09x06 - No Quarter - Part Five: Howling More
Episode Number: 09x06 of Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)
Title: No Quarter
Subtitle: Howling More
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word Count: 3,281
Rating: R
Warnings: language, violence, torture
Status: Complete.
Earth. September 20, 2013.
Dean waited, shovel in hand, with Andrew, in an expanse of dirt in the Maine wilderness.
"You buried your friend here?"
"This is where he died," Dean lied again. He waited. "Is Kane a reaper?"
Andrew shifted uncomfortably. "You told me you'd keep this to yourself."
"Sorry, just curious."
"Yes, Kane is a reaper."
The silence became uncomfortable.
"He didn't by chance give you an ETA or - ?" Dean asked.
"No."
"Right."
What happened next occurred too quickly for Dean to really recount. First came the POP! of a small caliber gun, which grazed Dean's back and sent him to the ground. CLICK! And the sound of crushed shrubbery.
He looked up and saw a small grenade not nearly far enough from his body. Dean pushed himself up, forcing himself to forget the pain, and ran as fast and as far as he could. The explosion threw him head first into a tree and knocked him cold.
"How much farther?" Sam asked for the twentieth time.
"Ten more minutes," Cas replied.
"Okay, Cas, remember, whatever happens, you got to keep it as human as possible," Sam said.
"You've said that six times now."
"Grab the duffle from the back. We need to lock and load now," Sam said.
"You seem certain of the worst," the angel replied.
"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best," Sam said.
Cas pulled the bag out from the cap. He pocketed two handguns and pulled out a shotgun.
"You want anything in particular?" the angel asked the driver.
"I need another knife, a hand gun, and a machete." Sam hated how sleeping under the cap of his truck made him so unprepared.
Dean woke up tied to a tree. The pain in his left leg peaked, making him flinch. He looked down. His left leg ended near the top of his calf. The rest of it was somewhere in the brush.
"You're faster than I thought," Andrew remarked, leaning back against another tree.
"What the..." Dean tried to speak, but his words caught. He must have a few cracked ribs.
Andrew got close to Dean and pulled out a small, evil-looking knife. It was closer to a long barbed nail than a blade. He put it to Dean's cheek.
"I really need to know where your, uh, friend's remains are," he said. "Right now, I have to wait for Kane to return, then have him reap you and him... it's a big mess. But you tell me where he is, and you'll die a little more pleasantly."
"Eat me," Dean spat.
Andrew sized him up. "You know, I've never tried human flesh. Maybe I will start with yours."
He dragged the nail down Dean's face, slicing into his cheek and down to his chin.
"Where are its bones?" he asked.
"Fuck you," Dean choked out.
He was rewarded with a stab through the thigh. Andrew idly twisted the barbed instrument, making Dean feel like his flesh was turning on a spigot.
He couldn't help it, he screamed.
"I could do this for a while," Andrew said. He indicated the tourniquet he set on Dean's left leg. "I've got enough medical training to keep you alive and make this very unpleasant. But I'm not a sadist. Not really. I just don't like to wait."
With that he yanked the knife out, which made the wound wider and deeper. Dean screamed again, pitching this time.
Cas jolted in his seat.
"What's up?" Sam asked.
Cas didn't respond. Instead, he dug through the duffle bag again and pulled out the flask of holy water. He pocketed it as well as the jar of ash.
Andrew took out a small mallet and a blunt, wide instrument that resembled a thick screwdriver.
"There's really no need for this," Andrew spoke.
"Then why are you doing it?" Dean managed to spit out, blood kicking up with his words.
"Can't let you and your buddy live knowing our little secret," he said. "And I just have this feeling you're not telling me something. Maybe you're a more experienced hunter than you're letting on, maybe you didn't find me for help... I'm not really sure what you're lying to me about, but you are definitely lying to me."
"Got that right," Dean chirped.
"Where are its bones?" he asked, posing the blunt object over Dean's remaining big toe.
"Neverland."
Andrew landed the mallet on top of the faux-screwdriver. It severed Dean's big toe, and again he bellowed in pain.
He couldn't speak, so he thought instead. He thought a prayer to Cas. "Cas, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need help."
Cas squirmed in his seat, as if in pain.
"Cas, talk to me," Sam said.
"Your brother, he's injured," Cas said, "and he just reached out to me."
