Somewhere during his conversation with clown guy, the old man had come closer to them and was now only standing a short distance away, still mostly surrounded by a group of cardinals and he couldn't help but wonder if it was the cardinals that couldn't function without the pope or vice versa. Not that he was all that sure that a bunch of grown guys who still played dress up everyday could truly be considered functional in his definition of the word.
"In the process of my brother breaking out and being shoved back into his cage, it was damaged and it will not be able to contain him for much longer," Michael explained. "It is only a matter of time before he is free once more."
The inevitable questions about why the cage couldn't simply be repaired or a new one built came next and Dean tuned them out, knowing it was better if this information came from Michael as he was far too likely to say something disparaging about God that no one present would appreciate. No, it was far better for Michael to answer why God wouldn't just help the archangel build a new cage or why they couldn't outright kill the devil.
Instead Dean turned his attention back to the file on the table and looked at the names of the people he didn't immediately recognize. He was distracted from his task when clown guy came to stand beside him and tapped a spot of rotting skin on the photo of Nick's face.
"Why is this happening to him?" Anrig questioned. "Is it Lucifer's taint causing it?"
"No, it's caused by power decay," Dean explained. "Basically Nick wasn't able to fully contain Lucy's power and thus it started to destroy him. It would happen to any vessel that housed an archangel other than the intended vessel."
"I don't understand. I thought a vessel was someone who could hold an angel."
"For most angels, yes, it's that simple, for archangels it's more complicated as they're so powerful. Anyone who isn't a vessel couldn't hold an angel, period. Regular angels though have several vessels that they can use without ill effect. Archangels, however, only have one vessel like this, all of their other vessels can only hold them for a limited amount of time before they suffer from power decay depending on how much Grace and power the archangel uses while in them."
Clown guy seemed to hesitate a moment before looking him in the eye. "You are the one who can hold Michael with no ill effect?"
"Yes."
"So your aunt...?"
"She was already brain dead due to an accident before Michael took her."
"My condolences."
Dean nodded but could tell that there was something else clown guy wanted to ask but seemed reluctant to do so. "What?"
"You, eh... you have faced Lucifer in battle?"
Well that explained why Anrig had been hesitant to ask. Dean had been there himself in the past, desperately wanting to hear another hunter's story but not wanting to come across as being too eager. He snorted at the thought of having his involvement in the whole fiasco being called a battle. His pride briefly flared up but he had the sneaking suspicion that clown guy would be able to see right through his bullshit if he tried to give him any.
"He trashed my ass," Dean replied then hesitated before deciding to give it all. "And he killed Cas as well. Would have killed me too if it wasn't for my brother."
Clown guy's eyes went wide. "He killed Castiel? But he is still alive."
"Yeah, 'cause God brought Cas back. And promoted him."
"Promoted?"
The poor guy's voice was a bit faint and Dean figured he might be on information overload right about now, not that he could blame Anrig. It was a lot to take in all at once, but now that he'd thought about it, he really wanted the Vatican to know about his lover's new status. Castiel definitely deserved the recognition for all that he'd done so far in this war already, not to mention all of the sacrifices he'd made.
"Yeah, Cas is an archangel now."
"An archangel?"
"Yep." It seemed like that particular pronouncement came close to being too much for clown guy, but it suddenly reminded Dean of something else. "Oh, and speaking of archangels, if a small blond haired one shows up with a Scandinavian accent, don't trust her. That's Simiel and she's sided with Lucifer."
"I don't suppose you have a photo of her?"
"No, I've only seen her once myself and that was right after she attacked Michael and me, so we were kinda busy at the time."
"I will notify everyone."
"Good," Dean replied and then smiled. "Oh, and just for your information, angels can and do dream walk."
"Huh?"
"What you said before, about getting reports of people saying they'd seen angels in their dreams. Trust me, it happens as angels have absolutely no concept of privacy. It's taken me forever to get Castiel to realize that there are boundaries and even that's been hard won."
"Michael does stand quite close to you," clown guy observed.
"Oh, you have no idea. Castiel was far worse than him."
