original by ninhursag
Remix Title: When From It's Mirror (The Dover Beach Remix)
Remix Author: unperfectwolf
Original Story: Were Armies of You Mine to Bear Me On
Original Author: ninhursag
Rating: PG
Pairings: None
Summary: There's some things not even Hell can keep.
When Sam was twelve, he got locked in a wooden chest for eight hours during a hunt. By the time Dean finally found him, he'd yelled himself hoarse and scratched his fingers bloody trying to get out.
As soon as Dean opened the trunk, Sam scrambled into his arms, and Dean hugged him back. Sam didn't say anything, and he didn't cry, but Dean could see how scared he was. Their dad didn't say anything about Dean not watching out for Sam, even though Dean knew he wanted to. It might have had a little to do with his own guilt, but Dean thought it was mostly because the second Sam saw their father, he asked why he hadn't told them about the second ghost.
Dean decided then and there that Sam wasn't ever going to get stuck somewhere with no way to contact him again. He knew there was a good chance Sam would get stuck again. He'd already been trapped in a basement, though he'd gotten out through a window, and he'd fallen into a pit in the woods once. Dean knew this, so he went at it from a different angle.
He spent the next month researching-looking and searching for the right thing, for something that would always work, no matter what happened. For most people, the circumstances weren't that variable, but Dean wanted to cover all his bases.
He had to hide it. Not just from their dad, who'd most likely try and stop him, but from Sam, too. He didn't really want to hide it from Sam, but he didn't want his brother worrying about the whole thing. He spent a lot of nights their dad wasn't home at the kitchen table, poring over books, and a lot of time "out" when their dad was home. Sam looked at him suspiciously a few times, but he never said anything, so Dean ignored it.
He finally found what he was looking for, buried deep in an old book he'd borrowed from Bobby. It predated most modern religions, and the book said it worked no matter what. Dean wasn't stupid, though, so he did more research. It was nearly another month of searching before he could verify the whole thing.
What it boiled down to was part spell, part ritual, part binding. To set it up, he and Sam would have to be bound. It didn't seem to require upkeep, and it didn't seem to be breakable. Best of all, it didn't seem to leave a trace of the binding on them.
It took Dean a while to set up. He had to get the stuff they needed together, and with their dad always around, he had a hard time finding everything without him knowing. Instead of the people they usually dealt with, Dean went out of his way to find people that his dad didn't buy from or use for information. Those people would later become the basis of his own network in the hunting community, one he wouldn't realize he had for a long time. Right then, all he wanted to do was get the right ingredients.
When he finally had everything, he waited until the next solo hunt their dad went on, then sat Sam down and explained. He'd expected a bit of reluctance on Sam's part, but all Sam did was ask if he could see the books Dean was still borrowing.
When Dean came back from their room with the books, Sam looked up at him from under his too-long bangs, and Dean was even more glad he'd found this.
"Can we do it tonight?" Sam asked him.
Dean could only let out a sigh of relief as he nodded.
Years later, Sam goes missing. He's not really missing, since Dean has a good idea of where he's gone, but he's still not next to Dean, so Dean counts it as missing. He waits, knowing he'll get a message.
Bobby is frantic with worry and uncertainty, and he seems to take Dean's assurance that they'll hear from Sam as an affront. He doesn't challenge Dean on it, though, like maybe he's worried Dean is imagining it, and if he breaks the spell, Dean will fall apart. Dean can't really blame Bobby, since the last time Sam was gone, Dean did just that.
Sam's been gone for two weeks to the day when the first set of sigils appears. Bobby doesn't know what they mean, glowing runes in the air in front of Dean, but Dean only grins. His smile falls once he's deciphered them.
"They have him. Chained," he tells Bobby, then walks away.
It doesn't take Bobby long to figure it out. "The book isn't at my house, and it's not likely that I lost it," he tells Dean.
Dean doesn't look up from the gun he's cleaning. "What're you trying to say?"
"You don't need the books to translate, do you?" Bobby asks. Dean shakes his head, but still doesn't stop cleaning. "Good. Then I want to see it." Bobby doesn't ask for it back, and when he's done with it, he gives it back to Dean.