"He prayed to you?"
"Silently. He might not be able to speak," the panic in Cas's voice built up. "I need to go to him."
"We're only a minute away."
"From the car, Sam," the angel snapped.
"Shh," Sam rolled down the windows. They could hear screaming. Sam had seen Cas in his angel-of-the-lord mode, but that had nothing on him now.
"We do this the human way," Sam said. "We can't risk bringing more angels in on this."
Cas nodded. Then Sam said, "So here's what we do. I drive, you shoot."
Sam pulled his truck straight in after the Impala, leaving the windows down. Cas aimed the shotgun out the window, and when they came in sight of Dean, Andrew stood and turned, looking at the new arrivals.
The first shot hit Andrew in the left shoulder, so he dropped the screwdriver-like instrument. The second hit him in the right shoulder. Then for good measure, Cas added shots to his kneecaps.
Then the angel threw himself out the door, racing toward Dean. Sam pulled his machete and made his way over to Andrew, who flailed and screamed on the ground.
"Coptic Cross," Dean repeated, blood bubbling out of his mouth. He repeated it like a mantra.
"No," Andrew blubbered to Sam. "You can't! He'll reap us all."
Dean kept repeating even after Sam destroyed the cross and Kane reappeared. Andrew tried to speak, but Cas promptly shot him in the head, which Sam didn't even see coming. Kane smiled and reaped his would-be master without so much as another word.
"Dean," Cas whispered. "Can you hear me?"
But he kept repeating the words "Coptic Cross."
"Dean," Sam's voice was next. "Hell, what happened to him?"
"He's missing three toes, part of one leg, and has several very unpleasant stab wounds. His head injury isn't helping the matter."
"Cas?" Dean muttered. "You can't heal me here." This became his new mantra, as if he was afraid Cas wouldn't remember.
The angel pulled out the flask of holy water and jar of ash. "Sam, do you have any cloth we can use?"
Sam scrambled to the truck and pulled out some of the towels they'd use for bandages. When he handed them off to Cas, he spread the ash on the towel then kneaded the water in so it became a paste.
"We need the other part of his leg, if you can find it," he told Sam.
Sam had already spotted it not far from them. He raced over and picked it up gingerly.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked, approaching the very focused angel and his brother.
"I'm not sure if it will work," the angel replied.
"That's not an answer," Sam pushed.
Cas took the severed limb and put it up against its proper place; then he wiped the ash paste over the wound. The flesh began to knit itself back together, and Cas let out a laugh of relief. He removed the tourniquet and moved on to the three toes. Slowly but surely, Cas put Dean back together.
Dean seemed to wake up after the stab wounds to his legs healed. He felt his ribs pop back into place, and his breathing became better. "Stop," he said. "Stop, stop!"
Cas obeyed. "Dean?"
Sam leaned in, "You okay man?"
"You let him out of the Bunker, and now he's healing me out in the open?" Dean spat at his brother.
"Your welcome for saving your life," Sam replied crossly.
"I'm not healing you with my powers," Cas replied.
"What?"
Cas moved the rag over his face and head. He didn't want to see that gapping slash anymore, and Dean's head injury was severe. They, too, knit themselves back together.
"If I was using angelic powers, the other angels would already be here," Cas explained. He went to wipe down Dean's arms.
"No, hell no, we should be getting out of here," Dean snapped.
"You're still injured," Cas pointed out.
"I can walk and drive," Dean said. He looked at his arms. He might need stitches, but otherwise he'd be fine. "And this doesn't require magic."
Cas insisted on driving, which Dean tried to argue with until Cas flourished with rage. Then Dean plunked into the backseat, and Sam followed the Impala back to the motel.
Purgatory. September 21, 2013.
Benny leaned back against the wall. Adebowale sat next to him, humming a very old melody.
"You know wha', Adebowale?" Benny said listlessly. "I wouldn't mind staying here forever." It happened to be true.
"Forever?" Adebowale mused. "Benny, do you know where you are?"
"Purgatory."
"I mean where you are within purgatory."
"Natta clue," Benny admitted.
"This is the place souls come to be reborn," Adebowale explained. "One way or another."
"Reborn?" Benny asked. "That actually happ'ns? Rebrith."
"Depending on the soul, yes."
"So you're going to be reborn?"