Dean left Anrig to contemplate that as he turned his attention back to Michael, the pope and the others. The archangel seemed to be explaining the Rite of Contressa and he could see people glancing his way once more and he fought off the desire to fidget. This was totally not the kind of attention he liked to be the center of and he almost wished that they could just skip over this whole part, but he knew that they had to give them something if they expected to keep getting things in return. Still, it didn't mean that he had to like it.
"You said that you had more stuff for us?" Dean prompted when it seemed like all of the immediate questions had been answered.
"Yes, yes," Father Giordano replied. "We have found some more books that mention Lucifer or the Apocalypse."
Dean felt his heart sink as he followed the man's gesture to see another large pile of books on one of the nearby tables. Would it never end? Seriously, he was sure that he'd seen, handled and read more books in the past few months then he had in his entire life before and that was saying a lot given that he'd helped Bobby reorganize his collection on more than one occasion. And to think that he'd once thought that the older hunter had far too many books. This had to be a punishment, God must have done this on purpose and was now laughing at him, he was sure of it. One thing was for sure, though, if they averted this Apocalypse and he survived, he was never touching another book in his life, research be damned.
"We have also found a few more artifacts in His Holiness' personal collection," Father Giordano continued.
"Personal collection?" Dean inquired, looking at the pope.
"Yes, it is a set of items that has been passed from one leader to the next since it was first begun," the pope explained. "Various of my predecessors have added to it over the centuries and it now contains many valuable and unique items."
Oh, well that made sense but Dean wasn't so sure how he felt about potentially walking away with something that technically belonged to the pope himself and had been in such holy hands for countless centuries. Chances were he was just going to break or lose the damn thing or that it would get wrecked by Lucifer at some point and wouldn't that be a way to be remembered? As the one who destroyed sacred Vatican treasures. Well, at least he hadn't ruined the Jewel of Abel yet though he'd only ever used it against one angel and he winced at the memory of doing that. He probably should ask Michael about the experience, though, as it could tell him a lot about what to expect if he ever needed to use it against Lucifer.
"Okay," Dean said in lieu of anything else.
"There are also a few more things we have for you," the pope continued.
"Yes?"
The pope half turned and was given a small black portfolio by one of the cardinals before the old man stepped closer to him. Dean felt nervous, not quite sure what to expect here but he took the portfolio when it was handed to him.
"This should help you focus your efforts solely on the Apocalypse and expedite the process as much as possible."
Curious now, Dean opened the portfolio and stared in shock at what it contained. The first thing he noticed was the credit card. It looked a bit different from those he usually saw, but it was definitely a credit card and it was one in his own name, not some random person whom he'd never met before but who would certainly regret their long distance relationship. Tucked away behind it was a second card, this time with both his photo and his name. It took him a moment to realize that it was an identity card of a sort but one that marked him as an employee of the Roman Catholic Church. It wasn't entirely clear what his position was, but it had been made to look important and he guessed that it would impress the right people. Then there were also several sheets of paperwork and, on the opposite side of the portfolio, an American passport. A quick look inside showed him that it too had been modified with his image and details as well as the appropriate stamps and whatnot to mark him as an official of the Vatican.
"Can we ask that you try and keep these two from being used in too potentially scandalous situations?" the pope asked tapping the ID card and passport.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Dean replied, figuring he meant anything too satanic.
The whole thing seemed surreal to him. Had the Vatican really just handed him all of the official documents he needed to slip by the authorities in any number of cases? And under his own name no less? Dean kind of wanted to pinch himself to make sure that he was awake but with the pope standing only a few feet away, an archangel at his shoulder and the portfolio in his hands, he couldn't quite figure out how to do so discreetly. Instead he pulled out the credit card.
"Is this for real?" Dean questioned, sure it had to be a joke of some kind.
"Yes. It is connected to an account in Zurich that has been authorized to allow you to draw as much as you require from it."
"Seriously?"
"We know it is occasionally necessary for hunters to obtain rare and valuable artifacts in order to hunt and kill particular creatures," clown guy stated, appearing at Dean's side as well. "We would expect this to be even more likely given what you currently face."
"It will also free you from, uh, other means of raising money," the pope added.