They make plans. Every time Sam sends a message, Dean relays it to Bobby, and he coordinates the rest of the hunters. Demons are starting to strategize, and Dean knows that Sam's behind it. His brilliant brother, chained to Hell and being used to take over the world.
Dean knows, and he knows Sam knows, that Sam can't set the demons up to fail. His plan has to be good, his strategies sound. It has to be the best plan there is. If it isn't, Dean doesn't want to think about what would happen. It wouldn't be good, whatever it is. It would make being chained in Hell look like a walk in the park.
As the plans grow and the end gets closer, the hunters gather their ranks. Dean tries not to think about Sam, trapped down in Hell as it does the same, the creatures of the dark gathering together to try and crack open the world. Instead, he tells Bobby what they need is a tank.
It turns out that the tank idea is a good one. It keeps the two of them busy for a while, and after blessing it and putting silver on it and dousing it in holy water, Dean's pretty sure they can actually drive the thing into Hell.
Which, it turned out, they do.
Since the day Sam went missing, Dean's been looking for a way to break the bonds Hell had placed on him. Modern lore says it wouldn't be possible, but Dean knows there are things out there that existed before this Hell, and he knows there are things that are stronger. He finds the answer buried deep in a book he borrowed from Bobby once and never returned.
What he needs is hard to acquire. He has to search in places he's never gone to and call up people he hasn't thought about in years. He finally finds it in a shop he was directed to in a roundabout way by someone hasn't talked to since he was sixteen.
When the day finally comes, Dean makes himself ignore everyone else. He ignores the people he knows, the people who are cornered, and the people who fall. He goes for the one who took their father from them, who took his brother from him.
The demon doesn't stand a chance, no matter how powerful he is. Dean has the colt, and he uses it. Azazel's head rolls to the ground at Sam's feet, Sam's chains fall to the ground, and Dean kneels down in front of his brother, their foreheads touching. "Sam. Sammy. I came," Dean chokes out.
"I knew you would. I knew you would," Sam whispers back. Dean made sure of that when Sam was twelve.
Remix Author: unperfectwolf
Original Story: Were Armies of You Mine to Bear Me On
Original Author: ninhursag
Rating: PG
Pairings: None
Summary: There's some things not even Hell can keep.
When Sam was twelve, he got locked in a wooden chest for eight hours during a hunt. By the time Dean finally found him, he'd yelled himself hoarse and scratched his fingers bloody trying to get out.
As soon as Dean opened the trunk, Sam scrambled into his arms, and Dean hugged him back. Sam didn't say anything, and he didn't cry, but Dean could see how scared he was. Their dad didn't say anything about Dean not watching out for Sam, even though Dean knew he wanted to. It might have had a little to do with his own guilt, but Dean thought it was mostly because the second Sam saw their father, he asked why he hadn't told them about the second ghost.
Dean decided then and there that Sam wasn't ever going to get stuck somewhere with no way to contact him again. He knew there was a good chance Sam would get stuck again. He'd already been trapped in a basement, though he'd gotten out through a window, and he'd fallen into a pit in the woods once. Dean knew this, so he went at it from a different angle.
He spent the next month researching-looking and searching for the right thing, for something that would always work, no matter what happened. For most people, the circumstances weren't that variable, but Dean wanted to cover all his bases.
He had to hide it. Not just from their dad, who'd most likely try and stop him, but from Sam, too. He didn't really want to hide it from Sam, but he didn't want his brother worrying about the whole thing. He spent a lot of nights their dad wasn't home at the kitchen table, poring over books, and a lot of time "out" when their dad was home. Sam looked at him suspiciously a few times, but he never said anything, so Dean ignored it.
He finally found what he was looking for, buried deep in an old book he'd borrowed from Bobby. It predated most modern religions, and the book said it worked no matter what. Dean wasn't stupid, though, so he did more research. It was nearly another month of searching before he could verify the whole thing.
What it boiled down to was part spell, part ritual, part binding. To set it up, he and Sam would have to be bound. It didn't seem to require upkeep, and it didn't seem to be breakable. Best of all, it didn't seem to leave a trace of the binding on them.