Adebowale laughed. It was a sweet sound, like bird song. "No."
"Then what'r'you talkin' 'bout then?" Benny asked, his brow knit.
"You understand more than you know."
The sky around them turned a deep, bloody red. Ash and flame cascaded all around, as if a storm of flame encapsulated everything.
"Don't fret too much about it all, Benny," Adebowale said over the resounding sound of the storm.
Benny looked up to see a pillar of fire spiraling towards him; ash filled his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and fire pricked his flesh. When the storm cleared, Adebowale again sat alone on the highest tower.
Earth. September 20, 2013.
Sam was too angry to help, so Cas stitched up Dean's wounds in the motel room.
"I dislike hurting you," Cas remarked as he pulled through another stitch. "I could just - "
" - no, no more magic healing, we can't risk it," Dean replied.
"Now you care about risks?" Sam barked. "What were you even thinking?"
"I was thinking," Dean said, wincing at the next stitch, "that I should confirm the message some Baku bitch gave me before ruining our lives."
"You do realize that if Cas hadn't told me about the dream, you'd've been slowly tortured to death."
"Yeah, I got that."
"Sam's right," Cas remarked. "You were incredibly foolish to go out on your own."
"What were you even doing?"
Dean licked his lips and said, "Trying to find a way to bring Benny back."
"And you just bumped into a guy who had a reaper on a leash?" Sam pressed.
"I got his name from another dream," Dean replied. "And, no, I didn't trust him."
"Then how did you end up nearly dying in the woods?" Sam asked.
"He had a freaking grenade," Dean snapped. "Forgive me if I didn't see that coming."
Sam paced. "You know what, Dean? It's one thing to lie to me about whatever's going on between you two or lie about where you are. But going off trying to find a reaper that'll bring Benny back? Meeting up with some guy whose name you got in a dream?"
"If I thought I needed help, I'd've called you."
Sam's phone rang, interrupting the argument. "Garth? Oh, no, Dean's... I'm with him now. Yeah, thanks." He hung up.
"See, I set up a thing with Garth," Dean pointed out.
"And if I got that back in Kansas or South Dakota? You'd still be dead, Dean!" Sam yelled back.
Dean's ears were ringing. "Could you not yell?"
Sam stormed out of the room to his truck. He returned with a bag, which he dropped on the second motel bed.
"You know what Dean? I'm the one that needs space now," Sam snapped. He left and got in his truck.
"That must be my bag," Cas said mildly, finishing the stitch on Dean's left arm. "I need your other arm."
After thirty minutes, Cas finished suturing Dean's injuries. "I wish you'd let me use the salve on you," Cas said again.
"What is this stuff?" Dean asked.
"Ash and holy water."
Dean turned his head. "Ash and holy water reattached my freaking leg?"
"It's very special ash," Cas explained.
"Enlighten me."
"From a phoenix. The first phoenix."
"You mean the Alpha phoenix?" Dean asked.
Cas turned his head. "Eve's firstborn offspring were Alphas, but the phoenix is not of her kin."
"They're not?"
"The ash of the phoenix burns Eve," Cas reminded Dean. "The phoenix are like Leviathan, made by God before humans and other creation."
"Where did you get ash from the first phoenix?" Dean asked.
Cas didn't reply.
After a few moments of silence, Cas said, "I heard you."
Dean froze. "Sorry."
"You can always call to me," Cas said. "No matter what."
Dean wanted to reach out and touch Castiel, but he didn't have to. Cas took his hand, "I missed you."
"Cas, we've already talked about this. You don't know what'll happen - "
"Neither do you," Cas cut him off. "Dean, if you want to leave because you're unhappy with me, with us, then go."
"I'm not unhappy with you," Dean replied. "This is bigger than that."
"You're afraid," Cas observed.
"Don't you care what happens to you? If you cut out your grace, what if you don't have a soul? After you die - "
" - there'd be nothing." Cas concluded. "And you'll be in heaven."
Dean turned away. "How can it be heaven if you're not there?" It was less than a whisper.
Cas didn't understand Dean's sudden panic. He'd shared Deans thoughts, seen his awe, felt his sensation of minuteness. He understood that Dean had been shaken, but he knew Dean, a man who lived through forty years of hell, a year in purgatory, and kept fighting for his friends, his family.