Other means. The old man meant the hustling and the outright theft of credit card fraud. The delicate wording made Dean snort and shake his head. He knew perfectly well that they were aware how he made his money as those crimes had been listed among his many others on the reports that clown guy had gotten hold of him so he didn't know why the pope didn't come right out and say it. He'd always found it a bit cowardly to dance around an issue like that as if by not saying it things weren't quite as bad as they really were.
"Thank you, your generosity is appreciated," Michael stated.
The archangel's acceptance of the offer on his part made Dean's hackles rise even as his pride rose within him. He didn't need any damn charity, never had and never would. Just because he did things a little differently from most people didn't mean that he needed other people's pity or aid, he could take care of things just fine on his own even as he dealt with all kinds of other stuff at the same time.
"Castiel will be most appreciative as well, will he not, Dean?" Michael continued.
Oh, now that was just not fair! The archangel knew how his lover felt about the way he made his money and Dean narrowed his eyes at the blatant manipulation.
"Yes, he will," Dean was forced to admit.
Damn Michael for knowing him so well.
Chapter 86
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: up to and including Exile on Main St., AU from the end of season 5
Warnings: AU, slash
Word Count: 2,623
Summary: The Vatican gives and receives a few surprises.
PAST
"Lucy?" clown guy repeated, confused, and Dean could practically see him trying to figure that one out before Anrig blanched. "You mean Lucifer?"
"Yep, the one and only," Dean confirmed.
The reactions all around them were pretty amusing with shocked gasps and horrified whispers even as several people stepped back, as if merely being close to the photo could be dangerous. Dean would have found that even funnier if it weren't such a serious issue. For all of his giving the devil himself a nickname, he knew only all too well that there was nothing trifling about the situation. Hell, part of the reason why he always gave such powerful creatures nicknames was to help himself and others overcome what could otherwise be an all consuming fear of the being in question. It tended to make people focus on something else and that could get them thinking again instead of being frozen in fear, or awe as the case might be. Well that any he wasn't going to let their power stop him from doing something he was liable to do anyway.
To his credit, clown guy didn't take a step back though Dean could see increased wariness in his eyes and posture.
"This is what Lucifer looks like?" Anrig asked.
"No, this is what he used to look like," Dean corrected. "This vessel is dead now, he died when Lucy left him for another one."
"And what does his new vessel look like?"
"It doesn't matter as he's no longer in it. In fact he doesn't have a vessel at the moment at all."
There, Dean figured that he'd sidestepped that question rather well without even raising any suspicions at all. As long as no one came back to the issue and the Vatican didn't find any suspicious photos of his brother from when he'd been Lucifer's vessel, then Sam should be safe. Though, to be honest, he was rather more worried that Anrig and his men would dig up incriminating evidence about what Sam had done with Ruby than about the whole Lucifer thing as the latter had been so short. Still, better to keep an eye out for both so he could do damage control if need be. After all, given some of what he'd been thinking at the time, he didn't even want to consider what the Vatican would make of the whole drinking demon blood or sleeping with a demon thing. Although weren't these the guys that were so gung-ho about repentance and forgiveness? He was pretty sure they were, but better not to risk it.
"No vessel?" clown guy asked.
"Dean and his brother were able to temporarily trap Lucifer in his cage once more," Michael replied. "During that process my brother lost the vessel he was in and therefore does not possess one at the moment."
"Why is it only temporary?" a new, accented voice inquired.
Dean turned his head to look at the speaker and was startled to find that it was the pope himself. Somewhere during his conversation with clown guy, the old man had come closer to them and was now only standing a short distance away, still mostly surrounded by a group of cardinals and he couldn't help but wonder if it was the cardinals that couldn't function without the pope or vice versa. Not that he was all that sure that a bunch of grown guys who still played dress up everyday could truly be considered functional in his definition of the word.
"In the process of my brother breaking out and being shoved back into his cage, it was damaged and it will not be able to contain him for much longer," Michael explained. "It is only a matter of time before he is free once more."
The inevitable questions about why the cage couldn't simply be repaired or a new one built came next and Dean tuned them out, knowing it was better if this information came from Michael as he was far too likely to say something disparaging about God that no one present would appreciate. No, it was far better for Michael to answer why God wouldn't just help the archangel build a new cage or why they couldn't outright kill the devil.