It took Dean a while to set up. He had to get the stuff they needed together, and with their dad always around, he had a hard time finding everything without him knowing. Instead of the people they usually dealt with, Dean went out of his way to find people that his dad didn't buy from or use for information. Those people would later become the basis of his own network in the hunting community, one he wouldn't realize he had for a long time. Right then, all he wanted to do was get the right ingredients.
When he finally had everything, he waited until the next solo hunt their dad went on, then sat Sam down and explained. He'd expected a bit of reluctance on Sam's part, but all Sam did was ask if he could see the books Dean was still borrowing.
When Dean came back from their room with the books, Sam looked up at him from under his too-long bangs, and Dean was even more glad he'd found this.
"Can we do it tonight?" Sam asked him.
Dean could only let out a sigh of relief as he nodded.
Years later, Sam goes missing. He's not really missing, since Dean has a good idea of where he's gone, but he's still not next to Dean, so Dean counts it as missing. He waits, knowing he'll get a message.
Bobby is frantic with worry and uncertainty, and he seems to take Dean's assurance that they'll hear from Sam as an affront. He doesn't challenge Dean on it, though, like maybe he's worried Dean is imagining it, and if he breaks the spell, Dean will fall apart. Dean can't really blame Bobby, since the last time Sam was gone, Dean did just that.
Sam's been gone for two weeks to the day when the first set of sigils appears. Bobby doesn't know what they mean, glowing runes in the air in front of Dean, but Dean only grins. His smile falls once he's deciphered them.
"They have him. Chained," he tells Bobby, then walks away.
It doesn't take Bobby long to figure it out. "The book isn't at my house, and it's not likely that I lost it," he tells Dean.
Dean doesn't look up from the gun he's cleaning. "What're you trying to say?"
"You don't need the books to translate, do you?" Bobby asks. Dean shakes his head, but still doesn't stop cleaning. "Good. Then I want to see it." Bobby doesn't ask for it back, and when he's done with it, he gives it back to Dean.
They make plans. Every time Sam sends a message, Dean relays it to Bobby, and he coordinates the rest of the hunters. Demons are starting to strategize, and Dean knows that Sam's behind it. His brilliant brother, chained to Hell and being used to take over the world.
Dean knows, and he knows Sam knows, that Sam can't set the demons up to fail. His plan has to be good, his strategies sound. It has to be the best plan there is. If it isn't, Dean doesn't want to think about what would happen. It wouldn't be good, whatever it is. It would make being chained in Hell look like a walk in the park.
As the plans grow and the end gets closer, the hunters gather their ranks. Dean tries not to think about Sam, trapped down in Hell as it does the same, the creatures of the dark gathering together to try and crack open the world. Instead, he tells Bobby what they need is a tank.
It turns out that the tank idea is a good one. It keeps the two of them busy for a while, and after blessing it and putting silver on it and dousing it in holy water, Dean's pretty sure they can actually drive the thing into Hell.
Which, it turned out, they do.
Since the day Sam went missing, Dean's been looking for a way to break the bonds Hell had placed on him. Modern lore says it wouldn't be possible, but Dean knows there are things out there that existed before this Hell, and he knows there are things that are stronger. He finds the answer buried deep in a book he borrowed from Bobby once and never returned.
What he needs is hard to acquire. He has to search in places he's never gone to and call up people he hasn't thought about in years. He finally finds it in a shop he was directed to in a roundabout way by someone hasn't talked to since he was sixteen.
When the day finally comes, Dean makes himself ignore everyone else. He ignores the people he knows, the people who are cornered, and the people who fall. He goes for the one who took their father from them, who took his brother from him.
The demon doesn't stand a chance, no matter how powerful he is. Dean has the colt, and he uses it. Azazel's head rolls to the ground at Sam's feet, Sam's chains fall to the ground, and Dean kneels down in front of his brother, their foreheads touching. "Sam. Sammy. I came," Dean chokes out.
"I knew you would. I knew you would," Sam whispers back. Dean made sure of that when Sam was twelve.