Instead, Cas changed topics. "Where is Benny?"
"Still dead," Dean replied. "I moved his remains yesterday and left a phone next to him. He'd've called by now if Kane brought him back."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too," Dean replied. "I need some sleep. I'll drive you back to the bunker tomorrow."
Cas couldn't bring himself to smile. "You said you need space. Driving together for a day and a half isn't conducive to space."
"I guess not," Dean admitted. Finding out the angel didn't want to spend time with him felt like he'd been punched in the gut with disappointment. "But how else will you get back to the bunker?"
"I'll wait here. As soon as Sam returns to the bunker, he can open the door, and I'll teleport back."
Dean looked at him, "You don't have to do that, man - "
"It's best," Cas said. "I'll let you sleep."
The angel disappeared grabbed his bag and went to check out his own motel room. Misery crept into Dean's throat and made him hoarse. He crawled into bed and tried to put it all out of his head.
Sam crashed overnight in Chicago.
In the morning, he pulled up his e-mail he used to communicate with Dodge. Admittedly, Sam had read them all already, but he double-checked the last one she'd sent him.
She was in Chicago on some big case, and she wasn't sure how long she'd be away. It might be weeks before she could send him any new cases. He replied to her message and wrote the following:
Dear DDG:
I'm in Chicago on R&R and some downtime. I might be here for a few days. Be nice to meet up in person if you have the time.
SW
Sam hesitated to send the e-mail. He'd purposely waited between cases Dodge found in case Dean cottoned on to his new working relationship. But why should he be afraid to invest in a partnership? With Dean's ridiculousness, it felt right to Sam to have a secret from his brother.
Earth. September 21, 2013.
In the morning, Cas checked each of Dean's thirty stitches. Then he saw him off, making sure he got back on the road in one piece.
Afterwards, Cas tracked down Benny's remains. The average angel would've been tried by this task, but Cas knew Dean all too well. Out in the woods, Cas identified a marked tree. Dean had done the same thing when he buried someone he couldn't save. The angel walked forty paces due east from the mark and found freshly dug earth. He wasted no time in digging up the casket.
Then he pulled out the jar Kuravi gave him in the car yesterday. He summoned the will to whisper out, "Kuravi?"
Flame licked the air. Kuravi appeared next to him. "I knew you'd call," she said.
"It's true, the ash you gave me was from Kuravi," the angel stated. "But you could be any phoenix with slight of hand."
Kuravi suddenly noticed the pine casket in front of them. "I take it you called me here for a reason?"
"If you are who you say you are," Cas said, "that means you can pull a soul out of purgatory and raise up his body whole."
She looked impressed. "You've been hitting the books, kid. Not many people know that."
"I need certainty that you are who you say you are," Cas explained.
Kuravi sized the angel up. "Do you know why I came to you?"
"To ask for help," the angel replied. "Why else would you be looking for an angel?"
"I was imprisoned for a very long time," she said. "The demons who kept us there suddenly disappeared, and I escaped. I spent weeks trying to break the others out."
"The others?"
"Two angels like you," she said. "I think a deity, but I'm not sure who he is. And Ruach."
Cas didn't hide his surprise. "That can't be right. She died billions of years ago."
"Yesterday you said the same thing about me."
"Kuravi could still be dead," Cas insisted.
"You want me to raise up a monster to prove who I am?"
"He is a vampire," Cas said, "but he is not a monster."
Kuravi turned her head. "Will this be enough for you? To prove who I am?"
"Yes."
"And will you then help me free my friends?"
Cas nodded, "I will."
Kuravi disappeared; this time not with fire and flame, but with embers and ash. The ashes curled around Benny's bones. The embers flared up and up and smoke rose into the sky. The earth shook as energy suddenly zeroed in on the vampire's remains.
With a spark, then a flame, then a fire, Benny's body erupted back into this world. Kuravi stood not far from him, smiling at her achievement.
Cas handed Benny a long coat, which he happily accepted. Before he could make introductions, Kuravi's fire burned again, and she was gone.
"Gotta say, Cas," Benny admitted, "I didn't thin' I'd be seein' your face."
The angel didn't say anything, just motioned for Benny to follow him and walked back to the motel.