Instead Dean turned his attention back to the file on the table and looked at the names of the people he didn't immediately recognize. He was distracted from his task when clown guy came to stand beside him and tapped a spot of rotting skin on the photo of Nick's face.
"Why is this happening to him?" Anrig questioned. "Is it Lucifer's taint causing it?"
"No, it's caused by power decay," Dean explained. "Basically Nick wasn't able to fully contain Lucy's power and thus it started to destroy him. It would happen to any vessel that housed an archangel other than the intended vessel."
"I don't understand. I thought a vessel was someone who could hold an angel."
"For most angels, yes, it's that simple, for archangels it's more complicated as they're so powerful. Anyone who isn't a vessel couldn't hold an angel, period. Regular angels though have several vessels that they can use without ill effect. Archangels, however, only have one vessel like this, all of their other vessels can only hold them for a limited amount of time before they suffer from power decay depending on how much Grace and power the archangel uses while in them."
Clown guy seemed to hesitate a moment before looking him in the eye. "You are the one who can hold Michael with no ill effect?"
"Yes."
"So your aunt...?"
"She was already brain dead due to an accident before Michael took her."
"My condolences."
Dean nodded but could tell that there was something else clown guy wanted to ask but seemed reluctant to do so. "What?"
"You, eh... you have faced Lucifer in battle?"
Well that explained why Anrig had been hesitant to ask. Dean had been there himself in the past, desperately wanting to hear another hunter's story but not wanting to come across as being too eager. He snorted at the thought of having his involvement in the whole fiasco being called a battle. His pride briefly flared up but he had the sneaking suspicion that clown guy would be able to see right through his bullshit if he tried to give him any.
"He trashed my ass," Dean replied then hesitated before deciding to give it all. "And he killed Cas as well. Would have killed me too if it wasn't for my brother."
Clown guy's eyes went wide. "He killed Castiel? But he is still alive."
"Yeah, 'cause God brought Cas back. And promoted him."
"Promoted?"
The poor guy's voice was a bit faint and Dean figured he might be on information overload right about now, not that he could blame Anrig. It was a lot to take in all at once, but now that he'd thought about it, he really wanted the Vatican to know about his lover's new status. Castiel definitely deserved the recognition for all that he'd done so far in this war already, not to mention all of the sacrifices he'd made.
"Yeah, Cas is an archangel now."
"An archangel?"
"Yep." It seemed like that particular pronouncement came close to being too much for clown guy, but it suddenly reminded Dean of something else. "Oh, and speaking of archangels, if a small blond haired one shows up with a Scandinavian accent, don't trust her. That's Simiel and she's sided with Lucifer."
"I don't suppose you have a photo of her?"
"No, I've only seen her once myself and that was right after she attacked Michael and me, so we were kinda busy at the time."
"I will notify everyone."
"Good," Dean replied and then smiled. "Oh, and just for your information, angels can and do dream walk."
"Huh?"
"What you said before, about getting reports of people saying they'd seen angels in their dreams. Trust me, it happens as angels have absolutely no concept of privacy. It's taken me forever to get Castiel to realize that there are boundaries and even that's been hard won."
"Michael does stand quite close to you," clown guy observed.
"Oh, you have no idea. Castiel was far worse than him."
Dean left Anrig to contemplate that as he turned his attention back to Michael, the pope and the others. The archangel seemed to be explaining the Rite of Contressa and he could see people glancing his way once more and he fought off the desire to fidget. This was totally not the kind of attention he liked to be the center of and he almost wished that they could just skip over this whole part, but he knew that they had to give them something if they expected to keep getting things in return. Still, it didn't mean that he had to like it.
"You said that you had more stuff for us?" Dean prompted when it seemed like all of the immediate questions had been answered.
"Yes, yes," Father Giordano replied. "We have found some more books that mention Lucifer or the Apocalypse."
Dean felt his heart sink as he followed the man's gesture to see another large pile of books on one of the nearby tables. Would it never end? Seriously, he was sure that he'd seen, handled and read more books in the past few months then he had in his entire life before and that was saying a lot given that he'd helped Bobby reorganize his collection on more than one occasion. And to think that he'd once thought that the older hunter had far too many books. This had to be a punishment, God must have done this on purpose and was now laughing at him, he was sure of it. One thing was for sure, though, if they averted this Apocalypse and he survived, he was never touching another book in his life, research be damned.