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09x07 Procedural Drama
Primary Post: 09x06 No Quarter
Primary Post: Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)
Title: No Quarter
Subtitle: Howling More
Author: dracox-serdriel
Word Count: 3,281
Rating: R
Warnings: language, violence, torture
Status: Complete.
Earth. September 20, 2013.
Dean waited, shovel in hand, with Andrew, in an expanse of dirt in the Maine wilderness.
"You buried your friend here?"
"This is where he died," Dean lied again. He waited. "Is Kane a reaper?"
Andrew shifted uncomfortably. "You told me you'd keep this to yourself."
"Sorry, just curious."
"Yes, Kane is a reaper."
The silence became uncomfortable.
"He didn't by chance give you an ETA or - ?" Dean asked.
"No."
"Right."
What happened next occurred too quickly for Dean to really recount. First came the POP! of a small caliber gun, which grazed Dean's back and sent him to the ground. CLICK! And the sound of crushed shrubbery.
He looked up and saw a small grenade not nearly far enough from his body. Dean pushed himself up, forcing himself to forget the pain, and ran as fast and as far as he could. The explosion threw him head first into a tree and knocked him cold.
"How much farther?" Sam asked for the twentieth time.
"Ten more minutes," Cas replied.
"Okay, Cas, remember, whatever happens, you got to keep it as human as possible," Sam said.
"You've said that six times now."
"Grab the duffle from the back. We need to lock and load now," Sam said.
"You seem certain of the worst," the angel replied.
"Prepare for the worst, hope for the best," Sam said.
Cas pulled the bag out from the cap. He pocketed two handguns and pulled out a shotgun.
"You want anything in particular?" the angel asked the driver.
"I need another knife, a hand gun, and a machete." Sam hated how sleeping under the cap of his truck made him so unprepared.
Dean woke up tied to a tree. The pain in his left leg peaked, making him flinch. He looked down. His left leg ended near the top of his calf. The rest of it was somewhere in the brush.
"You're faster than I thought," Andrew remarked, leaning back against another tree.
"What the..." Dean tried to speak, but his words caught. He must have a few cracked ribs.
Andrew got close to Dean and pulled out a small, evil-looking knife. It was closer to a long barbed nail than a blade. He put it to Dean's cheek.
"I really need to know where your, uh, friend's remains are," he said. "Right now, I have to wait for Kane to return, then have him reap you and him... it's a big mess. But you tell me where he is, and you'll die a little more pleasantly."
"Eat me," Dean spat.
Andrew sized him up. "You know, I've never tried human flesh. Maybe I will start with yours."
He dragged the nail down Dean's face, slicing into his cheek and down to his chin.
"Where are its bones?" he asked.
"Fuck you," Dean choked out.
He was rewarded with a stab through the thigh. Andrew idly twisted the barbed instrument, making Dean feel like his flesh was turning on a spigot.
He couldn't help it, he screamed.
"I could do this for a while," Andrew said. He indicated the tourniquet he set on Dean's left leg. "I've got enough medical training to keep you alive and make this very unpleasant. But I'm not a sadist. Not really. I just don't like to wait."
With that he yanked the knife out, which made the wound wider and deeper. Dean screamed again, pitching this time.
Cas jolted in his seat.
"What's up?" Sam asked.
Cas didn't respond. Instead, he dug through the duffle bag again and pulled out the flask of holy water. He pocketed it as well as the jar of ash.
Andrew took out a small mallet and a blunt, wide instrument that resembled a thick screwdriver.
"There's really no need for this," Andrew spoke.
"Then why are you doing it?" Dean managed to spit out, blood kicking up with his words.
"Can't let you and your buddy live knowing our little secret," he said. "And I just have this feeling you're not telling me something. Maybe you're a more experienced hunter than you're letting on, maybe you didn't find me for help... I'm not really sure what you're lying to me about, but you are definitely lying to me."
"Got that right," Dean chirped.
"Where are its bones?" he asked, posing the blunt object over Dean's remaining big toe.
"Neverland."
Andrew landed the mallet on top of the faux-screwdriver. It severed Dean's big toe, and again he bellowed in pain.
He couldn't speak, so he thought instead. He thought a prayer to Cas. "Cas, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need help."
Cas squirmed in his seat, as if in pain.
"Cas, talk to me," Sam said.
"Your brother, he's injured," Cas said, "and he just reached out to me."
"He prayed to you?"
"Silently. He might not be able to speak," the panic in Cas's voice built up. "I need to go to him."
"We're only a minute away."
"From the car, Sam," the angel snapped.
"Shh," Sam rolled down the windows. They could hear screaming. Sam had seen Cas in his angel-of-the-lord mode, but that had nothing on him now.
"We do this the human way," Sam said. "We can't risk bringing more angels in on this."
Cas nodded. Then Sam said, "So here's what we do. I drive, you shoot."
Sam pulled his truck straight in after the Impala, leaving the windows down. Cas aimed the shotgun out the window, and when they came in sight of Dean, Andrew stood and turned, looking at the new arrivals.
The first shot hit Andrew in the left shoulder, so he dropped the screwdriver-like instrument. The second hit him in the right shoulder. Then for good measure, Cas added shots to his kneecaps.
Then the angel threw himself out the door, racing toward Dean. Sam pulled his machete and made his way over to Andrew, who flailed and screamed on the ground.
"Coptic Cross," Dean repeated, blood bubbling out of his mouth. He repeated it like a mantra.
"No," Andrew blubbered to Sam. "You can't! He'll reap us all."
Dean kept repeating even after Sam destroyed the cross and Kane reappeared. Andrew tried to speak, but Cas promptly shot him in the head, which Sam didn't even see coming. Kane smiled and reaped his would-be master without so much as another word.
"Dean," Cas whispered. "Can you hear me?"
But he kept repeating the words "Coptic Cross."
"Dean," Sam's voice was next. "Hell, what happened to him?"
"He's missing three toes, part of one leg, and has several very unpleasant stab wounds. His head injury isn't helping the matter."
"Cas?" Dean muttered. "You can't heal me here." This became his new mantra, as if he was afraid Cas wouldn't remember.
The angel pulled out the flask of holy water and jar of ash. "Sam, do you have any cloth we can use?"
Sam scrambled to the truck and pulled out some of the towels they'd use for bandages. When he handed them off to Cas, he spread the ash on the towel then kneaded the water in so it became a paste.
"We need the other part of his leg, if you can find it," he told Sam.
Sam had already spotted it not far from them. He raced over and picked it up gingerly.
"What are you doing?" Sam asked, approaching the very focused angel and his brother.
"I'm not sure if it will work," the angel replied.
"That's not an answer," Sam pushed.
Cas took the severed limb and put it up against its proper place; then he wiped the ash paste over the wound. The flesh began to knit itself back together, and Cas let out a laugh of relief. He removed the tourniquet and moved on to the three toes. Slowly but surely, Cas put Dean back together.
Dean seemed to wake up after the stab wounds to his legs healed. He felt his ribs pop back into place, and his breathing became better. "Stop," he said. "Stop, stop!"
Cas obeyed. "Dean?"
Sam leaned in, "You okay man?"
"You let him out of the Bunker, and now he's healing me out in the open?" Dean spat at his brother.
"Your welcome for saving your life," Sam replied crossly.
"I'm not healing you with my powers," Cas replied.
"What?"
Cas moved the rag over his face and head. He didn't want to see that gapping slash anymore, and Dean's head injury was severe. They, too, knit themselves back together.
"If I was using angelic powers, the other angels would already be here," Cas explained. He went to wipe down Dean's arms.
"No, hell no, we should be getting out of here," Dean snapped.
"You're still injured," Cas pointed out.
"I can walk and drive," Dean said. He looked at his arms. He might need stitches, but otherwise he'd be fine. "And this doesn't require magic."
Cas insisted on driving, which Dean tried to argue with until Cas flourished with rage. Then Dean plunked into the backseat, and Sam followed the Impala back to the motel.
Purgatory. September 21, 2013.
Benny leaned back against the wall. Adebowale sat next to him, humming a very old melody.
"You know wha', Adebowale?" Benny said listlessly. "I wouldn't mind staying here forever." It happened to be true.
"Forever?" Adebowale mused. "Benny, do you know where you are?"
"Purgatory."
"I mean where you are within purgatory."
"Natta clue," Benny admitted.
"This is the place souls come to be reborn," Adebowale explained. "One way or another."
"Reborn?" Benny asked. "That actually happ'ns? Rebrith."
"Depending on the soul, yes."
"So you're going to be reborn?"