"We have also found a few more artifacts in His Holiness' personal collection," Father Giordano continued.
"Personal collection?" Dean inquired, looking at the pope.
"Yes, it is a set of items that has been passed from one leader to the next since it was first begun," the pope explained. "Various of my predecessors have added to it over the centuries and it now contains many valuable and unique items."
Oh, well that made sense but Dean wasn't so sure how he felt about potentially walking away with something that technically belonged to the pope himself and had been in such holy hands for countless centuries. Chances were he was just going to break or lose the damn thing or that it would get wrecked by Lucifer at some point and wouldn't that be a way to be remembered? As the one who destroyed sacred Vatican treasures. Well, at least he hadn't ruined the Jewel of Abel yet though he'd only ever used it against one angel and he winced at the memory of doing that. He probably should ask Michael about the experience, though, as it could tell him a lot about what to expect if he ever needed to use it against Lucifer.
"Okay," Dean said in lieu of anything else.
"There are also a few more things we have for you," the pope continued.
"Yes?"
The pope half turned and was given a small black portfolio by one of the cardinals before the old man stepped closer to him. Dean felt nervous, not quite sure what to expect here but he took the portfolio when it was handed to him.
"This should help you focus your efforts solely on the Apocalypse and expedite the process as much as possible."
Curious now, Dean opened the portfolio and stared in shock at what it contained. The first thing he noticed was the credit card. It looked a bit different from those he usually saw, but it was definitely a credit card and it was one in his own name, not some random person whom he'd never met before but who would certainly regret their long distance relationship. Tucked away behind it was a second card, this time with both his photo and his name. It took him a moment to realize that it was an identity card of a sort but one that marked him as an employee of the Roman Catholic Church. It wasn't entirely clear what his position was, but it had been made to look important and he guessed that it would impress the right people. Then there were also several sheets of paperwork and, on the opposite side of the portfolio, an American passport. A quick look inside showed him that it too had been modified with his image and details as well as the appropriate stamps and whatnot to mark him as an official of the Vatican.
"Can we ask that you try and keep these two from being used in too potentially scandalous situations?" the pope asked tapping the ID card and passport.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Dean replied, figuring he meant anything too satanic.
The whole thing seemed surreal to him. Had the Vatican really just handed him all of the official documents he needed to slip by the authorities in any number of cases? And under his own name no less? Dean kind of wanted to pinch himself to make sure that he was awake but with the pope standing only a few feet away, an archangel at his shoulder and the portfolio in his hands, he couldn't quite figure out how to do so discreetly. Instead he pulled out the credit card.
"Is this for real?" Dean questioned, sure it had to be a joke of some kind.
"Yes. It is connected to an account in Zurich that has been authorized to allow you to draw as much as you require from it."
"Seriously?"
"We know it is occasionally necessary for hunters to obtain rare and valuable artifacts in order to hunt and kill particular creatures," clown guy stated, appearing at Dean's side as well. "We would expect this to be even more likely given what you currently face."
"It will also free you from, uh, other means of raising money," the pope added.
Other means. The old man meant the hustling and the outright theft of credit card fraud. The delicate wording made Dean snort and shake his head. He knew perfectly well that they were aware how he made his money as those crimes had been listed among his many others on the reports that clown guy had gotten hold of him so he didn't know why the pope didn't come right out and say it. He'd always found it a bit cowardly to dance around an issue like that as if by not saying it things weren't quite as bad as they really were.
"Thank you, your generosity is appreciated," Michael stated.
The archangel's acceptance of the offer on his part made Dean's hackles rise even as his pride rose within him. He didn't need any damn charity, never had and never would. Just because he did things a little differently from most people didn't mean that he needed other people's pity or aid, he could take care of things just fine on his own even as he dealt with all kinds of other stuff at the same time.
"Castiel will be most appreciative as well, will he not, Dean?" Michael continued.
Oh, now that was just not fair! The archangel knew how his lover felt about the way he made his money and Dean narrowed his eyes at the blatant manipulation.
"Yes, he will," Dean was forced to admit.
Damn Michael for knowing him so well.
Chapter 86