Adebowale laughed. It was a sweet sound, like bird song. "No."
"Then what'r'you talkin' 'bout then?" Benny asked, his brow knit.
"You understand more than you know."
The sky around them turned a deep, bloody red. Ash and flame cascaded all around, as if a storm of flame encapsulated everything.
"Don't fret too much about it all, Benny," Adebowale said over the resounding sound of the storm.
Benny looked up to see a pillar of fire spiraling towards him; ash filled his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and fire pricked his flesh. When the storm cleared, Adebowale again sat alone on the highest tower.
Earth. September 20, 2013.
Sam was too angry to help, so Cas stitched up Dean's wounds in the motel room.
"I dislike hurting you," Cas remarked as he pulled through another stitch. "I could just - "
" - no, no more magic healing, we can't risk it," Dean replied.
"Now you care about risks?" Sam barked. "What were you even thinking?"
"I was thinking," Dean said, wincing at the next stitch, "that I should confirm the message some Baku bitch gave me before ruining our lives."
"You do realize that if Cas hadn't told me about the dream, you'd've been slowly tortured to death."
"Yeah, I got that."
"Sam's right," Cas remarked. "You were incredibly foolish to go out on your own."
"What were you even doing?"
Dean licked his lips and said, "Trying to find a way to bring Benny back."
"And you just bumped into a guy who had a reaper on a leash?" Sam pressed.
"I got his name from another dream," Dean replied. "And, no, I didn't trust him."
"Then how did you end up nearly dying in the woods?" Sam asked.
"He had a freaking grenade," Dean snapped. "Forgive me if I didn't see that coming."
Sam paced. "You know what, Dean? It's one thing to lie to me about whatever's going on between you two or lie about where you are. But going off trying to find a reaper that'll bring Benny back? Meeting up with some guy whose name you got in a dream?"
"If I thought I needed help, I'd've called you."
Sam's phone rang, interrupting the argument. "Garth? Oh, no, Dean's... I'm with him now. Yeah, thanks." He hung up.
"See, I set up a thing with Garth," Dean pointed out.
"And if I got that back in Kansas or South Dakota? You'd still be dead, Dean!" Sam yelled back.
Dean's ears were ringing. "Could you not yell?"
Sam stormed out of the room to his truck. He returned with a bag, which he dropped on the second motel bed.
"You know what Dean? I'm the one that needs space now," Sam snapped. He left and got in his truck.
"That must be my bag," Cas said mildly, finishing the stitch on Dean's left arm. "I need your other arm."
After thirty minutes, Cas finished suturing Dean's injuries. "I wish you'd let me use the salve on you," Cas said again.
"What is this stuff?" Dean asked.
"Ash and holy water."
Dean turned his head. "Ash and holy water reattached my freaking leg?"
"It's very special ash," Cas explained.
"Enlighten me."
"From a phoenix. The first phoenix."
"You mean the Alpha phoenix?" Dean asked.
Cas turned his head. "Eve's firstborn offspring were Alphas, but the phoenix is not of her kin."
"They're not?"
"The ash of the phoenix burns Eve," Cas reminded Dean. "The phoenix are like Leviathan, made by God before humans and other creation."
"Where did you get ash from the first phoenix?" Dean asked.
Cas didn't reply.
After a few moments of silence, Cas said, "I heard you."
Dean froze. "Sorry."
"You can always call to me," Cas said. "No matter what."
Dean wanted to reach out and touch Castiel, but he didn't have to. Cas took his hand, "I missed you."
"Cas, we've already talked about this. You don't know what'll happen - "
"Neither do you," Cas cut him off. "Dean, if you want to leave because you're unhappy with me, with us, then go."
"I'm not unhappy with you," Dean replied. "This is bigger than that."
"You're afraid," Cas observed.
"Don't you care what happens to you? If you cut out your grace, what if you don't have a soul? After you die - "
" - there'd be nothing." Cas concluded. "And you'll be in heaven."
Dean turned away. "How can it be heaven if you're not there?" It was less than a whisper.
Cas didn't understand Dean's sudden panic. He'd shared Deans thoughts, seen his awe, felt his sensation of minuteness. He understood that Dean had been shaken, but he knew Dean, a man who lived through forty years of hell, a year in purgatory, and kept fighting for his friends, his family.
Instead, Cas changed topics. "Where is Benny?"
"Still dead," Dean replied. "I moved his remains yesterday and left a phone next to him. He'd've called by now if Kane brought him back."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too," Dean replied. "I need some sleep. I'll drive you back to the bunker tomorrow."
Cas couldn't bring himself to smile. "You said you need space. Driving together for a day and a half isn't conducive to space."
"I guess not," Dean admitted. Finding out the angel didn't want to spend time with him felt like he'd been punched in the gut with disappointment. "But how else will you get back to the bunker?"
"I'll wait here. As soon as Sam returns to the bunker, he can open the door, and I'll teleport back."
Dean looked at him, "You don't have to do that, man - "
"It's best," Cas said. "I'll let you sleep."
The angel disappeared grabbed his bag and went to check out his own motel room. Misery crept into Dean's throat and made him hoarse. He crawled into bed and tried to put it all out of his head.
Sam crashed overnight in Chicago.
In the morning, he pulled up his e-mail he used to communicate with Dodge. Admittedly, Sam had read them all already, but he double-checked the last one she'd sent him.
She was in Chicago on some big case, and she wasn't sure how long she'd be away. It might be weeks before she could send him any new cases. He replied to her message and wrote the following:
Dear DDG:
I'm in Chicago on R&R and some downtime. I might be here for a few days. Be nice to meet up in person if you have the time.
SW
Sam hesitated to send the e-mail. He'd purposely waited between cases Dodge found in case Dean cottoned on to his new working relationship. But why should he be afraid to invest in a partnership? With Dean's ridiculousness, it felt right to Sam to have a secret from his brother.
Earth. September 21, 2013.
In the morning, Cas checked each of Dean's thirty stitches. Then he saw him off, making sure he got back on the road in one piece.
Afterwards, Cas tracked down Benny's remains. The average angel would've been tried by this task, but Cas knew Dean all too well. Out in the woods, Cas identified a marked tree. Dean had done the same thing when he buried someone he couldn't save. The angel walked forty paces due east from the mark and found freshly dug earth. He wasted no time in digging up the casket.
Then he pulled out the jar Kuravi gave him in the car yesterday. He summoned the will to whisper out, "Kuravi?"
Flame licked the air. Kuravi appeared next to him. "I knew you'd call," she said.
"It's true, the ash you gave me was from Kuravi," the angel stated. "But you could be any phoenix with slight of hand."
Kuravi suddenly noticed the pine casket in front of them. "I take it you called me here for a reason?"
"If you are who you say you are," Cas said, "that means you can pull a soul out of purgatory and raise up his body whole."
She looked impressed. "You've been hitting the books, kid. Not many people know that."
"I need certainty that you are who you say you are," Cas explained.
Kuravi sized the angel up. "Do you know why I came to you?"
"To ask for help," the angel replied. "Why else would you be looking for an angel?"
"I was imprisoned for a very long time," she said. "The demons who kept us there suddenly disappeared, and I escaped. I spent weeks trying to break the others out."
"The others?"
"Two angels like you," she said. "I think a deity, but I'm not sure who he is. And Ruach."
Cas didn't hide his surprise. "That can't be right. She died billions of years ago."
"Yesterday you said the same thing about me."
"Kuravi could still be dead," Cas insisted.
"You want me to raise up a monster to prove who I am?"
"He is a vampire," Cas said, "but he is not a monster."
Kuravi turned her head. "Will this be enough for you? To prove who I am?"
"Yes."
"And will you then help me free my friends?"
Cas nodded, "I will."
Kuravi disappeared; this time not with fire and flame, but with embers and ash. The ashes curled around Benny's bones. The embers flared up and up and smoke rose into the sky. The earth shook as energy suddenly zeroed in on the vampire's remains.
With a spark, then a flame, then a fire, Benny's body erupted back into this world. Kuravi stood not far from him, smiling at her achievement.
Cas handed Benny a long coat, which he happily accepted. Before he could make introductions, Kuravi's fire burned again, and she was gone.
"Gotta say, Cas," Benny admitted, "I didn't thin' I'd be seein' your face."
The angel didn't say anything, just motioned for Benny to follow him and walked back to the motel.
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09x07 Procedural Drama
Primary Post: 09x06 No Quarter
Primary Post: Season 9 Fan Fiction (S9FF)